Anauroch - The Great Desert

[Brainpiercing]

[ooc for Mael][spoiler]
You can have him take 20, with the appropriate investment of time. As you may have noticed if you still read the min/max board I have been thinking about the mechanism of the spot skill, and I won't be limiting your range of view to the ranges given in the Terrain descriptions in the SRD.[/spoiler]

[Private for Mael][spoiler]
Azur could not see anything of note (yet), within a rough estimate of 1000 feet around them. The desert stretched far and wide to the horizon.[/spoiler]

Cat was feeling left out in the whole affair. There was nothing he could contribute. He was strolling around the perimeter of the perfumed area, when he noted an invisible presence appearing near the halfling.
Who's that? he said in everyone's head.

[Omen of Peace]

"A helper" Mael replies out loud, at the same time as a voice snarls telepathically back to Cat "stay out of my head !".

"This cat remarkable sensitivity" Mael thinks for his and his helper's benefit. "That or you're too noisy" he adds nastily.

[OOC]
I don't quite recall if Telepathy allows telepathic replies in this game. I think so but if not... well, Cat never gets the telepathic snarl.
Is there a Knowledge check to learn about Mindsight ? Not necessarily for now since Cat could be using mundane senses, but for later on.

[Brainpiercing]

[ooc][spoiler]I think it does allow replies - of course only those that you wish to send.

I guess knowing about Mindsight should be Know(The Planes) because it is an ability mostly used by outsiders. The DC? No idea, I'll just go ahead and say... 20.[/spoiler]

Cat for once, and quite reflexively, did a cat thing: His jumped sideways with a snarl,  back arched, poised, his feline features contorted, and his hairs bristled. He stared at the spot where he should be able to perceive this helper, but couldn't.

Private for Daelric[spoiler]
Cat couldn't see the creature, but maybe his ally could, if he told him where to look.
There's some sort of pretty smart (not as smart as you) invisible bug flying above the halfling, 30ft maybe. he said only to Daelric.
[/spoiler]

[Private for Mael][spoiler]
I'm not... IN your head. he glowered, this time only for the helper to "hear". All I was asking for is an introduction. If I were IN your head I wouldn't need that, now would I? He had a feeling the menace in his voice would be rather useless on this one, but...
[/spoiler]

[Omen of Peace]

Mael looks on, bemused, at the cat familiar, then at its master and back.

[Private for BP]
[spoiler]Once Azur notices the unwanted attention of the cat, he takes a moment to adopt the disguise of a Coure Eladrin.
It might be too late... But if it needs an introduction its perception may not quite extend to invisible creatures.[/spoiler]
[Private for Cat]
[spoiler]"I am Azur. Who are you ? And how did you know I was even here ??"
The tone is dry - Azur is making no effort to be polite but is not antagonizing whoever is speaking to him - likely the cat, but perhaps the master - any further.[/spoiler]

[OOC]
I actually forgot to mention that, yes, the helper will take 20 in Spot since it's allowed. He'll likely be gone soon after that.

[Surreal]

"You know either too little or too much of our 'mating' rituals, Mr Goblin" Mael remarks with a smirk hidden behind his kerchief.

"Hmph you surface dwellers have such needlessly complicated courtships. If a goblin wants to mate, he simply takes his..."

Devenar quickly interrupts what seemed to be forthcoming finger puppetry...

'So... is this the end of the trail then? Or can you find it again?'

"Grr, not with this foul mating stench in the air, and by the time it clears the scent might be too faint to follow. The tracks seem to terminate at this point and our quarry has taken pains to conceal his path, but I will take another look..."

"Let me see if I can summon some help, to give us a higher vantage point."

The diminutive redhead begins to whisper something inaudible. Nothing seems to happen at first.

Mag too seemed to suddenly react to the new presence, his ears perking up and his teeth bared ever so slightly (moreso than usual that is). He hunched even lower to the ground, almost feral in appearance, scanning upwards at the invisible entity. Upon Mael's announcement that it was "a helper" he relaxed somewhat, the snarl replaced with yet another snarl and a few choice goblin cusses about magic users and surface dwellers.

[ooc][spoiler]if we're waiting for the floating thing to take 20 on spot, I suppose I can take 20 for tracking, which will be survival=44[/spoiler]

[Brainpiercing]

Try as Mag may, the trail was no longer to be found, at least not in the immediate vicinity.

