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Post by DM-Delfon on Jul 18, 2011 20:59:40 GMT -5
"Wake up Mortimer..." "Mortimer, wake up... " "It's time for you to wake up Mortimer..."
Your eyes flutter open, and immediately slam shut again when they see nothing but pure white light. Thoughts that you must be dead race through your head, and then are confirmed when you recognize the voice telling you to wake up as Melanie's.
"Open your eyes Mortimer, it's time for you to come back to us."
Slowly opening your eyelids, the world is still far too bright, but you can make out a stone ceiling, four walls close enough to touch, and the feeling of a rough cloth blanket covering your body. Once your eyes adjust to the brightness somewhat, you now see Melanie standing in the small room, her body radiating light almost too bright to look at directly.
"Welcome back Mortimer" Melanie says with a smile.
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Post by DM Quietus on Sept 19, 2011 12:22:24 GMT -5
While his eyes are screwed shut, Mortimer tries to grasp what's going on - what last happened? Where's Armod? And what's with this painful light? Last he can remember, he and Armod were trying to escape from those soldiers... no. Armod was trying to lure them? Just trying to remember all this makes Mortimer's head throb in pain. Covering his eyes with one hand, he forces them open against the light, and gasps when he sees Melanie there.
"What.. Melanie? What happened? Am I dead? Are you dead?", he asks slowly, cold fear spreading through him. Seeing her should have put him at ease, but if this is the afterlife.. it's a lot less comfortable than he'd expected. Unless he's being punished for his role in harming those guardsmen.. almost immediately he begins babbling, feeling tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't - I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I swear! I thought we were just doing all that to protect ourselves, I didn't know Armod was going to hurt those men, I'm sorry..."
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Post by DM-Delfon on Oct 5, 2011 11:26:39 GMT -5
In the middle of your babbling Melanie reaches a glowing hand toward you, and gently brushes your cheek. When her glowing fingers touch your face, there is a pulse of blue white light. A feeling of complete calm washes over you, slowly spreading from the point of contact to infuse your entire being. Somehow you know the feeling extends beyond the physical, and into something else... The spiritual? Maybe, but you can't be sure. Your wounds which had only just begun to tingle with the foreshadow to real pain knit themselves shut, and your bruises vanish.
Melanie smiles lovingly, and speaks into the abrupt silence, "You are not dead. In fact you're still sleeping peacefully." She gestures to behind you, and you realize abruptly that you're standing beside a bed, not laying in it. However, when you look at the bed you see yourself wrapped in bandages, breathing the long slow breaths of deep sleep.
While your minds is still reeling, Melanie continues, "I took this form to put you at ease, but it seems to have unsettled you. Do you have another form which you would prefer?" Melanie says, tilting her head to one side. "We have much to discuss before you wake. I need you to remain calm now that I've healed your wounds. If you feel any emotion too strongly you will wake."
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Post by DM Quietus on Jan 16, 2012 0:46:02 GMT -5
It takes Mortimer a long time indeed, to come to terms with everything happening. In fact, by the time he pulls his eyes away from his unconscious form, confusion can still be read within the lines of his face, but "Melanie"'s words focus him, and he mentally holds onto the calm that accompanied the healing.
"I'm scared, but I'm listening.", he answers truthfully. The revelation that this ... creature, this person, wasn't Melanie simultaneously picks him up and lets him down. At least she isn't dead, but it would have been nice to see her again. It had only been a fairly short time since he and Armod had left the village, but those days had felt like forever. Shaking his head, he finally says, "This is okay. I'll try and stay calm, what do we need to talk about?", focusing himself as he would when he was learning from the Lightbringer.
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Post by DM-Delfon on Jan 16, 2012 9:02:58 GMT -5
Melanie smiles again, "Scared is good, listening is better." She looks behind her for a moment, and nods, before turning back toward you. There is nothing of note behind her, and you heard nothing that should have attracted her attention. What her turning did make you notice however was the fact that you can see through Melanie, she's translucent.
