As the stable collapses, Daj worries about his own horse and what state it might be in. For now, he needs to think about himself. Behind him the Melted Muse becomes a hive of chaos, screams sound as people rush out of the building, followed by an unbelievably large waving of hot cheese."Who needs this much fondue?" Daj wonders as he tries to hurry away from it, just then he hears a voice from above and a rope drops in sight. Without a second thought, he grabs the rope and starts to climb, desperate to get away from the scalding cheesy sauce.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Having pulled herself up from the ledge where she had rather unceremoniously landed, Rohesia rubs her shin a bit where she scraped it up. But as she glances over, she catches sight of the horrendous quantity of molten cheese coming at her. She straightens up, preparing to run, but then realizes that there are not really any routes left for running. With few options left, she catches the sight of a white-haired woman and also a Loxdon not far away leaping up for something. 'Ah! A rope! It's that airship!' Seeing another rope she makes a jump for it.
As you all deftly (nice rolls btw!) grab the dangling rope and begin pulling yourselves on board, you notice a few things:
- The fireguards and several men and women in robes marked with a golden eye, similar to the robes Lorita is wearing (the halfling rescuer), assisting the other citizens and visitors below. It looks like the danger posed by the earthquake has subsided, at least for now.
- Huge cracks in the surface seem to spiderweb out from the woods nearby
- A dark obelisk in the center of a clearing, with deep grooves in the surface all around it, as if it's the source of the cracks emanating from the forest
Once fully on board, the inside of the zeppelin's passenger carriage is a dizzying orchestra of delicate whirring machinery and gently glowing spell focusing crystals. A suspended catwalk cuts through the tangled metal mess of cogs and leads towards a large dome. Its guidance mechanisms hum as they slowly drift to place the dark obelisk emerging from the trees beyond into alignment with the dome's central directional tabs. Either side of the catwalk is dotted with desks strewn with parchment and books covering everything from the star charting to studies on the density of gems to the detailed life cycle of the rare amber glass butterfly.
Smiling as you look around, busy eyebrows stuffed behind thick glasses the peer out from under tempestuous brunette hair, is the halfling who helped you aboard."Howdy. I am Lorita Sancham the current head of The Order of the Ochre Eye...well, townsfolk call us The Esoteric Society for Arcane Studies. This is our ship, the Imperius. Would you like some fondue? Just kidding. Who might you all be?"
"I'm Rohesia Blackgloom. Here for the climb up the Spire," she says briefly. "And a huge thanks for your aid Ms. Sancham." She is a bit amazed at everything contained here in the Imperium. She's at a loss to know what any of it is and is starting to fear she may break something if not careful. She tries to keep very still.
"Pleasure to meet ya! That was some jumping...mostly...you did down there saving that little 'un!" The mousey woman giggled slightly. "Ah another contender for the climbing! Heh! Those poor townsfolk think it's some weird architectural wonder from another age. Ohhh if they only really knew though..." she tapped her fingers together a bit. "But that's why we got to get there now, posthaste!"
"Are you saying the Spire is the cause of all..." Rohesia waves her hand at the mayhem they left behind them. "Well, all the overflowing cheese so to speak?" She's still a bit confused; she had no idea anyone thought the Spire was an architectural wonder. "Does that mean that it isn't just some naturally formed crystal?"
"Naturally formed? No, not exactly. I mean the onyx itself is natural, but it didn't start like...that...oh but we did a good job keeping the secret safe...you have to help me keep it safe! Wait! Let me check on the others!"
Making sure the two women and the elephant man is safely aboard the peculiar flying vehicle, Etrigan too makes it aboard, folding his bat-like wings on his back as he enters. Seeing his dinner spoiled down on the cobblestone plaza he decides to follow the strange halfling deeper into the craft, curious about what the mousey woman could tell her about why his vacation was just ruined. The demon stays back at first, listening to their host and the young woman with the ponytail. So, the dark crystal spire was the cause of this somehow. He sighed as he realized his master may have seen this and had other plans for him in Velnoya. Putting the thoughts of a relaxing mountain resort vacation aside he takes at step forward and speaks. "Thank you for letting us aboard your...air ship Ms. Sancham. I am Etrigan. I just arrived for a quiet vacation i Vaelnoya that I will clearly not be enjoying right now at least, but I'm curious to know what you can tell me about why this is happening and what secret about the spire you and your order have been keeping from the general public, although I sense you are already about to do just that." He says, looking around for somewhere to sit.
"Thanks for the lift!" Athyra says as she jumps aboard. Then noticing the others, she says, "Oh hi, I saw some of you earlier. Are you all here for the Spire climb too?"
