The party begins to get information for Siran, and asks Ambassador Said to find the magically hidden message in the letter from Danil & Anastas. Arkadiy Norkin behaves strangely, apparently under magical compulsion.
<<< #143 is now known as Vasily >>>
Vasily: Yo.
DM of Da: something2 = Invisibility
Albrecht: yo
root: :/...hold onto that armor I guess. I need the AC from
teh amsterwork chain presently, but eventually the dex on that armor
would prove useful
DM of Da: something3 = Darkvision
Vasily: Sorry for the delay.
Vasily: What'd I miss?
root: Stealth leather armor - masterwork leather armor
enchanted to provide +5 enhancement bonus to Hide checks
DM of Da: Albrecht: yep, we're IDing that armor
DM of Da: DM of Da: Ok it is:
DM of Da: root: check out that armor
DM of Da: Nikolai: yeah
DM of Da: Albrecht: +1 shadow leather armor. possibly
silent moves. possibly both
DM of Da: DM of Da: Stealth leather armor - masterwork
leather armor enchanted to provide +5 enhancement bonus to Hide checks
DM of Da: Albrecht: ah, quite different
DM of Da: Nikolai: also let's get those potions IDed
DM of Da: DM of Da: Potions:
DM of Da: DM of Da: something1 = Disguise Self
DM of Da:
DM of Da: Alright
DM of Da: Anyone have any questions or comments?
Vasily: Indeed.
root: none for you Sandy
Vasily: No questions, no
root: so I guess I'm taking the MW dagger?
DM of Da: Ok
Nikolai: something3?
Vasily: Darkvision.
DM of Da: something3 is Darkvision
Nikolai: k
Albrecht: you are taking the dagger
Albrecht: want the armor?
Vasily: I'd take it, but I can't use it.
DM of Da: Alright
DM of Da: Let
DM of Da: Let's get a recap of where we left off.
root: I have MW Chain right now, and I need the AC. THe Dex
on this is maxed out righ tnow though. I don't care what we do with it
Albrecht: that'd mean sell.
root: it shouldnt be too hard to appropriate more masterwork
leather armor later
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Question
DM of Da: You recounted to Arkadiy all of your adventures?
DM of Da: Or did you leave some things out
DM of Da: And if so, what
root: Im not sure how much we would actually tell about the
goblins
Nikolai: all we told him was what we told him last time
Nikolai: about how we went to Oleshie
Nikolai: and got the thing
Nikolai: and then came back to kiev
Nikolai: that is it
DM of Da: Ok.
Nikolai: he didn't ask about anything else.
root: we /could/ tell him about the Dragon and the guy there?
Nikolai: and we didn't tell him
Nikolai: nope
root: k
DM of Da: Alright
DM of Da: So
DM of Da: Other than the item crafting that you've got planned
DM of Da: What's your current plans?
Nikolai: we have item crafting planned?
DM of Da: Don't you?
Albrecht: by which you mean spellbook scribing?
Vasily: We have scribing planned.
Nikolai: news to me
DM of Da: Sure ok
Nikolai: yeah
DM of Da: Scribing
Nikolai: well
DM of Da: Whatever
Nikolai: so the plan is
Nikolai: 1. Arkadiy is supposed to find about about this sorcerer
Nikolai: and we're waiting on that
Albrecht: Sven will go off looking for a panther...
Nikolai: we're also gathering info on that ourselves
Nikolai: Sven needs an animal, yeah
Albrecht: we can be doing some of that info gathering we're
supposed to be doing for Siran
Nikolai: yep
Nikolai: there needs to be general hobnobbery
Vasily: Indeed.
DM of Da: Hob...nobbery...
Vasily: As well as some scribery.
Nikolai: indeed
Albrecht: Albrecht is researching power sources
Nikolai: Albrecht and Boris can do the info gathering
<<< Sven has joined >>>
<<< 08:24:46 PM >>>
Nikolai: while Vasily and Nikolai scribe
DM of Da: Ok when you say the sorcerer that Arkadiy's supposed to
be finding out about, you mean the Cherkess ambassador? Said?
Albrecht: which means he's learning about the stuff under the
church, and maybe something else
Vasily: O
DM of Da: Yes/no?
Vasily: I'll toss in what I can on the gather info while I'm not
scribing.
Vasily: I believe so.
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Hello Sven
DM of Da: You go to get a cat and in the process are eaten by
goblins
Nikolai: yes
DM of Da: Just thought I'd mention that
Sven: greetings and salutizzle
Sven: very well.
DM of Da: You're not actually eaten by goblins, you have a panther
DM of Da: Congratulations
Sven: hooray
DM of Da: Now
DM of Da: Before I forget
Albrecht: I mean, Arkadiy mentioned a sorcerer, not us, so it
might be Said
Vasily: I'm fairly certain he was referring to Said.
DM of Da: Yes he explicitly said that the most powerful arcane
caster in the Principality of Kiev is Ambassador Said
Nikolai: i was
Vasily: Hmm...
DM of Da: Now
Vasily: let me rephrase that.
Vasily: I'm certain that's what he said.
DM of Da: I need to do a piece of retconning before I forget
DM of Da: It concerns Siran
DM of Da: She never actually cast any healing spells on you guys
ever
DM of Da: She had a random minion do it
DM of Da: Some lower-ranking cleric
DM of Da: That is all.
DM of Da: Now.
DM of Da: Albrecht and Boris do some info gathering, eh
root: hah...yeah
Sven: /roll 1d8+1
*** DM rolls dice for Sven: 1d8 < 5 = 5 > + 1 = 6
DM of Da: Can I get an idea toward what you are directing said
gathering? Any particular organization or aspect of Kiev's establishment
or power centers? You have many to choose from
DM of Da: I can even list your potential targets if you like
Albrecht: well we've got a few things...
root: that would likely be helpful. Though if we wanted to
meet this guy, I'm guessing it would be good to know pplaces Said
frequenbts
Albrecht: Siran wants information on military strength, allies,
etc.
DM of Da: Yep
Nikolai: is everyone level 4 now?
Albrecht: I want information on any potential source of power I
might exploit
Vasily: Yep, L4
Sven: yes
Albrecht: we want information on getting Said to cast a spell for
us
DM of Da: Alright
Nikolai: discreetly
Albrecht: 4 HD here
DM of Da: Let's work from the specific to the general.
*** root is level 4
DM of Da: Firstly, Ambassador Said.
DM of Da: Boris and Albrecht, roll Gather Information.
Albrecht: with the knowledge that Arkadiy is pursuing leads to him
as well
Albrecht: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 8 = 8 > + 2 = 10
DM of Da: Yep
DM of Da: Boris?
Albrecht: and in fact... if he does it, we might not have to pay
root: /try -1;Gather
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM (Gather) 1d20 < 6 = 6 > + 0 - 1 = 5
Vasily: ...
Sven: well that was amazing.
Vasily: Must I do everything in this party?
root: ...
DM of Da: MAYBE
Nikolai: yeah... wow.
Albrecht: I'm sorry, did you expect me to be trained in this?
root: /try 3;KnLocal
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM (KnLocal) 1d20 < 9 = 9 > + 3 = 12
Vasily: /try 8;hobnobbery
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM (hobnobbery) 1d20 < 9 = 9 > + 8 = 17
Nikolai: but
*** root shrugs
Nikolai: we have SCROLLS to copy
Nikolai: this is important.
Albrecht: you want someone intimidated, talk to me.
Vasily: Yeah...
