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Post by sleepingdragon on Apr 7, 2009 22:09:09 GMT
Malador exhaled. As the days passed and their brush with war passed them by and receded into the background, the city returned to normalcy. The jubilant mood following the news that Malador would remain at peace and free faded, as the reality began to reassert itself.
Taxes. The word was on every tongue. At first, the enormous sum that had been extorted from Malador seemed so enormous that people ignored it, as if unable to grasp such a huge quantity of money, so vastly beyond what any but the richest of its citizens would have for themselves in all their lives. But as the days wore on, it dawned upon Malador’s citizens that this money would not simply appear from the air, leaving all else unchanged. Seven hundred and fifty thousand gold pieces a year had to be paid, and it would be paid by them.
As if in reminder of this, the new Torathi Ambassador soon arrived in the city. Seeming to learn from the mistake of using the brusque General Juthe in the previous negotiation, King Darrgan had this time selected a veteran courtier, Joren Tashal, to represent him, sending a small squad of civil servants alongside him. To the great relief of all of Malador, however, no Kingdom Guards came with Tashal.
The first Council election, in which Jan Torwald won permanent election, was a muted affair, with only one of the other rumoured candidates, Holpan Seamander, taking part – Torwald’s re-election was viewed as a certainty beforehand and the other prospective Councillors wished to keep their precise levels of support secret. The business was made more sombre when it was revealed that one candidate, Callas Delat, who many had thought stood a fair chance of election, committed suicide under mysterious circumstances.
The day after Torwald’s election, Hokar Bilthone, the Crimson Path sorcerer who had murdered Rohdell, was executed at the Yardarm. The man’s tongue and eyes had been removed prior to his execution, to deny him the chance of making damaging revelations or of bewitching any of the people in the crowd. Reports from the execution, however, suggested that the man had not died easily. Left unrestrained by his guards for only a moment, he had begun to move forward towards the crowd, flailing out wildly around him and forcing the guards to beat him with their clubs so they could restrain him and bring him to the scaffold. Those present reported that Hokar had perished with a smile on his bloody lips.
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Post by sleepingdragon on Apr 16, 2009 18:03:26 GMT
Normalcy was restored, and so most Maladorans resumed their favourite pastimes: money-making, and complaining.
Trade began to flow back into the city, first in a trickle, then in a flood. The prospect of long-term peace with Torath seemed to encourage all manner of enterprise. As many of the farms around Malador had temporarily lain fallow while farmers fearing war had fled into the city in the lead-up to the Union Vote, there were worries of famine, but traders from Adaria came in and made up the difference, though the price of bread remained slightly inflated for some time.
Plans were also drawn up to build a small but luxurious villa at the western edge of Maladoran territory, to be called the Palace of Brothers, which would be the site where the Torathi Kingdom Guards, their Envoy and various dignitaries would meet the Councillors of Malador every three months for the handing over of what was being euphemistically referred to as Malador’s ‘contribution’ to Torath. The construction required the hiring of about a hundred stonemasons, carpenters, painters, manual labourers, servants, and others, bringing employment back to many artisans who had been struggling or outright put out of business by the worries of war and consequent decline in trade. Almost everyone knew someone who would benefit a little from the project, and so it gained grudging support, though some few muttered darkly about the cost.
Such grumblings were now becoming the norm. Any complaints about the cost of the Palace were completely outweighed and overshadowed by the vastly larger sum that would be required to pay the tribute. There was a nearly universal agreement that it was the Councillors and the other wealthy citizens of the city who should bear most of the burden, as they were the most able, and an entirely universal agreement that this would never happen. Instead, Maladorans spoke in anger and fear about taxes, dreading one possible measure, used in Torath but never before in Malador, above all others – a poll tax. This would fall heavily on all of them save the rich, and therefore, they agreed sardonically, was the most likely course of action.
The election campaign continued, and the candidates seemed to go almost out of their way to avoid any mention of how the tribute was to be paid, preferring instead to speak about who would be best to manage the payment. A number of names had been put forward as potential Councillors, but the field narrowed to four rivals: Damos Tilaven, Paster Tassin, Holpan Seamander, and Colm Vargo. All the candidates were said to be spending frantically to buy up votes, but two of the candidates were considered long-shots. Although he had amassed a fortune and cemented a marriage with a member of the formerly prosperous Tash family, Damos Tilaven was the child of servants, and widely rumoured to be a gangster besides, and few supported him. Seamander, the owner of a small fishing fleet, was also given little chance of winning one of the seats. It seemed most likely the seats would be won by Tassin, a wealthy landowner backed by Councillors Delorri and Arco, and Colm Vargo, Councillor Torwald’s son in law. His business was heavily involved in trade with Torath and he was thought to have strong knowledge of their ‘ally’, and he received some sympathy when the co-owner of their business died in a riding accident shortly after the start of the campaign. The ordinary people of Malador, unable to vote at all anyhow due to the extreme price of the voting licences, paid little attention to the affair.
The day of the second of the three elections was marred by an unfortunate incident. In late afternoon, shortly before the votes were set to be tallied, a group of about a dozen people, their faces masked and dressed in black, strode boldly through one of the Foot’s major thoroughfares before many onlookers. Some of the men were banging loudly on makeshift drums, while others carried two large banners, one of which read; ‘MALADOR BELONGS TO US – TAKE IT BACK’, and the other, more succinctly; ‘FUCK THE RICH’. Chanting “One solution …REVOLUTION!” they marched towards the gates of Clifftop. A small crowd of onlookers followed to see what would happen.
By the time they reached the gates, however, the Town Guard had been alerted. A score faced off against the demonstrators, shouting orders to disperse, to which the demonstrators replied by shouting "You will pay!" in the general direction of the electors in the centre of Clifftop. One attempted to climb over the wall surrounding Clifftop and was swiftly detained. After a few minutes mounted members of the Clifftop Guards came out to join the Town Guard, and, as their orders were being ignored, they were forced to disperse the crowd physically. Some of the demonstrators drew out clubs or knives, but this was futile. The charge of the mounted Clifftop Guards sent them reeling, two demonstrators were trampled to death, and almost all of the others were arrested, save for one or two who managed to fight their way loose.
This unforeseen event was followed by a second, even more surprising. Narrowly overtaking both Paster Tassin and Colm Vargo, Damos Tilaven was able to win election to the Council of Malador. The impact of these events caused considerable excitement. After congratulating his opponents and stating he looked forward to winning whichever of the trio proceeded to join him the next week, Tilaven then theatrically called for a vote of the Council to condemn ‘the violent cowards who have attempted to overturn Malador’s rightful government’, which was passed by all Councillors both old and new. Tilaven stated that, although all people had the right to their opinions, that political violence could never be accepted and that any who threatened them, the elected representatives of the people of the city, would face the Guards. Those who truly had the courage of their convictions, he said, would not hide their faces and rely on weapons, but would stand for elections themselves and would stand or fall on the strength of their arguments, and that his own election, despite his low birth and difficult circumstances in life, surely proved that in Malador anyone could rise high as long as they were willing to work diligently and possessed merit. The contents of his speech were copied down and then read out in all public squares by hired criers.
For once, the feelings of the Council were in tune with those of the people, who were largely united in their contempt for the demonstrators. They were obviously just trouble-makers looking to smash and grab, or why else would they go about armed and disguised? Anyway, didn’t any of them have jobs? The news that the eight imprisoned demonstrators would be executed for treason was met with satisfaction – they surely deserved it.
The electioneering grew more frantic as it became clear that only one of the favoured candidates, or even neither, would achieve a seat on the Council. The day after Tilaven’s election, Holpan Seamander announced his intention to continue on, and drew great support by becoming the first candidate to address how they could actually pay the tribute. He made an impassioned, indignant speech before the gates of Clifftop, condemning ‘the greed and indolence of the career bureaucrats’ at the Excise House and other state institutions, some of whom were paid as high as fifteen gold pieces a day for doing little more than pushing about bits of paper. As it was hardly fair that they should be so well off while all private citizens would be forced to tighten their belts, he promised to table a motion to slash the salaries of civil servants ‘within the hour’ that he was elected. This earned him great popularity, both among the well-to-do electors and among the general populace as well, and it became obvious that this final election, too, would be a bitter fight…
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Post by sleepingdragon on Apr 20, 2009 21:07:25 GMT
Sleeping Dragon: The summer came, and events continued apace. The final election was held in a somewhat farcical mood - the owner of the Old Pirate, Rufus Otrello, a disgraced patrician, announced his own candidacy, which he used as a platform to spew invective at other Councillors and make mocking policy proposals such as a tax on defecation. In the end, Colm Vargo was able to come out as the victor of the election, defeating Paster Tassin by several hundred votes.
The issue of tax became more urgent as time went on. Such was the concern that a young writer called Byron, formerly a stable-hand, began to publish a news sheet, the People's Voice, reporting on the issue. The Voice advocated a tax upon land ownership, which would only affect the rich, and, to everyone's great surprise, it soon began to be reported that this was the measure that was in fact most likely to be adopted. Almost everyone had expected a poll tax, that would strike the poorest most heavily and leave the rich alone, and so the idea of land tax gained some support, and the Voice became popular, though a few malcontents cynically suggested that the paper was being funded by the Council themselves.
In addition, the Council announced that it would raise part of the money of the tribute via borrowing, issuing what it called Malador Bonds to the populace. These instruments, which were divided into Copper, Silver, and Gold Bonds, each requiring a larger initial investment but granting a greater rate of interest, and cashable in the periods directly between each tribute payment, began to be sold in small numbers at the beginning of July
The Voice was not the only piece of literature being distributed in the Foot and the Harbourside. These areas were also targetted by a group calling itself the Social Cooperative Federation, who, it soon became clear, were the group of demonstrators that had disrupted the election of Damos Tilaven. This group stridently called for land redistribution, cancellation of debt, state provision of medicines and relief for the unemployed, and, most popularly, the abolition of the Council, replaced by direct voting by all citizens of the city. Most controversially, they stated that these goals could never be achieved through the present political system, and that, therefore, all Maladorans should take up arms against the Council. For obvious reasons, this group was busily hunted by the authorities, but were believed to be operating out of the Flow and thus little progress was made. The eight captured demonstrators were indeed executed, but those present at the Yardarm for their hangings reported that the area had been littered with SCF leaflets, and one had even climbed up the Yardarm itself and written 'FUCK THE COUNCIL' up the side of it in red letters.
Time went on. The summer was one of intense heat, with no rain and few clouds. Life began to return to its previous routine, changed only by a heightening of the intensity with which most people viewed current affairs. Sakura: Sakura soon after that last mission bought new shop with residence on top and moved to it. She was quite pleased with it since it meant that she is more or less established in the city. Several times, she went to the Clifftop to help new power behind one seat. Sakura: Edit: She went outside to Carus's estates to help him on many matters. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael settled into a regular routine, seeing people at his house in the Jethi district. He also finished off the extension to the house, which he now fitted up as a surgery. On Fridays he spent the day treating the people of the Flow. He often found himself invited to dinner by Jethi families, on occasion as a potential husband for a marriagable daughter. But he still managed to make time for the library and for his studies. Vachir and Sakura saw him once or twice at Carus' estate. Vachir: Vachir spent most of his time at the Torwald Estate not too far from the city, having been employed to tutor the family's retainers in the arts of archery and riding. In his free time, he'd drink at the Old Pirate and ponder about how to spend the great wealth he had accumulated in these months of hard work. Sleeping Dragon: on the morning of the 28th of July, Sakura, Rafael, Enrico, and Vachir all received written messages, slipped underneath their doors or handed to them by Pesk Dannitch. These notes were from new Torathi Envoy, Joren Tashal, and requested their presence at the Torathi Embassy as soon as possible. Sakura: Sakura was surprised to see such letter, baring in mind what happened last time. She closed her shop, putting her better than usual dress and went to visit the Embassy on her horse. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael finished his surgery before setting off for the Torathi Embassy. Vachir: After dressing up in his equipment, Vachir went on his way to the Embassy, somewhat worried - and yet, at the same time, eager - about whatever there required their attention. Sleeping Dragon: the group met in the Embassy and were brought in, up the stairs where they had battled Hokar Bilthone, and into a large dining room where they were told to wait for a few minutes. In a short time, four men entered the room. Joren Tashal, the Ambassador, was a tall, thin man with a sharp face and short, severely cut black hair, dressed in a fine red doublet. He was flanked by two large men carrying sheathed swords, and behind them there came a short, thin man dressed in livery, embroidered with the running wolf symbol of Torath. This last man had a very weary look on his face.
The Ambassador sat down and greeted the party coolly. "Thank you for coming so promptly." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael took a seat and sat down. "We presumed there was a need for haste". Sakura: Sakura merely nodded in respond and sat down, replying, "The letter seems very urgent. Your Excellency." Vachir: Vachir took a seat and let his companions do the talking, although he looked obviously very interested in knowing what was the reason for them being here. Sleeping Dragon: "There is indeed a most pressing need for haste. The most glorious King Darragan is desirous of your services. Konig, here," he indicated the weary man, "has arrived just this morning with urgent news from the City of Torath. Konig, explain what is happening."
Konig sighed and began to speak. "A week ago tonight, four people were found murdered on Beacon Hill, in the capital. Their murders were horrific, each person killed brutally, and separately. Each had bloody wounds around the head or shoulders, but these were not the only wounds. Each had many other wounds, lacerations in the flesh like from daggers, or teeth. The news was horrific but it drew little attention at first. But then that night, two more victims were found, and then three the night before. And every night there has been at least two deaths. The Kingdom Guards made an attempt to find the killer, or killers, but have had no luck whatsoever. The city is in terror and many believe that these killings have not been committed by anything human. And so the most glorious King Darragan, having been told of your prowess and skill in solving the supernatural murder of a Councillor here, sent me to bring you back to Torath, and put an end to these grisly killings." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael sat back, so suprised he could not at first think of anything to say. Sakura: Sakura looked surprised as she considered the points made to them and whispered very quietly, "To leave this city..." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael took a deep breath and leaned forward. "There would have to be certain conditions to our entering Torath. How, for example, will King Darragan guarantee my safety among the Torathi?" Ardrun (enter): 20:50 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (416) Ardrun... Sakura: Sakura nodded and asked, "Not mentioning the losses I would incur when leaving my affairs here to attend this grave matters in your heartland." Sakura: "The life of Rafael is also vital in this matter." She added Sleeping Dragon: "The most glorious King Darragan has consented to grant you exemption from the rules barring your people from the Kingdom, provided you agree to abide by the other laws of the realm and do not attempt to stir up ill-feeling against the most glorious King Darragan. The Kingdom Guards will ensure that none of the serfs raise their hands against you. And I assure you, the rewards are most generous," said the Ambassador. He took out several scrolls, which he handed to Sakura, Vachir, Rafael, and Enrico. Rafael ben Efrim: "I was more concerned about the guards." Rafael said. "General Juthe's men made no secret of their attitude to my people." He took the scroll but looked up without opening it. "What about Ardrun? He is one of our group and is treated the same as the rest of us by our employers." Sleeping Dragon: the Ambassador looked confused and glanced at Sakura. "I had been led to believe that this one was your property? Is this not so?" Sleeping Dragon: edit: property, no question mark. Sakura: Sakura shook her head and replied wistfully, "Not anymore. He is now free man and thus should be treated as equal." Ardrun: "You were misinformed," Ardrun said. "There is no such thing as a man that is property." Vachir: As he read through the scroll, Vachir raised his eyebrows and looked quite surprised - bewildered, in fact - for a few moments. Sleeping Dragon: "As for the Guards, you can be assured that you will be left alone. Until you reach Torath you will be accompanied by Konig here, who will vouch for you, and on arriving in the city, you will be issued a decree which will prove to the Guards that you are free to be in the Kingdom." Tashal nodded his head to Ardrun. "I apologise for my mistake. If you will give me a moment..." the Ambassador drew a piece of parchment and wrote upon it. After a few moments he handed it to Ardrun. Vachir: "This offer sounds intriguing. I think we should accept."stated Vachir matter-of-factly to the others. "Unless...I hope this land you are giving us is good, fertile land, and not some desert or swamp." he added, now sounding slightly wary of such a good offer Ardrun (enter): 21:08 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (420) Ardrun... Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded in approval as Ardrun was handed a scroll and opened his own. After reading it he rolled it up and set it on the table. "Estates and manors...farmland...they are not the Jethi way. I will have to consider this." Sleeping Dragon: "I assure you, the most glorious King Darragan would never seek to cheat you," said the Ambassador. "The land is good." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael frowned. "What is it you are not telling us?" Sakura: Sakura read the scroll with a playful smile on her face. "Hmm... maybe so. Even so, you seems to be holding back on something." Sakura: Edit: "Hmm... maybe so." Sakura: "Any legal oligations to your King on these states?" Sakura: estates* Sakura: obligation* Sleeping Dragon: the Ambassador looked offended. "There are land taxes, yes, as is quite proper. I am hearing they will exist here in Malador as well before long." Rafael ben Efrim: "Possibly, but that is not decided yet. And we would need to know a lot more about these estates to tell if they are worth risking our lives for, which is what we will be doing." Rafael said sharply. "I would rather have one sure house here in Malador than accept an unknown estate in Tellerthan." Sakura: "Rather nice estate outside Camp Cloven, which used to be a logging camp. I am slightly happy with the reward... however." She ended for a moment. "Such estate can disappear at the moment notice at King's displeasure." Sleeping Dragon: "I am afraid I have no more details at present," said the Ambassador apologetically. "The decision to seek you out was made with some haste. If you wish to negotiate some separate reward, you are of course free to do so once you have reached Torath, or you can do so here, though I am quite limited in what I can promise you. I have been authorised to offer each of you a boon to be granted by the most glorious King Darragan, in place of an estate." Rafael ben Efrim: "What would that be?" Rafael asked Sleeping Dragon: "You may ask anything you like, within reason. I am afraid that I am not the most glorious King Darragan and cannot grant them myself." Ardrun (enter): 21:26 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (426) Ardrun... Ardrun (enter): 21:32 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (434) Ardrun... Sakura: Sakura smiled for a moment and replied, "Your King positioned our rewarded estates which is far away. I have in mind to... discuss the location more clearly in Torath." Vachir: "Indeed. We have..."added Vachir "Worked together for some time, and would prefer if our estates were situated closer to each other." Rafael ben Efrim: "I for one would prefer money to land, so that I may invest it in my surgery and the work that I do in the city." Rafael answered coolly. "I am not suited to the life of a country landowner." Sleeping Dragon: Konig spoke to the Ambassador quietly, and he frowned. "Excuse me for one moment," he said, and the two left the room quietly, leaving the guards to watch over the party. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael sat quietly, watching the guards. Sleeping Dragon: one of the guards gave Rafael a gap-toothed grin. Ardrun (exit): 21:39 Sakura: Sakura started humming to herself rather pleasantly Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael raised his eyebrows when the guard grinned at him. "Are you allowed to speak to us?" he asked. Sleeping Dragon: "No." Rafael ben Efrim: "Then you have already broken the rule." Rafael said, with the ghost of a smile. Sleeping Dragon: a few moments later, the Ambassador and Konig reappeared. "Knoig has given me this," he said, showing them a scroll. This scroll, addressed to the party as a whole, offering ten acres of land and estates and manners located a mile south of the town of Copperdell. "The most glorious King Darragan was uncertain if you would object to having estates in separate lands, and prepared this in case you did." Sleeping Dragon: edit: Knoig Sleeping Dragon: edit: Konig! Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael shook his head. "Lands and estates do not interest me. But the land is worth something. How valuable is it?" Ardrun (exit): 21:56 Sleeping Dragon: "I am somewhat familiar with this estate. I believe its total value is approximately six thousand gold pieces." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael could not help smiling at that. "How very exact of you Sakura. Well, we can talk it over on our way to Torath." Sakura: Sakura smiled slightly and nodded, "The estate sound much more rewarding indeed." She glanced at Rafael with a hint of concern, "I am happy to pay you the amount of the fair share." Sakura: "When it is rewarded." Vachir: "Sounds more like it."said Vachir, now more pleased with the offer. "I think I might keep my share, myself." he commented for Sakura and Rafael to hear Rafael ben Efrim: "I think that we should discuss these matters when we can devote more time and thought to them." Rafael said, with a meaningful look at Sakura. "If we are going to Torath, we should find out as much as possible about these murders." Sakura: "Hmm." Sakura nodded, "Fair enough, Rafael. The offered reward for me is fine at this current situation. So any more iformation about them,?" Sleeping Dragon: "Of course, you are free to go away and discuss this among yourselves. But I beg you to decide soon. People are dying in the city every night." Ardrun (exit): 22:02 Rafael ben Efrim: "Do you have any more information about the murders? What is this Beacon Hill?" Rafael asked. Sleeping Dragon: "Beacon Hill is the tallest hill in our capital city. During the Masters' War, the most glorious King Darragan ordered a large stone tower to be constructed upon it, which was topped with a large pile of flammable materials. In the event of an emergency affecting the Kingdom, this beacon was to be lit, to warn and call to arms everyone in the city and the lands around it. It has never been lit, but the most glorious King Darragan has ordered it maintained in case of some dire emergency." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael frowned. "What were the people doing there when they were killed?" Ardrun (enter): 22:07 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (445) Ardrun... Vachir: "And was there anything particular about the victims? Were they commoners, or perhaps soldiers or guards?"inquired Vachir Sleeping Dragon: Konig answered this question. "The Hill's a popular recreation spot. The most glorious King Darragan has banned construction that might block sight of the beacon, so many people in the city enjoy going up there to walk or simply relax, and lovers meet there, though as I said, all the bodies found were on their own. It's also on a road that crosses the river, and some people who don't mind a little exercise go up there. I'm afraid I don't know the full details of those slain, though I believe all of them were just common citizens." Sleeping Dragon: edit: these questions Rafael ben Efrim: "Then we should make our way to Torath." Rafael said. "If we are all agreed that we will go?" Vachir: "Aye."agreed Vachir "The sooner we get there, the sooner we can catch whatever monstruosity is responsabiel for this." Sakura: Sakura nodded seriously, "I will come. I has been long time since I been there." Sleeping Dragon: "Excellent. I presume you will all need time to settle your affairs in the city. When you are prepared, return here. I will supply you with fast horses to take you to Copperdell, where you will receive fresh mounts so you can ride to Torath as speedily as possible." Sleeping Dragon: said the Ambassador. Sakura: Sakura nodded and stood up, clearly to settle her affairs soon as possible. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael took his leave of the Ambassador and left. Vachir: Vachir too left, obviously having something else to do before leaving for Torath.
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Post by sleepingdragon on Apr 26, 2009 10:43:07 GMT
Sleeping Dragon: the party headed to their homes to deal with any business they had in Malador prior to leaving for Torath. This took some time so it was eventually agreed that Konig would meet with the rest of the party at first light the next morning, near the Bath House on the western edge of the city. Konig was there waiting for them as the sun began to rise, mounted on his own mount and having nine others along with him. As the party began to show up he began to set about distributing their bags evenly amongst the extra horses, so that none of them would be heavily weighed down and slowed. Vachir: Vachir arrived and, having all of his belongings with him, began to pack them up in the bags Idris: Rafael arrived with his belongings neatly packed, and his medical supplies in a bag slung around him. He had new travelling clothes (although they were still black) and a new and very well-made scimitar at his side. Ardrun: Ardrun arrived, looking the same as ever except for a more ready smile on his face. Sakura: Sakura finally arrived at the scene, looking forward to the ride eagerly. She was wearing slightly richer comfortable riding clothings. However, while she was clearly equipped for the fights that may appear on the roads which are customary ridden with bandits, she bought along a surprise for other members of the party. A veiled Gazar servant. Sakura: Sakura merely put some of her blongings onto the horse offered to her and nodded greetings at other members of the gang. Idris: Rafael greeted the others, including the Gazar. Sleeping Dragon: as all the party members arrived Konig went to each of them and handed them wooden discs, made of the rare redwood found in the Cloven Forest in western Torath. The discs had jagged edges, each slightly distinct, and were encased in similarly jagged iron bands to protect them. On one side of the disc was carved King Darragan's running wolf symbol, and on the obverse were two dashes. "These are your travel tokens. As long as you are on this present job, you have permission to travel indefinitely in the Kingdom," he said. He also had a set of identity and travel papers for each member of the party, which were each cut along the side in random, jagged patterns, which, he explained, was so that they could be matched with the original documents held in Torath. He had none for Sakura's servant, saying that he would procure them once they reached Torath.
"I hope you've all relieved yourselves," he said without a trace of humour as he mounted up. "We're not stopping until we get to Copperdell. Are you ready?" Idris: Rafael nodded and mounted his horse. Vachir (exit): 20:05 Sakura: Sakura mounted her horse instead. Sakura: edit: Sakura mounted her horse, ready to ride Vachir: Vachir leapt on his steed, ready for leaving the city. Sleeping Dragon: once everyone had mounted their horse, Konig took the reins of two of the pack horses, asking Vachir to take the other, and then set off at a gallop.
The party were quickly out of Malador and into the surrounding countryside. They tore down the road at the fantastic pace the Torathi messenger set, thundering past farms and the occasional country estate of one of Malador's rich families. After a few hours the farms became sparser and the terrain somewhat rougher, signalling that they were near to Torath. This point was emphasised as they crested a hill and could see, in the distance, the site of the Palace of Brothers, still under construction. The Palace was a hive of activity. There were several teams of men at work, around seventy-five people in total, shaping pieces of marble and stone imported from Torath and held in large piles near the building site, or sawing pieces of wood or digging and planting. So far only the front of the Palace had been completed, a colonnaded villa of gleaming marble with a short set of steps leading up to huge bronze double doors facing south, upon which were set Malador's ship-and-tower and Torath's running wolf emblems. Near the foot of the steps was a great monument of painted stone, towering over the cobbled path leading up to the villa. On the western side was a figure representing King Darragan, crowned and huge, smiling and with his hand open and raised in a peaceful gesture. On the eastern side were the seven Councillors, all well sculpted and somewhat similar to their true appearances, though without the flaws. Councillors Wellaw, Delorri, and Torwald were in front of the other four, their arms stretched out amicably towards the Torathi King, stretched over the path so that anyone riding up to the villa would pass beneath them. Sleeping Dragon: as the party passed by they noticed, to their surprise, that at least a dozen of the workers were plainly slaves, as they were badly fed and clothed, engaged in the heaviest work, and some were shirtless and their backs bore signs of whip scars, presumably given by the two whip-wielding overseers present on the site. Though slavery was not illegal in Malador, it was rare and they had met few slaves in the city, and certainly never so many all gathered in one place on one project. Ardrun: Ardrun stopped suddenly and gazed at the slaves. Slowly he turned his horse around and rode over. "How much would I have to pay for these slaves?" he called to the overseers. whispering to Sakura, as Sakura saw this, her mind went back to one of her meetings with Carus and Tremance, where they had briefly discussed the Palace, and Carus had shown her the preliminary budget that Councillor Neele had presented to the Council. There had been no mention in that document of slave labour, and had indeed asked for compensation for the employment income of a hundred free labourers. It seemed plain to her now that Neele's figures had been partly falsified, presumably for the purpose of keeping the additional income that should have been given to the free labourers whose jobs had instead been filled by the slaves. Idris: Rafael rode over following Ardrun. Sleeping Dragon: One of the overseers looked like he might say something hostile, but, seeing Ardrun's enormous size, he swallowed it and instead called back, "Not mine to sell! If you want them, you'll need to go back to Malador and speak to Councillor Neele!"
Konig rode up, looking annoyed. "We haven't got time for this," he said in irritation. Vachir: Vachir looked at the statues and snickered in silence, before turning his gaze back on the road Vachir: edit: replace 'snickered' with 'grinned' Ardrun: "This is more important than anything you have to do, ride on if you wish," replied Ardrun to Konig. He turned back to the overseers. "I'll pay you 700 pieces of gold for the lot of them. You can hire some laborers and keep a little for yourself." Sakura: Sakura smirked at these massive statues for a moment before paying attention to the discussion. She told them with a hint of impatience, "We do not have time. Beside, it is impolite. I can handle their owner later. They are not meant to be here after all" Idris: "What do you mean, not meant to be here?" Rafael asked sharply, Sleeping Dragon: the overseer wandered up to Ardrun. "Show me the gold and you have a deal then," he said. Idris: "Wait!" Rafael said, holding up his hand. "I want to hear what Sakura has to say first." Ardrun (exit): 20:48 Sakura: "Their owner are building the Palace and told the Council that he is using hundred freemen. I do not remember seeing any slaves here." Sleeping Dragon: "There are people dying in Torath while we delay!" Konig sighed. Sakura: edit: There Idris: "There will be people dying here if they aren't careful." Rafael warned in a cold voice. "Who ordered slaves to be used on this work? Where did they come from?" Idris: he asked the overseer. Sakura: Sakura only shared sympathical glance with Koing. Sakura: at Koing* Sleeping Dragon: The overseer spread his hands at Sakura's allegation. "What Councillor Neele charges the Council is none of my business. If you want to buy these slaves for seven hundred gold then you have a deal. And the answer to both of your questions, Jeth, is Councillor Atrem Neele. If you have any problems, take them up with him." Ardrun: Ardrun took out his pouch and counted out platinum pieces, scornfully tossing them down to the overseer. "We will look more closely at this later, Rafael. For now these slaves must be free." Idris: "There had better not be any slaves when we come back this way." Rafael warned the overseer. Ardrun: "He is right. I will find you if there are, and tear out your heart," he said matter of factly. Vachir: From his horse, Vachir said nothing but looked at the scene with genuine interest. Sakura: Sakura only sighed ruefully at this sight and fiddled with her gloves, "It would be a shame for overseers themsleve to become slaves. It can be done sooo easily." Sleeping Dragon: "Hey! Boys!" the second overseer shouted at the slaves. "This large fellow over here is your owner now! Get moving!" The slaves slowly began to shuffle over towards Ardrun. One was too slow for the second overseer's liking, so he cracked his whip in the air above the man's head, and the slave moved more quickly.
