Chapter 4: A Darkened Mirror

[Marcy]

Charis moves cautiously out from the cover of the wall, joining Kal and Belarin.

"The door just to the south of us, then? The one Grafth is already halfway to?"

[Darren]

"Agreed," Kal says, nodding towards the door which Charis has indicated. "Charis, you check the door when we get there. Make sure there are no traps, and get it open. Once we get the door open, Torhak and Grafth go in first. Torhak, go to your right, Grafth, move to the left. Goran and I will enter right behind you. We make a quick check to make sure everything is clear, then everyone else moves in and we close that door before anyone, hopefully, notices it was opened." Turning his attention specifically to Grafth, Goran and Torhak he says, "If we see anyone inside, we take them down fast and quiet. We don't want anyone raising an alarm."

Assuming everyone agrees to his plan, Kal will move quickly across the courtyard and wait for Charis to do what she does best. Then he will follow Goran through the door, moving to the right behind Torhak once he gets through.

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FYI, the bit at the bottom is part of Jeff's new request, which I think makes a lot of sense. He wants us all to be a bit more specific with our actions, and to lay out contingencies whenever practical. I think it makes sense, will keep the game moving quicker, and will make it much clearer as to who is doing what and when.

[Joe]

"Olladra's breath! I must be wearing my cloak of invisibility!! Does no one see the halfling or it just assumed that the group's resident blink dog has once again vanished? Bah!"

Streko's voice is a whisper, modulated softly, so that he cannot be heard more than a foot or two away. "Watch them beg for my help once they walk into another trap...as they always do."

Streko freezes in place and stands up straight and tall.

"Dark Six damn me for speaking such evil thoughts aloud. What is wrong with me? Shut up and follow them...if they DO need your help, silly halfling, you'll be needing theirs just as badly, remember THAT when you curse them."

Streko moves so that he is as near to Goran as possible. He does his best imitation of a shadow...and hopes Olladra forgives his minor trangressions.

[Ken]

Belarin nods at Kal, gives a final glance at the circle, then moves to the side of the building to wait for the moment to enter.

[Marcy]

Charis moves quickly across the courtyard behind Kal, giving the summoning circle a wide berth.

She follows the western wall of the southeastern portion of the manor until she reaches the entrance due south of the party. Once there, she will carefully examine the door for any traps. If she finds any, she will attempt to disable them. If she does not find any (or after she has disabled any she does find), she will check to see if the door is locked. If it is, she will use her borrowed lockpick set (retrieved from wherever her ring stores such things) to unlock the door. Once the door is unlocked (or if it is already and she doesn't need to try to unlock it), Charis will wait until everyone has joined her there before she opens it and steps aside for the others to enter per Kal's plan.

---

I think I've covered all possible contingencies there -- unless of course someone fills her full of arrows before she takes two steps. In which case, she won't be doing any of that. Heh.

[Jeff]

I'm assuming I have the right door you're talking about, Marcy (#4 on the map, right)?

Readied, each of you moves forward, the party now situated between the wall and the string of smaller structures ont he western side of the estate.

Charis moves cautiously over to the entrance by the pool (entrance #4), produces the set of lockpicks, and begins to exmine the door, the small stoop, the frame, everything, searching for any sign of a trap...

And then she finds something. (1) The door is locked, but she thinks she could pick it; she's seen tougher locks before. (2) There appears to be some sort of runic carving on the faceplate of the lock. If turned, something is triggered but she cannot determine what. Perhaps if she studies it longer, she might be able to figure it out.

One of the crows above gives a gutteral squawk and takes to the air, beginning to circle the estate. You can feel tension in the air...

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I'm starting to use 4E skills...

Charis's Perception check = 24

[Ken]

Belarin sees Charis pause as she stares at something on the door, so he quickly peers over her shoulder to see the runic design. "Oh, that doesn't belong, does it, milady?" he whispers. "Let's puzzle out what this does..."

When the bird begins to fly, he looks up and briefly considers killing it, but he knows his arcane blasts would raise too much noise.

OOC: Marcy, you want to assist me on an Arcana check? Belarin has a nice 4E modifier.

[Darren]

Kal, too, notices the bird take to the sky and gives thought to shooting it down. He wonders at the intelligence of the other birds, though, without their leader, and realizes that there may not be much cause for alarm. He puts his hands out in a calming motion, letting everyone know that he thinks there is no immediate danger from the bird. Then he moves up beside Charis and speaks in a whisper, "What's our next move?"

[Marcy]

Yes, that's the right door, Jeff

---

"There's some sort of rune on the door," Charis answers both Kal and Belarin. "I'm sure I can open the door, but I'm not sure what this rune signifies -- have either of you seen anything like it before?"

She continues to study the faceplate with the rune, hoping she can figure it out and get them all inside soon.

---

Ken et al, I'd gladly take some help with the Arcana check, if that's what's needed.

[Jeff]

Marcy: Just so you know, it's always best to let the person you think has the higher skill modifier to "lead" and anyone else can try to assist. So in this case, it's best if Belarin makes the skill check and Charis can try to help by making a check of her own. If she gets a 10 or higher, she gives his roll a +2 bonus.

