Battle for Kazragun

[Sherwood]

Baird nods to Wren's question, "I did in fact, two of the potions found are those that heal minor wounds and this stone I'm holding has something to do with fire. However that's all that I could figure out from my eyes."


@Sherwood

Wren nods.  "Any healing potion we can get cannot be a bad thing, and the stone has something to do with fire.  I wonder if imparts a resistance to flame, or if it creates fire somehow?  I would hate to be the one to test that theory, just in case I'm wrong."  She looks at the stone with curiosity.  "Well, there does not appear to be anything else of interest out here.  Shall we gather up our assorted team members and move on?"


OOC Does the stone look like it is meant to be attached to a masterwork weapon to cause elemental damage in addition to the weapon's normal hit?

 

[Silanon]

West:


"Tull Ramek, you say? Somehow sounds familiar, though that might just be coincidence - all your names sound equal to me anyway. Certainly looks like a proper weapon, though, make sure to keep it sharp - you'll need it once we get to the city itself." Your conversation gets suddenly interrupted when those walking in front of you gather, doing their best to not destroy the tracks preserved on the ground. You can see them point out different spots, trying to get a broader picture. "Four orcs, retreating northwards." "Goblins, as well. Some of them headed in the opposite direction, though. Probably scouts of their own, trying to get our numbers." "A few more than that, maybe a small group to catch us off-guard?" There seem to be two main directions to go from here, apart from turning around. One points northwards - likely in direction of the watchtower mentioned - the other one to the south-east. "I want three of you to take the eastern track, making sure that noone surprises us. Gordib, pick yourself an archer and another one, and take care of that." As Stoneeye gives the orders, a tall, black haired man spits out, then nods. "I'll just take the new ones, if that's fine. You'll need the others more." As Io readies herself, he looks at Renna "Care to accompany us, m'lady? Might need your sword to slice our way through a few goblins if they're still out there."


Group:


The stone, from what Wren can tell, is not supposed to be attached to a weapon. It almost looks as if it might be meant to be thrown, though it' as likely just acting as some kind of protection like you saw with the commander's stone before. Veskassdak can recall some tales of his tribe's shaman to not hunt animals in the north-west of the swamps, since the region around Kazragun is another one's hunting ground. As there are no tribes of your people there as far as you know, that might just be a hint at the elves who lived there before the orc invasion - or it's an confession to some other power, like the being mentioned by the goblin.


Apart from the doorway in the tree, there's nothing else left to take a look at - it's dark in there, so you might want to light up a torch if you feel like exploring further.

 

[Psychie]

Renna nods.  "Of course.  I will lend my sword arm to this noble effort, and we shall see if we run into any if these miscreants."

 

[Sherwood]

Wren decides to light up a torch to go and examine the doorway.  She will specifically check for a trap on and around the door, then see if it is locked.

 

[Dicer]

Veskassdak readies himself to follow Wren into the tree. "If danger find you. Will problem be for it I sssay."

 

[Silanon]

West:


Heading off, you follow the track - while the ground is muddy and slippery, it mostly stays safe to walk on. It does take about half an hour until the human scout stops, readying his own bow as he points towards one of the few relatively dry spots in these swamps ahead. On a tree log, you can see a lonely creature sit, a pile of armor pieces lying on the ground next to it. Clearly, it is a goblin, treating a deep wound in its shoulder and thus not noticing you (yet). What might surprise you is the way it closes the wound - holding a white, glowing stone, the creature seems to recite words in its mother tongue - with every syllable, the light moves up his arm a little further, cuts and other sores closing instantly along its path towards the life-endangering wound.


Group:


There is no door to be seen - if there is a way to close the entry, you can't see any sign of it. However, the rogue sees signs of former traps - a cord spanned on ankle-level that's ruptured by now, holes in the "walls", if you want to call the interior of the tree like that, burnmarks, broken arrows, a goblin corpse - but Wren's trained eyes do not find anything that might be dangerous anymore. Whatever secured the place, the goblins seem to have taken care of it. There is a flight of steps leading downstairs, nothing else. On the wooden walls, there are a number of drawings, showing elves, lizards, orcs and several other beings - for example a silver-furred hyena fighting a golden dragon, and a kraken-like entity swallowing a ship. Water is running down the walls, ruining a few of the pictures - it gets worse the further downwards you go, the way lit up by your torch.

 

[Sherwood]

Wren looks over the images on the wall with curiosity, then turns to look back at her companions. "If we go down there, we can expect to get our feet wet. But I'm fine with that. Shall we explore and see what is down here?"

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

As Wren gives the all clear that there's nothing wrong, Baird went to look at the images decorating the walls. Of all the images decorating them, however, the Gold Dragon is the one that stands out the most to him, given his blood. Baird stops for a moment and remembers what his father had said to him all those years ago, "There's an old family legend that we are descended from a gold dragon, nobody has been able to prove this yet." Baird quickly changed his right hand into a gold dragon claw(anyone with deft eyes can see this) and then swiftly changes it back before sighing and moving onwards. Was this his ancestor? Or were there more than one in existence?


