Which, though under the tightest of control, your dissembling is insufficient. You did a very thorough reading of Azyra's mind to extract every last detail from it, and while not necessarily harmful, she obviously sensed some trace amount of your temper, and is currently standing to one side, utterly terrified, attempting to look as insignificant as possible. She was unable to contact you while they were present- And incapacitated prior to their departure- and she was originally hoping to serve you, to win your approval, by delaying or distracting them long enough for you to return. But not only did she end up failing miserably, something she is well aware of, but she was not as capable of hiding certain other thoughts as she might have wished.

She was terrified, but she did end up... charmed by the intruders. To her credit, she is acutely embarrassed by it and her failure, but not enough for her to discard her... infatuation. She currently is almost certain you noticed her thoughts, but still clings to that last shred of hope. You have not yet decided whether to disabuse her of that notion, or pretend ignorance.

Scinnari, of course, hardly blames her for anything- instead, always a firm believer in hierarchies, she located the superior of the slain guards and killed him quite painfully. Judging by her steely calm, yet still infuriated demeanor, she may be wishing she had not killed him quite so quickly. She seems to have taken exception to the theft of Cygnariassis, and stands to one side as she reviews what information you have on the group.


*****

Your guard on the island have their own commander, but your internal spies are lead by another individual. Wizard Nephrane Thanness is resentful of being employed by a sorcerer, but has yet to get over his euphoria at finding someone who will not only pay him to know everything about everyone, but will also provide excellent benefits, as well. Like all of those high in your service, he is allowed significant liberties, as long as it does not significantly undermine your authority or resources. He makes full use of them, but realizes he owes his position to you. In this instance, you are gratified to have him on your payroll. Almost instantly upon sending your request, he has information on all of the adventurers you described, rapidly compiling files on the three Azyra saw, as well as three others.

Paladin Alyvia Lionel, once of St. Cuthbert, more recently of Pelor. According to Azyra's memories, the one responsible for stealing Cygnariassis from your possession, as well as one who delivered a holier-than-thou lecture to Azyra. Along with that, she's also the leader and 'moral compass' of the group. Middle-aged, a fairly capable individual, and bearer of three minor nobility titles, all awarded for various deeds she was involved in, she's almost certainly the 'veteran' of the group, perhaps the most dangerous, though you find it hard to take a paladin seriously. Then again, she's just demonstrated her competence, and exacting satisfactory vengeance will require that you do not underestimate her.

Tybran Valerius, in his case, a dispossessed noble from northern Aquitaine. He has certainly earned no new nobility, mostly being a... well, an adventurer. A thieving, murdering bandit who purports to do noble deeds, and boasts about the results... in essence, that's what they all are. In his case, he literally boasts about the results, being a moderately well-known bard. A better performer than author, according to your data, but an adequate one none the less. His popularity with people is inverse to their respectability. A competent swordsman, a well traveled individual, and relatively well educated for a mercenary. Rumored to a be an excellent thief, but without proof. There are, however, a suspicious amount of accusations, and he has occasionally served time.

Mephis Pasa, a sorcerer of decent power, whom Nephrame believes to be of aasimar blood. Reassuring; you hadn't found it terribly likely, but had been worried that he might be something more than human. Nephrame isn't certain, but he rarely records guesses he doesn't have information to support. Presumably the one responsible for the how completely eluded all a few of your minions, as well as for disabling your daughter... He doesn't seem to have anything in the way of family or relations, meaning leverage may be difficult to come by. Or not. Aasimar are often noted for being extremely soft-of-heart.

Kotri Bera'dvakan, a dwarven eccentric and scholar, obsessed with, among other things, ancient languages and cataloging beasts. You, you suppose. Undoubtedly why she was brought with the group, their source of knowledge. Adventurers are seldom academically inclined. Not a caster, though, so likely not a threat, aside from her knowledge, though being a dwarf and an adventurer, you cannot believe she would be totally unarmed. Presumably she was with the group, but Azyra never had a chance to see her. Nephrame notes that he thinks she may be related to the clan of dwarves on your island. He points out with haste, though, that he isn't certain.

Tereva'senthasen, an elven mercenary attached to the group- What Nephrame has been able to determine on such short notice suggests that she is a convict, a prisoner serving time as the paladin's ward. Dangerous, but apparently manageable as long as she's pointed in the right direction. Nephrame can't determine the reason behind this, but suspects it was a attempted theft or assassination against the church of Pelor- Though he can determine the date and sentencing, they were not willing to part with the initial crime.

Finally, a sixth member to the band- One that apparently remained on the island and your guards have in custody at the moment. According to Thanness' interrogation, he apparently was an ex-soldier and adventurer, and refused to take part in the raiding of your lair. Apparently intimidated by the rumors of your power and cruelty, not to mention with living family on the island, he was unwilling to continue to work with them, and they split up shortly after arriving on Mza. You are assured that he is still being held, pending your judgment or further instructions.

Fuck yeah Dragon Quest!

But, seriously, come on guys. It'd DQ. Where are all the DQers?

>rdseur Pinckney

I dunno captcha, they could be having a picnic.

>>16457434
noticed that this quest, at least in the past, was busiest around 7ish Pacific time... and we do enjoy picnics....
sounds like we'll want to stomp down on the Paladin first, as she is the biggest obvious threat, followed closely by killing that sorceror. the rest of the group is a secondary concern

>>16457434
Not their fault. The last time I tried this, the thread died, and I've been gone for quite a while. 's why I'm giving it a few tries.

Planning on putting an epilogue up on the 1d4chan page if this is truly dead, though.

>>16457434
Stalker quest has also started up

>>16457572
>GET IN HERE, DRAGON

>>16457572
Is that a wednesdays thing? I'd far prefer to be running this on Saturdays, but my previous few Saturdays keep having events crop up. Running it today because I utterly failed the most recent Saturdays, though.

>>16457658
im unsure if it is, probably... ill just ask if it is

>>16457572
Stalker what? Why do I care?

There are dragons over here. DRAAAAAGONS.

Fuck yeah dragon quest! Sorry I can't participate, need to sleep, have school in the morning, and it's late here

Perhaps we should go meet with this 6th man.

Of course, he could be some sort of trick, a nasty surprise they left behind to fuck us up. So do so cautiously. Perhaps through an image of some kind.

awwww yeaaaaah

>>16457351
But, in all seriousness, thoughts on what to do?

<corner Irelembe

WD, is there a nation/empire in this world known as Irelembe? Because if possible, I'd like to corner it.

>>16457750
sleep is for the weak, you can rest when you're dead

>>16457760
Not yet, certainly.

>>16457750
I'm afraid I know the feeling all too well.

>>16457753
Noted. Do we have a second, and if so, are there any questions you want answered?

Hey hey! Dragonquest!

Get on IRC, WD.

Alright, action!

Well, priority is to get Cygnis back. Chastising our daughter can wait. And we should handle this personally.

What can you tell us about these githyanki fellows? Could we, for instance, barter with them? (Not that I'm planning to)

We will find them, skin them alive, make them wear the skins of their party members, and then get back every fucking item those assholes lost, whether we have to rip it from their family members or not.

>>16457537

To do:

1. Have a talk with Azyra. Yes, adventurers can be charming. Yes, that is how we met your mother. Yes, we know that you want to go out and see the world. But these adventurers are working for our enemies, and would be totally comfortable with killing her, or her mother, or us, for the money. Or simply for the bragging rights. Or simply to see if they could.

2. Recover Cygnis. Now, I'm not exactly a fan of what ended up happening to her, but ultimately we need to get her back. That silver great wyrm she has for a godfather is looking for her, and if he finds out what we did, we're fucked.

3. Find out where said adventurers are. Figure out what they know, who they're working for, all of that. Then kill them. We can't afford to have (accurate) information about us freely circulating.

If the paladin thought what we'd done to Cygnis was harsh, just WAIT until she finds out what's going to happen to HER.

>>16457792

Ask him who pointed them in our direction.

Also, if we want to be serious about interrogating him, bring Watcher along.

>>16457825
Hey, I have an idea. If we can find a source of regeneration, we can force the adventurers to wear their own skin.

>>16457885
but that's not as fun as skinning them, healing them, and forcing them to wear their party members skins as clothing instead.

we could always use more test subjects for the aging device.

I may as well post this now...PRESENTING THE DRAGONQUEST WEBSITE!!

http://dragonquest.netau.net/dragonquestmap.html

'World' isn't finished, nor is all the stories from 'Character' (or pictures, but that's unlikely to be finished)

Also, use firefox to view it. Chrome works for the map, but not the character pages.

Enjoy!

Hey WD, welcome back again.

Also, any news on the elusive Vedibere? Here's hoping WD can lure him here, and we can get a solid date for the next thread.

>>16457907

Most'll do for that, but I want that leader of theirs to be more fittingly punished...a stress toy for Scinnari, perhaps...

