4 - 044: The Fourth Piece

[K Man]

{Sorry for no post yesterday guys, I was trying to catch up before I leave for my cruise. School is packing on the work.}
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Romar -

Telena keeps the blade level, her face stoic and unmoving.



"I know nothing of this 'Girud'..."

"Answer the question. Why do you seek the Dune Palace?"

Her tone is not one of menace, but rather of inquisition. If you can believe her rank, you can guess she is trying to protect her city from harmful invasion.

[Sense Motive Check] She seems genuine in her plea of not knowing Girud. But still, her resemblance to Girud is beyond uncanny...surely there must be a relation somewhere.

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All but Romar -

{For this battle, I ruled that Vein Riding will not draw AoO's, so Garor can move away if he needs to. That said, Vein Riding is still instantaneous. It would be a move action to go to Ravenshead and receive healing. That is probably your best bet Garor. Vein Ride away to Ravenshead - you may drop, but the clerics there should be able to heal you. They are on high alert anyway....or just drink a potion. Whichever choice you want is fine, but let's get you out of battle for now.}

Garor, near death disappears into the earth to heal himself. {Let me know how you want to heal.}

Yuri, the last to enter, does so quickly to escape the onslaught of creatures. {You can gaseous form in to avoid all AoO's and that crap.}

Now that you're all inside, you take a moment to survey your surroundings. The room is dark and cramped, only a single door as the exit from here. Mordrock has already declared the door safe and no sounds can be heard from beyond - but still, your sense of alert is high.

This is 'The Masters' home...and he probably will not take to your presence lightly...

The Ogres outside try to squeeze into the opening, but in their clumsy undead state and with their sheer bulk, they no hope of entering the fortress. They can only try to grab those close enough to the hole. The Colossus seems to have stopped moving for the ground no longer shakes and you cannot see the giant stone man from within the room. You wonder what commands it will be given next....

Now is the time to act...you just hope there are no other surprises in store for you in here.

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[BluSpecs]

Garor Vein rides back to ravenhead hopeine the cleric there can help him....

[VemuKhaham]

Romar is somewhat dismayed by the answer, having hoped that they would know each other somehow. He decides to drop the plan therefore, and go on with his previous one:

"Yes, I shall answer your question now, Lady Telana, I am in no position to test your patience here."

Romar stands up from his knee now, and his eyes are greeted by the blade of her sword.

"First and foremost, you have nothing to fear from me; it is better to point the tips of our blades towards the restless death that roam the lands during these perilous times.

I come as your ally, but I might bring unfriendly news. Consider though that not always the bringer of grave news is also its instigator. Judging from your noble profession, I am comfortable relaying my tale to you.

I come from Ravenshead, and I bring greetings from King Sturmguard. I am but a messenger, though a very trusted one to His Majesty: he would not burden anyone else with this task of mine. King Sturmguard asks for aid. Ravenshead is in need. As one of its servants I am loath to admit it, but I have no choice since as we speak the Master's armies are on the move towards its walls. Currently we have received much needed aid from many unexpected allies, among them are the dwarves of Bazarkrak Mountain, a great number of clerics from the fabulous Hidden City and also the help of brave warriors from the Knights of the Purest Star and from the survivors of ruined Rocroost Bay.

One by one, driven by despair or loyalty, they each realized that alone, against the Master, they would fall. Therefore, they gathered, combining their forces, or what is left of them, behind the great walls of the Last Bastion, Ravenshead. Maybe you have heard of this already, but king Ravenshead would not send out heralds if he did not think it would not be enough. And, most noble lady Telana Sandstrider, the King has learned that the brave people of the Dune Palace hold a might that can indeed turn the tides of this war, whether you realize it or no.

In Ravenshead are stored many of the pieces of a great crystal. You might know of what I speak, for there is one such shard in the Dune Palace, under your protection. And again, I would not be so insolent to speak so openly of this invaluable possession of the Dune Palace's people, if we were not desperate and if we wouldn't have reason to believe that with this last piece of yours, the Master could be destroyed... Forever...

