RAIXEL'S SUPER SECRET INTRODUCTION GAME

[beowuuf]

Yeah, I remmeber you said. That's cool, there are one or two plot developments that might be interesting with you having no knowledge of them No ability to see through the wall, I'm afraid. It is a straight shot corridor.


Petal moved slowly, the corridor seemed to become more and more filled with rubble and broken areas. Where the wall was smashed though, more wall was revealed. If it was was not for the smell, Petal might have dispaired about escape and about this being anything but an abandoned area.

However, soon the corridor ended in a mass of rubble. Yet there was a narrow crack from floor to ceiling, wide enough for the small pixie to get through, and she imagined that perhaps the emaciated human that she had encountered could have squeezed through.

It was also perfect to peek through. The room beyond seemed to be a relatively ordinary room. There did seem to be a torch or some form of light somewhere - however, it did not move around in all the time she looked. So hopefully, that rules out it being held by anyone. There seemed to be something wooden beside her, and other wooden shapes around. They appeared to be chests, some large and some small. One was just in her ability to see, and she would swear she could see - using her sharper pixie eyes - a set of round, red shapes that could well be apples. Wasn't that the smell?


So there you go, narrow crack in a wall that seems to open up into some form of store room. Light already present, some chests to perhaps hide behind. A little odd for Chaos's dungeon, perhaps... Is this the Grey Lord's pantry? Or is this some store room of the soldiers the odd man had mentioned...

[raixel]

Check your inbox. I was gonna drop an idea in here, but I felt it got too long and distracted from the story. So I PM'ed it.
Oh, lol. Today I reread most of Petal's thread, just for entertainment and to refresh the story in my head. In this post Re: RAIXEL'S SUPER SECRET INTRODUCTION GAME Postby beowuuf » 8-Sep-10 22:09 (pg7) you called Petal Raixel. Dont know how i didnt notice that before

Petal stops herself from tearing in the room and stuffing her pouches with as many apples as she can grab. Something about this seems...odd. She doesnt imagine Chaos as being the type to have a well stocked larder just hanging around. But then, he might had put it here to torment his prisoners, letting them escape, giving them food to make them feel like they might have a chance at freedom, and then recapturing them to crush all hope. That sounds just like the kind of sadistic plan Chaos would torture his victims with. After all, he enjoyed demonstrating his ultimate control over those in his grasp. The hungry pixie looks around the room warily, expecting a trap and looking for any other exits besides the crack she now is squeezed in. Percept roll, looking for anything unusual, Perception (1d20+4=6) Hm. I guess Petal is too hungry to pay attention. Could a human fit thru the crack shes in?

The sorceress' stomach growls, and she feels faint with hunger. She has to get the food, and quickly. As she looks around the room trying to decide on the best course of action, she remembers what the mad mage said about the 'soldiers'. Perhaps this was their stash? Then where was the Grey Lord, or Chaos? Petal finds it odd that thay arent around. How much time did she spend trapped in Chaos' hell? What has happened here? She has too many questions, and no answers.

Petal shakes her head to clear her thoughts. Obviously the lack of food has affected her, causing her mind to wander.
"Hmm. I wonder why those apples are just sitting out, and not in a chest or bag. Maybe someone had taken them out and then was called away. If this is the soldier's food, wouldnt they have it guarded? Maybe the guard was going to eat the apples, but got distracted by something." she thinks to herself.
"As hungry as I am, I dont think I should just go running in there."

Petal wraps her dagger in the folds of her dress to hide the light. I'm assuming she doesnt have a sheath for it. If she does, she sheaths it Even though having to hold the dagger awkwardly wrapped in her skirt hem was uncomfortable, it was far better than being seen. The pixie moves carefully into the room, trying to stay hidden in the shadows. Stealth (I'm still not sure what to do with the +4 to hide, so add it if needed) (1d20+4 =16). She keeps her senses, both physical and magical, sharp as she approaches the apples. Once there, she grabs the apples and stuffs them into a pouch.

If nothing dangerous happens and she appears to be alone, she will continue looking around for more food, otherwise I'll edit

Once the apples are safely stowed away, she examines the chest the apples were on. She gently prods at the lid, trying to figure out if it is locked. She knows little of ROS, the way of the Ninja. It is common knowledge, howecer, that sometimes people put devious traps on chests to protect valuables. But this place seemed to be a food storage. Would someone trap a food chest? A few apples werent going to sustain her for long. It was a chance she was going to have to take. She steps back a ways, until she is near the crack Not sure size of room, if what shes doing would weaken spell, she will only move back as far as she can w/o weakening it. in case she has to flee.

Petal closes her eyes breifly and starts to Sing. not literally She points her finger at the chest, and calls upon the strangest of elements, ZO. As always when the mana is summond, Petal Sings to the element, calling it to her and gently shaping its flow with rune-forms. But unlike the elements of Nature and Path, ZO is drawn from the Other. It has been described as negative, but unlike the Void of DES, it is not a taking away or destruction.

The element rushes into her. But unlike the other elements, which leave Petal feeling vitalized, ZO feels as it is trying to tear her material form away. Not painfully or viciously, but more as if it is trying to free her from the constraints of Form, to become one with the No Thing.

As she draws the energy to her, Petal remembers old Master Alorthin's warning of the dangers of Singing the Song of ZO.

"You see, young sorcen," the old pixie began. "ZO is Negative Energy. It is no-"

"LIke DES, the Void?" Petal asked.

The old sorcerer looked annoyed at Petal's interruption, but after teaching her for twenty years now, he realizes the futility of getting angry and just sighs. "Petal, if you'd let me finish my sentance without interruption, I was explaining the difference between it and DES, and its unique dangers."

Petal bowed her head. "I am sorry for the interuption, Master Alorthin." she said. "Please continue."

