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Chris has connected.
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DM:
|
note: this is an approximation for
what actually happened, as this transcript was lost.
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thePeople has connected.
|
DM:
|
The graves of your comrades are now
filled in, and the followers have found rocks to serve as
headstones. Should the land in this remote area see other
visitors, they will know who fell here.
|
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Chris:
|
We continue walking south.
|
Chris is disconnected.
Chris has connected.
|
DM:
|
you continue for a short time. You see
some mountains in the distance, to the southwest.
|
|
DM:
|
In the valley before them, you see
what appears to be a large campsite, perhaps large enough for a
thousand men.
|
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thePeople:
|
Do I know what a camp looks like?
|
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Hunter:
|
Bad?
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
No... I don't think so. Maybe.
|
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thePeople:
|
Not really understanding what she
said, I go up and signal the others to stay back
|
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DM:
|
You walk closer to the camp, and you
see signs that it is in fact occupied, and pretty busy by the
looks of it.
|
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thePeople:
|
can they see me?
|
|
DM:
|
you might be that close by now. You
don't see any dedicated sentries
|
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thePeople:
|
I make a hide check
|
* thePeople rolls: 1d20+9 => 16 + 9 = 25
* Chris rolls: 1d20+2 => 14 + 2 = 16
|
DM:
|
It isn't long before a group of about
a dozen men on horseback start riding in your direction
|
* thePeople rolls: 1d20+9 => 2 + 9 = 11
|
Chris:
|
can I get a good look at them?
|
|
DM:
|
also, minus 5 for hiding and moving
|
* Chris rolls: 1d20+5 => 8 + 5 = 13
|
DM:
|
they openly have the uniforms of ordos
officers
|
* DM rolls: 1d20+3 => 6 + 3 = 9
* DM rolls: 1d20+3 => 8 + 3 = 11
* DM rolls: 1d20+3 => 7 + 3 = 10
* DM rolls: 1d20+3 => 19 + 3 = 22
* DM rolls: 1d20+3 => 10 + 3 = 13
* DM rolls: 1d20+3 => 9 + 3 = 12
|
DM:
|
yeah, they see Hunter
|
|
thePeople:
|
I stand and draw my bow
|
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thePeople:
|
wait, do I know they saw me?
|
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DM:
|
yes. He points you out
|
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DM:
|
The men draw their weapons...
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Constance Stendatem:
|
Hunter, no.
|
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Constance Stendatem:
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(points at riders) Good.
|
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thePeople:
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I lower my bow
|
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DM:
|
Obvoiusly they see you now
|
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Officer:
|
Come with us.
|
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thePeople:
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I look at Constance, not knowing what
he said
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
(gestures at hunter to follow) Very
well.
|
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DM:
|
They take you back to the camp,
leading you to a special looking tent with a steel frame.
|
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DM:
|
Inside is a table with several chairs,
with a familar face at the far end
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
Officer Septum!
|
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Constance Stendatem:
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Fancy meeting you here.
|
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Officer Septum:
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Greetings, Mrs. Stendatem...
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
We will be conducting this
conversation under key obfuscation protocol, and we are
considering your husband as fully compromised.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
The showers are outside to the left,
you will find a robe there.
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
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Husband? Ignatius?
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
Yes. We fear the wishmaster may have
been viewing him for a while, and while I don't wish to be crass,
I must assume that he has seen you naked, so your body is a
potential key.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
But before you leave, can you tell
your Xenos friend to dawn this?
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
He's not... he was killed by xenos
yesterday. He's no threat to anyone.
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
But if the Wishmaster could have seen
me through him...
|
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DM:
|
make a sense motive check
|
* Chris rolls: 1d20+2 => 8 + 2 = 10
|
DM:
|
He gives... a look when your husband's
death is mentioned, but you cannot tell what it means
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
We lost the Inspector, too. They
fought like daemons.
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
Hunter...
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
...
|
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Constance Stendatem:
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(I just point to what Septum wants him
to put on and mime putting on a robe.)
|
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thePeople:
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Do I understand it?
|
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DM:
|
eventually. I don't really feel like
rolling for this as you have infinite time
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
Alright, join us when you are prepped.
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Constance Stendatem:
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(I go into the shower)
|
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DM:
|
Septum motions to one of the men who escorted you
in, who begins casting a spell, while Septum takes off his clothes and
puts them in a small chest.
|
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thePeople:
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I am confused, but do nothing
|
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DM:
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Septum speaks, and for the first time
you understand him perfectly
|
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Officer Septum:
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I would advise removing your other
clothing, unless you don't mind them getting messy...