The first overseer looked unimpressed by the threats. "I'm doing nothing illegal, and it's not my decision whether the labourers here are free or slave. Speak to Councillor Neele if you have any objections, and try to tear out his heart and see what happens to you." Vachir (enter): 20:58 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (209) Vachir... Ardrun: "Just don't go out and buy more with this money. I won't blame you for the Councillor's decisions later, he will get his reckoning. And put down the whip." He turned to the slaves. "You are free now. I will provide you with some money for supplies, but I would like to speak with you before you leave, if you are willing." He headed few dozen yards away and waited for them to gather." Sleeping Dragon: The slaves, looking puzzled, went over to speak to Ardrun. Sakura: Sakura looked annoyed for a moment, "I do not like freedom-dancers!" Sakura: "But at least we can go on." Sakura: she contiued Idris: Rafael stared at Sakura for a moment then he dismounted and got pen and paper from his pack. Quickly he set to work to make a writ of feedom, listing the names of the fifteen slaves. Ardrun: Ardrun stood in front of them, and his height made it almost as if he had a podium. "I tell you, my brothers, that I have not freed you, not truly. I merely take away unnatural chains. The One, the true god of us all, is gracious, and he made no men slaves. He has appointed me as his messenger, and eventually there will be no more slaves. Look inside your hearts and you will see that the One has blessed you with strength, with reason, with courage. I will not direct you - only the One can do that - but if you so choose, go to Malador, where I am establishing my temple." His good eye shone almost as brightly as his copper one as he spoke. He reached into his pouch and got out some money for each of them. Idris: Rafael gave Ardrun a startled look as he spoke, but he carried on writing. Then he handed the paper to Ardrun, together with a bagful of high value coins. Sleeping Dragon: Rafael spoke to the slaves, finding that eight were Torathi, and there were also two Adarians, two Maladorans, two Isperans, and one was Androsian. The slaves listened to Ardrun speak, looks of complete confusion on their faces. The Androsian, who named himself Gwyn, spoke finally. "Where's this temple?" Ardrun: Ardrun clasped Rafael's hand gratefully, and turned back to Gwyn. He gave the location of his house in the city. "It is small now, but it will grow. You are welcome to stay there, with a roof over your head." Sleeping Dragon: "How'll we get in? Is the door locked?" Gwyn asked. Ardrun: Ardrun told him to ask a servant of Sakura's who he'd recruited to hold the key. Sakura: She only stared at Ardrun's strange words and utter contestation. Sakura: was shown in her eyes Sakura: she muttered few Isperan words beneath her breath as she started her horse in general direction. Sleeping Dragon: "Thank you," said Gwyn. "I don't know about these others, but I'll be waiting for you. I want to know about this One." Gwyn gave Ardrun a proud military salute and made his way towards Malador with the other freed slaves behind him. The others all also thanked Ardrun, some spoiling the effects of their liberation by bowing low before Ardrun. Sleeping Dragon: "Thank you," said Gwyn. "I don't know about these others, but I'll be waiting for you. I want to know about this One." Gwyn gave Ardrun a proud military salute and made his way towards Malador with the other freed slaves behind him. The others all also thanked Ardrun, some spoiling the effects of their liberation by bowing low before Ardrun. Ardrun: "Go with the One's guidance, brothers!" he called after them. "I will have to teach them not to bow." He turned back to Konig. "Now, we can go on." Sleeping Dragon: "Oh thank you," Konig said sarcastically. "Are you going to try to buy every slave in Torath? If so you'll be bankrupt by the time we reach the city and we'll be at least three days late." Ardrun: "No, most will be freed one way or another, but not by coin. Paying those men for their crime of forcing servitude was a necessary compromise." Sleeping Dragon: Konig laughed loudly and got back on his horse. Vachir (exit): 21:28 Sleeping Dragon: Konig rode off again, setting a harder pace now to make up for the time lost at the Palace of Brothers. The party passed over the border, and entered into the Kingdom of Torath.
The eastern frontier of Torath was hilly and sparsely populated, with only a few goatherds dwelling in the lands between Malador's boundary and the mining town of Copperdell. They rode amongst the rocky hills, alongside cliffs and waterfalls, climbing the steep path. After a time they began to descend, and they could see Copperdell nestled in a valley below. Konig shouted a warning to be careful as they wound down the path and towards the town.
As Copperdell was inaccessible from the east, they had to swing round on the path and approach the town from the east. Copperdell was a walled town set on the side of a large, steep hill, within which was set the Copperdell mine, one of the largest in the New Coast. The party passed through the lone gate into the city, the Kingdom Guards quickly waving them through when Konig showed them his papers. The messenger led them into the city and then swung towards the Kingdom Guard barracks just to the south of the gate. A long road straight from the gate led to the Copperdell mine, which, from the surface, appeared to be little more than a hole in the ground surrounded by piles of ash and charred rock several times larger than a man. Ardrun (exit): 21:44 Sleeping Dragon: edit: as copperdell was inaccessible from the east, they had to swing round on the path and approach the town from the west whispering to Idris, by the entrance to the mine, near one of the slag heaps, were three men. Two were dressed in canary yellow, and lay sprawled upon the ground, obviously exhausted and not entirely conscious. The other stood over one of them, who he nudged in the ribs with his boot. Idris: "What's going on over there?" Rafael said suddenly, pointing at the mine entrance. Sleeping Dragon: "Get your things down," Konig snapped, quickly dismounting. He glanced over towards where Rafael had pointed. There were three men at the entrance of the mine, near one of the slag heaps. Two were dressed in canary yellow, and lay sprawled upon the ground, obviously exhausted and not entirely conscious, while the third stood over one of the yellow-dressed men, nudging him in the ribs with his boot.
Konig sighed. "The men in yellow are indentured servants. No, you can't buy them, they're serving time for their crimes. Unlike in Malador, you can't buy your way out of justice in the Kingdom. Now get your packs down while I go and get fresh horses." Konig shot a despairing look at Sakura and walked into the barracks, shaking his head. Idris: "I wonder what their crime was, and if it deserved being kicked unconscious." Rafael said to Ardrun. Ardrun: "Not likely. Things will need to be changed. But there is little we can do for them now." Sleeping Dragon: Konig was inside for only thirty seconds, quickly reemerging and helping to take the packs down. Soon several red-tabarded Kingdom Guards emerged and brought out fresh mounts, while their tired horses from Malador were taken away. Once Konig had loaded the bags onto the first three horses, he pulled out some rations and began to eat ravenously. "Eat now, there's no more rests until we reach the City," he told them. Ardrun: Ardrun ate, a much smaller portion than he had in the past. Sakura: Sakura looked rather bit put out by the event, suggesting she is still sulking from that event started eating her ration quickly. Idris: Rafael ate some of his rations, sitting quietly but observing all that went on. Sleeping Dragon: once he had finished eating, Konig took a big drink from his waterskin. As the last horse was brought out by one of the Kingdom Guards, Konig wandered over to the wall, undid his breeches, and pissed up against the wall. Shaking off the drops, Konig wiped his hands on his tunic and remounted. "Thank you," he called to the Kingdom Guard captain, who had come out from the barracks. Konig and the Kingdom Guard threw each other salutes and then the party set out through the gate again. Vachir: Vachir didn't let the previos events influence him, but he didn't look too pleased with how the city looked. Ardrun (enter): 22:03 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (235) Ardrun... Sleeping Dragon: they tore off out through the gate and continued on the road. It was now an hour or so past midday, and the sun was high in the air, beating down on them remorselessly. Only the wind whipping past them as they rode provided refreshment. Quickly, they were out of the hills and down into the plains of eastern Torath. They passed many farmsteads and small towns, whose fields were abundant with grain and cattle. At length they reached Maddrik, the largest, most central farming town in the region, where the road forked. On the road they had already passed a caravan heading towards Copperdell, and there were several others in Maddrik itself, heading east to Copperdell, north to Grayward, or west to Torath. Due to its vital importance as a trading centre and as the breadbasket of the Kingdom, Maddrik swarmed with Kingdom Guards, who stopped them on the way through. Again Konig showed them his travel token revealing him as a servant of the King and they were rapidly allowed through. Idris: Although they were allowed through without question, Rafael found himself disquieted by the number of the guards and the fact that they were deep inside Torathi territory. Sakura: Sakura's eyes was flickering around, attempting to pay attention to the surroundings. Vachir (enter): 22:16 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (242) Vachir... Sleeping Dragon: they continued on westwards, passing several more small farming and market towns. The sun began to drop in the sky.
About one-third of the way along between Maddrik and Torath, they came upon a gruesome sight. By the side of the road, near to a small Kingdom Guard outpost, a crucified man was having his eyes pecked at by a raven. The man, who was fortunately already dead, had plainly undergone hideous torment prior to his execution. His ears and nose had been sliced off, his torso bore the signs of lashings, and he had been castrated. A sign driven into the ground nearby informed them that, "SO PERISH ALL TRAITORS." Idris: Rafael caught Ardrun's eye, but he said nothing. Ardrun: Ardrun gave a steely nod. Vachir: "What a hideous way to die." commented Vachir whispering to Sakura, despite what the sign said, Sakura knew that such punishment was extraordinary, and, she thought, quite possibly illegal. Though treason in Torath was in fact punishable by death, the execution was typically performed by hanging. She could not think of any Torathi laws that mandated crucifixion, nor any of the brutal punishments the man had obviously been subjected to prior to his death. Sakura: She shivered for a moment as she whispered, "This is becoming more and more of Ispera. Still, I wonder what that man have done, I do not recalled anything that merit a crucifixion or extraordinary pubishment by this lands' laws" Idris: "I'd like to know what his treason consisted of." Rafael said quietly, so that Konig did not hear. "It might be for some slight thing, but maybe it is a sign that not everyone in Torath is a creeping royalist." Sakura: edit: more and more like my home, Ispera Sakura: edit2: shouted over the wind at Konig Ardrun (exit): 22:34 Sleeping Dragon: "Who cares?" came Konig's reply Sakura: At the end of the long ride, she felt very very weary. Idris: Rafael looked tired but was still upright and alert. Vachir: Perhaps it was his Bolgar upbringing, but Vachir didn't look too fazed by the long ride. Vachir (exit): 22:47 Ardrun (enter): 22:55 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (270) Ardrun... Sleeping Dragon: the party thundered on for the final leg of their wearying journey to Torath. Their saddles had by now hammered blisters into all of their backsides, and several of them had headaches from the constant jarring motion of riding. The sun had truly retreated by the time they finallly came to the city of Torath. They passed through the northern gates and into the city itself. To their right was a tall, walled hill upon which was the Royal Palace of King Darragan, and to their left was a large market. The river Torath ran through the centre of the city, dividing it into north and south, joined by two large bridges. On the southern side was a large hill to which Konig pointed. "That's Beacon Hill, where the murders are occuring. Please go to an inn and stay there for a short while, I need to go to the Palace and get a token for your servant, Sakura. I'll bring it to you shortly. There are two inns in the city - the King's Arms, which is just over there," he pointed to a large stone building right across the street, "and the Crown Inn, which is by the south gate. The Crown is the nicer inn, most would say. Oh," his face twisted, "there's also Stinkwater's Place. I think they might have rooms there, in case you're out of money from nobly rescuing slaves. If you want to meet the scum of Torath, go there. I wouldn't drink the water there though. Or anything else. It's by the east River Gate." Idris: "Perhaps we should take that as a recommendation." Rafael asked Ardrun quietly, with a slight smile. Idris: edit* murmured to Ardrun Ardrun: "Perhaps. I'm tired enough I could sleep on a patch of nettles." Vachir: "Would be wiser for all of us to stay at the same inn."suggested Vachir "So, where? The Arms, the Crown or..."he paused for a moment "the Stinkwater?" Sleeping Dragon: "So where are you staying? I'm not visiting every inn in the city looking for you." Sakura: "Would rather stay at the Crown Inn." She muttered Idris: "We can try one for tonight, and see. We may be here for a time." Rafael said. "Will we have any trouble with the landlords of these establishments? Or will our tokens serve us everywhere?" Sleeping Dragon: "If you show them the tokens you'll be fine. Just tell them you have someone coming to bring a token for your servant and you'll be fine." Idris: "We are right next to the King's Arms, let us look in there first and see what it's like." Rafael suggested. Vachir: "Might as well check there first."agreed Vachir Sakura: Sakura nodded, dismounted from her worn out horse and slowly walked to the King's Arms. Sleeping Dragon: Konig waited while the group entered the Arms. The King's Arms was a large, unpretentious inn currently holding about forty-five patrons, most of them labourers from the nearby market. Almost all of them looked over curiously at the entry of such a large, diverse, and well-armed crowd, though their visible weapons did not draw the same uneasy stares as they did in Malador. The patrons said nothing, however, getting quickly back to chatting among themselves. There was a large card game occuring in one corner and three pairs of people were playing darts. The innkeeper, Grelgar Thwaite, came out to speak to them, quickly checking their travel tokens. He told them that he had six rooms each with six beds each, of which three were currently vacant. A bed was 6 silver pieces, but anyone wanting privacy would have to pay for all the beds in the room. Ardrun (enter): 23:20 Idris: "I don't mind sharing a room." Rafael said. Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (291) Ardrun... Sakura: Sakura replied that she will buy the whole room for her and her servant. She handed over 36 silver pieces. Sakura: She also mentioned that someone is getting her servant that someone is coming later with a token for her. Ardrun (exit): 23:26 Sleeping Dragon: "Right," said Grelgar, taking Sakura's money. He was giving Rafael a strange look. "What about the rest of you?" Idris: "The four of us will share a room, and pay the whole price." Rafael replied. "Is there a problem?" Vachir: "None whatsoever."said Vachir Vachir: edit: remove that Sleeping Dragon: "No, sir, nothing," said Grelgar. He took the money and handed keys to the rooms to Sakura and Rafael. Sleeping Dragon: Enrico went out to tell Konig that they'd decided to stay at the King's Arms, and the messenger headed off towards the Palace. The party ordered dinner in the Arms, which proved to be mutton served with roasted vegetables, gravy, brown bread, and ale. As they were washing the meal down Konig returned bearing the additional travel token and set of papers. "Good luck in your mission. I'd start as soon as you can - I asked at the Palace and the murders have continued while I was away. Two more last night, and there will probably be more tonight as well, though few people are now foolish enough to go up there. Ones last night were both drunks stumbling home. Farewell." Konig snapped a military salute. Idris: When Konig had gone, Rafael looked at Sakura. "It would be a good idea to start straight away, but you for one look completely exhausted." Vachir: "Well, you all could use some rest."suggested Vachir "Not everyone's used to riding for such a long time. Worst case, another couple of drunks die tonight, if they're stupid enough to go there."he added Sakura: Sakura yawned quite sleepily as she finished her dinner and nodded, 'Riding two days in the row is not nice after all. Still, I am going to bed. Have good night." She stood up, she wobbled for a moment as she headed for her bedroom. Sakura: Her Gazar servant went with her as well.. Ardrun: "We should not allow deaths because we are tired. We should look tonight." Idris: "We can take a look at least." Rafael agreed. "I would like to know whether this thing is confined to the hill too. If people stop going up there will it come down into the city to find its victims?" Vachir: "Perhaps. We don't know the reason behind the killings, after all."Vachir shrugged "It would be good to take a look now yes" Sleeping Dragon: Rafael, Vachir, Ardrun, and Enrico headed south towards Beacon Hill. It was now very dark, the night only lit by the torches along the sides of the roads. Along the way, they passed a fifteen foot high bronze and iron statue of King Darragan, set upon a great stone pedestal. The statue faced southwest across the city, and depicted the King shading his eyes with his right hand while the left rested on the pommel of his sword. Idris: "This city would be a much better place if it spent as much on caring for their citizens as it does on statuary," Rafael said, contemptuously. Vachir: "The Most Glorious certainly loves wasting stone and metal on this kind of thing."snickered the Bolgar Ardrun: "It only degrades him. A man who must represent himself in stone does not have confidence in his own spirit." Idris: "If they were really superior the First would not need to constantly remind us of it." Rafael added. Sleeping Dragon: the party passed the statue, over the bridge, and into the southern half of the city. Beacon Hill stood before them. The upper half of the hill was bare of buildings, which had been banned by law in case they obscured sight to the Great Beacon. The Beacon was a huge sixty foot stone tower at the top of the hill, topped by a great pile of wood, peat, and other combustible materials. Idris: Rafael stopped and listened as they came to the hill. Sleeping Dragon: they strode up onto the hill itself. There were no signs of anyone on the hill at all, save for a few flickering lights from the Beacon. The only sounds they heard were from the city itself, and as they came up onto the hill those receded into the background. They strode under the light of the moon, on a hill as silent as death. Sleeping Dragon: the party made their way up the hill, seeing no one. They eventually climbed up the side of the hill, nearing the base of the stone beacon. whispering to Idris, Vachir, a woman was calling out from the southern side of the hill. "Ambrose? Ambrose, love, please come back! I'm sorry! It's dangerous out there!"" Vachir: Vachir looked concerned for a moment "I can hear a woman's voice from there."he said pointing south "Seems to be calling for her lover." Idris: Rafael signalled to the others. "Do you hear that?" he whispered. "At least one of those people is asking for trouble. Or could it be a trap of some kind?" Ardrun: "Either way, it could help us find the killer. Let's go." Idris: "Quietly as we can then." Rafael said, moving off in the direction of the voice. Sleeping Dragon: they made their way stealthily down the hill, with the woman continuing to call out. "Ambrose, please! We can work this out! I know you're trying not to see her anymore! Ambrose!"
the party had cut the distance to the voice by about half, creeping about 100 feet away. By now they could see that she was a grey-clad woman, moving about quickly and looking around in obvious fright. "Where are you Ambrose?" she called again. She looked around in confusion. Suddenly, from a bush behind her came a sudden burst of movement. The woman whimpered. There was a sudden rush and two hideous forms hurled hungrily out of the shadows.
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Post by sleepingdragon on May 4, 2009 12:09:48 GMT
Sleeping Dragon: the huge forms hurled themselves out of the bushes at the woman. In the pale moonlight they beheld them, hideous creatures with bulbous bodies, four long, spider-like legs, covered with loose leathery skin and tufty, spiky black hair. Their heads were almost vestigial, sunken within their bloated trunks - if not for the thick, bony, jutting jaws protruding out from their flattened snouts, it would be hard to tell where their heads even were.
One of the creatures bit the woman viciously from behind, its powerful jaws locking round her middle. Bones snapped and cracked audibly, and the woman fell soundlessly in a torrent of blood, dead in an instant. The other creature leaned over the woman's body and began to drink at the blood around her body, but it then glanced up and saw Ardrun attempting to remain hidden. The creatures hissed loudly whispering to Rafael ben Efrim, Rafael suddenly remembered something he had learned in his studies of the old practises of the Masters and their heathen followers. They had often guarded their temples with guardian creatures, often in the forms of statues that animated when particular things happened, such as someone failing to show proper respect to the Master's icon. One of their favoured guardian creatures was something called a marrowbreaker, terrible spider like creatures that lived on blood, moved with terrific speed, and could shatter bones with their powerful jaws. Rafael ben Efrim: "I believe these are marrowbreakers." Rafael whispered suddenly to the others."Originally bred to guard the Masters' temples. They're terribly fast and the jaws enormously strong." Sleeping Dragon: as Rafael spoke, the two creatures tore towards Ardrun, seeming not to see the other party members. They bit at him with tremendous force, their jaws clamping round him. He flung one off, but the second locked its jaws round his arm. With tremendous strength the marrowbreaker clamped its jaws down, cracking Ardrun's bones. It attempted to fling him up into the air, but Ardrun wrenched himself free. Skyman (enter): 19:47 Vachir: Quickly darting away from one of the monsters attacking Ardrun, Vachir fired twice at it, and two of his arrows pierced the thing's hideous hide. He tried a third shot, but this time the projectile just bounced off the tough skin of the monster Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (440) Skyman... Vachir: edit: replace 'and two of' with 'and both' Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael moved out of hiding, sneaking up behind one of the monsters and slashing it hard with his scimitar, although the blow wasn't as well directed as he had hoped. Sleeping Dragon: Enrico also moved out of hiding, stabbing heavily into the creature's side with his dagger Skyman: Ardrun wielded his sword one handed as his other arm hung loosely at his side, and chopped the blade into the creature's shoulder. Sleeping Dragon: startled by the numbers of their foes, the creatures lashed out viciously. One struck Ardrun, drinking his blood even as it spurted from his wound. It attmpe Sleeping Dragon: It attempted to hurl him to the ground, but he tore free, and he and Rafael each landed a blow on the creature as it scuttled away with terrific speed. The second assaulted Rafael, biting into him, and then, establishing a hold with its powerful jaws, shattering his bones as it lifted Rafael into the air and hurled him up high. Before he could come down the marrowbreaker broke towards some bushes, ignoring a light blow from Enrico's dagger as it skittered away, leapt into the thick bushes, and vanished from sight Vachir: Vachir tried to shoot at one of the escaping horrors, but all three of his arrows flew wide. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael rolled over and stood, clutching at his ribs. "I can see one of them down there. But the way we are now, I think they may kill us." He looked at Ardrun. "We should get help." Sleeping Dragon: Enrico drew his hand crossbow and fired feebly at the retreating creature, but it came nowhere close Sleeping Dragon: the creatures fled, each ducking into bushes and vanishing from sight. As the party recovered their senses, however, they saw that the creatures had each left a trail of ichor from their wounds Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael indicated the trail. "These things must lair during the day, if we follow we should find them." Vachir: "Fuck."said Vachir as he saw the creatures rapidly disappear, making his bow and arrows useless Vachir: Vachir looked down and saw the trail of ichor, and nodded in agreement with Rafael Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael got out some bandages and strapped up Ardrun's arm and his own ribs before doing anything else. Vachir: Vachir took the time to recover two of his missing arrows which were still intact, and put them back in his quiver. Sleeping Dragon: they quickly followed the ichor trail, which wound its way round Beacon Hill and down towards the River Torath. After a while the second trail joined the first, and they followed each to their ends. Down on the banks of the river Torath, about halfway between the Beacon Bridge and Stinkwater's Place, a burrowed tunnel lay concealed just below the water-line. It was about 3 feet in diameter, with smooth-sided mud walls. It was filled with water, and plunged down deep into darkness. Rafael ben Efrim: "I wonder how these things got out here?" Rafael said quietly as they followed the trail. "Maybe someone brought them here?" He looked at the tunnel with a frown. "That looks like a death-trap." Vachir: "There?"asked Vachir to the others "Looks like a nasty place..."he added, agreeing with Rafael Rafael ben Efrim: "We should return in daylight, when we have had some rest. And bring Sakura. We need to plan how to destroy these things." Rafael said. Rafael ben Efrim: Once they had agreed to return by day, Rafael said. "We should take the woman's body to the guards, and let them know what we've seen. Also that the man may be out here somewhere." Sleeping Dragon: the party went back to find the woman's body. searching around, they also found, not very far away, the body of a man of similar age in the clothing of a common labourer. He had suffered deep lacerations, numerous injuries, and broken bones. Vachir: "Too late."said Vachir looking at the man's broken body "Shame we couldn't get here sooner."he shrugged Rafael ben Efrim: "A sad occurence, if they had not argued, both their deaths would have been avoided." Rafael shook his head. Vachir: "Or they'd just have died together."said Vachir "But it doesn't matter now. Let's go talk to the guards, shall we?" Sleeping Dragon: the party took the bodies along with them and went up to the Guards on the Beacon Tower. They looked at the party suspiciously, but their fears were allayed when the group produced their travel tokens. They left the bodies with the Guards and informed them of what they'd found before returning to the King's Arms for the night Sleeping Dragon: the morning came and the party gathered to break their fasts Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael walked in and sat down, very stiffly and with a wince of pain. Sakura: Sakura came bouncing down the stair, looking cheerful and very fresh and sat down. Sakura: eager to dig into. Vachir: Vachir sat down slowly and took his food, starting to eat without saying a word, but obviously looking a bit worried about what they were going to do later in the day Sleeping Dragon: Ardrun came down, his arm still bandaged from the battle the night before, and Enrico followed a short time after Sakura: Sakura asked them... "You must got into bit of the bother last night? Was it serious?" She gave them a glance of concern. Rafael ben Efrim: "It could have been." Rafael replied. "We found the creatures that are making the attacks." Vachir: "More like they found us."said Vachir "Things' were horribly fast, too." Sakura: "So what are they? These creatures? Look at the bright side, at least you are all still alive." She smiled at them. Sakura: "Live to fight in another day I mean." She added afterward Rafael ben Efrim: "They were creatures called marrowbreakers. Very fast and very strong. It's strange, as they were originally used to guard the Masters' temples. They sometimes used statues which would come to life, or they would summon them up. These monstrosities would attack anyone not showing proper respect. Drinkers of blood too." Rafael explained. "Which we saw happening." Vachir: "Proper respect? I'd rather show them an arrow in those little ugly heads of theirs. But I'm sure I'll get a chance to do that later, if we don't get trapped in those stinking tunnels" Sakura: Sakura frowned at these names, ""I have heard about them as well. They can understand phrases in First or Ancient Speech in despite they cannot speak a word." She then picked up another piece of food and ate it before saying, "They can climb up walls though.” Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael caught Vachir's eye. "They will have every advantage in that tunnel. How can we reduce it?" Vachir: "We don't even know if there are more of them in the lair..."said Vachir "Well, we'll see. We've fought quite a few monsters before, haven't we? And we're still here in one piece."he added before resuming eating his breakfast Sakura: "No idea. Although, if it is a tunnel? do you think they are built with a plan?" Sakura replied thoughtfully Rafael ben Efrim: "It did not look man-made." Rafael said, shaking his head. "And the diameter is the same as the creatures. I think they must have made the tunnels themselves." Sakura: Sakura merely winced for a moment, "Not going to be easy then." She kept on considering it Rafael ben Efrim: "We really need to consider the best way to catch these things unaware." Sakura: She nodded, "But alas, I doubt we can think of something so it is going to be pure force and flames." Vachir: "Force and flames."said Vachir "Not a bad way to solve some problems. Might just work."he suggested Rafael ben Efrim: "As they prefer darkness, perhaps we can confuse them with bright light." Rafael added. Sakura: "Meaning lantern. Does anyone got lantern here?" She asked others? Rafael ben Efrim: "Yes, but I hardly think a small lantern will be enough." Rafael answered. Sakura: Sakura only looked annoyed at this and nodded, "Good point. Look like we will go into that tunnel blind but no doubt we will surivive this!" Rafael ben Efrim: "We can take well-wrapped torches." Sleeping Dragon: the party made their way back to the river and the tunnel. Sakura: Sakura only glanced at the tunnel with pure dislike. Sakura: Sakura waited after Ardrun, Rafael, Vachir to enter the tunnel before she sentered Vachir: "Think you two should go first."said Vachir looking at Ardrun and Rafael Sleeping Dragon: Ardrun swam down into the water first Sleeping Dragon: they swam in darkness down a long, filthy tunnel filled with murky and foul-smelling water, holding their breaths to prevent the polluted liquid from entering their lungs. After about forty-five seconds of swimming, Ardrun came out suddenly into a wider space Sleeping Dragon: as Ardrun came up out of the water he had enough time to register that he was in a wider space before there was a rush of movement from above and the creatures fell on his head, tearing heavily at his flesh and bones. One dragged him up screaming towards the ceiling Sleeping Dragon: Enrico also swam into the room, and as he did he too was promptly grabbed by the other foul creature, who dragged him up to the ceiling# Vachir: An obviously nervous Vachir managed to swim a dozen feet further down the tunnel Sleeping Dragon: Ardrun attempted to break free of the creature's grip, but it was too strong Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael swam out of the tunnel and found solid ground under his feet. He stood up, grabbed a bundle of torches out of his pack and lit one. Holding it high above his head he stared upwards at the ghastly creatures holding his two screaming companions. Taking a deep breath he spoke loudly in First Speech. "Why have you left the Temple?" Sleeping Dragon: they were in a small room with plain, undressed stone walls bearing scratch marks, with an iron grate set into one wall and a wooden trap door set into the ceiling about ten feet up above.
