<font color=white>THE TREEHOUSE

Myron Epimetheus</font>

<font color=orchid>Anger. Anger and a bitter resentment. The heat of these feelings burns within the little man dispelling even the persistent chill within his bones. He has been violated. Angry. So angry is he that the circle he scribed around the Hag allows her not even the freedom to twitch her limbs or speak a single mocking syllable in the blasphemous tongue of her kind. It is a mighty circle to contain so small a demon, but this demon is small in appearance only for there is a terrible strength within her, a strength unlike any the little man has ever seen even in his journeys through the planes. Immobile as she is still the strange aggressiveness within her seeks after his thoughts even through the circle and never has he known a being of the lower planes, however mighty and terrible, to be able to do such a thing. He is angry and resentful but even those emotions could not have brought him to the casting of the Spiritwrack which now torments the hag, but he must remain safe as he seeks after the source of her strange and dangerous power.

He must know and even anger gives way to the disciplined seeking after insight which has become his very life. Once more he mutters and the character of his vision changes that he might see more clearly the strange movement he perceives to still be taking place about the immobilized demon. Something moves the air about her, but there should be no air within the circle. He hears it then, a whisper within the air and again his mutterings change that he might know what this whisper says. Insight greets him then with a terrible and frightening clarity and the little man stops short as a mocking laughter greets his lifeless ears. There is no whisper in the air, nor any motion. The air itself whispers and moves as if alive. Yet this is the air of the grave and its whisper is the unspeaking of life and its movement is the draining of life into stillness.

<font color=skyblue>Yes! O yes! Such a splendid and predictable fool and such a delightful mind to probe ..... So many secrets! So much learning tucked into such a little space ..... Yes! And now you know the secret behind my little Zhy’do’rah ..... And such anger! Why one would think a living heart still beat behind your ribs ..... Pitiful, wretched little fool! Even your victory over Zhy’do’rah is an illusion, a triumph I allowed you to deceive yourself into having ..... I have learned from you what I needed and the spells your learning insists must work against her kind are nothing to me ......</font>

There is a hissing in the air as the enchantment of the circle grows suddenly weak. The hag’s voice hisses a curse. There is a flash of light and an explosive sound and she is gone. The stink of brimstone lingers in the air and the stench is heavy with the merriment of a laughing hatred.

<font color=skyblue>Never forget, little man, that nothing is so free as the wind .....</font>

Magical research was a complicated painstaking task. Much like surgery it required absolute precision. One ill-fated syllable or mis-timed gesture could cost a wizard much more than his own life. This task was no exception, and in fact was much more difficult than most magical research Dantes had previously done, and he had done a lot of magical research. The intricacy of this spell was completely unique to anything Dantes had ever dealt with before. It was like somone specifically set out to make it near impossible to break apart the pieces of the spell. (The only way one could learn a particular magic like this, is to slowly dicern its original components and then piece it together as a whole.) Normally that is not hard, but the runestone was resisting. Dantes had of yet through 2 days of research accomplished nothing. He was getting frustrated, and was running out of time. What Dantes' teacher had always told him was that right when your ready to dismiss something, pull it out and look at it again. This was the point where Dantes was at. He just couldn't understand how the runes from the spells kept disjoining themselves, like they were moving. But, he felt something was strange even beyond that, so he didn't want to take the risk of dispelling it altogether. Then he got an idea. Maybe the rune actually had 2 different spells onit. With that Dantes began looking through his notes for things he didn't try. Dantes then found that a slight variation of an identify spell he tried earlier promptly revelaed, that there were in fact two spells guarding the rune. The first appeared to be some sort of spell that caused the runes to shift and covered the rune. the second was a trap set to go off if the other spell was removed. With this information revealed Dantes set about Probing the explosive spell to determine how he would be able to disable it. Then he set set about crafting a dispell magic variation that would be able to disolve the spell. It would be complicated, but it now seemed at least feasible. Dantes was glad as he worked long into the lightless night.

OOC: The events of the above post are covering a whole day. I hope it is somewhat to your liking.

<font color=lightgreen>Syrathic HP:74/74

Syrathic was surprised by Anarrima's answer. It sounded like she had been through a lot more than he could imagine. "It sounds to me that with all you have been through that you must be very strong. I don't think you'd have to worry about succumbing to any darkness. I just hope that we can do our part and get you out of here. Right now, I'm doubting how many of us will make it out of here alive. But I, for one, will appreciate the skills you have." He smiled again. "I seem to have the habit of getting hurt all the time," he finished with a laugh.</font>

[ 06-09-2003, 11:45 PM: Message edited by: Lord Starshadow ]

<font color=silver><font color=lime>Morguerat</font> - I missed this earlier – sorry about the delay – seeing to the preservation of the hide should be a straightforward matter, consider it accomplished by the time the smithwork is completed.

