RP backlog

## A night aboard the pity's pride

Galeru:

Having heard Lii's desperate cry in the night, Galeru casts restful
sleep on Lii and his little friends and musters the Luke hoard into
action. Arming them with pots for helmets and various woodworking and
cutting tools they prowl the desk of the mighty... um.... ship... was
going to use it's name there... felt like it had a name... ah well. They
 gather several small barrels, two large barrels, some planks of lumber,
 hay, nails, twine and a crate of whole, yet strangely indeterminate
skeletons.

Having gathered in the loins of the ships,
 they being cutting holes in the barrels, connecting them together with
platforms. The two larger barrels are cut into sections and added back
together to make a large chamber for Lii, while the smaller barrels are
strewn throughout the higher reaches of the growing platforms, ramps and
 skeleton trusses. Next they add hay to all the small nooks and
crannies, barrels and chambers. At this point Galeru realizes something
is missing and going to grab Sasha's pelt and the two dried tentacles.
He takes nails the pelt over the opening to Lii's chamber and attaches
the leathery tentacles (which dried in a spiral fashion due to being
wrapped around a rod) to the outside base corners making them into both
ladders to the top tears and slides to the bottom.

Quite
 satisfied with their efforts, the crew and Galeru are giving high fives
 and to each other when they hear Ariel sleepily searching through the
ship to find out where the crew has gotten to. They must have woken her
with their gentle sawing, hammering and soft soft singing. Galeru
knowing that their mission is not yet complete, holds one of his claws
to his mouth silencing the hoard and gaining their attention. He then
begins to take off all his clothes and gestures for the Lukes to do the
same (which they do, except for the pots, colanders, and one has chop
sticks in his hair (he didn't quite get the idea) that they keep on
their heads for protection). He tells them to quietly sneak behind him
to get Lii and his friends and carry them to their new beds. If anyone
sees them, freeze and blend into the background.

Ariel
 (starting to become concerned that she can't find any Luke's anywhere
and that no one is driving the ship) also heads to the deck. When she
rounds the corner she is shocked to find every single one of the Luke's
completely frozen and more than completely naked scattered across the
deck. Some of them have their legs raised as if to step over something,
others are crawling over crates and another one seems to be ready to
leap into the air. Quite startled, she jumps back out of sight. Having
regained her courage she peaks out again to find that indeed they are
there, but they have all moved and are in different positions, but again
 frozen. Confused she rubs her eyes, wondering if she is still dreaming.
 Actually she kind of hopes that she is still dreaming given the current
 state of affairs. While she is distracted, Galeru casts Sound Illusion,
 making it sound like a wind full of leaves picks up behind her. She
spins around looks, but nothing is moving in the breeze. She turns to
yet again find this increasingly insane crew of Lukes however the deck
is clear and empty.

Will she think that she is sleep walking and go back to bed? Or continue the search?

Galeru
 and the men in the meanwhile reach Lii and her sleeping companions and
gentley pick them up so as not to wake them. Luckily they are sleeping
so restfully (pretty much that you can see their hit points going up by
the second...) that they do no awaken. Galeru, proud of the men for
making it this far in the face of peril, but knowing that the return
trip is going to be even more difficult. Stops at the top deck to talk
to Gleaf (who has been watching, quite amused by the whole event so
far). Having gained her acceptance into his plan he peers around the
corner to see what Ariel will do next.

[hey
guys, I didn't really mean to get so involved in this tonight. I was
just having fun and one thought lead to another, I hope I haven't broken
 any cardinal rules by making story that involved other characters or
overstepping Nik's bounds. I probably have. I guess you could kill
Galeru in his sleep or something in revenge. But dragons do sleep with
their eyes half open... just saying. If we are all good and such, maybe
Natalie can decide if she would like to do something (or finish the
night's story if you like) before I try to make the age old quest of
getting the kids to bed without waking them?][PS I totally want to draw
this rat castle town...sounds bitchin']

Iii:

In the morning, Iii is so pleased with the surprise that she wouldn't even mind if Galeru didn't know her name OR gender ;)

Ariel:

Ariel is confused as to what the Lukes are doing, but it doesn't
seem harmful. She thinks it might be related to the banging and whanging
 and whatnot that mysteriously stopped at about the same time as she
encountered the Lukes, but has no proof since they have no whanging
instruments at hand. She notes with approval that they have kept their
head protective gear on, which is good, because they become infinitely
less useful if they turn into clay dust.

