Elfquest #21

[GM Mad]

Elfquest #21

The elves and their animal companions relax inside Jewel’s cottage. More questions are asked.

Curiously Jewel brings up the issue of Moorkroft, his hatred as well as his parasite tendencies towards elves. Considering this Laucian asks, “ Would you know of anything of Moorkroft’s forces he keeps close? These men for instance do they leave regularly or sit upon their arse.”

“He no longer trusts any living beings to be near him,” Jewel explains. “He used his magic to create constructs to guard the elfin palace. His only contact with his outside forces are by way of messages. He does not want anyone to see him as he is now.”

This information peaks Kylie's interest. They can free those within the Rainbow Bridge! "Please, ma'am, do you know who yet remains alive within the bridge?! My-- my mother is one of those sent here and seems never to have arrived..." Kylie is nearly quivering with her need to know.

Jewel moves closer to Kylie and places her hands on her shoulders and looks reassuringly into Kylie’s eyes. “Your mother is fine, as are all the other elves with her. I trust you’ve teleported before? Of course you have. Your in one place one instance, and in another the next. To your mother’s perspective, she’s moved from the first place, but has yet to arrive at the second. She and the others are stuck in mid-transport completely unaware of what has transpired since they first stepped onto the rainbow bridge. She’ll be very surprised to see how much you’ve grown since she left.”


Sherwood then lays out the next steps in the quest to retrieve the medallions. He asks if the group wishes to continue on to the Justice Medallion today or stay at Jewel’s cottage for the night.


Now what?

[Kylie]

Kylie:

Jewel moves closer to Kylie and places her hands on her shoulders and looks reassuringly into Kylie’s eyes. “Your mother is fine, as are all the other elves with her. I trust you’ve teleported before? Of course you have. Your in one place one instance, and in another the next. To your mother’s perspective, she’s moved from the first place, but has yet to arrive at the second. She and the others are stuck in mid-transport completely unaware of what has transpired since they first stepped onto the rainbow bridge. She’ll be very surprised to see how much you’ve grown since she left.”

Kylie just nods when asked about teleporting. Sherwood has teleported her several times, as had Jallarzi back when she was in training. "So they're effectively frozen in time?" Kylie asks, at bit in awe at the information about her mother.

Then something occurs to Kylie, and her expression changes. "How do you know so much? Who are you - really?"

[Lilia]

Lilia:

Lilia continues to listen to what is said and ignores the stares sent her way when the centaurs are brought up. Kylie asks about the fate of her mother and Jewel seems to reassure her. The answer does seem somewhat probably to Lilia’s mind, but she’s no expert on that type of magic just yet. But she does hope that it is true for the sake of her friend. Sherwood asks what our next course of action should be.

“Let us continue on with the quest. We can rest all we want once the Mother Tree has been freed and the forces of Moorkroft defeated.”

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

“Thank you, my lady”, Valena whispers when Jewel reassures Kylie that her mother, and all the other elves with her, are still alive and just need to be released. These great elfin heroes will be a boon once the battle with Moorkroft escalates.

“I have to agree with Lilia,” Valena adds. “Restoring the Mother Tree remains are top priority.”

“And if we don’t leave her soon, I may never want to,” Valena thinks to herself.

[Talen]

Talen:

Talen follows the girls and the cooshee’s into the cottage. It seems nice enough, as does its occupant. Somehow Jewel reminds him of his grandmother just a little bit. When Kylie moves closer to Jewel to speak to her, Talen unconsciously follows her just in case she needs him. He’s standing behind her when Jewel answers her questions about her missing mother.

“That’s wonderful news,” Talen adds from behind. “To be reunited with her mother after all this time.”

Talen doesn’t add much of anything else. The general consensus seems to be to push onwards. But Talen will take the time to have his fill of the food offered.

[GM Mad]

Small Update:

Kylie just nods when asked about teleporting. Sherwood has teleported her several times, as had Jallarzi back when she was in training. "So they're effectively frozen in time?" Kylie asks, at bit in awe at the information about her mother.

“That’s one way to put it,” Jewel agrees.

Then something occurs to Kylie, and her expression changes. "How do you know so much? Who are you - really?"

“Who am I?” Jewel repeats. “I am merely a lady, living in a cottage, in the forest. Nothing more.”

[Nariya]

Nariya:

“Let us continue on with the quest. We can rest all we want once the Mother Tree has been freed and the forces of Moorkroft defeated.”

“I have to agree with Lilia,” Valena adds. “Restoring the Mother Tree remains are top priority.”

"I too agree," Nariya adds, "and the sooner we dispose of Moorkroft's forces, the less damage the forest will have to endure."

Then something occurs to Kylie, and her expression changes. "How do you know so much? Who are you - really?"

“Who am I?” Jewel repeats. “I am merely a lady, living in a cottage, in the forest. Nothing more.”

Nariya raises her eyebrows at Jewel's response. Clearly she isn't just a woman living in a cottage. She'll carefully study her as if seeing her for the first time to try to determine if there is something that gives a clue to her true identity.

[Laucian]

Laucian

“I agree, our time is short and our task still remains. We should move to free The Mother Tree and those within. “ Though Laucian would like to stay longer and perhaps speak to Jewel alone he refrains from speaking of such things, He is glad Kylie’s mother is well as can be but there is a gnawing part of him that wonders, What of my father?

