Shal's body moves with ease upward, though she feels no force on her feet as there would be if a step were really there. Rather the force emanates out of her as the position of her body matches her will.
Baendurn can tell that the aura includes evocation magic.
The light from the glowglobe reflects off the wall and mist but does not touch the dark areas.
Have I mentioned the whole place reeks to high heaven? Yeah. Putrid flesh, formaldehyde, brimstone and similar chemical substances, greasy metallic notes, other unpleasant and unnatural smelling things. It's fairly uniform in all directions and overpowers everything else.
Baendurn can tell that the entire area has a magical effect over it of overwhelming power. It is difficult to distinguish any other effects. You may roll Spellcraft if you wish.
Orell can see his companions. There are four different doorways out of the chamber; the halls they lead into are obscured. He can hear lots of moaning, shrieks and rumbling coming from everywhere, though it's difficult to tell if it is not just the castle itself emitting these noises.
Orell knows more or less what Shal does, but his knowledge on the finer details of the religious cult is surprisingly lacking.
I'm going to assume you all chose not to comment. In which case, moving on...
Yalweb takes no more note of the shake than anyone else and walks on decidedly in the opposite direction of Thecla.
“Well, we are getting closer,” Yalweb pipes up suddenly after a time, his eyes sparking with a fey light; “At least the last time I passed by this way...”
Again a loud shudder in the hall cuts the feverishly happy servant off midsentence. The walls themselves seem to vibrate and groan. Then another shudder comes and everything goes black for a moment.
Slowly, an eerily glowing mist seems to fill a vault-like chamber, in a completely different place than you were before. Everything that you can see appears distorted and surreal, a shadowy and dream-like vision of the castle. The walls melt like wax, quiver like flesh, and groan ominously. With a look down you see only empty darkness below your feet, as though you were walking on air. Yalweb is nowhere to be seen.
“Oh dear,” Yalweb's voice sounds in the chamber. It sounds strange, as though you were hearing it underwater (not to mention, of course, its characteristic lack of concern); “That's the second time this week! You'll have to find your way out of the Weirding. Just watch out for the dead people.” After that, you hear nothing.
Webcomic binging on the Keychain of Creation all day. Really makes me want to play Exalted.
Shal recalls that Wee Jas uses a flaming skull as her symbol. The witch goddess is strongly associated with magic, particularly necromancy, and many wizards have been initiated into her mysteries who later produced necromantic works, whether treatises, spells or artifacts under her influence. Historically, the cult of Wee Jas has been very strict, with the clergy especially concerned with the rites of burial and purification. The goddess is very concerned with everything having its right place in the order of the world, and when people become unruly she is inclined to clean things up with death and restart the lawful cycle anew. The followers of Wee Jas are also quite wealthy; they lend money which the indebted repay through labor as undead after their death.
Edit: Also, the castle just shook hard enough to shake you guys, in case you didn't catch it the first time.
“I'm afraid it is most urgent that I get you to the Baron rather than discuss questions,” Yalweb says with a cheerful smile, then continues to walk on.
The hallways seem like a spidery labyrinth, Yalweb navigating them with a ceaseless grin and precise steps. The walking seems to go on forever until turn after turn it feels like you have become completely lost in the castle.
Along the way you cross the path of a stern-faced woman, her hair set in a severe bun, her eyes hard and icy and her mouth a thin line of disapproval. She wears a flowing, silvery-white dress with a flaming crimson skull embroidered on her breast. At her hip is a dagger in an intricately worked silver sheath set with rubies and garnets.
"You," She says in frigid tones; "You are strangers to the castle. Your impurity must be cleansed at once."
Yalweb bows to the priestess, his grin looking a bit closer to a deathly grimace than usual.
"Yes, Lady Thecla," He says obsequiously; "I'm sure the Baron will see to it after their appointment."
Thecla nearly quakes at this, her eyes opening wide in fiery outrage.
"Fine," She snaps angrily; "You will see them to my temple at once."
She storms off and Yalweb walks on for a time, then pauses. The walls reverberate with a deep rumbling that you can feel in your bones.
