"Morning," Torinn greets the others, trying to cover a yawn. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes and tries to look alert and attentive.

"Is this bastard messing with our dreams now?"
Sureiya wakes up in a bad mood, so he doesn't go with Sid. Instead he looks around for Thelkra, maybe asking to the people he finds first.

"I think I should see Mr. Halvangh. There was a rather ominous dream," declares the shaman, though the spirit companion doesn't look too uneasy this time.

>>74621

Myn appears to have slept without issue whatsoever.

"I can hardly imagine a dream of good omens appearing in our situation, rather. We have those vicious underground beasts to look forward to."

>>74621
"You dreamed about an orc skull whispering things as well?"

>>74623
"Yes, something like that, though I wonder if you couldn't be to blame, dabbling in skulls," glares the shaman.

>>74624
"If collecting a couple skulls were all it took, nobody in Tymanther would sleep again," Torinn replies dryly. "Now if you're quite done insulting my customs, we should see Halvangh."

>>74625
The shaman frowns a bit. "You're going too?"

Regardless, the shaman does go to see Halvangh.

Last edited at 14/03/29(Sat)22:13:35

Maintaining his disinterest, Myn instead heads to see if Sid has completed his requested cloak of tentacle duration.

>>74626
"Absolutely," he replies, falling in step behind Bernkastel. "I have to return some things to him."

Myn arrives to find the door to Sid's workshop area locked, oddly. Presumably to prevent anyone from taking the items. He hears the faint sound of snoring from the inside.

Sureiya's questioning indicates that nobody has seen Thelkra yet this morning since she went to bed. Perhaps she's still in her quarters?

The shaman and paladin arrive to find Halvangh and Mardoc still sitting where they were the previous day, though the room is considerably less crowded, with only a few scattered groups still gathered around their tables. Halvangh smiles and holds up a hand in welcome as the two approach the table.

>>74630

Grabbing his imp, Myn smacks the door with the creature thoroughly in an attempt to generate noise.

The imp makes a lot more noise complaining and screeching than actually smacking the door with it does, though there's no response from inside, just a continued snoring sound. The act does elicit a few stares from some dwarves passing-by, however.

>>74632

Noting the futility, Myn ceases his assault on the door, taking a moment to wave at the dwarves with his imp-encumbered hand.

"My apologies for the racket. There was a fly on the door."

Cursing the waste of effort, Myn moves to rejoin the group with Halvangh.

>>74630
"Good morning," greets the shaman, taking an open seat.

>>74630
"Morning," Torinn greets, putting on his best not-tired look before he seats himself.

"Good morning! I trust you slept well?" Halvangh replies as Myn rejoins the rest of the group.

>>74636
"Some of us," remarks the shaman, glancing at Myn. "Did Mr. Halvangh and Mr. Mardoc not have any strange dreams?"

Last edited at 14/03/30(Sun)16:43:38

The two look to each other briefly, then look back at the ground and shake their heads. "Can't say I did." the orc shaman replies gruffly.

"Was your sleep not sound? What did you see?" the dragon-turned-human asks, cautiously curious.

>>74638
"The skull of an orc. Something whispering. I don't remember anything else."

>>74638
>>74639
"The same, though I'm not sure how we could tell it was an orc. If no one else had the dream, it's probably another ritual side-effect, but it seemed rather ominous and I wanted to ask if you could divine any further meaning."

"Skull of an orc..." Halvangh mutters, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That's not much to go on, to be quite honest."

Mardoc holds his hand up and says, "Projecting oneself into dreams would child's-play for a talented Many-Arrows shaman. However, if it was a skull you saw, it is likely this shaman is no longer among the living. Being unable to understand the speech and regarding it as whispers could indicate that his connection to you is faint, perhaps second-hand. Someone who's only heard of you, but has not met you. It could even be the Fell King himself, though by all accounts he still lives, so perhaps one of his servants? An undead orc, perhaps."

>>74641
"Sounds like somebody that would try to stop us. This must be his idea of a threat."

>>74641
"That... makes perfect sense," says the shaman, looking slightly awed. "But if the sender knew the connection is faint, why would they try to send a verbal message?"

Mardoc shifts uncomfortably. "I wouldn't begin to guess at the motives of the unliving. However, to retain such power through death, it's clearly no ordinary zombie or other such soulless husk, it must still be in possession of its own soul."

Halvangh nods, then adds, "Of course. To retain shamanistic power that it possessed in life, its soul must retain its connection to the spirits. It could not be twisted and perverse like a ghoul or ghast. It must be a more potent form of undead."

>>74644
"I see. Another of the Fell King's guardians, then?"