>>16457846
Seconded. However, unless something really important is going to happen in that conversation with Azyra, I think it should be dealt with off screen.

>>16458002
Website under review.
Which makes me a sad panda.

>>16458046

It chooses the BITCHIEST times to do these fucking reviews...

Well, save the link and look at it a day from now, I guess.

GOD-DAMMIT.

>>16457297
All right, well, highest priority is hunting down those adventurers ASAP- if they are good enough to break into our lair, menace our daughter, and steal Cygnis, there's no way that the githyanki will be able to hold them for long. Better to hunt them down, retrieve Cygnis, and ensure that they're all killed. Fortunately, the githyanki have historically good relations with red dragons, so diplomacy should not pose a major problem. We can probably just give them a few thousand gold as a thank you for their cooperation, write that off as adventurer losses, and avoid any unnecessary disagreements or conflict while leaving them pleased with their encounter with us.

The important thing is to move on this QUICKLY. This is still a very time-sensitive issue, and it will get worse if we delay. Even holding off long enough to get all the information we have already may have been too long, although it was prudent. Bring a small escort of minions- a cadre of skilled sorcerer assassin types should do it, traveling concealed in our company- and plane shift/teleport to meet with the githyanki immediately.

>>16458117

Sounds good. Lets take Scinnari with us too; its been a while since we've done some joint activity and I think she'd want to be there.

Besides, she's all armoured up now and pretty safe for it.

>>16458117
As painful as it is to part with gold, the Astral is not a place to be mucking about. We'll just haggle the price that they ask down to semi-reasonable.

>>16457861
Wonder what we can do to the paladin. Here's my take on the matter:

We torture her party members, and trap their minds in a state of permanent suffering and pain. In this state, we turn them into a set of (cursed) magic clothes that store said pain and suffering, then blast the mind of whomever wears them with that pain and suffering, whenever a code phrase is uttered.
The code phrase will be an evil laugh.
We then equip Mrs. Do-goody paladin with these cursed items, and we laugh evilly.
As the final moments of her friends' pathetic lives tear into her mind, causing her untold pain, we will continue to laugh.
We chain her up in our bedroom, or another place we visit at least once per day.
Whenever we see her, we laugh evilly at her situation.
Sometimes, we just stand there smirking.
And she will know fear.
Then, we will laugh.

>>16458203

10,000 points to this man.

Also, considering how much distaste she apparently had for the Sympathy charms, lets add some of those in as well, so she takes unwilling pleasure in her own and her friends mental destruction.

And I'm sure there's still plenty of imaginative things our wife can think of doing.


Moving on, but not to think *too* far ahead, I think this whole venture could be a good point to have a wander off and solve a mystery by ourselves, like in ye olde times.

Conversation with the prisoner is hardly necessary. Shrouded from sight, you walk past his cell carrying Watcher, and have everything he knew- not quite what you hoped for, but some. He does not know who hired them, usually allowing the paladin to organize jobs. He can't tell you quite where they were even hired as they passed through half the southern coast, finally heading towards Mza from the Ivory Gates. Lionel kept the job a secret right up until they arrived upon the island where he, arriving with them, was tagged as part of the group by your agents and apprehended when you issued your demand. According to his mind, they'd gone to ground, argued for a few days, finally agreeing to separate as he refused to take any part in their efforts.

What you can learn from him suggest that the group was at least hired somewhere south of you. Azar, or sadly, your own twin cities are the likeliest locales, but you can't even rule out intermediaries. More solidly, though, he has information on his peers, and their capabilities.

“He believes the bard to be ludicrously 'lucky'.” Watcher chimes, “I am inclined to view such superstition skeptically, but his memories are most clear on that. A duelist on occasion. Given to avoiding being hit, and one who prefers to fight a single opponent. Also prone to various... tricks. Illusion magic, most probably, though perhaps simply feats of trickery.”

“And the others?”

“He knows little about the elf or dwarf, having ignored them after initial attempts to befriend the elf out of carnal desire. The simply existed. The elf is an archer, the dwarf primarily a loremaster, though also capable of administering first aid. I would suspect that- going off of his lackluster information- she may have other skills.” Watcher says, giving a slight pause as if to sift through the information it plundered from the human's mind.

“The paladin... he has little new information on. Obvious divine favor... He suspects the sorcerer may have a more subtle version of it. He is certain the sorcerer is touched by the upper planes, and knows him to have a predilection to fire- Holy, as well as simply hot. Be warned.”

“Of course...” you rumble, still containing your fury.

“As for flight, their plan of escape called for a mundane exit, if at all possible. That they are planeshifted suggests that something startled them... Perhaps your more subtle wards unsettled them, or they were worried after encountering your daughter. That is, I gather, what happened?” Watcher says in it's usual disinterested tone.

“Regardless, my lord, we should pursue immediately.” Scinnari says, completely ignoring the crystal. “Cygnis is too... pleasant a foible to give up so readily, even aside from what a threat she represents.”

“Worried about your toys drawing too much attention?” Watcher asks nastily. Scinnari again ignores her.

“I... do not wish to presume, but I believe that your kind has had historically... 'warm' relations with the Githyanki- Do you think it possible to purchase the adventurers back from them?” Scinnari offers. “If you are willing to part with such a price, of course, I would be happy to serve as a messenger on your behalf.”

>>16458343

Heh, Scinnari, you know how to curb our anger- I enjoy the image of her going to conduct our business.

It is still too risky for her to do alone, I imagine, we should accompany. This might ALSO be a good time to perhaps foster another business relation- if such a thing were possible with them. This starting trade could be the beginning of many more, if it goes well.

I suggest, to test them, after we send our initial dragon-form messages, we accompany Scinnari to clinch the deal polymorphed into the form of a retainer, and see how they treat the 'other' higher-up in our little kingdom.

>>16458411
I'll second that. Though I think we should definitely go in prepared for a fight. Just in case.

>>16458343
We need to move quickly. Look, there are only a few outcomes here:
-The adventurers wake up and free themselves from the githyanki; very bad
-The githyanki successfully bring the adventurers back to their fortress imprisoned; mildly bad as the difficulty of retrieving them will go way up
-We intercept the githyanki before they manage to get the adventurers back to their fortress; good since it would let us deal with them from a position of relative power

But the only way we get outcome three is if we don't dick around gathering information and discussing things. We have already wasted too much time- minutes, at least; hours if WD is unkind- that we could have used to pursue them. Adventurer profiles only matter if we actually fight the adventures- which we don't need to do as long as we don't give them time to recover, since the githyanki have disabled them for now. So grab a posse and move our ass, in force.

>>16458514

Yeah, we should keep our dragon-strength and tat ourselves out. Lets not get caught wrongfooted here.

As for Scin, I'm pretty sure that even if there IS surprise ambush, the spell resistances, wards and immunities in the armour we gave her should protect her- and she's got a badass magic sword. Not that I'm expecting her to need to do this, if a trade is feasible.

Ah, for that sword idea...I had an idea that she could have a magic scabbard with gems embedded in it, and touching one and whispering a word (or keyed to gems on her gauntlet) would summon a different kind of sword into it to be drawn for different situations. Five different ones in total. Approval?

>>16458560

You're right, but I still think some other gains could be made here.

Could we not intercept them quickly, right now, negociate for the immediate release of Cygnis (the biggest liability) then and there, and then discuss offers for the rest of them back at their fort? They way we've got them under-eye for the trip too.

I guess we could also send word ahead as was go, if word is sent via crystal balls or such.

>>16458411
>I suggest, to test them, after we send our initial dragon-form messages, we accompany Scinnari to clinch the deal polymorphed into the form of a retainer, and see how they treat the 'other' higher-up in our little kingdom.
This is just dicking around. The test of whether it's worth opening relations with them or not will be if we can successfully get back Cygnis and the have adventurers killed (and preferably their souls/minds destroyed/imprisoned to prevent what they know getting out) with a minimum of expense and fuss; it doesn't matter how they treat Scinnari. All that matters are results, and we don't have any need to "test" the githyanki when what we really need is to get the current situation dealt with. Besides, why go into their place of power in a weak form in order to give them things when we're dealing with them as a red dragon? If we go there we should go there with the strength that we have, as someone worthy of respect.

>>16458579
>I had an idea that she could have a magic scabbard with gems embedded in it, and touching one and whispering a word (or keyed to gems on her gauntlet) would summon a different kind of sword into it to be drawn for different situations. Five different ones in total. Approval?
That sounds to me like a flagrant waste of money. If one high-quality magic sword will not suffice in a given situation, it's far more likely that turning to magic is the answer, rather than a differently enchanted sword.

>>16458688

I'd hardly say it's a waste of money based on the way antiques work alone, and I'm sure there are plenty of circumstances where you'd want a magical sword instead of magic.