She
returns to bed without spending much more time worrying about it, but
noting that she should keep an eye out for whoever might be gaining
influence over her army. They
 seem too dumb to her to have devised any kind of scheme (even one this
odd and pointless seeming) on their own. Then again, they're probably
smarter than she gives them credit for, since she gives them basically
no credit at all.

## Galeru:

Having seen Ariel pondering what to do next, Galeru returns (out of
sight) to Gleaf with a thumbs up! Gleaf excitedly begins to shimmie and
shake. Small buds begin to form along her many branches and limbs, while
 Galeru places his hands on her and begins to mimic her shimmieing and
shaking, while humming softly. When the first bud blossoms, one of the
Lukes backs up slightly as he feels the air around them instantly become
 denser and start to vibrate. As more of the blossoms emerge, they begin
 to glow slightly. Another Luke notices that Gleaf and Galeru begin to
appear blurred as the light passing through the channeling bubble is
warped in different directions very quickly. Unsure why, another Luke
turns to his good friend Luke and whispers excitedly, "IT'S OVER 9000!".
 Just then another Luke (who has been keeping watch on Ariel), runs back
 and tells them, "So... um... Ariel has gone back to bed."

Galeru looks at Gleaf.

Gleaf looks at Luke.

Galeru looks at Luke.

Luke looks at Galeru.

Galeru looks at Gleaf. (the blossoms are now brightly shinning)

Gleaf
 looks at Galeru and shrugs. With a sound like a slight easing of a
great breath from a very large creature she releases the channeling,
which visibly wisps away from the ship into the abyss. The blossoms fold
 back into buds and gently sink back into her limbs. Galeru straightens
up and mutters, "Too bad, that was going to be a very, very good
dream... Onward men!"

With renewed gusto the
Luke Hoard heroically strides across the deck with their sleeping
charges. Having returned to the loins, they lay them gently into their
new little nooks, crannies and dens. Galeru is about to put Guii to bed
when he realizes, quite beside himself, that he cannot remember if this
creature is male of female. This especially bothers him because he is a
bard and lore is kind of his thing... He decides to use female-neutral.
Kind of like saying North-North-East; not because you are being specific
 about a location, but because you are pretty sure that the direction is
 north. However you secretly suspect that east is involved somehow.

(redacted, edit gm nik 2/18/2016)

Excitedly
Galeru and the Lukes head back to the galley to celebrate. Galeru whips
up some banana caramel souffle for the group (-6 fruit, -1 sugar, -2
goat milk)(full batch of how many Lukes? plus galeru). When he sees that
 an excited Gleaf has come down as well, he opens a barrel of fresh
water and places her on top so that she can sink her roots deliciously
in.

"You
 know what would make our glorious success even better, my boys?!? If
whenever someone asks you about tonight we all just shrug and chuckle to
 ourselves. Won't that be a great laugh!" They all hardily agree as they
 head back to bed or their shifts on the glorious (insert ship name
here (The pity's pride edit gm nik 2/122016).

## 2/18/2016 GM Nik

While
 going about hers studies in the discipline of scrollcrafting Ariel
decides to take a few moments to peruse Torin's journal. She is
able to open the book to a set of pages containing dude sketches and a
breakdown of the hierarchy of demon gods. it shows:

Asmodeus, the true god of hell.

his 8 servants (though subservient) gods in their own rights

Baalzebul - ruler of the cold realm, lord of lies.

Barbatus - holds the keys to hell's gates.

Belial - rules over his layer of hell, the burning forges of hell.

Dispatr
 - Also known as the father of dis, king of despair, and the first
king. He is one of Asmodeus's closest and longest-standing allies.

Geryon - known as the serpent, he is lord of heresy.

Mammon - a gold holding treasurer. He rules over the lightless realm of Erebus, the third plane of Hell.

Mephistopheles -The Merchant of Soulsand

Moloch - ruler of the infernal layer of Malebolge.
 It is said that all who burn join the armies of Moloch. A being of
seething wrath, the Lord of the Sixth embodies both absolute discipline
and directed destructive force. General of Hell's armies,Moloch
endlessly trains his infernal legions to be the greatest martial force
in the multiverse.

## The creation of Keo:

Dispatr the iron lord, in a show of
strength and dominance sent forth his most powerful servant Decrodnocht
into Malebolge with the mission of crushing Moloch's army, its presumed
this was to display to Asmodeus that hell need not a army of paltry
minions but godlike demonic champions. A point well taken, as Moloch
gazed upon his vast armies he beheld the demon slaying his
mightysoldiers. Decades pass as Moloch assured his armies must be able
to defeat this one foe, stands by until but a few soldiers in his once
massive army remained. Desperate and driven to madness by this terrible
loss and dishonor, he seethed his hatred upon the few remaining demons
bonding them together with the essence of his very soul. It is said that
 in an instant and just one quick movement Ahm Keo'varus Ghar stood
beyond the bloodied corpse, clasping the head of Decrodnocht in one of
his mighty claws.

