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Battle 1

As the battle heats up, the two shadow-men take multiple hits. One lashes out at Grozzuk, its claws leaving a dull ache in his arm disproportionate to the small scratch. The other tears apart the summoned fey spirit, the feel of its sudden demise imprinting on Cinder's mind.

Go: Gamil

[sblock=mechanics]Cinder: Summons, moves, hits
Lorion: hits(radiant vulnerability 5 triggers), misses, teleports
Grozzuk: Moved to N1, misses

???1 claw attack vs Grozzuk: 25 vs AC hits for 18 damage, and Grozzuk loses 1 healing surge

???2 claw attack vs spirit: 25 vs AC for 16 damage, spirit "dies" and Cinder takes 8 damage.[/sblock]

[sblock=map][/sblock]

[sblock=map info]The violet squares represent the anomaly(color chosen for visibility). Who knows what would happen if you touched it?

Trees are fairly small, and will not block line of sight or effect.[/sblock]

[sblock=enemy info]Enemies 1-2: These appear to be creatures of solid shadow, roughly in the shape of a man.

Enemy 3: This appears to be a withered, nearly skeletal figure draped in a tattered robe. Having no lower body, it hovers above the ground.[/sblock]

[sblock=status]22 Lorion HP: 43/43 HS: 7/7 Def: 21/15/19/20, Shield
17 ??? 1 HP: -52/?? Bloodied, dazed
17 ??? 2 HP: -4/??
15 Gamil HP: 51/51 HS: 8/8 Def: 20/15/21/17, Low slash
14 ??? 3 HP: ??/??
10 Cinder HP: 43/51 HS: 9/9 Def: 20/17/18/19
08 Grozzuk HP: 47/65 HS: 10/11 Def: 21/21/14/15[/sblock]

Slipping past the guard of the shadow entity, Softstep jams his dagger straight into its torso and rips downward. Let's see if you bleed the same. He brings his blades up once more, ready to parry any riposte.

[sblock=Mechanics]Move: Walk to P, 14.

Standard: Opening Move on ??? 1.
Attack: 15(1d20) +16 = 31
Damage: 4(2d4) +10(2d8) +8 = 22
Hits AC 31 for 22 damage. Gamil gains +6 to AC and Reflex TSONT.[/sblock]
[sblock=Combat Block]Gamil Softstep

Male Goblin Rogue 6
Languages: Common, Goblin
Age: 36
Height: 3'7"
Weight: 50 lbs.

Speed: 6
Initiative: +8
Passive Perception: 18
Passive Insight: 18
Senses: Low-light Vision

AC: 20 +6
Fort: 15 +6
Reflex: 21 +6
Will: 17 +6
HP: 51/51
Bloodied: 25
Surge Value: 12
Surges left: 8/8
Action Points: 1

MBA: +8 vs AC, 1d4+1
RBA: +13 vs AC, 1d4+6

Resistances:
None.

Vulnerabilities:
None.

Saves:
None.

Active Effects:
+6 to AC and Reflex (Opening move)

Powers:

Goblin Tactics
Sly Flourish
Piercing Strike

Second Wind []
Takedown Strike []
Opening Move [X]
Sneak in the Attack []
Low Slash [X]
Living Shield []

Bloodbath []
Handspring Assault []

Consumables:

None.

Important Features:

[SHOW]

First Strike: Gain CA against any creates that have not acted yet.

Artful Dodger: +4 to AC versus OAs.

Light Blade Expertise: Gain +1 to damage with weapon attacks with a light blade on creatures granting CA.

Backstabber: Use d8s instead of d6s for Sneak Attack.

Ankle Biter: Gain +1 feat bonus to damage rolls against creatures Medium or larger.

Nimble Blade: Gain a +1 bonus to attacks with a light blade on targets granting CA.

Two-Weapon Fighting: Gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls when wielding two weapons.

Feature:

Equipped Items

[SHOW]

Code: Select all

Main Hand: Dagger
Offhand:   Dagger
Body:      Leather Armor

Head:      ---
Neck:      ---
Arms:      ---
Hands:     ---
Waist:     ---
Feet:      ---
Symbol:    ---
Ki Focus:  ---
Ring:      ---
Ring:      ---
Tattoo:    ---

Boon:      ---

[/sblock]

Battle 1

Gamil dances around the solid shadow, and guts it with his dagger. Shadowy shapes that poorly resemble internal organs pour out before the entire figure dissolves into mist.