Insight because Mardoc.
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4451853/

>>74644
"So, a lich."

Bernkastel: You don't get much of a ready of anything from Mardoc. He seems calm and collected. You certainly sense no deceit in his words an actions.

"Possibly. That is a form of undead that is skeletal and free-willed," Halvangh points out. "And if true, you'd best be on guard. Liches are said to be extremely intelligent, and dangerously adept in magic."

Sureiya will find his way out to Thelkra's room and will knock on her door.

After asking a friendly dwarf who was just passing by, Sureiya doesn't find out much information on where Thelkra's room is. On the other hand, he does eventually manage to question someone who knows the answer, and after knocking, she opens it after a few moments.

"Oh, hey," Thelkra says, looking a bit uncomfortable. "I'm gettin' prepped to head out now. What's up?"

Sureiya places one of his hands behind his head and complains a little.
"Well you heard all the juicy details about our own mission, so you should tell us about yours."

"Like I said before, I'm going after miss Cragmaul," Thelkra huffs. "I'll be going in with the second wave, and once we've located his hideout, I'm gonna be scouting around for entrances. If I can manage it, I'm slippin' in and gonna do as much recon as possible, and spring our leader."

"I guess she did mention it..."
"Well, just make sure to come back safe, or all that recon will go to waste" remarks Sureiya a little worried. "And well, we have plenty people to rescue already eh" adds the ranger, trying to cheer her up a litte.

>>74646
>>74647
? "Could someone explain what a lich is?"

Thelkra's face softens a bit as she replies, "Yeah, yeah, I'll be careful. You guys make sure yer careful too now, ya'hear?"

"A lich is a powerful spellcaster who, through unsavory arcane ritualistic magic, is given a twisted form of unlife," Halvangh explains to the shaman. "Unlike many forms of undeath, in this form the spellcaster retains the powers and memories of its past life, and often even becomes stronger. A lich is effectively immortal unless its 'phylactery' is destroyed, which is an object which holds the being's soul--even if the lich's body is destroyed, it will regenerate after a time as long as its phylactery remains intact."

"That might a little hard, I had an ominous dream last night, but it wouldn't be any fun other way" says Sureiya as he leaves, now looking for the rest.

>>74654
Torinn wasn't really aware of the phylactery thing. The idea that the creature can come back whenever is troubling. "So how hard is it to track down a phylactery?"

"Just take care of yerself, okay?" Thelkra replies, pointing at Sureiya. "I know yer in deep with this now. Strange dreams, this guy, possibly my father, after ya and yer families... and this is something I need to see through too. We all need to watch each others' backs if we're to come out in one piece."

"Liches tend to hid their phylacteries well," Halvangh elaborates. "Most of the more powerful and long-lived take steps to protect their phylacteries from divination and the like."

>>74657
"... And we were ordered to let no scouts escape, so we'll have to hunt for this soul-thing?"

The shaman fears the worst. "Is there at least a radius limit? Anything to narrow it down?"

Mardoc scratches his head and notes, "I think right now we should focus on destroying the lich's body and worry about whether or not it regenerates later."

"As far as I know, there is no range. The phylactery need not even be on the same plane," Halvangh says, shrugging. "If the lich is destroyed, however, hopefully it will be out of action long enough for the battle to be decided."

The ranger gets into the room where the rest are and manages to hear some liches nonsense.
"...so, what did I miss?"

>>74659
"Well if it doesn't take the first time, we'll just have to beat him back into the ground again."

After patiently waiting some time for the adventurers present to answer Sureiya's question, Halvangh does in their place, "We were discussing the possibility of your dream-vision being connected to an intelligent undead spellcaster that may be nearby, and aware of your presence here."

"Eh, I had some sort of dream as well. So it was a threat? That isn't stopping us.
Well, it seems everyone's busy here. Are we leaving yet?"

Myn wonders briefly if an opportunity to compare notes with the lich will arise. He flicks the book imp to get its attention.

Impspeech:"You may as well take this opportunity to be useful and offer some insight."

Last edited at 14/04/03(Thu)12:36:25

"Eh, wot?" the imp replies, being jerked out of its daze by Myn's insistent flicking. "Liches? Yeah, what they said. Lichs like to do things like bury their phylacteries deep underground or put 'em in some big extraplanar fortress." With a gesture, the imp calls its book back to its hands and idly flips through the pages, adding, "In the rare cases where a lich acts subservient to another being, it's often the case that their master will hold onto the phylactery as insurance, as liches often prove difficult to control, as powerful as they are. Of course, destroying the phylactery has no effect unless the lich's body is also destroyed."

>>74665

As a reward, Myn reduces the force behind his next flick.

