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OOC Thread Old OOC Thread Setting Document  Casey Dragomir Elias Lean Coffers: Family wealth is taxed for the time being Patron of the People: Enjoys popular support and a willingness to go an extra mile for the time being Galain Paragon: More than a man in the eyes of the people, if still less than a god John Worn Out: John has pushed himself hard and must rest to recover his strength before he does so again. Travelling will be slowed while this condition lasts. Karla Destiny Points: 1 Moonrat Sasha Viktor HiKaizer fucked around with this message at 03:15 on Jul 28, 2017 |
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Jan 1, 2017 07:15
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The night was quiet, compared to the storm that had preceded it. For twelve nights had the heavens and the world shook, as a great war raged. Gods, angles, demons and chosen mortal servants fought, bled and died. There was no place in the world to hide, no way of remaining ignorant to the happens beyond the mortal realm. Finally it was quiet though. The world had not burned to ashes, nor had it disappeared despite the claims and fears of many. Life in the past weeks has probably been difficult for many of you, and now that there is a calm new problems will come to light. But for now that is not your concern, for you have had a dream or vision from a being in the heavens. It claimed to call itself 'Terminus', and explained that it had slain the gods and beings in heaven. Now that they were dead it claimed, mortals could lead their own destinies again. It had looked into the paths and strands of fate and determined that you were a point of focus. Someone who might lead and change the world. For some of you this is probably an affirmation of long held beliefs or convictions. For others it may be a surprise, or a chance to seize something greater. Please read the end of this post for further information. Casey "There is a power to change one's shape, that has been held among the elves. They have used a lesser form of it to take the forms of animals, but they know the path that will lead you to greater mastery. Once it was considered a divine blessing, but now that they still posses this gift and their gods lie dead they will come to see that the truth." "Beyond that, there is a long forgotten periapt that lies someone beneath your city. It was dug up in ages long past from deep under the earth, from a place where the fabric of the world was weak. It can cloud the minds of others, and cause them to see what you wish, or what they expect to see if you can find and master it." "Similar to the elves' gift, there is a way to change the forms. Whereas they can change freely between forms, this power will force the flesh of another into a form you wish whether it is willing or not. It was once buried beneath the waves, but if you search towards the setting sun you may find it has resurfaced once more." "If these do not please you, then travel south along the coast. In a city upon it you will find an old being of the world. Their blessing is a bestowed gift, the ability to make oneself like the air and light. The hands of others will not reach you, nor will their walls impede you with this gift. They are not like you though, nor are they even mortal. While they are neither god, nor servant, their ways are strange and confusing." Dragomir "By a great lake beyond the mountains lies a buried library, in which old and forgotten texts lie. Many of the scrolls and tomes have decayed, but one tome that remains details how to read the heavens and apply this knowledge to the world below. Many in the past have gone mad trying to uncover the link between the stars and the workings of the world, and this is the closest glimpse of it. "In the lands of the dwarves lies an item. A singular stone, imbued with the energies of change and flux itself. Its true value remains uncovered, but it can easily transmute base metals into another form. It contains within it the light and energy of the sun, yet the people that hold it now do not know its true ability and use it instead for parlour tricks." "Travel to the shadowed woods and speak the right words, and in that place you shall learn of old elvish legends. Passed down from the gods, I find them distasteful but they are regardless a true record. The elves believe them to be a record of the end of all things, but they do not understand the true meaning behind what was told to them." "Deep within lands not yet claimed by cobbled paths and coin, there is a place where all the elements of the world align in harmony. If you go to that place, you will find in it the secret to unlocking the hidden powers of the mind. Some of the wandering peoples have found it through the ages, but it has been mistaken as a place of visions." Elias "The lost tomb of Castier Ponsbor, ancient member of your family. It was not a tomb made for him, but a place with a secret deemed forbidden by the church. In it lies one of the first steps to enduring as long as the mountains it sits in. You will need to entreat with your ancestor, or find a way to overcome him by force. He has been challenged before." "Beneath tree branch and hidden from the sun there lies an old ruined place where an alchemist once dwelt. Before they were betrayed, they found a way to concoct an elixir that would grant any man or women the power of a dozen warriors. The effect works only once on a person, but once was thought to be enough." "To the north, there is a ruined shrine with clear waters as black as a moonless night sky. Take this water into yourself and you shall learn to see and know the wishes of people, the wishes they hide deep in their hearts and that hold power over them. Be careful though, for some wishes are best left unfulfilled." "If these are not tools up to the task of forging a dynasty, travel to the lands of the dwarves for they have discovered a metal that they do not know the true value of. This new metal that they have found, id one bathes it in moonlight it quickens, becoming flexible like leather but yet harder than the finest steel in all of the lands." Galain "Deep within the elven woods shrouded in shadow there lies an elusive beast, whose true power is known only to a few most learned scholars. Slay it, and while its heart yet beats pluck out its eye and make it one of your own. You will find yourself able to slowly twist other people into your own likeness in body and mind." "In a place to the north, where the sun and moon forsake each other for long stretches of the year lies an old castle. In it there is a periapt, with a living stone set into the chain. Anyone who places the stone around their neck can use the darkness in other people's hearts as their own power. The kingdom stood until a ruler came that was so weak that even this was not enough to hold the people under control." "In the city of thieves and bandits, there is a place that carries precious jewellery and stones. The owner has an item that can be used to compel any being to obey you, once. They will follow a single command to the best of their ability as they understand it to align with your ambition. Having made his fortune and family, the owner hides it from others for fear of what it may do." "Hidden away in the mountains that border your lands, there is the lair of the last Living dragon. Dragons are creatures of power and ancient knowledge, whether they are dead or alive. What you might choose to do in such a place is up to you, but you will find power there enough for your ambitions." John "To the west lies the lair of a dragon, with its hoard and power. While you can find power from a dragon even dead, you can only find knowledge from a living one. If you would wish to speak to it, make sure you reach it within the passing of a moon lest it fade away from the world. Be careful though, those that gain power often find later that they have lost something of themselves along the way." "In the lands to the east, there lies a spring which taps into the raw power of the world. Bathe in it and let it flow into your body. Any other that knows of this place and makes their way could gain the same power, so if you would covet this for yourself then beware letting others know of it." "In the depths of the dwarven minds lies a creature whose body is dead but its mind is alive. Take what remains of it into yourself and you shall gain the power to turn flesh into living stone, and stone into living flesh. Just beware its mind and its power can be yours." "There is an island off of the coast of your city, surrounded by wind and storms. For a long time it kept out sailors, and even today few would be foolhardy enough to try and land on its shore. Deep in the jungle lies an old circlet, and any who wears that circlet upon their brow shall find themselves able to shape the waves and waters of the sea as they wish." Karla "In a place there is a ruined temple on the far coast, a long journey across the mountains towards the setting sun. In this lost temple there is a fountain whose waters contain natural healing properties. Bathe in its waters and eat of the fruit that grows from it and you shall gain its healing powers." "Your curse is incomplete and only half done, but in this you can make that curse your own and control it. There is a wood of shadows to the north west, on this side of the great mountains that divide the land. Go to those woods and seek out a long forgotten altar. At that place you can perform a ritual to unravel the curse and to gain power over it and other curses." "There is a way to still the raging minds of people. Travel to the centre of the lake at the heart of your lands and find the place where the sun, moon and waters are the same. You will then know the secret to stilling violence in yourself, and then in others. This same skill can still raging passions or other fiery emotions." "Finally there is a book that a man in the city of beauty and despair possesses, and it contains instructions for the creation of dolls that imitate living beings. It is possible as part of their creation to place thoughts, emotions or even parts of the mind of yourself or others within them to give them life." Moonrat "There is a land to the far north. Once people lived there, before they killed themselves and fled the monsters. None save isolated towns and villages dwell in that place. If you can tame the monsters that lurk in those lands then they could be a place for your people to make a new home." "In the very depths of your home, there is a forgotten shrine with a library. That library holds a scroll which can give one mastery over plagues and disease. A gruesome and painful way to make a home for yourself, and one that would make you many enemies, but it is despite these risks a powerful weapon." "Within the dwarven lands there is a pool, seemingly normal except that it has been touched by the winds of change that blow from all corners of the world. In its depths you can awaken the power to change others to be more like you and your people. Although this change may not last for more than a night in some people, it will reoccur with a rhythm as the world breathes." "At the very bottom of the mountains dividing the lands, far south there lies an old keep. In it still dwells an ogre that knows the secrets to turn any man or women into an incredible warrior. Bring yourself and you can become a champion or hero to your people. Bring others and you can raise a conquering army." Sasha "In the lands to the south of the elf woods, across the mountains and on the other side of the lake and down the river lies an old and abandoned town. In it the royal alchemist for a kind long forgotten was laid to rest with his family. To his grave he took the notes and method to create almighty living weapons of war." "Further to the east from that place, in an island there grows a tree which produces a singularly unique and curious fruit. Consuming it will grant strength and endurance to anyone, although be careful not to be gluttonous. If one were to eat too much of the fruit, the consequences could be unpleasant." "In the damp human kingdom, one county near the coast possesses an old gauntlet. In the hands of someone with strong will it can lead them towards metals both useful and precious. With even more strength it can even tear such metals out of the hands of others, the walls of buildings or for a titan, maybe form the earth itself." "In the mountains there is a star that fell. Travel through the elven woods along the river and when you come to the foot of the hills travel south for four nights. When you come to the midday of the fifth day, climb up the hill with the sun at your back and then you will find a hole in the side of the mountains where the star has burrowed like a worm into the caverns of the mountain." Viktor "To the east along the coast there is an old spirit of the earth. It holds the secret to changing the nature of things, and is particularly found of precious metal or gem. You can make that power your own, although there are many ways both violent and peaceful that will leave it alive or not once you have that power." "In the city to the south of the lake in the wild lands as some call them, the city with a port and the most people along its coast there are a pair of earrings. Wear them and you shall find yourself able to sense the physical needs of others, and to be able to influence them. It even can give you a taste of their vices without your own body indulging in them." "There is a petty thief in the city south of the city of beauty, one which is home to many thieves. In it you will find an unimaginative and small minded thief in possession of a cloak that allows one to pass unseen and unheard. If you can track them down and take this cloak for yourself then you can benefit from its power." "To the north east, into the cold lands forsaken by most mortals there is a mountain. In a cave on that mountain dwells a woman who has found how to copy a thing she has seen before. She uses this currently to pass by the monsters outside of her home when she needs to. Be careful, for it is possible to copy something too perfectly." NOTE: All players may ask one additional question and receive an answer before Terminus fades from your presence. Keep in mind Terminus' answer is likely to be brief, so err on the side of brevity if you can do so. There will be another post coming detailing what the starting situation of each city or town a PC is in is like.
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Jan 1, 2017 08:48
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Casey "They are but places in the world that hold things you may desire. Some will remain for a thousand years, other may fade tomorrow..." With that Casey woke up. Tamora was quiet, but this was the dangerous quiet. It was a city in denial, that could not properly process what had just happened. While the storms and fires in heaven had raged, echoed below, people had been scared and cowered. Now that they were done the people of the city were beginning to process what had happened. Once they could deny it no longer, there would be anger and voilence. Casey had a short time before this came to pass, maybe a day or two, but she would need to be just as careful now as once the looting and rioting began in full force. Karla "I speak to many, and there will be those that follow. Men and women both noteworthy and common..." Whether there was more for Terminus to say you would not know, for the dream ended and you awoke to the rising sun. While the past two weeks had been disruptive and difficult to survive in, with the death of many of the madmen from across the sea and the quieting of the heavens life began to return to normal in the plains. Hunting would still be difficult, but you had lived a long time in these plains and seen you share of famine and feast. Now that the world had not ended you could begin to survive again and make plans for the future. Sasha The last question is specifically supposed to be as the dream or vision fades, so you would need to put it at the very start of your post. I'll let you change your question if you like then respond. Moonrat When Moonrat asked Terminus that question, he felt an intense pressure and hatred. The hatred was not directed at him, the ratling could tell that much, but the sheer fervour of it made him tremble to his very core. When Terminus replied it was more of a hiss than a fading whisper; "I have cut the life from the gods with my own hands, and now mortals will take their fate into their own. Rule as a king, for if you don't another will..." You awoke in the dark as you normally did, and remembered what had happened. Looting and chaos had been rife, but that was the looting and chaos of scared and angry men and women. The families had kept their heads low for the guards, at least those that retained their wits and sense of duty, had been on the prowl and out for blood. The storms had caused considerable damage to the poor that had lived down the coast along the harbour, as well as putting many a ship even in harbour on the ocean floor. She-That-Hungers would be looking at opportunities for profit here, and as long as the guards either looked the other way or did not notice scavengers there was a chance for profit to be had. Under martial law however, you would need to be careful whether you assisted with them or followed your own agenda. Elias "It will make their bodies strong, and their hearts stronger, but warriors and champions often find little time for children and family..." Terminus' reply was cryptic in its meaning, but something about it bothered you as you awoke. You had much to do now that the storms and quakes had passed. There had been damage to the demesne, especially where people lived together and that damage had been as much from looters and rioters as from the raging heavens and trembling earth. Not only this, but now with their gods dead the people would need guidance and a new figure of authority to take their place. You had much work to do, and much of it could not be done alone. There was planning to be done and you would need to decide who you could trust in the days ahead. Dragomir "Remember that fate is not immutable, and that when men are pieces even the most sure predictions can go awry..." The question comes as the dream fades, so Dragomir asks this as he wakes up and not just immediately after. Although Lho-Rhydia had lacked the same fervour and grandeur as the capital, it was still a part of Tamora and thus the death of its gods and goddesses left an awful hole. Where once sure confidence in divine providence had given both divine aid and bolstered hearts and swordarms of its defenders even Dragomir knew that right now an ogre raid would strike them hard. Others would know this, and soon there would be a rush on provisions, armour, weapons and anything that might help them survive for a long time. If Dragomir wanted to get supplies, and leave, he had to make haste before there was nothing left to find and the guard shut the gates to keep order in the city. Many of the ships had fared poorly in the storms as well, so travel by sea was currently no longer an option. Not unless he found a particularly canny captain whose ship and crew had weathered the violent weather. John The presence of the dream fading even as John cried out, he heard the faint response come back. "Despite their claims, Dragons are fond of living and this one has little time left. Remember that it will trade much to stave off death..." The fifth bell rang out in the night. The bells had not been consistent during the storms in heaven, but it seemed now that things were quiet that some order could be re-established. Your shift would begin in three bells, and you knew it would tire you to the bone and be as dangerous as the last two weeks had been. The looting and rioting seemed to have died down, but you knew that this would mean that the families would begin to act soon. The mafias of criminals that worked in the shadows had wisely kept hidden while the world seemed to end, but now that things were starting to calm down and the remains of the guard would be busy trying to establish the old order again they would probably be able to act freely. Galain "A dragon fears death, for with the secrets to their creation currently lost they are a dying breed. They will lie, for they are creatures of deception..." But the last words were lost to Galain as he awoke. He readied himself for the morning and a servant came in and explained what they had learned. The raging heavens had finally gone quiet, and with the gods dead the now redundant priests sadly assured them that they would remain still. Rioting and looting had been difficult, but Galain had exerted more control and influence over his demesne than in many places. The damage and loss of life was not as severe, although the wounds to the people's hearts had been. You would need to decide what to do to prevent another wave of rioting and despair from starting, people would need a new leader and authority to follow. Viktor "Because I would see men guide their own fates, and you might be a figure that steers the course of history of those around you. I care not for what you do, as long as you..." But whatever it was specifically that Terminus wanted was lost to Viktor waking up. Haven's reach had suffered a lot from the raging river that ran through it, lives and a great deal of wealth had been lost when it had destroyed homes too close to the banks. Ships had been lost as well. But more than this, was the knowledge that the gods were dead. The town was not so far from the edge of the shadowy Mirewoods. The elves there had always been difficult and zealots, although their aggression had often been dealt with by Vandalorian armies and schemes. Who knew how they would react with the death of their gods? If it was anything like the rising disquiet and seeming surety of riots and looting that would come soon to Haven's Reach, Viktor could be sure that it would not bode well for anyone caught up in it.
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Jan 2, 2017 04:43
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Sasha "The Gilded Glade, in the bright elven woods. You may find it hard to gain entry..." Terminus seemed almost amused at the irreverent question, but only almost you felt. Regardless the dream faded and Sasha was back in the land of the waking. The most talked about topic in the islands controlled by the ogres was the fact that the Obsidian Lord's Scepter was powerless. This meant two things primarily; firstly and most importantly no more of the black glass could be shaped which meant no more black glass ships or housing. Secondly, as the scepter was the symbol of power and authority of the ogre clans, the head of the clans was no suddenly a lot less sure of his power and authority. Once divine mandate had determined the head of the clans, but now...who knew what would happen next. Sasha knew it would be ugly and violent if nothing else. John You were finishing up with the provisions, having had to use your authority as a member of the guard to force entry into some merchants. Fortunately you had come up with a cover story and by the time anyone questioned why one of the guard had been buying travelling supplies, you would be long gone. Despite your general ability to slip by without being noticed by people, it seemed that someone had noticed you. There was a voice from behind and slightly below that said; "Hey cobber, what's with the shopping trip? You got travel plans?" The voice belonged to a ratling, one that John had dealt with before. Whether or not he remembered the creature was a different matter but it seemed to recognise him. It had dark brown fur that made it easy to blend in with the morning haze and dim light, and its tail ended slightly too soon. No doubt it had been lost in a closing door or knife fight at one point. Overall the small creature came up to about the mid of John's chest and while nothing about it was outwardly disreputable, he could recognise that it was certainly up to no good. 12:47 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 8 = 2d6(3,1)+4 You can give some backstory if you want, otherwise I'll come up with stuff for the ratling and have your previous acquaintance be a once off event. Karla Food was neither plentiful nor sparse, Karla could eat her fill but would have little to pack away. If she ate lean today she could afford a bad hunt the following day however. Normally you would have more to rely on, but the last two weeks had taxed your ability to survive greatly, outside of your personal curse. 1:12 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 9 = 2d6(3,2)+4 Moonrat She-That-Hungers was aptly named, although her appetites naturally were for wealth and influence more than food and drink (although she was quite fond of both as well) so the opportunity for profit had her in a good mood. The ratlings had lost their world before, a number of times, so while the past two weeks had been rather...dramatic your people had bounced back very quickly. She acted surprised by your presence, but you knew that of course she would have been expecting you had she not been informed by several spies that you were coming. That she feigned to act surprised spoke well of her good mood, as long as it would last. "Ah, Pale-Shadow-In-Moonlight. It is good to see that you were not swept away in the storms." She chuckled at her own little joke. No doubt had you been lost you would have been replaced by one of the many clamouring for your position. "We were just discussing what we could do to make sure that we were in the best position to help those in need after the last two weeks." 1:17 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 14 = 2d6(6,4)+4 Elias There was a cost to such kindness, and while the flurry of activity did much to help the hearts of the people it had a much more deleterious affect on the heart of your coffers. The Ponsonby-Welm family was hardly going to go destitute, but such expenses would need to be recouped in time. For the foreseeable future Elias would find that family finances would be that much tighter. Elias gains the following Temporary traits: Lean Coffers: Ponsonby-Welm coffers are looking lean after the current expenses and will remain so until losses can be recouped or a long enough time passes that the cost can be written off. Patron of the People: The common folk and merchants will regard the family, and Elias as it's head, more fondly and will be willing to go out of their way for a request more than they normally would. 1:25 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 8 = 2d6(3,1)+4 Casey Unfortunately it seemed that while most of the faithful had fled, or chosen to forsake their once holy places in grief or denial that not all had. Almost too late Casey heard the footsteps on stone across the other hall of the main temple, echoing in the silence of the mid morning. There was no chance to hide the pile of wealth she had been accumulating. For a second you had hoped that the person had not noticed you, that your magic had held true. However a voice that held little kindness came out from the other side of the room and shattered that hope. "So, one of the vermin feeding off of the goddess's fading flames remains. What do you think you are doing?" You recognised the voice, your particular little magics had never worked very well on them. 1:31 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 5 = 2d6(2,1)+2 I'll give you a chance to decide who the voice is, but I can come up with something if you'd rather. Galain Your words struck a chord with those present, and while there were one or two of the particularly elderly and fresh faced priests that seemed discontent they had the wisdom to at least understand and accept their position. So it was that they returned to their shrines and temples with a new message. Where once they had preached of various moral lessons and divine teachings, now they extolled the virtues of human endeavour, human strength and human prosperity. The gods had perished and they had survived, and this had to count for something. For some it was easy to slide Galain in as a replacement figure of authority and guidance, but for others it was more a hope for a better future than current conviction. Galain gains the temporary trait: Paragon: With the loss of the gods, in the lands of Larburry you have not quite taken their place, but it seems that people are quick to rally around you as something more than just their duke. 1:39 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 16 = 2d6(6,6)+4 Dragomir Dragomir managed to source the supplies that he needed, it helped that he had learned the right people to ask favours of with the right payment in the past. But even with that goodwill, there was a definite cost to the supplies and things were looking more tight by the time you finished up your shopping. Finding the captain had almost seemed a lost endeavour until you had nosed around in the rougher parts of the docks and found one of the ship hands going to a medicus for bandages and rubbing alcohol. Following the woman back to the ship you found that they had been waiting off the coast for most of the sails, so as to avoid being pushed into rocks or being battered by the worst of the waves from the storms. It seemed that Captain Freidrich had not passed through the storms untouched himself, as he had a nasty looking bruise and there were people bailing water on the ship. However he assured you that while there was some damage, that it would not sink the ship and they were already in the process of tarring and sealing it up. They could head off the following day, but given that things were difficult right now they'd charge you extra for the journey. Dragomir looked at his coins. He could afford it...but there would not be much left afterwards. Purchasing passage with the captain on top of the supplies already purchased will give you the temporary trait: Poor Whether you follow through or not is your choice. 1:39 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 9 = 2d6(4,3)+2 2:01 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 12 = 2d6(5,5)+2
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Jan 3, 2017 04:06
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Karla Karla is travelling for a few days when ahead on the horizon she sees the smoke of a campfire, a sure sign that someone is making camp. John "Right. Makes sense, the last two weeks have been Bad." Mist-Tail said nodding its head and following after you as you were walking. "So, where are we headed?" It asked. Elias What you found gave you a pause for a moment, for the distance was quite a bit further than you had anticipated. It turned out that there had been a people to the north, the far north beyond the Mirewoods and Vandalor. Their cities and castles had fallen long ago, to some encroaching cold and dark. Supposedly they had delved too deeply into the darkness of mortal hearts, trying to harness it for the benefit of all, and this had called to their lands monsters and a devouring cold. The legends were no doubt fanciful, but there were mentions of places of contemplation where the deep wishes of people could be seen. These places were supposed to be places to learn to suppress and master such impulses. You had the location of one, but it was given directions in old roads and towns that had long since been ground to dust. There would be ways to find out more, but would require local knowledge and history. 1:14 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 12 = 2d6(5,5)+2 Elias is searching for the lost city of Day's Bell. Moonrat Your queen had remained mostly indifferent but curious as to your proposal until you mentioned bringing your rival, the assassin Fleeting-Whisper. Although it was only there for a moment, a flicker of nasty amusement crossed her face. Once you had finished speaking, she considered your proposal for a few seconds before speaking. Truly you knew she had already made up her mind. "Yes, it would certainly be prudent to see how the world at large is doing. It is fortunate for Us that you arrived to a similar decision after us, for there will be much to do in Lustrium and there will be few to spare. I think that we can spare one assassin on this journey however, and it would do Fleeting-Whisper much good to learn more of the world. We trust that you will also see to check in on our old adversaries and the stone eaters shall you. It would hardly do to leave their past kindnesses to our people unpaid after all." She gestured for one of her advisers to come over. "We will provision you will funds for a three moon journey, Pale-Shadow-in-Moonlight, after which you shall return and report back to us of what you have seen and of what use we can make of it." While you got what you had wanted, and funds, the time limit would make it difficult to do as she wished and to travel south to the keep that Terminus had mentioned. 1:15 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 9 = 2d6(4,3)+2 Casey Even when Petrus wore an ugly expression he was still pretty. It was unfair and made your blood boil, as he frowned...no, sneered at you. "Ah yes, the noble Casey in her quest to preserve our fallen Lady's beauty. Even though she herself saw fit to rob us of her memory. Very well, I will oversee you efforts to make sure that that which should be preserved will be kept in the hands of those of proper bearing to appreciate it. As a...reward for your diligence I will allow you to take some of the rest." He tossed his gorgeous locks haughtily as he waited for you to agree. 1:16 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 7 = 2d6(4,1)+2 Accept Petrus' deal and he will take the lion's share of the wealth, but still leave Casey with enough to furnish herself for the journey and pay her way as long as she is scrupulous. Viktor As you went to leave the east gate, one of the guards called out and the other moved to block the exit from the city. "HALT CITIZEN!" The lead said as you approached. The one at the back had a brutish appearance more in common with an ogre...or a particularly ugly hound, and the stench of alcohol permeated from him. Despite this his movements were steady enough. The leader of the pair was a cruel looking woman with reddish brown hair and greedy eyes. "You could not be thinking of leaving the city without making a donation to the restoration efforts would you?" She said with a nasty smile. Viktor knew for a fact there was no such collection and this was just a pathetic rouse for a bribe. "If you cannot remain to assist, surely you must feel some sort of community charity?" Sasha The 'rich' amongst the ogres in the community as it were, were busily gathering the poor and especially the strong to protect their property from the upcoming chaos. As such they were reluctant to leave and risk their wealth. As such the volunteers to Sasha's call came from those with something to gain, but enough to be able to contribute and seem appealing as well. Of course she had a handful of the poor and desperate, but they were either too weak to make a better living or lacked their own boats. Without a boat they would need to rely on the charity of others, and not many of Sasha's band had a boat large enough for more than one or two people. 1:17 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 9 = 2d6(1,4)+4 Dragomir The captain nodded, and seemed sympathetic to your needs, but supplies and provisions were more expensive now as you knew first hand. He had not extorted you nearly as much as he could have. "We leave tomorrow on the rising sun. I suggest you gather yourself and be at the docks before sundown friend lizardmen. It will not be safe to be seen about soon and I'd rather put some water between us and land before the people in the cities sort out a new pecking order."