The elder nodded and continued "It is unlike DES in that it is not a Void, but rather an entire absense of Being. Whereas the Void is Destruction, the breaking down, ZO never was. The danger therein lies in that it 'seeks' for lack of a better term, to unmake everything. Controlled, it can be very useful. But lose that control, and it can unmake your Self. That is why it is the last of the pure Elements to be taught. Without the proper mental strength, it can tear the very fibers of the soul to nothing. Sorcens, and even some experienced sorcerers have lost their lives it, and their souls."

Petal shuddered as her teacher continued describing the effects of losing control of this element. Where all elements can be dangerous if control is lost, most will not shred you out of Existence. "That sounds like a very evil element, Master." the sorcen told her teacher.

Alorthin shook his head. "No, my student, it is not. It is no more evil than a starving tiger killing a man, or a hawk stooping on a mouse. It is what it is. Respect it, and it shall respect you."

Holding that lesson close to her heart, Petal draws enough of the ZO mana to cast her spell and makes her hand into the rune shape of LO. "LOZO," she whispers as she releases the Song into the chest.

Sorry for the huge post. I have been real busy and havent been able to post as much as I wanted, so it finally just all poured ouut.
EDIT: Fixed a grammar error that made it sound as if she was stuffing her senses into her pouch (Them instead of the apples)

[beowuuf]

Got the PM, will comment in a little bit. And weird about mixing up the names. Will have to check what time of day that was


Petal examined the food as well as she could, but it simpled seemed good - perhaps too good - to her in her tired condition. The apples did seem to have just been abandoned, but as she walked into the room further she did see that there were one or two backpacks and sacks dropped to the ground, and a bundle of torchs in a split bundle in one of the other corners. It did seem to be a store of some kind, but such a badly kept store. Indeed, where were the guarding soldiers? And why kept in such a poor manner?

Looking back to the crack she had just came from, Petal realised why no one had perhaps seen it before. There was evidence it had only been widened recently, and even then the crack would probably be hard for any normal sized creature to squeeze through. The rubble behind seemed to disguise the fact there was a passageway that went onwards.

Standing near the crack, Petal invoked the negative power. Her locked arm seemed to want to spasm, her clenched fingers wanted to open, her pointing finger wanted to curl shut. It was hard to keep her eyes open and her mouth closed after the invocation, as if she were sneezing the spell into being.

The lid simply snapped open, and the contents - more apples - spilled out. The chest was apparently packed such that it was easy for them to fall out. This might have been partially due to the chest being placed haphazardly, aswell as the lid thumping open. Perhaps that was why the chest had been closed again, and the apples placed ontop.

The slam of the chest echoed a little. Still, there was no explosion of magic, no whistle of a dart trap, no snap of a hidden creature leaping out. Also, no one seemed to be rushing forwards to investigate the noise. At least, not yet....


Yeah, as long as you consistently label the stealth check, i can adjust for the +/-4 as you have it. As always, it's just to highlight that Petal is harder to spot as a small creature that could be flying in an odd place, but she still will make as much noise walking as anyone else, and flying obviously her fast wingbeat might give her away. So it's probably best to just post the stealth check with the +4 so you know have a better idea if Petal as a creature will be seen or not. I'll let the roll ride for this whole investigating the area. So even if someone investigates the noise, Petal willstill be as stealthy as that roll hiding from them

Petal will only have simple clothes, and the dagger was probably not hers to begin with. So it can probably slip into a belt, but won't have its own sheath.

Anyway, so when I do the map for the main thread, I'll also do a map of the room you are in. I might also add a little more detail to the contents of the place. As the other guys managed to have a year ago, this is a mini-tooling up chance. If there are any items you would like to have - like a rope, for example - make a list, and I'll let you know if you can get them here, or get something reasonable similar.

[raixel]

Hm. Ok. Just to make sure I understand, if I'm trying to say hidden, I roll the full +8 (+4 dex/+4 size) and then you adjucate it subtracting whatever to fit the circumstances. Alright, cool. That works for me. I'm so used to move silent/hide that stealth has constantly been confusing me. But this works.

Petal hurries aroud the room, grabbing a satchel and stuffing a few apples in it. She decides to run the risk of a trap, and tries to open a few other chests in the area. She should use this opertunity to get as many helpful items as she can find.
"Hm. I need some torches." She grabs a few and puts them in the satchel. "Maybe a rope, and a flask or two."
She busies herself running around the room, hurredly stuffing things in a satchel or two to sort out later. Once she is finished, she retreats back through the crack she came in.

K, I'm gonna make a list of base-level stuff shes looking for. let me know how much she actually finds and I'll add it to my char sheet. Damn, i guess that means no powertowers

Food (not just apples, cheese, bread ect)
Torches
Rope
Some kind of stronger clothing/pants that she could make fit her, as Id imagine her dress is getting really ratty.
Darts/bow and arrow/throwing knives/sling ect(some kind of small ranged weapon)
Dagger sheath
Flask(s)
Waterskin(s)
Something to carry it in (perferably pouches or a side satchel, as i dunno if she can fly w/a backpack.)
Iron spikes (never discount the iron spikes! Everyone in my party always laughed when I play and buy them, until they are desperatly needed later They are like the pull spell of gear.)
10 foot pole (no, im just kidding )
Parchment/ink/quill

That seems about logical. Theres more I want but its not stuff youre logically gonna find here (POWERTOWERS! j/k )

[beowuuf]

The storeroom, for that's what it seems to be, seems a strange thing. Some things in it seem timeless, and others seem recent. Several chests seem to have been here for a while, and others were apparently dragged inside.

There is a chest of assorted fruits from the immediate area - including more apples, and bunches of berries. There also seems to be smaller, more recent chests with less pleasant contents. One has raw shanks of some furry creature - probably rat - shoved inside. The blood, matted smeely fur, and presentation are enogh to put Petal off her food. Though not quite. Another chest has some green, wobbly looking translucent looking chunks of something. Memories stir from somewhere - she is sure this is something backed from the poisonous worms of the dungeon.

There are a few wrapped packages of preserved salty meats, hardened wheat pancakes and dried fruits. There is a sack of nicer breads - while hardened in the crust, suspiciously lacking in mold. The sack is beside a small chest with a few cheese rounds at the bottom. There are two large sacks at the very back - one raw potato, one raw onions. A few tiny pouches beside them smell strange - spices, perhaps?

