The door knocker is a curious thing; both Eerie's gentle taps and Thirteen's powerful hammering elicit the exact same noise. As you stand wondering at the nature of it, the door swings open without any sound of being unlocked.
Inside the open doorway stands a tiefling man who can only be described as incredibly beautiful to each of you. He has deep red skin, eyes that are all gold with no sclera, iris or pupil. A pair of ram's horns sprout from the top of his head and curl backwards before circling back to face you. He is adorned in deep green robes that seem to have some sort of pattern or scripture sewn all across their surface. He looks first and Virjor and then takes in the whole group.
"Maaaah, you must be the abbots boys, yes? A fine bunch indeed, all sorts of shapes and sizes. Elves both wood and high, a halfling, a gnome and...oh my"
His gaze settles on the imposing Thirteen, a flicker of some different kind of emotion shooting across his face before he continues: "A metal man, I've not seen your type for a while. Well, come on in then, let's get you ready for the quickest journey of your life. I am Calderax, your guide and chaperone during your brief visit here"
Calderax turns with a swish of his magnificent robes and heads off down a long corridor, beckoning over his shoulder for you to follow.
Caught up by the Tieflings unusual eyes that in many creatures would indicate blindness, she watches in awe as he takes command of the situation and follows eagerly inside.
Also entranced by the tiefling's appearance Virjor eagerly follows Calderax through the corridor. He starts to look around the corridor hoping to spy something of interest;
Perception Check:10 (7+3)
His mind starts to wander: Baffled and amused by the little Gnome striding in front of him, Virjor is starting to realise this group he's been teamed-up with may not understand the proper way of things, and he may need to adjust some of his expectations.
That said, he sees no reason why he can't help them learn a thing or two, he'll be doing them a great service in fact, yes, I truly am a noble and open-minded wizard!
Carric is surprised at the tiefling's enchanting appearance. Though he has lived all his life in Neverwinter, the city never ceases to surprise him with the wonders it holds. He nods politely and follows their "guide and chaperone" down the hall. Outwardly, the wood elf appears quite calm, as if he is simply enjoying being here in this place, at this moment.
Feeling Virjor moving along behind her, she hesitates momentarily remembering that he is their employer after all and slows moving slightly to the side allowing the others to pass not quite wanted to be the one to speak once they arrive where they're going.
Calderax leads you through the winding corridors of the building, past wooden doors behind which you hear a variety of noises; laughter, anger and some pointed tutting. More than one small explosion is heard as you walk the corridors, although your guide does not seem alarmed.
(Virjor doesn’t spot anything of interest, although one of the rugs seems to be a fine Telzinki. The barbarians are walking on it!)
After about five minutes of walking you reach a staircase and follow Calderax down. It reaches a landing and then switches back to descend again, repeating this process for four flights. At the bottom is a small basement-type room with a single stone door facing the stairs.
Calderax stops at the door, turns to face you and then makes a gesture in the air while uttering an incantation. As he finishes, your hearing disappears with a faint ‘pop’ and the tiefling flashes a friendly smile. Something about his manner puts you at ease, and you soon see the reason for his spell casting; he turns back to the door and you see that he is talking. A distorted face appears in the stonework and converses with Calderax, then fades away. The door swings open…
With a wave of his hand he drops the silence spell and leads you into the room beyond the stone door, which closes behind you with a loud slam.
“Here we are then, the teleportation room”
The room is about eighty feet to a side, bare stone walls and cool but dry. On the floor in each corner is an elaborate circle of arcane runes and inscriptions, about ten feet in diameter.
Calderax starts to produce some items from pouches on his belt; a piece of luminous yellow chalk, a scrap of parchment, and then addresses your party, speaking to each of you in turn.
“I will shortly begin the teleportation spell. It will take about one minute to prepare, and then the portal will open. As soon as it does, you have six seconds to jump through or the portal will close and you will be stuck here. A second casting would be…expensive.
Once I begin there can be no interruptions, so: any questions?”
After this frustratingly long walk and having said a silent prayer to his god for the Telzinki rug, Virjor steps forward to address Calderax in a slightly self-important tone; "Good sir, I see secrecy is important and it's an impressive ward you have upon this door. However while I'm sure you didn't mean to be discourteous, I would ask that prior to any future incantations upon me or my hirelings, permission is seeked."
