Troubled Past PBEM 86 - The Yuan-ti

[Fabian Benavente]

Alright, another turn. Special mention goes to Angie and Les for some good interaction.
Thanks!

Take a look at the sketch (after reading the turn).

Questions, comments, and.or suggestions?

L8r,

Fabian
Troubled Past - An Eberron PBEM
http://www.geocities.com/cfbenave/Eberron/Eberron-Page2.htm

[Les Anderson]

[Lan]
The shifter's appearance was all the information the healer needed to
know the searcher was dead. He frowned at Leif, an expression of deep
disapproval in such an expressionless man. A glance at the natives
told him that his- and Leif's, he had thought- concerns were correct.

The female had some contact with the native male and now it was
broken. Couldn't they have just... Lan couldn't think of an
alternative that wouldn't have alerted the female but was sure there
had to be one. The situation was quickly degenerating.

He breathed out slowly, a controlled breath to get his emotions back
under control, and spoke in a whisper to the others. "Bryn has the
shard but is trapped behind the serpent." The kalashtar gestured at
the concerned looking female. "We need to leave soon. If she doesn't
know what happened she soon will."

~Bryn, Leif and Flask are back with us. We'll be out of here soon.~
None of his anxiety leaked through their mental link, but only by
reason of long training. His thoughts were confident and soothing, the
voice of a parent easing the concerns of his child. ~Can you carry the
egg in your mouth as a lizard? Is there any other way out of the
caves?~

[Angie Gignac]

[Bryn new]

The druid's breathing had finally returned to normal after her close encounter with the snake, although her heart still beat rapidly. The egg-shaped shard pulsed faintly in her hands, as though it had a life of its own. Peeking around the corner, Bryn saw that the way she'd come in wasn't clear; though the snake was clearly engaged in a meal, it hadn't needed to fully exit the chamber.

Think! There has to be another way out. Flask had said there were two tunnels; perhaps they were connected. Bryn began limping her way carefully past the eggs. When the snake had left the egg chamber, she'd finally had a chance to discover why she was so off balance. It would seem that Lan's interruption of her shapechanging had caused unexpected results...it had left her with the left leg of a lizard. It caused her no pain, but the clawed foot was not meant for walking upright, and it caused her no end of difficulty. Worry about it later, have to get out of this cave!

~Bryn, Leif and Flask are back with us. We'll be out of here soon.~
None of his anxiety leaked through their mental link, but only by
reason of long training. His thoughts were confident and soothing, the
voice of a parent easing the concerns of his child. ~Can you carry the
egg in your mouth as a lizard? Is there any other way out of the
caves?~

~I'm looking.~  The halfling edged past the eggs and discovered a second passageway. Light flickered at the far end, this was clearly the second passageway. ~There is two tunnels. I will go out here. Wait for me.~

[tag Lan]

Bryn crept as close as she dared, but didn't look out. She'd found the exit, but now didn't know what to do. The shard wasn't heavy, but it was large; about the size of a cantaloupe. Much too big for a lizard to carry in its mouth. Too large, also, for a bird's talons. Besides, she might break it if it dropped. Yet she couldn't risk exiting in her natural form, for she would surely be spotted.

A tense minute ticked by before the solution came to her. She hesitated, but this was no time for modesty. Pulling off her shirt, Bryn tied the shard securely in the dark fabric. As she worked, she thought to Lan, ~Coming out as bird. Natives may see me. Tell others, be ready to run.~

[tag Lan, any]

[assuming there are no dissentions...]

Bryn opened her connection to Earth Mother yet again, hoping that her reptilian leg wouldn't pose a problem with this second wildshaping attempt. Holding the image of a dark grey Horned Owl in her mind, she allowed the power to ripple through her, changing her shape. A moment later the owl spread its wings, grasped the knotted shirt securely in its talons, and took flight.

[Les Anderson]

[Bryn - old]

> ~I'm looking.~ The halfling edged past the eggs and discovered a second
> passageway. Light flickered at the far end, this was clearly the second
> passageway. ~There is two tunnels. I will go out here. Wait for me.~

[Lan - new]
The kalashtar was distracted, though as always it was hard to tell
with him. Leif might recognize the look of someone concentrating on a
conversation only they could hear, but it was likely no one else
would.

[Bryn - old]

> A tense minute ticked by before the solution came to her. She hesitated, but
> this was no time for modesty. Pulling off her shirt, Bryn tied the shard
> securely in the dark fabric. As she worked, she thought to Lan, ~Coming out
> as bird. Natives may see me. Tell others, be ready to run.~

[Lan - new]
The healer nodded in agreement with something none of the others could
hear. He leaned in to whisper this update to the group. "Bryn is
coming out a different entrance to the cave. As a bird. The natives
might see her; be ready to go."

He peered through the thick foliage to try to spy the other exit the
druid was going to use, but the snake and the dancers were in his way
to see very much at all. Maybe this other mouth of the cave was to the
rear of the complex?