You don't really get a chance to react to anything, because Melanie begins speaking in detail about wounds, and the tending of them with bandages, poultices, splints and tourniquets. Some of which you understand, while other details are beyond your skill at healing. Once you're truly focused on what she is saying, she starts adding strange non-sense words, and instructing you in gestures that wouldn't even touch the patient. Demanding that you repeat them back to her exactly, and later she makes you do the actions while saying the words, and something very strange happens. A spiderweb of vivid colours, mostly blue-white spiral around you. The gestures you make pull and tug on the threads of glowing energy until a bright flash of white light changes the web of energy into a glowing blue-white ball in your hands.
"You have just cast your first magical spell, whomever you touch with your hands their wounds will knit themselves shut like yours did when I touched you." Melanie stops talking, and seems to be waiting for you to say or do something.
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Post by DM Quietus on Jan 19, 2012 1:38:14 GMT -5
While Mortimer's actions mimic Melanie's, his mind remains clear, focusing on pushing each thing she says and does into memory. The nonsense words and physical motions somehow feel like second nature to him, but the abrupt appearance of lights appearing around him nearly shakes him from his focus. When Melanie doesn't slow her instruction, Mortimer shakes off his surprise, and when the blue-white ball of energy finally coalesces in his hands, he's left staring dumbfounded at it while she describes what's happened.
"I.. a spell? I can do magic?" The shock of it doesn't seem to have settled into his mind just yet, as he turns the ball of energy about in his hands. "What are you, really? And.. why me? Why *now*? Why not in Urutah, when I could have helped Christopher?"
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Post by DM-Delfon on Jan 19, 2012 8:17:14 GMT -5
Melanie glances down, and takes a deep breath clearly forming her thoughts. Before she speaks again, she raises her gaze to meet yours, "Yes Mortimer, you are able to cast spells, not just healing if you so desire. As for what I am? Does it matter? Your mind screamed to the heavens for assistance, and now you have another tool to help you bring light into the world." Melanie steps closer, and continues, "You were not ready to accept the existence of magic back in Urutah, but do not sell yourself short. Christopher would have died in the street without your help, and Melanie would have been cut down while mourning over his body. Her body would have been left there at the side of the road, never to receive her Sunset Prayer."
Melanie looks behind her once more, still clearly seeing more than you can, when she turns back she speaks in a rushed voice, "We have a very short time left, if you have more to say before you wake you should do so now."
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Post by DM Quietus on Jan 20, 2012 1:05:02 GMT -5
"You're right, I'm sorry.", Mortimer says, chastised. "Thank you, I swear that I'll never abuse this gift, and I'll never turn away from someone who needs help. But.. where am I now? Where do I go from here?", he asks, the full situation he's in finally settling on him. Magic was.. well, when that got the chance to set itself in his mind, he would probably freak out a little bit about that, but last he remembered, he was digging holes for the escape plan with Armod.. now he was in some stone building - a prison? - talking to a translucent Melanie.
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Post by DM-Delfon on Jan 20, 2012 18:36:27 GMT -5
Translucent Melanie nods, both when you say that you're sorry, and when you swear not to abuse the gift's she has bestowed upon you. "You're inside the Western pass guard station. It has been taken over by Imperial soldiers, and the villagers that were stationed here have been slain. You must escape this place, which would be all but impossible without this..." She gestures to your sleeping form, and you see it yourself fade out of existence. She then touches the door behind her, and you hear an audible click. "When you wake you will be invisible, and the door is now unlocked. I suggest you escape back into the valley, and head north toward the Light Shrine." Glancing over her shoulder quickly, she finishes in a rush, "I will see you again when you arrive there. Be careful, the climb is arduous."