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Jan 4, 2017 03:46
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John The ratling glided around another person in the morning and smiled at you. Or at least a human smile, you knew a real ratling smile was a little different and involved the tail. "Well you know with the continued savagery of the guard and mobs my position as an honest merchant becomes more difficult." It said and you knew merchant was code for it being one of your CI's. "Word is that She-That-Devours is waking up and anyone she doesn't like that is no longer protected in the new order may find themselves a head shorter one day." He said referring to the self appointed ratling queen, their internal politics were muddy and hard to follow. "Besides my good human friend John, you seemed very driven after having a particular shouting match with no one I hear. Or so I have heard your neighbors grumble over breakfast. And I have known you long enough to know you are not mad. So I am curious and want to see where you go."
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Jan 4, 2017 04:03
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Karla There was a lone lizardman at the fire, something of a rare sight in the wildlands. Despite your confidence that you had been quiet and passed without noticing, as you approached the ogre turned and scowled at you. "Why are you hiding, human? Do you approach my fire with dishonest intent?" There was a bow lying beside them, but Karla did not notice any other weapons on them. They wore leathers, and notably leathers that had been made from tanned hides of native beasts, along with their tent. It had its own unique features that differentiated it from the tribes that Karla was familiar with but it had the same basic style and make. Either the lizardman had purchased a very convincing disguise, or he was used to living in the wildlands on his own. 7:50 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 6 = 2d6(1,1)+4 John "I figured I'd check in and make sure you weren't dead. Then I'd really need to leave in a hurry. Your neighbours were busy grumbling about you waking them up." Mist-Tail said as you continued on. "You were the boss before, and you're still the boss now; nothing much different there." He added indifferently to your demand. It didn't seem to bother him, and ratlings were not normally in a position to order around anyone save for their own kind (or anyone foolish enough to have debts). It wasn't much a change of the status quo for Mist-Tail it seemed. Casey "Some of us have families that they stay with when it's dangerous." Petrus said, knowing exactly how much the comment would hurt you. He made a slight noise as he picked up one of the candlesticks. You knew he could have managed two if he'd really been bothered to exert himself. "I needed to help them get ready-" He said and then seeming to realise what he'd said, continued on a little too smoothly. "We will have to make sure we can help with the guard when things get rough in the next few days." Elias It turned out that there was a scholar who had been just a little too sympathetic to the elves to be popular in Vandalor, where only deep hatred was considered to be acceptable. The man, Jacque Kilneir, was a self proclaimed expert on the old peoples of the north. You found quickly that his expertise was not quite all that he advertised but the man did know some things about the people. As a bonus, he seemed interested in the idea of a journey north if one was to be arranged. So far he had made his living copying maps and texts, the latter of which was a dying business with the increasing popularity of the printing press. But if he could write a new book, and sell it...his interest in the journey was clear. 7:50 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 12 = 2d6(6,4)+2 Jacques is the best scholar about the north that you will be able to find, without travelling further north and searching again.
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Jan 4, 2017 11:45
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Elias Gathering together what you could assemble for trade goods, and that was made more difficult by the lower funds available. You found that you could not afford to provision as much and pay as many people as you wanted to. People were willing to work with the promise of pay at the end, but it meant that if things went badly you would have to liquidate some of your samples and trade goods to make up the cost. Once everything and everyone were on the ship you set off. Travelling down the river was not difficult, to be deep enough and wide enough for the barque meant that it was not suffering too badly from felled trees. Your travel for the next two days was quite relaxing. However one the morning of the third day you had a troubling report. On the horizon where the capital of Woldridge stood, Warchen, there was smoke rising up into the sky. 11:13 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 13 = 2d6(6,5)+2 I added the penalty from Lean Coffers onto this roll. Moonrat Fleeting-Whsiper had a sour expression on his face, but the shortness of his steps and the movements of his tails and whiskers gave away his displeasure with the situation; despite his attempts to hide it. His apprentice was a quiet woman who seemed to look and see a lot, yet rarely spoke. Good traits in an assassin, it seemed likely that Burrows-in-Starlight would be destined for more success and prestige than her teacher. A fact that you suspected was not lost on him. As you followed the river Fleeting-Whsiper seemed to grow less agitated. He sometimes had private whispered discussions with his apprentice and glanced at the other three guards travelling with you. As you approached the base of the mountains though he spoke. His demeanour gave away a kind of curious excitement, although he was calm when he spoke. "We have travelled south of Argeveld. Do you plan to visit the elves directly first? Is this why you requested the presence of an assassin?" Karla The lizardman looked at you and considered things for an uncomfortable amount of time. His eyes were a dark brown, almost black colour and unlike yours were a single great pool with no whites or iris. They contrasted against his ruddy green skin, which seemed almost weather worn and sun bleached. Although he was of a leaner frame than you and a bit shorter, he seemed no weaker. His wiry muscles were clearly well used. When you felt like maybe you should speak up again, he spoke once more. "You are far from your tribe, and your markings show you a hunter and warrior. The land has been quiet since the great storms, yet you move like a herd of hornbeats. If you would tell me your story then you may sit at my fire. Let us share our hunts and make peace as brother and sister under the sun and stars." Even as he invited you to the fire there was a wariness in him, his eyes were alert and tracked you carefully. Something about him promised equal capacity for violence as for friendship. John Your luck did betray you eventually, as you went to leave by the western gate and one of the guards spotted you. Somehow though the combination of new travelling clothes and John's natural lack of distinctive features meant that the guard, a man who John had worked with for years, was just a little too far away to pick up on who you were. When he asked where you were travelling, Mist-Tail stepped in and smoothly said you were trying to catch up with friends. Apparently satisfied by this, the guard mentioned that they had already left two bells ahead of you. You would have to hurry to catch up with the 6 ratlins walking ahead. The tone of voice the man used indicated he clearly suspected you of being thieves or members of one of the families, for it was not so unusual for one or two humans or lizardmen to be seen among a group of ratlings. But beyond this unspoken judgement he did not detain the pair of you any further. When you looked to Mist-Tail he winked. "I figured it likely that She-That-Devours would be moving already. Leave the west gate, enter the east, the two sets of guards won't check in with each other until you're long gone and hidden. One ratling looks as much as another to the big-folk." 11:13 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 12 = 2d6(5,5)+2 Dragomir Most people dismissed your questions straight away. They had more important issues to deal with than the inane questions of a childish lizardman. You did at one point manage to bother someone who seemed to have a passing interest in history. They mentioned that to the south there was according to legend a larger kingdom in the old times. Supposedly it was before the gods, and it used magic and forbidden arts to spread wide and powerful. It covered the lands of both Wolridge and Redivar, and one of the great cities had laid upon the lake. The city itself had been home to many wonders, but apparently had been razed in a great war between the alliance of dwarves and elves. If there was an element of truth to any of this, then a library could lie hidden. The man could tell you nothing more and had to return back to his manor. No one else that you spoke to had either any knowledge of such things or any interest in spending time on you. The shadows began to grow long as the sun hung low in the reddening sky. 11:13 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 8 = 2d6(5,3) Sasha Your journey to Tamora was quiet compared to the last two weeks. It seemed almost as if the world itself was resting after its great fury. Fishing was a little difficult the first few days, but after the third the fish seemed to regain their confidence and things began to spin into a normal journey again. Except for as you began to approach Tamora. You had not realised at first, but you had accidentally drawn closer to the peninsula than you had intended. Normally the far off sails of the Tamoran navy was a consistent marker that you were growing closer to the peninsula and needed to turn north or south. Now you could begin to see its hills on the horizon, and only a lonely pair of sails in its harbour. Something had happened to its great navy, either they had all travelled away or they had been wrecked by the storms. Wood was not as harder as the blackglass most ogre boats were fashioned from. 11:13 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 11 = 2d6(5,6) Galain At any other time your marshal would have scoffed at the mention of dragons. But considering the recent events and death of the gods, he was inclined to take your concerns very seriously after you had confirmed your intent to him. Although the marshal was efficient and had skilled and loyal scouts under him, it would take some time to travel to the furthest villages and confirm their stories. At the end of the week however he had collated all of the information given to him and requested an audience with you to discuss it. "All the scouts have returned sir, and I have reviewed their reports. During this time I spoke with the archivist and cross referenced a couple of documents myself. And well...what I have found is odd." Faston shifted his balance slightly uneasily. "There were records of six hundred years ago of engagements with several dragons. Apparently three, but they were by all means very difficult to kill. There are records of the killing of two of them, but the third one remained at large. Two centuries later and under the reign of the Grand Duke Hareldin, when Larburry was still part of the old country of Hareldin and before the unification, there were more recorded sightings and engagements. Then there was nothing. Additionally while some villages had reports of villagers claiming to have seen a dragon they were written off as fever dreams. In fact there are no further mentions of a dragon except on outlying settlements, which are all dismissed. Then after roughly another century there are no further mentions of a dragon. I have examined the areas bordered by this and if we assume the dragon is still lairing in the area, there would be an area covered which would feature three towns. Anterre, Tygen and Wainn." He showed you on a map, although of course you knew where they lay. The towns ran along the foothills of the Shadow Mountains that separated Vanadalor from the elves of the Mirewoods, and were all north and northwest of Larburry itself. "You mentioned there were sightings, yet none of my scouts heard any such tales from the people outside of the city. Is there...some kind of conspiracy afoot, sir?" 11:13 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 6 = 2d6(3,3) You have a curious area where the dragon definitely is not, although nothing more concrete than these three towns. Casey "Are you stupid?" Petrus said bluntly, looking at you with scorn and derision. drat he was even pretty even when he did such ugly things. "Clearly playing at a woman has left you without any wits at all. No. With the temples gone, the old order will crumble. There is going to be bloodshed you witch and at the end of it we intend to be in power. Good luck finding a boat, most of them were smashed to pieces in the storms. You'd be lucky to find one let alone one willing to take a witch like yourself." You were used to Petrus being snide and nasty to you from time to time, but apparently without the priests and watchful eyes of others he could be as ugly as he wanted. But worse than this, was the utter assurance in his voice. It made sense, his family were relatively influential and if there was going to be civil conflict, then they would want to prepare now before the streets began to run with blood. Victor The woman narrowed her eyes at you, and decided whether to trust you or not. But it seemed that she was a calculating, if petty, sort of person. Was a couple of coins now worth the risk of a bigger payoff later? Even if there was the chance of a lie, her greed won out. "Hmm, yes...it would be remiss of us to scare off valuable goods in our time of need. GEORGE, let the man pass. But take a good look at him so we can remember him when he comes back." Having the lumbering brute eye you beadily was less pleasant than the blackgard lady in the guard uniform. But they let you pass, and you were out of the city and free to continue on to your destination. 11:14 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 7 = 2d6(6,1) HiKaizer fucked around with this message at 03:53 on Jan 6, 2017 |
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Jan 6, 2017 02:34
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John Mist-Tail listened intently, and thought for a moment. "So. John-" He started. "-do you know anything about dragons? Because I don't, only that they haven't been seen for hundreds of years. And you've apparently got a moon, well, a little less now, before this one dies." Elias One of your advisers approached you as you drew closer to the city. You could see that there were intermittent fires, but it wasn't burning down in a great conflagration. It seemed likely to be some sort of civil disorder causing the damage, not an invading force or disaster. "Uh, your grace." The adviser said began politely. "Should we consider, seeing if our assistance is desired by the crown?" Moonrat Fleeting-Whisper smiled nastily. "I am being paid to see that this mission succeeds, and I was given strict instructions to end any sign of treachery or cowardice. Oh, now don't look at me like that, you know how it goes." He said in a very smug and falsely laconic manner. "But, there would hypothetically be time to travel some distance before we ran out of time and supplies. While I am sure there would be some...leniency were you shown to have acted in Her best interests please rest comforted in the knowledge that I will execute her will should I see that it is necessary." He paused again and his smile widened. "I will enjoy you scrambling about desperately trying to find your dream, before I put a knife through your ribs. So let us enjoy our journey and be merry until then, shall we?"
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Jan 6, 2017 05:32
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John You did not find anything of useful note. There were mentions and rumours of strange lights in the mountains, but they could have been dwarves more likely than dragons. The stories never happened in the same place. The only thing of use was that there was supposed to be an eccentric scholar investigating dragons and their history in the region. He lived in the town of Festrum another six days travel away from you. Mist-Tail commented that people with lots of money and strong interests tended to end up living near those interests. He might be a good person to check in with. 1:40 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 10 = 2d6(1,5)+4 Moonrat You traveled south along the mountains until you were travelling in the region between Lustrium, Marketh and Redivar. Remaining unseen was relatively easy for the large part, there were few travellers along the mountain roads in the wake of the storms and quakes of the recent times. With the aid of the Fleeting-Whisper and Burrows-In-Starlight it was easy to avoid their notice. But after 8 days of travel you came to a split in the road. One was a mountain path to west, into northern Redivar and one continued south along the base of the mountains. The mountain road would be tougher but quicker, especially if your goal was to head to Aubrecht before heading south. The southern route would be easier though, and with less risk of any landslides or fissures making your travel difficult. It would also add many days extra to your journey, especially if your goal was Aubrecht. 2:01 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 16 = 2d6(6,6)+4 Casey Petrus looked at you with displeasure, but there was a calculation that occured in his head and he seemed to change his mind. He shrugged, with only a slight indication it was forced. "As you wish. Good luck making it out of the city with all of that. Alive. People are going to want to loot what they can and that all puts a big target on you." He took some of the goods with him and called out for someone who was waiting outside to come in and help him. "Farewell Casey. I do not imagine we will ever see each other again. While I will not wish you good luck, you will need all you can." 2:14 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 14 = 2d6(6,6)+2 Petrus acquiesces to your offer and decides it is not worth trying to betray or assault you over anything. Dragomir You boarded the boat, and Captain Friedrich set off the next day. He was making a route around the southern coast, around the coast of Wolridge, down below Redivar and then into Marketh. On the fourth day as you pulled in to the port of Griesaze, west of Wolridge and on the mouth of the river Wolr, the Captain scowled as one of the deck hands came back from the port with a grim expression on his face. You could not hear the story from here, but it was not looking like good news. Elias Your advisor looked like they wanted to say something else, but seeing your mood they decided better than to do so. "Yes, your grace." They replied simply and hurriedly left. You watched the various fires and rioting mobs from the middle of the river. The west side of the city, the poorer side, seemed to be in better shape at first. But on second glance you realised that it had just already suffered a lot of damage. Presumably the commoners had fallen upon each other during the war of the gods. Once or twice people tried to hurl some kind of explosive at you, but they could not reach your vessel from the shore. 2:14 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 5 = 2d6(1,6)-2 Karla The ogre and lizardman looked at each other. During the story they had seemed to relax in one way, but were still wary. Given your curse you could hardly blame them. "We have not seen the people you speak of, although we have heard stories of them when we met other clans." The lizardman said. "You may call me Leng, and my companion here is Talia. She does not speak much, but she is a good listener." Leng said finally introducing the pair of them. Talia nodded in agreement. "We stayed with the Alora tribe when we came to these lands, Talia arriving two years before me. Once we had learned what we needed to know we parted ways. Both of us had grown tired of the ways of our peoples and cities, and wanted to live in touch with the world. There are fewer people these days who respect the ways of the natural world and of the old customs. I even heard before I left that in Tamora there is a machine that uses steam to move like an animal, that has the strength of ten horses." Talia spoke then, her voice lighter than you might have expected from her powerful body. "This Terminus is not a spirit I have heard of, but from what you have said, he does not sound like a spirit of good. I would be wary following his words. Such spirits have a way of tricking you with costs and curses you had not foreseen." Sasha You pulled into the harbour, and while the crews of the two ships watched you warily they did not act yet. Looking at the city proper, you could see that there were signs of conflict. Barricades and patrols marked the port. You wondered if the ships were there to keep you out, or people in the city in. As you pulled into the docks there was a young human man surrounded by a small retinue of guards. For a human he was exceptionally handsome, and he seemed to be deciding on something as you pulled in. Viktor You knew that the spirit was along the coast, and so you travelled east along the road. Eventually after several days of travel you reached the seaside town of Fisher's End. Called so because there were only small villages further north and they had few visitors at all. The town seemed to be in better shape than Haven's Reach after the storms, but there were a number of ruined houses closer to the shore and many, many ruined fishing boats. The mood in town was sombre, but people did not run you out or attempt to relieve you of your belongings at least.
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Jan 9, 2017 04:39
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John You pushed yourself and Mist-Tail to reach Festrum as quickly as possible. The ratling was nimbler on his feet than his seemingly sedentary previous profession might have suggested but as you made it to the town you knew that you had pushed him to exhaustion. When it came to yourself you were not faring that much better. For better or worse you would need to rest a full day or two in the town before you could continue. But fortunately meeting with the scholar was not something you would expect to be strenuous. 1:22 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 9 = 2d6(4,1)+4 John and Mist-Tail gain the temporary trait: Worn Out It will persist until you have had a full day of rest. Casey On the way to the docks you saw smoke rising from a building. It was near to your path and as you went by you recognised it; it belonged to an inventor who had been working on some kind of steam powered mechanical engine. The inventor, a reasonably kindly man if a bit naive and obsessed with his work had been the subject of harasssment and public outcry before the heavens had fallen...you could only imagine what might be happening at the moment. But you had nothing to make you stop and help. Unless Casey wanted to help out of an altruistic sense or if she had known the inventor no one would fault her for moving quickly past and on to the docks. Victor The problem with your disguise was you apparently were much better at the shawm than you had expected, or the townsfolk had even lower expectations than you had given them credit for. Your disguise was successful but you drew the attention of people who passed you a few coins here and there. Nothing too extravagant, times were hard for them it seemed, but more than you might have expected otherwise. 1:22 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 8 = 2d6(1,5)+2 Your disguise is successful but also memorable. Elias (Please do not make rolls for long term stuff, that stuff should be handled as it comes up. Making a roll to leave someone behind with instructions is fine, but not a 'I do x for y in an indeterminate amount of time'. If that makes sense. Otherwise just ask me and I will tell you if it would be an issue.) Thinking about the situation, Elias could see a couple of things. If you did not make a token effort to assist with the situation Warchen while you were there, then once the city restored order the lords of Wolridge would definitely think less of you. How much so would probably depend on some silver tongued diplomacy, but there were be some kind of fall out. You had made too much of a show to intimidate the rioting populace to have simply slipped past unnoticed. Travelling by sea, trading and returning would take you at least two weeks from Warchen. This did not include any extra time that would be needed to track down the ruins to the north and to investigate it. Which by land would no doubt add one or more weeks. If you wished to act, either to assist directly or indirectly with Woldridge, then you would need to send word back to Aubrecht or leave someone behind. Moonrat Burrows-in-Starlight was remarkably indifferent to your attempts. She was a professional, so she took a cursory interest in bribes. But you could tell that for the time being she either held loyalty to the queen, or felt that your position was too risky to back. Fortunately she was also professional enough not to mention these overtures to her master, but that was about the only positive thing to come out of that experience. You approached the south end of the mountains to the east of Redivar, which presented another choice. Travel east on a detour to Lybin, a lesser trade city of Marketh, or to continue around the base of the mountains and head west to the capital of Redivar, Redivan. 1:22 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 6 = 2d6(2,2)+2 Not good, but not a disaster. Just. Sasha The man looked at you, and frowned slightly. "No, I did not intend to leave. The gods are dead, and Tamora has long been a city of them. Now we must find a new order, and the people throw themselves into reckless chaos to do so." At first he had been perhaps slightly intimidated by your physical presence, but now wrapping himself up in speaking a bit he seemed to regain his nerve. "I am Petrus, of house Karm. I would seek to build this new order, with my family and our allies at the top. What is it that you seek, Sasha Snowdrake, humble Ogre?" 1:22 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 13 = 2d6(6,5)+2 Petrus is more positively disposed to you currently and likely to pay you more credit than a lot of humans and people in Tamora otherwise would. Karla Talia frowned slightly and glanced at Leng. He spoke. "Those directions sound like Terminus was speaking of Tamora. It has long been a land that revered the gods, but as their influence waxed and wane which gods it held up high changed. If there are likely to be forgotten temples, that is one of the places I would look. The safest path...if you wish to avoid the dangers of mortals, then you would do well to travel across the waves. If you wish to avoid the dangers of the wilds, then you should stick those roads made by the nations along the way. Whatever you choose, I would be wary of the cities for a time. The fall of the heavens is bound to cause chaos and confusion. The world has not ended and so people will regain control and order in time, but I fear it will not be a kindly order in some places." Leng and Talia spoke further, the former more of the latter, but much of their advice was practical and things you already knew. Avoid strangers until you knew whether they could be trusted not to immediately harm you and watch your coin purse as many in towns and cities did not respect other people's property. If Leng was to make the journey, he would travel near the roads but avoid other travellers when possible. But as the night drew on, you began to feel a slight tug of annoyance. You were not stupid, and you had looked after yourself and dealt with the Janites before now. As you thought these thoughts, you felt a well of that burning dark anger in you. It was not raging yet, but it was an unpleasant reminder of what could go wrong. Dragomir "A problem...aye, you could say that. Warchen is burning, and its people riot. I have no doubt that the lords will seize control again in time, but I had been counting on there being more supplies here than there are. It means that we currently do not have enough supplies to make the full journey. We'll be lucky to reach Yaevan with what we've got." Yaevan was another trade port that lay in the south of Wolridge. There would only be smaller fishing communities between here and there, and none would have a dock for the ship to anchor in. If Yaevan did not have any more provisions than Griesaze, then Friedrich would be stuck there for the immediate future.
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Jan 18, 2017 12:28
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Elias You found as you walked into the city that there were a few very large fires, that produced a lot of smoke, but that the city itself as a whole was not burning. There were bodies in the streets, mostly of the poor and the ragged, although the few dead guard or soldier lay around. You yourself did not recognise them at first, but they had been stripped and left naked in the streets and one of the guards recognised what had happened. Arriving at the town hall, that served as the main building for administration, it was guarded by the retinues of three families. Once your flag and authority were quickly recognised, you were swiftly allowed entrance to the building. Two ladies and three lords from the houses of Jernung, Gwaelin and Fardreck were seated around a table with reports and serious expressions on their faces. As you were announced, they turned to face you, a look of surprise on their faces. 1:00 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 14 = 2d6(5,5)+4 Although it has not come into play yet, you will have a positive modifier when dealing with the nobles here for coming to at least investigate, if not assist. Casey There were some people around yelling at the building, messages about how the blasphemy of steam had killed the gods. Most had fled once the building had seriously caught fire, and those left were standing back and apart. You could see a door open, darting inside would be easy. Judging by the shouting it seemed certain that the professor was still left inside. Sasha Petrus Karm seemed unsurprised and unphased by your demand for payment. "Not a world order, just one for Tamora. If you want a fight and conflict, then this is the place for you. Tamora was a land blessed by the gods, and the people here go mad without their guidance. I have work for you, easy enough if you just want guard duties and to intimidate crowds. Stories of ogre raiders are rife in our once fair city and you will strike fear into their hearts. Or if you would whet your appetite for combat, I would have bloodier jobs against those that would oppose me. Jobs that pay better as well. Do either of these interest you, Sasha Snowdrake?" The sounds of some rioting and pillars of smoke continued in the background. Galain Tygen lay the closest to Larburry, with Anterra and Wainn lying to the north west along the mountains. The travel was not difficult, a duke could afford a carriage and horses for his retinue of guards. Setting off in the next morning, you arrived late in the afternoon the next day amongst the rain. Seeing the arrival of his lord, the mayor of the town personally invited you to stay in his home. It was...modest, extremely so for a lord of your stature, but for mayor of a small mining town it definitely had luxury. One thing caught your attention though, as you walked through the house to the guest room you noticed an old suit of armour. Although well maintained it had gone dull with the passing of centuries. Its shield, the paint faint and chipped, held the crest of some house. The crest caught your attention for its depiction of a dragon rampant. Not an uncommon heraldic symbol but one that might hold more importance in your current search. John Mist-Tail spent the time you searched resting. Although he had been quick, he was smaller and unused to such long exertions; the rush had taken a greater toll on him than you. Finding the scholar was not hard, the noble had a modest (for even this backwater town) estate on the edge of town about a half hour's walk towards the mountains. He came into town periodically for supplies for expeditions, but most common was his single servant who did shopping for food and necessities. He often arrived on the third day of the week, which would be in two days, but you could probably seek an audience with the noble directly. The people of the town commented he had a madness for old stories and for maps of the mountains and region. His obsession with dragons was well known, but the people of the town snorted as you followed up on that and commented no dragons had been seen in centuries, since the last of the great dragon slayers' crusades. 1:00 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 9 = 2d6(1,4)+4 You find information Moonrat It took you another three days of travel to reach Lybin. Although the town had seen its fair share of chaos and disorder, after this long since the raging heavens people had begun to reinstate order. Despite being ratlings, the promise of spending coin would warm the disposition of many in the town; they could badly use the trade and patronage. You could go cheap, or try for somewhere a bit more classy if you wished. Even despite the eagerness for coin, prejudice would make getting rooms in the fanciest of the inns in town a difficult prospect. Supplies could be purchased from the market, marked up because of scarcity and opportunism. There were docks as well, and the possibility of purchasing passage on a boat if it was travelling where you wanted to go. Buying passage yourselves would be possible, but would use up a great deal of your allocated funds. Let me know if you want to try for something else, these aren't the only options and points of interest just the most immediate ones for travelers. Karla You travelled west, avoiding towns and living off the land. In time the weather got drier and colder, and mountains began to loom in the distance where the sun set. Then one morning you awoke suddenly to the sounds of horns. You had heard that hunting parties of people to the west sometimes used them, but it was too early for the lazy city dwellers to be moving around for such an activity. But they were not far, and there was a concern that if they were on horse-back then you would be hard pressed to escape them. Dragomir The captain agreed with your assessment. "Aye, but if only it was so easy. All but two of my passengers would likely agree, but they will demand that they get their due for their payment. If they eat their fill, others will demand to as well. I will not starve my crew to fill the belly of some greedy merchant." He said with a scowl, stamping his feet to accentuate the last point. 1:00 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 10 = 2d6(1,5)+4 The captain agrees with your suggestion, but two passengers will complicate the issue. Victor People talked about their troubles, and tried to drown them in ale. Their problems largely consisted of being unable to fish, and the harvest being in danger from the storms and trials of the death of the gods. One of them mentioned seeking out the aid of the strange witch up the coast, but he was quickly dismissed. The witch would just entrance him and eat him, he was a cunning creature and utterly without goodness or able to be trusted. The fisher quickly shut up but seemed unhappy with the general attitude. Other notable mentions included seeing some strange white ship off in the distance of the coast, dismissed as a drunken or delirious delusion, and the old monastery to the south. They did not get out much and no one had even seen the monks since the troubles in the heavens had begun.