Seeing its companion fall, the floating figure retreats back through the anomaly. The remaining shadow looks at you with frenzied eyes. It is clearly ready to fight to the death, even without real hope of victory.

Go: Cinder, Grozzuk, Lorion

[sblock=mechanics]Gamil: kills ??? 1

??? 3: Moves back through the anomaly

If you guys would like, we can assume that you easily defeat the remaining shadow.[/sblock]

[sblock=map][/sblock]

[sblock=map info]The violet squares represent the anomaly(color chosen for visibility). Who knows what would happen if you touched it?

Trees are fairly small, and will not block line of sight or effect.[/sblock]

[sblock=enemy info]Enemies 1-2: These appear to be creatures of solid shadow, roughly in the shape of a man.

Enemy 3: This appears to be a withered, nearly skeletal figure draped in a tattered robe. Having no lower body, it hovers above the ground.[/sblock]

[sblock=status]22 Lorion HP: 43/43 HS: 7/7 Def: 21/15/19/20, Shield
17 ??? 1 HP: -52/?? Ded.
17 ??? 2 HP: -4/??
15 Gamil HP: 51/51 HS: 8/8 Def: 20/15/21/17, Low slash
14 ??? 3 HP: ??/?? Bailed.
10 Cinder HP: 43/51 HS: 9/9 Def: 20/17/18/19
08 Grozzuk HP: 47/65 HS: 10/11 Def: 21/21/14/15[/sblock]

[sblock=OOC]Assuming we can overpower the remaining enemy[/sblock]

Gamil cleans his blades in haste, making a face of disgust at the strange residue on them from the figures. What... did I just kill?

Turning to his allies, he looks them over with worried eyes. "Everyone good?"

Cinder breathes a sigh of relief as the creatures either fall or retreat. At Gamil's question she gives a slight smile, responding, "yes, they didn't come near me." Once certain that everything is safe, she steps forward to inspect the corpses of the remaining creatures, curious to see if they are anything she recognizes from her travels or studies.

[sblock=Mechanics/OOC]I will make a monster knowledge check, just let me know which one I should roll. If that is not something you can tell me, I will just roll any that seem reasonable.

Arcana: 24[/sblock]

Lorion nods at the goblin's question, glad that the strange creatures were dispatched so easily. Having noticed the floating spirit escape, he says, "We shouldn't stand idle around here longer than we need to. Who knows if more of those things could come out of that portal?"

The party dispatch the remaining shadow and shake themselves off fairly quickly.
As the dead shadows dissolve within a few seconds of being killed, you soon find the clearing quiet again. The anomaly looms over you. Is it your imagination, or is it a little bigger?

Battle 1 won. Short rest.
[sblock=ooc]Head back to Rhapsody, or more business here? Or other ideas?[/sblock]

[sblock=Gamil]A sort of greasy, black film lingers on your blades for a minute or two, but it soon fades.[/sblock]

[sblock=Cinder]Your hesitation costs you a close look, as the shadow dissolves before you get within reach, however, you recognize some aspects of these foes.
They seemed to be the ghosts of humanoid mortals. With time after death, a ghost decays spiritually, appearing less as it did in life and looking more monstrous instead. This change in appearance accompanies a change in behavior, and as such you don't have any clear idea what they would have been like in life, you aren't even sure if they were male or female, human, orc, or anything. Their solid forms are far and away the strangest thing about them. The best explanation you can come up with, based on what you know about magic and spirits in general, is that they may have taken power from the anomaly, and used it to briefly make themselves solid. This would take a good chunk of power, and would eat it up quickly, but forming their "bodies" in the shape of their spirits wouldn't take much skill. You've never actually heard of anyone doing this before, though.[/sblock]

"We can't just... leave that here, though," Cinder responds, quite alarmed by the nature of the strange magical anomaly, and the fact it seems to have inexplicably grown in size. "Not that I can think of any way to get rid of it. Had you heard of anything like this before in your studies?" she asks Lorion, knowing his education was much different than her own.

Gamil cocks his head at the top of the anomaly, swearing it has grown larger since he last estimated. Only one place to go, he thinks.

"Think we should head in? Check this thing out ourselves?" the goblin asks, edging closer to the strange formation. "If those things were able to move through this, then maybe we can."