There does not seem to be any proper rope around, but the bundles of torches are secured with a long enough length of hemp as to suit the purpose - about fifteen or twenty foot long once she joins them all in strong knots.

There are a few satchels and backpacks absently discarded near the entranceway to this place. There is no door, so Petal is cautious. There seems to be a torch in a sconce just down the corridor from here, so she can look inside. These do seem recent, perhaps captured spoils for they are oddly mismatched. There is a waterskin or two, even a winskin, some writing materials, a whetstone, a few spikes with a lightweight hammer, and oddly a signet ring for sealing letters together with sealing wax.

Sadly, no weapons, nor real clothes. There is a shoulder-length cowl in one of the packs that Petal could hack at to make into a makeshift cape, but otherwise she needs to be on the look out for another store at some point!

As Petal has searched, she has not heard anything coming from the new corridor. However, she is sure she can hear the odd echoed sound coming from that direction, as if far away. Tehre is definitely life somewhere in this place, that is for sure. She perhaps best not spend too long here.


And roll me a perception check, please It's sort of a passive one, so you don't have to have Petal wait for the results before she does anything.

Feel free to create your chocie of meals fro mthe mentioned items - Petal will probabyl struggle taking more than three meakls worth of items. With some juggling, she can probably get a full waterskin too. Or a winskin

[beowuuf]

[raixel]

Perception roll Percept (1d20+4=17)

Petal carefully grabs a satchel and hurredly brings it back over to the food. She quickly grabs some of the bread and cheese, a few apples and dried fruit, a waterskin, a few onions and potatos and a pack of spices. As she puts the items in her bag, she throws in a few packs of preserved meat for good measure. Assuming enough for 3 full meals, 6 small ones. Some of it needs to be cooked, tho. . She ignores the hunks of bloody meat and the jelly worm-glop. Although pixies do hunt and eat meat, it is only rarely as they mostly are vegetarian.

Looking in the bag, she figures she has enough room for a few more things. She takes the rope that binds the torches and tries to make it into some kind of harness. Use rope (1d20+4=16). She wants to be able to hang things off of it, but figures at least if she can wrap it around her body in a way that doesnt bind her wings, at least she can carry it easily.
She grabs the iron spikes and hammer and working fast, attaches them to a loop in the front of the satchel, as well as picking up the whetstone and some parchment, ink, and a pen. The signet ring catches her eye, and she examines it. Dunno if I need to roll, basically shes looking for general material, whats on it, ect Was the crest one she recognized? She didnt know much about that sort of thing. In amusement, she slides it on to her finger and looks at it. Shrugging, she takes it off and mindlessly stuffs it in a belt pouch. Stowing away all the items as best as she can, she looks around the room again. Nothing else in here with the exception of a few torches seems useful. She only grabs one torch, carrying it in her hand. If needed, she can use it, but prefers the easily hidden, radiant light of her magic. Examining the cloak, she decides it isnt worth taking and leaves it where it hangs.

After gathering everything, she retreats back the way she came through the crack, as she heard noises in the hallway and doesnt really feel like encountering whatever being made them. Once in the saftey of the crack, she takes stock of all her items, adjusting them to be more comfortable if need be, and watches the opening into the room carefully, waiting to see if anything comes in. If something comes in, she will watch it, using her innate power to detect good in the hearts of being. If they seem friendly, she will debate approaching them. If thy are not/no one comes in, she will carefully move back to the t intersection that led her here

[beowuuf]

Petal could swear she could hear an odd sound somewhere, but it was hard to pin down the direction. Best to take what she needed and retreat to the crack again. Although her fingers may well have not fashioned anything for (dare it be thought) years, they act with enough memory to fashion a makeshift harness. It is a little cumbersome to hang items from herself, but she gets used to it quickly. The ring seems plain, perhaps silver or just a silver material. The design is a strange one, it takes her a moment to wonder if it could be the shape of a centaur. Do they even use human customs in letter writing?

Nah, if she's just looking at it with a normal eye, I won't call for a roll, but also she won't really get anything more than a DC 10 equivelant check

Unfortunately, as Petal is adjusting her items and moving towards the crack, she realises there is something very wrong. There is now a glow at the bakc of the room. And then that glow reveals a moving shadow.

"How did you get here? What madness is this?" said the emaciated figure of the madman Petal had previously encountered.


Just to clarify, the man is comign from the crack, and Petal would be probably about half-way in the room still, just startign to head back to that area. So she has plenty of room to move, but is also in a relatively open position incase the noise of the man starts drawing attention from elsewhere.

[raixel]

Great. I knew I hadnt seen the last of him. I asked earlier if the crack was big enough for a human to fit thru. Guess I got my answer

Petal jumps in startlement as the crazy man appears. She brandishes the unlit torch in front of her in a warding motion, and pulls her dagger out of where it is wrapped in her dress. She calls upon her innate power, focusing her energy on the Song of the man's soul. Although she couldnt tell what his intentions were, she could detect an absence of the stains that were left in a being's soul-song when the being performs an evil or selfish act without caring of the concequences or who it harms.
Her mind flashes back to a conversation with her teacher about this innate gift...

"Today, my sorcen, we are going to be studying the Alignments of Nature. Every being's soul has an Alignment. You see, a soul is a mutable object. Each soul starts in Balance but as a being lives and grows, so does his soul. Actions he or she takes will determine what his soul looks like to one who can hear the Song. Every evil act a person does, a stain is born on the soul. Until eventually, his soul has completely changed form to that of SAR. Some being's souls never fall out of Balance, and some being's souls turn to the path of RA." Master Alorthin tells Petal.

Petal thinks on this for a second, "But what about animals? They might kill, but they dont do it to hurt others. They dont think about what they're doing. Or what about the time when I was still land-bound and playing with Thorne. We were in the village green, and he could fly already and was teasing me about being a land-bound clumsy human, so I got mad and punched him and gave him a bloody nose. Do I have a stain on my soul because of that?" the young sorcen asks her mentor, looking concerned at having a stained soul due to a childish fight with her brother.