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Post by DM Quietus on Jan 21, 2012 11:19:42 GMT -5
With a nod, Mortimer says, "I'll see you there. Thank you." Turning back to where his body was, the full weight of the situation seems to settle on him, and he sinks to his knees, his insides seeming unable to decide whether to be excited or terrified. Only once before had Mortimer felt quite like this, when he'd made the decision to dedicate himself to the Light, and taken his vows before the Lightbringer. The situation was very different, but that had been a rebirth, of sorts, and so was this; unbidden, the words came to him again.
"In the Light I trust. In the Light I have faith. In its guidance I find my path. All I have, I give to the Light. All I am, in service to the Light. Here I vow, to answer hatred with love, Violence with the hand of friendship, to give more than I receive, to be the light that pushes away the dark. Before the Light, I swear."
When Mortimer finishes his short prayer, he opens his eyes, and is reminded that for all this new ability to cast magic, he still has one problem; he isn't in his body. Glancing behind him, he asks, "So.. how do I get back into my body?", simply speaking aloud to himself if Melanie has already gone.
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Post by DM-Delfon on Jan 22, 2012 22:56:10 GMT -5
When you turn back to Melanie, she is literally beaming with light. White-gold rays emanate from all around her, like she's standing in front of the sun. "I have heard your Sacred Vow, and will hold you to it Exalted One." with a flash bright enough that you have to shut your eyes, she is gone. You awaken in a bed, looking up at a plain stone ceiling. You think that the entire situation might have been a dream, until you go to wipe your eyes, and you can't see your hand...
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Post by DM Quietus on Jan 23, 2012 10:17:30 GMT -5
A low groan escapes him as Mortimer wakes, his head filled with the dull throb that he puts to a poor night's rest. The sight of his hand - or rather, the lack of it - shocks him back to fully alert, and he looks around his stone surroundings for the second time. With a murmured, "Thank you Melanie, or whoever you were..", he pulls himself to his feet, feeling the bandages pulling with the movement. Deciding that comfort is a small price to pay compared to letting this gift of invisibility go to waste, he moves to the door as quietly as he can, listening for any signs of movement on the other side before opening it and stepping through.
((Awareness 9, Stealth 5))
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Post by DM-Delfon on Jan 23, 2012 14:36:31 GMT -5
Pressing your ear to the door, you hear nothing on the other side. Even after twenty seconds or so, not a noise can be heard outside. Opening the door a crack, and slowly pushing your way into the room you find a simple guard station, a half played game of solitaire still dealt out on the table. Heading to the only other exit that doesn't lead to another cell, you notice an open topped create with a collection of your belongings sticking out the top. Everything you had on you when you were arrested, and even the stuff you had left at your camp seems to have been collected as well. Re-equipped, you press your ear to the other door, hearing only very muffled snoring.
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Post by DM Quietus on Jan 24, 2012 0:50:13 GMT -5
Re-packing his belongings doesn't take a great deal of time, as most things can be pushed right back into his pack, if they were even removed at all. Once he's re-equipped and hears the soft snoring from the other side of the door, he takes a deep breath, and eases the door open, heading for the nearest exit as quietly as he can. Slowly, he seems to be getting more accustomed to his invisible state, as his footfalls even sound softer to his own ears. The presence of the guard helps to push away the many questions flooding Mortimer's mind and focus him on the task at hand; those were thoughts better considered when he wasn't within a guard's possible line of sight.
((Stealth to get through the next room quietly : 9))
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Post by DM-Delfon on Jan 24, 2012 7:26:51 GMT -5
When you peer out the next door, you see a ten foot wide archway through a ten foot thick wall. To your left is an iron bound portcullis, and straight across from you is another door. The door is open several inches, and the snoring is coming from within that room. Now with the door open you can hear at least four sets of snores, three are rather quiet, while the fourth sounds like a herd of pigs snuffling around.
