Albrecht and Nikolai tell Siran about the attack in the cave on the steppes. Boris, Sven, and Vasily are recaptured and tortured further. Albrecht and Nikolai are attacked by the mysterious stranger and dispatch him, with Siran's help. Siran helps free the rest of the party, on condition that they get information about Kiev for her. The party reaches Kiev and begins to investigate the message from Danil & Anastas. They determine that the letter has a magically hidden message in it.
<<< root has joined >>>
<<< 08:04:23 PM >>>
root: hey, I'm firing up the other computer that lets me
change my name.
root: we are playing tonight, right?
Albrecht: aye
DM of Gaia: We are
DM of Gaia: Just waiting for...
root: ok
DM of Gaia: Ian... and Oliver
Albrecht: ian and I are doing last pens boss
Albrecht: be a couple minutes
<<< jflynn has joined >>>
<<< 08:06:44 PM >>>
<<< jflynn is now known as Boris >>>
Boris: I've just been too damned lazy to fix this laptop.
Boris: where lazy = unmotivated
<<< #143 has joined >>>
<<< 08:08:10 PM >>>
root: is Granger joining us?
<<< #143 is now known as Vasily >>>
Albrecht: I believe Svenlol is
root: or is he busy at this dragon thing I keep hearing about
Vasily: yar
Nikolai: k
Nikolai: we are kerdone
DM of Da: Spectacular
Nikolai: and I suppose we need a svenlol
DM of Da: Yes
<<< Nikolai has joined >>>
<<< 08:09:46 PM >>>
<<< Nikolai is now known as WtfSven >>>
Nikolai: k
DM of Da: Haha
DM of Da: Ok
Nikolai: here, ready to go, but going to fetch teh foods
DM of Da: So
Nikolai: brb
DM of Da: Does anyone have any
DM of Da: Questions
DM of Da: Or:
DM of Da: Comments
Vasily: I
Boris: insert generic xp demands here
Vasily: believe
Vasily: not.
DM of Da: XP demands have been taken into account
DM of Da: Anything else?
Vasily: wtfgobbos?
DM of Da: Hm?
Vasily: how much human could a gobbo bob if a gobbo could gob
humans?
Albrecht: Question: What do I want for dinner?
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Whatever
Boris: beef
Boris: it's what's for dinner
DM of Da: Let's get a recap of where we ended
DM of Da: Adam
DM of Da: Recap the Albrecht/Nikolai side
DM of Da: And then
DM of Da: Flynn
Albrecht: comment. I just found your glasses. They were in the
sofa.
DM of Da: Recap the Boris/Vasily/Sven side
DM of Da: Oh in the sofa
DM of Da: LOL
Albrecht: Recap: Gagarin does all the damage ever.
Albrecht: I mean...
DM of Da: :P
<<< DM has joined >>>
<<< 08:13:13 PM >>>
Albrecht: Recap: Siran allowed Albrecht and Nikolai to recover
their equipment, then rest.
Albrecht: She then tested us by putting us into an encounter that
would have challenged the party, and barely avoided my death in ending
it.
Nikolai: yep
Albrecht: We noted that the box was missing from our equipment
stash.
Nikolai: and here I was hoping for character #3
Albrecht: Siran then informed us that some sort of stealthy killer
was loose in Nightscree.
DM of Da: Yep
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Flynn
DM of Da: Your side please
Boris: Recap - Sven was tortured in some way, unbeknownst to
Boris and Vasily, nut knowenst to us, that involved MORE questions about
politics. Sven was then returned to us, and we made a jail break using
Vasily's talents. The Greeks followed us. We found some more captives
while running around, I think they are following us and they believe us
to be with the Kiev gaurd
DM of Da: Oh pre-typed, very nice
Boris: also we killed a bunch of Goblins
DM of Da: You sure did
Boris: was typing dring th eother recap 0=)
DM of Da: And at the end, you followed the twisting tunnels of the
goblin stronghold into an immense, many-tiered cavern
Boris: um...i believe we ended in the middle of said cavern
Boris: utterly surrounded
DM of Da: Well not so much middle
Boris: and perhaps making will saves to not crap pants
DM of Da: The tunnel opened onto one of the upper tiers, and yes,
you were surrounded by goblins
DM of Da: So that's where we're going to resume
DM of Da: You (Boris, Sven, Vasily, the Byzantine soldier Ariston,
the merchant captain Heracles, and some of his sailors) have exited a
tunnel opening
Vasily: (and 2 dudes)
DM of Da: (which 2 dudes)
Vasily: (the comic relief we picked up on our way)
DM of Da: (oh yes)
DM of Da: (two random dudes)
Vasily: (rosencrantz and guildenstern)
Vasily: -u
Boris: nice names
Nikolai: so
Nikolai: how's that resumption working out
DM of Da: You find yourself on a wide, flat ledge, one of many
such ledges that run along the outer edge of the cavern and are arranged
like a massive amphitheater
Vasily: Oooh. It's the imperial senate!
DM of Da: There are many tents of various size set up on these
ledges
Boris: you're going to hate e for this...but brb. I'll send
Oliver my char sheet
DM of Da: And the tents near you begin disgorging goblin warriors
DM of Da: And the occasional goblin cleric
Vasily: we.. were being stealthy about our entrance you know.
DM of Da: Sure but there's only so much stealthiness that can
happen when you have a bunch of people moving through a narrow cave
tunnel
DM of Da: opening
Vasily: Fair enough.
DM of Da: You exit, you're seen
DM of Da: The goblins move forward to surround you on all sides,
aiming crossbows in your direction, but do not fire
Vasily: Pardon me... you might be able to help...
Vasily: which way to the water closet?
DM of Da: The clerics yell orders, and several goblins run off,
around the ledge and also up and down narrow steps to the ones above and
below, alerting other goblins
Vasily: We seem to have gotten turned around in these tunnels.
DM of Da: The goblins ignore you, waiting with raised crossbows
*** WtfSven is a druid
DM of Da: There are now dozens of goblins surrounding you in a
wide semicircle
<<< Ariston has joined >>>
<<< 08:23:49 PM >>>
<<< Heracles has joined >>>
<<< 08:23:55 PM >>>
*** Heracles whispers from behind you
Vasily: It seems like we took a wrong turn back there...
Heracles: You're telling me this is better than our cell?
DM of Da: The goblins continue to ignore you
Vasily: Of course.
DM of Da: One of the clerics yells out in thickly accented Russian
Vasily: I'm rather claustrophobic you see...
DM of Da: "No move. Stay."
*** Ariston whispers back to Heracles
Ariston: Be silent and consider that I am closer to you than
those goblins, because if you continue making useless comments, I will
kill you myself.
DM of Da: The random cleric yells out again
DM of Da: "Drop weapons.
Vasily: Now now Ariston, Heracles was nice enough to accompany
us on our little excursion.
Vasily: Well, you see Ms Cleric...
DM of Da: "Drop weapons!"
Vasily: that might be tricky.
<<< Goblin Cleric has joined >>>
<<< 08:27:31 PM >>>
<<< Goblins has joined >>>
<<< 08:27:33 PM >>>
Vasily: These nice gents already took our weapons from us at the
door.
DM of Da: //You're all wielding morningstars and/or crossbows
DM of Da: //From the slain goblins and the armory
WtfSven: //so
Albrecht: // something tells me if you don't speak goblin, you
won't get very far trying to talk
WtfSven: //are we gonna fight?
Vasily: //I don't think that would be wise at this moment.
Boris: /me um....in another 3 levels, we could probably take
down most ofthe goblins. RIght now, with no armor....you're funny
DM of Da: So
DM of Da: Do you follow her command?
*** Vasily sighs
Vasily: alright.
*** Vasily puts down his apple.
DM of Da: //lol, apple
DM of Da: Sven, Boris? Also dropping stuff?
*** WtfSven drops his... dagger? I guess?
*** Boris throws weapon down in disgust
DM of Da: Yeah dagger
DM of Da: Ok
Boris: //emphasis on disgust
DM of Da: The others with you follow your lead, and the cleric
grins evilly, revealing a mouth full of crooked, brown teeth
DM of Da: Meanwhile, there is a murmur at the back of the
encirclement, and the goblins around you begin to part, as if making way
for someone
Vasily: You know... I have this great dentist. I could give you
his address...
Boris: has dentistry been invented yet?
Vasily: prestidigitation ftw.
DM of Da: Slowly, limping slightly and leaning on her staff, the
aged, white-haired cleric that took you here in the first place hobbles
forward
DM of Da: She is, as before, trailed by a retinue of warriors in
masterwork armor and clerics in ornate robes
<<< Old Cleric has joined >>>
<<< 08:33:16 PM >>>
DM of Da: She opens her toothless mouth to speak in almost
incomprehensible though proper Russian
DM of Da: You have to strain to understand her through her accent
and lack of teeth.
Old Cleric: Now why would you try to escape? Hmm?
Old Cleric: Don't you know that there is no way out of Tarpeian
Rock?
Vasily: Well, you see, your hospitality's been lovely and the
decorum is beautiful...
Vasily: ... but I've got a 2 year lease on my hovel, and if I
don't get a sack of gold coins to my landlord by next tuesday he'll have
my head.
*** Old Cleric dismisses Vasily's words with an offhand wave
Old Cleric: Enough.
Old Cleric: I'm much too old to listen to your useless prattling.
Old Cleric: You, you, you, you, and you... off to the side.
*** Old Cleric points at Vasily, Sven, Heracles, Boris, and Ariston
Old Cleric: Go on, move.
Vasily: o.O
WtfSven: uhm
Boris: (aren't there only 7 of us?)
Boris: (oh yeah....more sailors....)
WtfSven: k
Vasily: (7+sailors)
DM of Da: Sailors and two random Russian dudes
DM of Da: Who were being kept prisoner in a different cell
*** Boris shuffles over
Vasily: Alright... but my landlord's the vengeful sort...
Ariston: What do you want with us, old creature?
*** Old Cleric laughs in a high-pitched voice, her laugh descending
into a coughing fit
Old Cleric: Human, choose. You can die quickly or slowly.
Old Cleric: If you tell us everything you know about the human
nation you come from, we'll kill you quickly.
Old Cleric: If you refuse, we'll torture you to death slowly and
harvest your pain.
Old Cleric: Either way, you'll be useful.
Vasily: Planning an invasion, are you?
Old Cleric: Oh, you're a smart one, hmm?