Vasily: I know
Vasily: I was just showing off :P
Albrecht: You want someone who can make friends... you're looking
at the wrong person.
root: I make enemies
Vasily: I make pizzas.
Vasily: Everyone loves pizza.
DM of Da: Alright
root: I should order a pizza
DM of Da: Let's see if Arkadiy can do any better
Vasily: (esp the BBQ chicken+bacon+mushroom pizzas in my oven
atm <.<)
Albrecht: (... damn you)
root: (NICE)
DM of Da: omfg
Vasily: Did he do better?
DM of Da: Guys game is on pause. omw to Oliver to steal his pizza.
DM of Da: kbye.
Sven: hahahah
Arkadiy: /try 13;GatherInfo
*** DM rolls attempts for Arkadiy :
*** DM (GatherInfo) 1d20 < 18 = 18 > + 13 = 31
Vasily: (Bwaha. Little does he know that my house is
raptorproof!)
DM of Da: Looks like Arkadiy knows where to find shit out
Albrecht: yeah, kinda part of his job.
Vasily: Schooled in the face.
Nikolai: i also want pizza.
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Now then
Vasily: Yo, Nikolai, can I borrow your spellbook today? I needs
me some firey beams of death.
DM of Da: While they're scribing
DM of Da: I'
Nikolai: yes
Nikolai: indeed
DM of Da: I'll give you guys some potential targets of
investigation
DM of Da: You can pick them one by one - investigating each of
them takes about a day apiece for moderately thorough information you
can find by hearsay and talk on the street, as it were, as well as
information gained by talking to people that don't require special
effort to meet
DM of Da: Any information that is more specific and thorough than
that takes longer
DM of Da: Here's some ideas:
DM of Da: 1. The City Council in general
DM of Da: 2. The Faith of the Sun - Svarog's clergy
DM of Da: 3. The newly rebuilt Orthodox cathedral and the clergy
who run it
DM of Da: 4. The Kievan Guard
DM of Da: 5. Dmitriy Dolgorukiy and his vast trading empire
Vasily: (Hmm... hey... scribing only takes 8 hours.
Vasily: I can help out with the GI checks after scribing)
DM of Da: So
DM of Da: Pick one and we'll see what we can do
Nikolai: ok
Nikolai: 2.
DM of Da: Alright.
Sven: which day is this?
Albrecht: sure
Vasily: Seems fairly military.
DM of Da: This is so far the second day
Vasily: (can we take 10 on scribing checks?)
DM of Da: Of you having returned to Kiev
Sven: ok
DM of Da: Yes you can
DM of Da: April 3rd, 1275
Sven: did I spend the first day getting this panther or today?
Albrecht: none of those suit my personal goals, but it seems a
good one to know about
DM of Da: First day
Sven: ok
DM of Da: Roll Gather Info checks please
Nikolai: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM 1d20 < 7 = 7 > + 2 = 9
DM of Da: Poor
DM of Da: Next!
Vasily: /try 8
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM 1d20 < 5 = 5 > + 8 = 13
Sven: /try 0
*** DM rolls attempts for Sven :
*** DM 1d20 < 16 = 16 > + 0 = 16
Albrecht: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 19 = 19 > + 2 = 21
Vasily: ow. My face.
DM of Da: That looks like one good roll and 2 more good enough for
Aid Another
DM of Da: For a total of 25
Nikolai: wow, they're making a death of superman movie
DM of Da: Not bad.
Nikolai: cartoon continuity
Nikolai: that will be sweet
DM of Da: Yes
root: /try -1;gather
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM (gather) 1d20 < 1 = 1 > + 0 - 1 = 0
root: nice
DM of Da: Wow
DM of Da: That's impressive
root: as tempting as it is to ask abotu what I found out, I'll
let you go on
DM of Da: You manage to get sidetracked by meeting some old
"business associates" of yours and find out nothing about the topic
DM of Da: Here's what the rest of you discover
DM of Da: The church of Svarog, the Slavic sun god and perhaps the
most powerful deity of the pantheon, became more popular and influential
in Kiev during the rebuilding of the city after its sack by the Mongols.
DM of Da: Though the clergy here in Kiev are nominally subordinate
to the Temple of the Sun in Smolensk, headed by High Priest Nikolai,
they retain some measure of autonomy.
DM of Da: Unlike Smolensk, where the priests of Svarog hold
effective power, the Kievan clerics largely do not involve themselves in
politics.
DM of Da: However, the church maintains influence by being the
primary provider of magical support to the Kievan Guard - a cleric of
Svarog is attached to each guard company by order of General Zeleny.
DM of Da: In this way, through the Guard, the clergy of Svarog are
a power base for the City Council as a whole.
DM of Da: Though it's not often spoken of, you do get the
impression that the City Council is somewhat wary of the Faith of the
Sun becoming too influential, seeing Smolensk as an example of what they
don't want here in Kiev
DM of Da: That has not happened yet, but the fear is there.
DM of Da: Any specific questions?
Albrecht: 1 cleric per guard company...
Vasily: Any particular councilmembers who are particularly
fearful
Albrecht: size of company and typical power of attached clerics?
DM of Da: Size of company is generally 40
Albrecht: numbers of additional clerics who might be called up in
a defense?
Vasily: and by the same token, any particular clergy who seem
ambitious.
Nikolai: also have we heard from arkadiy
Albrecht: those are also useful things
DM of Da: Re: Arkadiy: Yes at the end of the day, I'll get to him
after this
Nikolai: k
DM of Da: Typical power of assigned cleric depends on where/what
that company's assigned to, but from what you can estimate it'll range
from 1st level for guard companies assigned to city patrol duty to
6th-7th for companies dispatched to handle particularly dangerous
situations, such as large goblin incursions or similar
root: (eventually someone will need to look into the glass
wands of goodness)
DM of Da: As for how many clerics can be called up in a defense -
there are not many who aren't already assigned to Kievan Guard
companies, mostly just those who are needed to take care of day to day
temple operations, so a couple dozen more
DM of Da: Particular names of council members who are especially
opposed to clerical involvement in the Kievan Guard, as well as those of
ambitious priests, would require further investigation
Vasily: worth looking into.
DM of Da: You'd probably need to find someone on the inside, as it
were, of one organization or the other, who for whatever reason would
want to discuss this with you.
Vasily: An agent inside the church?
Vasily: Well, I know this wizard rogue...
DM of Da: Heh
Albrecht: would his name be Petr?
Nikolai: hah.
DM of Da: Any followup will have to be done the next day, but
meanwhile...
Sven: God heals those who heal themselves.
Vasily: mmhmm.
DM of Da: While you're all sitting around the inn having your
moderately well-cooked dinner and discussing what you've heard that day,
Arkadiy walks in the door
Vasily: Also, if god wanted you healthy, he wouldn't have let
you get hurt\ in the first place.
DM of Da: He beckons a barmaid over and pulls a chair up to your
table
DM of Da: Arkadiy greets you and leisurely orders a meal, and,
after sending the barmaid away, turns to you and looks around the table
with a meaningful expression on his face
Arkadiy: So.
<<< Albrecht has left >>>
<<< 09:01:43 PM >>>
Arkadiy: Interesting things I hear, I'll tell you that.
<<< Albrecht has joined >>>
<<< 09:02:01 PM >>>
Albrecht: ...
*** Albrecht is stupid and fat-fingered
Arkadiy: Mm-hmm, pretty interesting...
*** Arkadiy leans forward and places his arms on the table
*** Vasily leans forward and listens.
Arkadiy: Well, our man the Ambassador...
