Part 5
Calderion’s Journeys Part 5:
The Tower in the Slithering Deeps
(A Solo Pathfinder game project)
Scene 27
Before I start in on the Emulator again I’m
going to take a bit of time and add up the Experience Points this last fight
earned, and level up Calderion accordingly. My last entry had Cal at 9100
points, or just over the point he needed for 4th level. The
werewolves are worth 600 points each, or 4800 for the whole pack. When that
number is divided up amongst the whole team, each of the characters gets 960
points apiece. That gets Cal to 10,060. Not bad. He’s still got a long trek to
get to the next level, though. The level 5 threshold is 15,000.
Next comes the loot! Argren has a bunch of
goodies Cal would love to get his grubby hands on. The first is Argen’s spell
book. That one will be easy, since I can’t see any of the other characters
really wanting it. Still I can’t take it as a given, there might be a dispute
over the distribution of the rewards. So it’s back to the GM Emulator to input a few
questions. My first step was to end the previous scene, and since the combat
was over I also lowered the chaos level down a notch to 8. I then asked “Is the team ok with Cal taking possession of
the Necromancer’s spell book?” and got an “Exceptional Yes.” answer.
Well that’s interesting. Maybe the “exceptional”
part of the answer means they are grateful enough to Cal to let him have the
rest of the evil wizard’s stuff uncontested? That sounds a bit more dubious. So
I lower the odds of a positive answer on the emulator & input Q: “With the
exceptional yes for the spell book, does that also mean the other items on the
necromancer's corpse are also awarded to Cal?” And struck gold. Even with the odds lowered I still get
a “YES”! I add the necromancer’s
items to Calderion’s Hero Lab file. These include a Headband
of Vast Intelligence +2, a
wand of Shield, a wand of Magic
Missile, 3 potions
of Cure Light Wounds, 5 oils
of Magic Weapon, and 3 Potions
of Invisibility. Only the headband, Shield wand, and Cure potions would
interest him, though. For Cal the real prize is the spell book. As a rules
note- yes I did roll for Cal to identify these items. He beat the needed
Difficulty Class in every case by at least 8, in some cases by 12 or more.
But up pops a Random Event alert targeting
Ralvor. Specifically it says “E: Action
by Ralvor (rogue 4): an Ambush and Extravagance”. Heh. I thought giving all
that stuff to Calderion would be an issue. This is an easy translation. I’ll
have Ralvor disagree with giving all Argren’s stuff to Cal & try to steal
some of it. That fits the “ambush” (being a sneaky underhanded action) and
“extravagance” (since it involves objects of value). Now it comes down to WHAT
he targets for theft. The Headband
of Vast Intelligence +2 is the most valuable
item on the list. But the most useful items to Ralvor would most likely be the
3 Potions
of Invisibility also noted. So I go back to the
Emulator to decide what the rogue will do. Will he choose utility over value?
The Emulator says “Yes.” So Ralvor is
going to try to pocket the potions. I’ll check his rolls to see if he succeeds
in his theft in a moment, because another Random Event alert just came up.
This one puts the spotlight on Kushear. It
reads “E: Action by Kushear (pal 4): the
Creation of the Masses”. I hit the thesaurus again and find “establishment”
can fill in for “creation”, and for “masses” I can stretch that to mean the
“rank and file” of a group. So I get “the establishment of the rank and file”. I
decide that I’ll have Kushear propose to everyone that they form a permanent
team of adventurers, since they seem to have nearly completed this mission and
it would be a shame to have them disband after working so well together.
Calderion’s answer would be an affirmative
to such an offer, as he’s always been nervous about continuing his travels
alone. I’ll check with the Emulator to determine the responses of the others.
Fannen might not be willing to leave his home here in the Slithering Deeps, and
Ral & Myrlia will decide as a couple I would think.
Now to back track a bit, and check on
Ralvor’s attempt to steal the potions. This is an opposed use of his Sleight
of Hand skill, with him rolling an 11 total.
