Chapter 1: A New Dawn for New Dathan

[Rukellian]

Quick update, Hellhound 1 failed to get past Akabel's defenses. Both Mehath and Akabel missed their strikes. Flynn is focused on the new face, slowly trying to get into a flanking position using the natural darkness of the room. Elithil can attempt to finish the hellhound with a charge using his long sword. If Zhym wants to roll for his character, today or tomorrow would be the day to do it. If it will be easier for me to roll for Elithil today, let me know by Noon, EST. I will fit the post in then.

Combat Rolls:

Hellhound 1 to hit roll... [1d20] = 10... failed to harm Akabel.
Akabel's to hit roll... [1d20] = 1... of course.

[Zhym]

Elethil regards Brother Bolden cautiously, watching for any sign that he might be about to cast a spell. "We are not this man's—well, statue's—friends. If this is your helldog, call it off and explain what is going on here." Judging Bolden to be the bigger potential threat, Elethil refrains from attacking the hellhound, instead standing ready to attack Bolden if he makes any offensive move—including casting a spell.

If Bolden makes any hostile move:
Long bow of distance (THAC0 16): [1d20+4] = 8+4 = 12, Dmg: [1d6] = 4

[Rex]

Mehath

Mehath will attack the hell hound again. "Take that beast!"

Long Sword, to hit [1d20+4] = 3+4 = 7, damage [1d8+4] = 4+4 = 8

Long Sword, to hit [1d20+4] = 15+4 = 19, damage [1d8+4] = 8+4 = 12

[Rukellian]

Brother Bolden does not call off the hellhound but instead shrugs, more concerned about the cockatrice's newfound master. "The hounds are evil creatures by their very nature, loyal, but evil. I hated to use them as tools, so it does not pain me to see them put down by the sword. But to be able to tame a terrifying creature like the cockatrice... is impressive in itself. I don't know whether I should commend you or feel intimidated."

Seeing the remaining hellhound to be a threat still, Mehath cuts it down quickly, allowing everyone in the group to now focus on the man before them.

Brother Bolden's eyes widen as a thought comes to him. "To tame a cockatrice so quickly, it must be because of magic! If one of you were sent by the Brotherhood, please say so and I will not hold ill will towards you. In fact, such news would be a blessing, truly!"

Brother Bolden certainly came off hostile at first, but being a learned man that he is, he showed caution in the face of a powerful and armed group of strangers, ones that were able to dispatch his defenses so quickly at that.

Hellhound to hit roll... [1d20] = 5 failed to hit target.

[Zhym]

Elethil raises one eyebrow. "It seems I am not as notorious as I thought," he says with a slight chuckle. "Or perhaps I have become too accustomed to my race and appearance being a matter of comment. It is surprising, if not entirely unpleasant, for it not to be so. But I would expect that a Brother of Prometheus would have heard of the strong elf who is ambassador to the realm of men." Elethil fixes his cat eyes on Brother Bolden in a steady gaze.

"Curious, too, that a Brother of Prometheus would make use of hell dogs. It is not strictly against the vows of the order, not being a use of offensive magic, but I am not sure that it is in the spirit of the Brotherhood's objectives, either."

[Nuke66]

Eric responds, just a little vague. "Just a little divine inspiration is all, it seems to be a friendly thing." With a little shake of his staff, the bird flies toward the Brother, circling the room before again coming to rest on the tip of the staff.

[Rukellian]

"Ambassador..." Bolden mouths to himself as he furrows this brows. After a few seconds of staring at the elf, his eyes light up. "Yes! I've heard about you, I just didn't make the connect. My apologies! So it must be so, the Brotherhood sent someone after all to assist me. This is good."

Brother Bolden watches as the cockatrice flies its circle and purposely returns to Eric and not he. You can tell that he is disappointed in this development, but does not fight it. "A very useful thing too, if you know how to handle it. I want to ask you how you managed to pull it off though. Some magics are even beyond my understanding, and to tame animals is not in my repertoire. I simply bribe them with food." He shrugs.

"Curious, too, that a Brother of Prometheus would make use of hell dogs. It is not strictly against the vows of the order, not being a use of offensive magic, but I am not sure that it is in the spirit of the Brotherhood's objectives, either."

Brother Bolden looks away, avoiding eye contact. "It is as you say. Though, when I found the artifact, I knew that proper defenses were needed. Summoning them was the easiest thing for me to do without tipping anyone in town off of what I was safeguarding." Brother Bolden looks quite nervous after mentioning this. "I talk about this only because I know I can trust you. This artifact, this key is too important to the Brotherhood to ignore. We have to move it quickly before more people find this place."