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Hunter:
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What? How can I understand you?
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Officer Septum:
|
The potion. It contained a spell that
allows xenos such as yourself to speak to us.
|
|
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Hunter:
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Who are you?
|
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DM:
|
He presses a button on a pipe in the
tent, and multi-colored paint begins to spay out sprinklers at the
top of the tent
|
|
|
Officer Septum:
|
You can call me officer Septum. I work
for the Ordos Manustra, an organization bent on fighting daemons.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
This paint, as well as our costume
changes, will make our apperances change continuously, which will
make it hard for others to see what we are doing with magic.
|
|
|
Officer Septum:
|
Now please tell me exactly what has
been going on. Where do you come from?
|
|
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Hunter:
|
I... I don't really know where I came
from. I was with someone who ordered me to do what he commanded,
but then he turned out to not be the God I thought he was. A being
called the wishmaster saved me and then she sent me on a mission
to go to fort Highpeak, and now I am here.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
Were you leading the cultists we found
to the northeast?
|
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DM:
|
Septum gives a knowing grin.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
My job is not to let things like this
go on. Daemons are dangerous, and only become more so when humans
give them their faith.
|
|
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Hunter:
|
I'm sorry, I don't mean any offence
but who are you? Where am I with all these people and magic and
talking about daemons?
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Officer Septum:
|
Let me start from the beginning.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
Once, long ago, none of this around
you existed. We too were held in the clutches of the daemons, who
ruled people like us with no mercy. We all were slaves.
|
|
|
Officer Septum:
|
But then one man, Macharious resisted
them. He said... that man was a maker, and instrument of his own
will, and born to make order of his world. That he was not the
plaything of the Gods, but that the world was under his will, and
both it and the lives of men were the charge of men alone.
|
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DM:
|
He seems to be genuinly crying a
little while thinking about this.
|
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Officer Septum:
|
He led a rebellion against the gods,
until others joined him, and he founded an empire that would hold
back daemonkind for centuries until this very day. I am an agent
of the Ordos Manaustra, who's duty it is to fight back against
those daemons who will try to rule us by force, and guide those
who want to hand over their agency to the daemons that offer false
promises in exchange for obiediance away from self-destruction.
|
|
|
Officer Septum:
|
That is why I am here. The wishmaster
is a daemon that only wishes to strengthen herself, and needs to
be stopped. I don't know what she told you, but I assure you it is
lies.
|
|
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Hunter:
|
I already know that.
|
|
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Hunter:
|
But what happens to the others who
followed her?
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
Most would say that the punishment for
knowingly following a daemon is death, but I think that will fail
to help us. For now, they remain prisoners.
|
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thePeople:
|
I nod, but I don't like the idea of
killing people who are desprate
|
|
DM:
|
At around this point, you come back,
Chris
|
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Officer Septum:
|
Watchman Stendatem, full situation
report on what has transpired from our last contact
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
We infiltrated a cult after pursuing a
xeno out of the city. This cult worships the Wishmaster, as I see
you've already gathered.
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
Your message worked against us, not
only pulling us out of our mission, but making us prisoners to the
cultists as they discovered and turned on us.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
It was not my message. My higher ups
decided it was too risky while you were away, and sent that while
I was summoned to a board of senior officers. Fortunatlely, things
fell back into my control before the burocracy could entirely
wreck everything.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
But enough of that. I see that you
aren't dead now, so somehow you found your way out of that
situation?
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
Yes, although it was ultimately at the
cost of Ignatius and Goodfellow.
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
I had some ideas useful to keeping hte
group alive, and they listened, which softened them up some.
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
The deaths of our comrades seemed to
cement my place as someone they could trust.
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Officer Septum:
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Anything else of note? Did the
Wishmaster make any appearance?
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
Only as a spontaneously combusting
shrub.
|
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Hunter:
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There were two creatures, Whisper and
Echo, that sometimes told me what to do.
|
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Officer Septum:
|
Do we know where they are now?
|
Chris is disconnected.
Chris has connected.
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Constance Stendatem:
|
I'd forgotten about them.
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
Goodfellow got sick of their ceaseless
chattering and accusations and stepped on them. One of the best
things he ever did.
|
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Officer Septum:
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Well be sure to recall more details
when you give the full report. What do you know about the
Wishmaster's intentions?