The elder pixie smiles at the worried look on his student's face. "No, Petal. You dont have a stain. Only true acts of evil will cause them. What constitutes true evil is something scholors have been debating for centuries and even then, the answer is always vague. Needless to say, things like enjoyment of other's pain, murder, theft for selfish greed. Things like that. Even then, a being can truly repent their ways, and the stain will slowly fade. This is rare when a being's soul has fallen to the Alignment of SAR, but can happen. As far as animals, it takes true will for an evil act to be performed. Animals act according to the Balance of Nature, so do not perform evil.
The odd thing about this power is that we cant actually sense the stain, only its complete absence. We can only sense people who walk the Alignment of RA. These people try to better themselves and the world around them, and are usually trustworthy. If they do an act which causes a stain, they feel sorrow for the act. Therefore, the stain does fades quickly. It is said by the Scholors of our race that the very light of RA washes the stains off the soul." he says.

"Like when I do laundry and get the dirt off my dress?" Petal asks.

Alorthin chuckles at her innocent remark. "Yes, my student. Just so. Now look here. Focus the Song like so, at me. Then tell me what you can See." he tells her, while demonstrating what she should do to tap into the innate gift.

Petal focuses her power on the insane man according to the instructions off her teacher that long-ago day. I'm leaving it up to you on what Petal sees with the activation of the Power. I was thinking a beautiful chime composed of the sound RA for good people, just a white noise hum for neutral and evil people. Or something. If he walked the Path of RA, perhaps she would hear him out. Otherwise, she would try and leave him as soon as possible. Even if his soul was in Balance, her power couldnt tell, and so she didnt want to run the risk of him being dangerous.

"What do you want with me?" she asks him in a low voice, while brandishing the torch and dagger at him. "Why do you seek me out? I have no quarrel with you, but I wish to be left alone, ma'hali human."

As she speaks she keeps a careful watch on both the man and the main passageway, hoping that the man doesnt start yelling and attract attention. She tenses her wings, ready to fly off at a moments notice down the passageway.

[beowuuf]

Told you twice a skinny human could fit through! :p Ok, the second one said a normal sized creature would find it hard. You knew he had to come from somewhere


Petal feels the coldness of the void, DES, when looking to this human and stretching out her feelings. She feels the lack of the people she has lost - that she cared about, and cared for her in turn. She knows it is not indicative of evil, but it is certainly indicative of selfish behaviour. At best, this man has followed his own path on his own whims, buffetted by himself above others. Even if possessing a code, most likely following the laws to the letter, instead of the intent for the good of all. And at worst, the man's selfishness meant all others were merely tool or obstacles to fullfilling such whims.

"I wished merely knowledge from you, to share what you knew for the good of all!" said the man, and the hollow Petal felt meant those false words easily slid into a pit. "You did not wish to be left alone, you told me you would concuer all! You are evi, little thing, and I shall make sure my new friends deal with you as thy feel most appropriate."

The man finally wriggles free, and while gesturing likewaise with his own staff, he rocks on the balls of his feet as he starts yelling. "GUARDS! SOLDIERS! FOES! EMEMY!"


Lol, funny you mentioned yelling and attracting attention. I tend to construct in my head sensarios as I go paragraph to paragraph, and that very action above seemed logical the second before I then read your next line. Unless I saw it out of the corner of my eye.

Anyway, mad man is having a logical reaction to 'evil' Petal. And as you say - Petal can't guarantee he isn't simple 'balanced'. What to do, what to do (run, I assume?). Yes, it was evil not to have her with more than one detect alignment. Then again, gotta make you want to have the rest of the party around, so your powers cross over, right?

[raixel]

I dont know how I missed the part about a think humna being able ti fi. Oh well. I'm really tired, but I wanted to get off a quick post before I crash for the night.

As the man starts shouting, Petal looks around in alarm.
"Quiet, you ma'hali human, you'll bring them right here to us," she hisses at him angrily. Not knowing waht to do, she attempts to dodge past the man and back tru the crack she came in. Acrobatic (1d20+4=22) As soon as she is past him and in the crack, she takes off flying as fast as she can double moving if possibe desperatly trying to lose him, or at least get to a defensible position.

[beowuuf]

The man looks shocked as the dagger wielding and stick wielding pixie once again seems determined to attack him. "SOLDERS! SOLDIERS!" he cries again, swinging his staff ineffectively against the pixie. While the crack is narrow for the human, and the man has barely emerged, she manages to sneak through it easily.

However, rather than try to follow her, the man seems to attack the wall she just went through. "Stay buried then! Stay buried!" he yells as she evades, smacking the wall. A fewpieices of the crack do seem to collapse, and then there is silence. The man seems to have gone, although Petal is now far enough back down the rubbled ruins of the corridor to not be sure.


Ok, Petal is down back into the ruined bit, which is defendable - at least a good place to launch a surprise attack from if she wants to try and hide there. She isn't being pursued, apparently. Not yet, anyway.

[raixel]

Petal hides in the crack, and very carefully creeps back towards the opening into the room making sure her dagger is hidden again in her dress. stealth (1d20+8=27) Was the man still there? If he was, what was he doing? Petal watches the room and the man (if he is there) for a few minuites before making her way back to the T intersection that originally led to this room. She peers down the passage she hasnt taken, looking and listening for any sound or movement. percept (1d20+4=15)

She carefully flies down the passage, wondering where it leads to.

[beowuuf]

There was no sign of the man, though Petal could still imagine she could hear dull sounds way in the distance, showing the dungeon was not just this man and Petal. There must be soldiers around, somewhere. Or something else... Luckily, nothing too close, for now. And Petal was confident that in the half-light, and with her slow movements, no one would have heard her return.

Going back into the crack, there was absolutely nothing coming form the other direction, very likely the direction the man had came from. It was very likely the corridor led directly back to where Petal had come back to life, being the lopping area of the mirrors. Certainly the vague memories she gained from the oily man half-confirmed this suspicion.

