>>76344
Torinn answers without hesitation or irony."I have absolute faith in our abilities," he says. "Give us this test, I am not afraid."

"Uhh.."
"Yes, we're" the ranger exclaims, as confidently he can, however he throws an awkward glance to the paladin.

The dragon regards the group with eyes that appear solid white and devoid of any emotion. It gives a very human-like nod before continuing, "You needn't fear. I know nearly none among you can be called devout. Regardless, each of you is a child of the gods, and there is more at stake here than any player on the field could imagine."

As the mithral dragon gestures with one of its forelegs, the mist seems to coil around a claw as it continues, "Therefore the first act of faith I must entrust to you is this. You must confront the Fell King. The destiny that plays out for each of you and for the Fell King himself deeply intertwined with that of Faerûn itself.

Steel yourselves. Though you face betrayal in the near future, you must have faith at this juncture. Few things are as they seem, and yet the outcome of this contest rests entirely within your hands."

At this point the dragon pauses, as though waiting for response.

>>76347
"Okay, I will," replies the shaman.

"Then, perhaps you can enlighten us on the source of this 'betrayal'."

"That's what we have come here for" Sureiya replies, paying little mind to the betrayal thing.

The dragon waves a claw dismissively in response to the genasi's inquiry. "That is not my purpose. You must maintain faith in your allies--they cannot fulfill their destiny without you, and you cannot accomplish your own goals without them--even those unrelated to this, for all of these events are more connected than any of us could possibly comprehend."

It considers for a moment, then takes on a very serious tone as it says, "Again, it is a matter of faith. To tell you more would be to undermine that faith. And you require all that you can muster now."

>>76351
"As I said, I have faith in us. All of us." Torinn pounds his breastplate for emphasis.

The dragon fixes its eyes on Torinn, and gives a small smile. "That is well. Your patron has much faith in you as well. Stay true to your path and you shall accomplish great things."

Ramuh considers this, and then decides to hold his peace. All would be revealed in due time, then.

"This confrontation with the Fell King... does it necessitate a clash of arms?" he instead inquires.

Myn elects to maintain a lack of faith in gods and fates.

"While your guidance is well-received, is this all your trial would enact from us, dragon?"

"All I can tell you that the Fell King will not be easily swayed," the mithral dragon-spirit replies, facing Ramuh. "And yet, while further conflict seems inevitable, I would say that a final resolution cannot be bought by the shedding of blood."

In addition, the dragon abruptly turns on Myn with narrowed eyes. "Indeed, you have my blessing. And yet your faith will continue to be tested in the trials ahead. Valangoraza awaits your arrival."

"One question yet remains...

Before we came here, we discovered a presence tapping into the scrying pools here. Would that be one of you?"

"That... clairvoyance has its limits," the dragon-spirit replies, a bit sheepishly. "I see many things through the mists of time, yet whatever black presence I felt some time ago, when you fought at the scrying pool, it was shielded from my sight."

So utterly useless.

"I see. The Fell King?"

The dragon-spirit appears thoughtful. "I prefer not to dwell so much on the past; the future is constantly in motion, and it requires great concentration to make sense of the visions I receive. And yet if it was merely the Fell King who had taken notice, I feel my vision would not be so clouded when it comes to the fate of that one."

"Hmm, we better move on, then. It seems we will have to deal with this betrayal when it happens" the ranger says, while motioning the rest of the group to leave as well.

Ramuh shrugs, mentally writing the dragon off as utterly unhelpful. At least it seems unlikely the Fell King spied on them, indicating there was still an unknown variable in play.

>>76361
The shaman follows Sureiya outside.

The dragon watches you depart, and you move south through the hallway. The door to the southern room is quite similar to the doors to the other dragon rooms, though the wood appears to be a slightly darker shade.

Sureiya contemplates the door in front of him and turns back to see his comrades.
"So, this is must be where this Valangoraza must be. You guys ready to get in?"

>>76365
In response, the shaman opens the door with Mage Hand.

The mage hand is unable to exert enough force to open the heavy door.

>>76367
"Open it already."

When the door is opened, the room beyond is quite different than the other rooms in shape. It is mostly empty, and a low, thin mist clings to the floor. It does not obscure much, however, and in the center of the room is an enormous metallic spire that vaguely resembles a throne, and an enormous translucent dragon with golden scales is coiled around it. Its wings are more flaps or ridges that extend all the way down its tail as they taper off, and it regard the group with glowing white eyes.

"You have finally come," it announces as it looks through the doorway at the group of adventurers. Thelkra, Thalwynn Cragmaul, and Kraag remain quite far back and out of sight.

>>76369
The shaman's smaller spirit companion remains with the stay-outside trio.

"Hello."

Perception (29) http://orokos.com/roll/263101
Assuming nothing looks suspicious, enter the room.

Last edited at 15/03/11(Wed)21:36:20

The shaman doesn't see or hear anything hidden, at least. The scene is definitely "out of the ordinary," but it seems obvious enough. "Enter, the six who seek my blessing. I am to understand you have obtained the blessing of the other three?"

"Here we are" the ranger says, after getting inside of the room "and yes, the other 3 spirits have accepted to help us."

Myn enters, wondering what trivial trial awaits.

The dragon waves a claw almost dismissively as it says, "No, no, you have already completed the Test of Loyalty. Therefore, the blessing is a mere formality."

