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Taking their money and running, Sven and Orzad trundle south from the elven district to the temple district. After spending some time asking around, the two dwarves find themselves emerging into a stone plaza in front of the Temple of Sigmar. They, too, see the caged woman, and through the crowd they spot Thalandril on the opposite side of the plaza. The elven warden spots the two garishly dressed dwarves as well, as it is next to impossible to miss them in a crowd of human peasants. Dick throws the bartender several pence and asks for whatever that will afford them. The bartender grumbles, pockets the coins, and throws open the kitchen door, bellowing an order inside. He slams the door and motions for Dick to be seated. Minutes pass, and a comely waitress comes out with a couple of plates and bowls, setting them down on the table. She starts to smile at Dick but catches a whiff of him, briefly cringing before turning to Johann and giving him a winning smile and a wink. "Enjoy, love!" She saunters off. In front of the two men are two pies, steam escaping from the cracks in the golden crust. Johann can smell fish from the pie, which makes sense with the city's location on the Reik. Dick, however, inspects the steaming stew set before him, which is laden with vegetables and indiscernable chunks of meat. Josef looks startled that someone is actually haggling his prices, rather than outright denying the sale. His face is blank for a minute as he counts in his head, and then on his fingers. He stammers, before blurting out loudly, "Ye can't 'ave it at that price! Five pence! No less!" It takes a moment for Josef to realize his blunder, and he looks around, noticing a Black Hat has taken interest in the sale. Josef sighs, unhooking one of the symbols and handing it over to Elena for five pence, still looking happy that he made something. Elena inspects the symbol, and finds it is made of tin. Before she can say anything, Josef loops an arm around her, stooping do so, while glancing around warily. "Now, I thank ye fer yer business, ducky, an' I can tell ye 'ave a KEEN eye fer value. I am prepared ta offer ye a special deal on a true and 'onest piece o' 'oliness." Suddenly, Josef seems much less gregarious and quite a bit more edgy. He looks from side to side, as if expecting to be mugged, before setting his pack down and lifting a package from it. He gingerly unwraps it, revealing a small tunic that has been torn in half. He holds it reverentially, his eyes shining as he keeps his voice low. "This shirt was the very one 'e was wearin' when 'e appeared. One of the bastards 'e was fightin' tried to grab 'im, an' the shirt tore away in the brute's 'ands. Tha's when we all saw The Mark on the lad's chest, clear enough. An' if'n ye look 'ere.." He hovers a finger over a stain in the cloth, biting his lip. ".. there's blood on the sleeve. Tha's from when the boy brained 'im wi' 'is 'oly 'ammer. It was a miracle, like none we ever seen before!" The relic seller swells with pride as he recalls the story, his eyes watering. Elena can tell the man is, for once in his life most likely, being honest, and truly believes the boy to be the second coming of Sigmar. But, then Josef speaks again, full of glibness. "Bless Ranald, the rest of the lot went ta 'elp the boy, otherwise I'd 'ave never got me 'ands on this. And it's yers, m'lass, fer only ten.. er, I mean TWELVE guilders." He grins from ear to ear. A closer look at the tunic reveals it to be of fairly common linen, and there is a small symbol of a flying dove stitched to the collar in cheap grey thread.
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Oct 20, 2012 17:39
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Elena "So you saw a small boy being attacked, and your first thought was not to rescue him but to steal his shirt? And now you're trying to make a profit from a shirt stolen from the reincarnation of a god? You are a monster sir, I have half a mind to go and get some of my friends and show you what for! If you were a decent sort you would give me that shirt so that I may take it to the nearest temple." Elena puts on a worried look and leans in closer to Josef, "I mean, haven't you heard about the warrior priests turning the city upside down for this very sort of item, it would be best to be rid of it as soon as possible." Gonna use gossip to try and start a rumour about relic hunting arseholes. fel 52
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Oct 20, 2012 17:53
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Thalandril, River Warden The elf spends a long time staring at the caged woman speculating about why her pendant had been left untouched. Perhaps the humans feared to draw the wrathful eye of a god, even one as kind as Shallaya. His knowledge of "proper" human culture was shoddy at best. Through a parting in the crowd he noticed two familiar figures: the two dwarves, Sven and Orzad. He broke away from the chained woman, though slowly. He could almost hear her fevered prayers and was curious as to just what she was saying. "Sven, Orzad," he called across the square, approaching the two with a grin and a wave. "What brings you here? Following a lead?"
