“I’m just an Inquisitor, not a Lord or Grand Inquisitor. And it is time for you to go. Read the scroll and speak with the mage, Und-ir will accompany you. With that he nods at a huge, hooded, seedy looking and -- ugh -- unwashed man standing a few feet from them before turning and striding off.

Eman gives an aching stare after the Inquisitor, wishing he could follow him down and out of this place... but all too soon is brought back to reality by a rancid stench. “Come, ‘ss thisss way.” the wretch hisses, leaning far too close for decency or comfort. It even reaches out to take his arm, but Eman quickly draws back.

“Ssss sssss ssss,” a long staccato hiss comes from beneath the hood, and it takes a second for Eman to realize it as the laughter it is. “Und-ir is to take the fleshling up, ssso it will be going up. It is going up now, yesss?” A few sharp clicks follow from within the hood, and Eman’s mouth twists in disgust.

“I, yes, I am going up now. Just don’t... touch me.” Another laughing hiss as Eman turns toward the stairs and begins climbing. Slowly. Take it slow, one step after another. You’ll be fine. Come on. Up the stairs and through the third level, clogged with black-clad Inquisitorial special forces. Down the choked hallway to the door third form the end.

More of the Inquisitor’s retinue is here as well. A half-naked tattooed woman with blades secured all over her body (making up the majority of her wardrobe, really) and lime-green hair standing up in spikes. A dwarf standing next to a greataxe almost the same size he is and outfitted in extremely ornate embossed full plate... yet still managing to drink mead from his tankard by sticking a straw through the lowered visor. A grey-robed mage with a scarf covering where his eyes are... or perhaps used to be, talking to a cool, collected man with the same appraising gaze as the Inquisitor from before, though easily a decade or two younger. Clad in the same black leather and cape with the symbol of the Parthian Inquisition (though less ornate) clasping it, he solemnly nods to the whispers of the mage; occasionally snapping an order to one of the myriad troops lining the hall. Finally a slim, brown clad, and entirely too cheerful man who almost blends in with the woodwork, his smiling face and cheerful demeanor belied by the radius even the battle-hardened inquisitorial troops keep open.

And there it is, right in front of him. An normal inn door, but even a dead-head can feel the waves of power radiating from inside. All around the troops stand back, hands on blades while giving him and the towering, hissing man a wide twenty foot radius. Seeing this a wild thought occurs to him: he’s like a prince, everyone giving him a wide berth and respect. Yes, he’s the center of attention and what everyone is waiting on, his bodyguard in tow. A manic giggles threatens to overwhelm the Magister, but he chokes it down. No, that will quickly bleed into hysterics and tears. A shifting movement from the hulk to his left and he refocuses, clearing his throat... and knocking loudly.

“Attention! Hello in there! T-this is Procurator Eman, Under-Magistrate in charge of Housing and Lodgings for the Second District of Kaza. There has been a disturbance detected inside your room and we need to- to assess the premises for possible legal violations of magical code.” he reads, directly from the Warrant of License. “Furthermore, if you refuse to cooperate we will be forced to enter and assess legal penalties.”

Eman shifts nervously and continues, “They can get, like, really expensive! Hundreds of gold! And even time in prison! It would be better to open up and just let us see that everything is okay.” Not actually written there but, well who is going to call him out for ad-libbing a bit?

A minute passes, then two, and the inquisitorial troops start to shift. Sweat begins to bead on Eman’s brow. No, no, god’s no. He holds up a hand outward and turns, giving his best ‘I know the rules and you are the one in the wrong.’ look before banging on the door again, louder this time. “If you fail to comply with the law then we will be forced to take measures for the safety of the populace of Kaza. If you just talk with us right now there won’t be any problems, I’m sure you have good reasons. Maybe a few coppers for a fine at most.”

Nothing.

Whispers begin to spread and the creak of leather or slide of steel upon it can be heard. No. No, no. No no no no no. Please no. Parthus, intervene. Inoris, save me.

Then the door opens. Just not the one they were expecting.

The entire force quickly shifts focus to the new arrival, a long braided red-haired woman arrayed in both full white plate and a grim demeanor steps into the hall. “I see truly that my senses did not err in what I felt. Let us speak friends, I do not desire conflict this day.”

Oh thank the gods.

“Who are you? I am Junior Magistrate Eman and If you are the one causing this disturbance then be aware that it is in violation of Parthian law to discharge such a large amount of magical energy without registration and permits! Everyone party to this could well be fined up to two hundred gold gildens for this!” Now that the looming threat of violence has (at least in his mind) receeded the magistrate draws himself up once more, the bluster and authority of his office swelling within him. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

The new figure barely even acknowledges him, however. “I am Lady Tissa Voldire, Paladin-Errant of Loris and on quest to this island.” she firmly states, looking to the black-clad man in the inquisitor’s retinue, “Inside there stand two of my companions, likely unaware that their actions stand in violation of your strictures. Might I inquire as to your name and rank, as well as my ability to hold dialogue with them to resolve this peacefully?”

“Listen here, miss, I--”

“Silence.” the pompous blustering is quickly cut off by the man in black. “I am Junior Inquisitor Maldive, serving Inquisitor Maxim as right hand. My master is not on the premesis at the moment, and I am in command here. I find it hard to believe that your... ‘companions’ do not understand what they are doing, but am willing to listen to reason. Such a powerful and threatening action is something we can not take any chances with, but if you allow us to accompany you inside then we will permit you passage.”

Tissa gazes at the man for a long minute before slowly nodding, “Very well, but I must warn you: I do not believe they will allow any but me entry therein... indeed, supposing even that I might be let through.”

He nods in reply, “For their sake as well as yours, let us hope they do.”

Tissa has much more rapid success at the door than the magistrate, who takes being shoved aside as his cue to flee to the lower levels... only to be firmly rebuffed by the green-haired woman. A muffled “What do you want?” eventually sounds from the door at Tissa’s entreaties, Lann finally responding to the summons.

The following bargaining can best be described as tedious and uninteresting, and finally settles on Tissa, Magistrate Eman, and Inquisitor Maldive being allowed entry... on the condition that they bear no weapons and don’t touch anything. A quick word with the smiling man in brown as the Inquisitor removes myriad concealed and not-so-concealed weapons from his person, and they enter.

The door closes behind the newly entered trio and the wards seal themselves once more. Inside Lann and Liss sit on the bed next to each other, armed with drawn weapons and cooly appraising them. The three also find themselves surrounded by glittering runes on the floor and walls, not do mention several objects floating in slow semicircles around the door... marking off a perimeter.

“Stay where you are,” the girl says, “those things won’t do anything if you don’t try to move out of the circle there.”

Lann nods, “What do you want? We haven’t done anything or bothered anyone.”

“Actually, I’m afraid you have.” the inquisitor responds, eyes flicking across the myriad defenses and magical items throughout the room, “This has caused a great disturbance across the entire island and you have broken several laws. Magistrate?”

