Khessa suggests: "Maybe we should wake him up and try to make him think about how much damage the Nefarious Duo is doing them. Probably the more of them we can get on our side, the easier it will be to convince others to join us without a fight."
Khessa suggests: "Maybe we should wake him up and try to make him think about how much damage the Nefarious Duo is doing them. Probably the more of them we can get on our side, the easier it will be to convince others to join us without a fight."
"And maybe he knows what other forces lie ahead," Vrox suggests. He is happy to scout ahead for the party, but it's also useful to know what they might be walking into. Vrox still doesn't have a sense of how big Uhubreen actually is. Does the party have just a couple of dozen more rooms to clear of the demons and their cultists? Or does Uhubreen descend twenty more levels into the earth, and the party should be planning to spend few days in the Golgari halls?
Vrox steps to the body of the unconscious Golgari warrior and removes all of his weapons, moving them away from the dwarf. "I guess with just one of them, we don't need to bind him? Clarac, could you heal him enough so that he can talk?"
“Yes. I will heal them,” Clarac says. She kneels down and puts her hand on the Golgari warrior’s head and says a prayer, first to cleanse them of evil, and then to heal the worst of their injuries.
OOC:
Use Cleansing Touch to break a spell, if any, on the Golgari warrior, then use Lay on Hands to restore 10 HP to them.
Lord Akkron can't help but let out a hollow, mirthless chuckle at the Golgari's demand.
"In my mortal life alone I experienced pain in more ways than you can even imagine," he says, his tired voice echoing slightly inside his ancient skull. "And every day of my existence is a walking death. I would warn strongly against asking for either pain or destruction when there are other ways forward."
It is sometimes hard to tell whether Lord Akkron is being sympathetic or intimidating. Perhaps a bit of both, as he stands before this broken pawn of the Nefarious Duo.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
"Be that as it may," Khessa sheathes her Weaver of Sorrow and approaches, smiling and putting an arm around her lich mentor's shoulders, making him seem more sympathetic than intimidating. "You can judge for yourself... Are we torturing you? Have we even just tied you up? And the Golgari with us... does he look like he's been mistreated in some way?"
"The Chaos gods are lying to you and the others," the blonde arcane warrior explains, "to use you for their own purposes. Following them will only bring trouble. Join us instead. Help us change the minds of your kind—and let those who set you against us confront us, if they dare."
"I don't expect you to take my word for it," the tall adventuress concludes, "but you can judge by the facts... The Nefarious Duo sent you to fight us—and many have died because of it. Look at those who are with us: alive, well, following us of their own free will, and they have realized for themselves that the Nefarious Duo are desecrating and destroying your very culture. They are destroying... you. If you follow them to the end... you will ultimately be no more—for they will have molded and corrupted you into what suits them best. Don't let that happen. Don't let yourselves be... undone like this."
"The Chaos gods are lying to you and the others," the blonde arcane warrior explains, "to use you for their own purposes.
Vrox laughs at the subdued Golgari's talk of torture. Not a wicked, cruel laugh -- it's a bright and hearty sound, cheery in the subterranean tunnels. As Khessa makes their case, Vrox hops away and then brings over their Golgari ally. He says, "She speaks the truth: we are here to liberate Uhubreen from these cultists. Once that task is done, we will leave. Uhubreen belongs to the Golgari, and we seek no conquest here. But you don't have to take our word for it! Our actions speak for us. We have agreed not to harm any Golgari except the ones who raise arms against us. And, even so, you were spared. Here: ask your fellow Golgari what he has seen! Including an awful vision of the future that the Nefarious Duo hope to bring about. Then you will know that even if the Nefarious Duo are victorious, the Golgari will be ruined or slaughtered in their perverse and violent pursuits."
Persuasion27 (or, if we can consider Khessa as helping, that would be 27)
He looks between you all, and when he lays his eyes on your guide, they grow wide.
"Is what they say is true brother, are they here as liberators and not as conquerors as we have been told?
He nods his head, "What they say is true, we have been duped and led astray from our own gods. That's why he hasn't spoken to us; we have ignored him."
He leans back against the wall even more, deflated by the news.
"Lied to, manipulated." He looks around the fallen Golgari. "We are being used and have turned our home once more into a battlefield." His hands go to hold his head and then he shakes it. "My head hurts, and I don't know why. But I do know, I won't sacrifice myself for those two."