Arkadiy: There's a lot more to him than you'll hear from the
Council, that's for sure.
Albrecht: // someone do me a favor and mail me everything from
start of this session to now please?
Arkadiy: You know what they told us, don't you? The King of
Cherkessia sent Said up here to help with the rebuilding, token of the
renewed alliance, Cherkess magical expertise, all that...
Albrecht: // gracias
Arkadiy: Well, I don't know if that's what the Council's all
about with him, but Said himself, he's been making quite a tidy job out
of this whole situation, mm-hm...
Arkadiy: Turns out he's been dealing with, oh, just about...
everyone's who's anyone in the... not-quite-legal, not so up-and-up part
of Kiev, if you know what I mean.
Arkadiy: Now around here you're somebody if you have power. And
the most valued kind of power in recent years is the magical kind.
Arkadiy: You're a wizard, you
Arkadiy: you're a cleric, you're respected.
*** Nikolai snorts
Nikolai: Is that so.
Arkadiy: Now here comes this guy, he's from the land of magic, if
you believe the stories, if your enemy thinks you've got this guy on
your side - you've got a huge advantage.
Nikolai: //i'd rather have amir to be fair
Albrecht: // he's busy shagging Hasan's daughter.
Nikolai: //well that can't take that long
root: //aaaaaaalriiiiiight
root: oof
Nikolai: rofl
Arkadiy: So it seems all this ambassador's got to do is show up
to a meeting with someone who fancies himself a big boss around here,
and bam!
Albrecht: // also probably has more morals than Said
root: // level 21 feat - Endurance
Arkadiy: That person's instantly more respected.
Vasily: Sweet gig.
Nikolai: That, is impressive.
Arkadiy: Oh, it's pretty sweet alright.
Sven: Well damn.
Arkadiy: Add to that a few sales here and there - nothing big,
some wands, some magic trinkets, that sort of thing...
Arkadiy: Hell, he could sell you your regular everyday piece of
magic like you can buy down at the market, call it special Cherkess
sorcery, and people pay double!
Vasily: o.O
Arkadiy: Well, I mean...
Vasily: $ :)
root: clever bastard
Arkadiy: I'd know the difference. But not many would. I've got
some genuine goods, from the old days, but your average flunky that's
trying to impress his boss? What's he know?
Arkadiy: And! I haven't even mentioned the rumors!
Arkadiy: Oh, the kinds of things I hear from people about this
guy...
Arkadiy: He comes in the night to incinerate people he doesn't
like, looking like their own mother or brother or friend. He's got the
whole City Council under some kind of spell, having 'em do what he
wants. He's not really an ambassador, he's just softening us up so the
Cherkess can invade. He can be in five places at once.
Arkadiy: Well, that's what they say, anyway... oh, there's my
food!
root: //yay alter self
Vasily: Hmm...
Nikolai: wow.
*** Arkadiy gets up, taking the large tray of plates that the barmaid's
carrying to your table and setting it down
Nikolai: That seems incredibly farfetched.
Vasily: Alter Self + "Special Cherkess" magic.
*** Arkadiy sits down and starts working on his dinner
*** Sven raises the People's Eyebrow
Arkadiy: Mmmrff.
Nikolai: (sandy, what do I know about the cherkess)
Vasily: The lobes are tingling, they are.
DM of Da: Roll Knowledge: History
Nikolai: /try 4
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM 1d20 < 5 = 5 > + 4 = 9
Nikolai: damn you d20
Nikolai: compensate for my lack of ranks more
Sven: they're some guys.
DM of Da: You Know Nothing.
Sven: they do stuff.
DM of Da: Yeah they are and they do
Albrecht: Have there been deaths by fire that actually fit these
rumors?
Vasily: /try 8
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM 1d20 < 12 = 12 > + 8 = 20
Sven: they're some specific guys.
Sven: they do more specific stuff.
root: /try 3
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM 1d20 < 14 = 14 > + 3 = 17
Vasily: would Kievan knowledge also apply?
DM of Da: //yes as it relates to the Cherkess
Arkadiy: Oh, sure, there's something every month or so, someone
sets fire to their rival's shop, or their house, or their storehouse of
goods...
root: //try 3;KnowledgeKiev
root: /try 3;KnowledgeKiev
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM (KnowledgeKiev) 1d20 < 2 = 2 > + 3 = 5
root: nice
Arkadiy: Sometimes someone gets killed... now whether any of
those lately's been the ambassador burning people alive, or what have
you, I can't really tell you.
DM of Da: Now as for what Vasily knows of the Cherkess
DM of Da: He knows that they are a nation in the Caucasus
Mountains to the southeast, greatly knowledgeable and powerful in
sorcery, ruled by a sorcerer-king, that allied with Kiev and then (after
Kiev's destruction) with Novgorod to battle the Mongol invasion.
Vasily: Definitely profit to be had here.
DM of Da: They weren't heard from much or at all for a long time
after Ragnarok, until 2 years ago, when Kiev sent a diplomatic mission
to Cherkessia
DM of Da: Which succeeded in re-establishing relations
DM of Da: And King Amir sent Ambassador Said as the first
demonstration of Cherkessia's dedication to a renewed alliance
DM of Da: That's all you know
*** Arkadiy cuts into his steak with relish
*** Arkadiy takes a swig of ale
Nikolai: he eats steak with relish?
Nikolai: wtf is that
DM of Da: ... no
Nikolai: lol
DM of Da: He eats steak plain like a real Russian
DM of Da: Come on now
Vasily: It could be done.
Nikolai: hahaha
Sven: oh I get it . . . all this shit is flynn's fault.
Nikolai: l;ol
Sven: damn it flynn.
Vasily: Poles have various veggie sides to their dishes.
Arkadiy: So, anyway, I was thinking...
root: hah
Vasily: Coleslaw is among them.
Sven: that smelled like a pun.
*** Arkadiy chews another bite of steak and washes it down before
continuing
Sven: goddamnit oliver.
root: well, I didn't want him
Vasily: (but... that wasn't meant to be a pun!)
Nikolai: lol
Vasily: (I can't help it!)
Arkadiy: I was thinking, maybe we could see if the good
ambassador would want to do some business.
Sven: (so now you just do that shit subconsciously)
Sven: (you are a threat to national security)
Albrecht: .
Albrecht: .
<<< Albrecht has joined >>>
<<< 09:26:50 PM >>>
Albrecht: let's try this one...
Arkadiy: Now it's not the easiest thing to get an audience, I
hear, but I know a guy, he made some trades with an acquaintance of his
recently, some sort of magical weapons, and I'm thinking I could get us
introduced.
Arkadiy: If you follow my meaning here, eh?
Nikolai: Right.
Sven: //nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat
Nikolai: Let's get that set up.
Vasily: Sounds like a plan.
Albrecht: // so what's our war chest look like, anyway?
<<< Albrecht has left >>>
<<< 09:29:04 PM >>>
Arkadiy: Right. Well, why don't you all come down to the shop
around say, noon tomorrow, and I'll spend the morning taking a walk and
seeing if I can have a chat with the right people.
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Arkadiy finishes his dinner, pays, and leaves
DM of Da: The rest of the evening and night passes uneventfully
Sven: hooray for not getting fucked.
Sven: it's been a while since I've spent a night unfucked.
DM of Da: Anything in particular you want to do in the morning
before heading down and seeing what Arkadiy got done?
Vasily: (curious, I was kind of thinking the opposite <.<)
Vasily: Sleep is good.
