Completed Play-by-Post: In Search of the Sorcerer

[nikolokolus]

Meanwhile back at the door to Syelle Ru's Room ...

 

[nikolokolus]

"I have many questions, but do finish your story first."

Marcán glances at Ker and then mouths "Done?" silently at the 'disguised' witch.

"I'm done . . . for now. Ask your questions."

 

[Helly]

"What do you mean by *bound*? And why did she have to hide you?"

 

[Siveon]

Marcán takes a breath. "So what is your real name, where are you from? You said something about the Keltic bloodline... why did we have to make that pact in the first place? Did Oona know about your secret, did anyone know?" he stops himself.

 

[Llywelyn ap Gruffydd]

Cormac pulls out his dagger, and runs the point along the edges of the door, looking for anything that may be preventing the door from opening.

 

[Grimgravy]

"Anything, Cormac? If not lets give it a whack."

 

[nikolokolus]

"What do you mean by *bound*? And why did she have to hide you?"

Marcán takes a breath. "So what is your real name, where are you from? You said something about the Keltic bloodline... why did we have to make that pact in the first place? Did Oona know about your secret, did anyone know?" he stops himself.

"Geased. Curst. As to why? I'm guessing she knew I'd leave. I'd like to think I would have stayed, but I'd have been lying to myself if I said it aloud." She continues in reply to Marcán, "No one knew lad . . ." She looks a bit sheepish, "As for the "pact" I might owe you a bit of an apology. But first understand that I didn't know you and I didn't know your intentions here and I had to be sure you'd follow through." She smiles weakly, "There was no 'pact.' At least nothing binding beyond your word of honor -- I laid no geas or curse on you if that is what you fear."

She pulls herself up to her full height and spends a moment or two removing the rest of her disguise. She is a striking woman in her middle years, (as a young woman she was probably a great beauty), likely Illyrian judging from her fine, slightly careworn features. "I'm Aphrodisia Megalos, but that's a name that doesn't matter much anymore, nor does my reason for hiding here I'd wager. Not after ten years at least."

Cormac pulls out his dagger, and runs the point along the edges of the door, looking for anything that may be preventing the door from opening.

The dagger doesn't slide into the gap easily, but forcing it does seem to gain a bit of purchase. With a sudden *pop* the door swings inward as if pushed by an unseen hand.

 

[Helly]

Ker cannot hide his surprise.
"Aphrodisia the Fair? Just by your looks I can say it can only be you. You came here to hide?"

 

[L'ennui]

Urash tries to peek over Cormac's shoulder into the room.

 

[Grimgravy]

Ker focuses and the question she avoided.
"Indeed I do not know that name. Did that name used to matter? To the point you had to hide here?"

Spoiler

Keep in mind Aphrodesia was retconjured to be one of the wizards apprentices. You would have heard her name while Marcán was possesed.

Rhenmyr cautiously peers through the doorway. If nothing seems amiss, he will step inside.

 

[Siveon]

Spoiler

Does Marcán have any memory of what he said whilst possessed?

 

[nikolokolus]

Spoiler

Does Marcán have any memory of what he said whilst possessed?

Spoiler

Siveon heard everything Koren said. It was not unlike watching a movie. You could see and hear everything, but in a detached sort of way.

Ker cannot hide his surprise.
"Aphrodisia the Fair? Just by your looks I can say it can only be you. You came here to hide?"

Aphrodisia is visibly shaken, "That name?! How? ... Wait! How do you know that name?"

Urash tries to peek over Cormac's shoulder into the room.

Rhenmyr cautiously peers through the doorway. If nothing seems amiss, he will step inside.

The small cluttered apartment is a mess. Parchment and linens are strewn everywhere and there is a foul inhuman stench that hangs cloyingly in the air, but there don't appear to be any threats.

Stepping inside the threshold reveals even more chaos and destruction. If you didn't know better you'd think an evil Jann had been summoned from the far off Cyrrhian desert and deposited in the room. Curiously, in the center of the room is a 6' wide, slightly smudged pentacle drawn in charcoal on a mat of woven reeds; it doesn't appear to have suffered the damage of the rest of the room.