"That being said, my only question regards our return journey; do we require anything to come back via the portal at the receiving end after our business in Icewind Dale is concluded?"
Calderax looks crestfallen at Virjor's request. "Yes of course, I am so sorry; the silence was a routine precaution but I must remember to warn the magically illiterate. I understand that sudden arcane activity can startle the uneducated"
He flurries a bow, seemingly genuine in his apology.
Satisfied with his own apology, Calderax continues "Now, the return journey. As far as I am aware, we are providing a single journey. You are welcome to memorize the runes of one of our circles here in case you encounter a skilled wizard on your travels. They can then return you here"
Eerie remains silents though opens her mouth a dozen times to ask questions, quickly closing it before doing so. She wants to touch and look and stay in this place forever there were so many interesting things. In a constant struggle between curiosity and responsibility she follows. Explosions and animated conversations seemed normal hear, this was definitely a place of discovery.
As they continue, she notes Virjor's brief irritation and quick mouthing of a Prayer(?). She glances back at a rug they'd just walked over. Seeing that it is beautiful and looked very soft she wonders if perhaps he has a fondness of rugs or decorating? It was on the floor, so was it not meant to be walked on?
So much magic in this place, as Silence falls upon them, she recognizes it and looks quickly to see Calderax speaking with a door. She grins in delight as the Silence is lifted and the door seems agreeable to their entrance. Such a wonderous place! As he instructs them to watch for the portal to appear in a short 60 seconds she nods then shakes her head to the inquiry of questions. Eager for the experience.
Used to spending long stretches of time in silence, Carric is utterly unperturbed at the tiefling mage's use of the spell. He imagines that the wizards of the guild must protect their secret passwords and such. In truth, there are some places in his own monastery that require secret knowledge to enter, though the guardians are of a more mundane and wordly nature. Namely, other monks.
After hearing the instructions, he prepares himself to leap through the portal. He takes a long, deep breath and places his tear-marked mask over his face. Such a momentous occasion seems to call for it.
"I am ready," he says after others' questions are answered. "I am happy to go first, or last, or whenever."
Thirteen listens as the horned man waffles a lot, and then he goes deaf for a little while, then he rambles on some more.
He says out loud, "I kinda wish you would have left me deaf until we'd left your presence. I hope this trip doesn't take as long as your explanations Calderax."
He turns to the rest of the group. "I am happy to go through first, partly because I can take the brunt of any attack but mainly so I don't have to listen to him anymore." And he throws his thumb towards the tiefling.
Max steadies himself for his first trip through a magic portal. After one last super-quick check of his pack, blade, and crossbow, he nods that he is ready to go.
Virjor barks a laugh at Thirteen's blunt response, he's fascinated by this creature and appreciates his offer to go first.
"Calderax, thank you for your apology, indeed not everyone is as experienced in arcane as you and I."
Virjor confidently takes out a book & ink pen; "I Shall note the runes of this transportation circle, for I am undeniably a skilled wizard!" (he hopes he'll find someone at the other end to help figure out how these things work.) Deception Check: 19(20! -1)
Eerie excited for the experience and trying to remember the runes of the circle but wonders if setting them up exactly the same might actually put them where they are going rather than here. As Virjor notes, she leans close ready for travel and whispers, "Might it seem that the runes for a return trip would be different? Or they might just take you there instead of here?" She wonders aloud with a curious look upon her face.
Calderax laughs at Thirteen’s heckling. “You’ll be home soon enough, metal man”
As Virjor starts to jot down the runes of the circle, Calderax begins drawing symbols on the ground with the exotic chalk. Sure enough, as soon as he finishes the last rune there is a loud tearing sound and a hole appears in the air, opening like the pupil of a massive cat’s eye until it is large enough to jump through.
As instructed, you jump through the portal; Thirteen first and then everyone else in quick succession.
The sensation is unsettling; your face shoots into the distance while your body drags behind for a second, then snaps forward to catch up. Your stomach is last to arrive.
Without realizing that your eyes had closed, you open them just as you land on a wooden floor in a large cold room. Thankful for the choice to have donned your winter gear before leaving, or scrabbling now to put it on, you take in your surroundings.