Vasily: As are wenches.
Sven: obviously I was referring to getting fucked in the bad
way.
DM of Da: Alright
Sven: I got nothing.,
DM of Da: Anything else? No? Ok.
Albrecht: a little brief investigation into what's known about the
catacombs beneath the orthodox church
DM of Da: Roll Gather Info
root: (I thought about the fucked joke, I really did)
Albrecht: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 15 = 15 > + 2 = 17
DM of Da: (I felt said joke really made itself in most of our
cases here)
DM of Da: (and didn't need me to do it)
Albrecht: // the party can inform me that there's catacombs and
there's stuff in there
DM of Da: Ok well you don't find out much, only that A. There are
catacombs, B. They've been largely abandoned and unused since the sack
of Kiev, and C. That there are definitely unnatural things living down
there
DM of Da: Now then
DM of Da: By midday, you head over to Norkin's Knickknacks
DM of Da: Are, as usual, waved into the back of the shop by
Arkadiy's wife
DM of Da: Who is sitting at his desk, studying what appears to be
some sort of map or chart
DM of Da: It's a bunch of crooked, crisscrossing lines of various
widths
DM of Da: Arkadiy's turning the map around this way and that, a
dubious expression on his face
DM of Da: When you enter he looks up, starts to talk, but is
interrupted by a yawn
DM of Da: At which point he rolls the map up and puts it somewhere
under his desk
DM of Da: And looks at all of you, rubbing his hands together
Arkadiy: So! Good news.
Arkadiy: I've got you an audience with the Ambassador.
Arkadiy: Looks like he can fit you right before a speech he's
scheduled to give to the City Council, some sort of report on...
actually, the guy I talked to told me what it was about, but I wasn't
really listening at that point, tell you the truth.
*** Nikolai nods
Arkadiy: Anyway, it's early in the midafternoon, so go! Hurry!
City hall's halfway across town!
*** Nikolai zoom
Sven: we bounce
<<< Arkadiy has left >>>
<<< 09:40:00 PM >>>
DM of Da: Ok.
*** Albrecht cut
Sven: bounceunt, in fact.
*** Albrecht star wipe
Nikolai: we take the box
Nikolai: and the notes
Nikolai: noe*
Nikolai: note*
Nikolai: fucking a
DM of Da: The guards at the city hall look you over suspiciously,
asking what business you have here.
Albrecht: the note is the important part, but may as well take it
all
*** Nikolai gives Vasily the party microphone
Vasily: Good sirs, we come for an audience with the great Said.
Vasily: I believe he is expecting us.
DM of Da: The guards give each other a look, and one of them
enters the building.
DM of Da: Several minutes later he returns with two more guards
who are accompanied by a robed cleric of Svarog, nods at you, and
motions for you to go inside.
DM of Da: The guards and cleric escort you down some corridors,
past an expansive meeting hall, to a small but well-appointed room
Vasily: comfy.
*** Vasily prestidigitates himself up an apple and munches.
DM of Da: They point inside and and leave.
DM of Da: Sitting behind a simple wooden desk is a rather tall man
with black hair and a short moustache and beard.
*** Vasily bows
DM of Da: He is wearing an ornate robe, and a very rich-looking
red and gold cape with a spiral-shaped metallic clasp.
Vasily: Thank you for granting us an audience sir.
DM of Da: He wears no head adornments, but a spindle-shaped gem,
perhaps quartz or similar, orbits his head
DM of Da: Leaning against a corner of the room is a long, straight
staff of heavy darkwood; thin bands of iron are embedded within the
wood, spiraling down the length of the staff.
DM of Da: It is topped with a massive, perfect ruby, and the end
bears a heavy iron spike.
<<< Ambassador Said has joined >>>
<<< 09:49:00 PM >>>
root: //spindle ion stone....sounds familar
*** Ambassador Said looks up from a parchment he was reading, surveying
his visitors with a general air of disinterest
*** Ambassador Said speaks with a heavy accent
Ambassador Sa: Speak. Your names and your business with me.
<<< Ambassador Said is now known as Said >>>
Vasily: I am called Vasily and these are Nikolai, Boris, Sven,
and Albrecht.
Said: And you represent...? Your master is who?
Nikolai: Arkadiy Norkin.
Vasily: We have a matter of some... discretion and we were told
that you might be able to help us.
Said: Norkin... maybe I heard that name. Maybe. I should deal
with you why?
Albrecht: //brb
Vasily: We would of course, compensate you for your time.
Vasily: (What exactly are we trying to get him to do? Open the
box without a trace?)
Nikolai: (no)
root: (secret page)
root: (we need truu seeing or something like it for the letter
Nikolai: We need some magic identified... discreetly... and we
were told you were the man to talk to.
root: (more specifically I guess, we would like to know
exactly HOW the letter is enchanted)
Said: Magic indentified... I am what? Shop? Wizard for hire?
Or ambassador of Cherkess nation?
Nikolai: //sigh
Nikolai: Well it's a bit more specific than that.
Said: And none of you have magical knowledge yourselves, yes?
So you come to me?
*** Nikolai shakes his head no
Vasily: //wow, he's an ass.
Nikolai: No, but I have determined that the information we need
is beyond my capacity.
*** Said looks a bit more interested now
Said: But you have some arcane knowledge at least?
Nikolai: Yes.
Vasily: Aye, we do.
Said: All of you?
Vasily: Some of us.
Sven: //Do I look like a waiter to you?
*** Nikolai gestures to himself and Vasily
Nikolai: The two of us are wizards.
Said: Wizards, hm.
*** Said looks less interested
Nikolai: //eyeroll!
Sven: //silly wizards and your need to study things.
Nikolai: Please, sir, allow me to explain the issue.
Nikolai: If it doesn't interest you after I've explained it, then
we'll leave.
Nikolai: (don't we have anyone with better diplomacy than me?)
DM of Da: Someone roll Diplomacy
Albrecht: /try 5
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 1 = 1 > + 5 = 6
DM of Da: Nikolai for starters
Albrecht: hah
Nikolai: /try 0
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM 1d20 < 17 = 17 > + 0 = 17
Nikolai: hah
Sven: //looks good to me.
root: *shrug*
DM of Da: Anyone else?
Sven: //besides, I'm just a silly little tree-hugger . . .
guarantee you he doesn't care about what I have to say.
DM of Da: Vasily perhaps?
DM of Da: Mr. Party Microphone?
Sven: //quick vasily, start beatboxing or something.
root: (I doubt I'll beat 17)
Vasily: err... sec
Vasily: /try 6
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM 1d20 < 5 = 5 > + 6 = 11
Vasily: /sigh
root: /try 1
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM 1d20 < 19 = 19 > + 1 = 20
root: pfft
DM of Da: lolol
Sven: //comedizzle.
DM of Da: Alright the three of you together manage to be just
convincing enough...
root: go go bluff bonus
Said: Alright. But I speak to you because someone I did
business with asked that I should... that was yesterday. Today, I am
busy man, and I forget who it was that asked me. Tell me quickly - I
speak to the Council in several minutes.
Nikolai: I have here a letter that from my own limited
inspection, I believe has a Secret Page spell cast upon it.
Nikolai: We need to read the hidden message without disturbing
the condition of the page.
Vasily: It is also possible that the page is trapped.
*** Said holds out his hand, palm upward, saying nothing but merely
looking at Nikolai
*** Nikolai eyes Vasily
Nikolai: But doubtful.