@Sherwood @Dicer @Silanon

 

[Psychie]

Renna looks over at the wounded goblin and sees that it is no threat. She makes no effort at stealth as she approaches the goblin, and says, "What happened to you? Have a run in with some orcs?"

 

[Dicer]

"Water on feet normal isss," Veskassdak comments, "Wren trap look. Me follow protect Wren. Sssee there. Trouble me bad thingsss give. Ready go."

 

[Sherwood]

"Thanks Veskassdak. Good to know that you have my back. We work together pretty well. Well guys, let's check this place out. Let me take point, just in case there are any nasty surprises down there that at might stumble upon. Let's go." Wren takes her torch and starts to go down the stairs.

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

"Thanks Veskassdak. Good to know that you have my back. We work together pretty well. Well guys, let's check this place out. Let me take point, just in case there are any nasty surprises down there that at might stumble upon. Let's go." Wren takes her torch and starts to go down the stairs.

"Ye-yeah Wren, let's get going," Baird shakily replied still questioning the picture and how it related to his blood. Although he was happy to be behind Wren in the search, he was still wary as to what exactly could be down there.

 

[Dicer]

Veskassdak walked in just behind Wren. He kept aware just in case something, anything really, decided that attacking them would be a good idea. They would find out just how sharp his bite and claws truly were.

 

[Silanon]

A little bit further west (almost there!):


Your companions are less trustful than you are - as you move forward, both of them point arrows at the goblin, ready to let them fly if he does one false move. It does not seem to concern him all that much - as the healing glow ends, he slowly turns around towards you, not even trying to grab his sword leaning against the log. "Nah - met a bunch of random folks. A few humans, and a damn angry lizard. Pretty much tore us apart immediately, only had enough people around to get the remaining garbage back to the city. Somehow decided to let me go - not that it matters, now that you found me - and now they're probably screwing up everything in the ritual chamber. Not that it matters, your damn holy army will ruin everything anyway."


Group:


Following the stairs, you reach a hexagonal chamber, with the opposing wall being roughly 30 feet away. Each of the other five wall segments (the sixth only has the doorway you're standing in in it) shows the picture of some kind of creature - from the left to the right: An angel-like being, with black, bird-like wings, a long sword in one hand, and a glowing stone in the other one. A beautiful, horned woman with bat-like wings, standing on two hoofs as one claw helps someone up and the other one holds the bloody heart of a slaughtered foe. A gnoll-like creature reminding you of the one you met earlier in the swamps, wandering through a landscape of dead bodies and giant trees. A golden dragon, watching a battle where soldiers seem to fight each other without any kind of order. A kraken, sleeping on the bottom of the sea, one of many eyes opened to watch an army of Naga swim through the water above him.


Around each of the creatures, you can see multiple symbols, likely magical. Additionally, there is a short name written down in an unfamiliar language - unfamiliar for most of you, that is. Baird can read Celestial: From the left to the right: The Harbinger, The Dancer, The Warden. The dragon's name was burnt recently, only dark ash is to be seen where the runes once were. The kraken's wall never showed a name to begin with.


The dragon's name is not the only thing that was burnt - all over the place, someone has burnt various of the runes, seemingly at random. It does not look like an accident, however, rather like someone deleting important runes while ignoring all the others. He then added his own markings - bloody symbols cover the walls, mostly around the dragon's picture - forming a circle as if trying to cage the beast. A dead, roughly human-sized body lies in the middle of the chamber in the midst of ankle-deep, muddy water. Multiple wooden chests can be seen, all but one are open and empty. The closed one is standing in front of the Kraken's picture.


Remember the inner cold some of you felt earlier? In here, it's again relevant, though twice as strong. Even Wren can feel the unholy magic that was casted in this chamber. Apart from possible magic in this place, you can't spot any additional danger.

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

As Baird reads the names, he calls out to Wren and Veskassdak, "Guys, looks like we know what the harbinger looks like," he points to the name in celestial and then to the symbol. "We also have what seems to be the Dancer, and the Warden. Although that Dragon," Baird pauses for a moment, "That Gold dragon looks as though its' name was removed." However, seeing the chest infront of the no named kraken caused him to be intrigued, more or less if there was anything that Wren might not pick up.


((OOC, Baird casts Detect Magic))


@Silanon @Sherwood @Dicer

 

[Psychie]

Renna lets out a snort. "You will pardon me if I don't lose any sleep for a goblin ritual being disrupted." Looking to her companions, she says "It sounds like he ran into the scouts we are looking for. We must be in the right track." Turning back to the goblin, she says, "Where did you have your run in with these other adventurers?"

