D&D II Act One Scene IV(a) - The Dead in Osinzir

Banjo

"to the Raptor rental!"

Along the way she sends Hetyaro out looking for Mags

Fourier

Hetyaro finds Mags in the bookies, as Retula finds a Raptor renter giving one out on a week rent for 1GP.

Banjo

(ooc : how big are the raptors? Regulation Jurassic park size? If so, can Lumol keep up, either by running or phasing like a mad yoke?)

Retula dismisses Mr Humphs, calls her Raven back and rents 2 Raptors, leaving a description of Mags with the dealer. Before leaving she checks what the raptors names are then rides up to the door of the bookies and shouts in the plan to Mags.

Oh, and she checks if the raptor talks

Hi ho raptor.... Away!

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

(ooc : how big are the raptors? Regulation Jurassic park size? If so, can Lumol keep up, either by running or phasing like a mad yoke?)

Retula dismisses Mr Humphs, calls her Raven back and rents 2 Raptors, leaving a description of Mags with the dealer. Before leaving she checks what the raptors names are then rides up to the door of the bookies and shouts in the plan to Mags.

Oh, and she checks if the raptor talks

Hi ho raptor.... Away!

The raptors are quite large, technically deinonychus according to the renting operator, who forgoes the charge on account of Retula's status. Others nearby either edge away or approach to kiss her shadow.

Lumol explains to Retula not to worry about him as he can easily keep up.

The Raptor speaks clear enough Common. "Hello Retula, the name's Tsoin, the other Raptor is Xinshin. Humans seem pretty worried about you, but you're not related to the raptor afterlife, so just another customer to me"

The Raptor begins with a slow walk to get used to Retula, heads into trot and once in the jungle begins a fast sprint. He points to two small pouches on his sides.

"Packed lunch inside, oh great ferrywoman of the river of death, enjoy, we've spared no expense!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIPjF2kYE2g

Banjo

Retula munches on her lunch and asks the Raptor about the VelociRapture and how it compares to the afterlife she's supposedly in charge of and knows nothing about.

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

Retula munches on her lunch and asks the Raptor about the VelociRapture and how it compares to the afterlife she's supposedly in charge of and knows nothing about.

"The Raptor afterlife is less esoteric, just running around enjoying the hunt all day", he fills him in on more, but it really is a simple faith, all raptors go to the same place.

They eventually reach the valley in which the race is taking place. Some of the racers from the Sunset peninsula in the southern regions of the Osinzir empire have boats on a river running through the valley.

The rest of the racers are on dinosaurs or dinosaur pulled carts. A few are on magical vehicles, including one gentleman in a large sentient bubble and another standing on a larger version of himself.

Thousands line the valley walls to see the start of the race.

Banjo

Retula looks for a sign up sheet and the stand that hands out goofy bags for participants.

Given the raptor is faster than Mr H she also asks him if he fancies entering with her?

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

Retula looks for a sign up sheet and the stand that hands out goofy bags for participants.

Given the raptor is faster than Mr H she also asks him if he fancies entering with her?

"Sure thing!!! Truth told, I've always wanted to be in the race!"

The race coordinators sit on top of a large brachiosaurus, with the sign up stand below them. Floating in the air nearby are the resurrected race judges.

One clad in heavy armour looks straight at Retula and points his sword.



"Look people of Osinzir, the lady of shadow way has come to the mortal realms. Retula, she wasn't known to the people when I was alive, to our detriment, we thought a foul beast came in death..."

The people cheer as he descends, both for him and Retula. He lands close to her.

"Well, good work on getting yourself worked into their religion, I didn't anticipate that. I thought one of their gods would come to deal with me or maybe one of this plane's higher gods, but to have an agent of one of the multiversal beings intervene, well I must be really throwing a gear in the works"

He looks straight at Retula.

"You won't stop me, in fact, by the end, I think you'll join me"

He smiles and waves at the crowd.

OOC: Off for the night, race tomorrow

Fourier

OldGoat wrote: »

Feeling fine, well fed and magics back up to strength* Mags counts out his money. Two gold, one silver, six copper (two of which are actually rivets rather than coin). A veritable fortune!
He asks the barkeep if there is a bookie nearby.
"I've heard there is a race and I'd like to take a wee wager. What odds do I get on backing a stranger to the city? When does the race start and where is a good place to watch it from?"
He wants to put himself into any place where he might overtly or covertly help Retula.

The bookie directs him to the nearest bookie's at the Ziggurat's Eastern face. He arrives there to see the odds on thousands of racers.

OldGoat

Mags shrugs at the odds and bets all the coin he has on Retula.
He wanders to where the crowds are gathering and strums a lazy slow lethargic air, full of meandering soft chord changes, all with the intention of relaxing as many of the competitors as possible, making it seem to them that the race is more of a gentle game than a fierce competition.

OOC: Hoping to twist a 'Song of Rest' into a 'Song of can't be arsed racing too hard today' on as many of the competitors as I can. If I can knock a few runners off their stride then so be it.

