Ch 3a. The Temple of the Ant

[Stonjuz]

[1d100] = 46 [1d20] = 6 [1d10] = 9 [1d8] = 8 [1d6] = 5 [1d4] = 1

Halga, High Priestess and Ruler of The Greater Boneheart, to Miza, my dark sister, Priestess to the Northern Izlen Outpost.

Your service to the Evil One will be forever in my thoughts.
I am sending my Lesser Boneheart army, all non-humans, under the command of Pashazek the Vile, to meet you.
Pashazek, will be bringing all the supplies needed to contain the ANT for travel.
Iuz plans to use the phenomenon in a ritual to bring all to his feet.
Your relief will be soon.
However, your services are still required.
You will know that P has been battling the wizard Philidor the Blue along the Vesve Forest .
I am placing you under his command for the time being.
My messenger will be less than two days ahead of him.

H.

Branc waves the torch closer to the parchment. He is not seeing an illusion. The letters dissolve and soon smear into stains recognizable only as that of blood.
(Much like the preopened letter had been)
Good thing he has Precise Memory, or I would have to erase it all tomorrow or so.
Method to the madness? 1d10 sentences that last for 1d4 rounds.

[NJWilliam]

Branc Temugen, Mage

Branc whistles lowly at both what he has read and the way the writing dissolves and vanishes.
Reciting it verbatim to his companions from his memory,

ooc: Yes, love that precise memory!

he adds,

"I believe we retrieved this letter from the recipient, and the witch we killed was therefore Miza, Priestess to the Northern Izlen Outpost.
"Since it was unopened, and it is obviously an important missive, I wager that Miza had only just received this when we met up with her.
"Thus, Pashazek the Vile and the nonhuman Lesser Boneheart army is less than two days away, and on their way here for the Ant.
"Indeed, I think we must assume he is a day away at most at this point."

[grey_starr]

Zzzzz*rolls a bit*

[ragnboneshopper]

Agrim considers Branc's interpretation of the letter. "Y-yes, I th-think y-you are r-right. L-l-let's get out of here. The pl-l-lates th-then?"


OOC: I haven't been keeping up with the other half of the party, but seems like we owe it to them to give warning and try to get us all out of here. We've dealt a nice blow against Iuz, I'd say!

[NJWilliam]

Branc Temugen, Mage

Branc sits down and meditates to regain some spells before they continue their journey.
He concentrates on the unusually high levels of magic in this area, hoping that it may empower his spells or allow him to regain his concentration for casting more quickly.

[Stonjuz]

The area is quite and meditation comes easy. Expecting the surroundings to benefit the casters' rest, Branc quickly feels that the enormous power of the room is gone. He concentrates harder and can sense a steady draw towards Nayman Lesh. Yes, the power associated with the ANT is now flowing through the rogue, although to a much, much lesser degree.
(Not beneficial to the casters power,at least until he gets worse)

[ragnboneshopper]

"N-no t-time for waiting any l-l-longer!" says Agrim. He stoops to pick up Benson, throwing him over his shoulder as best he can, and waits expectantly.

EDIT (after looking through the previous thread to see who has what plates... )

Agrim suddenly remembers climbing up to retrieve the plate that brought the party to the disdainful land of Iuz. Branc, he realizes, has the plate for going back to Greyhawk. He momentarily sets Benson down in order to rummage through his pack and find the plate with the picture of the Iuzan mountaintop on it. "How's it worrrk?" he asks, holding it out for the others to see. He looks it over in case he can find the necessary command word, trying to refresh his memory in case he heard someone explain how to use it...

[1d100] = 39, [1d20] = 4, [1d10] = 6, [1d8] = 3, [1d6] = 3, [1d4] = 1

On a different topic, while looking through the old thread, I was reminded that it was Benson and Garth who were cursed by the unfortunate bowl incident. Nayman was not, but haven't we been going on the assumption that the darkness down here is coming from Nayman via that curse? If not and I've missed something, just say so, no prob. So many curses, so little time...

[Stonjuz]

With all that is going on around them, Garth sees the mage begin a meditative rest.
He says, "This is folly. Let's get outta here. We have some strategic information that Greyhawk had hoped to gain. Let us inform them. ....and the darkness around Nayman is growing."

[Stonjuz]

Branc Temugen, Mage ...Reciting it verbatim to his companions from his memory...