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
The Wishmaster seems to have arranged
to provide some desired thing to each of her cultists, probably
for some horrible cost.
|
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Hunter:
|
I was told that she was leading them
to salvation at ft. highpeak
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
Indeed. All roads seem to lead to the
old fort.
|
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Officer Septum:
|
Which brings us to this encampment.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
The Wishmaster has been known to have
been gathering daemons at Ft. Highpeak to make a last stand at
this pass for a few months now. We have been gathering troops for
an invasion, but I rode here to order the general to not assualt
before we learned whatever we could from your group.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
Now that it appears you have come most
of the way to your destination, it looks like our time to strike
has come.
|
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Officer Septum:
|
Ft. Highpeak is an old imperial fort,
and as such we know almost nothing about it. No Macharian has
pushed this far into the fronteer before.
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
I... I received a letter from Kinal,
my previous, disappeared husband, from the area of Fort Highpeak.
It's almost too much to hope for, but do you have any Kinals here
in your camp?
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
I do not recall any Kinal, but I am
new here. I can check the roster at some point.
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
Please do. The alternatives are not
pleasant.
|
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Officer Septum:
|
Let me remind you that you are on an
important mission at this time, and I fully expect you to place
your duty to the Ordos above personal concerns.
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
Do you really think I'd let the search
for a man who may not even be alive take precedence over killing a
daemon?
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
...sir?
|
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Officer Septum:
|
I would hope not.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
That said, you are aren't even a
graduate, so I have no garantee of your quality.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
If you have nothing else you need to
mention, I will inform you of your mission. Any other news of
relivance?
|
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DM:
|
You both say nothing then?
|
Chris has connected.
Chris is disconnected.
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
Nothing comes to mind, other than to
state for the record that both Ignatius and Goodfellow died
heroes' deaths.
|
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Officer Septum:
|
I am sorry for you loss, Miss
Stendatem...
|
|
|
Officer Septum:
|
But I fear that you are the only one
for the job right now, so you will need to delay any mourning.
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
I know. I can grieve on my own time.
|
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DM:
|
He shifts back on his now paint-soaked
seat, and begins to speak...
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
Heh. Guess, as the saying goes, I am
married to my job...
|
Chris is disconnected.
|
|
Officer Septum:
|
Your mission will be to follow the
remaining cultists to fort Highpeak, and find some way to open the
gates. You will be sent with a flare gun, which you will use to
signal when the time is right for us to advance. The army will be
drawn into battle formation the moment you leave.
|
Chris has connected.
|
|
Officer Septum:
|
Your mission will be to follow the
remaining cultists to fort Highpeak, and find some way to open the
gates. You will be sent with a flare gun, which you will use to
signal when the time is right for us to advance. The army will be
drawn into battle formation the moment you leave.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
Hunter, as you seem to understand the
dangers of daemons now, I ask that you assist her.
|
|
|
Hunter:
|
I do see that the Wishmaster needs to
be stopped, and I will join you, but I am not ready to join your
group just yet.
|
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Officer Septum:
|
Good enough. Watchman, any questions?
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
Many, but all are tactical "what if"
questions, and at the end of the day, it's my job to answer those.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
Very well. Here is the flare, best of
luck.
|
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DM:
|
I assume you head off?
|
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
Thanks, Officer. I have a suspicion
we'll need it.
|
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Constance Stendatem:
|
(yes)
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
...you do realize that your whole
mission revolves around using it, right?
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
like, that's literally the reason you
are climbing that mountain...
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
Luck. Not the flare.
|
|
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Officer Septum:
|
I see
|
|
DM:
|
Alright, you head off now?
|
|
DM:
|
you climb the mountain, but there
appears to be nothing atop it...
|
|
DM:
|
Just some shrubs and leftover snow
from last winter...
|
|
DM:
|
Also, Hunter can't talk anymore
|
|
DM:
|
Also also, make a spot check...
|
* Chris rolls: 1d20+5 => 12 + 5 = 17
* thePeople rolls: 1d20+8 => 12 + 8 = 20
|
DM:
|
Alright, you both see two of the
followers standing at one point near the top of the mountain
|
|
thePeople:
|
Do they know we went to the camp?
|
|
DM:
|
you would have no way of knowing...
|
|
thePeople:
|
Well I go over to them
|
|
Follower 2:
|
You escaped?
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
Yes. They were surprisingly willing to
listen.
|
|
Chris:
|
if you want me to bluff for that
half-truth, i can
|
* Chris rolls: 1d20+12 => 14 + 12 = 26
|
|
Follower 2:
|
What did they tell you?
