New Campaign: Athelos Darkening

[BMR]

Hmm... Your captain and ship you say? My lady, if you could...?

Spellcraft (1d20 + Ranks + INT)

• Beardthar: 17 + 3 + 1 = 21 Fail
  Tim-Tim: 1 + 6 + 1 = 8 Fail

The woman beside him nods and closes her eyes. She says a few words and glows for a few moments, and then says:

The ship is lost, I see no sign of it. The captain however, lives. He's been found by some villagers, but that is all I am able to tell at the moment.

Well, it would seem then, young man, that you have no ship to return to, nor is your captain in any shape to lead you. My proposition then is this. You have already met Holy Saint Akbar al-Akbar I presume. He came to me requesting aid in finding a member of his order who was last seen within this city. Unfortunately, I do not have the resources or the men to spare. More than that, around the time the paladin went missing, there was a murder here in my castle. I doubt such was a coincidence, but I also doubt if a paladin would have committed murder under my nose. I would have given this task to Vish, but if you can find both the paladin and the murderer, I will reward you well. And if you do well on this task, I may have further tasks for you, tasks concerning the impending threat of Malak Ur. What say you?

[Newbie Newtype]

Peanut quickly raises his hand, "Your honor! Can our reward be that we're set free? We'll find anyone even though they can murder us you want if that's the deal! I'll even do it twice!"

[BMR]

Set free? Hmm, most unusual I suppose, I did have further tasks that Viseh would have performed that would have made him quite wealthy, or rather, wealthier than he already was... But if that is your wish, then so be it, I'll set you free after this task.

[Newbie Newtype]

Peanut responds to the attempt to get him to reconsider, "You can always hire us again, since we don't have any way to get back home. I just want to be free right now."

[BMR]

Set free? Hmm, very well then. Come back with the paladin and the murderer, and you shall have your freedom. And the rest of you?

[Gizmog]

I'm not exactly suited to an investigation, Lord Gideon. However in my brief time with this halfling, I have found that he will never stop asking questions. Set him on the trail and I'm sure he'll find your culprits in no time, and I'd be happy to keep anyone from yanking his tongue out along the way, m'lord.

Does the name Malak Ur mean anything to me?

[BMR]

Knowledge (Geography) (1d20 + Ranks + INT)

• Akbar: 11 + 0 + -1 = 10 Fail
  Beardthar: 9 + 0 + 1 = 10 Fail
  Peanut: 11 + 0 + 2 = 13 Fail
  Spittle: 19 + 0 + 1 = 20 Success
  Tim-Tim: 4 + 0 + 1 = 5 Fail

Malak Ur, you may have read about it somewhere. It's a cityup to the north-east (check the map) and capital of the Mardan Empire which was the center of the first prisoner rebellion around 80 years ago. Of the four major factions on the island, it is the second largest, with Aeleon (this city) being the capital of the largest faction.


Knowledge (Nobility and royalty) (1d20 + Ranks + INT)

• Akbar: 4 + 0 + -1 = 3 Fail
  Beardthar: 12 + 0 + 1 = 13 Fail
  Peanut: 12 + 0 + 2 = 14 Fail
  Spittle: 20 + 0 + 1 = 21 Success
  Tim-Tim: 19 + 0 + 1 = 20 Success

Malak Ur, you may have read about it somewhere. It's a citystate up to the north-east (check the map) which was the center of the first prisoner rebellion around 80 years ago. Of the four major factions on the island, it is the second largest, with Aeleon (this city) being the capital of the largest faction.


Knowledge (Nobility and royalty) (1d20 + Ranks + INT)

• Akbar: 8 + 0 + -1 = 7 Fail
  Beardthar: 14 + 0 + 1 = 15 Fail
  Peanut: 5 + 0 + 2 = 7 Fail
  Spittle: 6 + 0 + 1 = 7 Fail
  Tim-Tim: 19 + 0 + 1 = 20 Success

The Mardan Empire is led by a triumvarate. Around thirty years ago, they attempted to conquer the two other factions at the time. They were pushed back, over a year of warfare, but this severely weakened the faction led by Aeleon, causing it to split into two, The Heltos League (Led by Aeleon) and the Altos Proctectorate (led by Hamvek). Currently, there have been rumors, which you heard even on the ship, that the Mardan Empire is thinking of moving against the Heltos League again.

[Spoonweaver]

Tim-Tim, greeted with the news of being sent on a mission is confused by the halflings request to be free. He wonders if the halfling has some spell cast on it making him unable to simply leave when sent out to this mission. In any case Tim-Tim likes this turn of events a lot more than the last one, where he was being called a slave.

I guess we should get started with finding those guys you're looking for. Alright guys, let's all go.

