In a very narrow alleyway of a walled village, a swirling vortex opens a few feet above the ground, unseen by the inhabitants because they don't bother watching this alleyway much.  Out of the vortex, 4 figures are flung into the alley - a human woman, a human man, a warforged, and a shifter with wings.  A split second after they are so ungracefully ejected into the new surroundings, a few fancy boxes are flung into the alley, breaking open.  A moment after that, some water gushes from the portal and drenches the 4 new arrivals.  The vortex flickers, fades, then vanishes completely.

Not that the cardinal directions are apparent, but the scene is thus:  The alley runs east to West and is about 5' wide.  To the south is a tall masonry wall with a wooden railing at the top hinting that it is a defensive wall designed for soldiers to walk along the top.  Along the North of the alley is a wood and stucco wall of some building with a ceramic tile roof.  Dust and cobwebs suggest the infrequent use of the alley.  About 10' to the West the alley narrows to about 3' thanks to the corner post of the building jutting out from the wall, but beyond the post seems to be an open area paved with cobblestone.  About 10' to the East is another narrow point due to another wooden corner post, but the alley just continues further in that direction for about 30' before opening to another, albeit not as well lit, cobblestone area.  Lighting: Daylight.  Weather: Clear and cold.  Cold enough to see your breath.

((OOC:
Joe finds:
Point Blank Weapon (AV) lv 3
Cloak of Distortion (AV)  lv 4
Sylvan Armor (PH1) lv 3

Timothius Finds:
Inescapable Longsword lvl 3 (AV)
Collar of Recovery lvl 4 (AV)
Versatile Plate Armor lvl 3 (AV)

Elric finds:
Healer’s Brooch – lvl 4 AV
Symbol of Divine Reach – lvl 3 AV
Skewering Weapon – lvl 3 AV

Gale finds:
Orb of Insurmountable Force - lvl 3 AV
Stoneskin Cloth Armor - lvl 3 AV
Safewing amulet - lvl 3 PHB
.))
This message was last edited by the player at 18:04, Sat 11 July 2009.

Gale scrambles to her feet just in time to dodge the box flung at her, but is unable to dodge the water that follows.

"Water it is," she says, arms held out like she's a soggy scarecrow, (why women instinctively take this pose when drenched is one of life's mysteries) "Ooh!  Sky!  How I've missed you!  Must you give me such a cold welcome?  Brr!"

She shivers and wrings out her hair before examining the contents of the box that looks like the last one apparently intended for her.

"No fur coat," she says, "Nor a towel.  But that would be TOO convenient.  I get the impression that this wasn't the destination intended by whoever made that last portal.  Bye bye, mysterious dungeon!"

He holds up the fancy looking items she found and looks at them carefully.

"Nice as this is, I'm gunna go coat shopping ASAP."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:00, Sat 11 July 2009.

Timothius is poured on with water and widens his eyes. "MREOW!" he lets out from reflex before hugging himself and looking around. Seeing his allies "spit" through, he would offer a hand to help up anyone who isn't already up (Gale having gone through first, she was standing as he came through). He puts on the armor and puts the sword on his side. Then puts the collar around his neck and says, "I'm with Gale. A c-coat sounds gooood..."

  Joe is okay.  He only took 1d4 damage from chest impact upside the head (and it rolled a 1).

  "Ow..."  Commence splashing. "...ow is not the appropriate reaction, but I'm at a loss what is."  This moment of blunt trauma induced insanity, that is our exscuse and we are sticking with it, over with Joe rises to his feet with convenient Paladin based aid.  "Thanks Tim... Wait a minute."

  Something of important significance in Joe's life has arrived.  "Oversized novelty bow, how I've missed you."  Wow, it's as tall as he is.  "Not my old one, but it's free."  His old one was also free, for the same reasons his Shortsword was (actually paying for it during chargen aside).

  "I could make some comment about how I don't need to go coat shopping with this." He said as grabbed the Mens size leather armor and cloak.  "But anything you buy likely won't come soaked in ice cold water."