"We are being used and have turned our home once more into a battlefield." His hands go to hold his head and then he shakes it. "My head hurts, and I don't know why. But I do know, I won't sacrifice myself for those two."
Vrox says, "Thankfully, you have seen the truth now, before it's too late for you. Before it's too late for the Golgari of Uhubreen. You were deceived, but you're still alive. Now, you can help your people shake free from the Nefarious Duo, minimize the number of Golgari who fight and die for their lies!" Seeing the dwarf in some distress, Vrox proposes a drink. He asks Tyek to pour out some wine (or beer, whichever the dwarf prefers) from his Alchemy Jug and offers some to the dwarves. He offers a toast to "freeing Uhubreen from these unwelcome cultists whose word is only as good as wood. May the Golgari become the masters of rock and stone with crafts to hone and see Uhubreen prosper in peace!"
"And maybe he knows what other forces lie ahead," Vrox suggests. He is happy to scout ahead for the party, but it's also useful to know what they might be walking into. Vrox still doesn't have a sense of how big Uhubreen actually is. Does the party have just a couple of dozen more rooms to clear of the demons and their cultists? Or does Uhubreen descend twenty more levels into the earth, and the party should be planning to spend few days in the Golgari halls?
Vrox talks to the (new) Golgari about what lies ahead. He presses for any information he has on the number of cultists, any demons or other special forces they have, how many levels of Uhubreen the cultists occupy, and who are the leaders among the Golgari and the cultists?
Once he gets what he can out of the dwarf, he offers him to join up with the party or to head up to the entrance to Uhubreen. In either case, he would like the dwarf to spread the word about the truth of the Nefarious Duo. That the "invaders" are really just here to kick out the cultists and demons who have overstayed their welcome in Uhubreen. "We will not attack Golgari who lay down their arms and refuse to fight us. The more of your fellow Golgari you persuade, the fewer will die in needless combat!"
[[OOC: After we're done talking to the subdued Golgari, Vrox is ready to continue scouting ahead. The N-S tunnel branches E-W. Unless the subdued Golgari tells us which way to go, which way does the rest of the party want to go?]]
Khessa watches with satisfaction as the persuasive fey goes about his work, perfectly in agreement with his intent.
"He almost seems capable of convincing the entire drow race to desert Lolth," the blonde arcane warrior smiles at her undead mentor. "Don't you think?"
"I won't fight my kin, but I can try my best to tell you what lies ahead. These two usurpers came to us with promises of glory and greatness, and our leader fell for it hook, line and sinker. Now our clans follow these two gods, though I don't care for their rituals. We did have some who resisted, but they were sacrificed, and our leader did nothing. In the old trade hall which is up ahead and to the right, they will be more Golgari, but be warned, the lord of blood or whatever he calls himself, has raised the fallen warriors from the past. Those who blindly followed the dark forces that nearly destroyed us. In the trade hall is the entrance to the main area where our leader and those two are with their henchman."
"If my friends and I focused on eliminating the 'fallen warriors of the past,' do you think," Khessa asks the two Golgari, "you could convince the others in the room to stop fighting and listen to you? It would be nice to be able to prevent the deaths of more innocents."
The blonde arcane warrior exchanges a look with her lich mentor: "Perhaps, if the enemies were easily distinguishable from the deceived Golgari—and separated enough—we could even isolate the Golgari with Wall of Force. Our magical staves might allow us to do that."
Khessa watches with satisfaction as the persuasive fey goes about his work, perfectly in agreement with his intent.
"He almost seems capable of convincing the entire drow race to desert Lolth," the blonde arcane warrior smiles at her undead mentor. "Don't you think?"
"Yes... a fascinating possibility," the lich concedes, glancing at Vrox with genuine respect.
As the conversation continues, Akkron can't help but be, yet again, shocked by how incredibly easy the people of this land apparently are to dupe.
"So they were ordering your people to sacrifice their own... and for some reason you still followed them over your own gods...?" he mutters. "It never ceases to amaze me what mortals will bow before... and for such little reward, more often than not."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
"If my friends and I focused on eliminating the 'fallen warriors of the past,' do you think," Khessa asks the two Golgari, "you could convince the others in the room to stop fighting and listen to you? It would be nice to be able to prevent the deaths of more innocents."