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Oct 21, 2012 03:31
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Josef's face turns blank again as he processes what Elena is telling him. He looks worried suddenly, glancing around again. He shoves the shirt into Elena's hands, holding up the five pence she gave him. "Ye bought it, its yers, I ain't dealin' wi' the black 'ats an' warrior priests over a relic." He scrambles to his feet and makes his way down the alley, glancing backwards at Elena to make sure she hasn't changed his mind. It obviously has not occured to him that he could simply donate the relic, a fact that makes Elena very proud, and amused as well. Holding the shirt, she does find it is much too small for her, meant instead for a skinny child. There might be someone who could tell her more of the shirt, and thinking now, Josef might've explained the symbol. Elena rolls a 24, versus Josef's 85. She succeeds in wigging him out.
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Oct 21, 2012 14:23
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Elena Looking at the shirt in her hands, Elena can't help but break into a grin. "That was fun that was, poor bugger really believed me!" Content with her purchases she trots down the street, quickly finding herself outside the Grateful Mermaid. She enters, quickly spotting Dick and Johann sat at a table, and heads over to join them. As she pulls up a chair she whips the shirt out of her pack, "Look what I got!"
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Oct 21, 2012 14:43
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Dick Barone, Barone Sanitation "Delicious," Dick begins prodding round the edges of the pie with his bent spoon. "And I'll wager it comes out in much the same way it goes in," he adds, beginning to spoon the more palatable-looking sections into his mouth, when in walks the Halfling with her latest trophy. "What in the unholy sewer outflow of Ulric's Passage is that?" Yoshimo fucked around with this message at 12:42 on Nov 2, 2012 |
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Oct 21, 2012 14:44
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Just waiting for the dwarves and the elf to interact, and for Dick, Johann, and Elena to interact. Also for Grant to react to the new rumor. 
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Oct 22, 2012 20:47
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edited my last post
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Oct 22, 2012 21:05
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Johann Johann looks up as the halfling rejoins them, the man sliding over the fish pie to her. It's not as questionable as whatever it is that Dick is eating, but... "It's a shirt?" he asks, leaning in to get a better look at her purchase, taking the opportunity to lower his voice and add in a bit about the interaction with 'Randolf'. "There's at least another Wizard in the city. Aside from who Roderick is after. He told us to find some woman named Maida Widmann at the Shallaya temple." Would Common Knowledge (Empire) apply to identify that Dove symbol? Int 47 if so. IPlayVideoGames fucked around with this message at 22:04 on Oct 22, 2012 |
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Oct 22, 2012 21:46
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The stew, to Dick's surprise, tastes fairly decent, even if the meat is a bit gristly and gamy, and the fisherman's pie is perfect. Surprising, for such a hole in the wall establishment. Johann, upon brief inspection of the shirt, realizes exactly what the symbol means. It is the symbol of Shallaya, and from what he recalls on his trips through Altdorf and other regions of the Empire, they commonly stitch a grey dove into the collars of the shirts they give to their wards at orphanages. Yes, it does. Johann has rolled a 24 on his Common Knowledge (The Empire) roll.