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Jan 30, 2017 03:36
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Casey The people did not start to try and put out the fire, but some of them did stop shouting and moved away a bit. Casey barely registered this as she darted into the burning building. The room you ran into was a large warehouse, dominated by a giant metal machine. It had many tubes and strange parts sticking out, as well as several pipes. Rounding a corner to avoid flames you came across the figure of the professor, lying on the floor. Standing above him was a figure made entirely out of steam. It looked at you with, what you thought, might be an expression of curiosity. And then it spoke. Its voice was whispy and ethereal, but undeniable. "Who...are you? And why are you here?" 12:56 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 12 = 2d6(6,4)+2 Casey avoids getting burned! John Mist-Tail smoothed his fur a little bit and washed his face and feat, before coming with you. The journey out of town took you along a path which crossed a small stream and had numerous small shrubs. The house was not a manor in more than mere technicality, and there was only a single figure in the yard. A middle aged man starting to grey in his hair and beard, dressed in a simple but warm looking coat. As you approached he put down his gardening tool and stood up from what was revealed to be a small vegetable garden. He walked towards you and waved at you, indicating that he had seen you. Moonrat Starlight seemed to consider it, then mentally shrugged as her face changed imperceptibly. "I currently have no other tasks to attend to, and I will not be seen by these people again." She did not say that she would not be in this town again, but the comment was an acknowledgement of her skill and potential without any hubris. The man was surprisingly an ogre. A large ogre at that, although not in the traditional sense that ogres were usually large. He clearly lacked not for the fineries in life. Perhaps it was the difference in size, perhaps it was something more predatory in the man. Whatever it was however, there was an aura about him that seemed to be overwhelming. Starlight straightened slightly in response, surprising you that she both felt the same flash of intimidation as you and that she showed it. It was easier to overcome the sensation and ignore it once you began talking. "Yer a long ways from 'ome my little friends. A long ways from yer queen n' country too. What brings you all this way? 12:57 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 8 = 2d6(1,3)+4 Things have not gone badly but you do not have a strong starting position. This local crime baron is confident in his power and wants you to know that. Elias The lords and ladies were clearly unimpressed that you had waltzed in just to waltz out again so soon, but the fact that you had come to assist at all seemed to ameliorate that somewhat. Their response was swift and direct though, the dilemma apparently being one that had been discussed in great length. "The foolish commoners have burned several warehouses of grain and vegetables. Once we have forced them to regain their senses, they will find themselves hungry and faced with starvation. The great houses will be fed, but the poor may find the markets to costly for their needs." One man began coolly, before his point was continued by a lady. "This of course will only lead to more rioting and death. If you have surplus food from the harvest left, then we would purchase it. We are prepared to accept a certain markup, which will naturally be passed on to the peasantry in due time via taxes." The assembled figures nodded in grim satisfaction. "Otherwise lumber or stone would also be of use. By the time any detachments from Aubrecht can arrive we will have re-instituted the rule of law. It is what follows that we will need." 12:59 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 6 = 2d6(1,1)+4 Your previous success influenced this outcome, turning it from a failure to a slim success. Sasha Petrus considered your words for a moment. "It is best to leave one's enemies alive, so you can enjoy knowing they must live with their defeat. It enriches your own victory. A longer term contract would be more desirable for me, but no matter. If you decide later that you would care to negotiate for easier work then I am sure I will have use for competent soldiers." He said and looked at your ship. "If you require supplies, you will find that our stockpiles are one of the few places to purchase them from. Of course we can negotiate that into the contract. Since your time is limited, and you specialise in swift actions, I have one thing I would like you to do..." The young lord explained to you what it was. One of the houses in the city, the Whiteseers, held onto some old records that held both useful and embarrassing information for his house. He wanted you to break open their estate, and their vault, so that his soldiers could seize these records. Should you agree to the contract, there would be a fair rate of looting on your part included in the attack, with the rest of the wealth captured naturally belonging to Petrus. "I have often heard of some strange chamber, hidden deep below the estate and even under the vault. Rumors of dark practices to outlawed and even forgotten deities performed in that place. If it does exist, I would be curious to see it." Karla The beasts and their masters hunt for a man, but the way they hunted was clumsy and inefficient. You had often heard that the peoples of these lands sometimes hunted criminals for sport. Or at least men and women that they did not care for. Perhaps this was what was happening? Your anger stirred again, that lust for violence and vengeance on those that wronged you calling out to punish them. 1:02 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 8 = 2d6(3,1)+4 More lower rolls will cause you to succumb to the curse, but if choose to willingly succumb I will give you a Destiny Point for it. Escaping the situation or rolling higher will fight off the curse. Victor You traveled south in the morning, following directions given to you by more sober townsfolk. There was a reasonably well traversed path to the monastery and it was not hard to find, although it took you much of the day to travel there. When you arrived there was time left in the day, but the sky had begun to burn with the dying sun. The monastery was absolutely still and quiet. Something about the place made the hairs on the nape of your neck stand on end, and made you feel tense and apprehensive.
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Feb 3, 2017 03:53
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John The man seems to raise his eyebrows slightly in disguise, but nods and looks at the manor. After making a decision a few seconds later he turns back. "Of course, please follow me. I cannot say whether the Master will be in a mood to entertain but you have walked far to reach here and you can at least relax in the waiting room." He said and waited for you to approach and follow. The inside of the house felt...surprisingly empty even given how small it was although not for a lack of furnishing. While there was no dust on objects, it was clear that much of the house saw little use. The dining room that you passed on the way into the waiting room, and the waiting room itself both were clearly infrequently used. You were asked to wait patiently, although the manservant put a kettle of water on to heat before he left. Several minutes later, as the water was coming up to a boil he returned. "The master will be down shortly. I do apologise for not having any sweets or pastries, we do not often receive guests." Dragomir The captain blinked. "Of course. I'm not running a prison trawl here." He said with surprise that you felt the need to ask. "Mind you, some of them might not appreciate the intrusion into their 'valuable time'." The way in which this was said spoke volumes about his opinion of them. "None of the rooms can be locked but if they've gone and done something daft like barricade the door let me know and I'll fetch my first mate. Some fools try it, and it's liable to get them killed in a swell." Victor The door of the monastery was slightly ajar, so slipping inside of it was simple once you had pushed the gates open enough to pass through. The whole place seemed eerily still and silent, and you passed through rooms that had obviously been used until just a couple of days ago. There was a lot of chaos, which was probably due to despair over the war in the heavens, but otherwise it had seemed fine enough. A room or two further towards the back though and the the stench hit you. There was a dead body ahead, and given the intensity of the foul odour, you would hazard that there was more than just the one... Moonrat The ogre cocked his head to the side slightly and smiled. "Let me jus' say that tha' 'ead count is...greatly diminished. The past few weeks 'ave proven that the old fam'lies are unfit to rule an' so meself and a like minded cabal of equals 'ave decided to...redistribute power." He chuckled nastily and then his face almost contorted as it quickly turned grim and serious. Taking advantage of his great size he leaned in forwards, seeming to loom even more. "Now 'ere be what 'appens next. Yer pet 'ead taker is gonna keep her weapons an' paws to 'erself. Lest something...unfor'tunate 'appens to yer friends. Then ye will tell me what yer really doin' 'ere." Casey "I am new. The professor called me, and I came. Came into being, came here...it is confusing. You Move differently to me. He is injured, and his time will stop soon. Can you aid him?" The figure asked and looked around. "Soon it will be too hot for me to Move and I will have to return. It was quiet and dark and cold." There was a kind of duality where the figure seemed both child-like and alien, at the same time, which made it difficult to discern its intentions or motivations. Sasha "Good. While you and your crew finish boarding and whatever preparations you need, I will see that I can acquire a detachment of guards to assist you." Petrus said and, unless you had something further for him immediately, would move off to do just that. He seemed to take your intention to move on at face value, or wished to try and wring more jobs out of you perhaps. Elias The letter of authority would ensure that supplies and provisions would be released as swiftly as possible. There would naturally be logistics and other matters to work out but such things were ultimately beneath the attention of a ruler such as yourself. With the letters composed and signed the other nobles present seemed to relax a little. After a moment one of them asked; "So lord Autarch, where are you headed? Surely your people will need your guidance after the recent trouble in the heavens?" 9:33 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 12 = 2d6(2,6)+4 The lords of Warchen will remember your aid.
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Feb 6, 2017 12:22
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Elias The nobles seemed surprised by your choice in destination, but seemed content enough with your aid and did not inquire further. At least not directly, you had no doubt that their spies and servants would keep an eye on you for a while after your return. With that business concluded, for the time being there was little reason to remain in Warchen to keep up appearances and good will. Unless Elias had anything else in mind, he could begin sailing up the coast. Your next stop was Yaeven, the coastal port at the end of the river Wol and connected the city of Warchen to the ocean. Moonrat The ogre returned back to his seat, and the room seemed to breathe again, a little. "Well. Let me see...we dun need yer queen mind, we got th' entire south coast. But even so. There ain' no sense in cuttin' off entire like. Aye. We'll do business, but mind you we'll be askin' for a bigger cut than b'fore." But despite the supposed physical relaxing of the ogre, his face was still sharp and serious. "My patience runs thin, ratling. You ain't here for no court'sey call." Sasha It took a few bells to round up the guards and your crew, to get things ready and to move into position. The estate belonged to a family of richer and more influential patrons in the old regimes you were told, but such old affiliations and powers did not remain important in the post-divine era as young Petrus came to call it. It was once a beautiful white stone estate, with great gardens and ornate walls with brass gates. The stones and the garden were now scorched by fire, although the main estate remained fire. The gates had been knocked down, but a make-shift barricade had been erected immediately behind them. It would be enough to prevent rioters from penetrating the compound, but for your raiders you felt confident you could break through. The afternoon grew colder as the sun sunk into the sky colouring it red. Karla You were confused and in your rage, figures of people seemed to become like demons of Janite making. There was yelling and screaming, and blood. The coppery taste of blood filled the air and your throat, and eventually you came out of your rage to a scene of carnage. There were some fleeing horses in the distance, but many were lying on the ground in the area around you dead. Some had crushed their riders, others were some distance from what Karla would not know were the riders for the horses. It seemed at first that the party had thought they could fight you, before realising in horror what a monster you were as they had begun to be butchered. There's the sound of a young man breathing rapidly and panicked, coming from behind on of the horses. For all you know he might be the only survivor here. 1:35 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 17 = 2d6(6,5)+4+2 I wasn't sure exactly what you were rolling for here, but I took it the drawback and added it onto a roll to hunt the hunting party. Gain 1 Destiny Point[/b] John The lord Carwen Monterran was a man in his middle years, grey touching his brown hair. His eyes were somewhat sunken in shadows and his clothing had been smoothed but was clearly too stiff, as if it had hardly been worn. The scent of perfume was strong around him, indicating he had just put it on and his hair was damp and had obviously just been combed. To John's professional eye the man had clearly been absorbed in his books and needed sleep and food. "Greetings guests, Tomar tells me that you have traveled to consult me on the matter of dragons? It is a topic I hold no small passion for, but also one with a smaller interest among people these days." Dragomir "Leave me be." Comes the voice of an imperious woman from inside, muffled by the wooden door. "I have no time to deal with the mindless palaver of a witless reptile and I have paid the captain more than a handsome some to be conveyed." There was the sound of steps moving towards the door, but nothing else happened immediately afterwards. No one opened it to greet Dragomir.
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Feb 8, 2017 04:07
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John The face of the noble seemed to visibly illuminate and he grew energised, moving around with a kind of nervous energy. "Well yes of course. There have been numerous tales of dragon sightings and raids in this region for centuries. Even though the last known sighting was over 80 years ago I have been able to use the many stories and records to isolate the dragon to this region. I had been preparing a trip to go and locate its lair and see if there might be anything left of its horde. While I am sure that looters have picked what remains of it fairly clean, there may be certain artefacts that they did not realise the value of. Older accounts of it tell..." The scholar continued to talk about old facts and stories for a few minutes, and you realised something as he spoke. He seemed to be sure that the dragon was dead, and likely had been for some time. "...of course it is fortunate for our safety, if not for scientific and historic inquiry, that the dragon is dead. They were known to be dangerous creatures, possessed of the strength of many beasts, toxic breath, claws that could rend flesh like thin paper." Moonrat As you left the ogre's den, you noticed a few people conspicuously hanging around and looking at the goings on. While difficult tell whether they were possible allies or enemies, they seemed less interested in the pair of you and more with the ogre. He seemed to be an...unpopular figure, if the expressions they shared with each other were any indication. Later when Moonrat returned to his travelling companions he would find that they had not been detained, nor had they any indication they had been in danger. Fleeting Whisper seemed unsure whether to be amused or insulted by the notion that he would allow himself to be held hostage by such amateurs. It seemed the ogre had been bluffing outrageously. (This last note does not preclude you from doing anything before that; it is just a note for when you do meet up with the rest of the group) Elias The trip to Yaevan was to your own person, uneventful. For those around you it was, as was not infrequently the case, a more tiring and difficult affair. You could see towns and villages along the river banks along your journey. They seemed to lack the destructive chaos that had wracked the capital, but the small communities seemed to have suffered if the hard and tired expressions of people along the banks watching you pass were any indicator. After two days you arrived at the port of Yaevan. This would be the last major port until Lho-Rhydia so if you had any major business to conduct it would be best to do so. Otherwise your subordinates would conduct the work of stocking up on supplies for the journey. I am not sure what you were trying to achieve with the drawback specifically, so I ignored it and added it in as flavour. Casey "I require a vessel, a body that can contain me. The professor had found one before he fell. It is small but it will suffice." The steam figure gestured towards a teapot on the ground next to the professor. It was hot to the touch by now, but you could wrap a cloth around it and bear to touch it. Making your way out of the workshop was difficult but you managed to make it. By the time you made it out the door, you could hear the creak of falling timber as part of the burning ceiling collapsed in. A blast of heat blew past you that made Casey feel weak for a moment. But with some effort you dragged yourself and the professor over to a wall of a building nearby, but a distance from the inferno. 1:00 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 8 = 2d6(4,2)+2 Sasha The entrance to the estate was rapid and brutal. These human guards had never had to deal with anything more than an angry peasant or an annoying noble, and they were no match to the blitzkreig-like rush of Sasha and her soldiers. You breached into the main estate quickly and easily. There would be some resistance remaining, but probably not so much that the young human noble's guards could not handle. You yourself still had to locate the vault, and perhaps this undergound chamber...if such rumours held any real weight. 1:00 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 11 = 2d6(1,6)+4 Any further combat in this place you'll get a terror bonus to. Karla You caught a glimpse of the young man as he ducked around the dead horse. He was a gangly youth, late in his teens with the scrabbly whiskers of a young man beginning to grow out his face. The blonde haired figure was dressed in light riding leathers, but the one look you got of his eyes showed an intense and deep terror of you. If Karla had known more about the ways of the city-peoples, she might have recognised that the leathers and a coat of arms indicated him to be some kind of squire and minor attendant to a lord. Despite his evasion, it would be easy to corner him to press him for information, if Karla wished. The young man will avoid you where he can, but Karla is better at this than him so it is easy to pin him down if you want. Victor The next room held a dead body, a dozen in fact, as you had expected. Judging by the positions and lack of injuries, along with the cups next to each figure, they had apparently drunk a poison in a suicide pact. It was not the cleanest death, but there were worse ways to go you supposed. Then out of the corner of your eye you thought you spotted a light. No...not a light. A figure, of some kind of white-ish blue light perhaps? It had quickly moved out of sight into a room attached to this one. Dragomir The woman was less a merchant and more a noblewoman, gone to journey to the estate of another cousin to ride out the political turmoil that would envelop Tamora with the death of the gods. But in the edge, grudgingly she accepted your arguments that rationing was needed. She however would only acquiesce to this arrangement if she had slightly more, and the better pick of what food was available, than the other passengers (yourself definitely included). Despite the absurdity of this it seemed unlikely that she would be convinced further without some other means of persuasion, or by force if necessary. But it was also not something that could not be managed. The woman had accepted your arguments, she just needed to maintain her face and illusion of her own self-importance. Even if that difference was just a small token extra helping. 1:00 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 7 = 2d6(6,1)+0 The woman is mostly being difficult for the sake of being difficult now, but you were successful so she will accept the rationing as long as she gets a little bit extra than anyone else. By her reasoning she still paid more.
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Feb 22, 2017 03:35
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John The man seemed surprised at your suggestion, although pleasantly so. "There have not been...but maybe, what with the gods and all..." His sentences were in fragmented and disjointed. "Very well, I accept your generous offer although i must be honest that I have little to pay you with. My hopes are to recoup some of my lost wealth from the dragon's horde." This comment earned him a glance and a sigh from his servant. Apparently it was a long held fallacy or gamble. "You may call me Carwen, there is no need to use my full title if we are to be partners in this endeavour." He said jovially. Karla The boy needed no further command to flee, and he did so. Karla would never know, but his future would be no brighter for this massacre. There were costs to each deed a person did, even if they would never know the price that others paid. Largely from the contents of the dead riders and saddlebags there were multiple picnic sets, food that would soon perish if it had not already been ruined by blood and gore. There were some blankets and tables, as well as cushions and other things that Karla would have no use for. There were some restraints, as well as some spare clothes that were mostly blood soaked by the time she found them. Along with this were coins, which she would recognise even if she might not know the true value of them. They came in a variety of sizes, but most were either a ruddy yellow-gold or a brownish-copper hue. The carnage would draw predators in time, and flies were already beginning to set in. 1:06 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 13 = 2d6(5,6)+2 Casey Casey did not have anything that could dramatically affect the man's condition, but she could at least alleviate some pain and allow him to begin to wake. If he would die, or live, then it was already decided by chance. But he would at least survive a little longer if his demise was to be within the next day. He began to cough and wheeze weakly as he stirred into wakefulness and his breathing changed from the slow and steady rhythm of someone unconscious or asleep. 1:06 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 11 = 2d6(4,5)+2 Elias There was little market in Griesaze, people had no money to spend on luxuries or even more beyond the bare essentials. But they were happy enough to part with a few supplies, although your weakened finances from supporting Aubrecht meant they were too costly. You had enough to reach Lho-Rhydia, and prices would likely be better there. Your journey was less peaceful than river waters. Elias may or may not find that he did not have the stomach for an ocean journey, but even if he was otherwise fine the few nights of stormy weather would test the resilience of the whole crew. A number of your attendants and advisers that you had brought along were not bright eyed and sluggish to respond for a day or two. But that was the worst of your journey and you arrived at Lho-Rhydia in the morning of the last day of the second week. Rations would last a little longer, perhaps to Tamora if you rationed them carefully, but Elias's crew would need to restock if they were to enjoy the trip with the comfort they had been afforded so far. Lho-Ryhdia itself had the appearance of a town that had suffered similar difficulties to Worecht, but that had not spread as far or savagely. While there were burned down buildings, order had been restored and people were beginning to rebuild a sense of normality a month after the death of the gods. The world had not ended yet, and seemed to be content to continue on. It was a testament to human endurance, or to their ignorance... Moonrat Patience was needed, but not even a full hour after meeting you the ogre snuck out of the dive bar you had met him at. Clearly checking to see if he was being followed, he pulled over a large cloak and hood and moved among the back allies. You were able to follow him carefully, once or twice nearly losing sight but catching up soon after. He avoided crowded areas except for one part where he crossed a main street that bisected the town. He had travelled to another quarter, also filled with the poor but without the port commerce of the one you had been in. He knocked on the door of an otherwise un-noteworthy house and whispered something, his head pressed against the door. After a pause he was admitted inside. Moonrat dropped down after confirming no one was around and hid himself. Pressing himself up to a crack in a boarded up window you could hear the voice of the Ogre from inside. "I did what you asked. Now can I see him? If you have harmed in some way I swear to the burning mountain you won't walk away alive..." 1:06 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 11 = 2d6(2,5)+4 Sasha Your search was brutal and efficient, a few more stray guards met their end but while you did find wealth scattered around it was not until some time that you found the vault. There was a flooring with a spiral tile pattern that was a little too hollow. While there was probably a mechanism to open it, a secret switch of some kind, a few blows with a mace or blunt instrument and a short drop allowed easy ingress. The vault entrance was unsurprisingly still locked, and would take longer to enter being made out of steel and having some kind of locking mechanism. But there was a statue of a gargoyle nearby that bothered you. Going over to it and grimacing at the poor mockery of your people into this grotesque beast, you found by chance a switch that opened up a <i>second</i> door. Dank and musty air was sucked out for a moment, and it was dark shortly into the descent down following the stairs that had been revealed... 1:06 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 12 = 2d6(5,3)+4 Dragomir The captain seemed to be relieved by your offer and began working with his first mate to calculate the rationing. While the trip was indeed a lean affair, Dragomir noticed that there seemed to be a rotation with the crew to share a little bit of extra food with you. They split the load a little more so that no one had to go critically low on food through the trip. No one enjoyed it, and tempers were short and tight by the time you reached your destination. Yaevan was a welcome sight for the travellers. But for now Yaevan was your destinaton. You could move up stream to Leindor, the capital of Redovan, which you had worked out to be close or the closest settlement at least to where the library that Terminus had spoke of lay hidden. You would now need to work out how to get to there, or begin your search for the library here in Yaevan.
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Mar 3, 2017 04:29
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John The noble seemed a little taken aback. "I doubt that people wanting to make new kingdoms will have that much interest in the horde of a dead dragon. If they even believe it exists. Most people in the region think them ancient tales or myths. Few people indulge me, and you are the first in many years that has taken me seriously. We would do well to carefully prepare and set off when we are ready." It was clear that Carwen did not understand that the dragon was still alive. John had not specifically mentioned it and Carwen clearly had not spoken with Terminus, or at least about this matter... Casey The professor coughed again and slowly woke up. "That was...*cough*...my home. My work! All gone up in flames-" His sentence was cut of and punctuated by another coughing fit. From the teapot the voice of the steam creature spoke. "It is good to hear you are still Moving." Hearing it speak made the professor calmer. Elias There was surprisingly a large market for pieces to repair armour and for tools. It seemed that there was an increased interest in bodyguards. Rumours told that they had seen ogre raiders in the waters and coasts, that they would be looking for merchants to prey upon. Your seneschal came to query you on the matter of trading. It would be possible to recoup your losses and for the expedition at least, not have to worry about your financing. But this would involve selling much of your stock leaving you with little to trade further north. You can sell enough of your stock to continue on, or you can sell a large portion and have less to trade and barter with later but recoup your early costs. Victor You followed the light, moving through the door and around the corner. It lead you into a kitchen where for a moment you thought you had missed it. But after looking around for a moment the light revealed itself to be a ghostly figure, who stuck its head out of the fireplace. It looked exactly like one of the monks, a larger man who had girth as well as strength. At least for a monk at any rate. Once he realised you had seen him, he grimaced a little. "Uh, hello there..." He began uncertainly. Sasha You walked down the stairs, and the despite the torch it seemed to remain dark and cold. Whatever the equivalent for an ogre for the hairs on the nape of a human's neck standing on end was, Sasha and those with her definitely experienced that. After a minute or two of descent the stairs ended and you found a chamber. If the stairs ended at the south of the room, then to the north, east and west were doorways. The north, opposite to Sasha, had a large stone door with an ominous looking relief carved onto it. The east and west were open doorways to other rooms. Dirk muttered quietly to Sasha, the atmosphere seeming to affect him. "I don't like this captain. Something's wrong here about this place. I mean really Wrong." Moonrat You moved around the house and carefully looked for a way in. It wasn't spacious, or in some places even well built. But it was large and seemingly intended for many people to live in it. There was a window that wasn't properly boarded up with a gap in the wood. Too small of a gap for a human to ever fit through, except maybe for a child, but small enough for Moonrat. The only problem was that it was also high up, you could climb back up to it but you might need to find another exit. Climbing through you could hear the conversation continuing with the ogre and another figure. A woman was speaking with him. "...and I scared them off but molten hells, he had the quietest little girl with him and I could just tell she was one step away from killing me." "Well it is lucky that you are still alive then. You did want to be in charge didn't you?" "Not like this! Not with my son being held hostage to bleeding knife ears. You lot are the ones with the grudge against the little mice." "Careful Olek. The walls have ears and if you displease me too much you will find me just as deadly." There was a tense silence afterwards. You could feel the ogre's anger palpably even from the back of the house, several rooms away. 12:31 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 10 = 2d6(2,4)+4 Dragomir The captain had gone to one of the local watering holes, and was relaxing after such a tense journey and enjoying a meal with freshly cooked meat. He scratched his beard thoughtfully for a moment after your question. "Well as I see it you can either take a barge down the river, it's quicker but will cost you. Or you can talk the walk. It's a longer trip but you can probably find a cheap roof and meal where you need to along the way. Dunno about work. You're a little small of stature for most people to consider you for a ship hand...maybe you can find someone looking for something you know or can do." Friedrich shrugged a little. "I can put in a word for you in a place or two though. You did good by me in that last trip."