The blonde arcane warrior exchanges a look with her lich mentor: "Perhaps, if the enemies were easily distinguishable from the deceived Golgari—and separated enough—we could even isolate the Golgari with [spell]Wall of Force[/spells]. Our magical staves might allow us to do that."
He shrugs as he puts his hands up to his head and rubs his temples. "I don't know, there is something affecting our thinking, there is something influencing our thoughts. Can always try I guess."
Khessa turns her blue eyes worriedly to her lich mentor: "You see, Master Akkron? This probably explains the incredible ease with which the Nefarious Duo gain followers... They probably aid themselves with magic, clouding the judgment of those they speak to."
"Anyway," the blonde arcane warrior forces a confident smile "I can't think of any better ideas... So, let's try to spare the Golgari and kill the others... And hopefully, afterward, the influence of our Golgari's words will be enough to avert the other Golgari from that of the Nefarious Duo."
The tall adventuress, then, is guided toward the old trade hall, up ahead and to the right.
Following the directions provided, you leave the area, turn right and then after 20 feet there is a stair down to your left, and the hallway continues forward, then there is the entrance to the right that leads into the trade room. The hallway goes south, then east and expands to 20 feet across.
You enter a very large area where you see what appears to be trading stalls along the northside of the room. In the center is a set of large metal double doors with 2 guards in front of it. There are Golgari standing in front of the trade stalls.
Khessa remains on the front lines (with her faithful Alfred always watching her back), so as to act as a bulwark in case violence breaks out, but she tries to propose to the two Golgari allies and Vrox: "Will you try to verbally convince the Golgari to step aside peacefully? That way we can more quickly deal with those truly responsible for all this... and their most die-hard minions."
Clarac also stays in the front, to Khessa's right. As the group nears the trade hall, Clarac gets ready to help Vrox convince the golgari to stand aside.
He shrugs as he puts his hands up to his head and rubs his temples. "I don't know, there is something affecting our thinking, there is something influencing our thoughts. Can always try I guess."
[[OOC: OK. If I understand the conversation, I think that this guard is going to go back toward the entrance to try to convince some of the other Golgari to stand down. But we're keeping our formerly-charmed Golgari guide with us.]]
Vrox doesn't like the sound of that. He says that it reminds him of the enchanted ale that the Golgari and Drukhari had delivered to their cousins, the Voltans at Gurn Borim. But if Lord Akkron and Claracdo not know how to disrupt this foul influence, it is beyond Vrox's understanding of magical enchantments. He just hopes that once they defeat the "lord of blood" and remove his cultists from Uhubreen that the Golgari will be freed of this demonic influence.
You enter a very large area where you see what appears to be trading stalls along the northside of the room. In the center is a set of large metal double doors with 2 guards in front of it. There are Golgari standing in front of the trade stalls.
[[OOC: @Aaggie - clarification. Are the "large metal double doors" are the doors that lead to the north on the map between the stalls on that side? If so, then what are those grey things in the squares at the center, to the south of the Duergar Stone Guards?]]
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Khessa suggests: "Maybe we should wake him up and try to make him think about how much damage the Nefarious Duo is doing them. Probably the more of them we can get on our side, the easier it will be to convince others to join us without a fight."
"And maybe he knows what other forces lie ahead," Vrox suggests. He is happy to scout ahead for the party, but it's also useful to know what they might be walking into. Vrox still doesn't have a sense of how big Uhubreen actually is. Does the party have just a couple of dozen more rooms to clear of the demons and their cultists? Or does Uhubreen descend twenty more levels into the earth, and the party should be planning to spend few days in the Golgari halls?
Vrox steps to the body of the unconscious Golgari warrior and removes all of his weapons, moving them away from the dwarf. "I guess with just one of them, we don't need to bind him? Clarac, could you heal him enough so that he can talk?"
“Yes. I will heal them,” Clarac says. She kneels down and puts her hand on the Golgari warrior’s head and says a prayer, first to cleanse them of evil, and then to heal the worst of their injuries.
OOC:
Use Cleansing Touch to break a spell, if any, on the Golgari warrior, then use Lay on Hands to restore 10 HP to them.
The Golgari's eyes flutter open, then looks about himself in a panic, then up at you. He groans and settles back against the wall.
"Well, get on with it, either torture me or kill me, that's what they said if we fell into your hands. So, let's just get to it then."
Lord Akkron can't help but let out a hollow, mirthless chuckle at the Golgari's demand.