*** Nikolai takes the letter out and hands it over
Nikolai: //man I hope we aren't fucked
*** Said glances at the symbol on the seal and frowns
Nikolai: //in the bad way
*** Said unrolls the letter and reads
Nikolai: //wait, we broke the seal
Sven: //I've had plenty of that kthx.
DM of Da: You didn't break the seal - Arkadiy carefully separated
the seal from one end of the letter
Nikolai: ah
DM of Da: It's still attached to the other edge
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Sense Motive modifiers?
Nikolai: 5
Albrecht: 4
Nikolai: 3
Nikolai: 2
Nikolai: 1
Sven: uhh
Nikolai: blast off
Sven: threeve
Vasily: 7
*** Said finishes reading and looks up, his expression neutral
Said: Where did you get this?
Nikolai: //ok I don't want to be responsible for us dying
root: 2
Nikolai: //oliver come up with a plausible lie
DM of Da: Ok
Vasily: /try 8;bluff
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM (bluff) 1d20 < 3 = 3 > + 8 = 11
DM of Da: Before you guys answer anything
DM of Da: Or say anything
Vasily: //we found it in a cracker jack box.
Nikolai: /try 6;aid
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM (aid) 1d20 < 13 = 13 > + 6 = 19
Nikolai: terrible
Vasily: //the included secret decoder rings didn't work on it
Albrecht: // hell, I have a +6 bluff as well.
root: /try 6
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM 1d20 < 12 = 12 > + 6 = 18
Vasily: /cry
Vasily: //can't wait for these rogue levels. I needs them I do.
DM of Da: Now I believe Boris may have something to say or
possibly do
Albrecht: // i just need my ranks to start accumulating.
Sven: //was something happening before we said/did anything?
Nikolai: //yes, boris has snothing to say or do
Nikolai: //something*
DM of Da: //dunno depends on whether Flynn's here or afk
Vasily: //bluff, SM, dipl all going up by 2 for the next few
levels.
root: //I'm here, just not as skilled with words as Vasilly
DM of Da: //did you get my PM just now
root: //yea
DM of Da: Ok I guess he doesn't have anything to say or do
Sven: //ruh roh raggy
DM of Da: Carry on.
DM of Da: So what'll the lie be?
root: We'll let you know as soon as you let us know what's so
exciting about that peice of paper
Sven: //ooh, ballsy
Vasily: //very.
Nikolai: //agreed!
root: //yeah
*** Said looks over at Boris sharply and narrows his eyebrows
root: //I need Oliver's ranks in bull shitting
Nikolai: //rofl
Vasily: //you've got a better bluff check'n I do.
Nikolai: //yeah 2 isn't a big difference
Said: I have no concern for this letter of yours. Leave it
with me, I have no time now to look over it, or cast detection spells.
Come back tomorrow, the same time, and I will tell you if I discover
anything of use to you.
*** Nikolai looks sharply at Boris
*** Nikolai bows
*** root frowns
*** Nikolai Thank you sir
Nikolai: er
Nikolai: Thank you sir
Vasily: /nod
Nikolai: We appreciate your time and effort
*** Sven bows
Vasily: Indeed.
Said: Yes yes. Leave me, I must study my speech one last time.
*** Said waves you out of the room
<<< Said has left >>>
<<< 10:18:24 PM >>>
DM of Da: Ok.
DM of Da: What now? Anyone have anything to do before coming back
the next day for results?
*** Sven frowns
<<< Nikolai has joined >>>
<<< 10:18:59 PM >>>
<<< Nikolai is now known as Nikolai of Laptop >>>
Vasily: I'ma scribe another spell.
Nikolai of La: Same
root: If only I had Vasilly's ways with words....theres
somethign in that letter that he likes. He likes it a lot
Albrecht: proceed on next investigative tack
Sven: likes, eh?
root: maybe next time I should knock on teh table three times
or some such
Sven: hmmm.
Vasily: That doesn't bode well.
Nikolai of La: Hm
Vasily: We left him the letter.
Albrecht: no, it doesn't
root: I can't say I like that
Nikolai of La: Maybe he knows about the gems?
Vasily: We'll find out soon enough.
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Meanwhile
DM of Da: Next investigative tack eh
DM of Da: Now what would you like that to be?
Albrecht: little we can do about it now, except be prepared for
whatever when we see him tomorrow
Albrecht: investigation for party... let's deal with the guard
before moving on to political connections.
Nikolai of La: well
Nikolai of La: list the options again?
DM of Da: DM of Da: Here's some ideas:
DM of Da: DM of Da: 1. The City Council in general
DM of Da: DM of Da: 2. The Faith of the Sun - Svarog's
clergy
DM of Da: DM of Da: 3. The newly rebuilt Orthodox cathedral
and the clergy who run it
DM of Da: DM of Da: 4. The Kievan Guard
DM of Da: DM of Da: 5. Dmitriy Dolgorukiy and his vast
trading empire
Nikolai of La: 4?
Vasily: 2a. Tensions between Svarog's clergy and the Council.
DM of Da: Alright
DM of Da: er
Albrecht: for myself, I want to know a bit more about the
catacombs
DM of Da: Pick one :P
root: 4 makes sense for this iron triangle business of yours
Vasily: I'd go with 4 or 1
Albrecht: 4 for now.
DM of Da: Alright
Albrecht: tomorrow we go for the council
DM of Da: Let's get some Gather Info rolls
Sven: very well.
Vasily: /try 8
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM 1d20 < 3 = 3 > + 8 = 11
Albrecht: then dolgurukiy, then the church
Vasily: ...
root: 3 is if we want to abandon this adventure and start a
new one...and 5....5 could have been useful if we didnt just talk to
Said
root: /try -1;Gather
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM (Gather) 1d20 < 15 = 15 > + 0 - 1 = 14
Albrecht: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 20 = 20 > + 2 = 22
Albrecht: yeah, you aid me
Vasily: /gives up
Albrecht: and my rolling well for once.
Sven: /try 0
*** DM rolls attempts for Sven :
*** DM 1d20 < 12 = 12 > + 0 = 12
Nikolai of La: hm
DM of Da: Looks like we've got a 28 or so result? Is that about
right?
Nikolai of La: /try 5
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai of La :
*** DM 1d20 < 17 = 17 > + 5 = 22
Nikolai of La: haha
DM of Da: Oh a 30
DM of Da: Good work
Nikolai of La: i wins
DM of Da: Ok, let's see.
Sven: give that man some internets.
DM of Da: The Kievan Guard is composed of trained volunteer
warriors, generally drawn from the ranks of farmers, laborers, and other
lower-class people; it pays better than what they'd otherwise be doing.
DM of Da: It
DM of Da: It's supported financially by taxation and contributions
from all the Councillors, and answers directly to the City Council.
DM of Da: The Kievan Guard is responsible both for maintaining
order in the city of Kiev and elsewhere in the principality, as well as
for defense against any external threats.
Albrecht: numbers, troop quality, equipment are not such an issue,
since Siran presumably already has access to most of that data
DM of Da: Yep
DM of Da: The Guard is headed by one General Zeleniy, nephew of
the famous General Zeleniy who fought in the war against Poland and the
Mongol invasion, where he was killed
root: //what was the name of the comic relief last time?
Sven: //fucking mongols
DM of Da: //General Malachov?
root: //yeah, that guy
DM of Da: Zeleniy is a fairly progressive-minded military leader;
he instituted the policy of attaching one spellcaster to each company of
guardsmen, and he was the one who suggested the partnership with the
clergy of Svarog.