"According to this thing, the Fell King may be controlling the lich by holding its phylactery hostage. That would hardly ease our task in destroying it, of course."

"Getting rid of it would be a waste, anyways."

Completely unaware of what a 'phylactery' is, the ranger rushes the party to get ready.
"Then we will able to find that phylac thing after we raid the Fell King's fortress or whatever. Anyway, has anyone seen Sid?."

>>74667

"He appeared to be in a sleep similar to death when I checked on him a short while ago."

>>74663
>>74667
"Geez, this could be important. Could you wait a bit?"

>>74666
"I see. I think we can't discount the possibility the Fell King has also hidden it somewhere."

The shaman looks to be in thought for a few moments, with both spirits present now. Eventually, though, she looks up to address the group.

"... If the lich doesn't regenerate where it was destroyed, then we may need to capture the lich's physical body. Maybe some of the experts here could prepare such a ritual? I do think disabling the Fell King's lieutenants so we don't have to deal with it again in a crucial point in the battle is worth the attempt."

Then she looks around for opinions.

Last edited at 14/04/04(Fri)21:02:00

>>74669

"I would think it easier said than done. Upon impending capture, the lich would lose little if it were to take its own life. Perhaps reaching the Fell King before it regenerates would be more viable."

>>74670
"We could keep it a secret until we've disabled the lich, I think. If it somehow kills itself anyway, we would go back to the original plan."

Last edited at 14/04/04(Fri)23:25:51

>>74671

"I suppose the issue is the containment method after all, then."

Myn appears neutral to the plan.

"Holding a lich against its will... is no easy task," Halvangh replies evenly and hesitantly.

"Yeah, destroying it would be enough to take it out of the fight. We don't really need to worry that much about it regenerating," Mardoc snorts, expressing clear disapproval. "If it's even here, that is. I may be a believer in visions, but these things are rarely straight-forward and can sometimes deceive. We do have other important things to handle, you know."

"The various troops need the aid of we ritual casters to allow for quick communication between the various groups," the disguised dragon explains. "If you have a plan, perhaps--perhaps we could teleport the lich to a binding circle of some sort. It would still need to be restrained, and it's not as simple as knocking it unconscious. It also possesses potent magic as a spellcaster. I must admit, it sounds... impractical, at best."

Even though the ranger would rather depart soon, the idea of fighting the same opponent more than once doesn't sound very appealing to him.
"You haven't seen how strong the Fell King minions are. If there's a chance to bind that bastard then let's give it a try."

>>74673
"So does sending us against an enemy of unknown power who controls powerful servants, but that's not going to stop us. What do we need to do?"

"Your rate of success in confronting these powerful enemies is rather good so far..." Halvangh replies, then tilts his head and considers. "This would be more Elayne's forte than ours. I could certainly whip something up, but her input would be valuable. I wonder where she is now?"

"I haven't seen her since yesterday, but I believe Bernkastel and Myn followed her" the ranger replies.

>>74677
That was also yesterday, you know. "She was in her room, but she may take some convincing. Maybe someone better with words?"

Last edited at 14/04/08(Tue)19:16:20

>>74678
I think they mean me.
"I'll see what I can do. Could you show me to her room?"

Despite Myn being the best at words and also knowing the location, he's reluctant to go anywhere alone with the decapitating psychopath. He gestures in the general direction of the room.

"We may as well go together. There's little sense in us relaying the information secondhand."

Halvangh and Mardoc elect to remain behind, but the rest of the group accompanies Torinn and Myn. When the party arrives at Elayne's quarters, they find the room unresponsive to attempts to get the attention of whoever is inside. The door also appears unlocked.

>>74681
Torinn knocks three times. "Miss Elayne?" After getting no answer, Torinn pushes the door open.

The room is rather spartan, with a simple bed, some cabinets, a wooden chest, and other comfort-oriented furnishings. Elayne doesn't appear to have left many of her personal items laying around, and the eladrin herself also does not appear to be present.

>>74683
"Okay, she's not here. Anybody have an idea where she might have gone?"

>>74684
The shaman shakes her head. "Maybe someone saw where she went."

Not very sure of what's going on, the ranger goes on and asks around for the Eladrin.
Streetwise to look for Elayne: 17 http://orokos.com/roll/181395

Sureiya is unable to locate anyone nearby who is able to claim they have seen Elayne, though one mentions off-hand that she heard the door open at some point in the night.

Application of dashing good looks is necessary for effective information gathering.

Streetwise check for Elayne detection:http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4465232/

Repeated questioning of certain individuals about Elayne has clearly put them off, and all that Myn is able to pick up that Sureiya did not is that nobody has seen anybody other than the adventurers entering or leaving Elayne's room since last night.