One thing she did know for certain though. Coming back to this area after being out into the room with the fruit just highlighted how dead the place she had been in really was. The fresh produce no doubt helped, but there had been some movement of air and scents. Back down here in the 'prison', the air was stale and still. The lack of noise was not a comfort, it was bleak and terrifying somehow. The ages this place had lain undisturbed and apparently forgotten by even the Grey Lord weighed heavily upon it. It made the atmosphere feel large and overwhleming. Internally, her senses felt as if she was staring into a night sky with no stars for comfort, just emptiness.


If Petal really wants to carry on down the other corridor she can, but it does just lead to the prison. The time jump will mean you will be ahead of the others. I can't really fudge the timing for that, since you've shoved a mad agitated mage into the main dungeon. That's gunna have consequences for everyone else at least!

[raixel]

Naah.I think Im jut gonna go back through the crack room. Hey! It wasnt MY fault a crazy mage popped out at me!

Petal stops at the intersection. Judging by the staleness of the Song in the area, this was just leads back to the prison she came from. There is no trace of life, just the slightly discordant song of the insane man. There was nothing for her here. She couldnt help those still trapped in the mirrors, and to gaze into their pain filled faces reminded her too much of her own lost battle with Chaos. And of her missing family. Turning away, she leaves this area to its stillness.

Petal flies back into the room with the goods in it, and peers down the main hallway leading out. This is where the noises had come from. She moves slowly and cautiously forward, darting from shadow to shadow. As she moves, she keeps a sharp eye out far any other living beings. stealth (1d20+8=9) NAT 1 percept (1d20+4=11)

Basically she will move forward trying to stay out of sight (Not likely, that. Ill leave it to you what she blunders into or causes to happen) keeping a watch out for any other living beings. She will go until she encounters something, whether a room, a person, monster, osmething of interest ect

[beowuuf]

Petal moved stealthily as she could, though the harness was an irritation and worse yet it was simply hard to keep hidden with the torchlight casting shadows behind her. She was forced to keep to the wall and risk the occasional clanking instead of announcing her prescence. This irritation also limited her field of vision, forcing her to peer directly around corners while hugging the wall. The ceilings were simply too low and jagged around here.

The room's meandering corridor quickly ends in a t-junction. She can already see, in the poor light, that the continuation of the corridor has been blocked off not too far onwards. It seemed a deliberate blockage, with stones stuck on stones to form a decent seal. Unlike the broken crack of wall in the room she had come from, there did not seem to be any way to get through. A lone torch holder sat sadly and half-obscured, a torch still in it.

Down the offshoot was where, faintly, noises were coming from. The light behind her was less of a worry, though that also meant it was harder to see. She moved along, the corridors getting darker and darker. She could still barely see, but worryingly because her gown did not fully disguise her dagger. Still, she could not risk bumping around in pure darkness. There were creatures gifted with stealth and darkvision in Chaos's domain. There was no point flying into their jaws or tendrils.

The corridor snaked, leaving the torchlight properly behind her. Petal could hear the noise - was it a voice - coming form somewhere onwards. Another t-junction came into view, with darkness from the offshoot, and a very dull glow and very dull sounds coming from a bend at the continuation. Petal seemed safe - for the moment - to hover where she was and listen.

"-not...immediately!" said an insistant voice rising in pitch. Petal could swear it was the mad mage called Falkor.

"-summoned. No time ...pets priest," came a new, strangely accented voice. It was hard to hear, even thoguh the voice was apparently raised, because of clanking - it was someone armoured. And the clanking sounded louder than the words would suggest.

Unfortunately, whoever it was was swiftly moving. Petal had barely had the chance to consider her position before the clanking got louder, the bobbing glow sudden';y increased in brightness, and a tall metallic figure came into view.

"I am a man of reason, not a 'pet!' Listen to me!" came the low hiss of the madman following behind. They had apparently been speaking quitely but instistantly, making it hard to judge their closeness.

However, the armoured warrior - soldier apparently - was payign the mage no attention. He was apparently looking directly at the pixie. The soldier couldn't have seen her as more than a shadow at the edge of the torchlight, but he apparently had good eyesight.

She had been spotted!


Ok, it's up to you - does petal run backwards to the dead end of the room, and through the crack (where she can probably eveade the soldiers for a while, but, you know, its a closed system - or does she just charge down the new corridor, risking goodness knows what but at ;east with the possibility there will be an open area or place for her to hide?

[beowuuf]

[raixel]

So this just gets better and better. I was thinking when I rolled that 1 'crap crap crap'. But the thing is, I write the post first, then roll, cuz I dont want the rolls to influence my actions even subconciously. Lets see if i can get outta this one.

Petal freezes the second she feels the man's eyes on her. But it is too late, she knows instinctively he has seen her. Before he can shout a warning, she takes off down the corridor. Its the one thats 1 square long, right? . The pixie flies as fast as she can, her wings a blur as they propel her forward. She is heading for the area that has the stairs only she doesnt know the stairs are there yet. As soon as she is out of the men's sight she realizes she has to make her dagger-light go away somehow. She was going to have to risk darkness, as she remembers reading somewhere that humans are very blind in light that she can see clearly in. Perhaps that will help her here.

Once the light and sounds of the men have faded in the distance she begins to summon energy to her. She focuses her will on the air currents cause by her frantically beating wings. As she charges the air with energy, the wind begins to swirl around her faster and faster. It takes on a tone only she can hear as it whips around her in a vortex "OH OHHHH OH" it sings. She makes her hand into a claw shape and catches some of the air in her hand. The miniture vortex swirls in the palm of her hand, and a new tone is added to the song "OHEWWOHHOEW". Taking her other hand, she sweeps up some of the darkness around her and cups her two hands together, the darkness and air combining inside. The song changes pitch to her ears, and a deep, almost evil tone has been added. "OHHEEWSAAARRR". She peers within her hands, and to her eyes, a fine glittering black sand lies cupped there. She smiles and tosses the sand up over her head. After the sand has left her fingers, she quickly makes the symbol of UM on her forehead and whispers "UMOHEWSAR." The sand rains down upon her, and where it touches, it seems to coat her skin, making it looks exactly like the background of the dungeon she wsa standing in.

