Vicril took a step towards the woman. I am Vicril. A druid on his endless travels of the earth. And who might you be if you don't mind answearing. One question deserves another one. Now how did you get into this situation. I beg you to answear quickly for much evil is a foot here and it seeks to send Rashemen into ruin. He found it strange that one woman would pop out of a gem, but then again this journey had shown him many strange things.


DM edited to properly tag speech color
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:25, Sun 20 Apr 2008.

Cecania chuckles at Eirik's comment.  'They seem decent enough.  Locals, most likely.  Ignorant of the wand's powers, that seems certain.'

"Well met, Vicril," she says, making a peculiar salute to the man.  "I'm Cecania Cormaeril, of Arabel, in the good kingdom of Cormyr, and I'm no genie, though I suppose I could summon one if I ever learned its true name.  I'll answer what questions I can in good time, but by Tymora, my throat is parched!"

"So no wishes then." A human, and not a Thayan. That much at least was a good sign. Perhaps she'd been trapped by the Red Wizards in the gemstone. Did that mean she understood the Wand somehow?

Scrambling down the rock-face yet again, Eirik passed her his water-skin, which was beginning to run low in this thirsty land. "Here." Once she'd taken her fill, he took the skin away and added "Now talk."

Drinking from the flask, Cecania smacks her lips in satisfaction.

"Ahhhhhh!  Myrkul's Bones, I needed that!  Being stuck in that gem was sort of like being trapped in a dusty closet filled with pins and sand up just past your neck, and everything you see from the closet is refracted about a hundred times, and of course, it's all from the perspective of a stick on a man's belt, so I can tell you how pleasant that was sometimes," she says, stopping to take another long draught from the flask.

"Anyhow, you get the idea.  Thankfully it would seem that I was only in there for a few weeks, since the weather hasn't changed too much.  I'm lucky you came along - another month and I'd probably end up as insane as every other spellcaster and creature powering that that wand."

Mixed looks of confusion, horror, disbelief and disgust crossed the barbarian's face, and he really was not sure what to say to the gem-woman called Cecania. "Right..." he began at last, soon tailing off.

He clutched the Gemstone Wand, still tucked not-so-safely in his belt, then dragged it out, holding it with a look of uncertain fear. "This wand? The Gemstone Wand?" He peered intently at the gems set in it, wondering if he could catch sight of the spellcasters and creatures said to be trapped within. "There's people in here? Can we get them out?" He caught himself, then waved it in front of Cecania's nose. "Do you know what this does, how it works? Do you know how to slay the Scarred One?" he insisted, urgent.

Finally remembering manners browbeaten into him by Navarra, he added. "Oh, the name's Eirik, a warrior of Rashemen. Uh, welcome?"

Ah forgive my friend Eirik. Now I guess you have been trapped for quite some while I assume, but evil is afoot here and it's not safe for man nor beast. We must slay a wisard called the Scarred One. A thayan madman. Just as it would be we could need your help as you seem to be of more nobel blod then the thayans He took the time to cast a angry look at Jostyn. Any information that you may have of the matter is important, but I would like to remind you we got little time as it is.

   "The Scarred One?" The woman makes a face - either from the drink on her tongue or the name she is spitting out, then frowns and shakes her head. "The name does not remind me of anyone I should know...should I know this name?" She looks around at the small assemblage of new faces.

   "Now Shaene" she starts again, spitting on the ground immediately after saying his name, "was a vile servant of...well, some very vile people and things."
   "Tell me about it" chimed in Jostyn with an agreeing nod.
   "He had his hands in many cookie jars, including one which involved his use of this wand." She takes Eirik by the hand and holds the gem-encrusted wizard's stick up to look at it more closely, like the others. "The wand, as far as I can tell, is a conduit of sorts, draining the essence of living users of the arcane to power the wielder's own incantations. It grants some measure of defense against magic to the holder, and *should* allow for enahancement of certain schools of spells."

   She releases his wrist, but does not let her eyes stray from the wand as she finishes. "As to the release of the other hostages, I would not be so hasty to be the liberator of some of the others. Demons, elemental fiends, and worse...far worse...now populate the gems adorning that thing."

"The Scarred One's an evil wizard from Thay. But aren't they all? He cursed the land of Rashemen to wither and die. We're going to slay him."



"Great." the barbarian muttered, and clutched the Wand tight as if it were a snake about to bite him. Damned crazy wizards.

"So, how do we use it?"

Relgar observed the situations stoitically but had grinned little when Eirik wailed like babe, it was both disturping and funny but understood funny irony of the protection enchant to present situation.

When woman came form gem Relgar at first hand reached to his scimitar but after while his hand left it and observed woman curiously.

Her accent is odd indeed.

He let others talk and fill the woman in from the situation but Relgar bowed his head to her and introduced himself; "I am Relgar, a woodsman and warrior of Rashemen."

Vicril looks at the ground and shakes his head. Just what we need. More evil beasts moving through the land. Well I now highly suggest that we get moving people. You are free to join up with us.

Switching back to his original (albeit white-haired) form, the halfling gives a florid bow and announces to no one in particular, "It appears that an enemy has provided us with a friend. So begins the second chapter of our tale, enter Cecania!"

Adding under his breath (thoughtfully out of earshot of Eirik) "and a fiery replacement for that stern witch"

Cecania nods at Relgar and Eirik's introductions, and the halfling's comment.