ignoring Rafael, the creatures tightened their grip. Enrico groaned as one nearly crushed the life from him, but Ardrun fought back, driving a fist into his enemy's maw Sakura: Sakura quickly swam across and appeared into the room. Glancing upward, she spoken in sharp commanding Ancient. Sakura: striking fear into hearts of these monsters Sleeping Dragon: Enrico gave a desperate twist and pulled himself free, but he was badly hurt and lost consciousness as he fell with a splash into the water Vachir: Swimming as fast as he could, Vachir reached the room and quickly pointed his bow at the ceiling, firing a powerful arrow at the same marrowbreaker he had wounded yesterday Sleeping Dragon: with a burst of strength, Ardrun broke free. Falling down to the ground, he landed adroitly on his feet and slashed up at one of the creatures with a roar of rage, hacking out a bit of its hide with his great scimitar Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael moved around and slashed up at one of the monsters, making a small cut on it. Sleeping Dragon: the creatures attacked back, snatching at Rafael and Sakura. Sakura avoided the attack, but Rafael was grabbed and pulled up to the ceiling Sakura: Sakura started singing a insprising song about a lover finding her true soul mate. Sakura: Edit: About loyal band that oppose the night and will light a single candlelight among the pure evil darkness Vachir: Vachir pointed his bow for a moment at the Marrowbrearker holding Rafael, but then thought better of it and decided to move away from the other monster and shoot at it instead. The thing took a swipe at it, but it narrowly missed thanks to the Bolgar's buckler, and Vachir wounded it with his arrow Sleeping Dragon: Ardrun slashed up at one of the beasts, but his blade went wide Sakura: Sakura launched herself at the sprider holding Rafeal but failed to give him any aid. Vachir: Vachir decided to wait until one of his companions had freed himself before attacking Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael managed to rip himself free of the horrible creature's grip and fell to the water below, holding the torches above his head. Vachir: As soon as Vachir saw Rafael free himself, he fired at the creature's above him with all of his strength, sending its body stone dead in the water. Turning at the remaining horror, the Bolgar fired another two powerful arrows in the thing's horrid body, barely leaving it conscious. Sleeping Dragon: the last marrowbreaker, badly hurt, attempted to flee up the tunnel, but Ardrun struck it heavily with his scimitar and it fell from the ceiling, falling atop of Sakura in a gout of ichor Sakura: Sakura sighed with annoyance and told Ardrun, "Was that really needed?" as she strolled over, covered in this... gunk! as she tries to help Ardrun with his terrible wounds. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael staggered to his feet and over to where Enrico was lying in the water, hauling the Isperan up and making sure he was breathing. Vachir: "We're lucky to be alive."said a panting and worn-looking but unharmed Vachir Sakura: Sakura nodded as she cleaned the wounds, bandaged his damaged bones as well andremoving the vemons in his blood. Sakura: "Thank to everyone that we are still alive." She whispered to herself Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael, worn and bloodied, managed a smile. "We are." Sakura: "For if one is not here, rest suffers. Since we are all here, we all are alive unto the end." She contiued. Rafael ben Efrim: Disconnecting from server... Rafael ben Efrim (exit): 00:16 Sakura: Sakura took a quick glance at the room, light provided by the torches they bought along with them Black Cat: At that moment, a figure burst out of the water from the tunnel the group had entered from. "I see you didn't need my help afterall." The soaked Black Cat commented survaying the room. Lacking the heavy cloak worn during the fight in Juthe's manor, the others could plainly see that Black Cat was a woman, her brown hair wet and matted. Her face was hidden behind a black mask that looked to be a part of the black bodysuit she was wearing and a black masquerade mask covered her eyes as well. A leather harness carrying a multitude of daggers crossed her chest. "Do you know how hard it was to follow you all here?" She asked, a slight tone of irritation in her voice. Vachir: Vachir was stunned by the Cat's sudden appearance -it took him a few second to recognize the woman he had seen at the Theater. "Wouldn't have hurt for you to help us before, you know..."he said somewhat suspicious of her motives "And why do you keep following us around?" Black Cat: Cat shrugged. "Like I said, it wasn't easy following you to Torath. As to why I'm following you, lets just say I have a vested interest in the wellbeing of your merry little band." It was hard to tell due to her mask, but it looked as though Cat was smiling. Sakura: Sakura smiled warily at the figure before her, "The Black Cat is good friend of mine. She is trustworthy in my eyes and I would like everyone else to extend polite courtesy to her. Beside, I am sure you are well aware that she is good fighter back at the Theater and Juthe's Manor. We will need every single souls we have to clean this tunnel." Vachir: "I'd be glad to have another ally if I have to face one of these...things again."said Vachir somewhat more accepting "Still, we should know something more about you, sooner or later..." Black Cat: "I'm sure you'll get to know me more, at least later." Sakura: "There is all time for every single thing and this is not the time for that today." She told vachir and the party
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Post by sleepingdragon on May 10, 2009 9:43:07 GMT
Sleeping Dragon: after Black Cat's arrival the party waited in the small, uncomfortable waterlogged room. Between their injuries, the bodies of the marrowbreakers leaking ichor, and the cramped, dark quarters, the time passed in extreme discomfort. Glancing around the room in the light of Rafael's torches, they saw that upon the walls were carved in Ancient Speech names, strange dates, and short descriptions such as 'traitor', 'murderer', and 'heretic'. This place had plainly once been a gaol. On the east wall was a grate with bars that were just wide enough to be squeezed through, and on the west wall, on the ceiling, a trapdoor.
Rafael's torches were beginning to burn low when Ardrun and Enrico told them they were ready to go again. Enrico had by now developed a mild cold through exposure to the water, sneezing miserably into the filthy water Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael moved around, reading the inscriptions out loud to the others. Vachir: "Nice shithole we've got ourselves into."commented the Bolgar after learning what the writings meant "Hoping whatever's behind these grates isn't worst than these two abominations." Sakura: Sakura nodded at Rafael, "Expect the worse and be happily surprised" she quipped Sakura: edit: Worst Sakura: edit2: nodded at the Bolgar Rafael ben Efrim: "Unless it actually is the worst," Rafael said, lightening his gloomy words with a smile. Vachir: "Should we go through the grate or check the trapdoor first?"asked Vachir Sleeping Dragon: Ardrun nudged at the trapdoor, but found it could not be moved - there was something heavy on the other side, probably a bar Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael, seeing that the torches were beginning to gutter out, lit his lantern. "Looks like it's the grating then." Sakura: Sakura eyed the trapdoor to see if it been used for a while and told them, "It look like the trapdoor have not been used for long time. Thus, we may as well go through the grate." As she slowly paddelled Skyman (enter): 20:01 Sleeping Dragon: the tunnel on the other side of the grate was narrow and filled with water - they would be forced to extinguish their lantern to proceed. Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (86) Skyman... Vachir: "Not much of a choice really." said Vachir sullenly "Hoping you can slip through there."he added referring to the bulky Ardrun and the grate Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael waited until they had decided who would go first, before extinguishing his lantern and putting it carefully away. Sleeping Dragon: Enrico volunteered to go last Sakura: Sakura voluntered to go second last after the rest of the team go through. Sleeping Dragon: Black Cat offered to scout ahead. She easily made her way through the bars and then swam silently ahead to the end of the tunnel. Finding herself suddenly able to bring her head up, she stood and pulled out a candle which she lit and looked around. She stood at the bottom of a smooth stone-walled shaft, five feet wide and rising up beyond the range of her candlelight. She extinguished the candle between her thumb and forefinger and swam back to tell the others what she had found. Sleeping Dragon: edit: bones, brittle and ancient, lay in the water at the base of the shaft, forming the remains of at least two humans. Rafael ben Efrim: "We need to know what's above." Rafael said, once Cat had told them. "It's completely smooth all round?" Sleeping Dragon: Black Cat nodded. "I can brace myself against the walls and climb up. Can try to hook a grappling hook at the edge and drop a rope down if you want." Sleeping Dragon: "A few of you might want to come and wait at the bottom of the shaft in case something sees me," she added. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded. "I'll light the lantern again once we're in there." Vachir: "I'll be there with my bow. If I see something coming down, and it's not you, I'll shoot it. Should be easy." Sleeping Dragon: Cat nodded and pulled out a silk rope and grappling hook, tying the hook on to the end and tying some knots in the rope which she then stashed away in her bag ready to use as soon as she got to the end of the tunnel. "Ready?" Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded, then put out the lantern. Ardrun (enter): 20:28 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (100) Ardrun... Sleeping Dragon: Cat swam back to the end of the tunnel and took out her rope and grapple, coiling it round her fist and holding the end in between her teeth to not impede her climbing. When Rafael came up and lit the lantern she began to climb up, having a bit of difficulty. The light from the lantern dimly illuminated the top of the shaft, where it opened up into what was obviously a wider room, but which remained in darkness. Cat was eventually able to attach the grappling hook to the edge of the shaft, making a slight scraping noise as she did, but if anything heard her it made no sign of it. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael watched to see what Cat signalled. Sleeping Dragon: Cat climbed part of the way back down, dangling off the rope. "I can't see anything much in the room, lamp light doesn't go that far. If you signal to the others to come through, we could all climb part the way up the rope and hang there, and then we could all burst up to the top at once. I won't be able to do anything sneaking, I won't be able to see anything but they'll probably see me." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael agreed, and swam back through the tunnel to tell the others, leaving his lantern with Vachir. Vachir: Vachir took the lantern and waited patiently for Rafael to return Sleeping Dragon: they swam back through, and several of them part climbed up the rope, maneuvering into position so they could all rush up the rope together. Cat called for the lantern to be passed up to her, which they accomplished with some difficulty. whispering to Ardrun, Rafael ben Efrim, as the lantern was being passed up there came a strange noise from above, like stone breaking apart, and then a slight shuffling movement Rafael ben Efrim: "There's something moving up there!" Rafael whispered urgently, pressing the lantern into Ardrun's hand. Ardrun: Ardrun began rushing up the rope as quickly as he could. Ardrun (exit): 20:57 Sleeping Dragon: hearing this, Cat hastily climbed up into the room above, clambering onto some kind of large metal grate. The room began to be illuminated by the light from the lantern. It was a medium sized room, with walls covered in tapestries depicting ancient wonders - huge cities, great armies, and a regal, beautiful looking woman with pale skin and blonde hair, carrying some kind of sceptre. At the south end of the room there was an open door, leading to a short passage and then another open door, and on the southern there was a black stone pedestal atop of which stood a somewhat disorientated looking marrowbreaker. Sleeping Dragon: Cat moved quickly to one corner of the room, eyeing the marrowbreaker warily Sleeping Dragon: Rico inexpertly began to rush up the rope, inadvertently grabbing at one of Rafael's buttocks as he scrambled upwards Ardrun (enter): 21:12 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (112) Ardrun... Sleeping Dragon: as the marrowbreaker began to move, Cat rapidly darted in, trying to draw its attention away from her comrades as they climbed up the shaft. She expertly evaded a bite at her flank, but it then snapped at her again and this time established a firm hold, tearing her flesh Vachir: Quickly climbing up the rope, Vachir leapt to the floor of the room, drew his bow and tried to put some distance between himself and marrowbreaker Ardrun: Ardrun climbed up first, and attempted to distract the marrowbreaker to help Cat escape, but was unsuccessful. Rafael ben Efrim: With Vachir out of the way, Rafael was able to scramble nimbly up the rest of the way and jump into the room, drawing his scimitar. Sakura: Sakura made her way up the knotted climb and begun to sing the same of reaching the highest mountain to fight Masters. Sleeping Dragon: Enrico continued to climb up the rope as well Sleeping Dragon: Cat attempted to escape the marrowbreaker's grip, but it held her with furious strength Sleeping Dragon: the marrowbreaker ground its teeth into Cat's neck, sending her bleeding badly to the ground. It sucked the blood up rapidly and then let her drop, beginning to climb up the wall beside the pedestal Ardrun: Ardrun placed the lantern down beside him and lashed out at the creature with his falchion, striking it as it climbed. Ardrun (exit): 21:43 Vachir: Vachir shot two arrows at the retreating monster, wounding it. A third arrow missed however, merely striking the wall Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael took a swing at the marrowbreaker as it climbed up, but his aim was terrible and his blade hit the wall in a shower of sparks. Sakura: She climbed onward and switched her song into song of despairing doom in Ancient Speech Sleeping Dragon: Enrico climbed up after Sakura Sleeping Dragon: the marrowbreaker lashed out at Ardrun, grabbing onto his arm tightly. Teeth digging in deep, the creature climbed up the wall, dragging Ardrun with it, spider-like legs clicking on the stone as it hauled itself and Ardrun up onto the ceiling above the hole Vachir: Vachir looked horrified at the abomination carrying Ardrun away, but could not fire without risking hitting the big warrior Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael watched the creature but did not dare to do anything else. Sakura: Sakura climbed the rest of the way and onto the solid stone floor. She glared upward and yelled string of nasty insults at the enemy. Sleeping Dragon: Enrico finished climbing to the top. Seeing Ardrun grabbed, he gave a loud shout and leapt towards the creature. As it turned his head towards Enrico, he simply stood still, taking the marrowbreaker's attention away from Ardrun Sleeping Dragon: the marrowbreaker attempted to damage Ardrun, snapping at his face, but it was distracted and afraid and Ardrun drove a fist into its face and shoved it back Vachir: Immediately upon seeing Ardrun fall, Vachir released three powerful arrows at the Marrowbreaker. Though only one hit, it buried itself deep into the flesh of the hideous creature, making it ooze ichor. Ardrun (enter): 22:33 Sleeping Dragon: edit: Ardrun was able to break free of the creature, but in doing he fell straight down the shaft and landed with a splash in the water at the bottom Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (146) Ardrun... Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael tried to leap up using the wall, but it was just not to be. Sleeping Dragon: as Rafael leapt towards it, the creature lashed out with its teeth and snatched at Rafael, grabbing him out of mid-air and hauling him up to the ceiling Sakura: Sakura took her crossbow, aimed it at the monster and smiled evilly as she directed it toward the monster, making it clear that she have no qualm about large chance of hitting Rafael. Taking the enemy down is more important. She pulled the trigger, the bolt slowly glided over toward the enemy, hitting it almost a inch away from Rafeals' face Sleeping Dragon: Enrico again attempted to distract the creature Rafael ben Efrim: "Keep firing!" cried Rafael, struggling with the nausea caused by the paind of his broken bones. Sleeping Dragon: the marrowbreaker bit at Rafael, latching onto him heavily and biting at his face Ardrun: Ardrun dragged himself out of the water via the rope, and climbed quickly to the top once again. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael suddenly found a reserve of strength and managed to wriggle free of the creature's grasp. As he plummeted towards the hole he threw out his arms and just caught hold of the side, heaving himself gasping and panting back into the room. Vachir: Vachir fired thrice again, two of his arrows striking the marrowbreaker in its diminutive head and killing it. The body of the slain beast fell down from the ceiling and into the hole, landing in the water with a splash Ardrun: Ardrun, seeing the body falling, pulled himself up and over the edge just in time to avoid it. Sakura: Sakura looked at her crossbow and slided in new bolt Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael crawled over to Cat's still body and worked fast to staunch the bleeding. Vachir: Vachir recovered some of his arrows that were still intact and put them back in his quiver. Having done that, he glanced around the room and the tapestries with wild interest. Sakura: Sakura took to tapestries and the black stone pedestal to see anything special. Meanwhile she made a cooing noise about the tapestries Sleeping Dragon: the pale blonde woman, who was presumably one of the Masters, featured prominently in the tapestries, in one leading a huge army, in another slaying a dragon with a single imperious sweep of her sceptre, and in another she simply stood in splendour Vachir: "What have we here..."commented Vachir greedily " Quite well furnished, eh? Wouldn't have guessed it, considering how dirty and ugly was down there..."he added throwing a glance at the hole they had come from Sleeping Dragon: Enrico eyed the tapestries greedily. "They'll be ruined if we take them out that way though," he said, pointing at the water below Sakura: Sakura nodded at Enrico and replied, "I am sure there is a way out, there have to be one." She gave other heavily wounded a concerned glance, "How are the others?" Sakura: Edit: how are you?" Ardrun (exit): 23:03 Vachir: Vachir decided to examine the tapestries more closely, perhaps thinking he might catch up some specific detail or find something hidden there. Sleeping Dragon: they examined the room carefully while Cat slowly regained consciousness, but there was nothing to be found Sleeping Dragon: eventually Cat came around, though she and Ardrun were neither of them in very good shape. "Should we come back tomorrow?" Enrico asked, rubbing his ribs. "This place isn't going anywhere." Vachir: "Hopefully."said Vachir "Though I'd be tempted to see just what's in the other room..."he said looking south Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael eyed Cat and Ardrun. "That might be as well." Vachir: "Oh well. We might as well get some well-deserved rest, some of you look pretty bad." added Vachir looking at the beat-up and bloodied Rafael and Ardrun Sakura: Sakura took long long glances at them anod nodded recneatcally Sleeping Dragon: the party swam back up the surface, whereupon Black Cat left towards the direction of Stinkwater's Place, saying she would meet them there the next morning Vachir: "Weird woman."commented Vachir after she had left and could no longer hear them "Alright then, let's go and get some rest." Sleeping Dragon: the party returned to the King's Arms and ate and rested their weary limbs. The next day they set out again, fighting against a strong wind that had begun to blow in the night. When they arrived back at the hole they found Black Cat sitting there waiting for them. Sleeping Dragon: they swam back down the tunnel and soon found themselves back in the room at the top of the shaft. Nothing had been disturbed, the marrowbreaker bodies were still in the water in the tunnels, and it seemed that nothing at all had been disturbed since they had been there the previous day. Ardrun (enter): 23:54 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (195) Ardrun... Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael and Rico examined the area in case of traps. Ardrun (enter): 23:55 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (197) Ardrun... Sleeping Dragon: the party made their way down the hall and found themselves on a stone walkway which overlooked a large ceremonial hall. At the western end was a shattered set of iron doors and at the eastern end a huge stone altar the front of which was carved to look like two massive stone fists pressed together. The altar was inlaid with ritualistic items - chalices, ewers and bowls, all made of silver. Flanking the altar were two large black stone pedestals. Broad, clean patches amidst the thin layers of dust in the room suggested that until recently, something large had stood on the pedestals, but was now gone. At the southern end of the walkway, which was without railings and was essentially just a smooth slab of stone supported by a pillar below, there was a door. The room had a soaring, vaulted ceiling about 30 feet from the ground level and 15 feet from where they stood on the walkway. There was also a huge brass gong in the northwestern corner of the hall. Sakura: Sakura considered that gong thoughtfully and told the others, "I wonder if that gong will summon something or do something?" Rafael ben Efrim: "Don't think of trying it!" Rafael warned. "I suggest we check the door ahead of us - if it's locked we can investigate that broken doorway down there. We don't want something large behind us." Sleeping Dragon: Enrico checked the door on the south side of the walkway, which proved to be locked, but not trapped as far as he could tell. Sleeping Dragon: "Going down?" Cat pulled out her grappling hook and rope Rafael ben Efrim (exit): 00:11 Sakura: Nodding at Cat, "Yes, I am wondering about that gong," Sleeping Dragon: Cat attached the hook to the edge of the walkway and gracefully somersaulted down to the ground, digging the hook in as she brought the rope with her to allow the others to climb down. "The pillar here is carved like that woman in the tapestries," she called from the bottom. Sakura: Sakura glimbed down the rope generously done by the Cat Vachir: Vachir easily jumped down without hurting himself, and looked around. His interest was caught at first by the silver items on the altar, but then he caught the gong and glanced it at curiously Sleeping Dragon: as Cat had said, the pillar supporting the walkway was carved to look like the female Master in the tapestries, hands raised above her and her lips curled into a mocking smile Sleeping Dragon: Rico climbed down the rope Vachir: However the Bolgar decided to ignore the gong for now, and went over to get a good look at the fist-shaped altar. Sakura: Sakura looked closer look at the gong Sleeping Dragon: Vachir searched the altar carefully, seeking for hidden compartments or traps. The altar was very oddly carved. As soon as Vachir touched it, he discovered that it did, in fact, have some secret compartment within it, for it began to rumble and shake, and Vachir stood back in time for the altar to split and a huge stone form loom up, raising two enormous stone fists. Ardrun (exit): 00:25 Sakura: Sakura sighed
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Post by sleepingdragon on May 23, 2009 10:48:40 GMT
Sleeping Dragon: as the huge creature began to loom up over them, Cat was the first person to react. Rolling to her left, she whipped out a dagger and hurled it hard at the huge creature, but it simply bounced off its thick stone body Rafael ben Efrim: "Try to lure it under the walkway then smash it down on it!" Rafael shouted. Sleeping Dragon: Enrico darted forward towards the golem, attempting to distract its attention by feigning to trip, but the golem ignored him altogether Sakura: Sakura started singing a song that would settle her friends' mind against such a mighty enemy and made her way under the walkway far back as possible. Sleeping Dragon: the stone creature reared up to its full height and laid about it with its two great fists, slamming heavy blows against each of Vachir and Ardrun. Ardrun: Ardrun attempted to strike at the creature past Vachir, but his blade bounced off harmlessly. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael leaped for the rope and scrambled up onto the walkway, waiting for the golem to come closer. Vachir: Recoiling from the blow, Vachir quickly retreated behind Ardrun and towards the rope Sleeping Dragon: Cat rolled again, hurling her dagger well, but the golem was unfooled by her rapid maneuvres and the dagger bounced off it again Ardrun (enter): 19:45 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (97) Ardrun... Sleeping Dragon: Enrico again attempted to distract the creature but it was no good. He tumbled away, but the golem struck him a hard blow as he tried Sakura: Sakura moved forward three sqaure and fired the bolt with a neat smart move but sadly it missed the golem by long shot. Ardrun: Ardrun ate the magical wafer he'd had stored in his belt pouch, and gave a growl of anger to psyche himself up. He overswung at the golem, what would have been a powerful blow missing completely. Vachir: Quickly climb up the rope, Vachir reached the walkway and sprinted for the northern passage Vachir: edit: 'climb' should be 'climbing' Rafael ben Efrim: As the golem strode forward, Rafael took a flying leap from the walkway, just managing to cling onto the thing's back. Sleeping Dragon: Black Cat deliberately ran in amongst the creature's reach, trying to draw is attention so that her allies could get out of its reach. Its huge fist swept just wide of her, and she then quickly climbed up the rope Sleeping Dragon: Enrico attempted to rapidly climb up the rope while the creature was distracted. As he went up the rope his hand slipped and he fell down to the ground with a cry of fear Ardrun (exit): 20:17 Sakura: Sakura quickly climed up the rope over the Enrico's body and reached the walkway swiftly, beside Cat and reloaded her crossbow. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael's hands slid down the golem's rough surface. He tried to distract it but the wretched thing ignored him, so he leaped up onto its back once more. Ardrun: Ardrun recklessly leapt up, kicking off the golem's leg and trying to strike at its head, but again his blade bounced off the stone. Sleeping Dragon: the golem flailed about it with its fists, striking at Rafael on its back and Ardrun in front of it Vachir: Vachir fired thrice at the stone golem. One of his arrows simply glanced off, but the other two bore through the stone like scalpels, chipping the creature's body Sleeping Dragon: Black Cat leapt down off the walkway, avoiding a blow from the golem, and darted in, stabbing at its side, but her dagger couldn't penetrate the creature's stone hide Sleeping Dragon: Enrico scrambled up the rope and, trying again to get the golem's attention, feigned to fall off, but it paid him no attention Sakura: Sakura managed to distract the Golem with attempted jumping attack Sleeping Dragon: the golem continued to flail about it, hitting Ardrun and Rafael again Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael tried various tricks to distract the golem but none of them helped. Ardrun: "The One reviles you!" shouted Ardrun as he swung his blade into the golem, chipping into its leg. Vachir: Vachir hit with two of his arrows again, chips of stone flying as the projectiles struck the golem Sleeping Dragon: Black Cat rolled round the creature, avoiding another blow, and attempted to distract it away from Ardrun Sleeping Dragon: Enrico finally got the thing's attention, running along the walkway and half-leaping towards it before pulling back Sakura: Sakura failed to distract the Golem with attempted jumping attack. It doesn;t fall to same trick it sems Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael beat at the golem's head to distract it so that Ardrun could hit it more easily. Sleeping Dragon: the creature lashed out with its huge fists again. It struck Ardrun with a heavy blow, and the big gladiator fell heavily to the ground, while Rafael was struck a glancing blow Vachir: Though shaken by seeing the mighty Ardrun fall, Vachir managed to hit the golem twice again, lightly chipping off part of its face Sleeping Dragon: Black Cat danced away. This time the creature struck her with a hard blow, but she ignored the pain and dragged Ardrun to the bottom of the rope, shouting to Enrico and Sakura to try to tie him and pull him up Sleeping Dragon: Enrico shouted for Vachir to help Ardrun (enter): 21:29 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (133) Ardrun... Sleeping Dragon: Sakura somersaulted down off the walkway. Landing near Ardrun, she quickly tied him to the rope and began to climb back up it Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael clung on to the golem's back, praying that the others would be able to rescue Ardrun before he had to leap to safety. Sleeping Dragon: the thing lashed out at Rafael. It struck him with one blow and Rafael was hurled to the ground Vachir: Vachir quickly rushed to the rope and pulled Ardrun's up, with some help from Enrico. After they placed the gladiator on the walkway, Vachir warily turned for a moment, aware that the golem was still menacing them Sleeping Dragon: Black Cat backed off a bit, then ran forward and leapt up. Landing on the walkway, she knelt low and grabbed the rope from Enrico and Vachir, hurling it and snagging it onto Rafael's foot. "Help!" Sakura: Sakura rushed forward to help Enrico to pull up the rope. Sakura: She felt the body which is ice cold and whispered with hint of sadness, "Rafael." Vachir: Vachir looked at Rafael's battered body with terrified uneasiness, but then turned to Ardrun and found the strength to drag his heavy form in the room north Sleeping Dragon: Cat followed after Vachir. She knelt by Ardrun and desperately bandaged his wounds, stanching the bleeding Sleeping Dragon: Enrico grabbed Rafael's body and dragged him away Ardrun (exit): 21:59 Sakura: Sakura was furious as she glanced over this stone golem which caused the death of one of the most beloved member of the group and told him as she strolled away from the walkway, "We will destory you one day!" Vachir: In anger, Vachir picked up his bow again and shoot a single arrow at the stony monstruosity, but the projectile barely chipped its torso Sleeping Dragon: Black Cat took Rafael away from the bridge Sleeping Dragon: Enrico also ran back, kneeling over Rafael and feeling for a pulse. "What? He's alive! Help!" Sakura: Sakura glanced at Ardrun and ragged him to area beside Rafael. She considered what the next thing to do and started fingering her dagger Sleeping Dragon: the golem continued to smash away at the pillar Vachir: Vachir fired another two arrows at the thing, but his aim was unsteady and both simply glanced off the stone Sakura: On hearing that Raf may be alive, she rushed toward Raf and attempt to heal him Sleeping Dragon: the golem wandered through the door to the south, no longer able to reach the party or hurt them by destroying the walkway Vachir: As the golem wandered away from them, Vachir looked like he didn't know if he should swear or breath a sigh or relief. He quickly turned to the others, remembering that Rafael was perhaps not dead yet Sakura: Sakura kneed on the ground, pulled out her dagger and slashed part of hand slightly. As the blood flows down her entwined hands, she kissed them as Sakura chanting long complex prayer toward her three Sea Gods through her blood covered lips. Eventually she finished with quickly licking the blood off her hands. Sleeping Dragon: they waited there for about a half hour while Ardrun, and then Rafael, very slowly came around Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael sat with his head in his hands, silently. Vachir: Having sat near the others, Vachir had looked at the unconscious bodies with some uneasiness. "You're alive!"he said obviously overjoyed "Gods, I almost got you killed down there..."he trailed off looking sadly embarassed Ardrun: Ardrun jerked awake; the magic of the wafer was still running through his veins, and he had to force himself not to leap up and exacerbate his injuries. Sakura: Sakura glanced at the group deeply and thoughtfully as she huskily replied to Vachir, "Still, it is an event waiting to happen. If it was not for you, it would be me or someone else. You merely only set off a trap." Vachir: "Possibly."said Vachir looking less embarassed "Still, if we ever visit another temple, remind me not to try and plunder the altar..."he added Sakura: She laughed softly, "I shall try to remember. At least no one lost their lives, which is most important fact of this event in time." Sleeping Dragon: the battered party swam back up to the surface. Black Cat once again left them once they were out. "I'll be here when you come back," she said vaguely. Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (83) Sophia... Ardrun (exit): 22:47 Sleeping Dragon: the party dragged themselves back to the King's Arms inn, Ardrun and Rafael having to be supported by their comrades Sophia: /me looks up from her drink Sophia: "FINALLY YOU PEOPLE HAVE RETURNED" Sophia: *Struts up to Ardrun and pokes him in the chest* Sophia: "You know how long ive been waiting?" Sophia: *The massive woman before you doesnt look too much like a woman Sophia: *looks more like a tower of meat... with breasts Sophia: *her arms and legs are massive and she has a Scythe and a hammer hooked to her back Ardrun: Ardrun blinked and stepped back, wondering if in his weakened state he was having hallucinations. Rafael ben Efrim: As they entered the inn, Rafael spoke to Vachir. "Don't blame yourself for what happened. We must learn to be more cautious sometimes." He stared in surprise at the large woman. "Ardrun, is this a friend of yours?" Sakura: Sakura looked at this... woman with massive annoyance. Sophia: Sophia looked back down at Sakura Sophia: "What are you staring at little rich bird?" Vachir: Vachir looked at this weird feminine apparition with amazement "Great, another crazy woman..."he muttered to himself Sophia: Sophia shakes her head, her dirty blonde hair going everywhere Sophia: "Arent you guys investigating those murders that have been happening??? Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael frowned. "Who are you?" he asked, not aggressively. Sophia: Sophia takes a step back and takes a deep breathe... "I apologize for being so aggressive... i have a friend who has been killed and i know not where to start, im lost and i dont know quite who to turn to. I was told that a group of adventurers could help me. You look like that group" Sakura: Sakura glared at Sophia and muttered, "You looked untrustworthy." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael, who was still very pale around his bandages, indicated a table. "Can we sit down to discuss this? As you see, we have had a rather...difficult time." Vachir: "We've had our good share of people trying to kill us in the past. We learned not to be too trusting."said Vachir "And we had a..very, very rough day."he added, not unkindly Sophia: Sophia took a second look at them and walked toward a chair "Indeed... you look as if you have all been torn to pieces... did sombody mug you?" Sakura: "Not exactly" She replied, meaning she is wrong in every sense with the cause of the tearing part Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael smiled wearily. "You could say that. At least we're all alive, thanks be to the One. We'll be fine in a couple of days." Ardrun: "Then we will go back," said Ardrun menacingly. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded in agreement. "But tell us how we can help you...?" he looked questioningly at the woman. Sophia: Sophia sighed and took another breathe "I am a strong woman, I attempt to fight nowadays for what i feel is right. What is right for me is finding out who killed my friend and bringing them to justice. Alas i am just one person, this is why i need the help of your group, most of you look like a hardy bunch..." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael looked around at the others. "We've looked better. Please tell us what happened. But perhaps we should introduce ourselves first. I am Rafael ben Efrim." Sophia: Sophia smiled "It is nice to meet a gentleman, i am referring to the Beacon Hill murders, my friend Laurel was killed and i was wondering if you could fill me in on what you know about this" Ardrun: "Ardrun, a brother in service to the One." Vachir: "Vachir, archer and mercenary. "he introduced himself "Though these days I'm more of an adventure, you could say..."he added unsure of himself Sophia: "It is a pleasure to meet both of you, i have not been introduced to this... young lady here..." Sophia looked down at Sakura Ardrun (enter): 23:13 Sleeping Dragon: "Enrico Bonaventura," Enrico introduced himself Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (203) Ardrun... Sakura: "My name is Sakura of House Ayanna. I am just simple shopkeeper." She repiled softly. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael hid a smile. "And you are?" he asked the woman. Sophia: Sophia was taken aback "I completely forgot, my name is Sophia Crentell of the Northern Islands. Farmer and... freedom fighter, raised on the seas." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael raised his eyebrows. "Freedom fighter? Freedom is a commodity in short supply around here." he said quietly. "What are you doing here in Torath?" Sophia: "Freedom is something all people deserve, something that the Firsts cannot offer to a human being, all they offer is plauge and war, they are worse then even my breatheren. But they are not why i am here with you today, i am here so that i can ask for your help in solving these Beacon Hill murders Sophia: " Sleeping Dragon: several of the patrons looked startled and glanced over towards the party, muttering amongst themselves Vachir: "You've been sent here by Darragan or his people?"asked Vachir somewhat suspiciously "Or you just heard of our quest somewhere else?" Rafael ben Efrim: "Perhaps we should talk a little more quietly Sophia. These people do not understand." Rafael said. Sakura: "We are not in the lands where people are not under control under Firsts as you would noticed" She quipped Sophia: Sophia lowered her voice "I am sorry but i am a little rash when it comes to... Firsts" the word is emphasized with disgust "I heard of your party from some of the locals, like i said, i am not familiar with this land and i am but one person. My friend was... murdered i believe and i have no leads short of your group" Rafael ben Efrim: "You did not say why you are in Torath? Or how your friend came to be murdered on Beacon Hill." Rafael interposed. Sophia: Sophia smiled again "I was going to be fighting here... a hired mercenary i am of sorts nowadays. I was visiting my friend Laurel and she came to be murdered by... well im not quite sure what killed her but it was pretty grisly, there was not alot of blood but plenty of wounds. She did not live on Beacon Hill she only traveled there." Sophia: Sophias smile turned to a frown "Now here i am, looking for help in finding the people who did this to my friend and to anyone else they may have hurt" Vachir: "Your friend was killed on Beacon Hill?"asked Vachir "Then perhaps we avenged him. The horrors that have been murdering people there are dead now."he added Sakura: She settled back into her seat and looked at her with hint of suspicion. Rafael ben Efrim: "Those were what we have been fighting - hard, horrible things that should never have seen the light of day." Rafael said with feeling.