Ouch. That means he only rolled a 4 before his +7 bonus got added. Meanwhile,
Calderion needs to beat that 11 on a Perception check roll. Which he does easily with 20 total.
So he’ll catch Ralvor in the act. Huh. That might
change how Cal feels about joining permanently with these folks. I mean, Ralvor
at least will have shown himself to be untrustworthy after all. It will depend
allot on the response I get from the GM Emulator as
to whether the others are even interested.
So a
quick series of questions in the Emulator, with the odds on the probability
slider set to “50/50 or Unsure” (or
in Fannen’s case lower- that was set at “Unlikely”)
asking whether the other team members wanted to create a more permanent group resulted
in a “Yes” answer in every case. Even
Fannen was willing leave his hermitage and take up with the adventurers.
Wow. The Emulator just gave me 3 new Radom
Event pop-ups. First was “E: Negative for
Kushear (pal 4): Guidance regarding an Investment”. Since Ralvor’s attempt
at stealing from Cal would make Calderion hesitant to join, I decide to use
this penalty to see if Kushear would be willing to use his share of any
monetary loot to convince (bribe) Cal to join despite Ralvor’s actions. Since
Kushear would lose out on the money, that will fill the criteria, assuming the
Emulator says it happens. Which it does: “Q:
Would Kushear, in penance for Ralvor's theft, offer his share to Cal to try to convince
him to remain with the team? YES” Okay then. I’ll go with that.
This whole attempted theft by
Ralvor seems to be blowing up into a bigger issue within the group. I think I
better see how far it goes. “Q: Does
Ralvor's attempted theft change anyone's mind about joining as a permanent
team? YES”
Hm. Well, by process of elimination, the one
most likely to change his mind would be Fannen. The team is Kushear’s idea, so
I can’t see him suddenly backing out. Myrlia is in a relationship with Ral, and
Kushear is family, so it probably wouldn’t be her. As for Ralvor himself, if
Myrlia wants to stay he’ll most likely (reluctantly) follow along. But I’ll
check just to be sure- I might get a surprise answer, after all. “Q: Is the person who decides against
joining Fannen? YES”
Ok, no huge surprises here, it seems. One
thing to note is that Fannen only joined up to help because he was an old
friend of Ralvor’s. Maybe the reason Fannen was out here in the swamp in the 1st
place was due to Ralvor’s unsavory actions in the past. In that case the druid might
get really REALLY pissed if Ral tries that crap again. Oh the drama!
The second event was one that happens
somewhere else, but has some kind of effect on the group or game. Copied from
the GM Emulator I
got: “E: Remote Event: the Postponement
of Extravagance”. The only character that had any plans past this adventure
was of course Cal, since the others are just supporting Nonplayer
Characters. He had booked passage on a ship out
of Bottle Bay, but since the departure had been delayed, he had decided to join
Kushear’s group as an exciting (and hopefully profitable) way to fill in his time
waiting. Calderion had planned to travel to the island-city of Tolifer to
attend the wizard academy there to gain the benefits of a formal training,
since he was largely self-taught. So perhaps this Remote Event means his trip
is postponed somehow. A quick query to the Emulator shows that is exactly what
happened: “Q: Does the remote event
consist of the ship Cal was booked on leaving without him? YES”.
Okay then-as a future story element that is
interesting to know. But nothing really changes in the immediate scene. The 3rd
Random Event DOES affect things however. It again targeted Kushear, with a
positive event. Copying again from the Emulator: “E: Positive for Kushear (pal 4): a Triumph of a Plot”. The main
plot was of course to rescue the Goddess Yuelral’s messenger, a Lyrakien
Azata sent to deliver direct instructions from
the Goddess herself to her most important worshipers. The messenger had been
captured by the necromancer Argren the Dark, and the team had been tasked to
attempt to free it. Does this mean the team succeeds? I go back to the Emulator
with the following inquiry: “Q: Does
Kushear's positive event mean he finally locates and frees the imprisoned Lyrakien Azata?
YES”.
So it would seem.
Victory at last? Maybe- we’ll see what
happens next. I’ll write up this scene & then it’s up to the GM Emulator to help determine events after that.
