The party determines that Danil & Anastas were killed by magic, and theorizes that Ambassador Said may have been involved. They return to Kiev, and speak with Arkadiy Norkin. He reveals that The Orthodox Church appears interested in the party, and that he has been working for Yegor Dolgorukiy, who is a follower of the Iron Triad. They meet with him. Albrecht and Nikolai share a vision of the Iron Triad.
<<< root has joined >>>
<<< 07:57:11 PM >>>
DM of Gaia: Yo
DM of Gaia: We're missing 2
DM of Gaia: Or are we
DM of Gaia: Oliver is connected from before
DM of Gaia: Is he actually here
root: no idea
root: where'a granger?
<<< Nikolai has joined >>>
<<< 08:00:37 PM >>>
Nikolai: shoryuken
DM of Gaia: Dunno
DM of Gaia: Chris and Oliver aren't accounted for
Nikolai: well chris is around
Nikolai: I don't know about oliver
DM of Gaia: Yeah but not here
Vasily: I'm here.
<<< Sven has joined >>>
<<< 08:01:03 PM >>>
DM of Gaia: And that's what counts :P
DM of Gaia: Awesome
Nikolai: well
Nikolai: there you go
DM of Gaia: Perfect attendance
DM of Gaia: Ok guys
DM of Gaia: ROLL CALL
Sven: getting that hair spray out was harded than first
anticipated
Sven: harder, eve
Sven: n
Sven: . . .
Sven: I'm here.
Nikolai: what was ytour costume
Nikolai: also here
Sven: oompa loompa
root: I dont want to know about anything involving you and the
word hard
root: here
root: also fuck Fox sports
Vasily: not here. I'm over there.
DM of Gaia: Ok
DM of Gaia: Adam?
DM of Gaia: Ok I think he's making dinner
DM of Gaia: Or wait
DM of Gaia: His computer...
DM of Gaia: Is fucked
DM of Gaia: Crap
Vasily: He's on his laptop. I'll poke him.
DM of Gaia: I got it
Albrecht: yeah i'm here
Albrecht: the computer issues are not coming
Albrecht: the computer issues are looking like I'm going to be
carrying this to tekserve tomorrow
DM of Gaia: Lame
DM of Gaia: But are you good to play?
Nikolai: that blows
Albrecht: well i'm hungry and I want to stab things
DM of Gaia: Heh
DM of Gaia: Ok
DM of Gaia: I'll take that as a yes
DM of Gaia: So
Nikolai: well we can semi npc you
DM of Gaia: For now
DM of Gaia: Let's get a summary of what happened last time
Albrecht: why?
root: last time....
root: there was a KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN
Albrecht: there's no reason to NPC me, because whatever is wrong
is beyond my capabilities to do a goddamn thing other than throw cats
Sven: so what exactly did they do?
root: did who do
Albrecht: well, joey knocked one of my satellite speakers down
onto the plugs coming out the back of the tower
Albrecht: it immediately froze
Albrecht: and now I get bong and fan but no nothing else ever
DM of Gaia: Hm
DM of Gaia: That sounds terrible
DM of Gaia: Well, alright
DM of Gaia: So
Albrecht: i want to pull the vid card out
Albrecht: see if it'll boot and let me access via network to see
it booted
DM of Gaia: Dude just leave it alone for now :P
Albrecht: but of course between how tight the screw is in and how
bad the angle for the screwdriver is, that's impossible
Albrecht: don't worry, it's left alone
DM of Gaia: Ok
DM of Gaia: Good
DM of Gaia: Tekserve is the correct response
DM of Gaia: So
DM of Gaia: Summary of last time
DM of Gaia: Anyone?
Albrecht: i'm in another room and the bastard cat who is probably
to blame for me needing to waste a week and a bunch of money is on my
lap
root: actually, last time there wasn'ta khan. There was a
mystery cave
root: there's a link to a map somewhere
DM of Gaia: There was indeed a mystery cave
DM of Gaia: But
Sven: there was a mine . . . and then we got to oleshie and
the inn got fucked
root: there was some smiting of lava golem type things, and
then some weird bridge over what should have been a chasm but was
instead worked stone
DM of Gaia: To clarify
DM of Gaia: The inn got fucked a while ago
DM of Gaia: Like a month ago
root: we know it was likely worked due to stone shape failing
miserably
Sven: yeah
DM of Gaia: And Danil & Anastas were killed
DM of Gaia: Killed so much that their bodies were charred beyond
recognition
DM of Gaia: And scorched bones were all that remained
DM of Gaia: So
DM of Gaia: The question is...
Nikolai: "killed"
DM of Gaia: What're you guys going to do now?
Nikolai: first of all
Nikolai: Oliver's going to write down the 2.500g we made from
selling all that crap in Tmutawhatever
Nikolai: secondly
Nikolai: we have some choices
Nikolai: we could...
Nikolai: 1. try to find isidor in novgorod
Nikolai: 2. go back to the khan and tell him what happened
Nikolai: 3. fuck it
Nikolai: what do you guys think
Albrecht: we could also follow up on my suspicion of said in kiev
Nikolai: yes
Nikolai: 4. go back to kiev
root: ...hang on
Nikolai: talk to whatshisface
DM of Gaia: Yep those all definitely sound like possible options
root: well, as much as I like the option "interrogate said", I
don't think we're capable of it at this venture
root: not without help. Even then, Im not sure we'd get any
new information out of it
Albrecht: well, I wouldn't count on it either
Sven: word.
Nikolai: i meant
Nikolai: go talk to our contact
Nikolai: whose name i forgot
root: Arkadi or something?
DM of Gaia: Arkadiy yep
Albrecht: Arkadiy
root: ...Im surprised at how close I was
Nikolai: yes
root: ...I believe visiting him would only bring said down
upon him
Nikolai: or maybe that's already happened
Nikolai: who knows
Sven: fucking said
Vasily: But we didn't visit these two.
root: ...well...what did we have to deliver from teh Khan?
root: seeing as they're dead, I don't see why we shouldn't
open it. I forget if we have already
Nikolai: a letter
root: we ar ein their employ after all
Albrecht: we had a note intended for the two people who are
assumed dead
Nikolai: well
Nikolai: we know what it says.
Nikolai: the khan told us.
Vasily: Might be some hidden message as before.
Vasily: They're already dead...
Albrecht: may as well check it out
Nikolai: if we can put it back together
Nikolai: the same way we did for the other letter
Nikolai: the way I see it
Nikolai: we still have the possibility
Nikolai: of going to their boss
Vasily: They have a boss?
Nikolai: yes
Nikolai: pay attention
Vasily: We know this?
Nikolai: Sandy?
DM of Gaia: Totally
Vasily: I thought they were working for themselves.
DM of Gaia: No
DM of Gaia: Absolutely not
Nikolai: see
root: I think the impression we got was these guys were middle
management
root: or there was at least someone else involved
root: assuming the Khan told the truth
Vasily: I thought they were middlemen, aye...
DM of Gaia: They are in the employ of Isidor, a wealthy merchant in
Novgorod (though he is not originally from there)
Vasily: Hmm.
DM of Gaia: He controls a large trading empire based in said city
Vasily: Said city?
DM of Gaia: (Novgorod)
Nikolai: Novgorod.
Vasily: I thought Said lived in Kiev.
DM of Gaia: Not quite as large as that of Dmitriy Dolgorukiy's
Kiev-based trade company
DM of Gaia: But still pretty big
root: ....if I knew it wasn't sucha bad idea, I'd say lets
just tell said everything we know and offer to work with him on this,
and off him when the time comes. Odds are he'd just kill us though
Vasily: Going up the chain of command seems like the wise thing
to do at this point.
Vasily: We can even stop over in Kiev.
Albrecht: we don't know much, though
Vasily: We know his employees were killed.
root: Hi Isodor, we attacked your caravan where you thought he
goblins did
Vasily: We should do our best to figure out what happened.
root: that's how we knew to go to you when these guys died
Vasily: Well, I suppose I should have known who Isidor is...
Vasily: I have been working for them for a while.
DM of Gaia: You all know who Isidor is
DM of Gaia: You knew this as far back as the very first session
DM of Gaia: When Arkadiy said
DM of Gaia: "A caravan owned by Isidor of Novgorod blah blah blah"
Vasily: That's why I don't know it... I wasn't there :P
root: we knew who he was. I'm asking more....is there a
reason outside of stealing from him, that we know who he is
Nikolai: Ok
Nikolai: let's stop in Kiev
DM of Gaia: And then when you got to Oleshie "some merchants working
for Isidor named blah and blah"
DM of Gaia: Etc.
Nikolai: gather info there
Sven: makes sense to me.
Nikolai: see what we can see
Nikolai: about said
Nikolai: and talk to Arkadiy if possible
Vasily: Sandy: Do I know about Isidor through legitimate
channels?
Nikolai: dude
Nikolai: he said we all know about him
Nikolai: it is public knowledge
DM of Da: He's one of the wealthiest merchants in Novgorod
Vasily: Do I know he was the one who hired these two :P
DM of Da: Yes
DM of Da: Absolutely
root: through those two
Nikolai: Everyone does
Vasily: And not because Arcadiy told me.
Nikolai: I'm sure they liked to throw that around
DM of Da: You know it through them, they mentioned his name a
couple times while you guys met with them...
DM of Da: Yeah
root: cool
Vasily: Ok, good. Then we should look around here and see what
we can figure out.
DM of Da: HEre=where?
Nikolai: yes
DM of Da: Oleshie?
Vasily: Yes.
Nikolai: if there is any extra info
Nikolai: we want it
DM of Da: You want to see if anyone knows anything more about what
happened?
DM of Da: Is that it?
Vasily: That's the gist of it, aye.
DM of Da: k.