Looking to your right, you can see the guard tower. The tower is a platform with four foot walls, and covered with a low thatch roof, suspended some forty feet above the ground. Inside the guard tower you can see the faces of two guards, who turn as if talking to someone behind them, while keeping the majority of their focus in the distance over the wall. While you watch, taking stock of the situation, one of the tower guards calls over toward the wall, and someone from on top of the wall answers his call. Several men laugh at the response, which was clearly a joke of some kind. It's not funny, having not heard the set up for the joke. Looking to your right you can see the Urutah valley night beckoning. Slipping out of the door, you turn your eyes north to where the stars are blocked out in a jagged spire that seems to reach the heavens themselves, Heavens Spire is aptly named, and the Light Shrine rests somewhere up that towering mass of stone.
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Post by DM Quietus on Jan 24, 2012 12:28:53 GMT -5
With the guards distracted, Mortimer remembers how Melanie had made everything seem urgent, and starts running as soon as his feet clear the door, seeking to put as much distance between himself and the wall as he can. Remembering her words, he heads first for the valley, considering going through Urutah proper. He'd never been climbing before, and had barely any idea where to start, but there was probably someone who could provide him gear.. maybe the Lightbringer could help him find that sort of stuff? Either way, his first priority is clear - get away from the wall, and gain some sort of cover in case Melanie's invisibility wears off. All attempts at silence are ignored as he breaks into a full-out run, heading for the nearest cover, veering toward the valley as best he can.
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Post by DM-Delfon on Jan 26, 2012 8:23:28 GMT -5
Shouts break out within your first few steps, the sound of armoured footsteps on stairs grows fainter as you put some distance between you and the wall. The last thing you hear before words fade to incoherent noise is "The prisoner has escaped!" After you reach the edge of a copse of trees, you pause to adjust your gear and check what's happening back at the wall. Several soldiers are cast in an eerie flickering glow from their torches. From what you can see they are gathering a search party. A half dozen armed, and armoured men with torches, all headed into the night with the sole purpose of finding you. You currently have a lead of about three hundred feet, and the cover of trees as your only real protection.
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Post by DM Quietus on Jan 26, 2012 12:14:40 GMT -5
Recognizing that these trees, and that distance, isn't going to be nearly enough, Mortimer races further down the path toward the valley, slowing to a hustle rather than an all-out run. Ending up out of breath, at this point, would be a terrible risk, and one that he isn't willing to take just yet. Hopefully, the fact that he'd just awoken would be in his favor, as he'd be better rested and able to continue moving as long as he had enough light to see by.
If there was any sign that the soldiers had horses, then once Mortimer has traveled another few hundred feet, he begins looking for a path into the mountains to his north, in the hopes of escaping the search patrols and putting off any mounted patrols. Otherwise, he continues to hustle straight toward the valley, recognizing that it will be faster to reach Heaven's Spire if he holds off on climbing until he reaches the foot of the mountain.. and that if he can get climbing equipment from Urutah, it'll make his task much easier.
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Post by DM-Delfon on Jan 28, 2012 9:24:39 GMT -5
(From your brief observations the guards don't appear to have horses.)
The valley takes three days to cross from one pass to the other. The mid point of that journey is where the village of Urutah sits. A twenty foot wide road crosses the valley from one pass to the other, and a river splits the valley into quarters from north to south. Heaven's Spire is located in the North East quadrant, about a half day's travel almost straight North from your current location. Acquiring climbing equipment from the village itself will put you on the highway for a day and a half with little to no cover. Heading straight for Heaven's Spire will take you half a day, and you will have the cover of trees the entire time.
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Post by DM Quietus on Jan 28, 2012 11:37:55 GMT -5
At some point during his flight from the soldiers, Mortimer finds himself in a position where he can see both the darkened recesses of the Urutah valley - presumably, unable to make out the village itself - and the silhouette of Heaven's Spire, blocking out the stars behind it. A large portion of him is calling to the village, wanting to know how his friends and neighbors are doing, but looking up at the void in the sky, he can feel Heaven's Spire calling to him. "One day...", he whispers to himself, as he turns off of the beaten path, heading North toward the Spire. Painfully aware that he's utterly unprepared, he speaks a prayer to the Light to guide his way as he heads into the cover of the trees, setting course for what would promise to be the most difficult trek of his life.