<font color=plum>Dantes</font> - Nice post. Go ahead and attempt to remove the spell. I’ll post for you after you cast your Dispel. Your focused work on the stone will probably keep you from speaking very much with the others until it is finished.

<font color=indianred>Brendon</font> - To free your character up, let’s make the safe assumption that Dantes has been too engrossed in studying the runestone to pay anyone much attention. Either he simply did not hear your question or you chose not to ask it so as not to disturb him – take your pick.

<font color=turquoise>The Group</font> - You do need to figure out what you’re going to do next. Dantes is the only character so caught up in what he’s doing as to be unavailable for this discussion. I am going to hold off on my own more general postings so that this conversation can take place. There needs to be some movement toward a decision by the time we get to the end of the thread so that events elsewhere do not progress too far ahead of the party's ability to keep up with them.</font>

<font color=skyblue> She falls to her knees, grabbing her head... keeping her eyes closed, and trying to keep her mind clear, she reaches into a fold in her cloak, and pulls out a blue mage globe. Setting it upon the rune in her palm, she softly whispers to it and throws it at the creature. Turning towards the wall, she pulls the Warder's Cloak over herself, blending in with the wall....</font>

OOC: well my vote it to try and get our elvish healer to lead us back to the drow city and pick up the trail from there, but you have no way to include me in the discussion though at this time since my character is working so my opinion is irrelevant. The leader of the party is Morgy so regardless of what you decide, the decision making process should probably run through him. I will get my dispell magic spell post up by this weekend. Have a good one all :D

OOC>>>After taking so much time to start up again...it is actualy hard for me to get back into character and make a post! I gotta stay on this more often. Come on, y'all! Let's move outta this dingy freaking cave!


<font color=indianred>Brendon

As Brendon finished his inquiry, he turned to look at the party's mage to realize that he was deeply enthralled in another matter trying to discern the makings of that artifact, and had not even heard the ranger. Thus, Brendon shrugged it off and decided that his desires could and would have to wait until a more convenient time. He finished the gnomish brew of unkown sweet and spicy flavors, and stood up to wash his metal cup out and return it to his bag. It was time to stop sitting around and dreaming, and time to get on the move. </font>


<font color=orchid>Anarrima

"I thank you for your kind words." She says to Syrathic. "Now I would like to address you all concerning this venture we are about to make." She turns to speak to all that are within earshot, and gathered around. "Morgeraut has mentioned the findings of the wild creatures and their apparent leader that infest the area, and Brendon has mentioned the Giants that I have spoke on before...the ones that have destroyed the drow city where I was held. I would like to add my say that the presence of these strange giants are not natural in this area, and they seem to have a definate motive. The grimlocks may or may not be a menace to reckon, but we all can attest to the knowledge that the giants pose a greater threat to these people that are harboring us now, and maybe moreso than just those that dwell in the Underdark! They are the more dangerous foe, and we must not turn our backs on them to chase cave rats! I ask you all to consider this, and you have my goddess's strength to back your decision. The time to choose and go is now, for we cannot spare more time. Time is against us." She waits and looks around to see if anyone was even considering her. She did not like putting the leader on the spot like she had just done, but he was obviously leading the team away from the real danger at hand. </font>

[ 06-15-2003, 10:47 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

<font color="99ff00"> Morguerat

Morguerat listened to the cleric and decided that her reasoning was mostly sound. "But I'd rather exterminate a cave rat than have it nipping at my heels the entire trip, perhaps we could combine two tasks into one, investigate teh Drow city, AND work on removing the grimlocks, regardless by now the missing scouts have been noticed and our element of surprise of gone, they will have fortified themselves, and perhaps warned the giants as well, I fear the longer we tarry here the more danger we put ourselves, as well as our hosts in. The very real possibility will be running into larger groups from here out. Patrols will probably be at least doubled, and they will be more likely to scatter as soon as we've been spotted so that they could try and get word about our numbers, and location."

