Jodie addresses the group, "Did we need anything in the market? I don't know what else might prepare us for the task at hand or if we have enough items to sell to warrant the risk."
Just like last time you did this, you're able to see the white kobold immediately.
The scene you observe looks like an office. And in said office, you see Zolgu standing on a desk, smiling smugly into a nervous-looking city official's face. He's saying something in Draconic that you cannot understand, but the tone of voice definitely doesn't sound like it's very nice, whatever it is. Surrounding Zolgu and the official are four black-robed cultists (that you can see).
Nickeline listens closely to what Zolgu is saying. She decides she can't understand a word of it, so she focuses on the nervous-looking city official instead. She tries speaking directly into their mind, "Ahoy, are you tired of this smug kobold standing on your desk? I bet you are. If I were you, I'd do what he says for now; he's actually a very bad and dangerous little guy, and would hurt you if you defied him, but you probably already know that. Actually, you shouldn't even reveal that I'm here listening. I am, um, I am an enemy of Zolgu, and should you be, too. If you want to work together, just think a thought back to me and I'll hear it. Right now, I need to know where you are and what Zolgu wants. If you help me, I can (probably) make him leave you alone."
She also tells Tamphalic what she sees and asks him (and anyone else listening) what kind of suggestion she should give to Zolgu, if any.
Present
Nickeline has no more shopping to do; she would vote to go straight to the deep ethereal.
((Hmm I see two possibilities: one focus on not tracking us, so maybe something like "Stop looking for whoever you are looking for and take the day off" or something to ensure the safety of the city official and others "Don't hurt anyone in the search for those you really want to hurt"?))
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"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war |Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
Selarial's hand is soft as she gives each of you a friendly handshake, and she smiles at you with warmth.
(So... does anyone have any questions for her...?)
Once the party sorts out the hats and scrolls, Hewelathan asks in his usual blunt manner, "Selarial, I do not know whether we need to see any merchants: we had a chance to restock our supplies before we came here. But did Lord Akkron tell you anything of our mission? We must find and then travel to a 'dead god', adrift in the Deep Ethereal. To do that, we need to find a trustworthy guide who can take us into the Deep Ethereal and help us accomplish this task without betraying us to the cultists. We have never been to the Radiant Citadel, and none of us have ever ventured to the Ethereal plane before. Could you recommend a guide who could help us? Or someone who could help us find such a guide?"
Korba smiles somewhat wickedly and offers this response to Nickeline's question, "Perhaps you could suggest that after the Accursed spotted the cult's assassins, we left the Radiant Citadel immediately. Zolgu must go quickly to the Keening Gloom to stop us before we can hurl our magic items into the ethereal cyclone, putting them forever beyond the cult's reach." He has an awful afterthought and then adds, "Assuming, of course, that we're not actually headed into the Keening Gloom!"
Zolgu burns a legendary resistance to completely ignore whatever suggestion Nickeline sends. He pauses dramatically, as if realizing that someone just tried to influence him. If looks could kill, Nickeline would have just been liquified by the pure viciousness of the white kobold's scowl.
Meanwhile, Selarial answers Hewelathan.
"Actually, I will guide you myself," the fiendish healer says with a little smile. "There aren't a lot of people more qualified for this kind of thing... I've already made sure that the girls know what to do in my absence, and hopefully I will be back soon."
She pauses.
"But we will need to either rent or purchase an Ethereal Cruiser. They're pretty popular for tourism... but the trick is going to be making sure that whoever we rent it from doesn't ask many questions."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
Zolgu burns a legendary resistance to completely ignore whatever suggestion Nickeline sends. He pauses dramatically, as if realizing that someone just tried to influence him. If looks could kill, Nickeline would have just been liquified by the pure viciousness of the white kobold's scowl.
Nickeline speaks directly into Zolgu's mind using the full power of her crystal ball: "I'm your conscience, Zolgu. We haven't spoken for a while. It's rude to stand on people's desks. You should really step down from there and go and regroup with your people at the Keening Gloom. That's where you'll find those people you're looking for. You'd better get there quick before the big guy's soul bits are lost forever." Nickeline assumes Sserah would be large of stature if resurrected.