“Ah, yes. Disturbing the peace, magical use without registration, magical use without a permit, magical use above permitted scope, transport of E-class artifacts without a license, use of D-class or above artifacts without a license or permit...” he begins reading from the scroll, but the Inquisitor presses it down and silences him with a look.

“As you can see, there is quite a list of violations here. I also understand that you are... from abroad and perhaps did not understand these laws. That is no excuse, however, and they have been both broken and caused disturbance. Moreover, we can not allow such powerful items to remain unmonitored. I shall grant you leniency and not arrest nor detain you...but by the authority of the Parthian Empire I am afraid that I will need to confiscate the artifacts and magical apparati within this room. You will then have one day to provide proof that you have commissioned transport out of the Empire within a reasonable timeframe.”

“Inquisitor, I think that’s a bit harsh.” Tissa chimes in, but receives only a cool stare in return.

“Magister, if you would?” Maldive announces.

“The Empire does not tolerate such rogue elements, for the safety of the citizens and the good of all.” Eman begins in a nasally voice, reciting the laws from memory, “All artifacts above C class are forbidden from private use, and all of the remaining ones must be properly registered and catalogued. They may file a petition to have them returned after assessment, registration, and proper sanctioning, provided the Empire does not requisition them for state use. Some may require fees to be paid, arcane locators, or restrictions on either use or transport. You will need to check with the Office of Magical Affairs to find the exact details.”

“I do not believe that they will--” Tissa attempts to begin again, only to stop at the Inquisitors dark smile.

“Oh? Perhaps they should be the ones to answer?” He turns to the twins, still sitting on the bed languidly. “Well?”

“Fuck that.” Says Liss plainly, and her brother nods in agreement. “Yeah, any of you set foot in here and you’ll lose the whole leg. Just leave us alone and we won’t bother you.”

Maldive nods with a suddenly warm smile, “Very well. I understand just wanting to be left alone. I don’t know if I can, but I will attempt to convince my superiors to simply let you be until you depart. I trust this is satisfactory and our business is concluded?”

The twins smile in return and nod. “Yeah, sure. I’ll let you out.” Liss adds.

As the door closes behind them in the hall once more, Tissa turns to the inquisitor, a cynical frown on her face, “I find it hard to believe that you will simply allow your laws to be broken in such a way.”

Maldive opens his mouth but a deeper voice from behind preempts him, causing Maldive to whirl and drop to one knee. It is the first Inquisitor you saw, his scarred face impassive, “Negotiations have failed?”

“I am afraid so, Master. The perpetrators do not desire to surrender nor yield their occult foci into our hands.”

Tissa steps forward once more, holding her chin high, “Inquisitor Maxim, I presume? I am Lady Tissa Voldire, Knight-Errant of Loris. My companions are inside, and though this is their own failing and not my fight I will not stand by and allow you to harm them under a false flag of truce. Nor to betray a parlay that I was involved in. It is unjust and against the strictures of the goddess. If you intend to harm them you will /not/ have my cooperation nor assistance.”

The Inquisitor’s eyes glide over her and size the warrior up, cold in the impassive mask that is his scarred face.

“Your assistance is not required.”

Tissa falls hard, her heavy plate-mail thudding against the floor as she sprawls limp upon it, eyes wide but unable to move. Behind where she stood a second earlier is the smiling man, a hideously bladed segmented gauntlet upon his right hand; the long needle on the index finger gleaming with a thin coating of blood. A match to the small trickle behind Tissa’s ear.

“The mage?” Maxim asks as the immobile paladin is lifted by the green haired woman and dwarf, and it is his junior who responds, “Already moved to the pit, lord.”

Maxim nods, “Very well. Brief me on the defenses that we will be facing. Jarvis, I expect a full report from both of them upon my return. The High Inquisitrix herself has taken an interest in both the situation and the devices these deviants possess. Be through.”

“Yes lord, of course.” The smiling man says in a smooth voice, bowing and touching his brow with two fingers before following the Paladin out.

>This is the compilation from the thread Friday, got killed by 4chan going down.

>Will be normal session Monday, this is just a makeup session.

>Also, wat do?

>>14859637
Monitor where Tissa is being taken to; we may assist subtly in her escape when she comes to.

The rest of our attention will be on the Twins and this unfolding train-wreck of a situation. No assisting the twins this time; they brought this entire scenario upon themselves through their paranoia, let's see them try to get out of it by themselves.
If they contact us via the talisman we left them, we will give a dramatic pause before answering.

>>14859637
Hmm, well I think we've learned the hard way in previous threads that the twins aren't as malleable as we though, but I don't think our heroes will get out of this encounter in one piece if we just stand idly by.

I propose we give our paladin a little sudden 'divine' invigoration to get her back on her feet and enough power to beat back the attackers.

Also, good to see your still at it Vedibere, you far more consistent then Evil is...

I'd like us to compare the potency of the magic wards the twins are using and the magic the inquisitors are planning to us to bring them down so we have an idea of how long the twins have. Also, we may want to make sure Tissa's bracer can't be removed just yet. >>14859662 pretty much covers everything else.

>>14859693
Can't really blame Evil for that given how Evil quest has been mangled recently due to stupid decisions.

>>14859662
On second thought, this would be the better option and if worse comes to worse and the twins bite it, we can salvage the party from the paladin and wizard

>>14859662
>>14859712
>>14859729
Wow thread just started and we already have a course of action and two other players more or less supporting it. That is so weird for this quest.

Two additions: 1; I goofed, this is Omnipotence Quest XVII

Second:
Part 1: http://archive.easymodo.net/tg/thread/14304400/
Part 2: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14309655/
Part 3: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14330103/
Part 4: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14365301/
Part 5: http://archive.easymodo.net/tg/thread/14397582/
Part 6: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14420843/
Part 7: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14452357/
Part 8: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14474488/
Part 9: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14498610/
Part 10: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14536106/
Part 11: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14605848/
Part 12: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14638251/
Part 13: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14683694/
Part 14: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14728319/
Part 15: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14757126/
Part 16: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14802429/

What a fucking disaster. Who's idea was it to appear to the Twins for no reason? What was the plan there?

Jesus. Our attention should be on aiding Tissa for the most part, and perhaps the mage. Let the twins flounder a bit for their own colossal idiocy, just make sure they don't die...within reason. I wouldn't disagree if they were forced to learn a lesson or two, but given their habits, they'll probably take all the wrong lessons out of this situation.

I will note that in the previous thread, the general idea was that we should subtly tip things so that the twins would need our help, but not get killed - points of blades missing internal organs, etc. - but with the non-lethality on both sides.

And, of course, making sure the other two are out of danger and unharmed.

>>14859822
>What a fucking disaster
At least it's an interesting disaster. It's no fun if everything always goes perfectly.