Calderion’s final
spell finishes off the last attacking werewolf, although the remaining pack members
escape by jumping off the encircling balcony to the great hall below. They then
flee the tower, back out into the Slithering Deeps. Cal and his companions had
triumphed.
With the skirmish
over, Cal waves a hand and ends the Web
spell that he had used to entrap and impede the attackers. The thick,
glistening cables snap loose from their anchors, causing the whole weave to sag
and collapse before abruptly disappearing. The bodies of the werewolves that
had been snared in the spell drop to the floor, having returned to their human
shape after death.
Myrlia turns to
Ralvor and fiercely clutches at him. “When I saw them change…it was horrible!
Nothings ever frightened me as much before!” Ralvor holds her close, and
answers “We won, sweetheart. They’re gone now.”
“Yes-and take to
heart, cousin, that despite your fear you stood your ground. That is a true
mark of courage.” Kushear points out.
Fannen &
Calderion move to examine their fallen enemies while the family comforts &
reassures Myrlia. Fannen stoops to look closer at the lead werewolf, and
remarks “I knew they were here in in the Deeps- word of their presence spread
fast- but I never realized the wizard had bargained for their help. Otherwise I
would have mentioned them. I apologise for the oversight.”
Cal shrugs,
dismissing the issue and moves on to the body of the necromancer while Myrlia
releases Ralvor and turns to Fannen. “I don’t think it would have mattered,
Fannen. Without you and Cal, we would never have beaten them. We had no silver
weapons- our attacks were all but useless. Without your magic and Cal’s, our
fight would have been a total defeat.”
Kushear scowls at
her proclamation of their potential failure. “I’m sure the gods would not
have…” he starts, only to be interrupted. “Kushear, be reasonable. It’s not a
lack bravery to underestimate your foes. It’s a lack of strategy. Poor tactics.
You’re a better fighter than that. You must have recognized how untenable the
fight could have been without the magical assistance?” Myrlia demands.
Kushear sighs, and
puts a commiserating hand on her shoulder. “Yes.” The paladin admits softly.
“But part of a leader’s duty is to also try to maintain the morale of those he
leads, cousin. We were lured to what was to have been a total massacre. I
suspect they knew we were coming. I also strongly suspect whoever was feeding
the necromancer his information didn’t anticipate Fannen breaking his
neutrality to join us, or us being accompanied by a wizard of our own. Indeed,
Cal was almost the one thing that tipped the whole situation back in our
favor.” The crusader fires a friendly smile towards the young wizard, only to
have it fade into a look of bemused exasperation.
Cal has located
Argren’s book of spells, and while the other have been talking he has been
quietly flipping through its slightly scorched pages. At Kushear’s mention of
his name, Calderion looks up briefly from his study and in an obviously
distracted reply says “Um. Yes, of course. Always glad to help.” He then flips
another page, and murmurs “Oh. This is interesting too…”
Myrlia rolls her
eyes, and grins as she shakes her head. “Calderion?”
“Hm?”
“CAL!” she tries
again more forcefully.
The young mage looks
up, startled from his preoccupation and then, totally chagrined, he closes the
book. “I’m so sorry…I was just…once you get past the…” he stammers.
Kushear raises a
quick hand to forestall Cal’s attempt to explain. “Never mind right now, just
take it all. You can do a closer look later. We need to move on, find Yuelral’s messenger and
finish this.”
“What?! Wait-all of
it?” Ralvor objects. Fannen glances at the rogue with narrowed eyes, but Ral
fails to notice.
Kushear wave away his
complaint. “It’s all mostly wizard stuff anyway, I would imagine. Probably not
much use to anyone else here. It’s not as if he hasn’t worked for it, after
all. Now then- I’d like to put a proposition out to everyone. We’ve worked well
together and…”
“Actually I think
the 3 Potions
of Invisibility would be useful to just about anyone…” Cal starts. Ralvor
examines the young mage with renewed interest as Calderion packs away the items
he found.