DM of Da: Well, let's start by rolling some Gather Info for some
generic listening to convos and casually asking questions
Nikolai: /try 2
*** Vasily rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** Vasily 1d20 < 16 = 16 > + 2 = 18
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM 1d20 < 9 = 9 > + 2 = 11
root: /try -1
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM 1d20 < 16 = 16 > + 0 - 1 = 15
*** Vasily rolls attempts for root :
*** Vasily 1d20 < 16 = 16 > + 0 - 1 = 15
Vasily: /try 9
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM 1d20 < 13 = 13 > + 9 = 22
*** Vasily rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** Vasily 1d20 < 7 = 7 > + 9 = 16
Nikolai: /disable-diebot
*** Vasily is disabled
Vasily: thanks
Nikolai: np
root: ...do I get to roll again because I got doubles?
DM of Da: No :P
DM of Da: Ok so
Nikolai: free parking
Sven: /try 0
*** DM rolls attempts for Sven :
*** DM 1d20 < 5 = 5 > + 0 = 5
*** root rolls doubles two more times, and is thrown into jail
Nikolai: hax; jail for you
DM of Da: Everything you hear is first or second-hand accounts of
people who were staying at the expensive inn that night, a month ago
DM of Da: Everyone's story is pretty much the same
DM of Da: In the middle of the night, a massive roar/blast kind of
noise
DM of Da: Windows destroyed
DM of Da: Flames
DM of Da: On one side of the top floor of the inn
DM of Da: No one saw anything or anyone else
DM of Da: No one saw anyone go up to the suite of rooms where
Danil and Anastas were staying
DM of Da: To everyone's knowledge they'd had no visitors that
night
DM of Da: The only lead you have
Nikolai: Not even that guy over there with the unnaturally high
Will save?
DM of Da: lol
Nikolai: <_<
Albrecht: but all indications make that the center of the blast?
Nikolai: or maybe Spot check
DM of Da: Yeah
Vasily: So a really good assassination attempt.
DM of Da: That was pretty definitely the center of the blast
DM of Da: Anyway the only lead you have
DM of Da: Is something the innkeeper said
Nikolai: sandy, does the description of the sound + other effects
give me any clue if that was a spell effect I know
Sven: maybe somebody prepared explosive runes today
DM of Da: one sec
Sven: and widened and twinned and maximized and empowered it.
DM of Da: The innkeeper told you that he asked the woman who runs
the small magic shop on the other side of town
DM of Da: Who told him that the description of the sound and the
nature of the damage (she came and took a look) looked like magical fire
DM of Da: And that dovetails with your assessment
DM of Da: Sounds like a really powerful fireball-type spell
DM of Da: Probably not your everyday Fireball... maybe some
Empowered and/or otherwise enhanced fireball... or some variant
Albrecht: except fireballs don't produce any pressure
DM of Da: Who said anything about pressure?
Albrecht: which would normally be required for the windows blowing
out
DM of Da: Read what I said carefully
DM of Da: Not "windows smashed"
DM of Da: They were melted
Albrecht: just generically destroyed, ok
root: (if it was, energy andimixed sonic fireball)
Sven: proper fucked, perhaps
Nikolai: enough fire damage to melt glass
Sven: I would hate to think that King Amir paid a visit.
Sven: sounds like shit he'd do.
DM of Da: Well
Albrecht: ok, all indications continue to point to there being
someone capable of a big damn fireball
root: nah
root: no girls present
DM of Da: If King Amir is paying visits to your contacts
DM of Da: You just may be fucked
Sven: it's true.
Nikolai: yep
Nikolai: no question
DM of Da: Might want to retire while you're ahead
Nikolai: alive*
Nikolai: fixd that for ya
DM of Da: Heh
DM of Da: So yeah
root: that's ahead of where we'd end up
DM of Da: That's the info you've got from folks around here
DM of Da: What now?
Nikolai: to kiev
DM of Da: k.
DM of Da: Boat?
Albrecht: well I say we do check the letter we were given
Nikolai: eh sure why not?
Vasily: Why not.
DM of Da: Alright
Nikolai: check the letter eh
Nikolai: first of all
Albrecht: and then head to kiev, make a couple discreet inquiries
Nikolai: before we open it
Nikolai: detect magic.
Albrecht: and potentially head up to novgorod next
Nikolai: (of which I have 100000)
Albrecht: well
Albrecht: that was part of the "check the letter" I figured
Nikolai: yes
Nikolai: the first part
DM of Da: Ok.
root: check the letter for magic, check it for traps
otherwise, then outright check it
DM of Da: YOu were given a simple velvet pouch, freely openable,
with the letter itself inside, which is sealed
DM of Da: Detecting magic on all of these things reveals no auras
Albrecht: hmm
Albrecht: even if we had the charred bones, we don't have the
spells to talk to the corpses yet
Nikolai: 2 levels
Albrecht: right, but that's not now
Nikolai: also
Nikolai: wouldn't work
Nikolai: they aren't corpses
Nikolai: they are bones
Nikolai: the corpses have to be intact to speak
DM of Da: It's true.
Nikolai: aka working jaw
DM of Da: Ok
Nikolai: let's wait until we're in kiev
Nikolai: to open the letter
DM of Da: Ok.
DM of Da: You wait a day for a merchant ship to arrive in Oleshie
DM of Da: And it takes you 8 days to sail up the Dnieper, as
normal
DM of Da: On the way, your vessel is attacked
DM of Da: From shore
DM of Da: From an encampment consisting of a tall wooden tower and
a pair of catapults
DM of Da: The vessel is pelted with fire arrows and large rocks
Albrecht: too bad we didn't smash that
Vasily: Toss a few Scorching Rays and Magic Missiles at em.
DM of Da: Alright
Albrecht: scorching ray will be too short
Albrecht: but yeah, try and kill a couple of the bastards for that
root: whatsherface should have also given us a letter of
passage
DM of Da: A few Magic Missiles and some arrow fire is sufficient
to repel the attack
DM of Da: This is a Cuman encampment
DM of Da: Not a goblin one
DM of Da: You passed by it while traveling south
DM of Da: It belongs to one Ataman Serkan
Nikolai: lol
Sven: yeah.
DM of Da: Anyways
Albrecht: yeah, if we ride by again we might just have to break it
Nikolai: noobs
DM of Da: As the river passes through the forest zone south of
Kiev, you see some goblin bat riders pass overhead at night, but they do
not attack
DM of Da: You arrive in Kiev unscathed
DM of Da: It is... June 1st
DM of Da: Where to?
Nikolai: Norkin's Knicknacks.
root: ?
Vasily: Shouldn't we be staying away from him?
root: see if Isodor's mansion is now Isodor's hole in teh
ground
Nikolai: It's been
Nikolai: how long?
Nikolai: We should check in discreetly
DM of Da: A month and a half almost
root: probably also a month now
Vasily: Fair 'nuff.
Sven: discrizzle.
Nikolai: we need to check in w/ him
DM of Da: Alright
Albrecht: among other things I want to see if anyone knows if said
was out of town at the appropriate times
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Roll Gather Info for that
root: ...I doubt anyone would know
Nikolai: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM 1d20 < 4 = 4 > + 2 = 6
Albrecht: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 17 = 17 > + 2 = 19
root: /try -1
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM 1d20 < 14 = 14 > + 0 - 1 = 13
Vasily: /try 11
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM 1d20 < 4 = 4 > + 11 = 15
root: he likely poofed and went down there
DM of Da: I'm afraid the comings and goings of the Cherkess
ambassador are not widely known
Vasily: Can't poof quite as effectively in this world.
root: ?
DM of Da: He does not make public appearances... and so you're not
really able to conclusively discover whether he was or was not in Kiev
DM of Da: In any case
root: can still shadow walk and such
DM of Da: After making your way over to the merchant district
DM of Da: You turn down the avenue on which Arkadiy's shop stands
DM of Da: And find... that it is closed, dark, and boarded up.
root: we go there discretely...
DM of Da: So.
Nikolai: gather info, what happened here.
DM of Da: Ok.
DM of Da: Roll again
root: /try -1
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM 1d20 < 17 = 17 > + 0 - 1 = 16
Nikolai: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM 1d20 < 3 = 3 > + 2 = 5
Sven: /try blah
*** DM rolls attempts for Sven :
*** DM 1d20 < 18 = 18 > + 0 = 18
Nikolai: lol at me
Vasily: /try 11
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM 1d20 < 16 = 16 > + 11 = 27
Albrecht: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 15 = 15 > + 2 = 17
DM of Da: Alright
DM of Da: Asking around, you find out from the owners and
customers of surrounding shops and businesses that Norkin's Knicknacks
has been like that for about two weeks, now
Nikolai: Anyone talk to him? DId he tell anyone why he was
closing up?
DM of Da: Indeed so
DM of Da: Arkadiy stopped by one of his friends' gambling
establishments and compained about poor business
DM of Da: Vasily manages to engage said friend in conversation and
learns from him that this complaint came as a surprise
DM of Da: Since just recently Arkadiy had been saying that he's in
the process of making some pretty nice deals
DM of Da: The owner of the gambling house speculates that they all
fell through
Albrecht: ok, sounds like we should look for Arkadiy at his home
DM of Da: Pretty tough luck
Nikolai: Any idea where he is now?
DM of Da: Nobody's seen him much since then
DM of Da: Though you guys do know where Arkadiy lives, you've had
lunch at his house at least once
Nikolai: Ok we go there
DM of Da: Alright
<<< Innkeeper has left >>>
<<< 08:53:14 PM >>>
DM of Da: You knock on the front door of the Norkin residence
DM of Da: And his wife, Alla, answers the door.
<<< Alla has joined >>>
<<< 08:53:57 PM >>>
Alla: Who is it? You people? What do you want?