>>16458740
Creating 5 different artifacts (the word you're looking for) would be an incredible investment. Seriously, one magical sword is enough. We could work it into an artifact blade if we feel the need is high enough, but Scinnari is a distance-fighter, and relies more on magic and trickery than swordwork.

I think the best idea would be to contact the Githyanki and attempt to buy the prisoners off them. All I know about Githyanki is from BG2. They're paranoid and xenophobic, and hate people getting in their business. We should be entirely polite while conducting business.

If they refuse to sell, BURNINATE.

Retrieving Cygnis is top priority. She knows too many dragons to let her go free. If we cannot recover her, we should kill her.

Looks like consensus is to intercept the Gith with peaceful intentions, and get violent if things go sour.

We should bring a cadre of lizardmen with us just in case. Keep them hidden if possible, we don't want to frighten the Gith any more than they will be when confronted by an Erinyes, or a Red if we go personally.

We should also educate our daughter on why she shouldn't get involved with Aasamir. She's probably just hitting that age where she wants male attention. Let's try to find a suitable partner for her. Maybe another half-blood or an elf.

>>16458847

Harsh, but fair. Cygnis IS top priority- we certainly can't let a disjunct or such be cast on her.

>>16458887

I think the problem might be more tricky than that- like because they were from outside the little bubble we made for her but were still nice and complimentary to her.

We'll get a better idea of what to do after we've concluded this business.

>>16458899
We've done a lot of mental re-working on her during her long stay with us. She has psychological bonds as well as magical ones keeping her to us. I think they'll hold for a little longer, as long as they don't get her to any kind of temple or psion or something.

Are there any provisions for psychological trauma in D&D?

>>16458887
Educating Azyra can wait. Let her stew in her failure until we've cleaned up her mess. If all goes well, we can capture the adventurer who charmed her and bring him back so that she can mind-probe him under our guidance and discover that it was all a lie and he was really totally disgusted.

Of course we bring minions, though. Lizardmen, death cultists, whichever; there is no reason to travel alone when we can bring an entourage with ease.

By the time Writer-Dude posts the update, the Githyanki will have gotten away.
Update faster, Writer-Dude!

>>16458961

True, I think she's almost 'complete' in the training sense; maybe a few more months to go, but provided they don't dik around with her (and they have no reason to) then we're cool.

Your transition is much smoother than the adventurer's own must have been. A mild roil of unreality, and a fleeting sense of infinity, but the planar barrier poses neither you nor Scinnari much hindrance. Scinnari and you arrive a polite distance from the githyanki raiding party, and you, disguised, fall into 'step' behind and to one side of her. She pauses to get her bearings in the aether, and signals her desire to approach. You can't help but feel mildly worried, but in all honestly, she's literally been serving as an emissary for various powers for longer than you've existed.

“Greetings, descendants of the noble Gith.” Scinnari says telepathically. She is oriented along the directions of the group, but as she approaches to within approximately fifty feet, several of the githyanki drift out, orienting deliberately to a different plane. Presumably they are more skilled at combat within this endless space than those who are used to having gravity and ground to work with. Ideally, of course, it will not need to come to that...

“Greetings, devil of the hells.” the leader replies vocally. “You intrude upon our patrol. Who do you serve, and what do they desire?” Behind him, there seem to be four standing guard over the adventurers specifically. You cannot tell who is awake, but they all seem to be chained and held with at least four feet of separation. Ah. The paladin is awake, and listening. As is the bard. And Cygnariassis, though she seems to be frozen- numb, perhaps- in shock. Good. Still, you find the attention the adventurers are paying the conversation slightly worrisome.

“I an erinyes of the sixth hell, but currently the emissary of a mortal. On behalf of that mortal- one of the Red children of Tiamat-” You are pleasantly satisfied to note that at least one of the gith seems to have been startled by the name-drop. “I entreat you to entertain a request for commerce. My master” -another smaller but infinitely more satisfying start from one of the gith- “desires the Prime-dwellers you have recently taken as prisoners. Though he would obviously view it most favorably if you were to simply remand them to his care as the one they have wronged most significantly. If you desire compensation for the rendering of this service, though, I am certain my master would be willing to pay a reasonable price for them.”

“Which does he desire?” the gith asks, and you are mildly impressed to see that her offer of, in all honesty, a bribe does not seem to have had any effect on them. Or.. perhaps not. One of the guards seems to have closed his eyes, and you get the distinct feeling he is one of their psions- Gish, or mindslicers, whatever they call them- acting as a sort of psychic intermediary between them. Perhaps that one even is their leader. No other clues are forthcoming, though you do your best to keep observant of the group as a whole.

“All. However, only one is immediately important to him. The... fifth one in the group. Golden hair, dress, and slave bands.” Scinnari informs with a gesture. “My master was most upset to find that they stole a prized... trinket from him.” The paladin and the bard are whispering furiously back and forth between each other, infuriatingly, just too quiet for you to discern. Scinnari notices, though, and interjects on your behalf. “If you could keep them from communicating, I believe this negotiation may proceed more smoothly.”

The gith seems to agree, and nods at one of the guards. The guard issues a command for silence, then strikes the bard upside the head when he doesn't immediately quiet. “Were I to yield her out of respect for your master's understandable rage... What would his interest in the remainder amount to?”

“While most desirable, that would placate none of his wrath. /That/ is what he desires your other prisoners for... draconic hatred for thieves is legendary. He would view you most favorably, though, and I feel certain he would take that into account when negotiating for the others.” A brief pause as Scinnari finishes speaking, and you can half-sense another flurry of psychic communication amongst the githyanki.

“I wish to know how much his favor counts for.” the gith spokesman answers. Carefully polite, but with an undercurrent of distrust and skepticism. He allows a momentary pause, then adds, “Proof of your master may allow me know myself on this issue.” Again, superficially polite, but you feel certain you detect an undercurrent of contempt, or disrespect.

Nicely conducted by our lass there- and it seems that amicable business may be undertaken with them...though that leader needs to mind his tone.

Still, proof of his existence is easy enough to account, given we're there and just need to unveil ourselves. How much is our favour worth, gentlemen? I'm inclined to deal well with them if they simply relinquish Cygnis to our care.

>>16459358
Tch. Accompanying Scinnari while disguised was a silly plan; we could have sent competent actual retainers with her and observed perfectly well magically without debasing ourselves so. Little to be done about it now, though. Fortunately we have telepathic communication with her and have no need whatsoever to communicate out loud, so she can do all the talking. Hopefully we won't ever have cause to tip our hand.

Of course he's not willing to buy that Scinnari just happens to work for a red dragon; devils frequently lie. That said, I believe Scinnari has several visible and very expensive markers of her allegiance on her that she can point out- we worked several of the various gift items that we gave her into draconic form and almost certainly made them recognizably red. She can point those out as evidence. A skeptic might say that she could still be a liar, but if so she's one who has ridiculously good resources, to come up with such a specialized disguise on short notice. They can also act as proof of our wealth, and therefore the value of our favor; if we can equip an emissary in such a thorough fashion, surely we can afford to provide substantial rewards to those who merit it.

If that does not suffice, I suppose she can inquire as to what they would accept as proof- or is there a standard method for doing so, in interplanar politics? I don't know. We certainly have little reason to conceal our identity at this point, since the prisoners know it already and it would likely only make the githyanki view us more favorably.

>>16459597

I say we make them pay, and make an example of them. Whoever sent them probably has agents monitoring their progress. Hanging the mutilated bodies of their mooks over the city gates should send a message worth its price in gold. After all, there's always more gold. Reputation on the other hand can't be bought, merely earned.

(apologies if that isnt very coherent- its past 3am here)

>>16459619
>We certainly have little reason to conceal our identity at this point
Clarification: I do not mean that we should un-polymorph into our true form. Having shown up looking like a humanoid in the first place was a mistake, but since we did it, revealing that choice is distasteful- doing so would mean that we wanted to conceal ourselves, but were too incompetent to hold to the deception. If we do want to show up in our true form, having Scinnari "send off her retainer" who then plane shifts out, followed by our plane shifting in using our true form would be a more face-saving way to do it.

>>16459619

I dunno, maybe the fact that we're so arrogant we didn't arrive in person to collect on them might work in our favor here. If we turned up ourselves then though suitably awed they might have guessed their cargo to be more worthwile than they actually think it to be now, and thus be a little more bitter to part with it.

Still, it is indeed evident that Scinnari carries with her several trinkets and tokens of our service, and if push comes to shove, we could either reveal ourselves as what we are or set up an illusion channel to us. I doubt it'd be necessary though, given Scinnari's apparent skill when dealing with other races.

>>16459390
>>16459597

What do the githyankis like other than killing Mind flayers and githzerais?

>>16459650

Woah woah woah, if there's a psion/psychic guy in the group chances are he's already relayed the cargo info back to HQ, likely including any info it could get out of the party's minds- including where they were la-

...

Actually, that'd be good proof of our claim, come to think of it.