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Mar 6, 2017 03:22
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Elias Your seneschal and his subordinates followed your orders and traded out your stock. Based on their inquiries, some general knowledge and a few well placed coins they found out that spices and leather goods were often sure markets. Looking over the end results it seemed that while your men and women were not swindled, they probably could have gotten a better price in your estimates. Perhaps it was a factor of being in foreign markets and not being as familiar with it, or maybe there was something else going on. Karla The air grew colder as you travelled closer to the mountains. Karla was fine for a time, but as she climbed higher the air and weather grew colder and harsher. Coming from plains with largely temperate weather, she found her tent, bedding and clothing unsuitable for the task. While it would only take a day or two to get through the worst of it, a bad storm or snow could be potentially disastrous for her without better equipment. There were options, nature provided in many ways if one looked, and even when nature did not provide enough men and women were often clever. But each had their risks. There's a danger but I don't want to dictate how you proceed so I'm going to be pretty flexible about what you choose. If Karla tries to push on I'll roll to see what the weather is like. Sasha Looking in the left room you found...strange personal effects. Robes, masks, some scrolls and tomes in weird tongues you could neither read nor understand. There were some knives as well, savage and unpleasant looking knives. They were well cared for but you could tell they drank blood, there was a faint coppery scent around them.You found a sconce to hang a lantern in, but the room otherwise had no light sources lying in it. No candles, torches, empty lanterns. To the right you found a cage. You could smell the scent of blood and feces as you got into the room. It was old, you would guess that the chamber had not seen much use in the weeks since the death of the gods. But you could see manacles and some implements hanging on a rack that had...unspeakable uses. Paired with the other room you got a fairly stark idea of what was going on in this place. The only thing left was to try the middle door. Sasha placed her hands on it to open. The relief seemed to move under her fingers for a moment, but as you looked to confirm this weird suspicion it seemed still. Placing it down to the nerves of Dirk and the boys you steeled your nerves and opened the door...and opened into a chamber much, much larger than that which you had entered from. It seemed to be a natural cavern with a huge crevice in the middle that lead down into an abyss... ...propping itself up from the abyss and chained in silver manacles with blasphemous (even to you) symbols and wards inscribed on them, and the standing stones around it, was some kind of monstrous creature of sinew, blood, flesh and bone. As you pushed through the door its head turned to you and its eyes, deep pools of inky darkness even in the torchlight locked on to you. 12:47 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 12 = 2d6(6,4)+2 Sasha managed to fight off something, which she does not realise yet. Moonrat The house was surprisingly well kept inside despite the dilapidated appearance externally. The floors were cleaned and the interior was well kept and repaired. There were some places, like the kitchen and storage room that were not as well maintained on their exterior facing rooms. The bedroom however was much better kept. Nothing in the house in the four rooms you had seen so far was fancy or a sign of wealth in any sense, everything was purely practical and nice but otherwise belonging in a commoner's home. Although you could not say the same about the distressed and gagged ogre child in the store room. He was bound with strong looking ropes and his face was tear stained. Judging by the smell he had not had a choice on where to relieve himself, possibly due to fear and anxiety... But the conversation was clearly stalling. Despite his bluster, Olek was plainly deathly afraid of the person he was talking to and they would be bound to leave their room soon. You did not have long to act and anything except for escape would place you in danger. 12:48 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 9 = 2d6(1,6)+2 John Carwen seemed to believe you, but he just did not share your sense of urgency. "I do understand your concerns, and I share them. But there are other things to account for as well. If we are caught in some kind of storm or there is an accident we need to be properly prepared and equipped." He explained in counter to your point. "If we keep from the main roads to the dwarven lands then we should be able to avoid most bandits. Fortunately, I think I have an idea of the area the lair is likely to be in and it is off the beaten path so to speak. Another reason we should be properly prepared first." You got the impression that Carwen probably had moved his timetable forwards thanks to your arguments, and he would definitely be leaving before the end of the month, but his concerns were also founded on decent worries about safety and travelling far from a nearby town potentially. 1:16 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 6 = 2d6(1,5) I rolled for the argument since you had not used any traits for it. Casey "I...yes, but what do I do about Clarice?" He asked of you, and after a moment of profound confusion pointed to your teapot. Apparently the steam spirit had been named Clarice by him. "If people hear of her then they will come after me as some kind of witch. Either I must part with her, or I must leave here and travel elsewhere..." He thought to himself. "Where were you thinking of travelling young man?" He asked you, misgendering Casey as he remember she had mentioned she was travelling somewhere. You were unsure if he was just woozy and doubting his sight, or if it was a deliberate transgression of some sort. Victor The monk's ghost seemed to pause for a moment, then broke into wailing lamentation. "We are beyond help! The gods are dead and we are trapped here between life and dead! What can you do? I bet you were just coming to try and loot this place. We knew it would only be a matter of time. This godless land was always full of heathens! And now it is truly godless!" Towards the end the despair seemed to break into a spiteful resentment. The glowing figure gesticulated viciously as it punctuated his last point. Dragomir "There's all sorts of traders and travelers in the markets. Do you have any particular knowledge of animals, trading or...I guess any songs or stories that might be of interest to folks? Might be some folk looking for a guide or an entertainer, they're likely to be paid a little more than a simple hand helping load and unload." The captain said thoughtfully. Just trying to get a better idea of what Dragomir is looking for.
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Mar 8, 2017 04:53
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Elias The other thing that your people find out as they return from their shore leave, is that the capital of Tamora seems to be undergoing some kind of intense political struggle. It was a city ruled by its faith in the gods, and now with the gods dead it seems that men and women of ambition are seeking to carve a new empire for themselves. By all accounts it makes the chaos you saw in Wolrecht seem like a playground squabble. Casey The professor was beginning to fade a little. He squinted as he concentrated though and said; "There is the isle of Aslein, to the west. Much further beyond that are the...ogre islands, but the burning mountain makes the air toxic to breath. I think unless you mysterious guide said anything about the mountain...it would be around Aslein somewhere. They get...raids sometimes but it is...a less devout place than Tamora. I have a cousin who...lives there..." He was beginning to fade a bit, the stress of everything that had happened was starting to catch up and your magical energy that you gave him was being used up faster while he was awake. Moonrat The child looked at you with wide eyes for a moment, fear and also hope mixed into his young tear streaked face. After a moment he nodded slowly. Sasha The monstrous figure shuddered, and the runes began to glow ominously. Slowly and definitely in a manner that looked painful the form shrank, rearranged itself and changed colour. Even strange clothing, a part of its body formed in the process. Accompanying each the most dramatic changes was an expression of pain and an intensifying of the glow eminating from the runes and gems. Once the process was finished, the creature looked in a way similar to an idealised and powerful looking ogre. But there were flaws and defects that marred the beauty and perfection of it in troubling and unnatural ways. The sound of one of your men dropping a torch came from behind, the light from it changing and casting eerie shadows across the room.  It had clambered up to the edge of the pit and pulled itself out. The chains had resized to match its new form, and its position stretched the manacles and chains binding it from the far side of the pit to the limit. When it spoke its voice was softer and richer than you had expected from its previous form. "I felt my mistress's demise. In truth I should be dead and gone as well, as her servant my life is bound to hers. But these bonds-" It said, pulling at its chains; "-keep me bound and alive as they pervert my form and purpose. Even though their magic fades, the dread master empowering them dead and cast as ash, the mortal rituals that created and strengthened them means that they persist." It sighed mournfully and sensing a pause you turned to glance at Dirk and the others. They had their heads in their hands and you thought you could see a trickle of blood running from them.. "Still, after years of suffering the indignities of those that bound me here it is welcoming to speak with one who does not yet wish to turn me to some foul purpose. Fortunate still is that you seem strong of will enough to withstand the dread glamour these wicked bindings have spun around me." 12:32 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 6 = 2d6(4,2) 12:33 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 7 = 2d6(2,1)+4 You did very well on the last roll so even though this was not so good it got modified by that. As a result Sasha is doing fine for the time being, but Dirk and the others are not so much... Karla Finding a town was not hard, people always settled around water and where there was either food or stone to be found. There was to the south a smaller river that ran off of mountain flow, Karla could see the smoke rising from the buildings even at this distance. Travelling there on foot took most of the day though, and you entered the mining village very late in the day. There were people moving around coming home from a day of labour, and they stared at the strange barbarian woman walking into their town. None of them had ever seen anyone like Karla before. The beast within you felt contemptuous of them and wanted to snarl and cow them, but it was sated from its recent bloodlust and you were able to quell it easily for now. If you are going to pay for anything let me know what coins Karla uses; bronze, silver or gold. I don't know how much she knows about actual coinage.
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Mar 9, 2017 03:26
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Moonrat You snuck up on the elven woman, silently and without her noticing. Moonrat would have been able to get a terrible wound in as well, had it not been for the surprised expression of Olek which caused the woman to turn at the last moment. Your blade sunk in, but it was just a deep wound in the side. The pain would slow her slightly, but the woman could still fight. As you and the elven woman began to circle carefully, the small ogre ran out from behind you. "Papa!" He cried as he reached Olek, who grabbed him and ran without waiting or saying another word. There was an expression of confusion and gratitude on his face in the split second you could afford to see of it. "I thought I smelled a rat." The woman said, coughing slightly. "Like flies to a honeyed pot. You have already caused the death of the gods, and we must cull you before you cause even greater ruin." 4:56 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 9 = 2d6(4,3)+2 I cannot remember if Moonrat's knife was poisoned or not. John Carwen seemed to freeze, John could see the realisation travel from his ears and reach his mind. "Alive? That changes everything!" He said and rushed upstairs, yelling as he did; "Wait right there!" His manservant sighed a long suffering sigh, but despite his disappointment in the nobles lack of refinement there seemed to be genuine affection. When Carwen returned he had a sizable tome, newly bound and he placed it down on the table. Once it was opened John and Mist-Tail could see it was full to bursting with hand written notes. Carwen flicked through many pages until he reached a section. "Okay, so here are the basic things you need to know. Dragons were highly intelligent living weapons created by a process called Alchemy a long time ago. The exact dating is disputed, but they are a creation of the Old World before the Gods came. They do not breathe fire as is commonly said, but what I deduce is a highly corrosive acid, although they can also breathe a potent poison as well. Because of their alchemical origins, their bodies are full of powerful agents that will enhance the flesh and constitution. This is actually why they first came to be hunted. There are many records of kings and their knights slaying and partaking of the bodies of fallen dragons to gain power. It is believed that the blood and especially the heart contain the most power, although the gods forbid consuming either and made it a sin and taboo; I do not know why, all I have are records of the church hunting down and publicly executing people who did so as heretics and witches." He looked up at you John. "It is said that a dragon that eats the heart of a living and thinking creature can prolong their life as well, and that doing so grants them terrible and evil power. So if one of us falls, and it consumes our hearts, then it may endanger people around here. But if what you say is true, then it is also nearly dead. Even though dragons are mighty, they are also mortal and it must surely be weak this close to death. As long as we are prepared to slay it, and you take my mirrored shield to protect you from its acid breath then we should be fine. There are records of herbal remedies to cure its poison if consumed within a day. I have some ready, we must just cover our mouths and noses to try and avoid breathing in as much as we can." Partway through the discussion Carwen seemed to have turned to the assumption that John would be the one to fight the dragon, if need be. Given the state of Carwen, his manservant and Mist-Tail you were forced to conclude out of the group you were the only one really suitable to do so. Dragomir] There was not anything in particular that was particularly well suited for Dragomir, but you managed to find a small caravan of people returning to Leindor. They had no particular need of any one service, but thanks to your referral and your broad and unexpected knowledge of assorted things Dragomir was able to convince them to take them with him. You would have to pay for your own meals, but they would provide you with shelter and transportation along the way in return for your various minor skills and knowledge. I didn't really have anything in particular and your skill set isn't focused, so I went with this. It's not my strongest thread but it will suffice. Casey You were able to help walk the professor down to the docks, but he was pretty worn out and very to return to rest. You found a place to sit him down safely, a kindly dockhand who agreed to watch him while you searched for a boat. Karla People pointed you towards the shop, which had writing you could not recognise marking it as such. There were a collection of items in the window, many things you did not know the purpose of but there appeared to be oil and salt around some of them. You wondered if the cans might contain some kind of food in them. You pushed open the door and walked inside. There was a woman who seemed to be in the process of closing the store as you understood such things. She looked up and noticed you, but paused for a few seconds before asking; "May I help you?" Elias You set out again, travelling on the sea to the north. For Elias the journey was unpleasant, and it was even longer than the journey to Lho-Rhydia. Along the way there were three tense occasions when you saw ogre vessels on the horizon, but you were able to somehow outrun them. Some of the sailors wondered why they had no chased you, they believed that with a larger vessel like yours the raiders should have been able to catch you. But you made the trip to Vandalor successfully, and came into the docks. There was a docks district lower down along the coast, with a small gap between it and the city of Vandalor proper. They still retained a castle at the centre of their city, which your guide informed you was due to a history of infighting amongst the duchies when the people of Vandlor were not crusading against the elves. You now needed to decide how to proceed. Your destination was still further north, but your sailors did not know how to sail in the cold waters of the north where ice flowed. Elias could feel the colder climbs of the north even here in Vandalor. You were assured it would only grow colder the further north you travelled. Preparations would need to be made. Sasha The creature looked sad. "I would very much like to be free, to fade away with some vestige of my beauty left. But I must warn you, while you could easy break and disrupt my fetters in doing so you may cause the seal to...it is hard to explain. If you do it know that I may be compelled to try and harm you." It waited for a moment, looking you up and down. "You do appear sturdier than most, but even so there would be considerable risk..."
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Mar 13, 2017 08:11
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Elias There were some protests that Lho-Ryhdia had been gouging them and that such supplies were not easily acquired in its temperate climate. Your poor mood and unpleasant feeling did a great deal to convince them of the futility of such lines of argument and they quickly fled to do your bidding. Jacque Kilneir remarked to you that you would find better quality goods in Vandalor for your travel, and began to explain some of the dangers of the journey. There was a trail of towns and villages you would follow north, and you would need to pace the group carefully. Elias had seen some chilly times in the mountains of Aubrecht but Jacque assured you that it would be pleasant compared to the frozen lands of the north. 1:13 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 10 = 2d6(3,3)+4 Elias gains the bonus Cold Weather Preparations which you can invoke when travelling north. Moonrat "I would not know of my daughter, your kind stole her soul for your filthy hordes as she was born. Stillborn was she and a symptom of the plagues to come should you find succor and sanctuary elsewhere." The elf said grimly and you both began your deadly dance. She was good, very good, but Moonrat was no slouch himself. You felt that the assassins in your group would be more than a match for her, but you could see that against a larger person she would be a terrible warrior. The battle did not last for long, but felt like hours. After a few short minutes you had begun to knick and cut at the elf, and if it went on further she would begin to weaken. You knew it and by the look in her eyes, she knew it as well. With a disgusted expression she moved backwards and traced an elven rune in the air before you could stop her. She seemed to vanish into a mist and flew out of the window, fleeing the fight and leaving you on your own. 1:13 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 9 = 2d6(2,3)+4 You win the combat but not decisively, your prey escapes. Karla The woman eyed you a little warily and curiously for a moment, but seemed to decide that you were just out of your element and her expression and mannerisms softened. She explained what you would need and explained how much it would cost you. There were some extra items that you had missed, but you had expected that as much and she explained that to you. The total cost of the items would take many of the silver and copper coins, or one of the gold coins and only a few of the others. Casey There was a boat travelling to the west, to where you needed to go. But you were truly not favoured by the gods, dead as they might be. The boat was owned by the Leriman family, one that had never been particularly kindly disposed to your particular plight. The younger members had been a difficult trial to endure, and you knew that purchasing passage on the boat would cost you dearly. They were traditionalists at heart, even for a conservative culture such as Tamora was. The professor would also prove costly to transport...unless Casey decided to simply leave him to fend for himself. It would prove the easier option for her in the long run, but it would also probably leave him homeless if he did not die. I rolled to see how lucky you would be as you did not specify any traits to search for the ship. Unfortunately you rolled poorly... John Carwen looked a little pained. "We will need a full day to prepare everything. Tomorrow is too soon, but we can leave on the morrow after. I understand the urgency that you feel but it will not do to die on the way. In the end there was not much more you could do to convince Carwen, he had only one servant and you and Mist-Tail were still tired and worn out. After a day of rest and light work with helping pack and prepare you felt better. Towards the end Carwen brought in the mirrored shield he had purchased. As an actual defensive implement it was terribly impractical. The silvered surface would lose its protection soon and it was just a metal plated wooden shield. But it did give you a chance to hold and get an idea of its weight. The next morning you were ready to head off. In return for needing to wait one more day you rest up enough to get rid of your condition. Of course if you push yourselves again like that you will end up exhausted again which may be unwise when facing a dragon. Victor Another spirit popped out of the floor, a large and fat man. Victor stepped backwards in surprise for a moment. "Offer to help? How? We are spirits trapped between life and death! Your lie is as transparent as I am now! You just came here to loot the monastery now that we and the gods are dead. Don't pretend to be offended, you never had any intention of helping us. As if you ever could." You could return to the bedroom and try to backtrack through there, but currently the other exit, the one in front of you, was blocked by this spirit. They did not seem to have a physical presence but who knew what walking through one would do? Sasha "I will not linger long, I am very weak and I should have disappeared the moment my patron was slain. I was a servant of Tymar, god of beauty and art. They were depicted in both masculine and feminine forms, as well as neither, for beauty is subjective and ephemeral. That too is why I do not wish to linger. It is sad that my patron is slain, but beauty is truly beautiful because it does not last." The creature said sadly, while looking up to the heavens as it spoke. The sadness and regret in its voice were plain to hear. It looked back at Sasha seriously. "I may try to curse you, to inflict physical harm, to kill or to maim you. I would advise you avoid contact with me if possible, I know that those that bound me had planned to gain some power from me and I do not know exactly what form that power will take. When the bindings twist me, my consciousness is not my own." Dragomir You found enough tasks to keep yourself occupied and to keep your new bosses happy. Part of your tasks were practical things, others were questions about Lho-Rhydia, Tamora and the happenings you had heard of in your travels. You travelled in a caravan of a couple of carts, taking goods from the docks towards the capital. It was slower than travelling by boat, but the lack of rocking motions from the waves took a while to get used to. The first night you stayed at a farm, who rented out rooms to travellers to help make up for when the harvest was bad. You had an hour or two to yourself if you wanted to ask any questions about the area but it was also a country farm near a small village so there was not much chance of people knowing anything of ancient ruins. HiKaizer fucked around with this message at 03:33 on Mar 21, 2017 |
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Mar 20, 2017 04:09
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John You traveled and searched based on Carwen's years of study. In the first week you traveled to the west, took rest and questioned some people in a small town to the west along the base of the mountains. What seemed like incidental points at first, you slowly came to see as small pieces of a very large jigsaw. You traveled again, into the second week searching along the mountains. You found two large caves that seemed to be old lairs, moving away from the growing influence of civilisation. Although you were making progress, John began to grow irritable and anxious as you entered the third week. Then on the third day, you found it. There was a cave that lead into a sheltered crevasse. In the cave there was a large hole, the size of an inn, with a sheer drop no person could hope to make. All of this was hidden deeper into the mountains. Finding it was not impossible, but it was difficult and away from towns. You found a few scales that had been scraped off its hide as it moved through. They were old, faded and brittle. But they were there. Carwen signaled for you to retreat to plan. Does John retreat to plan, or charge in? Karla There was a look on the shopkeeper's, confusion and suspicion as you handed her the gold coin. But after frowning for a moment she accepted it and gave you directions to the inn. Karla noticed that her mannerisms had changed, she was less warm and open. The inn was called the Snowy Mole, it was not a particularly grand inn by any metric but it was probably the best you could expect in a country town like this. The inn keeper was a robust man with muddy mutton chops and nursing a mug that he was polishing. The inn was set up for the miners finishing their shifts to come in to drink soon, but Karla probably did not recognise the signs. He looked up and his expression changed to surprise as he saw you. Casey The discussion was unpleasant. There was the expected jabs, the jeering and the insults. In the face of everything happening it was difficult to keep your composure. Yet Casey knew one thing, and that was that these men were ultimately more interested in getting paid. The trip would be bad, you would be stowing away in the worst conditions essentially with the most meager of meals, but it was a way out of the city. 1:23 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 8 = 2d6(3,3)+2 You can take the trip but you will gain the drawback Fatigued from the awful journey. Victor There were more ghosts popping up yelling at you, as you yelled back. Eventually it became to much to bear and Victor furiously brushed his way through the door the fat monk was standing in. But stepping through the ghost had a weird and disorienting side effect. As you properly stepped into the ghost and took up the space he floated in, the ghost was sucked into you through your eyes, your nose, your mouth and it felt like the very pores on your skin. You experienced as if they were your own, the last hours of the monk's life. The despair and confusion he felt as the foundation of the world he lived in, both philosophically and seemingly literally were falling apart around him. Then the dreadful despair and the pact, the poison. It was not a clean death. Monks did not keep quick and efficient poisons. Your last moments were praying to your dead god to still the agony and despair... Then Victor came back to himself. The ghost was gone and he felt a strange power and tingling sensation within him. Looking around you could see the other ghosts recoil from you. One whispered a single word. "Necromancer..." Moon Rat Olek seemed to have known what you had said, but having someone tell him that made him blanch a bit. He looked grim and said "Not 'ere. Follow me." The man seemed to be properly afraid of you, having at least been equal to the elf that made his life hell. He took you back to a similar area to where the the bar had been and Moon Rat assumed that the house they ended up in was Olek's. It seemed scaled up for a man of the ogre's stature. (I am not translating this entire except sorry, but assume he speaks in the established accent) "The elf arrived half a year ago. She was not welcomed by the group your lot controlled, but there was another group and she was good at what she did. For the next few months she just did what she was asked and made friends. Too quickly if you ask me. Might be some kind of elf magic. Then when the gods started dying up in their heavens, she got a bunch of people to start attacking your lot. There was a brutal war, but eventually she did something...poisoned most of you I think somehow. Dunno how she managed that. Your folks are a canny lot. There was fighting and killing but...well now there was more of us than you. She spent the next week hunting down the remaining folk. They got dumped in a quarry out of town, I can tell you where if you need. As for me. Well I am a bit too big and stupid to really be much use in dealing with your kind, but I can be very scary to taller folks. Shadow's Grace, is what she called herself, took my kid and made me a deal. She put me in as the head of her new group now that her competition was gone, and I was there to make people think I was in charge. I knew she just wanted to use me as bait for assassins or clever folks, but she had my kid and I couldn't say no. So I did what she said, and she told me if any of you ever turned up I had to make you as angry as possible without getting myself killed. Then I needed to let her know what I had done. I dunno what her goal was but it seems like you go the better of her there. You ain't dead at least. I don't know of any keep or anything, but there are a bunch of old places in Redivar. They say that the old people used to live their, and if you go looking you can find relics of the past even now. I heard stories of some old raider from when my grandpappy was a kid. Said he got too good at killing and stealing and got tired. He left the isles and settled down somewhere. He would be dead by now, but maybe he left something behind?" Elias You set travel north. The first week of travel was not too difficult as there were major roads you could follow. But on the second week the roads grew less traveled and harder to make swift progress. On the third week you were pushing forward past the boundaries of Vandalor into the cold lands. Elias found making camp a difficult and unpleasant experience. The mornings were cold and bitter, and even though he had the best blankets and furs that money could afford him to keep it warm the frost seemed to make its way into his tent and into his bones. It was a relief when you made it to Lemant, a town on the edges of mapped regions of the north of Vandalor. Jacque mentioned that it would be best to stop here and stock up on provisions and supplies, while finding out all you could. Searching further north would get very cold and snow would begin to last for many more months at this time of year. Without a direction and goal to search in you would find it a death sentence. Elias found himself grateful to have an excuse to stay in a place with a warm fire and cooked meat and vegetables, even if it was a peasant's inn such as there was. 1:23 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 7 = 2d6(2,3)+2 The weather so far is not too bad for human conditions, but Elias is definitely feeling it very keenly due to being frail. It is only going to get worse. Sasha You began the work and it was simple enough. Smashing the stones with your club seemed to be sufficient, based on the screams of the creature and less reassuringly, the screams of your men as well. The creature thrashed around and changed, its fleshing spasming and warping in unnatural and unsettling manners. It attacked you with tentacles, clawed limbs, and other warping appendages. Sasha beat them all off as she moved around the pit, breaking the seal. It looked like she would make it without any harm... Then unexpectedly as you broke the final seal, for you thought you had gotten through the trial, a barbed tail stabbed into your forehead. But it did not cause physical harm, instead something hurt your being...or your soul, if Sasha believed in such a thing. It was a metaphysical harm, you could feel like something had latched onto you. A curse you suspected. But you did not know yet what it would entail. You looked up and saw the hovering ogre-figure again. The strange and difficult to trace disfigured features were gone, leaving only the true beauty that had been promised before. It smiled to you sadly, as it began to fade away. Its final words were a simple; "thank you..." before it unraveled itself into silken muscle and marbled bones. Then after a second those two were gone. Dirk and your men suddenly retched, but after a moment seemed to collect themselves. 1:23 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 10 = 2d6(4,2)+4 Close to making it through unharmed! Unfortunately as discussed Sasha is now Cursed which will relate to anything that she holds. I will describe its exact nature when it comes up. Dragomir There were some minor curiousities for Dragomir, but nothing that would warrant separating himself from the caravan he had attached himself to. Such was the situation along the way to the capital, minor sites that were fascinating but not actually of real import. Dragomir would have loved to spend time visiting and learning, but he had a goal and a budget. You found yourself in Redivar after three nights and early on the next day. The city lay upon the lake Teowan, and was quite splendid compared to Rho-Lydia. The caravan bid you farewell as they traveled on to their destination in the city leaving Dragomir to figure out where to go next. You found quickly that there was a district that while not formally for visitors, had services and hostels suitable for travelers of differing wealth. There was a royal library, which retained its titled after Redivar had become a merchant republic, but you had to purchase access and Dragomir did not have the connections or wealth currently to buy access to it. There were some public forums, which is where people went to discuss and meet, and there were also people who would be interested in ancient ruins and studies as well. One of those places would be Dragomir's best bet.