>>14859712
After a few minutes of searching you find several artifacts and mages traveling to the Inn very rapidly. They are not nearly as powerful as what the twins have, but they seem to be both very specialized breaching artifacts and you imagine that when used by trained professionals rather than scavengers they will be capable of at least breaching the wards briefly. Assuming Laressa's inquisitiorial force has no other tricks up its sleeve, that is.

>>14859841

It would be interesting if our fingerprints weren't
all
over
fucking everything.

No subletly, no scenario, just

"Hey guys, whats up"

"JESUS FUCK"

"Im here to grant you wishes guys"

*Initiate panicky clusterfuck*

Thats interesting in the "*FACEPALM* I can't believe that happened" kind of way.

Fuck that, someone help Denaun
He's upstairs naked with a weapon drawn

>>14859870
I like to think of us as some sort of Sarda; an omnipotent mage who is both bored AND a jerk, who can and WILL turn your monitor to display over 9000 dicks for no reason other than to see you gross out. heh, that's fun for like the the first 3 minutes.

So, I completely agree with these fine gentlemen:
>>14859712
>>14859662

What's Quorin doing?

Once the twins get their asses handed to them and call for our help, I say we give the twins the ability to bestow a "buff" on each other, but separately.

Should be interesting to see what they come up with.

rolled 80 = 80

>>14859822
No, it's not

I like what's happening.

>>14860070
Being incapacitated by his proximity to the amazingly strong wards IIRC. We should probably do something about that.

>>14860091
By separately I mean in private.

>>14860112
Actually, >>14859622
>“The mage?” Maxim asks as the immobile paladin is lifted by the green haired woman and dwarf, and it is his junior who responds, “Already moved to the pit, lord.”
It sounds like Quorin has already been removed and taken into custody.
Now might not be the best time to do anything to him; perhaps if makes an attempt to escape, along with Tissa, we'll help him out a little.

>>14860208
Agreed. Give him +20 caster levels BUT add a " must kill a God per month to survive" clause.

>>14860208
Shit. I totally overlooked that. We should take a look at what this "pit" is.

>>14860091
We are NOT turning them into the fucking Wonder Twins.

>>14860066
Really? I envisioned us as more of a Q type of omnipotent force.

>>14860277
They had enough strength and were more of a supporting cast DMPC to our paladin really. Also, let's check on the druid and the bloodmage after this. Shit's gonna go down and we don't wanna miss it.

You shift your attentions from the rapidly worsening situation in the Inn to Tissa, being hauled through the streets in the covered rear of a wagon. She is prone and most of her armor and clothing has already been carefully stripped away and set aside in warded boxes by the smiling man, Jarvis. As he works he occasionally uses the intricately bladed gauntlet to lance into her flesh at nerve points; each time eliciting a stifled whimper for the conscious but paralyzed paladin.

Outside the streets are utterly barren and devoid of life as the cart rolls by, shutters fastened tight and not a soul to be seen. At first this is curious, as a bustling metropolis like Kaza should have traffic even in the middle of the night, or at least lingering bums... but the reason soon becomes apparent. While you have always noticed the populace of Parthia has given all government officials a certain 'distance', it is nothing to the wave of quick flight that accompanies the Inquisition-marked wagon as it rolls through the streets. At the first sight of the symbol shutters are slammed shut and even the most decrepit bum quickly turns to hobble out of sight. The alacrity with which the populace avoids them has begun to resemble that of the mainlanders in less than a year.

Laressa’s inquisition works fast.

Eventually the wagon pulls to a stop next to the Spire in the center of town. At the top you can still feel Laressa going about her business, but it is not to the top that they haul Tissa and her gear. Instead they use a large cellar-like entrance that leads down, down, down... far below the spire into a heavily warded dungeon. Dozens of cells and ‘interrogation’ rooms fill the place, as well as a small barracks for guards and a more plush grand room for what you assume would be prestigious visitors come to hear the results of those interrogations. Inside one of them you find Quorin chained to a table, bleeding from a number of small wounds and unconscious.

Tissa is quickly shuffled to the interrogation chamber next to Quorin’s and strapped down. Soon after three brown-robed acolytes carrying large bags enter and begin arraying a vast set of horrific tools on the four tables around the one Tissa occupies. Most of them you can guess at the function of having used them yourself many times during your tenure as a dark lord, but a few escape even your knowledge. Curious.

A few minutes later after the acolytes have finished and retreated to the edges of the room Jarvis enters, still smiling his peaceful bland smile... you note in passing that you haven’t seen any other expression on his face the entire time.

“Hello, Lady Voldire. May I call you Tissa? I find familiarity to be such a comfort in times like this.” he begins, slowly walking around the table with hands clasped behind him. Tissa’s eyes follow him, and she gives a muffled sound. “No, please, don’t try to answer yet. I’m afraid I’ve had to temporarily disable you. You see, you were quite dangerous and hold knowledge that we require. As I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, it will be my job to acquire that information. Your partner has already been identified as a member of the Kamada and his enchantment subverted, so it will only waste time for us both for you to deny that part.”

He stops beside her and places a gentle hand on her forehead, smoothing a few strands of hair back before continuing, “I always start with two things. The first is to tell you that if -- at any time -- you decide to reveal all you know without hesitation or deceit then you will no longer be in pain.

The second is that I would have you know I am an old style Anoini-Char and will honor you with the utmost of my ability and focus. Many of my younger peers these days have become lax and dishonorable, using acolytes or even magic to draw out and flay open the nerve endings before personally becoming involved. The most debased have even abandoned the art altogether, immediately resorting to cranial needling and damaging the brain to extract information.”

By this point Tissa’s eyes have closed and her breathing entered what you have come to recognize as her meditative pattern but Jarvis continues, his smile kind, “Know that your stay will be conducted with the utmost thoroughness and skill, unlike the primitive unskilled brutes who disgrace the profession so, and take relief in that. We will now begin.”

Apparently finished with his introduction, he turns and reaches for a nerve-lance sitting on the table behind him. “Now, would you please tell me who it is you work for or are in service to?”

rolled 50 = 50

Awesome.

Our bumbling manifestation from previous thread has given birth to these magnificent events!

>>14860366
We should record these proceedings for later perusal, like with a magical TiVo. If some of those tools evaded even our vast knowledge of torture implements from when we were a dark lord, this Jarvis fellow may prove to be entertaining.

But right now, let's get back to the twins before we miss anything fun.

I like this fool Jarvis. Delusional, self-serving, arrogant, reminds me a bit of traces of henchmen we had, oh so long ago. I'd like him to live if we can.

Can Tissa use her bracer? If so, as soon as she regains mobility she's gonna bust. Maybe we could keep herdown a while longer, make the fluid last just a little more so the interrogation is not cut short?

rolled 30 = 30

I know this is again "sit back, do nothing and observe"

But do we NEED to intervene?

I'd like to see if they manage to escape by themselves. Seeing how competent the twins are, I'm sure they will. But will they rescue Tissa? That is something I would like to know.

>>14860502
Do you mean before or after Jarvis flays the nerves from her body, turning her into a vegetable?

