The Fool's Grove [4e]

[SporkMaster5000]

Quote:

In a time long before the current age of the world, fomorians began magical experimentation with myriad life forms, fey and otherwise, to produce nefarious guardians and soldiers. Such experimentation inevitably results in successes and failures. Loath to part with their failed experiments without sowing some form of wickedness, the fomorians devised mystical prisons for their underwhelming monstrosities. these they built upon or near the surface of the world, where their castoff pets could do harm to the fomorians’ enemies. You've come to one such prison, either through tales of buried fomorian treasure, or a need to deny fomorians the ability to ever have nice things, or something even less probable. Whatever your reasons, you're here now and the fool's grove awaits you.

if you're not familiar, it's a level 2.5 delve, so that's the level you start at (that is 1625xp, one lv1 magic item, one lv2 magic item, one lv 3 magic item, and 600 gold for whatever). since it's going to be a one-shot, and a crazy adventure besides, any material is allowed and characters can be as quirky as desired.

the fools that have come:
Arc Vembris - Colbertron warforged vestige'lock
veccna - Sylvanis, half elf warlord
oshi - Fawks, goliath fighter
Psychofish - "Van" Vanguard, Warforged Warden
Rain Yupa - Brother Mercutio, Human Invoker
and PrismCity - Sora Songbird, Kenku Bard  

[SporkMaster5000]

You all wander along strange paths in the forest. Perhaps on your own, perhaps together, that's for you to decide. However, you all arrive at an enormous ornate door of wood at about the same time. This magnificent door is of clearly fey design, bearing intricate patterns of flora, runes in the Elven language, and a single peephole, inexplicably only about 5 feet off the ground. Lacking any other decoration—even a handle or knob—it stands alone in the woodland setting, with no walls to hold it up. Beyond it is a grove of trees within which you can just make out a low structure. Silence hangs eerily about the area. Pleasant woodland smells mix with a hint of something foul. You each sense something is amiss—that perhaps it is not that the walls are not there, but that you cannot perceive them.

Taem and Sylvanis, you two can read the runes on the door, which say “Keep Out! Yes, this means you. No warforged, drow, half-elves, or goliaths.”  

[Arc Vembris]

"Ah yes, mysterious doorways." Colbertron approaches the doorway and turns to address the others. He wasn't going to go so far as 'companions' just yet.

"Some would say part and parcel of the Feywild, or does it have deeper means in way of irritating the heck out of me? That brings me to today's Threatdown."

He points toward the door and his first finger separates to extrude a short length of chalk.

"Number five: Mysterious portals. Where do they go? Who built them? What otherworldly monstrosity is likely to come out?"
As he lists items he writes them out in a tight script on the door.

"Which brings me to number four: faeries. Mischievous spirits with morals alien to most of us.
Number three: falling rocks. Everyone dies. Not pretty.
Number two: fomorians, huge, ugly, and if they enslave you and warp your mind-slash-body then you're lucky.
And threat number one: Owlbears. I don't think I have to explain that one to you people."  

[Oshi the Killer]

As Colbertron is going off on his Threatdown Fawks turns to the rest off the party "Fawks wonders who's going to open the door. Fawks volunteers if no one else is up to it.". Fawks draws "Frostbite" off his back and lets out a laugh.  

[Saccharine Venom]

As Colberton rambled on, about something that clearly made no sense to the Drow, he moved on past the Warforged and towards the door, gently running his slender fingertips along the runes etched into the door. "It says keep out," he said in common towards his companions, leaving off the bit about races. It was unnecessary. Why worry them at all when they only way onward was through the door.

"Well, if we're ready, let's move forward. I sure as hell didn't come here for the scenery..."  

[Arc Vembris]

"Oh sure move on, but if there's an owlbear on the other side of that door, don't say I didn't warn you."

Colbertron wags his thick finger at the drow as the chalk recedes and it reassembles itself.  

[Psychofish]

"We cannot keep out."