Further investigation reveals something grisly; in a corner of the room you find a badly mangled skeleton. The bones look like they have been gnawed clean in many places and are barely held together by bits of badly decayed sinew. The drawn and mummified face has wisps of whitish hair and a scraggly salt and pepper beard that is nothing but a few patches of hair, clingling to dessicated skin.

Urash finds himself instinctively looking at the pentacle (Make an Idea roll [85%]).

 

[Siveon]

"A younger version of your master Koren possessed me and told us about you and his other apprentices. Especially the one called Abazion. As a matter a fact it's why we're here in the first place. He wanted us to find... Al-Dirziddi the Cowled, Tychon the Bald, Dijvan the Wayfarer and you - to stop Abazion from finding The Book of Eibon. We were trapped in his chamber, until we transported ourselves here." Marcán, enthusiastically explains the rest of their past with the Wizard's Tower to Aphrodisia the Fair.

Spoiler

Funniest part, Mab and Urash don't know we're trying to save the world. Can't wait for explaining that again.

 

[nikolokolus]

"A younger version of your master Koren possessed me and told us about you and his other apprentices. Especially the one called Abazion. As a matter a fact it's why we're here in the first place. He wanted us to find... Al-Dirziddi the Cowled, Tychon the Bald, Dijvan the Wayfarer and you - to stop Abazion from finding The Book of Eibon. We were trapped in his chamber, until we transported ourselves here." Marcán, enthusiastically explains the rest of their past with the Wizard's Tower to Aphrodisia the Fair.

Spoiler

Funniest part, Mab and Urash don't know we're trying to save the world. Can't wait for explaining that again.

Aphrodisia listens in rapt attention, and seems truly flabbergasted, "Koren dead? Abazion, Djivan, Tychon . . . The book? Of course!" Her voice trails off and her face blanches white as all of the blood drains from it. "Oh gods!" She slumps heavily into a chair. "The vial -- the 'Dragons Blood' I mean. Koren sent you here to retrieve it from me then? Because, he certainly didn't send you here to fetch that worthless forgery he put in my hands! Probably didn't even send you to retrieve me either!" She stands up with her fists clenched and her face twisted in rage, "That scheming selfish bastard! Ooooh, if I ever get my hands on him I'll wring that scrawny Hyperborean neck!"

She stalks around the hut for a few seconds knocking over things and finally reaches under a low table and pulls out a tome wrapped in sheepskin and tosses it carelessly at Ker, "It's all gibberish! Six months ago all of my memories came rushing back in a torrent and I remembered that damn book and why I had it in the first place -- remembered Koren and what he did me too. But that fucking thing!" she shakes her finger contemptuously, "It's pure shite. That nincompoop blanked my mind and planted a seed in the depths of my subconscious that an assassin was going to kill me and compelled me to flee Odessos and my whole life to rot away in this be-shitted midden heap at the edge of the world!"

Aphrodisias is red-faced with anger and righteous indignation and terrifying to behold. "It's too late anyway. The 'Dragon's Blood' is gone. Stolen by some goblin-thrall of Syelle's changeling. Good luck finding it too, it scampered off to the Fomoire in the Dolmenweald."

 

[Siveon]

Marcán pats Aphrodisias on the back. "Wizards are bloody mad, especially that Koren. Which is why we're probably gonna need your help in retrieving that Dragon's Blood and fix all this changeling nonsense. Oh, and the looming threat of an even more insane Wizard. What say you?"

Spoiler

...Roll charisma check?

 

[nikolokolus]

Marcán pats Aphrodisias on the back. "Wizards are bloody mad, especially that Koren. Which is why we're probably gonna need your help in retrieving that Dragon's Blood and fix all this changeling nonsense. Oh, and the looming threat of an even more insane Wizard. What say you?"

Spoiler

...Roll charisma check?