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
In so many words, watch out for
daemons. It's Ordos, what do you want? Lucky they didn't go
berserk just from finding us here.
|
|
Follower 1:
|
Too bad you didn't get a chance to
kill those pigs
|
|
DM:
|
You notice that between them is an orb
on a stick, stuck into the ground. Off to the sides are two small cannons.
|
|
Chris:
|
Do the cannons look functional?
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
So what's this thing?
|
|
|
Follower 1:
|
It's the only thing we have found on
this mountain. We are sure that fort Highpeak is here, but the
wishmaster is testing our faith to find it.
|
|
thePeople:
|
I look at the orb
|
* thePeople rolls: 1d20+8 => 17 + 8 = 25
|
DM:
|
It doesn't seen unusual, other than
that it does not seem decayed at all. The post is metal, and it
looks magical overall.
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
Hunter!
|
|
DM:
|
You see... an image appears in your
head. Not unlike the words from that door in the ruins.
|
|
DM:
|
It says, "Ft. Highpeak". And there
seem to be two buttons in your mind. One says "open", and the
other "close"
|
|
thePeople:
|
I think, "Open", as loud as I can.
|
|
DM:
|
The ground around you unfolds, and a
spiral staircase leading down is now around you.
|
|
|
Follower 2:
|
Huzzah!
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
Good job, Hunter.
|
|
DM:
|
The two cultists wander down without
fear.
|
|
Chris:
|
And we go with them. I at least am not
completely without trepidation.
|
|
DM:
|
Does Constance know old imperail?
|
|
Chris:
|
well, as an ordos trainee, it wouldn't
really be out of place for her to, i don't think
|
|
Chris:
|
Does she actually know? I'm not sure
we ever covered that.
|
|
DM:
|
It is an avalible bonus language
|
|
Chris:
|
Well, I've got more than enough
intelligence bonus to take it, and what other options even are
tehre?
|
|
DM:
|
A voice begins to speak from a spot on
the top of the room.
|
|
voice:
|
Welcome to fort Highpeak. Due to
ongoing daemonic activity, this facility has been opened to the
public as an emergancy shelter following imperial order 63-42. All
civilians are advised to remain here until battlemages arive for
evacuation.
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
This must have been one of the last
holdouts during the Cataclysm. It almost feels like we're walking
on someone's grave here.
|
|
thePeople:
|
i have no idea what you said
|
|
DM:
|
The room you are in has six doors out,
two on two of the walls, and one on the other two. In this room
are also two pillars, with screens displaying some kind of
information and odd cilindrical things on the bottom, as well as
some buttons.
|
|
thePeople:
|
Can I read anything here?
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
One thing bothers me, though... where
are all the bodies? If this fort was successfully evacuated, they
almost certainly would have turned off that message.
|
|
|
Follower 2:
|
Evacuated?
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
That's what the automated message
said. I've had plenty of opportunity to study Old Imperial, but
hearing it spoken is an interesting change of pace.
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
"Due to ongoing daemonic activity,
this fort has been designated as an emergency shelter by Imperial
order... whatever whatever, and all citizens are encouraged to
remain here until battlemages arrive for evacuation."
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
At least, I'm pretty sure that's what
was said.
|
|
|
Hunter:
|
Bad?
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
Yes, Hunter. Bad.
|
|
|
Hunter:
|
Wishmaster?
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
*shrugs* Maybe.
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
Leaning towards yes.
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
Time to explore.
|
|
DM:
|
What do you explore first?
|
|
Chris:
|
I'm going to say the room due north.
|
|
DM:
|
The room has shelves lining the back
and side walls, and a large table in the center, on which is a
miniature illusionarry form of the mountain itself
|
|
Chris:
|
That sounds interesting.
|
|
DM:
|
You observe a ton of little red dots
in the virtual valley.
|
|
thePeople:
|
I follow her in and look
|
|
thePeople:
|
Do I recognize anything from the shelf?