The last part contains information of Keos hierarchy:
Termendeus, a skeletal frame covered in spiked armor - the general of keos forces.
and
 Zageron, a dragonborne lich obsessed with forging demons using the
souls of the mad, the book mentions him as creator of the demons
Blurmby, Dov, Gorgarocha, Sartax, Stizgurgin, and Su'kartu.

Upon
 sharing this information with the group, Rekk recalls that much of the
ever-light crusades that took place in the mad realm following the
defeat of Keo involved destroying the keeps, strongholds, and training
grounds. He remembers stories of the defeat of Termendeus and Zageron.
"I wouldn't be surprised to learn island Millyway's (tm) is built on
wasn't once the lair of Zageron. That forsaken crypt was clearly a foul
pit used to forge demons."

Rekk: Having witnessed The Everflow from the ships deck, Rekk explains that many of the followers of Sarenrae in his order also offer prayer to Matravesh,
 Godess of the flowing rivers. His order has long understood that when
you work with fire, a nearby water source is of great importance. He
informs the party that the blessings of Matravesh during the crusades
inspired a new resurgence in her faith within the church of Sarenrea. It
 has become common practice when constructing worship sites to honor
Sarenrea that the priests must maintain temple grounds featuring a
spring where offerings and thanks may also be paid to Matravesh. He has
heard that there are some members the church in lands outside of Erde
(not of his order) also offer prayer to Tymora, Godess of luck.

## Ariel examines Torins journal 4/5/2016

and reads a section with information about Sarenrae:

She teaches temperance and patience in all things. Compassion and
peace are her greatest virtues, and if enemies of the faith can be
redeemed, they should be. Yet there are those who have no interest in
redemption, who glory in slaughter and death. From the remorseless evil
of the undead and fiends to the cruelties born in the hearts of mortals,
 Sarenrae's
 doctrines preach swift justice delivered by the warhammer's fierce
blows. To this end, she expects her faithful to be skilled at swordplay,
both as a form of martial art promoting centering of mind and body, and
so that when they do enter battle, their foes do not suffer any longer
than necessary.

Sarenrae is known to
 be among the early gods that battled Rovagug in defending creation.
During this magnificent war of prehistory, the **Dawnflower** cast down Rovagug to the center of the world. It is believed that after Asmodeus bound the Rough Beast there, **Sarenrae** placed therein the raging flames of the sun as an eternal torment.

Sarenrae selected
Lord quitus Tarken Sandor as her condiut and through him separated the
spirit of Ahm Keo'varus Ghar from the demons physical form.

Sarenrae counts all non-evil gods as companions, and even
communicates with evil deities in the hopes of converting them from
their dark ways. She has some distrust for Asmodeus due to arguing over the souls of the dead. Her only true enemy is Rovagug.

Sarenrae manifests as a bronze angelic beauty, with golden hair
composed of flowing flame. From one hand emits a holy light which
trickles down like liquid luminescence, whereas the other holds a
scimitar emblazoned with radiant fire. Her holy light provides healing
and sustenance, while the scimitar creates gusts of winds that remove
disease and fear.

Sarenrae has numerous angelic servants.

Her herald, the Holy Sunlord Thalachos, is a platinum-skinned angelic minion that is escorted by 11 divine doves.

Bryla:This servant of Sarenrae is manifested as a wheel of flaming sunlight.

Charlabu: a gold-colored hound archon that often appears in a canine form

Mystmorning: This
servant of the Dawnflower is an intelligent animated blade and possesses
 the same powers as that of a celestial unicorn.

The church of Sarenrae is mostly composed of altruistic priests who
are also ready to be stern should it be warranted. The church is known
for blessing crops, healing the sick, and reforming criminals and evil
doers. They are often consulted to solve feuds and disputes among
neighbors and family.

## Iii comforts Fleeble 6/1/2016 Mike

Iii bypasses the
considerable hubub on the deck (something insane is always going on with
 those Homunculukes, anyways) and walks downstairs, plopping her pack
next to her little furry friends' play structure.  As she's feeding Mii
and Nii each a treat, she hears a soft moan from the other side of the
gallery.  She's used to the goats and sheep being pretty noisy, but this
 doesn't sound like any of them.