You are stood in or close to a circle of runes like those in the room you just left. The room itself seems to be a town hall of some sort, all wood beams and large grey stones. You are not alone…
A female human in warm but formal clothing stands looking at you, surprised but calm.
“Huh. Not had anyone come through there in some time. I’m guessing you’re not tourists?”
Happy to find her stomach again Eerie wishes for her mind to unjumble, working her queasy closed mouth into a smile as she dazedly looks over to Virjor to do the speaking while she assures herself that her recent meal will remain where it is.
Virjor is tickled pink by Eerie's deference towards him (a warm sense of leadership may be enough to stave off this harsh climate.)
He confidently steps forward to greet the human...realises his stomach is not altogether anchored and a little bile rushes upward, he nobally swallows it down and tries to not let the embarrassment show.
He forms his words as carefully and slowly as he can to ensure he is understood by this woman; "Tourists we are not, however any information on the town we find ourselves in would be most kind?"
"I presume we are in Bryn Shander, the capital of Ten Towns, if so, we urgently need to speak to Speaker Duvessa Shane."
Carric leaps through the portal, curious as to how it may affect him and how it works. He remains calm throughout, marveling that such a thing can even exist. As he arrives, he stands quietly, still masked while their new wizard friend talks. He takes a long, slow breath bringing his awareness to the feeling of nausea in his stomach. On an exhale, he breathes it out, quickly feeling centered and much better. He finds the cool air exhilirating.
He quickly notes that certain typical pleasantries have not been exchanged. He looks to the human woman. "Greetings and apologies,"he says. "My name is Carric. I am from Neverwinter. My order has dispatched us to Ten Towns on an important mission."
The lady raises an eyebrow and smiles thinly at Virjor: “You’ve found her, and this is indeed Bryn Shander. Come for the snow, stay because of, well, the snow”
Duvessa nods at Carric’s introduction. “Well met, brother. I have heard of an order wearing your colours and that they can be trusted, although that’s about as much as I know if oyu will forgive my ignorance. You and your party are welcome here, but please tell me; what is this mission you speak of?”
After a beat she takes in the massive Thirteen and adds: "And what is that?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
The door knocker is a curious thing; both Eerie's gentle taps and Thirteen's powerful hammering elicit the exact same noise. As you stand wondering at the nature of it, the door swings open without any sound of being unlocked.
Inside the open doorway stands a tiefling man who can only be described as incredibly beautiful to each of you. He has deep red skin, eyes that are all gold with no sclera, iris or pupil. A pair of ram's horns sprout from the top of his head and curl backwards before circling back to face you. He is adorned in deep green robes that seem to have some sort of pattern or scripture sewn all across their surface. He looks first and Virjor and then takes in the whole group.
"Maaaah, you must be the abbots boys, yes? A fine bunch indeed, all sorts of shapes and sizes. Elves both wood and high, a halfling, a gnome and...oh my"
His gaze settles on the imposing Thirteen, a flicker of some different kind of emotion shooting across his face before he continues: "A metal man, I've not seen your type for a while. Well, come on in then, let's get you ready for the quickest journey of your life. I am Calderax, your guide and chaperone during your brief visit here"
Calderax turns with a swish of his magnificent robes and heads off down a long corridor, beckoning over his shoulder for you to follow.
Caught up by the Tieflings unusual eyes that in many creatures would indicate blindness, she watches in awe as he takes command of the situation and follows eagerly inside.
Also entranced by the tiefling's appearance Virjor eagerly follows Calderax through the corridor. He starts to look around the corridor hoping to spy something of interest;
Perception Check: 10 (7+3)
His mind starts to wander: Baffled and amused by the little Gnome striding in front of him, Virjor is starting to realise this group he's been teamed-up with may not understand the proper way of things, and he may need to adjust some of his expectations.
That said, he sees no reason why he can't help them learn a thing or two, he'll be doing them a great service in fact, yes, I truly am a noble and open-minded wizard!
Carric is surprised at the tiefling's enchanting appearance. Though he has lived all his life in Neverwinter, the city never ceases to surprise him with the wonders it holds. He nods politely and follows their "guide and chaperone" down the hall. Outwardly, the wood elf appears quite calm, as if he is simply enjoying being here in this place, at this moment.