>>16459390
Transform into a Dragon, drop 10,000 gold on the Gith to buy the rest.
Port out with Cygnis, get her locked up, port in with Watcher and some soul-trapping equipment, scan the minds of the thieves, kill and soul trap all except the paladin, port back with the souls and the paladin, destroy the souls, chain the paladin up next to Cygnis.

>>16459708
Aren't erinyes herald-devils? I'd guess that's her primary function.

>>16459725
Good question.

>>16459737
Adventurers might be warded against that. Anyway,how much are we willing to let them know about us?

>>16459760

Mmm, point. All the more reason to get the givin' while the givin's get-good I guess.

>>16459760
>Adventurers might be warded against that. Anyway,how much are we willing to let them know about us?
The githyanki? I'm pretty much willing to let them know that we're a red dragon ruling Mza under the guise of a sorcerer-king. It's not like they're going to run around the Material telling people about it, and anyone with the resources and inclination to ask them could probably just ask Tiamat straight-up or otherwise discover the truth. The basic facts don't really need to be hidden here; they're not going to hurt us. Now, giving them our life story- like the details of all the traps that those adventurers bypassed- would be excessive, so a full mind probe of the adventurers would be... bad. But it would also take a while, so as long as we're quick here it shouldn't be a problem.

>>16459744
We can almost certainly accomplish all this without the "transform into dragon" step.

>>16459760

>Adventurers might be warded against that. Anyway,how much are we willing to let them know about us?

They had a good poke around our lair. They probably already know the worst of it, and likely able to guess the rest.

>>16459725

Didn't we have a Mind flayer problem a few years back?

Offer him a good monetary compensation open to negotiation for his prisoners. As well to keeping his name in mind went we move for more close relations with his people taking advantage of this encounter to the benefit of both.

>>16459885

Ahhh common ground, we have! Always good when discussing stuff past this present arrangement.

>>16459885
>>16459902
Anti-mindflayer alliance?

Beyond financial support, we could locate Illithid lairs on the prime, and either eliminate them or relay the locations to the Gith. They'd love that.

And fighting psions would be great training for resisting the mental influences of the Binder. I think this would be a great idea.

>>16460013

Indeed- and learning stuff about psychic abilities could prove beneficial for the development of our own Binderish spells and pacts.

>>16460013
I like this idea. Not to mention the commercial possibilities of having contacts on the astral plane, Mze could become even a more important commerce hub and give the neighbor nations second thoughts of disturbing us and with the new produces and market we could be bringing, not to mention our new trade partners.

Don't bother hiding shit from the Gith, anyone who would ask them about our identity already knows. Our priority is collecting what was ours and ending this exercise.

>>16460096
If it exists in this universe, we could have a permanent portal to Sigil open. Open market for the multiverse.

>>16460130
If there is an opportunity for profit and more power we should exploit it within reason. But yes let us buy our Gold with gold quick and simple.

>>16460136
>>16460096
>>16460040


Okay. The offer:

Gith return Cygnis as a token of trust/respect. We buy the rest of the adventurers off them.

We hunt down and eliminate (through whatever means) Illithid lairs on the Prime.

Gith trade with Mza for the duration of the cooperation. (I dunno if they'd like to set up a permanent shop or just dump stuff off.)

>>16460194
What do they have that we want?

>>16460194
All of those are fine individually, and do not need to be tied together as parts of a larger offer. Just get the adventurers and Cygnis back for now, and express a willingness to consider the rest as part of future positive relations.

Speaking of, when we get our hands on those adventurers, hit them all with like four enervations each. Nothing resists those and we want them weak as kittens when we handle them.

>>16460194

I don't think we can jump strait to trade right now, but make it clear that we are interested in it.

>>16460194

Trade's good, but I was thinking a more...'joint' effort on the Illithid front. Or at least a 'point them out and let them get to it' one.

We don't need to discuss fineries right now. What's important is we get these people back so we can start torturing the paladin already.

>>16460221
A maximised enervation drains 4 levels. I don't know what level these pricks are, but they can't be much more than 6th-7th. Hitting them with two will kill them.

>>16460272
They bypassed epic wards with some kind of reality-destroying artifact.

They've got to be fairly high level. I'd say 10-12.

>>16460272
Um, they are way better than 6th-7th. They carved through dozens of our elite lizardmen guards, bypassed dozens of traps, and treat plane shifting and teleportation as useful tools. They're mid/high level.

And who said maximized? Besides, if a couple kill the first one we'll use less on the next one.

>>16460286
Two bags of holding.

Artifacts my ass.

>>16460286
I have a plan.
We arrange the adventurers from Least Experienced to Most Experienced (Paladin being Most Experienced).
We go down the line draining each one in turn, until one of them dies. Then we interrogate the other ones. Yay!

>>16460314

I was partial to the tormented soul clothes for the Paladin, actually.

Though I guess we DO still need to interrogate people...

>>16460305
A bag of holding and a portable hole.
Or, to be more precise, a bag of holding and an EPIC portable hole that somehow still works when you bring it into a warded area.

Come to think of it, Githyanki are the descendants of illithid slaves. What's their opinion on slavery? If they remember their ancestor's slavery unpleasantly enough they may not want to return Cyg like us or not.

>>16460383
You're confusing the Githzerai and the Githyanki.
The Githzerai hate slavery.
the Githyanki make everyone their bitches.

>>16460342
It was a regular portable hole they were just very clever on how use it in conjunction with the bag of holding to bypass our wards against teleportation, nothing epic on this.


>>16460305
>>16460286

The only one important is the paladin the rest are just an extra. BUt yes hit them hard with the enervation to safe us some trouble.

>>16460339
Tormented Soul Clothes that have "I really want to wear this" enchantments.
Is it a bit too fetish-y to have the clothes look nice, too? That way we can have a nice-looking ornament for our horde.

>>16460383
Githzerai are the hippies.

Githyanki are the "kill fucking everything, but kill Illithids even more" types.

Instead of just level draining them, we could sap their life force using the stuff we learned from experimenting on the black dragon we've got.

>>16460342

No, they can look nice. Tasteful nice, or Conan the Barbarian nice?

>>16460488
>>16460443

We shall make it so.

>>16460488
Has to be tasteful nice since the Paladin's gonna be wearing AT LEAST 4 pieces of tortured soul clothing.

>>16460533

I think you will be surprised at how skimpy tortured soul clothing can be.

>>16460592
Maybe we should set up a Tortured Soul Clothing fashion house that offers a range of Tortured Soul Clothing fashions?

>>16460634

And Tortured Soul Accessories.

Like a kettle you can't help but watch, and it never boils.

Ok guys, let's think for a moment.

Do we really need a room full of broken slaves? Cygnis was fun and is a useful servant, but having too many, especially if they're capable, could be dangerous. What if one of them broke free, or an infiltrator/invader broke their bonds? We'd suddenly have a small squad of capable, very angry people who have an intimate knowledge of our castle's layout.

I think we should keep living additions to our hoard at a minimum, and only of creatures who are intrinsically valuable. Other dragons, immortals, etc.

Scinnari would love it, I think, if we got a daeva of Heironius (or whoever her god was before she fell) shackled here for her to torment.

Of course, we'd probably draw the ire of the big H himself...

OH!

The dude who quit before invading, we should reward him or something for being so forthcoming.

Give him enough cash to get off the island and tell him to spread rumors of how even the most well-prepared group of infiltrators was deflected by the masterful defenses of the Sorcerer-Lord of Mza.

“Easily done. I must request it's return when you are satisfied, however.” Scinnari says with a nod, unfastening the choker from around her neck. She gives it a gentle push in the gith's direction, and it drifts slowly towards him. Scinnari waits until he catches it, and passes it to one of his subordinates to resume speaking. The faint blue glow suggests that it is being magically inspected. “As for a measure of my lord's favor... Hmm. He's willing to offer you three thousand gold... And a thousand to each of your patrol. All out of gratitude for your eminently reasonable attitude, of course. Perhaps we could use that as a basis for future negotiations. Alternately- My lord has faced your eternal foe on occasion. The location of an illithid lair, and perhaps even his assistance in scouring it.”

That, too seems to garner some interest. The spokesperson is quick to silence it, though. “There are few of the great enemy's vile nests that we are not aware of. Your offer is known.” Another pause, almost ten seconds, enough to make you certain that they are communicating telepathically amongst themselves. Abruptly, Scinnari's choker is tossed back- The linear drifting of the object is slightly unsettling, but it is shortly enough back in Scinnari's hands, where she immediately replaces it around her neck.“Githyanki cannot abide theft either. We return your seal and your... 'trinket' to you. Let your master know it is done.” the gith states, evidently accompanied by a command of sorts. One of the guards begins manipulating the chains binding Cygnariassis. Though you try to avoid focusing on any one thing, you can't help but notice the bard and the paladin giving each other quite expressive looks. The paladin seems to win, and the bard speaks up.