She carefully continues moving down the corridor, looking for a way out of here.

So, ok I kept the spell description pretty much the same I had been, but I added lines like 'to her eyes, only she could hear.' So other characters would see the motions of whta she is doing, but not the effects until the spell is cast. Maybe a perceptive/magically inclined char might see little hints of it. But to most people watching, she appears to gather bits of nothing, cup her hands together, then peer inside, make a tossing motion, then put her hands in a rune shape on her forehead and whisper words. And then it seems like little pieces of her body flicker into nothingness. Does that work?

[beowuuf]

Yeah...that's a major mess up on my part, as the wrong picture got uploaded The stairs aren't there as far as Petal will be concerned, as they are hidden by an illusionary wall. So she will fly that way? The men won't fall that silent because they can double move at a respectable fraction of her speed, especially if she has to cast a spell. But the spell is all good, so they (will it be they?) won't see Petal is they come around. Oh, and who said you can will the light off? DM rules, remember...you need the darkness spell :p Luckily, I agree that the invisibility spell is an illusion spell as you have stated it, so the light will also be 'hidden'. That's how illusionary walls work too, even if you stand with a torch there. Anyway, getting late (well, late for someone who woke up stupidly early this morning) so might update tomorrow morning instead! So no immediate danger...but let's see what happens...

[beowuuf]

Petal darted forward and right, looking to chance the new corridors instead of being trapped - ultimately, - in the tomb of the mirrors. Even as she moved, she invoked the powers of illusion to temporarily hide her. Afetr all, the mad mage had such a strange opinion of her, perhaps the soldiers could believe she were a ghost!

"Get her! She's getting away! Ge-" started the fading sounds of the mad mage, however there was then a heart-stopping scream. It was an ugly and unpleasant sound, and took far to long to fade to silence. Partially it was disguised by the rattling of armour. The bobbing light of a torch came closer around the corner, and the armoured man was visible to Petal.

Her spellcasting had cost her a little time out-distancing her charging foe, but it had been worth it. As he rounded the corner, she could see that his held his torch to the side and then stopped, eyes growing wide. He looked around, and behind him, obviously surprised the pixie had disappeared. He shook his head for a moment and paused.

The man still looked impressively built, wearing jet black armour with gold and purple trim. The armour had what seemed to be round lumps all over it. Only a moment's thought made Petal realise that they were, infact, faces with the features deliberately smoothed off. The man's own face marked him as human and also foreign. His skin had a goledn cast to it, and he wore neck length hair platted in a strange design. He seemed to have been in battle recently, for his armour and visible appendages were still caked in blood - possible his own, from the angry wounds that were not fully closed.

Petal then noted the small black dagger he held in his other hand - it still dripped very fresh blood. There mad mage had not made an appearance. Worse yet, Petal oculd just feel something wrong about the man, or something to do with him. Not that he wasn't human - but there was something that made Petal shiver in his presence.

The man's expression was surprisingly haggard and confused, looking almost indecisive. "Blast this place. Blast these creatures. And damn us all, that priest worst!" The man paused for a moment, a very worrying moment as Petal's illusion spell had a short lease. "Bah, whatever it was, the armours can take care of it," said the man to himself. The man turned on his heel, and started moving swiftly down the opposite direction. "DOLO! DOLO DAMN YOU, WHERE ARE YOU?"


Since you haven't followed Ameena/Haynuus's thread, then I've redone the description of the man. Here's a picture of what he looks like in my head - know Xena/Hercules? Know Ares from them? Yeah, he's Kevin Smith, basically. Except much less of a bad ass
http://alwheaties.com/KSmith/Ares1.gif

I'll repost the map again, though you will probably remember the rough shape of it from last night I would guess! So yeah, does Petal retreat along the corridor she is in away from the man, or does she go back the way the man came and see what happened to the mad mage, or does Petal follow the armoured man at a respectful distance (she has better eyesight) to see what he does, or do you have something else up your sleeve?

[raixel]

Grr. I typed an entire post then got a phone call and got dsidetracked. I thought I posted it but apparently I didmt. I will repost in a sec but im eating dinner now.

[raixel]

K, so Im redoing as much of the post as I remember.

Stupid DM no-off light . WOOO I SAW THE DMS MAP WOOO! Petal will continue the same way, only I will use the current map and pretend like I never saw the stairs. I think since Petal is fleeing she wouldnt notice the illusiory wall unless its mana draws her attention to it. Kevin Smith WOO! I used to think he was hot when I watched Ares in Hercules/Xena when I was young. Him and Lani Tupu (Creis from Farscape). I guess I just have a thing for evil dudes with black hair and gotees

Petal freezes in place as the man peers into the area where she is invisibly standing, not even daring to breathe. When he turns and starts to walk away, she slowly backs away down the passage in the opposite direction, putting as much distance between them as she can If she can see a corner, she will duck around it. before her spell wears off.

"What is going on here?" she think to herself. "I made a good choice in avoiding that mage. These humans are obviously up to no good. Where is the Grey Lord, or Chaos? They couldnt possibly have beaten Chaos, could they?" The pixie shivers as she thinks of the implications of this group of humans taking over the mountain.

She looks at her dagger, emiting weak light thru the folds of her dress. "I really need to find a sheath for this dagger. It wouldnt do to have it give away my position. Speaking of positions, where am I now?" she muses.
The sorceress looks around, not unwilling to unwrap her dagger just yet. She wonders how much longer her invisibility spell will hold out, and if she should put the dagger in her satchel before then. How much ambient light is around? Would it be enough for Petal to see, even poorly? If it is she decides to put the dagger in her satchel until the spell wears off. The pixie slowly and carefully flies around her current location, trying to stay away from the passage the man walked down to find her originally.