*** Nikolai nudges Vasily
Vasily: We were hoping to speak with Mr Norkin.
Vasily: Is he home?
Alla: My husband's not here. Anything else?
Vasily: Do you know where he might be?
Nikolai: Or when he'll be back?
Alla: And what business is it of yours? Hm?
Nikolai: Well we are business associates of his.
Vasily: We were just passing through and wanted to catch up on
happenings and whatnot.
Alla: No, I don't know where Arkadiy is, when he's coming
back, or anything else, and I don't think he'd want to see you even if
he were here. Now I think you should all get going.
Nikolai: (well then)
Vasily: o.O
root: (sense motive? +2 assuming she's human)
*** Sven :(
*** DM of Da rolls Sense Motive for people
Albrecht: +5 for me
DM of Da: What's everyone else's bonus
Sven: +#
Vasily: +11
Sven: +3, even
Vasily: err, +9
DM of Da: Ok
Nikolai: +5
DM of Da: Vasily, you sense that she is agitated
DM of Da: And nervous
DM of Da: And that she probably knows more than she's letting on
Nikolai: lol
Nikolai: Oh really
Nikolai: (anyone have charm person prepped?)
<<< DM has left >>>
<<< 09:01:42 PM >>>
<<< Alla has left >>>
<<< 09:01:42 PM >>>
Albrecht: prepped no, but I have a scroll
<<< DM has joined >>>
<<< 09:01:50 PM >>>
<<< Alla has joined >>>
<<< 09:01:52 PM >>>
Nikolai: //you know I suddenly realize its not in my book
Alla: Well? Are you still here? Go on, get out of here! I'm
very busy, I got a lot of housework to do here!
Vasily: I try to sneak something into the conversation that
suggests that she can tell us if she's being coerced.
Vasily: Of course... though one last question.
Vasily: Why would you say he doesn't wish to see us? We parted
on good terms.
Vasily: *wouldn't want to.
Alla: Because Arkadiy shouldn't be dealing with people like
you, that's why! Now go on before I start screaming! I'll have the
Kievan Guard here faster than you can run, and then you can ask them
your questions! Go!
Nikolai: That kinda hurts.
Vasily: (any chance for a diplomacy check here?)
Nikolai: ok let's go.
Nikolai: (haha you're funny)
DM of Da: Absolutely no chance
*** Alla slams the door in your face
*** Sven :(
Albrecht: you could make one... it'll work if you get a 400 or so
<<< Alla has left >>>
<<< 09:05:34 PM >>>
DM: .
DM of Da: CHAT BUG AGAIN
<<< DM has left >>>
<<< 09:05:52 PM >>>
<<< DM has joined >>>
<<< 09:06:04 PM >>>
DM: .
DM of Da: k.
DM of Da: So anyways
DM of Da: Now what?
Albrecht: well.
Albrecht: all our contacts are gone
Albrecht: we could try to locate Arkadiy...
Albrecht: last we spoke to him he was scared and aiming to lie low
on our area
Nikolai: well
Nikolai: do we need him?
Albrecht: we could walk into the lion's den on Said
Albrecht: we could head to Novgorod to take the proposal to Isidor
Nikolai: well
Vasily: Novgorod seems like a good place to be.
Nikolai: I think that's our only option at the moment
DM of Da: Ok.
DM of Da: Directly to Novgorod then, eh?
DM of Da: Are you heading out on that very day?
Sven: well
Sven: unless someone has some other means of locating what's
his face
Nikolai: I got nothin
Sven: like maybe some sort of stake-out on his house
Sven: then I would be fine with up and bouncing nowe
DM of Da: Alright.
Vasily: We could also try some sort of charm person.
Nikolai: We could
Nikolai: You guys want to do that?
Albrecht: i'm up for it
Sven: sure
root: why not
Albrecht: want my scroll?
root: bring more than one, she might have a wisdom score worth
mentioning
Vasily: Hmm...
Albrecht: well I possess one scroll
Vasily: Why isn't charm on my spell list?
Albrecht: Nikolai apparently doesn't have the s... haha both of
you
Albrecht: well, one of you could scribe it to cast
Vasily: Let's scribe it.
Albrecht: or you can just use the scroll and pray
Nikolai: yeah we should probably do that
Vasily: Spend a day or so.
Nikolai: let's come back tomorrow
Nikolai: and be like
*** Vasily buys 200gp worth of dust
Sven: can't do shit
Nikolai: is he home yet?
Nikolai: no?
Nikolai: CHARM'D
Albrecht: ok, the scroll is out of my inventory
DM of Gaia: Alright so you spend a day scribing it and go back
tomorrow eh
DM of Gaia: Now
DM of Gaia: While the casters are scribing
DM of Gaia: Or caster rather
DM of Gaia: Which of you is doing it btw
Vasily: I'll do it. I'm specced Ench.
Nikolai: k
Nikolai: go for it
Vasily: Ian: you've got your choice of Darkness, Hasan's Magic
Aura, Resist Energy, Fox's Cunning
DM of Gaia: Ok.
DM of Gaia: Now while Vasily is scribing
DM of Gaia: Any of the rest of you going to do anything meaningful?
DM of Gaia: Or just kinda hang out
root: Hmm...I could fle Boris' knowledge of Kiev...but that
would likely draw Said's attention...let's hang out
Albrecht: i'm a fighter. not much else I can do
Albrecht: unless there's some way I can try to fade out and
commune with arakel or some such
Albrecht: i should see about getting a nifty iron triad medallion
Nikolai: Uhm, I have RE already
Nikolai: wait
Nikolai: no I don't.
Nikolai: k
Nikolai: RE it is
DM of Gaia: Ok
DM of Gaia: So
root: Nikolai shoudl cast comune
root: just to see what diety answers
root: (yes i know its a higher level)
DM of Gaia: Ok
Albrecht: I assume there's no way for me to solicit a vision that
isn't purely a hunger/drug delusion
*** Sven will chill
DM of Gaia: Albrecht
DM of Gaia: Roll a Wisdom check
Albrecht: /try 0
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 7 = 7 > + 0 = 7
DM of Gaia: Ok
DM of Gaia: Nothing comes to you
Albrecht: I'm a fighter type, why would I have wisdom?
DM of Gaia: No vision of any sort
DM of Gaia: Meanwhile
DM of Gaia: That night
DM of Gaia: As you're preparing to go to sleep
DM of Gaia: There is a knock on the door of your room at the inn
where you're staying
root: (I suppose someone should get that)
*** Sven is not it
Albrecht: guess i'll get my sword ready
Albrecht: and ask who's there
Nikolai: brb
Albrecht: note: not opening the door yet
DM of Gaia: Ok
DM of Gaia: You hear a whisper through the door... "It's me! Open
up!"
DM of Gaia: The voice is unmistakably Arkadiy's.
root: if the door opens indward, I'll stand on behind it when
it opens
Albrecht: i want to open just enough to look, still with sword in
hand
DM of Gaia: "Let me in before someone sees me!"
Sven: let his ass in
DM of Gaia: Ok
DM of Gaia: Opening the door a crack, you see before you a rather
pudgy and tall serving girl, as would be employed in any average tavern
Sven: rofl
Albrecht: hmm scratch that
Albrecht: open door, drag inside, close door
DM of Gaia: Ok.
root: I always said Arkadiy didn't have the balls for tough
crimes
Albrecht: keeping a grip on shoulder or collar or something
DM of Gaia: She breathes a sigh of relief and, incongruously, says
with Arkadiy's voice: "Took you long enough! I thought I had the wrong
room for a minute there..."
DM of Gaia: Reaches up to her head, and pulls off the ribbon tying
her hair back...
DM of Gaia: Which immediately transforms into a wide-brimmed hat...
and the serving girl transforms into Arkadiy.
<<< Arkadiy has joined >>>
<<< 09:28:12 PM >>>
Vasily: Nice... hat.
root: brb
Arkadiy: Yeah, it's come in handy before... now listen, I'
Arkadiy: I'm pretty sure nobody knows I'm here, but I don't know
if I can pull this off again.
Nikolai: Impressive.
Arkadiy: I shouldn't even be here, but I figure, you boys should
at least know what's going on.
Nikolai: Yeah, what's happened?
Arkadiy: Now when'd you get back? Just today?
*** Nikolai nods
Arkadiy: Alright, well...
Arkadiy: A couple days after you all left...
Arkadiy: I'm having a chat with one of my buyers, now he deals in
merchandise of the magic kind... well, he's a weapons dealer, really,
battle wands, that sort of thing.
Arkadiy: Now he says to me, Arkadiy, you can't trust those damn
foreigners. You just can't, he says. I had a meeting today, with the
Cherkess ambassador of all people, and he doesn't show!
Vasily: o.O
Arkadiy: I've got buyers waiting, he says to me, and my
supplier's gone off who-knows-where.
Albrecht: brb
Arkadiy: Now I don't say a thing... but I think to myself, this
can't be a coincidence, right?
Arkadiy: I do some checking, sure enough, the Ambassador's
nowhere to be found. No one knows where he went; of course the Council
denies everything, they say he's just busy, but they don't know anything
either.
Albrecht: yay food
Arkadiy: Near as I can figure out, wherever the Ambassador went,
he was gone a couple days, then came back, went back about his business
like nothing happened.
Arkadiy: So I'm puzzling over what this could mean. Meanwhile...
a couple weeks later...
Arkadiy: A man shows up at the store.
Arkadiy: Looked a bit sketchy, but then, who comes into my store
that doesn't, eh?
Arkadiy: Present company excluded... of course...
Vasily: Nah, we're sketchy.
*** root frowns at not being called sketchy
DM of Da: Arkadiy's face adopts a slightly pained expression at
Vasily's comment, but he continues.
Arkadiy: So he says to me he's got a business proposal.