"In my mortal life alone I experienced pain in more ways than you can even imagine," he says, his tired voice echoing slightly inside his ancient skull. "And every day of my existence is a walking death. I would warn strongly against asking for either pain or destruction when there are other ways forward."
It is sometimes hard to tell whether Lord Akkron is being sympathetic or intimidating. Perhaps a bit of both, as he stands before this broken pawn of the Nefarious Duo.
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
Provide feedback!
"Be that as it may," Khessa sheathes her Weaver of Sorrow and approaches, smiling and putting an arm around her lich mentor's shoulders, making him seem more sympathetic than intimidating. "You can judge for yourself... Are we torturing you? Have we even just tied you up? And the Golgari with us... does he look like he's been mistreated in some way?"
"The Chaos gods are lying to you and the others," the blonde arcane warrior explains, "to use you for their own purposes. Following them will only bring trouble. Join us instead. Help us change the minds of your kind—and let those who set you against us confront us, if they dare."
"I don't expect you to take my word for it," the tall adventuress concludes, "but you can judge by the facts... The Nefarious Duo sent you to fight us—and many have died because of it. Look at those who are with us: alive, well, following us of their own free will, and they have realized for themselves that the Nefarious Duo are desecrating and destroying your very culture. They are destroying... you. If you follow them to the end... you will ultimately be no more—for they will have molded and corrupted you into what suits them best. Don't let that happen. Don't let yourselves be... undone like this."
Vrox laughs at the subdued Golgari's talk of torture. Not a wicked, cruel laugh -- it's a bright and hearty sound, cheery in the subterranean tunnels. As Khessa makes their case, Vrox hops away and then brings over their Golgari ally. He says, "She speaks the truth: we are here to liberate Uhubreen from these cultists. Once that task is done, we will leave. Uhubreen belongs to the Golgari, and we seek no conquest here. But you don't have to take our word for it! Our actions speak for us. We have agreed not to harm any Golgari except the ones who raise arms against us. And, even so, you were spared. Here: ask your fellow Golgari what he has seen! Including an awful vision of the future that the Nefarious Duo hope to bring about. Then you will know that even if the Nefarious Duo are victorious, the Golgari will be ruined or slaughtered in their perverse and violent pursuits."
Persuasion 27 (or, if we can consider Khessa as helping, that would be 27)
[[OOC: Nat-20! Persuasive argument. I think that we have made another ally among the Golgari.]]
He looks between you all, and when he lays his eyes on your guide, they grow wide.
"Is what they say is true brother, are they here as liberators and not as conquerors as we have been told?
He nods his head, "What they say is true, we have been duped and led astray from our own gods. That's why he hasn't spoken to us; we have ignored him."
He leans back against the wall even more, deflated by the news.
"Lied to, manipulated." He looks around the fallen Golgari. "We are being used and have turned our home once more into a battlefield." His hands go to hold his head and then he shakes it. "My head hurts, and I don't know why. But I do know, I won't sacrifice myself for those two."
Vrox says, "Thankfully, you have seen the truth now, before it's too late for you. Before it's too late for the Golgari of Uhubreen. You were deceived, but you're still alive. Now, you can help your people shake free from the Nefarious Duo, minimize the number of Golgari who fight and die for their lies!" Seeing the dwarf in some distress, Vrox proposes a drink. He asks Tyek to pour out some wine (or beer, whichever the dwarf prefers) from his Alchemy Jug and offers some to the dwarves. He offers a toast to "freeing Uhubreen from these unwelcome cultists whose word is only as good as wood. May the Golgari become the masters of rock and stone with crafts to hone and see Uhubreen prosper in peace!"
Vrox talks to the (new) Golgari about what lies ahead. He presses for any information he has on the number of cultists, any demons or other special forces they have, how many levels of Uhubreen the cultists occupy, and who are the leaders among the Golgari and the cultists?
Once he gets what he can out of the dwarf, he offers him to join up with the party or to head up to the entrance to Uhubreen. In either case, he would like the dwarf to spread the word about the truth of the Nefarious Duo. That the "invaders" are really just here to kick out the cultists and demons who have overstayed their welcome in Uhubreen. "We will not attack Golgari who lay down their arms and refuse to fight us. The more of your fellow Golgari you persuade, the fewer will die in needless combat!"