Lorion's eyes widen, out of fear and out of curiosity, as the anomaly appears to have grown in size before them. At the dryad's question, the elf replies, "Sort of. One of our teachers once let us view an active portal once, but it required a lot of power and equipment, and a very skilled mage. And it definitely wasn't nearly as large as this is," Shaking his head nervously as he glances at the anomaly, he adds, "I didn't even know something like this was possible at this scale."

At the goblin's daring comment, Lorion replies, "Those things were also already dead when they came out. I'm not sure the living play by the same rules."

Gamil harrumphs, irritated to not know anything about the portal magic his ally describes. Cankerstack's mages were too busy focused on trying to turn stones to gold, and he never got anything more from them than vague answers when questioned.

Little bit of experimentin' never hurt anyone. Picking up a rock, the goblin gives it a good toss into the strange anomaly before him.

It seems to flicker and twist as it passes the shimmering border, and lands on the ground on the other side. You don't hear a thud.

"No sound permeates," Gamil concludes. He turns to Cinder. "Any chance you can get one of your... root-men to get through there? Would they do that?"

"I suppose," Cinder says, intrigued by the goblin's suggestion, though a bit worried at what may happen to any spirit involved in the process. She focuses her energies and conjures forth another creature on the ground near the anomaly, silently commanding it to move towards the strange energies and pass through it. Here goes.

The bundle of leaves, animated by a minor spirit, ambles toward the anomaly. It presses against the veil, and seems to pass through, but as soon as it reaches the other side, Cinder's connection to it slips, and the leaves scatter.

Grozzuk considered the situation. "I have to wonder..." He said out loud before grabbing a medium length stick and shoving it through the portal.

Grozzuk has to fight down his nerves to do it, but he shoves a stick into the wavering energy. It's form appears to twist and glint, and Grozzuk can feel it tug slightly at his hand, this way and that, but when he pulls it back, it seems whole.

Cinder watches nervously as Grozzuk draws closer, her worry only increases as he shoves the small stick through the... thing. When it comes back out in one piece, she lets out a sigh of relief, though her anxiety does not fully subside. "Does it seem any different than before?" she asks the man, not sure if she wants to know the answer.

He stared at it in amazement, looking between it and the portal. "Not that I'm an expert in such things... but it seems just normal." He looked back at Lorion, wondering if he could see anything different about it.

Lorion rolls his eyes at his companions shoving various objects through the anomaly, though he appreciates the curious within them. As long as these experiments don't get us killed. As the dragonborn examines the stick and looks his way, the elf approaches and examines the anomaly-exposed stick for anything unusual.

[sblock=Mechanics]Arcana to detect any lingering magical effects on the stick: 9(1d20) +15 = 24

Perception to see any differences in the stick I guess?: 8(1d20) +11 = 19[/sblock]

It's a stick. It does not appear to be damaged. Some of the raw mana clings to it for a few moments after it is removed from the anomaly, but it quickly disperses.

Lorion shrugs as he examines the stick. "It seems normal to me. A little leftover mana on it, but otherwise normal."

"Should we..." Cinder begins, not sure how much she wants to make the suggestion or not. She knows in the past her curiosity has gotten the worst of her, putting her in her current predicament. But that was curiosity for curiosity's sake, and this is to aid others who may be in harm's way. She eventually deems the risk worth it, and finishes, "should we try to go in?"

"Already on it," Gamil says, moving toward the rift. "Gimme time to make sure it's safe." The goblin grits his teeth, eyes darting all around the strange, over-bright display before him as he walks. Here goes nothing.

Gamil steps into the rift. As it closes around him, first the world melts and swirls into a roiling maelstrom of reality, then Gamil himself joins it. All his senses blur into each other. Gamil can taste the green tones of his skin, see the chirping of the birds in the trees, and hear his own memories as though his life were one long orchestral composition. As abruptly as it begins, it is over, and Gamil finds himself standing in a grassy field.

In some ways, the field is familiar. The grass looks like grass, the sun is in the same spot in the sky. But it feels very different. The too-intense colors of everything seem to pop out at you. The rays of the sun seem to beat down upon you with a vengeance. Even the air feels thick like water, though you can still breathe.