This is our ship, the Imperius. Would you like some fondue? Just kidding. Who might you all be?"
"Daj Toodrelohn, though just Daj is fine, recently of Helm's Hold. Yes, thank you so much for the lift. It was very timely." Daj listens as their rescuer talks about the spire. Lorita seems concerned about keeping a secret of some kind. Strange that she should mention to this to a group of strangers she has literally just lifted off the street. She must be desperate.
I'm curious to know what you can tell me about why this is happening and what secret about the spire you and your order have been keeping from the general public, although I sense you are already about to do just that.
The person talking appears quite demonic, very much like the stories often relayed in the temple, but he is asking the questions that Daj wants to know, so Daj follows quietly and finds a place to rest, leaning against a wall or doorframe.
Lorita quickly greeted each of the rest of you in turn, again thanking you for helping out in the town just moments ago. She turned back to Etrigan and grimaced,"The Spire is indeed not just a beautiful piece of stonework. Many generations ago, the Order sealed away Lord Tiresome Belovaar, a noble mage who took the Order's commitment to arcane studies into dark, unspeakable places, in a deep crypt that sits beneath the Spire. In the unlikely even that Belovaar could rise from the dead and bypass the crypt's numerous puzzles and traps, this obelisk doubles as an arcane lock, to ensure that he cannot escape. Thus my branch of the Order has been tasked with studying the Spire, to monitor any strange spikes or arcane disturbances in the area, as well as other arcane phenomena and unexplained occurrences connected to the weave of magic. If Belovaar has found a way out, he must be stopped as soon as possible, or it won't be just Velnoya that is in trouble."She quivered a bit and scuttled off to check some of the riggings and such as the zeppelin continued its way towards the spire, a trip that would not take very long.
"Well I would hate to get my favourite vacation site obliterated by this Lord Tiresome Belovaar. What can I do to get back to my vacation Ms. Sancham?" Etrigan says with a confident smile as the zeppalin quickly approached the black spire.
Rohesia listens to the halfling explain the situation. Once Lorita has left to check the riggings, she says to the others, "Does it seem odd to you that they built a tourist attraction around a prison for a dark mage? Or whatever she called it - the Spire is an arcane lock?" She sounds skeptical. "How can this crystal be a lock?"
It seems like the question is probably rhetorical because she simply continues on. "Is she saying this Belovaar did escape? Or is escaping? I'm not sure I get all this."
"Well there was a lot to take in there Ms. Blackgloom. I think Ms. Sancham was trying to say this Lord Tiresome Belovaar could be working towards his freedom but that the crystal would somehow help to prevent him from that. It is a bit odd I agree to use this arcane lock as a tourist attraction, but if they wanted to keep it's true purpose a secret sometimes hiding things in plain sight is the best solution."Etrigan says calmly with a polite smile. "I admit now that my vacation is put on hold I am a tad bit curious about this crypt though."
"Has anything like this happened before?" Daj was curious now. He thought he had travelled to this area to find peace, but maybe it was to bring peace to these people by helping them deal with this issue. "Surely if Belovaar is as big a threat as to need this much effort to contain him, we would know if he were already free. There must still be time to get him back under control."
The little woman returns a moment later and looks at you with an expectant smile. "Well so? What do you all think? Care to give us a hand? Some of you look a bit confused still though. We got another minute before we can get close enough to try and land though if somethin's on you mind. And look, if it's a matter of payment I can give you each 200g for helping me look into this disturbance, and while you're helping you'd be welcome to use part of the Order's armory as well."
"The order's armory you say, interesting, I'd love to take a look what you have to offer. You can keep your gold Ms. Sancham but I would hate to get my favourite vacation spot annihilated by this Lord Tiresome Belovaar. What can I do to get back to my vacation?"Etrigan says with a confident smile.
"At least you get a vacation...but! I need to find out what is causing this disturbance! Did a trap trigger? Are elementals running amok down below somewhere? Natural occurence!? And Most importantly, is the place secure! If there's even a hint he has a way to escape I need to call up the rest of the order from all over, and that takes time and money! So I need to ABSOLUTELY certain about what's going on down there! Kapiche?" She offered a serious smile back at Etrigan.
As the stable collapses, Daj worries about his own horse and what state it might be in. For now, he needs to think about himself. Behind him the Melted Muse becomes a hive of chaos, screams sound as people rush out of the building, followed by an unbelievably large waving of hot cheese. "Who needs this much fondue?" Daj wonders as he tries to hurry away from it, just then he hears a voice from above and a rope drops in sight. Without a second thought, he grabs the rope and starts to climb, desperate to get away from the scalding cheesy sauce.