Because I think if they ever do, then that's probably about what she'll be.

If we want to keep Tissa around - and this would be a good time to intervene if ever we WERE to intervene - then we should do it now, or soon. Perhaps appearing as an agent of her deity, visible only to her, telling her that you have brought her here to show the evil of this kingdom, blah blah blah. I think it's pretty obvious that she can't escape from this without aid, nor without her equipment, so if we want her to start this crusade against Laressa we're going to have to either bust her out, or give her the means to bust out.

Quorin we should also worry about if we intend to intrigue further with Tissa against Laressa. Giving him more power - perhaps enough power to escape in conjunction with her? - seems an interesting way of doing things.

As for the twins, I think getting them in a position where they absolutely NEED help to survive is the best way of going about it. Don't give any indication that they fucked up; try and make it seem like it was all inevitable. :B

>>14860596
Actually, since no one is paying attention to Quorin at the moment, now might be a good time to give him an offer he can't refuse.
He gets pumped up, busts free, and frees Tissa on the way.
I think that's more fun, what with Jarvis getting blindsided from behind by Quorin.
I'm only unsure as to how we should appear to Quorin, and how we should give him more power; whether it should be enhancement across the board, or just more raw magical force.

As for the twins, I'm of the opinion to let things run their course there, and watch how professionals deal with amateurs who have access to powerful magic artifacts.

I still think we should tweak the ensuing fight so that everything that happens is just below being lethal to anyone. We want to encourage a siege to happen, so that the twins have time to decide to ask us for help.

>>14860698
Well we're not going to make the mistake of appearing in the same form that we use for Laressa again. Maybe be a dark skinned half elf or something. But just what should we offer? Just saying "power" is way to vague.

>>14860698
For what it's worth, we stand to lose more by the twins getting caught here, since we actually appeared to them, and like idiots used the exact same spiel and MO when talking to them, let alone the same room and decor that we used when appearing to Laressa the first time. She based her entire goddamn heraldry off of the color scheme of that room, so odds are good she'd recognize it straight away if the twins let anything about their meeting with us slip. (Not to mention that the twins are pretty perceptive; they might guess that something was up upon noticing that the evil empire that just captured them because of the magical wards they set up after turning us down and flipping their shit had the exact same color scheme as the guy's personal study. Our interior decorating choices are NOT the way we want to get our cover blown. Totally unprofessional.)

rolled 28 = 28

>>14860596
Do you think he will turn her into vegetable?

>>14860753
Well, it's vague, but that's the kind of thing that beings that would make that kind of offer would say.

I'm thinking of boosting his magical power to arch-mage levels, give him the raw magic force so that he can use his knowledge to its fullest, and perhaps beyond.

>>14860805

You know what, in light of this, I'm all in favor of just killing them off. They're an example of how expensive a stupid mistake can be, and we need to cut our losses now.

Just give them brain aneurysms and have them drop dead in that little over-warded room.

>>14860837
That will make it worse. However, I agree we need our losses cut here and now, but I think a much more subtle approach would be favorable.

How about this, we fill Triss head with a load of bullshit that she feels compelled to spill but the information sounds accurate enough to be believable.

>>14860837
Why kill them off when we've just (inadvertently) set up a villain? All we have to do is *subtly* get them out of harm and we're good to go, right?

>>14860886

Brain editing usually kills the subject, so we'd lose her if we did it.

What if we tweak the ensuing fight to be especially lethal for the twins?

>>14860886
Any information that Tissa spills should be fine, as it won't lead back to us. It's the twins that are the problem. However, with all of the wards and magical artifacts that they have, I doubt that it will be anything but easy to capture them.
Perhaps, if it looks as if they will be captured, we can have some of the artifacts they have interact, overload, and detonate in a spectacular fashion?
I mean, they have enough powerful wards and artifacts in close proximity that the fabric of reality itself is starting to tear.

>>14860940

Because they're smart enough to put it all together and realize we've been meddling here. We wanted a show, not a part in the play.

>>14860753
>But just what should we offer? Just saying "power" is way to vague.
Perhaps we could offer a movement ability- some way to slip through cracks in the fabric of the world that no one else can see. Pipes, as it were, each leading from one location to another specific spot. It would make him able to escape without giving him the kind of cosmic blasting prowess that would let him utterly wreck everything's shit.

>You discorporate and observe the twins, both of them hurriedly setting up and activating traps, artifacts, and flipping through reference books for truly ancient protective runes to scrawl on the walls and doors. A small touch and a note, along with an unbreakable ceramic token engraved with your symbol appears on the dresser.

They burned the note, thankfully, but if they pull the damn thing out and try to contact us during the standoff, the Inquisitors could easily report about the token back to Laressa and our cover gets blown that way.

Not that we need to be as paranoid as the twins about every little thing, but we should probably stop scrawling "WE WUZ HERE" on everything we decide to add to our metaphorical chess board.

>>14860940
There's a big difference between 'villain' and 'liability', but I've gotta admit, I'm kind of interested in seeing if they're able to connect the dots.

>+1 vote to the idea of appearing to Quorin as some sort of talking hypercube. Take him to a pure white depersonalized, ikea-like office where the air seems to ripple and small fore-shadows of his past and future selves appear(just make illusionary phantom limbs that over lapse his own limbs. do not give him consciousness of them.) Also, create a replica of him, with the exact same wounds, and drop this lifeless carcass in one of the corners of this room. Or, better yet, across the table, directly looking at him!

Offer him power, beyond the phenomenological limits of time and space. Once per day, he may slow time down to 1 twentieth it's normal rate, which will allow him to asses the situation carefully. He will not be given enhanced intuitive reflexes or be able to move 20x faster, just think and react faster than fucking Sonic. Hope he took the Still and Silent spell feats!

He will also be given the permutate his essence through all terrain. Steel and lattice will alike be transversable for our hero. Not only no cage will hold him, but he can also transfer his own soul to a chunk of the hardest alloy and mold it to a shape he finds fitting, or become unto panties to be used by fair giggling schoolgirls♥! He's still mortal though. destroy the material coil that houses him and his soul shall shatter and return to the lifestream.

Also add slight increase in arcane power. He will be like the most favored savant, his incantations will be innately superior because of a strong connection with the arcane.

>>14861033
Whoops, forgot image!

>>14860981
>the Inquisitors could easily report about the token back to Laressa and our cover gets blown that way.
Easily solved by making the sigil on the token a different one than we're using for her. We should be able to shift its shape easily enough. Just rig the token so that it changes the symbol on it every few hours, no one will be surprised after that and it's unlikely that the twins will think the original one important enough to replicate. Unless that torturer gets his hands on them and they start spilling, in which case we have larger problems.

>>14861033
Sounds good. Powerful, but not overwhelmingly so. It requires being smart to properly use the gifts to their fullest.
I like it.