“Who am I?” Jewel repeats. “I am merely a lady, living in a cottage, in the forest. Nothing more.”

Laucian listens to these words silently, almost to the verge of lost in thought. ‘The Lady of the Forest.’ he silently thinks to himself but doesn’t say a word as he raises up from the table, Laucian will walk over to Jewel, “Thank you for your kindness,Jewel, and may Ehlonna bless you.” he says evenly. Afterward Laucian will exit the house and wait for the others.

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

After a short stay at Jewel's cottage, it is decide to continue on with the quest that same day. After saying your goodbyes, the elves and their companions head off once more. Sherwood teleports back to the griffon stable to retrieve the barge. He'll then catch up with you at the hill where the Justice Medallion is located. Jewel has told you that retrieving this medallion involves a test of intellect.

Nariya leads the way through the forest to the southwest of Jewel's hut. The pathfinder almost leads you directly to the hill in question. Her earlier vision makes it much easier to find the way up the hill.

On the top of the rocky hill stands a strange plate mounted on a vertical pole, that's about the size of an elf, and glowing with a eerie golden aura. Above the plate is a needle pointed at a graduated gauge. Lined up at the base of the pole are 10 open pouches, visibly containing larger coins.

As you examine the scene, a voice from nowhere suddenly speaks to you in elvish. "The pouches contain 10 ounce gold coins, however, one of them has 9 ounce coins instead. If you can find which bag contains the lighter coins in just a single weighting, the key to Justice shall be yours!"

Now what?

[Kylie]

Kylie:

“That’s wonderful news,” Talen adds from behind. “To be reunited with her mother after all this time.”

"Yes, it is almost more than I dared hope," Kylie replies with a glance and a smile to Talen.

“Who am I?” Jewel repeats. “I am merely a lady, living in a cottage, in the forest. Nothing more.”

Kylie starts to protest, but then thinks better of calling this woman -whoever she is - a liar in her own home. Still, what she says, or at least implies, is clearly not true. Folding her arms across her chest and frowning, she turns away from the woman.

Kylie agrees with the voices that urge continuing on, nodding her head in agreement. Soon, they are on their way, this time without Sherwood who has gone to get the flying barge. At least they will be able to make good time once they retrieve this next medallion.

Finding the hill and the test of intellect mentioned by Jewel proves easy enough. Stepping closer to what appears to be a scale of some kind, Kylie is startled when a voice emerges from nowhere. The voice proceeds to describe the test, which seems nearly impossible at first.

"One? Yeesh," Kylie says with a grimace as she turns to address the others. "I think I could do it in three, but.... one? I don't know. Ideas?"

As the others provide their input, Kylie takes a moment to examine the scale carefully, wanting to be sure she understands how it works. Since they only have one chance, making a mistake could ruin everything.
____________________________________________________________
Actually, I think I have this figured out. However, I don't want Kylie to figure it out in just a couple seconds. Also, I need to know if the graduations on the scale are numbered and, if so, how high they go.

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

The scale goes from as little as 1 ounce up to 1000 ounces in measurement. It’s very accurate. There is a prop underneath the weighting plate, so that you can add or remove things from it before actually weighting them.

[Lia]

Lia

On the top of the rocky hill stands a strange plate mounted on a vertical pole, that's about the size of an elf, and glowing with a eerie golden aura. Above the plate is a needle pointed at a graduated gauge. Lined up at the base of the pole are 10 open pouches, visibly containing larger coins.

As you examine the scene, a voice from nowhere suddenly speaks to you in elvish. "The pouches contain 10 ounce gold coins, however, one of them has 9 ounce coins instead. If you can find which bag contains the lighter coins in just a single weighting, the key to Justice shall be yours!"

“Um, Maybe we can make a scale of our own? Simply tie two bags to a rope that is upon a branch. See which side falls?” she asks curiously to the others. “That way we don’t waste our one time.”

[Laucian]

Laucian

Kylie starts to protest, but then thinks better of calling this woman -whoever she is - a liar in her own home. Still, what she says, or at least implies, is clearly not true. Folding her arms across her chest and frowning, she turns away from the woman.

Laucian merely shakes his head at seeing this. “Must be her human side.” He thinks to himself.

On the top of the rocky hill stands a strange plate mounted on a vertical pole, that's about the size of an elf, and glowing with a eerie golden aura. Above the plate is a needle pointed at a graduated gauge. Lined up at the base of the pole are 10 open pouches, visibly containing larger coins.

As you examine the scene, a voice from nowhere suddenly speaks to you in elvish. "The pouches contain 10 ounce gold coins, however, one of them has 9 ounce coins instead. If you can find which bag contains the lighter coins in just a single weighting, the key to Justice shall be yours!"

Unsure of how to do such a task, Laucian looks to the others.

[Lilia]

Lilia:

We’re traveling once more and in short order we reach the test Jewel mentioned. Lilia visually examines the scene when the voice speaks to them.

As you examine the scene, a voice from nowhere suddenly speaks to you in elvish. "The pouches contain 10 ounce gold coins, however, one of them has 9 ounce coins instead. If you can find which bag contains the lighter coins in just a single weighting, the key to Justice shall be yours!"