Athletics: 20
Having pulled herself up from the ledge where she had rather unceremoniously landed, Rohesia rubs her shin a bit where she scraped it up. But as she glances over, she catches sight of the horrendous quantity of molten cheese coming at her. She straightens up, preparing to run, but then realizes that there are not really any routes left for running. With few options left, she catches the sight of a white-haired woman and also a Loxdon not far away leaping up for something. 'Ah! A rope! It's that airship!' Seeing another rope she makes a jump for it.
(Athletics: 11)
Rabbit Sebrica | Skarai | Katryl Brightfury | Rylia Lionrage | Roxana Raincrest | Janek Whitmor | Lokilia Vaelphin
As you all deftly (nice rolls btw!) grab the dangling rope and begin pulling yourselves on board, you notice a few things:
- The fireguards and several men and women in robes marked with a golden eye, similar to the robes Lorita is wearing (the halfling rescuer), assisting the other citizens and visitors below. It looks like the danger posed by the earthquake has subsided, at least for now.
- Huge cracks in the surface seem to spiderweb out from the woods nearby
- A dark obelisk in the center of a clearing, with deep grooves in the surface all around it, as if it's the source of the cracks emanating from the forest
Once fully on board, the inside of the zeppelin's passenger carriage is a dizzying orchestra of delicate whirring machinery and gently glowing spell focusing crystals. A suspended catwalk cuts through the tangled metal mess of cogs and leads towards a large dome. Its guidance mechanisms hum as they slowly drift to place the dark obelisk emerging from the trees beyond into alignment with the dome's central directional tabs. Either side of the catwalk is dotted with desks strewn with parchment and books covering everything from the star charting to studies on the density of gems to the detailed life cycle of the rare amber glass butterfly.
Smiling as you look around, busy eyebrows stuffed behind thick glasses the peer out from under tempestuous brunette hair, is the halfling who helped you aboard. "Howdy. I am Lorita Sancham the current head of The Order of the Ochre Eye...well, townsfolk call us The Esoteric Society for Arcane Studies. This is our ship, the Imperius. Would you like some fondue? Just kidding. Who might you all be?"
"I'm Rohesia Blackgloom. Here for the climb up the Spire," she says briefly. "And a huge thanks for your aid Ms. Sancham." She is a bit amazed at everything contained here in the Imperium. She's at a loss to know what any of it is and is starting to fear she may break something if not careful. She tries to keep very still.
Rabbit Sebrica | Skarai | Katryl Brightfury | Rylia Lionrage | Roxana Raincrest | Janek Whitmor | Lokilia Vaelphin
"Pleasure to meet ya! That was some jumping...mostly...you did down there saving that little 'un!" The mousey woman giggled slightly. "Ah another contender for the climbing! Heh! Those poor townsfolk think it's some weird architectural wonder from another age. Ohhh if they only really knew though..." she tapped her fingers together a bit. "But that's why we got to get there now, posthaste!"
"Are you saying the Spire is the cause of all..." Rohesia waves her hand at the mayhem they left behind them. "Well, all the overflowing cheese so to speak?" She's still a bit confused; she had no idea anyone thought the Spire was an architectural wonder. "Does that mean that it isn't just some naturally formed crystal?"
Rabbit Sebrica | Skarai | Katryl Brightfury | Rylia Lionrage | Roxana Raincrest | Janek Whitmor | Lokilia Vaelphin
"Naturally formed? No, not exactly. I mean the onyx itself is natural, but it didn't start like...that...oh but we did a good job keeping the secret safe...you have to help me keep it safe! Wait! Let me check on the others!"
Making sure the two women and the elephant man is safely aboard the peculiar flying vehicle, Etrigan too makes it aboard, folding his bat-like wings on his back as he enters. Seeing his dinner spoiled down on the cobblestone plaza he decides to follow the strange halfling deeper into the craft, curious about what the mousey woman could tell her about why his vacation was just ruined. The demon stays back at first, listening to their host and the young woman with the ponytail. So, the dark crystal spire was the cause of this somehow. He sighed as he realized his master may have seen this and had other plans for him in Velnoya. Putting the thoughts of a relaxing mountain resort vacation aside he takes at step forward and speaks. "Thank you for letting us aboard your...air ship Ms. Sancham. I am Etrigan. I just arrived for a quiet vacation i Vaelnoya that I will clearly not be enjoying right now at least, but I'm curious to know what you can tell me about why this is happening and what secret about the spire you and your order have been keeping from the general public, although I sense you are already about to do just that." He says, looking around for somewhere to sit.