[Gary Burns]

[Lan-Old]

The healer nodded in agreement with something none of the others could
hear. He leaned in to whisper this update to the group. "Bryn is
coming out a different entrance to the cave. As a bird. The natives
might see her; be ready to go."

He peered through the thick foliage to try to spy the other exit the
druid was going to use, but the snake and the dancers were in his way
to see very much at all. Maybe this other mouth of the cave was to the
rear of the complex?
 

[Belkar-New]

"Then we need to give her some type of distraction," Belkar said, watching the crowd below. That priestess isn't going to be satisifed for long. And what did you two do with the body?" This last part the old guard directed to Leif and Flask.

 

[Tag]

 

Watching as the snake, convulsed, sending the human to a disturbing, digestive end, Belkar couldn't help but shudder. He had always hated snakes. Ever since he was eleven years old. It was at this time, right before the festival of the dragon, that his brother had trapped. Felern had caught a grass snake while on a mercantile trip with their father. Rather than letting the animal go, the boy stuffed it in his pocket, to examine later. Felern had always had an odd fascination with the way things worked.

 

At first it had been okay. The young boy simply took apart any piece of machinery he could get his hands on. Within the Greygoods home the last straw had come when Felern had taken apart a machine their father had told them came from the land of the gnomes. A gift form the Karnathian Minister of Commerce, their father had been rightfully upset.

 

However, it wasn't this tinkering that disturbed Belkar. Felern had also grown a fondness of figuring out how living things worked. For hours on end Felern would sit and watch how the bones in his hand interplayed, pressing against the skin, grinding together under other pressures. He was sure that there was a better alternative. It was at this time that the boy began experimenting with animals.

 

Belkar didn't have any proof until the snake. Neighbors in the city complained that their dog had come up missing, or that the neighborhood cats were suddenly scarced. (Nobody complained about the missing pigeons). On that day Belkar had entered came down to the cellar, looking for Felern. On hearing a strange sound, the boy on the edge of adolescents had went to investigate. There, pinned to the table with a sharp metal shard, was the grass snake. A sharpened knife lay nearby.

 

The snake writhered around the shard, curling itself into a ball and trying to escape from the pain it felt. What occured next seemed like a dream. Belkar found himself reaching forward, hoping to free the animal. However, as soon as he touched it the snake twisted, singing its small teeth into the boy's finger. Then Felern had entered...

 

Belkar shook his head to clear the thoughts of the past. There has been something about Felern he felt he should remember. But now was not the time. Turning to Ember, he asked, "Can I see your bow and an arrow?"

 

To the others, the human explained, "Given their reverie, I should be able to wound the animal without anyone noticing. This should enrage it enough that it will distract the villagers, perhaps even harming some of them. During this distractions we can all escape and head back to the pillar."

 

[ooc: Now, roleplaying gets PCs certain bonuses, right? Right? I even brought in relevant personal details. :)  Actually, I'm pleased because I think Belkar might be back (lets wait a couple more turns before I break out the drugstore wine).]

[King, John]

[ooc – I was going to respond to Belkar’s request, but then I remembered that Ember doesn’t have a bow anymore.  He gave up his bow when he got the fireball upgrade. (That, and Fabian said I had too many masterwork weapons =P ).  Gary, if you can make an adjustment to that post, I can work with it some more, or you can ask someone else for their bow instead.  I will provide a little something here that you may be able to do something with.  That said, anyone feel like stirring up the hornets’ nest?  The sociopathic warforged has an itchy trigger finger…]

 

[Belkar]

Belkar shook his head to clear the thoughts of the past. There has been something about Felern he felt he should remember. But now was not the time. Turning to Ember, he asked, "Can I see your bow and an arrow?"

 

To the others, the human explained, "Given their reverie, I should be able to wound the animal without anyone noticing. This should enrage it enough that it will distract the villagers, perhaps even harming some of them. During this distractions we can all escape and head back to the pillar."

 

[Ember]

The mud-caked warforged’s body remained motionless, its only recognizable feature the two glowing orbs set in its cranium casing.  Ember moved only its forearm as it tracked the movements of the natives in the pit below.  Tracking all of the threats posed in the village below, Ember could see that the majority of the targets had gathered in a particularly favorable location for ambush.  Nearly the entire village had gathered in a small cluster around the serpent, in a bowl-feature of topography no less.  Not only could they all be caught in a single blast of his flame manipulator, but they would have difficulty climbing out of the pit in their panic if they survived the first volley of fire. Even if they had enough wits about them to not panic, they would have to first figure out the location from where the attack came and then climb up a rocky ramp to face their attackers.  But the attack would need to be initiated soon.  The snake would not dine all night.

 

Finally, the construct whispered a semblance of a reply to the human.  Not so much an answer to his question, but an alternative solution.  “Commander.  Targets in optimum grouping pattern.  We have elevation advantage.  Can take shot, get entire group, snake included, in blast.  Request permission to fire.”

