Re: Book Two: Chapter Six: "Prosperous Hosts"

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Straegis II: HP:75/75 AC:24 Fort:23 Ref:23 Will:20 Healing Surges:0/8 Action Points:1

Straegis does his best to stay hidden, whilst moving to exit the tunnel he tries to see if he can determine the source of the damage to the group.

Stealth: 1d20=10+6(half-lvl)+5(helm)=21,
Perception(*): 1d20=12+6(half-lvl)=18

O.O.C.: (*)Trying to determine whether the oil was poured by an enemy or whether we sprung an unmanned trap?

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After making sure everyone is ok, Davin continues to track Sallowmane.

Do we need more rolls, Mal?

-Swift

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Verity's quick thinking gets the group out of trouble before more oil starts to rain down; everyone runs forward, over the frozen oil, moving to alleged safety.

OOC: Everyone who took 19 damage during that attack will take another 9 damage unless some effort is made to put out the flames; doing so requires a standard action and a saving throw. (Alex is +5 thanks to Verity).

Straegis comes to the same conclusion as Verity: this was a well-disguised attack, not a trap. Best not to linger.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____

Do we need more rolls, Mal?

OOC: I will need another tracking roll, yes. I have plenty of Dungeoneering rolls, though. Stealthing rolls from everyone who is stealthing; saves from anyone putting out the still-burning flames.

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Can Davin use his knowledge of Nature to aid whoever is closest with putting out the fire, giving them a +2?

Nature=30

Perception (Tracking)=44 (Only added for Hound)
Stealth=34
Hound's Stealth=14

Immediate Reaction - Crucial Advice for Hound

Hound's Stealth=20


-Swift

[151prooftattoos]

Straegis II: HP:75/75 AC:24 Fort:23 Ref:23 Will:20 Healing Surges:0/8 Action Points:1

Straegis quickly removes his cloak and throws it over Mordax to snuff out the flames, he pushes him toward the ground and says "Drael, Mavar, al Blen!!!" (Stop, Drop, and Roll!!!) (LoL, I couldnt resist!)

Standard: Help Mordax put out fire.

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"They may have more burning oil overhead, clear the area!"

Fails to stop burning round 1, succeeds round 2.

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Can Davin use his knowledge of Nature to aid whoever is closest with putting out the fire, giving them a +2?

Uh, sure. That's a great idea, actually.
In fact, I'll roll for NPCs and for everyone who has been M.I.A.
Mordax: 8+4 (Successful) No secondary damage.
Alex: 6+5 (Successful) No secondary damage.
Juugug: 13 (Successful)No secondary damage.
Azzy is apparently fire retardant (Resist Fire 15), so he's fine.

Once the flames are extsinguished, the party races to the end of the hall; hoping to stay ahead of whatever oil-filled cauldrons might be waiting overhead.

Perception (Tracking)=46

1d20+16=26

Near the end of the tunnel, Davin checks the again for spoor. At first he finds nothing, but then at the very end, he discovers her bootprints again ... leading toward the last door, straight ahead, at the very end of the hall (rather than on the sides, like the others). This seems reasonable to Vangg; a champion of Moradin might be granted such a honorable position in the hall, but who knows?

Stealth=34
Hound's Stealth=20

Stealth: 1d20=21

Quickly and quietly, Davin and Hound and Straegis and Taalgarnuk move to the door (imagining heavy cauldrons being dragged, overhead, toward the party's current position).

With no time to spare, Taalgarnuk gives the door a cursory search; but finds no traps. Checking the handle, he pops the door open; it wasn't even locked!

And into the room they go.

Skill Challenge: "Figure Out Which Room Is Sallowmane's" Complete.
533 XPs Each (36,872 Total)

The room itself is 20 feet square, with a modest four-poster bed to the left, a small chest at it's foot, a small reading table at it's side, and a squat dresser along the right wall. A boar skin rug warms the floor, and a staggeringly gorgeous mural decorates the domed cieling (it depicts Moradin giving Mithril and Ale to the first Dwarves). Several smaller portraits and holy icons hang from the walls. A lone door stands opposite the one you entered through.

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Davin checks the chest before moving on to the rest of the room.

"Take a look at this chest with me, Taal. What do you know of Dwarven traps, Vanng?"

Perception (Find Traps)=38
Perception (Room)=28
Thievery (Remove Traps)=26 (no aid)
Thievery (Open Lock)=25 (no aid)

-Swift

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Vangg will look it over.

Dungeoneering check: (Unless you already have enough of them rolled already, last 2 were 33 and 34)

1d20+16=26
(No Aid added in)

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Verity will look over the chest and comment on anything unusual he sees.