[ooc for Mag][Spoiler]Please make a Spellcraft DC16

If you make it:[spoiler]
Pass without Trace will make mundane tracking impossible, it even masks scent. So why the smell-bomb?[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]

A little aside, Devanar wiped the sweat off his forehead, surveyed the scene and could then be heard muttering 'Cats and Dogs.....my oh my.'

[Private for Mael][spoiler]
After looking around for a while, Azur was sure there was noone not hiding within 1500 feet. For more range he would have to go higher.

[[ooc]I'm doing it like I said in that other post. You get 30ft x 32 check x 1.5 for height rounded roughly up. Go up a little more (+60ft or so) for 2x.] [/spoiler]

[Snizor]

helperarcane sight while the others were distracted [Sleight of Hand 32].


[/spoiler]

[Surreal]

[ooc][spoiler]Have we actually determined that "pass without trace" was used?

I failed my spellcraft check anyways[/spoiler]

[Omen of Peace]

"Interesting - how so ?" asks Mael, who didn't miss the look upward.

"You keep strange company" he remarks to the priest leading the group. Devanar seems to hesitate between shrugging and rolling his eyes and settles for something in-between, which looks rather strange.

The helper flies back down to land on Mael's arm. The halfling covers it with his handkerchief, mutters a few words then with a flourish takes the kerchief off and runs it over his arm to show that there is nothing there. He smiles at Mag's reaction to his little performance.

"That was a waste of time. Apparently there's nobody around."

[OOC for Mindisghters]
[spoiler]The presence disappeared when Mael flourished.[/spoiler]

[Brainpiercing]

[ooc for Mag][spoiler]
Heh, I use those spoilers for a reason. And NO, if you haven't passed the spellcraft check you don't know that Pass without Trace was used, you can only suspect, because that trail vanished so suddenly... Maybe a Knowledge(Religion), same DC, will give a similar clue...[/spoiler]

[ooc for everyone][spoiler]
More later.... too late [/spoiler]

[Brainpiercing]

[ooc Private for Daelric][spoiler]We yet again have the undefined relationship between seeing magical effects and invisibility. I think we decided on something the last time this came up... or did it? Maybe it was with OoP, not with you....
Anyway, I think Arcane Sight has a high enough level to also see the magical aura of an invisibility effect...

So, you see an Invisibility effect in the air above Mael, which descends after a while, and then vanishes from under the cloth as Mael flourishes.
[/spoiler]

[ooc Private for Mael][spoiler]During his little reconnaissance, was Azur Ethereal or just invisible? I would tend to say just invisible, because if he had been ethereal his range of view into the material plane would be limited to 60ft . [/spoiler]

[ooc: More later]

[Surreal]

Maglu'glath sifts some sand through his fingers, looking quite displeased before tossing the handful aside. "This is far too peculiar. Even considering the stench here, the sand trail comes to such an abrupt halt, as if they were wisked away on wings or magic... " Mag trails off as he notes his current companions who seem fully capable of either, then throws his hands up in frustration. "Bah, and if they could do that, why bother traveling on foot to begin with?"

[ooc][spoiler]Nope, failed the religion check too[/spoiler]

[Brainpiercing]

[ooc everyone][spoiler]
Spellcraft or Know(Rel) DC 21 to make a connection to Pass Without Trace, and it's effects - and possible interactions with the present scene. I'm sorry I botched the DC earlier for Mag. It's 16 only if you can see the casting.
Devanar's SC: 21
Devanar's Know(Rel):  32
[/spoiler]


[ooc Private for Daelric]
[spoiler]
Int check DC 17 if you want Daelric to get a hunch about this whole thing.

If you make it: [spoiler]
Magic Immunity

[/spoiler] [/spoiler]

Devanar could be seen flicking through a small booklet tightly filled with scribblings. Then he looked around again at the scene.
'It does seem strange....' he remarked, to noone in particular.

[Omen of Peace]

[OOC for BP]
[spoiler]Yep, it's Invisibility. Nobody would have noticed him if he was Ethereal.[/spoiler]

"I can think of several reasons" Mael ventures "each one as hypothetical as the next, mind you.