Feeling Virjor moving along behind her, she hesitates momentarily remembering that he is their employer after all and slows moving slightly to the side allowing the others to pass not quite wanted to be the one to speak once they arrive where they're going.
Max smiles and then follows the party inside. He is a little uneasy but thinks, “Here we go; another adventure!”
Calderax leads you through the winding corridors of the building, past wooden doors behind which you hear a variety of noises; laughter, anger and some pointed tutting. More than one small explosion is heard as you walk the corridors, although your guide does not seem alarmed.
(Virjor doesn’t spot anything of interest, although one of the rugs seems to be a fine Telzinki. The barbarians are walking on it!)
After about five minutes of walking you reach a staircase and follow Calderax down. It reaches a landing and then switches back to descend again, repeating this process for four flights. At the bottom is a small basement-type room with a single stone door facing the stairs.
Calderax stops at the door, turns to face you and then makes a gesture in the air while uttering an incantation. As he finishes, your hearing disappears with a faint ‘pop’ and the tiefling flashes a friendly smile. Something about his manner puts you at ease, and you soon see the reason for his spell casting; he turns back to the door and you see that he is talking. A distorted face appears in the stonework and converses with Calderax, then fades away. The door swings open…
With a wave of his hand he drops the silence spell and leads you into the room beyond the stone door, which closes behind you with a loud slam.
“Here we are then, the teleportation room”
The room is about eighty feet to a side, bare stone walls and cool but dry. On the floor in each corner is an elaborate circle of arcane runes and inscriptions, about ten feet in diameter.
Calderax starts to produce some items from pouches on his belt; a piece of luminous yellow chalk, a scrap of parchment, and then addresses your party, speaking to each of you in turn.
“I will shortly begin the teleportation spell. It will take about one minute to prepare, and then the portal will open. As soon as it does, you have six seconds to jump through or the portal will close and you will be stuck here. A second casting would be…expensive.
Once I begin there can be no interruptions, so: any questions?”
After this frustratingly long walk and having said a silent prayer to his god for the Telzinki rug, Virjor steps forward to address Calderax in a slightly self-important tone; "Good sir, I see secrecy is important and it's an impressive ward you have upon this door. However while I'm sure you didn't mean to be discourteous, I would ask that prior to any future incantations upon me or my hirelings, permission is seeked."
"That being said, my only question regards our return journey; do we require anything to come back via the portal at the receiving end after our business in Icewind Dale is concluded?"
Calderax looks crestfallen at Virjor's request. "Yes of course, I am so sorry; the silence was a routine precaution but I must remember to warn the magically illiterate. I understand that sudden arcane activity can startle the uneducated"
He flurries a bow, seemingly genuine in his apology.
Satisfied with his own apology, Calderax continues "Now, the return journey. As far as I am aware, we are providing a single journey. You are welcome to memorize the runes of one of our circles here in case you encounter a skilled wizard on your travels. They can then return you here"
Eerie remains silents though opens her mouth a dozen times to ask questions, quickly closing it before doing so. She wants to touch and look and stay in this place forever there were so many interesting things. In a constant struggle between curiosity and responsibility she follows. Explosions and animated conversations seemed normal hear, this was definitely a place of discovery.
As they continue, she notes Virjor's brief irritation and quick mouthing of a Prayer(?). She glances back at a rug they'd just walked over. Seeing that it is beautiful and looked very soft she wonders if perhaps he has a fondness of rugs or decorating? It was on the floor, so was it not meant to be walked on?
So much magic in this place, as Silence falls upon them, she recognizes it and looks quickly to see Calderax speaking with a door. She grins in delight as the Silence is lifted and the door seems agreeable to their entrance. Such a wonderous place! As he instructs them to watch for the portal to appear in a short 60 seconds she nods then shakes her head to the inquiry of questions. Eager for the experience.
Used to spending long stretches of time in silence, Carric is utterly unperturbed at the tiefling mage's use of the spell. He imagines that the wizards of the guild must protect their secret passwords and such. In truth, there are some places in his own monastery that require secret knowledge to enter, though the guardians are of a more mundane and wordly nature. Namely, other monks.
After hearing the instructions, he prepares himself to leap through the portal. He takes a long, deep breath and places his tear-marked mask over his face. Such a momentous occasion seems to call for it.
"I am ready," he says after others' questions are answered. "I am happy to go first, or last, or whenever."