>>14861100
>Easily solved by making the sigil on the token a different one than we're using for her
We can't alter the things we've created with the powers of Ooo!MNIPOTENCE. Doing such would create a paradox and end the Universe! please, think of the children.

We could, however, take away the token and replace it with another one, exact in design but with a different insignia and color scheme, without being spotted even by a natural 20!

>>14861100
The only ways our cover gets blown is if either:
A) The twins talk.
B) Our token is discovered.

Both of which are easily rectified by DESTROYING THE SHIT OUTTA THEM if they become a liability. For now, we shouldn't mess with them and see if they can get out of this on their own.

>>14861033
I like this, but are there repercussions for slowing down time willy-nilly? What about just giving him super reaction speed and calling it time slowing?

>>14861149
> What about just giving him super reaction speed and calling it time slowing?

Even better! just tweak it to allow for a readied spell or two and we're golden. Keep the daily limit if you allow the spells, otherwise make it continuous.

>>14861149
Time slowing is way more conducive to interesting narration than super-speed is.

>>14860940
Exactly. I think we should keep Tissa, maybe give her some sort of resistance to the debilitating effects of the torture, and some possible escape - back to her kingdom along with Quorin, perhaps? Raising an army against this obviously evil regime?

As for the twins, I again think that letting them survive, ask for our help, and then dumping them off somewhere with resources to start something - somewhere moderately distant from Laressa - would be a good idea. If they don't do anything, at least they're isolated from our other plans, and less likely to give our game away. If they DO start something, then we have another set of pawns.

>>14861033
>Hello there! You seem to be in need of some assistance. Can I help you?

Failing that, clippo.gif. Damn, how I hated that retarded captain-obvious waste-of-ram sonofabitch.

>>14861263
How does I fail @ 4chan?

>>14861141
That is patently false. From the very first thread:
>It seems whatever you use your powers on is absolute, you can’t /undo/ something you’ve already done, you have to work around it. Fortunately most things can be changed nearly infinitely. Create a rock and you can blast it into pieces too small to be seen, melt it into magma, or teleport it into an otherwise empty dimension.

We could take that token and turn it into a duck if we wanted to, it wouldn't matter because we're never actually contradicting ourselves. When we make something, it comes into existence, but it doesn't come into existence with an unchangeable form unless we've declared it to be so.

Well, it seems you want to do... something. The only question is what.

>>14861375
For now it appears that we wish to offer Quorin some kind of deal, as outlined in >>14861033 so that he can get himself and Tissa out of the pit.

As for twins, see if they can get out of it alive, but if it appears that they will be captured, destroy them both so that they can't spill anything about us. Also swap out the talisman we gave them for another similar one, but this time with a sigil that changes every two hours to hide our involvement.

Is this about right, guys?

>>14860596
I'm seconding this one

>>14861375
Well, I take that back partially. So far you seem to agree on not letting Laressa's forces find out you were behind this. The only problem is there is no sort of general opinion on what to do other than that.

rolled 38 = 38

>>14861436
I'm personally more inclined to just observe (I know, I know)
and maybe intervene somehow if the torturers decide to do some permanent harm.

I want to see how long Tissa will endure and how the Twins will manage.

Shame that Laressa isn't overseeing this personally.

I'm honestly sick of having to bail them out of every fucking little thing. Lets just watch for now.

The twins are a problem.

Unless, of course, there are mind-altering magics that are less destructive than our own particular brand of might. We could utilize those instead.

There's also the chance that the secretive twins won't say shit to anyone. Just throwing that out there.

If we can somehow mitigate the twins' knowledge of us, then let's reinforce their wards.

In any event, we shouldn't let Tissa be tortured or crippled. Get the mage to make a deal for power (we NEVER appear as ourselves to anyone else but Laressa from this point on) and send him to her direction.

How about:
1. Swap out the token for something less obvious.
2. Give Quorin the deal outlined in >>14861033, subtly tell him that Tissa is in great danger.
3. Keep an eye on the twins in case we need to "absolve" ourselves of any connection.

>>14861436
Appear before the wizard, pretend we are a sapient artifact in the Twins' possession. Explain that we like the exploration the Twins do rather than being locked up, and want to help. Unfortunately, all we can do is amplify magical ability. So we'd like to help by boosting his. (we're doing this message telepathically of course). The wizard gets a super-boost and can break free and help people. We (as the artifact) then explain that he is not to speak of this, and we will only contact him if we feel the group is in danger.

Do things like blunt the torturer's tools, make them fall over at the slightest nudge, unscrew his tool rack, etc. Sabotage him to buy Tissa time.

Guys, a thought -

If Quorin just had an experience like Tissa is about to have, is he going to be in a fit shape to control any sort of power we give him? Especially if his enchantment's been subverted as was mentioned? We, uh, might want to take a look at what they did before we settle on HIM as the best hope. Though if we liberate Tissa, let her know where she is, and give her some way to escape, then we might have something more interesting. Again, I like the idea of Tissa as Laressa's foil, but we should have them a ways apart. Maybe let her warp back to her home castle, leave 'residue' that would point to her deity - getting her out of Laressa's reach, letting us point the blame at her deity - possibly permitting more interesting interaction between Laressa and the gods - and also giving her time to build up forces with what she's seen.

But we should be VERY CAREFUL with Quorin.

The twins... we watch. If they ask our help, we can decide to intercede. If they don't... well, their loss. Can't depend on yourself forever, right?

We could also just warn the twins personally.

rolled 61 = 61

>>14861498
I feel the same.

At least till things get really critical.

>>14861610
Good point. Let's make sure that Quorin can handle what we give him first.
Maybe try to bring him around and stable when we offer him the deal?

>>14861498
I'll vote for watch aswell, though we do need to hide our involvement. Change or get rid of that coin. Reading comprehension hurr durr, sounds like Quorin is FUCKED already, before we try and do anything with him we should probably see how badly he is fucked.
Let them drive home the evil empire point to Tissa for a bit. We can always save her before any real damage is done (or fix whatever does happen)

>>14861771
I said before in one of the previous threads that this was an excellent chance to sow the seeds of a war between Laressas empire an the church of Loris. So let Tissa get tortured a bit.

We need to take a look at the things both magical and not that are meant to hold Tissa and Quorin. And also the things that are in place to prevent their escape.

>>14861887
Let the paladin get tortured to piss off the order? Might be an interesting idea.

Alright, I'll vote for it. And I also think we should check out the mage before we boost him.

>>14861771
>>14861887
I agree. At minimum, we need to switch out that talisman for something that can't be traced back to us, and we need to see if Quorin is in any shape to be useful.
Also, as others, and I, said myself earlier, a little torture for Tissa should be fun to watch, since Jarvis seems talented in that regard.
Just make sure that he doesn't get to the 'permanent damage' stage of his work.

Considering this situation is interesting enough that we are willing to sit back and watch..

Go go gadget Vedi-write-some-badass-shit.

>>14861980
>>14861971
>>14861887
Given that this plan does require Tissa to escape and actually tell her order what was done to her, shouldn't we check on where they are keeping the bracer?