DM of Da: Everything you hear about the man suggests that he is
impeccably honest and moral, and chooses his subordinates as much for
similar qualities as for their military and leadership skills.
DM of Da: It is this integrity of character that causes friction
between Zeleniy and the City Council.
DM of Da: As commander of Kiev's law enforcement, the General is
responsible for rooting out crime, and he takes that job very seriously.
DM of Da: However, it is a fairly well-known fact that many of the
Councillors are themselves corrupt and have extensive dealings with
Kiev's criminal underworld.
DM of Da: Given that General Zeleniy answers directly to the
Council as a whole, and given that the Council is composed entirely of
businessmen, traders, landowners, and other individuals concerned
largely about their own prosperity, he finds it virtually impossible to
combat this corruption.
Sven: poor general whatshisbuckets
DM of Da: Rumor has it that Zeleniy is getting extremely
frustrated with the political situation.
DM of Da: Any other specific questions?
Vasily: Mmm...
Vasily: Another way in.
Albrecht: ?
Vasily: It may be possible to take this town without a single
battle.
Albrecht: indeed
Vasily: At the very least, more easily than not.
Vasily: It bears investigation.
Albrecht: for my personal investigation, anything I can find out
about the "unusual creatures" in those catacombs, such as the thing the
party once met before encountering me.
root: //brb, need to do somethign about food
Albrecht: along the lines of finding out of we could actually
handle delving in there (assuming I talked everyone into it)
root: //stupid undead being immune to sneak attack
DM of Da: k roll Gather Info
root: /try -1
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM 1d20 < 12 = 12 > + 0 - 1 = 11
DM of Da: Not you :P
Albrecht: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 8 = 8 > + 2 = 10
Albrecht: why do I even try things?
Albrecht: the party's assessment of the thing they fought is at
least available check-free
DM of Da: Yes
DM of Da: That it is
DM of Da: Ok
Sven: //remind me what thing we're talking about here
DM of Da: That night
DM of Da: //It was a demon down in the catacombs beneath Kiev
DM of Da: //When you returned to Kiev for the first time with the
caravan loot
DM of Da: //It was all like "rar I am a scary demon"
DM of Da: //Kind of a dog-like thing, with no eyes and a long,
barbed tongue
Sven: //did we win or run?
DM of Da: //You met a cleric of Svarog there who'd been wandering
the catacombs after his guide was killed
DM of Da: //Said cleric helped you defeat the demon and you all
made your way to the surface
Sven: //ahh
DM of Da: //Turns out the church of Svarog had been doing
investigating of these catacombs
Sven: so yeah, I want in on demo investigation too.
DM of Da: Alright
Sven: demon, even
Sven: /try 0
*** DM rolls attempts for Sven :
*** DM 1d20 < 2 = 2 > + 0 = 2
Sven: but I suck.
DM of Da: Awesome
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: That night
DM of Da: When you come back to your inn
DM of Da: The innkeeper calls you over and informs you that the
man who came in and had dinner with you here yesterday was looking for
you
DM of Da: He said it was urgent
Albrecht: we go to Arkadiy's?
DM of Da: Ok
Nikolai of La: ep
DM of Da: You head over to the shop
Nikolai of La: yep
Sven: Bounceunt.
DM of Da: It's locked and the lights are off, but he comes out and
opens the door when you knock
root: oh yeah, i do remember that now....
root: (the demon in the caves thing)
DM of Da: Arkadiy waves you to the back of the store
DM of Da: What's your Sense Motive modifiers again?
Sven: 3ve
Albrecht: 4
DM of Da: Alright
root: (assuming arkadiy is in fact human, +2
DM: Ah, good thing you came.
DM of Da: er
<<< Arkadiy has joined >>>
<<< 10:49:06 PM >>>
Arkadiy: .
Arkadiy: Listen, I got some new information that could help us.
Sven: //is it milks?
Arkadiy: Do you boys remember that caravan you got that box of
gems from for me?
Sven: //surely not every piece of information you have on this
wall is cheese
*** Nikolai of Laptop nods
Vasily: 7
Sven: //7 . . . swans-a-swimming?
Arkadiy: Well, you found something else, too, a scroll? Wasn't
anything on it, just blank, remember that one?
*** Arkadiy looks at all of you expectantly
root: //does anyone remember that?
*** Sven honestly doesn't.
Albrecht: we totally did
Albrecht: it was a scrollcase with the box
root: //characters probably remember it, we dont :)
Vasily: Aye, I did.
*** Vasily digs through his pack and presents it.
root: //goes off to retreive a smore
*** Arkadiy takes the scroll
Sven: oh, you still have the thing.
*** Arkadiy inspects it
Arkadiy: Ah! Good! See, I was talking to a man about a... well,
he happened to mention something similar, and I asked about it,
discreetly, you know...
Sven: of course.
Arkadiy: Well, from what he told me, this might be useful to
us... I figure I'll show this to a friend of mine who knows about things
like this, see if he can't find out more...
DM of Da: Now meanwhile, as Arkadiy is talking, you all get the
feeling... that something isn't right.
DM of Da: Something about his demeanor... Boris, especially, who
has known him for quite a while, gets the sense that Arkadiy's... not
quite himself.
*** Sven frowns
*** Vasily mutters a detect magic
DM of Da: Meanwhile, he's putting the scroll back in the case and
turns around to put it one of his many boxes'o'stuff.
DM of Da: Detect Magic eh.
root: Say Arkadiy, comrade, can you tell us of this comrade at
all?
DM of Da: Looks like there's a magic aura on Arkadiy of...
moderate enchantment.
root: this person at all*
Arkadiy: Oh, just a... just a recent business acquaintance, you
haven't met him Boris, I don't think at least, name's... hmm... now what
did he say his name was... something Greek, I think it was...
*** root looks at everyone else
Albrecht: You know, we never really took a look at the scroll
ourselves.
Sven: where did you meet him?
*** root frowns
Arkadiy: Anyway, I'd better get home to my wife, bet she'll not
be too happy, me coming home so late again and all... hm?
root: It's possible we /ran/ /into/ /him/ /earlier/ /today/
Albrecht: Why don't we see what we can find about it ourselves
before we get someone else involoved?
Arkadiy: Well...
*** Arkadiy hesitates
Arkadiy: /try 3
*** DM rolls attempts for Arkadiy :
*** DM 1d20 < 20 = 20 > + 3 = 23
root: (oof)
Sven: //here's hoping that wasn't an attack roll.
root: //assumign it's arkady, it can't be - we'd get an
initiative roll or a spot check
Vasily: Hmm...
root: //now if it's the assasin behind me, we're fucked
DM of Da: Arkadiy's glance darts around the room, skimming all of
you in turn, then to far wall, where the object that looks like a
crossbow stock - with no crossbar and a green gem set into it - hangs
Vasily: (he's not keeping the blank sheet)
Nikolai of La: this sounds bad.
root: (a 23 and that happens?)
DM of Da: He makes a rush toward it, grabbing it off the wall, and
aims it at Albrecht...
DM of Da: Then, a pained expression twists his face, and his hands
begin to shake
root: (will save :) )
Nikolai of La: grapple his ass
DM of Da: Arkadiy throws the weapon - if that's what it is - to
the floor
DM of Da: And collapses, breathing heavily.
Sven: is that aura still there?
*** root runs over
DM of Da: Negative.
DM of Da: The aura of enchantment is gone.
root: Arkadiy, what's wrong?
*** root searches arkadiy for more weapons
Sven: is he unconscious? I check him
Nikolai of La: wow, he made his save?