Van followed up behind the others, steel face blank and quizzical on Taem. He sounded vaguely confused.

"We came to go in," he explained, and approached the door.

Besides what the sign said, eh saw no reason not to go in. They had come to go in. They were here. Now they just had to go in. Despite the sensation of something amiss or the idea that there might well have been traps or tricks laid to such a place, Van did not see them. He did not have especially much reason to believe they were there even though he did not.

So he simply tried to open the door with a push.

If they were sealed and that didn't work he'd pause, quizzical again, before knocking.  

[veccna]

Sylvanis studied the door while the others blabbed about themselves. The writing was clear, wanting exactly the races that have approached it to keep out, though it made sense since those races are hated by eladrian and elf alike. Listening to the conversation more intently, the goliath wanted to open the door and the drow needs to keep up on its elven if it couldn't read the rest of the script.

"I would hold on that thought goliath." Sylvanis approaching the group with a diplomatic tone. "Those runes there read “Keep Out! Yes, this means you. No warforged, drow, half-elves, or goliaths.” That is all of us here." Sylvanis walked to the seemingly floating door. "Would you really want to barge into someones world that they created themselves that hates all of our races...
" sylvanis slowly touched the door, "...with the power to create a door held without walls, a portal that could go anywhere right in the middle of the wild."

Sylvanis looked back at the group, gauging their reactions. "I don't know why you all are here, but if you plan on going through this door, I doubt there will be any turning back." Sylvanis turned his back away from the door and walked two steps, facing the group. "I'm here to free the people within from the fomorians, but I can't do it alone, and whatever quest that you are on, I doubt you could finish it by yourselves either." Sylvanis darted his eyes to every person, seeing if they were in agreement. "I'm not asking for all of us to trust each other with our deepest secrets or anything like that...just enough to know that we all have each others back in this." Sylvanis waited for everyones responses



((rolled dice incase diplomacy check is needed. +11 dip  

[veccna]

OOC: god i hate rolling in the forum's, i've gotten 5 1's and now this two all in a row  

[Arc Vembris]

"So what you're telling me is that contrary to what we're saying, you agree with us? I wholeheartedly welcome you into the braintrust, sir."

Colbertron offers to shake Sylvanis' hand.  

[Psychofish]

Van agreed, silently. Friends were good. Working together was good. But he still went to push insistently on the door despite the warning.  

[veccna]

Edit=tehehe, kind of read the character wrong, changing drow to warforged.....Sylvanis saw the warforged silent agreement before the other metallic one spoke. shaking the metallic ones hand, Sylvanis didn't take note of the other warforged leave. Before the other's had their say, a small grunt was heard from behind him. Turning around, Sylvanis saw him trying to open the door by pushing on it. Well, we had to open it at some point,might as well be a giant metallic being Drawing his shield in his right hand, Sylvanis let his left hand gently touch the hilt of his axe, waiting to see what will come up from the door if it opens.

"Well, seems he spoke for the rest of you and wants to get in now," sylvanis looked back at the group, "hope you're ready" Sylvanis said looking back towards the door, fight ready in his eyes.  

[Psychofish]

((I'm curious as to when Vanguard became a drow. XD))  

[SporkMaster5000]

The drow rubs his hand over the runes, the warforged pushes, knocks and shoves. Nothing makes the door budge. It's almost like whoever put it there didn't want you to enter.

((you don't need to roll for skill checks while interacting with each other, i'll leave character reactions up to the players.))  

[Arc Vembris]

"That's very strange, it's almost as if something--or someone--didn't want us to enter."

Colbertron turns to stare at the half-elf for no particular reason.

"Luckily, my friend Colbertron Jr. here is neither warforgeddrowhalf-elf OR! goliath."
SCREEEAH! a hawk swoops down from the treetops to alight on Colbertron's arm.

"Yes, go forth Colbertron Jr. Find a way inside that mysterious door!"

He sends the hawk forth and it flies straight into the door.