“Please, Cal, let
me finish.” Kushear waits a moment to be sure Calderion is listening, and then
continues. “Right then. So, we’ve worked
well together on this venture, and I’ve come to regard all of you as friends.
I’m sure that, even after we’ve finished here there will be other tasks we will
be called upon to investigate. I propose we form an active team, able to lend
each other aid across the group as needed. A band of adventurers, so to speak.
With our forces combined into a diverse but cohesive whole, the situations we
can face successfully become so much broader. What do you think?”
Myrlia nods. “Of
course I’ll help. Family sticks together.”
Ralvor doesn’t look
enthusiastic about the idea, but simply answers with “Whatever Myrlia wants is
fine.”
Fannen is silent a
moment as he gives the idea some thought. “Perhaps it is time for me to take
another look at the world outside again. Hiding away here hasn’t seemed to keep
the world out, so I might as well try to make it at least as livable as I can.”
Cal is practically
bouncing. “This is just like the Epic of Terrane, right at the beginning at the
Band of Twelve’s first quest! This is incredible! I get to be part of a bard’s
tale! Wait until Elladan learns of this in my next letter!”
“This isn’t a story,
Cal. We’ll be doing important work.” Kushear replies repressively, while Myrlia
stifles her laughter.
Ralvor walks across
to the enthusiastic youth, puts his hands on his shoulders and gives Calderion
a serious shake. “You got to focus a bit more if this is going to happen. Quit
your dreaming!”
Looking somewhat
crestfallen that the others don’t share his wonder, Cal looks down at the ground.
“Yes, I understand. It’s not a game.” he mutters rebelliously. “I still think
it’s exciting…HEY! What are you…?” Cal suddenly steps back from Ralvor, and
bats at the rogue’s hands. Time seems to stop as Ralvor drops a trio of small
vials. Vials that only minutes before everyone had seen Cal pack away. Cal
bends down and retrieves the tiny bottles. He holds them up looking confused
and lost, and asks into the silence “Why?”
“Oh, no…Ral…you
promised…” Myrlia says, her voice shattered, breaking into a half-sob from her
disappointment.
“AGAIN!” Fannen
bursts out angrily. “I gave you a second chance after the last time, and agreed
to help you because you claimed to be changed. But now you steal from those who
put their trust in you AGAIN?! Wasn’t Staggan’s death enough for you, you
greedy son of goblin?”
Ralvor turns and
confronts Fannen. “You can’t pin Staggan on me! He was run through by those orc
raiders! I’m the one that finished the orc that killed him!” he snarls.
“No?” Fannen replies,
his tone dripping in contempt. “You think so? Then tell me what happened to the
healing potion Staggan had. The one that might’ve saved his life if it hadn’t
been ‘relocated’ into your belt pouch?”
“I…” Ral tries to
speak, but then turns back and steps away from the group, unable to withstand
their heavy censure.
Cal walks over to
the older man, and gives him all 3 Potions
of Invisibility. In
a hurt tone the youth says with reproach “You only had to ask.” Cal then turns
and rejoins the others, leaving Ralvor staring down at the bottles in his hand.
Calderion stops to
stand by Kushear. With obvious regret, he tells the taller half-elf “I’m sorry,
but I don’t think I can join you, Kushear. Not now. I needed to trust & I
no longer have that here. Perhaps someday, but I think for the nonce I’ll need
some time to find that trust again.”
“I wish I could say
something to change your mind, but I do understand your choice. Will you at
least wait until we return to Bottle Bay to take your leave?” the paladin asks.
“Yes, of course. I
have a ship to catch there in any event, so it’s on my way.” Cal nods.
“Thank you for
that.” Kushear looks over to the druid next, and begins “Fannen, will…”
“NO. He had his
second chance from me. All I want right now is for you to finish this, and get
his sorry skin out of the Slithering Deeps. You seem like an upright and
forthright person, Kushear, but I’ll not endure through the deceptions of that
blackguard again.” Fannen glowers at Ralvor’s back.