Hmmm. Information extraction. Well, it’s hardly as if Tissa has anything that could tip your hand in this matter. The twins, however...

Flicking back to the Inn, you see that the mages have set up a peremiter and erected teleportation wards. Even now they are bustling about on the roof above, the rooms and halls to the side, and the floor underneath, and even the outside wall of the twin’s room, stealthily positioning the breaching artifacts. You also note several large wedge-shaped wooden kegs with powerful reinforcement enchantments on them being put into place at waist-level in the hall and adjoining rooms. All of them seem powerfully enchanted to keep from breaking or being damaged... except for one of the edges, which is covered in metal rather than wood. A contingent of surly dwarves under the watchful gaze of the plate-armored dwarven retinue member you saw earlier works to fasten them in place, positioning them so the metal edges face inward toward the room.

Well, whatever. You flick inside to find Lann sitting on the bed and Liss on a chair facing him, both sorting through their bags of magical gear in silence. Your token lies inside the containment jar on the dresser unwatched, so you simply shift the pattern to another symbol. Two figure eights, meeting at a single point in the middle. Good enough.

That potential issue addressed, you return to the underground chambers. Specifically to Quorin’s cell, where he yet lies unmoving. Blood trickles from nearly three dozen tiny holes all over his body with small pools forming and soaking into the wooden table, long ago stained black from those who visited this room.

A slow, soft touch to his mind and body and you pull back, stinging. Not pleasant. The fact that he is unconscious and insensate is likely a blessing; the wounds inflicted and other mental, magical, and soul-touching tortures rendered to him in these past few hours are quite nasty indeed. You also note a slight - quaver? - in his protective loyalty enchantment. Skilled hands have been working at it just as they worked through his body and mind, and while it holds you note that several areas have been weakened slightly. Impressive, and likely excruciating beyond words considering how tightly it is bound to him.

Satisfied, you pull back and go over your findings. Hmmm. Not promising. It is doubtful he would be able to do anything more than curl up into a ball and whimper without healing, but that can be easily remedied. No, the problem is the Kamada enchantment. Entwined so closely with his mind, you are unsure what possible effects the tender ministrations of Jarvis have done, and it would likely take several days... perhaps even a week or two of study to find out.

Well then, how to proceed from here?

>>14862431
Well, that throws all the plans we had about Quorin out the window.
I don't want to be obvious with Tissa's escape, but I doubt that a subtle touch is going to be possible here.
We could, in combination, make the paralytic poison in Tissa dissipate faster, weaken the physical and magical wards placed on her slightly to the point where she can break free, and subtly point her towards where her bracer is kept.

>>14862484
I thought this was obvious, but I'll clarify. It's not a poison, he lanced one of the primary nerves at the base of her skull to induce the paralysis. It is not permanent but it will last until he (or you, or whoever) repairs the damage.

>>14862484
If we're going to be obvious then the easiest way to get them out is to just ask Laressa to release them.

>>14862512
Let Tissa be tortured for awhile, it could prove educational and amusing

>>14862431
Jarvis seems to be very proud of his craft, perhaps we can weaken his tools unnoticeably and use the distraction their failure causes to heal Tissa's paralysis.

Also, seems Quorin and the twins are fucked for the moment, not much we can do there.

rolled 15 = 15

>>14862431

How about we switch the body with completely identical copy which will be braindead... but I doubt they will notice it since they left him like that.

And move the original body to personal study so that we can study and experiment with the mind.
It seems useful to me as that area of expertise is the only thing we are lacking, getting better at it would help us in the long run.

>>14862587
He does seem to be very concerned about his professionalism. Perhaps if we subtly damage or degrade his tools, he will stop, as he doesn't want to taint his craft with sub-par equipment. That could provide us and Tissa the opening needed to heal the nerve damage and effect her escape.

>>14862622
Nothing short of omniscience will make you able to go in and fiddle with minds without the possibility of screwing something up. You're already vastly better than any mortal mage at such things. Don't bother.

rolled 88 = 88

>>14862699
aww

alright

>>14862558
Are you nuts? We want to AVOID Laressa knowing we have any interest in them.

>>14862676

But even if we heal Tissa there's no way she's escaping on her own...

I have an idea. Not sure if it can be done though. They can't have ID'd the bracer yet. So we change the nature of the bracer. Instead of a holy artifact that manifests armor, we make it look like a containment device designed to look like an artifact. The artifact would have contained an symbiotic energy based life form that has now taken up residence in Tissa's body. And the armor has in fact been the symbiote acting to protect its host. So, the upside to this? She doesn't need the bracer to manifest the armor. The downside? Her natural lifespan is probably going to be a few years shorter than it would have been, due to having to support this thing.

So, yeah. Once we or someone else heals Tissa's paralysis, she can escape due to the advantage of that nearly invincible armor.

+1 To the idea of weakening the tools so the torture session is cut short.

>>14862882
I'm gonna laugh when one of his needle things breaks off inside her and she dies from it.

Is it possible that Tissa could heal the damaged nerve herself with her meditation? And if so, how long would that take?

>>14862969
That's a possibility, but the other option is to heal the nerve damage now, and maybe go with the idea from >>14862873 and implant that bio-boosted armor symbiote into Tissa when no one is looking.

rolled 68 = 68

Can we at least hold off all these bail-outs till the very end.

I'd like to see what happens.

And if we let Tessa escape now then we might not be able to see the showdown at the inn

You know, I'm not understanding something.

You said weaken the tools imperceptibly to stop the torture. But if he can't tell the difference... why would he stop?

>>14863129
More like so he doesn't notice until he uses it, then it breaks. Hopefully it'd provide a distraction for us to heal the nerve damage.

>>14862873
Hey Vedi? Can this actually be done in a short time frame?

Also, where is Laressa at this moment? Is she receiving continuous updates? The last thing we need is her joining the game directly once we start helping the paladin escape.

Also, are those kegs the dwarves are setting up shaped charges?

>>14863147
Actually if we go with >>14862873 we might bbe able to make it seem like the parasite healed her. And we don't want to interrupt the torture to soon. We need Tissa to be hurt so she can take the story of it back to her order.

>>14863148
>Hey Vedi? Can this actually be done in a short time frame?
You're omnipotent, you could do do it right now.

>Also, where is Laressa at this moment? Is she receiving continuous updates?
Top of the Spire. You don't know because you haven't checked in on her, but it wouldn't be unrealistic to expect her to be getting updates somehow. The huge island-wide pervasive anti-scrying measures the twins enacted might force her to rely on other methods rather than magical viewing, though.

>Also, are those kegs the dwarves are setting up shaped charges?
....maybe

>>14863129
Sorry. Meant to say that the tools are rusted, pitted, blunt, and otherwise not at their best, and make the changes when he isn't looking so that the damage doesn't just appear while he's watching.