When the Suggestion doesn't work, she recoils at the sight of Zolgu's glare and tells everyone, "I think Zolgu knows someone was spying on him. I've never seen so much rage in such a tiny body, and that includes the time we swapped out Father Plattner's sermon for a pudding recipe; he got to step three before he realized what he was saying!" She laughs, then echoes Hewelathan, "We're not actually going to the Keening Gloom, are we?"
Regarding the Ethereal Cruiser, Nickeline asks, "Should we just send one or two people to get the cruiser? and they can come back here to pick the rest of us up? That would draw less attention."
If Nickeline's idea is shot down, she is ready to go with everyone else.
Meanwhile, Selarial answers Hewelathan. "Actually, I will guide you myself," the fiendish healer says with a little smile. "There aren't a lot of people more qualified for this kind of thing... I've already made sure that the girls know what to do in my absence, and hopefully I will be back soon."
Hewelathan bows his head slightly and says, "Thank you, Selarial. Despite the curses we carry, the gods must be looking out for us because we continue to find assistance whenever we need it most!" He gives Selarial a long, appraising look as though seeing her properly for the first time. "What makes you qualified for 'this kind of thing'?", he asks. "Have you traveled much across the Deep Ethereal? Do you know where we could find a dead god?"
She laughs, then echoes Hewelathan, "We're not actually going to the Keening Gloom, are we?"
(OOC: That part was actually Korba.)
Regarding the Ethereal Cruiser, Nickeline asks, "Should we just send one or two people to get the cruiser? and they can come back here to pick the rest of us up? That would draw less attention."
Hewelathan considers this idea, but he thinks of their last fight with Zolgu and how the kobold just resisted Nickeline's suggestion. He says, "Perhaps only a couple of us should approach the cruiser's owner...or captain?...or whatever, but I would suggest that the rest should follow close-by. We barely survived the last fight with Zolgu, and I wouldn't be comfortable leaving any of us exposed to an attack by him or even the cult's assassins. We should have the full strength of the party nearby to repel any attacks."
If the Ethereal Cruisers can be rented at the market, for example, the rest of the disguised party could split into groups of 2 or 3 and "shop" nearby while Jodie, Nickeline, and maybe Tamphalic negotiate. (Nickeline could use her Insight to detect any nefarious intentions and could provide Guidance and help to Jodie. If there is an attack, Tamphalic would be useful in the initial response to disable or repel the cultists.) That way, the whole group could come to their assistance quickly if the cult attacks them in public.
(OOC: We have a party of 9, including Selarial, Ruby, and Gorash. Unless the Cruiser has expansive passenger cabins, I guess some of the party may have to help crew the vessel. Hewelathan has proficiency in Vehicles (Water), but I'm not sure whether that provides any skill with with a vessel that sails the Deep Ethereal.)
Meanwhile, Selarial answers Hewelathan. "Actually, I will guide you myself," the fiendish healer says with a little smile. "There aren't a lot of people more qualified for this kind of thing... I've already made sure that the girls know what to do in my absence, and hopefully I will be back soon."
Hewelathan bows his head slightly and says, "Thank you, Selarial. Despite the curses we carry, the gods must be looking out for us because we continue to find assistance whenever we need it most!" He gives Selarial a long, appraising look as though seeing her properly for the first time. "What makes you qualified for 'this kind of thing'?", he asks. "Have you traveled much across the Deep Ethereal? Do you know where we could find a dead god?"
Selarial doesn’t answer right away.
She meets Hewelathan’s gaze, steady and unflinching, but something behind her smile changes. It softens, taking on a bit of a wistful look of someone remembering things that pain her.
"I've travelled more of the Deep Etherial than I ever wanted to,"she says with a sigh. “Back when I was still… well, let's just say I wasn't always a healer... I ferried souls. The unclaimed. The forgotten. Some of them tried to cling to the wreckage of dead and dying gods, thinking they’d find shelter there. I followed. I always found them.”
A look of regret crosses her face as she reminisces about her former life.