“Whatever. I see
where this is heading. I’ll go…” Ralvor suddenly says, his voice harsh with
emotion. He pushes his way between Cal & Kushear, then shoves the bottles
back into Calderion’s hands. Pivoting, he turns and heads for the stairs
leading back down. Fannen crosses his arms and watches him leave.
“Ral wait!” Myrlia
cries, and turns desperate eyes to Kushear.
Kushear gives her a
small nod. “Listen to your heart, cousin. But remember our purpose is to lead
them into the light, not follow them into the dark.” With that Myrlia turns and
chases after the rogue. Voices can be heard in the stairwell, and although no
words can be made out, it definitely sounds like a heated argument.
As Cal quietly put
the potion bottles away again, Kushear removes his gauntlets for a moment and
runs a hand over his face. “Cal, when we are done here, I anticipate we’ll each
be having a share of a considerable fortune of wealth, if we take stock of the
total found. I want you to have my share of the final amount in addition to the
equal part we would already bequeath, as my personal apology for the actions of
my companions. You can use the funds to provide you greater protections, and
comfort, when you leave. I do wish you
would reconsider staying on, even if only on a temporary basis. I think your
outlook, almost as much as your wizardry, can make a difference to any group
you are part of.”
Calderion listens
to Kushear as he repacks, then looks up at the taller half-elf. “I won’t refuse
your offer, Kushear, but right now I’m not leaning towards staying. Let’s just
finish the purpose we’re here for, and get back to town. We’ll see if time will
change my mind. I am grateful, at least, that you’re willing to accept my
decision, whatever it may be in the end.”
At that, noises behind them announce the
return of Myrlia, accompanied by a subdued looking Ralvor. As the couple rejoins
the group, Ral says “I’m sorry, Cal. I justified stealing from you in my mind
as getting my fair share. It was a selfish and underserved act on my part. I
promise it’ll never happen again.”
Fannen angrily
mutters “Until the next time anyway.” and turns away. The old druid obviously
has had his limit of Ral, and is unwilling to forgive.
Cal, however,
offers a small measure of leniency. “I’ll accept your apology, Ral, and hold no
grudge. But I’m still unsure of my feelings towards staying. Let’s finish here,
and discuss it more once we return to Bottle Bay.” Ralvor, still looking
miserable, nods.
Myrlia gives the
rogue a hug, and whispers “Well done, love. You’ve made the effort. Be true to
your word, and let the others decide their own path.” Ralvor hugs her back,
without answering, but his expression eases a bit as he sighs into her hair.
Scene 28
With the end of the drama with Ralvor I
decide to split things again and begin a new scene as the characters move on
and begin to further explore this level of the old fortress. It just feels like
a good place to change it over. I call up the GM Emulator to
end the scene and start the new one.
And BOOM! The Emulator hits me with a Random
Event alert. Copied directly, it reads: “E:
Negative for Calderion (wiz 4): the Separation of Riches”. Well, this is
going to suck. The most expensive item on Cal is that magic headband mentioned
back in the beginning of this post. Somehow, some item or items are going to be
lost. I’ll check to see if it is the headband: “Q: Does the negative event involve the magic headband Cal has? YES”. Damnit.
But at least it wasn’t the spell book. Another point is that the headband’s
worth actually put Cal over the game’s Wealth
by Level limit for his character level. Which
means it makes all-too-much sense for him to lose the thing anyway. Easy come,
easy go I guess. So what happens to it? Does it get lost? Stolen? Destroyed?! I
go back to the Emulator to find out: “Q:
Is the headband destroyed? EXCEPTIONAL YES”. Huh. I can’t get a more
definitive end than that. Not just broken, it seems, but utterly wrecked beyond
any hope of repair. I knew this was going to suck. Seeking more details I ask
& receive the following question & answer: “Q: Is the headband destroyed in the effort to free the Goddess'
messenger? YES”. Okay, at least it can be worked into the narrative, and
not be something dumb like Cal drops it out a window or whatever.
Wow. Another random event, but this is one
I’ve never seen before. It doesn’t introduce an event, but a new CHARACTER into
the game: “E: New NPC: the Attainment of
Failure”. So someone new is to be presented, with the “Attainment of
Failure” as their purpose. From that I would deduce they’re not going to be
friends.
