frp

• Third Age, Year 1108
• 1 May - Arrive in Hky-you-hay territory
• 5 May - Kill the Mud Slaads near Miakoda

When the party returns from their successful Slaad-hunting expedition, the town mayor will be too busy to meet with them. An assistant will politely put them off until “tomorrow afternoon”. The reason given will be that she is preparing for a last-minute visit by a dignitary. No further details will be provided. (Though if the party were discrete and nosy, they might learn about General Sewati - see section II. below).

That night, Matchitisiw's rain storm will arrive (see secret notes to Roget below). The rain will start suddenly around midnight and last until mid- morning, when it tapers off quite dramatically. It will be long and hard enough that the entire town will stay indoors until it finishes. When it does, the streets will be a muddy mess - making Sewati's visit somewhat uncomfortable.

The town square of Miakoda is normally a bustling marketplace. However, on May 6th, a contingent of soldiers will arrive to recruit men for a war on the Sibutco. The group will be holding a rally at a large, covered, open-air structure. Speeches will begin around 1pm.

Leading this group is a well-respected general named Sewati. On his right will be Malia, the “mayor” of Miakoda. On his left is a person who is not known to anybody in Miakoda. He goes by the name Tay-lush-kyne and he has an exotic enough appearance that he would normally draw suspicion from just about everyone. However, since he is with Sewati, he is given automatic acceptance. In fact, he is a Green Slaad in human form that has been using his spells to convince Sewati (and Odin) that the Sibutco present a significant threat that must be eliminated immediately.

Along with the two leaders, there are 8 bodyguards - four of whom will be stationed outside the rally building to monitor the crowds. Any person approaching will be checked for weapons - small blades and blunt weapons like staffs are OK, but anything more and the guards will ask you to leave. They are mostly worried about assassination - not thievery.

Kesi's staff will detect the Slaad at a good distance, alerting the party that something is up.

Combat stats for everybody:

Sewati, male human Ftr8: CR 8; Size M (5'3“); HD 8d10+16; hp 79; Init +5 (+1 Dex, +4 Improved initiative); Spd 30 ft.; AC 16 (+1 Dex, +5 Chain); Attack +10/+5 melee, or +9/+4 ranged; SV Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +1; AL CN; Str 15, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 12.

Skills: Craft +8, Handle animal +8, Hide +1, Intimidate +2, Knowledge +1, Listen -1, Move silently +1, Profession +1.5, Spot -1, Swim +12

Feats: Cleave, Improved critical (sword, short), Improved initiative, Lightning reflexes, Power attack, Two-weapon fighting, Weapon focus (strike, unarmed), Weapon focus (glaive), Weapon focus (shortbow).

Tay-lush-kyne, shape-shifted Green Slaad

    HD 9d8+27 (74 hp)
    Init +1
    Move 30'
    AC 16 in Human form (+1 Dex, +5 Chain Armor)
    AC 20 in Slaad form (-1 Size, +1 Dex, +10 Natural)
    Fast healing 5
    Resistance 5 to Acid, Cold, Electricity, FIRE, and Sonic
    Spells (as 12th level - DC 10 + Spell Level)
       Chaos Hammer: 5d8 vs. Lawful (1/2 vs. Neutral) + stagger, Will save to half
       Deeper Darkness: 60' radius
       Detect Magic
       Detect Thoughts
       Dispel Law
       Fear: Cone effect, Will save or flee
       Protection from Law
       See Invisibility
       Shatter
       Alternate Form
       Summon Slaad (40% chance, only twice per day)
    Special combat effects for the players:
       Kesi - staff detects him
       Vincent - Bow's shapechanger-bane will work against him
       Aramil - immune to his spells and essentially invisible to him
          because of Vincent's frog in his pack

Bodyguards, male human Ftr3: CR 3; Size M (5'10”); HD 3d10+3; hp 23; Init +6 (+2 Dex, +4 Improved initiative); Spd 30 ft.; AC 12 (+2 Dex); Attack +5 melee, or +5 ranged; SV Fort +6, Ref +3, Will +1; AL LN; Str 14, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 10.

Skills and feats: Craft +7, Handle animal +6, Hide +2, Jump +7, Listen +2, Move silently +2, Spot +0, Swim +5; Dodge, Great fortitude, Improved initiative, Mobility, Power attack.

Probably just wing this one…

Tribe City Leader ———– —- —— Hky-you-hay Paco Odin Chayton Zeus Harkahome Osiris Sibutco Salerhanul Apollo Shima Meli Thor Cheveyo Abukcheech Ra Abedabun Dagda Nita Shiriki Anu (very old and sickly)

Roget,

The rain wakes you up. Not suddenly. Not completely. But gradually, you realize that there is a hard, loud, constant rain. The kind that usually has thunder accompaniment. You sit up in bed and wait for a second in the dark, expecting the boom, but it does not come.

Instead, you realize from the sound that the shuttered window of your room is open wide - though you are certain you closed it before you turned in. The room has no light source and the heavy rain clouds seem to have blocked out the light from the moon. The pitch black of night, along with the smell of moisture from outside awakens a reaction in your body.