“I... I haven't gone back. Not since I made my pact and left the Nine Hells behind. But if your question is whether I know where to look?” She pauses for a moment. “Yes. I do. And I know what kinds of things nest in a god’s corpse after the soul is gone.”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
"What kind of dangers can we expect near the god's corpses? and how big is a ethereal cruiser?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war |Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
Hewelathan is interested to hear the answers to Tamphalic's questions. It's exactly what he was thinking. He is happy to learn that they've already found a guide, and they just need to find transportation, an "Ethereal Cruiser."
But Hewelathan is also stunned to hear that Selarial is a true devil from the Nine Hells. He thought that she was just some sort of winged tiefling. First liches. Now devils! He mutters under his breath, "Firion's cult makes strange bedfellows."
looks like you're resistant to force damage. Also, am I the only one who finds it amusing that the Wizard is apparently turning into a tank with all these survival buffs?
(OOC: Heh. I had forgotten about that until I re-reread the recent posts. I think that we arrived on the Radiant Citadel on day 18 of the campaign. It looks like Tamphalic is under the effects of the following cards:
Destiny: The first time after drawing this card that you would drop to 0 hit points from taking damage, you instead drop to 1 hit point.
Chaos: resistance to fire damage until the end of day 20 (i.e., 2 days after we arrived at the Radiant Citadel).
Order: resistance to force damage until the end of day 21 (i.e., 3 days after we arrived at the Radiant Citadel).
Plus, the dragon mask makes him immune to lightning damage. Yes -- quite tanky for a wizard!)
Just let me know where you're going once the hats are attuned and the scrolls divided up: to the market, or going straight to finding a way into the Deep Ethereal?
(OOC: Depending on how much the Ethereal Cruiser costs, we may want to go to the market to see whether we have enough gold to purchase or barter for something that would give some of us resistance to cold damage in case we run into Zolgu again. Just looking at uncommon items, Potion of Cold Resistance would be great, but there's also Boots of the Winterlands and the Ring of Warmth. I see that they nerfed that ring in the 2024 rules so that it's less powerful than a Ring of Cold Resistance, which is rare. I doubt that we can currently afford a rare magic item.)
If the Ethereal Cruisers can be rented at the market, for example, the rest of the disguised party could split into groups of 2 or 3 and "shop" nearby while Jodie, Nickeline, and maybe Tamphalic negotiate. (Nickeline could use her Insight to detect any nefarious intentions and could provide Guidance and help to Jodie. If there is an attack, Tamphalic would be useful in the initial response to disable or repel the cultists.) That way, the whole group could come to their assistance quickly if the cult attacks them in public.
(OOC: Nickeline actually can't cast Guidance, but she can help with insight and regular guidance.)
"It sounds like you had a rough past, Selarial," says Nickeline. "It's good that you've taken steps to do good in the world. You don't have to come to the deep ethereal with us if you don't want to, but we will need directions, at least. To start, which way is the way to the nearest e-cruiser dealership?"
(OOC: Oh? Huh. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I had in my notes that she knows Guidance, not Spare the Dying. Maybe I got that from an earlier version of the character sheet?)
"What kind of dangers can we expect near the god's corpses? and how big is a ethereal cruiser?"
"The remains of a god are always infested... wraiths of their most devout followers, broken memories, even twisted and insane celestial guardians... All of them cling to the remains of the beings they once served, leeching off of the spark of divine power that is left behind when the god's soul departs." she says with a shudder.
Jodie addresses the group, "Did we need anything in the market? I don't know what else might prepare us for the task at hand or if we have enough items to sell to warrant the risk."
Fargen Hill Dwarf Cleric/Barbarian - Hoard of the Dragon Queen, Jodie Olwen Half-Elf Bard- Chronicles of the Accursed
Regarding the scrying attempt...
Zolgu's Wis save: 12
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Just like last time you did this, you're able to see the white kobold immediately.
The scene you observe looks like an office. And in said office, you see Zolgu standing on a desk, smiling smugly into a nervous-looking city official's face. He's saying something in Draconic that you cannot understand, but the tone of voice definitely doesn't sound like it's very nice, whatever it is. Surrounding Zolgu and the official are four black-robed cultists (that you can see).