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Oct 22, 2012 21:57
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Sir Grant The information Grant acquires from the guards is found worthwhile. "You say this branded boy slew a number of men by himself? He must be powerful indeed. Strange, though, that these diseased men would be after his life." The knight scratches his chin, considering what he had learned. There could only be magic involved, the knight thought. Grant could not bring himself to completely dismiss the idea of a reborn Emperor, however. A divine youth appearing from shafts of golden light was a description that appealed to Grant's knightly sensibilities. These diseased men also posed a new mystery. Grant waves his hand, as if to dismiss the grim guard's concerns. "Dare to be proud of yourself and your city, loyal guard of Marienburg!" He smiles. "I am new to this city, and I sought your company to learn more of this place. After all, exploring mysterious rumours is part of how I seek out new adventures." The guardsmen of the city are affable, and Grant enjoys his time gossiping with them. He tells them tales of his homeland and of his great deeds during his trek to the Empire. The majority of the stories involve combat, which is by and large the most popular topic. The young knight errant tells the guards about the time when the orc raiders attacked a small fishing village, and he had to hold the line by himself to allow the peasants time to flee. "...it was dangerous, but I knew I could never let them past me..." He tells them of the time when he encountered a silent knight clad in full black plate, and how they faced each other in a daring joust without exchanging a single word. "...and as I struck the killing blow with my lance, his armour turned to dust and the knight was nowhere to be seen! It was then that I realised I had fought a wraith, for certain...". The stories are many, and Grant appears to tell them without the slightest hint of hesitance, almost as if he had told them many times before. The uniting element in all of his stories are the themes of self-sacrifice, daring, and chivalrous behaviour. After some time, Grant realises that if he were to continue, there would be no end to his stories until nightfall. And as enjoyable as it was to converse with experienced guards of the city, Grant knew the witch-hunter expected results. There was no time to get side-tracked. "I thank you for your time, brave guardsmen. I might be spending some time in your city, in which case, I hope we'll have a chance to exchange stories another time." The knight bids the guards farewall and decides to head back towards the tavern.
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Oct 22, 2012 23:17
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Sven Kadrinsson Sven soon realized that coming to the temple district was a bad idea, when he saw the elf there. Not only that, but the elf approached them and greeted them in a friendly manner. What sort of elven trick was this? "Uh, yes. Yes, we are. We thought that maybe the priests might know something about the boy. I think I'll go ask them right now." Sven mumbled and walked away from Thalandril. That was dangerous, can't trust the elves. Sven asks the people who the lady in the cage is, and tries to inquire any Sigmarite priests about the boy.
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Oct 23, 2012 06:03
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A few people glance down at Sven in confusion as he asks about the woman in the cage, mostly due to his garish and outrageous hat. However, one gentleman is fortunately (or possibly unfortunately, for the dwarf's ego) unimpressed by the hat, and takes the opportunity to fill the dwarf in on the woman, speaking in a low whisper. "That there is the old abbess of the Shallayan orphanage, lad: Maida Widmann. Denounced the divinity of the boy, so I hear, an' was declared apostate by the new abbess. Figured her for a witch, I s'pose; the new abbess showed mercy an' kept the crowd from tearin' her limb from limb, but instead they hung her up in the gibbet." The man sniffs, rubbing under his nose as he looks to the decrepit form of Abbess Widmann. "See, that's what we do to witches around here. Break their fingers and put the mark of Sigmar in their mouths, so they can't cast their hexes or corrupt any listeners with their lies. Tried and true method, it is." He spits on the ground, smacking his lips as he points to the two Black Hats. "Guards won't let anyone talk to her, obvious reasons there, but if'n you got some rotten fruit or a good bit of lungbutter to hock, they'll let ya. No comfort for the witch, mind. Harder to do at night, though. They just patrol then, twice through every bell, so you don't got two guards stationed by her." Once finished with the man, Sven begins his search for any Sigmarite priests, and is surprised to find the Temple of Sigmar is locked. Rumor comes to him that most of the priests of Sigmar are with the boy himself. Sven rolls a goddamn 1 on a +10 Gossip check, and for that, I give him a man who doesn't like his hat but knows all about things.