Old Cleric: Now use that brain to figure out what choice to make.
Vasily: I'll admit, I was fairly impressed with your offensive
forces above ground. Undead make good soldiers. But...
*** WtfSven nudges Vasily
Old Cleric: SILENCE!
*** WtfSven I don't think your banter is working.
Vasily: //they haven't shot us yet <.<
Old Cleric: The One Tribe needs no undead to bring it victory!
WtfSven: Then how come we've seen so many in your army...
WtfSven: <_<
WtfSven: >_>
Vasily: Really? I thought I saw... must have been other
goblins.
Old Cleric: Enough! ENOUGH!
Boris: i thought it was an ogre
Old Cleric: I'm going to show you what our hospitality means to
those who defy us.
Vasily: At any rate... it's a fine army, but you've got one
really serious weak spot.
*** Old Cleric says something in Goblin
DM of Da: At this point, all the goblins surrounding you fire
their crossbows
WtfSven: well
WtfSven: nice knowing you all
DM of Da: A volley of bolts fill the air with a whistling sound
Vasily: //quite
DM of Da: And all the sailors, as well as the two random guys you
rescued, fall over dead.
Vasily: //and now for a demonstration of my power!
WtfSven: oh
Old Cleric: As for you...
WtfSven: that's not so bad as what I thought would happen
Old Cleric: We're going to take you to separate cells and introduced
to my personal assistants
Old Cleric: They are... great conversationalists.
*** Old Cleric grins a toothless smile
Old Cleric: When you tire of chatting with them, reveal all you know
and death will be a quick release.
*** Old Cleric turns around and hobbles off, saying something in Goblin
DM of Da: One by one, you are led off
DM of Da: Into different tunnels
Vasily: //fool. little does she know that I never tire of
chatting!
DM of Da: Each escorted by a single cleric and four warriors
<<< Old Cleric has left >>>
<<< 08:47:07 PM >>>
<<< Goblins has left >>>
<<< 08:47:10 PM >>>
<<< Goblin Cleric has left >>>
<<< 08:47:11 PM >>>
DM of Da: CUT!
DM of Da: CONTEXT SWITCH.
<<< Heracles has left >>>
<<< 08:47:48 PM >>>
<<< Ariston has left >>>
<<< 08:47:48 PM >>>
WtfSven: lol?
Nikolai: lol indeed.
Boris: my time with the processor wasn't up yet!
Boris: I demand my time segmentback
Nikolai: yes it was
DM of Da: Preemptive multitasking ftw.
Boris: booo interrupts
Nikolai: the kernel decided you had enough
DM of Da: Yep
DM of Da: Ok so'
Boris: lol
DM of Da: The last thing that happened here
DM of Da: Was that you two and Siran flew back to her stronghold
in the center of the city
DM of Da: And immediately upon landing, were informed that some
sort of stealthy, black-clothed humanoid was in Nightscree
DM of Da: He had already killed a couple of guards
DM of Da: Siran went inside and you followed
<<< Siran has joined >>>
<<< 08:49:43 PM >>>
DM of Da: Siran takes a minute to confer with the guard who
brought her the news
DM of Da: Sends him away, and then turns back to you
*** Siran narrows her eyes
Nikolai: one of these days I'm going to have to ask her her life
story
Siran: So.
Nikolai: also sandy we already did this part
DM of Da: I know exactly what you did
Nikolai: k
Siran: This strange intruder arrives in my city...
Siran: Just as you're brought here.
Siran: Think this is a coincidence?
Nikolai: //no really we did this already
Albrecht: // do we mention the killing of the ranger?
Nikolai: //she asked if we had other companions
Albrecht: // also the disappearance of the box?
Nikolai: //or if someone was following us
DM of Da: //you mentioned the box
DM of Da: //wait no
DM of Da: //you actually mentioned nothing
Albrecht: // right, I'm asking Ian if we want to mention them
Nikolai: //I guess we should
Nikolai: Ok
Nikolai: So
Nikolai: We were doing this job for some merchants from Oleshie
*** Siran cocks her head slightly, folds her arms, and listens
Nikolai: Really... we weren't doing it for them.
Nikolai: We were trying to find out something else from them,
under the guise of doing them a job
Nikolai: But I suspected they might distrust us
Nikolai: And follow us.
Nikolai: I'm not SURE if that is the case.
Nikolai: But it's a possibility.
Siran: That's all?
Nikolai: Also
Nikolai: On our way here
Nikolai: H,m
Nikolai: Actually
Nikolai: Do your guards have any descriptions of this thing?
Siran: They saw him - it - briefly.
*** Nikolai nods
Siran: Humanoid, looks about like a human.
Siran: All black leather armor.
Siran: Mask.
Nikolai: Size of a human?
Siran: Yes.
Nikolai: //hm
Nikolai: //how good a look did we get at the thing that murdered
our horses
Albrecht: // well, we saw nothing of whatever killed that ranger
Nikolai: oh nm
DM of Da: //you saw nothing, and your horses weren't killed, just
the ranger Taras
Nikolai: right
Nikolai: I got conufsed
Nikolai: so we saw nothing
Nikolai: Hm
Albrecht: // but something caused darkness and killed Taras
Nikolai: Well that doesn't sound familiar.
Nikolai: But...
Siran: Hm.
Nikolai: We did encounter someone who used stealth
Nikolai: And killed someone who attacked us.
*** Siran steps closer to you
Nikolai: We were going to question this... man I suppose.
Nikolai: And suddenly were overcome with darkness.
Nikolai: Anything like that?
Nikolai: The magical kind
Nikolai: That hid our illumination
Siran: Not that my minions have seen.
Albrecht: darkness and silence.
Nikolai: Yes, silence as well
*** Siran steps closer to you, drops her hands to her sides, and
narrows her eyes
Nikolai: Hm.
Siran: I think... that you're not telling me something.
Nikolai: Probably not the same thing.
Albrecht: And by the time it faded, the man we planned to question
was dead.
*** Nikolai raises an eyebrow
Nikolai: I'm trying to get the salient details out
Albrecht: Granted, we probably would have killed him after
questioning... but still
Nikolai: What more do you wish to know about?
Siran: Let's say whoever this is... wants something from you.
Siran: What could it be?
*** Nikolai nods
Nikolai: Most likely, if he's working for the merchants that
hired us...
Nikolai: They gave us a magically sealed box
Nikolai: Which was amongst our posessions that your guards took.
Siran: And in this box is...?
Nikolai: We didn't find it in the storage room you showed us.
Nikolai: A letter to...
Nikolai: //remind me
Albrecht: // supposed to be the Khan of Crimea?
DM of Da: //yep
Albrecht: As far as we know, a letter and some money.
Nikolai: A letter to the Khan of Crimea, and some gold pieces.
Nikolai: We were to deliver it.
Nikolai: I don't know what the letter says.
Siran: Interesting.
Nikolai: We were on our way to Kiev to obtain some resources and
open the box without given any evidence of tampering, when your men
stopped us.
DM of Da: Though Siran's voice indicates that it is, in fact, not
interesting.
Siran: So if this intruder got this box, he would want nothing
else?
Nikolai: Well it's a possibility
Nikolai: I don't know if he's actually related to these
merchants.
Nikolai: It's just a guess
DM of Da: Very well.
Nikolai: An educated one
Albrecht: If the intruder was after the box, I can't think of
anything else he'd want.
*** Siran snaps her fingers
DM of Da: Two guards show up from a side door
Siran: You'll be led back to your quarters. When I come for
you, we will go and retrieve your companions.
Siran: Though your combat skills are not the least bit
impressive, I think I've figured out a good use for you.
*** Nikolai sighs
Albrecht: // gee, I'm sorry she expected the combat skills of
people with about 10 more HD than we have
Siran: And I suspect, more and more, that the Iron Triad sees
quite far ahead indeed.
Nikolai: //srsly
DM of Da: //well how the hell should she know your abilities to
begin with
DM of Da: //you're some random guys
*** Siran walks over to her throne and sits, appearing lost in thought
DM of Da: You're led back to the spartan quarters you were housed
in before
DM of Da: And left there
DM of Da: Anything in particular you want to do for now?
Albrecht: rest, I guess
Nikolai: mourn my lost spell slots?
DM of Da: Ok
Albrecht: mourn my pointlessly lost hps?
DM of Da: Roll Spot and Listen checks.
Nikolai: yes, pointlessly should have been in my sentecen as well
Albrecht: /try 0;spot 0;listen
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM (spot) 1d20 < 11 = 11 > + 0 = 11
*** DM (listen) 1d20 < 5 = 5 > + 0 = 5
WtfSven: /try 3;spot 3;listen
*** DM rolls attempts for WtfSven :
*** DM (spot) 1d20 < 19 = 19 > + 3 = 22
*** DM (listen) 1d20 < 10 = 10 > + 3 = 13
DM of Da: Nikolai?
WtfSven: er
WtfSven: wrong client
WtfSven: I want to keep the roll though :P
DM of Da: Sure sure
<<< has joined >>>
<<< 09:08:31 PM >>>
Nikolai: ...
: /try 18 13
*** DM rolls attempts for :
*** DM 1d20 < 13 = 13 > + 18 = 31
*** DM 1d20 < 9 = 9 > + 13 = 22
Nikolai: well fuck you
Boris: lol
DM of Da: Ok
Vasily: hehe
Nikolai: you know I feel like randomly glitterdusting this room
for no particular reason
Boris: you should have told Siran it's bonuses
Boris: its*
DM of Da: Glitterdusting the room eh
DM of Da: Sure why not
Nikolai: because that would be metagaming.
DM of Da: Yep
Nikolai: and I don't have the slot for it ;P
DM of Da: Now then
DM of Da: You hear a clattering noise
DM of Da: And look down
Boris: dont you know he has an ion stone of continual
glitterdust
Vasily: Hmm..
Vasily: //HMM!
DM of Da: To see that a small, somewhat smooth, somewhat round
greenish rock has tumbled into the room from the hall outside
DM of Da: It quickly begins to release a faint, greenish vapor
which spreads throughout the room
DM of Da: Roll Will saves
Nikolai: omfg.
Nikolai: /try 9
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM 1d20 < 4 = 4 > + 9 = 13
Albrecht: /try 3
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 9 = 9 > + 3 = 12
Nikolai: ...
Nikolai: fuck you
Albrecht: wow
DM of Da: Pass and pass
Albrecht: ... wow
Vasily: L1 spell.