"Thank you, I think.  I'd be glad to aid your fight against the Scarred One, though if he was the one that killed Shaene, we may be up against more than we can handle.  I saw glimpses of the battle between them fromt he wand...it...well, it wasn't pretty, and I've seen my share of spell-duels."

Looking back to the Gemstone Wand, her face takes on the same slightly sour expression she had when talking about Shaene, though at the same time, her expression is almost...longing?  It's readily apparent that however distasteful she finds the item, it doesn't prevent her curiosity.

"I'm not certain how to use it yet.  Well, how to use it safely anyhow.  Let me prepare the proper incantations, and I'll see if I can learn more about it tomorrow," she says, searching her pouches. "Or the next time I find a pearl the size of my pinkie, at least..."

"Eh, he didn't exactly kill Shaene, he just made him run off screaming like a little girl. The ground killed Shaene when he fell into this gully and snapped his neck."

Eirik looked around and sighed. So one witch replaces another, even if she was not Rashemi. And she wasn't Navarra. But was he supposed to serve her as well? "We should get moving. We've, uh, wasted enough time." He waved Cecania towards the rope hanging down into the gully. "You need help getting out?"

   Newly re-formed with the surprising addition of Cecania, the group turns its attention once more to the task at hand: finding the 'Scarred One' and his minions, and retrieving the elemental relic of stone he posessed. None thought it would be easy, and in fact several of them reflected on their lives as though this journey may well be their last.

   Uphill they trudged, back from the edge of the crevasse [after Cecania's emergence, of course] and along the path they had made in following the flight of Shaene from the scene of combat. Nothing new leaped out at them, no new tracks to follow across the broken ground, no new servants of darkness rising up from the shadow of a boulder to waylay them.

   Shortly they found themselves standing once more at the pile of rubble that had marked Jostyn's 'final' resting place. The animate Thayan zombie-knight stopped to stare for a disturbingly long time at the mound of dirt and stones, his face a serene mask of reflection that until now had not been seen.

---

ooc: just trying to pass a little more time while another new party member puts the finishing touches on their sheet; please RP/interact here for a few posts. :)

Cecania looks at the pile of rubble for a moment, and then turns to the others quizzically.

"Forgive the question, but why are we standing here, looking at a pile of rocks?"

"It's where he was buried, not long ago." Eirik explained, gesturing vaguely at Jostyn. "Oh, he's a Thayan warrior cursed with a living death until he lays hand on some trinket for his masters."

"Hey Jostyn, we should get moving. You're starting to smell!"

"Oh yeah, which way now to the Scarred One, Relgar?"


_{EDITED: Because I keep mixing up these Thayans!}
This message was last edited by the player at 01:12, Sat 10 May 2008.

"Oh, I understand now," says Cecania, who doesn't really understand.  "Er...I'm sorry to hear about that, Jostyn..."

   The pair's use of his name seems to jostle Jostyn from his reverie. He turns his slightly damaged face to the new mage-woman in the group.
   "Where I come from, apologies are a sign of weakness, so save it if you want my respect or assistance later...though I should expect neither, given your vocation and previous interaction with Shaene." He looks back at the pile of loose stone and dirt, kicking the now-defunct earth elemental's remains once more.
   "It is strange how, only in hindsight, we can see that the price of conscience is often more terrible than we should be willing to pay."

   His cryptic words pass over the others, leaving a slight chill in their wake.


ooc: I'll give Cecania a chance to respond [or others] before posting the introduction of the final member of the team. :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:24, Mon 12 May 2008.

Relgar shrugs and says; "Pick one the three trails and we follow it then I quess."

"Right." Eirik said, both to Relgar's verdict and Jostyn's cryptic statement, and set to moving.

"So how did you end up in this thing anyhow?" he asked Cecania, tapping the wand.

Slightly chilled by Jostyn's words, Cecania just nods curtly at him.

"I'll try to remember that next time."

Turning to Eirik, she shrugs slightly.

"Well, magic.  But I'm not entirely sure of the exact process myself - with time and study, hopefully I'll have a better explanation..."

If we know the heigh and weight of the wizard me might eliminate some tracks. Is that not so Relgar. He walked over and looked at the tracks. He studied them closely. He called his wolf to come by his side. He seemed to be talking to himself as he sat there over the tracks.

[Private to GM: OCC:
17:03, Today: Vicril Shipsail rolled 29 using 1d20+14. survival.
to see what he can find out about the tracks. height and weight.]

"No, I meant did you get into a fight with him over something and lose, or something?"

   Vicril easily picks up the trail - three different sets of tracks, actually. One is excludable as belonging to the Thayans who had set up their makeshift camp here before the ambush by the Scarred One and his minions; the other two are clearly followers of that evil being: the thin, almost skeletal footprints of the things that chased Shaene down the mountainside, and another set of scratchings that seem half-human, half feral beast. They confuse both the druid and the ranger, though the prints suggest a creature that squats and rests both hands and feet on the ground at regular intervals.
   Both of the 'creature' tracks seem to head to the west upwards and along the ridgeline, upslope of the direction the party most recently came from. Had they not taken the low route around the mountains and had their chance meeting with the Thayan hunters, they might never have discovered the renegade...passing like ships in the night.


[continue conversation please :)]

Watching the trackers go over the trail, Cecania shrugs at Eirik.

"Something like that.  I was following Shaene's trail, hoping to find an opportunity to confront him.  He and some big guy ambushed me one night while I was walking back to the inn.  I never even got a spell off, I'm sorry to say."