The Summit Road Campaign Thread

Having found nothing interesting, Taran refills a waterskin (he tastes the water first to make sure it isn't stagnant) and begins heading back through the cave system, keeping his torch lit to see if there was anything he missed in the darkness. Once he gets back to the first room he'll take a moment to investigate it as well.

Survival asked for: 10

Possible Investigation: 2 

It takes Taran two hours to return to the cave. In the room, he finds little of interest.

Taran would inform Liira and Caelius that there are two other caves connected to this one, the furthest one holding a pool of fresh water. Nothing else of interest he found though

The Cave

Liira merely gives a nod. "Could be useful if we get attacked."

Scouting the Kintam

Having decided to speak with Riikana next, Drudhaar quietly points out the woman playing the game of reflexes with the other off-duty soldiers. The game appears to be winding down.

The Cave

"I-I ag-agree," Taran says poking his head outside the cave, "S-Since I d-didn't see an-anything e-edible I'll head into the w-woods and gather some berries, maybe some small game. I'll b-be b-back s-soon. A-anything either o-of you prefer?"

(OOC: I'll be using my background ability to gather the food. Secret survival roll to see if I can find anything directly requested)

River keeps quiet, her cloak drawn over her head in an attempt to hide her bird-like features from onlookers. She stands near the door in the corner, eyes scanning the room over and over.

Once again, Vishal waits until she’s either alone or about to be alone until he makes his move. He doesn’t want to draw the attention of several soldiers.

A few minutes later, the game breaks up and soldiers start standing, bidding farewells and splitting off. Riikana is one of the first to leave the table, now alone.

As soon as she’s alone Vishal makes his move, walking up to her and quietly saying, “Hey. I need to talk to you, alone please.” 

Riikana turns a cool gaze onto Vishal. "Really? And you are?"

Vishal quietly answers, “That’s not important. What is important is that you’ve been completely privy to Sulatesh’s methods for years, but recently saw him perform some particularly brutal tortures on commoners who seemed innocent. This has made you start to doubt him, but your excellent at hiding her feelings. But you can’t hide them from yourself. And you know this is against the Path. And if you don’t help me stop it, more innocent people are going to suffer.”

Riikana's hand shoots out and grabs Vishal's arm in an iron grip, her eyes turning to steel. "You idiot. Shut up and get over here." She gives a laugh and yanks him through a door to a room that looks like an office or private workspace. "Dark spirits, what were you thinking, spouting that in the middle of the hall?" she asks angrily. "Do you want us both to get taken to re-education camps by the Thousand Eyes?"

“Not really but now we’re alone and you’ll listen to me.” Vishal replies before saying, “I know you know what your Lord is doing is wrong. And it’s against the Path. It server nobody but him. And me and my team plan on freeing all of those he is torturing for fun. And we need your help to do it. We won’t make you go against your Lord directly or kill anyone or anything like that. We just need to get to where they’re being kept without being caught.” 

Riikana's eyes don't soften in the slightest. "Yeah, or you're a Thousand Eyes agent testing to see if I'm still loyal to Riedra," she says harshly. "My emotions about what I see or hear do not matter. Lord Sulatesh is guided by the honored spirits, and I must trust in them to fulfill the Path. Those in his dungeons are traitors who succumb to the influence of altavar, or even worse, those who have connections with fiends, like kalashtar. What my Lord does to purge them of their corruption is what he believes is best."

Vishal's eyes narrow some as he says, "I know you're lying. You don't have to hide it. I can see right through you. If I was a Thousand Eye agent why would I bother with this secretive shit. You know I'm right. And that what he is doing is wrong. That he has diverged from the Path and those he captured needs to be saved. Because soon he'll start to turn on the innocent again. Soon he might turn on you." 

Scouting the Kintam

Riikana's hand moves to the hilt of her sword, her voice ice cold. "Maybe you're testing me. Maybe you're faking this because you're trying to trap those who have been corrupted. But I am still loyal to the Path. I will not turn from it, and I certainly won't do so to let someone I don't know into a vital Kintam for purposes I can't exactly control. You have thirty seconds to convince me you truly have Riedra's best interests at heart, or I'm calling in the off-duty soldiers outside that door to subdue you."

OOC: All right, time for that Persuasion. As usual, what you say rp-wise will affect the DC of the Persuasion. Please note that if this goes badly, this will quickly turn into an escape scene that the characters in the hall right now may not all get out of. Know that if you end up captured, that will not be the end of the adventure for your character, nor will you have to sit and be bored until the group carries out their rescue mission. There will be plenty of chances for you to assist the rescue attempt from the inside...

The Cave

OOC: Sorry Chaos, I managed to totally miss your post somehow

Liira shakes her head. "Nothing special for me."

If Caelius requests something special, Taran will unfortunately be unable to find it.

The Cave

Taran returns a little over an hour later with the berries, meat and roots. He begins preparing a simple stew, one he can keep at a light broil until the others arrive.

Vishal raises his hands and says, “Nobody is telling you to turn from the Path. What I’m doing is the exact opposite. I’m telling you to look into yourself. To think about what you were taught about the Path. What the Path really means. Protecting the innocent. Working towards a better next life. Something that you cannot achieve if you turn a blind eye in this life to things you know are wrong. Now please. Take your hand of your sword and truly think about what it happening. And tell me.....do you really really think what he is doing is the right thing according to the Path.” 

Persuasion: 23

 Druhdaar feels his inner alarm bells tingle as he sees Riikana grabbing Vishal and shoving him inside the guard room. Very calmly, and seemingly absent-mindedly, he strolls over to the side of the building they just vanished through, and just as he passes by the door he kneels on the ground, apparently trying to fasten his legwraps, but actually straining to hear if anything seems awry inside.

** Deception 17 - Perception 13 **

Riikana hesitates, her hand moving a bit away from the hilt of her sword, although it still hovers near it cautiously. "You mentioned a team," she notes. "Are they competent? What's your likelihood of success? Did any of them manage to sneak into the village-if so, my doubts about your ability to get through the Kintam undetected will be somewhat assuaged. What are your resources? Do you have a source within the Kintam for information?"

As Druhdaar does his eavesdropping job, nobody seems to be suspicious of him. He catches the words "Team...village...my...Kintam...resources...information."