Albrecht: I was about to say "looks like we're dead."
Albrecht: so do we get to do anything?
DM of Da: Yep
DM of Da: You get to do whatever you want
DM of Da: There's no init yet
DM of Da: Or anything
DM of Da: So
DM of Da: What do you do?
Albrecht: so a rock went into the room, yes?
DM of Da: Yep
Albrecht: from the door?
DM of Da: There's no *door* per se
DM of Da: But doorway, yes
Nikolai: where did it come from.
DM of Da: From the hall
Nikolai: I'ma looking
DM of Da: k
Albrecht: aye
Albrecht: looking
DM of Da: You look around
DM of Da: And see nothing
DM of Da: Nobody's there
Albrecht: were there guards before?
Nikolai: out the door?
DM of Da: Looks pretty empty
DM of Da: Nope
DM of Da: No guards
DM of Da: They left you there and walked off
Albrecht: hmm
Albrecht: we could go and tell Siran what just happened...
DM of Da: You see movement out of the corner of your eye...
Nikolai: Let's start searching.
Nikolai: or react to that
Albrecht: react!
DM of Da: A black, volcanic rock tumbles to the floor from inside
the room
DM of Da: As it hits the floor, you are immediately surrounded by
darkness
Albrecht: // obviously the mission is to recover the box and kill
us for not following the rules
Albrecht: yay darkness
DM of Da: And all sounds cease
Albrecht: what about silen... yep
Nikolai: son of a bitch
DM of Da: Roll Init
Albrecht: i say we get out of the radius
Albrecht: /try 5
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 13 = 13 > + 5 = 18
Nikolai: /try 1
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM 1d20 < 1 = 1 > + 1 = 2
: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for :
*** DM 1d20 < 1 = 1 > + 2 = 3
Albrecht: ...
Albrecht: well then
Nikolai: hatred
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Albrecht
Albrecht: so we're in the hall right now
DM of Da: You are.
DM of Da: It's a 5ft wide hallway
DM of Da: As is the doorway
DM of Da: It extends straight in both directions
Albrecht: i'm going to grab Nikolai's shoulder and pull to the
left, in an attempt to communicate "go left"
Nikolai: hey you know if fucking siran hadn't forced me to use my
fucking spell slots
DM of Da: The room's about 10x10
DM of Da: Ok
Albrecht: (and I'm low on HP"
Nikolai: quick, bull rush me out of the way
Nikolai: that'll totally work.
Albrecht: well... i could try
DM of Da: It's true it will
DM of Da: Especially if Nikolai doesn't resist
Nikolai: well
Albrecht: well, i can try that
Nikolai: I know where he was
Nikolai: so yes
DM of Da: Yep
Albrecht: its either that or indicat "go left" then go left and
hope
Albrecht: so ok, i push him right
Nikolai: I can justify that
Nikolai: well going left is fine
DM of Da: Ok
Nikolai: but it requires my turn
Nikolai: to happen
DM of Da: Yes
Nikolai: so
Nikolai: yeah
Albrecht: well i push ihm whichever way he is compared to me
Nikolai: bull rush
Boris: // clearly this is all Viktor's work
Albrecht: ideally, far enough nthat both of us are outside of the
darkness/silence with at least a 5-ft between us and the edge
Nikolai: // clearly
Nikolai: // waiyt
DM of Da: Albrecht, you push Nikolai for a bit, and in 20 feet,
the darness and silence ends
DM of Da: So you push him 10ft more let's say
Albrecht: yes
Nikolai: k
Albrecht: and then if possible I ready my shield and draw the
warhammer
DM of Da: You have a move action left
Albrecht: warhammer is free via quick draw
DM of Da: k
Albrecht: also
DM of Da: You do those things
Albrecht: how far from where Siran was are we?
Albrecht: roughly
DM of Da: Like 5 minutes of corridors
Albrecht: in terms of "how loud would I need to yell to have a
reaction?"
DM of Da: Very loud
Albrecht: eh, I'll yell. Maybe a goblin will hear at least
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: The something's turn.
Albrecht: given that they don't seem to know russian, the words
are irrelevant
DM of Da: The something does something
DM of Da: Which you cannot see
DM of Da: Nikolai.
Nikolai: I ready to, say, magic missile some sort of enemy that
makes itself shown through the darkness
Boris: perhaps the darkenss itself?
DM of Da: Haha
DM of Da: Ok
Nikolai: PERHAPS
DM of Da: Albrecht again.
Albrecht: hmm
Albrecht: i dig out one of my potions and chug myself some hit
points
Albrecht: becuase I have 3.
DM of Da: Ok.
Nikolai: you have 3?
Nikolai: didn't she cure serious you?
Albrecht: yeah, she didn't do anytihng but save me from dying
DM of Da: Ok
Albrecht: /roll 2d8+3
*** DM rolls dice for Albrecht: 2d8 < 2 1 = 3 > + 3 = 6
Nikolai: really?
Albrecht: ...
Albrecht: I hate these dice.
Nikolai: I thought I remember like 20 hp of healing
DM of Da: Haha owned wtf
DM of Da: Ok
Albrecht: I had been at -9
Boris: most of it spills
DM of Da: SOmething's turn
Albrecht: she hit me up for 12 I guess
Albrecht: but nothing else
DM of Da: Nikolai how wounded are you
Albrecht: unless Siran had cast more than one healing spell, which
I highly doubt
DM of Da: She didn't
Nikolai: Yes she did.
Nikolai: Before the fight.
Nikolai: I took 0 damage during.
Nikolai: I am at full hp.
DM of Da: Ok.
Albrecht: well, before the fight I was fine, so yeah, I'm gonna
die again
DM of Da: Albrecht has a shield...
DM of Da: And is wearing... what?
DM of Da: Armor type I mean
Albrecht: banded mail
DM of Da: Ok.
DM of Da: Nikolai's AC?
Nikolai: How long have we been waiting
DM of Da: Nothing, this is the next round
Nikolai: and tell me why your monster should know my AC. :P
Nikolai: No I mean total
DM of Da: Total what
Nikolai: since last enocunter
DM of Da: From when
Boris: is amge armor from the big skeleton still up
DM of Da: Ohh
Nikolai: thank you boris
DM of Da: What's duration on that?
Nikolai: 1 hour
Boris: hr/lv
DM of Da: It hasn't been that long
Albrecht: and he scrolled it, as I recall
DM of Da: It's still up
Nikolai: it was from a wand that I have
Nikolai: so my AC is 15
DM of Da: Ok.
Albrecht: ah, wand
DM of Da: And my monster doesn't know your AC, it's for the sake
of description.
: /try 6
*** DM rolls attempts for :
*** DM 1d20 < 20 = 20 > + 6 = 26
Nikolai: ...
DM of Da: roflwaffles
: /try 6
*** DM rolls attempts for :
*** DM 1d20 < 12 = 12 > + 6 = 18
Boris: you due
Boris: yay assasins
Nikolai: yeah, I probably die
Nikolai: gg
DM of Da: You feel a sharp pain in your left kidney
Nikolai: hah
Albrecht: ... brilliant, it got behind us somehow
DM of Da: You turn around to see that behind you is what appears
to be a human, dressed in all black leather armor and facemask
Boris: at elast it wasn't your right kidney
Nikolai: rofl
Boris: i have dibs on that one
DM of Da: The leather that makes up the armor is some sort of
strange material that seems to absorb light
DM of Da: Your glance just kind of slides off it
: /roll 2d4-2+3d6
*** DM rolls dice for : 2d4 < 3 2 = 5 > - 2 + 3d6 < 6 3 4 = 13 > = 16
Nikolai: HAH not dead
Nikolai: sucker
<<< is now known as Assassin >>>
Nikolai: I want my readied action now
DM of Da: Yep
DM of Da: Go for it
Boris: i donno, he could have been studying you for 3 rounds
Nikolai: /roll 2d4+2
*** DM rolls dice for Nikolai: 2d4 < 3 2 = 5 > + 2 = 7
DM of Da: And that was a dagger that he sunk into your back, btw
Nikolai: BUT I'M NOT DEAD
Nikolai: SO THERE
DM of Da: It's true you're not
Nikolai: I am at 4.
DM of Da: The magic missiles strike the humanoid, and its eyes
express slight pain
DM of Da: He retreats back 30 feet down the hallway, provoking an
AoO from Albrecht.
Albrecht: ... i'm not sure how I was in position to get that AoO.
DM of Da: Hm it's true you're not
Albrecht: unless he retreated through us
DM of Da: Never mind
DM of Da: 5ft hallway you're right
DM of Da: Ok so he retreats down the hallway
DM of Da: At this point
DM of Da: Directly behind him
DM of Da: There is a disturbance in the air
Nikolai: wtf.
DM of Da: A shimmering
DM of Da: A human-sized cloud of faint, wispy gas becomes visible
DM of Da: It begins to solidify
DM of Da: Coming together into a demonic form
DM of Da: And transforms into...
*** Siran
Nikolai: kthx
Albrecht: good.
DM of Da: She is in full gear, helmet on
DM of Da: And in a deep, satisfied voice, she says...
Siran: Got you.
DM of Da: //and Master has failed again brb
<<< DM has left >>>
<<< 09:35:01 PM >>>
<<< Siran has left >>>
<<< 09:35:01 PM >>>
<<< Assassin has left >>>
<<< 09:35:01 PM >>>
<<< DM has joined >>>
<<< 09:35:06 PM >>>
Nikolai: //ANTICLIMACTIC
<<< Assassin has joined >>>
<<< 09:35:10 PM >>>
<<< Siran has joined >>>
<<< 09:35:13 PM >>>
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Albrecht's turn.
Albrecht: hmm
Albrecht: already blew my curse
DM of Da: Reminder, the hallway currently looks like:
Nikolai: pwn him in the face with flanksing
DM of Da: A N x S
DM of Da: (not to scale)
Albrecht: is Siran actually adjacent or no?
Nikolai: yeah are those spaces like
Nikolai: spaces
Nikolai: or not
DM of Da: She is adjacent
Albrecht: excellent
Albrecht: now... I can charge through Nikolai, right?
DM of Da: No
Albrecht: ah well
DM of Da: You can move through him
DM of Da: But not charge
Nikolai: wait.
Nikolai: question.
Nikolai: when did my turn happen.
DM of Da: ?
DM of Da: Crap
DM of Da: You're right!