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Post by DM-Delfon on Jan 28, 2012 21:41:44 GMT -5
You're traveling well into the night, almost jogging in your haste to avoid capture. Abruptly the forest stops, and you stagger into a clearing right at the base of the Heaven's Spire. Looking up into the cloudless sky, the gray of stone of the mountain is lit by the multitude of stars over the valley. The bleak blackness where the mountain blocks out the stars beyond your ability to see is mocking. You feel so small compared to the massive tower of stone in front of you. Squinting, you make out a pinprick of light in the blackness where the stone blocks out the stars, that must be where the Light shrine can be found.
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Post by DM Quietus on Jan 29, 2012 23:46:15 GMT -5
The sheer size of the mountain makes Mortimer feel smaller than he's ever felt in his life, looking up at where the mountain's summit silhouette stands against the stars. The ridiculous impossibility of the task he's set upon himself only adds to that feeling, but the sight of that pinprick of light fills him with hope once more. "Light guide me.", he murmurs to himself, as he considers his options. He could start climbing now, but he hasn't ever really climbed anything higher than a fence in his life. The dark would not be the best place to do so. Instead, Mortimer begins searching the area with the limited light he does have, trying to find an alcove or cave to rest in until the sun rises once more to light his way.
((Untrained Survival check : 14+2 = 16))
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Post by DM-Delfon on Jan 30, 2012 7:31:14 GMT -5
Staggering with exhaustion, spirits dangerously low at the towering blackness above you, you feel the weight of the stone as if it were piled upon your shoulders. That tiny pin prick of light reminds you of something the Light Bringer said many times, 'There is always light in the darkness.' He was right, this situation seems hopeless, but yet that pin prick of light shines like a beacon in your mind. Spirits uplifted by the Light Bringers remembered sermon, you stagger onward until you find a tool carved cave dug into the mountain, it's deeper blackness all that draws your attention to it in the first place.
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Post by DM Quietus on Jan 31, 2012 2:16:55 GMT -5
For a short time, Mortimer simply stares into the cave, every primal fear rising in his throat as he stars into its blackness. Looking back up at the shining light atop the Spire, he finds himself tempted to sleep out beneath the stars. Anything that lives in that cave, however, would be just as capable of getting him out in the open as they would inside. That in mind, Mortimer pushes himself to take wary steps into the entrance, coaxing himself to go far enough into the cave that he can barely see the ground in front of him, before finding a relatively flat area and trying to climb into his bedroll. The entire time, his holy symbol is kept nearby, and when Mortimer finally closes his eyes, it's held tightly in one hand, a talisman of sorts against his fears.
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Post by DM-Delfon on Feb 2, 2012 8:03:08 GMT -5
You crawl into the mouth of the cave, and are startled as a raccoon scuttles out of the mouth of the entrance. Taking another five minutes for your heart to stop racing, you once again attempt the mouth of the cave, this time with no surprises. The inside of the cave has been tooled high enough to stand, and just long enough for a tall person to spread out a bedroll. A small pile of leaves, and sticks is nestled in the corner. The loose fur, and a half eaten apple tell you that the raccoon was sleeping there.
After some minor cleaning of the cave bottom, which is remarkably flat, you set out your bedroll. You notice that the cave has a very slight angle toward the opening, maybe a design feature? Something to keep any water from pooling inside? Crawling into the bedroll, you pull out your holy symbol, which feels slightly warm, and calming sensation flows over you while you hold it fast.
You wake, remarkably well rested in the morning. As you stretch, and scratch you notice that at some point the raccoon came back and is hunched in it's nest staring wide eyed at you.