>>16460767

Well, I don't think we're interested in keeping this particular one 'capable'.

At least I'm not. She's no lovely Cygnis, she's a dirty thief and has it coming. If it makes you feel better, just think that Scinnari won't take her anger out on the men as much when she has this paladin waiting for her.

“Honorable Githyanki- perhaps you should reconsider. We are... Not thieves. In fact- In fact-” the bard is not immediately silenced, and he seems to gain some confidence from the fact. “We stole nothing from her master's- /husband's/ lair, nothing-”

“Lies.” Scinnari states coolly. “Why must I listen to these?”

“-but this slave. /Slave/, noble gith, as truly enslaved by her cruel master as your ancestors were by the vile illithid. Would you return her to bondage as readily as this?” A slight susurrus of motion suggests a flurry of silent discussion amongst the githyanki.

“You were ordered to keep them silent.” the speaker declares, shooting one of the guards a hard look, probably more for your benefit than as actual communication. No... Also a declaration of sorts. 'The prisoner did not communicate. He said nothing.' sort of thing. It pleases you enough that you allow yourself a faint approving smile, hidden by your disguises' cultist robes. As promised, Cygnariassis is unchained, and guided towards the front. She drifts like an inanimate object, presumably overwhelmed and having retreated inwards. Scinnari gives you an contemptuous signal, and you produce a decorated and fairly magical coffer. Willing yourself slowly forward, you bow and hand over the coffer, sparing Cygnariassis not even a glance. As a 'servant', you would hardly know or concern yourself with her.

“Your master prepares well.” the gith says shortly, briefly opening the casket, then handing it off to one of his subordinates. The other gith is obviously tempted to open it and investigate, but manages to force herself to merely hold it at her side. “What value do the next two hold to him?” the gith says, gesturing at the dwarf and bard.

“Two thousand each.” Scinnari says. Another pause, and presumably discussion, before the gith nods.

“Acceptable. The next?”

“Five thousand for the leader. Two thousand for the talkative one.” Scinnari says. You can't see her face, but her voice suggests that she's suppressing pure sadistic glee. The paladin is stoic, but the bard certainly seems upset.

“Perhaps you should consider that without quantifiable value- Information! That slave especially, but we as well are sources of positively /priceless/ information! Found nowhere else in the Planes- after all, we are the first to escape warrens of Mt. Mza alive- We have seen-” The githyankin take a vexing moment to react, but reward the bard with another solid blow, drawing blood. It fails to silence him. “He has many foes among the kingdoms of the prime- Powerful ones! Imagine being able to threaten with the might of the Githyanki, and cajole with intimate knowledge of their greatest foe! Im-” he begins again, but is soundly beaten into submission this time. He has, however, achieved his goal.

“Five thousand is insufficient for the leader- I thought your master's vengeance ranked higher than that.” the gith says. ”Of the remaining three, you... may not have the talkative one. A thousand will be acceptable for your preference of the remainder.”

>>16460820
Well, if you feel so strongly about working to pay for the damage you caused - "Slavery" as you call it - I'll just kill you. Okay, Valerius?

Tssh. The bard is making this more difficult than it needed to be...

It seems unlikely that he will escape to fulfil his mission on his own...(but he probably will) and he doesn't possess any actual, useful knowledge that adversely affects us, other than what the gith could pass on...and they have no reason to do so.

Ooooo but we need the leader!

Send a message to Scinnari to speak 'You are quite correct about the extent of my Master's ire regarding their leader. He offers fifteen thousand gold. The rest is acceptable. However...he would ask that you keep an eye on your remaining prisoner, as he will offer to purchase again, once the man proves his lack of worth.'

Basically, I don't think it's worth a domestic over.

>>16460833
Oh come on, we're not letting these thieves get away. We're going to punish the everloving shit out of all of them.

Going to vote that we snag the sorcerer as he A, messed around with our daughter (okay, not really, but it's still an insult,), and jB, seems more valuable than a mere archer. Plus she sounds kind of worthless, a sort of hired-gun rather than one of the inner circle.

Beyond, you know, revenge. We'd threaten our relations with our pals the githyanki, though, if we pushed to hard, so let's just leave them with the bard and the elf.

Oh, and make sure Cygnis' slave bands are still on and functioning. Just to be safe.

>>16460800
>>16460820
>>16460833
I feel we should inform them that the friendship of Mza is much rarer and more dear than gold. Then increase the price for the leader to 6000.

>>16460928
I gotta agree with this guy's tactical assessment of the situation. But offering 15k straight out is quite high don't you think. Let's see if Scinarri can haggle it down.

>>16460988

Well, we *do* only need two for a two-piece...but I think it'd be worth taking as many as we can get. It's more a matter of pride at this point.

>>16460833
Oh, her master's vengeance ranks exceptionally high indeed, but it is already ongoing- Scinnari has no doubt that forces will shortly be dispatched to sack the leader's holdings and enslave the populace in retribution for the theft of her lord's possessions and the slaughter of those servants who were attempting to guard them, as well as the theft of those troops' assigned equipment. Possession of the leader herself would be the keystone to taking vengeance, it is true, but ultimately it is only a part. Eight thousand gold.

Take the sorcerer.

As for Valerius... it would have been very nice to bring him back so that we could have Azyra torture him to death. Offer considerations should they reconsider their decision regarding him and the elf- a proportionate favor owed. Such a thing could prove much more valuable than gold, should the githyanki need something done on the Material.

>>16460928
Agree. Make sure that the prisoners are ready to be transported back to the prime before taking them. Their equipment confiscated, their life force heavily drain. And their sorcerer is to be kill at the 1st sign of trouble. And make sure the paladin knows that the well being of his companions including the guy that they left back at Mza is depends on their good behavior.

>>16461031

This...but I say go for 10, the happy medium. It's still a *lot*.

>>16460833
>dwarf and the bard
Should be
>dwarf and the elf.
Seem to have gotten confuse while writing. Apparently I really can't count.


While I'm posting a non-update, the IRC is IRCHighway, and the channel is #dragonquest.

Yeah, take the sorc out of the others.

>>16461078
In this vein, if we're not able to get Valerius, Scinnari should telepathically call him by his actual name and inform him that if he shares such information which Mza does not wish released and we get wind of it, we will systematically hunt down and slaughter anyone whom he has shown affection for as long as any of the other adventurers we hold have known him, all of his family that we can locate- and our ability to locate people is rather extensive- and anyone else he might be fond of as far as any of those people are capable of revealing under the most painful tortures that she personally can devise.

Then smile a charming smile, and mention that since we are certain the githyanki are quite capable of extracting anything they wish to know from him, we will assume that he has shared everything he knows with them unless he is safely in our custody within twenty-four hours. If he should surrender himself, by the way, we guarantee his life.

>>16461190

Yes, his life...

...as fashionable clothing.

>>16461202
There are really a myriad of ways that we can keep him alive. A life's not much to guarantee.

>>16461078
>>16461078
I think we could have used the bard to teach our daughter a lesson about charming adventurers. Secretly hit him with something that lets Azyra read his thoughts and then let him try and charm her into letting him go when she can hear what he's really thinking. Course that could backfire if he turned out to actually be sincere... Ah well, doesn't matter now.

>>16461120
Their mage, get their caster without him any plan they could have to get out of this situation will not happen.

>>16461253
Do it with the sorcerer, perhaps.

>>16461078
Should we really be talking about enslaving while negotiating with Gith?

>>16461282
Doesn't give a damn. Otherwise he wouldn't have given Cyg back.

>>16461282
Enslaving? Oh no I don't think they have that kind of future, in fact apart from the paladin they dont have much of a future at all, they will not last to the end of the week.

>>16461289

This. But it's a fate worse than slavery that awaits these poor trollops- paladin especially. Devils just loooooove to tormet holy types, ya know...

Wait, idea...

This paladin is middle aged, right? Kind of comely, but a bit too old to be truly beautiful?

Let's suck the age out of her peers to make her younger. That way she'd be a better prize to display in our lair. Plus, we ensure that even the mercy of death of old age isn't guaranteed to her.

What do you think?

i say we just let scinnari have the paladin, then, for stealing our slave, we send her to the hells, alive....

>>16461477
i think she's waaay too dangerous to keep around as a slave. she seems the type to have a really strong will, not too mention all her training and magic abilities makes her a really nasty customer....

>>16461549
You have a point, but I think a dragon would probably be more dangerous than a paladin. Especially if she doesn't have her gear. But, I'll get it if no one else wants to keep her.

I just can't follow this quest anymore.

It's just wank

>>16461477

I'm not too fussed about how presentable she is, at least not now. What we're going to do with her is best left behind closed doors for the most part.

As for the others...we soul-gemming them or do any have a use?

>>16461578
Aren;t all quest threads one form of wank or another? Primarily mind wanking, but that's still wanking.