"One? Yeesh," Kylie says with a grimace as she turns to address the others. "I think I could do it in three, but.... one? I don't know. Ideas?"

Lilia ponders the problem for a few moments. With her heightened intelligence, a solution is quickly reached, “It is a simple exercise in mathematics. Kylie, you spoke up first. Care to try your solution?”

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

Kylie starts to protest, but then thinks better of calling this woman -whoever she is - a liar in her own home. Still, what she says, or at least implies, is clearly not true. Folding her arms across her chest and frowning, she turns away from the woman.

Valena is up and out of her chair, fearing that Kylie is about to say something that everyone will regret. However, her fears are unfounded and Kylie doesn’t say any more. Once we depart Jewel’s cottage, Valena will walk beside Kylie for a time.

“Thank you for your restraint back at the cottage. I cannot be sure just who or what Jewel is, but all the clues point to someone who is very powerful among my faith, if not an avatar of the goddess herself! She was a lady in the forest; I serve the Lady of the Forest. She was beloved by and a friend to all the good creatures of the forest. All the animals in the cottage flocked to her. Jewel had knowledge that only a greater power could possess. We were blessed to be in her presence no better guardian for the medallions could there be.”

“She also called you, and the other half-elves children. There are some myths that say that Ehlonna was the very first half-elf. So from that point of view, she could consider all half-elves to be her children as she was the first. I was too afraid of being wrong and embarrassing myself to speak up, but I will never forget this day for as long as I live!”


Continuing on, Nariya leads us to the location of the next medallion without error. It is a test of intellect as Jewel described.

“Huh?” Valena mutters upon hearing what is required. “I think I’ll let you mages handle this one. I haven’t got a clue.”

[Talen]

Talen:

"Yes, it is almost more than I dared hope," Kylie replies with a glance and a smile to Talen.

Talen will smile back and seems genuinely happy for Kylie. He’d give almost anything to be with his mother once more.


Later, the test Jewel mentioned is reveal. Talen thinks about it, but anything he can think of doesn’t seem to work.

Then Kylie speaks up, followed by Lilia who claims she has the answer this fast! It's mind boggling!

“Well, what is the answer then?”

[Kylie]

Kylie:

Talen will smile back and seems genuinely happy for Kylie. He’d give almost anything to be with his mother once more.

It feels good having Talen there being so supportive. Whatever else he may be, he's a good man and Kylie's starting to believe that he really cares about her.

“Thank you for your restraint back at the cottage. I cannot be sure just who or what Jewel is, but all the clues point to someone who is very powerful among my faith, if not an avatar of the goddess herself! She was a lady in the forest; I serve the Lady of the Forest. She was beloved by and a friend to all the good creatures of the forest. All the animals in the cottage flocked to her. Jewel had knowledge that only a greater power could possess. We were blessed to be in her presence no better guardian for the medallions could there be.”

“She also called you, and the other half-elves children. There are some myths that say that Ehlonna was the very first half-elf. So from that point of view, she could consider all half-elves to be her children as she was the first. I was too afraid of being wrong and embarrassing myself to speak up, but I will never forget this day for as long as I live!”

Kylie listens quietly, trying to digest what she's being told. "So what you're telling me is: Jewel is a goddess. Your patron, to be specific. Or at least an avatar thereof." Kylie rubs her temples for a moment. "I think I'm getting a headache." She sighs. "Why couldn't she just say so? Why the subterfuge?

"Still, it's not every day that you chat with a god, eh, Valena?" Clearly overwhelmed, Kylie still manages a shaky smile.

“Um, Maybe we can make a scale of our own? Simply tie two bags to a rope that is upon a branch. See which side falls?” she asks curiously to the others. “That way we don’t waste our one time.”

Kylie glances over at Lia. "Not a bad idea normally, Lia. However with all the magic that we're encountering in this, trying to circumvent the rules may well invalidate our attempt. Plus, we have no way of knowing whether the bags all have the same number of coins in them."

Lilia ponders the problem for a few moments. With her heightened intelligence, a solution is quickly reached, “It is a simple exercise in mathematics. Kylie, you spoke up first. Care to try your solution?”

“Well, what is the answer then?”

Lilia reaches the solution much faster than Kylie, who can only be embarassed by her own poor performance comparatively. Fortunately, she's had a few minutes to think about it as the others discussed the problem. She glances at Talen, then returns her attention to Lilia. "Ah... Tell you what: Let me see if I can work this out, and describe it to you. That way you can see if my solution matches yours and we don't waste an attempt if I'm wrong.

"Okay. My idea is to take one coin from the first bag, two from the second, three from the third, etc., all the way up to ten from the last bag. That gives us... uhm... 55 coins. If they were all 10 ounce coins, then the total would be 550 ounces. So that way, the number of ounces short our measurement comes will tell us which bag has the lighter coins. For example, if the weighing with our 55 coins comes to 543 ounces, that's 7 ounces short, indicating that the seventh bag has the lighter coins.

"Does that sound about right, Lilia?"

[Nariya]

Nariya:

Soon we leave Jewel's cottage behind and Nariya finds herself out front once more. She leads them to their destination. She catches bits and pieces of the conversation about what Jewel may or may not truly be. a goddess, really? she ponders that would be why she could survive by herself seemingly without any concerns and how she knew so much.

