Habololy Forum
Icefian Campaign => Reluctant Heroes => Topic started by: whitesword on November 27, 2012, 10:19:23 AM
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Please post a recap for Ari and then we will proceed.
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- We visited Tom Magikowner shop in Cape Toylia and learned that the adapters have bought out Alter Weapon magics throughout the nation. They also are known to at least some in Cape Toylia, including Tom, whose door was guarded by a gold sword wielding golem.
- We have a list of additional people, including the prominent clerics of Messada, who have gone missing.
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- We traveled with Martine Vanyar, Lady Faraday, and Bartholomew Grace to the armies to deliver Arian's orders to stand down.
- When we reached the southern army group, we learned that half of the elves in Dethembarias had surrendered and were about to receive foodstuffs from the army. The other half had withdrawn to the capital where a coup was taking place.
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- We next went north to the other army group to find that the army had been attacked by an undead army, Uscis, chosen, ice elementals, and such. Uscis turned on the adapters and stole the Juggernaut. The remains of the army were hiding in the mines, which had been protected with forbiddance. The area had been illusioned, and sealed with stone.
- We defeated a massive elemental that was part of an illusion that temporarily killed Robyn
- There was a clever maze that Rubius solved very fast getting to the army
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Uscis.....stole the Juggernaut.
The only other combination of words that would horrify me more would have been "another nonagon."
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Is that where you stopped?
Was Ari with the group throughout the session?
Where's Ajax?
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We stopped with the defeat of the elemental.
Ari did not go.
Ajax is with Ari.
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How do we get all of the soldiers out? Is the spell still active?
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How do we get all of the soldiers out? Is the spell still active?
I'm pretty sure DM said the spell ended when the elemental was defeated and that all the soldiers began making their way out of the cave after the battle.
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"Sir Vanyar, if we can find a skilled tracker among them, perhaps they could tell us which way the army went."
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"Sir Vanyar, if we can find a skilled tracker among them, perhaps they could tell us which way the army went."
"We know where the army went. Or can surmise at any rate. They, along with Uscis and the Juggernaut went to the capital of the Scaled Elf Kingdom. What we need is someone who can estimate how fast they are likely to travel, what with the giant rolling mountain and all, and if we can get in front of them with enough of a force to stop them."
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"We assume that's where they went. A tracker would be able to tell us all of that."
cough
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"We don't need a very good tracker to follow the swath of flattened ground made by the juggernaut."
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"A very good tracker would allow us to move faster and tell us more about what we are following."
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Martine listens to your discussion. "The legions will need several days to move out of the mines and take stock of their provisions. Most likely they will need resupply in order to march any distance. I will find some rangers to track the enemy but some magical aid would likely make things easier."
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"What type of magical aid are you thinking about? My teleports can take only a few. I can summon a few mounts, but nothing that will make a dent on 45,000."
cough cough
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"What type of magical aid are you thinking about? My teleports can take only a few. I can summon a few mounts, but nothing that will make a dent on 45,000."
cough cough
"No, I meant with the tracking. We have already seen the enemy is trying to use magic to cover the trail."
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"My location spells will only work if we are reasonably close already. I could discern Uscis' location, or at least attempt to do so."
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"A very good tracker would allow us to move faster and tell us more about what we are following."
Ooh, pick me!
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"My location spells will only work if we are reasonably close already. I could discern Uscis' location, or at least attempt to do so."
"My knowledge of magic is better than most warriors but still limited. I was thinking more of something that would reveal their tracks, or dispel the magic that conceals them, or reveal that magic."
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"I doubt I could dispel anything Marius has cast. As long as I have true seeing active, I can see their tracks. If they are evil, we should retrieve Lord Arishimoto" cough chuckle cough "He can sense them a mile away. He is also a tracker by trade if I recall."
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"I doubt I could dispel anything Marius has cast. As long as I have true seeing active, I can see their tracks. If they are evil, we should retrieve Lord Arishimoto" cough chuckle cough "He can sense them a mile away. He is also a tracker by trade if I recall."
"If you can see their tracks you should go with the rangers and do a preliminary sweep of the area. I don't presume to know what orders Arion gave Lord Arishimoto but I know it is not my place to contravene them. We will make due with the trackers we have, put the legions on a path home and return to the Castle tomorrow morning. Assuming we are not eaten by a remorhaz in the night."
