we finally have all four parts of that statue we've been piecing together for ... (checks old blog entries) ... almost three years!!!
GM Elle: After the hearty farm breakfast Roric's family prepares for you, you depart for Outskirt. Are you going to head for the south gate or the north one? South is slightly farther, but Glinssa says she'd just as soon avoid the north gate, since it's closer to the Three Stags Inn, where Leanara and her fellow cultists sometimes meet.
Akane: Concerns about cultists ... irrelevant! It's the same for preferences of a donkey-tender. More importantly -- which gate neighbors the bank?
GM Elle: The bank isn't too far from the bakery, so the south gate is closer by a hair.
Akane: Zedeja insists upon this direction, then. No dilly-dallies or dawdles!
MSG: Hang on, though ... once we're done at the bank and go to the ruins to try getting in, what are we going to do with the cart and donkeys and Glinssa? I don't know that it's a great idea to leave them sitting at the bottom of the stairs while all of us go into this crypt.
Claire: Assuming we can find the way in.
Ariel: Well, I'd be okay hanging out in the cart with Glinssa instead of climbing up all those stairs.
Heddy: And Brandywise wouldn't mind waiting out here where it's nice and sunny ... at least until the more dauntless members of the party determine how dangerous it is inside.
GM Elle: Literally not to rain on your parade, but remember that it's misty and grey pretty much all the time here in the Misty Vale, unless it's night or actually raining.
Harriet: Also, stepping out of character, need I remind you that Brandy has some information about the ruins that no one else does?
Heddy: Oh, shoot, that's right. Well, I assume we're talking all of this through on our way to Outskirt and then the bank, so it would probably jog my memory as we pass by the hill with the ruins on top, and then I'd let everyone in on that little nook I found with the runes around it. And at that point I'd be choosing between staying out in the misty grey and going into the dark temple with everyone else to re-examine the runes. I guess it's not that hard a choice.
Claire: Hmm ... Dolora has one of the statue pieces stored at the bank, right?
MSG: Right ... why?
Claire: Because as soon as Brandy mentions that she found some interesting runes, Filvius suggests the two of them should go and get started deciphering while Dolora -- that is, while everyone else is at the bank.
MSG: Dolora scowls at that but can't immediately think of a counter-argument.
Claire: Since my Languages skill stinks, I'll say Zedeja should come along and pitch in.
Akane: Unacceptable! Senior mages are not assistants! I will come, but only so a junior mage can watch and learn.
Harriet: Dilfriida is forced to match Dolora scowl for scowl. She'd much prefer to accompany Brandy, but expects Zedeja's squawking presence to sour any mood that might develop.
Ariel: She can hang out with me and Glinssa and the donkeys, then! Why do any of us need to go all the way to the bank besides Sir Quackenscrump and Dolora?
Sasha: Good question. Quackers just waves and keeps walking.
MSG: Okay. Dolora sticks with him at a quick pace. In fact, fumingly quick -- she's going to miss out on whatever rune knowledge we get, so she's ticked off.
Claire: You'll be free to try reading them yourself when you catch up, you know.
MSG: Right, but whatever I learn from them, I won't be learning before Filvius, will I?
GM Elle: All right. Dolora and Sir Q are off to the bank, the other five characters and Glinssa head for the stairs up to the ruins, and then Filvius, Brandy, and Zedeja split off to climb to the ruins and return to the niche Brandy found before.
Ariel: I'll nap in the cart once we get to the bottom of the stairs.
GM Elle: The streets of Outskirt hold their normal, modest flow of morning traffic, so there aren't any crowds to fight on the way to your destinations. The stairs up to the temple ruins are directly opposite the south gate, so no one thinks it unusual for a cart to be parked there, at least briefly. By the time Filvius, Akane, and Brandy arrive at the top, Sir Q and Dolora are about halfway to the bank.
Heddy: Is the temple interior as dim and gloomy as last time? I'll light my oil lamp if that's the case.
GM Elle: It is. With a light source, you don't have much trouble finding the niche you investigated before. Everyone present should make an Awareness roll.
Claire: I make it.
Akane: No difficulty for a mage of such Awareness as Zedeja.
Heddy: I miss by a hair.
GM Elle: Filvius and Zedeja notice a couple of bats roosting on the temple ceiling not far from the niche.
Akane: Suspicious! Has anyone noticed these before?
Heddy: I don't believe I did.
Claire: Me either. Can I make a Beast Lore roll to figure out if they seem to be new arrivals, and if it's normal for bats to be found in town?