Once they reach the hill and see all the things on it, Nariya realizes this is a riddle of sorts. It's not one she's easily able to sort through, but Kylie and Lilia seem to grasp it quickly.

"Okay. My idea is to take one coin from the first bag, two from the second, three from the third, etc., all the way up to ten from the last bag. That gives us... uhm... 55 coins. If they were all 10 ounce coins, then the total would be 550 ounces. So that way, the number of ounces short our measurement comes will tell us which bag has the lighter coins. For example, if the weighing with our 55 coins comes to 543 ounces, that's 7 ounces short, indicating that the seventh bag has the lighter coins.

"Does that sound about right, Lilia?"

Nariya listens, following along. The idea seems like a good one and she's curious to see if Lilia thought of the same thing.

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

Kylie listens quietly, trying to digest what she's being told. "So what you're telling me is: Jewel is a goddess. Your patron, to be specific. Or at least an avatar thereof." Kylie rubs her temples for a moment. "I think I'm getting a headache." She sighs. "Why couldn't she just say so? Why the subterfuge?”

“That’s a hotly debated philosophical discussion,” Valena answers. “The most popular theory is that once, long ago, the gods did involve themselves in our daily affairs. They walked among their followers. However, inevitably they came into conflict with other gods and all out battles followed. Naturally the gods where not permanently harmed by these conflicts, but the lands and their followers were laid waste.”

“Thus it came to be that the gods had to recluse themselves from the Prime Material Plane to prevent everything from being destroyed. A sort of gentleman’s agreement was reached. No god would directly act on the prime. But indirectly was a completely different story. Thus it came to be that the gods gave mortals some of their powers to continue their works. Thus we have priests, paladins, and rangers acting on behalf of greater powers.”

“She since can’t act directly, Ehlonna had to seem to be something other than what she was. Thus she appeared to us as a older human, when she’s typically depicted as a young beautiful maiden of who is mostly half-elfin, but sometimes human or elfin. She did not use any powers nor did she tell us anything that we probably wouldn’t have learned on our own. While what she did was certainly bending the rules, she didn’t break them either.”

“At least that’s how I understand it.”

"Still, it's not every day that you chat with a god, eh, Valena?" Clearly overwhelmed, Kylie still manages a shaky smile.

“No it’s not that often, especially for one so young such as myself. Perhaps later should I live long enough and grow powerful enough that may be different. But for now it is a joyous happening.”

[Lilia]

Lilia:

Lilia reaches the solution much faster than Kylie, who can only be embarrassed by her own poor performance comparatively. Fortunately, she's had a few minutes to think about it as the others discussed the problem. She glances at Talen, then returns her attention to Lilia. "Ah... Tell you what: Let me see if I can work this out, and describe it to you. That way you can see if my solution matches yours and we don't waste an attempt if I'm wrong.”

"Okay. My idea is to take one coin from the first bag, two from the second, three from the third, etc., all the way up to ten from the last bag. That gives us... uhm... 55 coins. If they were all 10 ounce coins, then the total would be 550 ounces. So that way, the number of ounces short our measurement comes will tell us which bag has the lighter coins. For example, if the weighing with our 55 coins comes to 543 ounces, that's 7 ounces short, indicating that the seventh bag has the lighter coins.

"Does that sound about right, Lilia?"

A smile comes to Lilia’s face. “Very good, Kylie. Yes, that is exactly the same solution I came up with. And don’t be embarrassed. The Star Crown enhances my intelligence well beyond normal, so I had an unfair advantage when it came to solving the puzzle. Let’s try it and see if we gain the Justice Medallion.”

(OOC: Lilia has 21 INT while wearing the Star Crown, so it should have been simpler to her!)

[Kylie]

Kylie:

Clearly, her clan-sister Valena knows far more about the gods than she does. Neither Jallarzi's nor Rat's training really focussed much on the deities of their world. Kylie does her best to follow along as the older woman explains some of Ehlonna's behavior.

“At least that’s how I understand it.”

"I guess that makes sense, in as much as anything the gods do makes sense to me..." Kylie says with a shrug. "Mysterious ways, and all that."

“No it’s not that often, especially for one so young such as myself. Perhaps later should I live long enough and grow powerful enough that may be different. But for now it is a joyous happening.”

"I wish you well with that, Valena," Kylie says. "Personally, I'm not sure whether I would want the gods to be more active in my life or not..."

A smile comes to Lilia’s face. “Very good, Kylie. Yes, that is exactly the same solution I came up with. And don’t be embarrassed. The Star Crown enhances my intelligence well beyond normal, so I had an unfair advantage when it came to solving the puzzle. Let’s try it and see if we gain the Justice Medallion.”

A smile brightens Kylie's face at the news that she got it right. "It's good to know that Jallarzi's teaching didn't all go to waste." Kylie looks down at the bags. "Okay, let's start gathering up the coins we need." She'll start at the first bag on the left, counting out the correct number of coins and transferring them to the scale.
___________________________________________________________
Maybe if I'd have had access to the Star Crown, it wouldn't have taken me 2 days(!) to solve this one!

