"No offense to the devout, but servants of the gods can be...very inflexible. I fear if we don't meet demands, we may have them forced upon us." Gromley points out.

'None knows that more than I, Gromley', Martha points out. 'However, we should not fight against those who are on our side; in any case Sonliin would not agree to fight angels of Ioun.'

'No. We will find a peaceful way to achieve our aims, as these wise men have suggested. We will save ourselves for the one fight which is necessary - the battle against Tiamat.'

Zog starts as if shocked when the librarian changes his shape--a bit of irony, thought the air elementalist. He pulls out a mirror and whistles. "That is pretty," he says in awe. "I will remember this one. Not that you gave me an option." He chuckles and bows to the librarian. "Thank you. May we meet again in victory."

He turns to the others. "Let's get underway, shall we?" asks the newly radiant blonde angel-sorcerer.

The Dawnbell Bastion is a light fortification and gar- rison built and maintained by angels of Pelor upon three small, neighboring earthmotes. The elegant tower that rises several times the height of its sister buildings is open at the top, revealing the bastion’s primary function as home to the Dawnbell. The bell that lends the complex its name tolls but once a day, announcing the beginning of each day in a city that knows no darkness.

The bastion can be reached by a soft fall that deposits travelers onto the largest of the earthmotes and can be left by a similar manner to reach motes below. The guardians are accustomed to their bas- tion being used in this manner and pay little heed
to you as you float down.

Gleaming doors seemingly crafted from solid gold and covered with bas-reliefs of angels triumphing over the forces of darkness are thrown open, reveal- ing a scene of intense serenity. An immaculately manicured sand garden lies surrounded by reflecting pools in the center of a circular room. A number of angelic figures in deep contemplation are spread about the area or perched on the balcony that runs the circumference of the room. The nearest angel turns from its meditation when the heroes enter the room and addresses you:

“Welcome to the Dawnbell Bastion, citizens. There is no shame in seeking guidance in the Bright City, for none are truly lost who seek the path. Where is it that you desire to go?”
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:29, Wed 09 Mar 2016.

'Hi Angels. I'm Martha and these are my buddies. We're like a heroic little family. We are trying to restore balance in the world after the demise of Bahamut. It's what he would have wanted, we reckon. The librarians of Ioun are on-side too and now we need your help in order to carry out the next part of our quest'.

Martha is happy to explain all the details, without holding anything back, but gives plenty of space for the others to explain as she reckons they would be much better than her at dealing with angels.

Zog steps forward, his face radiant. "Allow me to tell the dark tale. You have an opportunity to help right a great wrong."

He then describes the sordid affair and the discovery that the group made. He frames it in such a way that it is clear that there is a great threat to Light and Life if nothing is done, and emphasizes that the magical power of the bell need only be suppressed for a very short time.

He'll also repeat this to as many angels as necessary!

When they arrived at the Dawnbell Bastion, Darratheir decided to stay behind the others. They have proved until now that they were better than him with negotiations. Sure the Dragonborn will be able to shine on his own but it wasn't his time now.

Martha and Zog, make Diplomacy checks. Martha can also make a Religion check.

Woot!
20:48, Today: Zog the Faceless rolled 43 using 1d20+25 with rolls of 18.  Diplomacy.

Sonliin stood back, letting the others interact with the angels of Pelor at the bastion.

:( 07:25, Today: Martha rolled 27 using 1d20+21 with rolls of 6.  Religion check.

EDIT:
18:33, Today: Martha rolled 36 using 1d20+21 with rolls of 15.  Religion check (bennie; reroll under 10).
This message was last edited by the player at 18:33, Fri 11 Mar 2016.

17:25, Today: Martha rolled 22 using 1d20+16 with rolls of 6.  Diplomacy check.

EDIT:
18:32, Today: Martha rolled 27 using 1d20+16 with rolls of 11.  Diplomacy check (bennie; reroll under 10).
This message was last edited by the player at 18:32, Fri 11 Mar 2016.

Harald wasn't the most diplomatic of dwarves but he was quite good at reading faces and attitudes.  As Zog told the tale of their trials, he watched intently to see if there was anything he could possibly interject that might help.

18:01, Today: Harald Gaptooth rolled 29 using 1d20+17 with rolls of 12.  Insight check.

Martha strikes about the right tone with the angel to introduce Zog's story.  Harald is able to interject at a couple points to whisper in Zog's ear to give him insight into the angel's mood. The angel listens attentively and earnestly to Zog's tale, stoically but with obvious concern.

All this eventually results in the angel holding up his hand. "I will fetch my supervisor," he says simply. He returns ten minutes later, flying--with an angel that looks exactly like him.

"Well-met. Firstly, I would like to hail one among your number. Gromley Underhill, I once aided you in a matter. It is pleasant to meet you again. Please, Gromley, explain why your group wishes to have us violate our orders and a truce with the forces of Hell for this matter?"

Gromley, your turn to contribute. Take +2 to your roll as Zog no doubt auto-succeeds. Others (Agon, Darratheir, Sonliiin) can contribute. If you are not sure how, send me a PM.

"Because, my good sir-the one benefit of dealing with the forces of evil is that they are totally disloyal to one another. The only creatures they hate more than well, you-is the next demon or devil up on the rung to power. Their willingness to betray makes them predictable, and we can use that to further our needed goals. Goals that are about the greater good-which I am sure that is what you are all about. If you are willing to die for your cause, then doing something less than death, but still distasteful, may be required."