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Post by DM Quietus on Feb 2, 2012 12:02:24 GMT -5
"Thanks for lending me your cave.", Mortimer says, the absurdity of it putting a smile on his face. The rest he's gotten has helped to clear his mind, but still, many questions hang heavily over him. He still doesn't know why the village was attacked, and he's still worried about everyone there, particularly Melanie. If only he had time.. but he'd promised Melanie - no, the thing that looked like Melanie, he reminds himself - that he would make it to the Light shrine. The thought crosses his mind that it could have just been a feverish dream, but he's reminded of the invisibility he'd been given.
Moving slowly so as not to disturb the raccoon, he takes one of his rations from his backpack, breaking off a piece and tossing it near to the little creature. Chewing thoughtfully on his own portion, he tries to reason out everything that had happened since the Imperial attack, but his mind keeps drifting back to one thing - the magic that he could supposedly cast. Thinking back to the previous day, he recalls that the process had a lot in common with a prayer, and with that his decision is made. Packing all of his gear back up, he exits the cave - giving the raccoon another small piece of his rations if it bugs him for them - and takes a good look around, seeking any sign of the soldiers that had been looking for him the previous day. Hopefully leaving the beaten path, and running as far as he had, would leave him safe.
Assuming he doesn't find anything to be worried about, he places one hand on his holy symbol, wondering at its warmth the previous night. He stays relatively close to the little cave, but attempts to find a location that's both bathed in the morning sun's rays, and in view of the Shrine itself, its location on the mountain seared into Mortimer's mind even if it isn't visible now. Setting his pack on the ground nearby, he begins what had become a regular habit for him before the world had turned upside down, but holds greater meaning for him now. Speaking his prayers aloud, anyone nearby would hear him asking forgiveness for what he'd done to Able in Urutah, and praying for the wellbeing of multitudes of people - Christopher for the wounds he'd sustained, Melanie and the Lightbringer of course, Able and Simon, as well as any other Imperial guards affected by the spell Simon had spoken of, Armod and anyone else from the village that had been under twenty years old, and quite literally everyone that comes to mind. The nonsense words and gestures that the Melanie of Light had shown him slip into his prayers, and though their newness is clear upon his lips, they fit fluidly into what he's doing. Finally, he thanks the Light, specifically, for the gift of magic that he's been granted, and begs its protection while he begins his hike up Heaven's Spire.
((Awareness check 14 to see if anyone is nearby that Mortimer needs to worry about. Spellcraft DC 10 base + 40 (instantaneous->1 day duration) -35 (Standard action cast->1 hour) -2 (Touch to Personal) = DC 13, total Spellcraft check 17, for 1 day of Regeneration 1.))
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Post by DM-Delfon on Feb 3, 2012 8:58:49 GMT -5
The raccoon flinches back when you speak, making a little hissing noise which you find more cute than threatening. The raccoon stays coiled, ready for fight or flight, right up until you pull out your ration. His tiny nose snuffles audibly, and he stretches out, flattening out along the floor, creeping closer. When the ration bounces past the raccoon, he darts after it, ignoring you completely. It munches it down, and turns back to you, considerably less shy than before. The raccoon chitters while standing on his hind legs, quickly rotation the chunk of ration in his fore-paws. When you glance back at him, he nods twice before setting to work chewing up your shared food.
Creeping out of the cave into the morning shadows cast by Heaven's Spire itself, you realize just how far the shadows stretch. The sun remains hidden behind the stone, but the ambient light is more than enough to illuminate the area. Even with staying close to the cave, it takes you about an hour to find a location where the suns rays shine through between Heaven's Spire, and a more distant mountain range. While searching for this spot you see no sign of the soldiers that were hunting you last night.
Your holy symbol is no longer warm to the touch, perhaps the feeling was just your imagination the night before? A comfort to sooth your mind at your time of need.
As you get into your prayer, breaking down each of the magical phrases into their component parts, and slipping them into your prayer over the next hour. Slowly over the next hour tendrils of magical energy begin to flow and swirl around you. As you reach the end of your prayer, the network of magical energy surrounds you completely, twisting and twirling, more intricate than the most delicate lace. You feel the energy sink into you, binding to your very bones.