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Post by sleepingdragon on May 30, 2009 11:11:26 GMT
Sleeping Dragon: "Those were what we have been fighting - hard, horrible things that should never have seen the light of day." Rafael said to Sophia with feeling. As he spoke, one of the serving girls came by to bring food to the battered party Sophia: Sophia breathed more easily "Well then it is good to see that my friend has been avenged before i even have to lift my scythe to do something about it." Vachir: "Hopefully there won't be more of these horrors inside there."said Vachir as he took a bite of his meal Sophia: "Well if there is, i would gladly send them back to whatever hell they came from. Once you take off somethings head it stops moving, oh ho ho does it stop" Sophia laughed. Idris: "That depends how many heads it has," Rafael said. He seemed rather distracted. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael said something in a low voice to Ardrun. Sophia: Tilting her head, Sophia looked at each of them"Well you guys look pretty beat up, perhaps we should wait to later to see if there are any of these...'creatures' left?" Ardrun: Ardrun responded to Rafael as he stuffed food into his mouth. Vachir: "There's still something there, we know."said Vachir pausing from eating for a moment "The thing that gave us quite a beating, actually. A massive animated stone statue." he added with some uneasiness in his voice "We chipped a bit of it off, but it's still moving." Rafael ben Efrim: "Do you think you could aid us in dealing with it?" Rafael asked Sofia. "It is deadly, literally." Sophia: "Of course, it would be my honor to take out any monsters that are making trouble for the common people" Sophia smiled "But im not so sure i know how to deal with a... 'stone statue' is it?" Vachir: "Well..."suggested Vachir matter-of-factly "You just hit it until it turns to rubble I guess. Can't think of anything else, really." Rafael ben Efrim: "You can try just hitting it very hard, but we really could do with a plan, perhaps to pull it over, or drop the walkway on it." Rafael said. "Something to give us an advantage." Sophia: "Well whenever you guys are ready, i will follow and attempt to 'turn it to rubble Vachir: "There were a heavy gong and metal trapdoor there, could do quite a bit of damage if thrown by a strong person."added Vachir sizing up Sophia again, noticing she was taller and more massive than himself Rafael ben Efrim: "That gong might be used to call something up," Rafael mused. Sleeping Dragon: after their meal, Ardrun and Rafael went to rest, with the rest of the party tending to them so that they could recover from their wounds more quickly. A day was spent as they ran about, applying ointments and bandages and wet cloths to the two wounded men. They were hardy and about a day later they were back on their feet Sleeping Dragon: shortly after mid-day they headed out in the blazing sun and returned to the muddy hole which led down into the vault Black Cat: Black Cat was waiting by the entrace for the group to arrive. "Back into the abyss then? At least we have some reinforcements now." She nodded to Sophia. Joe: Sakura for a moment looked extremely irriated at the idea that Sophia is going with them. "Yes, I am sure we will win with the extra muscles." Sophia: Sophia pointed into the hole "Is it down there? Lets go destroy it." Rafael ben Efrim: "I think Sophia will be a great help to us," Rafael said meaningfully to Sakura. Joe: Sakura glanced passionless back at Rafael, "I suppose so. Only time will tell if she will be an aid." She waited for the group to go ahead into the tunnel. Sleeping Dragon: the party swam back down the watery hole and into the vault again, returning to the small flooded cell where they had slain the first marrowbreakers. The creature's bodies still lay in the water, and were now beginning to bloat badly from their submersion Joe: She wrinkled her nose as the terrible smell from the corpses was truely stinking as she paddled her way to the more safer lavish room. Vachir: "They're even uglier than when they were alive."said Vachir as they passed by the decaying carcasses Sophia: "You guys really... ravaged this place. Did they put up much of a fight for you guys?" Sophia tilted her head Rafael ben Efrim: "They're very tough to fight, and they ambushed us." replied Rafael. Sleeping Dragon: the party advanced beyond the flooded cell and through the passageway beyond. The third marrowbreaker's body also lay where it had fallen, under the water at the base of the narrow stone shaft which led up into the room adjoining the walkway Joe: "One of the toughest we fought so far." She made a short reply. Sleeping Dragon: the group continued on, opening the doors and heading out onto the walkway. There was no sign of the golem around, and listening for a moment they could hear no sign of it - plainly it had gone deeper into the complex, beyond the shattered iron doors at the west end of the room. The silver items which had lain on the altar that had become the golem lay scattered on the floor by the two pedestals which they presumed had once held the two murderous marrowbreakers. The door at the south end of the walkway remained closed and locked. Vachir: "Perhaps we should draw the thing into this room?"suggested Vachir looking thoughtfully at the room below Sakura: Sakura shook her head as she replied, "I would suggest we keep going, there is a door at the end of the walkway. We can fight golem if we come across it again." She gestured at the closed door at the end of the walkway. Sophia: "Would you like to lead the way beautiful little bird?" Sophia smiled sweetly at Sakura Black Cat: Cat looked at the tall woman a momen, her expression unreadble behind her mask. "I'll take point, just be sure to not be far behind." Sophia: Sophia smiled again "Ive got your back dear" Vachir: Vachir stood silently on the walkway, bow drawn, probably waiting for Cat to bring the golem to them Sakura: "I am only here to cheer our excellent fighters onward. Not sure about you though." She strolled on to see if she help Enrico to unlock the door. Sakura: EDIT: She strolled on to see if she unlock the door. Sakura: and tried the lock with her tools she took out from her pocket. Black Cat: Cat nimbly sidestepped past Vachir, staying near Sakura and keeping an eye on the shattered door. Sleeping Dragon: at length Sakura was able to unlock the door Sakura: She smiled with a hint of pleasure and glanced at Sophia, "After you" She gestured into newly opened door? Sophia: "Ah but ladies should go first, should they not?" Sophia smiled back and gestured to the door "unless you are not a lady?" Black Cat: "Afraid?" Cat looked back at Sophia sharply before turning back to the door. "I'll go first." Ardrun (enter): 21:39 Vachir: "Be careful, there might be traps."Vachir warned her Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (88) Ardrun... Black Cat: "I've gotten into and out of more dangerous places than this before." Cat assured Vachir before lighting her lantern and opening the door a crack. Sophia: Sophia stepped up behind Cat softly, her Scythe held firmly in both hands. Sakura: Sakura appears to be waiting for any events to happen as she starts playing with her crossbow. whispering to CosmicHorror, Cat peered through the door, seeing enough to work out that it was a reasonably sized room slightly larger than the room at the opposite end of the walkway, but little else as she couldn't see in very far Vachir: Vachir took a few steps forward, bow ready whispering to Sophia, Sophia leaned over Black Cat and also peered through the door. Inside she could see a reasonably sized room, about twenty feet wide by twenty-five feet long. At the far end there was an iron door which was flanked by two large pedestals upon which were sat statues of creatures that resembled demons. A series of graven heads were carved into the walls at about waist height Black Cat: Cat pulled back and looked up at Sophia. "All I can make out is a room. You?" Sophia: "I see two statues that look frightening, kinda like demons. They look to be guarding a iron door. There also appear to be heads carved into the wall. Everything is stone but im hesistant to say whether not they live due to your tails of a 'Stone Statue'" Sophia grimaced Vachir: "Stone demons now!" swore Vachir "This place is cursed, I tell you..."he muttered Sakura: "Well, all these enemies we fought so far been on pedestals. I suspect they are the same. I wonder what they acutally look like, these demons." She appears to consider whatever to risk going into the room to take... a close look. Vachir: "We could try breaking them before they animate?"suggested Vachir "Throw the gong or trapdoor at them..."he trailed off Rafael ben Efrim: "Can you carry them in here?" Rafael asked.. Sakura: "I might be able to recognize these demons." She replied, "Always worth a look I say." Vachir: "You're the big guys"he said looking at Ardrun and Sophia "Well, girl in your case. You might want to try that? Might break off a few pieces off these statues, that'd be good" Sakura: Sakura attempt to shuffle around to see these possible demons, "Excuse me please." Vachir: "Careful! You don't want to wake them up!"Vachir warned her Sophia: Sophia stepped back "Be my guest little bird, watch out they dont attack you" Black Cat: "Stay back for a moment." Cat pushed the door open all the way, letting the light from the lanterns enter the room. Ardrun (exit): 22:09 Sakura: Sakura looked at these demons and tries to consider them. Ardrun: Ardrun signalled Sophia to help him lift the gong. Sophia: Sophia stepped over and hoisted it up with Ardruns help Sleeping Dragon: the door swung open and Cat's light shone in. They could see that the room was about twenty-feet wide and twenty-five feet long. A series of graven heads were carved into the walls at about waist height. At the far end of the room, a pair of pedestals upon which crouched two statues of large, scaly, muscular figures with claws. As the light from Cat's lantern struck them, there came a loud cracking noise and the stone began to fall away as red creatures began to emerge from within Sakura: Sakura glanced at them and replied, "They seems to be little more than common demon fighter. Big and Strong, bit like Sophia." Sakura: "Still, they got some special skills but not a clue on what they are." She added afterward Rafael ben Efrim: Now that Rafael could see the creatures he agreed. "They're pretty basic demonic warriors. Not very bright either." Vachir: "Too big for this corridor. Don't let them get out in the open!"said Vachir Sophia: "You guys werent kidding, how is it that stone can do such a thing as this??" Sophia shuddered a bit at the stone shedding from the creatures Vachir: Vachir waited for the demons to come closer, his bow pointed towards the corridor. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael stayed where he was, studying the creature on the left for signs of weakness. Black Cat: "Magic." Cat responded to the woman behind her. "It's not that uncommon if you know where to look. But it's not impossible to defeat, just keep that in mind." Sophia: Sophia nodded at her "I will" Sakura: Sakura nodded at the exchange and yelled at these demons in Ancient Speech demanding demons to back off. After which, she sung a stirring song about defeating the demons at the Battle of Shining Light. Black Cat: Cat quickly darted into the room and threw a dagger at one of the creatures before it could fully shed its stony shell before darting back to the bridge, another dagger already in her hand. Black Cat: *edit, and dropped down into a crouch. Sleeping Dragon: the two demons moved forward, screaming wildly Vachir: Seeing that the demon was closer, Vachir fired thrice at it. One of his arrows flew beside the monster, hitting the wall, but the other two pierced it's flesh, wounding it. Sleeping Dragon: Enrico took a shot with his crossbow, but it struck the wall Sophia: Stepping up just over Cat, Sophia assisted Ardrun in hurling the massive gong at one of the demons. With a loud 'bang' it hit the one to the right, the sound deafened Ardrun but not Sophia. Black Cat: Black Cat also flinched at the sound of the gong. Rafael ben Efrim: Unable to see the demon hidden by the wall, Rafael applied something from a vial to his scimitar blade. Ardrun (enter): 23:02 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (115) Ardrun... Sakura: Sakura starts growling at these demons with great hint of doom behind it. Sakura: And so the prone demon was shaken by approaching doom. Black Cat: Cat shook her head trying to get the ringing in her ears to go away. "Mind where you throw those things." She said, a bit too loudly, before vaulting back away from the demon, a flash of the thrown dagger burrying itself in the creature as Cat nimbly landed behind the others. Vachir (enter): 23:21 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (128) Vachir... Sleeping Dragon: the badly wounded demon stood up and bit at Sophia, tearing into her flesh, while its compatriot also stepped forward, squeezing into the tight space joining the walkway and the door. It too bit at Sophia, but its movement was restricted and its attack fell wide Vachir: Vachir fired thrice at the demon in the back. His first arrow hit, seriously wounding the already heavily injured demon, but the other two flew into the wall, again. Sophia: Sophia winced from the bite but managed to dodge the second demons attack. In response she ripped her scythe from her back and took a might swing at the demon in front of her. It pierced him but did not fall him. "Do not bite me anymore!" Sophia yelled Ardrun (exit): 23:31 Sophia: Sophia winced from the bite but managed to dodge the second demons attack. In response she ripped her scythe from her back and took a might swing at the demon in front of her. It pierced him but did not fall him. "Do not bite me anymore!" Sophia yelled Ardrun: Ardrun drew his blade and struck at the demon from behind Sophia, cutting along its side. Sakura: Sakura aimed at the demon but failed to hit, she swore for a moment. Vachir (exit): 23:52 Sleeping Dragon: the demons assaulted Sophia. The one squeezed into the doorway bit and clawed at her, dealing minor wounds, while the other attempted to do the same, trying to reach past the other demon, but it had no success Vachir: Seeing that one of the demons was awkardly squeezed into the tight corridor, Vachir fired thrice at it. Skillfully, all three arrows hit, wounding the brutish creature. Sophia: Sophia attempts to respond to the attacks from the demons with attacks of her own, the demons manage to dodge both sweeps of her scythe though. Ardrun: Ardrun stabbed into the demon squeezed into the corridor, and ripped the blade upward, separating its skull in half. Ardrun: Disconnecting from server... Ardrun (exit): 00:02 Black Cat: Seeing a space open up as Ardun hacked into one demon, Cat quickly moved past the others, plunging her dagger into the remaining creature, nearly toppling it over. Sakura: Sakura aimed at the demon but failed to hit... again! Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael followed up swiftly, firing his crossbow but it missed the demon quite widely. Sleeping Dragon: the demon lashed out desperately at Cat, hitting her with teeth and claw Vachir: Vachir fired a single arrow at the surviving demon. Like a thunderbolt, the shaft flew straight through the creature in an explosion of gore and then, not stopping, pierced the wall behind it.
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Post by sleepingdragon on Jun 5, 2009 21:35:24 GMT
Sleeping Dragon: Vachir's shot tore through the remaining demon and sent its great form sliding down to the floor, and the vault was still again Vachir: "Let's go and check what's inside there."said Vachir climbing over the bodies of the slain demons and entering the room Sakura: Sakura winced at climbing over the demon corpses but did climbed over the bloodly skins. Black Cat: Black Cat nimbly climbed over the bodies and entered the room, holding her lantern up to illuminate it. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael stopped for a moment to look at the bodies. Sleeping Dragon: the room itself was of dressed stone, with flagstone in the floor and ceiling. Graven heads depicting races such as humans, giants & lizardfolk were set into the walls at waist height, carved alternately from black and white marble. whispering to Rafael ben Efrim, Rafael examined the bodies closely. They were not hugely dissimilar to human bodies, though enormous and possessing claws, teeth, and thick hides Vachir: Vachir looked curiously at the heads on the walls but said nothing. Black Cat: Cat knelt down to look at one of the heads more closely. "Odd height to put them at isn't it?" She commented. Rafael ben Efrim: "Unless the people who carved them were dwarves, yes it is." Rafael replied, leaning down to take a look himself. Sleeping Dragon: after a few minutes search, they discovered that one of the heads, that of a human female about halfway down the western wall, could be twisted, most likely to open a secret door Sakura: Sakura looked one glance at it and shook her head, gesturing others to do the twisting rather than her. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael treated Sophia and Black Cat, binding their wounds and making sure they had recovered enough before going on. Vachir: "This might be dangerous."said Vachir looking at the head "Let's be careful." Skyman (enter): 20:09 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (62) Skyman... Sakura: She smiled for a moment, "Well, we are already in dangerous area. Although it seems to get more dangerous everytime we enter new room." Vachir: Vachir nodded in agreement with Sakura "And don't forget the stone statue is still around..."he added "Still, we might as well explore whatever this head leads to" Sleeping Dragon: Sophia stepped up and twisted the head. There was a grinding noise as a portion of the wall slid away to reveal a flight of stairs winding down Rafael ben Efrim: "What about the other door?" Rafael said. "Should we at least find out if it is locked?" Sleeping Dragon: Enrico went over and checked. "It's not locked." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael came to take a look and listened at the door. Sleeping Dragon: Rafael could hear nothing beyond the door Sakura: Sakura asked Rafael, "Shall we open the door a little? Just to see what they are?" Rafael ben Efrim: "It might help to have an idea of what's there." Rafael agreed. Skyman: Ardrun moved over to open the door. Sleeping Dragon: Ardrun opened the door and found that beyond it was a short passage which ended abruptly in a huge pile of debris - the passage had obviously been deliberately collapsed at some point in the distant past Sakura: "Well... it look like it is that dark stair that will lead us to doom." She quipped humourly Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael moved accross and looked into the dark hole. Sleeping Dragon: it took little time for that doom to arrive. Sophia and Ardrun were first onto the stairs, which went winding down for only a short distance. They got halfway down the stairs before there was a loud click, and a set of large spiked blocks came tumbling down from the ceiling to smash down on Sophia and Ardrun Rafael ben Efrim: "Someone else should probably go ahead to check for any more traps." Rafael said, as he treated Ardrun's wounds. Sleeping Dragon: after spending a few moments being patched up from these new injuries, they set back down the passage, this time putting Enrico at the front so he could check for any further surprises. The staircase was quite short, ending in a wall which, after a few moment's search, Enrico found could also be slid aside. Sleeping Dragon: Enrico was able to slide the passage open, revealing a small room. The walls of the room were lined with bronze hooks, upon four of which hung dark blue robes, covered with dust and smelling somewhat of mildew. One hook, along the wall, was made of steel and was somewhat lower than the bronze ones - Enrico guessed that this was the trigger for the secret door from that side. Sleeping Dragon: edit to add: a stout iron door rested on the western wall Sleeping Dragon: Enrico quickly checked for more traps as he moved to the door, finding none Black Cat: Cat walked over to one of the robes after Enrico gave the all clear. "Blue... Not quite my colour. Must be a room for the priests, but why they'd put it behind a secret door doesn't make much sense." Sakura: "It is possible that we are going into secret part of this temple." Sakura mused Skyman (enter): 20:58 Rafael ben Efrim: "Maybe the part we came through is the secret part, and that's why they have a secret door into it." Rafael suggested Vachir: "No way to find out other than opening that door."said Vachir, who had drawn his bow and was looking at the iron door Sakura: Sakura looked thoughtfully as she nodded, "That would explain why there are trap here rather on other end. These demons would be very surprising for anyone that peek up from the stairs.£ Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (84) Skyman... Sleeping Dragon: Enrico checked the door. "It's locked. No trap," he reported, fishing out a set of lockpicks and setting to work on the door. After a short time he was able to unlock it. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael looked about the room as Rico worked on the door. "I can imagine the priests robing in here and passing through the secret door up to that room with the altar." Sleeping Dragon: Enrico slowly opened the door, peering through it with the faint light from Cat and Rafael's lanterns. He looked around, then went white and closed the door quietly. "That golem is out there," he hissed. "I can see it in a room over there, with the door open," he said, pointing west. "It's a big wide open space otherwise, with some tables, one's been broken." Sakura: Sakura looked troubled as she whispered, "Ah... That is... troublesome." Black Cat: "Maybe... It's likly been told not to attack the priests of the temple..." Cat nodded her head meeningfully to the robes. Rafael ben Efrim: "We could try it, but it's risky. Do you think we could control it or just get past?" Rafael asked her. Sleeping Dragon: "It's already fought us before, wouldn't it recognise all of us except her?" said Enrico, gesturing to Sophia Black Cat: Cat shrugged. "I don't know anything about ancient animated statues. It's just a thought." Rafael ben Efrim: "One of us could try it." Raphael suggested. "If it doesn't work, we can think of another plan." Skyman: Ardrun stood farther back as the others spoke, muscles tensing and his face growing red as he began to seethe with rage. Vachir: Vachir hid himself behind the door and watched the golem carefully, trying to spot its weak points. Sakura: Sakura looked a look at the robe and suggested that she might wear it Rafael ben Efrim: "I don't know which of us should try them." Rafael said. "What's the plan for tackling the golem?" Sleeping Dragon: "Not getting near it," Enrico replied, moving towards the back of the group Sakura: "Fair enough Enrico." She strolled toward the hooks and lifted one of the robes in hope it will somewhat fit her. Sleeping Dragon: Sophia also put one on Sleeping Dragon: "Should I go out first in case this works?" she asked. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded. Sakura: "Might as well go with Sophia" Sakura followed Sophia. Sakura: Edit: She smiled for a moment and just waited Sakura: "Might as well go with Sophia" Sakura followed Sophia. Skyman: Ardrun also put on a robe and stepped out behind Sophia. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael put on the last robe and followed the others. Skyman (exit): 21:27 Sakura: She pulled her hood up just in case Sleeping Dragon: Sophia took a breath, then stepped out, holding her scythe at the ready. They were in a large, irregularly shaped chamber, in the centre of which were several tables, one of which was broken. The dusty floor was criss-crossed with a number of recent prints - there were the booted feets of humans, the strange tracks of the marrowbreakers, and also the enormous stony feet of the golem....which stood beyond the door to the west. After a moment the golem turned ponderously and began to move towards the party Skyman (enter): 21:32 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (100) Skyman... Vachir (enter): 21:34 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (101) Vachir... Rafael ben Efrim: Seeing that their strategem with the robes had not worked, Rafael ran towards the golem, hoping the others would too. Sleeping Dragon: Sophia charged in, raising her scythe high. As she approached Rafael lashed out at the golem, distracting it, and Sophia brought her scythe down in a powerful arc, chipping a great piece from the golem's body Skyman: Ardrun charged after the others and struck past Sophia, his blade chipping into the golem. Vachir: Vachir sent two arrows flying against the golem's body, slightly damaging the rock Black Cat: Cat rushed up behind Rafael, watching the golem. Sleeping Dragon: Enrico moved up next to Sakura, preparing to add his voice to hers Sakura: Sakura smiled for a moment at Enrico and then start singing for faithful group that destoryed their enemies and won no matter the enemies. Sakura: For a moment between a chrous, she yelled in ancient language demanding the puny object to stop. Skyman (exit): 22:02 Sleeping Dragon: the golem punched out heavily with its enormous fists. It struck Sophia a solid blow, then lashed out over her head and slammed its stone left fist down towards Ardrun, nearly crushing the gladiator in one blow Vachir (exit): 22:05 Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael spun and tumbled, trying to distract the golem so that his companions could hit it more easily. Sleeping Dragon: Sophia swung out with her scythe, missing with one swipe but striking it with a backswing Skyman: Ardrun lashed out at the golem as he stepped back, but was too hindered by his injury to strike true. Vachir: Vachir's first arrow flew wide into the wall, but the other two struck true, and cracks started to appear on the golem Black Cat: Disconnecting from server... CosmicHorror (exit): 22:12 Sleeping Dragon: Black Cat also attempted to distract the golem, but it ignored her weavings around its feet Sleeping Dragon: Enrico stepped up behind Ardrun and made sharp pointing gestures, muttering arcane sounding gibberish in an attempt to trick the golem into thinking him a sorcerer, but it proved impervious to such tactics Sakura: Sakura stepped foward and start muttering some anicent curses while signing like she see in Ispera. Sleeping Dragon: the golem continued to pound out, heedless of its injuries. It hammered into Sophia with its right fist, then followed up with a thunderous left, hurling her backwards into the wall to slide limply to the ground Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael winced as Sophia was sent flying, but he concentrated on trying to distract the golem. Skyman: Ardrun, bloody and bruised, gathered up the last of his strength and stepped forward. Screaming "For the One!" he swung his blade in a wide arc. It hacked into the creature's already damaged leg, breaking away the foot, and the thing slowly fell backward, breaking into pieces as it landed on the ground. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael breathed a prayer of thanks as he ran to crouch by Sophia. Sakura: Sakura strolled forward to reach the fallen member and the rest of the group, "Still, I am glad this enemy is now shattered." Vachir: Vachir breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the shattered golem on the ground. "I wonder if this was the last of the guardians..."he trailed off Sleeping Dragon: at last the mighty golem fell, smashing to bits as it was hurled against the wall, landing on a battered shelf of books, scrolls, and parchments and tearing it loose from the wall beneath its weight.
Now that the battle was done, they had time to fully assess the room they were in. Two - previously three - walls had shelves with books, though some seemed to have already been broken away in the southwestern corner even before the golem had fallen. Most interesting was something else in that corner...what appeared to have been a tunnel, now collapsed, leading up towards the city Sakura: "Still, we should never let our guard now. What appear to be mighty may be only but a taster of what it to come." She put her hair through her hair, thinking what could be more dangerous. Sakura: hand* Sleeping Dragon: examining the room, they found that the human footprints they had seen outside were also present in this room Rafael ben Efrim: Once Sophia was out of danger, Rafael went over to look at the floor. "There are recent human bootprints here. People must have got in from somewhere. This isn't an accident I think, that these temple guardians have awakened." Sleeping Dragon: after a few minutes Sophia came groggily back to consciousness Sakura: "I would not be surprised." Sakura looked a look around, "So which way firsy then?" Skyman (enter): 22:37 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (123) Skyman... Rafael ben Efrim: "We could see which way these humans went." Rafael said, looking round the floor. Sakura: Sakura helped Rafael to find the the track to foillow' "Good ideea." Sleeping Dragon: the footprints appeared to both come and go - presumably the intruders had entered and exited by the tunnel. The footprints led northwest, out into the large, irregular room and around a strange L-shaped pillar which was surrounded by arcane runes inlaid in silver.