The servant seems completely unperturbed by Tal'Mek, reading the document excitedly, his eyes moving so fast they seem to spin in their sockets.
“Ah, yes,” He smiles brightly; “The Baron mentioned you might come. I am Yalweb. Please enter.”
Yalweb opens the door wider, his black-and-gold livery glinting in the daylight as he presents an exact bow and his plastered smile. The corridors within the castle are drafty and dimly lit; the tapestries and rugs, once fine, are now caked with layers of dust and moisture. The air smells slightly of mildew.
“It's been some time since we have had any visitors,” Yalweb coos, his eyes glittering and hardly leaving their watch of you for more than a moment; “I imagine there will be much excitement at your arrival.”
The doors are now closed, though you saw and heard no motion from them. The servant pays them no mind and walks forward, taking up a rusty lantern.
“It may be a bit before we are able to find the Baron,” Yalweb says in his bland timbre; “The Castle sometimes has a mind of its own.”
I think how good master specialist is depends on what your specialty is. I don't think it's particularly good for abjurers. Of course, that's mainly because there's a slew of other prestige classes that are way better for abjurers. Like incantatrix, for example.
Finally you come upon the tall, ornate doors of the castle, brass rings stylized to appear to be a serpent biting its own tail set in the wood as knockers. They bang thunderously against the door as you utilize them.
After a long moment, the left door creaks open to reveal a broadly grinning face and gleaming, feverish eyes. With every passing moment his smile seems to grow wider and wider until it seems larger than his own face and more imposing than the tall doors themselves, more like unto a gruesome rictus than a smile. The massive teeth look ready to swallow you up as he speaks.
“Hello, welcome to Castle Alhurst,” The man says in a sickly-sweet voice, every word uttered with the same tone of mindless bliss that you can't be sure is the conceit of friendliness or altogether more sinister; “May I ask who you are and what your business is here?”
"Oh, they don't always attack," The drunken guard slurs thoughtfully; "But it's right disturbing. They're usually not too happy. It's when you get pulled into the Weirding that it gets really dangerous."
Baendurn can tell that the aura includes evocation magic.
The light from the glowglobe reflects off the wall and mist but does not touch the dark areas.
Have I mentioned the whole place reeks to high heaven? Yeah. Putrid flesh, formaldehyde, brimstone and similar chemical substances, greasy metallic notes, other unpleasant and unnatural smelling things. It's fairly uniform in all directions and overpowers everything else.
Shal almost tumbles midair as the rapier keeps going past her feet. So, floating.
You need knowledge (the planes) for what you're asking for. But your arcana roll informs you that it might be artificially created through magic.
Baendurn can tell that the entire area has a magical effect over it of overwhelming power. It is difficult to distinguish any other effects. You may roll Spellcraft if you wish.
Orell can see his companions. There are four different doorways out of the chamber; the halls they lead into are obscured. He can hear lots of moaning, shrieks and rumbling coming from everywhere, though it's difficult to tell if it is not just the castle itself emitting these noises.
Orell knows more or less what Shal does, but his knowledge on the finer details of the religious cult is surprisingly lacking.
I'm going to assume you all chose not to comment. In which case, moving on...
Yalweb takes no more note of the shake than anyone else and walks on decidedly in the opposite direction of Thecla.
“Well, we are getting closer,” Yalweb pipes up suddenly after a time, his eyes sparking with a fey light; “At least the last time I passed by this way...”
Again a loud shudder in the hall cuts the feverishly happy servant off midsentence. The walls themselves seem to vibrate and groan. Then another shudder comes and everything goes black for a moment.
Slowly, an eerily glowing mist seems to fill a vault-like chamber, in a completely different place than you were before. Everything that you can see appears distorted and surreal, a shadowy and dream-like vision of the castle. The walls melt like wax, quiver like flesh, and groan ominously. With a look down you see only empty darkness below your feet, as though you were walking on air. Yalweb is nowhere to be seen.