Unaware that Myn was asking around, the ranger goes back with Halvang, expecting to find the rest there.
"Elayne is nowhere to be found, people didn't see her either, apparently."

Last edited at 14/04/12(Sat)11:41:35

Sureiya returns to Halvangh with the rest of the party following, and the disguised dragon's expression twists into one of concern as the half-orc delivers the news. "Oh, my. She was rather distraught... I do hope she hasn't done anything rash."

At that moment, Sid bursts into the room and half-runs, half-stumbles over the table, his eyes still looking slightly glazed-over from fatigue but clearly panicked about something. "Adventurers, adventurers! Great googly-moogily, it's terrbile!" At this point, the gnome pauses to catch his breath, and attempts to shake the drowsiness away. "The leyline tracer, and our copy of the ritual scroll! The one we were to use to seal the leyline, they've gone missing!"

Mardoc's face darkens, and Halvangh goes pale, adding, "You don't think..."

The orc shaman shakes his head angrily, and announces, "Elayne. I'm afraid her guilt may have overcome her reason."

>>74691
Shit.
"We have to go after her. She's going to get herself killed."
Easier said than done, though. We don't know where she went without the tracker.

"...Darn, she might have left long ago, will how will it take you to make us another copy of the ritual?"

"I made another copy of the ritual scroll already," Mardoc says, waving his hand dismissively. "I planned to take it back to Many-Arrows to have it studied more thoroughly, but under the circumstances, I will grant it to you."

"It's settled, then," a voice calls out from behind the ground. Turning around, you see for the first time in a long time, the grand duke of Baldur's Gate. Prestor is dressed in silvered armor that appears almost ceremonial instead of his usual flamboyant purple robe, and carries a jeweled scepter at his side. His arms are crossed, and he is flanked by two hulking individuals--guard captain Highwind, and a certain mean-looking orc that some of you may recognize as Kraag Bloodspire, the orcish warrior who accompanied Mardoc from Many-Arrows.

Despite the presence of these two clearly stronger individuals, it is the duke's presence that seems to dominate the gathering. As he stands in the middle of the gathering, his arms folded and his face calm, he seems to emanate an aura of command. He says, "The mission parameters have changed, but your destination is overall the same. Elayne no doubt means to perform the ritual herself, rather than have you do so on her behalf. One of my sources has overheard what has happened to you in the service of Arcanimus, and on the behalf of Baldur's Gate, you have my sincere apologies for having been mixed up in this." Prestor takes a deep breath, then continues, "And yet, it seems this makes the task concern you more than ever. Our eladrin caster is in danger. Captain Highwind, I leave coordinating the details to you."

The dragonborn nods to the duke, then faces you with a grave expression, and addresses the group in a concerned tone, "With a new copy of the ritual scroll, what we need is another leyline tracker. Sid, do you have another?"

"No--well, actually, yes!" Sid's face seems to brighten momentarily, then immediately falls into concern, "B-but--it's the prototype. I never intended for it to be used by anyone else! It's rather clunky and difficult to use, and will probably require constant maintenance--"

"Then you shall accompany the adventurers for this task," captain Highwind says simply.

Halvangh raises a hand, then interjects, "Without Elayne, we're short a ritual caster, and if Sid leaves, we'll be down two! For our plans to work, we need precise coordination between the units, and ritual casting is essential for quick communication between the various field units."

Aghanim and Samel immediately volunteer for this task. Captain Highwind nods approvingly, and the duke fixes his gaze back onto the group, "Then it is settled. Take what preparations and precautions you deem necessary, and when you are ready to head out, inform captain Highwind."

>>74694
Torinn welcomes Sid to their group with a firm handshake and some encouraging words, then mentions he'll need a few minutes alone.

Go somewhere private

"He's coming with us? Sid's really skilled but I wonder if he's used to combat."
As the ranger ponders about Sid's abilities, he talks a little with Samel and asks him to keep an eye on the people here.

Torinn returns to his quarters in order to be alone.

"Prestor eh? he sure looks fancy with those expensive toys."
"...Hey Sid, are our enchantments done? I think we should depart soon if we want to catch up with Elayne."

>>74694
...

"...Well, he did tell us to take precautions... Catching up to Ms. Elayne is most likely a doomed effort. Is there room to try and contact her while preparing the lich-bind?"

Holding question until duke leaves.

Last edited at 14/04/13(Sun)22:48:11

Samel acknowledges Sureiya's concern and assures him that the cleric is up to the task.