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"You are just full of plesant thoughts, aren't you....."
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"I could fly out and try to catch them while using my spells to see." I spend ten minutes and cast a twinned phantasmal steed.
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"I could fly out and try to catch them while using my spells to see." I spend ten minutes and cast a twinned phantasmal steed.
Martine listens with a look of concern. "Master wizard, what you are proposing seems reckless. I have seen powerful magic route whole hosts of warriors, so I have no doubt that you can protect yourself. However, we don't know where the army has gone, how long ago they left or how fast they are moving. If you go the wrong way you could find yourself alone in a blizzard or blunder into some enemy you are unprepared to face. Can you not use your magic to avoid wandering the tundra or mountains?"
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"I can teleport back at the first sign of trouble. I can also try scrying, but I doubt Uscis or the war altar are able to be scryed. Otherwise, I can call upon Smofarf for guidance."
cough
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"I can teleport back at the first sign of trouble. I can also try scrying, but I doubt Uscis or the war altar are able to be scryed. Otherwise, I can call upon Smofarf for guidance."
cough
"I was not made responsible for your safety but as you are the heir's friends, retainer, advisor, what have you, I would prefer not to report on my first assignment that you flew into the frozen waste and was never seen again. I would prefer we knew a bit more before you left."
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After about an hour Sir Bartholomew finds the rest of you. "My Lord, Captian Fairday have been speaking with the officers. There is a great deal of confusion about how long it has been since the attack. Between being confined to the caves and that illusiory sky their sense of time is completely thrown off. Our estimation is that it has been at least a week since the attack, perhaps longer."
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"Can it be determined by the amount of food they have left?"
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"Can it be determined by the amount of food they have left?"
"An excelllent idea but no. They are too well provisioned for a week or two to make much of a change in the stores."
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"Are there any spellcasters that were casting the same spell every day?"
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"Are there any spellcasters that were casting the same spell every day?"
Sir Bartholomew leaves to check. Does anyone have anything to do while he is away?
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"Are we going to accompany the army to base?"
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"Are we going to accompany the army to base?"
"No, the army will break into its component legions and disperse. It will take several weeks for even those with the closest headquarters to return."
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"It may be time for a Commune with Smofarf."
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"It may be time for a Commune with Smofarf."
We can do that via email.
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"I am going to commune with my Lord Smofarf, are there any questions you would like me to ask?"
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What I learned from my commune:
- The chosen were not working with Uscis intentionally
- Uscis is not traveling alone
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- the leader of the elves Synoise Etch, has been replaced by an adapter
- the war altar is not moving towards any scaled elves
- there are no adapters left anywhere nearby
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- there are still adapters in Messada
- the war altar is heading towards Icefians
- the adapter Synoise is in command of the Scaled Elves
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- we have less than a week to find the war altar
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Are you sharing this information with the six of you that came together?
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I share it with Parker, Rubius, Martine, Bartholomew, and Robyn....oh wait, she's nearly dead, not her.
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I share it with Parker, Rubius, Martine, Bartholomew, and Robyn....oh wait, she's nearly dead, not her.
I should have said seven, I forgot Captain Fairday. You can assume Robyn is with Parker.
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I remembered her, I don't include her.
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Martine says: "What do you mean by heading towards Icefians? The altar could be headed anywhere on the continent."
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"It is heading towards a city, an Icefian one."
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"It is heading towards a city, an Icefian one."
Martine draws a crude map on the ground. "This is us, west of Degala and far northwest of Messada and Colonye. If they are marching day and night without rest they could reach the first two but not Colonye. If Degala is the target they could have reached it days ago. I suppose they could also besiege Mount Oneash but I doubt the enemy is that foolish or us that lucky.
Captain Fairday, assemble four squads of rangers and scouts, preferably men who have served with a Guardian unit. Send them out East, south and west. I want to have a definitive answer by the time we leave in the morning where the enemy moves. See if the clerics and wizards can speed their journey.
(turning to Asinjin and Parker) if you can aid them now is the time to speak up. If not we will need to send word to . . . Arion (?)."
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"Aid who, in doing what?"
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"Aid who, in doing what?"
The trackers
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"On a different note, I believe the coup in the elven lands was against Synoise, and it has failed."
