[X] Actually look for the dragon
-[X] Ally with the dragon against Gavhaul and try to convince it to aid you against the court of Veils
here we have the rare and dreaded third vote.
I want to know what's up with this dragon. Dragons are cool.
I also think now is the time to stab Gavhaul. Ideally with quite a bit of help.
We do also have a demon shapeshifter? Running around somewhere.
edit:
As for actual reasoning also.
-The dragon isnt in bed with gavhaul, the fae courts, or the townsfolk, also probably not the demons.
-Its a powerful single actor with a goal that nominally works with our intentions
-It almost certainly isn't aware of all this insane shit going around surrounding this cache. And will be able to make better decisions if informed as such.
-This dragon is probably younger and easier to influence.
What kind of dragon tries to justify its decision making to mortals?
That shows more consideration on its part than most of the people in this entire debacle have shown.
edit:
Also looking at the outer dragon age blocks
Young for outer dragons is 16-25. Which is adult by this worlds standards but still very young by dragon ones.
Why is it down here instead of staying in it's parents territory? Why go after a cask of dangerous magical artifacts guarded by people much stronger than it?
I'm not convinced a Young Lunar Dragon is going to be willing to deal with us in any way we would appreciate. I can't find much information about them, especially their temperament, but Outer Dragons are pretty weird, even on the Dragon scale.
Reaching out to it is basically inviting it to get rid of us if it's inclined to solve it's problems with violence. It is just as likely to be receptive as it is to kill and eat us.
One of them served an Aslanti moon god in the past. I wouldn't be too surprised if they did still view themselves as protectors of the world. It would fit with their stated intentions and actions.
One of them served an Aslanti moon god in the past. I wouldn't be too surprised if they did still view themselves as protectors of the world. It would fit with their stated intentions and actions.
It ran away with a chest full of treasure. That's not quite the same thing as fleeing battle.
Lunar Dragons are not inherently Good or protective. They're Chaotic Neutral by default. That's not set in stone, and there is a huge variety in possible CN behaviors, but expecting a Young Lunar Dragon to go against their instinctive nature is hoping for a bit too much, IMO.
What do ya'll think of using Gavhaul to help eliminate the Lord of the Court of Veils? If we take the deal now, we could "track" the Dragon just like we did the thieves and their Dire Bat, except this time we wouldn't actually be hunting for a thief. If we're pretending to track the Dragon, wouldn't it make sense for Gavhaul and the rest of the expedition to accompany us?
What do ya'll think of using Gavhaul to help eliminate the Lord of the Court of Veils? If we take the deal now, we could "track" the Dragon just like we did the thieves and their Dire Bat, except this time we wouldn't actually be hunting for a thief. If we're pretending to track the Dragon, wouldn't it make sense for Gavhaul and the rest of the expedition to accompany us?
One of them served an Aslanti moon god in the past. I wouldn't be too surprised if they did still view themselves as protectors of the world. It would fit with their stated intentions and actions.
Maybe there is something to the plan of talking to the dragon.
But if we arrive there together with Gavhaul, it will certainly bomb any attempt at friendly talks.
Best possible timeline for me would be to kill the Veils Feylord, then find the Gavhaul again before he reaches the dragon and intervene in that confrontation to make sure Gavhaul fails and dies.
But that's just a dream of perfect timing, not something I believe is actually likely.
[x] Take the fey deal, go 'looking for the dragon' while in fact searching for the master of the Court of Veils
At first I thought they have some deal in place to recover the core, but it looks more and more likely that they wanted to even the odds before attempting to seize it... possibly with another ploy, like sending adventurers after the treasure trove. Manipulating the dragon was a success, no reason to assume it'd fail against mortals.
Which makes me want to not play the part before we eliminate the possibility.
It ran away with a chest full of treasure. That's not quite the same thing as fleeing battle.
Lunar Dragons are not inherently Good or protective. They're Chaotic Neutral by default. That's not set in stone, and there is a huge variety in possible CN behaviors, but expecting a Young Lunar Dragon to go against their instinctive nature is hoping for a bit too much, IMO.
I just wanted to say, no matter how this goes on, I really like the feeling of this right now, an end of a long arc, everything is poised to explode into violence after the journey to get here, enough players in the game that more than individual skill and prowess it looks like it will be timing and alliances that decides who goes out of here with their goals fulfilled, and who wont.
[X] Actually look for the dragon -[X] Gavhaul is intent on hunting the Dragon down. It would make sense for us to accompany him for now so that we can face the Dragon with as many extra combatants as possible. Afterwards, we can focus on the Fey.