You don't see any sign of the spirit that ran through. It must have kept running. But without the shimmer blocking your sight, you can see that the structure in the distance is some kind of castle or palace. Its outline is irregular, as though it is partially collapsed. It is too far away to tell much more.

Gamil franctically rubs his hands on his arms, face, feeling for any strange effects that might have ailed him from crossing over. I... I think I'm good. He sniffs the air, feels the wind. Everything looks so clear. So vibrant, he considers. So... wrong?

The goblin spins, looking behind him through the portal for his allies that are awaiting his signal.

Cinder looks nervously through the portal, watching Gamil's reaction to stepping inside. When it looks like he is fine, she steps slightly forward, but pauses again. She turns to face Lorion and Grozzuk, hoping that one of the others will step through before her.

Grozzuk watched Gamil go through, and was interested in what would happen. He quickly stepped through the portal and looked around, wondering what would happen. He was surprised when he realized he was perfectly fine. He scanned the horizon, looking for danger, or anything out of the ordinary. "Something seems not right."

[sblock=Mechanics]9(1d20) +8 = 17[/sblock]

Lorion breathes a sigh of relief as the goblin appears to be fine after having crossed through the strange portal. Seeing the dragonborn follow in tow, the elf looks to Cinder and says, "Well I guess we'd better go too. I'm sure we'll be fine." Waiting for the worrying dryad to prepare herself, Lorion makes his way toward the anomaly and steps through.

He is bewildered by the unusual sensations and overwhelming colors on the other side. However, these fall by the wayside as his curiosity grows about the mysterious castle.

Cinder nods to Lorion at his encouragement, giving the elf a slight smile as she watches him go through. Seeing that all of her companions make it to the other side of the portal with seemingly no negative effects, she braces herself for a moment, before going in as well.

There is a moment of panic as the sense seem to merge, but when the feeling dissipates Cinder is left somewhat bewildered. Looking around, she sees that all seems fine, apart from the oddness of the entire situation. This place feels unnatural, she thinks to herself, though she cannot quite place exactly how. She looks off into the distance, noticing the structure before her, before remaking, "that definitely does not seem like something the fey would have made."

You all get through the anomaly and regroup without incident. The most active thing you hear is the buzzing of some stray bug on the breeze, there doesn't seem to be anything waiting to ambush you. However, even in the few moments you've been here, you can feel the sun unrelentingly bearing down upon you. It's soon apparent that you won't be able to safely remain in the open for long.

Gamil begins to sweat under the sun, wiping his brow with a gloved hand. "There's a building up ahead. Let's scout it out, and then get back out of whatever this is," he suggests, already moving toward the strange structure he's found.

"Agreed. I don't think we should spend more time than we have to in here," Lorion replies to the goblin as they begin approaching the strange structure. "There may be some kind of prolonged consequences with this much exposure to mana. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not end up with like a third arm or something."

"Or horns..." Cinder mutters, thinking back to her last encounter with a strange source of magic. Let's hope this has no connection to the Brambles and that strange woman, she thinks as she follows after the others towards the structure. All the while she keeps a look out around her to see if she notices anything out of the ordinary.

[sblock=Mechanics]Perception to watch for oddities/enemies: 28[/sblock]

The party resolves to check out the strange structure ahead, and moves to do so. A well-worn footpath through the field makes it fairly quick and simple. As you approach, you begin to realize that the structure is an old temple, built large but less ornately than most are built today. The collapse in the structure appears recent, and people can be seen scurrying around building the beginnings of scaffolding to try and repair the damage. What earlier appeared as patches of purple and red through the shimmering veil can now be made out as pools of purple and red sludge marring the grass in the area. The color and rank odor remind you directly of your nightmare about Balfour.

Even as you draw quite close to the temple, no one calls out in greeting, or even seems to notice you at all. The doors are open.

"This smells all wrong," Gamil whispers, his eyes narrowed at the strange pools of sludge. "Move on forward. I'll scout around the side in case these workers aren't friendly."

Slipping toward the nearest brush, copse, or other cover, the goblin moves quietly ahead to the left. Moving clockwise around the tower, he watches the people to get a better look at them. Who are they? Where are we?