Arkadiy: Sure, why not, right? I take him to the back, tell him
to lay it out for me, whatever it is, and I'll consider it.
Arkadiy: Now that's when he starts asking questions.
Arkadiy: What do I know about what happened in Oleshie? How much
do I know about magic?
Arkadiy: Strange questions... and he asks about you.
Nikolai: Huh.
Arkadiy: All of you... do I know you, what do I know about you...
what business do I have with you...
Vasily: ominous.
*** Sven boggles
Arkadiy: Now I say to him, look, friend. You said you had a
proposal for me? Well, tell me about it and we'll talk, otherwise... the
store's not called Norkin's Oracle... I don't exactly have time for all
this questioning.
Arkadiy: That's when he got a little upset.
Arkadiy: Now, like I said, this guy... didn't really have
anything about him that made me wary, or anything.
Arkadiy: Didn't even look armed.
Arkadiy: But when I say that to him...
Arkadiy: Well, I'll describe it exactly as I saw it, I suppose.
Arkadiy: He reaches behind his back... and out of nowhere, pulls
out a sword, almost tall as he is, broad gleaming blade, and it shone
with this light... like a pale gold, almost.
Nikolai: oof
Arkadiy: He pulls out this sword, and I have no idea where he got
it from, and he holds it about an inch from my face.
Sven: //fucking sephiroth.
Nikolai: //srsly
Arkadiy: He tells me if I talk to him like that again he'd be
very angry. He'd be angry, he says, because he'd have to clean my blood
off that nice clean blade of his, and he doesn't like doing that.
Nikolai: //though, gleaming blade, disguised as a person...
sounds like a celestial of some sort maybe
Arkadiy: Well, I told him all I knew, which was nothing,
really...
Sven: //I would hate to think of a celestial looking into our
shit.
Arkadiy: I don't know a damn thing about what's going on in
Oleshie, what do I look like? And I'm no wizard either, I told him that.
root: //nah, a celestial wouldnt be resorting to violence yet.
We havent really done anythign wrong yet...
Nikolai: //might not be about us, but about what we're after
Arkadiy: Told him you boys were occasional customers of mine and
that's about it.
Arkadiy: I think he believed me.
root: // yeah, but hte sword wouldnt have factored into things
I think if it was at least a lawful celestial
Albrecht: // well it's not likely to be said... worth looking for
anyone who meets the physical description?
Arkadiy: At least, it seemed like he did, because he put that
sword away - and when he did, it looked like he wasn't carrying any
sword - and left.
Arkadiy: Didn't say a word.
Nikolai: Ok... can you describe him or his sword in any more
detail?
Arkadiy: Well, sure.
Albrecht: hmm
Albrecht: Albrecht missed this... but the rest of you were
there... when the description is complete, compare that against the
people at the announcement of the reopening of the orthodox church
Arkadiy: About my height... not quite so broad... wore a hood...
kind of stringy longish hair... maybe middle-aged... sword...
Albrecht: that'd be the last of "someone we've seen", though it
could easily be someone we haven't seen at all
DM of Da: Arkadiy describes the sword to you
Sven: // . . .
Vasily: // some sort of knowledge checks on him and the sword
perhaps?
DM of Da: Knowledge: geography?
DM of Da: Anyone?
Sven: hah.
Vasily: Nope.
root: // history? kiev? I have those
Nikolai: I can do history
DM of Da: Roll
Nikolai: but not geography
Albrecht: definitely don't have those things
Nikolai: /try 4;history
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM (history) 1d20 < 5 = 5 > + 4 = 9
root: /try 3;history
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM (history) 1d20 < 13 = 13 > + 3 = 16
DM of Da: Ok
Albrecht: I have knowledge (swinging swords)
Vasily: /try 8;history
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM (history) 1d20 < 15 = 15 > + 8 = 23
DM of Da: It sounds like a fairly ordinary greatsword, possibly of
Byzantine design
DM of Da: The description of the person doesn't ring any bells
DM of Da: BUT
DM of Da: The description of the sword DOES.
Nikolai: oh yeah?
Vasily: oh?
DM of Da: When the opening of the new Cathedral of St. Sophia was
announced...
Albrecht: oho!
Albrecht: see, Albrecht can't reference this because he didn't
exist yet
root: // boris can because it is history
Nikolai: but we can.
DM of Da: Archbishop Satyros, the head of said cathedral, had two
people standing by his side on the front steps as he gave his speech
DM of Da: On his right was a powerfully built warrior in shining
plate armor
DM of Da: On his back... was just such a greatsword.
Albrecht: so that implies that the church is involved as well
DM of Da: The description of the man who threatened Arkadiy does
not match that warrior in terms of facial features, but the height and
build do correspond
Nikolai: Well
Sven: . . .
Nikolai: Arkadiy said he was hooded
Albrecht: the other semi-likely possibility is that it's an agent
if isidor
DM of Da: He could see the guy's face
Nikolai: ok
Nikolai: so it's no tthe same guy then
Albrecht: or there was a disguise
Arkadiy: Well, anyway, as I was going to say before.
Arkadiy: Now you boys don't get angry at what I'm going to tell
you, alright?
Albrecht: I might be angry, but I won't take it out on you
Arkadiy: Well, good. And don't go spreading it around, either.
I'm going to tell you this because I figure, you all have taken some
risks for our plan here, so you deserve to know.
Arkadiy: See, the thing is, I'm not exactly a free agent,
entirely.
Arkadiy: Well, that is... I work for myself, I surely do, but
there's some people who can offer you enough that you put their
interests higher than those of your normal customers, you know what I'm
saying?
Vasily: Of course.
Arkadiy: I guess what I'm saying is... this whole thing, with the
treasure of the Demon of Fire and Storm, and all that, wasn't...
entirely... my idea.
root: orly?
Arkadiy: Now I'm sure you all know of Dmitriy Dolgorukiy.
Nikolai: Hah
Nikolai: Sure
Vasily: Who doesn't?
Nikolai: Oh I get it... is this some sort of petty war between
big businessmen?
Arkadiy: Now hear me out.
Nikolai: Dolgorukiy wanted to sabotage Isidor or something?
Arkadiy: Not quite so simple as all that, no...
Arkadiy: Old Dolgorukiy's getting on in years, well past seventy,
been in business all his life... and everyone knows he's not long for
this world.
Arkadiy: Well, he's got a son, Yegor. Only son. Now by rights
when the old man goes, the whole business, all the lands and the mines
and ships and all of that, should go to Yegor.
Arkadiy: Turns out, though, old Dmitriy's not too fond of his
son, and it's anyone's guess if he'll actually leave all he has to Yegor
or not.
Arkadiy: Well, the younger Dolgorukiy wants to make sure things
go the way he wants them to.
Arkadiy: And I, well... let's just say he's been making use of my
services to, uh... acquire some things for him... get things done for
him, for his plans.
Arkadiy: This was part of those plans.
Arkadiy: A big part.
Arkadiy: Now, if it all worked out, if Yegor Dolgorukiy got the
whole trading empire, I... wouldn't have to spend my days working a pawn
shop, if you get my drift.
Arkadiy: Anyway, when this sword-carrying maniac came by and
started snooping around, Yegor called me in and had a good long talk
with me.
Arkadiy: We both agreed it'd be best if I lay low for a while.
Vasily: How'd he know?
Arkadiy: That's why I closed up the shop.
*** Arkadiy chuckles
Arkadiy: Oh, you can blame my lovely wife for that, I'd wager.
Nikolai: Does she know about all this?
Arkadiy: She was in the front of the store when this all
happened, I'd not be surprised if she was listening in... no, no, she
doesn't know half as much as she thinks she does.
Arkadiy: But enough to start gossip with her so-called friends
down at the market, like she always does... now I've told her to keep
her damn mouth shut, but...
*** Arkadiy shrugs
Arkadiy: Women...
Arkadiy: Anyway, Dolgorukiy the younger called me in, and I
didn't think it wise to lie to him, then.
Arkadiy: Now I've got to get going. I'm sorry to tell you this,
boys, but for now, you're on your own.
Vasily: Fair enough.
Arkadiy: You want to contact me, if you really need some help, or
something, come on down to the store and slip a note under the door. I
come down there every couple days, sneak in the back door, check things
out. Most of my stuff's there anyhow.
Nikolai: Haven't heard anything new?
Nikolai: Anything about Said?
Nikolai: We're still trying to figure out what happened at
Oleshie.
Arkadiy: Nope, can't say as I have. He's back now, I know that...
been seen in City Council meetings and such.
Arkadiy: So something did happen? I've been wondering about what
that meant!
Vasily: How do the dates match up with the Oleshie murders?
Arkadiy: Murders?
DM of Da: //Or are you asking me that
DM of Da: //ooc
Nikolai: Ok
Vasily: //ooc, sorry
DM of Da: //Dates roughly match
*** Nikolai fills in Arkadiy
*** Nikolai with all the details
*** Arkadiy scratches his beard
DM of Da: //As I was saying, though exactly how long Said was gone
isn't known, the period of time includes the day when Danil and Anastas
were killed
Arkadiy: Sounds like even more reason for me to lay low, I'll say
that...
Nikolai: Involving Said in this was a mistake on our parts...
Arkadiy: Sure seems like it now.
DM of Da: //Did you tell Arkadiy all about your meeting with the
Khan? or no
Nikolai: //sure
Vasily: hmm...
Arkadiy: So do you think the Khan really knows where this
treasure is, hmm?
Vasily: //should we really tell him about the demon thing?
Nikolai: //which
Vasily: //hmm, nm, said knows about the fact that Isidor can
translate it.
Nikolai: //he already knew anyway
DM of Da: //respond to Arkadiy
Vasily: Seems like he might.
Vasily: It does look like he has a steady supply of gems.