>>16461589
we could use the elf as a hoard ornament, to polish our gold coins for the next 500 years or so

>>16461523
I prefer this. Dragging out revenge is a mistake that usually gets villains killed, and we're too awesome for that. Send her straight to the hells.

8 thousand for the leader, and offer our assistance in place of the bard's. Explain that the bard is lying to save his skin, and that Mza has only piddling enemy nations that will be of no service to the Gith, and is in fact in good relations with the most powerful empire in the region (Tashz).

>>16461623

Ooosh. I guess we could, but I'm not having her sapient for that; just wap some Slave Bands on her with Mental Dominance on them and let her crack on.

>>16461696

Being a PC (or as-close-as) I wouldn't entrust her fate to forces I couldn't see and check up on.

No, Id rather destroy her mind right where I can see her.

>>16461696
>>16461696
>Explain that the bard is lying to save his skin

We sure about that? We do have a lot of enemies. And some of our allies aren't really all that happy with us right now.

Ok, so:

Consensus is to destroy the paladin's mind and turn her into a servitor, basically.

The others are subject to an interrogation (Who the hell hired them? If it's that bitch from Morinth...)

Then kill them. Let Scinnari do her damnation thing if she wants.

>>16461774

Pretty much. Though we might use the others to torment the paladin more, or to servitize her.

>>16461757
Enemies: Lady from Morinth, Binder(?), United Cities, Avariel rebels (if there's any left), Freeport (in no condition to do anything)

Allies: Tashz (good favor), Firelady (long-term investment), the Blues (hired them once, might be willing to do so again), Seffestranias (wants our empire, but she'll still help us)

And we're a fairly respectable power in our own right.

>>16461826

You forget our servant-ally Nehmeska. he's irritating, or tries to be, but she gets the job done.

Personally, I really don't care about the whole torture thing. Revenge takes a back seat to plugging this leak. Kill them, have Scinnari damn them, or imprison their souls, or whatever. Just make sure they're not going to be telling people what they learned.

Though remember to give them a once over with watcher first.

Then we should have a chat with Azyra about adventurers. Also, maybe The Talk.

>>16461893
oh god, the dreaded "talk"

>>16461893
This this this.

Let's not go stupid evil please. We've come this far by being savvy and intelligent. We can't fall into "it made me mad, torture/enslave it!"

We're going to be above this. Handle it professionally and move on.

>>16462005
We've been verging a bit towards stupid-evil for a while now, just check the thread where these guys raided us and its fairly obvious.

Honestly I'd be happy if we decided to neutral it up and sort out this Binder business, but after this adventurer thing its not likely.

>we're going to continue to not have any serious opposition and go on facing constant minor inconveniences.

>>16462005

This isn't five nations, and we've done plenty of evil thing that could have been construed as stupid, but have worked out alright.

Basically, if the Paladin doesn't have a mind she could possibly regain anymore, she's not a threat. And I, at the least, find that an acceptable admonishment. We can set her body up to clean the horde she tried to get to until she expires. Or something similar. Perhaps a sentry. Perhaps she'll just always be a stress toy for Scin or the Lizardmen. Quick and easy is safe but boring, and ultimately unsatisfying when the person who's dying still thinks they're in the right and doesn't regret what they did.

>>16462045
If they're dead, it won't matter if they think they're right. They're still dead. And personally, I think we've done the whole "torture this person into a mindless servant" thing enough for a while. As a routine it's getting a bit stale.

>>16462043
I think thats what Writer-Dude was trying to change with the breakout, but then everyone cried foul. All the hivemind wants is to endlessly fortify our position until we get killed by the Binder for being boring.

“My master is displeased at such... extortionate tactics. But... He cannot disagree. Revenge is a privilege beyond value. Ten thousand gold.”

“Twenty.” the gith replies coldly.

“Fifteen. Your greed threatens to exceed my masters'... And his good will.” Scinnari says with equal frost. “Do consider that favors can be worth far more than mere money...”

“Fifteen thousand. Agreed.” the gith answers. At his signal, the paladin and still unconscious sorcerer are unchained from the others and guided towards you. “Return the shackles once you return to the Prime.”

“I suspect I can persuade my master to do so, but do not promise it.” Scinnari replies, returning to cordiality. Again, you move forward, passing the drifting bundle of captives. Delivering a second casket to the gith, one containing somewhat more than fifteen thousand as a good-will gesture you are feeling mildly regretful about. But perhaps it will convince him to sell you the last one... You fold your arms and bow once more, then return to Scinnari's side.

“Very well. I am pleased that this exchange has been so profitable.” Scinnari says, nodding respectfully at the gith. “I hope you enjoy the proceeds as much as my master will.”

“From what I know, I doubt that very much. The sentiment is appreciated.” the gith says. Scinnari answers with a bright smile. Scinnari's haughty gesture, you move forward to take the prisoners' chain, stopping them from drifting past you. Considering that they haven't attempted to run or flee, you would assume that the shackles the gith mentioned prevent them from moving under their own will, and probably prevent them from utilizing their magic as well. You aren't certain, though, and would hardly wish to bet your new possessions on it.

>>16462043
>>16462029

Oh seriously where the fuck have you guys come from? Why are you here? You're talking as if OP isn't going to read you posts when you cuntishly know he is, and you aren't even contributing to the current event. Is complaining so enjoyable? Is ruing other people's enjoyment that much fun? There's a load of ways the story could go past this point and you're already writing it off. Well if you're writing it off, LEAVE then for crissakes!!

>>16462043
Dude, calm down.

This was a group of adventurers who managed to skitz by our wards, that's all.

The real challenge is going to be ferreting out their employer, and removing them.

Of course we're not going to be challenged by a plucky band of goons. We're an exceptional dragon with the blood of a god-level sorceress in us. Eventually we'll draw the attention of the larger players, and those will be the tough fights.

Remember fighting Dead One? That was chancy.

This is just something to get us warmed up again.

>>16462045
> we've done plenty of evil thing that could have been construed as stupid, but have worked out alright.

It's unclear as to whether or not kidnapping and breaking Cygnis is going to bite us in the ass. It has the potential to in a big way, pissing off a silver great wyrm is essentially rocks fall, everyone dies. Doing that once was enough, I think. We should just make sure that these adventurers are dead, gone, and stay that way.

“By the way, Tybran Valerius...” Scinnari's telepathic 'voice' rings in your head as she allows you to hear it too, “You have succeeded in causing minor inconvenience. Should you breathe a word of anything I would not wish you to... that my lord or Mza would not wish you to speak of... I will drive all of your comrades to insanity to extract every last detail about everyone they have ever seen you express affection towards. I will find your family. I will proceed to gleefully torture them all to death, and sell their souls into the deepest Pits... And seeing as the Githyanki can undoubtedly get everything out of you eventually, I'll assume you've talked if you remain in their possession for more than a day. Should you return, though, I can at least promise you your life...”

The sheer telepathic venom seems to startle the human, but whatever fear or intimidation it carried seems to melt off of him. “Oh that's... that's great. First of all, I wish you luck, as it you'll certainly need it to get anywhere...“ he begins, but breaks down into outright laughter. Scinnari doesn't react at all, even to slow down her stately departure, but you can sense a roil of hatred from her. And shame- to have her threat laughed at, not only in her face, but in front of you as well. She clamps down on the feeling immediately, as if she knows you're observing, but traces of it are noticeable anyway. Despite the sound of the githyanki beating the bard back into a pained silence, you

“That's hysterical. And perfect, I'm telling you- Such a classic threat from a villain- I'm not- Oh, I'd get laughed at if I wrote down such a perfect cliché-” he gasps out, voice tinged with pain, “Oh that's rich...”

A suitable distance from the githyanki party, Scinnari pauses, sending you an emotionless telepathic request for return home. Hands shrouded by the sleeves, you perform the gestures for a return-Planeshift, making sure to include your new prisoners in the transition. Just before completion, you notice faint golden glow around the prisoner's shackles, but are unable to halt the spell to investigate.

#####

You return to your lair, bypassing your wards this time by dint of the fact that /you/ are the one engineering the transfer. You revert to your true form instantly, suddenly towering above the prisoners.

The now-free prisoners.

Everyone reacts quickly- Very quickly, especially for the prisoners, you must concede. The sorcerer- unconscious, begins to collapse onto your hoard. The dwarf moves faster than you'd have expected such a creature to move, failing to catch him, but slowing his fall enough that he doesn't crack his skull on the metallic carpet. Alyvia shoves Cygnariassis behind her and pulls a sword from floor in the same motion. Tereva'senthasen reveals herself as awake as well, casting about for a weapon but coming up only with an elaborately-stylized dagger, reminiscent of a kraken's tentacle. Immediately she moves Alyvia's side, where Scinnari and the paladin are already crossing blades.

>>16462060

(We haven't actually done that yet, they always end up being useful.)