We do not ask for the lives of warriors of the Dune Palace if you can spare none, and neither do we ask for food or water for the many innocents that King Sturmguard has offered shelter: we ask for this one piece, this crystal shard that we believe you have in your possession.

Before you say 'no' - and you have every right to do so of course - you should take some points into consideration. First, we know that we are not the only ones gathering these shards, and certainly not the worst of the three. The Master knows the value of these crystals and the risk they pose to him, and therefore he has waged wars over them. The Dune Palace will remain a target as long as one of the shards remain there. Alone, you cannot hope to defend it, and attempts to do so will lead to the downfall of your people as it has done so for others. But besides the Master himself, there is another, not so benevolent force seeking shards. The empire of Astoril is after them, but they are ruthless, nearly as much as the Master is, when it comes down to the acquisition of the shards. If you haven't heard of the story of Cannon's Foot, then I shall tell you of it and you will agree with me on this. Again, for as long as the shard is here, why would the Dune Palace not be the next to fall for treachery of the elves as happened at Cannon's Foot?

But these motivations to offer the shard I give, are motivations mostly made out of fear. I know the brave people of the Dune Palace scarcely handle out of fear; if not so, then handle out of nobility. The nobility you could show by aiding people in need. Follow the example others have set; at first, the stalwart dwarves of Bazarkrak also resented to bring their shard to Ravenshead and unite forces there, but they have learned that it was their only chance. They have brought their shard to Ravenshead, and now they do not regret it.

If you hold any power here, Telana Sandstrider, Council Member of the Dune Palace, then I beg you, on behalf of all free people left in this world, to support the message I will bring to the Dune Palace."

Romar still looks the half-giant deeply in her eyes, realizing he has just revealed all his cards to the woman. He just hopes his little lie about his loyalties will go unnoticed, so the remainder of his schemes will work.

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Bluff +0 if required to conceal my true loyalties. I figure she won't be so charmed by my tale if she knew it came from another one of those beggars from Astoril. Let's pray it works.

[Jevva]

Galdren draws his swords. It would not be good to be caught unawares in a dangerous place such as this. "Are you all ready? Perhaps we should heal before we continue on. Who knows when we'll next have a peaceful moment to relax?"

[Japic]

Looking about at the others Girud agrees about healing,a spot of health wouldn't be to bad. But what of Garor..? Shouldn't he be inside by now, and if not, what has befallen him? The giant turns to Yuri, the last to have seen him.

"Yuri, what of Garor? He wasn't looking too good when I came in. With the press of monsters and the lack of battle I'm afraid to presume the worst. What news?"

{OOC: If we can wait for Garor to join us (if it'll happen in a timely manor) then this'll be better for all of us. If he's going to take forever, then mebbe we should get on with the mission before something else happens.}

[Fangor the Fierce]

Krysta knows that this is a crucial time. They should continue their course, and try to defeat the Master as quickly as possible. "We came here for one reason. If Garor has survived, he will catch up. For now, we have a job to do..." she then motions for Mordrock to open the door, her swords out and ready to do battle...

Adelia releases as much healing as needed by the others. She would rather use the wands, as her spells in battle would be better used. (KMAN, using as many charges as it takes to heal the others up to full health.)

Mordrock opens the door, now ready to continue this little excursion in the Masters tower....

[GeneralMHB]

Yuri addresses the group about Garor's state.

Garor vein-rode out in time. With the wounds he sustained, I was very surprised he pulled such a feat. I can only imagine he went to the safety of Ravenshead to have the clerics heal his wounds. We must continue to finish what we came here to do. Garor will come soon enough. But we must rest first, the battle to enter the fort was fierce. It will only get worse as we progress.

He then monitors the doorway in case something comes this way against them while the others rest their wounds.