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

It is a test of intellect that must be passed in order to gain the Justice Medallion. Kylie offers up a solution, which Lilia agrees with. The coins are counted out and placed on the scale. Once ready, the prop is removed and the scale drops slightly. After it stops moving a measurement can be taken. The scale indicates that the coins weight 546 ounces. Thus, according to the theory, it’s the fourth bag that has the lighter coins. Kylie states this out loud.

The scale vanishes completely and laying on the now bare rock is the medallion! You know have seven out of twelve!


Afterwards, the elves move back down the hill so that they can’t be spotted by any of the enemy aerial patrols. Sherwood returns with the barge that he lands at the base of the hill. Camp is set up for the evening.


Now what?

[Kylie]

Kylie:

Seeing the weight registered by the scale, Kylie announces, "The bag with the lighter coins is the fourth bag, counting from the left." Seconds later, she is rewarded with the Medalion of Justice!

"Whoohoo! We got it!" she exults, slipping the medallion into her enchanted girdle with the others she's collected.

One of the others points out that they're kind of exposed in this clearing, so they move to the treeline and set up camp. Kylie is fixing an evening repast when Sherwood arrives with the invisible flying barge.

"Hi, Sherwood," she says in greeting. "We got the medallion. Decide to join us for supper?"

[Nariya]

Nariya:

Nariya watches with interest as Kylie and Lilia figure out the puzzle. Her face brightens as the Medallion of Justice appears. She looks over at Laucian and smiles at him.

Afterwards, the elves move back down the hill so that they can’t be spotted by any of the enemy aerial patrols. Sherwood returns with the barge that he lands at the base of the hill. Camp is set up for the evening.

They find a good place to camp for the night and Sherwood meets up with the rest of us. She will enjoy the meal and relax among the cooshees for a while. Afterwards she will volunteer to take first watch, even if the mages have some magical protection they intend to use.

[Sherwood]

Sherwood:

Sherwood lands the barge a safe distance from the others and this disembarks, leaving the barge invisible.

"Hi, Sherwood," she says in greeting. "We got the medallion. Decide to join us for supper?"

“Have you ever known me to miss a meal,” Sherwood answers with a grin. “Great job on the medallion. That gives us seven. We might as well spend the night here and rest. Tomorrow morning we’ll collect the Eagle Medallions. Unfortunately that also means that we must now contend with Moorkroft to gain the last four medallions. We’ll fly the barge over the elfin palace invisibly to get the lay of the land. Then we’ll decide how we’ll proceed.”

[Lilia]

Lilia:

Lilia will stand back and let Kylie gather up the coins. She’s clearly more intelligent than she lets on. The solution is the correct one and the Justice Medallion is gained.

“We were so concerned about finding something related to justice as far as the law goes, that we didn’t take into consideration that the scale is widely used as a symbol of justice. Thus we had a test using scales. Our ancestors could be very clever.”


Sherwood returns not long after with the barge and lays out plans for the next day. Lilia has nothing to add. Her current selection of spells should be sufficient for the coming day, so no changes are made.

“If we need to explore the elfin palace, I have several spells that in combination would permit me to do so. I can combine Fly and Wraithform. If someone can cast Invisibility on me, then it should be the perfect combination for exploration.”

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

"I wish you well with that, Valena," Kylie says. "Personally, I'm not sure whether I would want the gods to be more active in my life or not..."

“I am a priestess of her faith,” Valena casually explains. “I’ve already given her my heart and soul, so having her more involved in my life would be praise of the highest order.”


The puzzle is worked out by the mages and then we wait for Sherwood to return. Valena will spend some time playing with her animal friends before retiring for the evening. She has no problem taking a late watch.

It seems tomorrow that we’ll be scouting the elfin palace.

“It must be a marvelous place,” Valena notes. “Too bad that foul is holed up there. Let us see what we can do to remove this parasite.”

[Talen]

Talen:

“Way to go, Kylie!” Talen cheers as she solves the puzzle and receives the prize. “You’re awfully smart!”

We head back down the hill to be out of the open. Uncle Sherwood returns and lays out a plan of action for the next day.

“If we need to explore the elfin palace, I have several spells that in combination would permit me to do so. I can combine Fly and Wraithform. If someone can cast Invisibility on me, then it should be the perfect combination for exploration.”

“And don’t forget, some of us are just naturally good at moving about unnoticed,” Talen proudly states. “Why should you mages have all the fun?”

[Laucian]

Laucian

Laucian watches as Lilia and Kyle work on the problem at hand. In short order they solve the problem and the Justice Medallion appears. Seeing Nariya smile back at him, Laucian returns the smile then looks to the others. “Well done.” He says simply, the realization of returning the Slyvain realm back to its former glory is with in sight, but only just a glimpse.

Moving off into the woods, Laucian waits for the others and soon enough they make camp, as Sherwood arrives.

“And don’t forget, some of us are just naturally good at moving about unnoticed,” Talen proudly states. “Why should you mages have all the fun?”

“Just be mindful, Talen. There is no telling what guards our foe. He has had many years to make himself ready. Let us hope he overlooked some matters.” He says evenly not wanting to ruin the half elves.

Laucian will eat moderately from the food provided at the meal, then go through his devotions to his patron, Ehlonna. Thinking back on the day he smiles as he recalls Kylie and Valena’s words. They were truly blessed this day, and it is something he will be sure to thank, for her guidance and assistance.