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Mar 27, 2017 04:22
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Karla The inn keeper nodded, gave you a key and told you the room number. If Karla wanted food and drink then she could pay him a small number of copper coins for that, but that would not make a large impact on the coins she had remaining. Choosing to eat you sat to the side as people began to fill into the inn and began the evening's drinking and relaxing. Many of them gave you looks, some suspicious, but mostly curious and and dismissive. They saw only a barbarian woman far from home and out of her element. Your room was not luxurious or comfortable, and for Carla used to sleepy on her roll and blankets the bed was lumpy and unpleasant. Eventually she settled to sleep on the floor with the blankets to keep her warm through the night. In the morning the inn keeper largely ignored you and you made your way out of the inn. If you wished Karla could leave town and move on, no-one would stop or question her. Otherwise it was still early and if Karla wanted to speak with or see anyone, then she would need to pass time. Moonrat Olek listened to you speak, with a conflicted expression on his face. While he did not want to argue too much with someone sparing him, it seemed clear that Olek did not consider himself as free from guilt or responsibility as you telling him. He seemed to be about to say something but then his son tugged on his sleeve and said something in ogre. Olek squatted next to his son and they had a small exchange, and he patted him on the shoulder affectionately at the end before turning to Moonrat and saying; "Well, lil' Garik felt like remindin' me tha' I 'ave a debt t'you an' I need to repay it. So we will see ye t'Redivar. I know some folks an' th'area o' these parts so that will help ye' if ye'll still have us. An' maybe an Ogre will help ye when y'find this old fella and place yer lookin' fer." Olek and his son Garik will accompany you, and will also be willing to help out in case their assistance will help you in your quest. Elias The village was rife with old stories and myths of the old people to the north. Many of them were tales of their blasphemy and crimes against the gods, but there were some of practical use. There were directions to the ruins of Day's Bell, although it took a while to confirm it as the same name. The locals called it Deyn's Fall instead, but Javier confirmed it was a linguistic shift from the old tongue of the region. There was also, it seemed, some kind of a cult. One of their number made contact with Elias and for the promise of some trifling coin had a story for you (and Javier to translate) of something else. They had legends of the waters that would grant you sight into the hearts of men, but they also knew of a ritual to twist that power into a way to take power from the darkness of others. Weak rulers had used that power and let their people fall into ruin, with monsters hunting the humans who did not flee. But surely a lord as clever and wise as Elias would be able to avoid such tragedy... 12:35 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 10 = 2d6(5,1)+4 You gain directions to the ruins of Day's Bell and a hint into something darker. John The fight was vicious and difficult. John had fought in dim lighting before, or the dark for short periods, but the dragon was at home in the dark in a way that John would never be. But it was slow and clumsy from its fading strength in the face of death, and it made enough noise and movement for John to react to where it was. The shield came in use, as several times the creature tried to breathe acid over you, but it seemed like it never used the poison that Carwen had mentioned. Eventually though the creature tired, and it slowed. But not before it got a nasty gouge on your chest, but even with your own injury you kept your strength better than the dying dragon. The end came quickly after that, although it took you another few slow and deliberate blows to actually finally fell the huge beast. As it took its final breaths, you thought you could feel the dragon look at you. It whispered one final thing to John. "Remember me...human. Remeber...Aud....do..." And then it died. You could feel it grow still, and Mist Tail, Carwen and his manservant rushed in with a torch. In the light John could see the skin of the dragon seeming to burn or evaporate away into the very air. But John had a single goal in mind and had already began carving into the great creature. Cut into its chest and found its heart, larger than your fist and slowly stopping beating. It was a strange thing, for the blood within its chambers seemed to glow with some kind of strange energy. By the time Carwen had found you and begun to warn you, John had already finished biting deep into it. There was an awful and strange acrid taste to the heart, but even from a single mouthful John could feel the sheer power flowing through him from what he was chewing on in his mouth. John gorged himself greedily on it and felt strong, energetic, alive. As you fed and then as you marveled at the power the heart had given you, Carwen and his manservant had cut away a portion of meat and with a grimace begun eating themselves. Mist Tail had supped on blood dripping from a severed artery. For the afternoon you all marveled at the amazing sense of vitality the dragon's essence had given you, with John and Mist Tail lifting rocks with a bit of difficulty that would have been almost impossible before. Carwen and his servant seemed to be growing a bit younger by the hour. You made camp to get ready to head back the next morning, and as the sun faded away each of you began to feel weary. For John though his sleep was difficult and disturbed. You began to feel hot and to sweat, and it felt like you were being bound and constricted by the clothes and blankets around you. As the night drifted on you grew fevered, and your consciousness passed through weird lucid perceptions of reality, and strange dreams and memories not your own. They were fragmented and hard to catch, but you could sense a familiar presence outside of the tank that you floated in. The tank that kept you warm and nourished. People talked about problems that you did not understand, but you knew that he was taking care of you. Then you were flying high above the landscape and you were free, before suddenly falling. You fell so far and you feared the crash would be the end of you. John awoke to the concerned expression of Carwen looking over you. You were under a blanket and on a bedroll, but you could feel the cold ground slightly warmed by your body on your arms, legs and feet. It seemed that the bedroll was too small for you now, which was odd, as it had been fine for you before...Carwen looked to be in his late twenties though and called over Mist Tail and his manservant, saying that "He's awake now, I think." Mist Tail looked very different, as if someone had taken a ratling and made them twice as tall, four times as heavy with muscle and mass, and made them look like some kind of man-rat-beast. His voice was deeper and hoarser as he asked hesistantly; "John, how do you feel? Are you okay? Are you still in there?" His question didn't make much sense, until you pushed away the blankets and saw the legs and lower part of the torso they had covered. Your skin was thick and leathery, a darkish green-black hue. Your fingers and feet were now clawed and ending in sharp talons, and even more surprising as you moved was the powerful and lithe tail that was...yes...definitely attached to your rear. Your chest was lithe and you could easily see the abdominal muscles rippling as you moved. There was still that terrible gash, and you could see your strange new copperish blood had scabbed over the wounds, now weeping slightly as you moved. Feeling your face the general structure was the same, but you could feel your jaws were stronger and your mouth was filled with sharper teeth. There was also the start of stubbly horns and ridges on the back of your head, but your hair and scraggly beard growth helped cover some of the weirdest changes. John was definitely one and a half, maybe nearing two feet taller, and he was about three times as thicker in mass and muscle than he had been. Your clothes had been removed at some point, although it seemed that people had balked at removing your undergarments. They had not fared well from the new size and growth of your body though. Despite all these changes, John felt incredible. There was a sense of raw strength and vitality that you had never dreamed anyone could possibly feel. It made that initial rush seem like a pale copy. You knew your injury hurt, but you were still drunk on the sensation for now and could ignore it. You realised Carwen was asking if you were okay now...and if you were still you. 1:39 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 10 = 2d6(1,5)+4 You gain the Divine Aspect Dragonforce which comes with: Dragon's Strength and Dragon's Endurance as its attributes. They are aimed towards raw physical power, and vitality and endurance respectively. You also gain the mortal trait Prehensile Tail, and the drawback Dragonborn. Unfortunately the battle has also left John Injured, and it is still a serious injury that will take a while or some serious magic to heal. Casey The trip was awful and exhausting. While you managed to get blankets and a cot for the professor, Casey was frequently sleeping standing up or sitting, or going without rest. The hold would have been cold and even more miserable had it not been for the steam spirit, who was able to keep the area warm (albeit humid) when the sailors weren't watching. All in all the journey took you 3 nights and you were no better for the journey, but the professor at least was slowly recovering despite being very weak. He told you of how his engine accidentally created, or attracted from somewhere, the spirit in the kettle. It resembled the descriptions of the nature of elementals recorded in ancient texts but he had not ever heard of a steam spirit. From what you gathered from the journey and what the spirit told you (when Casey could decipher it) the spirit did not strictly need its vessel to be hot or full of water to survive comfortably. It just needed a vessel to rest in that could create steam normally. It was capable of moving around outside of it and was not bound to the kettle, it just was a place for it to rest and to transport it. The spirit was averse to the cold or dry areas though, but there was enough water where you were in the ship for it to be able to heat the area like an evaporator until it needed to rest. On the fourth day in the afternoon, you made landfall. The town of Lyron's Courage was colloquially known as the Cove, for it was sheltered in a natural cove and was the place on the island less likely to be raided by ogres. Gain the Fatigued temporary drawback. Once you have had a chance to rest and recover you can remove it. Sasha Although Dirk and his companion were subdued and shaken by the experience, they did seem to recover from the experience in the cave after a while once leaving the dungeon. Your attempts at cheering them up and keeping a brave face in front of the crew seemed to pay off a bit though, although those who had not gone down to the dungeon were still in fine spirits after a successful raid. Down in the dungeon there was nothing that felt worth taking, the implements were monstrous and for dark purposes, and the robes and cots were basic and worth nothing to anyone else but their owners. The vault above however contained a lot of art and wealth, and it was upon picking up a fine statuette that Sasha discovered exactly what the nature of her curse was. Upon pick up the statue the colour seemed to fade, the carving seemed to become cruder and more ugly, and the gold turned to old copper. What was once a beautiful piece of art was now almost a crude mockery, an ugly mirror of something beautiful. One of you crew, a strong woman whistled and commented; "We knew ye weren't one much for art boss, but I think that's taking it a little far. Leave the lifting to us."
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Mar 31, 2017 03:45
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John It was harder to read Mist Tail physically than before, but you did have years of reading ratling body language and when it came down to it the changed Mist Tail was just a bigger and meaner ratling. From his reaction you realised that he was not experiencing the same high of power you were. It seemed likely that he was definitely feeling stronger and tougher, but it didn't seem to affect him the same way it did you. "What is that I am choosing John? What is it you really want? I came here because the old order in Lustrium was going to purge anything and anyone against it. The Queen is...she is mad John, but she is also clever and cunning. She did not make her kingdom under your city without being capable of ruling it. But now we're here, and I am different, and you are different...take the burning hells, John! You look like a monster. We both do. I have known you for years and now it feels like I don't. What is the world that you want? Am I trading one made ruler for another? Things are changing and suddenly I do not know what I am doing, John, and I am scared. Where do we fit into your grand vision? Three homes we have lost in the past. What will you do for us?" The ratling had always hid in the shadows in broad daylight, someone so normal and part of the world people overlooked him. And now he was extraordinary, changed, perhaps a monster. But despite all this you could see Mist Tail was looking for something, he wanted an assurance you were not some new mad monster, and he wanted to know what you would do for the ratling people. 1:25 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 9 = 2d6(2,3)+4 Mist Tail is receptive but needs assurance from you about certain things. It would certainly be feasible to force him into submission, but you have a potential for John to earn his loyalty if he promises the right things as well. Elias The ritual was painfully obvious and dramatic. You had to taint the waters with some of your blood, to mix the gift in with your blood itself. The cultist admitted that the gift could work on the virtue in people as well, but why would you bother? People were weak and sinful creatures after all, few people could really be considered truly virtuous unless it benefited them in some way. Jarvier seemed more than passingly curious about the affair, but he was also healthily skeptical about the promises of the cult. Elias decided it would be wise to keep an eye on him when they got to the ruins to see what he would attempt to do. But based on the utter conviction you saw in the cultist, and the certainty she said as she responded to your and Jarvier's probes you realised that either she had to be telling the truth, or there was a conspiracy and lies so deep that it would be difficult to maintain that lie in such a place with the same people surrounding it for so long. However as you were plunged into the cold again, and your frustrating and pitiful weakness made it even worse to deal with...perhaps for a moment Elias entertained the notion of the dark promises of the cult. 1:26 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 11 = 2d6(4,3)+4 Elias rolled well and got some good insights into the cult, the stories and also Jarvier. Dragomir It took a few forums to find one discussing the ancient history of the region, but eventually you found one. There was a group of men and dwarves discussing different theories about the people of the area. One side proposed that they had a powerful magic that allowed them to create wonders that were difficult to control, while another said it was just science that they did not yet understand. They cited various digs and stories about the ancient people. One large area of discussion were dragons and other weapons of war, and their fight against the old gods who eventually defeated them and brought about the Age of Enlightenment. 1:26 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 9 = 2d6(1,6)+2 You found somewhere with people interested in the same things as you at least. Moonrat You found out that it seemed that Garik had reminded Olek that they owed you a debt, and that ogre heroes of legend always made sure to pay their debts and follow those they had a life bond with. While Olek himself had a much more pragmatic and cynical outlook on life, due to his profession, it seemed Garik had at least in part been sheltered from all of this. The kid was still outrageously naive, but Fleeting Whisper just mentioned that such ideas were things lost in valuable life experiences. Burrows-In-Starlight for her part continued to rebuff your advances, until you got a little too forward one night and you found yourself at a knife point. "Careful, you have already defied the Queen's will and now you try to win me over to your cause? Do you think me an idiot? Why would I ever consider siding with you against Her when you have nothing to offer me. We are tools in Her employ, and a tool that thinks too much for itself is not a useful tool. Enjoy your time remaining, once your time runs short and this charade ends I will be there to kill you. Then maybe the little ogre boy will learn a valuable life lesson. Cheer up, your death will have at least some use." It was made very clear that further attempts would just 'accidentally' lead to your demise, and Burrows-In-Starlight seemed to be closed off to you. Or at least for now. Fleeting Whisper openly grinned at you for the few days after that encounter... 1:26 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 2 = 2d6(1,3)-2 Gain a Destiny Point and the temporary trait Traitorous reputation, which will affect attempts to deal with other ratlings. At least until you can offer them some concrete proof or assurance of why they should side with you over the Queen. Sasha Things seemed to have finished up, Petrus had come in personally now to finish organising the looting and dealing with the now furious and terrified owners of the estate. The negotiations took a while and while they did you and your men hauled up, with aid from the guards not keeping upstairs locked down, the valuables from the vault. Once he was finished the young nobleman came over to you. "So, I hear you found the old dungeon. And apparently something happened to you. What did you find?" He asked with a carefully calculated amount of curiosity. Not too much to be grossly eager, but enough to indicate there had been quite a lot of gossip and rumors about the dungeon. He gestured to people to start hauling their plunder and to move back to his estate. "Of course, if your mercenaries feel it is beneath them to help carry all of this to our estate, I would be happy to give you a little extra pay for them to keep an eye on my guards and to ensure the plunderers do not become the plundered." Petrus added gesturing for you to walk with him back to his estate. His statement indicated no judgement, leaving it to Sasha and her men and women to decide what they would rather do. Karla You left the town without incident and better prepared. While the creatures and the plants of the mountains and the highlands around them were different to the plains you had grown up on, Karla was able to discern the poisonous and dangerous plants and hunt enough to keep herself fed. It would have taken time to become a master hunter in these lands, but she was skilled enough to get by and, she reckoned, put almost any local to shame. The mountains grew very cold at the highest points, colder than Karla had ever really know it could be. But she had the gear to survive, and you only stayed a night and the surrounding dusk and dawn at the highest point. The next few days of travel were clear of travellers and easy, and the mountains had a tranquillity all of their own. That peace was shattered on the fifth day, as you heard the sounds of a scuffle up ahead. Sneaking forward to see what was happening, Karla found that there was a small group of bandits preying on some travellers. The dark beast within you cried for their blood, but you had time to take a wide berth and leave the travellers to their fate. Karla knew from sad experience that they would probably wind up dead. If not at the blade or arrow of one of the bandits, then later when they starved to death or died of exposure. But you were not responsible for their safety and well being either. Karla's choice however would probably decide their fate, one way or another.
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Apr 3, 2017 11:17
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John Although you felt that you were doing the right things, saying mostly the right things, Mist Tail just sighed. "John this is all...a lot. Give me a few days to think about things okay? You should think as well. It is all good to talk big but what are we going to do? It is just the two of us, and yeah I'm big and strong, but if someone shoots me with a musket I'm going to just die. People in power aren't just strong. Get some rest, and be careful. Your wound is pretty nasty and we don't know if you have super healing or anything. Just take it easy." The fact that Mist Tail used 'we' instead of 'I' or 'You' was a good sign that the changed ratling seemed to be at least predisposed to following you. But John could tell at this point that more pressure would push the ratling too far. Over the next few days you found a few things. Firstly that the wound was very sore and uncomfortable, and while it hindered your movement a little to not open it up, you did not seem to be in any real danger just from it. A wound like that on a normal person would have been extremely serious. You also did not need to sleep that much. In fact you spent most of the first night awake until you gave up. Staying awake for a long time gave you a long time to think about things, but was a weird thing. So far it seemed that you needed a regular person's worth of sleep over about 4 nights, which you could split up or just sleep in one go as you needed. Furthermore you did not need to eat every day but delaying it made you feel ravenous. Your preferences in diet also seemed to have shifted towards carnivorous, and rarer than before. John was not just eating wild game fresh like an animal, but it seemed that you had picked up at least some of the dietary habits of a dragon. On the seventh day, you returned towards the mining town. Your supplies were running low and you would need to stock up. John and Mist Tail needed to decide if they were going to walk straight into the town as freakish looking monsters, or use Carwen and his servant to purchase things for them. There was also the matter of clothes, as while John strictly did not feel the elements keenly like a human would, clothes were a status symbol and he was used to wearing them. Even if he could go mostly naked (it would be advisable to retain your dignity at least) it felt weird to do so. 12:59 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 11 = 2d6(5,4)+2 Mist Tail is thinking things over, but seems generally predisposed. I moved things forward to give John a bit of a context to work with his new changes. Moonrat You continued your journey to Redivar, travelling through and over the mountains. Unlike humans, ratling fur gave them natural insulation and the ogres seemed to be less phased by the cold weather than you had thought they would be originally. Thanks to the presence of a large ogre in the group you were left largely alone on the road. What you quickly realised is that absurdly, Fleeting Whisper had a soft spot for children. It seemed an utterly strange quirk for an assassin to have but regardless he seemed to be content to dote a little on the boy. This did have two benefits for Moonrat specifically. Firstly it kept Gerik occupied and out of your face, and secondly, it kept Fleeting Whisper similarly occupied. Burrows-In-Starlight on the surface seemed to be ignoring you, but you knew that she was still watching you. After a week of travel you made it to Redivar proper, which left you with the decision of whether to drop of Olek and Gerik in Redivar and continue on, or to take them with you. They were not exactly stealthy, but it seemed that Fleeting Whisper at least had taken to Gerik and you could probably make some useful use of them. Karla You quelled the beast and leapt into action. The bandits were caught off foot for a moment, but reacted surprisingly quickly to an angry barbarian woman attacking them. They were however opportunists at heart and not skilled at actually fighting on an even footing against someone they could not intimidate. As such they were on the back foot after a minute and by the time you had killed one of them, the rest were fleeing. Karla had to choose whether to follow them or not. They would possibly be back with more later to try and get revenge, you had heard that bandits tended to be petty and vengeful to those they felt had crossed them. 1:00 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 9 = 2d6(2,3)+4 You beat them and killed one, but there are three that got away. Dragomir There was a small discussion about your question, but one of participants stepped forwards. He was a tall man with neat hair tied back behind his neck, well dressed but without much jewelry. You noticed two of the other speakers, a man and a woman, looking a little annoyed at him for some reason. "Ah, welcome stranger. It is always a pleasure to meet a fellow interested in the pursuit of ancient knowledge. Redivar is know for its many ruins, although most of them have been well investigated and their contents catalogued by now. Do you know what tome you are looking for, or which library it belonged to?" Sasha You thought the young man seemed slightly disappointed, although you could not quite tell if this was disappointment of the contents of the dungeon or disappointment you had dealt with it. He had asked you to look into it though so what else did he expect to happen? It was fleeting only for a second and he continued the conversation. "We did have many holy healers and priests capable of exorcism...however with the death of the gods they are now powerless and unable to to assist you. I hear that the elves have older magicks, ones not derived directly from the powers of the gods. I do not know how much credence to give such tales but traditional methods will not avail you here." Elias Jarvier seemed to realise what you were doing, but did not raise a fuss about it. He still had a healthy pragmatism towards the rumours, and while he was curious he seemed to have no personal desire to test them himself. Which made you wonder exactly what his end goal was. He seemed curious about the rumours, but was also unwilling to put himself at risk...you would need to watch him to see if he pulled something funny along the way. Yet in the end he did not. Your company moved out and continued to the north to the city of Day's Break. The ruins of it at least. It took you a week of travel to arrive, but you found the outskirts of the city on the morning of the eighth day. The weather was affecting Elias particularly poorly, it was harder to breathe and to move about freely. It was like a cold winter's day in Aubrecht but many times worse. At some points you needed your staff to physically assist you which was a frustrating and humiliating occurrence. Now that you had arrived, you just needed to find the pool that Terminus had spoken of. The ruins were quite large, but you could intuit that it would be in a central location of some religious importance or some authority. But you would have to rely on your soldiers and servants to help you search at least. 12:56 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 11 = 2d6(2,5)+4 There was not really much to roll for here, as you could just assign guards to watch over him, so I gave you a small insight about how he might act. As a warning due to the very cold and inhospitable weather in the area, every action going forwards I will apply your frail drawback. Your preparations mean you are not in danger of injury or sickness, but it will make Elias move slower and affect him.
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Apr 10, 2017 04:22
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Moonrat Olek seemed content to call the debt there and settle down, but Gerik again was the one who pushed him back. The kid was disgustingly naive despite having been a hostage, and was right now swept up in a world of legends and heroes. While it was convenient to play the part of hero for now, the boy was due for a rude shock at some point. Yet...you never knew. Maybe the fort would need an ogre. Maybe you would need a translator. It was all as you had said. Moonrat had plans and contingencies for the time being, in case they tried to betray you. And for when Fleeting-Whisper and Starlight definitely would betray you. "Aye, we'll travel with yer a bit long'r if'n you be willin'. Truth be told, me son's youthful 'nthusiasm fer old stories is a bit infectious." The large ogre said assenting to your offer. "We be needin' sum new threads an' boots while we're 'ere. Ye can 'ave one of yer folks watch us if ye like." He added, indicating they would be going to the markets before they slept. The departure had been rushed, and the pair did need some clothes and some other supplies. Your own efforts to find out what lay ahead turned out to be fruitful. The past was a popular trade in Redivar, and pretending to play the meek and want-to-be scholar was able to do as much as a few well priced bribes. There was an ancient fort at the fort of the Loire Mountains, it was said that an order of people seeking spiritual enlightenment through physical purity and focus had dwelt there, but contact had been lost a few centuries ago and they were presumed dead. But maybe they had simply become self-sufficient, no one had records of ruins there and it was not a place that saw many travelers. That was the first odd thing that struck you. There should have been more communication with them, or visitors. It was not very far from a major travel route at all. Something or someone was keeping people away. Give me a brief chat at some point to figure out the thing with Fleeting-Whisper. My initial idea was for him just to be fond of kids, but also to be indifferent and fatalistic to threats to Gerik. In my mind he is a career assassin who has lived this long, so he has to be somewhat nihilistic about this sort of thing. But your idea might be better, I just want to chat about it and sort out what will happen there. Elias It turned out that the pool you sought was roughly in the place you expected. There was a temple built into the palace, or had been once when the city still stood, and in that place was a pool as Terminus had foretold. You had made sure Jarvier was kept with you, under guard but to act as a guide and to explain things. Both of you understood what the true reason was, but he made no argument. You were taken to the pool, with Jarvier following you but kept closely under watch. The pool was like a small bathing pool in design, something you would have expected to see in Tamora. It was like a bath house, but presumably for the royal house and the heads of the church. The pool was filled with a black fluid, but it was not a thick viscous or brackish fluid. It did not give the impression of something foul or rotten, or even of oil or water. It was as though the surface was leading into a calm void, or the heavens themselves in the night. Had they been stripped of the stars themselves. Jarvier had an expression of wonder and curiosity, yet that slight flicker of hunger. Yet you could see something similar in your men as well. Their discipline and loyalty kept them in check however, and that kept Jarvier in check as welll. Looking into it felt strange, almost as though you stared beyond something and then back again. A mirror, yet one that held no reflection. Or at least not yet. You tested the water, expecting it to be frigid cold. Yet your tentative touch revealed that it was almost warm, but not quite. It was neither hot nor cold. It moved like water when you extended that finger into it slightly, yet it held almost no resistance. It was like a strange cloak of black air...yet also undeniably a fluid. It was truly a strange thing indeed. 12:44 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 14 = 2d6(6,6)+2 Fortunately your orders are followed, you find the pool swiftly and also Jarvier is kept under watch. So far he has made no obvious duplicitous moves. You will have one final chance after entering the pool to decide whether to go through with the dark ritual as well, but you will not get your divine trait until your final decision. John Mist-Tail had asked around about that when you had been in town, as he was generally the sort of worried about that sort of thing. Having worked with criminals for a long time, it was wise to keep tabs on it. What he knew was that groups around here tended to be a mix of humans and dwarves, and tended to come from the lower foothills more than from the lands leading up to them. The dwarves tended to assume that this close to the border, things on the surface away from the roads were humans responsibilities. Humans, likewise assumed the opposite in turn. An equilibrium had been reached of a sort, where the bandits were careful generally not to prey too hard on travelers. Once in a while a new group would arise and people would decide to deal with them. It would be a costly affair for both sides, but the old groups had learned the lessons others had not by now. Luckily for John's plans it turned out there was such a group that had risen recently in the rise of the chaos of the death of the gods. They had no name that people knew as of yet, but they all wore dirty black scarves to mark them. The sheep in the area produced a dark blackish wool, which was likely where the cloth had originated from. Rumour was they had an elf with them, which was a rarity. The elves rarely stepped out of their woods, but perhaps that had changed with the death of their gods. Their racial hatred for ratlings was well known. 12:45 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 15 = 2d6(6,5)+4 John finds something suiting his plans. Sasha You sorted out the rest of the evening without much incident. Your lads and lasses were enough to scare off any opportunist locals, and after a few hours of hauling you collected your pay and the majority of your crew went to spend some of it carousing the night away. You were free to join them if Sasha wished. Either way your crew would ready in the morning to leave, if a bit hungover. It was hardly an unusual affair. That night however Sasha was troubled by an unpleasant dream. You kept trying to grasp at something ephemeral and wonderful, but also deeply and inexplicably important to you in this dream. Yet every time you grasped at it, the thing seemed to turn to dust and blow away. You woke up dissatisfied and frustrated, even if you did not remember the dream. Gain the trait Payday, it will give you a bonus on anything involving wealth for a while should you choose to use it. It will last quite a few small things, but will be used up if you choose to use it for something big. Victor "Soultaker!" "Memory Eater!" "Defiler of the dead!" The cries of the ghosts rang out, but they had also retreated back into the walls and floors. It seemed that they were hiding from you. You could almost swear that something about the ghost you had...taken into yourself, had somehow made you feel...more powerful for a second. Somehow. But it was very fleeting and had been mixed up in the rush of fear, confusion and denial that had made up the whole experience. There was some lingering blue spectral energy. You could almost feel it reaching out for the others, maybe you could tug on it somehow if you tried. Viktor could leave things as they were, ignore the ghosts and even flee the monastery if he wished. Or he could see where this unknown power would take him. Had he always had it, or was it something new? From the ghosts, or the touch of Terminus? You can take this as far as you want, or have it be a weird once off thing if you'd like. Obviously taking it further will have story and perhaps mechanical ramifications. Up to you. Karla The travelers were scared, but also grateful for the rescue. "They just wanted our belongings...normally bandits in these parts take your valuables, but they seemed crueler somehow. They just wanted us to suffer and die, although they said we might survive. I...I don't know why. If you hadn't arrived when you did..." They trailed off as they regained some composure, after contemplating their near brush with death. "I am sure they were part of the Boulders. They're a group of bandits around here, mostly humans, some dwarves...an ogre and a ratling I hear people say. But they were never like that, and they used to only target merchants or caravans. Not common travelers like us...I think I heard them talk about a new leader. Nuia, or something like that. Maybe that's why they've changed. Thank you so much...we don't have much, but if you're ever in Redivar please seek out my family. My son Kormer will surely be happy to help you. Tell him Yselle sent you. The dead gods bless you." You have a boon if you stop in Redivar. You can ask them more specific questions if you like, I tried to give you some useful plot hooks if you want to follow them.