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Oct 23, 2012 14:02
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Elena Elena bounces in her chair, extremely pleased with herself, "I got it from some relic peddler guy near the temple, sold me this nice little hammer and then brought this out. Apparently it was the Sigmar boy's when he started being Sigmar." Elena looks pensive as she continues, "I just had to have it in case it was legitimate," at this Elena winks at Dick and Johann in turn, "So I got it."
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Oct 23, 2012 14:11
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Johann Giving the shirt another look, Johann rubs his chin, attention lifting to Elena. "That dove is a sign of Shallaya, isn't it? I guess that ties into what Randolph told Dick - how he was raised in an orphanage. So maybe it actually was from the boy. But you don't really think he's actually Sigmar, do you?"
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Oct 24, 2012 18:42
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Elena Elena thinks for a moment, a quizzical look slowly crossing her face, "Oh I don't know, I never put much brook into gods at any rate. Would be nice though I suppose." As she talks she produces a long handled spoon from a hidden pocket and sneaks the dregs of Dick's leftover pie.
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Oct 24, 2012 21:07
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Thalandril, Suspicious Observer The elf listens impassively from the side while Sven talks up the guard. So the woman was an abbess in charge of the orphanage. Strange. It made sense to him that if this supposed incarnation of Sigmar appeared out of thin air he may have passed through the orphanage first. Maybe the others had found something that would illuminate the situation further. "Sven, Orzad, good luck with that lead. I'm heading back to the Mermaid to see what the others have rustled up."
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Oct 25, 2012 01:20
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Orzad Orzad confers with Sven, after looking around to see if anyone is paying attention, whispering in Dwarfish. "Poor woman. If we come back at night. . ." He has to admit, he's nervous. Humans were notoriously unpredictable. It's something they were known for. Scientific fact. And he got the feeling that if he and Sven were caught talking to or helping the woman, THEY'D end up in gibbets. Still, it wasn't right what these people were doing. He didn't know if the boy was the reincarnation of Sigmund (although he suspected not), but locking a woman, a Religious woman no less, in a cage as a witch just because she had doubts? It offended him. Mob rule offended him. They had to save her.
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Oct 25, 2012 01:43
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Sven "I agree, we should return at night." Sven whispers. "I suspect that there is a great story unfolding, and she could have an interesting point of view on things. And it is not proper to keep an elder in a cage. But now we should return to the Mermaid and share our findings with the others." Sven suggests and adjusts his hat, so it obscures his vision slightly less. "And maybe even perform, I'm itching to get on stage with you." Sven and Orzad had met great success with dwarves and no success with anyone else while performing as a traditional dwarven comedic duo. Orzad acts as the Old Longbeard, with very traditional values and thoughts, while Sven is the Young Engineer with new and innovative ideas. Comedy ensues from their conflicts. At least that's what I imagine a dwarven comedy duo would be.
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Oct 25, 2012 12:07
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Of the four still out and about, Sir Grant is the first to return to the Mermaid, where he politely declines to join his comrades in their lunch. He is more than thankful he had his fill of rich food from the noble districts, particularly as Dick prods a chunk of meat in his stew that quivers ignobly. Less than fifteen minutes pass before Thalandril strolls through the door, and minutes behind him are the two dwarves, Sven and Orzad. A bell out in town chimes 2 PM; it has been four hours since the team split up, with Dick and Johann spending most of it eating and drinking. To keep things moving, go ahead and take 100 XP for your efforts in uncovering the mystery here in Marienburg. Post what your advance is, if you choose to take one, and rattle your brains together with the clues you've picked up.
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Oct 26, 2012 03:40
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Johann Once everyone is back and settled, Johann shares the bit that he and Dick had picked up. "There was a wizard who went by the name Randolph here. He was college trained - at least he was wearing one of their marks. He told us we should find some Priestess of Shallaya named Maida Widmann. She ran the orphanage that the apparent Sigmar reborn had been raised in. The boy's name is Karl. We should probably track her down, at any rate." He glances to the door. What's Roderick up to, anyway? Hopefully not dead. It's a tough life, working for a Witch Hunter. All that drinking and eating. I'll take Johann's last +5 Int advance.