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Belarin kneels down and studies the rune that Charis shows to him (he's not certainly he'd even have noticed it in the first place!). Charis watches over his shoulder, making a few suggestions based on the angular shape of the mark. But to Belarin, her guesses seem to be a bit off the mark. And then he knows with certainly after only a few moments that the rune is the trigger for a magical alarm: a spell that would alert the mage who placed it here that the door has been opened.

Both Belarin and Charis have the skill to attempt to negate the rune's effect. But if they fail, they might very well trigger the alarm instead. It's a risk, to be certain.

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Charis's Arcana check = 6 (failure) D'oh!
Belarin's Arcana check = 35

If we had done this in reverse, Belarin's roll would have merely given Charis a +2 on her roll, resulting in 8. But as you can see, Belarin's pretty good at Arcana.

[Ken]

Belarin rubs his fingertips excitedly as he finishes describing the nature of the rune. "As I suggested a little while ago," he says to Charis, almost whispering in her ear, "my skills in the art of disabling alarms are well behind yours ... but I'll assist as best I can."

OOC: OK, now we're on the flip side. Belarin will use his Thievery skill in an attempt to give a +2 to Charis' presumably superior Thievery skill to disable the rune.

[Darren]

Kal watches silently, not wishing to interfere in the work. Leaning down, he whispers, "If I can be of assistance, I'm here." He then motions for everyone else to spread out through the courtyard, staying close the walls. He takes a deep, steadying breath as he watches Charis work. He grins slightly as he thinks to himself, "If I had Streko's faith, I'd be praying to Olladra right now...."

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I don't know if you can add more than one person in for a bonus, or if Kal has a higher skill than Belarin in these matters, so I'll leave that up to Jeff.

[Josh]

Grafth watches the group with interest for a moment before turning his attention toward the rest of the manor, looking once again for any movement or signs of life within the walls.

[mike]

Arms folded, Torhak also studies the door, but ignores the lock.

He looks at its hinges, and tries to decide how well the door would hold up to a battering.

[Marcy]

Charis breathes her own prayer to the Flame and then attempts to disarm the rune.

---

So my Thievery skill plus whoever can give me a higher bonus, Kal or Belarin? Or do I have to pick first and then you roll?

BTW, if you're using 4E skills, can you make sure you've updated all my modifiers to account for the increase to Dex? I want all the advantage I can get!

[Jeff]

Torhak, eyeing the door, feels he could break it down fairly quickly, if it comes to it.

As the others have moved into the south side of the courtyard, Grafth continues to prowl about, his senses open. And there—at one window on the second floor of the manor, he sees a curstain turned slightly aside. But was it that way before? He can't recall, it's quite subtle. He sees no face staring down at them.

The crow that took to the air settles down again, lighting on a turret of the tower. Goran keeps an eye on it. His eyes also flick over to the small pond, whose surface is covered with thick algae—it could easily be concealing something. The Eldeen ranger dismisses nothing.

Charis sets to work, and Belarin, kneeling to advise her, focuses his attention on the faceplate as well. After a few long moments, they decide on the best course: marring the rune just so, in hopes that it will deactivate the magic alarm it was designed to trigger. With the use of Belarin's dagger—Charis doesn't like the idea of using the rusty dagger she already has for such delacte work—and a thin blade from the lockpick set, Charis offers one more silent prayer to the Silver Flame and gently scrapes at one corner of the rune....

But it's no good. Belarin, with his magic-sensitive eyes, can see that it's still active—in fact, he calls her to hold off, as she was only a hairsbreadth away from triggering the alarm.

Both Charis and Belarin sit back for a moment, a sheen of sweat on their brows. They failed to disable the rune, but didn't set it off in the attempt. They can try again, wiser for the first attempt.

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Do you wish to try again?

Marcy: I've adjusted all Charis's Dex-based modifiers. Thanks for the reminder.

Belarin's Thievery check = 13 (success, granting Charis a +2 on her check)
Charis = 14 (+2 from Belarin) = 16 (failure, but with no consequences) Note: A 14 would have triggered the trap—Belarin's assistance was vital.

Perception checks = Goran (17), Grafth (20).

[Darren]

If you want to update your map, Jeff, Kal was actually by the door with Charis and Belarin.

Kal can see without being told that the attempt of the two would-be lock-pics was unsuccessful. He breathes out slowly. "Can you do it?"

[Ken]

Belarin exhales deeply. "It's annoyingly difficult to write with a dagger, you know." He looks at Charis. "Shall we try again? It's difficult, but I believe we'll succeed. Lessons learned, and all that...." He gives her an encouraging smile.

OOC: Belarin will again attempt to assist Charis with the Thievery skill, if she's willing.

[Joe]

Do the effects stack? If Streko goes over there, does he add his +2 as well? If so, move Streko over there to take a look and add his bonus.

[Jeff]

Darren: I'll adjust Kal's position with my next map update. You're right.

Joe: Trap disablement (the Thievery skill in 4E) is delicate work, so I'm only allowing two people to work at it. If this was a larger, more elaborate trap, I might consider allowing more than one person to assist. But Arcana—which Streko could definitely help with—is no longer necessary at this stage.