Albrecht: it got skipped, in fact
DM of Da: It's your turn
DM of Da: zomg.
Nikolai: k
DM of Da: gogogo.
Nikolai: I move back behind albrecht
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: And?
Nikolai: and position a sleep in the middle of the hallway
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: DC?
Nikolai: hitting only the thing
Nikolai: 14
Assassin: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Assassin :
*** DM 1d20 < 6 = 6 > + 2 = 8
DM of Da: Too bad it doesn't affect it
DM of Da: Due to HD limit
Nikolai: k
Nikolai: worth a shot.
DM of Da: Albrecht.
Albrecht: ok...
Albrecht: hmm
Albrecht: is removing a shield a free action?
Albrecht: eh, I need the AC right now
Albrecht: I will in fact just move up and attack.
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Roll.
Albrecht: /try 6
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 11 = 11 > + 6 = 17
DM of Da: A hit!
Albrecht: /roll 1d8+3
*** DM rolls dice for Albrecht: 1d8 < 8 = 8 > + 3 = 11
Albrecht: ooh max damage.
DM of Da: Really
DM of Da: Well then
DM of Da: You land a crushing strike, sending the assassin reeling
Albrecht: well yeah, 11 is the max of 1d8+3
DM of Da: He is staggered (0 hp)
DM of Da: Siran's turn
Nikolai: ooh ooh
Nikolai: backhand him
Nikolai: for his insolence
Albrecht: don't kill him so we can torture him for information
Boris: siran literally rips his still beating heart out?
DM of Da: She could
DM of Da: But that would be unnecessary effort
<<< Vasily o/ Couch has joined >>>
<<< 09:41:40 PM >>>
*** Siran stabs him in the stomach with the massive claws protruding
from her armor's gauntlets
Siran: /try shehitshim
*** DM rolls attempts for Siran :
*** DM 1d20 < 16 = 16 > + 0 = 16
*** Vasily o/ Couch rolls attempts for Siran :
*** Vasily o/ Couch 1d20 < 4 = 4 > + 0 = 4
Siran: /roll 1d10
*** DM rolls dice for Siran: 1d10 < 1 = 1 > = 1
*** Vasily o/ Couch rolls dice for Siran : 1d10 < 3 = 3 > = 3
Vasily o/ Cou: /diebot disable
*** Assassin collapses to the floor
Vasily o/ Cou: /disable-diebot
*** Vasily o/ Couch is disabled
*** Siran takes off her helm, shaking her long hair loose
*** Siran looks down at the assassin's prone body with mild interest
and reproach
Nikolai: Ow.
Nikolai: My kidney.
Siran: Nobody comes to Nightscree without my leave.
Siran: Come.
*** Siran beckons to Nikolai
Nikolai: Search him... he might have gotten to the box.
*** Nikolai moves forward
*** Nikolai bleeding
*** Siran CSW
Siran: /roll 3d8+6
*** DM rolls dice for Siran: 3d8 < 3 2 1 = 6 > + 6 = 12
Nikolai: Thank you
Albrecht: watch him a minute.
*** Albrecht goes back to the room
*** Albrecht gets rope
Siran: Bring him.
*** Nikolai helps
Albrecht: preliminary tying up of the guy.
Albrecht: then the carrying
*** Siran leads the way to her throne chamber
Albrecht: then we strip all his stuff away
DM of Da: Ok.
DM of Da: Unmasking the mysterious assassin, you see that he is
indeed human
Albrecht: // I think Boris will appreciate this stuff
DM of Da: He has short blond hair, and his features indicate him
to be of Nordic origin, or perhaps from Novgorod somewhere.
Nikolai: does he have our box on him anywhere
Albrecht: hmm...
Nikolai: serachy searchy
DM of Da: In a small pocket of his armor, there is a silken pouch
which appears empty
Nikolai: takin the 20 here
DM of Da: But looking inside reveals that its inner space is far
larger than it should be
Nikolai: o rly!
DM of Da: It is, in fact, an extradimensional container
Albrecht: Probably an agent provided for them by Isidor...
Nikolai: good for us
DM of Da: And inside is the box.
Nikolai: fantacular
Nikolai: yoink
Nikolai: double yoink on the bag
DM of Da: Yep
Albrecht: yep
Albrecht: we take everything that isn't clearly normal clothes
from him
Albrecht: if you have a detect free we use that to guarantee such
Nikolai: sure
Nikolai: I have plenty of detects
Albrecht: that should guarantee any magical stuff
DM of Da: Ok
Albrecht: then we just need to look for daggers and such
Albrecht: which the take 20 covers
DM of Da: In addition to the box
DM of Da: Inside this pouch is several potions
DM of Da: Some smokesticks, sunrounds, and tindertwigs
DM of Da: And several rocks
DM of Da: Of both of the kinds you've seen
DM of Da: The black volcanic rock that causes darkness and
silence, and the greenish rock that releases the vapor
Boris: whats the vapor do? or do we not know
DM of Da: The dagger he stabbed you with is masterwork but
nonmagical
DM of Da: YOu don't know
DM of Da: You'll have to Identify
DM of Da: The armor itself radiates faint transmutation and
illusion
Siran: Who's this Isidor you mentioned?
Nikolai: The merchant that hired us
Albrecht: no
Nikolai: oh
Nikolai: I suck at names
Albrecht: Isidor is the patron of Danil and Anastas.
Albrecht: who are the merchants we're not really working for.
Nikolai: right
Nikolai: so
Nikolai: the merchant that hired us indirectly
Siran: That's confusing and I find myself not caring.
Albrecht: (and who we're ripping off)
Nikolai: //her int is like 9
DM of Da: //your face's int is like 9
Nikolai: //no it's 16 kthx
Siran: I suppose I'll have someone interrogate him later.
Siran: Come, we should go get your companions.
*** Nikolai nods
Siran: If they're not already dead or driven insane by that old
crone's torturers.
*** Albrecht nods as well
Siran: Well, I suppose we'll see in a minute.
Siran: On the way there, I'll tell you what I think you...
DM of Da: She is interrupted mid-sentence
DM of Da: By a goblin warrior that runs into the throne hall,
escorted by two guards
DM of Da: He is short of breath and takes a few seconds to recover
before speaking
DM of Da: He says something in Goblin to Siran, who nods and sends
him away
Siran: Turns out the King is returning here.
Siran: His expedition has been successful, I'm told.
Siran: We should get you out of here before he arrives... he
doesn't much like humans.
Nikolai: Care to explain anything to us about him?
*** Siran looks faintly amused
Nikolai: And the chain of command here?
Nikolai: I'm a little confused about who's in charge.
Siran: The Goblin King, Korelek, leads the One Tribe, who are
all the myriad goblins of this forest.
Siran: I serve him.
DM of Da: Roll some Sense Motive
Nikolai: /try 5
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM 1d20 < 13 = 13 > + 5 = 18
Albrecht: /try 3
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 9 = 9 > + 3 = 12
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Nikolai you detect that Siran is not speaking entirely
sincerely
*** Nikolai nods
Nikolai: I see.
DM of Da: You detect a hint of... sarcasm, perhaps? In her voice
Nikolai: I sense that this is alliance of convenience on your
part.
*** Siran fixes Nikolai with a penetrating gaze for a moment, but says
nothing
Nikolai: Sorry, didn't mean to pry.
Siran: Anyway, while I'm glad to hear of Korelek's return, and
his success, it wouldn't be very good for you if you were here when he
arrived.
Nikolai: Right.
Nikolai: Let's go.
Siran: Though I do so look forward to seeing this interesting
find he's bringing back...
Siran: Well, let's go.
Albrecht: Indeed.
Nikolai: //can I ask her something while we walk
DM of Da: //sure
Nikolai: //or fly
Nikolai: //or whatever
Albrecht: If it's possible, I would appreciate being there for the
interrogation of this man
DM of Da: //you're going to Shadow Walk
Nikolai: //uh
DM of Da: //and yes you can speak to her while this is happening
Nikolai: I was also wondering, if you don't mind sharing...
*** Siran glances at Albrecht
*** Nikolai lets Albrecht tlak first
Siran: Well, if you'd like to stay here, you'll have the
pleasure of meeting the King in person...
*** Nikolai shakes his head
Nikolai: Albrecht, we have to get out of here.
Albrecht: I know
Nikolai: And the assassin is better off in Siran's care than ours
Nikolai: Besides I'm sure she wants to punish him herself
*** Siran smirks
Siran: His punishment will be most appropriate, I can tell you
that.
Boris: kinky
Nikolai: I'm sure.
Albrecht: And I would appreciate both the information he has, and
any pointers I could pick up.
Albrecht: Anyway...
Siran: Anyway, if he manages to reveal something useful that I
think you should know, I'll inform you.
Siran: Come.
Nikolai: Thank you.
*** Albrecht talking and walking
*** Nikolai is still following her
*** Siran pulls a wand of darkened petrified wood out of her armor
*** Siran spell trigger
*** Siran Shadow Walk
DM of Da: You proceed at an unfathomable speed across the edge of
the Shadow Realm
Nikolai: //why does she know shadow walk
Nikolai: //what is she
Nikolai: //jesus
DM of Da: //powerful
Nikolai: //apparently
Albrecht: Anyway, earlier you suggested, perhaps only insultingly,
that I become undead.
Albrecht: I am open to investigating any avenue of power.
*** Siran turns around raises her eyebrows, looking rather patronizing
Siran: Oh, don't take it too personally... the boneclaw is a
work of necromantic art, after all.
Siran: That it took you down so easily... anyway, I don't think
that'll be a very good idea.
Siran: Not given the work I've got for you.
Boris: ah well
Albrecht: Undeath is not an avenue I had previously considered.
But tell me what might be viable, and I will consider it.
Siran: Speaking of which, I should tell you about... oh,
Nikolai, were you going to ask me something?
Nikolai: I was curious
Nikolai: If you don't mind.
Nikolai: How such a lovely young lady such as yourself became a
servant of the Iron Triad
*** Siran laughs
Nikolai: Not to mention working for a goblin king...
DM of Da: Have you ever heard of a Cuman leader named Kotian?
DM of Da: er
*** Siran said that
Nikolai: Hmm
Albrecht: // Khan Kotian... I think he's the one who conquered
Hungary
Nikolai: //have i?
DM of Da: //knowledge: history?
Nikolai: //shall I roll?