Vasily: And he certainly has the manpower to find it and defend
it.
Arkadiy: Yes, hm...
Nikolai: However
Nikolai: He seems very interested by that piece of paper we
recovered
Vasily: Also true.
Nikolai: And the whole thing about translating the words of the
demon was very interesting to him.
Arkadiy: The paper? Wasn't it blank?
Nikolai: Yes.
Nikolai: //sandy did we ever use Detect Magic on that
DM of Da: //yes
DM of Da: //faint illusion
Nikolai: But then again
Nikolai: it radiates magic
Nikolai: it could have some hidden meaning
Arkadiy: Well, I'll tell you what, boys.
Arkadiy: It occurs to me now that this treasure, and whatever
this paper is, may be more valuable than I, or my employer, first
thought.
Arkadiy: Since it sounds now like the Ambassador killed those two
merchants over it, and the visit I got from that man with the shiny
sword? Can't be a coincidence.
Vasily: Decidedly not.
Nikolai: Yep
Arkadiy: Now I still think we shouldn't be seen together, and I'm
not really comfortable with showing my face anywhere too public just
yet...
Arkadiy: But Yegor Dolgorukiy might want to have a chat with you,
if you're willing.
Arkadiy: I could set up an introduction.
Arkadiy: Now he might not go for it ... he normally doesn't like
to meet with my contacts, he's got a reputation to maintain, you see.
Arkadiy: But everything you've found out? He might see that
you're capable enough to warrant his attention.
Albrecht: might be worthwhile
Sven: fair enough
Arkadiy: I'll tell you this, boys, if Yegor gets his hands on his
old man's business, he'll be a good deal grateful to whoever helped him
get there.
Nikolai: Ok let's do that
Vasily: Agreed.
root: its as good as anything right now
Sven: forrizzle
Arkadiy: Good! Now, you all stay around here for a couple days,
and I'll see what I can arrange.
Arkadiy: Now, I best get going.
*** Arkadiy puts his hat back on, whereupon it promptly turns back into
a hair ribbon
*** Arkadiy changes and transforms in apparent age and gender
*** Arkadiy laughs
Arkadiy: I only wonder what people'll think I was doing here...
*** Sven chuckles
Nikolai: Heh
*** Arkadiy walks out
<<< Arkadiy has left >>>
<<< 10:35:08 PM >>>
DM of Da: Alright
DM of Da: You've apparently got an unspecified quantity of days to
spend in Kiev
DM of Da: Anything you want to try and accomplish?
Vasily: Scribing seems in order.
Nikolai: Ok so
Nikolai: I want some information on the Church
Nikolai: and the armored knight dude
Nikolai: anything we can find out
DM of Da: Alright
DM of Da: Gather Info!
root: somehow I dont think a 2 man exbidition into the caves
beneath the church can end well at alll
Vasily: /try 11
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM 1d20 < 1 = 1 > + 11 = 12
Nikolai: I also get Charm Person scribed into my book
DM of Da: Ok
Nikolai: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM 1d20 < 12 = 12 > + 2 = 14
root: /try -1
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM 1d20 < 19 = 19 > + 0 - 1 = 18
Sven: /try 0
*** DM rolls attempts for Sven :
*** DM 1d20 < 6 = 6 > + 0 = 6
Vasily: Scribing is busy work it seems.
*** Sven flexes
DM of Da: Would anyone like to not suck
Albrecht: well it oculd be more than 2 of us
DM of Da: Please
Albrecht: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 20 = 20 > + 2 = 22
DM of Da: Thank you
Albrecht: huzzah.
root: hey, I rolled a 19, not much else boris can do here
Albrecht: i would like to ask the DM if it would be sensible to
get an iron triad medallion made
Nikolai: that sounds irrelevant to me
DM of Da: I'll get back to you on that
Nikolai: but on that topic
Albrecht: or if this sort of thing would be meaningless if done by
random person X... or if it would be a good way to go get killed
Nikolai: after the session
DM of Da: Yes...?
DM of Da: Ok anyway
DM of Da: The person in question
DM of Da: Is a warrior named Yanos the Holy
DM of Da: He is the older son of Archbishop Satyros
Nikolai: o rly.
DM of Da: Yanos has served the Orthodox Church all his life as a
templar, in essence, being tasked with the protection of cathedrals,
churches, and important Church expeditions and missions, most often
serving at his father's side
DM of Da: He now commands the military resources of the Cathedral
of St. Sophia, limited though they yet are
DM of Da: The shining sword was a gift from his father
Vasily: (brb)
root: ...who was his father?
DM of Da: DM of Da: Is a warrior named Yanos the Holy
DM of Da: DM of Da: He is the older son of Archbishop
Satyros
DM of Da:
Nikolai: Tell me about the Orthodox church a bit
Albrecht: is Archbishop Satyros the guy in charge of St. Sophia,
or somewhere else?
DM of Da: Archbishop Satyros is the cleric assigned to head the
Orthodox Church in Kiev, to be the head clergyman of the
newly-reconstructed Cathedral of St. Sophia
DM of Da: He gave the speech at the cathedral's opening
DM of Da: So yes, the Archbishop is right here in Kiev
DM of Da: He is, currently, the official spiritual leader of
Orthodox Christianity in all the Russian lands
DM of Da: Appointed directly by the Patriarch Methodius
Nikolai: Methodius is from...?
Nikolai: The Vatican?
Nikolai: <_<
DM of Da: The Vatican is Catholic
Nikolai: yes
Nikolai: humor
Nikolai: anyway
DM of Da: The Orthodox Church is based in Constantinople
DM of Da: aka Byzantium
Nikolai: ok
DM of Da: Methodius is the head of the entire Church
Nikolai: ok then
Nikolai: so we've got a guy that doesn't look like Yanos
Nikolai: but has the same height/build
Nikolai: wielding the same sword
Nikolai: asking questions
Nikolai: Hmmmmmmm
Vasily: Can we find out anything about the sword?
DM of Da: You don't find out much... it's magic, obviously, and
Yanos has used it in many battles with enemies of the Church... there
are many vague tales of Yanos smiting people and monsters with divine
power, but whether that has anything to do with the sword, or some
abilities of his own, you don't really get a clear impression of
Vasily: ... a Paladin?
DM of Da: //obviously not
DM of Da: //paladins don't exist
Vasily: // thus the confusion.
Nikolai: //a cleric probably
Vasily: So...
root: / monks also "sont exist"
Vasily: Yanos... is he a "nice guy"?
Vasily: I mean... he's a defender of the faith and all that...
Vasily: But does he do what he does because he believes in
helping people, or because he thinks he's superior to everyone else?
Nikolai: that's beyond the scope of a gather info :p
Nikolai: go interview the guy if you like
DM of Da: Is he a nice guy? You don't really find out too much
about his personality since he hasn't been in Kiev all that long - a
couple months
DM of Da: And yeah
Vasily: Fair enough.
Vasily: I'm mostly looking for general observations from the
public.
DM of Da: Yeah the public hasn't interacted with him all that much
Vasily: Has he helped any old ladies cross the street, or has he
run around demanding people follow his code.
Vasily: Indeed.
DM of Da: He has not done either of those things
Vasily: k.
DM of Da: Alright
DM of Da: Sven
DM of Da: Where are you
Sven: right here
DM of Da: Ok.
Nikolai: hm
DM of Da: On the second day
DM of Da: Of you staying in Kiev
DM of Da: Hm hang on going to type a PM.
Albrecht: so guys, anything useful for us to do?
Nikolai: well
Nikolai: I think confronting either this dude or Said
Nikolai: would be bad
Nikolai: so we have nothing more to go on
root: learn spells so we can start making scrolls?
Sven: I got nothing
Albrecht: we could try those catacombs if we have time
Albrecht: we were supposed to get more info for siran as well
root: i dont like the odds there...
DM of Da: Bam sent
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Anyone got any ideas?
Sven: hey guys.
Sven: I think I want to go investigating this ring we haven't
dealt with yet
Nikolai: oh yeah?
Nikolai: how so
Sven: well
Sven: I seem to remember something about the realm of the deep
Sven: I think we could do some research on the ring, at least
Sven: you see, I had a strange dream
Sven: something about a forest and a swamp
Sven: and a hole in water, if that makes any sense
Albrecht: ah I did want to do some research of my own
Vasily: A hole under water?
Sven: a hole in water
Vasily: // I attack it with my knowledge
Sven: maybe we could start at that swamp that used to be a
forest
Sven: until some guy came along and flooded the bitch?
Sven: //is this a relatively well-known event in history or am
I making things up?
DM of Da: //Oh it's pretty well-known
Sven: in any event, I think it's about time we looked into
this ring.
Nikolai: ok well we have to stay here to deal with whatshisface
DM of Da: //To clarify, the waters from the Realm of the Deep that
Aros used to drown the Mongol army flooded a huge expanse of forest and
caused the Pripet Marshes to expand greatly
Sven: //there we go
Nikolai: the pripet marshes, unless I've forgotten, are on the
way to Novgorod
Nikolai: from Kiev.
Vasily: That they are.
Nikolai: So when we go there
DM of Da: They sure are
Nikolai: we can pass through
Nikolai: and see
DM of Da: //lol who names a creature the Monstrous Toebiter
Sven: //umm what
root: ???
DM of Da: //nothing
Sven: //k.
DM of Da: Anyway
DM of Da: On the third day
Sven: in the meantime, I would like to do some research around
town
Sven: if that's at all possible
DM of Da: k
DM of Da: No one knows a damn thing
Sven: not that my book-learning is all that great.
Sven: yeah.
DM of Da: About any ring
DM of Da: Or anything related
DM of Da: This knowledge seems to be extremely obscure, if it's to
be found at all
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Now
DM of Da: On the third day
Albrecht: as long as we're researching
DM of Da: k?