“Oh dear,” Yalweb's voice sounds in the chamber. It sounds strange, as though you were hearing it underwater (not to mention, of course, its characteristic lack of concern); “That's the second time this week! You'll have to find your way out of the Weirding. Just watch out for the dead people.” After that, you hear nothing.
Webcomic binging on the Keychain of Creation all day. Really makes me want to play Exalted.
Shal recalls that Wee Jas uses a flaming skull as her symbol. The witch goddess is strongly associated with magic, particularly necromancy, and many wizards have been initiated into her mysteries who later produced necromantic works, whether treatises, spells or artifacts under her influence. Historically, the cult of Wee Jas has been very strict, with the clergy especially concerned with the rites of burial and purification. The goddess is very concerned with everything having its right place in the order of the world, and when people become unruly she is inclined to clean things up with death and restart the lawful cycle anew. The followers of Wee Jas are also quite wealthy; they lend money which the indebted repay through labor as undead after their death.
Edit: Also, the castle just shook hard enough to shake you guys, in case you didn't catch it the first time.
The hallways seem like a spidery labyrinth, Yalweb navigating them with a ceaseless grin and precise steps. The walking seems to go on forever until turn after turn it feels like you have become completely lost in the castle.
Along the way you cross the path of a stern-faced woman, her hair set in a severe bun, her eyes hard and icy and her mouth a thin line of disapproval. She wears a flowing, silvery-white dress with a flaming crimson skull embroidered on her breast. At her hip is a dagger in an intricately worked silver sheath set with rubies and garnets.
"You," She says in frigid tones; "You are strangers to the castle. Your impurity must be cleansed at once."
Yalweb bows to the priestess, his grin looking a bit closer to a deathly grimace than usual.
"Yes, Lady Thecla," He says obsequiously; "I'm sure the Baron will see to it after their appointment."
Thecla nearly quakes at this, her eyes opening wide in fiery outrage.
"Fine," She snaps angrily; "You will see them to my temple at once."
She storms off and Yalweb walks on for a time, then pauses. The walls reverberate with a deep rumbling that you can feel in your bones.
“Ah, yes,” He smiles brightly; “The Baron mentioned you might come. I am Yalweb. Please enter.”
Yalweb opens the door wider, his black-and-gold livery glinting in the daylight as he presents an exact bow and his plastered smile. The corridors within the castle are drafty and dimly lit; the tapestries and rugs, once fine, are now caked with layers of dust and moisture. The air smells slightly of mildew.
“It's been some time since we have had any visitors,” Yalweb coos, his eyes glittering and hardly leaving their watch of you for more than a moment; “I imagine there will be much excitement at your arrival.”
The doors are now closed, though you saw and heard no motion from them. The servant pays them no mind and walks forward, taking up a rusty lantern.
“It may be a bit before we are able to find the Baron,” Yalweb says in his bland timbre; “The Castle sometimes has a mind of its own.”
I think how good master specialist is depends on what your specialty is. I don't think it's particularly good for abjurers. Of course, that's mainly because there's a slew of other prestige classes that are way better for abjurers. Like incantatrix, for example.
Finally you come upon the tall, ornate doors of the castle, brass rings stylized to appear to be a serpent biting its own tail set in the wood as knockers. They bang thunderously against the door as you utilize them.
After a long moment, the left door creaks open to reveal a broadly grinning face and gleaming, feverish eyes. With every passing moment his smile seems to grow wider and wider until it seems larger than his own face and more imposing than the tall doors themselves, more like unto a gruesome rictus than a smile. The massive teeth look ready to swallow you up as he speaks.
“Hello, welcome to Castle Alhurst,” The man says in a sickly-sweet voice, every word uttered with the same tone of mindless bliss that you can't be sure is the conceit of friendliness or altogether more sinister; “May I ask who you are and what your business is here?”
I'm snickering a bit at Shal's ambitions.
Bonus XP:
Caex: +25
Talore: +15
KK: +15
Id_Ego: +10
"We see our own ghosts," The old guard says to Shal; "Hence 'Weird.'"
Shal hasn't read anything about it. It seems to be local slang for whatever phenomenon is occurring here.