The last thing you notice as your spell ends is a slight twinkling running up the side of the first couple hundred feet of Heaven's Spire. The twinkling starts about fifty feet up, but continues until around three hundred feet. At that point there is a slightly darker area, perhaps a cave of some sort?
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Post by DM Quietus on Feb 4, 2012 1:26:55 GMT -5
The tendrils of magic fascinate Mortimer, and though his prayers remain constant, he pays more attention to them this time than he had when he was being taught. Their intricacies escape him, as his focus is on his words and motions, but the sheer aesthetics of it aren't lost on him. When his prayer, and the spell, are complete, he feels.. energized, adrenaline pumping through him as it had when he'd been running for his life only hours ago. This time, however, it comes with none of the terrified shakes that had eventually wracked his body as it had run down last night.
Throwing his backpack over his shoulders, he looks once more up at the climb ahead of him, wondering at the twinkling that he can see. The fact that it leads to something, possibly a cave, suggests to him that someone might be trying to show him the way. The thought occurs to him that it may be yet another answer to his prayers, and though a part of him insists that he might be getting ahead of himself, the recent route his life has taken makes it difficult for him to believe otherwise.
At first, Mortimer carries that energy forward, and makes some progress scaling the rock wall. It's uncomfortable, and he can feel the weight of his pack slowing him down, but he manages to scale fifteen feet off the ground before his first fall. The wind is thoroughly knocked out of him, and at first he could swear that he would have a concussion, as his head throbs where it struck the ground. Quickly, however, the pain ebbs away, and when he gingerly tests the spot, he finds that rather than it being wet with blood as he'd expect, it doesn't even hurt!
Steeling himself, Mortimer stares once more at the obstacle before him, and makes another attempt. And another. And another... the fourth fall, he falls hard enough that he passes out on impact. When he wakes moments later, he watches as his heavily bruised leg heals before his eyes, in a kind of dumbfounded wonder. Once his leg has healed, and he doesn't feel even an ounce of pain, he stares once more up the side of the mountain, toward the Shrine of Light. There are no words, however.. none at all to describe the sheer awe at what's happening to him. And so, with a deep breath, he makes another attempt.
Over the next two hours, Mortimer tries over and over to climb the side of the mountain. Tears run down his face, on the couple of occasions he manages to just get up to near the edge.. only to have the stone crumble beneath his feet once more. Using the twenty feet of rope he'd brought, he anchors his bag higher as he climbs, pulling it up after him when he reaches particularly strong handholds and leaving it hanging higher up the mountain each time. When he first starts to note his clothing getting torn from his falls, he makes the decision to strip down to his skivvies, stuffing his clothes into his bag to protect them from further damage. His body, apparently, would heal on its own.. his clothing, not so much.
It takes him two full hours - and a great deal of frustration, pain, crying, and self-restraint to not shout curses at the mountain itself - before he finally reaches the ledge - or at least, he hopes there's a ledge - at the fifty feet mark, and the first of the twinkling bits. Given a ledge to rest on, he flops into it, panting and sweaty, looking like he'd just run a marathon. Yet he can still feel the magic flowing through him, and for all his effort, he doesn't seem to be tired at all.
(Climb checks : 11, 15, 20, 10, 8-fall, 15, 6-fall, nat 20, 17, 9 fall, 15, 16, 11, 18, 19, 11, 4 fall... at this point I started using Invisible Castle for 50 rolls at a time. It took about 850 rolls. Assuming 2 checks/turn, that's 425 turns, or 42.5 minutes, plus the time to heal. I'm going to round up to about 2 hours to reach the 50 foot mark, since he'd spend as much time healing as he did falling, or a little more.
Also, now I'm wondering if those twinkling bits are pitons.)
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Post by DM-Delfon on Feb 6, 2012 8:21:41 GMT -5
When you finally manage to crawl up onto the small ledge, panting from the exertion, you roll over carefully so you are laying on your back. Your small clothes need to be washed clean of the sweat and filth of the climb, and several scrapes and one two inch tear need to be mended. A goodly part of your left buttock is getting a lot more light than it's used to.