Wait a sec. What if the new character is the
Arch-devil that Argren was offering the Goddess Yuelral’s messenger to in sacrifice? There is no way in Hell
(pun intended) these characters can take on such a creature. But if it isn’t on
this world, only communicating- bargaining- then maybe it can be dealt with. In
a sneaky way that fills all the above events.
Kushear, still
disappointed about the sudden collapse of his hopes for creation of a permanent
team, looks around and motions towards the door nearest the stair. “Well, let’s
finish our search.” He walks to the door in question, opens it and looks
inside. After a brief hesitation, he closes the door again and turns to move to
the next.
“Um, Kushear? What
was in there?” Cal asks in a puzzled tone, confused at the paladin’s actions.
“Nothing.
Literally. The ceiling and most of the outside walls had collapsed some time
ago, and even the floor had partially crumbled into the space below. The hole
in the floor looks like it had been used for an opening to allow smoke from a
fire to escape, but I thought we should continue with this level before running
back down the stairs.” Kushear replied. As taken
from GM Emulator: “Q: Is there anything interesting beyond the 1st door? YES”
followed with “Q: Is it anything other than the fact the room in question is largely
collapsed and unstable? NO”.
Showing that some of
his spirit had returned, Ralvor comments “Well it IS a ruin after all…”
throwing Cal’s earlier words from when they 1st entered back at him.
Calderion
sardonically raises an eyebrow to acknowledge the hit, and simply responds with
“True enough.” as the team trails after Kushear to the door next along the
wall. This one is located just before the door the werewolves had emerged from.
Again Kushear opens the door, only to look inside and close it again. “Q: Is the next
room intact? YES Q: Is there anything inside? NO.”
“Another collapsed
chamber?” Ralvor asks.
“No, it appeared
intact, but was empty and unused. Best not to waste time on an empty room.” was
the reply he got. Ralvor shrugs in agreement and the group moves to the door
the werewolves had come from.
Kushear cautiously
opens it, then staggers back in shock. The group immediately readies for
trouble, but instead Kushear steps back
several steps and makes retching noises.
“What is it? A
trap?” Myrlia asks, her previous fear of the shape-changers looming in her
voice.
“No, but by the
gods of light, it STINKS in there. It reeks of a kennel uncleaned in years!
What a horrid stench!” Kushear answers, breathing through his mouth so as to
not inhale more of the smell from the room. “Filthy creatures!”
Ralvor covers his
face with a cloth & looks inside. “There are 3 or 4 storage chests in
there- it might be where they keep- kept- their stuff.” He moves inside, and
with gloved hands begins to go over the boxes. Consulting
the GM Emulator again, I get the following: “Q: Are any of the chests in the werewolves' room trapped? YES”. To
find out how many are trapped, I use the dice roller on the Emulator to roll a
digital 1d4, with the result of “R: the #
of traps: 1/4”. So only 1 of them is trapped. I check again using the same
roll to find out which of them he checks is the trapped one. The Emulator
produces “R: which chest of the 4 is
trapped?: 1/4”. So the trap will be on the first chest he tries to open. I use
the random generator from the donjon
website to determine the trap details. It
provides a list of 10 possibilities, and I pick the arrow trap as the most
logical of the bunch to fit this situation. The trap’s game stats are:
Arrow Trap: CR 3; mechanical; Perception DC
22; Disable Device DC 20; Trigger location; Reset manual; Effect Atk +12 ranged
(2d6/x3)
Ralvor only rolls a 13 to detect the trap,
so he fails to notice it. The trap fires off and gets a 22 on its attack roll,
beating the rogue’s Armor
Class by 5. That is a definite hit, followed with
a damage roll of 8 on 2d6. THUNK! That’ll hurt. It’s not a fatal hit, of
course, but still a solid blow. Karma is a bitch- that’s what he gets for
trying to steal from poor Calderion. Ralvor’s Hit
Points drop to 34 from 42 originally.