As the night goes on, Laucian spots Nariya off to the side, moving toward her he stands for a moment then sits nearby. “I am sorry.” He says simply, “There was no reason for me to distance myself from you. I just wish to see these lands restored and while doing that I forgot what is also important.” He said looking up at her, his bow stretch across his lap and two of the cooshees laying nearby.

[Lia]

Lia


Following up behind Kylie and Lilia, “That was Ehlonna?” she asks in clearly surprised! “To think, that we saw and spoke with an actual goddess. I am beginning to think that they bed these rules a fair amount.” Looking to Kylie, “That is, if you include the visions we saw back at our village.” She says excitedly as she recalls the vision, her patron, Eillistraee, Her father and now, Ehlonna.

Lia tries and follows along with the others as they explain the Justice Medallion riddle, But it is slowly lost on her, as Arithmetic was never her strong suit. Within sort order the Scale disappears and the medallion lays upon a rock. “Yes!” she says happily, “Now we just need to go to the palace and defeat Morkroft.”

Looking to the skies soon after, she sees just how vunerable they are, “We best be moving to the trees, we are far to exposed to linger here.” She states as she walks towards the woods with the others.

Lia will eat sparingly of the meal, go through her devotions/pray for new spells and sleep for the night.

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

Morning comes and the elves are off once more. Everyone piles on to the barge, including the cooshee’s leaving very little empty space. Valena does what she can to tell the elfin dogs what is about to happen and to stay away from the edge of the barge. Still, they are not quite prepared for the experience!

Sherwood pilots the barge back to the Roc nest visited a few days ago. To those who haven’t seen it before, they cannot help but be impressed! The great bird has a wingspan of over sixty feet and it’s next is constructed of entire trees!

Valena speaks to the roc once more, bearing the Chimera Medallion. Upon seeing the medallion, the roc bends down and picks something up from its nest with its beak. It is the Eagle Medallion. Gently the giant bird gives Valena the medallion. The roc also says that since its obligation has been met, that it can help you need it help, just call.


After saying your goodbyes, Sherwood pilots the barge towards the Elfin Palace. (Area O on the map.) The palace takes up an entire small island in the southern river. The abandoned elfin town of Pinit sits to the north of the palace on the shore.

Much like the Sky Palace back in the Elfholds, the Elfin Palace is built amongst the trees. These same trees also shield most of the place from sight overhead. Only a few areas can be spotted along the outer edges of the trees. There are six open areas, equally spaced along the edge of the island. These all appear to be stables for flying creatures much like the griffon stables.

Ominously, there are several figures in elfin plate mail standing on these stables unmoving. Other than the figures, there is no sign of life below.

The Elfin Place is totally unlike any human fortress. Rather it’s a collection of small areas connected by rope bridges. There are two rope bridges that connect the fortress to the city across the river. These lead to two of the stables mentioned above, obviously the ones closest to the town.


Now what?

[Nariya]

Nariya:

As the night goes on, Laucian spots Nariya off to the side, moving toward her he stands for a moment then sits nearby. “I am sorry.” He says simply, “There was no reason for me to distance myself from you. I just wish to see these lands restored and while doing that I forgot what is also important.” He said looking up at her, his bow stretch across his lap and two of the cooshees laying nearby.

"I wish the same," Nariya says, putting a hand over his. "There is not a need to apologize. This is of greater importance," she says with a wave of her hand, indicating the forest and everything in it. "I am glad you are here now though," she says with a smile.

Nariya will enjoy the rest of the night in the company of Laucian and the cooshees. Soon enough morning greets them all and they are underway with a very crowded barge.

Valena speaks to the roc once more, bearing the Chimera Medallion. Upon seeing the medallion, the roc bends down and picks something up from its nest with its beak. It is the Eagle Medallion. Gently the giant bird gives Valena the medallion. The roc also says that since its obligation has been met, that it can help you need it help, just call.

Nariya can't help but marvel at the roc. Such an impressive creature and one that Valena soon says is now to be considered an ally.

Much like the Sky Palace back in the Elfholds, the Elfin Palace is built amongst the trees. These same trees also shield most of the place from sight overhead. Only a few areas can be spotted along the outer edges of the trees. There are six open areas, equally spaced along the edge of the island. These all appear to be stables for flying creatures much like the griffon stables.

Ominously, there are several figures in elfin plate mail standing on these stables unmoving. Other than the figures, there is no sign of life below.

"Some sort of guardians?" Nariya asks, seeing the armored figures, "or maybe imprisoned?"

Nariya isn't sure how Sherwood wants to proceed with this one, but Nariya will make sure all of her weapons are ready. This could go either really well or really poorly, and she wants to be prepared.

[Sherwood]

Sherwood:

Morning comes and the group is off once again. The Eagle Medallion is easily retrieved from the roc and Valena relates that the giant bird can be called upon if needed in the future.

The next stop is a small island in the southern river that holds the elfin palace. Sherwood estimates that the island is about 2 miles in size and if the structure covers the entire island, then it is quite large. Just where Moorkroft is and where the medallions and the centaur youth are being kept is a mystery.

