Mits is overwhelmed with May's massive strength and she gawks in amazement!  She winds up getting a sore throat from all the hooting, hollering, and cheering!  Rai's super speed has her all kinds of squee for the fun new games she can play!  Such as, "Snatch this pebble I throw and come back to catch this glass I dropped at the same time!"  Timo's flying is oh so fun to watch and play with!  Aerobatics with carpet and angel kitty are new a new favorite passtime!  Mits is happy to provide fiery hoops for flying through!

Mits chuckles.  "There goes Kyle down-playing his awesomeness again.  Either way...  YAY!  Fun times!"

Timothius puts a hand on Mittens' neck, healing her soar throat. "Aerobatics... that's going to be fun to learn." he says with a smile. He then looks at Kyle. "No matter how much you downplay yourself, you can not deny the fact you are still with us and have fought dragons and exarchs at our side. Humility is good, but see to it you never get to where you feel you are no longer one of us."

Raichel nods and says, "We'll work out all our things. Together."

May says, "So now that we did our tests, what is next? It's only noon."

Yes. The tests really only took all morning.

Timothius says, "What else? Lunch. And then plan out our vacation."

Vacation planning includes how much more they are going to make their airship a clubhouse.

  Kyle nods,  "My self awareness also means knowing I'm making your job keeping everyone alive that much easier.  Even if it lacks the raw spectacle or painful effectiveness of the rest of you." At the very least his At-Wills will get even more modifiers help in four more levels.  But that's Paragon stuff (yes his paragon path has stuff that waits until level 25 to kick in).

  He wonders how frivolous an expense magic carpet hammocks would be on an airship.

Lots of fun times are had!  Victory celebration goes well!  Lots of praise and accolades and medals of honor and ceremonious kudos are lavished upon the heroes!

Mits is all kinds of smiles and proud of her allies, quick to add to the praise of them.

Timothius got better at aerial acrobatics during the two weeks, simply because it's fun. Raichel just enjoyed going over what she had learned from watching gith martial arts. May, of course, enjoyed her weapons collection and personal horde. All three of them enjoyed lavishing Mittens, Kyle and each other with compliments and praises.

Probably the most noticeable thing during the two weeks is that Timothius no longer shows any signs of emo at all. He is happy and relaxed the whole time, only showing signs of sadness when any normal person would (such as when people talk of the massive losses during the wars).

Rai and May seem pretty well unchanged.

All three LOVE the airship clubhouse and have come to call it their mobile headquarters.

  Kyle is more relived than he realized he would be at Timothius's improved overall mood.  The wonders of having +0 instead of -1 Charisma mean he takes the time to tell him this.  "We have all been through a lot, but watching you end up like that was some of the worst of it.  Despite how logically all the death and destruction is worse."

Mits also is happy to see Timo acting less upset and draws Rai's attention to it.  Timo with his huge insight can tell that in spite of being outwardly care-free, Mits has been thinking very deeply on the long-term implications of her newfound power.  She may shun responsibility, but she's taking this one very seriously, though she tries to hide it.

The group also discovers that the "Champions of the Gods," title has spread quite a bit, and with it comes a new kind of noteriety.  "Won't you say a blessing for my newborn?"  "Will you come to our wedding and say a prayer for us?"  "I've been cripple for 26 years.  Can you heal me?"  "We have a dispute in our church.  Can you clarify what is meant by 'all people' in this passage of scripture?"  "How much would you like me to donate to the church in exchange for your endorsement of my candidacy for office?"  On and on and on.  Kalad and Amyria volunteer to field filtering the requests according to the group's criteria.

Timothius smiles to Kyle. "Thanks. Another gift from Pelor. I am a lot more self-aware and able to dominate the darkness inside me with the light." He gives Kyle a hug and then does the same for his sisters and May when they, in turn, celebrate his being a happy kitty.

Timothius does not draw attention to Mittens' feelings since she is going to the effort of covering it up.

Raichel, of course, smothers Timothius in hugs and kisses when Mitts points out the nice change.

