<div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Sorry for the delay, folks! Check back later tonight or tomorrow for the rest of this week's update, and make sure you've made your offerings to the dice gods recently.<br/><br/>EDIT: Part 2 is up! I hope everyone's ready for action.  <img alt=":D" src="./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif" title="Very Happy"/></div></div></div><br/><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">&lt;&lt;Alyssa and Dagnyr&gt;&gt;</span><br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Dagnyr wrote:</cite>"Now, let's chat, shall we? You can start with telling me all about what you stole and who you stole it from, as well as informing me about any weapons you might have hidden on you then we can finish with a little chat about that mark on your jacket. Good? Good."</div></blockquote><br/>Botch aims a murderous glare at his captor- or tries to, at any rate. Between his awkward position and almost two feet of height difference, the best he can manage is a an angry scowl at Dagnyr's chin.<br/><br/>"I ain't answering questions for a healer," he snaps. "I'm doing legitimate business out here, same as everyone else. You want a thief, go look for a cat. And quit scratchin' up my new leather!" He takes a poorly aimed kick at Dagnyr's shins, and misses handily. Underneath his coat, several large masses of coins jingle<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Alyssa wrote:</cite>"Botch? Is that you?" </div></blockquote><br/>Botch's eyes flick downward at the sound of his name, leaving off of his shin-kicking endeavor for the moment as he looks downward for his addressor. His deathglare on Dagyr's whiskers disappears into an almost perfect poker face, interrupted by the slightest hint of a smirk at one corner of his mouth. Of course, his new friends wouldn't leave him hanging like this...<br/><br/>Unfortunately for the young thief, luck (and, apparently, his 'friends') aren't with him today. A brief flicker of panic crosses Botch's face as his eyes settle on the Watchman's blue of Alyssa's uniform, then disappears as his glare resumes its customary spot.<br/><br/>"So what if it is?" he replies. "Being me ain't a crime, last I checked."<br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Botch can be searched easily at this point by either Alyssa or Dagnyr. Searching his pockets yields several full coin purses (no check required); a DC 26 Perception check may yield other items.<br/><br/>A Diplomacy (DC 25) or Intimidate (DC 18) check might make Botch more cooperative.</div></div></div><br/><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">&lt;&lt;EVERYONE&gt;&gt;</span><br/><br/>As the Academy Bells fall silent, so too does the crowd. All eyes and ears are on the dais now, as the robed figures slowly shuffle into their positions for the coming ceremony.  Even the rambunctious vanara, practically bouncing with excitement only a moment before, are eerily quiet as the Lord Governor takes his position at the front of the stage, while the high priests of the Prometan churches form a loose half-circle behind. Backed by the steady chant of the priests, the Lord Governor clears his throat and begins his opening speech.<br/><br/>It's nothing spectaculer: a typically long-winded palaver, filled with exultations of Brilanian freedom and prosperity. Anyone who's attended a public function in Prometa has heard its sort countless times. It's background noise, and everyone knows it; the real center of attention is the massive two-story ring of the Prometan gateway, slowly humming to life after twenty years of silence.<br/><br/>It begins subtly enough: a momentary flicker of light, or a ripple in the air, easily mistaken for a stray torchlight in the darkness. As the Lord Governor's speech wears on, the flickers become flashes, then hovering motes of light, resolving into glowing letters that cling to the now thrumming stone ring. The air within the ring is cloudy and distorted, stirred by a thousand tiny ripples like a pond in heavy rain. Through the dimly lit haze, a sharp eye might be able to pick out winged shapes milling in the space somewhere beyond the veil. Could it be the first signs of the angelic host?<br/><br/>The thrumming of the stone ring rises in volume, filling the entire square with a strange pitch that churns the eardrums. At the same moment, the priests' chanting rises in volume, then stops entirely as the symbols begin to warp. A few festival-goers begin exchanging uncertain glances- something about this feels wrong...<br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Passing any of the following checks will give a chracter one minute to prepare for what's coming next, as well as some potentially useful information. You can attempt multiple checks, but only one success is necessary. The DC for each check is 20. <br/><br/>Knowledge (history) 20<br/>Knowledge (planes) 20<br/>Perception DC 20<br/>Sense Motive DC 20<br/><br/>Now would also be a very good time to toll initiative...</div></div></div>