GM Elle: No need to roll about bats occasionally visiting towns. They're a pretty common species of mammal, even if they don't usually congregate around humans. Go ahead and roll for spotting any clues about how long they've been here.
Claire: I fail, but I'm pushing the roll since it's Disheartening to have my knowledge let me down. Second roll makes it.
GM Elle: There's little or no guano on the floor. It seems unlikely the bats have been camped out here for a long time.
Akane: Visitor bats -- even more suspicious than resident bats! Zedeja remains alert even while looking for runes. Satyr! Bring your lamp! The eyes of a mage are weak with age and need light.
Heddy: I'll hold the lamp up for Zedeja while keeping a nervous eye on the bats, now that I know they're there.
GM Elle: Zedeja can make a Languages roll to decipher the runes.
Akane: Success!
GM Elle: It says, "Eledain, Emperor of the World -- Master of Dragons -- Keeper of Um-Durman."
Claire: Are you reading it out loud? If you're not reading it out loud, Filvius is going to get impatient and ask what it says.
Akane: "Hush, junior mage! What if visiting bats hear?" I look to see if their ears are perking.
GM Elle: I suppose you can make an awareness check.
Akane: Success.
GM Elle: They seem to just be hanging from the ceiling, asleep.
Akane: Hmm. I say loudly, "The runes say the crypt can open tonight, with a rising moon shining its light into this wreckaged temple! We must hurry and tell our companions." Then I depart with speed, if companions follow. But outside the temple, less hurrying.
Heddy: I'm definitely not staying in here if Zedeja is done.
Claire: Hang on, did I believe Zedeja was telling the truth?
Akane: Exactly, my roll equals the Bluffing skill of Zedeja.
Claire: I suppose that answers that. I'll go with them.
Akane: Do I become aware of bats flying away once we leave? My Awareness roll is also exact in matching my skill.
GM Elle: You do hear a fluttering and see one of the two bats fly out of a crack in the temple roof. It flits away to the north.
Akane: Zedeja halts near the stair top, then, and whispers to companions what she read. "Only one bat spyingly left, however. If a duck and dwarf return bearing statue pieces, the remainder bat will see and report -- if also it's a spy."
Claire: I hate to suggest killing the second bat to get it out of the way, but Filvius probably doesn't hate the idea as much as I do. He'll wonder out loud if that's the best approach to take.
Heddy: Brandy isn't any more a fan of killing animals without good reason.
Akane: First reason -- it is spyful! Second reason -- it is probably a bat of cultism. Sinister! There's no mourning such a bat. But, a strategy of killing it now is poor. Maybe a bat death will alert cultists through magic.
Claire: So do we want to go back to the cart and wait with Fidu, Glinssa, and Dilfriida?
Akane: With Fidu, of course it's wanted. The other two -- less so.
Heddy: I also wonder if the six of us loitering about the foot of the stair might draw undue attention. What if Zedeja and Filvius remain here, and I'll go let the others know what the situation is.
Akane: Acceptable, though Zedeja has suspicions. Is a satyr just eager for the attentions of a thievish halfling? These thoughts remain silent, though.
Heddy: I'll head back down to the cart, then.
GM Elle: By the time you arrive, Sir Q and Dolora have reached the bank and retrieved their statue pieces. They'll return to the stairs in a few minutes. When Brandy relays the information about the bat and runes -- I assume you're going to?
Heddy: Yes. And Zedeja's strategizing.
GM Elle: Then Glinssa tells you that she knows Leanara has a cage of bats under the eaves of the Three Stags, so it wouldn't surprise her if the bats in the temple have something to do with the cult.
Harriet: Have Dolora and Quackenscrump concluded their assignment yet? Once Brandy and Glinssa have broken their respective news to us?
GM Elle: Not quite.
Ariel: Well then I wake up from my nap in the cart and ask what's going on so you have to repeat it. Maybe they'll be back after that.
Harriet: Dilfriida chafes a bit at Fidu imposing on Brandywise to tell her story all over again. She suggests the wolfkin might do better to take fewer naps and pay more attention.
Heddy: I'll tell her it's perfectly fine and repeat everything to Fidu. I'm not eager to go back up into the gloomy temple just yet anyway.
GM Elle: By the second time through, Quackenscrump and Dolora have returned.
Harriet: I'll hop down from the cart and say, "Let's get going!" It would irritate Dilfriida to no end if she has to sit through the same information a third time, even if it's Brandywise relating it.
GM Elle: Does everyone head up to the temple, then?
MSG: Somebody still has to watch the cart and donkeys, right?
Ariel: I can keep hanging with Glinssa, no problem.