"Theres got to be some way out of here," she thinks. "Or maybe I can find what those men were searching for."

She stops as a thought occurs to her. The man mentioned something about armors taking care of her. And a name, "Dolo". Petal makes a mental note of the name, and wonders what exactly an 'armor' is. She resolves to stay hidden as best as she can, and carefully flits from shadow to shadow as she moves, slowing her wingbeats down as best as she can and taking stock of noises that she hears. As she moves, she peers around her, examining the walls and floor for things of interest.


Rolls I might need.
Stealth (1d20+8=28) NAT 20! WHY couldnt I have gotten that earlier. See, this is why I write then post, cuz if I knew the roll was gonna be a 20, I prolly woulda followed him.
Percept (1d20+4=22) Is IC trying to make up for almost having a pack of angry evil humans on my ass?
Knowl Arc (Does she know what an armor is?) (1d20+4=21)

Great, now youve spooked her . She is used to fighting Chaos and his minions, not evil humans. I think she probably passed the stairs, and is running around where the path bends around the corner (dont really remember the map as it was real late when I posted that last post, but i seem to remember a bend past the stairs. Prev post has been edited to reflect the no-off dagger).

[raixel]

Double post due to mass lag, and me going *click click click* "goddamn why wont you post! stupid net!"

[beowuuf]

Yeah, lag sometimes annoys me, even more annoying as you can go back to the site and look around before the other page has finished loading. Always fun to see a new post flagged, and realise it's my own and get to it before the other window has properly finished loading! Losing work also sucks - I've been stung enough times that usually I'll copy these posts out into notepad first. Watch me not do it now, then get hit with a power cut


Petal hid her dagger as best she could, the light being very dull. Unfortunately, that meant as the solder rushed swiftly in the other direction, Petal could barely see. She could just about make out her cerntral trunk, and if she squinted the closest wall and floor/celing. She was almost walking and flying in the dark.

As the man retreated, Petal could then hear the faint 'clunk, clunk' of metal somewhere It definately seemed to be coming form the direction she was travelling, and not indicating something was pursuing her. The soldier's own clunking did seem to fade and not come back. She swore she heard one more shout. Still, she was in no rush, and moved slowly and pulling herself into herself, so she was hopefully as quiet as a mouse. Or a rat, as the case may be if this was still Chaos's domain.

Armour, armour, why had the soldier spoke of armour getting her? What an odd way to speak of other soldiers. However, then what had seemed to be tall tales of this place came backto Petal's mind. Petal realised that she must be quite deep in the dungeon, many levels down. For the place she had come from was apparently forgotten even to the Grey Lord - if the mad mage's tale was to be believes. At the very least, the oily man's vague memories did not make her question this thought.

And Petal recalled tales from people she had met briefly also fighting in this place, that deep in the dungeon of Chaos, close to his domain, the dead walked. Invisible to sight, they were clothed in the armour they had fallen in. They were rusthless and quick, stalking the very halls they had once adventured in, compelled to end the lives of those they would once have called comprades. It had seemed like rumour and fear at the time. And yet, hear she was in this place.

Perhaps she was simply spooking herself. She had met armoured foes, but those had been evil men clad in horrid armour - much liek the soldier she had just seen. Deth Knights, not some strange animated armours. Of cours,e that distinction was not a welcoming one if something in armour awaited her down these tunnels...


Teehee, there we go, let's add some flame to the spookage, shall we? Map below, there was indeed a bend in the tunnel.

[raixel]

Petal decides to risk a light and unwraps her dagger from her dress. After all it wouldnt do to be sneaking along, only to blunder right into an enemy.
"If someone sees me, I could always throw the dagger at them, I guess" the scared pixie thinks.

Brandishing her dagger out in front of her, the sorceress slowly keeps traveling down the corridor, alert any noises or movement that showed she wasnt alone here. As she flies along, she thinks about everything she knows about armor. Armor was a foreign concept to her, at least the plate the humans wore. A few high ranking guards and outriders in her village did wear chain shirts, but nothing like the plate she had seen the evil man wearing. Pixie chain armor was made out of a silvery glittering metal gained in trading with the elven allies of Petal's people. It was formed of links so fine they poured through your fingers like water, and to someone of Petal's senses the metal itself hummed with a slight natural mana-pulse. There were special holes in the back to allow the wings to move freely, and even though the metal was stronger than steel, the chain shirt weighed little more than the leather breastplate most fighting pixies wear. Petal remembers the one time she was allowed try Thone's friend's chainshirt on. It was comfortable enough to sleep in. The chain felt like cool thick silk against her skin, but was strong enough to turn all but the most superbly crafted or magically enhanced blade. It was very easy to fly in even though it was too large for her, as easy as a pixie crafted boiled leather breastplate. She hovered in front of the silvered glass mirror, turning this way and that and peering proudly at the image before her. She imagined herself a brave warrior then, fighting with her squad to push the occasional maurauding band of trolins out of the forest. It would be perfect, she would be a hero with her shining blade and silver armor. She would win medals and tales would be sung about her. Of course, heroes in tales never get dirty, or hungry, or have to find a place to relieve yourself in a dungeon.

She peers down ruefully at her thin stained and torn dress made of moonsilk. While perfect for flying through the forest and living in a village, it definatly was not suited for wandering about in the mountain where possible enemies lurked around every corner. What she wouldnt give for one of her people's chainshirts now.

She continues down the corridor, wondering what she would find.

[beowuuf]

The dull clanking grew louder with each movement forward, as if Chaos himself was manifesting her beating heart with mockery. The only comfort was, perhaps, that the dust did not seem to have been disturbed here. Obviously, Petal has been travelling swiftly and with little light earlier, so had nothing to compare it to. However, the lack of a predator or soldier's footprint was surely a comfort?

Then again, if soldiers moved freely around here, why did they not come this way?

Soon Petal came to a break in the passageway. Both left and right directions seemed to split not long after and twist away into darkness, as if the corridor were shattering again and again. Worryingly, both directions seemed to echo with the mechanical clanking. Infact, both directions really did echo, as if there were multiple sources of the sound. The sound itself seemed to rise then fall, rise then fall. Oddly looping sounds, like a series of items in repetitive motion.