He then asks for "Quiet all, that Davin and Tully may concentrate on this delicate operation." He arranges a torch for best light.

Aid Thievery, 2 successes.[+circumstantial?]

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The room is a little cramped with so many people in it. Taalgarnuk and Davin step over to the chest; Verity and Vangg watch over Davins and Taal's shoulders, offering whatever advice (and light) they can.

Vangg knows this chest is trapped, even before the trapmasters examine it. There is no way a honored hero like Sallowmane doesn't have something valueable in there, but even a great champion has to beware of the Dwarves' notorious greed.

Taalgarnuk examines the locking mechanisms (there are two), while Davin examines the lip of the lid. Both of them find something. Taalgarnuk tells you that both of the locks are trapped with a spring-loaded needle; probably poisoned. Davin reports that he's found an odd greasy substance sealing the opening; there must be some type of dangerous gas inside the chest.

Verity angles the light, and points out that poison gas could easily fill such a tiny room. Simply draining it out would be dangerous.

Then, without warning, The Aqueas Templar blinks again; that unexplained blue-white light momentarily flooding the room. Then nothing.

Davin and Taalgarnuk get to work, quickly removing the three needles. Once that is done, they get to work on the locks. The locks take a little longer than normal to pick (bedamned Dwarfs), but eventually the heroes prevail.

Now, what to do about the gas inside?

OOC: I'll need an explanation of how this is being disabled ...
.... as well as another Thievery check (you currently have a +6 aid bonus)..

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Davin seems stumped for a moment as he stares at the gas infused chest, and then he his eyebrow raises.

"I doubt her book is in here. I assume her ritual book is a working document - she would need regular access to it. Whatever is in this chest was meant to stay in it indefinitely. Still, I can't stand an unsolved mystery."

"Alex, would you give us a hand? I need you to surround the chest with one of your water globes. I am going to stick my arms through to pop the lid, and you use your globe to trap the gas and move it harmlessly away from everyone."

Assuming Alex agrees to help....

Davin rolls his sleeves up and thrusts his hands through the water globe up to his forearms. "What a strange sensation!", the elf thinks to himself, dry on the outside, dry on the inside, and a liquid barrier separating the two. With his Thieves Tools in hand, the Ranger gets to work.

Thievery=42

-Swift

[151prooftattoos]

Assuming Alex agrees to help....

magicspellz has been MIA for days, so I'll just go ahead and assume Alex helps ...

Creating a globe of water to contain the poison gas is an easy task for the Aquamancer; when Davin wedges the lid open, a noxious brownish-green gas crawls out of the chest, and fills the watery globe. Taalgarnuk opens the door so Alex can lead the globe out of the room, where the gas is let loose.

Now, with the chest safely open, the party can examine the goods ...

XPs: 533

Inside the chest, the heroes find a number of items: a rolled red flag of some sort that has an "ancient" air about it, a holy symbol of da Queen that must have been taken from the Cave Temple, an enormous perfectly-cut emerald, and a sack full of diamonds.

After opening it up, Straegis and Alex easily indetify the flag as a battle-standard dating back to the days of Bael Turath (longer scrutinizing will be necessary to glean any more than that).

After handling the holy symbol, Vangg and Taalgarnuk and Juugug recognize the mass of black feathers as Rinh's personal Holy Symbol. This is an ill omen for any who still had hope the great Ogre survived. Juugug plops down on the bed, with a sad look on his face. He looks up and forces a smile, trying to remember that the Queen has a special place for her servants.

The giant emerald appears to be non-magical, but is easily worth five or ten times more than a normal emerald. The sack contains eight diamonds. Each is probably worth several thousand gold coins. (an appraise roll will be needed to know the true value of these items).

Bael Turan "Hellfire Legion" Battle Standard
Embroidered with swirling flame decals, this flag lets you and your allies draw on the power of fire.
Wondrous Item - Level 16 (45,000 gp)
Power (Encounter - Fire, Zone): Standard Action.
- When you plant the battle standard in your space or an adjacent square, it creates a zone in a close burst 10. You and each ally in the zone gain resist 10 fire and can choose to have any attack you make deal fire damage instead of its normal damage type.
- This effect lasts until the end of the encounter or until the battle standard is removed from the ground. Any character in or adjacent to a battle standard’s square can remove it from the ground as a standard action.

Rinh's 'oly Symbols o' da Queen
You channel your conviction through these sanctified raven feathers and grant yourself or a nearby ally remarkable regenerative powers.
Implement (Holy Symbol) - Lvl 15 (25,000 gp)
Enhancement: +3 Attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +3d6 damage
- Power (Daily - Healing): Free Action. Use this power when you reduce a target to 0 or fewer hit points with an attack delivered by this holy symbol. You or one ally within 5 squares of you gains regeneration 5 for the rest of encounter.