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Apr 18, 2017 04:31
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Sorry for the delay in update. Basically I changed my work hours so I start an hour earlier which did me in, had Easter, my brother got diagnosed with cancer (he will be fine it got caught early, it was just a shock and an unpleasant surprise) and I also got sidetracked with Persona 5 a lot. I will update in the next two or three days for sure. The OOC thread also got archived so I will remake it so people can repost their characters as they currently are as a convenient record.
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May 1, 2017 04:10
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Elias As you stepped into the water it grew clear and luminous around you. You looked down into the water and then it felt like you began to fall through the water. As if it had no bottom you felt like you had fallen until you reached a strange floor. Looking down you saw another you, looking back and looking up at you as though it was a mirror. However the you that looked up at you had a third eye in the middle of his forehead, and with a gasp you came back to the present. Touching your forehead you quickly verified that you did not have a new eye there, but despite that lack of a physical organ you felt as though there was...something spiritual that had been unlocked. The eye was metaphorical, as though it was an awareness that you had always possessed but had somehow not known how to use. But now it felt like you could peer into the hearts and minds of men and women, at least a little. Elias gains the Divine TraitThird Eye which gives you two traits to use: Draw Thoughts allows you to read surface level thoughts. This is not telepathy or deep mind-reading, you cannot probe for any thoughts not on surface level. While this will sometimes give you narrative boosts, I expect this will commonly help with reading people's dispositions and attitudes more. Read Heart allows you to see the deepest desire(s) of that person, their deepest and sometimes darkest dreams. You can tune it towards positive or negative goals, desires and ambitions if you want to be more specific. Otherwise it will look for the strongest thing that person wants. Victor You drew in most of the ghosts one by one, the feeling of power and control becoming almost intoxicating. As you drew in each one, the shock and overwhelming nature of viewing their deaths began to lessen, and by the time you had hunted down one of the remaining ghosts you could ignore it if you focused and anticipated it coming. Based on flashes of spectral movement, you could guess there were two or three of the spirits of the probably 30 monks that had lived in the monastery that you had not devoured. But while you felt full of power...you did not have anything to do with it. It made you feel good, like some kind of addictive drug, but surely you could do something with this power. You just had to figure out how... I'll give you a trait if you push too much further along this particular path, but again it's Victor's choice. It could just be a weird quirk, where he can vape ghosts or something, if you'd rather. John You realise pretty quickly that Mist-Tail is taking this much harder than you had. Whereas John had always silently railed against the place in the world he had fallen into, with no chance for advancement or success, Mist-Tail had for ratling standards done very well for himself. He had a comfortable and public shop, a side business that made the real money, and only a small chance of being killed or becoming collateral in some kind of gang war. He had been reasonably unnoticed which had given him safety and comfort. He had belonged, which was a strong cultural identity issue for the ratlings who had been historically displaced frequently. Now he did not know who or what he was. Through his efforts, John realised that Mist-Tail was in part in the process of trying to figure this out for himself. But it was causing him a great deal of confusion and anxiety. Seeing you settle down and beginning to seem less like what had appeared to him as an unhinged power-hungry madman did a lot to help that. Even he had been intoxicated by the rush of power and vitality from his transformation in part. For his part Mist-Tail felt more comfortable dealing with bandits. They had, as he said, simple and direct goals. Perhaps they were nasty and violent impulses, but they were at least easy to understand and to deal with. Although he wondered if he should take on a new name, dealing with bandits would mean establishing a clear hierarchy of power. A ratling was often (unwisely) seen as weak and easy to push around. But now in his new form he would be visibly intimidating. The days of rest did much for the healing process of your body. The wound was still sore and scarred a little, but the worst of it had been healed up and it would no longer inconvenience you. 1:01 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 15 = 2d6(5,6)+4 You can clear your wounded temporary trait. Karla People in the mountains here seemed to do little to hide their tracks or move stealthily. Following them was simple task, their tracks were left in the snow and the day was clear for the time being. After around an hour of travel for them, and an extra half hour of tracking along with making sure you had yet to be seen, Karla made her way on the camp. It had a simple wooden palisade wall, some crudely fashioned huts and a lookout post. Judging by the structure of it, they seemed to have been in the area long enough that making a permanent camp was worthwhile enough. Watching the camp you could see there were a dozen bandits including the ones that had returned, a mix of dwarves and humans. You saw the ogre that they had mentioned and you saw a ratling corpse strung up on a wooden crucifix. Then you saw him, a man of deadliness and grace quite unlike the simple brutes that made up the brigands. An elf, you reckoned, based on the ears and the dead ratling. You had never seen one, but even Karla had heard of their long held hatred for the ratling people. Currently he was quietly talking to the returning party. You could not make out the words, but the body language of the returning brigands clearly conveyed the fear and respect they held for the elf. 1:01 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 12 = 2d6(2,6)+4 Sasha You managed to surprise the proprietors of the inn you had stayed in by actually paying for the damage you had caused. This seemed to be a sad novelty in the last few days, and for an ogre crew of all people to be the ones doing it. People wondered what the world had come to, when decent god fearing people were looting and the coastal raiders were paying their dues. Petrus had made one last comment of having work for you if you wanted to stay, or return, but he seemed to have enough sense to not push it further than that. The young noble appreciated you and your crew's efficient and skilled work, but realised mercenaries were mercenaries. Your crew fared mostly well from the night of revelry. It seemed they had picked up a few rumours and stories while in port, and a few of the locals had asked if they could come along and join your crew as they had nothing left here in Tamora. However, they were also humans and not a sailor or warrior among them. They could not really offer much beyond menial labour. But it would be a chance to invest in expanding your crew if that was a thing Sasha had a mind to in the future. Moonrat Your group restocked and after the night's rest, left off in the morning. Gerik did not tired so easily now that he had proper shoes on, which meant he spent more time marching himself and less time needing to carried by his father. This in turn meant he had less energy to bother Fleeting-Whisper. It had its good and bad points. There was a sense of anticipation in the group as you neared the location the monastery should be. Fleeting-Whisper and Dances in Starlight both seemed to be anticipating your reaction to what they assumed, would be the end of your mad quest. Gerik was anticipating a grand adventure. Olek was anticipating a blood bath, having picked up on the tension in the group along the way. What you found was at first anti-climactic. There was a monastery, and it was easy to find. But it was also clearly unoccupied and starting to fall into ruin. Walking inside of it you found it to be more like a walled fort, with quarters inside, a living and mess space and outdoor space. There were signs there had once been a garden and a well, both fallen into ruin and lying fallow. Gerik was busy sneaking around as a kid in an exciting ruin was want to do, with his father following behind him keeping an eye out. Things would have come to a head then, as everything was building up to that well known conflict. But Olek suddenly rushed out and managed to say quite breathlessly; "You had better come quickly. All of you!" And rushed back to where his son had been exploring. The tension broke for a moment and the group followed, all crowding into the ruined room. Gerik was standing in front of a softly glowing ogre figure. A woman that looked past her prime, but not yet too worn down by age save for the fact she was clearly a spirit. "Ah. It is good to see kindred travelers again. And you have brought children and of the land with you. Welcome to my humble home." Dragomir "Reading the heavens?" One person repeated, before another followed up with; "That sounds like Astrology. It was a popular topic in the past, but it is always considered a fringe science and inaccurate at best..." "Ruins...and a tome on astrology...at a guess you would be looking for the ruins of the imperial academy of theological science and arcana. An old building from the old times, that was where they studied their advanced magical science. They called it theological science and arcana, not because they believed in the gods, for that worship came later. Instead it was because such science was seen to bring them closer to the gods." The man said as he explained this to you. There was no indication from the other assembled participants that what he had said was in error so far. "But that place is restricted to only the most wealthy or important visitors. To preserve its history, you understand. If you were caught sneaking in there the punishment would be quite severe...Now I am feeling charitable, but gaining access to such a place would strain even the resources of my wonderful self-" There was a snort from several people punctuating that comment. "-but we could come to an arrangement afterwards. I would not want to pressure you into anything before you know whether you will find what you are looking for mind you. So what say you? Entry into the ruins, in return for an unspecified favour later?" You knew the man would take advantage of you, but he was also strangely brazen and open about it as well. HiKaizer fucked around with this message at 05:19 on May 5, 2017 |
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May 5, 2017 04:52
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Moonrat The spectral woman looked at you and considered what you had said. "No obseisance is needed in this place." The ogre began, indicating you could rise. "I am the last link in the chain, binding student to teacher going back countless years. Yet my end came before I could pass on what I knew to another, and so I did not pass into the Deep Beyond past that Twilight which the Gods fashioned in times of old." This was likely the first real mention that Moonrat had heard of an afterlife beyond or predating that of the gods. Many wise men and women had proclaimed those who had died before the arrival of the gods had been unfortunate to live in an age of pagans without true faith. Their reward was the oblivion of their souls after death. Now the ogre spoke of something else. At this point Moonrat realised that he was no longer quite where he thought. The space around him had grown emptier and filled with mist or smoke. It did not affect your breathing and you could not feel it upon your fur. The ogre continued to speak however and asked Moonrat a question. "To learn to fight, and to teach others to fight, is to forsake a life of peace and stillness. You would see a weapon in any object no matter how mundane, a stategy in any place or group of people. You can protect your people by other means. In times beyond even the Dragonmakers your people protected themselves by becomming accursed wanderers after discovering a forbidden truth to the world. Even now your leaders protect your people by living in the shadows of others." "What you seek is not to protect. If you wish to learn how to transform yourself, you must learn how to understand yourself. Speak truly. Why do you seek this knowledge and power. What will you do with it? I am dead and my spirit has lingered long. I do not know of the current age and the strife it brings. It is not my place or my right to judge. Be honest to me, and to yourself." Elias The lord of Aubrecht turned his gaze upon Jarvier, his guide, and metaphysically opened his third eye. There was a sensation of opening eyelids that had not been opened before, yet your guards and Jarvier made no gasp or expression of surprise. It must be an otherwise invisible thing you thought, but that thought was quickly submerged by a knowing of the man before you. Jarvier was a man whose true loyalty was ultimately to himself, but would follow through on his agreements. There was a practical reason to this, and he did not deliberately take agreements too literally in his own mind (nor had you had experience to feel this yourself). Ultimately he wanted to look into the power here for his own, but he was also happy to wait. Few among your followers could navigate back here and they were indispensable aides to you. Based on what you could see, your best analysis would be that once Jarvier's contract with you regarding this expedition was complete he would return to this city himself and investigate the pool. If he found the power or influence he was looking for, he would probably avoid you. At least for a while. You believed that you could destroy the pool to prevent him from doing so, but given that desecrating it with blood would supposedly complete that ritual you had no idea what the consequences of destroying the pool would be. It had been left untouched here for countless centuries after the fall of its creators and the people that lived here after all. The man looked at you, a slightly defiant and stubborn angle to his chin and expression. "Does what you see displease you, my lord? You can trust me to honour my word as we agreed upon." 8:58 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 13 = 2d6(6,3)+4 Jarvier will inevitably come back, unless prevented in some way. He is unlikely to backstab you unless pushed into some corner. John Mist-Tail did not seem entirely content with the name. "Dragon-Claw makes me just seem like an appendage of you, John." He had said laughly slightly. "I want to be my own person and to choose my own name that suits me. I was thinking something more like Dire-Claw to be honest, but I'm not sure yet..." He was inclined to follow you for now, but you quickly found that there would be one clear and simple way to assure his loyalty to you. Like his people, Mist-Tail keenly felt the lack of a home that was theirs. Elves had their woods, the ogres their islands. He didn't know where the lizardfolk came from but they were not outcasts either. Humans lived almost anywhere they could. But ratlings had no place of their own. If you could set aside a piece of your world for them, and assure the ratlings self-determination and self-governance to a fair degree in your empire then Mist-Tail would follow you. He never said as much, but you could realise that these would be his terms. Otherwise John would have to win him over with time and effort. The huge ratling was not oppsoed to John, but in this strange new world that was the one thing, the one assurance that would buy and win his loyalty. 8:58 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 13 = 2d6(6,3)+4 You have one option to gain his loyalty now, but you can choose to work on it over time instead if you don't like it. Be aware that breaking that promise, should you make it, may turn Mist-Tail against you in the future. Karla You crept up to the camp, avoiding the terribly lax lookouts. The way they watched but did not see, and their lazy patterns spoke clearly about their assumption that they would not truly be attacked or threatened in this place. Or at the least not any time soon. You moved to one of the walls and continued moving around the outside until you got closer to the area of the camp where the hut the elf had walked into lay. There you could overhear the conversation. "Tyma why are we here?" A male voice spoke, one that you could not help assume belonged to the elf. It was clear and precise, but also full of a casual and terrible kind of violence. Something about it chilled you, but also resonated with the beast inside of you which stirred. There was a pause before he continued speaking. "At least you know not to answer a foolish question. Have we had any luck finding the barrows again?" The next voice that spoke belonged to a woman, although the ogre had not appeared to be especially feminine to you. But Karla also probably had little experience with ogres and may have just misjudged their gender. "Not as of yet. The travellers could not find it, and our dwarf 'expert' has been of little use finding it." She responded, the ogre's voice reminding you of someone who did not speak often. "Hmm...not a great surprise there. They are a people who spend too long looking beneath and above themselves, but never ahead. They miss the trees for the forest, to borrow a human idiom." 12:20 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 12 = 2d6(3,5)+4 No detection yet. Sasha You lost four out of the dozen people that had wanted to join you once you explained the dangers. The others seemed either too desperate to worry about the risk, or figured that they were in greater danger in Tymora. One young man was the sort still with his head up his arse in dreams of adventure. Well reality would cure him of that soon enough. Setting off you travelled south. You would come by the port town of Rho Lydia, leaving you to decide whether to dock at the city, dock nearby and walk in, attack a ship nearby, or whether to simply sail on. You had enough supplies to get to south west Wolridge at least, even with the new crew members. Dragomir "You may call me Lyndis Olvan Der Korvanis." The man said with a slight bow, the bow of someone being polite and making an acquaintance and not the bow of someone showing respect or deference. Dragomir wracked his name and realised with a start that Korvanis meant that Lyndis must be a member of the royal family. But then the Der meant he was not in line for the throne. Seeing your expression Lyndis chuckled. "Yes, I am a Royal. But one of no consequence. The son of an aunt, it would take a great disaster for me to be considered in line for the throne. Being so far removed as well I have no real duties and so I pass my time with these debates and curiosities..." He said gesturing to the crowd. The nature of some of the mistrust and derision became apparent. Many of the people here clearly considered Lyndis to be some kind of hobbyist, or just playing at being a scholar. Others might have become wrapped up in some plot previously they regretted as well. Yet Lyndis did not seem...strictly dislikeable. He also had the wealth and influence that you would need to get in. But you suspected once you did gain the ability to divine the heavens, you would find yourself dragged into the country's politics very quickly. Victor Control. The power was about control. You opened your eyes again and looked at the space where one of the spirits had fled. "Come." The word was an order, a command, and one that held a power backing behind it. While you were not sure this power would work so well on a living creature, on the spirit it seemed to be undeniable and puissant. The spectre walked out of the wall and stood in front of you, its face a mixture of fear and misery, and also a resignation to what it assumed would be you consuming it. Victor gains the Divine Aspect: Necromancer, with the specific Divine Trait: Spirit Binding Because this is not one of the big powers that Terminus mentioned, you only get a single divine trait from it. But doing other things and interating with the places and powers of the world will let you grow it and shape it further similar to the dragon transformation of Valhawk's character. It will however work on undead beyond just ghosts, although no one has encountered any other ones yet.
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May 26, 2017 03:53
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Elias Jarvier considered your comments, and considered the pool. After deliberating with himself he seemed to agree. "If it was so easy to gain power, then no doubt it would have been done already. Very well, as you are kindly offering..." He said and once it became clear that you were both serious and not going to betray him. The man stepped into the pool, and the black water cleared into starlight again. But this time something looked back. Your guards did not seem to notice, and Jarvier did not at first. But it seemed that once his inner eye opened, his physical ones went wide in shock. He almost leaped out of the pool in surprise and panic. The creature was difficult to see in the darkness. However one feature was easy to make out. The many, innumerable eyes upon it looking out of the depths at the pair of you. As the water stilled back to inky black the being was obscured. Both of you were chilled to the bone by what had happened. The guards around you however were quiet confused by the strange antics of the both of you, and unsettled by the strange and otherworldly nature of the pool and the ruins. Moonrat The ogre woman seemed satisfied. "Good. The path you would follow is a path that you will never know peace. You cannot fight a couple of battles and then return to a life of peace and quiet. You will see a weapon in all things and people, and a strategy in any place or community. If you would follow this path then you must be prepared to die in battle." What came next was something that Moonrat would never remember. He would recall a vague sense of a passage of time, of training and learning in that strange place between worlds. Sometimes things would move in the mists around you and the woman would command you to be still. The movements would pass and still. Your memories of this place were hazy and incomplete, yet what you learned remained as if an indelible mark on your soul. Suddenly you came to. An argument was brewing behind you, and before you turned you looked at Gerik. The ogre boy looked at you sadly and shook his head. You saw in his eyes a knowledge similar to yours, but different. Perhaps...incomplete? It was hard to tell without asking more and the voices of Whispers in Starlight and Fleeting-Whisper were loud, matching Olek. "Why did you bring us here? He is clearly seeing things and has just stood there for several minutes." Fleeting-Whisper said to Olek who shook his head in frustration. "Did you not see the spirit? The woman who spoke?" "We saw no spirit, and now that we have seen that this whole trip has been for naught it is time that we ended this farce." Whispers in Starlight said cooly. Moonrat turned and saw things...differently. You could see possibilities in the way the two ratlings an the ogre stood. Objects nearby seemed to stand out for both possible weapons and possible points of strategies. It was as though you could stand outside the world in a moment that stood still and see things with the eyes of a warrior and a general. Moonrat gains the Divine Trait Master of War, which encompasses the two traits: Disciple of War and Teacher of War You are still limited by your own physical limitations, but your new traits will allow you to make near perfect use of it with whatever weapons you may hold, unarmed and to make strategies to take advantage of yourself and another. Additionally you can teach other people a portion of this, with tremendous skill in one or more areas depending on the time you invest. John Mist-Tail seemed a bit stunned by the sudden proposal, but his response was quick and sure. "John, if you promise this and can make it happen then yes you would have my loyalty. But you would have the loyalty of my people. While some might be unhappy to server a greater nation in some way...to have our own country with our own laws and our own leaders, to not have to hide in the shadows of another country and pretend we're not our own people...yes, that is something worth fighting for and dying for." Karla "So what are your orders? Should we try to search and investigate ourselves?" The woman asked the elf, who seemed to think about it as there was a silence for a few minutes. "Well we have the numbers to send out two search squads, and we have the luxury of people still recovering from the gods deaths. Now would be the time. I must have the secret within. It will be the key to fighting what will come next. With the death of the gods the shadows of old will begin to reawaken." The elf continued. Following this there was not much more of interest. The pair talked about who to send out on patrols and the areas to cover. It was useful if Karla planned to follow, but there was not more discussion of their motives. Soon it came to the point where Karla could not risk to remain hidden much longer, there would be some people coming to gather wood or food soon that would uncover her hiding place.
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May 29, 2017 03:54
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John As you went to follow bandits, Carwen and his manservant bid you farewell. They shared with you some coin and some supplies out of gratitude for their youth and for helping Carwen fulfill his dreams, but nothing short of physically tying up and dragging them along with you would keep them with you longer. They wished to return to their home, with Carwen's modest but dwindling wealth to reconsider their future from the comfort of a chair, a warm hearth and a cup of tea. Your own journey was more grueling, although both you and the newly renamed Greatclaw were now much better suited to dealing with it. Eventually through your travel you came to a spot that you knew was an ambush spot. The terrain had too many hiding spots for attackers and as you looked around you could see signs of people in hiding. But then they seemed to notice you, and slipped away. You and Greatclaw went to follow, but the bandits knew the terrain better than you and got ahead of you. However in their haste to undoubtedly escape what they saw as a pair of monsters, they made poor effort to hide their tracks. 12:15 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 12 = 2d6(6,2)+4 Good enough to find and follow, but not good enough to reach their home base yet. Dragomir "Ser Lyndis or Ser Korvanis will do, the former rather than the latter." Lyndis waved off your elaborate address with an amused wave. Most of the others in the amphitheater were moving on now that the show was mostly done. Some of them made some quiet comments, and shook their heads at you pityingly. "I simply need to alert the guard that I will be making an inspection with a guest. You will be bound to respect the site and there will be some guards and servants that travel with us as a matter of precaution and safety. But you need not worry about a large entourage, I am hardly important enough in the grand scheme of things to warrant such attention." Lyndis said while making a deprecating shrug. "Meet me at the west gate at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning and we will depart." There are clocks in the city that you can use to tell the time, and you can request a wake up by the inn keeper so it would not be hard to make it to the gate at the designated time. You have the rest of the day to do anything else in town that you wish though. Otherwise just advance the time. Moonrat Fleeting-Whisper did not even have time to react, you attacked suddenly and viciously, crushing his wind-pipe and piercing his skull with bone fragments. Detached you considered that it might be seen as a mercy for someone who had been a rival and thorn in your side for a long time. Olek and Burrows-In-Starlight however did have time to react, Gerik however seemed to simply watch somberly. Olek was stunned, while the other assassin was much quicker to react. In a split second surprise turned to confusion and then turned into wary caution. Her instincts as an assassin were good, a normal person would be terrified and a good assassin would be scared. Burrows-In-Starlight simple seemed to react to what happened as it came. "That is new, or you have deceived us very well. You did not need to come this far simply to betray us. What next?" 12:15 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 11 = 2d6(1,6)+4 Fleeting-Whisper is dead Victor The spirit fought against your order, you could feel it somehow in a way impossible to describe. In the end when it relented and agreed you knew it was of its own volition and not by your will, even before it spoke. "Very well. If I do not you will just...eat me, like you did with the others." Sasha Rho-Lydia seemed to have undergone something of a social revolution since the death of the gods. Although social hierarchies were still somewhat in flux, what Sasha found was that the local merchants and land owners had overthrown the old council instituted by the temples. It had always been a more secular city than the intensely devout and religious capital of Tamora, but despite this the influence of the theocratic council had reached far. So a new order based on wealth and the influence that bought had begun to settle. People were unsure about your ships, but the city was eager to try and keep trade and order working and so you were allowed entry. There were reminders to watch your behaviour and not to cause trouble, but these were also told with a pathetic awkwardness and the knowledge that they were likely powerless to stop you right now if you or your crew did. But there was a hope. You had docked honestly, relatively anyway, and not attacked them. Perhaps trade and peaceful dealing would be possible. In this place you could find information, rumours, skilled hands, old tomes in dusty collections by the rich. And if you couldn't manage to buy it or grease the right palms in the world of honest dealing, Rho-Lydia had a vibrant under belly of smugglers, thieves and at the worst...slavers. Karla You followed the patrol the following morning for much of the day. The idiots assumed that no one would assail them in the mountains despite your actions yesterday and so did not keep a close enough guard to spot you. However while following them you noticed something before they did. A chasm in the ground with a strange dislodged and upturned door. It was ornate and covered in bronze and gold trimmings, yet held its luster and sheen even despite its clear age. Given another five or ten minutes the patrol would notice it, but you had a small window in which to act first. Ambush the patrol, make your way into the cavern first to see if you could enter and explore, or some other course of action that Karla could see. 12:15 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 10 = 2d6(4,2)+4 As a side note, could you please make the core action clearer in future please. I was not sure if this was trying to literally commune with animal spirits or just relying on learned skills. I have tried to work as best as I can with the core of your post. Elias On the trip back to the northern village you and Jarvier did not speak of your experience. In fact Jarvier seemed quite shaken by it and slept poorly the following nights. Despite this strangeness in him, you continued to remain relatively undisturbed and your dreams remained mostly as they always had, if you even normally dreamed much. Your followers and guards took comfort and reassurance in your leadership and you made good time. The Autarch showed that even in the face of the creepy ruins he remained of strong mental resolve, more so than that foreign guide they had brought with them. Morale was, with the exception of Jarvier, generally high as you returned to the village. 12:15 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 14 = 2d6(4,6)+4 We can skip most of the journey back, unless you have any particular things to do or interactions you want to explore on the way back. Otherwise we can take it as we go. HiKaizer fucked around with this message at 12:09 on Jun 14, 2017 |
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Jun 2, 2017 04:02
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John You followed the tracks for a while. It was hard to estimate the exact length of time but you would have been travelling at least an hour, but then you slowed as you saw many other intersecting tracks. The sudden increase in numbers and chaotic paths meant that many people travelled in this area, which surely indicated that the encampment itself was nearby. It was likely over the next hill, and moving beyond this point would likely give them a chance to readily spot you. This also told you that they had retreated all the way to their encampment, which would mean that a fight would likely be with at least a sizeable portion of the bandits group. 8:36 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 13 = 2d6(5,4)+4 How is John armed at the moment? Still with his guard's blade that he slew the dragon Audo? Does he have a bow or crossbow at all? Or does he plan to use his bare fists? Moonrat Gerik looked at you and he seemed almost...sad. It was a strange an unsettling expression to see in a child so young and certainly in one that had been full of naivete and youthful joy until recently. "I saw the path of the hero." That was all he said, and the simplicity of it conveyed a lot. After a few seconds of silence, Burrows-In-Starlight interjected. "Do you plan to kill the boy as well?" It was an awkward question, but not a sarcastic or dishonest one. The assassin had seen you murder her mentor and master in a flash, tell her that you would demonstrate further and then turn to the boy accompanying you that also seemed to have strange powers. The question made Olek go pale, but Gerrik for his part seemed only regretful as he looked at you questioning. Were you going to kill him? Or at least try? Sasha Your mates were well enough in their role to be relied upon to make sure that the crews would be ready to leave when you needed. One of them even took one of the humans along with them, as both a training exercise and also as a way to look less intimidating and maybe get a better price. You weren't entirely sure. They knew what they were doing either way. As for your own search, you found two scholars of note. One was reported to you as being more learned and reliable than the other, but he was also busy and reclusive. Your 'guide' could get you an audience, but you'd need to grease his palms with coin and dip in to a chunk of your cut of the crew's recent earnings. The other you could get to before the day's end and wouldn't cost you more than your finders fee to meet, but your guide did stress that while he claimed to be knowledgeable in the areas you sought his own record was evenly split on hit and miss. 8:36 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 11 = 2d6(6,5) You have two options, the first of which will drain your Payday but is guaranteed to give you a solid lead on curing this curse. Karla Victory! Karla gains 73 experience points from defeating the enemies, as well as 17 copper pieces. The battle was swift and bloody. Although the bandits had been warned of you, they had not expected you to follow them and they were caught by surprise. Without the advantages of surprise and shock to cow their foe, they fell even with their superior numbers. Karla was left to investigate the door on her own. Descending carefully, you could see it was quite large. It was the kind of door built to be impressive and to show power, instead of the kind of door that needed to allow many people through. Or so you assumed anyway, it was still very tall and that was harder to explain. You could see great handles on it, but testing them the door did not seem to move easily. Perhaps you could force it open with brute strength, or find another way to open it. The door's upturned position and angle made it harder to get a good position to try and open it, but it was hardly impossible. There was a strange relief on the door itself now that you could investigate it at length. It seemed to depict some kind of battle, winged beasts and figures with swords and staves pointing at something strange. Great creatures made of many hard shapes and with black circles at their hearts. 8:36 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 15 = 2d6(5,6)+4 Elias You traded along the way, minor goods that you could trade along the way but really the only reason you made any profit was because you could use your gift to tell what the people considered truly valuable and what they did not. You could quickly see the advantage of being able to read surface thoughts in trade, most merchants were not used to thinking in disciplined and careful ways that would make it hard to find what you wanted. Further to this, it was not hard to lead the conversion in a direction where their thoughts said what their mouths did not say aloud. Still most people were still rebuilding and there had been a lot of wealth lost, as well as power and influence built on old orders. Tamora was hit by this the hardest, and a new young noble was still working to establish himself as the ruler. By the time you returned to Aubrecht, you had spent nearly 3 months in travel. That was hardly unknown for important trips and matters of state, but it had been a strain on everyone even with the work you had done prior to leaving. You were quickly brought up to speed on the state of current affairs, the coffers had been replenished somewhat due to the deals with Warchen, and Wolridge in general but you had not returned to your previous levels. Still you were doing well compared to other nations and the mood of the populace was bouyed by your return. 8:36 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 10 = 2d6(2,4)+4 You cover costs and make a small profit, but nothing large in the grand scheme of things. It is useful training for your new abilities though. Dragomir Lyndis had a small retinue, two guards one of which was his own and a servant along with them. The trip to the ruins was not so close that it could be done in a day on horseback. Lake Redan was no minor body of water and so you found that you boarded another boat. This one was much nicer than the last one you had been on, and you would be sleeping on it as needed. Your own quarters were not that much larger than one of the cabins on the captain's ship but Dragomir did not have to share it with another. You also had quite a luxurious looking cot to sleep in as well. The journey took slightly longer than a half day by boat to go directly across the lake to the ruins, so you enjoyed a very rich lunch of meats, cheeses and sweet breads. There was naturally a fine fine to accompany the meal, but a less alcoholic light beer was offered if Dragomir was not used to such drinks. Once you arrived you travelled to the ruins, which took roughly an hour of walking. The ruins of the Imperial Academy of Theological Science and Arcana was remarkably more intact than you might have expected. Although time had taken the roof and many windows, much of the core structure of the library itself remained...albeit worn and in some places run down. You were lead to an office where some academics clearly lived and were conducting their own research, although probably on more mundane or historical notes than Dragomir's objective. Lyndis introduced you to the head of the site, another lizardman named Dracanis. He explained that you were searching for a still yet uncovered tome, and that he would be accompanying you to both give you royal authority to investigate and also to search. He mentioned the other guard, a woman by the name of Jayma who was a member of the royal guard and was there to ensure the ruins were not damaged and that you were held accountable for anything that happened. Dracanis assigned you yet a third guard from the local retinue, who would also help direct you to where you wanted to go. You were then free to enter the ruins and begin your exploration. The academy is essentially a great institution of both magical and magitech learning and science from an old age. I will leave it to you to suggest areas of it dedicated to various things, and where Dragomir would like to begin his search. Feel free to come up with some stuff and I'll fill in the details. As a starting point there are areas of thaumaturgy and also of aetherochimeric science with their own areas with text and long ruined laboratories.