"Fleeble?  Is that you?"

A few sniffles come out of the darkness, and then a moment later Fleeble emerges, his eyes bloodshot and swollen.

"Brian, Betty, they
both..." he starts, pointing towards the blanket-draped bodies of his
newly-trained (and now departed) nether reys.  Iii looks confused for a
moment, and then realizes what has happened.  Half of Fleeble's words
are being lost to tears.

"I thought they were stronger... big mistake... and now they'll never... come baaaaack!"

He trails off into a long wail.  Iii walks to him and embraces him, patting his shoulder.

"There, there.  Let's go sit with the goats."

The two walk over to
 the blanket-covered pile of hay that Fleeble keeps as a bed for
himself, in the corner nearest to the food trough his animals use.  They
 sit down next to eat other, Fleeble's hands wrapped in Iii's soft paw,
and talk softly together until they are too exhausted to continue and
finally drift off to sleep.

## Ariel searches Torin's journal 6/6/2016 GMNik

Having mixed luck in
 previous attempts to utilize Torin's journal, Ariel sits down to focus
her will into the book in search of information on "the long road". The
journal flops open revealing a folded page that seem to have been torn
from another book and a set of pages written in the journal describing a
 mundane conversation with a miner who had been to Keo's domain in
search of magnetite ending with a sliver of relevant information. "...
the old fool seemed to really believe a gateway to the long road is
simply hanging out in the darkness. Though i suppose there are many
improbable things in that forsaken place."

Written upon the torn page (front)

Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence.
Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance.
Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance.

"Master, what of Time?"
You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.
You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.
Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.

 You would walk the long road aside its curves,
Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness,
And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.
And
 that that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within
the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.
Who among you does not feel that his power to love is boundless?
And
 yet who does not feel that very love, though boundless, encompassed
within the centre of his being, and moving not form love thought to love
 thought, nor from love deeds to other love deeds?
And is not time even as love is, undivided and paceless?
But if in you thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons,
And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.

 Written in Torin's handwriting on the side:

 Charlabu - servent of Sarenrae - archon hound- aspect of summer

 Those lost upon the road may never wish to be found.

 we
 must entertain that if such a gateway does exist in a realm of demons
that the keepers and the very road itself may be corrupted by dark
arcana.

 Written on the torn page (back):

 Amid the grace of quiet stones,
a stroll down pebbled path.
There within a forgotten time,
behind swirling sands.

Stands now in aged seclusion,
of monuments to grief.
A countenance in marble cast,
the dawn flower in soft relief.

Heavenly comfort emanates,
a coronal healing swath.
Winged guardian to souls now passed,
sempiternal keepers of the watch.

 Deyzsch, Lem, Gleaf, Kah - those who stand before time, and bare witness to all that was and will be known.

She shares the pages
 with the group, Rekk is about as aware of the details about charlabru
as the pages minor details give, adding "children often wear dog masks
during summer festivals, an old tradition based on a story of pack of
dogs cleansing the old soil in fire, giving the crops a rich substrate
with in which hearty crops may grow."

### Luke offers a job 8/25/2016

"A while back i had
heard tales of people walking off into the woods following a song. then i
 got here and everyone was missing. on still nights ive heard music off
in the woods but you know its pretty much dark by then and im wasted by 5
 on a good day. So when i wake up in a haystack of pig trough in the
morning the sound is always gone. You guys are do gooder types, cept
that time you left me for dead. i bet you could go check it out or
whatever."

Gnogg pulls a few
scrolls out of his mighty sack and splays them across the ground. One
falls open which appears to be the old treasure map. around the edges
can be seen an ancient script, with a sloppy translation written in
common above the marking. "oh yeah check this out everyone! i had the
old guy that makes golums for the bartender translate it for me "Thank
you, my noble companions, we have prevented the demons inhabiting my
sisters from tampering with the rift. Sorry to drag you in, my friends
but i had no choice, time as you know it is safe once more. -Gleaf" had
no idea what it meant but it sounds like it had something to do with
your adventure.

Gnogg then opens
another scroll and touches its surface, runes skittered across the page
begin to glow and a small golden beetle flys up from out of the
parchment. He digs around his sack and pulls out a stone of travel and a
 tiny note and hands it to the beetle, who clutches it in its little
legs, spreads it wings, and ascends through a tiny portal that forms
above it. "Also, i told my friends id let em know if the other side of
the portal was cool." before night falls that evening a group of 20
Gnolls, trellix, and Clunk Jr come wheeling their wagons into town.