Albrecht: I should be looking for anything about that sword I have
Albrecht: Akhmet, the Blade of Allah... any jihads originating in
Anatolia... weapons blessed by the Imams in general and Anatolia
specifically
DM of Da: Alright
DM of Da: Gather Info plz k thx
Albrecht: anyone want to help me?
Nikolai: uh
Nikolai: k
Nikolai: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM 1d20 < 18 = 18 > + 2 = 20
Albrecht: /try 2
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM 1d20 < 14 = 14 > + 2 = 16
DM of Da: Ok
root: /try -1
*** DM rolls attempts for root :
*** DM 1d20 < 20 = 20 > + 0 - 1 = 19
DM of Da: Anatolia is the region (modern-day Turkey) which is the
heart of the Seljuk Sultanate
DM of Da: The Seljuks are Muslims, fairly powerful militarily, and
conduct extensive trade all around the Black Sea
DM of Da: Their trading ships visit Oleshie with reasonable
regularity
DM of Da: Nobody knows anything specific about Akhmet or the
sword, but it is suggested to you that if you want such information, you
probably want to speak with a scholar or sage from the Byzantine Empire,
as Byzantium has had much more interaction with the Seljuks than Kiev
has
Albrecht: any of those accessible, not counting the church?
Vasily: (sorry, was pulled away a sec there)
Vasily: /try 9
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM 1d20 < 14 = 14 > + 9 = 23
DM of Da: Only the Church... there apparently WAS supposed to be a
diplomatic mission from the Emperor that was to have arrived in Kiev
weeks ago, which would've included a number of scholars from the
imperial court, from but it now seems their ship was attacked by
goblins, and its passengers are MIA.
Albrecht: yeah, we met some of them. I think they're dead now
Nikolai: oh teh irony
Albrecht: and I currently want to avoid the church
DM of Da: Go to Tarpeian Rock and see if the goblins will let you
have a chat with the prisoners :x
DM of Da: Assuming they're still alive of course
DM of Da: "We're just here on an academic mission, don't mind
us..."
DM of Da: Anyway
DM of Da: As I keep trying to say
DM of Da: On the third day of your stay in Kiev
Sven: fucking tarpeian rock.
DM of Da: When you wake up in the morning and go to the inn's
common area to have some breakfast
DM of Da: The innkeeper hands you a note
DM of Da: Says a rather well-dressed messenger was by earlier to
deliver it
DM of Da: The note states:
DM of Da: "To <list of your names>: The respected Yegor Dolgorukiy
has chosen your bid for the construction contract involving the
expansion of his residence. You are invited to inspect the location at
midday, June 3rd."
DM of Da: (which is today)
DM of Da: Signed, Yegor Dolgorukiy.
*** root cracks his knuckles
root: I've always wanted to build something
DM of Da: Alright
DM of Da: What's teh plan
Nikolai: so uh
Sven: unless anyone has any reason to believe this a bad idea,
I feel like the plan is to go inspect his home at midday
root: we all get tonka hard hats and go build shit
Nikolai: it's saying we should go to his home
Nikolai: so we do
DM of Da: Ok.
Albrecht: guess we dress decently and head over
DM of Da: When you arrive at the extravagant residence, standing
apart from the surrounding houses, you find that you are expected
DM of Da: A servant opens the door for you and calls out, "Sir!
The laborers you hired are here!"
DM of Da: You are led into a central hall with tall ceilings,
decorated expensively but tastelessly with a variety of tapestries and
religious paintings
root: //well, we are here to see the tapestries...as soon as I
remember what movie that's from...
Albrecht: Indy & the Last Crusader
Albrecht: -r
DM of Da: A man, probably in his late 30s from the looks of him,
dressed in the latest style of fancy clothing, of medium height and
build, comes out to meet you
DM of Da: He wears what appears to be a perpetual frown on his
face
<<< Yegor Dolgorukiy has joined >>>
<<< 11:30:58 PM >>>
*** Yegor Dolgorukiy looks you over
Yegor Dolgoru: Alright, come, I
Yegor Dolgoru: I'll show you where I want you to start working.
*** Yegor Dolgorukiy leads the way
Yegor Dolgoru: I want a larger set of guest rooms, you see. I'm about
to start dealing with a number of... visitors... and I'll need...
*** Yegor Dolgorukiy looks around and trails off once he sees that
you're all out of earshot of any servants
root: of course mister Dolgorukiy
Yegor Dolgoru: Alright, come, to my private chambers.
Sven: and to private chambers we go
Nikolai: we sure do
DM of Da: He leads you into a room at the back of the house that
appears to serve as a combination storeroom/study. There are some stools
around the edges of the room, and a large chair behind an even larger
oak desk.
DM of Da: One wall is dominated by a large array of bookcases and
shelves; upon closer inspection, many of the tomes here are books of
arcane lore, some of which are of a rather... shady nature.
Sven: //oof, brb
DM of Da: A thick volume titled "Styx And Other Paths Through
Shadow" catches your notice
Yegor Dolgoru: Alright.
Yegor Dolgoru: Arkadiy tells me you've got something for me?
*** Yegor Dolgorukiy sits down behind the massive desk
Vasily: It would appear so.
Yegor Dolgoru: Well?
Nikolai: //I suppose we tell him about the meeting we had with
the Khan
Vasily: Let us then begin with the basics. //fill him in about
mr Khan and the gems and whatnot.
Yegor Dolgoru: Aha!
Yegor Dolgoru: So I was right!
Vasily: The plan certainly appears to be bearing fruit.
Yegor Dolgoru: The gems did come from the treasure of the Demon of Fire
and Storm... and you say... that Isidor's cronies claimed they could
decipher? What? The demon's words?
Nikolai: That's all the note said.
Nikolai: The Khan seemed to know what it meant.
Yegor Dolgoru: Some sort of secrets he wrote down, maybe? Powerful
lore? Spells? Hmm... But how would a merchant from Novgorod know about
it...
Vasily: Your guess is as good as ours.
Nikolai: I think it has something to do with the ripped page we
have that was stolen from the Khan's shipment
Yegor Dolgoru: Show me.
*** Nikolai shows him
Vasily: The same way any merchant would know... I presume he
purchased the knowledge.
Nikolai: It radiates faint illusion magic.
*** DM of Da looks
DM of Da: whoops
*** Yegor Dolgorukiy looks
Yegor Dolgoru: Alright, I'll tell you this straight out.
*** Sven is back
Yegor Dolgoru: The treasure of the Demon of Fire and Storm is supposed
to be more valuable than... than anything.
Yegor Dolgoru: Whoever gets his hands on it, if he can make use of it,
he can get whatever he wants.
Yegor Dolgoru: Now what I want is my father's trading empire.
Yegor Dolgoru: Whatever power's hidden in that hoard, I can make use of
it.
Yegor Dolgoru: I've got the resources, I've got the contacts, I know
all the right people.
Yegor Dolgoru: You probably don't and it'd be useless to you.
Nikolai: //eyeroll
Yegor Dolgoru: Now, if you can help me find it, I promise you that once
my father's dead and I'm in control, I'll make you all very rich.
Yegor Dolgoru: Richer than you can dream of.
Yegor Dolgoru: You'll be set for the rest of your lives.
Yegor Dolgoru: How's that sound to you?
Yegor Dolgoru: Interested?
Nikolai: We're interested.
root: I can dream quite a bit...I would like to see this hoard
for myself
Yegor Dolgoru: I warn you, if you cross me, I'll see to it you can
never step foot in Kiev again.
Sven: o.O
Yegor Dolgoru: My father's on the City Council, as I'm sure you know,
and I can make a good bit of trouble for you.
Nikolai: Whoa, Mr. Dolgorukiy... you have no reason or need to
threaten us.
Yegor Dolgoru: I'm just laying the cards on the table.
Vasily: Indeed.
Yegor Dolgoru: I like people to know what they're dealing with.
DM of Da: As he's saying all this, Yegor frowns a little deeper
and raises his hand to his chest, rubbing his shirt absent-mindedly
DM of Da: As he does this, he looks down, looking a bit surprised,
his hand touching the middle of his chest
Vasily: ...
*** Vasily prepares to cast an invisibility.
DM of Da: He looks over all of you, narrowing his eyes
suspiciously, as he pulls out a drawer of his table, extracting a quill
and a black sheet of parchment
Sven: o.O
DM of Da: He dips the quill in an inkwell, and, saying nothing,
begins to draw lines on the parchment
Albrecht: black, or blank?
DM of Da: Uh
DM of Da: Sorry blank
DM of Da: When he's done, he holds it up, turning the sheet such
that you all can see it
Albrecht: iron triad?
Yegor Dolgoru: This mean anything to any of you?
DM of Da:
http://obormot.ath.cx/~obormot/beyond_ragnarok/triangle.png
Nikolai: uhm.
Nikolai: well shit?
*** Nikolai starts
Vasily: Why do you ask?
*** Sven frowns
*** Albrecht nods
Nikolai: I think a more important question is: what does that
mean to YOU?
*** Nikolai suspicion
*** Yegor Dolgorukiy reaches behind the collar of his shirt and pulls
out an iron pendant hanging around his neck
Nikolai: I see.
Yegor Dolgoru: Well?
Nikolai: //jesus christ how many are there
Nikolai: We follow the same path then.
Albrecht: // this makes 4 including us
*** Sven continues to frown
*** Nikolai nods his understanding
Yegor Dolgoru: Well, this changes some things, but not everything.
Nikolai: Hopefully this means you can trust us... and we can
trust you... a little better, yes?
Yegor Dolgoru: All I know now is that you're worth my while, for sure.
Yegor Dolgoru: Now, listen, we can't meet like this again.
Yegor Dolgoru: I'll make it seem like I wasn't satisfied with your work
and fired you.