He searches for signs of Retula amongst the crowds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAsUNTHRjaM

Fourier

Mags manages to see Retula down in the race valley itself, seated on her Raptor. She's speaking to one of the ghostly race judges.

Mags song seems to subdue the crowd around him, though the racers themselves are too far below in the valley itself to even hear the song over the din of the rest of the crowd.

OldGoat

If Mags can get close enough to her before the race he will hurl out a bit of Bardic Inspiration and a Song of Rest if she needs it. Otherwise he is going to move to a point along the course where he is closer to the racers.

Fourier

OldGoat wrote: »

If Mags can get close enough to her before the race he will hurl out a bit of Bardic Inspiration and a Song of Rest if she needs it. Otherwise he is going to move to a point along the course where he is closer to the racers.

Mags manages to get down to valley and although some Osinzirite Guards stop him from approaching any of the racers directly, he manages to strum Joepaz quietly, but tunes the notes to carry themselves straight to Retula's ear. Beyond the chatter of the racers and the cheer of the crowd, her ear picks out the tune. A slow building guitar solo of quiet confidence, with hints of music native to the Shadowfell. How he does it, she doesn't know, but it leaves her feeling rejuvenated, ready to take on this race.

OldGoat

Mags changes back into his armour and waits nearby, just in case he's needed to wade in to any...unfortunate occurrence.

Banjo

Fourier wrote: »

One clad in heavy armour looks straight at Retula and points his sword.

"Look people of Osinzir, the lady of shadow way has come to the mortal realms. Retula, she wasn't known to the people when I was alive, to our detriment, we thought a foul beast came in death..."

"You're too kind. 'Lady of Shadow'.... truth be told, I was going for a smokey eye look, and you know how it is, you do a dab here and a dab there to try to balance it out but it gets out of hand and before you know it..."

She turns her ebonic arms over and back a few times.

"Ta-Daaah! But if you think I'm not a foul beast, you've never seen me eat chilli at a wedding."

The people cheer as he descends, both for him and Retula. He lands close to her.

"Well, good work on getting yourself worked into their religion, I didn't anticipate that. I thought one of their gods would come to deal with me or maybe one of this plane's higher gods, but to have an agent of one of the multiversal beings intervene, well I must be really throwing a gear in the works"

"How long have you been dead, and you still don't get it? I didn't 'work myself' in there, I've always been there.

The river flows, dear warlord, whether you like it or not. You dive in and let it carry you to where you're meant to be. Many fight the current and arrive at the delta exhausted and broken, but arrive none the less.

Once in a while a soul fights hard enough that they create a little eddy current of their own, but surely by now you've noticed that the harder you fight the flow, the stronger the current opposing you becomes? I am what you made me. Excellent job, by the way, but couldn't you have let me be a little taller? I have a lot of trouble reaching cookie jars."

He looks straight at Retula.

"You won't stop me, in fact, by the end, I think you'll join me"

"Stop you? You're not listening!

If you're so determined to see an agent of a multiversal being, you don't need to look very far - what, were you so busy having the fisting of your (after)life that you didn't think to wonder who's hand is up your arse, making your mouth move and your arms twitch?

Stop you... heh... poor little warlord... I'm not here to stop you. I'm not some transdimensional troubleshooter or astral assassin - you send those after the bad guys. Do I look like I could take on a big-bad? Ha!

I am the River's social worker. You are a victim. I'm here to make sure you get home safely.

Afterwards.

And look, for what happens, I'm truly sorry. No one deserves that, no matter what they've done. But when it happens, don't be afraid. We're here for you. The Estuary welcomes all with open arms.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've always wanted to be in this race and, like, this is the la--uh... whoops! No spoilers!"

Retula wheels around and heads for the starting line.

Fourier

The emperor of Osinzir walks to the front of the line of racers and then walks from East to West surveying them. Satisfied he turns.

"Those forty who reach Zhulugal first will be the winners, though you must pass through Iltsu. Outside of that and a ban on intraplanar..." he emphasises the word "...travel, there are no rules.

We are happy to announce that this race has our own Retula as a competitor, as well as the Elven god of minor rivers..."

Retula sees a figure made of water riding a giant leaf beast raise his hand.

"...in addition to a sage who ascended out of our realm four hundred years ago..."

A smiling bald figure floats with his legs crossed in the air, no mount to speak of, and waves at the crowd.

"...well then.

BEGIN!!!"

The one thousand two hundred and five competitors start moving, the vast majority locals who are simply running, hoping the big fish take each other out.

Banjo

Ooc : how does this work? Do I need to plot a course or take an action other than urging the raptor on? Initial idea would be to wait and see what the custom is with regard to magic, attacking and whatnot, using the raven to occasionally give a better view of any upcoming hazards, maintaining Guidance on the Raptor for now in case he needs to do anything too strenuous.

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

Ooc : how does this work? Do I need to plot a course or take an action other than urging the raptor on? Initial idea would be to wait and see what the custom is with regard to magic, attacking and whatnot, using the raven to occasionally give a better view of any upcoming hazards, maintaining Guidance on the Raptor for now in case he needs to do anything too strenuous.