“We’ve reached the dangerous part of the mission,” Sherwood says to everyone. “We’ve got to go into Moorkroft’s lair in order to find the next two medallions and rescue the centaur youth. The elfin palace appears to be quite expansive and we have no idea where to even look, but we can make some assumptions. Since the palace appears to cover the entire island and since Moorkroft seems to be a megalomaniac, then I’d bet that he’s held up in the areas of the Elf King’s throne room and his private residence. Most likely, these areas are near the center of the island, meaning we’ll have all his defenses to work through. We’re dealing with an arch mage who is very anti-social, so we’ll most likely be facing magical traps.”

"Some sort of guardians?" Nariya asks, seeing the armored figures, "or maybe imprisoned?"

Sherwood regards the figures in elfin plate armor. “They look like royal guards from a distance. Jewel did mention that he used constructs as guards. That’s probably what these are. I doubt there is anything living inside that armor.”

“I’ll take the book holding the medallions with me,” Sherwood adds. “The medallion I wear prevents me from being located magically and further more Lifeshield in defense mode will protect me from magic. I feel I am the logical choice to carry them at this time.”

“Time to decide our course of action. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover here, so we’ll need to split up. Lilia, Kylie, and myself can each cast Fly and that’ll be a big help. We’ll position the barge over the center of the island and make our way down through the tree cover that way and go exploring. Once at the palace, we’ll split up to cover more ground. The rest of you should move the barge to one of the landing areas and go in from there. Those guardians maybe a tough fight, but you should be able to defeat them. Then you move deeper into the palace. Unless anyone else has a better idea?”

[Lilia]

Lilia:

Lilia spends her evening buried in a book as is per her nature. On a whim she decides to go through the instructions that came with the Spell Engine. Much of it didn’t make sense before, but perhaps now that she wears the Star Crown they will. The Elf Maiden is pleasantly surprised to discover that the words do make much more sense this time around. She realizes that there are even faster ways to travel using the engine and that the week they spent on the barge wasn’t even necessary!

Alas, no one knew any better and it’s now in the past. But still it’ll make the return trip to the Elfholds a much more pleasant journey.

Lilia is in shock to see the roc up close! She never imagined anything this huge in her wildest dreams! She keeps her distance as much as possible.

We next arrive at the Elfin Palace. It seems the moment of truth has arrived. We must go into the enemy’s den for our quest to continue. Sherwood’s idea on splitting up the group seems logical enough. It puts the faster people together. It’s risky, but Lilia doesn’t have any better idea.

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

Valena does her best to explain to the cooshee’s just what is going to be happening when they get on the barge. Still they are not quite repaired and Valena prays that none of them try to jump off!

We reach the roc and even though she’s seen the great bird before, Valena is still nervous around her. The Chimera Medallion is shown and I’m given the Eagle Medallion. The roc also says that it can be called upon to help.

“Thank you very much,” Valena tells the giant bird. “I am sure that will be a great help.”

Then it’s off to the elfin palace. It superficially reminds Valena if the Sky Palace in the Elfholds, but much larger and grander. Sherwood states his ideas on how to proceed next.

“So basically we’re the diversion while you three explore further along? Unfortunately, I don’t have any better idea. At least we’ll have the cooshee’s with us. We should be able to handle whatever challenges there are with them at our side.”

[Talen]

Talen:

“Just be mindful, Talen. There is no telling what guards our foe. He has had many years to make himself ready. Let us hope he overlooked some matters.” He says evenly not wanting to ruin the half elves.

“Yes sir,” Talen answers, casting his gaze downward.


The next part of the day passes quickly. We retrieve the medallion guarded by the giant bird.

“She’s a big one, isn’t she?” Talen tells Kylie while trying to be nonchalant about it, but failing.


Next it’s on to the Elfin Palace.

“Wow! It’s huge! Can you even imagine living in a place like that?”

Sherwood lays out his plan of action. While disappointed to not be going with Kylie, Talen knows that he doesn’t have the necessary skills either. At least he’ll be in the larger of the groups and with the cooshee’s.

“No time like the present then. Let’s get moving.”

[Laucian]

Laucian

“Yes sir,” Talen answers, casting his gaze downward.

"Do not be so hard on yourself. Your heart is in the right place." he said with a smirk.

Seeing no better course of action Laucian simply says, “Let us rid these lands of Moorkroft’s stench.”

As the others are dropped off and the barge is lowered toward the clearing, Unsure of what may greet them Laucian watches and waits. When the battle begins Laucian will cast Bless upon he and his comrades, getting as many cooshees as he can as well.

[Lia]

Lia

Lia will draw her blade as she realizes the fight will begin. “It will be good day.” She says evenly, “Let us show this Moorkroft, that our people lay dormant no longer and return the pain he has given to our kin.”

Lia remain ready for whatever may come.

[Kylie]

Kylie:

“Way to go, Kylie!” Talen cheers as she solves the puzzle and receives the prize. “You’re awfully smart!”

"Thank you, Talen," Kylie says with a smile. She nods to Laucian to acknowledge his brief praise.

Kylie nods in response to Lilia's comment about the scales. It's a less obvious relationship, but certainly a valid one.

“I am a priestess of her faith,” Valena casually explains. “I’ve already given her my heart and soul, so having her more involved in my life would be praise of the highest order.”

"That makes sense, I suppose," Kylie replies.