DM of Da: //yes
Nikolai: /try 4
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM 1d20 < 3 = 3 > + 4 = 7
Nikolai: lol@me
DM of Da: //you don't know shit
Nikolai: I can't say I have.
Albrecht: // I rely on knowledge: remembering campaign documents
and last campaign
Nikolai: There are so many Cuman leaders nowadays...
Nikolai: We ran into soldiers from at least 3 on our way here.
Siran: Oh yes. It's a mess.
Siran: No, I'm talking about past history.
Nikolai: My knowledge of history outside Russia is limited,
apologies.
Siran: Decades ago, Kotian brought the Cuman warbands together
into one horde, naming himself Khan.
Nikolai: s/Russia/Novgorod
Siran: He allied himself with the Russians of Galicia, and
together conquered Hungary and established their rule over a wide region
of the southern steppes and beyond.
Siran: He was a great leader...
DM of Da: (This last part said with a definite hint of sarcasm)
Siran: And he was also my father.
Siran: Father tried to train me to be a warrior like the sons
he wanted.
Siran: But fighting didn't interest me.
Siran: I was more interested in magic.
Boris: // goth teen?
Siran: Father wasn't very happy about it, but he couldn't do
much about it...
Nikolai: //this is like that OotS comic
Siran: I realized when I was young that - as I'm sure you'll
agree - the shortest paths to power are the best.
*** Nikolai doesn't agree necessarily, but says nothing
Siran: I looked for the kind of magic that could provide
that...
Siran: Anyway, to make a long story short, when father died,
one of the Iron Triad came to me in a dream and showed me... a shortcut.
Siran: I ran away and wandered for a while.
Siran: I was captured by Korelek... back then he was just a
minor warlord of a minor goblin tribe.
Siran: Warring with the many other tribes in this forest.
Siran: He told me about a...
*** Siran coughs and looks back at you
Siran: He... made a deal with me.
Siran: I helped him become the powerful leader he is now, the
Goblin King...
Siran: And I got something out of the bargain too.
Siran: And that more or less brings us to the present.
Nikolai: //and on the way she killed a bunch of things, gaining
lots of xp
Boris: nah, the shortcut was a tome of XP
*** Nikolai nods
Nikolai: A fascinating tale.
*** Siran shrugs
Siran: Not really.
Siran: Anyway, why don't we talk about what I want you to do
for me.
Nikolai: Tell us.
Siran: Let me ask you this first.
Siran: Are either of you loyal to Kiev?
Nikolai: No.
Siran: Albrecht?
Nikolai: Kiev is rather useful though as a source of knowledge.
*** Siran chuckles
Nikolai: And knowledge is power for one such as myself.
Albrecht: Never even been there.
Albrecht: My ship was sunk before it arrived.
Siran: Oh, we'll have that knowledge, and more, Nikolai.
Siran: Kiev... will be our first target.
Albrecht: And I suspect any sources of power I might find in Kiev
as it stands I could also find in the smoking ruins.
*** Siran smiles
Nikolai: Books and scrolls burn.
Nikolai: Let's lay off the flaming wreckage for now
Siran: I like both of your attitudes!
Siran: And I agree with both of you.
Siran: Don't worry, I'm not interested in destruction for its
own sake.
Nikolai: I should hope not.
Nikolai: It's not worth destroying what you can take.
Siran: Anyway, two major problems stand in the way of my... our
conquest of Kiev.
Siran: The first is the fact that I've spent many years away
from civilization, and even before that, knew of Kiev only from what my
father's warriors and his Russian friends told me.
*** Nikolai nods
Siran: I know next to nothing about their political situation,
their military strength...
Siran: Which of their allies they can count on for support...
Siran: And one of the many things that Father pounded into my
head while trying to make me into a warrior was that fighting an enemy
you don't know is suicide.
Albrecht: Information much more easily garnered by allies than
from torturing whoever you might find in the woods.
*** Siran nods, smiling slightly
Siran: That's where you come in.
Siran: You're the first humans I've come across that I can work
with.
Siran: Most people... well, it doesn't matter.
Siran: What I want you to do is find out everything you
possibly can about Kiev's power and resources.
Nikolai: Albrecht is right, the goblins' methods of capturing and
torturing random people are kind of... wrong.
Siran: Political. Military. Magical. Everything. All that's
obvious and all that's hidden.
Nikolai: It will be much easier for us to gather that sort of
information while there.
*** Siran waves the comments away
Albrecht: inefficient, more than anything else.
Siran: The methods used aren't mine - I work with what I have.
Siran: No matter.
Nikolai: Right.
Nikolai: Once we get our companions, we will set off straight for
Kiev.
Siran: So, as I said, find out everything you can... and don't
try to contact me - I'll find my own means of getting in touch with you.
Siran: As for the other problem...
Siran: As you've seen...
Siran: My powers of necromancy are formidable.
Siran: I can, and will, raise an army of undead that could
crush the Kievan Guard...
Siran: But...
Siran: From what I hear, the clergy of Svarog is very powerful,
influential, and numerous in Kiev right now.
Siran: And the sun-priests are much too adept at fighting
necromantic power.
Siran: So I want you to look especially for any weaknesses in
Svarog's followers... any ways their power can be subverted, or... well,
I don't know.
Siran: Find out everything you can.
Nikolai: Hm.
Nikolai: Understood.
Siran: And one more thing...
Siran: I'm not in any hurry.
Siran: The preparations for this may take some time.
Nikolai: //well if you give me the time to kill a bunch of
monsters I'll jhust conquer Kiev myself
Siran: So don't be careless.
DM of Da: //lolsauce
Siran: And we're almost there.
Nikolai: Then you should know that we will be doing other things
to maintain ourselves as we gather information.
Siran: Sure.
DM of Da: Looking out across the shadow landscape, you see a tall,
solitary mountain rising up from the dark forest
DM of Da: The shadow-path is taking you directly at it
Nikolai: We have contacts in Kiev's underworld who have a job
we're working on... if it's successful... we could have quite the amount
of resources.
Nikolai: That will aid us.
Siran: Your day to day affairs are not interesting to me.
Nikolai: Don't worry about the details then.
Siran: Do whatever you have to do.
Nikolai: Just know that we're working on many avenues of
obtaining power.
*** Siran chuckles
Siran: Would you be of any interest to the Iron Triad if you
were not?
Albrecht: Doubtful.
*** Nikolai nods
Nikolai: Well said.
DM of Da: The path takes you directly into the heart of the
mountain
DM of Da: Cramped tunnels, corridors, chambers and cells flash
past your vision
DM of Da: And then you see the colossal amphitheater-shaped cave
Boris: i rmeember that cave
DM of Da: The spell ends abruptly
DM of Da: And you are tossed back into the Material Plane
DM of Da: One of the middle tiers of the cave
DM of Da: Siran has put her helm back on
DM of Da: And her appearance causes quite a stir
DM of Da: You hear gasps and whispered speech
DM of Da: Looking around, you see a multitude of goblins, all of
whom are retreating into their tents, shrinking away from Siran
DM of Da: Ignoring them, she looks around, getting her bearings
Albrecht: // is the heart of the mountain smoking?
DM of Da: //Don't make me bust out the wandering damage
Siran: Not as precise as I wanted, but...
<<< Albrecht has joined >>>
<<< 10:41:55 PM >>>
Siran: Let's go.
Albrecht: ugh
*** Nikolai looks around
Nikolai: Bleh.
*** Nikolai follows close
Albrecht: I appar to have missed some stuff
Nikolai: Albrecht: // is the heart of the mountain smoking?
Nikolai: DM of Da: //Don't make me bust out the wandering
damage
Nikolai: Siran: Not as precise as I wanted, but...
Nikolai: <<< Albrecht has joined >>>
Nikolai: <<< 10:41:24 PM >>>
Nikolai: Siran: Let's go.
Nikolai: Albrecht: ugh
Nikolai: *** Nikolai looks around
Nikolai:
Albrecht: though since I haven't been disconnected yet I might...
yeah it'll catch up
*** Siran leads the way around the circumference of the ledge until she
comes to a set of narrow stone steps leading down to the next tier
<<< Albrecht has left >>>
<<< 10:42:05 PM >>>
Albrecht: and there it goes
*** Siran descends
*** Siran repeats this, navigating a zigzagging path down into the pit
at the center of the cavern
DM of Da: After about ten minutes of walking, you finally arrive
DM of Da: There are a number of bonfires around the edges of the
central pit, ringing a massive firepit in the middle
Albrecht: // did we bring gear with us, or will we need to go back
to get the party's gear?
DM of Da: //gear's with you
DM of Da: The smoke from the central fire twists and coils,
forming strange, serpentine shapes
Boris: // brb, food
DM of Da: Sitting around the edge of it are goblin clerics,
obviously high in rank and importance if the quality of their robes and
golden holy symbols of Volos is any indication
DM of Da: One of them is the old high cleric
<<< Assassin has left >>>
<<< 10:44:45 PM >>>
<<< Old Cleric has joined >>>
<<< 10:44:51 PM >>>
DM of Da: She is staring intently into the fire, or more
accurately the shapes in the smoke
DM of Da: The other clerics are quietly chanting something in
Infernal
DM of Da: Albrecht roll Knowledge: Arcana if you have it
*** Albrecht // understands
Albrecht: /try 5
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 9 = 9 > + 5 = 14
Nikolai: // APPARENTLY I SHOULD LEARN INFERNAL THEN
DM of Da: Nah you don't know what they're chanting
Nikolai: //what with my HUGE knowledge arcana that I can't use
Albrecht: bunches of words that don't mean anything to me.
DM of Da: //you can use it on actual spell effects even if they're
in Infernal but this is not a spell
DM of Da: //it's just a chant
DM of Da: //anyways
Siran: Old one! Rise and greet me.
*** Old Cleric looks up from her study of the fire
Old Cleric: Oh, you're here...
Old Cleric: Come to give up the prisoners you owe me?
Nikolai: //brb
*** Siran scoffs
Siran: It's you who'll be doing the giving up here. The three
that were captured along with these two aren't your prisoners anymore.
Siran: They're my servants and you'll give them to me
immediately.
Old Cleric: Oh, I don't think so, girl.
Old Cleric: Who do you think you are, anyway?
Vasily o/ Cou: ...
Vasily o/ Cou: MAL
Vasily o/ Cou: Malcom Reynolds on Lost.
DM of Da: k
Vasily o/ Cou: (sorry)
Old Cleric: I've served our King long before you were born!