I again went back to the donjon
website to determine the
contents of the chests. I used the random treasure generator for the Pathfinder
game the site has to create a treasure hoard for a 3rd level party.
Below is the list copied from the random result:
Coins
|
12 gp, 80 sp
|
Gems
|
Total value = 121 gp
|
Masterwork Items
|
Total value = 485 gp
|
Magic Items
|
Total value = 50 gp
|
Total value
|
676 gp
|
So when the total value is divided up
amongst the 5 team members, each gets a share worth about 135 gp. I’ll hand the
coins, the onyx, the red spinel, & the
potion of Vanish to Cal as his part, then
spread the rest over the other characters later. And that finalizes everything
from the werewolves. I’ll write this up and move on to the next (final?) room.
Suddenly everyone hears the loud “TWANG!”
of a released spring, and with a sharp grunt of pain Ralvor falls back from the
chest he was opening. Blood streams wetly down his leg as he clutches at the
shaft of an over-sized arrow now buried deep in his thigh. In a rush Myrlia is
at his side, and with a quick pull removes the arrow. But when she begins to
pray to Arshea for healing,
Ralvor gently stops her. “Save your strength, sweetheart. I’ll use the Healing
potion. We might need your power more later.” He pulls out the tiny bottle
and downs the contents. The magic takes effect and the wound disappears as if
it had never existed, leaving not even a scar. Ral gives a sigh of relief. “I’m
kind of glad the magic worked.” he remarks.
“Me too, lover, me
too.” Myrlia smiles. “That arrow came awfully close to some important parts.”
Ral looks again at his leg and notices for the 1st time exactly
where the hole punched into his pants by the arrow is. His eyes widen, and he
swallows in shock at the wound’s former location.
“Now I’m REALLY
glad the magic worked!” he says shakily. He takes a deep breath and lets it
out. “Now that all the hard part is over, let’s see what those mutts ad
stashed…” his words trail off into a low whistle as he flips open the chests to
reveal the contents. The bright glitter of gemstones reflect out from atop a
pile of mangy clothes. In the second chest is an artistically engraved
longsword of high quality, while the 3rd produces a well-crafted
shield of heavy steel fastened to the inside lid, weighing down a bundle of
somewhat moldy blankets. The last box has only a few gold and silver coins and
a small vial in a tin packed with a large assortment of preserved food.
Ral drops a couple
of the nicer stones into the tin, and hands the whole thing to Calderion. “See
what you can make of the stuff in the vial.”
Cal nods and his
eyes take on a swirling kaleidoscope of colour as he invokes his mage sight to
help him to Detect
Magic and determine the
nature of the potion. Ral watches a moment then looks away. “Gods that’s
uncanny. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the way that looks when you do
that.” he says. Cal uses the Detect Magic plus his Spellcraft skill, to identify the potion. He succeeds, rolling a
17. It was a close roll though. He needed to beat a target number of 16. This
even though he has a +14 bonus added. What a crappy roll- that bonus is the
only thing that let this happen. Incidentally, I just remembered Cal has the
Vanish spell in his spell book. That means he can make any potions of Vanish
he needs. I’ll let Ralvor have it instead.
After a few moments, Calderion says
“I believe it’s a weaker type of invisibility potion. It lasts only a brief
time- less than a minute- to allow for an escape attempt or quick shift in
location. To all appearances the imbiber will seem to vanish, then re-appear
elsewhere seconds later.” The youth hands the tiny bottle to Ral. “You might
find it useful. Let me know if you need more- I’ll make you up a few if you
need.”
“Wait- you can make these?!” Ral asks incredulously.
“Pretty easily in fact. It should take me only a matter of a few hours.”
Cal answers coolly. “I told you that you
had only needed to ask.”
And there we go. The next scene will involve
them finding the Lyrakien Azata and bargaining for its release. That will be a major scene in itself. So
I think this makes a good spot to stop, post this entry, and leave things
hanging for the next one. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as I’ve
enjoyed doing it.
Stay tuned for Part 6!
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