[151prooftattoos]

Vangg gasps at the sight of the symbol. His face contorts from sadness to anger.

Vangg looks to Taal and Juugug -

"Bedamned sacrileged shame . . . who shouldeth 'old da 'onor ta carry we mentor's symbol?"

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O.O.C.: Score !!!!!

"One of the brothers Rinh should carry it into our battles. Our fight becomes more personal by the moment." Straegis shakes his head and gives a moment of silent respect to the Rinh family.

[151prooftattoos]

O.O.C. - Nice!

"One of the brothers Rinh should carry it into our battles. Our fight becomes more personal by the moment." Straegis shakes his head and gives a moment of silent respect to the Rinh family.

Davin nods in agreement and then bows his head in observance of the moment of silence due the Great Rinh. Then, while the Brothers hash out who gets the Symbol, the Ranger quickly loads the standard and jewels in the bag of holding and then systematically checks the rest of the room: under the bed/pillows/mattress; in, around, and under the reading table; in and behind the dresser; and under the bearskin rug. Finally, Davin comes to the lone door.

Perception (on door)=38

-Swift

[151prooftattoos]

Vangg gasps at the sight of the symbol. His face contorts from sadness to anger. Vangg looks to Taal and Juugug - "Bedamned sacrileged shame . . . who shouldeth 'old da 'onor ta carry we mentor's symbol?"

"One of the brothers Rinh should carry it into our battles. Our fight becomes more personal by the moment." Straegis shakes his head and gives a moment of silent respect to the Rinh family.

Taalgarnuk and Juugug look to each other, and an odd expression passes between them.

"Ye shouldst carry it, Vangg."
"Ye needss it more den we doess."

"Giveth ye ol' one to da filthy mucksucker."
"No, no. Givess ye ol' one to da bedamned go'bin; he'ss 'bout arse usseless as a teet on a boar."

"Give it t' Pa, if ye can't decideth," Azzy suggests.

"Yea, yea. Ye taketh Rinh's an' giveth dat ol' one ta da kid."
"Yeah, he's da MOST useless. ... 'cept fer ye, Vangg. Needs all da help 'e can git."

Davin nods in agreement and then bows his head in observance of the moment of silence due to the Great Rinh. Then, while the Brothers hash out who gets the Symbol, the Ranger quickly loads the standard and jewels in the bag of holding and then systematically checks the rest of the room: under the bed/pillows/mattress; in, around, and under the reading table; in and behind the dresser; and under the bearskin rug.

Davin quickly finds Sallowmane's ritual book in the drawer of her reading table, and then uncovers numerous personal effects in the dresser. Under the bed, he finds an unusual staff.

Staff of Frozen Ground
This iron-shod and petrified staff is cold to the touch; ice-cold.
Weapon: Any - Lvl 13 (17,000 gp)
Enhancement: +3 Attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +3d6 cold damage
- Power (At-Will - Cold): Free Action. All damage dealt by this weapon is cold damage. Another free action returns the damage to normal.
- Power (Daily - Cold): Free Action. Use this power when you hit with the weapon. The target takes an extra 2d8 cold damage and is slowed until the end of your next turn.

Finally, Davin comes to the lone door.
Perception (on door)=38

Davin examines the lone door and finds it barred from the inside; lifting the iron beam, he opens to door carefully (noticing that it can be locked from the otherside, but wasn't). Beyind the door is a long dark narrow corridor, stretching off into the distance.

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Dungeoneering checks: 33, 24

Vangg watches as Davin peers through the door and into the darkness. He's pretty sure that door heads in the general direction of the Wise Stone ... and if Sallowmane were doing research there, it only makes sense that she'd have a room with special access to it.

OOC: Perhaps he should mention something about it?

[151prooftattoos]

Verity respectfully removes his helm and collects his thoughts for a moment before eulogizing;

“At the rising of the sun and at its going down. . .
At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter. . .
At the beginning of the year and when it ends. . .
When we are weary and in need of strength. . .
When thunder crashes like his flail…
When we have achievements that are based on his. . .
As long as we live, he too will live. For we shall remember.”

He lifts the feather bundle and presents it to Vangg.

“For your Faith your race shunned you. Now they have sunk to such depravity you must destroy your former clansmen lest they destroy our world.
"The Great Rihn’s symbol should go to you who give up the most to serve our Queen.”

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Vangg picks up Rinh's symbol and holds it high. Then, the dwarf tosses his to Verity.