Then, your heart jumps as you sense movement in the bed next to you. Your eyes quickly adjust (to what? there is still no light) and you make out Her shape lying next to you.

“Finally awake, I see,” she says softly. Your anxiety level is high. Your heart continues to race. This experience is quite unlike your previous encounters with her. This time, you feel that she is truly here. This is no dream, and it is more frightening than you anticipated. You try to fall back to the training. The discipline. But her power will not let you.

She is a goddess. She can do anything she pleases. You know it. She knows it. You are a child again, fearing your father's wrath. Even as you know you have done no wrong, you also know the coming retribution is beyond your power to avert.

But slowly, she reaches a finger to the center of your chest. Her touch is wet, but this time it is warm. You feel a trickle of water run down your belly and beyond. Within seconds, your heart has slowed to normal, and a warm calmness spreads through your body. The panic fades. Your training becomes irrelevant. Your body knows what to do and what it wants, and you lie back down. … But was that your idea or hers?

“shhhh”, she whispers soothingly as she climbs on top of you. “I am so sorry for being away, lover. Malila left his people in amazing disarray. It took me much longer to find a suitable regent than I expected.”

Her gaze goes distant as she adjusts herself above you in a most pleasant way. “I suppose it was to be expected,” she continues - as if the motions she is beginning with her body are secondary to the conversation. “He ruled through fear, and that will likely last long after his death.”

She returns her gaze to you and settles into a slow, glorious rythm. Then, she looks down to your left hand, pulls it gently to her, and kisses the ring. You feel the wetness of her lips on your hand, just as she closes her eyes and moans in ecstacy. This, too, is unlike your previous sessions. Before, she seemed to be acting, not reacting. You were the puppet and her body was the string. Now, she is clearly part of the process. At this moment, for this purpose, you are equals. It is an unexpected and satisfying emotion.

And sooner than you expect, in a gush of pleasure, it is over.

She rolls to the side and stretches out next to you. Her skin from head to toe is wet as usual, but the water is warm and soothing. Your erection remains, despite the recent activity and you wonder for a moment how to ask for more. Or do you ask? What are the protocols for this sort of thing?

She smiles at you with those perfect lips and says, as if in answer to the unasked question, “In a minute. But first, I suspect you have some questions.”

Jim VanWinkle jimvw@cecs.pdx.edu wrote:

um….why me? what does this mean? how does this impact my
interactions with the mortal realm? Do I still wanna go home? Can
I send my friends home? [… snipped due to silliness …]

Her expression changes very slightly, which just for a moment makes her seem weary - or perhaps sad. But you are far from adept at reading her, so you are forced to shrug it off.

“Who controls the fates? Is that what you are asking? I picked you because I was attracted to you. But more than that, I saw in you a solution to these new problems we face. Malila was weak and short sighted. He could not see past his own power. He could not see that the invaders threatened him even though they were far away from him.

“So I sent him to the edge of his world - as far as he would go willingly and took his staff and gave it to you.”

She pauses for a second, as if choosing her words. “Well, not to you, of course. I did not need you to wield the staff - I just needed you to coax Malila out of his land. The staff itself is of little consequence for the task at hand - although it should probably be returned to the Lomasi at the end of this. They seem so lost without it - as if the rain were poison to them!”

Her expression becomes suddenly easy to read. It genuinely annoys her that people do not like the rain. She looks out the window at the rain, which is still coming down steady and hard. (Where did the light come from? It was pitch black just a short time ago).

She snaps her gaze back to you - serious and determined. “I need you to stop the Lords of Chaos, Roget.”

Before you can even breathe, she continues. “In destroying the Godslayer, the Shadowlord has created a grave weakness in the twenty worlds. They have seized upon this weakness and are driving their spears deep into our hearts.”

She pauses again, studying your face - perhaps to see whether you understand what she has said.

“There is a tower in Baka. I do not know its role in this because the chaos stops even my future vision. But I know it is important to the task. For now, they seem occupied with the pseudogods that rule these plains, though their motives are in a mist.

“I believe they do not know you are coming - nor do they know what you can do. Soon, Dhersion will be needed. He will know what to do. Then, Vincent has a role. I know you do not like him, but he may yet surprise you.

“As you get closer, though, they will notice - and they will send their soldiers in number.”

As soon as she finished that last sentence, she is on top of you again. She moved faster than you have seen before - faster than you have seen anybody move before. And her smile is back in all its playful power.

“But that is the future. Tonight, I need you for a different task.”

You do not get a second round of questions. For the next hour (or is it two?), words only seem to get in the way. At the end, you are drained and drift into a deep sleep.

You awake with a start when you hear the rain stop - quite suddenly. She is gone - and for a moment you wonder is she was ever here. But, as you climb out of bed, several of your muscles insist she was.

The window is shuttered again. When you open it, the clouds are white, fluffy, and drifting across a deep blue background. The ground and air are still wet and people are just starting to pour from their homes into the empty and muddy streets to begin the day's activities.

It is long past breakfast!

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