"Thanks for the lift!" Athyra says as she jumps aboard. Then noticing the others, she says, "Oh hi, I saw some of you earlier. Are you all here for the Spire climb too?"
"Daj Toodrelohn, though just Daj is fine, recently of Helm's Hold. Yes, thank you so much for the lift. It was very timely." Daj listens as their rescuer talks about the spire. Lorita seems concerned about keeping a secret of some kind. Strange that she should mention to this to a group of strangers she has literally just lifted off the street. She must be desperate.
The person talking appears quite demonic, very much like the stories often relayed in the temple, but he is asking the questions that Daj wants to know, so Daj follows quietly and finds a place to rest, leaning against a wall or doorframe.
Lorita quickly greeted each of the rest of you in turn, again thanking you for helping out in the town just moments ago. She turned back to Etrigan and grimaced, "The Spire is indeed not just a beautiful piece of stonework. Many generations ago, the Order sealed away Lord Tiresome Belovaar, a noble mage who took the Order's commitment to arcane studies into dark, unspeakable places, in a deep crypt that sits beneath the Spire. In the unlikely even that Belovaar could rise from the dead and bypass the crypt's numerous puzzles and traps, this obelisk doubles as an arcane lock, to ensure that he cannot escape. Thus my branch of the Order has been tasked with studying the Spire, to monitor any strange spikes or arcane disturbances in the area, as well as other arcane phenomena and unexplained occurrences connected to the weave of magic. If Belovaar has found a way out, he must be stopped as soon as possible, or it won't be just Velnoya that is in trouble." She quivered a bit and scuttled off to check some of the riggings and such as the zeppelin continued its way towards the spire, a trip that would not take very long.
"Well I would hate to get my favourite vacation site obliterated by this Lord Tiresome Belovaar. What can I do to get back to my vacation Ms. Sancham?" Etrigan says with a confident smile as the zeppalin quickly approached the black spire.
"Interesting... Well count me in! I came to climb that spire, and I don't want anything getting in my way."
Rohesia listens to the halfling explain the situation. Once Lorita has left to check the riggings, she says to the others, "Does it seem odd to you that they built a tourist attraction around a prison for a dark mage? Or whatever she called it - the Spire is an arcane lock?" She sounds skeptical. "How can this crystal be a lock?"
It seems like the question is probably rhetorical because she simply continues on. "Is she saying this Belovaar did escape? Or is escaping? I'm not sure I get all this."
Rabbit Sebrica | Skarai | Katryl Brightfury | Rylia Lionrage | Roxana Raincrest | Janek Whitmor | Lokilia Vaelphin
"Well there was a lot to take in there Ms. Blackgloom. I think Ms. Sancham was trying to say this Lord Tiresome Belovaar could be working towards his freedom but that the crystal would somehow help to prevent him from that. It is a bit odd I agree to use this arcane lock as a tourist attraction, but if they wanted to keep it's true purpose a secret sometimes hiding things in plain sight is the best solution." Etrigan says calmly with a polite smile. "I admit now that my vacation is put on hold I am a tad bit curious about this crypt though."
"Has anything like this happened before?" Daj was curious now. He thought he had travelled to this area to find peace, but maybe it was to bring peace to these people by helping them deal with this issue. "Surely if Belovaar is as big a threat as to need this much effort to contain him, we would know if he were already free. There must still be time to get him back under control."
The little woman returns a moment later and looks at you with an expectant smile. "Well so? What do you all think? Care to give us a hand? Some of you look a bit confused still though. We got another minute before we can get close enough to try and land though if somethin's on you mind. And look, if it's a matter of payment I can give you each 200g for helping me look into this disturbance, and while you're helping you'd be welcome to use part of the Order's armory as well."
"The order's armory you say, interesting, I'd love to take a look what you have to offer. You can keep your gold Ms. Sancham but I would hate to get my favourite vacation spot annihilated by this Lord Tiresome Belovaar. What can I do to get back to my vacation?" Etrigan says with a confident smile.
"At least you get a vacation...but! I need to find out what is causing this disturbance! Did a trap trigger? Are elementals running amok down below somewhere? Natural occurence!? And Most importantly, is the place secure! If there's even a hint he has a way to escape I need to call up the rest of the order from all over, and that takes time and money! So I need to ABSOLUTELY certain about what's going on down there! Kapiche?" She offered a serious smile back at Etrigan.
"I agree with the elephant man. If this Belovaar has escaped, and he really is as powerful as we've been told, we would know."
"An armory! Yes! I'm definitely interested in that!" Athyra replies enthusiastically, "And like I said, count me in!"