I just wanted to say, no matter how this goes on, I really like the feeling of this right now, an end of a long arc, everything is poised to explode into violence after the journey to get here, enough players in the game that more than individual skill and prowess it looks like it will be timing and alliances that decides who goes out of here with their goals fulfilled, and who wont.
"I have no interest in the beast's carcass, rare as it may be, but the treasure, old and new, is to be dealt with after the whole of our company rejoins..." It is with these words that Gavhaul bids his farewell. Whether one should be grateful of his confidence that Gorok can not only find a dragon on the wing, but that the five of you might kill it yourselves, or annoyed that he thinks you would be loose with the spoils, is up for debate.
Then again we are planning to kill him, perhaps with the dragon's aid, so maybe not so much of an insult.
Thanks to Triss and her merry band, you have a place to start looking for the Court of Veils; south-south east of Fusil's walls, where an old dry stream-bed carves its way through a patch of briers that even a sounder of boars would scorn to cross. There's an easier, though certainly not easy, way hidden by the lip of the earth, through a crude tunnel that you now know to have been carved by the clumsy spades of one-eyed giants right up to the foot of a low hill with a flat summit in the shape of a bent star. Bright white stones are scattered all around it like the bones of some long broken army, and in the center a black scorch-mark, as though some god had hurled an eel-bolt, lighting in the Taldan tongue, thick as an oak tree down. As palaces of faerie glory seen from afar it is not much, which you gather is the point. The Court of Veils is as a tribe new-come to these lands, ragged of cloak and weary of foot, and they did not come willingly.
On the 'other side', in the strange realm the spirit kin call the First World, for they claim to have come into being before all mortal things, there stands a 'Nightshade Grove' where the poison flowers grow tall as the trees and in its shadow the would-be king lounges while his servants heave and grunt with exertion under the light of a sun too hot for their dark-bred eyes. That much at least you can sympathize with. So Gorok judges it wisest to approach during the height of midday, much as your head might pound in protest at the fact, the reasoning is sound. You can always throw a veil down to guard yourself.
"There's something there, look-see, left, left... " Cob points, deftly avoiding sticking his hand into particularly nasty thorn as big as his whole hand.
Though the thorn bushes had almost grown back your friend's sharp gaze had not deceived him, something had broken a path through here... and it was still here. Laying face down on the har- packed ground is the figure of a man, face-down, and he is without a doubt dead. From the smell it has to have been at least two or three days, though no scavengers have yet dared approach the fey mound enough to pick at it yet.
"Well...," you make an attempt at bitter humor. "It seems we are not the first to seek out the Court of Veils of late, though they do not seem too appreciative of visitors. Lets see if we can change their minds."
As you turn over the corpse, two things become readily apparent. That the man had died by having the left half of his rib cage invert in a way that is not particularly conductive to keeping his internal organs internal, and that the face is rather familiar...
"Alderman Tyn!" Mina gasps, putting her hand to her lips, perhaps to keep from being overheard.
"Not the one we met, he's not," you note, grimly considering the state of the body. "He's been dead for too long."
"But... who is that then, some kind of fey spy?" she asks. "It doesn't make sense that a member of the Court of Veils would cut a deal to sell the treasure to the Resplendent Morn, it does not make sense for them to cut the deal at all. He could have just grabbed what he wanted and left."
The expression on the corpse's face is one of bewilderment that matches what you're feeling about now. Mina is not deterred though, she kneels down next to it and begins a slow mournful song. Not of rousing, but of memory.
Corpse Will Save vs Speak with Dead: 1d20+4 = 5 (Failure)
"How did you die?" she asks softly.
"I didn't die," the answer rasps between broken teeth and torn lips. Not a very useful start.
"What was your relationship with the Court of Veils and its sorcerer master?" your friend tries again.
"A bargain, they promised to allow us to sell our gems far and wide. Not just in Carpenden, not just in Andoran, but carried though the Otherworld to the markets of Pangolais."
"What were you planning to do with the treasures from the stars?" Mina presses, her last question.
"Have the new fey appraise it, then the old, then make an auction. I'm a very good auctioneer, always have been."
With that the corpse falls silent, leaving you with more questions than answers.
Did someone else kill the Alderman as he was coming and going to the abode of the Court of Veils? Did they kill him for some transgression, maybe for presuming to set up an auction in which the local fey would have the advantage? Then why did the impostor Tyn continue with the plan? Why is he convinced he didn't die?"
What does Akorian propose?
[] Offer the challenge to the Lord of Veils as planned, that payment in gems is still on the line
[] Return to town and confront the impostor
[] Send someone back to warn the rest of the caravan that the Alderman is not who he seems
[] Try to parley with the Lord of Veils so figure out what's going on here
[] Write in
OOC: The plot thick... eh, who am I kidding, the plot was already thick. Also, since it has been a day, feel free to adjust spells prepared where you like. I just did not want to slow down the story for that.
