Druuv continues to try to pull herself out of the doorway, and gets on her hands and knees, crawling out to try to see Nym.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The Mystery of the Black Hole in the High Flying Hotel
"Nym!" Druuv calls out, frightened. "Is that you? I could use some help in here!"
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Nym blinks, looking at Druuv flailing about on the floor. She helps Druuv to her feet asking, "What exactly are you doing?" She chuckles a bit at the strangeness of the situation.
ReplyDeleteAm I able to see Nym? Or is there just a lighter patch at the door? Please describe the situation.
ReplyDeleteThat note was for Whittaker.
ReplyDeleteAs Druuv's eyes adjust to the bright light she sees Nym in the doorway. Before she has time to finish climbing out Nym reaches down and helps her to her feet.
ReplyDeletethe idea I was going with was that you weren't fully able to see things yet because your eyes were still adjusting to the light. I am trying to respond to all of you and edit my thesis, so I do apologize for filling out all the details I should
I'm not upset. Just a simple request for info. :) Thanks. You're doing awesome at the multitasking.
ReplyDeleteAs Druuv sees Nym, she wraps her up in a big hug, which is a bit awkward as Druuv's arms wrap them both up twice over. Druuv is shaking slightly, still trying to get over the idea that was creeping into her mind that she might be lost forever in a land of nothingness. Darkness she could handle. Nothingness, though... She shuddered at the thought.
Nym frowns. "Are you alright?" she asks Druuv.
ReplyDelete"I'll be fine now that you're here!" Druuv said as she clung to Druuv's knees.
ReplyDeleteUnfazed by the goblin wrapping herself around her legs, Nym looks around the room. She notes someone's been rummaging through things and asks, "What happened in here?"
ReplyDeleteit is still all black... you can't see any of your items in the room still
ReplyDelete"AH! I COMPLETELY FORGOT!" Druuv yelps, quickly trying to unwrap herself from Nym's legs. "Is he still here? There was a man rummaging through the stuff in here. He was standing about there," she gestured with a wild arm, "When everything went black! Is he there?" She still sounded panicked.
ReplyDeleteMy comment still stands, if Nym says anything about the blackness.
ReplyDeleteDo my hands disappear in the blackness when I try to point?
ReplyDeleteAs Druuv sticks her hand into the blackness to point her hand seemingly disappears.
ReplyDelete"I had a frog in there somewhere too!" Druuv says excitedly.
ReplyDeleteYour comment disappeared. I got the email, but don't see it anywhere here... Weird... Did you delete it?
ReplyDeleteit is there on my screen... talathel, you can walk in on this anytime you want to... darvin too, but I suspect that nick isn't around right now
ReplyDeleteNym's breathing is slow and quiet as she peers intently into the darkness. She firmly grabs Druuv by the upper arm and pulls her back from the room.
ReplyDeleteKnowledge (arcana): (1d20+4)
19+4
23
I'm playing a game with this post. Its called "Take sentences out of context." With frogs and hands disappearing into darkness, its a most enjoyable game indeed.
ReplyDeleteIt is an advanced form of illusionary shadows. It is far above any shadow illusion than could be cast by a wizard, sorcerer, or bard.
ReplyDeleteThe post showed up now. Weirdness.
ReplyDelete"Will you help me find my frog?" Druuv asked, looking up pathetically at Nym.
Can I hear/tell if anyone's still in the room?
ReplyDeletePerception: (1d20)+5
4+5
9
As you listen you can neither smell, see, or hear, into the room.
ReplyDeletean important element I forgot to add... illusions are founded upon belief, and those can be stopped through an act of will, you know this from your magical training and is why I didn't let Druuv do a will save check
When Druuv asked for help looking for her frog, Nym looked down at Pipper, over to Druuv, and back at the nothingness in the room. She knew she wouldn't know what to do if Pipper was in that room.
ReplyDelete"Go back by Miss Stake, Pipper," she said. The fox tried to protest, but Nym sent him off.
She then turned to the darkened room and took several deep breaths to calm herself. "The darkness isn't real, Druuv. Will it away," she said, half to Druuv and half to herself. Nym concentrated and repeated to herself that this was only an illusion...
Will save: (1d20)+3
18+3
21
could I get a will save from Druuv as well?
ReplyDeleteIt's not there? Really? Druuv closes her eyes really hard, and then opens them again to look.
ReplyDeleteDruuv's Will Check: Roll(1d20)+4:
16,+4
Total:20
The darkness fluctuates, seemingly growing and enlarging out of the room toward Nym and Druuv. After a moment, it vanish and light refills the room.