[Josh]

Grafth moves his eyes downward for the moment, choosing to look at some of the other doorways near him, to see if there are any markings around the edges that could resemble what he assumes the others are dealing with at the southern door.

Perception check?

[Marcy]

"Well, one more try, then," Charis mutters, wiping the sweat from her brow and turning her attention back to the lock.

---

Thievery check with an assist from Belarin, por favor?

[Jeff]

Charis refocuses herself and takes another try. Belarin moves in close to advise her...then realizes there's no need. She's found it! Charis scratches away the vulnerable portion of the run, negating the whole thing. In Belarin's sight, the aura diminishes, then fades altogether. The rune is ruined, the magical alarm no longer exists. And Charis knows from the way it melted away that the mage who placed the alarm won't even know it.

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Belarin's Thievery (assist other) check = 11
Charis's Thievery check (+2 from Belarin) = 32!

[Marcy]

"Flame be praised!" Charis sighs, then smiles up at Belarin. "Many thanks."

With the rune disarmed, she works on getting the door unlocked. Once it is, she will stand aside and let the others enter per Kal's plan.

---

Another thievery check, probably without Belarin's aid this time.

[Darren]

Kal places a hand on Charis' shoulder and gives it a small squeeze, a wide grin on his face showing a mix of pride and relief. He turns to the others and waves them forward. "As we discussed, then...."

Once Charis has the door opened, Kalarian will proceed through after Torhak, Grafth and Goran, as was the original plan.

[Jeff]

4E begins now. If you haven't read it already, check out this post.

Grafth hears a satisfied murmur from over by the door as Charis and Belarin seemed to have bypassed the magic alarm. He turns, ready to go examine the other doors on this side of the state...and then, seemingly unrelated to his companions' efforts, hears a reverberant scratching sound from somewhere else nearby.

His whirls around, east and north. Grafth pinpoints the sound almost instantly, looking toward the corner of the courtyard just in time to see a furred, gray shape emerge from the water well. And then a second shape wrenches itself free from the stone shaft with scratching paws and remarkable dexterity, as if it were a great cat.

Wolves! Two of them, and both of them look like they've been dead for weeks. Dead—but not inanimate. Their rotting hides have partially sloughed away, exposing ribs and putrified organs. Patches of hairless flesh and muscle is stretched tight over bones like the skin of a drum. A scathing, gutteral rasp escapes from their throats—remarkably silent for wolves.

The closest dead wolf meets Grafth's eye, only then becoming aware of him. The shifter has only a moment to call out a warning just as the two wolves leap from the rim of the well in his direction. Another thought occurs to him: the beasts aren't making much sound at all, not like real wolves. He knows no alarm has been raised. It seems like dumb luck that they've come out right now. Perhaps if this battle stays silent, the wolves' masters will never know....?

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Grafth's Perception check = 14

This is considered a surprise round, and Grafth is the only one who can act the first round (and he can only carry out a standard action, a move action, or a minor action; speaking, which is a free action, he can do no matter what).

For those able to, roll your initiative, 'cause you guys will go next. If you can't do the dice roller, I'll take care of it. And go ahead and post your intended action for the first round after Grafth goes, based on whatever he says.

This will be our first experiment with 4E combat rules. Look to your powers (at-will, encounter, and daily powers) first, and also consult this chart for reference. Remember that when it's your turn, you get a standard action (usually an attack or power used), a move action, and a minor action.

[Josh]

"Streko, Goran! We have company," Grafth says calmly but firmly. In one fluid movement, the shifter reaches behind him and pulls his shortspear from the loop in his pack. He points it in the direction of the creatures.

"Two wolves, undead. We must end this quickly and quietly!"

Minor action: draw weapon
Initiative (if needed): 13

[Jeff]

True to Grafth's words, the "battlefield" is eerily silent. Even the crows aren't stirring yet.

The rest of you almost wonder for a moment if Grafth is enspelled and is seeing illusions. But he's looking firmly around the other side of the manor where the rest of you can't see yet. Evidently, something's coming.

[Darren]

Kal turns his head at Grafth's call, then turns back quickly to Charis, leaning down and saying, "Get that door open. We'll take care of this." Then he whirls and runs to the corner of the wall until he can see the approaching undead wolves. "Quietly," he says to his friends as he raises his hand and unleashes an orb of energy that moves quickly towards the creatures. Kal seems almost surprised as he looks down at his hand.

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Move action: To the end of the wall
Standard Action: Force orb on the closer wolf (hopefully also hitting the second one)
Minor action: Talking. Cause Kal likes to talk.

Initiative = 12 (I think...assuming I did it right)

[Ken]

Belarin has no sooner finished saying, "My pleasure," to Charis when he hears the calm yet crisp warning from Grafth. Wary that this could be a distraction, he says to Charis, "Continue with the task, m'lady. I'll watch your back ... in a gallant fashion, of course." He gives her a mischievous wink.

OOC: Belarin will step to the side of the door and hold his action. If any threat approaches Charis while she's working, he'll attack with eyebite.

Initiative = 10.