Timothius works out the criteria with the group first before giving it to Amyria and Kalad. But ultimately, he figures the best way to minimize people saying "why didn't you resurrect my dead child" and "where were you when goblins ambushed my wagon of stuff in a remote location you could never have known about" type junk is to explain that just as one deacon handles money and another handles maintenance, so too is the chosen of the gods chosen for fighting bad guys while healing and such is for other members of the church. Basically help people understand where the group's responsibilities lie.

Timothius gives Amyria a sad smile and says, "Seems a shame... I want to heal all those who need healing and fix disputes. But the simple fact is there is only one of me and our troubles are not truly over yet."

Raichel says, "Could still field a lot of the disputes with a "frequently asked questions" list we could look through, so we can answer lots of people's questions just by answering a few that most wanna know. Though honestly... a politician asking how much to buy loyalty makes me mad."

Timothius pets Raichel. "I'm sure he or she simply doesn't understand and needs to be shown the way."

May says, "How come so many people assume that a famous person will visit them personally?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:35, Wed 13 Apr 2016.

  Kyle is afraid the example politician would take '19 trillion gold' literally and attempt to collect it by less than pleasant means.

  "Honesty is nice, but I doubt it would be much comfort to the average person that we're basically drifting from one problem to the next as the turn up.  Even when those problems include entire islands being frozen over"

Mittens has a pretty difficult hurdle for supplicants.  "Come back to us after you can prove you've rescued one or more person's life."

A Coalition man-atarms approaching the PCs and inviting them to
a conference chamber “at their earliest convenience.” If pressed, every other word out of the
man-at-arms’s mouth is that he’s only the messenger, etc., but that there’s a Rachaela—”some sort
of diplomat, I think, and an angel”—that wants to
speak to them.

Timothius simply nods and follows.

Raichel says, "An angel and a diplomat. Someone like Timothius here."

Timothius blushes. But doesn't say anything. He can't deny it. He's an angel now and he has been the team's diplomancer for some time now.

May asks, "Oh! And an angel. Love how that's the sidenote. You know; Zetchy was a githyanki... oh, and a lich who ruled their empire for 15 years. But now that I say it out loud, it really does sound like Zetchy will be a mere sidenote in history books: Oh... yeah. The stooge of Tiamat, who was the actual culprit threatening to take the Prime Material, but the Heroes of Light squashed the stooge."

She and Rai are following also, by the way.

  Considering the last angels they saw that did not double as fluffy kitty cats wanted them all dead, Kyle is less than optimistic about this.

  Best case scenario is a good angel telling them about a bad problem.

You enter the room to find an angel with a stern
countenance floating at the far end of a long table. She
wears a white tabard with a red gauntlet design along the
edge. The angel bows and motions for you to sit. Wine
goblets appear out of nowhere at each seat.
“I am Rachaela, and I bear news of your wider efforts,”
she says. “Despite your recent successes and the Coalition’s
victories, Tiamat’s plotting continues unabated. Even
as we speak, one of her exarchs is guarding a ritualist
of unparalleled potency. We do not know exactly what
ritual they are working on, but if Tiamat is placing such
importance on the ritual, we cannot afford to let it come to
fruition. We want you to stop the exarch, Mornujhar, and
capture or kill the ritualist.
“But it won’t be easy. You’ll need to pass through part
of the Shadowfell known as Monadhan, the Domain of
Betrayal, just to reach a portal that connects to Mornujhar’s
fortress. Will you help?”

On the Side of Angels Level 21
Skill Challenge XP 3,200
Complexity: 1 (requires 4 successes before 3 failures).
Primary Skills: Diplomacy, Insight, Religion.

Diplomacy (DC 22, standard action)
The character impresses Rachaela with his forthright
demeanor and ability. This earns the heroes one success.

Insight (DC 27, standard action)

Religion (DC 14, standard action)
You can garner only one success with this skill. In addition
to earning a success, the PC learns that the red gauntlet
motif on Rachaela’s tabard resembles iconography used by
priests of Kord several centuries ago.