Old Cleric: You can't just come to my house and make demands! Give
me what I'd owed or begone with you.
*** Siran smirks
Siran: Yes, yes, you're very old. No need to remind me - anyone
can see it plain as day.
Siran: And speaking of the King, he returns even now. Would you
like to tell him you've personally obstructed my plans in the service of
his grand vision, or should I?
*** Old Cleric scowls, but says nothing
Siran: Oh, don't worry. I'm sure there'll be a part in it for
you. Besides - I'm sure you've already extracted a lot of useful
information from your prisoners, right?
*** Old Cleric scowls harder
Siran: Oh, you don't have a thing, do you.
Siran: Well, too bad for you. Now, do you want to have your
lackeys bring me what I want, or do I have to go and find them myself?
Old Cleric: You'll not have free run of Tarpeian Rock, human! Not
while I live!
*** Old Cleric snaps her fingers and barks orders to her retinue
Old Cleric: You can have your prisoners. They won't do you any
good... human weaklings, good for nothing but fodder for your foolish
experiments.
*** Old Cleric sits back down by the fire and begins studying the smoke
again, ignoring Siran
DM of Da: Ok.
DM of Da: After about fifteen minutes or so, Vasily, Sven, and
Boris, looking haggard and dirty but alive, are brought to you.
Siran: Alright, let's get out of here. This place is once again
useless to me.
Vasily o/ Cou: I see y'all had a nice time
Boris: // yay, kernel!
Albrecht: Not now, Vasily.
*** Vasily o/ Couch tips his hat to the goblins
*** Siran wand
*** Siran spell trigger
*** Siran Shadow Walk
Vasily o/ Cou: It's been a pleasure.
<<< Old Cleric has left >>>
<<< 10:58:20 PM >>>
DM of Da: The cavern around you darkens and wavers, and you're
pulled again into the Shadow Realm
Nikolai: One of these days Vasily, I'll have to ask you how you
manage to stay so calm even after being tortured
DM of Da: A twilight path stretches out ahead of you, and you walk
along it
Siran: Now...
WtfSven: I don't know how he does it
WtfSven: I'm scared shitless
*** WtfSven worst druid ever
DM of Da: //lol
Vasily o/ Cou: The secret's tranquilizers.
Vasily o/ Cou: Apples have a remarkably calming effect on the nervous
system.
Boris: apples....Apples...
*** Nikolai pssht
Boris: ALL HE TALKS ABOTU IS APPLES
Nikolai: rofl
Siran: Since I just saved you from what I'm sure would have
been a horrible fate, I'm sure the three of you will be just as
agreeable to my proposal as your two friends were.
Vasily o/ Cou: So, who's your lovely friend here?
Nikolai: //oliver for the record
Boris: jsut stop him from talkingabout apples
Nikolai: //you've met
Vasily o/ Cou: //we have? oh.
DM of Da: //totally met
Nikolai: //furthermore
Vasily o/ Cou: A proposal eh?
Nikolai: //what you know of her is that she's the leader of the
goblins
Vasily o/ Cou: I'm listening.
Siran: Oh, it's simple enough. Go about your business, which
I'm told is both lucrative and fascinating, while gathering information
for me.
Siran: In Kiev.
Nikolai: Comrades, fear not. It will be lucrative for all of us.
Vasily o/ Cou: They say the gloved hand is better than the dagger.
Vasily o/ Cou: I am forced to agree.
Siran: In return, you'll benefit from the power I can share
with you, and, of course...
Siran: The benefit of being on the winning side in the upcoming
war.
Siran: The other alternative is not so great.
Nikolai: Siran, please, let's not talking about alternatives.
*** Siran looks amused
*** Nikolai turns to Vasily and Boris and Sven
Nikolai: We're all on the same side here.
*** Boris raises an eyebrow
Vasily o/ Cou: Well, you seem to have convinced Nikolai here (sense
motiving up the wazoo)
*** Boris hasnt seen any huge skelingtons recently
Nikolai: /sincere
DM of Da: //your sense motive bonus is what
Nikolai: //you can't use social skills on pcs :P
DM of Da: //YOUR SENSE MOTIVE BONUS IS WHAT
Vasily o/ Cou: // +lots
DM of Da: //he could use it on Siran
Nikolai: true
Boris: // you can totally use sense motive on PCs
Vasily o/ Cou: // +7, and you can use it if the PC is being MCed (which
isn't the case, but he wouldn't know that0
DM of Da: Ok whatever you don't get any feeling of anything being
wrong
Vasily o/ Cou: Well, it seems we have an arrangement.
Siran: Good.
Siran: I can take you to the outskirts of Kiev.
*** Nikolai nods
Nikolai: Good.
DM of Da: INSERT A BUNCH OF SHADOW WALKING
Vasily o/ Cou: (I have all of my gear, yes?)
*** Nikolai hands Vasily his gear
DM of Da: MONTAGE! <South Park montage song>
DM of Da: Shadowy forest
DM of Da: More of the same
DM of Da: Plains
DM of Da: Wheat fields and other crops
DM of Da: Farms
DM of Da: Finally, you spot the shadowy form of a great city in
the distance
DM of Da: It is the unmistakable skyline of Kiev
Nikolai: so uh
Nikolai: no shadowy death
Nikolai: right?
DM of Da: Nope
Nikolai: no like
Nikolai: ghost cities with shadow creatures
Nikolai: or possibly like
DM of Da: Not even a little bit of shadowy death
Nikolai: Mirrors
Nikolai: into the past
Nikolai: maybe like
Nikolai: Voidwalkers
DM of Da: Nope
Nikolai: or whatever they were called
DM of Da: Totally not
Boris: embodiments of law?
DM of Da: Yes there were voidwalkers definitely
DM of Da: Nightshades too
DM of Da: But no you don't encounter any of that
Boris: embodiments of chaos
DM of Da: Or perhaps you do but they're hiding
DM of Da: But you get there safely
DM of Da: As the city looms closer, the shadowy reality around
suddenly pulls back
Nikolai: No groups of heroes with Mind Blank on to prevent
insanity as they look into manifestations of chaos?
Nikolai: Someone perhaps chanting at an ancient artifact?
DM of Da: LOL
Nikolai: Someone who is now an aspect of history?
Nikolai: dunno just wondering
DM of Da: You don't encounter aspects of history
DM of Da: In Soviet Russia, aspects of history encounter you
Boris: the future?
DM of Da: IN THE FACE
Albrecht: Moving along.
DM of Da: Anyway
Nikolai: That's good because he'd probably own us
Nikolai: if he could remember his spells
DM of Da: The city looms close now
Albrecht: Chances are he could own us with some of his granted
powers
Nikolai: sure why npt
Boris: nah
Albrecht: whatever they may be
DM of Da: And you're unceremoniously dumped into... the middle of
a field of wheat
Boris: hed have us own us
Albrecht: he would indeed.
Albrecht: He'd just use Wages of Sin.
DM of Da: No no
DM of Da: Viktor in his current form if he were for some reason to
want to own someone
Albrecht: if he was using spells, that would be his first choice.
DM of Da: Would already have owned them
DM of Da: In the past
Nikolai: HE'S RIGHT
Albrecht: go Viktor.
DM of Da: And they'd be pre-owned before they even knew what
happened
Nikolai: TIIIIIIME TRAVEL
Boris: wages, then teleport everyone else in to watch and point
and laugh
Vasily o/ Cou: Like the anti-pun pun?
Albrecht: anyway, we're in a field of wheat.
*** Siran gets up and shakes the dirt off her armor
Nikolai: kthx
Albrecht: hah! Viktor could beat Pun-Pun.
Siran: Not nearly as precise this time.
DM of Da: IT'S TRUE HE COULD
Siran: Well, here you are.
Nikolai: Thanks.
Siran: Remember - don't find me - I'll find you.
Nikolai: We'll take it from here.
*** Siran wand
*** Siran Shadow Walk
<<< Siran has left >>>
<<< 11:13:54 PM >>>
*** Nikolai waves
DM of Da: Ok.
DM of Da: So, there's wheat all around you
*** Albrecht explicates.
DM of Da: You're on some farmer's land
Boris: we fabricate bread
DM of Da: Kiev's several miles away
Boris: or soemthing
DM of Da: Anything you want to do before you enter the city?
Albrecht: I suggest we walk.
Boris: well comrades, do we need horses?
Albrecht: no
Vasily o/ Cou: Burninate the countryside?
Albrecht: here is why:
Albrecht: before we left Kiev initially, we had horses
Albrecht: which we left behind since we went via seas
Vasily o/ Cou: My cart!
Nikolai: ...
Nikolai: shut up
Albrecht: also we're going to some armorer.
Nikolai: you had no cart
DM of Da: Ok so
Albrecht: And we're telling him Pericles is dead but we want the
armor anyway.
DM of Da: To Kiev
Albrecht: For this german guy.
Nikolai: Yep
DM of Da: What's your plan here
Nikolai: Well
Nikolai: Step 1.
DM of Da: k.
Nikolai: Liquidate all new loot
DM of Da: Ok
Vasily o/ Cou: Step 2. Gather XP
Nikolai: oliver have you been keeping track?
Albrecht: Step 0: Identify new loot.
Nikolai: we need to identify the shit we got off that assassin
Nikolai: yes
DM of Da: Mundane loot is SOP'd away, for magical/rare loot you
have to go through Arkadiy's contacts, but that can also be SOP'd
Vasily o/ Cou: We haven't gotten jack since I've been around.
Nikolai: well
Nikolai: ok so
DM of Da: Remember, Small items (goblin sized) are sold for 1/4th
the market price instead of 1/2
Nikolai: let me go back in times
Albrecht: we need to ID the stuff the assassin had.
DM of Da: Ok
Nikolai: hm
DM of Da: That's the first step?
Nikolai: Sandy do you recall if we got anything
Nikolai: while Oliver wasn't around
Albrecht: Boris might like some of it
DM of Da: Not since you had the battle with the dragon and Taras
DM of Da: And that stuff's been entered
Nikolai: did we get anything from that battle
DM of Da: Into the loots
Nikolai: it has?
DM of Da: Yeah
Nikolai: oliver wasn't here
Nikolai: and I may not have taken it down
DM of Da: It was distributed
DM of Da: To people
Nikolai: oh
DM of Da: Trust me
Nikolai: potions?