As they came around the corner they discovered a gruesome sight. There was a door to a small hexagonal room there, and the floors and walls around it were blackened and burned. Upon the floor lay sprawled the hideously charred and blistered body of a large human man who had plainly been engulfed in flames, dying in agony. Vachir: "Might want to see if there are other traps around."said Vachir looking down at the scorched corpse "And, of course, if he has anything worth taking..."he said with an hint of greed in his voice Sakura: Sakura stared at the crispy corpse and shuddered back from the image. "There is magic afoot in this place." Sleeping Dragon: Enrico carefully examined the area around the body for more traps, but couldn't find any. "This fellow's already disarmed it for us," he said. Rafael ben Efrim: "Kind of him." Rafael looked at the body. "I wonder if these people are just treasure seekers? Or maybe after something else. Vachir: "Not the best way to disarm a trap, triggering it."commented Vachir cynically as he set to the task of throughly searching the body Sakura: She winced at the sight of greedy man searching burnt corpse Sleeping Dragon: Vachir examined the body and found little - beneath his body was a dagger, and in the wreckage of his clothes was a scorched belt pouch containing fourteen gold coins, slightly bent by the intense heat Sakura: "I suppose we go into that room I guess." Vachir: Vachir held the coins close to the light of the lantern to get a better look at them Vachir: "Better than nothing."he said noticing they were common Torathi coins and putting them in his pockets Sleeping Dragon: the coins were local, bearing the image of King Darragan Vachir (enter): 22:57 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (135) Vachir... Sakura: Sakura glanced at the door and was about to reach for the doorknob Sakura: EDIT: Sakura went on, strolling into the room, carefully looking for traps Sleeping Dragon: the room was lined with shelves on most of its walls, approximately half of which bore books and scrolls. Someone had plainly been searching through these items, because several were scattered on the floor and those still on the shelves were in disorderly heaps Sakura: Sakura looked at them and nodded, "Look like someone clearly went through the books." Skyman (exit): 23:09 Vachir: "Interesting stuff?"asked Vachir as he looked at the shelves for a moment Sleeping Dragon: the party examined the room. The scrolls were written in ancient languages and covered a number of esoteric and often disturbing subjects - one, written in Ancient, contained detailed instructions regarding how to cook a human alive in its juices, which the person who had written the scroll appeared to consider a delicacy. Of the books, many had large locks on the covers, while others appeared to resist being opened at all by some mystical force.
Enrico, clearing over the shelves, frowned and knocked on a part of the wall, which gave off a hollow noise. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael looked up from the book he was examining, his face expressing disgust and horror. "These should be burned. They are an abomination." Skyman: Ardrun looked over his shoulder. "Yes. We should not leave these for others to find." Sakura: "Not all" She glanced from her book, "They can be quite useful, you never know when some knowledges are useful after all." Sakura: "I suggest we sort them out and burn the more distasteful ones." Vachir: "They might have some magical or even historical value."suggested Vachir, not particularly liking the book-burning idea Sleeping Dragon: Enrico searched around where the wall had been hollow and found that it concealed a small hidden compartment within which was a large iron-bound book written in Ancient Speech Sakura: Sakura laid down the book and took a glance at the iron-bound book, hoping to read it. Rafael ben Efrim: "If they are all part of this temple and whatever disgusting rites went on here, the likelihood is that they are all tainted" Rafael stated. Sakura: She looked at these books, "Beside, that First will be very unhappy if we try to sell these books." Sakura: "I would like to keep them still." She smiled slightly. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael frowned. "One of these books describes how to cook a man! There is an element of corruption which may infect others. I don't feel that we should take that risk." Sakura: "The world is sinking into corruption anyway." She replied softly. Sakura: as she read the book. Skyman: "Seeing the world as evil does not mean you must accept it that way," replied Ardrun. Vachir: "What is writtein in there, Sakura?"said Vachir glancing at the iron-bound tome the woman held Vachir: edit: 'written in there' Rafael ben Efrim: "We do not have to take part in the corrupting of the world." Rafael said. "Our lives should be lived in the hope that there is a better future, and some of us would work towards that." Sakura: "Nevertheless, the temple is something even worse. If this book is anything by." She closed the book and told them, "It is wonderful and brilliant use to anyone who want to perform magic through the mean of blood and human sacrifice." She smiled warily. Sakura: "Althouogh I like magic, I do not approve of human sacrifice though." She sighed. Vachir: "Anyway, there's still part of the temple we haven't explored, have we? We can decide what to do with these later."said Vachir "Let's get going." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael shook his head. "This whole temple is dedicated to evil. It would be better to destroy it." Skyman: "You are right, Rafael, but so is Vachir. We should finish exploring now, in case there is any more danger we are unaware of." Sakura: She shook her head and asked, "But what about other rooms? And these books?" She waved at them. Sakura: She shook her head and asked, "And these books?" She waved at them. Sakura: "Nevermind, let go anyway." She told them, strolling away Sleeping Dragon: the party decided to continue exploring, heading to a door on the north side of the wall of the irregularly shaped main chamber. Enrico searched all along the way for traps and unlocked the door before stepping back Skyman: Ardrun opened the door cautiously. Sakura: "What other horrors will we see this time." She said, "Still, at least there will be a better future for me. " Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael gave her a strange look. Sakura: Sakura smiled slightly back at Rafael, "It seems you giving me that look more and more often." whispering to Skyman, Ardrun peered slowly into the room. Beyond the door was a short gaol corridor, with cells visible through iron bars. Heavy dust lined the floor, suggesting no one had been in there in a long time. At the far end of the room was a statue depicting a horrible monstrosity - a gaunt creature in a cloak whose body was crisscrossed with dozens of scars Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael shook his head. "It was your comment. 'A better future'?" Skyman: Ardrun signalled to the others. "It looks safe, unless the statue in there is another creature." Sakura: "I was thinking what you was saying to me back then in that library." She replued, "Anyway, Ardrun, I think I might have a look, I might be able to know what it is, just in case." Skyman (exit): 23:59 Vachir: Vachir stood beside them, ready with bow and arrows "Whatever it is, try not to be noticed."he whispered whispering to Sakura, Beyond the door was a short gaol corridor, with cells visible through iron bars. Heavy dust lined the floor, suggesting no one had been in there in a long time. At the far end of the room was a statue depicting a horrible monstrosity - a gaunt creature in a cloak whose body was crisscrossed with dozens of scars. Sakura believed the creature was something called a flesh flayer - behind the scars, she knew, were many thin, finely crafted chains. If provoked, chains would burst out of the creature, allowing it to attack from a great range. Further, Sakura had heard tales that the chains of a flesh flayer caused rapturous pleasure even as it also caused terrible agony. Sakura: Sakura looked nervous as she slowly crept out and closed her eyes, "Let not go in there. No one have been in there for long time and that... monster statue is called Flesh Flayer whose many chains which go out of it body to attack others from great range and caused great pleasure and agony." She opened her eyes, troubled. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael agreed. "Another abomination. This is an evil place." Vachir: Vachir was horrified "Doesn't sound like a foe we could challenge now, especially since some of us are wounded..." Sakura: "I am glad we didn't rush into that room. There is still south passage to go yet?" She replied with a relief
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Post by sleepingdragon on Jun 7, 2009 16:06:45 GMT
Sleeping Dragon: the battered party decided against battling the Flesh Flayer for now, instead backing off to go and investigate the other unexplored hallway. Vachir: "We'll fight the thing in a day or two. We need a good rest."said a concerned Vachir as they walked towards the other end of the temple Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded. "We must be more cautious." Sleeping Dragon: Enrico went near the front to check for traps, discovering none in the hallway. At the end of the hallway were two doors, one on each side. Sakura: Sakura glanced at the surroundings carefully, wary of other dangers that may leapt out of the bloodful darkness Rafael ben Efrim: "Alright, which door shall we try first?" Rafael asked Sleeping Dragon: Enrico checked the door. "They've trapped it," he announced, kneeling down to take out his tools Sleeping Dragon: edit: the east door Vachir: Vachir looked on as Enrico disarmed the trap, bow ready and looking like he expected something evil to burst out the door after it was opened. Sleeping Dragon: Enrico carefully prodded with his tools. For a moment his face spasmed as if he were about to sneeze, and he looked panicked, but he was able to keep control of himself and deal with the trap, before then setting to work on the lock. After a few moments the door swung open, revealing a large, plain room with walls of dressed but unadorned stone. The floor was laid with flagstones, while the ceiling was covered with blue tiles. Rows of single beds lined the walls, with ironbound chests at the foot of each bed. Black Cat: Black Cat glanced into the room. "Well, no monsters, that's a start." Rafael ben Efrim: "Maybe they're in the chests waiting to pop out." Rafael said. Vachir: Vachir's eyes immediately went to the chests laying close to the beds "There might be something precious...But of course, might want to check for traps there too." he said greedily Sleeping Dragon: Enrico went to check the chests, swearing as the first one opened, not even locked. The chest was empty. "I'll bet they've cleared these all out," he said pessimistically. Rafael ben Efrim: "It would be strange if whoever lived here left their belongings" Rafael said to him. "I wonder why they left the temple in the first place?" Vachir: "They did not take the books though. "commented Vachir "Or the silver from the altar...."he shrugged "Still, it is a weird place." Sakura: "Might be worth a look into every chests still." Sakura suggested Black Cat: "Certainly wouldn't hurt. Unless they're trapped." Cat nodded to Enrico. Sleeping Dragon: Enrico checked through them all, but as he'd predicted, they were all empty. "Probably where they kept their clothes," he said. "They obviously cleared out of this place in an orderly fashion, nothing's here and they trapped the door." Vachir: "Damn."swore Vachir "Perhaps we'll have better luck in the other room though."he said hopefully Rafael ben Efrim: "Why trap the door if there's nothing here?" Rafael mused. He went around the room looking under beds and checking the walls and floor. Sleeping Dragon: they did another search, but it turned up nothing Vachir: "Perhaps they just wanted to hurt any would-be explorers."shrugged Vachir "To the other room then?"he asked going for the door Sleeping Dragon: Enrico checked the door and found that it too was trapped. "Looks like it." Sleeping Dragon: this time Enrico nearly dropped his tools, but he kept hold of them and disarmed the trap while muttering to himself. This room looked much like the one across the corridor. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael looked at the rows of beds. "I wonder who stayed here. Perhaps pilgrims who came to visit the temple?" Sleeping Dragon: Enrico shrugged and began to check the chests Sleeping Dragon: Sakura said that some old temples of the Masters had acolytes who lived on site Rafael ben Efrim: "They probably came in handy when a human sacrifice was needed too." Rafael grimaced. Sleeping Dragon: they found nothing in the chests in this room, but underneath one of the beds they discovered a small iron box within which were needles, inks, and several colour drawings of a rune-like tattoo, which bore a note in some ancient script whispering to Sakura, the note read in First Speech 'Vault tattoo - new acolytes must have before they can be left unaccompanied.' whispering to Rafael ben Efrim, the note read in First Speech 'Vault tattoo - new acolytes must have before they can be left unaccompanied.' Sakura: After reading the map, she muttered, "The symbol is called Vault tatoo which all new acolytes must have before they can travel on their own." Rafael ben Efrim: "Interesting." Rafael said, holding up the note. "This tatoo was given to acolytes before they were left unaccompanied. Like an identity mark which might well affect the guardians." Black Cat: "Does anyone have any skill at tatooing?" Rafael ben Efrim: "We might not need to actually tattoo anyone." Rafael said, looking thoughtfully at the drawings. "We could draw it on with the inks maybe, if we use an ordinary pen." Vachir: "The guardians? The only guardian left is the Flesh Flayer now..."mentioned Vachir Black Cat: "Do you want to face that thing?" Cat asked Vachir. Rafael ben Efrim: "It might give us an advantage over that," Rafael said, looking up from the box. Sakura: Sakura was quiet as the group discussed about the tattoo. Vachir: "Yes, I can see how."said Vachir "It's worth trying. Let's hope it works better than the robes with the golem before, though."he added Rafael ben Efrim: "We need to rest before we face anything" Rafael warned. Sakura: Sakura smiled a little as she said, "Well, at least there are lot to read for the rest of the time." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael frowned. "I wish you would take the evil influence of those books seriously." Vachir: "We're staying then? Not as comfortable as inn, I guess, but I didn't decide to become an adventure because I wanted to be comfortable..."he said sullenly "Anyway, I'll go and bring the silver from the altar room here, we forgot to take it." he said as he went through the door Sleeping Dragon: Enrico went with Vachir Black Cat: Cat sat down on one of the cots and looked around the room they were in. "Might be a good idea to keep a watch, there might be other things in here we missed." Sleeping Dragon: a few moments later they returned carrying the silver items - two knives, a large bowl, a ewer, a brazier, and two small bowls Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael eyed the items but he said nothing. Sleeping Dragon: Enrico looked over the items carefully, evaluating their worth Rafael ben Efrim: Despite his misgivings Rafael agreed to assist him. Sakura: Sakura strolled off to somewhere else and came back holding few books under her right arms. Once she settled down, Sakura start reading them. Black Cat: Cat move to sit on the cot next to Sakura. "I can keep watch for a few hours." She offered. Vachir: "So can I, I'm not as tired as you."he said referring to Sophia and Ardrun, who had both taken severe blows in the fight against the golem earlier Rafael ben Efrim: "Those of us who are not injured can keep watch." Rafael said, sitting on one of the beds. Sakura: "Beside, this is not really nice place to rest. But at least these big ones can recover before we will fight that enemy." Sakura muttered. Sleeping Dragon: they rested in that room for a long, boring day, with Rafael tending to Sophia and Ardrun's injuries. The hours stretched out in terrible tedium as they waited, leaving the room only to occasionally go and relieve themselves in the room opposite, which had begun to reek of urine by the time the day finally ended. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael studied the drawings of the tattoo, practising it using his own ink. Later, he painted copies of the tattoo on the others. Vachir: "Alaric forgive me for putting this evil symbol on my face."muttered Vachir to himself as Rafael worked on him Sakura: Sakura told Rafael that she like this rune very much and like to consider Rafael to put it more... permanently one day. "I rather like the style of this rune. Look rather neat" She smiled warily as Sakura prepared herself for coming storm. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael shook his head with a sigh. "You are incorrigible Sakura. But I hope that you will not find out the hard way that some things are too evil to make into a game." Sophia: Sophia chuckled "Lets hope she does find out the hard way, then maybe she will learn that life isnt all pretty flowers" Black Cat: "It's just a design, there's nothing evil about it." Cat said, adjusting her mask to make room for the tattoo. Rafael ben Efrim: "Using it in this way, possibly, but these things have power." Rafael said. "Otherwise they would not work." Black Cat: "Or the monsters have just been trained not to attack anyone bearing such a mark, though I don't know how one would train a monster." Rafael ben Efrim: "A monster that can be a statue one moment and something almost alive the next." Rafael said, cleaning off his pen. "I think they were just made that way." Sleeping Dragon: the party made their way back out into the corridor and to the door of the room containing the flesh flayer Sakura: Sakura smiled sadly for a moment as she replied, "I am white sheep of the family. Compared to many others I knew back home, I am quite good girl. Life is full of risk after all. So far I am dealing with such things just fine." She starts humming. Sakura: a little tune to prepare for battle. Rafael ben Efrim: "You cannot help the way you have been brought up Sakura." Rafael spoke quietly to her. "But this is your chance for a new life." Vachir (enter): 21:27 Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (612) Vachir... Sleeping Dragon: preparing himself for battle, Ardrun worked himself into a fury before drawing his falchion in a broad sweep. "Ready?" Vachir: Vachir nodded, having been checking on his bowstring to make sure it worked properly Sakura: She glanced at Rafael and nodded, understanding what Rafael saying. "It is? Only time and heaven will decide that." Sakura whispered back Sakura: She went on in louder voice, "They should be vulnerable to good strike and shots, unlike that annoying Golem." She start singing the song. Sakura: Edit:"It* Sleeping Dragon: Ardrun kicked the door open and stepped through. Beyond the door was a short gaol corridor, with cells visible through iron bars. Heavy dust lined the floor, suggesting no one had been in there in a long time. At the far end of the room was a statue depicting a horrible monstrosity - a gaunt creature in a cloak whose body was crisscrossed with dozens of scars. As they stepped in the statue...did nothing at all. Black Cat: "Well... it worked." Cat said, removing her hand from the dagger she had been preparing to throw. Sakura: Sakura merely twisted her head to the right at the enemy... Vachir: "Let me get a good look at this thing before we attack."said an obviously pleased Vachir as he looked for the weakest spots in the horror's body Rafael ben Efrim: "We will not be able to fight it if it does not awaken. But perhaps we can break up the statue." Rafael considered it. Sakura: Sakura kept on singing but making a sign that they really should hack it into pieces as soon as possible! Sleeping Dragon: Ardrun raised his blade and looked at Sophia. "Charge?" Sophia: Sophia nodded "Lets do this." Vachir (exit): 21:56 Sophia: Sophia sent two slices into the still stone statue, gouging large chunks of it onto the floor. "You like that huh?" she mocked. Sleeping Dragon: Ardrun charged in and also smashed the statue with his falchion. As the weapons struck it, the stone shattered and cracked, falling to the ground, and in its place stood the living creature, a gaunt humanoid clad in a blood red cloak. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael had moved in behind the creature and slashed at it, drawing blood. Sleeping Dragon: Enrico aimed his hand crossbow and fired, his bolt striking the creature's shoulder Sleeping Dragon: stunned by its sudden awakening and the furious assault on it, the creature gave a shriek of pain. A myriad of fine, thin chains suddenly burst out of the scars in the side of the things body, whistling through the air, clinking against the iron bars of the cells. Looking disoriented, it glared at Sophia, waving its chains in front of itself threateningly Sophia: Startled by the sudden rearing of its chains, Sophia lashed out and missed it with both cleaves of her scythe. Pulling back, Sophia moved so that someone else could move in. Sleeping Dragon: Ardrun gave a shout and swept out with his great scimitar. His blade flashed through the air, lashing up at the big creature's head. It tried to defend itself with its chains, but Ardrun's blade hacked through them and then straight through the neck, sending the summoned creature toppling to the ground, blood spurting out from the stump of its neck, leaving Ardrun and Sophia drenched in gore Black Cat: Cat again relaxed her grip on a dagger as Ardrun finished the monster off. "If only they were all that easy." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael smiled "We were well prepared - it worked." Vachir: "Didn't expect it would have been so easy." he said breathing a sigh of relief and lowering his bow. Sleeping Dragon: "I could use a bath," Ardrun said flatly Vachir: Remembering it was no longer necessary, Vachir tried to wipe off the ink of the rune from his forehead with his hands. Sleeping Dragon: the sudden burst of violent activity in the room caused the dust clouds to be kicked up into the air, filling their lungs heavily and leaving several of them coughing and feeling rather ill Rafael ben Efrim: "We should remove ourselves from this room while the dust settles." Rafael said, doing so. Sleeping Dragon: they found themselves alone now in the gaols. The cells were small and narrow, within each of which was a metal trapdoor barred from this side. Vachir: Being the farthest from the Flayer, Vachir wasn't affected too badly, and managed to hold his breath and step back before the dust could enter his mouth and nose. Sophia: Coughing, Sophia ducked out with Rafael. Sakura: Sakura blinked as the dusts came out of the chamber and was forced to stop singing, coughing the dust out Black Cat: Cat also backed out of the gaol. Sakura: "At least the ambush worked on it. It would be more painful if we strolled into that room without wearing the rune and a plan to boot." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael went round with a vial of tincture which helped the coughs subside. Sleeping Dragon: after a minute they recovered and could reenter the room Sleeping Dragon: Enrico went in to open the trapdoors. One, in the eastern cell, led down to the very first room they'd entered, the flooded cell where they'd fought the two murderous marrowbreakers. The trapdoor in the western cell, however, led down to a second cell. This one was not flooded, and several chunks of stone had been torn from the western end of the room's southern wall, leading into a small, ragged tunnel Sakura: "Hmm, it is possible this is where we can get out without getting drowned." Sakura suggested Sleeping Dragon: this hope proved futile. As they jumped down they found the tunnel was very small and uneven. At the end of the tunnel lay a skeleton, flesh picked clean, bony hands curled up beneath it where the person had died. A bent and battered silver brooch lay in the skeleton's right hand. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael suggested to Enrico that it might be as well to check the skeleton and brooch for traps, in case. Vachir: "Silver again, eh?"said Vachir seeing the brooch's sparkle "We have quite a bit of it now." Sophia: "It does not bode well for us that the skeleton is holding a brooch, perhaps it lead to his death somehow?" Sophia shook her head "How do we determine if its dangerous or not?" Sleeping Dragon: Enrico went down and checked the body, taking the brooch as he did. "Hmm..." Enrico frowned, examining a small hole in the earth located behind the skeleton's ribs. "What's...shit!" Enrico had time to curse before a very large centipede burst out of the hole and began to crawl up the bones of the skeleton to attack. Vachir: Vachir quickly took his bow out and shoot a single arrow through the centipede's body, skewering it to the ground. Sakura: Sakura strolled out of the tunnel and waited for others to come out before asking, "So what now?" Black Cat: "Well, that seems like the last of it." Cat looked around. "Unless there's another temple, Torath should be monster free now." Vachir (enter): 22:56 Black Cat: "Well, that seems like the last of it." Cat looked around. "Unless there's another temple, Torath should be monster free now." (repost) Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (643) Vachir... Vachir: "Worth anything, that thing?"Vachir asked Enrico after putting his bow away Rafael ben Efrim: "We need to find out who was responsible." Rafael said. "Someone in the city knows about this." Sakura: Sakura nodded and told them, "Maybe, either way. As soon we get everything out of this temple, we should burn the temple down." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael looked at her in surprise. "That may not be easy but I agree. However some of the books should be burned to." Sophia: "I completely agree, this place spawns nothing but evil it seems. I dont want to see anyone elses friend get killed by creatures like these." Sophia added Sakura: "Indeed, still, there are books which can be useful. I wonder if someone else can carry them since I am not really that capable." She softly replied. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded. "If we pile everything flammable into the altar room, and set fire to it, we can leave it to burn." Sophia: "I will carry what i can. Everything should be put to use that can be. We burn the rest and this hellish place along with it." Black Cat: "I can carry some things. I can make sure they're dropped off to Sakura after we've reached the surface." Vachir: "So..." asked Vachir to the Black Cat "Are you going to keep following us around as we return to Malador?"he asked "Not to complain, you've been quite useful, but I think we'd all like to know a bit more about you."he added, sounding inquisitive though not unkind Rafael ben Efrim: "And you Sophia?" Rafael asked the warrior woman. "Will you remain in Torath or come with us to Malador?" Black Cat: "Well, Malador is where I'm more comfortable right now, it's a lot easier to move around there than here in Torath for one. But things can change, so I don't know for sure where I'll be in the end." Cat stretched as she walked, seeming to forget the second part of Vachir's query. Vachir: "You're quite the mysterous type, aren't you?" Vachir replied "Oh well, I'm sure this isn't the last time we see you." Sophia: "When do you leave to Malador? I have no pressing matters here, i just wish to make sure the families of those who lost a loved one are ok before i leave the area." Sophia smiled "But once i am finished with that task i would love to accompany you and your band to Malador. Its been a while since i was part of a group." Sakura: Sakura smiled slightly at the back of Cat and walked on, preparing for some books to be gathered. Sophia: Sophia smiled at Sakura again "I think i forgot to tell you Sakura, you only get to keep what you can carry." Rafael ben Efrim: "We would be pleased to have you with us in Malador. There are great things afoot in the city." Black Cat: Cat's shoulders moved as though she were laughing. "I'm sure it won't be the last time either." Sakura: "We are living in fun time where heroes and villians are born after all." She laughed for a moment. "Still, I am glad that we got rid of these enemies." Black Cat: "A few of those books might be good to take with us." Cat motioned to the hexogonal room. "If just as proof of what was going on down here." Vachir (exit): 23:27 Rafael ben Efrim: "There are plenty of books that will not corrupt their readers." Rafael said. "We can take those." Sleeping Dragon: when the party examined the octagonal room within which the most disturbing books had been found, they noticed that the large ironbound book which Enrico had discovered in a secret compartment was gone Vachir: "I wouldn't worry that much, I don't think they can get even more corrupted."chuckled Vachir half-heartedly "Still, it will be quite a feat to take all these things to the surface." Black Cat: Cat was about to argue further when she noticed the missing book. "Maybe we didn't get them all..." She said after pause. Rafael ben Efrim: "Unless it was one of us..." Rafael looked around at the others. "Sakura?" Sophia: Sophia tilted her head "Who could have taken the book?" Vachir: "I can't even read the thing, so it wasn't me...And I doubt it was someone from outside, we would have heard noises." Rafael ben Efrim: "Sakura, you were reading it last." Rafael said seriously. Black Cat: "Was Enrico with you the whole time you were gathering the silver?" Cat asked Vachir. Sleeping Dragon: "Yes!" Enrico said angrily Sakura: Sakura looked irriated at the question, instead, she just knelt down and took out few books out of her backpack, which also indlcuded Iron-bound book. "Yes, I did. I read them last." Vachir: Vachir nodded "He was, yes. Who knows..."he said sounding worried "It might have disappeared magically. Demons, golems...It wouldn't be too out of place here." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael sighed. "I hope you know what you are doing Sakura." Rafael ben Efrim: He started carrying the condemned books and piling them into the middle of the floor of the altar room. "Get the wooden planks off the beds some of you." Sleeping Dragon: Ardrun went to get some Sophia: Sophia followed to drag in materials for burning. Rafael ben Efrim: Once they had collected enough, Rafael lit some tinder and started the fire. Sakura: Sakura sighed softly for a moment and strolled out of the library, unhappy by the fact these books are burned. Vachir: Vachir sat down for a while to watch the fire burn, not saying anything but looking thoughtful Black Cat: Black Cat watched the fire for a moment, arms crossed, before looking around idly. Rafael ben Efrim: "What are we going to tell Konig, or whoever we report to?" Rafael asked the others as he stood watching the fire. Sakura: "Basically saying that we followed the murderers of inhuman kind and discovered an evil temple with many monsters and killed them all. We also burned many books of dubious natures and cleaned the temple throughtfully." Sakura: "I think that cover about all of it" Rafael ben Efrim: "You think we should mention the books?" Sakura: "Good point. Let not mention them." She snapped back Black Cat: Disconnecting from server... CosmicHorror (exit): 00:00 Sleeping Dragon: once the most dangerous of the works had been burned, the party was able to begin the laborious process of hauling their loot up to the surface. This was quite difficult, as the books were heavy and needed to be hauled up very carefully through the watery entrance to ensure they didn't get wet. This process had to be repeated with the tapestries in one of the rooms, which they accomplished by purchasing several large waterproof sacks in which they could be placed.
This process took most of the remainder of the day, following which they went to the Public Halls to report their success. There they met with Marlog Trepp, the Town Captain of Torath, a severe looking man in his mid-sixties with iron grey hair, who thanked them for their efforts and stated that the title deeds to their estate would be handed over once another four days passed without any further murders - there having been none, he noted, since they had slain the marrowbreakers in the Vault. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael suggested to Trepp that the city should compensate those whose loved ones had been murdered. Sleeping Dragon: Trepp looked at Rafael as if he were mad. "We don't have the time or funds for that sort of frippery," he snapped Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael looked at him in disgust but could see that argument was futile. He discussed with the others donating some money to the families. Vachir: Vachir muttered to himself something about the city being unable to defend its own people, but then decided to not bother with this and agreed with Rafael that it wouldn't hurt to donate some of their large wealth to the families of the slain. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael pledged to give ten gold pieces to each bereaved family. Vachir: Vachir did the same, not wanting to look less generous than the others
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Post by sleepingdragon on Jun 7, 2009 16:07:17 GMT
After finishing their affairs in Torath city, the party were able to return to Malador, leaving Enrico behind to await news of their estate, travelling at a more leisurely pace than they had in their wild ride to the city with Konig the week before. This enabled them to get a better look at the Kingdom than they had on their way. They crossed the fertile plains between Torath and the farming town of Maddrik, dotted by many small farms and villages. Kingdom Guard patrols, usually carried out by groups of twelve, were frequent, and, no longer in the presence of a servant of the Kingdom such as Konig, the party found themselves stopped several times with demands to see their travel tokens and to explain their business. Other travellers on the road, of whom there were a fair number taking goods to the capital, did not seem to get the same treatment - the Kingdom Guards were plainly unused to large bands of armed foreigners on their roads, and they just as plainly disliked it.
In the villages, the party found they were treated coolly, the hardy farming folk also disliking outsiders. Unlike the Guards, however, they seemed to extend this to all travellers, even those from other parts of Torath. It became obvious that the villagers had little sense of being part of a greater nation, giving Kingdom Guards sullen looks as they passed and identifying themselves in conversation as natives of their village or town rather than as 'Torathi', a label they used only for those from the city proper.
They then passed by Copperdell, stopping briefly to take a look at their new estate - a moderately sized stone villa situated in the hills, with several acres of woodland on the estate's southern edge. The estate had obviously been abandoned for a short while as the land was choked with weeds - stopping in town for the night, they discovered that the previous owner had died six months before and the land had lain unused since. While in Copperdell they noted conditions were very poor - there was a contingent of over a hundred Kingdom Guards there, keeping watch over the large force that laboured in the mine. In the plains the party had seen a handful of indentured servants or slaves on the farms - they were easily identified by their canary yellow clothing - but in Copperdell they numbered almost half the inhabitants, and worked long and dangerous hours in the town's mine under what they guessed were far from hospitable conditions.
At length they passed over the Torathi border and made their way back into Malador, passing by the Palace of Brothers, noting with disapproval that several of the slaves, and each of the overseers that Ardrun and Rafael had purchased the original lot from, had been replaced. On arriving in the city, they found that something of the tense mood of the period surrounding the war. The suggested land tax had been passed while they were away, but the vote had been contentious, with four Councillors voting in favour, three against, and two abstaining, which, by Maladoran law, enabled the tax to pass despite lacking majority support. The idea seemed to have greater support among the people in the street, who believed the law would ensure that the city's wealthier citizens would pay the price of the tribute, and they grumbled about those that had failed to vote in favour of the law. Tensions were exacerbated by the recent death of the Jethi High Priest, Yitzhak ben Rafael, who, rumour had it, had been persuaded to pay a portion of the tribute out of the coffers of the Jethi Temple. His successor, Malachi ben Barak, however, had proven more stubborn and was said to be considering tearing up that deal, leading to grumbles on the street about the Jethi and their selfish ways.