ReplyDeleteSlowly Nym moves into the room, looking for any sign of the illusion creator.
ReplyDeletePerception: (1d20)+5
8+5
13
The bed sheets are all flung aside, as are the few items that were lying about. However, there is no sign of the illusion creator.
ReplyDeleteDruuv looks around anxiously for the frog and the man.
ReplyDeleteThe frog is sitting happily in the middle of the room. Inside its small frog brain it had been wondering why Druuv was crawling about and what all the fuss had been.
ReplyDelete"Virmilde!" Druuv exclaims, and then happily picks up the frog, setting it on her head.
ReplyDeleteNym glares into the room, "Right..." she says to herself. "You stay here!" she tells Druuv as she runs to the front desk to talk to Miss Stake. Only a few rooms away, she finds Pipper under a table waiting for her. "You were supposed to go to the desk," Nym scolded. Pipper rubbed on her legs, looking worried, and she picked up the fox pup smiling. "Bad puppy," she says teasingly, tucking him under her arm as she runs toward the front desk.
ReplyDeleteMiss Stake sits quietly behind the desk, seemingly zoning out.
ReplyDelete"Hi Nym. Are you enjoying your stay?"
"...Yes," replies Nym, noting she doesn't seem like she's seen anything unusual. "Has anyone you didn't know come through here?" she asked.
ReplyDeletePursing her lips she shakes her head. "No, about an hour ago or so you all left, then Darvin left, then Druuv returned and then you returned."
ReplyDeleteNot willing to just sit quietly in a room in which she was just attacked in, Druuv walks down the hallway, arriving in time to hear Nym ask Miss Stake, "Has anyone you didn't know come through here?".
ReplyDeleteHearing Miss Stake's response, Druuv "Of course she didn't! I left her the button in case she did! I would have TOLD you if you'd asked!"
*edit* Nym was suprised to see Druuv on her heals. She nodded to Druuv, waved her to follow, and climbed down from the inn with Pipper on her back. "It's not safe here. We need to find Talathel and Darvin. Where should we look?" Nym frowned as she looked around herself.
ReplyDeleteDoes Druuv know where Hii Gnowe is located?
ReplyDeleteno, he knows of him, but not where hii lives
ReplyDeleteOkay. Thanks.
ReplyDelete"I was attacked in the room by a man who made a really good illusion!" Druuv told Miss Stake.
Druuv then turned to respond to Nym. "Let's get out of the building, at least!" Druuv grabbed Nym by the hand and was halfway to the door before Nym had any time to respond.
After about an hour of walking around the town with Guybrush, Darvin was ready to return to the inn. Guybrush had told Darvin all about his past. Including that his former captain, who had abandoned him, used to sell used ships and was very fond of plaid jackets. As the time passed, Darvin kept thinking about what had just happened in the room with Nym. He knew that things would change, but he hoped that it was for the better. He and Guybrush headed back to the inn and found Nym and Druuv standing next to the ladder looking rather flustered.
ReplyDeleteNym looked relieved to see Darvin and smiled half-halfheartedly. She looked around to make sure no one was watching them and then whispered to Darvin, "Do you know where Talathel is? We have a... problem." Her brow was furrowed as she looked around again.
ReplyDelete(posting for nick)
ReplyDelete"I don't... I have just been on a walk with guybrush." He said pointing at this monkey (no... not that monkey, the monkey on his shoulder).
"I am sure he will be back soon though. What happened?"
Druuv looked up at him. "I WAS ATTACKED! The room went black, and I couldn't see or hear or feel anything. Even the floor didn't taste like it should! It was AWFUL!"
ReplyDeleteDarvin looked quizzically at Druuv.
ReplyDelete"The floor didn't taste like it should? What should floors taste like?"
"LIKE FLOORS! You know, with the dust and the dirt, and the wood or thatch or dirt taste!" Druuv exclaimed, exasperated. She then folded her arms and gave Darvin a cross look. "You explain it." She nodded to Nym. "Obviously he doesn't take me seriously."
ReplyDelete"SHHHHH!!" scolds Nym. "What if it's still around and hears you?!" She frowned at Druuv, but then instantly felt bad for it. She had, after all, just been attacked by a shadowcaster. "We wouldn't want it to come back again," she explained, hoping Druuv wouldn't feel too hurt.
ReplyDeleteNym turned to Darvin, "A shadowcaster was in our room. I don't know what it was looking for, but our things have been rummaged through. I don't think we're safe here. We should leave the village so we're not so easy to find..." Nym looked around, "We really need to find Talathel..." Suddenly a grin spread across Nym's face, and she looked from Darvin to Druuv and back again. "You don't suppose Miss Stake might know where he's gone off to?"