 

[Sherwood]

Wren wraps one arm around herself in a futile attempt to ward off the unholy chill. "This place gives me the willies. Baird, you seem to have an better handle on the magic stuff than I do. What can you figure out is going on in here? Personally, I have no clue."

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

Wren wraps one arm around herself in a futile attempt to ward off the unholy chill. "This place gives me the willies. Baird, you seem to have an better handle on the magic stuff than I do. What can you figure out is going on in here? Personally, I have no clue."

Well I will tell you what I can figure out. All of these images relate to several figures, The Harbinger, The Warden and the Dancer, each with their name in celestial, which I can read if it hasn't been made obvious at this point. However, there is also a kraken over by that wall with a chest. The kraken has no name and I'm very wary about that chest((detect magic)). There is one more thing I think you should know Wren," Baird walks over to the Golden Dragon image. Who or whatever was down here does not want this guy interfering as evidenced by the runes around him, and in other words," Baird conjures his claws in front of Wren before he sends them away, "this might be my blood ancestor."

 

[Silanon]

West:


The goblin nods. "I figured. Gotta screw things up first before you start to worry." He points over his right shoulder, further along the path you're following. "Basically only on direction to take, hothead. The south-eastern tree, if your friend knows where that is." He looks towards Io, and the elf gives him a nod. For a short moment, she seems worried, though she tries to hide it the best she can. Before either of them can add another word, the buzzing of an arrow interrupts the talking. The projectile hits the goblin in the chest, sending him to the ground as Gordib lowers his bow. "Enough of this non-sense - we know what we're looking for." As the goblin still lives, the man grabs for his knife.


Group:


As Baird exposes himself to the magic within the chamber, he almost gets overwhelmed by a blinding wave of impressions. At first, the whole chamber seems to be filled with one single aura; it takes several moments before the sorcerer can see more than just the power soaking this place. Hundreds of spells can be separated, each of them too complicated for his understanding of magic to fully comprehend. Some seem to be of protective nature, others include some kind of summoning magic - or banish something instead, it's impossible for the spellcaster to tell. Those seemingly connected to the blood symbols feel cold, and much more straightforward than the others - in some abstract sense, as the complexity is still too high to get an understanding.


For the chest in particular, there is a much easier spell on it - likely locking it in an unnatural manner. No trap spells or the like, however.

 

[Sherwood]

Wren goes over to the chest to examine it. As a rogue, she can disarm even magic traps. 


Perception and Disable Device are both +12

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

Baird immediately takes a knee once his attempts to understand the magic have been elucidated. Almost overwhelmed by the multiple magics within the chamber, he does however understand the magic surrounding the chest and is both relived that it is a simple trap, but wary, why would a simple trap be in the presence of such great magic. Standing back up, Baird speaks to Wren, "Be careful with that trap I still don't like that its near the Kraken wall with nothing on it."


@Sherwood

 

[Silanon]

As Wren examines the chest, she notices a small lock at the front - usually not too hard of a task to deal with. However, this time it seems as if the magic involved makes every attempt to break it open go wrong; despite trying multiple times, it proves resilient to the rogue's attempts. Moreover, as she does her work, everyone in the room gets a familiar feeling - the feeling of being watched by someone, even though you can't quite figure out where the observer might be. Baird, assuming that he still keeps an eye on the magic around, can get a hint; As Wren tries to open the chest, you see a subtile change in the auras surrounding the kraken's picture, a short shuddering before everything goes back to normal.

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

As Wren examines the chest, she notices a small lock at the front - usually not too hard of a task to deal with. However, this time it seems as if the magic involved makes every attempt to break it open go wrong; despite trying multiple times, it proves resilient to the rogue's attempts. Moreover, as she does her work, everyone in the room gets a familiar feeling - the feeling of being watched by someone, even though you can't quite figure out where the observer might be. Baird, assuming that he still keeps an eye on the magic around, can get a hint; As Wren tries to open the chest, you see a subtile change in the auras surrounding the kraken's picture, a short shuddering before everything goes back to normal.

As Baird watches Wren attempt to open the chest, he sees her fail many times. Suddenly, he becomes painstakingly aware that he is being watched so he looks around wildly and just catches the Kraken's form change as Wren tries again. "WREN!" Baird shouts, "the chest is tied to the image! it's watching us!"


@Sherwood @Dicer

 

[Sherwood]

She backs away from the chest in a hurry. She was so focused on the chest that she didn't notice the image on the wall. "I want able to undo the lock. Perhaps there is a key somewhere that we can use." Wren looks around, hoping to find a hidden clue.

 

[Dicer]

Veskassdak shuddered while watching Baird and Wren from the opening they came down into the chamber. He was not looking at the images at the wall since on first glance they did not depict his kind. He hated this type of magic. Well, in all honesty, magic in general. It was too unpredictable. When Baird said the kraken image moved, he wondered what a kraken was and readied himself to fight again.