[[OOC: After we're done talking to the subdued Golgari, Vrox is ready to continue scouting ahead. The N-S tunnel branches E-W. Unless the subdued Golgari tells us which way to go, which way does the rest of the party want to go?]]
Khessa watches with satisfaction as the persuasive fey goes about his work, perfectly in agreement with his intent.
"He almost seems capable of convincing the entire drow race to desert Lolth," the blonde arcane warrior smiles at her undead mentor. "Don't you think?"
"I won't fight my kin, but I can try my best to tell you what lies ahead. These two usurpers came to us with promises of glory and greatness, and our leader fell for it hook, line and sinker. Now our clans follow these two gods, though I don't care for their rituals. We did have some who resisted, but they were sacrificed, and our leader did nothing. In the old trade hall which is up ahead and to the right, they will be more Golgari, but be warned, the lord of blood or whatever he calls himself, has raised the fallen warriors from the past. Those who blindly followed the dark forces that nearly destroyed us. In the trade hall is the entrance to the main area where our leader and those two are with their henchman."
"If my friends and I focused on eliminating the 'fallen warriors of the past,' do you think," Khessa asks the two Golgari, "you could convince the others in the room to stop fighting and listen to you? It would be nice to be able to prevent the deaths of more innocents."
The blonde arcane warrior exchanges a look with her lich mentor: "Perhaps, if the enemies were easily distinguishable from the deceived Golgari—and separated enough—we could even isolate the Golgari with Wall of Force. Our magical staves might allow us to do that."
"Yes... a fascinating possibility," the lich concedes, glancing at Vrox with genuine respect.
As the conversation continues, Akkron can't help but be, yet again, shocked by how incredibly easy the people of this land apparently are to dupe.
"So they were ordering your people to sacrifice their own... and for some reason you still followed them over your own gods...?" he mutters. "It never ceases to amaze me what mortals will bow before... and for such little reward, more often than not."
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
Provide feedback!
He shrugs as he puts his hands up to his head and rubs his temples. "I don't know, there is something affecting our thinking, there is something influencing our thoughts. Can always try I guess."
Khessa turns her blue eyes worriedly to her lich mentor: "You see, Master Akkron? This probably explains the incredible ease with which the Nefarious Duo gain followers... They probably aid themselves with magic, clouding the judgment of those they speak to."
"Anyway," the blonde arcane warrior forces a confident smile "I can't think of any better ideas... So, let's try to spare the Golgari and kill the others... And hopefully, afterward, the influence of our Golgari's words will be enough to avert the other Golgari from that of the Nefarious Duo."
The tall adventuress, then, is guided toward the old trade hall, up ahead and to the right.
Following the directions provided, you leave the area, turn right and then after 20 feet there is a stair down to your left, and the hallway continues forward, then there is the entrance to the right that leads into the trade room. The hallway goes south, then east and expands to 20 feet across.
You enter a very large area where you see what appears to be trading stalls along the northside of the room. In the center is a set of large metal double doors with 2 guards in front of it. There are Golgari standing in front of the trade stalls.
Khessa remains on the front lines (with her faithful Alfred always watching her back), so as to act as a bulwark in case violence breaks out, but she tries to propose to the two Golgari allies and Vrox: "Will you try to verbally convince the Golgari to step aside peacefully? That way we can more quickly deal with those truly responsible for all this... and their most die-hard minions."
Clarac also stays in the front, to Khessa's right. As the group nears the trade hall, Clarac gets ready to help Vrox convince the golgari to stand aside.
OOC:
Action: Help Vrox
[[OOC: OK. If I understand the conversation, I think that this guard is going to go back toward the entrance to try to convince some of the other Golgari to stand down. But we're keeping our formerly-charmed Golgari guide with us.]]
Vrox doesn't like the sound of that. He says that it reminds him of the enchanted ale that the Golgari and Drukhari had delivered to their cousins, the Voltans at Gurn Borim. But if Lord Akkron and Clarac do not know how to disrupt this foul influence, it is beyond Vrox's understanding of magical enchantments. He just hopes that once they defeat the "lord of blood" and remove his cultists from Uhubreen that the Golgari will be freed of this demonic influence.
[[OOC: @Aaggie - clarification. Are the "large metal double doors" are the doors that lead to the north on the map between the stalls on that side? If so, then what are those grey things in the squares at the center, to the south of the Duergar Stone Guards?]]