Thirteen listens as the horned man waffles a lot, and then he goes deaf for a little while, then he rambles on some more.
He says out loud, "I kinda wish you would have left me deaf until we'd left your presence. I hope this trip doesn't take as long as your explanations Calderax."
He turns to the rest of the group. "I am happy to go through first, partly because I can take the brunt of any attack but mainly so I don't have to listen to him anymore." And he throws his thumb towards the tiefling.
Max steadies himself for his first trip through a magic portal. After one last super-quick check of his pack, blade, and crossbow, he nods that he is ready to go.
Virjor barks a laugh at Thirteen's blunt response, he's fascinated by this creature and appreciates his offer to go first.
"Calderax, thank you for your apology, indeed not everyone is as experienced in arcane as you and I."
Virjor confidently takes out a book & ink pen; "I Shall note the runes of this transportation circle, for I am undeniably a skilled wizard!" (he hopes he'll find someone at the other end to help figure out how these things work.) Deception Check: 19 (20! -1)
"Calderax, you may proceed!"
Eerie excited for the experience and trying to remember the runes of the circle but wonders if setting them up exactly the same might actually put them where they are going rather than here. As Virjor notes, she leans close ready for travel and whispers, "Might it seem that the runes for a return trip would be different? Or they might just take you there instead of here?" She wonders aloud with a curious look upon her face.
Calderax laughs at Thirteen’s heckling. “You’ll be home soon enough, metal man”
As Virjor starts to jot down the runes of the circle, Calderax begins drawing symbols on the ground with the exotic chalk. Sure enough, as soon as he finishes the last rune there is a loud tearing sound and a hole appears in the air, opening like the pupil of a massive cat’s eye until it is large enough to jump through.
As instructed, you jump through the portal; Thirteen first and then everyone else in quick succession.
The sensation is unsettling; your face shoots into the distance while your body drags behind for a second, then snaps forward to catch up. Your stomach is last to arrive.
Without realizing that your eyes had closed, you open them just as you land on a wooden floor in a large cold room. Thankful for the choice to have donned your winter gear before leaving, or scrabbling now to put it on, you take in your surroundings.
You are stood in or close to a circle of runes like those in the room you just left. The room itself seems to be a town hall of some sort, all wood beams and large grey stones. You are not alone…
A female human in warm but formal clothing stands looking at you, surprised but calm.
“Huh. Not had anyone come through there in some time. I’m guessing you’re not tourists?”
Happy to find her stomach again Eerie wishes for her mind to unjumble, working her queasy closed mouth into a smile as she dazedly looks over to Virjor to do the speaking while she assures herself that her recent meal will remain where it is.
Virjor is tickled pink by Eerie's deference towards him (a warm sense of leadership may be enough to stave off this harsh climate.)
He confidently steps forward to greet the human...realises his stomach is not altogether anchored and a little bile rushes upward, he nobally swallows it down and tries to not let the embarrassment show.
He forms his words as carefully and slowly as he can to ensure he is understood by this woman; "Tourists we are not, however any information on the town we find ourselves in would be most kind?"
"I presume we are in Bryn Shander, the capital of Ten Towns, if so, we urgently need to speak to Speaker Duvessa Shane."
Carric leaps through the portal, curious as to how it may affect him and how it works. He remains calm throughout, marveling that such a thing can even exist. As he arrives, he stands quietly, still masked while their new wizard friend talks. He takes a long, slow breath bringing his awareness to the feeling of nausea in his stomach. On an exhale, he breathes it out, quickly feeling centered and much better. He finds the cool air exhilirating.
He quickly notes that certain typical pleasantries have not been exchanged. He looks to the human woman. "Greetings and apologies," he says. "My name is Carric. I am from Neverwinter. My order has dispatched us to Ten Towns on an important mission."
The lady raises an eyebrow and smiles thinly at Virjor: “You’ve found her, and this is indeed Bryn Shander. Come for the snow, stay because of, well, the snow”
Duvessa nods at Carric’s introduction. “Well met, brother. I have heard of an order wearing your colours and that they can be trusted, although that’s about as much as I know if oyu will forgive my ignorance. You and your party are welcome here, but please tell me; what is this mission you speak of?”
After a beat she takes in the massive Thirteen and adds: "And what is that?"