Perhaps something unexpected happened and forced them to use a teleportation power or item they were holding in store - but that doesn't quite explain the perfume.
Perhaps they met up with someone who teleported here and teleported them away - and it's that mysterious ally's scent this is supposed to cover ?"

[OOC]
[spoiler]Spellcraft 19
Know(Rel) 24
Where is this Pass without trace hypothesis coming from ? I don't quite get it.

I guess it's a good time to ask how you interpret the Lingering Auras section of Detect Magic: for a targeted spell, does the lingering aura remain on the target, the area where the casting took place, or both ? I'm guessing the former since you're mentioning spells and Detect Magic yielded naught (the text does mention the "location" though).[/spoiler]

[Brainpiercing]

[ooc][spoiler]
Ummm... the Pass without trace is a hypothesis, which I thought Mag should be able to come up with, because the tracks vanished so thoroughly. It is, as of yet, just a hypothesis, but IMHO not a far-fetched on, because it's a common 1st level spell. Actually it only got dragged in the open because Surreal read his spoilered check result for a check he didn't pass. It doesn't matter, though.

Lingering auras stay on the target of the spell, or the place the spell came into effect in, if it's an area effect. A movable spell effect that affects an area might leave a trail. However, the durations that the auras persist for have long expired, in this case.
[/spoiler]

[Snizor]

OOC:
[spoiler]
Spellcraft: 25
Knowledge: 12
[/spoiler]
Your grasping at straws, young halfling", Daelric replied.

"It's more likely that your quarry became aware of our pursuit and used magic to conceal their tracks, and the perfume is simply a distraction designed to make you think they had teleported away. Concealing ones tracks with magic is far easier to accomplish than long-distance teleportation, and -if I were being pursued- I would much prefer to use a simple spell plus a bottle of out-of-fashion perfume than expend a costly teleportation item."


OOC for BP
[spoiler]
INT check: 22

I suspected as much
[/spoiler]

[Omen of Peace]

Mael doesn't take well to being belittled.
"We're talking demons here. Count how many demons can hide their tracks and how many can teleport."

He has many other choice words...
Track hiding is specialized magic - nature-aspected and not that widely available.
Do you carry cheap perfume with you wherever you go ?
...
but chooses to leave them unsaid for now. He turns to Devanar, dismissing Daelric from his thoughts.
"Whatever the explanation, we find yourself without a clue. Does anyone have a better plan than 'keep walking in the same direction' ?"

[Brainpiercing]

Devanar shrugged at Mael's words.
'I'm no tracker. I assume there should be ways of finding them again if they've not teleported away.

Honoured Maglu'glath, do you think we have been tracking demons, to this point? And if we haven't, is there a way to find them again?'

He looked at the perfectly untouched sand under the goblin's feet and wondered...

'In any case, whoever we are following must be heading somewhere. What places of interest are nearby?'
He noticed that this did not make sense: They were trying to find the places of interest by following whoever knew about them, but, shrugging again, he did not change his question.

[ooc for Mag][spoiler]
In summary for what I might or might not have said before:
There was a set of tracks, initially, mechanically hidden, with musty, humanoid scents, then it seemed there was only one trail left, and the humanoid scent was gone, just one of a dry mineral nature, hardly distinguishable from the sand. And now... well, there's the perfume within a certain area.[/spoiler]

[For everyone][spoiler]

(c) TSR
[/spoiler]

[Surreal]

*grumble* "I've lead armies into battle and tracked prey across miles underground... but this realm of demons and magic is alien to me. I do not, however, believe that we have been tracking demons. The tracks and scents seemed human, or at least human shaped (and you surface dwellers all stink alike anyways). At first there were several sets of tracks, but they were well hidden so I can't be sure how many... perhaps a half dozen?* An ugly scent on those; rather stale and dusty. Then suddenly all the tracks disappeared save one, and the scent changed, smelled more of earth. And now we're here and that track too has disappeared."

*just throwing a number in there for the sake of sentence structure, BP will have to fill in a proper value

[Snizor]

"Humanoid, you say?", Daelric mused aloud, having already suspected as much.

Daelric turned to address Denavar, "The closest place of interest I can remember is an oasis to the north-northeast of here. I suppose they might have headed near there; though if they did teleport, as the halfling claimed, they could be all the way across Faerun for all we know."