Secondary Skills: Intimidate, Religion.
Intimidate (DC 27, standard action)
Having a tough demeanor, if skillfully done, can impress
Rachaela. This doesn’t earn any successes directly but
provides a +2 bonus on the next check made by a primary
skill.

"What color is Mornujhar?" Mits asks.

  Kyle "If what you say is true, why are you so uncertain of our aid?"

OOC: Pretty please help us-why are you giving me that look?  Asking people for help means making them pass a skill challenge right?
I'm more surprised at it being Complexity 1, than anything.

Encounter utility to auto pass one of the Diplo checks to save Timmy time.

http://i.imgur.com/CWtsms3.png

Timothius says, "...those are some old symbols of Kord."

Raichel says, "Oh yeah! I recognize 'em too. From that book you were reading about the history of the church of Kord."

Timothius not only seems completely unafraid of Rachaela, but he exudes an amazingly intimidating presence, despite his meek look. A presence that most normal folk would not even notice, but veteran warriors, angels and such-like would definitely spot. Greater than the thousand-yard stair. And what's more, she feels like he looks right into her soul.

May says, "We were beginning to get a little restless after two weeks of vacation. And we all knew Tiamat had to be up to no good in the meantime."

Raichel nods. "Mornujhar... another day, another exarch." She slams her fist into her hand with a confident smile. "Bring it."

Timothius says, "Kyle has the right of it. We are ready to help as always. Knowing that we are ready to help, please tell us what you are holding back."

Rachaela says reluctantly, "I'm hiding who my superiors are. There is some risk you’ ll be captured, and I am sending you to the Domain of Betrayal, after all. I trust you, but I worry about the supernatural power of betrayal in such a place. Best to be circumspect."

Timothius eyes her. "There is something else. Forgive my prying, and I certainly mean no disrespect to an angel..." he gives a low bow to emphasize this, "...but please be candid with us. The more we know, the quicker and more thoroughly we can stop this ritual."

---

Kyle 1 success.
May 1 success.
Raichel 2 successes.
Timothius 2 successes (Intimidate doesn't count).

Tim Insight: 43 success
Tim Intimidate: 38 success (+2 rolls)
Tim Religion: 18 mod, Auto-success

May Diplomacy: 20+2 success

Rai Diplomacy: 28 success
Rai Religion: 14 success
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:46, Thu 14 Apr 2016.

Rachaela has quite the presence as well!

Angelic Presence Attacks against the angel of secrets take a
-2 penalty

She's kind used to angelicness, if surprised to find it in a man of flesh.  She lets out a sigh and bows.

To Mits: "Black."

To Kyle: "Because a group as steeped in religion as yours is may not be so quick to trust a messenger of a deity they do not worship."

She motions to Timothius.  "Case in point."

“Once you get to Monadhan, you won’t be able to simply use a
teleportation ritual to get back here. You must find a portal—
probably guarded by Arantor, the dark lord of the domain—and
use it to move onward toward the black exarch.”

Mits hrms and nods.  "Acid and Poison resistance it is, then!  Out of curiosity, just how strong of a ritualist does one have to be to make an exit of one's own out of Monadhan?  Could a god such as Corellion break free without finding Arantor's portal?"

"Maybe?  I don't know.  Such a thing has never happened."

"Then it's pretty safe to assume that Mornujhar, Tiamat, or the ritualist have some kind of understanding with Arantor.  Interesting."

  "So far as we have been seeing, ancient artifice only holds up just long enough to cause problems or fail to be useful, these days."

  Case in point, obtaining the ancient teleportation system of LOL go anywhere!  Just in time to go someplace it actually can't work at all for.  Gee what are the odds.

Timothius has his own -2 attacks aura (which will stack with his angelic aura when he gets that at level 30)

Timothius gives a smile and says, "Keep in mind we even allowed an arch-devil to speak his piece, so trust barely factors here. While it is true I would trust a messenger of Pelor quicker than a messenger of Kord, that is not why I ask what you hold back. And you are still holding back something else. Rachaela, if your secret would not make this mission go smoother, then fine. You already gave a good reason to keep secrets and I respect that. But at least assure me truthfully that what you are avoiding telling me will not in any way contribute to the danger or safety of our team. Do that and we will be on our way."