OOC not really trying to push a decision, just give a more tactical view of the problem.</font>

[ 06-16-2003, 09:18 AM: Message edited by: Morgeruat ]

<font color=lightgreen>Syrathic HP:74/74

Syrathic nodded at Morguerat's comments. "The idea that we can take care of two things at once is appealing. I would vote for that course of action unless someone can think of something better. The idea that the patrols will be doubled sounds about right, and I feel that we are going to have to face this threat anyway. It may not be possible to ignore the grimlocks. And if they are all working together... well, better to be safe than sorry, I think."</font>

The essence of magic was a very particular thing. Even the simplest spell had to be crafted with exquisite care to detail. Every gesture must be timed correctly and completed without the least little mistake, otherwise the spell was ruined. Now creating or revising a spell is even more complicated than the casting. each individual movement or uttered syllable represented a different energy and amount of that energy put into the spell to create teh desired effect. Magical experimentation was about altering those small components to create the desired effect. With so many factors going into a spell this was rarely as easy as simply changing the timing or intonation of certain movements or syllables, or altering different components. Many mages have spent their entire lives looking for the desired effects of the spell they were trying to create, only to end up either killing themselves or wasting their time, with nothing to show for it but notebooks and notebooks of faliures. This was the process Dantes had been contenting with the past few days, through a number of simple and at times complicated tests Dantes had prepared a variation of a dispell magic spell that should, theoretically at least, dispell the trap and leave the runestone with just the ward obscuring the runes, which Dantes was confident he could solve. Without any flourish at all Dantes set about his task, his eyes closed tightly in concentration and his fingers dancing like fireflies as the arcane words flowed smoothly from his lips. Sweat dripped down his brow as the fevered casting neared its end. A bluish glow surrounded the runestone for but a second as the last syllable left Dantes' lips.

OOC: outcome/response is left to our fearless DM, be kind ;)

[ 06-18-2003, 06:44 PM: Message edited by: AzRaeL StoRmBlaDe ]

<font color="99ff00">Sir Morguerat 105/105

That night after the party had lain themselves down, and let the bliss of sleep overcome them the Morguerat formerly known as Sir awoke covered in a cold sweat, the visions he had had of the coming days, were too horrible to try and recall, yet flashes of his nightmares haunted him in waking, and he thought he caught a whiff of rot.

Unsure of himself, but sure that his presence would lead to the failure and death of all who were on the mission he snuck out of the building the gnomes had given them, taking his belongings, and leaving a note that read simply My presence here is a danger to you all, I shall find my own way in the dark down here, when next we meet I hope it will be as friends.

He paid the guards with a few small gems and coins he had saved, ensuring their silence and guaranteeing opening of the gates for him, and he was off taking care to hide his tracks with cantrip that resettled the dust behind his feet.</font>

[ 08-05-2003, 03:41 PM: Message edited by: Morgeruat ]

There was a brilliant flash as the bluish glow faded around the runestone. All was quiet as Dantes slowly magically probed the runestone to determine the effects of his spell. After several moments of silence a smile crept onto Dates face. The spell was a total success. Dantes could see that the trap had been eliminated and he could now read the obscured runes. This was a spell similiar to explosive runes but it packed a lot more kick. Dantes meticulously recorded the spell in his neatly organized spellbook, as he sat down to smoke a pipe. His tedious work had been fruitful indeed, now it was time to relax a little, as much as one could being a moderately tall wizard in gnomish accomodations.
OOC: Glad to be posting again. Larry check PM there is one thing about Dankorona I forget to tell you that I want to run by you before I post for him again.

OOC: I tried this one in a different style please bear with me, I hope you like it, and DM if you have any problems, PM me and we'll work it out.