  He doesn't comment on Tim's fur coat by default, lest if give Gale any ideas.  He also considers whether or not rusting is any more of a potential issue for Warforged than it is for even the most basically enchanted Dagger.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:55, Sun 26 July 2009.

After being splashed, Elric's eyes dimm as the warforged clearly isn't amused by the situation until Joe mentions the sky causing the warforged to glance up and speak, “Thank Pelor, at least we seem to be out of that place, oh how the light is a welcome sight.” as Elric notices the great spear, brooch, and holy symbol on the ground at his feet. “So anyone have any clue where we are?”

Elric doesn't seem to pay much attention to being drenched as he picks up the three items to inspect them before responding to the comments about being cold and wet that the others have made. “I don't see what the big deal is about being wet, we'll be dry soon. Although I'd prefer if it was a bit warmer, but at least it isn't so cold that the water is freezing into ice. ice is annoying.”

Gale raises an eyebrow that the Paladin doesn't seem the least bit shy about stripping off his armor with a lady present.  That's fine, she's not shy about watching either.

"Prestidigitation!" she exclaims, snapping her fingers, "Duh!"

With that she heats* the water soaking her, Timothius, and Joe, and steam begins to rise from all three as the water evaporates.

"Be that as it may, Joe, I'm sure you'll appreciate the warmth for the time being."

She faces Elric and nods.

"Thank Pelor indeed!  Good question.  I'll wager a guess that it's faaar from where any of us live.  That would be too convenient if we landed someplace familiar.  And the big deal about being wet is that us warm-blooded people will die if our body temperatures go below a certain point, and water speeds up the death-by-cold process a great deal."

She listens carefully to the hustle and bustle of the town.

"They speak common," she mutters, "I suppose that's a good sign we won't be attacked on sight.  Shall we go ask the locals where we are?  Though we may wunna keep from mentioning where we're from...  Lotta places would find our strange story unsettling at the very least."


*((OOC: "Chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 pound of nonliving material for up to 1 hour... You can have as many as three prestidigitation effects active at one time."  This would take about 18 seconds to pull off warming all 3.))
This message was last edited by the player at 00:22, Mon 13 July 2009.

  "The lessened chance of hypothermia is much appreciated, yes." Joe replies, because not needing to make an Endurance check is better than having a good Endurance score.

  Joe didn't figure Tim wore nothing but Platemail (and fur).  But even though Joe also was inclined to wear clothing underneath his armor, for the moment he only put on the now dry cloak.

  Gale was wearing Cloth armor, which many figured was just fancy clothing (and for the most part that was true).  But Joe's brain skipped past the gutter area implications this could have.

  "Lots of people might also find it odd if you ask where you are when you are already there.  So we may want to put that off until its clear there are no convenient signs or passing comments to answer that question for us."

Elric glances at Joe and his eyes flare up in intensity for a moment as the warforged mutters sarcastically, “Guess we shouldn't ask what day it is, since we don't really have a clue how much time has passed while we were underground.”

When Gale casts presto to make the water evaporate, Timothius says, "Thanks, Gale." with a relieved expression and light smile.

Timothius gives Elric a half curious, half skeptical look as he tries to figure out why the guy is annoyed at Joe's advice. But for now, he offers some of his own:

"Well no offense to anyone present, but of the four of us, Joe and Gale should be the ones to scout out, simply because they are human. The fact they speak common doesn't guarantee they will look favorably on me or Elric. Then again, I suppose a quick glance at the people themselves will show if I'm wrong on that."

As far as what Gale and Joe's respective minds were commenting on without actual commentary, Timothius was, in fact, wearing something under the armor. Now, he is wearing something under some OTHER armor. Heh. But he's sure to hold on to the old armor. One does not simply discard armor. That stuff's expensive!

"You're welcome!" Gale answers Timo and Joe proudly, "And good points all.  I'll be sure to try and act casual."