Lunging forward off of the spire, the dragon appears before you, spreading its wings in all its majesty as it says, "Meet the four of us back in the Grand Hall, in the center of the keep. We will grant you access to what you need therein."

"...Have we?" the ranger asks, a little confused.
"Well, I'm not going to argue back, let's move to the Hall, then."

The dragon nods, then replies in a cordial tone, "To be more specific, you looked to the safety of your friend ahead of your overall objective. I can see that your group has a bond of loyalty with her--perhaps some of you more than others, but a bond nonetheless. And thus, you pass."

>>76376
Really? How is this test normally administered? "I have no complaints. Thank you for your blessing."

I'll leave the room with the others when/if the others are fine with it.

Ramuh recognises an easy success when he sees one, and he's looking at one right now.

The group heads back towards the foyer. Upon entering the upper level, you can see quite clearly looking down that the four dragon spirits are gathered on the level below, standing roughly in a cross-shaped pattern about ten feet from each other. They are all facing each other, and in the center of the gathering is a faint, shimmering ribbon of energy that appears to be slowly whirling in a circular pattern.

>>76379
The shaman walks downstairs. "There's something I want to ask," she says to the dragons.

The dragons seem rather focused on what they are doing, but Kalaidesczar the mithral dragon replies despite being clearly strained by its efforts. "Ask."

>>76381
"Aside from the Fell King and the stalker from the scrying pool, has anyone else been interested in knowing what we're doing?"

The mithral dragon considers the question. "I am unsure as to what you mean. Aside from any allies you might have informed of your task here? I would not know."

>>76383
"It felt like someone's been keenly aware of the things we've been doing. When our families were threatened, someone took action long before the news could reach anyone beyond us. And someone knew to find and save Ms. Thelkra from a trap between the time we learned about it and the time we went to the dungeon."

"Curious. I saw nothing of such events, but it would seem as though you have some sort of guardian angel looking over you," the dragon-spirit replies, even as another ribbon of magical energy begins to form in the middle of the dragons, spinning in the opposite direction of the pre-existing one. "Or perhaps a guardian devil. Let me offer this much."

With some effort, Kalaidesczar turns his head to face the shaman. "The Fell King's actions have attracted a great deal of attention both here, in Faerûn, and beyond. The Fell King has built up a strong power base in a rather short time because of his connection to the elemental leyline, and is perhaps the first being to truly understand how to best utilize their immense power. Those who have learned of this may seek to harness that power for themselves, but many would be hesitant to act openly against him, for fear of attracting attention from their own enemies and possibly alerting them to what they have found. I would look to those who have learned of the Fell King's power through your own actions. Those would be the most likely to be invested in your success here."


Straining for another moment, the whirling ribbons of energy take form as what appears to be a swirling whirlpool of energy about ten feet in diameter, lined by the two pairs of energy ribbons, which continually shift their position slightly. All of the dragon-spirits seem to heave forward briefly, as if relieved of their efforts. "There. Those who have our blessing will be able to use this to teleport to the lift, which is currently at the Thrones of Elements. Smash the thrones and the elemental power within will empower the lift."

Thelkra, Thalwynn, and Kraag enter the foyer a bit behind the group, and begin to descend the stairs. Thelkra looks quite nervous when the gaze of the adamantine and gold dragons turns to them, though Thalwynn just looks defiant while Kraag appears confident. "If you want your untested allies to join you, they can use our enchantment as well--but only after the thrones are destroyed. The thrones are what lock out those without our blessing."

>>76385
That's a lot of suspects. But "Thrones? The ugly ones from the leylines?"

The silver dragon-spirit tilts its head at the question. "From the leylines?" He turns to his companion dragon-spirits, and the adamantine and gold dragons shake their heads. The mithral dragon doesn't seem to respond, and the silver dragon turns back to you before explaining, "I'm not sure what you refer to, but the Thrones of Elements are symbols of a pact the Fell King made with some powerful elemental guardians. Normally, they would ultimately activate the lift for those the Fell King admitted, through their thrones. Luckily for us, those guardians were defeated, so destroying the thrones should be sufficient to unleash the elemental power they contain."

Gallard lets loose a mocking laugh from the shaman's pack. "Yess... and you should hurry, 'heroes'. The spell you have used to bind me is weakening... and the proximity to the thrones is making it weaken faster..."

>>76387
"Yes, those guardians had weird-looking thrones with them that disappeared when they engaged," replies the shaman, putting Gallard in her bag of holding.

"I don't suppose it would be possible to swiftly administer the trials to the remainder of our group and have them accompany us?"

"We don't have time for that," the adamantine dragon replies with a bit of annoyance. "Especially if they were to fail..."

Thelkra seems to be keeping her distance. "I think ya should just go smash those thrones... no big deal, right? We'll follow right behind ya."

The shaman thinks to herself, looking over her notes, then speaks quietly. "As for those who learned about the Fell King but did not want to make him public, a couple people come to mind: Ms. Thalwynn Cragmaul and Mr. Grand Duke Daval Prestor. Though, Ms. Cragmaul just wanted to keep it from Mr. Prestor. Was there a reason other than the given one, Ms. Cragmaul?"

Last edited at 15/03/14(Sat)19:36:02

Thalwynn shakes her head. "Nae. Ah just din't wanna get tha nobles involved. Hoped we could solve tha prooblem 'fore it escalat'd ta... well, this," she says, gesturing.

Sureiya glances at Gallard, but ends up ignoring him. "Crazy guy."
"I remember the thrones. Well, let's get moving."

>>76394