Summoning Aid

The Goblin is a little unhappy with the snow, but at least the wind has died down. Her haggard and drawn expression from previous days has gone, replaced by a more focused and driven one.

"I'd really prefer to do this indoors, in a nice library or another place of knowledge, to influence the choice of ally. But since we cannot risk things in the city, and hah, the protective wards... which I really do hope are extant still, given that the Arcanist's dungeon has lost theirs... something I did not expect would ever happen. Maybe they need to review that location... I mean it is under the university after all, there's a lot of people near by."

She's been rambling for a bit, pausing here and there as if to consider a location.

It is at a small clearing in the woods, north of the city, and west of the Eldwyn road, under the bows of an ancient pine tree. The ground is rough, covered in pine needles, but dry and clear of snow.

"Okay.. this is a good spot. If things go... poorly, or we're found by the fiend (gods forbid), hopefully any collateral damage is small." The Goblin begins to pace out two circles, one each for the Goblin and the ally to be, touching at one precise point. Simony looks to Verna, "This is going to take a little bit of time while I pray to Navos, and then more time to discuss payment and the task at hand. Do you have a preference in what I should ask the planar being to do? Find the fiend? Or bring us all the information possible on the creature?"

It is not the most pleasant day, insofar as the weather is concerned, but such could be far worse. The chill prevents the ground outside of the city's cobbles from turning into a wet mire, at the least, as she accompanies Simony to the location of the Temperance's choosing. "I believe that the city's wards are yet intact. The breach of the dungeon was unexpectedly, certainly, yet I do not believe that it defeated the city's wards; rather, it may have simply avoided them as mental, even physical, influence did not require the fiend's actual presence. The wards merely abjure against teleportation and similar effects, thus prevent the direct conjuring of of an extraplanar entity as much as its willful arrival in such a manner."

Verna watches as the circles are paced and considers Simony's concerns and inquiry. "Our focus should be informational, in my opinion; any knowledge of the fiend, itself, or its whereabouts." There is a pause before she advises, "I may be able to provide some of this, myself, with an attempt to scry upon the fiend. Success is not guaranteed, of course. As well, you should be aware that there is a direct correlation between my attempts to scry upon powerful entities and undesirable events related to said entities."

Simony continues her preparations, nodding slowly. "Okay. Hopefully it can find what we need to know without too much danger to itself. There's a cost involved and it goes up if things get... dicey. But ... I could also do some divination beforehand, to see if that might provide some guidance, to see if a particular course of action leads to ill results?" A few incense candles are pulled from a pouch on her belt, and she fusses with a flint and steel to get them lit. "Tsk, these things are always fussy in anything but the most perfect of conditions."

Verna keeps her portion of the conversation light so as not to overly interfere with Simony's preparations. "I urge that we focus upon one course of action, or potential course of action, at any given moment. Once we have the results from one, we can best plan the next. It could be as likely that your ally hunts down and destroys the fiend permanently as it is that choose to not aid you. Each option requires a wholly differing response on our part."

The Goblin is quiet for a few moments, moving to settle herself in one of the circles. "Hmm. Okay. How about this? I'll summon the ally, explain what we want, and then we support it with divination and scry. Nothing says it has to work on its own. Though, uhm... I am merely a small adherent of Navos. I do not think the ally we receive is going to be resilient enough to eliminate this fiend by itself. If it is, well, it is likely that we could do it ourselves, yes?"

The Goblin exhales a sigh.

Verna nods to Simony. "That is a prudent and reasonable course of action, Temperance. I would prefer the presence of an ally and not require its eventual aid than to be in dire need and not have one present." Her words pause briefly before she notes, "Do not belittle your own efforts nor your capabilities, Simony. You are motivated and make the effort to do what you are able. If all were so motivated, threats would be far less dire and rapidly removed, if they emerged at all."

A gloved hand gestures to her and her circle. "Please, beseech your ally. I shall make preparations for scrying, which may well take longer than your calling and bargaining."

GAME: Simony casts Lesser Planar Ally. Caster Level: 8 DC: 18

The Goblin offers a simple nod then, and closes her eyes, assuming a pose akin to that of meditation.

"Thoughtful Raven, I, your servant, humbly beseech your aid..." Simony conveys a sense of urgency and dire need, for a fiend must be found before it can do further harm to the city and its citizens.