Is this a yet another faction, such as another group of Fey (perhaps acting on behalf of their local queen?), or maybe even the Demons Gavhaul warned of?
Being able to replace the Alderman for a short time isn't overly difficult with low level magic or the natural shapechanging abilities common to a lot of different creatures, but being able to reliably impersonate him for several days, that's beyond the means of most beings. The Alderman was a well known, active figure in Fusil. If he had acted strangely or his mannerisms changed, people definitely would have noticed and made an issue of it. That seems like the sort of thing folks living in a forest heavily associated with the Fey, allies or not, would be wary of happening.
That either means whoever replaced the Alderman must be very familiar with him, probably an inhabitant of the village, or possess the ability to absorb the knowledge of its victim to better pull off the act. There might be more than one sort of creature that can do that, but the only one that comes to mind is the Bodythief plant. Unfortunately, those disintegrate the original's corpse, so that can't be the culprit. Well, it's fortunate, too, because those things are CR 14 murderplants.
This is complicated... 🧐
@DragonParadox, how far away from the Court of Veil's seat of power did we find the corpse?
Okay, I don't think the Court of Veils killed the Alderman. It doesn't seem like it was in their best interests to do so, and if they had, they aren't likely to have left his body right here on their doorstep. That's too sloppy.
Whoever is impersonating the Alderman probably didn't do it, either. Again, that's too sloppy.
Then again, with a name like the 'Court of Veils', it is heavily implied that they specialize in Illusion magic and intrigue, so maybe they did replace him?
It starting to feel like the corpse was meant to be found. If not by us, then by the nearby Fey. If they found it, they might have assumed it was the other Fey Court (which it very well may have been) taking out the man who brokered a better deal for Fusil, to their detriment.
This whole situation is a mess. Too many angles and too much chaos. I want to assume typical Fey BS, but it's not obviously one or the other known faction and it seems more malicious than mischievous. I'm starting to lean toward Demon fuckery.
For now, I'm at a loss on how to proceed. I don't think we should initiate conflict yet, though. It may still come to that, but if we leap to that solution we are going to limit our options and potentially make enemies where we didn't need to.
[X] Try to parley with the Lord of Veils so figure out what's going on here
-[X] Sirim casts Magic Circle Against Evil before we approach the Fey, and everyone carefully remains within its effect. Mina casts See Invisibility, and both she and Sirim keep any eye out using Detect Magic.
Okay, I don't think the Court of Veils killed the Alderman. It doesn't seem like it was in their best interests to do so, and if they had, they aren't likely to have left his body right here on their doorstep. That's too sloppy.
Then why is it lying at their doorstep? Do they not have the means to see if someone was killed in their courtyard? The body may be hidden, but not particularly well.
About the only third party that has an interest in having two courts come to blows would be demons, and I don't think our demonsense pinged anyone in the village.
If the Court of Veils is guilty of murder and impersonation, the auction could have been allowed to continue if there was no desire to pay for the items at all. Get the dragon to steal the treasure, get someone after the dragon, clean up and take the treasure. Although the plan was in effect for at least 3 days, and they couldn't have predicted our caravan's arrival... or could they?
As for the real Aldermann who 'didn't die'... could something be going on with a spell similar to soul jar, or whatever its equivalent is called? Left half of his rib cage was inverted... something related to the heart, maybe?
[x] Try to parley with the Lord of Veils so figure out what's going on here
-[x] Sirim casts Magic Circle Against Evil before we approach the Fey, and everyone carefully remains within its effect. Mina casts See Invisibility, and both she and Sirim keep any eye out using Detect Magic.
If the Court of Veils is guilty of murder and impersonation, the auction could have been allowed to continue if there was no desire to pay for the items at all. Get the dragon to steal the treasure, get someone after the dragon, clean up and take the treasure. Although the plan was in effect for at least 3 days, and they couldn't have predicted our caravan's arrival... or could they?
I mean... you have been in this forest for much more than three days and you objective has been discussed fairly openly. Someone with good stealth, post-cognition or any of a number of divinatory abilities could have made a decent guess as to what you were after.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Aug 16, 2024 at 1:59 AM, finished with 10 posts and 5 votes.
[X] Try to parley with the Lord of Veils so figure out what's going on here -[X] Sirim casts Magic Circle Against Evil before we approach the Fey, and everyone carefully remains within its effect. Mina casts See Invisibility, and both she and Sirim keep any eye out using Detect Magic.