OOC-16:55, Today: Gromley Underhill rolled 40 using 1d20+29 with rolls of 11.  Diplomacy w/assist from Zog .

'Let me tell you something. Let me tell you all something'. Martha interjects, uninvited. 'The thing about the 'forces of hell' is that truces are observed only when it suits them. I know. I was one of those. Tiamat does deals all the time, and she sticks to them while they are useful, but she does not bat a draconic eyelid when she feels its useful to break them.'

'With Bahamut dead Tiamat is ascendant and all your deals and truces with her are worth nothing. Look at us...' She points out her team. 'A former servant of Tiamat, a servant of Ioun, and Bahamut, a gnome you know, a dwarf and a dragonborn. We have nothing in common yet we work together, compromising every step of the way, to save our world before it is too late. You too must work with us and compromise. If there was another way, we would try it, but time is running out and this is it. You must help us.'

Gromley's words have struck a chord with her, and she can't help speaking out of turn. Such was the gravity of the situation.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:54, Fri 11 Mar 2016.

The commander blinks. "Your logic is persuasive, Gromley and frizzy-haired-mortal woman. But I need to understand how you may shut down the effects in question on the bell before I proceed. Can one of you explain the mechanics of such an operation?"

Everyone looks to the archmage in the room.

Agon, time to explain how this will work to everyone :-) Arcana check, with a bonus for a cool explanation. Sonliin can roll as well--Zog, hold off.

"While there is an agreement to keep the seal closed, it did not take into account of an emergency. Asmodeous made the agreement expecting to keep the bone arrow contained but with Bahamut dead, it has changed the balance of power towards Tiamat and not him. He is in the horns of a dilemma. While he would hate to have the arrow back in play, he knows that with the shift, it will not be long before she starts playing in his turf.  If the seals were kept intact but disabled for a short period in order for us to retrieve it, he can deny that he had anything to do with it and at the same time shift things back in place, at no expense of his own resources." Sonliin said

---

11:28, Today: Sonliin rolled 42 using 1d20+24 with rolls of 18.  Arcana.

Sonlinn had the essence of the matter at hand.  "I will need a blackboard to discuss this properly, but perhaps, yes." An illusion sprung into existence before Agon, jeweled orbs and ghostly epicycles and glowing runes meshing into a machine of terrible purpose. "This diagram represents my understanding of the state of the seals." His explanation was lengthy, involving phrases like "meta-stable planar harmonics", "quantum psuedo-shifts", and "time-like spectral philotic states".

He finished up. "...and so, as per Lemma 3a, it is possible to bypass the seals for a short period of time without breaking them, by arrange a convergent temporal-null which will allow us to enter the final chamber and retrieve the, ah, artifact, without violating any treaty terms."

11:17, Today: Agon rolled 36 using 1d20+32 with rolls of 4.  arcana.

Silently, Darratheir was listening to his new companions. Agon especially seemed to know what he was talking about but the Dragonborn was completely lost as he wasn't really versed in the arcane power. Still, he understood that they could revoke the seals for a short period and that was enough for him.

"Oh and just like the seals that diplomats place on their correspondence, it is possible to open them without destroying the seals in the process, however it does a bit of work."  he said and started describing other means of accessing the seal.

The angel commander grills Agon and Sonliin for technical details on how this shut-down will work. The pair are able to satisfy his questions more than adequately, to the commander’s amazement.  He also presses the party to validate that the Librarians at the Sealed Library agreed to this as well, seemingly amazed at this. He is clearly impressed with the party’s abilities after all this.

Finally, the commander slowly nods his head. "I believe this course of action is defensible to my lord Pelor. And it does seem for the greater good. I will not agree to this until the keepers of the the Seal of Erathis agree as well. If we have union, then we will cooperate with your plan."

They are kind enough to point out direction to the market square where the Seal of Erathis lies. “The only trouble,” the commander admits, “is that I do not know who the keepers are. This may be a challenge to find out. You will know when you know, however.”

Knowing nothing else of use, the angels promise to cooperate and send the party on their way. As they move through the city, they enter a more crowded/built-up area. A modicum of silence descends as you enter a rare pocket of calm amidst the constant commotion of Methion.

Suddenly, Martha and Harald notice something: A glint of silver catches your eye as something crouches low to avoid being seen on a nearby rooftop, and the faint rasping of steel being drawn echoes from an alley. Ambush!

Everyone roll initiative. ONLY HARALD AND MARTHA act in the surprise round. Nobody else post anything but initiative, please.

Map: https://docs.google.com/drawin...Q50-wFOAK6P78Lk/edit

Harald and Martha, if you beat an initiative of 39, you act first in the surprise round. Otherwise, don’t post your actions if you don’t beat a 39.

16:54, Today: Sonliin rolled 28 using 1d20+12 with rolls of 16.  init.

'Oh my Gosh! An ambush!' screams Martha, and leaps into Harald's arms for protection instinctively.

22:14, Today: Martha rolled 31 using 1d20+26 with rolls of 5.  Initiative.

"An ambush? Where?" Agon focused his second sight to detect the threat, forgetting the real world for a dangerous moment.

15:46, Today: Agon rolled 18 using 1d20+17 with rolls of 1.  init.