Darvin shrugged. "He said he was going to Hii Gnowe's house, but I have no idea where that is.""
ReplyDeleteThen how the hell am I supposed to make my dramatic entrance?
ReplyDeleteTime for some good o'l fashioned ret-conning.
"Don't mention Miss Stake..." Talathel said, realizing just then how appropriate her name was. "Whats all the commotion about? I can hear Druuv from two blocks away."
sometimes I get the feeling that you guys don't like to talk to each other...
ReplyDeleteTalathel pulls out his kama and plunges it into Darvin's neck.
ReplyDelete"ANSWER ME!"
Nym looked on shocked, Druuv contemplated the seasonings he would use on his newest batch of fried chicken. Guybrush, ironically, lit a cigar.
But, not really.
Druuv turned her pout on Talathel. "Well, if you can hear me from two blocks away, you should already know that there's a man who wants to kill me just for trying to protect your stuff. Hmph!" For emphasis, she re-folded her arms.
ReplyDeleteNym turned and started walking out of the town. "Come on," she said over her shoulder to the crew.
ReplyDeleteTalathel looks at Druuv skeptically but then figured that in this bizarre world the goblin was probably telling the truth.
ReplyDelete"I take it if we're standing out here, the man got away?"
Druuv, seeing Nym heading away, said, "We'll explain later. Come on."
ReplyDeleteAnd then Druuv walked after Nym, racing a bit to keep up.
ReplyDeleteTalathel simply shrugged his shoulders and followed the rest of Killink to destinations unknown.
ReplyDelete"Also, if any one cares to know, I may have found some ways for us to go home."
Darvin looked at Guybrush and shrugged. Then he followed the others.
ReplyDeleteAfter relaying the events in the room, putting special emphasis on the terrifying nothingness she experienced, Druuv asked, "Nym, where are we going?"
ReplyDelete"Someplace we're not expected to be; someplace we can't be watched without knowing it." Nym continued her brisk walk out of the village.
ReplyDeleteTalathel instinctively reached for his flask. It sadly, did not make the trip.
ReplyDeleteOnce the group had left the village, Nym carefully surveyed their surroundings for any unwelcome listeners. She heard only the breeze in the grass and the rustling and calls of a few animals.
ReplyDeletePerception: (1d20)+5
19+5
24
Once satisfied that they hadn't been followed and were not being watched (at least directly), Nym turned to her companions. Her mind had wandered back to Thay without her permission, causing the carefully suppressed violent paranoid part of her to surface. As Nym surveyed their surroundings, her mind wandered back to the last time she'd felt like this - like a cornered animal - when Beranhond had innocently asked her about her friend's remains...
Finally she turned back to the others, an angry glint in her eyes as she looked at each of her companions in turn. Pipper had plastered himself against her leg, afraid. Nym crossed her arms over her chest and said in an uncharacteristically forceful voice, "Druuv was attacked by a shadowcaster when she caught him rummaging through our things. They are interested in us for some reason, and I think it is not in our best interest to let them find out directly."
Nym frowned as she looked over the grass again and said, "I learned that they're masters of illusion, which can be dangerous if you don't know you've been attacked or don't know what to do. If you encounter a shadowcaster, you must keep your whits about you, or you'll easily be killed or worse." Nym paused for a moment to glance at her companions. "You must will their attacks away; you must be stronger than their magic," she continued, an unreadable expression on her face.
She looked back into the grass, "We're in a dream plane. Our bodies and friends are safe in our own world, but our minds are trapped here. I do not know how to return, but we'll need to discover this. I don't think it's safe for us to remain any longer than necessary since the shadowcasters have taken an interest in us." She looked at Talathel and asked bluntly, "What did you learn from the one you visited?"
The small group stopped in a small clearing of the pink and purple forest. It didn't remind Nym of the section of the forest near the elf lair, but at least it didn't seem hostile. The village, naturally, was not in sight. However, the dark tower of the shadowcasters loomed over the trees.
ReplyDelete"I did not meet with a shadowcaster. I met with Professor Hii Gnowe, who is a man-sized owl. He gave us three options more or less to go home. We can either use the gates that are controlled by the shadowcasters or the one the monks have at the monastery here. Those require attacks and fighting. He also told me about someone that may be able to help us build our own gate and get home that way."
ReplyDeleteNym stared off toward the dark tower. "What are these gates? How does one build them?"