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Jun 14, 2017 12:35
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Moonrat Gerik looked at you calmly, you could sense that he would have been ready to fight had he needed to, but he was not anticipating it either. There was danger in the child, probably danger that you could overcome but it was something to be mindful of in future. "You understand half of what happened but not all of it." The assassin replied, turning her attention from Gerik now that the moment had passed. "Yes we were in communications with the queen, and yes she knows of your deviation from her route. But she did not become the ruler of our people and a culture of criminals and killers in shadows by being stupid. We were to watch you, take care of you if you became a liability but otherwise report back if your strange quest bore fruit." Starlight hid her frustration well but you could tell that she felt that killing Fleeting-Whisper had been unneeded and a waste. "Should you present this talent to the Queen I am sure she will...forgive you all of this subterfuge and even the killing of her prized assassin. I also have no love for her either, so if you have an alternative arrangement in mind I am not disinclined to hearing you out." Burrows in Starlight certainly seemed to hold no greater love for you, but it did not seem as though she minded the thought of regicide if putting a more stable ruler on the throne was an option. Olek chuckled sadly at your suggestion. "We both know I am in too deeply into all of this now. It would not be too difficult for someone to find out my and my son's involvement in this affair. The thought is nice, but it is just a daydream." Gerik spoke up at that point as well. "We should go with them, father. There is much and more that lies in the days ahead. You will be no safer or any happier if you hide from the trouble to come. I will go with them no matter your choice." The child spoke firmly and with a maturity that was again unsettling for one so young. John You waited for several minutes, although there was a great flurry of activity in the camp. However the elf that had been spoken of exited flanked by a couple of cowering humans and dwarves. He had long and flowing auburn hair that was far too immaculate and well placed for the place he was in. The armour was finely wrought, but even John could recognise the incredible craftsmanship of it. As for the blade...well the blade almost seemed to cut the air itself as he lazily drew it and considered John carefully. Just as he was about to speak, the blade began to glow softly. He paused noticing this and then chuckled to himself, as his flunkies looked around in confusion for something or someone. "The Gods foretold of men and beasts who would debase themselves in front of the altar of ancient sinners, but I had not anticipated it to happen so soon. Shall we talk, before we dance? I am curious to know whether you found the secrets of the cultists of old, or whether you have supped on the essence of one from outside." From his movements, his armour and his sword John knew that the elf must be someone of great skill and import. Which suggested the question, who was he really and why was he here among these bandits? 8:47 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 13 = 2d6(3,6)+4 No one has found Greatclaw yet, but they seem to be on the lookout for him. Despite this, the bandits are clearly shaken and will not be effective spotters. Elias Jarvier's condition did not improve as you righted the helm of the ship of Aubrecht. He became increasingly moody and his eyes seemed to dart around, searching for something unseen. Servants reported that he slept poorly and often cried out in the night. "Don't look at me! Stay away!" Elias did not fare badly at all beyond his usual ailments, and he slept soundly being otherwise untroubled. Your wife was greatly relieved by your return, although you found your relationship changed by your new powers. Sometimes you would catch a glimpse of her thoughts and she was plotting various things. Among others, was how to deal with the matter of her infidelity, as she had grown lonely during your absence and taken a secret lover. In addition, she did not wish her children to all inherit your sickly condition and the family condition, as it were. Aubrecht for its part fared reasonably well. Although it also suffered from the death of the gods and the cataclysms it had caused, Elias' vision and guidance had meant it was placed more advantageously than Wolridge as a whole was. There was the possibility of in time, a generation or two perhaps if you played cards right, that some of the outlying villages on the border might consider themselves more a part of Aubrecht than Woldridge. There would be conflict from this, but the chance to expand the borders of the autarchy would always be advantageous if played well. 8:47 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 12 = 2d6(3,5)+4 Sasha You still had to wait an hour in full before you could meet the sage, but introductions and requests were made and an hour later you were admitted to the estate. It was hardly the largest or richest of the estates in Lho-Rydia but stepping inside of it, you could tell instantly that it was the abode of someone with an interest in tales and the otherworldly. Old paintings and statues filled places where more contemporary or traditional art would in other estates, and the whole place was less well ventilated and a bit dryer than you would have expected. Or perhaps not. This might have been the first estate of a noble Sasha had been in which was not in ruins or under seige. The one other curious feature, one that was inconvenient to Sasha, was that everything was just a little too short or small for her stature. As for the noble himself, he was a greying haired dwarf with a beady eyed squint who eyed you suspiciously as you entered. "Hmm. Got yerself cursed I hear. Well. Tell me about it and what happened." If the man knew you were a dread pirate and raider of the seas, he seemed to not pay it any mind at all. Karla She strained and pushed against the door, and eventually it gave purchase. However what Karla had not anticipated was that the ground just within the entrance had collapsed. She stumbled forwards when the door finally opened, simply from the force she had been applying, and could not stop herself in time to avoid falling. It was a long drop, and had there not been a pool of strange water at the bottom she surely would have been badly injured. Surfacing from the water, which glowed faintly a strange vibrant blue and tasted vaguely sweet, Karla found herself in a room dimly lit by strange glass rocks that was utterly alien to her. The whole room had become slanted, so below her Karla could see the floor rise up. There were what looked to be the remains of racks or shelving. Further upwards and on the other side of the room were a collection of strange broken glass cylinders with metal rings at the base of them. It seemed that whatever was responsible for the glow of the water she was climbing out of came from them, as she could see faint glowing residue at the bottom of the rings. There were two doors, to her left and right. These were much less protected and were open, having had the doors flop open at some point when the room had become tilted enough. Looking up revealed that it would be difficult, or impossible, to climb out of this area to return to back the way she had fallen from. 8:47 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 8 = 2d6(4,2)+2 You stumble into a strange place. Dragomir The academy was an impressively large building. Even this one section seemed as large as one of the well to do inns within Redivar itself. Although much of the surface structure was worn way, and that the books and scrolls in the place had largely been picked clean you could see signs of what the place must have been like from the layout and rooms. Multiple rooms that you were told still had signs of lingering wards and thaumic protections in place indicated places where magic and science had once been practiced. After a cursory inspection of the ground level, you were guided below to the basement level. Here the structures were much more intact, sheltered as they were from the elements, and you could see shelving in studies, places where beds and books would have been. Some of the chambers down here were akin to huge vaults, and they held runes that still faintly hummed as you traced your finger along them. Had Dragomir simply been another academic that would have been the end of his tale. The place was endlessly fascinating and old, but otherwise there was no obvious entrance or hidden passage. Yet something stirred in your memory in one otherwise unremarkable and smaller study. An insignia on the wall with a motto stood out to you, and almost in a trance you traced out a pattern along it you had not realized you remembered from Terminus' vision until now. As you completed the movements of your finger, something clicked and letters from the motto glowed for a second. You did not know the tongue, yet meaning came to you. They spelled out 'The Stars Sleep Below As Above'. Part of the walls reconfigured themselves to show an otherwise unnoticeable hidden entrance. The air smelled stale and musty inside, and the party turned to you in surprise as you revealed a passage in the ruins that no one had previously discovered in their centuries of study. Viktor The spirit looked accusingly at you still, but followed as you insisted. There was not much of value left in the monastery, although Viktor did find a collection of coins and some useful supplies for travelling. They just needed to be rubbed with some smelling oils to help disguise the scent that lingered around them. Based on what you knew, the spirit was likely to be to the north. You could return through the town if you wished, which would be quicker and allow you to have a better night of rest. Or you avoid the town and travel an extra day or two if you wished.
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Jul 4, 2017 04:32
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Karla To the left is a large room in much better shape. Although it is on the side, the shelving in this room had little catches around the various glass vials on the shelves. They had a variety of colours and shapes, some looking particularly strange with luminescent fluids or unnatural colours. Many were clear, while others had flecks of blood or bits of skin or hide floating in them. The room seem roughly divided in half, with one side having the weird vials and the other side having the more normal and mundane looking ones. On far wall there was a large diagram of a strange winged creature, on some kind of transparent material. The creature seemed to have multiple cutaways showing skin, bone, musculature, bloodflow and organs on different layers. Next to it was a similar kind of diagram for a man. On the half of the room with the winged creature were the stranger vials, while the other side had the more normal looking ones. Ruined books littered the ground but even if Karla had been able to read the language they were written in, none of them would have been salvageable enough to read or be useful. Drakon Drakon was strong and tough, far stronger and tougher than any opponent that the elf had fought had ever been. But the elf was a skilled fighter, and Drakon found that the elf was frustratingly nimble. As a trained warrior he seemed to be able to read Drakon's movements. You relied too much on your new strength and your movements were full of lunges and charges which would best leverage your force. The bandits were silent as they watched you fight with the elf. To an outsider the elf made it look easy, but you could tell that your tail made things more difficult for him. At one point you saw an opening and lunged with your sword to deal a devastating blow. Suddenly there was the sound of whooshing air and a heat near your skin. The elf's sword burst into flames, and he deftly cut through the sword you held in your hand. The fiery sword cut the blade in two, the line of the cut melted and the sword now useless. All the bandits cheered and jeered at you. You had yet to be injured, even the few nicks the elf had tried had failed to really cut your skin at all and he had stopped trying to bleed you out soon after. But you had yet to look as dominating and as confident as you had wished. 12:45 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 6 = 2d6(1,1)+4 Gain a Destiny Point for this setback. Elias Your discussion with your wife was painful, but talking about it was helpful. What you found out was that due to your 'heritage' Elias was hardly the strapping gentlemen in bed that your wife had originally led you on to be. In the stress of your absence, the uncertainty of the people in the wake of the death of the gods and all the difficulty of leading the people in your absence she had looked for companionship and support. Your wife did not dislike you, she enjoyed your sharp mind and clever wit. But physically you just did not compete with the minor noble she had taken as a lover. Things had been moving towards some sort of arrangement, but due to the delicate matter and the demands of rulership the discussions took place over several days. However after the third day, your wife was suddenly rushed to the surgeon in the middle of the night. Tragically, your unborn heir was dead in a miscarriage. Your wife survived the night, and would recover, but it was a blow to your dynasty and an emotional shock for both of you. Using your powers you were able to probe the minds of all involved. There had been no deliberate inducement of miscarriage, no herbs or elixirs to kill the unborn child. It seemed that it had been an unfortunate misfortune. Sadly due to your family debilities, it was also not an unknown one. One of the concerns of your wife rung in your ears. That you could not provide an heir, due to your misshapen constitution. •Morphball> HiKaizer: 8 = 2d6(1,3)+4 It is a low roll, and I feel like resolving this so soon would be kind of a waste. So I am introducing a new story element to complicate things, which means you can have a Destiny Point as compensation. Sasha The man listened to your story intently, nodding at certain points and frowning at others. Once you finished he thought for a moment before beginning to speak. "It sounds like you spoke to an angel, or a servant of the gods. Their lifeforce is tied to their creator, and they only exist in our world at the whim of their masters. As such, all bindings must keep them alive in lieu of their creator's power, as well as to bind them. This is why it died and faded once you broke the spell. Such bindings are often done for purposes counter to the angel and their creator's will, and so are generally corrupting in nature." He frowned and continued to think, and Sasha could tell that the explanation she had been given had been as much to give the scholar time to think as much as to explain anything to her. "Curses are tricky things, especially those of the gods. A curse by nature is a living spell, it needs to think in a manner of speaking and needs to have a source of power. They are self sustaining. A mundane mortal curse can be cancelled by a standard disjunctive arcanaform, a spell, rune, ritual or other form of magic. Divine curses are powered from a divine spark and so cannot be dispelled by mortal magic means. At least not normally. It is in a way as though you have a tiny shard of a god's power in you. Not many people can claim that." The man said with a chuckle before continuing. "You have three paths of dealing with this. Firstly you can seek the power of the divine to disrupt the power of the divine. The gods and their servants are dead so excorcism is not available to you which is how one would traditionally deal with a curse. However some angelic and demonic beings are bound either beningly or against their wills. You could bargain with one or compell it to remove your curse. Secondly there are some few relics or spells with sufficient power and complexity to interdict the divine. They are rare and hard to find, but this would also be a means to your end. The third option would be to try and bend the curse to your will. There are ways to do this, and to make the divine spark work for you. I would advise the first option as the easiest and most likely to succeed, but the choice is yours. You seem the sort that loves adventure and danger." Viktor The ghost looked at you resentfully, as you sat down for the night to rest. He had not spoken immediately after you had asked the question, but it seemed now like he was ready to speak. "There is not really any great story. I was aimless and had no ambitions. My father was a fisher, but he never made much money and my brother would inherit the boat. I had no love for war or battle so I joined the monastery. We were never nearly so devout as you might think, but the gods did touch the world from time to time and I did not...disagree with Alman's word. I didn't like everyone at the monastery but I had some good friends. Now they're gone. You..." He trailed off, although the accusation was implicit in the words left unsaid. Moonrat Burrows-In-Starlight gave you a steady and appraising look. The queen was everyone's enemy, so much in that she was sharp and ruthless. Crossing her would lead you to an early grave. Your had less to fear from an assassin now, it would be very difficult to catch you off guard and to best you although not impossible. But you could be tricked, bound, exiled, economically or politically assassinated...all tools the queen had used before. However you had also lived in this world for long enough to know the game, and Burrows-In-Starlight realised this. So she looked at you appraisingly and said nothing. As you approached the guards to train them they seemed surprised. They had assumed the worst at your approach first after the murder of Fleeting Whisper earlier. When you explained your plan to them they seemed confused more than surprised. They were just mere guards, why bother with training them for anything. One of the pair, Eye-Biter did not even seem to want to be trained. But he also was canny enough to decide that rejecting your office could be a bad idea. Your training covered two parts, fitness and strength, and discipline and combat. Although the long travel had left them lean and used to travel, they were still unfit for rapid bursts of heavy activity that fighting took. As guards they were used to leveraging having a weapon and armour, and their authority. You began working them on longer sustained periods of high intensity activity in different forms. Jumping, running, sliding, moving quickly and continuously. At first Burrows-In-Starlight seemed disinterested in the whole affair but after a few days she could see value in what you were saying. She did not participate, but you caught her watching intently. Olek for his part initially hung back, but Gerik made a few comments and reluctantly the big ogre joined in. He was used to just applying his large size and force in a crude and crushing manner. Olek did not enjoy the agility and stamina training even though it was very good for him. But in time he saw the advantage of it. For combat and discipline you needed to wait. After a week you began to spar with them, and to set them against each other. You worked like a drill master, correcting stance and grips, leading them through steps and manoeuvres before having them try in real combat. Olek needed different work because of his different size and the weapons he used. But you could train him with how to fight against a smaller and nimble opponent, and having a large and strong opponent was good for the guards. This was the point that Burrows-In-Starlight really starting watching carefully. Although she did not join in the training herself, you caught her once training on her own and mimicking the instructions and steps you had given earlier that day. She was good, but you could spot errors to correct. The assassin had not noticed you watching either, another point to be happy with. By the time you returned to Lustrium, the two guards and Olek would be very proficient fighters with the weapons you had on hand. Maybe not prize winning fighters, but they would be better than almost everyone they were likely to come accross except for trained and experienced fighters and killers. 1:09 PM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 14 = 2d6(4,6)+4 Do you want to confront Burrows-In-Starlight and do anything with her when you find her copying your lessons? And do you want to do anything else before you return to Lustrium or should we just skip ahead to that? Dragomir One of the guards rushed off to collect more senior staff, while Lyndis took charge and ordered the group ahead. The remaining guard spluttered a comment about waiting for the supervisor and head researchers, but Lyndis cut him off. As a member of the royal family and having specific authority to do this it was within his purview to take charge. Also the point of the expedition had been to find something unexplored so far. Just because no one else had expected your expedition to actually amount to anything did not invalidate the royal writ nor the authority invested in him. The guard looked like he wanted to argue, but then decided it was not his place to argue and he was just to do what he was told. You continued on. The room the passage lead into was a vaulted small library. With a domed ceiling and eight walls, the room reminded you almost more of a reqilquary than a library or vault. Yet it had a smaller collection of tomes that had been carefully preserved by the vacuum, although the fresh air flowing in and slow creep of moisture would damage them. It was lucky that experts were on their way. Quickly looking at the titles many of them were interesting and potentially dangerous. 'The alchemic composition of a human', 'bio-aethetic combustion principles', 'splitting the thaum -CLASS X DANGER-' and one whose title sprung out to you clearly. "Stellar Uncertainty - The Relationships Between Celestial Bodies, Dilated Movement and Probability Mechanics"
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Elias Your wife was grateful for the comfort and the support. It was a complicated matter for her, and he surface throughts were a stormy cloud of conflicting doubts and emotions. Losing a child of her own body was devastating, and while she had been concerned about the health of an heir she would sire she also genuinely wanted to sire one. Both because she cared for Elias, but also for her duty as the wife of the Autarch. Yet she also blamed in a small part Elias for what had happened, and resented your poor health. Even as she did this she knew it was unfair and irrational, and felt guilty about it. Grief was a complicated process, one that everyone handled differently and at a different pace. Elias just had a front seat into the mind of another person dealing with it now that he had not held before. After two days it was clear that the worst of the danger was over. Your wife would need to wait a while before attempting to have another child, but she was not rendered barren and there would be no lasting damage to her. She needed time to rest and recover, but she was able to walk now. The doctors advised she have a period where she was isolated from the public, both for health and social reasons. But in a week she would be fit to return to public life they judged. You thought back on what Terminus had said. There was a member of your family in a crypt with a forbidden secret that the church had wanted to hide. What was that secret? There was also some elixir from an ancient alchemist that could go you the strength of a soldier. Maybe that could hold a secret. Or else there might be something to search for, that would cure you of this infirmity or at least ensure a healthy heir. I did not bother rolling for this, because we had established you get along well with your wife besides the current issue of siring an heir and also the affair while you were absent. Also because it is not interesting to have you risk failing performing a standard part of your duty as a ruler. Drakon You and the elf continued your dance for another two dozen seconds before you noticed a quick movement. The elf noticed it too, and brought their blade to bear to block an attack from Greatclaw. He had seen what happened to your sword though, and let his own blade go as it was cut in half. As he continued through his lunge he grabbed onto the elf from the front, landing his full weight on the man and causing him to stumble back. This was the chance you had been waiting for and you moved forward and grabbed the elf. What happened next was a confused rush. You had a flash of a memory that was not your own. Or maybe it was. It was hard to tell in the moment, and later you would not be able to recall it clearly. You were high in the sky, and you pushed your wings next to each other and dove, straight down on the monstrosity beneath you. It had a multitude of tentacles, eyes and orifices in a form that was a mockery of life. From your gut you called forth your acid, breathing on the creature which shrieked with an otherworldly scream. The vision ended just as your claws cut into the creature, thick ichor bleeding between your talon as you cleaved the monster in two. The elf lay in two uneven bloody heaps. Everyone, including Greatclaw, was staring at you in horror, awe and fear. 8:42 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 18 = 2d6(6,6)+6 From one extreme to another. Moonrat Burrows-In-Starlight began to take part in the training after you spoke to her. It seemed that while she had her pride, she was also pragmatic and if you already knew she was watching and taking part there was not much use in hiding it. The lessons with her were more effective when she was directly under your supervision regardless. The trip back to Lustrium took time, but was otherwise not-noteworthy in any manner. Places seemed to be adjusting to the fact that the world had not ended, that the gods were dead, and people know reassured that they were not going to die were returning to the tasks of living. Balances of power and the people in control had changed in a few places, but overall things continued for the commonfolk much as they always had. As for Lustrium itself, as you returned you found that it had undergone a particularly brutal reassertion of power. Overall the gangs and cartels both above and below the surface now held more power and influence than they had before due to their control of the real flow of money in the city, and by owning the loyalty of more mercanaries and thugs than the guard had men. Although the guard itself had never really been an honest organisation for decades, many men and women in it were as crooked or worse than those gangs and cartels could claim as their own. There had obviously been a very violent transition period though, as many areas and those especially where the poor dwelled had suffered poorly. There were many signs of burned or ruined buildings, people living in the wreckage of their homes. The ratling cartels had managed to seize a large area of the slums near the docks on the coasts that had flooded. Officially they were still the property of the city, but those that lived there owed allegiance (and coin) to the ratling queen. The Queen...Moonrat would have to present himself to her soon. But he did not need to do so immediately. You could afford some few hours for whatever you needed to do, and clean yourself up to present yourself before her tomorrow if you wished. Being quicker would be less of a potential source of tension, but there would be no slight or faux pas in waiting until the morrow to seek an audience. If there was anything you wanted to do before that, now was the time. How you find out the information about Lustrium's current state is up to you but it's not information you would have difficulty learning. Karla You returned to the previous room and crossed into the other. This room was smaller and lead into another room, although it looked like rubble had fallen obstructing at least the passage into that. It was hard to tell if the other room had been entirely collapsed or not in the dark and dimly lit area. The room Karla was presently in seemed to be some sort of armoury though. It held strange suits of armour, of a material that Karla had never seen before. It shone like a metal but was woven and seemed flexible like a cloth. Many of them were ruined, with holes and sharp and dangerous looking frayed ends around them. But there was one that looked like it would roughly fit Karla. There were also weapons, of the same substance but without an obvious weave. They came in three forms: A long unwieldy lance that Karla could never hope to effectivley use on foot, a sword that fit partly between a bastard and a long sword in size and design, but that Karla could use like either, and a strange bow with odd springs and coils. There was a quiver with arrows. The blade on the arrow, the lance-head and the arrow-heads all looked wickedly sharp and effective. As you searched through this room, you found a break in the wall. Air flowed through the break, although the way up was dark. It was the first lead on how to escape from the place that you had found although it was sure to be dangerous. 8:43 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 13 = 2d6(6,5)+2 Karla finds things, but she does not really have a good idea what the elf is specifically looking for so it is not practical for her to currently identify what he is specifically hunting for. Sasha "Hmm..." The sage thought for a moment, obviously a little surprised you had taken that particular choice and now needing to dredge his memory for useful information. "Well, as I explained the curse is powered by a divine spark. That spark is aligned to the nature of the god or goddess from which the curse originated, which in this case is Tymor. They were the god, or goddess, of beauty and form. The curse resonates on this by causing you to be unable to touch things you consider beautiful or valuable without destroying them. To twist it you would need to force it into a new purpose still aligned with that spark. So an easy option would be just being able to turn the curse off and on. If you have the willpower and could manage it, it might be possible to change the curse into a blessing. You might be able to make yourself beautiful and perfect in form, or bestow that on others, or change things that are plain or ugly into beautiful and things of great form." The sage said, although you could hear he was doubtful you could actually manage the latter parts of what he said. "This has only been done a handful of times in recorded history and legend mind you. You will need to connect to the divine spark powering the curse, and then you will need to impose your will on it. It is ultimately a contest of will, but with Tymor dead I would expect you to have less resistance to deal with. You could try to meditate yourself, in whatever manner works for you. Otherwise there are those who specialise in helping people connect with their spiritual sides, or a creature of divine or magic nature may be able to give you a spell or blessing to directly connect to it yourself. There are some that lie in and around Tymora, although you will need to travel overland to reach them." I was suprised you went with this option, but how you proceed with this is up to you. Of course if you want to go back to one of the other options that's still on the table.