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Oct 26, 2012 17:28
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Thalandril, Brain Trust The elf reemerges in the Mermaid to find Johann, Richard, and Elena finishing their meals. "Well, good to see everybody has been hard to the grindstone. Barman, an ale--good ale--if you please." Thalandril sidles up to the table and finds a seat, listening to Johann exposit on what they had gathered. "Maida," he echoes sullenly. "Well, bad spot of fate there. We won't have to look hard to find her. She's locked up in a gibbet outside of the Temple of Sigmar. I was down at the docks and got a piece of tell that when this Karl boy came out as Sigmar reborn she denounced him. Some bloke name Helmut called her and her whole congregation witches and killed the lot of them but Maida herself. I already been into where she went from there..." I'll be spending my 100xp for +1 Wound. ilootthecorpse fucked around with this message at 20:23 on Oct 26, 2012 |
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Oct 26, 2012 20:11
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Dick Barone, Barone Sanitation Dick nods as Johann explains what they've learned. "That's the lie of it, aye," he agrees with the Embalmer. "Supposed to be the spit of Sigmar, so he is. Caved in a man's head like a ripe tomato." The stew could have certainly used a bit of ripe tomato, or at least some sort of fresh ingredient, but it was serving to fill the hole in their stomachs, at least. Apologies for the lack of poast, been on Nights the past few days. Took +5 to WP!
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Oct 27, 2012 10:48
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Sven Kadrinsson "Aye, Maida is held in a cage in front of the temple." Sven confirms and continues where Thalandril left off. "The cage is guarded by only two black hats at night. You know, it is not proper to keep old ladies in a cage." "Oh, and some dockworkers claimed that the boy was taken by direct order from Grand Theogenist Volkmar, who knew to expect him. But they also claimed a man with no eyes saw a twin-tailed comet. I think dockworkers in this city drink too much." All my skills are social in nature, so I'm taking +5 Fel.
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Oct 27, 2012 15:51
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Orzad "I'm not certain it's possible to drink too much, but young Sven has the right of it. That's what we found out. Also, that humans don't have much of a sense of humor. I suggest we rescue the lady Maida. It's not right what they're doing." Taking +5 fellowship
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Oct 27, 2012 17:03
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Sir Grant Grant sits still, listening to the others findings. There were lots of stories going around, and sometimes their stories intersected and helped fill blanks. Other times it seemed things were in contradiction. But that was the way with rumours and gossip. "In my own investigations, I found that the rumours going around amongst the nobility of the city mainly focus on this being some kind of a chaos cult that's sprung up. They consider the child a pawn of the dark powers. All of their reasoning was based on hear-say, however." "I followed this up by interviewing a number of city watchmen. According to them, this nine year old boy - Karl, you say - carries the brand of a twin-tailed comet. A sign of fate, for sure. Some of the watchmen were witnesses to this 'Sigmar Reborn' slaying a number of diseased looking people who were chasing after him." "I agree with the dwarves: finding out what this lady Maida knows should be our next step. These diseased folk also trouble me, what with all the talk of Chaos." Grabbing +5 Toughness. I've had a busy as hell week too. It happens.
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Oct 27, 2012 21:31
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Dick Barone, Barone Sanitation "Mind, lads and lass, this lady's been accused o' being a witch, aye." Dick spoons the last bite of pie into his mouth, and immediately regrets it. "Ugh, bloody hellfire. Must have been t' arsehole. Anyway, this Maida might tell us what we need to know, but last thing we want is to ruffle them Black Hats' feathers in t' process."