[Zhym]

"Taming a cockatrice with food is more impressive than doing with magic, I would say," answers Elethil.

"Perhaps you had better tell us more about this artifact."

[Rukellian]

Brother Bolden nods. "It was actually quite strange at first, me being assigned to a remote area like Iron Glade. They said it was a goodwill trip, one that was supposed to help foster relations between the laborers of the land and the mages of the city. I wasn't buying it. I was no teacher and I certainly did not have any practical knowledge of the mining business. But soon enough, the true reason I was brought here became clear.

"You've seen them too, right? The dreams? The key was calling out to us, asking us to find it, secure it. I consulted my texts and I learned that it was one part of something much greater, much older than the magic we know of in this age of man. I speak of magic that can perform miracles, shape entire kingdoms, change the fates of men. The Brotherhood must have known about this powerful artifact. That's why they sent me here, it must be the reason."

Brother Bolden's manner of speech became fevered, manic even. The more he spoke of the artifact he found, the key, the more it becomes clear to those watching and listening that he has become obsessed with it.

[Zhym]

"But what is it?" asks Elethil.

[Nuke66]

"Yes, that is the question, a key to what?" Eric adds.

[Rex]

Mehath

Mehath will slowly, nonchalantly try to drift a bit away from the others.

His goal is to get out of Brother Boldens field of view and prevent him from taking everyone out with one spell in case things go bad.

[Rukellian]

Brother Bolden shows you all to his study, for those who follow, further past the pedestal, down a flight of stone stairs. The study is sparse in furnishing, only having a chair, a table, and a few light sources to illuminate his work. Sprawled out on the table are various pieces of writing equipment, a cloth mat, and resting on top of it, a strange looking stone object (sort of like a piece of a puzzle cube, but by itself).

"This is what I found, what has been calling me in my dreams. It may look broken, but I think it might be a piece of the ancient magic I spoke of earlier, the one briefly mentioned in the tales and myths of Kinra." He points to the books at his desk. "They speak of an Obsidian Eye, the eye of Prometheus himself. I believe this stone shard, this broken object may be a part of that eye."

[Nuke66]

"So, there are other missing pieces I presume?" Eric continues.

[Rex]

Mehath

"May I examine it?" Mehath moves closer to the piece.

[Rukellian]

"I believe there are other such pieces, hidden somewhere in the world." Brother Bolden replies to Eric. He does not stop Mehath from taking a closer look but keeps an eye on him.

Flynn hangs back and keeps an eye on the entrance in, making sure nothing sneaks up from behind. Akabel draws close to Elithil and whispers something to him while the others are focused on the table and its contents. "Do your eyes see something that we cannot? If need be, I can prevent this man from speaking, for a time."

[Zhym]

Elethil shakes his head almost imperceptibly. Now is not the time for casting spells to determine whether Brother Bolden is evil.

"So this is one piece of a larger...thing," says Elethil. "What does it do? Does the piece have power of its own, or is it the power in the whole?"

[Rukellian]

Given direction by Elithil's inquiry, Brother Bolden picks up one of his reference materials and flips through it quickly, eager to share what he's been researching. It is the book of myths and legends of Kinra. "The Obsidian Eye, when whole, can perform miracles of magic, creating and doing essentially anything the user of the artifact wants. My time in the libraries of New Dathan has pointed towards spells of old that follow a similar description, granting the blessings of gods and divines. Wishes, by another name. If this shard is indeed part of the Obsidian Eye, then it must hold a power of its own, similar to that of the whole. A... limited wish?"

"I have not had a lot of time with this object to ascertain how it functions, or determine if it even functions as I think it does. I can say this with certainty though, it's magical, I saw its aura."

[Rex]

Mehath

Deciding to go the blunt route. "Have you tried destroying it? If it is really what you think it is, wouldn't it be nearly indestructible?" Mehath calmly asks as he passes the piece back and forth through his hands.

[Rukellian]

"You wouldn't..." Brother Bolden says in a voice filled with disbelief. You can't help but hear a tinge of hostility behind those words.

Note: This is how the npc would react, given his current fixation on the artifact piece. Do not mistake his response as my own. You are ultimately free to do what you want in this game, within reason, or at least, I'm trying to push the game in that direction. If you feel as if you have no choice in the matter, regardless of what's going on, and it shouldn't be that way, let me know. I have a bad tendency to assume and to railroad in this sort of game format.