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The trackers
"I cannot help them today."
I will try a Greater Dispel Magic on the Illusion. Rolled a 3, not good.
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"I cannot help them today."
I will try a Greater Dispel Magic on the Illusion. Rolled a 3, not good.
The trackers depart in three groups of ten.
The dispel has no effect.
If no one else posts tonight we will move on to the next day.
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"I can teleport several of us to the nearest city, and see what they have reported. Alert them to what is going on, and enlist more help."
cough
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The following morning dawns even colder than the day before and to the east a powerful storm can be seen coming over the mountains and moving slowly south.
Shortly after breakfast the scouts return. They are cold and exhausted. Some need a cleric before they can eat and report.
The scouts who went west report that the tracks to the west are old, probably the result of the legions coming and going. The track of the war altar may be a false trail, as it only goes few hundred yards or they just might have been keeping it out of the way for the infantry.
The scouts who went south and east report together. The whole body left to the east along the mountains but after only a few miles, at the first major stream, a sizeable force turned south and then looped back southwest. That force was joined by a smaller, faster moving host of infantry about five miles west of a line due south from our position.
The main body, with the altar following behind, was still headed east by southeast. There was no sign of camp or rest. If they continued on their track they would have passed far south of Degala, into the wasteland northeast of Mount Oneash.
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"What major cities are in it's path in that direction. We can probably assume that they will want to make a big spectacle out of this. Essentially trying to break the spirit of the nation in one fell swoop. Beyond that, how do we stop that thing? I know it has a.....power source, would removing that stop it? How is it controlled? Is it completely magical in nature? or does it have come clicker component to it?"
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"Can you tell how fast they are traveling, or were?"
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"What major cities are in it's path in that direction. We can probably assume that they will want to make a big spectacle out of this. Essentially trying to break the spirit of the nation in one fell swoop. Beyond that, how do we stop that thing? I know it has a.....power source, would removing that stop it? How is it controlled? Is it completely magical in nature? or does it have come clicker component to it?"
"If they pass between Degala and Oneash the only cities on that line are Messada and Colonye. There is no way to say how fast they are moving if they have not stopped. I know nothing of the workings of the Altar."
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"I can discern Uscis' location. That might work."
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"I can discern Uscis' location. That might work."
That has not worked in the past
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"Sir Grace, how powerful of a spell can you cast?"
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"Sir Grace, how powerful of a spell can you cast?"
"Only minor hearings and blessings I'm afraid."
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*sigh*
"I can summon an Anklelent to find it. But it will not go well for me. Unless anyone has any better thoughts, I will do it."
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*sigh*
"I can summon an Anklelent to find it. But it will not go well for me. Unless anyone has any better thoughts, I will do it."
Martine says: "By it, do you mean the Altar? As it appears to be with an army I am sure we can find it without placing you in jeopardy. When we return to the Castle word will be sent to Oneash and every shrine of Stasis along its anticipated path. We should find them within a day."
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"Okay, good."
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"Okay, good."
Sir Bartholomew says "Out of curiosity why would summoning an Ankelent be dangerous for you? Have you run afoul of the the celestial powers? You give the impression that you find them distasteful so I could see how that would happen."
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"You misread me. The friendly version of the spell, which I would use, is divine in nature. The arcane one I would not use, as it imprisons the creature. It is a powerful divine spell, however, and the casting of it would cost me my life energy. I significant amount of it..five times more than communing with my Lord Smofarf. That is what I meant."
cough
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After the report of the scouts, Martine and Fairday speak with the commanders of the legions for fifteen minutes. They then assemble you. Martine says: "Master wizard, I can only take the six of us back to the castle. It would be helpful if we took a handful of officers back to make a first hand report. How many could you safely teleport back?"
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"I can take myself and five with certainty, or myself and ten with near certainty."
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"I can take myself and five with certainty, or myself and ten with near certainty."
"You and five is sufficient unless you would rather use the less powerful spell."
Regardless of what you decide you all return to the Castle.
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What if anything do you do upon your return? It is now two days since you brought Arion to the castle. It is about half past ten in the morning. For Ari, you either returned late last night or early this morning.
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Ask if anything has changed and give Arian a report.
Parker scenting as we go.