Gale walks out into the square and...
sees everything BUT humans.  "An outsider!" they say, "Attack!"
Good thing she was just daydreaming that part.

Carts and tents surround a large communal well in the center of this plaza. The well, 10' across, is located about 10' to the northwest of the alley and has a small lip to prevent people from falling in.  The citizens of Loudwater bustle about the area, shopping for food, clothing, and crafts.  Everyone seems so wrapped up in their own business, that the appearance of a human woman wearing magic clothing barely registers.  Of the 6 people visible in the square, three are dwarf, two are halfling, and one is human.

Gale approaches the human who's standing outside what appears to be a tavern about 10' to the northwest of the well.  The human is a balding man, probably in his early thirties, who in spite of appearing to be in excellent shape, has a cripple's cane next to him leaning on the same wall he's leaning on.  He's in the middle of a conversation with a jolly looking halfling man, so Gale waits her turn to speak.

"Hi!" Gale says with a smile and a wave when the two stop talking.

"Top of the mornin' to ya, Ma'm," the human answers with a small smile, "Sunsteen Urbeth at your service.  What can I do for you?"

"Gale," Gale answers, with a polite curtsey, "Would you like to see an illusory magic trick or two?"

"Ooh!" the Halfling interrupts enthusiastically, "I'd love to!"

The human frowns and his brow furrows, but he doesn't answer Gale.  Gale holds out her hand, and an image of Timothius arrayed in shining armor appears above her palm.

"Wow!" the halfling approves, clapping.

More of the townsfolk are paying attention now that a magic show is being performed.

"Once upon a time there was a valiant and gentle Paladin of the Platinum Dragon named Timothius," Gale narrated, as the image showed him protecting a little girl from an angry wolf, "He teamed up with his friend Elric, a faithful and fun-loving Cleric of Pelor, and the two of them rescued a damsel in distress from the clutches of danger!"

The illusory scene shows Timothius and Elric combating the wolf, then switches over to the girl kissing Elric on the cheek while Timothius tying up the apparently unharmed wolf.

"This is great!" the halfling cheers.

Gale pauses her story.

"I'm glad you like," she says, "Just curious... Would a pair like this be welcome here?"

"You kidding?!" the halfling says, "Of course they would!  Wouldn't they?"

The crowd of fascinated people nod and give their assent.  Even Sunsteen seems to agree.  Gale smiles.

"Then it gives me pleasure to introduce my two heroes, Timothius and Elric!  Come on out, guys.  Don't be shy!"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:19, Mon 13 July 2009.

Elric steps forward when Gale beckons. Elric waves to the crowd as the warforged cleric approaches Gale and the crowd that has formed around her. “Hello, I am Elric.”

Although Elric's face doesn't readily show it, the warforged is quite curious to learn about this town in order to find out how similar or different it is from the town Elric's 'father' is from. Thinking about 'father', Elric glances down slightly for a moment as the warforged wonders when or if Elric will ever be reunited with 'father' again. Elric glances up towards the sky for a moment when Elric thinks that if it is Pelor's will it will be done and that there is nothing to worry about which makes Elric realize something.

To an observer it would most likely seem that Elric is possibly looking around the town as the warforged speaks up with a playful chuckle, “Even now I realize new meanings in father's teachings. Doesn't matter where you go, the same ground will be beneath your feet, and the same sky will be above you.”

  Joe doesn't come out after Gale's little show, but this would be due to the fact he had done so in time to actually watch it.

  'How nice, Gale is less one of the insane magic practitioners, and more one of the awesome ones. Exactly how much less, and more much more was up in the air.  But who was Joe to talk, or narrate about sanity beyond the comparative sense?

Timothius steps out into the open with Elric and also says, "Hello... thanks, Gale." His wings wiggle some behind him and he glances around, a bit less fearless than Elric about the surrounding people. But may as well test the waters. If Gale's intro didn't do it, nothing will. Still, he is prepared to book it, should the people decide to be scared and angry.