 

[tag Gary (omg, should we?  Do we dare? /snicker)]

[Gary Burns]

Finally, the construct whispered a semblance of a reply to the human.  Not so much an answer to his question, but an alternative solution.  "Commander.  Targets in optimum grouping pattern.  We have elevation advantage.  Can take shot, get entire group, snake included, in blast.  Request permission to fire."  

ooc: Anyone else got a good bow?

 

[Belkar - new]

 

"Good idea Ember," Belkar said, "but we shoud wait for that. If the snake goes into a frenzy we may be able to escape undected. However, their going to be immediately curious where the hell such a blast came from. Remember, we don't even know for sure where we are going."

 

[tag-others]
 

[kirs...@yahoo.com]

NRPG: Mel has a bow for you, Gary. MW composite short bow.

REF: Turning to Ember, he asked, "Can I see your bow and an arrow?"

RPG: Mel the native huddled in the shadows of the bushes along with the
rest of the party (Minus the courageous Bryn, alone in the snake's
lair). He heard the human's whispered question and reached into his
shoulderbag, his arm vanishing up to the elbow as he rummaged inside
the extradimensional container, muttering about the need to organize it
one day. But he did find his bow and a slim quiver of arrows and thrust
them into Belkar's waiting hand.

"Here, Commander. Use these," Mel muttered. "If it's chaos we
need, I can prepare an illusion to add to the flames and panicking
animals."

Mel thought about things for a few moments and quickly decided that
there was a good chance they would be noticed if they got aggressive in
staging a diversion. And in that case, he might as well help out the
illusion he had in mind by taking a suitable form. He gave the tree in
front of him a wicked grin and muttered a few nonsensical words in the
language of the Xen'dirk giants to fool his companions into thinking
he was casting yet another spell.

The transformation was simple enough; a mere fine-tuning of the
native's guise he wore. Under the eyes of his companions, Mel's
body grew taller and painfully thin, to the point of appearing
skeletal, malnourished and wracked by disease. His skin turned grey as
cold ashes, piebald with black patches of skin. His eyes sunk deep in
their sockets, a fevered light shining in the now-grey orbs. His hair
grew long and hopelessly tangled, striped black and grey and white. His
teeth seemed to rot away into a few black stumps.

Mel adjusted the feathers he wore, removing the armbands and weaving
the long, magnificent feathers into a sort of a wild headdress. He
unwound the sash he had worn around his loins and stuffed it back into
his bag, revealing his shriveled manhood. Then he helped himself to
some of the twigs and leaves and mud Ember had put to good use,
completing his new wild look of a tribal shaman high on holy mushrooms.

Too bad he didn't have a suitable staff, Mel lamented as he picked a
fallen branch and brandished it experimentally.

TAG: Everyone interested...

NRPG: Readying a "Minor Image." The exact illusion depends on what
happens, but please do remember that you get a save against an illusion
only if you interact with it, and merely seeing/hearing it from a few
feet away doesn't count as interaction. So, unless you go ahead to
get some touchy-feely, the poor targets will have to assume it's real
and act accordingly.

-Jussi / Mel

[Gary Burns]

ooc: I think the interaction interpretation may be a little too phsycially strict. I'm of the mind that if seeing something makes you do something, that's interaction. But in this case, I whole heartedly agree with Jussi. :)

 

Okay, Fabian and PCs, Belkar will spend a point to send an arrow into the giant python, hoping to cause a distraction to help us get away. Jussi also has an illusion prepared. Should someone see the arrow, Ember is prepared to lay waste with his flaming apparatus.

 

Unless someone objects, I think our actions are set. :) Fabian, let me know what you want me to write up.

-Gary

 

[kirs...@yahoo.com]

Gary Burns wrote:
> ooc: I think the interaction interpretation may be a little too phsycially
> strict. I'm of the mind that if seeing something makes you do something,
> that's interaction. But in this case, I whole heartedly agree with Jussi. :)

Sure, GM rules, but that's the Sage Ruling about illusions in 3.5ed.
Seeing is believing, physical interaction (Or having a conversation
with the damn thing and getting suspicious after a moment because it
fails to answer or something like that) is disbelieving ;^)

-Jussi

[Gary Burns]

Nice, I like that maxim as as a rule of thumb.

 

-Gary

 

[kirs...@yahoo.com]

A bit about the illusion; Mel wil try to play the part of a mad
shaman/witch doctor, conjuring luminous smoke filled with half-formed
spectres and wraiths, complete with wails and indistinct calls in the
natives' language. So he goes for terror and is willing to draw
attention to himself. If Fabian wants to move us forward, I'd love to
fire up the illusion just after Belkar's and Ember's "distraction"
kicks in. Mel will jump up, shout to draw attention to himself, yell
something about the spirits of the ancestors being displeased and
suddenly there's mist pouring from his mouth and nose and the horror
show I mentioned happens ;^)

-Jussi