Nikolai: ok we can deal with this later
DM of Da: He had some CLWs
Boris: yeah, I'm told there was cool armor involved
Nikolai: via email
DM of Da: It was all distributed
DM of Da: I remember
DM of Da: So
Nikolai: let's go talk with Arkadiy
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: You head up to Norkin's Knickknacks
DM of Da: And are told by his wife that Arkadiy's currently in the
middle of a business meeting
DM of Da: But will be done shortly
DM of Da: And to wait please
DM of Da: Arkadiy's wife, Alla, stares at all of you
disapprovingly while you wait
Albrecht: any reason not to SOP armor upgrade?
DM of Da: None at all
Albrecht: yay AC upgrade
*** Nikolai smiles at her
Boris: did you guys ID the assasin's armor yet?
DM of Da: And after a bit of waiting, Arkadiy comes out front
Nikolai: not yet
Albrecht: Oliver, add 125 GP to the pool.
Albrecht: my banded armor goes awawy
Nikolai: Sandy will email us about that afterwards
<<< Arkadiy has joined >>>
<<< 11:21:32 PM >>>
Boris: oh, ok
*** Arkadiy smiles and rubs his hands
Arkadiy: Well, now, that went well... better than I expected,
even... finally catching a break perhaps...
*** Arkadiy looks up and sees all of you
Arkadiy: Oh! You're back! Well?? Good news? Eh? What? Come on
back and tell me all about it, come on!
*** Arkadiy leads the way to the back room of the shop, looking excited
*** Nikolai follows
*** Arkadiy sits down behind his cluttered desk
Nikolai: So.
Arkadiy: What've you got for me?
Nikolai: We've been through a lot.
*** Nikolai introduces Albrecht
*** Arkadiy nods
Nikolai: So
Nikolai: We got some info
Nikolai: From the two merchants that worked with Isildor
Nikolai: Apparently the gems came from...
Nikolai: //insert place and person
Nikolai: //help me out here guys
DM of Da: //The Crimean Khan?
DM of Da: //in Crimea?
Nikolai: //sure
DM of Da: //:P
Nikolai: //i forgot ;P
Albrecht: that's the contact, at least.
Nikolai: We basically used the plot back on them
Nikolai: Told them that their caravan with the gems had been
attacked
Nikolai: As they planned... but for real.
Nikolai: And the gems were lost.
Albrecht: We put the blame on the goblins.
Arkadiy: Hmm... and they fell for that?
Nikolai: So they gave us this box... it contains a letter and
payment
Nikolai: Ostensibly for new gems.
Arkadiy: A letter? To whom? To the Khan?
Nikolai: Yes.
Arkadiy: Well, let's see it!
Nikolai: He said they'd know if we tampered with it
Arkadiy: Hmm
Nikolai: So instead of trying to open it we kept it and came back
here
Nikolai: Hoping you'd have some better resources
Arkadiy: Good, good plan, very smart.
Arkadiy: I... hm.
Nikolai: //i know i am teh genius
*** Nikolai shows
Vasily o/ Cou: (we have the box, yes?)
Nikolai: (we do)
Albrecht: // yeah, recovered from the assassin
*** Arkadiy looks at the box, turning it around in his hands
Nikolai: (we also have a bag of holding)
Albrecht: // and some leather armor
Nikolai: From my inspection, it is Arcane Locked.
*** Arkadiy shakes it
Nikolai: There were two other spells on it I couldn't guess.
Nikolai: In addition to the Arcane Lock and the Arcane Mark.
DM of Da: //in it
DM of Da: //the other two auras were from inside
Nikolai: in it*
*** Arkadiy puts the box down and walks over to one of his many
shelves, rummaging through various trinkets
*** Arkadiy retrieves a worn, simple wooden wand
*** Arkadiy coughs and narrows his brows, concentrating
*** Arkadiy waves the wand
*** Arkadiy puts it down and peers at the box intently
Nikolai: //use magic deviiiiiice!
Arkadiy: Hmm, yes, looks like it... arcane... locked... marked...
what's this symbol?
Arkadiy: These, uh... lines? Square? What...
Arkadiy: You know what it means? Or what?
Nikolai: hm
Nikolai: //you had an image?
DM of Da:
http://obormot.ath.cx/~obormot/beyond_ragnarok/emblem.png
Nikolai: All of their guards had the same symbol on their shield
Albrecht: // Kirill knows, but I don't think we know yet in this
campaign
Nikolai: //hax
Nikolai: //also sploits
Arkadiy: Oh... well, that's the Arcane Mark... could be Isidor's
symbol? Well, it doesn't matter
Arkadiy: Arcane Lock's not hard to beat. We'll lock it back up
when we're done, and if we see that we can't put it back the way we
found it, that's not a big deal, right?
Arkadiy: The important part is - we have a lead!
Arkadiy: The Khan of Crimea... hmm... it makes sense.
Arkadiy: Alright, let's crack it open.
*** Arkadiy pulls out another wand from a box on his desk
*** Arkadiy concentrates and waves it at the box, which pops open
DM of Da: Inside is a stuffed velvet pouch and a rolled up piece
parchment, sealed with wax
DM of Da: The seal is the same geometrical shape as the Arcane
Mark
*** Arkadiy unties the pouch and looks inside
*** Arkadiy whistles
Arkadiy: Well wouldja look at that!
*** Arkadiy shakes out a few coins onto the table
Arkadiy: Don't see this every day, now do you?
DM of Da: And indeed, before you is a relatively rare sight - the
coins are platinum
*** Nikolai soft whistle
Albrecht: impressive.
DM of Da: They're also obviously old
*** Arkadiy picks up a coin and squints at it, turning it around in his
hand
Arkadiy: Wow!
Arkadiy: These date back to the time of Vsevolod III! They're
over half a century old... maybe more...
Arkadiy: Not a common thing, I'll tell you that much.
Arkadiy: Alright, let
Arkadiy: let's see that letter...
*** Arkadiy inspects the seal carefully
Arkadiy: The Arcane Mark's on the seal itself... interesting...
interesting...
Arkadiy: And the letter's enchanted with... something...
Arkadiy: Could be some sort of trap... I've heard of this...
Arkadiy: Say...
Arkadiy: I've got some scrolls here
Arkadiy: Now I save them for special occasions
Arkadiy: And this looks like it could be one
Arkadiy: Here...
*** Arkadiy rummages in a large wooden crate in the corner
*** Arkadiy pulls out a scroll and hands it to Nikolai
DM of Da: It is a scroll of Arcane Sight.
Nikolai: Oooh
Albrecht: yummy
*** Nikolai forgets the spellcraft check for that shit
Albrecht: read magic skips spellcraft
Albrecht: then you need a caster level check
DM of Da: It does
Nikolai: because I totally have that prepared
Albrecht: DC 5+CL of scroll
Nikolai: ok CL of arcane sight is...
Nikolai: 5?
DM of Da: Yep
Nikolai: Ok.
Nikolai: Give me 15 minutes.
Nikolai: To prepare Read Magic
DM of Da: Or just roll the damn check :P
Nikolai: yes well
Nikolai: I was roleplaying
Nikolai: jackass
Nikolai: /try 4
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM 1d20 < 18 = 18 > + 4 = 22
DM of Da: There you go
*** Arkadiy not a patient man
DM of Da: I meant Spellcraft, btw
Nikolai: ...
DM of Da: To read the scroll without Read Magic
Nikolai: can I use that for my spellcraft check :P
DM of Da: Thus rendering said spell unnecessary
DM of Da: Sure why not
Nikolai: my spellcraft bonus is actually like 8
DM of Da: Ok that's fine
Nikolai: or actually
*** Nikolai counts
Nikolai: 10
DM of Da: Now roll the CL check
Nikolai: /try 4
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM 1d20 < 11 = 11 > + 4 = 15
DM of Da: Victory
DM of Da: Ok
Nikolai: k
DM of Da: You cast Arcane Sight
DM of Da: Surrounding magic is revealed to you
DM of Da: Oh this won't even do it
DM of Da: You need Greater Arcane Sight to reveal the specific
identity of spell effects you see
DM of Da: Well
DM of Da: Anyway
DM of Da: The scroll itself (not the seal) is affected by
DM of Da: Faint transmutation
Albrecht: yeah for this purpose I don't see the advantage of
Arcane Sight...
Nikolai: yeeeah
Boris: indeed
Nikolai: I didn't go read the spell
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Anyway
Nikolai: I remember one is like instant Detetc Magic
Albrecht: the main advantage of arcane sight over detect magic is
that it doesn't involve concentration
Nikolai: then there's another higher level one
DM of Da: Yeah
DM of Da: Ok
Nikolai: that actually tells you what the spells are
DM of Da: Yes Greater
DM of Da: Ok so
Albrecht: whereas greater also lets you know stuff about spells
DM of Da: You tell Arkadiy that this won't help I assume?
Nikolai: Had I thought of it beforehand
DM of Da: .
Nikolai: I would have told him before I read the damn thing.
Nikolai: So in any case, I don't cast the spell
DM of Da: Yeah
Nikolai: I look at the scroll
Nikolai: and tell him:
Nikolai: This won't tell me anything I don't already know.
Arkadiy: Oh.
Arkadiy: Well, that's no good.
*** Arkadiy inspects the seal some more
Nikolai: Sandy remind me what the auras are
DM of Da: On the seal, which is stamped with that symbol, is an
Arcane Mark of the same shape
DM of Da: So that has the aura of whatever Arcane Mark is
DM of Da: AND
DM of Da: Faint trans on the letter itself
Arkadiy: Now, this seal, we could forge that...
Nikolai: arcane mark is univ
Arkadiy: I know this man... well, it won't be a problem
Arkadiy: The mark... you could duplicate that, can't you?
Nikolai: faint trans eh
Nikolai: Hm
DM of Da: //yes
Nikolai: There's a forgery check of some sort
Nikolai: right?
DM of Da: Not that I can see
Nikolai: I forget which
Nikolai: Oh
Nikolai: Ok then sure
Nikolai: we can make whatever mark
Arkadiy: Now what concerns me is this spell on the letter...
Arkadiy: Could be a trap...
*** Arkadiy takes a small knife
Arkadiy: carefully, meticulously separates the stamp from the
paper
*** Arkadiy
*** Arkadiy looks at his handiwork
Arkadiy: You can see it was tampered with, but that'll be covered
by the new seal we put on...
Arkadiy: Now...