DM of Da: He is conscious, though sweating profusely and breathing
heavily
root: rolled a 20 he did
Sven: he made the shit out of that save.
Nikolai of La: he sure did
Arkadiy: I... I... catch breath... couldn't... free...
Nikolai of La: Comrade, just breathe
Nikolai of La: You were under an enchantment
DM of Da: After a minute or so, his breathing becomes more
regular, and he speaks again
Arkadiy: I... couldn't control myself! It was like... like some
voice was telling me what to do, and I couldn't help but do what it told
me...
Arkadiy: I really needed to get that scroll from you, I don't
know why but I did, and give it to... to...
*** Arkadiy looks confused
Arkadiy: I...
Sven: //quick, someone bust out a Vulcan mind-meld
*** Arkadiy looks up at you, seemingly at a loss for words
Arkadiy: And I don't know why... I never had any idea why I was
doing what it told me to do, just that I had to do it!
Nikolai of La: Sounds like a suggestion
Arkadiy: Well, I don't know what that means, but it was sure
powerful. It was like I didn't care about... anything else, just doing
what the voice said...
DM of Da: Spellcraft checks please
Sven: /try 8
*** DM rolls attempts for Sven :
*** DM 1d20 < 16 = 16 > + 8 = 24
Nikolai of La: /try 9
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai of La :
*** DM 1d20 < 8 = 8 > + 9 = 17
DM of Da: Ok
Nikolai of La: :/
Albrecht: /try 6
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 8 = 8 > + 6 = 14
Albrecht: actually +7, but same difference
*** root shoudl take a rank of spellcraft
DM of Da: Sven recognizes that what Arkadiy is describing is a
fairly classic Dominate effect
Sven: //this is a Spellcraftgasmic party.
Albrecht: // needed for a prereq, and it's good to have for when I
can spell reflect
*** Sven says as much for the benefit of people who might care
Vasily: /try 11
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM 1d20 < 16 = 16 > + 11 = 27
root: //I wanted that class....
Sven: I don't suppose you can remember how long this voice has
been talking to you?
Arkadiy: Well...
Arkadiy: I figure it started... oh, just yesterday... evening.
Yep.
Vasily: Said?
Sven: possibly.
Arkadiy: What? The ambassador? What would he want with me?
Nikolai of La: Well
Nikolai of La: We noticed something yesterday
Vasily: You? I don't know, but he seems to want what we know.
Nikolai of La: He seemed unnaturally interested in that letter.
Nikolai of La: Given what you've said of him, I don't expect
manipulating you would be above him.
Arkadiy: Well, you're probably right about that.
*** Arkadiy suddenly gets a look of fear in his eyes
Arkadiy: Well, what'd you think he'll do now??
*** root sighs
Nikolai of La: I don't know.
Nikolai of La: This was likely a mistake.
root: indeed...
Arkadiy: A mistake?
root: well...we might as well examine the scroll again
ourselves
Albrecht: and be very careful when we see Said tomorrow
Nikolai of La: Very careful.
Arkadiy: So you think Said wants what you know?
Arkadiy: And this scroll?
Sven: definitely.
Vasily: That seems likely.
*** Arkadiy takes the scroll from his box'o'stuff and hands it over
*** Arkadiy looks around nervously
Arkadiy: Listen, boys, um...
Arkadiy: I think... now, don't take this the wrong way, I'm still
committed to the job, but, um, I'm thinking it could be a wise idea if
you didn't come see me for a while.
*** Nikolai of Laptop nods
Arkadiy: You know how it is. I got a wife, after all.
Sven: that seems reasonable.
Arkadiy: And she'd be waiting for me right about an hour ago, so
I'll go home now, and you all... well... be careful.
Albrecht: That we will.
*** Arkadiy sees you out, locks the store and leaves
<<< Arkadiy has left >>>
<<< 11:21:30 PM >>>
DM of Da: Alright.
Sven: well ain't that a bitch.
Sven: mustard-ass motherfucker.
Nikolai of La: yep
DM of Da: Your return to the inn is uneventful.
Nikolai of La: ketchup[
Sven: well zap my dumb ass.
DM of Da: As is... the night's sleep.
DM of Da: You go back to the city hall to see Said again the next
day, yes?
Albrecht: yeah we do
<<< Said has joined >>>
<<< 11:24:55 PM >>>
Sven: well kids, here we go again./
Albrecht: hmm
Albrecht: should we cast some resistances?
Albrecht: in case?
root: heh, for what, a minute of +1?
Sven: do we want to be walking in with magical auras ablaze?
root: before we go though
root: do we look at the scroll again at all ourselves?
Albrecht: well let's see if this has any auras
Sven: I don't know that I can make anything of it.
DM of Da: The scroll?
Sven: but we can look.
DM of Da: Well
Albrecht: and yeah, we can't bother with resistance, not with only
one minute duration
DM of Da: To remind you all
DM of Da: What this is
DM of Da: Is a piece of parchment that looks like it was torn out
of some tome
DM of Da: It's fairly large
DM of Da: Like about what we'd call 11x17 size today
DM of Da: It is entirely blank
DM of Da: And radiates an aura of faint illusion
Sven: big f'ing books.
Vasily: indeed
DM of Da: Anything else you want to do to it?
Sven: well, ain't shit I can do with that.
DM of Da: Or any preparations before going to see the Ambassador?
DM of Da: Yes/no?
Vasily: We should leave the parchment somewhere safe.
Albrecht: if he wants it, let's keep it away from him
Sven: yeah, don't bring the joint
Vasily: Any chance we can rig up another parchment to have a
similar magical enchantment on it?
Albrecht: put a fake magic aura?
root: know secret page?
Albrecht: secret page is 3rd level, so we don't
Vasily: There's a L0 spell isn't there?
Vasily: that places a magical aura on something.
Albrecht: and i doubt we know the L1 Nystul's Magic Aura, with
whatever caster is associated here
DM of Da: It's Hasan
DM of Da: DUh
DM of Da: Hasan's Magic Aura.
Nikolai of La: well
root: cou;d be Amir's now
DM of Da: Hasan invented it
Nikolai of La: which parchment
root: 0=)
Nikolai of La: exactly
Nikolai of La: the map
Nikolai of La: right?
DM of Da: Hm?
Nikolai of La: sorry
Vasily: The map?
Nikolai of La: scrolling up for the lol
DM of Da: So what is it you want to do exactly
Albrecht: hell, if we don't know the spell anyway...
DM of Da: Take a random other piece of parchment
DM of Da: And place a Hasan's Magic Aura on it
DM of Da: To make it look like it has faint illusion?
DM of Da: Is that it?
Sven: I don't have this spell . . . I assume someone else
does.
Albrecht: assuming we're capable, yes
Vasily: That is the plan.
Albrecht: of course you don't, you're not a sorcerer or wizard
Albrecht: does Nikolai or Vasily have the spell?
Nikolai of La: uh
Nikolai of La: we can get it
DM of Da: It IS actually available in Kiev - apparently Hasan
shared it with the wizards of Novgorod way back when, and it has been
traded to here
Albrecht: well we could just buy a scroll, even
DM of Da: So you could buy it.
Vasily: Ok...
Sven: hasan is a kindly and generous god
DM of Da: He sure was.
Vasily: We've got what... 3 days of scribing up til now?
Vasily: I use one of them on it.
DM of Da: Then he died and some noob named Amir took over
DM of Da: And now you can't even trust them damn Cherkess anymore
Sven: once again flynn . . . all your fault.