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Jul 17, 2017 02:55
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Dragomir The book seemed dry at first, discussing the nature of stellar bodies and their relation to the world. Some of the ideas seemed a bit unusual, most of the churches in the land maintained strict heliocentric ideologies and this tome immediately ignored this dogma. The authors either had quite fanciful ideas of the stars in the sky, or knew many more things than were known today. It discussed the star of Yddra, which it described as a world of storms and winds with no ground whatsoever, and other stars as well. They were all supposedly part of some grand system spinning around the sun in the sky, and your own world was simply a part of this and not as you had been taught your life the centre of it. While these revelations were fascinating and tremendous in their own right, this was simply a preface to the rest of the tome. Dragomir read quickly and began to realise just why Terminus said that it lead people to madness. The first principle it demonstrated that was people were ultimately deterministic. At a granular level when examing a single person this was more general than exact, but as one scaled up to larger groups it became increasingly easy to map behaviours and actions from a probabilistic and mathematical point of view. The difficult part was finding the origin point, but this could be applied to other systems as well. Weather, the movement of the stars, peoples actions were all linked together by a serious of seemingly incomprehensible and unrelated factors that were ultimately intrinsicly and deeply connected. The core thread linking all of these together was the flow of aether between these systems and what was ironically named thaumic uncertainty. Because you could not know everything about a thing, by specifically discounting certain variables and factors you could isolate and derive other factors that you did want to know. It was backwards and yet the book laid out over three chapters the mathemagical proofs for this assertion. It was insane. It was impossible. It made perfect sense. What was the most incomprehensible thing of all was how the planets themselves were reflections of each other, by virtue of being reflections of the core of the system. It was like a reflection, with the sun being the source of thaumic aether and each planet having their own balances that lead to their own conditions. The space between them acted as a prism, defracting the aether from the central star. Thus it was possible by examining specific movements and patterns to isolate the reflection on another star in the system, which then lead back to you. This was a less reliable and perfect method than the large scale prediction previously demonstrated and explained in the book but allowed for specific predictions for certain people or places or objects. However it would only be able to give a couple of likely outcomes, and the more precise and specific an action or result you looked for the more vague the result would be. By the time you had finished reading the book Lyndis was shaking you on the shoulder. "Dragomir, Dragomir, DRAGOMIR!" You finally startled out of your revery. "Gods, it's been hours Draogmir. We couldn't get through to you at all. We were getting worried the book was ensorcelled or cursed. Are you okay?" Although it was impossible to tell the time here in this underground vault, you were feeling particularly hungry. Looking back at the book it seemed...almost mundane now that you knew what it held. But you could see why it would be dangerous and would drive many people unprepared mad. Most of the other tomes had been recovered by the staff in the ruins already, but if their subject matter was as advanced as the book you had read Dragomir was confident that it would take a lifetime for anyone to decipher and understand them. It seemed you now had a number of things to discuss with Lyndis though, given that you had promised to serve him in return for this favour. Now that you had the knowledge to do predictions, well you had a feeling you could guess what he would be keenly interested in... Dragomir has discovered the Foundations of Aetheropsychistry, or just the Oracle Equations for an easier name. The following are your divine traits associated with this: You have discovered to sets of equations, the first being Large Scale Predictions. This allows you to run an equation for large groups of people, areas, or over long periods to gather abstract but accurate patterns to predict things. The second set of equations are Single Readings, letting you get less precise predictions for specific events, people or places. These equations are equations, although you can abstract them in certian ways such as fortune telling reading, casting dice or bones, these are more difficult. You will get a penalty if you are pressed for time to complete the equations, and also if you are unable to properly write out the equations with enough space and detail. Whether they are mathematical, geometric, magical, astrological chartings or other forms is up to your sense of style. It all will work the same ultimately. Drakon You saw fear in people's eyes. Not the kind of fear of someone stronger, intimidating and in control. The desperate fear of someone who has seen something terrible and haunting. When you glanced at Greatclaw you saw he had stepped back a step as well. He also seemed afraid, afraid of you and this itself struck you hardest. After almost a minute of silence one of the dwarves spoke up. "Well, we 'ad some crazy elf bastard come in an' off our last boss. Now we got some monster guy. If we don' die there ain't nobody who will gently caress with us now." The words were promising but there was also a tenseness, and a fear behind them. Drakon could tell that it would take time to work these bandits into something useful for his vision and his dreams. And he needed to talk to Greatclaw as well. Whatever he had done when he'd had that strange vision had deeply and terribly shaken everyone. There was no cheering, but there was a general muttering and acceptance of their new terrible dread master. Life was hard and not great for bandits, and while these folk were pretty terrible scum they were also being pushed to breaking point by a series of incredible events out of their control. 10:53 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 10 = 2d6(1,5)+4 You have your bandits, but they're definitely a work in progress. Greatclaw also seems unsettled and afraid of you now. Elias It was hard to find anything much about the latter half of Castier's life. You could find that he was born, had a wife, several children and you chart his position and influence on the family tree. Then after accounts of how he helped conquer the disparate proto-states in the area into what would in time form into Aubrecht there was little mention further of him. By all accounts he had been a deeply pious man, and there were glowing descriptions of his dedication to his faith and the gods by the accounts taken from church records. But there was no grave for him, no record of his death, nothing after that point. It all cut off after a certain point. The only trail that you had to go on was that the records of the church of the old god of Justice in the region, Garvanicus, continued for a couple of months later than any other sources did. There was a temple court in the city, which was being restored for its process in jurisprudence. The questions about whether it should be transformed into a secular institute or converted into some kind of memoriam for the dead god as well as continuing to serve its functions had not been resolved. Traditionally members of the royal family presided over cases as a judge, making the final decisions on all cases brought before the court. A priest of Garvanicus would confirm that their god approved of the verdict and that it was ruled in his name, but the process had long been a civil one and not a religious one due to practical needs. If something could not be found there, there were naturally catacombs where members of all faiths were interred. These ran deep into the mountains below the city. But that was potentially a wild goose chase, Elias only had the fact that the church of Garvanicus continued records on Castier a little longer than anyone else. Yet these were the only two places in the city tied to the god where he might find something. 10:53 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 12 = 2d6(4,4)+4 You find the end of the trail, but it might lead you to a new path. Karla A strange encounter As you picked up the sword there was a current that ran through your hand. You tried to let go, but your hand seemed to clench the hilt as though it was spasming from an electric shock. A voice spoke in your head, vaguely masculine but mostly genderless. At first the words it spoke were not known to you, but after a couple of attempts it began to speak something that you could understand. "QUESTION. Please consent to the word of the elder of this place and enter into the covenant to be allowed to continue. Until you enter into this convenant I cannot accept you as my new Master." Its words were strange, as though it was trying to say something else but you lacked the words to understand it properly. The sword meanwhile seemed to glow faintly with a blue light in Karla's hand, gently illuminating the area around her a little. Moonrat Dealing with Nail-Biter was swift and satisfying. The brute had relied on being important enough in a gang to not have people want to mess with him, but also not be so important that he stood out. He was something of an unpleasant insitution for those less well off, and for the ratlings in Lustrium that was many of them. There were others like him, Nail-Biter just had an area that he claimed as 'his turf'. The larger ratling had began overconfident, but quickly grown enraged, then desperate, as you effortlessly and embrassingly beat him up. He did not lay a finger on Moonrat. He could no longer even begin to come close to that. Nail-Biter bitterly gave you his wallet, filled with a moderate amount of coins but almost all of it taken from the least fortunate in the city. After this he fled, angrily cursing you and swearing vengeance from his gang. People around waited until he was gone before they came out to congratulate you. Word came from Missing-Whisker, the ratling you had co-opted into being a guide for the ogres earlier. John had apparently gone a bit mad, yelling that he'd get strong and get some kind of vengeance on being passed over and ignored in the guard for not being corrupt or competnent enough. He had left with Mist-Tail, who was a known acquaintance and a small bit information broker. Clever enough, or only competent enough, to be useful to John but not such that he made too powerful or numerous enemies. They had not returned yet, and it was assumed that he had abandoned his post in the wake of the Godsdeath. There was a small bounty on him, but no one really cared enough about him to actually go after him. Does Moonrat know or know of Mist-Tail at all? Sasha The sage told you where to find a shaman and a priest of the old gods, the elemental spirits that preceeded the modern and now dead deities. Although his faith was heresy and outlawed, he had remained hidden and inconspicuous enough to go unharmed. The shaman lived near the elfwoods, while the priest incredibly lived near Tymora itself. The general locations were marked, although the sage reminded Sasha that you would need to make inquiries yourself to locate them once in the area. He recommended the inquriring be discrete. As for the having a nap, you had been recommended to get drunk. Very drunk. The sage explained that this helped blur the conscious and subconscious, and you had not really seen a need to disagree. After all drinking came easily and naturally to a pirate and especially an ogre one at that. You partied with your crew, then retired to your quarters and managed to remember why you had gotten so drunk before you passed out. Your dream was very strange and very lucid. You stood back in the cavern where you had found the changed angel, but instead of a horrifying demon chained in the pit it was yourself. Surrounding you were countless beautiful works of art, sculptures, gems and jewelery and...more weirdly, people. The giant simulacrum of yourself in the pit tried to reach for one, but could never touch them. The chains and bindings held her back, close enough to be torturous but not close enough to ever gain release. Seeing you there you turned to look down on yourself. "Isn't it strange, that we spent so long stealing wealth and beauty from others...but now it's stolen from us?" 10:54 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 14 = 2d6(5,5)+4
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Jul 21, 2017 02:39
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Drakon The bandits were used to being treated like trash, so your training was not so different an attitude even if the actions were odd. However having someone interested in their personal development was a big change from their previous masters. However once they began to adjust to things and you did not brutally dismember and destroy any people in front of them they began to adapt to the new situation. Towards the end of the first week one of the dwarves joked that if they were going to be monsters in the end that they might as well be your monsters. Although a crash course in physical fitness had dramatic effects within two weeks in terms of beginning to bust fat and improving cardiovascular fitness, it would take more time for them to really achieve more obvious changes. Not to mention that while there was a loose comraderie among the group, they were largely uncoordinated and lacked teamwork or real fighting skills. However you ran quickly into issues with being a bandit camp in the middle of nowhere. They had no real food stocks and stole most of their provisions. There was not enough game or food to hunt and forage for in the region of the mountains you were in to last for long. Two weeks would mark were you would begin to run out of food. You had the armour and weapon from the elf, even if the armour was ruined and torn, but it was unlikely the town at the foot of the mountains would have a market or the funds to purchase it. 8:24 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 14 = 2d6(6,4)+4 You rolled very well so the bandits are beginning to adjust and your training is beginning to lay good foundations. More dramatic developments will take more time. Although the results run until the end of the second week your next action will take place near the start of the second. Food is an issue you will likely want to solve and soon. Karla The voice spoke clearly in your head. "Acknowledged. From this moment you are my Master until we can consult with an Elder and confirm the covenant." The sword then seemed to hum for a moment, and a glass jewel like object in the crossbar's decoration lit up. "Master, I can see you have donned the armour of a -" and then it spoke a word that you did not know. (For convenience I will call it Monster, but it is a specific name you have no context for) "-Monster Slayer. However you need to drink the elixir to be able to properly use it. From your memory I can see we are in the [another name you do not recognise], so the elixir should be in the room with the drawings of human anatomy and dragon anatomy." Although Karla had no idea what a dragon was, she had seen the diagrams and now had a name for whatever they were a diagram of. The sword seemed to gently tug you in a direction, not enough to pull or cause you to move but it was like a slight but ignorable pressure guiding you. With nothing else to do for now, you followed it until it guided you to a specific one of the vials. It was on the side of the room with the human diagram, and had a sort of orange glow to it. "Master, although there are no dragons here for you to ride or bond with you should still consume this elixir. It will make your body hardier and heal more quickly, as well as protect you from most toxins, poisons and damaging substances." Karla gains the Dragonrider's Sword, a powerful, sentient and intelligent weapon she has formed a contract with. Aside from the strange knowledge it holds, it is also sharper and deadlier than any weapon currently seen in the game and among the best weapons in the world. The trait is called Heavensward Sword. Unlike other players you currently only have a single trait, although consuming the elixir will grant you a second one to go with the sword. Elias You found that upon entering the Ministry of Justice, named for the irony of being a religious ministry and a legal one, that the Archbishop was bedridden and in poor health. Although he was receiving care, the expectation was that he would pass on soon. Although it was not impossible for him to make a recovery, his spirit was lost and he seemed to wish for death. If you wished to talk to him, it would need to be soon. As for the archives, the clerk set out to find the records you sought could not find much. Most of the records he found were ones you had copies of. The Ministry had more detailed accounts of some events but they did not shed much more useful information, except reinforcing that prior to his disappearance that Castier had seemed to be very much favoured by the church. There was a deeper reliquary with some secret records, but the Archbishop had the key with him. The clerk did not hold so much stock on their sanctity now that the gods were dead, but felt a little trepidation from taking something important from a dying man. Perhaps Elias with his position as Autarch would be better suited? 8:24 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 10 = 2d6(3,3)+4 More trails but still little concrete evidence. Moonrat The Queen's court often watched people like carrion feeders watching a dying creature. Curious, uncaring but also patient. When you walked in however it was different. Few people dared to so brazenly defy the queen, and even fewer still had the audacity to return. Most of them had the sense to flee and hide, but none of them had the abilities you did. Even walking into the court you could see how assassins might hide and ambush you, how you might attack and fight back, which people would be good hostages and how to exploit the situation to your advantage. But the queen looked to be in...not a bad mood. She smiled and chittered as you approached. "Welcome back my intrepid servant. Do tell me about the elves? How are they doing in the wake of the death of the gods?" Then you sensed the danger. She was just a little bit too relaxed, like a predator who was toying with a creature that was about to step into its trap. So this was her game, to get you to say yourself that you had disobeyed her. You had already know that she would know, so perhaps ultimately it was for the best. Now you had a chance to explain yourself before she could wind up to whatever mood she was truly in. 8:25 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 10 = 2d6(6,2)+2 Not the worst impression but you're still in the headlights so to speak. Sasha "If you cannot even figure out that much then you've got no hope. Abandon this futile dream and repent. Prostrate yourself before Tymor and maybe you shall be granted forgiveness." The simulacrum of yourself said cruelly, laughing at your ignorance of what to do and smiled nastily. "A drink? A fine idea. Why don't we both indulge?" She said and suddenly you were submerged in ale. But this was the foulest, most rancid most acidic ale you could imagine. It seemed to fill most of the cavern, but as far as you could tell you could swim up and there was a small pocket of air near the top of the cavern. The giant chained simulacrum of yourself laughed, seemingly unaffected by the ale around you both. 8:25 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 6 = 2d6(3,1)+2 Sasha is not doing well in her first metaphysical dream quest. Dragomir Lyndis gave a pointed glance to the book as if to ask what you were doing, then thought about it. He took out his personal bad and leaned over to you while a guard wasn't looking. He gave you a conspiratorial look, or what you felt was one, and gently took the book from your hands and put it in his bag. "It grows late, the sun is setting and I am hungry. We will retire to my vessel to have a meal, over which we can discuss your service." He said with a smile and gave no hint of what had happened with the book. The guards checked you over to make sure that you were not smuggling any relics out, but did not check Lyndis who was both a minor royal and had been in and out of the room numerous times. While he asked you about things on the way back, Dragomir noted that Lyndis kept the conversation mostly light and avoided mentioning much about the book. He asked for your impressions and how you felt on discovering the hidden trove, and how he was considering naming the find "Dragomir's Horde" as a joke about dragons and your name. He checked in with the curator and an official, but that only took 10 minutes and when he was done you retired to his vessel. Food was a welcome relief for your empty stomach, and you ate gratefully. After a while, he looked at his two personal guards. One of them did a check around the walls of the room you were in and another left to patrol the boat. Once they were both satisfied, he dismissed them from the room and spoke to you with a serious expression on his face. "Okay, I need to know what was really going on with that book and why you were clutching onto it like it was a newborn babe. I have kept it hidden for now, but if it's dangerous or gives us an advantage then we need to find a way to ensure it remains hidden...or destroy it."
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Jul 26, 2017 07:29
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Can players repost their original and updated character sheets in the new OOC thread please.
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Jul 28, 2017 03:16
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Elias The archbishop was a man lost to grief and tired of living in the world. It had changed so much in the last weeks of his life that he had no want or need of it anymore. While he was scared of what would become of him, with the gods of life and death gone and the afterlife as far as anyone knew burned to ashes...he also held the comfort that whatever fate befell him was what had befallen others. However you were a welcome and familiar face, and although you had gone the archbishop appreciated that you had stepped in quickly and kept civil order and the transition from the age of the gods as stable as you could manage so far. While he was uncertain why you had been gone so long, he felt reasonably confident that he could leave things in your hands after he was gone. There was not so much for you to do in terms of assisting with the palliative care, and as the ruler of the autarchy such duties were considered beneath you by the people around you. But they did ask you to help keep him company and to keep his mind off of the end of his life for a while. You could tell and 'hear' that he felt he should discuss some matters of jurisprudence with you and the laws of the land before he passed on. While he had no intended to originally, your presence had awakened in him a sense of guilt and duty that he wanted to resolve before he passed on. 11:18 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 10 = 2d6(2,4)+4 You made a decent impression on the archbishop, so he seems willing to talk to you about things. Although his main agenda has nothing to do with the reason for your visit, it seems he has no terrible secrets he wishes to share. Or at least with you right now. Karla "I do not have a name, Master. You may assign me one if it would be easier for you, otherwise you may call me by 'Servant' or 'Weapon'." Your blade responded, as you drank the fluid. It tasted vaguely warm and salty. Not enough to be difficult to drink but slightly unpleasant. Once you had consumed it the sword spoke to you again. "I recommend that you plan to eat more over the coming days, Master. The elixir will make changes to your body, and you will become very hungry from this process." You did not feel any different right now though, nor any hungrier than you expect to be. "From your memories, I can see that this place has become partly submerged. Although the temple appears to be tilted on an angle, I believe I can direct you to the air flow tunnels. As you could feel a breeze from one break in the wall, I believe you should be able to return to the surface by following the tunnels.' If Karla wants to check anything else out down here, or ask the sword any questions then you can definitely do that. Otherwise if you just want to leave I can fast track that. Moonrat The queen remained still, too still. Although your energy had kept you moving and excited through your speech, you faltered. Calmness was a danger sign, a prelude to a storm and surely as you saw it, the storm came. "You come into my house, having disobeyed my orders. You brag about this, having fancied yourself a general and promise me an army and conquest. Yet I hear you have begun to train up soldiers of your own. I will not stand for a snake in my house! I will have his head!" She yelled and as she did her eyes went wide and she gesticulated violently at you. Regretfully Moonrat you tell that she had largely made up her mind before you had even entered into her court. A dozen assassins leaped out of the shadows and the nobles cried in fear and retreated. You fought quickly and rapidly, glad for the strengthening and training of your body that you had done. Within a few minutes you had slain the first wave, and two dozen more leaped out. The fighting was brutal and swift, but again you came out on top after a couple of minutes of the melee starting. As the assassins fell, you noticed Whispers-In-Starlight watching and waiting. It seemed she had avoided fighting you because she knew that she would die. As to whether that was due to fear, or if she was waiting for something, or had decided her loyalty was no longer to the queen you could not tell. The queen however was shrieking and there was a small froth of spittle around her mouth. "I WILL HAVE HIS HEAD! KILL HIM! KILL THE TRAITOR! KILL THE SNAKE!" She screamed at you and anyone listening. It seemed like there would be no negotiating anything with her, and she would continue to have you hunted and excommunicated from the court. At least for the time being. Your most immediate options seemed to be to leave and not return, either to hide in the shadows deeper than rattlings normally did, or to leave Lustrium entirely. Or you could kill the queen, perhaps even taking her throne. There would be few who could immediately contend with you after all. But that too would have consequences and while your gifts helped you on the fields of battle, you knew they would be less applicable by far in the arenas of political combat. 11:18 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 2 = 2d6(1,3)-2 Have a destiny point by the way. Drakon Moving further to the north and to the west, you found an area in the mountains where there was a relatively flat region enough that a dwarf had made a steading. There was a herd of goats being kept as well as a small orchard or some hardy trees and a modest vegetable garden. Although it was occupied, your group could easily steal from it or take it by force if you so wished. Travelling further would be a bigger commitment and more difficult with your current supplies. When Greatclaw and the bandit returned, they had troubling news for you. It turned out that the town you had stopped in before was just waiting for some of the local guard from a larger town further away from the foothills to arrive. Once that happened they planned to wipe out any bandits they found as part of an effort to clear up the area and reinstate law and order. They reckoned you had about a week before they arrived and were ready, and then you would have a few days more before they arrived. As for the actual gathering of supplies, people had been a bit suspicious of a weird ratling and a dwarf buying a bunch of supplies with a mix of human and dwarven coin. But they had not done anything to give themselves away as far as they and you could tell, and traders often had mixed currencies due to the border being close by. 11:18 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 10 = 2d6(1,5)+4 News has arrived. The bandit you sent along behaved and did his job mostly competently, but did not excel either. Sasha You focused on what you wanted, and on laying down control of the dreamscape you were in. It was tough and you could feel the spark resist your efforts, but eventually you were able to reconfigure the room. It became an empty tavern room, with a fire crackling away without heat or sound and a pair of tankards in front of you and your now regularly sized simulacrum. Both of them had ale in it, and you felt reasonably sure that yours at least would taste decent if not good this time. The other you smiled a little nastily. "Hmm, not as bad as I had thought. But if this is the best you can manage you will not be able to rid yourself of my curse." 11:19 AM <•Morphball> HiKaizer: 12 = 2d6(6,2)+4 Sasha has control over the dreamscape for the time being, although directly acting on the spark will be difficult. Creating things that are very lifelike, like other people, or many things that feel real is still difficult for you but you can make a lot of basic illusion type additions or changes to the room if you want. Or your could change it entirely, basically you can only make a few things with actual heat, taste or sound but making objects and tactile stuff is doable. Rashid "Servant of a servant. Know that your beloved god is nothing more than a pale shadow. For that reason alone did I chose to spare it, such as it is bound by mortal sorcery and will. But your people will find the lands doomed without providence. You travel to new lands, and when you land you will find islands to the west. They are enshrouded by clouds that billow forth from the bowels of the earth, clouds that will spell a painful and assured death if you linger a day or more. But should you find a way to breathe or be free from their poison you will find a Heart of Flame. It is borne from an ancient creature of fire that died, and it will grant you mastery over heat itself. Close to where you will make landfall there lies a great and vast plain. In its middle lies a great body of water, and in its depths lies a forgotten ruin from even before my knowledge. I have seen that there lies the secret to Water inside of it. This is no trophy to present to false priests, but they do not know what is yet to come for your home. Far to the north in frozen lands lies a wound. Long ago people sought to gain mastery over the heart, and they wounded they world and shattered themselves. A perpetual winter has sealed up the worst of the danger, and their only legacy is the monsters that dwell in that place. There is a single blade, laid in loving memory near that wound. This blade is made to ward against the divine and the otherworldly, and no sword forged since has been its equal. Or if you would travel to a city of thieves, blood gold and rats. Beneath its warrens, deep in the earth lies a secret that even the oldest people in the world have forgotten. The ratlings only have fragmented stories about why they earned the hatred of the elves and why they were seen as harbingers of doom, but if you have the curiousity and the determination to reach the deepest cavern you shall see the truth of their plight. Now, you amuse me, for we both know you to be no hero, no leader of men, no conquering warrior nor wise scholar. You are a human with very human desires and appetites. That is the sort of man or woman I would see lead others to the future. Out of those I speak with, to you alone shall I give a gift. You shall be able to speak with any living creature who can speak with the intellect of at least a child of mankind. Rashid gains the Mortal Trait: Tongues. This will allow you to speak with and understand anything of at least roughly childlike intellect. It seems like a fun way to give you a leg up and also avoid weird translation issues. They would get tired fast. HiKaizer fucked around with this message at 04:53 on Aug 24, 2017 |
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Jul 31, 2017 03:54
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