Laying there looking up at the now sunny sky, you can see the trail of shiny things are in fact small metal rings, which have been hammered into the cliff face. These rings, pitons, you think you've heard them called will be ideal for stringing a rope through. Not only will the climb get easier, (DC 10 instead of 15) but if you do fall, the pitons will lead you back to this ledge or stop you from falling at some higher point*.
When you manage to catch your breath, you lever yourself up on your elbows, and then to a full sit with your legs dangling over the side of the fifty foot cliff. From your current vantage, you're sitting overlooking most of the trees in the area. With the slope of the ground leading away from the mountain you can see all the way to the thick black columns of smoke where the village of Urutah should be.
*(Note: The pitons used here are extremely long, and are quite stable. If used correctly, they will not pull out of the mountain side, and limit the fall distance to only 10ft.)
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Post by DM Quietus on Feb 6, 2012 11:24:39 GMT -5
Once Mortimer reaches the ledge, he's more than happy to let himself lie there, staring upward at the sky in disbelief. There was, quite literally, no way that he could believe it took him that long to climb that short distance.. and he was in equal disbelief that he'd actually managed, finally, to pull it off. He hadn't counted on the climb being nearly as difficult as it'd been, but he was dimly aware that his muscles should be much more tired than they seemed. Probably something else to do with the magic. Regardless, the sight of the pitons heartens him, and should make the rest of his climb easier.
Sitting up, he feels the familiar twinge of vertigo as he looks down at where he'd just been.. but any fear that he might have once had is gone, apparently beaten out of him through his repeated falls down the cliffside. The sight of the thick black smoke over Urutah almost pushes him into leaping off the edge of the cliff and running back to the village, but he hasn't had all of his survival instincts beaten out of him; he pauses, thinking of the pain he'd feel when he hit ground, and that gives him time to consider. That much smoke, visible this far away, means a big fire. Literally village-sized. For a moment, a flash of anger flows through him, directed at the soldiers that had been attacking the city.. but Mortimer forces himself to take a deep breath, calm down, and remember his vows. Those soldiers.. Simon had explained that they were under some kind of magic oath. He hadn't wanted to do what he'd been doing. In his heart, Mortimer couldn't place the blame on them, not where magic was involved. That didn't stop the tears from flowing freely down his face, however, leaving trails in the dirt and dust that covered it. Even with magic at his fingertips, he feels tiny and helpless, stuck between a village he can't save, and a mountain he can barely climb. Speaking a short prayer for the lives and souls of those in the village - neighbors and soldiers alike - helps to focus him a little, but it doesn't feel like enough.
Finally, he pulls himself away from the morbid sight, and turns his attention back to the mountain. With a deep sigh, he unties his length of rope from his pack, and wraps half of it around his midsection, tying it off securely before making his first attempt at climbing. It's slow going, as he pulls himself up and ties his rope off at each new piton as he goes, but at least he isn't constantly falling like he had been. In fact, he's more than seventy feet off the ground before his foot gives way even once, and a sharp pain erupts around his midsection as his rope goes taut. With a grunt, Mortimer pulls himself back up, his earlier spell already healing the bruises and rope burns that would otherwise stick with him. As he continues upward, he finds himself slipping a little more often, but makes steady progress; Twenty feet up, before slipping ten feet back down. Occasional bursts of progress help to keep his morale up, and he even finds himself growing accustomed to the pain and discomfort of the falls, his body crashing against bare stone becoming less a fear of pain and more of a simple annoyance. When he reaches the top of the glittering path less than a half hour later, he's plainly shocked at how quickly he made it up, and feels a surge of pride at having done a much better job here than he had below.
((110 rolls to reach 250 feet, assuming five feet per roll for ease of piton use. Giving two rounds for each roll to account for piton use, that's 22 minutes.))
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