OOC: Tell me the course, by default raptor is moving let's say and I tell you "hazards" as they come up

Banjo

Ooc : Ok. Where am I on the map and where's Iltsu?

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

Ooc : Ok. Where am I on the map and where's Iltsu?

OOC: You = 1104, Iltsu = 0910

Banjo

Retula urges Tsoin on.
"So what terrain are you fastest on, desert or jungle? Do you prefer roads? The way you tore through the trees on the way here I'm not sure it would make much of a difference! Is it bad manners to just start shooting?"

Ooc : 1105 is the only way forward. Retula's background means she'd have perfect recall of the route here from zhulugal but I'm not sure what hexes those are. If possible she'll follow the line to 0908 and just skirt into Iltsu. If possible she'll use the raven to scout ahead and return with memories of the region beyond her 100 ft radius range for sense sharing but I'm not sure that's how the bond works.
Oh, and if someone dies ahead of her but is not pulverised and she's not in immediate danger she'll summon Mr H to deliver a Spare The Dying touch, horn is better PR than good, then dismiss.

Fourier

Hetyaro lands on her shoulder to inform her that coming up ahead some of the Wizards in the race have worked together to summon a huge fire elemental. It's targeting the more powerful figures like herself.

Retula can see smoke ahead of her as she enters a jungle grove.

Banjo

KRAAAAW!

"I said I was gonna buy some first chance I got! Besides it wouldn't dispel something that big and anyway you're the one who missed the trap that cost us the last 2 days! Shaddap and find me the river god, I'm river-adjacent, maybe we can strike a deal."

ooc : or... You know... I could just smite the featherplucker. I take it the Wizards are beyond it and therefore out of my reach?

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

KRAAAAW!

"I said I was gonna buy some first chance I got! Besides it wouldn't dispel something that big and anyway you're the one who missed the trap that cost us the last 2 days! Shaddap and find me the river god, I'm river-adjacent, maybe we can strike a deal."

ooc : or... You know... I could just smite the featherplucker. I take it the Wizards are beyond it and therefore out of my reach?

Hetyaro flaps off, rising over the racers, searching for the river god. As he does, a few arrows are fired in his direction.

OOC: Roll DEX for Hetyaro. Yep out of reach

Banjo

ooc : rolled 18, think (s)he has dex 14, so +2 mod, 20?

Fourier

Hetyaro weaves and ducks past the arrows landing safely on the River God's beast.

He doesn't even turn, but just speaks over his shoulder.

"Little bird, I assume your master can hear me, good timing I was about to send a message myself. Retula, what should we do, I would say the elemental is of Expert construction."

OOC: Retula would know what that means, so for you read 'A winnable challenge for four Level 3 characters.

Banjo

Fourier wrote: »

Hetyaro weaves and ducks past the arrows landing safely on the River God's beast.

He doesn't even turn, but just speaks over his shoulder.

"Little bird, I assume your master can hear me, good timing I was about to send a message myself. Retula, what should we do, I would say the elemental is of Expert construction."

OOC: Retula would know what that means, so for you read 'A winnable challenge for four Level 3 characters.

ooc : given the lengths I go to avoid conflict unless it's with defenseless civilians, I still don't know what it means is level scaling linear or is there a curve? As a level 4, am I worth 1 and a little bit level 3s?

"Hey Lumol! How far Can you phase us? I'm thinking we let our damp chum distract the elemental, you phase us through him and we kill one of the summoners. If they're working together, that'll either dispel it or they'll lose control and it'll turn on them."

If non-feasible, screw it, full frontal assault.

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

ooc : given the lengths I go to avoid conflict unless it's with defenseless civilians, I still don't know what it means is level scaling linear or is there a curve? As a level 4, am I worth 1 and a little bit level 3s?

OOC: Roughly, you are worth 1.4 of a character one level less. Although there is a huge amount of variables in this

Banjo wrote: »

"Hey Lumol! How far Can you phase us? I'm thinking we let our damp chum distract the elemental, you phase us through him and we kill one of the summoners. If they're working together, that'll either dispel it or they'll lose control and it'll turn on them."

"Nice plan, unless the elemental is massive, I think I can phase us through. How close will we get before I try to phase?"

Fourier

OldGoat wrote: »

Mags changes back into his armour and waits nearby, just in case he's needed to wade in to any...unfortunate occurrence.

The man in golden armour who spoke to Retula floats back up to the other ghostly judges and whispers to another one in jade armour, who then nods and heads away from the race to the North.

Banjo

"you're the professional! Do I ask you how to explode old ladies's houses or come up with creative racial slurs in archaic languages, spangala arwenessa? I'd say wait till you see the whites of his eyes, but... Well... "

She slow-blinks her ebon peepers for emphasis.

"Gauge when he's about half way between your start and end point and warn me if that's going to put him inside my range, might as well get a few pops in, get his attention."

(If we're in range, she shouts to the elemental "let me pass and I'll send you home quickly")