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Post by sleepingdragon on Jun 27, 2009 11:27:55 GMT
Sleeping Dragon: the next several weeks passed quietly. Events in Malador had calmed somewhat, though there was still a slightly nervous atmosphere as the date on which the recently passed land tax would come into effect drew near. Most people greeted the tax with the wary hope that it would in fact affect just the rich, as its supporters and the People's Voice claimed, but there was some disquiet, particularly after the Social Co-operative Federation performed a stealthy edit of a copy of the Voice somehow managing to alter the middle page of the paper to bear a polemic against the Council, warning that the cost of rents and food would soon increase as the tax was passed on to ordinary Maladorans.
The weeks went on and the 1st of September, the date on which the first tribute payment was to be made, grew near. About a week before the payment, messages went out to Sakura, Rafael, Ardrun, Vachir, and Sophia, inviting them to attend the first payment which would be taking place at the Palace of Brothers at mid-day on the 1st. Vachir: Vachir kept working at the Torwald's estate as he had done before in the past, training some of the retainers there in archery. Having known of the payment the Palace of Brothers for some time, he was ready to meet with the others on the 1st. Ardrun: Ardrun spent his time making improvements to his small temple, speaking of the One to his small group of followers, and training those of them who needed it in basic combat techniques. He also aided Rafael with a particular mission. When the time came for the payment, he went to meet the others. Sakura: Sakura arrived at the place to meet members of the group she worked for so long, wearing somewhat finer version. She was carrying her cat along to watch this event, hoping nothing will go wrong for the people of the city. She enjoyed the success she had so far since her return. A modest profit and the hiring of shopkeeper made it better. People, happy that peace return will often like to purchase luxury and what better than her jewels. Still, she is ever wary of the potential rivals for the threats can be... damaging.# Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael threw himself into his medical work - seeing many patients. He spent every Friday at his free surgery in the Flow, as well as visiting the sick, attending births and so on. He spent time in the new extension to his house, researching the uses of various plants and other substances, and read and studied extensively, as well as attending the temple and talking to others in the community. He paid several visits to Ardrun's house. Sophia: Sophia had been working for some sailors for the past couple weeks, she had been getting used to the enviroment here and periodically checking back on her friends family. She wanted to stay close since the closest thing they had to a daughter anymore was her. As the 1st neared, Sophia took some time off from her job to meet up with her newly found, crew of friends. Sleeping Dragon: on the 1st, the party made their way to the Palace of Brothers. Frantic efforts had been made to complete the structure prior to this first payment, but it had been for naught and parts of the villa remained unfinished.
The Palace was a hive of activity. All of the Councillors were there, save for old Lox Vinneret, who had fallen ill, along with a number of the city's dignitaries and members of Malador's rich families, such as Carus Torwald and Judge Arella Mawen, who was Chyra Delorri's cousin. Fully half of the city's Watch, as well as the Clifftop Watch, were at hand to deter potential thieves, and the city had hired a dozen senior adventurers to lend further muscle. A small army of musicians were also on hand, playing a variety of instruments to entertain the guests as they waited for the arrival of the Torathi. Rumours were swirling about whether or not King Darragan himself would be putting in an appearance, but no one was certain and the Torathi Ambassador, Joren Tashal, who was also present, was keeping quiet about it.
As the party came near Carus rode out to meet them with a half dozen of his personal guards at his side. "Nice to see you all," he called out to them. Carus was dressed in glittering chain mail and bore a bejewelled sword and a shield with the ship-and-tower symbol of Malador emblazoned upon it. "Good to see you all," Carus called to them. He glanced at Sophia. "You must be Sophia. I am Carus Torwald, I am a friend of your companions," Carus stepped down from the saddle and extended a gauntleted hand towards Sophia. Sleeping Dragon: edit: ignore the 'good to see you all' Sophia: Sophia took it and smiled at him as she shook "It is a pleasure to meet you, i am still new to this area but i appreciate the kind greetings all the same." Vachir: Having greeted Carus respectfully, Vachir looked around the unfinished yet opulent villa and at the people nearby, who were obviously waiting for the Torathi. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael acknowledged the greeting quietly. He looked at the glittering mail and jewel encrusted sword then turned and spoke quietly to Ardrun. Rafael ben Efrim: (whispering): "I wonder if it is his own money or the city's that has been wasted on his tawdry finery. When the day comes, they will fetch a fine price to feed the hungry of Malador." Sleeping Dragon: "Take these," Carus said, pulling out several papers and handing one to each of them. Each bore the person's name, stated that they were authorised to be there, and was signed by Councillors Toban Wellaw, Chyra Delorri, and Jan Torwald. "Have to be careful with all this money present," he explained. Vachir: Vachir silently put away the paper into one of his pockets after a cursory look at it Ardrun: Ardrun just nodded at Rafael silently, and took the document. Sakura: Sakura glanced at the paper, smiling at Carus in greeting. "I hope today is without any problem." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael took his paper and checked it carefully before putting it away. Sleeping Dragon: "Should be fine. The only question is whether King Darragan will be here. I should like to meet him, or at least see him. Captain Jeremy Gaston is here, by the way, to be the Adarian witness. Not sure where he is at the moment, but he said he wanted to greet you." Sakura: Her eyes looked interesting for a moment, "Captain eh? Been a while. Shall we look for him." She glanced around for him. Rafael ben Efrim: "If we have time before the Torathis arrive, we will do so." Rafael said. Sleeping Dragon: the party were able to make their way through the crowd and eventually find Captain Gaston. The Captain of the Golden Bough had a few more lines on his face and his hair was slightly greyer, but otherwise he had altered little since he had saved most of the group off that barren islet off the Bleakwater coast a half a year before. "Hello my friends! Good to see you again," he greeted them warmly. "How have you been? You seem to have done quite well for yourselves." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael smiled, pleased to meet the Captain again. "We have performed several services for the city of Malador, and been rewarded for them." Ardrun: "I am glad to see you again, Captain," said Ardrun. "We all had parts to play in recent events, and we would not have been able to play them without you. The One has worked through you." Sakura: "It is nice to meet you once more." Sakura smiled slightly at Gaston, "Thank to your cargo and these rewards. I managed to start a small shop. It is really nice to see you!" Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded. "We owe a lot to you." Vachir: "We have."mentioned Vachir "We've done some good work for the city, and gotten some well-deserved rewards"he smiled Sleeping Dragon: Captain Gaston blinked at Ardrun. "The One?" he sounded confused. He looked back to the others. "I've heard you played a significant role in stopping the war, so any debt you might have owed me is well and truly repaid. We were extremely worried in Adaria." Ardrun: Ardrun nodded. "I have since discovered the truth of the god who guides all of our fate. If you so choose, you may visit my temple in the city. We welcome followers and our friends who might not believe alike." Rafael ben Efrim: "As you can tell Captain, we have all made lives for ourselves in the city." Rafael said. Sophia: "Apparently Carus Torwald would like to meet you sir" Sophia chuckled "Where are MY manners? My name is Sophia Crentell, i am these fine adventurers new traveling companion." Sophia thrust out her hand. Sleeping Dragon: Captain Gaston was giving Ardrun a bemused look, but shook his head and looked away, reaching out to take Sophia's hand. "Good to meet you Sophia. You look like you can handle yourself, and good thing with these companions. It's a pity we haven't got more like you in Adaria, we've been having hellish problems with bandits." Sophia: "Ah, we have had our fair share of problems with bandits in the Isles of the North, if i can ever help you in any way, please let me know" Sakura: "Captain, you are more than welcome at my shop, 'All That Glitters'. I will hope to see you there one day if you are ever in the city." She told him Sakura: "And hopefully a nice dinner as well." She added afterward. Sleeping Dragon: The Captain looked interested. "I'll come tomorrow, I'm staying in Malador for a short while." Rafael ben Efrim: "Will you be at the Mast and Mainsail again Captain?" Rafael asked. Sleeping Dragon: "I will be," the Captain confirmed Sleeping Dragon: the Captain headed off to speak to other contacts he had in Malador, and the party found themselves waiting for the Torathi to arrive. They were meant to be there at mid-day, but there was still no sign of them. The minutes passed in ever more anxious silence. "The bastards want to make us wait at their attention," Carus said with ground teeth a moment after coming over to them again. "So that we remember who is the superior power in this arrangement, as if we might forget that." Ardrun: "Whatever time they are spending making us wait, they are not using to conquer or pillage," said Ardrun amiably. Rafael ben Efrim: "Could something have happened to them?" Rafael asked quietly. Vachir: "I don't think bandits or wild beasts would be stupid enough to attack the Torathis."replied Vachir's to Rafael's suggestion Sleeping Dragon: "There's supposed to be at least a hundred Kingdom Guards coming, anything that might have happened to them would have to be something very powerful," Carus replied. He squinted into the distance, trying to see any sign of movement. Rafael ben Efrim: "There are still monsters in the wilds, perhaps something came closer." Rafael murmured. Sleeping Dragon: "There," Carus pointed. There was a column of dust arising on the road winding down from Copperdell. "That must be them. Just delayed. I suspect deliberately, as I said." whispering to Sakura, looking, Sakura saw the cloud rising before Carus mentioned it Sakura: She nodded at Carus, "Well, I do wonder if 'the Most Glorious' is there?" Sleeping Dragon: shortly afterwards the Kingdom Guard column came into view. Every one of them was mounted, over a hundred warriors on war-trained mounts, armour, shields, and spearpoints glittering in the sun. They wore red-and-black surcoats and bore many red and black banners depicting the running white wolf symbol of Torath. As they came near the various dignitaries and Watchmen began to peer towards them, trying to determine the answer to Sakura's question Sophia: Sophia shifted uncomfortably "is there supposed to be so many... armed warriors with them? I was expecting a large caravan." Vachir: Vachir looked at the approaching Torathi horsemen, not particularly impressed. "King Darragan here? It might be interesting to see him personally."he said, and then added in a more hushed tone "We'll see if he's as scary as people say." Rafael ben Efrim: "Anyone can be scary with a hundred well-armed and trained warriors around them." Rafael muttered. Sleeping Dragon: "Yes, there's meant to be that many," said Carus. "To deter anyone who might think of stealing the treasure, and to impress on us the fact that their army could crush us in instants if we thought about breaking the treaty. Oh," Carus said, peering out, "General Juthe is there. I suppose that means that Darragan is not here." whispering to Sakura, Ardrun, as Carus said, General Juthe did appear to be riding at the head of the Torathi army Sakura: She winced for a moment on the mention of General Juthe, "Ah... General Juthe..." whispering to Sophia, riding at the head of the Torathi army was a man in his mid-fifties with a white-grey beard, a Kingdom Guard uniform decked with medals, and a battered steel helm Rafael ben Efrim: "I am not sure he will be pleased to see us." Rafael said with a half smile. Vachir: "I wonder if he has gotten a replacement for that pet of his."mentioned Vachir "A less ferocious one, I hope" Sakura: "Last meeting did not go well for us, I am afraid. Giving him deep impression of our fine characters." Rafael ben Efrim: "We saved his worthless life." Rafael said quietly. Sleeping Dragon: "Yes, he didn't have very much good to say about you when I was negotiating the price of the tribute with him," said Carus. "I'll see you in a moment," he said, remounting his horse and riding out towards the members of the Watch present, to whom he shouted and gave orders until they formed up into a tight formation facing the Torathi. A small contingent of the Watch broke off, under Carus' direction, and rode over to stand guard by the eight Councillors nearby. Sophia: Sophia lowered her voice "I have not been to a meeting like this, if things do not go well what are we supposed to do?" Sakura: Sakura whispered back, "Just stand there and watch." Vachir: Vachir looked somewhat worried."I don't think anyone would be foolish enough to try and commit an assassination here, though. Still...." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael was watching the proceedings intently. Sophia: "Im more worried about a fight happening between those soldiers and everyone else. Id rather not see my recent home burned to the ground. I have some unpleasant experience with places being burned." Sophia shook her head and just watched intently. Sakura: Sakura shook her head for a moment before watching arounf the area, trying to see any dangers Sleeping Dragon: the Torathi rode in close, and the Councillors went out to meet them with their guards at their side. It was the first time the party had seen so many gathered together, and some of the newer ones they had never seen before. Councillor Tilaven stood out amongst them, being of a large and powerful build compared to the other Councillors.
General Juthe dismounted and strode up unceremoniously to greet the Councillors. The party were facing him and as he shook their hands briefly they could plainly see the contempt on his face. The Councillors attempted to speak to him but their greetings were very brief before they began to make their way towards the villa where the tribute money was currently held under very close watch by the Guards. Sleeping Dragon: they rode underneath the monument of Darragan and the Council up towards the the entrance to the villa, and as they did several members of the Malador City Watch emerged bearing the first chest. It was massive and iron, with two huge rings to carry it, and locked with two large gold locks carved to look like lions. It took six members of the Watch to haul it out, groaning with the weight, before finally laying it in front of General Juthe. Councillors Wellaw and Delorri stepped forwards and reached into their clothes, each pulling a key out of some pocket sewn into the insides of their clothing. Each placed one in a lock, the solemnity of the occassion somewhat broken when they couldn't remember which key went in which lock and there was a moment's confusion before they were able to open the lid to reveal a huge pile of shimmering gold coins, a fortune beyond the dreaming of almost anyone in the New Coast. Juthe dismounted, scooped up some of the coins and examined them, then dropped them back in the chest with a satisfied nod. Juthe took the keys from the Councillors and called to his men, who came up to take the chest and place it in a large, heavily defended carriage.
This process was repeated another seven times, each time two of the Councillors retrieving keys from their clothing to unlock the chests. As this process went on, Ambassador Tashal came over to Juthe and spoke to him quietly, and then he went to speak to the assembled Councillors. Whatever he said caused some discussion amongst the Councillors. Vachir: As the massive chest was opened, Vachir looked at the shimmering coins with a hint of greed in his eye, obviously finding it a pleasant sight. Sakura: "I wonder what they are on about?" She mumbled to herself on the sights. Ardrun: Ardrun shook his head and whispered to Rafael. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael looked sadly at the riches, thinking what it could have done for the city of Malador if it had been used to good ends. "Hard to tell but I have a bad feeling about this." he answered Sakura Sakura: "Me too." She replied, "There is always something bad coming up toward us. It is seems as fate" Sophia: "I definitely think that this is a waste to give over such a large amount of gold." Sophia continued to watch in sad silence Sakura: "A waste?" She snapped back, "Better to pay them than to see the city burns." Sleeping Dragon: Councillor Jan Torwald, Carus' father, broke away from the other Councillors and went to speak to his son. Carus spoke to him quietly for a few moments, then nodded and rode over towards the party. Vachir: "The gods blessed us with interesting lives."replied Vachir off-handedly to Sakura's comment "Or cursed, depends how you want to look at it." Sophia: Sophia tilted her head at Sakura "Dont even pretend you care about anything besides your investments. Its sick" Ardrun: "Do not insult Sakura, Sophia," said Ardrun. "She has more goodness in her heart than you could know." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael watched Carus ride over with narrowed eyes. "One day all wrongs will be righted. But untill then we can only do our best to stop the worst from happening. Sophia: Sophia turned to Ardrun "For a man who knows of the rights of the individual you dont see very well into this woman. While she may have some passing fancy about caring for people i hardly think she would lay down her life to protect anyone other then herself. Besides, i just meant that such a large amount of gold could benefit the people so much, i was sad to see it go to people who already have all the money they could want." Ardrun: "She has risked herself for me. But you are right about the money." Sophia: "I will protect her as she is with this party and that is the only reason." Sleeping Dragon: Carus rode over, eyebrow raised at the bickering in the party. "Something interesting has come up," he called to the group. He dismounted and came nearer. "Apparently Darragan is going to be holding a celebration in Torath on Friday to mark the first tribute payment, and he's requested that the Council come to represent Malador. Of equal interest, they want you to come." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael raised an eyebrow. "Was a reason given for our inclusion?" Sakura: "Is that wise?" Sakura glanced at the Councillers, "No doubt that King Darragan would just 'love' to have the city leaders in his den." Vachir: "He wouldn't kill them, of course. They're more useful alive, as puppets."mentioned Vachir "Still, I do feel somewhat...awkard going to a Torathi celebration"he shrugged Sophia: "For once i agree with Sakura on this. Putting all of them in one place seems highly suspect." Sleeping Dragon: "We all thought the same thing," Carus replied to Sakura. "The Councillors will not be going. They've made excuses - they need to be here to administer the new tax. We'll be sending my brother Toban, Wellaw's brother Mantal, and Delorri's cousin Judge Mawen as the representatives of the city instead. But of course they need guards, and as they've invited you anyway..." Carus shrugged. "The reason they gave for inviting you was your recent deeds in Beacon Hill, and because General Juthe has told King Darragan of the role you played in helping bring about this treaty in the first place." Rafael ben Efrim: "I wonder exactly what Juthe said." Rafael mused. "This is no celebration of ours. We would have to look on as the Torathi crow over their ill-gotten gains." Sleeping Dragon: "Yes, but it would be an insult if we sent no one. You're the most reliable and powerful adventurers in the city and if anything goes wrong you're the ones most likely to survive it," said Carus. "And the most able to protect our representatives. You'll be paid, which isn't a poor deal for attending a dinner." Sakura: "I like parties anyway." She smiled slightly. "I will be happy to go after all. There is nothing more exiciting than having a party with the First." Ardrun: "We should be there. We can't leave an opening for the Torathi." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael sighed. "Sakura there are many more exciting things. You should have a little more imagination." He turned to Carus. "Who will pay and how much?" Sleeping Dragon: "The Council, and a hundred and fifty gold pieces each." Vachir: "While I won't object to getting paid for eating and drinking, this whole affair sounds a bit...fishy."said Vachir "Still, I think we don't have much choice and pretty much have to go anyway."he added Sleeping Dragon: "If something happens and you don't die, then the Council will pay you more," Carus said off-handedly. Rafael ben Efrim: "How generous of them." Rafael said, sarcasm in his voice. "I think some more up front would be more fitting. As we will be the ones facing danger and the council won't." Sleeping Dragon: "You can have half up front if you want." Rafael ben Efrim: "Very well." Rafael said. "What do you think Darragan is up to?" Sleeping Dragon: "Gloating? Making a transparent attempt to get us to send him the entire Council for him to take hostage? I doubt he expected us to actually send them - he obviously doesn't trust us as he didn't come himself - it was just an attempt. I don't think he'll jeapordise the tribute payment by antagonising us needlessly, if he'd wanted war he'd have just invaded us back in the spring rather than wasting time negotiating. He's got more or less what he wanted." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded. "We will keep our ears and eyes open for any information." Sleeping Dragon: "Of course. Oh, and there is one thing more which the Council will pay for - you need clothes. It will do no good for you to turn up for a dinner with the King of Torath and the powerful of the Kingdom in adventuring gear. The Council will pay up to 80 gold pieces each in clothing for each of you. There's a good tailor called Branwick who works at a shop just past the Excise House in the Harbourside, he works quickly and efficiently. He'll need to for you," he added, looking Ardrun up and down, "I doubt he has anything in your size." Sakura: "Hmm... what kind of clothing? That is enough to cover fine outfit but it look just plain awful without jewels though." She considered. Sophia: Sophia fidgeted uncomfortably "We have to wear fancy clothes? Oh my..." Rafael ben Efrim: "Sakura, you deal in gems? Can you lend Sophia something for the party?" Rafael asked. Sakura: "Not a problem." She grinned evilly for a moment. Ardrun: "I doubt any clothing a tailor could put on me would keep me from standing out in a Torathi party, anyway." Sleeping Dragon: "Up to your discretion, just something fine and respectable," said Carus. "Our delegation won't be leaving for two days so you have some time to ready your affairs and get some clothes for yourselves." Vachir: "We'll...see what he can do."said Vachir. He didn't sound too pleased at the thought of having to wear expensive high-class clothes however Rafael ben Efrim: "Something nice, that you would be prepared to wear yourself." Rafael added in an undertone only Sakura could hear. "Be nice to her." Vachir: edit: what we can do Rafael ben Efrim: "If we can not avoid this business we must make the best of it." Rafael sighed. Sakura: She smiled at Rafael for a moment and whispered back nicely only to him, "I will be nice. I do like parties after all." Sophia: Sophia smiled "Whatever works, im going to head and get my clothes done now so i can be over this." Sakura: She went up to Sophia and told her, "Blue dress with silver jewelry would look good on you. You can borrow the jewelry from me." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael smiled at Sakura. Sophia: Sophia smiled down at her "Id appreciate that. Thank you Sakura." Sleeping Dragon: the remainder of the tribute payment passed quickly - General Juthe had no interest in staying in Maladoran territory for an instant longer than he needed to and soon he and his Kingdom Guards rode off back up into the Torathi mountains, leaving the Maladoran dignitaries grumbling at the impoliteness as they prepared to head back to the city. Sakura: "Well, everyone should look good once in the well. Even you, Sophia." She replied warmly as she rode off back, humming a happy tune. Sleeping Dragon: the party made their way back to the city and into the Harbourside to the shop of the tailor, Branwick, a tall, thin man with piercing green eyes and black hair. "Good day my friends! Welcome to Branwick's! What can I interest you fine people in?" his eyes widened somewhat when he saw Ardrun and Sophia, but he said nothing Sophia: "Good sir, perhaps you could, just make me some clothes that look appropriate for a party perhaps something that is blue. I just know i want something comfy that can fit me more then something that looks that impressive." Sophia chuckled. Ardrun: "I will not trouble you with making anything complicated for someone my size," said Ardrun. If you have a robe or loose garments that will be suitable. Color and appearances do not matter, as long as it will be suitable for the party we must attend." Sleeping Dragon: "A party! That will be fabulous, I've made garments for almost every event of significance in Malador for the last ten years. What party will you be attending?" Ardrun: Ardrun handed him the note from Carus. Vachir: Vachir looked somewhat nervously around the shop, probably wondering what kind of clothing he should get for the party. Sleeping Dragon: Branwick's eyes widened. "A party with the King of Torath? How exciting! I have never made clothes for a royal event before!" Branwick took out a piece of paper and began to write down figures, and called over to an assistant, who came over with a bit of knotted string to take measurements if needed Sakura: "The party is for the King himself in the city. So it have to look good!" She muttered, "Anyway, for her, it have to be good fashionable one. Use the height to it advantages." She went on explaining the idea. "And as for me..." She considered it. Sophia: Sophia rolled her eyes "So much for my 'something that fits' idea" Ardrun: Ardrun thought for a moment. "If you could work in a pattern of a broken chain or shackle somewhere, that would suit me." Sleeping Dragon: "How interesting! Going to let yourself loose at this party then?" Branwick grinned, writing down Ardrun's suggestion Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael asked for dark materials in a simple style. "Nothing gaudy." Ardrun: "There shall be stories of my wild behavior throughout the city," said Ardrun wryly. Sophia: Sophia whispered to him "I know my young lady friend has ideas for me but if you could make it so that i could move in this outfit with ease, however it looks, i would appreciate it greatly" whispering to Sophia, Branwick smiled. "Of course. Comfort is the most stylish thing of all." Sophia: (whispering): "Thanks" Sophia smiled back Sakura: Sakura lightened up and told Branwick what she wanted, "I would like cherry red dress in Isperan fashion." She went into long complicating details about the latest fashion from her homeland. Vachir: "I'd like..."said Vachir somewhat unsure of himself "Nothing particularly fancy, just a blue robe, with some golden trim around the edges if you can spare that. Make it comfortable, not too restricting." he said, the latter part obviously an afterthought Sleeping Dragon: Branwick finished writing down the details. "Alright, can I have your addresses? I can deliver them to where you're staying as soon as they're done...do you know when you're leaving?" Ardrun: "Two days, I believe." Sakura: Sakura gave her home address. Sleeping Dragon: "Should I deliver them all there?" Sophia: Sophia nodded "At least deliver mine there. Thanks Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael gave his own address. Vachir: Vachir told him about the inn he was staying at Ardrun: Ardrun gave him the address of the temple. Sakura: Sakura asked nicely with Rafael, "Can you partner with me at the celebration please?" Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael looked surprised, then smiled. "I...I would be happy to partner you." Sophia: Sophia nodded to Ardrun "For the sake of appearances will you walk in and dance with me a few times? Id rather have someone i know i can depend on if things get out of hand." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded. "I think it is an excellent idea. But we do all need to look out for each other. This is a most risky business." Vachir: "Personally I'd try not to be too noticeable"suggested Vachir to the others "We're mostly going there just because we have to, aren't we? No need to draw unwanted attention." Sakura: "Yeah. Last party I went to in Ispera, someone died in gruesome manner. It was rather vexing" She sighed, "I just hope this party will be fine and fun." Ardrun: "Of course, Sophia. I cannot say I know much of dancing, though." Rafael ben Efrim: "I don't think we will be allowed to stay unnoticed." Rafael said. "I imagine they will pay us a good deal of attention." Sakura: Sakura grinned happily, "I know lot of Isperan dances but I am not really sure they are valid in that Kingdom." Sophia: Sophia chuckled "then we are agreed, i know not of dancing either but im sure it isnt that complicated" Rafael ben Efrim: "We will just have to watch and learn fast." Rafael said. "And try not to crush too many toes."
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Post by sleepingdragon on Jul 4, 2009 15:03:45 GMT
Sleeping Dragon: the party went to their homes and began to arrange their affairs ready to leave the city - Carus contacted them again later that day and told them to meet with the three representatives at the western edge of the city by the Bath House a few hours after sunrise on Wednesday, two days hence. Branwick the tailor did his work very fast, porters bringing the clothes that the party had asked for late in the evening on Tuesday. Edivad: Vachir took the robe crafted for him and gave it a through look, looking mostly pleased with the result. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael examined his dark garments - not much different in style to his normal garb but of rich fabric very well cut, and with many hidden pockets. Sakura: Sakura spent some time discussing the matter with her maid, cook and the new shopkeeper that she once again is off to do a task and basically maintain the shop as it is. She paid them the week in advance to ensure they should not leave their positions. As for the new clothes which arrives for her, she is quite pleased. Spent some time with jewels to figure out what to give out for herself and for Sophia. Sakura: EDIT: * Quite happy with her new Isperan cherry red dress and she got very good jewels to go with it that look worth far more than the dress itself. Sleeping Dragon: the next day, a few hours after sun-up, they made their way to where they had been told to meet the three representatives they would be guarding. Waiting for them by the Bath House was a carriage bearing the city's ship-and-tower emblem, borne by three horses. There was a driver and there were two other serving men there who were tending to eight other horses. The serving men waved to the party in greeting Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael greeted the servants and inspected the horses. "I need one that is quiet and well-behaved. I'm not really much of a rider." Edivad: Vachir nodded silently as they approached the servants and went to look at the horses, together with Rafael. Sleeping Dragon: One of the serving men handed Rafael the reins of one of the smaller horses Sakura: Sakura and her servant finally arrived at the place and smiled at them with greeting. "I hopes everyones are in fine moods today?" Edivad: "Perhaps you could introduce us to the men?"Vachir suggested to Sakura after pointing to the carriage "You're much more used to dealing with officials." Rafael ben Efrim: "Well, we are travelling to Torath to consort with demon worshippers but at least we have not heard of any vile crimes that we are expected to solve while we are there." Rafael said with a smile. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael did not wait for Sakura but mounted up and rode over to the carriage to see if there was anyone inside. Sleeping Dragon: a tall man thrust his head out of the carriage - from his appearance it was plain even to those who hadn't already met him that this was Carus' elder brother Toban Torwald. "No, I'm not in a fine mood doing this task my brother's fobbed off on me," he groused. "My name is Toban Torwald. I've met Sakura already, and you as well, Vachir." Sakura: She told the servants that she require good horse to bear her and muttered, "Demons? What wrong with them... really?" Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded in greeting. "I am Rafael ben Efrim, we have not met before." Sakura: She also waved at Toban in greeting Edivad: Vachir nodded respectfully as Toban recognized him. "We'll do our best to make sure you come safe."he added sounding pretty confident Sleeping Dragon: A door at the back of the carriage opened and there was the sound of some grunting and straining. At length a well dressed and very fat woman in her fifties emerged and waddled slowly over to greet them. A second person was behind her, a thin, wiry man with receding hair, who was reading a large iron-bound book and only half paying attention to what was going on around him. "I am Judge Arella Mawen, I'm pleased to meet you all," the fat woman introduced herself, reaching out to shake hands with fingers thick as sausages. The other man looked up briefly from his book and gazed dreamily at the party. After a few moments he extended a hand to Sakura. "Mantal Torwald," he said, ignoring the rest of the party entirely Sleeping Dragon: edit: Mantal Wellaw... Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael looked at these representatives of the city, and spoke quietly to Ardrun. Sakura: Sakura smiled nicely at Mantal Torwald and shook his hand in respond, "Sakura Ayanna. Pleased to meet you." Sleeping Dragon: "I look forward to this, it's been years since I've been to Torath," Arella said amiably. "My work keeps me very busy unfortunately. You've been to Torath recently, how did you find it? It was a bit grim the last time I was there, I don't know what kind of party they might put on." Sakura: EDIT: Mantal Wellaw Rafael ben Efrim: "It is still grim I'm afraid." Rafael replied, warming to Arella somewhat. Vachir: "The Torathi are..."Vachir paused for a moment "A not particularly hospitable people." Sakura: "It is comparable to back home in Ispera at least. I am afraid it will just get worse." Sakura answered back. Sakura: EDIT: "more enlightened cities in Ispera* Vachir: "But I doubt they'd try to outright offend, mistreat or kill us."added Vachir "Don't think they have much to do from that now, do they?"he said hopeful Sleeping Dragon: Judge Mawen looked slightly crestfallen. "Pity. I hope they do have some good food at this party. It's been a few weeks since I had a good feast, there was supposed to be one at the Tassin estate last week but it's got cancelled, poor old Paster's gone missing somehow. Things have been a bit meaner too, when Councillor Arco's niece got married a few weeks ago the ended after just five courses! I was only getting started!" Judge Mawen slapped her vast paunch. She looked at Vachir. "Oh I doubt that very much, no use angering the goose that lays the golden eggs is there? I'm sure King Darragan will..."