Spoiler

Well yes and no. I'm thinking it's just about time we move on from old Swords & Wizardry to the new system, so in the spirit of new things here's the deal: We'll handle her reaction to your attempt to persuade after I get your converted character sheet. At that time you'll make a two rolls: A Charisma roll (which is 90% for Marcán). If you pass that test then you get a +10% bonus to your Fast-Talk skill check . . . Depending on the result: Critical, Special, Success, Failure, or Fumble I'll have a better idea of her reaction.

tl:dr hold that thought and we'll let other people weigh in. There's going to be a lot of RP type stuff over the next few days I wager.

 

[L'ennui]

[1d100] = 46

Urash steps into the room and barely seems to notice the mess and destruction, instead focusing intently on the pentacle. "Why, that's... is that a.... hmm..."

OOC

I rolled a d100 on Unseen Servant, let us know if you have a new preferred dice roller for the new system.

 

[Grimgravy]

Spoiler

Anyone else catch the Hyperborean neck part when she referred to Koren Ghul? Is there mind-fuckery afoot or more retcconjuration?

 

[nikolokolus]

Spoiler

Anyone else catch the Hyperborean neck part when she referred to Koren Ghul? Is there mind-fuckery afoot or more retcconjuration?

Spoiler

No mind-fuck and no retcon.

Koren was laying in repose in a deathlike state. He was tall and pale and without close inspection of his face wouldn't have immediately registered as Hyperborean -- FWIW, they look like 6-7 feet tall humans that are distinguished by slightly oblong skulls (sort of like Akhen-Aton), but the real give-away is their eyes, which are pupil-less black iris flecked with gold - like looking at a field of stars. No one ever got close enough to inspect his face closely because he possessed Marcan to speak through him when he touched the base of the plinth under the bier.

[1d100] = 46

Urash steps into the room and barely seems to notice the mess and destruction, instead focusing intently on the pentacle. "Why, that's... is that a.... hmm..."

OOC

I rolled a d100 on Unseen Servant, let us know if you have a new preferred dice roller for the new system.

Spoiler

Unseen servant roll is still just fine, we just won't be using the character sheet there.

Urash traces the Magic Circle with his eyes and notices a flaw in its construction. One of the charcoal lines is slightly broken on the reed mat. Whoever inscribed it introduced a fatal defect in the circle.

 

[L'ennui]

Does Urash have a general idea of the nature and purpose of such magic circles?

 

[nikolokolus]

Absolutely. Magic Circle's are used to hold a summoned creature in place, or keep a supernal creature out. You don't possess the spell in your grimoire, but this will give you more information.

 

[L'ennui]

"Hmm... yes. Such a slight mistake, isn't it? I wager our friend Syelle Ru summoned the wolf-thing, but was left unprotected and, well..."

Urash points at the skeleton.

"... the results speak for themselves, I should think. He played a dangerous game, and lost."

Urash slowly inspects the room, picking up the parchments laying about, inspecting them and stuffing them in one of his scroll cases.

Spoiler

Does anything from the parchments strike Urash as being of particular significance?

 

[nikolokolus]

"Hmm... yes. Such a slight mistake, isn't it? I wager our friend Syelle Ru summoned the wolf-thing, but was left unprotected and, well..."

Urash points at the skeleton.

"... the results speak for themselves, I should think. He played a dangerous game, and lost."

Urash slowly inspects the room, picking up the parchments laying about, inspecting them and stuffing them in one of his scroll cases.

Spoiler

Does anything from the parchments strike Urash as being of particular significance?

Urash casually picks up a few scraps of parchment. Mostly they are scribbled notes about alchemical formulae -- potions, where the best herbs can be gathered nearby, when, what proportions, etc. A couple diagram the movement of Phobos and Selene. You don't have Art (astronomy) or Art (astrology), but maybe somebody else could interpret them? ...

 

[L'ennui]

Urash waves a parchment with diagrams scribed upon it.

"Any of you know what this may be?"

 

[Grimgravy]

Spoiler

Would navigation impart some knowledge of moon movements?

Rhenmyr examines the body.
"Looks like diagrams of the moons. I couldn't say if they were for mundane use or something more in your wheelhouse."