Heddy: My scholarly curiosity gets the better of me in wanting to see what happens when the statue is put together and set into that niche.
GM Elle: Everyone meets up at the hilltop, then, except Fidu and Glinssa.
Sasha: Quackers is raring to go. "Where are these monster bats, then? I'm ready to take them out."
Akane: Within the temple, duck. Only one still hangs there, though. The other departed.
Sasha: I'm marching toward the temple with my bow out and my helmet off, then, since it gives a bane on ranged attacks.
Heddy: I tell Sir Q he'll need a light and hurry behind him.
MSG: That seems uncharacteristically brave.
Heddy: Sticking close to the most heavily armored and combat-trained member of the party?
MSG: Good point.
Heddy: Oops. I just realized, though, that I didn't actually see the bats, which makes it hard to pinpoint them for our knight.
GM Elle: You two draw initiative with the bat, then, to see if you alert or spook it.
Sasha: 8.
Heddy: Ugh. 9.
GM Elle: Bat is on 4. I'll roll awareness to see if it's roused by your light. It's there as a spy and has sharp senses, so I'm giving it a Boon ... and it succeeds with double 5's. When the light flashes across it, it immediately spreads its wings and flies up through the same crack in the roof.
Sasha: I'll dash outside and try to get a shot at it.
GM Elle: It's already out of normal range by then, so you'll get a Bane.
Sasha: Gurk -- I roll a Demon.
GM Elle: The table says you hit yourself by mistake. Roll damage without your Agility modifier.
Sasha: It bounces off my armor.
Akane: Have others time to act also?
GM Elle: With spells, yes, but no one said they were heading up with their weaponry out.
Claire: Well, I don't know if it's also outside my spell range, but I probably don't want to zortch it with a Lightning Bolt in the middle of town, so I guess it gets away if Zedeja doesn't have a spell that can reach it.
Akane: No spells of long range for Zedeja.
GM Elle: Then the bat gets away.
MSG: I guess we'd better hurry in and put the statue together and open this place for business.
Harriet: While they're at work on that puzzle, I'll ask Brandy to shine a light around the niche so that I can check it for traps. It seems like the kind of place someone might have left one, considering the "hiding a powerful artifact away from untoward hands" aspect of the setup here.
Heddy: I certainly move to help Dilfriida out.
GM Elle: Roll Spot Hidden, then.
Harriet: I make it, though by the barest of margins.
GM Elle: You see that the floor in front of the niche consists of carefully fitted stones in a rectangular area about two meters wide by three long. You wouldn't be surprised at them opening up precipitously at some trigger.
Harriet: Is there room to stand in the niche to place the statue in that indentation?
GM Elle: A small character like you could, or a taller character might stand beyond the edge of the rectangular area and stretch to try to put the key in place.
Akane: Or a Wisdomly mage could Levitate this process instead of trusting a halfling or risking an awkward stretcher dropping the statue to break it into additional pieces.
Heddy: That seems like quite a good idea.
GM Elle: Who's putting the statue together, then? It's going to take a Crafting check.
MSG: My Crafting isn't the greatest ... 9.
Claire: Way better than mine.
Sasha: Same.
Akane: Only a 5 for Zedeja because of her weakling Strength.
Harriet: Dilfriid would love to be better than Zedeja at something like this. But she's not.
Heddy: Brandy either.
GM Elle: Looks like it's up to Dolora, then. Someone can Help and give her a Boon.
MSG: Awesome. All right ... nope, I fail even with the Boon. That's Disheartening for me, and I Push the roll -- but fail even worse.
GM Elle: It's very slow going, then. There are only four pieces, but apparently if you don't put them together from just the right angles in just the right order, they simply won't fit. I'll roll how long it takes you -- 24 minutes.
MSG: Oof.
GM Elle: Is Fidu keeping an eye out downstairs? Or is he back to napping.
Ariel: I mean, a nap does sound good and all, but I guess something important is going on with the temple and the statue, and Dilfriida did nag at me a minute ago, so I'm probably up.
GM Elle: Roll Awareness.
MSG: I don't like the sound of that.
Ariel: Foozers. Demon.
Sasha: I like the sound of that even less.
GM Elle: All right, so not only do you not see anything, but you're yawning and stretching at just the wrong moment and get in Glinssa's way so that she doesn't see anything either.
Ariel: Uh ... what is it that we don't see?
GM Elle: You don't see it, so I'm not saying. Maybe you'll find out later.
Ariel: Boo.
and i'm a little short on time, so i'm stopping this installment here. i'll try to get back and write up the rest of the session soon!
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