>>14863359
...Including the ones in his hands or he has already used? Or his gauntlet? Both of which he already knows to be fine? What about the ones he will then order any of the three acolytes in the room to bring from storage? Are all the spares going to be bad as well?

I just... I don't see what you're trying to achieve with this. Surely you don't think he forgets about the condition of something he just saw three seconds later? You must know he would say "Wait, something's up here..." when that happens, yes?

Not only that, but what is the ultimate objective? Heal Tissa? Why do you need to rust tools for that?

I just... I don't see any point in this and anything I write on it would basically go: "What the fuck, what happened to my tools? This is weird, get guards in here and bring me a new set. Check the wards too. Doublecheck the prisoner to make sure she didn't have some power that did it, and if she did take measures to keep her down while we deal with it."

Consider this Valerian's common sense going "wat?"

rolled 83 = 83

I still don't see why we need to baby sit and hand-hold them every time something happens.

But hell, I wont argue. As long as the story progresses, I am happy. Vedibere never let down with his quality of writing.

I'm assuming they removed Tissa's magic shield bracelet.

I vote we magically return it to her, heal her paralysis, wake her up, and force the shield to activate.

What could be more entertaining then an avatar of righteous fury rampaging through the inquisitors base?

>>14863186
As the person who made >>14862873 I'd just lie to add a couple more things for the sake of "realism".

The symbiote and the armor it manifests shouldn't be naturally divine, rather it takes on that nature because Tissa is a paladin that channels divine energies to enhance her own abilities and the symbiote absorbs some of those energies. So if Tissa had been a mage it would look arcane or if she was using demons it would seem infernal etc.

Also, it should have the ability to "jump" to a nearby person or a suitable containment vessel (like the bracer) when its host is on the verge of death.
And I'd really like to take a closer look at those barrels, maybe make sure that they aren't in a position to kill the twins outright due to luck when they go off.

>>14863470
Ah, dude? >>14862873

I'm actually trying to make that happen without it appearing like there was outside intervention. But we need her to be tortured at least for 10 - 15 min. just so she can go back to her order and truthfully say she was tortured unjustly.

1, shaped charges were really obvious
2, fucking his tools is a bad idea

I say we take possession of his body and offer her a deal. Make it know you're an outside force, probably a god. Make it clear you're not exactly a good deity, offer a deal of some sort. Someone else come up with something. In exchange for busting her and her allies out.
Deal with the devil sort of thing. She's obligated to do something her morals would normally be very much against vs torture and death for her and her friends.

If she accepts, just teleport all of them 50km out of the city, on the road to their next location wherever it may be. Heal their wounds as well. Perhaps a cart for the mage, his mind might be pretty fucked.
Just before you disappear imply you'll be back to ensure the deal is kept. Be ominous about it, we were a dark lord we should excel at this sort of thing.

>>14863443
Vedi in the event that we wind up going with the parasite option is there anything in place to hold Tissa that would prevent the armor from manifesting?

I still think that appearing to Tissa in the person of Loris, invisible to Jarvis, would be more likely to have an effect than suddenly dulling the tools or anything like that. For one, it makes her feel she has the favour of her goddess; secondly, anything she's told will have extra impact - like "I have brought you here to see the darkness of this nation blah blah raise an army blah blah" - which would ACTUALLY make her a good foil for Laressa, giving her a motivation and strength.

After appearing to her, we cure the paralysis, teleport her and Quorin back to wherever-the-fuck she needs to be, with some sort of talisman of Loris, and leave the emblem of Loris etched on the floor or something similar to give the impression of godly interference.

The symbiote thing could work, but it doesn't have any sort of reason for Tissa to start opposing Laressa except revenge. And we've seen that she's not good at picking up our attempts at subtle hints. Giving her a Holy Mission should be a good start.

She's a fucking paladin, have a shining fucking light glow from her every pore for the next hour or so that breaks her bonds and protects her from harm.

>>14863643
>teleport her and Quorin back to wherev
I like this, right up until this point.
Why don't we appear, tell her this was to show her evil, heal her wounds, and then tell her something like "Now the shackles around your arms are severely rusted and this has gone unnoticed for a long time. Break free and bring glory to my name."

>>14863643
But the point of letting her be tortured is not to give her a personal grudge against Laressa but to give something that may incite her order to action when she returns, cures the king and tells them about it. We don't actually know how Loris acts. And we can't put our self on call to answer the necessary prayers and such that we'd need to in order to convince Tissas order to go to war. We'd never pull it off unless the real Loris was completely apathetic to the affairs of her church or we replaced her.

>>14863709
Except that having her messed up to the same point that Quorin is is going to leave her pretty much useless for our purposes. She's already SEEN what goes on, and she can see what kind of shit is commonplace just by looking. Besides which, how is news of this going to get to anyone in a convincing way if we DO let her be tortured? She's going to disappear into a black hole.

Well, since this was a makeup thread I think I'll end it here for now since this is so divided. Here's the deal:

You seem to want to free Tissa. Decide if you want to do a deal with the devil, appear as a god, just teleport the bracer onto her, or do the plan with the parasite... thing. List if you will:
1. Give her any additional aid to escape on her own after that?
2. Make sure she escapes?
3. Make sure she escapes with Quorin?

Secondly, Quorin. Are you going to do anything with him?

Thirdly, twins.
1. Are you going to intervene there at all?
1a. If so, how? Make combat more deadly? Less?
1b. Mention was made of helping them survive whatever the dwarves were doing. Do this or not?
1c. Any other aid rendered them?
2. If they fight what do you do?
2a. If they win easily what do you do?
2b. If they win what do you do?
2c. If they break even what do you do?
2d. If they lose what do you do?
2e. If they lose badly what do you do?
3. If they are going to die what do you do?
4. If they are going to run away what do you do?
5. If they are going to get captured what do you do?
6. How directly do you want to intervene to do these things?

>>14863751
I said for 10 or 15 minutes then she can escape. She can hold out that long. She won't even be that injured, really.

>>14863826
Uh-huh. How long did they have Quorin? 10, 15 minutes?

>>14863928
Vedi wasn't actually all that clear. I'd assume longer, given how stubborn the twins can be.

>>14864003
Uh-huh. And nerve flaying for 10-15 minutes is going to be perfectly fine, and she's going to have no problems after. Right.

Answering those questions I posted would... really help direct the next OP, by the way.

Not that you have to, if you don't I'll just make up whatever I feel like and say deal_with_it.jpg.

But if you want to have input you should probably lay out a plan, rules for intervention, and rules for non-intervention.

>>14864022
She's a paladin, she can heal herself. Remember that fire trap we put her through to get the bracer? can't be much worse than that. Though we could drop it down to seven min if you think the torturer is that good.

You still haven't said how you expect to pull off impersonating Loris.

>>14863776
Vote to go with the armor parasite thing.
Additional of making sure that she can escape. If she tries to rescue Quorin, fine, but we won't help her in that regard.