“Not fast enough.” the paladin snarls. “By Pelor's light! Back, Fallen One!” As she invokes her deity, a translucent golden hemisphere brightens into existence between Scinnari and the paladin. There's smell like burning feathers, and Scinnari retreats, looking angered and slightly alarmed. Your follower set back, Lionel turns her attention to you. “Your powers may avail you, but mine have not abandoned me. If you want us, come and claim us, wyrm.”

“Azyra. Depart now.” Scinnari commands, paying no heed to the paladin's posturing. Azyra, who remained in your lair obeying your unsympathetic command to await your return, continues to retreat from the site of your spontaneous arrival and sudden combat. Though obviously terrified, she seems to be fighting the urge to leave the room, perhaps out of misplaced desire to remain to see what happens, or to try and make up for earlier failings. Her flight slows to a halt a hundred feet from the site of your arrival, easily out of range of the combat unless someone were to find something with longer range than a sword.

>>16462087
>pained silence, you
should be something more like,
>pained silence, you sense that she takes only minimal satisfaction from his pain, especially as he continues.

Huh. Okay.

"Brave. Futile....but brave. Here is the mercy I will give you: kill yourselves now. You will not like the alternatives."

This should be good.

Kill them quickly. They've proven relatively resourceful in the past, we don't want to give them a chance to regain their footing.

Also, guards guards guards.

We don't need to engage. Scinnari can fly, we're a dragon, and they won't hurt Cygnariassis. Let us stare at them pitifully a moment, then laugh. LOUDLY.

>>16462190
> we're a dragon

They're relatively high level adventurers. They kill dragons. Don't wait to laugh at them, just summon up some guards and kill them. If we do anything aside from that, it should just be giving watcher a moment to scan them, but that's all.

>>16462187

We still need information from them, like who sent them, etc. etc. we are in no immediate danger.

Lets sit back and hold their friend who we have hostage. Refer to them all by name.

Guards would just get killed if we sent them in, wait for the magic users and keep the door sealed.

>>16462203

Tch, where's the fun in that? Anti-magic field, pin Paladin under claw.

It's nice that you're rating these as god-killers, but there isn't even our dragon sword sitting nearby for them to use. Sure it's surprising, but lets calm down here. They've lost. There's no way they can leave, they just want to go down fighting. Don't give them what they want.

We have one party member already hostage.

Force Cage over the Dwarf and Unconscious Sorc, that's two more- maaaaybe cast some knock-out spell in there as well.

Offer surrender. If a refusal, go anti-magic and just plain pin the Paladin. Scinnari can toe-to-toe with the Elf if she's worth her salt.

Cleanly done. Ensure there's no fancy bow for the elf to get to either.

>>16462318
I don't think the sixth man will be a useful hostage considering they left him behind. The other two, maybe.

>>16462318

Actually, I know from Five Nations that people tend to use the pause of 'Want to surrender?' to fuck you over, so ask that and make our hostage arguments etc. WHILE we're doing all of this.

rolled 75 = 75

>>16462221
The sorcerer is still KO'd. He'll have the information if we have to kill the paladin.

We're a near-epic level sorcerer, right?

First, we telekinesis them up high and then into the ground, hard. While they're stunned, drop some buffs on Scinnari and ourselves. Cold resistance, protection against good, that sort of thing. Strength buffs on Scinnari, and maybe turn her invisible so she can get a good strike in.

Use our magic-fire breath on the dwarf. He's worthless, kill him instantly. Give Terev a good slap with our tail.

Rolling 1d100 for combat, i assume.

Oh yes, and before I forgot, 'port/get Cygnis out of there quickly- I imagine the elf might have laxer morals than the paladin, lets keep them apart, mm?

That telekinesis idea sounds nice too.

Both Scinnari and ourselves are fire-immune.

Turn this place into an inferno. Not just our breath weapon, but with magical fire as well. Also, negative energy spells might be more effective given the history of this castle.

(We are able to cast inside our own wards, aren't we?)

>>16462535

I'd hope so, considering the Paladin just god-smited Scinnari a little.

>>16462543
I dunno if our wards keep out divine powers. We'd probably need a blanket cover like silence for that.

In any case, maximized Incendiary Cloud.

>>16462578

Cygnis is still here....

>>16462600
Isn't she immune to fire as well? She is in fact, a godamn gold dragon.

>>16462600
She's a gold dragon. She ought to be able to take that, no sweat.

Hell, if she's as broken as she seems to be, we might even be able to get her back simply by demanding it. Ideally, she's reflexively obedient.

>>16462613
Wearing gold dragon armor! Double immune! (Okay, actually it's a dress, but still...)

>>16462615

Well I think she *is*, but she's understandably in shock/dazed by whats been happening. Basically, she needs more discipline- I dobt she'd be terrifically responsive for the battle.

>>16462613

You know what I see happening?

Use fire cloud. Everyone's injured...but Cygnis. Paladin puts two and two together. Somehow gets a disjunct on Cygnis. Cygnis turns into a dragon. Things go downhill.

That's how I see that plan going, sadly.

>>16462665
>antimagic
>Cygnis gets caught in it
>suddenly very angry, very bitter dragon without any restraints or impairment
>good game, guys

>>16462739
Poooooooint. Now let's just hope WD didn;t run with this idea.

>effsis 24,099

Wow captcha, that's a lot of effsis.

>>16462739

TOUCHE.

Lets not go anti-magic field then.

>>16462739
We're hoping the psychological holds on her are still valid.

And really, she's going to be a broken mess even if she did regain her own mind. she's been captured twice, betrayed by the person she loved, forced to wear her brother's skin and like it, and so on.

She won't be doing anything.

>>16462759

At least not until Cygnis is out of dodge, I add. A couple of teleports from Scin, mayhaps.

>>16462764
Addendum:

Even if she somehow gets free of our enchantments, comes out of decades of psychological abuse and control, and decides to fight us instead of fleeing, we have grown up and become a powerful sorcerer and capable fighter.

I think we can handle Cygnis in a fight.

>>16462777

Naturally, but lets play it cautious anyway, yeah? Mainly because she would be a hysterical wreck, and the paladin'd still be around.

And the elf. Fucking elf. And the dwarf. And I bet that sorc is going to wake up if we don't conk him out again.

>>16462802
Good point. Hit the sorc with a sleep spell while he's out. We need to keep them low on the magic so that we don't have to AM everything.

Holler to Azyra to get the lizardmen up here.

Dammit, WD, we said to enervate the prisoners. We were explicitly clear on it, even if we thought it might kill them, because we needed exactly this to not happen.

Having a problem that we explicitly predicted and outlined steps to avoid come to pass is annoying as hell.

>>16462894
I thought we specifically said we didn't want to reveal to the gith that we were the bossman? How would we cast a dozen enervations and pretend to be anything but?

>>16462917
>>16462894
We're at home now, and the idea was to not reveal who we were to the Gith.

But NOW we can cast ennervations, if there's time to do so. We might as well just get into the actual combat though.

Startling events, certainly- Judging by her reactions, you mentally shift the blame for the disappearing shackles from the Githyanki to the Pelor Himself, but that's hardly relevant right now. What is relevant is that you have armed adventurers standing upon your hoard- and, among other things, your daughter is watching. You draw yourself up to your full and fairly impressive height, emitting a low, rumbling laugh.

“Your options are limited. You have no hope of escape. I have a myriad of ways I could destroy at whim. And you think to /threaten/ me? You mortals are /most/ amusing.” you purr. It echoes and rebounds off the walls of your lair, almost refusing to die. Alyvia doesn't seem fazed, and the elf doesn't even seem to care, but the dwarf slows in her hasty aid to the unconscious sorcerer to glance about, as if to reassure herself that you're still where you were.

“Shall I call up your sixth comrade from Mza? Perhaps torture him to death in front of you? Perhaps call in my servants to assail you until you tire, or they get lucky. Maybe simply wall up this chamber, allow you my hoard until you are too weak to move, let alone defend yourselves- unlike myself, I do not believe you can eat gold. Perhaps I should nullify your feeble god's protection, eliminate all magic and reduce it to the physical? I assure you that will still be a dragon, whereas you will be a human too old for this with a sharpened piece of metal. My options are near limitless. Yours, sadly not.”

“And yet here I stand, defiant still.” the paladin replies calmly, sword on guard. “If you are righteous, then you will be victorious. Put it to the test.”

“Perhaps you are under the illusion that righteousness has anything to do with who will be the victor.” Scinnari snarls, her voice leveling out into a sinister purr that promises agony. “Allow me to relieve you of it. Slave!” Scinnari shouts, tapping her foot on the obsidian dais. “/Kneel/.”

Scinnari's voice seems to be enough to bring Cygnariassis, reluctantly, back to reality. On reflex, she steps forward, walking towards her mistress. Enough to make your heart warm.