"Me be an 'onored ta carry Rinh's respects . . . may its 'elp ta keel da enemies o' da Queen."

Vangg eyes the door -

"Me bethink dis lead ta da Wise Stones . . . seemeth dat sorry ah excuse o' champion 'ad an specialistic way ta its."

Vangg pauses -

"Me still an keepeth ah wee 'opes our Ogre Father be an not perish'ds."

[151prooftattoos]

OOC: Verity add this to character sheet - - -

Black Feather of the Raven Queen
This onyx feather transforms the life force of a slain enemy into cold energy that can be unleashed upon another adversary.
Lvl 8 +(3,400 gp)
Implement (Holy Symbol)
Prerequisite: To use this symbol, you must worship the Raven Queen.
Enhancement: +2 Attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +2d6 cold damage
Power (Daily ✦ Cold): Free Action. Use this power when you reduce a target to 0 hit points or fewer with an attack using this holy symbol. One creature within 5 squares of the target takes cold damage equal to your
Charisma modifier and is immobilized (save ends).

[151prooftattoos]

Davin adds the staff to the Bag of Holding, makes sure that the door to Sallowmane's room is locked and barred, and then does the same to the passage door once everyone is in it and in route to the Wise Stone.

O.O.C. - Locking both doors behind us.

Once in the passage, Davin and Hound move to the front and scout ahead, as usual. Silently, the elf activates the Sight of Hemingr, and the rune in his iris flashes silver for a moment in response.

O.O.C. - See Invisible for the encounter. Assuming the passage is dark and someone needs to light a torch or something to illuminate the path, Davin will stay just in front of the light.

Perception=39
Stealth=32
Hound's Stealth=26

-Swift

[151prooftattoos]

"Me still an keepeth ah wee 'opes our Ogre Father be an not perish'ds."

"As do we all, brother.
"We shall all reunite with the Great Rihn soon enough, be it in this life or the next. For now we must be satisfied to take vengeance on the children of Moradin."

Verity examines the onyx holy symbol reverently before tucking it in a belt pouch.

He'll stay towards the back where his clanging mail will betray the party least.

[151prooftattoos]

The tiny hall stretches out, unbending and narrow, for miles and miles, under the mountain. It's really too short for most of the party members; only Vangg and Juugug and Taalgarnuk can walk without stooping. Poor Azzy is forced to squeeze in, half crawling with his bony shoulders scraping the cold stone walls.

Hours pass. Yet the tunnel seems unending.

Unchanging.

Dark. Narrow.

And stretching out. Under the mountain. For miles.

Hours Pass.

Eventually a time comes when the party must to sleep. It's cramped and crowded, but uncomfortable sleep has become to norm for such hardened adventurers.

...

In the morning, they pack up, and press on (eating the cold left-overs of Rothe meat). Within the hour, they come a door similiar to the one they entered this tunnel through.

A similiar lock obstructs their progress. Let's just hope it's not barred?

....

It isn't. The heroes make short work of the lock, and crack open the door. A room, similiar in shape and size to Sallowman's bedchamber, awaits them on the otherside of the door.

Another door sits in the center of the opposite wall. Another mural. More portraits and icons on the walls. But no bedroom furniture. Just a desk and a bench.

Checking the office furniture, they find a stack of Sallowmane's research notes, scribbled indescipherably on scarp sheets of parchment. Shoving the loose papers in the bag, the party checks the new door for traps.

Nothing.

Cracking open the door just enough to peek through, the party sees a MASSIVE circular chamber on the otherside of the door. Similiar doors to this one are set into the wall, all the way around the chamber; atleast 50 of them. A wide stone walk way runs the peremiter of the chamber; massive ten-foot runes are etched into the surface of the walkway, in front of every door. Occupying the center of the circle, and the bulk of the chamber, is a massive ... and majestic ... rock.

This must be the place.

Rockbenders are milling about, strolling around the beautiful boulder, along the walkway. Occasionally, some enter or exit through the various doors, seemingly on urgent business. Just as many, however, appear to be casually strolling around it; perhaps as a form of meditation?

The heroes quietly shut the door, and begin to whisper among themselves ...

Major Quest: "Reach the Wise Stone" Complete.
1400 XPs Each (38,805 Total).

[151prooftattoos]

OOC: Hey Mal, you usually edit my char sheet on the xps for me - you have 39,338 or something - we hit 13th level? or is that supposed to be 38,805 on my sheet?

DM EDIT: Oop. 38,805 is correct. The 39,338 was there because I accidentally counted the 533 from before twice. I fixed it in my post, but forgot to go back and fix your character sheet. It's fixed now, tho. Sorry for the confusion.

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