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Oct 27, 2012 21:40
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Johann Johann takes a big forkful of the fish pie, considering the whole situation. "Alright. So can't we avoid or just distract the watch patrol while the rest of us talk to Maida? Or free her, either way. It doesn't seem right for her to be shoved in a cage like some cultist." He's not a particularly religious man, but the whole mob rule thing still smacks him as wrong. IPlayVideoGames fucked around with this message at 15:40 on Oct 29, 2012 |
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Oct 28, 2012 02:45
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Gonna clarify, since Sven and Orzad may have taken the info wrong by the way I presented it: there are two Black Hats on duty during the day, but at night, they simply have the normal patrols that pass through every half hour.
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Oct 28, 2012 03:14
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Black Hats: Oh no we can't even harm a hair on a single Black Hat's head without kicking off a diplomatic incident Normal Watch Patrols: gently caress EM -loads Crossbow-
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Oct 29, 2012 11:12
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Sven "While we wait for the dark, tell me more about this boy. What, did he kill his attackers with bare hands, or what?" Sven inquires. I noticed that the miracles so far have heavily featured the hammer, which may or may not be magical. But Sven doesn't know about the hammer, so I'm not making any deductions.
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Oct 29, 2012 20:05
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Johann "From what Dick and I heard, he used some hammer to kill one of the people who kidnapped him from the orphanage. They took him to a forge, and he escaped from it, killing one of the men in a single blow. Randolph said something about 'Servants of the Dark Winds' as being the ones who took him," Johann responds to Sven.
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Oct 30, 2012 21:21
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Dick Barone, Barone Sanitation "Hammers, bloody liabilities, more likely to smash your own thumb to bits than hit the bloody nail," Dick sucks his thumb wincing at the thought of the pain, and then immediately wishes he hadn't. "I'm all for a night of not kipping under a damned tree with only a rock for a pillow. Then first thing tomorrow we can sally out and see if we can grab a word with this 'apostate.'" edit - wait it's only 2pm. Let's go do that now!
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Oct 31, 2012 10:15
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Elena Elena continues to shovel soup from the pot on her back into her mouth but stops briefly as Dick talks, butting in with a mouthful of food, "Whas an apostate?" Buyin a BS advance with my xp
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Oct 31, 2012 12:06
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Sir Grant "A hammer is what the guards mentioned to me as well. Hammers can be dangerous even in untrained hands, but I think that any child who can crush a man's head with one has to be blessed with incredible strength."
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Oct 31, 2012 17:14
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Thalandril, Schemer The elf sat back and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well comrades, I feel we might best use the hours before dark to come up with a plan to see this Maida out of her gibbet. We won't be very good just running in swords bared and pistols blazing."
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Nov 1, 2012 02:48
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Gonna give you guys a nudge, since things have slowed down a bit. You guys have about 7 hours of daylight, so you might want to follow one of the leads regarding the boy's origins. There is a temple to Shallaya in the city, which means it will have an oprhanage nearby. Most of the rumors you have heard link to Shallaya, and Johann/Dick have heard a wizard tell a story of the boy coming from the orphanage.
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Nov 1, 2012 04:31
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Orzad "Since we have some time before it gets dark, why don't we go to the orphanage this "Sigmund reincarnated" comes from, and see if we can find out anything about him before he was a reincarnated god.", Orzad suggests. I got this idea from Dyne's subtle hints.
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Nov 1, 2012 04:51
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Dick Barone, Barone Sanitation Dick nods, sullenly, before quickly buying and downing another pint for the road. "Reincarnated gods don't grow on trees, I'm sure this little nipper's just been dropped on the head or such like, still we'd better check it out," Dick grumbles as they all head out of the door. CHOO CHOO ALL ABOARD THE DYNE EXPRESS RAILROAD (just kidding)
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Nov 1, 2012 10:40
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"Hmm, yes, I know stories about magical hammers, both war and tool types. The miracle healing was probably also performed with the hammer. Magical healing. My great-uncle Grimm had a runic hammer. It had a rune of striking, and a rune of counter-healing, which was also known as a rune of striking." Sven explains to no one in particular. Realizing that nobody is listening to him, he sulks under his enormous hat and murmurs about going to the orphanage.
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Nov 1, 2012 12:38
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