Nice little insight into Petal's life there - I like it Anyway, I'll reveal more of the map to you... and leave you with an evil puzzle. The rising and falling sound at leats should indicate that right this secnd Petal isn't in danger. Right this second.

I've also just realised something that might be a little metagae-y, so I'll say it in spoilers, so you can decide if you want to read it or not. It's to do with Petal's position i nthe narrative right now.

Spoiler

If Petal had followed the soldier, I do believe your upcoming post would be in the main thread, reacting to the main group! You are that close to them right now...relatively speaking! Finally

Anyway, map below... choices, choices....

[raixel]

Great. I spend the night at a friend's and come back to clankety clankety.

Petal creeps slowly along the right north passage. She wasnt really sure she wanted to see what was making the noises. But, pixies as a race are intensly curious. Besides, maybe if the soldiers didnt come this way, there was something here they were afraid of. Something that could be used against them. Petal peers down both corridors that split off to the north, going down each about 10 feet and looking around.
"What is making that infernal noise" she thinks to herself. "Have I heard it before?" She racks her brain trying to think of what the noise could be.

Perception (1d20+4=17)

[beowuuf]

Could have been worse...could have been stabby stabby!


Petal checks out the left hand passageway first, seeing it dissappear off into the distance, although her pixie eyes are sure she pots the corridor turning in the distance. The noise of clanking is somewhat reduced down that side, indicating whatever is down that way is at the very least confined to much further down the corridor.

However, the right-hand corridor the noise is very loud, and Petal is cautious as she proceeds. Unfortunately, not cautious enough, for the corridor is surprisingly short, and she realises that it apparantly ends with some shadowy figure down it just as the figure begins walking forwards. The clanking grows exponentially in volume as the figure starts to move with deliberate intent in her direction.

The tall humanoid is dressed in plain but thick armour of plate, much like the knights in her fairytale books. However, she feels no awe nor comfort from seeing this one. Despite the plainness of its outfit, she feels nothing good from it.

It possesses twin blades that glint in her daggerlight, and it swipes them in the air as if proactising for what it will do to her when it reaches her.

Petal has only a moment to spot that the armour seems a little rusty, except for the central piece which is a jet black, and black that then oddly extrudes into the remaining pieces of the armour like it were a disease spreading. And worse yet, Petal swears that in the dagger light, she can see through the slit in the helm. Literally, see through it - there is nothing blocking her sight from the glinting metal at the back of the helm!


Ok, now for the stabby stabby. Yep, simple animated armours! Welcome to DM Well, there is a slight twist you might be able to guess with the jet black main piece...

Anyway, I'll give Petal initiative since you were very clear about how cautious she would be, and also a decent perception check. Probably the best of the corridors to choose with it being short. After all, imagine being trapped down a deeper one if something were to start moving up from behind!

Now, should I try to get back to sleep, or just accept the fact I am awake and watch tv....who knows!

[raixel]

Petal freezes for a second as she sees the form in the distance. Without giving it time to close she closes her eyes for a brief second, calling the mana of DES to her. The void mana whirls around her, to her eyes, a thick black oil that wishes to consume all matter and life and tear it to dust. She flings her arms out towards the figure as she summons the mana of EW. The black oily energy spirals down her arm to congeal in the palm of her hand, held in place by the EW rune. She focuses her will on the energy and intones "ONDESEW". She makes a flinging motion with her arm, and aims the black ball of void directly at the black spot on the figures armor. Hopefully the DES energy, which even holding in her hand she feels its desire to tear thru her flesh, would be able to eat away at whatever dark power was animating this suit of armor.

If it didn't work, she was gonna have to run.

Great, yay stabby time! I'm hoping this will at least harm it. If I remember correctly, I dont think DES EW bugged animated armors too much in DM. However they also didnt have a giant black spot on thieir chest. If it doesnt work, she will turn and flee back down the original corridor, hoping she can lead it to the humans.

[beowuuf]

The magical bolt seems to split apart eagerly as is smashes into the form of the armour, splitting apart like a million worms to quickly wiggle around the black armour and feast on what is underneath.

The armour staggers for a brief moment, however them moves forward with as much determination as before.

That seems to rule out the tall tales of the spirits possessing these walking suits. The energy of the void is so much closer to the ethereal plane than the material plane. The cohesion of BRO, the inwards conflicts of GOR, and the many forms that material binds and interacts with itself using keep the hungry DES energy at bay. Spirits and ghosts and elementals are not so fortunate, and have less ability to resist DES's hunger and pull. The powerful bolt of energy should have caused pain and more effect than it got.

Though the stagger would point to a magical animation, for DES can try to pull apart the delicate tapestry of spellcraft. Unfortunately (or fortunately), mana and magic are powerful, the weave of it all that Petal could perceive all around her entwined too well. It took a significant amount of DES energy - more than she could conjure - to disenchant even simple magic.

Still, the bolt was not without at least one small effect. The stagger highlighted that while the limbs moved naturally, they all seemd to artificially spasm around that blackened front plate. Although it was amusing to think of it in these terms when the creature itself was unnatural, the plate was not a natural part of her foe. Perhaps that was a weakness that could be exploited?

If so, not by her. Petal beat her wings, and took off back down the corridor.


Couldn't let you waste a powerful spell without giving you something back. Oh, and it's not a giant black spot. The whole chest piece is black, and that dark material seems to them be viening into the metalwork of the other armour pieces. Right, so Petal's running! Which humans are you leading this horrible foe back towards? Are you going to where you first saw the soldier, or will you go in the direction the soldier went?

If the later

Spoiler

then please start posting on the main thread! Petal will come to an open doorway, and a choice of moving forwards, or going off to the left afterwards. To the left is torchlight and a similar clanking sound (though also the sound of various odd voices), while forwards will be a duller torchlight around a corridor in the distance, and the sound of fighting.