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Scrying
Nickeline listens closely to what Zolgu is saying. She decides she can't understand a word of it, so she focuses on the nervous-looking city official instead. She tries speaking directly into their mind, "Ahoy, are you tired of this smug kobold standing on your desk? I bet you are. If I were you, I'd do what he says for now; he's actually a very bad and dangerous little guy, and would hurt you if you defied him, but you probably already know that. Actually, you shouldn't even reveal that I'm here listening. I am, um, I am an enemy of Zolgu, and should you be, too. If you want to work together, just think a thought back to me and I'll hear it. Right now, I need to know where you are and what Zolgu wants. If you help me, I can (probably) make him leave you alone."
She also tells Tamphalic what she sees and asks him (and anyone else listening) what kind of suggestion she should give to Zolgu, if any.
Present
Nickeline has no more shopping to do; she would vote to go straight to the deep ethereal.
((Hmm I see two possibilities: one focus on not tracking us, so maybe something like "Stop looking for whoever you are looking for and take the day off" or something to ensure the safety of the city official and others "Don't hurt anyone in the search for those you really want to hurt"?))
"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war | Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
Once the party sorts out the hats and scrolls, Hewelathan asks in his usual blunt manner, "Selarial, I do not know whether we need to see any merchants: we had a chance to restock our supplies before we came here. But did Lord Akkron tell you anything of our mission? We must find and then travel to a 'dead god', adrift in the Deep Ethereal. To do that, we need to find a trustworthy guide who can take us into the Deep Ethereal and help us accomplish this task without betraying us to the cultists. We have never been to the Radiant Citadel, and none of us have ever ventured to the Ethereal plane before. Could you recommend a guide who could help us? Or someone who could help us find such a guide?"
Korba smiles somewhat wickedly and offers this response to Nickeline's question, "Perhaps you could suggest that after the Accursed spotted the cult's assassins, we left the Radiant Citadel immediately. Zolgu must go quickly to the Keening Gloom to stop us before we can hurl our magic items into the ethereal cyclone, putting them forever beyond the cult's reach." He has an awful afterthought and then adds, "Assuming, of course, that we're not actually headed into the Keening Gloom!"
I'll just go ahead and roll that Wis save...
6
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Zolgu burns a legendary resistance to completely ignore whatever suggestion Nickeline sends. He pauses dramatically, as if realizing that someone just tried to influence him. If looks could kill, Nickeline would have just been liquified by the pure viciousness of the white kobold's scowl.
Meanwhile, Selarial answers Hewelathan.
"Actually, I will guide you myself," the fiendish healer says with a little smile. "There aren't a lot of people more qualified for this kind of thing... I've already made sure that the girls know what to do in my absence, and hopefully I will be back soon."
She pauses.
"But we will need to either rent or purchase an Ethereal Cruiser. They're pretty popular for tourism... but the trick is going to be making sure that whoever we rent it from doesn't ask many questions."
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
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Nickeline speaks directly into Zolgu's mind using the full power of her crystal ball: "I'm your conscience, Zolgu. We haven't spoken for a while. It's rude to stand on people's desks. You should really step down from there and go and regroup with your people at the Keening Gloom. That's where you'll find those people you're looking for. You'd better get there quick before the big guy's soul bits are lost forever." Nickeline assumes Sserah would be large of stature if resurrected.
When the Suggestion doesn't work, she recoils at the sight of Zolgu's glare and tells everyone, "I think Zolgu knows someone was spying on him. I've never seen so much rage in such a tiny body, and that includes the time we swapped out Father Plattner's sermon for a pudding recipe; he got to step three before he realized what he was saying!" She laughs, then echoes Hewelathan, "We're not actually going to the Keening Gloom, are we?"
Regarding the Ethereal Cruiser, Nickeline asks, "Should we just send one or two people to get the cruiser? and they can come back here to pick the rest of us up? That would draw less attention."
If Nickeline's idea is shot down, she is ready to go with everyone else.
Hewelathan bows his head slightly and says, "Thank you, Selarial. Despite the curses we carry, the gods must be looking out for us because we continue to find assistance whenever we need it most!" He gives Selarial a long, appraising look as though seeing her properly for the first time. "What makes you qualified for 'this kind of thing'?", he asks. "Have you traveled much across the Deep Ethereal? Do you know where we could find a dead god?"