Raichel huhs and headtilts at Rachaela.

May is looking over her gear, trying to figure if she missed anything for this upcoming fight when shopping in the past two weeks.

Rachaela thinks about it.

"Um...  Poison and acid will likely only be a small part of the dangers you'll face?  Likely lots of undead?  Shadowfell and all.  I can't think of anything else I could tell you that could help you.  If I could I would.  I can at least offer you some astral diamonds to help you equip for the journey."

"Woot!  Loot!"

  "Actually being paid for services ahead of time is surprisingly rare, even accounting for circumstances where there would not be time for it.  Still, you can hardly spend it while dead. I will likely some day need to make a trip to slap your patron in the face, if this turns out to be the quality of warning Bahamut is fond of."  Blasphemy for fun and nonprofit?

Timothius says, "Thank you, Rachaela. That is very useful. We will depart for this place shortly."

He looks at his team. "She is not lying. As such, this really is an opportunity to cause Tiamat some trouble."

May nods. "Well let's equip then. Other than that, I'm ready when the rest of you are."

Raichel says, "And this is why Kyle keeps downplaying his usefulness. Because equipping us to kick butt doesn't really make him look amazing in combat. It makes the rest of us amazing."

The angel bows and steps back before fading away.

Amyria is troubled.  "I find it disconcerting that between Bahamut, Pelor, and Moradin, no word of this reached any of us from them first."

Mits shrugs.  "The gods aren't omniscient.  Sometimes even they are at the mercy of blind luck.  Kord got lucky with this tidbit is all.  But apparently even the god of war finds Tiamat's conquest in poor taste."

Amyria bows to Kyle.  "I apologize I have been unable to find any resolution to your grievance with Bahamut, my friend.  The best I have to offer is my own cheek in place of my master's since you still feel he deserves a slap in the face."

Mits chuckles.  "I brought that up with Pelor.  He said he had more important things to deal with than to ask Bahamut about it.  'But feel free to ask him yourself when you all inevitably bump into him again.'"

  "Kord's view of battle is reputed to be more along the lines of, well, May.  As opposed to more common variety of viewing it as a means to an end like Bane or Moradin.  They are not reviled because they find crushing the weak boring"

  He looks to Amyria, and says "I appreciate the sentiment.  But given how useful he has been to my friends, and you, I had something less drastic in mind these days.  Those attempting to actually kill us have used less harmful deception than he did back then.  Even if I am practical minded enough to see the big picture, that is not something to take lightly whatever his reasons as we dispose of his enemies."

Timothius looks at Amyria and says, "Bahamut's so-called deception was composed of "deal with that monster down the hall please. Thanks." and then not telling us the details of the fortress we were in. Kyle just assumed that Bahamut, having allowed himself to be captured by the bandits, would be fully aware of the details of the place. But we do not know for sure if that was actually Bahamut, a priest imitating the Platinum Dragon's favorite disguise, or even a con-artist who was imitating Bahamut. Kyle's entire grievance is based on two assumptions: 1) That it was Bahamut. And 2) That Bahamut knew the dangers we were going to face well enough to warn us."

Raichel says, "We'll ask whenever we finally meet the guy."

May shrugs. "If it was the Platinum Dragon and he already knew, then I'd assume he also knew we could handle it. But like Timothius said, might not have even been him."

Mittens asks her Bahamut puppet.  "So why didn't you warn us about the monsters that jumped us that night?"

The puppet answers, "I tried to!  Had my hands full, so I sent an exarch to warn you as soon as I knew.  Didn't he reach you?"

Now we can wonder who's blasphemy is more awkward for poor Amyria.  Kyle's grudge, or Mittens' puppet defense.  Amyria simply bows to the heroes.

"Thank you for understanding.  I do my best to reflect well the principals of my maker.  I only wish there was more I could do.  But I'm afraid at this point, I would be out of my depth if I were to join you on this mission."