Halvangh looks concerned as he turns his gaze to meet "Bernkastel," but it is Mardoc who replies, "Halvangh can work on that binding ritual you wanna cook up. I can try to contact Elayne, though I doubt I can do much to change her mind."

Satisfied that there are no further questions, the duke and the guard captain leave, though Kraag Bloodspire remains, taking up a position near high shaman Mardoc.

"Forget about it, there's no time for that. The ritual isn't a bad idea but Elayne comes first, I'm sure Highwind will agree."

"I-I-the enchantments are ready! It's all finished, I can just grab my gear and I'll be ready to go!" Sid stammers and, without waiting for a reply, he bounds off to the workshop area to gather his things.

>>74701
"If you really insist, then I'll agree, but only if Ms. Elayne responds to Mr. Mardoc. Otherwise, I think preparing the ritual is worth the time."

In the meantime, preparing equipment.

Last edited at 14/04/13(Sun)23:25:59

As the adventurers begin their own preparations, Halvangh begins to research a way to bind a lich, and Mardoc performs a Sending ritual. After a brief conversation, he reports, "Elayne tells me that she has nearly reached the leyline, and is going to perform the ritual herself. That much we presumed. She's not coming back until that's done." The orc shakes his head, then adds, "Look, if it's the Fell King's minions she encounters, she frankly has a higher chance of survival than most of the other denizens of the Underdark. But still, I think it's imperative that we reach her soon. If the Fell King gets wind of what we're trying to do, and especially if he gets that scroll in Elayne's possession, it'll most likely make what we're attempting impossible."

"Well, if Sid is ready then we should leave now" says Sureiya, then he faces the shaman and adds "let's move."

Insight http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4468608/

Insight: Bernkastel senses a lot of frustration in Mardoc, but no duplicity.

It's about time Sid returns, and you see him for the first time with a crossbow strapped to his back (small-sized for you, though of appropriate size for him). He nods to the group and joins them.

Alone with his thoughts, Torinn thinks about the future. His resolve hasn't faltered, but resolve needs to be matched with strength. For the first time in a long time, he gets on his knees and prays.

"Mighty Platinum Dragon, please watch over us as we bring light to the darkness."

Torinn feels a familiar presence acknowledge his plea, and fills him with a sense of encouragement and favor.

Myn is reasonably pleased that someone finally took initiative to try to do his work for him.

"With our early departure, I assume the ritual to detain the lich will not be prepared in time. Is there someone capable of delivering it to us when it's completed?"

With his faith reassured, Torinn seeks out Sid to acquire his new things.

"I will have captain Highwind assign one of his best couriers to the task, as researching the ritual and making certain it will work could take some time," replies Halvangh.

Once Torinn returns, Sid hastily pulls the party's magical items from his cloak of many-pockets, and distributes them amongst the group.

Torinn thanks Sid and takes his newly made helmet... and stows it away. "Not the sort of thing to be worn indoors or in polite company," he explains.

>>74710
>>74712
Well, as long as it gets to us.

"If everyone is geared, we could report for duty now."

Ready, I think?

The group assembles, such as they are, and the now-five head down the corridors after Captain Highwind. He isn't too hard to find, as he is giving orders to a few dwarves assembled in front of him. Once he finishes, he turns to face the group. "If you're ready, keep following this tunnel to the north until you reach the first intersection. Head east, and you'll meet with captain Thunderbarrel. He's overseeing operations in the eastern tunnels, and you'll be heading out over there, away from the main push in the north."

Heading down the tunnel, you eventually enter into a much wider cavern area that is apparently outside the hall itself, as the floor and walls here are much more roughly hewn and seem to open into a natural cave system. A series of ramparts and a few scattered armored dwarves are the only signs of civilization out here.

The dwarf captain addresses you with a nod, and Sid begins to tinker with the device in his hands that you assume is the leyline finder as he speaks, "Ah wish ye luck, 'venturers. These tunnels 're mostly untam'd beyond this point, so thar's not tellin' what ye'll be encounterin'."

>>74715
Torinn tries to be reassuring, stating, "You can count on us."

>>74715
Just to make sure, the shaman mentions the delivery to the captain. "When Mr. Halvangh asks, he will need a courier well-versed with the underdark to reach us safely, so we can capture a Fell King officer."

I'll take note of anything Highwind needs us to do for the delivery to happen.

Last edited at 14/04/16(Wed)16:19:54

Captain Highwind acknowledges the shaman's statement, and the party continues on.

Though the immediate area is illuminated, as you progress deeper into the narrowing cavern, the lights of the dwarven halls begin to fade. It is dark ahead, and none of you possess the power to see in the dark.

I need a marching order and it'd probably be a good idea for someone to provide a light source.