[IC] Chapter 1-11: The Sea of Hate

[Lugar]

"If I enter the circle, the gate will close? "

No, dude! Do not do that! He is lying certainly!

Lugar looks to Giant and shakes his head in silent agreement.  He had no intention of jumping to his death, not this day. Though the power of this circlet atop his head was very tempting, especially for a dwarf.


"So I hold power over you and all your kin, undead and evil spirits I mean, through this?" He points at the circlet on top his bald grey head.  "You will tell me the truth, always, and protect me and my companions from harm Mendor."  

[Torin]

OOC - Where are the vamp parts? Are they dropped inside the circle? I think two things would be the key: a) the vamp b) the circlet

EDIT

OOC - know (planes) [1d20 + 4] = 19+4 = 23

[Portho Nihilbuck]

In an effort to understand what he can of the workings of the circle Portgho wracks his brain for any scraps of knowledge of the Negative Energy Planes.

[ooC substituting Bardic Knowledge for Knowledge(planes) - Bardic Knowledge [1d20+11] = 15+11 = 26]

[Toot]

Toot looks at Boo and shrugs his shoulders.  "They doing lots of talking but not much doing.  You think we should go help?"  Boo didn't know what Toot was talking about but he knew how his companion could become overly stressed.  The bear leans down and nudges Toot with his nose.  In response Toot scratches his muzzle and says, "Ok... we wait few moments longer."

[DM Surranó]

Torin and Portho recall what they've learned / overheard about the structure of the Inner Planes, including:
- The way to get to the inner planes is through the ethereal plane that is adjacent to all inner planes and the prime material plane at the same time.
- There are two basic types of inner planes: elemental (fire, earth, water, air) and energy (positive and negative). Imagine them as the corners of an octahedron.
- There are para-elemental planes between adjacent elemental planes (magma, ooze, ice, and smoke)
- There are quasi-elemental planes between every pair of elemental / energy planes (positive are the extremes of the element: radiance, mineral, steam, lightning; while negative are the extreme lack of the element: ash, dust, salt, and vacuum)
- There are elemental pockets here and there, usually more frequent as you get close to a border of a plane (e.g. flaming red rocks and blobs of earth getting more frequent in a sea of fire when approaching the borders)
- Survival is extremely hard without proper magic in most of the planes. Especially on energy planes where you can die horribly (possibly becoming a spectre) or explode from the overflowing healing energy.

"So I hold power over you and all your kin, undead and evil spirits I mean, through this?" He points at the circlet on top his bald grey head.  

"Just what in the nine hells did you expect when picking up an ancient artifact? No, you don't have power over all undead."

[color=#6699ff]"You will tell me the truth, always, and protect me and my companions from harm Mendor."

"I will do my best," Mendor replies, bowing gracefully, a hint of mockery visible in his gesture. "The truth is that I cannot protect you from anything while standing so far from you."

The words of the librarian are so obvious that everyone can tell that he's lying and playing on Lugar actually commanding him to leave the circle. (OOC - rolled a very poor Bluff with a series of high SM's for everyone, yaaay )

[Lugar]

Lugar strokes his beard as if in contemplation. "Hmmm. This has been an enlightening conversation, Mendor, but your words are as hollow as your soul.  As hollow as this circlet." Lugar approaches the circle, but keeping far enough away from the skeletons, and tosses the circlet into the gate.

[DM Surranó]

The circlet flies through the air with a mixture of satisfaction and mild disappointment on Mendor's face.
One of the skeletons leaps into the air, elegantly catching the circlet on the tip of its scimitar. Landing on its feet without effort, the skeleton dons the circlet. Its senseless growls become a chuckle. Flesh grows out of nothing and covers the skeletal face; long silvery hair erupts from the skull to fall on muscular shoulders; and eyes of amber fill the previously empty sockets. The crimson lips on the pale face part and the chuckle gradually turns into maniacal laughter.

Then the figures start to fade into a dark mist, to be dissipated through the floor. The crimson light fades and the opening on the roof starts to close.

"See you another time, mortal,"
Mendor says as he fades to nothingness at last, and finally the sinister runes of the calling circle gradually wink out of existence. With a booming sound, the ceiling is finally closed.

Then there's silence.

After a minute, you hear sounds. Sounds whose absence you did not notice before. Feet stomping, birds chirping, an eagle's call to its mate, and similar, various sounds of nature fill the deafening silence of the room, faintly filtering through the thin layer of rock and stonework abovehead.

Maul pokes his head through the trapdoor, seeing all evil is gone, and notes,
"I think you did it."

[Silent Giant]

You are the best, dude! - he pats his back

[Lugar]

Lugar is stunned by the course of events, and when SG pays him on the back he winces in pain from the overly strong half-human. Recovering he turns to the little gnome. "Hey Portho, make sure my beard is foot longer when you write our epic will you. Let's get out of here." Lugar starts to leave then remembers the sack of vampire... "Oh yeah, almost forgot." He goes to retrieve it, wondering what happens to a vampire that's been quartered and the stake is removed?

[DM Surranó]

"Better leave it," Maul warns Lugar in a kind of commanding tone. "and this whole place. We got business"

Meanwhile, those upstairs can observe as the armorer is immersed in controlling the guardian to build some kind of stairs for itself and climb out of the pit the party trapped him in. Occasionally, he glances towards the anti-magic field and the iron door, as if to gauge whether so many tons of pure adamantine would be able to squeeze through.