ReplyDeleteDoes Druuv know of any gates? I don't have Knowledge: Local, so I can't do that check, but she might have seen one or something... Or she might know something about them. I don't know. I could do Knowledge: Spellcraft
ReplyDeleteDarvin looked at both of them, sighed, and said, "Why do I get the sneaking suspicion that we will have to fight our way out of here. Honestly, I don't really care how we do it, but I would like to get home."
ReplyDeleteDruuv spoke up, "I've heard of portals like that before, but I've never seen one, much less heard of someone building one, other than the shadowcasters."
ReplyDelete"Gnowe himself did not know how to build a gate, but he told me that there's someone in a village north of here that might be able to help us.," he turned to Darvin. "Given that these shadowcasters are powerful, I think the less we fight, the better off we'll be. "
ReplyDeleteNym continued to stare at the dark tower in the distance. She smiled when Davin declared they'd have to fight their way through this. "He's rather hot-headed, isn't he?" she thought. Still smiling, she turned back to her companions, the angry part of her gone when thoughts of Darvin and her friends pushed Thay far out of her thoughts.
ReplyDeleteShe asked Talathel, "What about the monk's gate? Monks tend to be fairly reasonable and helpful people, from my experience." She grinned, raised an eyebrow, and rested her hands on her hips. "With a few exceptions, of course," she said looking mischievously at Talathel. She cocked her pretty head to the side like a little bird, continuing to grin sassily at Talathel.
Talathel chuckled. "I have been reasonable...unless it comes to rum!" He laughed for a bit, enjoying the moment of levity.
ReplyDelete"Considering that Miss Stake gave me a cold stare when I told her I was a monk, and then asked me if I had escaped, I don't know if these monks will help us much."
He thought about it for a bit.
"This idea might seem completely absurd, but given what we've gone through as of late, I don't care. Would it be possible to send one of our animal friends to do a little spy mission to figure out if the monks are trustworthy?"
I could allow that; however, I think that sending an animal companion in on its own into a possibly hostile environment would require a successful skill check to convince the animal. Also, you can't just send it on its own to travel hundreds of miles, but would have to go at least within site of the monastery.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, Druuv chimed in. "We could go talk to the Goblins, too! I'm sure the elders know something that could help you." She looked at Nym, and said, with a wink, "I could put in a good word for you, you know. People like me there."
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize the monastery was that far away. I was just thinking, we (at least Nym) can talk to the animals fairly easily, so maybe one of them can go check things out and be a bit more conspicuous.
ReplyDeleteeveryone can understand the animals in this world. In general Professor Gnowe said that it would take about two days to get to the other village and about a week to get to the monastery.
ReplyDeleteAfter speaking, Druuv looked around hopefully at everyone else, a bit afraid they would decide to try assaulting the monks or the shadowcasters.
ReplyDelete"Professor Gnowe also mentioned a group of half-elves that may be helpful. I think we have our options before we have to resort to battle."
ReplyDeleteNym picked Pipper up and scratched behind his ears. "So we have a number of options. We can go to the village to the north, talk to the goblins, find the half-elves, or apparently fight either the monks or the shadowcasters in hopes of getting through their gates." Nym looked around uncertain where anything but the shadowcaster tower was from them, "Do we have a map?"
ReplyDeleteOh wise and noble DM, Does Talathel have that map from Hii Gnowe, or did he just see it and memorize it? Could I draw it? And where are the gnomes?
ReplyDelete"I think, since none of us know where we are or where we are going, that we go talk to the goblins and let Druuv lead us there. I don't really see a good option other than that. That is, unless, someone just happens to have a map." Darvin said to the group.
ReplyDeleteThe last part was rhetorical but it didn't stop Guybrush from piping up, "I seem to have left it in my other pants, Captain," The monkey side matter of factly.
"Oh...wait, you don't even wear pants!" exclaimed Darvin.
Ummm, I think Whittaker was saying that Talathel could provide us with a map. Am I correct in that?
ReplyDeleteyes, I decided to recon it and say that the odd directions meant that hii gnowe gave talathel a map. However, the directions didn't make sense to him because of the oddities of the map. When Druuv saw it Druuv added in some of the details.
ReplyDeleteNym looked over the map with Talathel and Druuv. Nym looked up at the dark tower and back to the map. "So we're about here, aren't we?" asked Nym, pointing to their position on the map based on the tower. "I think we should head to the half-elves since they're closes and Gnowe said they could help us. I've already met them too, and they were very... hospitable." Nym blushed lightly thinking of her unexpected kiss in the half-elf village.
ReplyDeletealso, next person to respond should create a new post and entitle it something akin to "decisions in the grove" or something silly like that.
ReplyDelete