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Rubius messages Emelda and asks if everything is OK back at The Vale. I ask if she noticed any strange goings on the last several days. I also tell her of what we've been through since I left and of the Altar.
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Rubius messages Emelda and asks if everything is OK back at The Vale. I ask if she noticed any strange goings on the last several days. I also tell her of what we've been through since I left and of the Altar.
Rubius addresses everyone who teleported back to the castle as well as King Arion: "My friends, I bring dire news from The Vale. I was attempting to check on my family when I was contacted by the Master Clerist, Anakova. The messages are as follows:
1) Rubius, if you have not heard already the Vale will be attacked in the next few days by fiends and undead.
2) All those that cannot fight, including your family, have been sent through the gate to Elysium where they are completely safe.
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"That is terrible news. Does anyone at the castle have more details?"
Asinjin tone is a deadpan as it can be, trying not to show in any way that he is happy the guardians base is under attack. He really isn't happy.
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Parker waits, after Asinjin is done speaking, for him to break into a jig of a fit of maniacal laughter
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It is bad news, really bad news, I am not happy, it is a terrible thing, undead are the bad guys, fiends are the bad guys, I don't want them to win...
Face drained of blood, mind deep in thought...
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"That is terrible news. Does anyone at the castle have more details?"
Asinjin tone is a deadpan as it can be, trying not to show in any way that he is happy the guardians base is under attack. He really isn't happy.
Arion springs up. "We must go to their aid. I will take as many men as we can spare!"
This pronouncement is met by concerned looks from most of those assembled. Martine looks particularly uncomfortable but it is King Oliver that breaks the silence. "Majesty, the council of ten knows their danger and ours. We must see to the safety of the Kingdom first and when we know our position we will send aid if we can."
All eyes turn to Asinjin and Thale. Oliver continues: "Can you find our enemies or tell us their plans?"
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Asinjin, who nearly feints when he hears Arion's initial proclamation, stabilizes after Oliver's statement.
"When we came here, I was told that it would not be difficult for the altar and its army to be located. If that is not the case, I can find it."
I ask Thale in dwarven, not to be secretive but to avoid interruption, "Are there any schools of magic you are not able to cast? I will not use Necromancy, and will only use illusions in the most dire of instances. I can Discern Location individuals, but Uscis cannot be found. I can Scrye, but I know few of our few personally and don't expect that to work. If they are near, say within a mile, they have no hope of avoiding my detection, or Ari's for that matter. I have spoken to Somfarf already this week, so I won't do that again. And also, do you speak any more exotic languages so we can better avoid being overheard?"
To the king, "Your Majesty, have you been told of what I learned about the Scaled Elven nation's state? The coup, the replaced Synoise, and such?"
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For Ari, you either returned late last night or early this morning.
Morning.
I share the news of the Vale with Arion as soon as I am able to gain an audience with Arion, sooner with Asinjin, Parker, and Rubius.
There is a horde of undead, numbering in the thousands, mostly zombies as I understand it, heading towards the Vale. They originate from Valleyhome. It is unknown who, if anyone, commands them, but this is clearly the work of Uscis or Marius. At their present pace, they will reach the Guardian Temple tomorrow.
On a positive note, the Guardians were successful in retrieving Marius' captives, with surprisingly little resistance. 46 in all. Which is more, I think, than we encountered in Marius Habololian lair. Strangely, there we no drow among those the Guardians recovered, which is puzzling since I seem to ecall there were several drow being held when we encountered the linnorm.
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Asinjin, who nearly feints when he hears Arion's initial proclamation, stabilizes after Oliver's statement.
"When we came here, I was told that it would not be difficult for the altar and its army to be located. If that is not the case, I can find it."
I ask Thale in dwarven, not to be secretive but to avoid interruption, "Are there any schools of magic you are not able to cast? I will not use Necromancy, and will only use illusions in the most dire of instances. I can Discern Location individuals, but Uscis cannot be found. I can Scrye, but I know few of our few personally and don't expect that to work. If they are near, say within a mile, they have no hope of avoiding my detection, or Ari's for that matter. I have spoken to Somfarf already this week, so I won't do that again. And also, do you speak any more exotic languages so we can better avoid being overheard?"
To the king, "Your Majesty, have you been told of what I learned about the Scaled Elven nation's state? The coup, the replaced Synoise, and such?"