*** Arkadiy inspects the still-rolled-up letter
Arkadiy: /try 9;Search
*** DM rolls attempts for Arkadiy :
*** DM (Search) 1d20 < 20 = 20 > + 9 = 29
Boris: winner
Nikolai: hax
Arkadiy: Well, I don't think it's trapped.
Arkadiy: But just in case, I'd stand back if I were you...
*** Arkadiy closes his eyes and slowly unrolls the parchment
DM of Da: And suddenly...
DM of Da: Nothing happens.
Boris: we have an open piece of parchment
*** Arkadiy opens one eye carefully
*** Arkadiy opens the other eye and looks at the letter
Arkadiy: Hm.
*** Arkadiy scans it
*** Arkadiy peers at it again
Arkadiy: Magic's still there...
Arkadiy: Take a look.
Vasily o/ Cou: (I prepared arcane runes this morning...)
*** Arkadiy places the letter on the table, turning it such that you
all can see it, and holds it down
DM of Da: It is in Russian
DM of Da: And says:
DM of Gaia: To His Most Exalted and Surpassing Supremeness, Nogai
Khan, the Son of the Sky, the Chosen of Tengri and Great Ruler of All
Crimea and the Lands Beyond, we, his unworthy servants, humbly address
this letter.
DM of Gaia:
DM of Gaia: It is our most fervent wish that you accept our
expression of admiration for your resourcefulness and power, for news
has reached even to these lands of your singular achievement in securing
that which has eluded all seekers for three and a half decades, the
treasure of the fearsome and legendary beast whose name, we trust, needs
not be set down here.
DM of Gaia:
DM of Gaia: We have also been made aware that Your Exalted
Supremeness, in your limitless wisdom and expansive foresight, has seen
fit to part with but a small sample of this treasure, this being surely
a demonstration of the nigh-infinite nature of your wealth and material
holdings.
DM of Gaia:
DM of Gaia: It is also our devout hope that you will not consider it
taxing of your sufferance to allow us to approach Your Exalted
Supremeness, in the person of the messenger that we beseech you to
receive with your renowned and unparalleled magnanimity; for we desire
to ask that you extend your beneficence also to us, and wish to attempt
most humbly to convince you to part with several more of the same gems,
an undoubtedly insignificant portion of your infinite wealth, before the
thought of which all kings and rulers tremble.
DM of Gaia:
Nikolai: lols
DM of Gaia: Your Exalted Supremeness will forgive us, we vehemently
hope, for having enclosed what is surely a paltry gift, yet we most
contritely beg to apologize that our limited means prevents us from
properly honoring you in the fashion we know is due your divine station.
DM of Gaia:
Boris: wow
Albrecht: ah hyperbole.
DM of Gaia: Signed,
DM of Gaia: Your Surpassing Supremeness' humble and unworthy
servants,
DM of Gaia: Danil Semyonovich Sidorov of Oleshie
DM of Gaia: Anastas Fedorovich Andropov of Oleshie
DM of Gaia:
Albrecht: hmm
Albrecht: so we still don't know what the spell on there is.
Albrecht: Would Identify tell us?
Nikolai: I don't think so
DM of Da: Negative
Nikolai: Identify tells all properties of a magic item
Albrecht: right
Nikolai: not a mundane item with a spell cast on it
Nikolai: Well, that scares me
Albrecht: ok what's within our means to find out?
Albrecht: I mean, we see text on there
Albrecht: and this was an illusion spell, yes?
Nikolai: ehhhh any way of getting a Greater Arcane Sight cast?
DM of Da: Transmutation
Nikolai: transmutation
Albrecht: ok, trans
Albrecht: Greater Arcane Sight is too far up...
Albrecht: that's 7th level
Nikolai: yep
Nikolai: I dunno
Albrecht: analyze dweomer?
Nikolai: thought it might be somehow possible
Nikolai: hm
Albrecht: that's not as high up
Albrecht: clearly we're not dealing with explosive runes since we
didn't get blown up
Nikolai: sor/wiz6
DM of Da: Also Brd6! lolol
Nikolai: Analyze Dweomer would work.
Albrecht: and if it's something like secret page... then there'd
be another message under it
Nikolai: True seeing would foil that
DM of Da: Truth
Boris: is that trans or illus though?
DM of Da: Well, Secret Page is explicitly foiled by True Seeing
DM of Da: Says so in the spell desc
Boris: fair enough
Nikolai: transmutation
*** Boris has his PHB somewhere else inthe apartment
Arkadiy: Well? Your thoughts?
Nikolai: Ok well
Nikolai: I don't know what the spell is, and magic to reveal such
information is more powerful than I have access to.
*** Arkadiy scratches his beard thoughtfully
Boris: I doubt we could dspell whatever it is and then
replicate the effect
Nikolai: One possible thing it could be is a Secret Page
Boris: agreed
Nikolai: which would not take such powerful magic to foil
Nikolai: But
Arkadiy: And that is? Oh, I've heard of that sort of thing...
Nikolai: I have no guarantee that is what it is.
Arkadiy: Hidden message? That sort of thing?
Arkadiy: Well.
Nikolai: //wait
Nikolai: //I lied
DM of Da: //about what
Nikolai: //True Seeing is Sor/Wiz 6
DM of Da: //yes
Nikolai: //I was thinking of the clr level
Nikolai: so it would be equally hard to find that
Nikolai: as analyze dweomer
Nikolai: We'd need a spellcaster much more powerful than myself
to truly know what we're getting ourselves into.
Arkadiy: If there's some sort of message there, or something,
we'd better know about it.
Nikolai: Right, I don't want to walk into a trap.
Arkadiy: Now, let me think here...
Nikolai: Have any powerful wizard friends?
Boris: // doesnt the power of hte aura give you an idea of the
spell level?
Nikolai: //it's in line with secret page's level
Nikolai: //let me look
Albrecht: // i did a skim a while ago and secret page was the most
likely
Arkadiy: Well now, I don't know any powerful wizards or sorcerers
in Kiev, or anywhere ar...
Arkadiy: Wait...
Boris: // do we have a full wizard in the party?
Arkadiy: Would a sorcerer do? I'm not all that familiar with
magic, and all that...
Nikolai: If he knows the spell.
*** Arkadiy sits down
Nikolai: Going from my knowledge of spellcraft, this is most
likely Secret Page at work.
Arkadiy: Well, I've got an idea, but I don't know if it's wise...
Nikolai: Which would mean there is a message written here with
some sort of password.
Nikolai: Likely known to the Khan and Danil and Anastas
Boris: // the name of the demon?
Arkadiy: Now, you could go north, to Novgorod... find a wizard
there, perhaps... then again, you'd run the risk of Isidor hearing about
this...
Arkadiy: Or...
Arkadiy: The nearest powerful sorcerer's right here in Kiev
Arkadiy: The Cherkess ambassador, Said
Boris: would it hurt to guess at the password?
*** Arkadiy shrugs
Nikolai: My only concern is that I wouldn't want him reading this
message and learning of our activities.
Arkadiy: Yes... we're in a situation here, no doubt...
Nikolai: Also.. if he is the ambassador, is he really going to
cast a spell for us?
Nikolai: I can't see that...
*** Arkadiy leans forward and lowers his voice, looking around
nervously
Arkadiy: Now, you didn't hear this from me...
Arkadiy: But word on the street is, this ambassador of theirs has
been doing some business... on the side, as it were.
Boris: // who appointed this loser?
Nikolai: // good question!
DM of Da: //CLEARLY AMIR DID!! HAHA
Nikolai: //rofl
Albrecht: // yeah he hired Kirill to do stuff for him.
Boris: // what an ass
Arkadiy: I mean, he's the most powerful sorcerer for a hundred
miles... his skills must be in demand... I mean, if I were him...
Arkadiy: Well, why don't we leave that option for a bit
Nikolai: Ok, let's see what we can find out about him.
Arkadiy: I'll ask around... you can do the same... in the
meantime, could we guess the password?
Nikolai: Uh
Vasily o/ Cou: 1 2 3 4 5
Nikolai: Chances of that seem low to me
Arkadiy: If it's this Secret Letter spell you say it could be
Nikolai: Secret Page.
Arkadiy: Yes. Well, you're probably right. Not much chance of
that.
Arkadiy: I'll try and see what I can find out about this
ambassador.
Boris: What's the name of that beast he's writing about again?
Arkadiy: See if I can tell whether he's a man to deal with.
Albrecht: we can try that
Albrecht: Zmei Gromovoi
Nikolai: Hm
Arkadiy: Ah, that'd be the Demon of Fire and Storm, whose true
name was... yes, that's the one.
Nikolai: That didn't do it did it?
*** Nikolai looks at the letter
DM of Da: Nope.
Nikolai: Oh well
DM of Da: No change.
DM of Da: Alright
Boris: // ah well, that was my guess
DM of Da: Here's where we end for the night
DM of Da: We'll handle loot and XP in email
DM of Da: Any questions or comments?
Vasily o/ Cou: can you send us the text of the letter?
Nikolai: I has a shopping list
Nikolai: also send us the identified stuff we procured.
Albrecht: we should all have shopping lists
Nikolai: from that assassin
Albrecht: i'll go over mine, though it's probably just enchanting
the sword
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Will do
DM of Da: To all of that
Vasily o/ Cou: some tasty tasty int would be nice
Vasily o/ Cou: and some scrolls.
Nikolai: we don't actually have that kind of money
Nikolai: do we?
Boris: nothing I can't solve with more dex
Vasily o/ Cou: not really.
Nikolai: for like, wondrous items
Albrecht: we'll find out, I guess
Boris: but I kNOW we dont have that money
Vasily o/ Cou: Hmm...
Nikolai: Ok Sandy, question
Vasily o/ Cou: Definitely scrolls.
Nikolai: We fought some kobolds
Vasily o/ Cou: And some spell copying.
DM of Gaia: Yo
Nikolai: When the sandstorm picked up
Nikolai: did we get any loot there
Nikolai: also something before that I think
DM of Gaia: From like
DM of Gaia: The gnolls?
Nikolai: oh
Nikolai: gnolls
Nikolai: right
Nikolai: same thing
DM of Gaia: Yeah I sent you all of that in a previous email didn't I
Nikolai: No
Nikolai: I looked through my past emails from you
Nikolai: and don't see anything besides xp
DM of Gaia: Ok
DM of Gaia: Will do
Boris: no xp since the ship