Toban, who had sat and glared at the party throughout this exchange, interjected snippily. "Can we get moving? We can talk and ride at the same time." Sleeping Dragon: *edit: a few weeks ago the dinner ended after just... Sakura: "Indeed." She smiled happily, "The day grew shorter!" Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael's opinion of the judge plummeted at her words. "Things have got meaner for all Maladorans, but many are lucky to have even one course!" he said sharply, then rode forewards to avoid having to talk with these rich fools. Vachir: Vachir did not say anything, but mounted on his horse and rode towards the front, chuckling as soon as he way far enough from Mawen for her not to hear or see him. Sleeping Dragon: Judge Mawen looked startled at Rafael's outburst, and glared after him. "Aren't Jethi meant to be polite?" she said loudly. She shook her head. "Fine, we should start on our way." She made her way back into the carriage. Mantal followed behind her, eyes never raised from his book. Sakura: Sakura shook her head for a moment, smiling slightly at the extreme impoliteness of her friend Vachir: "Fat, lazy woman."commented Vachir in an hushed tone as he rode beside Rafael "Fattest and laziest in the whole New Coast, I guess. I hope she leaves something for us to eat a the party."he added with a quick, short laugh Vachir: edit: 'at the party' Sleeping Dragon: they started on their way towards Torath. They rode mostly in silence, save for Judge Mawen, who filled the air with idle chatter, most of which was ignored by everyone else save for the occasional ill-tempered interruption by Toban. The party rode slightly ahead of the carriage and for the most part could not hear what Mawen was saying over the sound of their horse's hooves, but the sound of her always registered on their consciousness, so that having her around was like having a slightly rowdy tavern following them.
The carriage did not move very quickly and they ambled at a reasonable pace along the road, passing by villages and farms tributary to Malador, or the country estates of the wealthy. It was the hottest day they'd had in some time, and the heat was exacerbated as they got further away from the sea and its refreshing breezes. By late afternoon they drew near to the Palace of Brothers, and Toban Torwald leaned his head out of the carriage. "Are we going to stop here?" he called plaintively. "The less time we spend in Torath the better, I say," he added
"Don't be ridiculous Toban, there's still hours of daylight left!" Judge Mawen cried. She raised her voice. "You have an estate at Copperdell, don't you? That would make for a better place to stop, I think." Sakura: Sakura glanced back and sighed with a slightest hint of annoyance as she mulled over the nice estate the party had. "Well? I suppose we can cover the cost of the foods..." She asked them with a whisper Sakura: I doubt it anyway Sakura: "We can keep going and beside I been meaning to have another look at the estate!" Rafael ben Efrim: "Do you think we can afford to feed the judge?" Rafael asked in a similarly low voice. Sakura: She considered it for a moment and replied, "Well, my foods in one day only cost me five silver piece a day. Beside, we can afford foods easily. Maybe we can charge it on the Council when we come back?" Vachir: "We could feed her on some of the people there...but there's not much meat on them."joked Vachir, his voice as low as the others' "Well, do we really have a choice?"he replied becoming more serious Rafael ben Efrim: "She'll eat as much as any ten other people I suspect, but if you want to entertain her Sakura...the estate is no longer my problem after all." Rafael said with the hint of a smile. Sakura: Sakura smiled back warily, "Yes... One day, it will be my sole responsibility with entire estate!" She nodded to herself with confidence. Rafael ben Efrim: "Only if the others with share care to sell." Rafael said quietly. Rafael ben Efrim: edit* shares Sleeping Dragon: "Oh fine!" Toban sounded exasperated, but acquiesced nonetheless.
It took the rest of the day to reach Copperdell - once they came up into rocky hills around the mining town, the carriage moved at a torturously slow pace. As evening was drawing near they came near to Copperdell and went to stay at their estate. In the month since they had seen him last Enrico had busied himself by hiring a dozen servants to maintain the place. The weeds that had choked the place previously had mostly been cleared. Only his own wing of the estate had completed its furnishing and renovation, however, so arrangements proved quite cramped. Judge Mawen ate ferociously, as expected, while Toban drank heavily and Mantal sat to the side looking slightly uncomfortable and reading - he had finished the iron-bound book and was onto a new one, one of nine he had lumbered himself with for the journey. Rafael ben Efrim: "I would very much like to get a look at the books Toban is so engrossed in." Rafael told the others privately. Rafael ben Efrim: edit* Mantal not Toban Sakura: Sakura glanced at Rafael and grinned for a moment. She approached Mantal and asked him nicely, "So, what it is you are reading at the moment?" Vachir: "I wonder what they are too."he said as looked at the man who seemed to spent most of his time reading Sleeping Dragon: "Huh?" Mantal looked up in confusion. "Ohh, hello...umm...well it's..." he handed the book to Sakura. It was entitled Beasts and Legends of the Southlands and was about tales of supernatural encounters in Adaria. Sleeping Dragon: "You can...ah...borrow it if you want, I've read it before." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael had come up and looked over Sakura's shoulder. "Do you have a great interest in these things?" he asked Mantal. Sleeping Dragon: Mantal gazed at Rafael fearfully. "These...things?" Rafael ben Efrim: "Myths and legends." Rafael replied, wondering why the man was looking at him in that way. Sleeping Dragon: "Aaahhh....a bit." Rafael ben Efrim: "May I see?" Rafael asked Sakura. "I have an interest in them myself." Sleeping Dragon: "Of...of course you can," Mantal looked as if he wanted to disappear through the floor and highly distressed at being deprived of his book Vachir: Vachir looked a bit surprised by the man's reaction to their inquiries. "We are travelling adventurers, you know." he said with some pride "We have faced many of these beasts and lived to tell the tale. " Sakura: She only smiled kindly and answered back, "We encouraged our fair shares of legendary creatures." She nodded at Rafael and told him while handing the book to him, "I read it before anyway." Sleeping Dragon: "Yes, my brother told me," said Mantal. Enrico took advantage to launch into a highly exaggerated account of the party's assault on the pirate base in Bleakwater and the battle with the fearsome hydra Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael meanwhile leafed through the book. whispering to Rafael ben Efrim, the book contained discussions of encounters that adventurers had had with a number of common monsters in Adaria, in particular the Beastmen and various types of demon who raided across the border out of the barren lands around the ruins of Karatekos. From a cursory glance there didn't appear to be any information in the book Rafael had not already studied at the library Sakura: Sakura laughed at few points in Enrico's tale, clearly enjoying the tale while drinking her glass of wines. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael closed the book and handed it back to Mantal. Sleeping Dragon: Judge Mawen also listened and laughed loudly along with Sakura, while Mantal attempted to make himself look small and Toban sat and drank and glowered at everything and nothing throughout. Abruptly he stood and announced that he wished to go to bed, and Enrico called for one of the servants to show him the way. Mantal seized upon this excuse to leave as well, taking the book from Rafael and fleeing the table so rapidly that one might have thought the battle Enrico described was actually occurring right there and then. Vachir: After Mantal was gone, Vachir whispered something to the others "Likes to read about dangerous wild beasts, but scares so easily...Weird guy." Sleeping Dragon: "He's always been like that, always has his head in this book or that," said Mawen. "Toban - the one on the Council, not that one with us - long ago despaired of ever getting him to do anything much. I can't understand people who are like that, I always like to fill my time with things to do!" Mawen took another helping of food
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Post by sleepingdragon on Jul 5, 2009 12:10:22 GMT
Sleeping Dragon: shortly afterwards the dinner ended, and as the party needed to wake up early the next day, Enrico showed them to their beds. Only Enrico's part of the estate had yet been renovated and there were not a huge number of rooms or beds. The three representatives each took a bed from one of the six servants who usually slept at the estate. Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (1704) Sophia... whispering to Rafael ben Efrim, Edivad, the servants, ejected from their beds without compensation, seemed very annoyed Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael refused to take a bed from a servant and laid out his bedroll in a spare room. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael went to find the others. "If you want to keep your servants, you had better give them something for their trouble. Sleeping Dragon: Enrico grumbled something about the expense but went to pay the servants something for their trouble Edivad: Vachir noticed that the servants were obviously displeased, but went to bed after Rafael had complained. Sophia: Sophia whispered to the servant closest to her "If i give you a tip do you get to keep it or does it get taken away?" Sleeping Dragon: The servant looked startled. "I'll keep it," she said. Sophia: Sophia nodded and smiling, pressed 2 gold pieces into her hand "thank you for your help." Sleeping Dragon: the next day they awoke with the sun rise and prepared to set out on the road. Toban Torwald was up and ready to get into the carriage very early, while Judge Mawen finished a second breakfast and Mantal Wellaw, looking somewhat bleary-eyed, appeared holding yet another book under his arm. Sakura: Sakura yawned for a moment and replied, "I would rather sleep on the floor in my own room. I guess I will need to arrange something later." Sakura (exit): 19:58 Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael was up early and seemed fully alert as usual. Sakura: She muttered to herself concerning the status of the room as she prepared herself for the journey to the city. Edivad: Vachir got up and checked his things throughly before putting his backpack and quiver on. Sophia: Sophia rolled out of bed and was almost instantly ready to go. Packing light and dressing quickly were always common place to her. Sophia (exit): 20:10 Sleeping Dragon: shortly afterwards they were on the road again. As they made their way into the heart of the Kingdom they passed by many travellers heading for the capital. King Darragan was said to be planning an extraordinary festival to celebrate the arrival of the tribute and people from every corner of the Kingdom were coming to watch.
The roads also crawled with Kingdom Guards, who appeared to delight in stopping them, in particular, with questions regarding who they were and demands to see their travel tokens. When Toban Torwald pointed out to them that their identities were fairly obvious from the Maladoran symbol on the carriage, the Guard captain shook his head gravely and insisted that it was necessary for them to check anyhow, since unscrupulous people might choose to evade security by using the Maladoran symbol and therefore it was necessary to check to ensure they really were the representatives. "Orders from the most glorious King Darragan - for security reasons, you understand," the Guard captain told them blandly.
By the third time they had been stopped that day, Toban was in a vicious temper. "Insolent bastards!" he shouted as soon as he was sure they were out of range. Rafael ben Efrim: "Now that I agree with." Rafael said with a half-smile. Sakura: "I always thought that title of most glorious or of that kind always suggest that ruler lacks something." Sakura tolf the group Edivad: "These Torathi get on my nerves. "said Vachir in passing "I just hope we make it to party safe, do whatever we have to do, and get back to Malador without having been poisoned or something like that."he added sullenly Sophia: "Im sure we will be fine, we handled weird demonic beasts so we can handle some simple Torathi" Sophia dismissed Vachirs worries with a wave of the hand Rafael ben Efrim: "It depends on whether any threat occurs to Torath or to Darragan in particular." Rafael said thoughtfully. "If so we could be in serious trouble." Sakura: "Either way, they do not matter. What matter is the fact we need to ensure these three nice people back in the carriage safe and back home without any wounds to their bodies or minds." Sakura: She sighs happily at the memories of nice parties backk home Sleeping Dragon: the day passed slowly with repeated interventions by Kingdom Guard patrols. Eventually the night drew on and they were on the road roughly halfway between Torath city and the farming village of Maddrik when yet another patrol came towards them. This one, however, was not there simply to bother them. "I've been ordered to offer you a place to sleep in our barracks nearby," the Guard captain called out to them. Mawen and Toban looked at each other questioningly while Mantal Torwald attempted to be invisible. Mawen called the party over. "Should we accept? I say that we should go! Their food is probably not very good but our only alternative is sleeping on the ground." She looked distressed at this thought.
Toban shook his head. "The less time we spend in these bastards' power the better. We can find some farm and pay the farmer to let us stay there." Sakura: Sakura considered the guard's face for a moment and told them, "Well, it seems his offer is quite genuine and it is more likely that it is not an ambush." Sakura: "Beside, a farmer's house is not likely big enough to contain all of us. At least with the barracks, we got room to keep watch." She added with an afterthought Rafael ben Efrim: "It is better not to inflict ourselves on some poor farmer anyway." Rafael added. Sophia: Sophia nodded "I see no problem in accepting the offer." Vachir: "Then let us sleep in the barracks."said Vachir "And then onwards to Torath it is" Sleeping Dragon: Sakura was able to win Toban over fairly quickly and the party were led back to the grim Kingdom Guard barracks, a squat, stout, supremely functional grey stone building just off the side of a road. Before entering the Guards checked over the belongings of the party and the representatives. They carefully scrutinised Mantal Wellaw's books. "We must ensure that no subversive materials are brought in," the Guard captain explained. They looked askance at those books dealing with supernatural subjects and confiscated them, to Mantal's extreme distress. The Guard Captain wrote a note with the titles and gave it to Mantal, instructing him to seek Town Captain Trepp in Torath to see if he would allow the books to be given back to Mantal on their return. Sakura: Sakura glared at them concerning the confiscation of the books Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael watched without expression. "This is the kind of ignorance they would impose on Malador if they could." he said quietly to Sakura. Sakura: "And that nice Jethi Library. I LIKE that library!" She whispered back quickly. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael smiled at that. Sleeping Dragon: the Guards led them into the barracks, a drab building devoid of colour save for a few banners and a large painting depicting King Darragan in full battle armour which adorned the wall of the mess. The group were then led into a spare barracks room with narrow bunks lining the walls. Judge Mawen looked at them with dismay but said nothing.
As soon as the Guards were out of earshot Mantal gave an uneasy laugh. "Why did my brother want Union with these people?" he muttered, sitting down on the bed and piling his books up carefully against the wall to the right of his bunk. Vachir: "Funny."said Vachir after they had passed the guards "They are afraid of these harmless books, but had far worse in the ruins beneath their Capital..." Sakura: "Simple, the books in hands of commoners can be quite dangerous. That is reason why they are mostly disencouraged in most if not all of the First Realms. There are many more reasons but that is basically the core of it." She told Vachir. Sleeping Dragon: "It's their law, it can't be helped. Rules are entirely useless if we just obey some of them and not others," Judge Mawen declared. Then her face screwed up again. "But these Kingdom Guards must have terribly bad backs sleeping on these for years," she muttered, laying down uneasily on her bunk. Rafael ben Efrim: "Ignorance is one way of controlling people." Rafael muttered. "That is why we make sure our children are educated." Sakura: Sakura smiled for a moment on the laws. "Laws are really dependent on the value of laws. Anyway, do not forget we might be spied upon" She gave the area a glance. Sleeping Dragon: a few moments later Sakura's words were confirmed as they heard footsteps coming up the corridor towards them, coming nearer until eventually they came to a stop just outside their door. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael sat up, his hand on a hidden dagger. Vachir: Vachir's hands quickly moved to the bow strapped to his bow, though he did not say a word Vachir: edit: 'to his back' CosmicHorror: Disconnecting from server... CosmicHorror (exit): 21:11 Sleeping Dragon: nothing further happened, and they were able to pass into an uneasy sleep.
They woke early again the next morning. By the time they had risen the Kingdom Guards were mostly already outside, drilling in the yard, out patrolling, or performing repairs on the barracks. They were given a mean and flavourless breakfast of hard brown bread, bacon, and weak beer before once again setting out on the road. Rafael ben Efrim: "I don't know how an army can function on food like that." Rafael said, grimacing, once they were out of hearing. Sakura: "Still, it is much better than some foods I came across in the past." She looked bit off on her breakfast. Vachir: "Maybe this explains why they're jerks."sneered Vachir "Hard to be in a good mood when you eat this kind of shit." Sakura: "Shit eh?" She reflected back on her past... Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded. "Actually that is possible. Diet is important." Sophia: "I dont mind eating it, it is definitely better then nothing and its expensive to feed an army" Sophia pointed out. "However, i have no doubt they are skimping on really feeding their men." Rafael ben Efrim: "They aren't skimping on palaces and parties." Rafael said with a sigh. Sophia: Sophia chuckled "Indeed they are not. Perhaps at the feast i can smuggle out things to the poorer people in my dress. It does seem to be quite roomy" Sakura: "Well, I am not sure about that. I think that First have to be more careful about money in this kingdom than back in Ispera. Nothing in this side of the world can compare with the parties back in Ispera!" Sakura: Sakura replied confidently Rafael ben Efrim: "There is nothing to be proud of in excess." Rafael said rather severely. "Especially when others go hungry." Sleeping Dragon: they returned to the thronged roads. The remainder of their journey took only a little time, and at about noon they reached the city of Torath again.
It was not like they had seen it previously. The red and black flags with the running white wolf were absolutely everywhere, with small units of Kingdom Guards patrolling and keeping order amongst the throngs. Many people appeared to already be drunk at this early hour, and there were singers or actors at every street corner or square, entertaining the locals for free. "We should go and find our inn," said Judge Mawen. "The Crown is very nice, I've stayed there before. We're likely to have to pay quite a fair price though, the rooms are probably already filled." Sakura: "I am sure we will be able to convice the barkeep that it is worth his time and value to kick others out of the rooms." Sakura smiled cheerfully. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael frowned. "I don't think we should behave like that. The Torathi need to see a good example of Malador." Sakura: Sakura giggled for a moment, "Which is rather ironic considering we only start living in Malador only recently. The long time residents like we got now doesn't seem to be... fine example of Malador." She whispered back Rafael ben Efrim: "We are all seen here as representatives of Malador. Do we want the Torathi to see us behaving badly?" Rafael asked. Sakura: "Of course, not." She glanced away for a moment, "But I suppose you might think that another of our duty that these people doesn't mess up either." Rafael ben Efrim: "It is not our duty to expect the innkeeper to throw people out of the rooms they have paid for." Rafael said. Sleeping Dragon: they made their way to the Crown, a three storey building packed to the brim with visitors. The innkeeper, Aylan Magra, whose left arm was severed at the elbow, eventually was able to see them. "Welcome back to the Crown, Judge Mawen. It's been a few years. I'm afraid our rooms are all booked up...the common room too, all the cots taken. As it's such a good opportunity for business I've got some people sleeping on the floor in the common room or at the tables in here in the tap room for half the normal price - one silver in case you're wondering - but if you're looking for any of the private rooms you'll have to convince someone already in them to give theirs up. And before you go looking the situation is much the same at the King's Arms, have had some people in from there looking for rooms." Sakura: She only glanced at her fingernails, thinking about what to do next rather softly. Sakura: "Fair enough. I will speak to ex-occuipers in the private room." Sakura went off to knock on the door and discussed the whole matter with them. Sleeping Dragon: the representatives and their servants each got a private room, as did Sakura and her servant, and Vachir. By the time this was sorted and their belongings were put away, a Kingdom Guard captain came in to see them. "In three hours there will be a play performed by the Coronation Statue, a platform will be set up from which yourselves and other official guests can watch," he said. "Once this is finished you'll be escorted to the Royal Palace for dinner." Sakura: Sakura nodded at the Kingdom guard and replied, "Thank you for bringing the message. No doubt we will be looking forward to this play and the dinner." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael asked Vachir if he and Ardrun could use his room to dress. Vachir: "Of course"replied Vachir "Don't see any problem." Sophia: Sophia walked up to Sakura "Im changing in your room, is that ok dear?" Sakura: "No problems." Sakura's eyes gleamed for a moment. Sophia: Sophia proceeded to enter Sakuras room and shut the door. After finding her dress and fiddling with it a bit, Sophia got frustrated and cracked Sakuras door open just a smidgen "SAKURA! Could you please help me... put on this foolish thing?" she shouted Sakura: Sakura smiled slightly, "That why I bought a helpful servant along with me." She entered her room to help Sophia. Sophia: "Well will one of you help me? I want to tear this thing in half and just wear the pieces." Sophia grumbled Sakura: "It is not that hard." She replied after helping her servant with the new blue dress. "It seems you have not done this before?" Vachir: Vachir went to his room and managed to wear his elegant blue robe all by himself. Sophia: Sophia frowned "When you fight for people and you travel from place to place on a whim, you hardly have time to consider these fancy oddities. I prefer trousers and my top to this fancy dress" Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael obtained some hot water and washed and shaved carefully before dressing in the new clothes. He frowned at himself in the mirror. He had convinced the tailor to keep to dark colours, but the ruffled white shirt, deeply embroidered dark green coat and breeches were still more flamboyant than he was used to. He slipped various objects into hidden pockets. Sakura: "Well, tonight is your chance to shine. Every girl should be a lady one night." She stepped back for a moment and got the sliver jewels. "Here is your jewels." And help Sophia to put them on. Sophia: Sophia half-smiled at Sakura, she noticed that even though the girl was short, she actually was quite beautiful. Shaking some rather unsavory thoughts about unclothing Sakura out of her head, Sophia proceeded to thank her for the help. "I really do appreciate you helping me, even with the differences. I just hope everything runs smoothly" Sophia blushed a bit. Sleeping Dragon: the party and the representatives changed into their finery. Toban Torwald wore a blue-black doublet and hose, Mantal Wellaw a long silver robe, and Judge Mawen a red dress so large and rounded that the Judge resembled some monstrous cherry. "Looks like we have the same taste dear!" she said to Sakura. Ardrun emerged shortly afterwards in a huge black robe which bore a grey pattern of a broken shackle at the wrists. Sakura: Sakura grinned happily at Sophia for a moment, something that is not often seen since she got too many worries on her mind. Still, she changed into her cherry red Isperan dress and her golden jewels and not surprising, she looked extremely pleasing and beautiful. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael smiled at Sophia and Sakura as they appeared. "Well, I don't think anyone will be able to overlook us. We make a very striking group." Vachir: "We should be fine."said Vachir, at first looking somewhat stiff in his robe, but then quickly getting used to it Sakura: "And you, Rafael look like a playboy..." She cheerfully hooked her arm into Rafael. Sophia: "You most certainly do, i think i still may have preferred you in your normal wear though. Makes ya look more tough" Sophia laughed happily Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael looked almost embarrassed but then he laughed, and patted Sakura's hand. "It won't be the first time I've played a part. Let us to the party then." Sophia: Sophia nodded at Ardrun "You look charming too. To the party we go? Sakura: "Hmm..." Sakura looked at the true repesentives of the Council, "May I say you all look just fine" She told them with a smile. Sleeping Dragon: "It's a few hours yet until the play, we might as well go and see what's happening in the city," said Judge Mawen. "Regrettably the Torathi are somewhat short on cultural refinements, at least we have a theatre even if it does put on mostly appallingly common rubbish," she said. "But there are players in the street so I'm sure we'll see something interesting." Sophia: "Cultural refinement? What do you mean Judge?" Sleeping Dragon: "You know...libraries, bath houses, theatres, that manner of thing." Sophia: "Ah i had no idea they lacked... well... just about everything most cities would have." Rafael ben Efrim: "Very uncivilised." Rafael said. Sleeping Dragon: "I imagine they don't consider it martial enough. Here at the Crown they always have a singer, but elsewhere in the capital it's different to find any entertainment at all unless you hire it yourself. It's scarcely a wonder King Darragan has such difficulty with rebellions, the serfs probably do it just to have something exciting happen. Shall we go?" Sakura: "I can name one thing that this entire continent lacks, a Colosseum!" She looked at Ardrun for a moment before looking back at Judge and nodded, "Yes, let us." Rafael ben Efrim: "That is not civilised Sakura." Rafael said quietly to her as they moved off. "Slaves and death fights. You might as well let the Crimson Path organise the city's entertainment." Sakura: "I know it is not civilised, and frankly while I like it, it is also very wasteful. My people back hom literally wiped out entire spieces to feed the plays and battles between men and animals. At least I got Ardrun out of there." She replied sadly. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael patted her hand again. "I'm sorry, I do not mean to be so hard on you. You have been brought up in a very different society." Sleeping Dragon: they headed out into the streets to watch the entertainment. It was of wildly differing quality, but the arena of street theatre proved crudely meritocratic - artists unable to keep their audiences entertained found them walking away to see someone else. They saw several short plays and songs, before eventually settling in to watch a small troupe of illusionists and fire-eaters who dazzled the crowds with acts of legerdemain. The afternoon was somewhat soured at one point, when a small unit of Kingdom Guards tramped past, bringing with them five bound and gagged men who stumbled along drunkenly behind them. One of them struggled with his gag as they went by, but one of the Guards smashed him with a fist to the back of his head and then dragged him back up, adjusting it tightly in his mouth.
After a time, the crowd began to move on towards the Coronation Statue as the time for the King's play drew near. Sophia: Disconnecting from server... Sophia (exit): 22:55 Rafael ben Efrim: "What were those men?" Rafael asked the others quietly. Sleeping Dragon: "Torathi law usually dictates that men should be gagged while being arrested if they are likely to say something that might provoke the audience against the King," Judge Mawen declared. "Presumably they have been making treasonous statements." Vachir: "If they were just drunkards, that looked quite...harsh"said Vachir Rafael ben Efrim: "They may have said something in their cups that has been interpreted as treason." Rafael suggested. "But I imagine that is not hard to do." Sakura: "All tounges are loose when drunk. It is a shame after all." She told them./ Vachir: "Well then, we might want to be careful with our own tongues, lest they be cut."added Vachir "We can always deal with the Torathi later." Sleeping Dragon: they made their way to the Coronation Statue. As they had been told, a large wooden platform had been erected to allow the various senior courtiers and civil servants, retired Town Captains and Kingdom Guards, nobles, and other respectable persons to watch. In addition to their own party, there were representatives from Adaria, and from the Diluvian realms as well, from the great Akhaian city of Salavoi and the Almarid kingdom of Espartes. The Adarian ambassador, a short, mousy man with prematurely grey hair, came over to greet them. "It's good to meet you. I believe some of you know my cousin - my name is Manon Gaston." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded a greeting. "Captain Gaston saved our lives. He has been a good friend to us also." Sakura: "Indeed, a good friend." She agreed with Rafael's words Vachir: Vachir nodded "We remember him, yes. A trusted friend." Sleeping Dragon: "Good to hear it," Manon sat down, and two large men who were plainly his guards sat down next to him. "I wonder what this will be like, I've never seen the Torathi put on any entertainment other than a military parade. A short one of which we'll be made to endure, incidentally, before the play. You'll be expected to shout loudly while it's going on but you don't have to be very convincing." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael looked around at the crowd. "It seems strange that they are doing all this, and have representatives from so many lands." Sleeping Dragon: "King Darragan is attempting to impress upon everyone that Torath is dominant in the New Coast and nothing happens without King Darragan's say," Manon said matter-of-factly. There was a loud military shout from behind the wall of the royal compound just behind where they were seated. "I believe that means that he's going to be putting in an appearance in a moment. If you enjoy living, turn around and stand up," said Manon, taking his own advice. Sakura: Sakura smiled for a moment as she followed the advice Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael stood, slowly. Vachir: Vachir decided to do as he was suggested and, and quickly turned and stood Sleeping Dragon: everyone stood as word spread that King Darragan would be arriving. There was a loud knock from within the gates and they slowly opened. Out marched a contingent of at least fifty Kingdom Guards, the first of which bore between them a large dais, covered at the back and the sides, within which was a sizeable wooden throne, the head of which was carved to resemble a snarling wolf. The Kingdom Guards came forwards. Discernible amongst them were both Maxxen Juthe and Town Captain Trepp.
Legend stated that the Most Glorious King Darragan stood seven feet tall and possessed the strength of giants. While this was exaggeration, it was obvious from sight of the man that it was only slight exaggeration. He stood in truth several inches over six feet, but still well below Ardrun, however his arms and shoulders were impossibly thick and strong. In contrast to the finery of the representatives, the courtiers, and the party, King Darragan presented a sternly martial image, dressed in glittering chainmail and bearing a sword so huge that no human could have ever carried it sheathed unless they were at least a foot taller than Ardrun. Darragan wore a steel battle-helm upon which was fastened his simple golden crown. Most striking in his appearance, however, was his simple carriage and the air of smouldering superiority with which he surveyed everyone and everything that his gaze fell upon.
A loud chant of "All hail the King!" went up from the crowd and there were loud cries of adulation, which, if they were feigned, were done startlingly well. King Darragan ignored the sound - though they doubted he would have ignored it if it stopped - and strode up to his throne. Turning to face the crowd, he reversed his sword and brought it down to stick into the wooden floor of the dais right by his throne, and made a harsh, sweeping gesture with his right hand. The noise immediately halted as if it had been strangled, and Darragan seated himself, with a dozen Kingdom Guards bearing tower shields immediately separating themselves from the others and standing at the foot of the dais in front of the King, ready to protect him in an instant if anyone should attempt to shoot at him.