[sblock=Mechanics]Stealth to stay hidden: 15(1d20) +15 = 30[/sblock]

[sblock=Gamil]You creep around in the greenery and no one seems to notice you. Once you look past the intensity of reality that everything seems to have here, the people seem to fall into two groups: workers and temple acolytes. The workers are preparing materials and scaffolding to repair the damage to the temple. They are mostly human, with a few orcs. Their clothing seems to show Kalgenian and Cydonian influences, and would probably not stand out among the humans that come to the borders of your homeland to trade. The temple acolytes you see are trying to deal with the non-structural damage and mess around their temple. They are also mostly human, though you spot a couple elves and a dragonborn among them. They wear simplistic robes of white and light blue. You aren't sure what sect they come from or who they worship, but Lar and Ostea come to mind, assuming they even follow the same gods as in your world. You overhear a few words from the workers, and at first the resounding quality of the sound makes them unintelligible, but after a moment you realize they are speaking Common.[/sblock]

Grozzuk took a cautious lead, walking forward towards the temple. "Who do we think lives here?" Grozzuk let out a low growl as he walked forward.

"I doubt anyone would live here, other than perhaps a few priests or clerics," Cinder says, following behind Grozzuk at a safe distance. "It looks like some sort of temple. Those people up ahead are probably worshipers of whatever god it is devoted to," she continues, finding it a bit odd that no one seems to pay them any mind. They don't seem very observant.

"Do you think a god is responsible for whatever this strange anomaly is? Or maybe something more sinister..." Lorion says as they approach the temple, its devotees seemingly oblivious to their presence. What's going on here? You'd think these people would have noticed us.

[sblock=Mechanics]Arcana to see if there's an entrancement spell or something going on here: 14(1d20) +15 = 29

Reminds me of the entranced people on Solstheim in Skyrim: Dragonborn[/sblock]

[sblock=Lorion]There does not appear to be any active spell at work here. You can sense strong residual infernal energy from the pools of sludge, but otherwise, now that you're away from the portal-like hole, mana levels are normalizing, too. Whatever is causing the difference in how reality feels here, it doesn't seem to be tied to background mana levels.

Looking at the people around, the temple, they don't seem particularly entranced. They're acting and reacting more or less normally to each other and their surroundings, just not to you.[/sblock]

Glancing between the sludge pools and his allies, Lorion says, "These sludge pools definitely have residual infernal magic. I don't have a good feeling about this place." Could Balfour be behind this? I hope not. I'd rather not live that dream.

Gamil watches the strange people closely, trying to glean anything from their conversations. Are we... are we in my world? They look familiar.

[sblock=Mechanics]Perception to try and listen to the people: 6(1d20) +8 = 14[/sblock]

Cinder's typical neutral expression turns into a frown at Lorion's words. Infernal magic... she thinks, looking down to the ground, eyeing the pools mentioned. If not the Stranger, certainly there is nothing good going on here. "We should investigate as quickly as possible and leave," she chimes in. "No good ever comes from infernal magic."

[sblock=Gamil]You only catch a few words here and there. You glean that the repairs are likely to be expensive, as there is considerable structural damage and they don't think they'll be able to reuse any of the fallen materials.[/sblock]

Gamil slinks back to the others, using the same way he came from. Approaching in near-silence, the goblin looks to Cinder and the others. "I think this portal brought us somewhere else on our plane. Those folks speak Common, but I can't place the accents or where we are."

He looks ahead at the workers. "Let's make contact. See what they were up against. Where we are. And... when we are."

Grozzuk nodded briefly, continuing to walk towards the temple. "Let's move." He stood proudly as he walked, trying to exude an aura of confidence.

"Strange," Cinder responds to Gamil. Though still nervous about the infernal energies at play, she nods at Grozzuk's suggestion, following after the man at a safe distance. She keeps her guard up, watching to her sides as she moves in case whatever they are approaching is some sort of elaborate demon trap.

The party moves forward up the shallow steps toward the temple's entrance. Grozzuk and Gamil take the lead, walking up to a trio of acolytes coming out of the temple. The three talk amongst themselves softly, not taking notice of the party. Gamil barely jumps out of the way as he realizes they won't stop for him. Grozzuk does not, and to his surprise, a man half his size walks right into him. The dragonborn is tossed back as though struck, only his instinctual good footing keeping him from falling over. The acolytes keep walking, nothing in their stride or posture betraying any recognition that a collision even took place.

"It's like they ain't even here," Gamil breathes, taken aback. "No. We. We ain't even here."

"Any of you ever seen anything like this before?"