(OOC: That part was actually Korba.)
Hewelathan considers this idea, but he thinks of their last fight with Zolgu and how the kobold just resisted Nickeline's suggestion. He says, "Perhaps only a couple of us should approach the cruiser's owner...or captain?...or whatever, but I would suggest that the rest should follow close-by. We barely survived the last fight with Zolgu, and I wouldn't be comfortable leaving any of us exposed to an attack by him or even the cult's assassins. We should have the full strength of the party nearby to repel any attacks."
If the Ethereal Cruisers can be rented at the market, for example, the rest of the disguised party could split into groups of 2 or 3 and "shop" nearby while Jodie, Nickeline, and maybe Tamphalic negotiate. (Nickeline could use her Insight to detect any nefarious intentions and could provide Guidance and help to Jodie. If there is an attack, Tamphalic would be useful in the initial response to disable or repel the cultists.) That way, the whole group could come to their assistance quickly if the cult attacks them in public.
(OOC: We have a party of 9, including Selarial, Ruby, and Gorash. Unless the Cruiser has expansive passenger cabins, I guess some of the party may have to help crew the vessel. Hewelathan has proficiency in Vehicles (Water), but I'm not sure whether that provides any skill with with a vessel that sails the Deep Ethereal.)
Selarial doesn’t answer right away.
She meets Hewelathan’s gaze, steady and unflinching, but something behind her smile changes. It softens, taking on a bit of a wistful look of someone remembering things that pain her.
"I've travelled more of the Deep Etherial than I ever wanted to," she says with a sigh. “Back when I was still… well, let's just say I wasn't always a healer... I ferried souls. The unclaimed. The forgotten. Some of them tried to cling to the wreckage of dead and dying gods, thinking they’d find shelter there. I followed. I always found them.”
A look of regret crosses her face as she reminisces about her former life.
“I... I haven't gone back. Not since I made my pact and left the Nine Hells behind. But if your question is whether I know where to look?” She pauses for a moment. “Yes. I do. And I know what kinds of things nest in a god’s corpse after the soul is gone.”
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Tamphalic is very interested
"What kind of dangers can we expect near the god's corpses? and how big is a ethereal cruiser?"
"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war | Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
Hewelathan is interested to hear the answers to Tamphalic's questions. It's exactly what he was thinking. He is happy to learn that they've already found a guide, and they just need to find transportation, an "Ethereal Cruiser."
But Hewelathan is also stunned to hear that Selarial is a true devil from the Nine Hells. He thought that she was just some sort of winged tiefling. First liches. Now devils! He mutters under his breath, "Firion's cult makes strange bedfellows."
(OOC: Heh. I had forgotten about that until I re-reread the recent posts. I think that we arrived on the Radiant Citadel on day 18 of the campaign. It looks like Tamphalic is under the effects of the following cards:
Plus, the dragon mask makes him immune to lightning damage. Yes -- quite tanky for a wizard!)
(OOC: Depending on how much the Ethereal Cruiser costs, we may want to go to the market to see whether we have enough gold to purchase or barter for something that would give some of us resistance to cold damage in case we run into Zolgu again. Just looking at uncommon items, Potion of Cold Resistance would be great, but there's also Boots of the Winterlands and the Ring of Warmth. I see that they nerfed that ring in the 2024 rules so that it's less powerful than a Ring of Cold Resistance, which is rare. I doubt that we can currently afford a rare magic item.)
(OOC: Nickeline actually can't cast Guidance, but she can help with insight and regular guidance.)
"It sounds like you had a rough past, Selarial," says Nickeline. "It's good that you've taken steps to do good in the world. You don't have to come to the deep ethereal with us if you don't want to, but we will need directions, at least. To start, which way is the way to the nearest e-cruiser dealership?"
(OOC: Oh? Huh. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I had in my notes that she knows Guidance, not Spare the Dying. Maybe I got that from an earlier version of the character sheet?)
"The remains of a god are always infested... wraiths of their most devout followers, broken memories, even twisted and insane celestial guardians... All of them cling to the remains of the beings they once served, leeching off of the spark of divine power that is left behind when the god's soul departs." she says with a shudder.
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