[Bob the Hamster]

Let's just go along with this nonsense. We can always sneak away later

[BMR]

Very well then. The paladin, Holy Saint Akbar al-Akbar will accompany you and make sure to keep you people in line. Though I must say that your agreeing voluntarily to go along with this quest makes your lives so much easier. But still, I did not become Lord of Aeleon by not being cautious, so we had some more precautions set in place as my lovely wife will explain.

Viseh was already loyal to us, so he needed no coercion. We are never really sure though, how long an arena champion will survive. Our arena champions are usually our secret agents in the field. The most we've had at a time is seven, and they've all operated similarly. We never take chances though, and I believe I should warn you that each of you is under a Geas of my own casting. As for you gnome, I believe you may be familiar with the spell, but don't bother trying to counteract it, it's a special form of the spell of my own crafting that will bind you to our orders.

Attempt to sneak away or abandon this quest, and you will die horribly within a week. Complete this task for us though, and we shall set you free of the Geas to do as you will.

Sense Motive (1d20 + Ranks + WIS)

• Akbar: 9 + 0 + 1 = 10 Fail
  Beardthar: 5 + 0 + 3 = 8 Fail
  Peanut: 16 + 3 + 1 = 20 Success
  Spittle: 16 + 3 + 0 = 19 Fail
  Tim-Tim: 2 + 0 + 3 = 5 Fail

While most of what Lord Gideon ahs been saying seems to ring true, there seems to be something that he's hiding, as if he were avoiding something to prevent his having to speak an outright lie.

Before you leave though, I'm sure you have some questions. Lady Silera and I will take our leave now though, and you may direct all questions to my seneschal. Also, be sure to speak to the quartermaster before you leave the city. He will provide you with some equipment and some basic funds for your task.

With those words, Lord Gideon and Lady silera stand and make for the side exit of the hall.

The man in green robes turns to you, you can plainly see that his eyes are milky white, though he seems to see you perfectly well. He doesn't speak, but rather seems to be waiting for you to ask him something.

[Bob the Hamster]

Beardthar didn't understand the bit about the geese... what do waterfowl have to do with anything here.

Was he serious about that "die horribly within a week" or was that just dramatic talk?

[Newbie Newtype]

As Peanut begins to turn away to accompany the others, his eyes narrow like he thinks he might've heard something wrong. He rubs his chin in such a way that his thumb and fingers also rub his frizzy sideburns.

He then pulls his hand away from his face, and examines his fingers, soon realizing how dirty his face must be that he got sand on his fingers.

"...I think I need a bath..." he whispers to himself, intending it to be a comment to himself and nobody else. He swipes his hands together to brush the dirt away.

He then looks up to Beardthar and shrugs, "Probably... What's a 'geas' anyway?"

[BMR]

The old man turns to Beardthar. Without speaking though, his voice sounds in Beardthar's mind:

Yes, master dwarf. The Lord Gideon very rarely finds the time or the inclination towards any form of humor. The last individual who thought to disregard Lord Gideon's advice was found weeks later. The corpse was so terribly disfigured, that it was thought a werewolf had savaged it. I should thus advise you, master dwarf, not to take Lady Silera's magic lightly. She is a very learned and powerful wizard in her own right.

Seemingly done with Beardthar, he turns to Peanut and "speaks" in the same way.

A "geas", master halfling, is a spell that is used to compel an individual, or in your case, individuals, into acting towards a certain task. You have agreed to perform the task outlined by Lord Gideon, and in so doing, have activated Lady Silera's magic. She is a very powerful wizard, rivaling even the wizard lords and ladies of the west. This is a rather... unorthodox and novel implementation of the usual Geas spell, though beyond that I know little of its intricacies. Further, if you are in need of a bath, I can have the quartermaster see to it for you. Though I would not tarry any longer than a day, lest the spell take effect.

In both instances, the old man's voice came through as somewhat... cloudy... as if he were speaking through a bale of cotton. The voice was also vague, not entirely human it would seem, but not entirely anything else either.

[Bob the Hamster]

It is a large water bird with a nasty temper and delicious eggs

says Beardthar confidently, having been bitten by one once in his youth.

Then, hearing the old man's thought words, Beardthar says:

Oh dear. He said the curse of death is quite serious. he said the last person to ignore it was savaged by a werewolf. Perhaps if we ignore it we will be savaged by a flock of geese

[Newbie Newtype]

Peanut's hands slowly rise and his palms plant against his temples, and the pupils of his eyes shrink in shock as he hears the voice in his head, an unwelcoming experience for him...

After all is said and done in his head, Peanut responds to Beardthar's revelation with his own, "It's a large water bird with a nasty temper and delicious eggs that has taken control of us! What have I done!?" He then turns and grasps Beardthar's robe, "Or weregeese!"