Oliver responds: "If the juggernaut is on the move in the kingdom it will be spotted in a day or two and word likely would come a day or two after that. However, that may leave us little time to respond and if it is in hiding we will lose any chance to aid the Guardians. Time becomes a new enemy."
Thale whispers quickly back to you: "This is not appropriate at court. Necromancy and illusion, giant."
Arion says "Yes, lord Vanyar has informed me. Why do you think the coup failed?"
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Morning.
I share the news of the Vale with Arion as soon as I am able to gain an audience with Arion, sooner with Asinjin, Parker, and Rubius.
There is a horde of undead, numbering in the thousands, mostly zombies as I understand it, heading towards the Vale. They originate from Valleyhome. It is unknown who, if anyone, commands them, but this is clearly the work of Uscis or Marius. At their present pace, they will reach the Guardian Temple tomorrow.
On a positive note, the Guardians were successful in retrieving Marius' captives, with surprisingly little resistance. 46 in all. Which is more, I think, than we encountered in Marius Habololian lair. Strangely, there we no drow among those the Guardians recovered, which is puzzling since I seem to ecall there were several drow being held when we encountered the linnorm.
OOC: need to correct a piece of bad info that is the result of email communication. The undead army is coming from the northeast. There are Elven refugees coming from Valleyhope.
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Arion says "Yes, lord Vanyar has informed me. Why do you think the coup failed?"
"Your highness, if Synoise was in command, and remains in command, then I suspect that the adapters were able to put down the elves that realized things were amiss. I would say that the hierarchy of the elves, lead by Synoise, were too strong, especially backed by Marius, to be overcome. That is just my speculation."
cough cough
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Thale whispers quickly back to you: "This is not appropriate at court. Necromancy and illusion, giant."
Spoken back in giantish, "Quite right, my apologies, can we step out for a moment and discuss?"
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Spoken back in giantish, "Quite right, my apologies, can we step out for a moment and discuss?"
Thale says :With your permission, master Asnijin and I are going to excuse ourselves for a moment to see what we can come up with. I doubt there is any problem a dwarf and a desert elf cannot solve."
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Asinjin flashes a more rare smile at that comment.
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Asinjin flashes a more rare smile at that comment.
After you step away Thale says: "I am mostly a battle wizard and given these events I've memorized mostly combat spells and a few personal detection spells. The easiest thing might be to send people out in a wind walk to search."
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"Do we have access to the castle's spellbooks?"
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"Do we have access to the castle's spellbooks?"
"You are welcome to my books and lord Darpus sent for one of his yesterday. Other than that the largest collection in the castle is Falan's, which is of little use to either of us."
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"Neither of us can cast Wind Walk, so unless we can find a cleric to do it, out best method of getting scouts around is a Phantom Steed for each."
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"Neither of us can cast Wind Walk, so unless we can find a cleric to do it, out best method of getting scouts around is a Phantom Steed for each."
"I was thinking of having the Steward cast it not us. I've never been fond of phantom steeds but they might also work."
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"The Wind Walk is over twice as fast, but the Phantom Steed still get to nearly 25 miles per hour."
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Meanwhile.....back in the other room. Parker will find a moment to quietly talk to Arion or Leira.
"Your Majesty, might I suggest that your advisors and other members of your Court be tasked with finding out how to stop the Juggernaut that is heading our way. Your Generals command the army and will know best how to deal with that end of the battle. My concern is that if we do not figure out how to stop it, we will not prevail. This will give those who are currently standing idle, something to do. And it will get them used to taking and obeying your orders."
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Meanwhile.....back in the other room. Parker will find a moment to quietly talk to Arion or Leira.
"Your Majesty, might I suggest that your advisors and other members of your Court be tasked with finding out how to stop the Juggernaut that is heading our way. Your Generals command the army and will know best how to deal with that end of the battle. My concern is that if we do not figure out how to stop it, we will not prevail. This will give those who are currently standing idle, something to do. And it will get them used to taking and obeying your orders."
This elicits a confused look followed by "A what is headed our way?"
Presumably you explain what you know about the construct at which point Arion summons everyone back into the throne room and that is where we will start.
For Rubius there is 1800 xp, Asinjin 1350 and Parker 1000.