Dankorona had been wandering the streets of the gnomish town fairly regularly since the party's arrival in the small gnomish settlement. He had ran into a few people from his village, but no one with any new news. Mostly just vague information about a terrible evil, like everyone else. This particular day Dankorona was walking down, what would be considered the 'bad' part of town, though what part of town is ever really 'bad' in a gnomish settlement. . .Dankorona had just passed an ominous looking alley, when he suddenly felt a blade at his throat.
"Relax and don't make any sudden moves" the figure said, from behind him, as he pushed him into the alley.
After they were about 30 feet into the alley the figure behind him pushed Dankorona to the ground and backed away a few steps. Dankorona quickly rolled forward and regained his feet as he spun to face his abductor. Then his heart almost stopped. Before him was the slimiest rogue from Dankorona's village, His name was Kendrick Darktongue. Kendric was well built for a gnome, he was completely bald and his head was covered with a network of tattoos. He was tall for a gnome about 4' and was the meanest gnome Dankorona had ever met. He looked like an orge but Dankorona knew he was a lot quicker than he looked, and in fact Dankorona thought Kendrick played dumb most of the time, just so he could deceive people better. Dankorona had not had good relations with Kendrick for quite a while dating back to an incident 2 years ago when a Dankorona's brother in law had gotten into some gambling trouble with Kendrick, and had used Dankorona as a voucher. When he came up short on the payments, Dankorona's brother in law was beaten severly and then Kendrick came looking for Dankorona to recoup his losses. Dankorona ended up paying him without any ensuing violence but he was not happy about it, and relations between the two were not good from there, even though they seldom had dealings with each other. The only dealings they had was usually Dankorona trying to get his brother in law out of trouble, but that is neither here nor there. His sister was very dear to him though and since then he had done what he could to help his brother in law just for the sake of his sister's happiness. Though Dankorona's kindness was to no avail, because since then his brother in law had been involved in many shady dealings, and caused his sister much hardship.
"So, happy to see an old friend?" Kendrick jibed at Dankorona.
"You and yours were never a friend of mine." Dankorona jared back.
"Enough about me and mine, I am here to talk about you and yours. It seems your brother in law, got into it big, and then skipped town on me," Kendrick glared at him.
"How is that a concern of mine." Dankorona asked, as he brushed himself off.
"Well, it is not a concern of yours, more a concern of your sister, or a concern for your sister that brings me here," Kendric said deftly.
"What do you mean?" asked Dankorona his face growing suddenly grim.
"Tis' nothing" Kendrick said slyly, "just that with her husband skipping town I fear that there would be no one there if you know, say there were to be an accident."
Dankorona knew this was a very thinly veiled threat.
Dankorona stared straight into kendrick's eyes and asked "How much?"
"300 gold pieces by noon tomorrow," Kendric stated matter of factly.
"What??? That is outrageous I have but 15 gold pieces on me how am I to raise that? Is there any way I could give you like a downpayment and make the rest later? You know I'm good for it I have much more than that at my place back home." Dankorona pleaded.
"300 gold by noon," Kendrick said as he started to walk away.
"Wait, where should I meet you at?" Dankorona asked.
"I'll find YOU," Kendrick said, as he disappeared around the corner.
Dankorona stood there for a moment with his mouth hanging open. How in the world was he going to come up with another 285gp by noon tomorrow, judging by the last clock he saw, he only had about 16 hours to make 285gp. What in the world was he going to do?

Edit: cohesion, spelling, and basically me being me ;)

[ 08-10-2003, 02:27 PM: Message edited by: AzRaeL StoRmBlaDe ]

<font color=gray>One man was seen leaving the caverns that marked the entrance of the hidden settlement. It had been said that the surface dwellers had been residing there for quite some time. Now they had been discovered. The Galltrit had to make his report to the Master. She would be so pleased. He flew as fast as he could and returned to the presence of his master. Euryale was very proud of him for his report and she began making the preparations to move against the settlement immediately. Within a few hours, her force was ready to move.

They began storming down the corridors in agonizing eagerness to taste the flesh promised to them. </font>


OOC>>> :D Morgy...you can attempt to "spot" the Galltrit as he was flying away, but I doubt you would make the roll. They are famous for being extremely hard to see, especially in this area, but I'll let you try if you ask in PM.

As for the march against the settlement that they are currently engaged in...you will have to decide whether or not you hear or see anything, since it has been a few hours since you left. This is your role-play, so if you want to be a part of the massacre, fine, and if not, then I'll work with you on another assignement of equal importance. Lemme know.

By the way...this war party is rather tough. I will let everybody finish up whatever needs to be done in-town before striking. There may not be a town after this. Ain't I nice? :D

[ 08-12-2003, 12:20 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

OOC: Ohh I see how it is, we lose more party members and still get the hard monsters. OK. Well Dantes is ready whenever they are. He is a war mage after all. I just have to finish my reply post for Dankorona, can I assume that they will not be ther before his noon deadline to make that payment? If they will arrive before then I can revise my plans and just make Kendrick meet him sooner. what you want DM just PM me and let me know what time frame I am working with her so I can make this make sense. After I get your reply I will turn this into the resolution post for Dankorona's activities. This should be a lot of fun. I can't wait to try out my new spell. . . MWAHAHA!!!!

OOC>>>I have Cyril on MSN now, and hope to be able to get the details of all that he hoped to achieve written down this time. Last time, I purposely forgot so that I would not be a hinderance to the game, but now...the secrets are all mine! We will really get this show rolling soon.

BTW...Never give me credit for this storyline, without realizing that Cyril is the one that deserves the highest honor for what he built for us. With that...LET'S GAME!

ooc <font color="99ff00">My character saw nothing, or at least anything he did see didn't distract him from his current goals</font>

OOC>>>Okay, I have recorded the conversation of our dearly departed DM who promises to attempt a return one day. I have sufficient notes to be able to make your lives a living hell. It appears that we are low on players all the sudden. Should recruits be persuaded to join? This stuff is really going to get exciting. If we knew what Cyril had been planning, man...we would not have slowed down our pace a fraction! Now, the whole website of Ironworks is in jeopardy! Death abounds! We must work fast and furious! I am ready to open a new thread, and we will see what happens there.

Adieu.