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Post by sleepingdragon on Jul 17, 2009 17:28:29 GMT
Sleeping Dragon: everyone stood as word spread that King Darragan would be arriving. There was a loud knock from within the gates and they slowly opened. Out marched a contingent of at least fifty Kingdom Guards, the first of which bore between them a large dais, covered at the back and the sides, within which was a sizeable wooden throne, the head of which was carved to resemble a snarling wolf. The Kingdom Guards came forwards. Discernible amongst them were both Maxxen Juthe and Town Captain Trepp.
Legend stated that the Most Glorious King Darragan stood seven feet tall and possessed the strength of giants. While this was exaggeration, it was obvious from sight of the man that it was only slight exaggeration. He stood in truth several inches over six feet, but still well below Ardrun, however his arms and shoulders were impossibly thick and strong. In contrast to the finery of the representatives, the courtiers, and the party, King Darragan presented a sternly martial image, dressed in glittering chainmail and bearing a sword so huge that no human could have ever carried it sheathed unless they were at least a foot taller than Ardrun. Darragan wore a steel battle-helm upon which was fastened his simple golden crown. Most striking in his appearance, however, was his simple carriage and the air of smouldering superiority with which he surveyed everyone and everything that his gaze fell upon.
A loud chant of "All hail the King!" went up from the crowd and there were loud cries of adulation, which, if they were feigned, were done startlingly well. King Darragan ignored the sound - though they doubted he would have ignored it if it stopped - and strode up to his throne. Turning to face the crowd, he reversed his sword and brought it down to stick into the wooden floor of the dais right by his throne, and made a harsh, sweeping gesture with his right hand. The noise immediately halted as if it had been strangled, and Darragan seated himself, with a dozen Kingdom Guards bearing tower shields immediately separating themselves from the others and standing at the foot of the dais in front of the King, ready to protect him in an instant if anyone should attempt to shoot at him. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael kept his face expressionless as he stared at the scene. He had never imagined it would be easy to destroy a First, and Darragan's situation certainly confirmed that assumption. But still, the king was not immortal or why bother to protect him? Sakura: Sakura sighed for a moment as she slowly glanced around the scene, paying attention especially on Maxxen Juthe and Trepp. Vachir: While not particularly impressed by all the pomp and circumstance, Vachir looked a bit taken aback by King Darragan's personal appearance and choice of weapon. "He must be a formidable warrior, can't deny that."he quietly said to the others "Not someone that could easily be killed by common men." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded. "But he still protects himself. He must be vulnerable in some way." Sakura: Sakura looked thoughtfully, "All First are vulnerable to swords or darts." Sleeping Dragon: as the party discussed this a trumpet blew, and the Kingdom Guards, save for a contingent of twenty-five that remained with Darragan, made their way down towards the vacant Kingdom Markets nearby, where several companies of Guards were waiting. After a few minutes the trumpet blew again and a force of several hundred Guards began their parade. The Guards were hardened, grim-faced men in metal armour and black-and-red tabards, carrying shields and spears, swords, or axes. A contingent of officers on horseback followed along behind them. The Guards marched in time with one another, making their way down and towards the Coronation Statue at a steady pace. There then came a shout from the officers and the men abruptly sped up, jogging forward in formation to cheers from the massed crowd. As they came past there was another call and they spun on heel and began to march back the way they had come, the officers on their horses adroitly trotting sideways to allow the men to pass, then falling in behind them. They made their way back to the Market and then turned about again, and this time as they approached the Coronation Statue they split into four groups of about a hundred each at front, back, left, and right, with the officers in the middle. The trumpet blew again and each group rapidly formed up, shields locked together, the front ranks kneeling down and protected from all sides by their companions' shields, spears and swords bristling outwards, while at the back of each group a Torathi banner was quickly raised. The officers faced towards Darragan, reared up on their horses, and drew their blades in salute. Rafael ben Efrim: "Like a well-oiled machine," Rafael murmured. "Perhaps this is what Carrus would like to see in Malador." Sakura: "But it is rather dull, like the machine. It does not inspire original thinking" She replied to Rafael. Vachir: "The Maladorans are made of...different stuff. It'd never work. Can't say I'm unhappy about that."replied Vachir to Rafael's words "Stil, the more time they spent practicing parades, the less they spend on actual combat practice...and pillaging other people's countries.."he trailed off Rafael ben Efrim: "That is the idea. Every man gives up his individuality, his choice, his conscience, to become a better part of the machine." Rafael replied. " Maybe sometimes that works but if faced with a new threat or situation...it is very rigid and unadaptable." Sakura: "It can be adaptable, depending who is commanding the machine. Sometime it require new... perspective." She considered. Rafael ben Efrim: "We cannot be machines and men at the same time." Rafael said. "We are expected to use our minds and hearts to do the right thing, to consider an action before we take it. This is...inhuman." Sakura: "And the military is in many respect, the most inhuman for these soldiers are only exist to follow their superior's orders... As for right things... that depend on the nature of the minds and hearts. An dark mind will do things that by it ideals, right although it would be deeply wrong by enlighted mind" She answered Sakura: *Enlightened mind Rafael ben Efrim: "It is true that not all men are enlightened, but all of us must strive to do what we see to be right Sakura." Rafael answered. "It is not easy but it is the purpose of mankind." Sleeping Dragon: the soldiers dispersed, and attention was turned to the medium-sized stage which had been set up on a flat part of the hill off to the party's left. A small orchestra was seated on the grass to the left of the stage with drums and horns. The orchestra began to play a stirring, military song with a strong drumbeat, and the curtain rolled back to reveal the narrator, a tall, fat man, who loudly proclaimed that they would now be performing a play regarding the fall into evil of the city of Karatekos, and its eventual destruction by the forces of 'the Kingdom Guards of Torath, under the command of the saviour of the New Coast, the Most Glorious King Darragan!' Vachir: "I know that story, a friend told me about it...."commented Vachir careful to keep his voice low enough for the Torathi not to hear him "And it didn't end up so well for the Torathi. That land's still a mess, even today...." Sophia: "Hehe it does seem that city-states enjoy up playing their military failures to be victories, i have no met this King Darragan but i imagine him to be quite the brute" Sophia chuckled at her jab against Torath. Rafael ben Efrim: "Strange to make a show of what was effectively a failure." Rafael said. Sleeping Dragon: "Quiet!" Judge Mawen hissed at Sophia in alarm, showing none of her usual bonhomie, and as she did, the play began Sakura: "A failure? They won did they? Even though entire city is now gone, only to be shelter for demons and lesser creatures." She replied softly. Sleeping Dragon: the first act showed how the foolish king of Karatekos made a pact with infernal forces, causing 'the spirit of rage' to come into the city. As the evil spirit spread around Karatekos, rebellions broke out in the countryside, murders became commonplace, and the King, in a rage, slaughtered his pregnant wife one night, and yet the next day was completely unaware of what he had done. The scene then shifted, and upon the stage were a group of Kingdom Guards in red-and-black, surrounding the actor portraying King Darragan - easily noticeable because he wore a full helm that covered his face, as Torathi law forbade impersonation of the King for any reason. They were in the ruins of the city of Stremar, which the Torathi had just sacked, after a long war following Stremar's invasion of Grayward, when he received news of what was happening in Karatekos. Sakura: Sakura whispered to them, very softly, "Stremarian used to maintain it influence in Grayward... until Torathi decided to take over Grayward." Sleeping Dragon: the news was brought by a group of braided Karatek warriors who had fled their homeland due to the Demon-King's repression, crossing the river to the east and setting up villages of their own. They begged King Darragan for protection, offering eternal devotion if he agreed to intervene and stop the Demon-King. Eventually Darragan agreed, but because of the weakness of the Kingdom Guards after the long war with Stremar, he attempted first to use diplomacy, sending an envoy to the Demon-King. Rafael ben Efrim: "Eternal devotion eh?" Rafael muttered to the others. "I'd like to see him try to tell that one to the Karateks in Adaria!" Sakura: "I would think he know that personally. Maybe that why he got so many bodyguards, a Karatek warrior is not something you want to insult..." She smirked. Sakura: while whispering to others. Rafael ben Efrim: "Daragan doesn't exactly go out of his way to avoid insulting anyone." Rafael replied with a slight smile. Vachir: Vachir watched the play with interest, realizing that there were parts of the story he hadn't heard about yet Sleeping Dragon: the envoy, however, was murdered, and war became inevitable, especially when a wounded Kingdom Guard that had been sent to protect the envoy came back into Torath and was possessed by the evil spirit, stirring up rebellion in Torath. The Demon-King soon invaded Torath, sacking villages and carrying off the population to be slaves or sacrifices. A number of inconclusive battles were fought, with the Kingdom Guards badly outnumbered by the Demon-King's hordes. Sakura: "The rebellions happened because there was a famine and Guards was quite weak. Such the wonder of plays to twist people's preceptions..." She glanced at the actors playing the scenes. "Ispera rose that to fine arts due to their disputes with each other. Each events got two and even more different slant on it, clearly painting their patrons good and the rivals bad." She told them softly. Sophia: Sophia feigned interest but couldnt resist a yawn. Sleeping Dragon: the war's turning point finally came when King Darragan boldly led a raid on the supply lines of the Demon-King's forces. Mighty Darragan scattered the foe before him, coming only a short distance away from the Demon-King himself, but the Demon-King fled in terror with his forces being routed behind him. The scene shifted back to Karatekos, where the desperate Demon-King attempted to open a portal into hell, but his spell failed and he was sucked through, with the city of Karatekos being completely destroyed in a single day. This was depicted quite spectacularly, the scenery of the city suddenly collapsing into pieces on the stage in a cloud of dust by some trick Rafael ben Efrim: "Such dishonesty," Rafael said with a sigh. "The wonder is that so many are willing to accept it." Sakura: "Hmm... These people do not have time to read and such. They reply on rumours, gossips to understand what is going on. What happened in travens and dinners are important to understand what happen in present but plays, legends and stories corrupt the past." She replued Rafael ben Efrim: "That is nonsense." Rafael said quietly, watching the action on stage. "Daragan never came near the Demon King, although he was able to cut the supply line. It was probably just luck." Sakura: "You can be surprised on how much luck acutally affect the war. In many respect, the war is luck for everyone in the battles and beyond." Sakura replied softly Vachir: "I wonder if we will ever visit Karatekos itself..."Vachir suddenly said "I have a friend who travelled there with his own band of adventurers, there may still be hidden riches in the ruins..." Sleeping Dragon: the final battles of the war were fought, with King Darragan destroying the remnants of the Demon-King's force and laying waste to the lands formerly under his control in order to stop the demonic spirit that had infected Karatekos from spreading again into Torath. Finally returning to Torath in victory, Darragan was met by ambassadors from the Karateks and from the cities of Arento and Malador, promising their eternal gratitude and praising him as the saviour of the New Coast. But these false ambassadors quickly betrayed their promises, with the Karateks becoming independent, and the Arentines instead invading Torath while it was weak, bringing further misery to its people and more difficulties onto the King who had laboured so hard to save the New Coast. And so it proved that the King's rightful position as protector and ruler of the New Coast went unrecognised and ignored for many, many years, until finally peace settled upon the land and the representatives from all the New Coast did him homage and recognised him as overlord in these recent days. Sleeping Dragon: Mantal Wellaw looked absolutely anguished as he watched. "This is all so...wrong...it's completely unfactual," he said in a pained voice Sophia: "I couldnt agree with you more, this play is rather uninformative, its all just fluff for King Darragan" Sophia shook her head Sakura: "Welcome to propaganda. The information that are twisted into making the King look... angelic..." She whispered back. Sleeping Dragon: "I didn't realise we paid homage to King Darragan," the Adarian ambassador remarked wryly. "I must be very poor at my job." Rafael ben Efrim: "We laugh now but the king plainly intended that to be the truth one day." Rafael said. "He intends to extend his reach over the whole of the New Coast." Sleeping Dragon: "We know," Ambassador Manon said gravely. "At present there's no force that can stand up to him...but the world is full of surprises. And now I suppose we are going to be going to the Royal Palace for dinner." Vachir: "Perhaps one day he will meet his match."said Vachir "A tyrant worse than him perhaps...."he trailed off Rafael ben Efrim: "A cure worse than the disease?" Rafael said with a grim smile. "It can happen. Pray it does not." Sakura: "Still... force are like string. Collection of strings can be made into a rope that can bind." She smiled for a moment before looking more serious, "Still, there is a dinner to attend and that will be...fun." Sleeping Dragon: as the play finished and the crowd dispersed, Town Captain Trepp came over with a small group of Kingdom Guards and formally invited the party and the various representatives to come to the Royal Palace, handing out personalised invitations stamped with an elaborate seal. Vachir: "Let's go now, shall we?"suggested Vachir "I'm sure the Most Glorious does not like to wait." Sakura: She start humming some old Isperan music as she follow the group to the dinner. Sleeping Dragon: they were allowed in through the gates of the royal compound and soon came to the Palace itself, an opulent two storey marble structure. It was startlingly unfortified, but there were a dozen Guards at each door and everyone entering save the King himself, even Maxxen Juthe and Town Captain Trepp, were checked to ensure they had the proper paperwork and searched for any hidden weapons. Sakura: Sakura admitted to Guards' searching Rafael ben Efrim: As the search was completed Rafael moved forward towards the entrance, his head high. He nodded recognition at Juthe and Trepp. Vachir: Vachir was silent and still as the guards searched him, and did not say a word as they entered. Sleeping Dragon: they were led into the Palace, with the servants being taken aside and brought into the eastern wing of the Palace where the servants' quarter was. the party were led into the centre of the Palace, into the Great Hall. Several huge long mahogany tables had been laid out and set with sparkling silver cutlery, porcelain dishes, and fine glasses filled with expensive and exquisite white wine. Darragan took his seat in a huge throne-like chair at the head of the largest table. Two senior Kingdom Guards stood behind him and to the sides, and directly beside him to the right stood a servant who held onto the King's sword, ready for him to take at any moment. The party were directed to their seats at the foot of the King's table, taking up places alongside the foreign ambassadors, General Juthe, Captain Trepp, and other senior army commanders and retired Town Captains. Sophia: Sophia looked around carefully at where the exits might be, how many soldiers were about and anything that could be used as a weapon. It was important to be wary around a man who thought he was god like and spoke of an entire continent paying homage to him. Vachir: Vachir gazed at the luxurious, magnificent cutlery, glasses and furniture. However, seeing that Sophia was watching for the exits, he realized that it would be wise to do the same Sakura: Sakura looked quiet cheerful if only solemly at the table, paying attentions to the King, envoys, Maxxen Juthe and Town Captain Trepp in that order. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael took his seat and looked about him as if merely impressed, but also takinng careful note of the surroundings and disposition of potential attackers. Sleeping Dragon: there were four exits from this room, one to each side, and each was guarded by a trio of Kingdom Guards. The presence of the Guards was actually quite light in this room, but they had passed quite a few others on the way in and knew there were many about the Palace.
a small group of musicians in an alcove on the right-hand side of the room began to play a tune with a mildly military tone to it, and shortly afterwards the first dishes began to be brought to the table. There were to be three courses of ten pairs of dishes each, almost all of which were various forms of meat. There was fresh and saltwater fish with a gravy of shad, roast capon and partridges, meat and fish aspics, lark pasties and rissoles of beef marrow, black puddings and sausages, stuffed pigs and peacock, pasties of venison and small birds, and other delicacies. Judge Mawen assailed the dishes like a dying woman and chatted amiably to the dignitaries around them, Toban Torwald drained endless glasses of wine and radiated annoyance and mistrust, and Mantal Torwald attempted to hide himself behind Ardrun. King Darragan's face was unreadable, and his gaze did not settle long on anyone, but Maxxen Juthe eyed the party throughout the dinner with a scowl. Rafael earned curious and disbelieving looks. Meanwhile, a retired Kingdom Guard colonel seated next to Sophia, a man in his late sixties with one glass eye and lacking his right hand, spent his time eyeing Sophia lecherously, which he disguised poorly by telling her a story about a rebellion at Camp Cloven thirty years ago, at which he claimed to have fought his way into a burning building and rescued a dozen of his comrades despite having been struck in the eye with an arrow. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael ignored the looks of the Torathi and although he ate and drank sparingly he talked amiably to those about him. Sophia: Sophia smiled and played along with his useless banter, she asked him questions about the military he was in and things involving Camp Cloven. She also attempted to ascertain his feelings about the King and the general state of things. Vachir: Vachir ate and drank with gusto - the food was goodafter all, even if it was paid for by the Most Glorious - but he didn't say much, though he watched around warily, looking for any signs of danger or excitement Sakura: Sakura engaged in conversations with people sitting in front of her and on beside her, hoping to get something useful. Sleeping Dragon: Vachir had been seated next to a courtier, who sat eyeing the thunderbolt symbol hanging round his neck. "That is an interesting trinket," he said glibly. Sleeping Dragon: Sakura was seated next to Judge Mawen and the ambassador from Salavoi, a man called Petros. "You are a trader, yes?" he asked Sakura. "I have heard this. In what do you trade?" Petros' Coastal was heavily accented Sleeping Dragon: "You are in strange company, caziq," the ambassador from Espartes said to Rafael. "Perhaps Torath is opening. These heathens would not normally allow your people or mine to even be within these borders, yet here we are." Vachir: Vachir stopped eating and was silent for a few seconds when he heard the man's words, but then spoke: "It's no mere trinket." he said frowning "It's the talisman of the powerful god who has blessed me in my travels and looks after me. Certainly better than what some God-Kings do for their own people..."he added with a much lower voice Sleeping Dragon: the courtier gave Vachir a crooked grin. "My apologies. Who is your powerful god, is this Master Karakos? You don't look the type for Mythal or Ectus." Sakura: Sakura smiled back at Petros, "Indeed, I am a trader. I sell gems in the city of Malador. I know that the city you represent are well known for art and great craftmanship." She replied in Coastal. Sleeping Dragon: "Gems, this is good, fine trade. We are crafters in marble, exquisite. We approach Councillor Neele in your city about palace he build but he turned us away." Petros looked annoyed. "Most Gorious King Darragan more...interested. He ask us build him summer palace between villages of...Maddrik and Copperdell, those are the names, yes." Rafael ben Efrim: "I have worked with these people for some time.." Rafael replied, indicating the others. "They are not bad people for Rytha, even Sakura who has the usual arrogance of Illius but is gradually learning other ways." He smiled, then continued. "As for why we are here in Torath - not long ago we solved the mystery of the death of one of the Council of Malador, which involved us with General Juthe over there. The Torathi then requested our help in finding a killer here in their own city, which we have done. Somehow that has led to our being here, although it is a most dubious honour." Rafael ben Efrim: Having first ascertained that the ambassador spoke Illian, Rafael conversed with him in that language. Vachir: "I know of these Masters you speak of, and they may be powerful warriors, not to be scoffed...but I would not trust my life to them." Vachir replied "My god is Alaric, who rides through the steppe on his great horse killing his enemies with his thunderbolts. Like I kill mine with my arrows." he added with a grin of his own Vachir: edit -> "trust my life to them" -> "trust them with my life" Sleeping Dragon: the Kingdom Guard colonel brushed aside Sophia's questions and continued to regale her with stories. "...so I'm out having a piss when the bastard rebels suddenly jump out of the bushes and ambush us! One of them shot at me and put an arrow right square in one of my arse-cheeks, sent me sprawling away still dribbling the last drops out. One of the rebels came up to finish me off and I'd got knocked away from my axe, so I figured there was nothing for it and when he came up to slit my throat, I tore the arrow out and jumped up and stabbed him right through the throat with it! That taught the fucker a thing or two! I fainted after that...I don't recommend getting shot in the arse, frankly." Sophia: "I had no idea gods needed horses to kill things" Sophia chuckled turning towards Vachir. Sophia: Sophia turned back to hear the last of the colonels story "Oh yes, thats very exciting, ooooo" she placed her hands on where his biceps might have been had he been younger, and she smiled. Sleeping Dragon: "I hope I never make Alaric angry, I don't like thunder," said the fop. " Sakura: "That is nice." She smiled pleasingly, "The palaces built by your city artisans are very fine. I have to admit that Counciller Neele also annoys me." She also looked annoyed for a moment before looking serious, "Still, building the Summer Palace there suggest that he want to keep closer eye on the city of Malador but that is most clear reason." Sleeping Dragon: "That is like. He want other palaces later, but near Maddrik and Copperdell first," said Petros. "He also hire artists, he hire Akhaian playwright Matros to write him play performed earlier, and others for later." Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael smiled as he looked over at General Juthe and continued his conversation. Sakura: "No doubt, all very expensive and would meant a profitable trading for your people." Sakura grinned at him, "Your artisans and fine artists must be beside with joy" Sleeping Dragon: General Juthe scowled at Rafael and took a sip of wine Sleeping Dragon: "Profitable yes, make lots of money! Most Gorious King Darragan think that plays make his people happy, complain less. He have had problems with rebels before, have to send in army to kill them. Not good, means fewer taxes." Vachir: Vachir did not pay much heed to Sophia's comment about gods and horses, but nodded to the courtier "That is wise."he told him, and then turned away to help himself to some of the wine. Sakura: "That can be troubesome but that is the way of life and we can only make money among the chaos of the world." She nodded sadly. Sleeping Dragon: "Miss the fighting. Haven't had a good scrap in fifteen years since I lost the hand and they finally made me retire. Might have made a general but I wasn't ever much for the planning. Would rather get in and hack at the enemy with my axe. Was an axe that took my hand in the end, another group of fucking rebels in Cloven. They're always up to some rubbish down there, lazy lot of bastards. They had one in their lot, this big ugly bastard, came at me and I'd slowed down a bit by then. I'd have still fought him off but I tripped back over a root and nearly fell over. Thought I was dead when that axe came down towards me, but I yanked back and it just took my hand instead. Whole world went spinning round, went real light-headed. I'd have gone even lighter headed if he'd got his second blow off, and I knew it, so I did the only thing I could and raised up my stump and squirted blood in his eyes just as he was going to finish me off. That took the bastard by surprise, and then I stabbed him in the belly with the dirk I had in my boot. He took a long time to die and I enjoyed watching it, the filthy cunt." Sleeping Dragon: "Yes! Yes, in chaos is opportunity, yes? Was disappointed no war, war good for business. When finished, people need new buildings, is good for trade." Rafael ben Efrim: Hearing this comment Rafael looked over. "Not good for the people whose houses have been destroyed though." he said sharply. Sakura: "Not for me sadly. I find wars very... distracting for my customers. No one buy gems when there is a war on. So I was jolly glad that there is no war happening. It is only in peace when fine arts prospers after all." Sleeping Dragon: Petros gaped at Rafael and looked grateful when Sakura broke in. "I suppose is bad for your trade, yes." Sophia: Sophia attempted to hide her disgust at the colonels obvious love of watching people bleed to death "Ah yes, you really showed him. It is a shame he took a piece of you with him but sometimes that is the price of battle" Sophia lifted her dress partway up revealing a scar running along the side of her thigh. Sophia: "I didnt lose as much as you but i have definitely been marked by battle" she continued Sleeping Dragon: "I like a woman who can fight," the colonel smiled and ran his finger along Sophia's scar Sakura: Sakura looked coldly at the Colonel, as if the look can kill, it would reduce the colonel into a shadow that adorn the pink fountion. "I suppose so. How long do you hope to serve your city here?" She enquired Sakura: of Petros Sakura: *fountain Sophia: Sophia smiled at the colonel and put her dress back down. Sleeping Dragon: "Is not long, am negotiating price with Most Gorious King Darragan. Think he can pay more now that Malador pay him tribute." Sakura: "Good. Make sure it is at proper price. That I am sure you are eminently capable of it" She winked at Petros. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael replied to the Almarid, with an emphasis on the last words, and a look of disgust directed at Petros. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael sighed and spoke again to the ambassador. Vachir: When he wasn't slowly drinking from a cup, Vachir tried to get a good look at Darragan, as if he suspected that the King was up to something. He might have drunk a bit much, because he obviously couldn't put a lot of effort into this. Sleeping Dragon: if Darragan was up to something, he hid it well - he had said and done very little throughout the dinner, save to talk occasionally to Town Captain Trepp. Otherwise he seemed to consider it sufficient for him to simply be there and be deferred to. Whatever he might have thought about anything, he kept to himself.
A few moments after Vachir began to examine Darragan, there was a commotion at one of the doors and someone came rushing into the room at great speed. The entire hall turned to look and see Konig, the messenger the party had ridden with before, having obviously just arrived with the dust of the road still on him. With great haste he made his way to the end of the table and knelt before King Darragan, before standing and speaking quietly into the King's ear. The King's face spasmed with visible anger, the first emotion he had showed in the entire evening, and then he leaned in and began to speak animatedly to General Juthe. The talk in the room had halted altogether Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael watched closely, trying to work out the king's words. Sakura: Sakura also looked closely, trying to read lips. whispering to Rafael ben Efrim, Sakura, Darragan was speaking in First Speech. He was quite close to Juthe's ear, but they were able to see that his mouth formed the words 'mobilise' and 'Copperdell' Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael caught Sakura's eye and he spoke into her ear. "Did you catch that?" he breathed. Vachir: Vachir too tried to guess the King's words - but obviosly hewas speaching in an ancient tongue unknown to the Bolgar. Sakura: Sakura nodded, "Yes, I did indeed. What a surprise!" she whispered back Rafael ben Efrim: (whispering): "Not really, Copperdell felt like a volcano about to erupt when we were there if you recall. I suspect it has done so now. This may be very good news for us." Sleeping Dragon: Town Captain Trepp began to make his way around the table to dismiss people apologetically. "What bloody trick is this?" Toban Torwald said bluntly. Despite all he had drunk his words were not slurred. "What the hell is going on Trepp? Is this the Torathi idea of courtesy?"
"Something urgent has occured requring His Most Glorious Majesty's attention," Trepp said unconvincingly. He tried to disengage himself from Toban but he grabbed the Town Captain's arm. "I want an explanation. What is happening?" Sakura: (whispering): "Maybe, Maybe not. Either way, let do out best to ensure this favour us." She whispered back Sakura: Sakura stepped in and attempt to prevent an incident, "Indeed," She looked sternly at them both and continued her speech, Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael stood and made his way to where Toban sat. "I think we should let Captain Trepp explain to us himself. There is obviously something serious going on, or the king would not have left his guests so..abruptly." he said smoothly, looking meaningfully at Toban's hand where he held Trepp's arm. Sleeping Dragon: add this in prior to the last post: King Darragan got to his feet. "I'm afraid this dinner has finished. Juthe, with me!" he snapped. It was the first time they had heard Darragan speak - his voice was quite deep and booming. "Trepp, send these people to bed," he commanded, before heading from the room at a great pace with General Juthe and his sword-bearer on his heels Vachir: Vachir quickly stood up, obviously interested in this new development Sakura: "A dinner distrubed and we will know anyway. What is the trouble on this fine night." Sakura: Sakura asked Sleeping Dragon: Trepp jerked his arm away from Toban with a murderous glare. "There has been an uprising in Copperdell," he said bluntly. "King Darragan and General Juthe have departed to plan how this is to be dealt with." Vachir: "He might as well have told us why before leaving, are we not honored guests?"said Vachir to the others "We have some holdings in Copperdell, perhaps we might go there and check the situation..." Rafael ben Efrim: "Thank you for telling us." Rafael said most politely. "I am most surprised that King Darragan would involve himself directly in this. Surely an uprising of these slaves will easily be crushed?" Sakura: "Well, Well." She told them. "It is also on the road between Malador and Torath. Such vital link would be concern of any ruler. Nevertheless" Sleeping Dragon: "Of course it will," said Town Captain Trepp. "I must see to the other guests," he said, moving away. Rafael ben Efrim: Once they were out of earshot, Rafael looked around the others. "This may be a great opportunity. We should head for Copperdell immediately." Sleeping Dragon: "Head to where there's a rebellion?" Mantal looked rather frightened, but Toban waved his hand at him angrily. "This is probably a trick to try to keep us trapped in Torath. We should definitely go there so that as soon as the rebellion is quashed that we can go home." Sakura: "It may be. But what about these representatives we are to protect?" She told himn Sakura: Sakura smirked for a moment, "Well, Look like it is answered already!" Rafael ben Efrim: "And if there is rebellion in the air, it is possible that Darragon may try to keep us here." Vachir: "Or since they gave us some estates there, they'd ask for our assistance in crushing the rebellion..."trailed off Vachir, sullenly Sleeping Dragon: "Better to go of our own choice, so it doesn't look like we're doing anything at his request," said Toban. "Should we leave now, or in the morning?" Vachir: "Darragan looked like he was in a hurry - we might want to get there as soon as we can." Sakura: "They will start preparing troops already. So the sooner we can start, the better. Sakura: Any rebellions require speed and lot of force in very short amount of time." Rafael ben Efrim: "Of course we don't know that he is actually going there himself." Rafael warned. "He may be merely ordering the troops and deciding on strategy." Sleeping Dragon: "Let's go back to the inn and get our things and leave tonight then, we can ride through the night," said Toban. Judge Mawen looked anguished at this thought, but said nothing. Rafael ben Efrim: Rafael nodded. "We should be ready to leave anyway. I do not trust them to leave us alone here." Sakura: "Still, it would be excellent time for the King to do so. After all, he will be showing the city example that he can deal with rebellions, most personally." Sakura: "Still, it would be excellent time for the King to do so. After all, he will be showing the city example that he can deal with rebellions, most personally. If not, then General Juthes will lead I guess."
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