It doesn't take long for a warm glow to form before Simony. The glow grows and then forms into the shape of a man with the head of a raven. He carries a sword on one hip and his dark eyes peer thoughtfully at the one who summoned him. "I have come to your call Temperance." His words though they don't sound like they are words that should be understood so easily are translated directly to the mind, so his meaning is clear.

Verna's initial preparations for her own casting are minimal; it is the spell, itself, that requires much time. She does not yet begin to do so as the glow appears and coalesces before Simony. For the moment, she simply observes the interaction with a respectful quiet. This is the Temperance's task and Verna will not intrude, yet she is available should her input be requested.

Simony bows at the waist, managing to almost touch her head to the ground from her seated position.

"I am thankful for your presence, and humbly ask your aid. We are seeking a fiend, one who roams the city of Alexandria currently, having inscribed its sigil inside the skull of a man. We have broken his magic and hold over the man, and he fled into the city. We would ask your assistance in locating this fiend, though we have little to go upon.'

The celestial seems to consider this request for a moment. "So your request is that I locate this fiend in the city and inform you of its location?" It seems that the celestial wants to be clear as to the definition of the request.

"Yes.", she replies. "Verna and I can offer support. She can scry, if you can give her a location, and I can use divination as well, if that may assist your search." Simony lets out a breath. "There is the matter of your... price."

The celestial regards Simony for a moment. "I do not have the information you seek, but I may be able to gather it. Depending on how powerful the fiend in question is, that could be fairly dangerous to me." His bird eyes narrow. "Though such a creature loose amongst mortals is... unwelcome, and I am eager to offer what aid I can... Do you possess any means by which the fiend might be tracked?"

Verna makes a brief mental collation of what information they do possess on the fiend, as well as what can be determined. A polite nod is made to the entity as Simony references her, but she otherwise continues to be passive. As she is not the caller, and not a servant of the same deity, it may well pay her little mind save for at the Temperance's direction.

The Goblin looks morose for a few moments, clearly at a loss. But her expression brightens and she snaps her fingers. "We can take you to see the man who was possessed by the fiend. He may be able to assist you. He will be very eager to help I would think, because he was right tormented by it, and would like to have the peace of mind that it is truly banished from this plane."

She pauses, to rub at her chin, glancing at Verna a moment. "Did... did we find that guard who fled beforehand? He might know something also, and I am pretty sure we can twist his arm a little."

"Simply tell me this man's name and I will go to him. The fiend may have left enough taint on his mind to be tracked by." The celestial seems to not want to waste time. "Normally for this sort of task, I would ask you to make a large donation to the Temple, but instead I will offer you a trade of a differing sort."

Those raven eyes fall on Simony seriously. "I will task you with the destruction of the fiend you have sent me to locate. You or your allies must see it returned to the pit from whence it has come."

"We have not located that particular guard, to my knowledge," Verna notes to Simony. As the called celestial states its price, she then turns her focus to said celestial. "While I cannot accept the bargain on the Temperance's behalf, I assure that the named task is our intent."

"I am sorry, I only know the man's first name: Jacob.", the Goblin says, "He is currently residing at the Vardaman temple. I hope that is enough."

Simony offers another bow. "I will see it done, at the risk of my own life.", she says, with a determined tone in her voice.

The celestial nods once, totally focused on Simony, which makes sense since she summoned him. He offers his hand to her. When she accepts it there's a sudden flash of light between them and he nods again. "You will be held to your word Temperance." With that, he turns and vanishes. Off to the task that had been set out before him.

Verna watches as the celestial vanishes to its duties, then turns to Simony. "Bargaining can be quite simple when intentions align." She then considers their next course of action. "Would you prefer that we return to shelter and await word from the entity, or attempt to gather further information?"

The Goblin lets out a huff of breath, and flops onto her back. "For those of us about to die... we salute you.", she says softly.

With a grunt, she stands up on shaky legs. "We may as well head back. Being in the city means we can act more quickly on anything we get. But I would suggest for now that we don't do anything too obvious to avoid tipping the fiend, or any of his unwitting accomplices, being made aware of our activities."

Verna's brows lift at the flop and salutation by the Temperance. It is the latter that she comments upon, however. "All very wise options, indeed." The items that she had retrieved are returned to her satchel perhaps with some relief.

-End