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: So you scribe said spell
DM of Da: And... what? Take a random parchment and make it aura'd
up all nice?
DM of Da: And leave the real one in the inn?
Vasily: We know anyone who can keep it safe?
root: I can't help it if his daughter was hot
Albrecht: not really
DM of Da: Not so much, no
root: I needed viktor to make intelligent decisions
Albrecht: that was his job.
DM of Da: Ok so
DM of Da: What do you do with the real parchment
DM of Da: Anyone?
Nikolai of La: hm
Sven: I got nothing.
Albrecht: leaving it behind isn't very secure
Vasily: I don't want to leave it behind...
Vasily: Hmm...
Albrecht: but we want to leave Arkadiy out of it for right now
Vasily: My conceal check should be pretty good here.
Vasily: I stash it on someone other than myself.
DM of Da: Someone other than yourself eh
Vasily: Who wants?
Vasily: And I carry the fake.
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Someone volunteer, then :)
Albrecht: sure, me
Sven: who is best to do this?
Vasily: I take 20 with the check.
root: ...Im not sure you can...
DM of Da: You can
Vasily: DC 25+size modifier then.
DM of Da: Ok.
DM of Da: So.
DM of Da: You go to the city hall
Nikolai of La: heh
DM of Da: And once again are escorted to the Ambassador's office
by two guardsmen and a cleric
Vasily: (someone has loose or baggy clothing I'm hoping.)
Vasily: (if so, it's a DC 27 search check)
*** Said is sitting back in his chair, awaiting you
root: (I probably do. Presumably Boris has some in his abode.
Now whether or not it fits Albrecht...)
Albrecht: // well it doesn't have to be on me
Albrecht: but anyway, let's assume i'm dressed normally and i have
the real one hidden on me
*** Said tosses the letter on the table
Said: I have cast the divination spells that revealed the
secret writing to me.
*** Said looks at all of you, eyes narrowed, awaiting a reaction
Albrecht: and?
Vasily: oh?
Albrecht: Is it visible to all now, or do you have a transcript
perhaps?
*** Said smiles wryly
Sven: //uh oh, he's being all wry 'n shit.
Said: Not visible now, no. And no transcript. It is only... in
my memory.
Nikolai of La: So what is the price for your services sir?
Said: To begin, you tell me where you got this.
Sven: //this came from those two guys in oleshie, right?
Vasily: A destroyed caravan down south.
DM of Da: //those two guys in Oleshie, yes
Vasily: We found this amidst the wreckage.
DM of Da: //the traders, Danil and Anastas
Sven: //right
DM of Da: //who are associates of some powerful merchant named
Isidor up in Novgorod
Albrecht: // in fact, they signed the visible portion of the text.
DM of Da: //they sure did
Albrecht: // but officially we didn't get it directly from them
Said: A caravan?
DM of Da: Roll Bluff.
Albrecht: /try 6;aid
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM (aid) 1d20 < 5 = 5 > + 6 = 11
Vasily: /try 8;c'mondawn
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM (c'mondawn) 1d20 < 7 = 7 > + 8 = 15
Nikolai of La: /try 6;aid
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai of La :
*** DM (aid) 1d20 < 12 = 12 > + 6 = 18
root: /try 6
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM 1d20 < 13 = 13 > + 6 = 19
Vasily: /cry
Said: Alright.
Albrecht: // 21 then
Sven: //am I the only one without bluff?
Said: And...
Sven: //comedy.
*** Said hesitates
*** Said narrows his eyebrows, begins to say something, then stops
Said: What concern is this letter to you, then? If you say you
found it in a caravan...
Vasily: We have reason to believe the knowledge contained within
will be profitable.
Said: And you don't know... who the caravan belonged to?
Albrecht: // not too bad a guess it's the guys who signed the
letter's visible part?
Vasily: Oleshian Merchants.
Vasily: Their signatures ARE on the letter.
Said: Hm.
Said: So they are.
root: //thought - a dominated whats his face may have told him
this
Said: Very well, then, the secret letter under the letter you
see is short.
Said: It says...
Said: "We can decipher the words of the demon. Help us, and
his power will be yours."
Vasily: o.O
Albrecht: // any sign of duplicity/stuff left out/etc?
DM of Da: // I'm rolling your Sense Motive for you, don't worry
Said: Now, take it and go... I have many duties for the
Council to attend to.
Vasily: // A continual scrutiny seems appropriate.
Albrecht: // I always worry.
Sven: //I don't suppose you're rolling it high.
DM of Da: So
Vasily: /bow
DM of Da: Vasily
Nikolai of La: thnak you sir
Albrecht: // first thing we do when we get clear is do our best to
check that we have the same scroll we gave him
DM of Da: You notice that when you told Said that you found the
letter in a wrecked caravan
DM of Da: He seemed taken aback by that
DM of Da: As if it's not what he expected
DM of Da: And for the rest of the conversation you detected a note
of slight confusion in his words
<<< Said has left >>>
<<< 11:59:11 PM >>>
Vasily: Well then...
Sven: now, that letter was going from danil and the other guy
to who again?
Albrecht: the Khan of Crimea
DM of Da: The Khan of Crimea
Vasily: Khan of whatshisface.
Sven: hmmm.
Sven: hmmmmmm.
DM of Da: (he's a Mongol)
Sven: hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Sven: well, yes
Sven: what with him being a Khan
DM of Da: (just saying')
DM of Da: (well no Khan Kotian of the Cumans was a Khan too)
Albrecht: Also he seems to have some sort of access to Zmei's
hoard
Vasily: Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!
DM of Da: Yes that's the implication
Vasily: And the merchants have some sort of access to his
writings.
DM of Da: So
DM of Da: Hmm, eh
Vasily: I'm thinking we should help them.
Sven: help who exactly
Albrecht: well the way I read that...
Albrecht: is that Danil & Anastas know how to get at whatever
secrets Zmei had
Albrecht: but the Khan has the papers themselves
DM of Gaia: Well
DM of Gaia: We're ending here
Albrecht: and potentially the scroll we have is part of these, but
we have no idea how to get at the content of it
DM of Gaia: If anyone feels like a couple games of FT they should
sign on Bnet
Vasily: why not.
Nikolai of La: none for me
Sven: el paso
Albrecht: nah, there's this thing called getting sleep
DM of Gaia: btw
DM of Gaia: Ian you might find this interesting
DM of Gaia: In the live game...
Sven: tpk?
DM of Gaia: The party stumbled upon the caravan yesterday
DM of Gaia: Finding it mysteriously looted.
Sven: well ain't that a bitch.
Sven: it's because I took that shit.
Albrecht: it's true, we did
Nikolai of La: heh
Albrecht: also Jen determined that since the wagons had been
burned, it was attacked by "fire people"
Nikolai of La: lol
root: hahaha
Albrecht: the fact that we encountered an attack on a ship
involving alchemists fire, it's incredibly obvious now, you should
know...
Albrecht: that there are some fire people attacking all sources of
magic or something
Albrecht: jen has weird ideas sometimes
root: ....maybe the sultan's armor posessed Sigfried?
root: turning him into a fire person
Nikolai of La: no ;p
Albrecht: no no, anyone who uses fire is a fire person.
Albrecht: So when we burned the Silver Lion, we were totally fire
people.
Sven: forrizzle.
<<< Sven has left >>>
<<< 12:10:43 AM >>>
Albrecht: alright, I guess I should actually get this sleep so I
can work tomorrow
Albrecht: goodnight