Yegor Dolgoru: I'd say it's wise for you all not to be seen around Kiev
too much.
Vasily: We're leaving soon.
Yegor Dolgoru: Good.
Yegor Dolgoru: If you've earned the notice of the Triad, you should
know the value results, and so do I.
Nikolai: //...
Nikolai: what does that mean
Nikolai: like, in english
DM of Da: *they
DM of Da: they value
Nikolai: thanks
Yegor Dolgoru: I've got my own plans that I'm exploring, so don't think
that you can come to me if you're in trouble.
Yegor Dolgoru: Someone's already threatened Arkadiy, asking him
questions, and I won't allow any of this to be traced back to me.
Yegor Dolgoru: You come back with results, I'll reward you. I'm a fair
man.
Nikolai: So inversely, we're free to carry out this plan any way
we see fit.
Yegor Dolgoru: Just remember what I said.
Yegor Dolgoru: This...
*** Yegor Dolgorukiy points at the pendant
Yegor Dolgoru: Doesn't change that.
Albrecht: // we need to get ourselves some official pendants
Nikolai: //yeah I want some info ont hat
*** Nikolai narrows his eyes
Nikolai: Understood.
Yegor Dolgoru: Good.
Yegor Dolgoru: Now, you should get going.
*** Nikolai we get going
<<< Yegor Dolgorukiy has left >>>
<<< 12:08:50 AM >>>
DM of Da: Ok
DM of Da: Throughout this entire conversation
DM of Da: Sven
DM of Da: You have been more and more distracted by that feeling
that you have forgotten something important
DM of Da: Like something is in your subconscious, just out of
reach, that is the key to a train of thought you'd been having but lost
Nikolai: wtfcharles.
DM of Da: And as you're walking down the street after leaving
Yegor Dolgorukiy's residence...
DM of Da: Roll a Will save.
Sven: /try 7
*** DM rolls attempts for Sven :
*** DM 1d20 < 5 = 5 > + 7 = 12
Albrecht: br
Nikolai: also wtfcharles.
*** Sven is a rolling hero
Nikolai: you're an rolling here.
Nikolai: hero
DM of Da: You have a sudden, momentary feeling like you are
falling into a whirlpool, drowning, trying to save yourself, but failing
root: should have rolled wild empathy instead
Sven: //rofl
root: if anyone cares - Red Sox just won
DM of Da: You black out, but just before you do so, you have a
sensation of... imbalance... like you're looking at something that is
somehow incredible wrong
DM of Da: You come to in a minute or so, and the feeling is no
longer there
Nikolai: wtf
Sven: can I go meditate on this or something/
Sven: ?
DM of Da: You will find meditation ultimately unfruitful if
conducted in an environment such as a city
Sven: well of course
DM of Da: Any meaningful meditation or similar activity you wish
to undertake will be of use to you only if you do it somewhere
sufficiently far from civilization
DM of Da: And this is where we end this session
Nikolai: hey now
Nikolai: I want to meditate too.
DM of Da: k
DM of Da: About what
Nikolai: And my meditation should not be restrained in the same
fashion
Nikolai: because loldruids
DM of Gaia: k well you can meditate
Nikolai: Ok I want to know something both specific and broad
DM of Gaia: Both specific AND broad
DM of Gaia: Wow
DM of Gaia: That's... broad
Nikolai: What unifies us as servants of the Iron Triad
Albrecht: see, it's something specific about a broad.
Sven: simultaneously?
DM of Gaia: While at the same time being specific
Nikolai: yes
Nikolai: Indeed
Nikolai: So
DM of Gaia: So um
DM of Gaia: I guess I should give you answer that is broad
Nikolai: As of now, we've encountered two people who have the
pendant around their neck
DM of Gaia: And specific at the same time
Nikolai: What does that mean and why should we care.
DM of Gaia: Ok
DM of Gaia: Well
Nikolai: Also I want one too.
DM of Gaia: Why don't you
Nikolai: So does Albrecht.
Nikolai: they're kewl.
DM of Gaia: Roll Knowledge: The Planes followed by Knowledge: Arcana
Nikolai: /try 10;planes 10;arcana
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM (planes) 1d20 < 1 = 1 > + 10 = 11
*** DM (arcana) 1d20 < 1 = 1 > + 10 = 11
Nikolai: ...
Nikolai: bullshit
Nikolai: I want a do over.
Albrecht: yeah I want a necklace
root: he did roll doubles
Albrecht: I can do arcana only
Albrecht: /try 5;arcana
*** DM rolls attempts for Albrecht :
*** DM (arcana) 1d20 < 8 = 8 > + 5 = 13
Nikolai: seriously
Nikolai: double ones?
Nikolai: that's crap
DM of Gaia: lols
Nikolai: /try 10;planes 10;arcana
*** DM rolls attempts for Nikolai :
*** DM (planes) 1d20 < 4 = 4 > + 10 = 14
*** DM (arcana) 1d20 < 13 = 13 > + 10 = 23
Nikolai: use those.
Vasily: /try 8;arcana
*** DM rolls attempts for Vasily :
*** DM (arcana) 1d20 < 14 = 14 > + 8 = 22
DM of Gaia: How about
DM of Gaia: I use the ones you rolled
Nikolai: No
Nikolai: :p
DM of Gaia: Wtf is "doever"
DM of Gaia: *do over
DM of Gaia: Seriously
Nikolai: arrrrr
root: luck domain
Sven: didn't you hear
root: he stole that too
Nikolai: doubles!
Sven: this shit is monopoly.
Nikolai: free parking!
DM of Gaia: Yes well
DM of Gaia: You can go park for free
Sven: also
DM of Gaia: In the Suck section of the parking lot
root: no he cant, hes in brooklyn or something
Sven: I may show up late next weekend if at all
DM of Gaia: It's where people who suck go.
DM of Gaia: Oh?
Sven: and I won't be here for the weekend after that.
Nikolai: is that going to california
Sven: the second one is
Nikolai: what's the first
Sven: pgh
DM of Gaia: pgh...
Nikolai: oh really
DM of Gaia: What's pgh
Nikolai: pittsburgh
DM of Gaia: Wow
DM of Gaia: Ok
DM of Gaia: Anyways
DM of Gaia: Turns out you don't know shit
Nikolai: well
Nikolai: I know I don't know shit
DM of Gaia: But Vasily does!
Nikolai: what the fuck
Nikolai: does he?
DM of Gaia: He does.
Nikolai: ok
DM of Gaia: Here's what he knows
Vasily: Seems like I do.
DM of Gaia: Regarding the pendants and people wearing them:
DM of Gaia: To the question of "what does it mean", Vasily can't
answer you, because he has no unique knowledge of the Iron Triad.
DM of Gaia: To the question of "why should we care", Vasily can't
answer you either.
Nikolai: no shit
Nikolai: see when I said meditate
Nikolai: I meant, look for an answer from a higher power
Nikolai: like Zorayan
DM of Gaia: Yes I know exactly what you meant
Nikolai: not try to dig the knowledge out of my brain
DM of Gaia: But what Vasily can answer you is a question you didn't
ask, namely, "what do they do".
DM of Gaia: (i.e. the pendants)
Nikolai: o rly
Nikolai: ...
DM of Gaia: Hang on looking stuff up
Nikolai: ok
DM of Gaia: So as to phrase it in a precise manner
DM of Gaia: Vasily informs you that the means by which the pendants
work is, essentially, a function of planar interaction
DM of Gaia: What they identify is the presence of a specific link
from a specific nexus (or nexi) of power to the focus of that link
DM of Gaia: That link follows (or, you might say, is) a path through
the Shadow Realm to the focus
DM of Gaia: To put it in specific terms
Nikolai: ok
Nikolai: I think I get it
DM of Gaia: Right
DM of Gaia: Good
Albrecht: basically it lets the wearer detect people who draw
power from the triad
DM of Gaia: Well, no, Nikolai for example doesn't draw power from
them as such
Albrecht: and nor do I
DM of Gaia: Zorayan has merely shown him how to draw on remnant
divine energy
Albrecht: so ok, people who have a link
DM of Gaia: The pendants are simply able to unmistakably identify
mortals who have a specific spiritual link to the Triad
Nikolai: k
Nikolai: so 1. can I has my meditation
Nikolai: 2. I have another sort of related question
Nikolai: but I'd like an answer to 1. first
Albrecht: basically the pendants are an always-on "Detect Iron
Triad Follower" spell
Sven: I want my meditation too :(
DM of Gaia: Sven you will get it next session
DM of Gaia: Or whenever you're not in a city
DM of Gaia: You have to be close to nature
DM of Gaia: Nikolai
DM of Gaia: 1. No
Nikolai: sigh
DM of Gaia: 1a. Maybe
Nikolai: you suck
Nikolai: 1a?
Nikolai: lol
Nikolai: ok so
Sven: hah.
Nikolai: next question
Nikolai: as an Ur-Priest, what do I use as my Divine Focus
Nikolai: if anything
DM of Gaia: That Is A Good Question(tm).
DM of Gaia: One sec
DM of Gaia: As your divine focus you can use any single object you
like
Nikolai: question 2a. Where do I get one of those pendants
DM of Gaia: Bah
DM of Gaia: Fine
DM of Gaia: You can have your meditation
Sven: hahaha
Albrecht: 2a is something I am also asking
Nikolai: hahaha
Sven: comedizzle.
*** Nikolai wins via nagging
DM of Gaia: Alright
*** Nikolai also loopholes
DM of Gaia: You asked for it
Nikolai: that I did.
DM of Gaia: You're getting more than you asked for
DM of Gaia: So's Albrecht
Nikolai: uh oh
Nikolai: <_<
Nikolai: >_>
Albrecht: doom.