“Don't.” the paladin's voice rings clearly in your lair, barely echoing at all. Cygnariassis doesn't even seem to notice. As the trapped gold dragon moves to pass her, Alyvia shifts her sword to her left hand, grabbing Cygnariassis' arm in her right gauntlet. She doesn't take her eyes off of Scinnari, who bears a very cruel smile, or yourself. Despite this, she says quietly but very clearly to Cygnariassis. “Don't. She has no claim over you.”

To her- or perhaps Scinnari's- titanic credit, Cygnariassis seems confused. “She.. But... My mistress...” she pleads, weakly attempting to pull her hand away. She is not succesful.

“You were not always a slave.” Alyvia states, her words not seeming to echo, but to hang unchanged in the air long after she speaks. “You had a name once.”

“My mistress...” Cygnariassis whines, trying to shy away from Alyvia's armored grip but unable to do so. “This slave...”

“You had a name once!” Alyvia roars with a ferocity even you find mildly impressive. “Her daughter called you Cygnis- Was that it?” You tire of allowing the paladin her efforts, and move to begin casting a spell. Scinnari pleads with you silently, halting you.

“Please my lord- /Please/ wait. I.. /implore/ you, my lord- Allow me to at least... Master, at least find out if I have failed you.” she begs you telepathically. Heartfelt enough that even though you are inclined not to allow this charade to continue, nor the risk to increase, you change your motions merely into a sleep spell to keep the sorcerer from getting involved.

“Cygna... -is.” Cygnariassis mutters to herself, her confusion sounding almost painful.

“You were a person. Who were you? Your name. What was your name? How did you gain Azaladon's ire?” the paladin repeats, more kindly. As she says your name, Cygnariassis's panicked eyes flash to wards you, then down, refusing to meet yours. Lionel releases Cygnariassis' arm, gesturing for her to make her choice.

“Slave.” Scinnari repeats in a honeyed voice that drips with poison. “You are not here, slave. I am finding you wanting.” Cygnariassis' eyes seem to lock on the floor before Scinnari, and she slowly moves to continue forward, as if in a tortured dream.

“You do not have to obey!” Alyvia shouts. Again, Cygnariassis pauses. Scinnari's expression turns downright wrathful.

“Though if you do not, I will seal you completely in solid rock for a year, slave. A year of darkness and oblivion. I find you /lacking/, slave!” Scinnari shouts, just shy of an enraged scream. Despite the near-lack of control, it seems to do it. Cygnariassis gives Alyvia a miserable and shamed glance, but proceeds forward, kneeling and crawling to abase herself at Scinnari's feet. Scinnari's expression is the epitome of ecstatic vindication.

“Your hold on her is strong, but not invincible.” Alyvia states, visibly unhappy, but apparently unshaken. “Out of morbid curiosity, what /did/ she do to earn such a fate from you?”

“My lord once /loved/ her.” Scinnari boasts, slowly advancing, longsword raised to guard, “Imagine what fate awaits yourself.”

“A pity he didn't love /you/...” Alyvia replies blandly. A pause then a flurry of blows. You use the distraction to swing your tail around, swatting at the elf. She seems to notice at the last moment, diving into a roll with it, reducing the impact from 'bone shattering' to 'sickening'. Somewhere in the chaos of the collision, she somehow gets an excellent cut with her knife in, carving a deep, almost foot-long wound into your tail. The knife is rent from her hand as she is hurled into the air, then skipped along the piles of gold and loot, coming to a halt nearly four dozen feet away. Though not unconscious, when she attempts to rise, she collapses a quarter of the way, much more wisely choosing not to move.

Meanwhile, the paladin again trades blows with Scinnari, a frantic feint-thrust-parry-and-counterthrust, so close you dare not physically intervene yourself. As you boasted to the paladin, though, you have other options. You pull back to unleash a blue-white blast of flame. Alyvia's divine protection chooses that moment to make itself felt again, as she wards off another flurry of blows from Scinnari, the golden hemisphere diverting and blocking your flame. Around them, though, gold and silver melt on the spot, some of it even vaporizing in the blast, glowing almost as bright as your flames themselves. Scinnari's blade cuts through the gaseous residue unhindered, catching the paladin a glancing blow to her shoulder, shaving her pauldron nearly off, but failing to do crippling damage. A trickle of blood is visible through the sundered plate armor, and a scraping sound is audible as Alyvia engages in a desperate counter attack. Through blind luck- literally, as she must be blinded by the glow of molten gold- she scores a very solid, perhaps even lethal blow on Scinnari. At least, what might have been, if it was not stopped short by the dragon scale armor your consort wears.

###################################
>>16463131
Allofmyinternets.jpg

And, I hate to suggest it, but perhaps this is a decent place to resume later. (Say, saturday.) It's getting far too early on my end.

>>16463163

Sounds reasonable. Saturday it is then.

You know, I like Alyvia. She's got balls.

I think that once Watcher gets what we want from her, we should give her a nice, quick death.

>>16463163
Right in the middle of a fight too.

But yeah. See you Saturday. Great to have you back, and I love that Scinnari is a capable mind-breaker.

We should also go through our hoard and remove all weapons capable of harming us. That's just sloppy.

>>16463203
I'm all for sending her to the hells, like we did with Azdukashen.

Dunno if a paladin's soul is as valuable as a gold dragon's, though.

Fuck yeah, Dragon Quest!

Though I'm a bit late to the party. Readan.

>>16463178
Wow. Something other than frothing hatred? That was not what I expected.

Alright, Continue on Saturday. I can't promise this one- (Though I can promise to try for it, and that if I miss, I'll feel terrible about it-) but from now on, basically all DQs will be Saturday nights. Literally every other evening of the week is pretty bad for me.

As you should know, I do go back and check the end of threads. If you have any last minute recommendations, ideas, or things you want to see adressed, by all means mention them.

>>16463222
But those are the most valuable ones! (I do feel pretty shitty about cutting off in the middle, to be honest.)

>>16463229
Less rare, less jerkass, and more noble. I don't suppose it's a conciliation, but at least you have time to decide?

>>16463244
Nice to see you. Enjoy. (Don'thatemedon'thatemedon'thateme.)

>>16463203

I like her well enough to immolate her subordinates as a gesture of respect, but as the head honcho, she's gotta pay.

How? Maybe we should leave that to Scinnari...but overall, we should make clear we're not looking for another servant.


So! Next battle! Who's in the running? Dwarf and Elf still? I think a change of dance partners is in order- Scinnari should switch to go for the Elf and we should go for the paladin - it's a better match-up.

Lets cast magic missle on her too. That'd tick her off.

>>16463244
>>16463250

Eh, could have gone worse. Saturday it is.

>>16463250
We could just breathe smoke all over the place, making it impossible for the lesser creatures to breathe. They'll pass out and we can chain them up again.

Pelor is dicking with us, if he really did remove those bonds. Does Tiamat dole out any kind of blessings, or is she just a bitch-goddess after all?

Let's slam the dwarf down, then go finish off the one we tail-slapped (It's super-effective!) No sense in letting them get their healing potions out. Then we return to the dwarf and kill him in any number of quick ways.

The only people we should save are the paladin and the sorc., and he's asleep anyways. DO NOT LET AZYRA NEAR HIM AT ANY TIME, FOR ANY REASON.

After we squelch this, we interrogate the FUCK out of them. Mind rape at full-throttle. Then we get the location of the paladin's church and burn it.

>>16463374
Tiamat doesn't "give" anything. She just takes. Yeah, she's a bitch like that.

And we don't need to mind rape them. Just give Watcher a minute with them and we'll have what we need.

In the mean time, once we have them subdued, we should totally start up some small talk. With Watcher brain draining in the background, we can just have some fun with them. Maybe ask for some advice on how to curb Scinnari's obsession with eliminating (perceived) competition. Tips on how to reassure her, and all that. It'd be hilarious.

All of my yes! :D

>>16463080
>“You had a name once!”
I find it amusing that we left Cygnariassis with her actual name specifically so that this line would be totally useless on her, and now the paladin is trying to use it. Why it's generating some confusion from Cygnis, I don't know. Our whole brainwashing thing wasn't based around erasing her past, it was based around warping her perception of it and convincing her that she's more herself than she's ever been now that she has nothing in her life but serving us.

If Cygnis' mindset isn't in line with that, then even though she obeys Scinnari has indeed failed- by creating a slave who can be given pause and sent into confusion by a few lines of rhetoric from a paladin. Nothing that Alyvia has said is something that should have fazed Cygnis for an instant, because they're all things that we came up with logic to account for; the fact that Scinnari had to resort to threats to get her to obey is evidence that Scinnari's fucked up the brainwashing process.

Disappointing. We'll have to speak with Scinnari about it afterward.

>>16462917
We have sorcerer cultist minions who could pull that off, you know. Enervation is only a mid-level spell.

>>16464841
I think that might be because she was less interested in actually brainwashing Cygnis and more interested in the gloating and satisfaction of being the one who "won" in the end. She let the whole thing get very personal, and really we should have totally seen that one coming.