DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
Kiiya, Nemeia, Arkal and Roghar are shaken awake as the caravan they were resting in stops abruptly. A traveling group of merchant caravans had given them room to sleep after they had been of assistance against a group of human bandits.
The 'Outsiders' were more than quick to leave when they awoke.
The village was large and housed many rustic housing blocks that hung above the cobblestone roads. A large fort rested in the center of the village, it's design was rich and elegant, possibly of Elven origin. A tavern, old and decrepit, was squeezed between a handful of housing blocks as if had been dropped by a lazy architect. A sign hung limply by the door with a name scrawled over its worn surface, it read 'the human house'. A handful of interesting stores traced the other side of the main road, they seemed deserted but their signs claimed otherwise. The rest of the village was hidden from view.
The 'Outsiders' stepped out in to the darkness of the crisp cold night and the racing winds, their hoods held high as was the custom of this rag tag group of adventurers.
What do you do?
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
Kiiya
Kiiya glances around cautiously, pulling her hood forward to cover her white hair, and moves silently away from the caravan. She finds a patch of deeper shadow near a wall and waits there, checking her weapons and watching the village for any sign of movement. Her lavender eyes linger distrustfully on the fort.
It is hard to judge Kiiya's age, but you would guess her to be young by the standards of her race. She has the midnight skin, pale hair, and slender build characteristic of her people. She is usually quiet, and speaks little of her past.
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
The moment Ark'al stepped out, he pulled his hood up harder. It wasn't that he was cold, the fur more than covered that, it was just that his snout was always the first thing people saw. He sniffed the air casually. heh....well..it smells like their food is as bad as their name...
He growls slightly and pulls up against the wall next to Kiiya.
-Suzuro
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
Roghar
- Human house... - bronze-scaled dragonborn wondered - Think they're trying to tell us something, eh?..
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
"Clever? You're joking, right?" Kiiya's voice is barely above a whisper, but it carries clearly to her companions' ears. "Still, I suppose we can check it out. The worst that can happen is we get run out of town - not like that's never happened before. And I'd rather not go up to that fort - even if you're right, Nemeia, and the builders aren't there anymore."
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
Kiiya follows Nemeia forward, glancing around the tavern distrustfully, and takes a seat next to the tiefling. She waves away the bartender's offer of drinks with a soft-voiced "Nothing for me, thank you."
Nemeia's more trusting than I would be, to take drinks from a stranger's hand. I wonder why the old man reacted so strongly to her?
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
Ark'al walks over to the bar, but remains standing.
They always make this stools so awkward to sit on... he thinks to himself, then again, it is called the Human House...
I too will take some mead, if'n ya don't mind.
He thanks the bartender and begins somberly drinking.
-Suzuro
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
Roghar shook his head in disbelief after listening to the story.
- Wierd things you say friend. While I can't say my interactions with worshipers of Bahamut were pleasant, I know enough about that god to see something isn't right here. Actions of that man aren't ones that true worshiper of Platinum Dragon would commit. - he shook his head again before finishing quietly - If he commits those acts of his own will then I think he might be an impostor.
The man from the mists and his Paladins.
"That's if he has a choice in the matter," the bartender started in reply to malek's comment "You see the story goes that the original Attilan was a city where every man was given a single gift, a power of some sort, by Mists supposedly created when Io was split in half to form Bahumat and Tiamat. Now because of this the city was hidden by Tiamat in an effort to hide his shame at the creatures that sometime arose from the mists, while Bahumat protected it, seeing its people's potential for good no one of the outside world even knew of its existence.
So the hidden city remained for countless millennium until one among their number decided to venture out and so was forbidden to return to Attilan for all his days. This man founded a small town to call his own beginning as little more than a home for those who, like himself, were outcasts. This town became known as New Attilan and for a while became a city," he paused for a moment as realized he had gone off in a tangent during explanation of the nature of the paladin "it is not known exactly how but the man used whatever gift he possessed to either woo or save a chosen of Bahumat, stories differ, some even say they married; well anyway the chosen pledged a bloodline of Paladins to protect whomever ruled the city believing it would always be a descendant of the man or even the man himself as some stories claim the mists made him immortal, this sadly was not to be. So it is entirely possible that the Paladin has no choice, not that that excuses him."