For the twins, the only interference we will make is if it appears that they will be captured alive. If that appears to become a likely outcome, then we have some of the magical wards and artifacts interact dangerously with each other and detonate in an arcane explosion that kills the twins utterly. It will be done in such a way that later forensic arcane investigation will show that due to the battle, several of the wards and artifacts that they had interacted badly with each other and the artifacts that the Inquisition brought that resulted in the explosion.

>Tissa
Appear as her god, and give her the bracer. Weaken her bonds.
>Quorin
Maybe, but let's wait until he's feeling better, I think.

>Thirdly, twins.
>1.
Yes
>1a.
Force it into a stalemate in the enemies favor, such that they have no way to run and no way to win, but could (theoretically) hold out indefinitely, with the situation slowly turning against them. If this does not get them to ask for help, nothing will.
>1b.
If it is necessary. Maybe allow them to be knocked about a bit to further the stalemate, but nothing lethal.
>1c.
Not until they ask for it.
>2.
Prolong the battle, and tip the odds towards the above described scenario.
>2a.
Perhaps the inquisitors troops may find hidden reserves of strength, stamina, and endurance they were not aware of?
>2b.
See above
>2c.
Hold steady, slowly tip the odds against the twins.
>2d.
Make sure they survive and hold out long enough to consider asking for our help.
>2e.
See above.
>3.
Let them, I think.
>4.
Prevent them, probably by means of a similar magic to that the inquisitors are using.
>5.
Let them.
>6.
As indirectly as possible, so that the twin's won't guess we had a hand in their victory/defeat/retreat/etc.

>>14864104
Glowing apparition of the most common depiction of Loris, maybe with fuzziness so it's more implied than specifically depicted? Shit, the fact that we can appear to her without appearing to the torturer in the room will probably be convincing enough.

>>14864206
>Force it into a stalemate
I'm just going to say right now, unless you directly intervene and put up some sort of unbreakable wall around their room or something then it's not realistically possible.

They are two people against what amounts to an entire nation. If nothing else works do you really think they wouldn't just blow up the entire inn or set it on fire or something?

If you want to create a stalemate you need a damn good reason why it would happen and one side or the other wouldn't just turn their magic wands up to 11.

When you set Tissa free, guide her to quorin. Things should progress from there.

>>14864249
Allow them to survive long enough that asking for our help becomes a serious consideration, then. If they go for it, good. If not, well, there are tons more potential heroes in the world.

>>14864299
You... I....

Okay, let me put it this way. When shit goes down it's going to go down fast. This is not a siege situation. This is a breach and entry situation. One way or another it's going to be decided fast and the twins will either be dead or rapidly relocating after being victorious.

>Tissa
Appear as her god
1. If she really needs it.
2. Yes
3. No

>Quorin
He wasn't very interesting before he got brain damage. Don't really care what happens to him.

>Twins.
1. Yes
1a. Just make sure the twins survive
1b. Yes
1c. Only if they ask us for it
2. Watch
2a. Try and get them to meet up with Tissa again somehow
2b. "
2c. watch for any attempts to just destroy the inn and hinder them
2d. try and get them to call us for help
2e. "
3. Keep them alive long enough to use one of the many contingencies they've probably set up to escape.
4. See where they go and then get back to Tissa
5. Let them get captured
6. As subtly as possible so that there are no clues for Laressa

>>14864338

Alright, here's my suggestion:

Tissa: Repair the nerve damage if she hasn't done that or started already. We DON'T NEED, nor WANT her to be tortured, as that'll just traumatize her and make her busting out near impossible (neural painwork, jesus). Instead, guide her to quorin through the bracer (I don't care which of the three methods you use, Vedi, I trust you to make it interesting), via subtle whispers and visions (glimpses of a glowing golden figure going down a hall, rounding a corner, whatnot). When she sees the wreck that Quorin is, she won't NEED to be tortured to see how fucked up these people are.

>>14864338
My only real goal for the twins is for them to call us for help. I imagine that if they can see a dire, inescapable situation, they'd figure they have nothing to lose and go for it. I guess we could link the coin to them, such that if they ever wish they had it they do. How's that?

>>14864490

Regarding the Twins: I want them to escape, but I want them to learn that you can't just rely on each other and leave your allies to rot. So this is going to cost them.

It's going to cost them the majority of their artifacts.

If they escape, have their collection of artifacts "drop", or tear, or guide a crossbow/spell to sever their collection from them. Whatever. For best results, have them drop near a collection of shaped charges and have a stray shot ignite the barrels.

Then, in the inferno, GRAB THEM ALL and dimensionally lock them somewhere safe.

>>14864539

Beyond that, ensure only that they survive. Injuries (non-immediately life threatening) are accepteable, even encouraged.

I vote in favour of the symbiote. As I was the one who suggested it.
>1. Give her any additional aid to escape on her own after that?
Yes, give those who oppose her bad luck, but not comically so. Also, make sure we guide her to the cure-all if necessary.
>2. Make sure she escapes?
My plan for starting a war between the order of Loris and Laressas empire kind of depends on it, so yeah.
>3. Make sure she escapes with Quorin?
No. If she finds him and can manage despite his condition, okay. But if he dies during the escape it's no big deal. We can find other better wizards.

>Secondly, Quorin. Are you going to do anything with him?
If he is left behind alive then kill him. Make it look like his loyalty enforcer had a kill switch hidden beneath it.

Damn field too long.
>Thirdly, twins.
>1. Are you going to intervene there at all?
Probably have to, yes.
>1a. If so, how? Make combat more deadly? Less?
If they are going to be captured alive then make the final blows against them more forceful and lethal than they would have been unless they have a plan to escape that has a decent chance for success given what's arrayed against them. But if they have a good plan and it fails they die.
I think it would be a shame to lose them though, they'd be kind of fun in less structured circumstances.
>1b. Mention was made of helping them survive whatever the dwarves were doing. Do this or not?
If it's necessary then yes. Alert them with a thump or something if they are right beneath a bomb.
>1c. Any other aid rendered them?
If they get out our symbol then immediately get them out of there.
>2. If they fight what do you do?
Nothing. Win or lose during the battle it's all on them.
>2a. If they win easily what do you do?
>2b. If they win what do you do?
Let them do as they want
>2c. If they break even what do you do?
That's an option? Take a moment and reassess the situation I suppose.
>2d. If they lose what do you do?
>2e. If they lose badly what do you do?
Capture is death.
>3. If they are going to die what do you do?
If only one dies catch the soul and hold it for a bit, if the other dies after then let them go but if they get away and still have access to our token then we may get a call to bring the dead one back to life. That could be interesting.
>4. If they are going to run away what do you do?
Let them go.
>5. If they are going to get captured what do you do?
If the are going to get captured and stay captured then they die.
>6. How directly do you want to intervene to do these things?
Every observable intervention should seem to have an explanation more probable than interference by an outside force.

>>14864793
>We can find other better wizards

Why would we want to? It's less effort to just let her escape with Quorin.