Nikolai: luckily we're in this together!
Nikolai: right pal?
Sven: haHA.
DM of Gaia: You both go to sleep that night
DM of Gaia: And you find yourselves dreaming
DM of Gaia: //and hold on switching comps
DM of Gaia: //make me get up off the couch...
Albrecht: // at least you can switch comps
DM of Da: To the surprise of both of you, you find that you are in
the same dream
Nikolai: Huh.
Nikolai: Imagine that.
DM of Da: And somehow, you are both aware of this
Nikolai: What do you know.
Albrecht: This is no dream... this is a space station.
Nikolai: <_<
Nikolai: >_>
Vasily: No, you're all on a giant hampster.
DM of Da: You are in an infinite expanse, a black void, stretching
out in all directions.
DM of Da: You are floating, motionless.
DM of Da: As you look around, you feel your perception expanding,
to encompass more and more of the void surrounding you; you can see into
the vast distance, and you see no edge, no horizon; but you realize that
it is not mere empty space.
DM of Da: Hurtling through this void are myriads of immense iron
cubes.
Albrecht: // hey it's acheron
DM of Da: This is, indeed, the plane of Acheron.
Albrecht: // can we see any particles of azrashak or ivan
kerensky?
root: // you see a wizard
DM of Da: Suddenly, you are aware that you are not alone; floating
in space, surrounding you in a perfect triangle, are three tall, winged
beings.
Sven: how many of them are kerenskies
Albrecht: 0
root: dragons can be wild...empesize with them
Sven: :
Sven: /
Sven: :/
DM of Da: One, with dark skin, a powerfully muscled build, and
immense black wings; one, with pale green skin, lean and wiry, with
dust-grey wings; and one, with the same greenish skin and wings and hair
of a fiery crimson.
DM of Da: They gaze at you impassively from three directions.
<<< Arakel has joined >>>
<<< 12:45:41 AM >>>
<<< Karayan has joined >>>
<<< 12:45:46 AM >>>
<<< Zorayan has joined >>>
<<< 12:45:50 AM >>>
Karayan: How unusual.
Zorayan: That two mortals whose destinies are so close should see
the path we lay out?
*** Albrecht bows
*** Nikolai raises an eyebrow
Arakel: That those who follow our path should have such close
destinies.
Nikolai: A triviality of causality.
*** Karayan inclines his head slightly
Zorayan: Tell us, you who seek power...
Karayan: Do we now appear in your dreams...
Arakel: Or you in ours?
*** Nikolai blink
Sven: that's that philosophical bullshit again.
Albrecht: That is beyond my ken.
Nikolai: Perhaps... both?
Nikolai: But... Do any of us truly dream?
Sven: //wtf does that even mean
*** Zorayan stretches out her arm, pointing into the vast expanse
Nikolai: Or maybe we're always dreaming.
DM of Da: Suddenly, the entirety of the surrounding space seems to
stretch, and you find that you, still surrounded by the Triad, are
floating above an immense grey plane.
DM of Da: It is perfectly level, and extends in all directions.
Albrecht: brb
*** Arakel clenches his fist, holds his arm out, and unclenches it,
revealing in his palm a triangular iron pendant
Zorayan: Forged from a piece of this realm itself...
Karayan: Tempered with one drop of blood from each of three.
Zorayan: The paths through Shadow are closed.
Karayan: The symbol marks one as our instrument.
Zorayan: There are only as many as existed in Midgard...
Albrecht: back
Karayan: In the first days after the cataclysm.
Zorayan: There can be no more.
DM of Da: Karayan's mouth curls up in a slight smile...
Karayan: To receive a mark...
*** Arakel clenches his fist again
Arakel: You must rise above one who holds it.
Sven: bahaha
Zorayan: Power cannot be shared.
Sven: it's like old-school druidism
Nikolai: //ah now this is classic evil shit
Albrecht: // damn, I actually remember that stuff
Albrecht: // except yeah this is evil
Sven: //old-school druidism was totally evil
Albrecht: // ok siran is beyond us for now, and Yegor is useful
Albrecht: // it was strict hierarchy of power, but it wasn't Evil
Nikolai: //well we'll get one of them eventually.
Nikolai: //or both
Albrecht: // "to become a level 16 druid you must beat up the
existing heirophant because only the head of the druidic orders can
advance past 15."
Albrecht: // presumably there's more than two total
Karayan: Your choice is the path of ascension.
Nikolai: //right
*** Karayan folds his wings on his back and bows
*** Arakel does the same
Vasily: // well, the other option was for the existing L15 druid
to gain a level.
Nikolai: My lords... are we expected to obey those that hold this
mark?
Nikolai: Or anything of the sort?
DM of Da: Zorayan's mouth twists into a sneer.
Zorayan: Obedience is the province of slaves.
Zorayan: The path of ascension is yours alone.
Nikolai: I like the sound of that.
Albrecht: How many marks are there in Midgard?
Karayan: As many marks as there are paths.
Albrecht: // 3 then
*** Nikolai bows
Nikolai: //so perhaps
Nikolai: //you need to find Arakel's mark
Nikolai: //and I need Zorayan's
*** Zorayan inclines her head
DM of Da: And you both wake up.
<<< Zorayan has left >>>
<<< 01:01:34 AM >>>
Albrecht: // that would be ideal in many ways, though the marks
appear identical
<<< Karayan has left >>>
<<< 01:01:35 AM >>>
<<< Arakel has left >>>
<<< 01:01:36 AM >>>
Albrecht: the three paths were...
Albrecht: strength, information, and...
Nikolai: power, courage, wisdom. Lol.
Nikolai: zomg teh triforce
Albrecht: ain't no zelda here
Nikolai: oh come on!
Nikolai: last game he did Mega Man X
Nikolai: this time it's Zelda
Albrecht: though we could do with a hot princess. doubt she'd be
happy with her rescue though
Nikolai: I swear
root: dude
root: we're evil
DM of Da: Force of arms and martial superiority
Nikolai: whatever, Zelda can take care of herself
root: i doubt we could weild the master sword
Nikolai: I always used the Biggoron's sword anyhow
Albrecht: i could
DM of Da: Deception, treachery, superior knowledge
DM of Da: Domination, tyranny, subjugation
Nikolai: which one corresponds to which
Nikolai: force of arms is Arakel
Albrecht: Yegor would appear to follow the second
DM of Da: Arakel, Karayan, Zorayan, respectively
Nikolai: k
Albrecht: Siran... could be either of the other two
Nikolai: yeah
Nikolai: not sure
Albrecht: yeah we don't know enough
Nikolai: I'd say Arakel though
Nikolai: because she has sort of a dumb brute air to her
Albrecht: that'll disappoint you
Albrecht: she tortured you more than anyone else
Albrecht: and I'd be beating her up for her necklace
Nikolai: meh!
Nikolai: go for it imo
Albrecht: not yet, I think
Nikolai: Right.
Albrecht: while I didn't take advantage of a chance to sneak a
peek at the char sheet
Albrecht: I strongly suspect she's still beyond us
Nikolai: easily agreed
Nikolai: when I have like
Nikolai: L6 cleric spells
Nikolai: we'll talk
Albrecht: hmm, and we don't have anyone to take the last of those
marks
Albrecht: that's 5 levels?
Albrecht: no, 6, you want wiz5
Nikolai: right
Nikolai: L11
Albrecht: so 11
Albrecht: i'll be good and beefy by then
Albrecht: divine might and 1/day spell reflect
Nikolai: those are both good things to have
Nikolai: ok past my bedtime officially
Albrecht: should be for me
Nikolai: I suppose i'll need to designate a divine focus
Albrecht: but i'm obviously not making it to work at 9 tomorrow
Albrecht: because I get to carry theoden to tekserve
Nikolai: yeah, that blows
Albrecht: i wish i could get the damn video card out
Albrecht: i strongly suspect that's what's wrong, but i'm too
scrawny
<<< Sven has left >>>
<<< 01:08:56 AM >>>
DM of Gaia: Too scrawny?
root: ...is Nikolai Wix 4 right now?
DM of Gaia: Explain
DM of Gaia: I think so yeah
Albrecht: you know how both my father and machines horribly
overtighten screws such that nobody can unscrew them?
Nikolai: yes
Albrecht: also how computers are sometimes laid out stupidly so
you can't get a normal screwdriver into a screwhead properly?
Nikolai: well if you could get the video card out
Nikolai: what would you replace it with
Albrecht: i'd still need a new one
Albrecht: but if i could get it out and it was the bottleneck
DM of Gaia: Well
DM of Gaia: If you can get a screwhead in
Albrecht: then the machine would boot, presumably
Nikolai: not necessarily
DM of Gaia: You could use a set of pliers
DM of Gaia: For leveragwe
DM of Gaia: -w
Albrecht: and I could go on the laptop and connect to server to
see it
Nikolai: ok so
Nikolai: a fucked up vid card
Nikolai: would not cause the machine to not power on
Albrecht: it powers
Nikolai: is that's what's happening?
Nikolai: ok
Albrecht: bong, fan, no video
Nikolai: so the assumption here
Nikolai: is that it would boot without a video card
Albrecht: reset pram doesn't happen
Nikolai: which I don't think is the case
DM of Gaia: It actually doesn't boot?
DM of Gaia: Did you try pinging it?
Albrecht: i left it on for around 10 minutes and tried connecting
rather than pinging
root: okay...i need sleep
Albrecht: i mean, i can go hit the button again and try
root: night folks
<<< root has left >>>
<<< 01:12:11 AM >>>
Albrecht: router shows only one wired connection
Albrecht: which, given karen's machine being off and the printer
being plugged in, would be that
Albrecht: yeah, IP matches the printer
Albrecht: so it's definitely not getting far enough to get pinged
Albrecht: trying to target disk mode it