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
The pointed hatted man with the tonic water looked up as the bartender finished he had a far away look on his face before he spoke "Desmond, this inn used to be called 'the Inhuman house' before some of Durran's supporters painted over the sign didn't it?" The odd man asked with a knowing smile.
"I knew you'd be the one to bring that up, I know full well you know why even better than me. This building was supposedly the home the man from Attilan built for himself all those years ago,"the bartender answered with a smirk.
"And so long as Bahamut protects the ruler of this place through that Paladin this building can never be destroyed," the young man finished.
"Iye, if you believe old wives tails, I just wish i could keep the damn place clean like my wi... like it used to be," he finished somberly, rubbing his eyes again with the cloth.
The odd man who seemed to almost but not quite brake the fourth wall.
"To answer your question Nemeia, he controls 16 barely trained infantry, 12 guards, four of whom patrol the village borders, four whom protect him and the final four who do his dirty work. Along with three mages of which only one has ever questioned whether or not magic has a color, though another does have an interesting idea for a culinary invention known as the spork. Oh yes and Dorran is quite partial to the color orange, jello and enemies who take long walks off short cliffs... oh and he's not a cat person," the odd man answered quickly in a matter of fact kind of way, looking up from his tonic water with wide eyes.
"How did you...?" The bartender questioned confused at his friend's ramblings.
"I read today's script," The odd man with the pointed hat answered calmly.
"What?" The bartender asked again looking for an actual answer.
"Script, text, writing on paper, I read it on a list that was in that drunken guard's pocket. he didn't seem to notice, the bits about Dorran I added for comedic flair."
"Oh..." The bartender simply said as he tried to make sense of what his friend had said, which was normal as he considered this particular friend to be few gnolls short of a pack.
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
Kiiya looks thoughtfully at the man in the pointed hat. "You seem to be... well-informed. I take it this Durran lives up in the fort? Do his guards and mages spend most of their time there, apart from the four who patrol the village?" She looks warily at the humans in the bar. I wonder how they feel about the Chief Justice...
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
"He's been sleeping in the fort ever since the other half of New Attilan got burned, probably to avoid retribution, knowing the people round here wouldn't need proof. His personal guard takes the night shift off and are replaced by the untrained infantry. The mages from what I heard tend to keep to themselves; they're not exactly the most loyal bunch so if you take by surprise they might just surrender if you promised not to kill them. but anyway if you go through the tunnels you shouldn't have a problem avoiding any Durran supporters or guards roaming the street," The man with the pointed hat answered cheerfully in reply to Kiiya's question.
"And who says that they want to go to that fort?" The bartender asked slightly curious.
"Well with the weapons they're carrying they don't exactly look like they're here to see the sights," the odd man answered with his trademark grin.
"Isn't that right Pip?" He added.
"What?" Pip said looking away from the haggard blond haired man for a moment to see who had called him.
"Shut ups Pip!" Thorgrim barked before returning to trying to convince the blond haired man that Trolls did indeed lay eggs and that he did indeed have one to sell in his pack.
"Exactly," he finished.
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
"Where can we find these tunnels?"
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
- You seem to be awfully willing to share this information... - Roghar remarked - Especially so, considering that we just met.
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
"The tunnels are not to far from here in the basement of one the housing buildings. The place is abandoned but it's connected directly to the fort through a cavern system," The bartender replied in a shushed tone.
"Cavern system that also use to be used as a sewage system," the odd man added with a smirk.
"Stop trying to scare them off!" The bartender replied angrily.
"I can take you there if you want," the odd man asked, using a somewhat serious tone for the the first time.
What do you do?:smallwink:
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
"And who might you be?" Kiiya asks, looking searchingly at the odd man in the pointed hat. "What would you gain from us removing Durran, if we were even willing to contemplate such a risk?"
Maybe better to flee now, rather than walk deeper into the trap. Of course, it's always possible he's telling the truth, or part of it.
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
"Will you at least tell us what the crystal is?"
Re: DnD 4th Ed The 'Outsiders'
"It's the only object of any value that the founder of New Attilan brought with him when he fled Attilan."