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
Wonder what the dots are about.
|
|
|
Follower 1:
|
This is facinating at all, but don't
forget that the Wishmaster is the real reason we are here. There
is somthing we must do here...
|
|
thePeople:
|
Do the pillars say anything I can read?
|
|
DM:
|
No, it's all in old imperial
|
|
thePeople:
|
I am not very useful here
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
We may as well continue our sweep
clockwise.
|
|
DM:
|
So you check upper right room?
|
|
thePeople:
|
it is a hallway, at the end of which
is some kind of platform.
|
|
DM:
|
It is a hallway, at the end of which
is some kind of platform
|
|
Chris:
|
well, let's check out the platform
|
|
DM:
|
the platform has a little rim on it,
and one big pedistal in the middle.
|
|
DM:
|
the pedistal has one hand-shaped
recess, presumably for putting your hand into
|
|
Chris:
|
I BOLDLY AND FOOLISHLY DO SO
|
|
DM:
|
An image appears in your mind. It
looks like what we today would call a window on a computer, and it
has a few distint parts.
|
|
DM:
|
The first is just a button that says
"raise"
|
|
DM:
|
the second is a series of symbols
which you recognise as the old imperial symbols for each type of
magical energy. One of them (positive) is enlarged.
|
|
DM:
|
The last one is simply four circles
arranged in a square pattern, with one of them filled in.
|
|
Chris:
|
LEt's see what raise does.
|
|
DM:
|
by the way, you also totally have a
cursor in your mind right now.
|
|
DM:
|
Also, the ground above you opens like
a missile silo, and the platform you are standing on rises out,
finally stabalizing hovering about 20ft off the ground.
|
|
thePeople:
|
Do I hear this?
|
|
thePeople:
|
I run over and look at it.
|
|
DM:
|
The room is now empty
|
|
DM:
|
the ground closes back up
|
You have disconnected.
Server started; please wait for map to
refresh.
Chris has connected.
thePeople has connected.
Chris has connected.
|
Chris:
|
well, let's take it back down, and
then experiment with the other two buttons
|
|
DM:
|
alright. Do you press one of the
circles or the magic symbols first?
|
Chris is disconnected.
Chris is disconnected.
Chris has connected.
|
Chris:
|
I press the big one
|
|
DM:
|
a message appears in your head...
|
|
DM:
|
it become larger, while positive goes
down
|
Chris has connected.
|
DM:
|
and to save you some time, they are
all out.
|
|
Chris:
|
then I press one of the circles
|
|
DM:
|
filled in or non filled in?
|
Chris is disconnected.
|
Chris:
|
Okay, then I press one of the
non-filled in ones...
|
|
DM:
|
You are immediately teleported to
another platform, in a similar looking room.
|
|
DM:
|
The window in your mind is now gone.
|
|
Chris:
|
Is there a pedistal on this platform?
|
|
Chris:
|
I put my hand on it and start seeing
if I can teleport back.
|
|
DM:
|
are you doing anything while this is
going on, Keenan?
|
|
thePeople:
|
I go into the room in the south
|
|
DM:
|
It is almost compeletly empty. Some
metal bedframes are here, but nothing else save some metel things
laying on the floor.
|
|
thePeople:
|
I search the room for anything useful
|
|
DM:
|
that will take a while...
|
|
Chris:
|
it's not like there is a rush...
|
|
DM:
|
fair enough. Chris, what do you do
when you are done teleporting?
|
|
Chris:
|
I go inspect the pillars
|
* thePeople rolls: 1d20+3 => 8 + 3 = 11
|
DM:
|
The upper half of the pillars has a
screen (physical, not in your mind this time) that reads:
|
|
DM:
|
Anti-mana, Mana, Arcana
|
|
DM:
|
the buttons form a keypad, not unlike
typewriters back home.
|
|
DM:
|
The lower half consists of a series of
clamps going around the pillar, each holding a canister labeled
with one of the types of energy. Four are elevated. One has
nothing in it, the other three contain a mana canister, an
anti-mana canister, and an arcana canister respectively.
|
|
Chris:
|
What others are there?
|
|
DM:
|
There are at least two canisters of
each type.
|
|
Chris:
|
Can I unclamp a fire canister?
|
|
Chris:
|
Actually, I take one of each.
|
|
thePeople:
|
Am I still searching?
|
|
Chris:
|
I type "on" into the keyboard
|
|
DM:
|
The screen changes to "Mana, mana"
|
|
DM:
|
alright, at this point Hunter comes to
the conclusion that the only usful thing in that room is a magitec
toaster.
|
|
DM:
|
Also, an alarm starts going off
|
|
|
Follower 2:
|
What's going on?
|
|
|
Constance Stendatem:
|
I don't know
|
|
Chris:
|
Do any of the screens say anything
different?
|
|
Chris:
|
I run to one of the platforms and go
up.
|
|
DM:
|
You see, rising over the hill, what
appears to be a decrepid old building, floating seemingly of it's
own power.
|