Following up behind Kylie and Lilia, “That was Ehlonna?” she asks in clearly surprised! “To think, that we saw and spoke with an actual goddess. I am beginning to think that they bed these rules a fair amount.” Looking to Kylie, “That is, if you include the visions we saw back at our village.” She says excitedly as she recalls the vision, her patron, Eillistraee, Her father and now, Ehlonna.

"You seem to have a point there, Lia. The rules seem to be fairly malleable."

“Have you ever known me to miss a meal,” Sherwood answers with a grin. “Great job on the medallion. That gives us seven. We might as well spend the night here and rest. Tomorrow morning we’ll collect the Eagle Medallions. Unfortunately that also means that we must now contend with Moorkroft to gain the last four medallions. We’ll fly the barge over the elfin palace invisibly to get the lay of the land. Then we’ll decide how we’ll proceed.”

"No, not really. And thanks. At least we're more than half way there."

Kylie frowns. She's not really looking forward to going up against Moorkroft, but it's clear they cannot put it off any longer.

“If we need to explore the elfin palace, I have several spells that in combination would permit me to do so. I can combine Fly and Wraithform. If someone can cast Invisibility on me, then it should be the perfect combination for exploration.”

"I have both of those as well. Only one spell for Invisibility currently, though I could have more tomorrow. Of course, I used all three of them earlier today, so cannot help you until then." Fortunately, the night's sleep will allow her to replenish her spells.

Come the morning, they all crowd onto the barge and head off the retrieve the Eagle Medallion. It is not long before they come face to face with the roc. Kylie seems unable to do more than stare open-mouthed at the huge avian while Valena speaks with the creature and receives the medallion.

“She’s a big one, isn’t she?” Talen tells Kylie while trying to be nonchalant about it, but failing.

Kylie succeeds only in making unintelligible noises in response as her eyes remain locked on the giant bird.

Fortunately, the soon leave in favor of the elven palace, sparing Kylie any further embarassment. The palace is quite large, and the construction reminds Kylie of not only the Sky Palace, but other elvin towns and bases they have encountered. This style is beginning to have a familiar feel to her - perhaps that is part of her elven heritage.

Though it appears relatively empty, you could easily hide an army in this place. Kylie wonders not for the last time just how much opposition they will encounter in the search for Moorkroft. Plus, he could be anywhere in there and that leaves a lot of ground to search.

“Wow! It’s huge! Can you even imagine living in a place like that?”

"Not by myself. I'd get lost in there. You'd need a city's worth of people to make it feel homey."

Sherwood regards the figures in elfin plate armor. “They look like royal guards from a distance. Jewel did mention that he used constructs as guards. That’s probably what these are. I doubt there is anything living inside that armor.”

“I’ll take the book holding the medallions with me,” Sherwood adds. “The medallion I wear prevents me from being located magically and further more Lifeshield in defense mode will protect me from magic. I feel I am the logical choice to carry them at this time.”

Sherwood mentions that the guards are probably magical constructs. Kylie can't help wondering just how many of them Moorkroft has guarding him. If they are magical, Invisibility spells may not be entirely effective against them, which could prove to be a real problem.

Kylie hands over any medallions that she still has in her enchanted Girdle.

Sherwood issues orders for the next day's assault on the palace. His plan has them splitting into two groups. He, Lilia and Kylie will Fly in magically, while the others come in on foot.

“So basically we’re the diversion while you three explore further along? Unfortunately, I don’t have any better idea. At least we’ll have the cooshee’s with us. We should be able to handle whatever challenges there are with them at our side.”

Valena leaps to the unpleasant heart of the matter and Kylie winces. She can only hope that it doesn't become a matter of sacrificing themselves for the sake of the mission. Still, no one argues, choosing instead to make the best of a difficult situation.

Kylie does have one concern. "If Lilia and I are invisible, we may have some trouble linking back up to share information once the three of us split up. We may want to decide exactly how long we're going to search and where to meet up so that we can share what we've found."
____________________________________________________________
Lilia has both Invisibility 10' Radius and Improved Invisibility on her spell list. Does she really need Kylie to cast an invisibility spell on her?

Sorry I've been so slack about posting lately.

[Laucian]

Laucian

Kylie does have one concern. "If Lilia and I are invisible, we may have some trouble linking back up to share information once the three of us split up. We may want to decide exactly how long we're going to search and where to meet up so that we can share what we've found."

“That may or may not be able to happen Kylie.” Laucian says easily. “This is not going to be a walk in the Elfholds, not one part of this isle is safe to us. It may come down to sheer chance. If we are to meet the center would be the most logical place.”

[Lilia]

Lilia:

Kylie does have one concern. "If Lilia and I are invisible, we may have some trouble linking back up to share information once the three of us split up. We may want to decide exactly how long we're going to search and where to meet up so that we can share what we've found."

“My comments about going in invisible were made before we had a plan of exploration. Clearly, the Elfin Palace is very large and Wraithform has a short duration. It would end before much ground was even covered. So a change in tactics is necessary. It is my opinion that we shouldn’t use invisibly just yet. The elfin cloaks we wear will allow us to blend in well with the palace. I’d save Invisibility spells in case we need to escape fast and don’t want to be seen.”

“As for where to search and how long, let’s see what lies underneath the trees before making that decision.”

[GM Mad]

Post Closed