Garth can get a local history check (+4 penalty) to know of Philidor the Blue's exploits. The druid surely knows of the Vesve Forest (homeland)

[Nuke66]

Garth steps up. "Hey, i remember something about that."

[1d20+4] = 4+4 = 8 local history.

[Stonjuz]

Rumors really. Some say he doesn't exist. Others swear their allegiance. Philidor the Blue is a mystery. You have no hard evidence of his being, but his influence in local lore cannot be ignored. Fascination with his name mentioned, along with the City of Greyhawk, may have been what brought Garth to the city in the first place.

[ragnboneshopper]

In case this was missed...

"N-no t-time for waiting any l-l-longer!" says Agrim. He stoops to pick up Benson, throwing him over his shoulder as best he can, and waits expectantly.

EDIT (after looking through the previous thread to see who has what plates... )

Agrim suddenly remembers climbing up to retrieve the plate that brought the party to the disdainful land of Iuz. Branc, he realizes, has the plate for going back to Greyhawk. He momentarily sets Benson down in order to rummage through his pack and find the plate with the picture of the Iuzan mountaintop on it. "How's it worrrk?" he asks, holding it out for the others to see. He looks it over in case he can find the necessary command word, trying to refresh his memory in case he heard someone explain how to use it...

[1d100] = 39, [1d20] = 4, [1d10] = 6, [1d8] = 3, [1d6] = 3, [1d4] = 1

On a different topic, while looking through the old thread, I was reminded that it was Benson and Garth who were cursed by the unfortunate bowl incident. Nayman was not, but haven't we been going on the assumption that the darkness down here is coming from Nayman via that curse? If not and I've missed something, just say so, no prob. So many curses, so little time...

[Stonjuz]

In case this was missed... I was reminded that it was Benson and Garth who were cursed by the unfortunate bowl incident. Nayman was not,

The bowl was not a curse, but more a ritual to protect the users from the ant's true curse. Benson and Garth, having been effected upstairs, were immune to any dark change. In other words, one would hope that they did fail the bowl roll. Hope that helps clear things up.

[ragnboneshopper]

The bowl was not a curse, but more a ritual to protect the users from the ant's true curse. Benson and Garth, having been effected upstairs, were immune to any dark change. In other words, one would hope that they did fail the bowl roll. Hope that helps clear things up.

Ok, cool. I misunderstood, my bad... Does Ag know how to use the plate then? But he don't have the plate to Greyhawk, so... Branc, you there? NPC? No rush, Benson will be out for another 3-1/2 hours or so...

[NJWilliam]

Branc Temugen, Mage

Branc emerges from his meditation slightly enough to say, "Since we have both plates, it seems we should be able to travel to and from the cave entrance. If we make this room safe from others going through the portal, I'll use the plate to take us back to the Inn as soon as all are ready. Perhaps we should bring proof of this creature's demise."

ooc: Really don't see any reason to stick around at all, unless someone wants to scout who and how many are coming to transport the ant.

[ragnboneshopper]

Agrim lets Benson rest on the floor of the cavern and does a last check around to see if there are other exits we've missed, or if there is an easy way past the rubble blocking the way we came. If there are no obvious ways out, he'll pronounce the cavern "all cl-lear" and again ready himself to carry Benson over a shoulder and lead Nayman forward, if necessary. "L-let's go before N-Nayman's cursed darkness covers us all..." He'll not touch the ant-thing, considering it taboo and not wanting to provoke a curse. He gives it the evil eye each time he passes it...


The ant is mentioned in the letter, so I think we need not carry its head or antennae back with us...

[Vargr1105]

Nayman, unlucky thief

"Stop talking about me as if i wasn't here." complains Nayman. "All I need is a cleric to get me off this curse and we'll be fine..."

[NJWilliam]

The ant is mentioned in the letter, so I think we need not carry its head or antennae back with us...

ooc: There is no longer any letter, the writing dissolved.

[ragnboneshopper]

ooc: There is no longer any letter, the writing dissolved.

Dang, you're right, NJ. Sorry, and nix that comment. In that case, I agree we better take the head or some other identifying part back with us... Anybody got a polaroid?

[grey_starr]

ooc: There is no longer any letter, the writing dissolved.

Dang, you're right, NJ. Sorry, and nix that comment. In that case, I agree we better take the head or some other identifying part back with us... Anybody got a polaroid?

May I request that all the OOC get put in the OOC thread please? it's there for that reason...

Zzzzzz *drools a bit cause of being hung upside down so long in the debate*