Adventurers Needed

[sum1won]

Randolph

Randolph's eyes narrow in response to this last statement.
Yuan-Ti? Do they know the true worth of the prize they hold? We'd best leave as soon as possible if they do, and not much later if they don't.

[tape_measure]

The human snorts, making a sound deeper than it would seem natural, "I doubt seriously the yuan-ti even realize that the creature they have is not even human." A sense of urgency, and frustration, is evident in the man's voice.

"Regardless, time is always of the essence when dealing with a captive." Sheaffer chimes in, "And there's the disappearing dragon to be concerned about. I'm pretty sure Colon has been captured by far more serious foes than the yuan-ti."

From the side, the short, blue goblin speaks up, "I have my suspicions that Rust Belly fled to an ancient cave near Talis Fen." its calm, steady voice is strange to hear coming from a race of creatures known for short, choppy sentences."I also believe that she has something to do with the yuan-ti that have been reported there, too."

The mage Asmodeous speaks up, "Or, rather, that the two separate events have something in common." He nods to Candida who repeats the gesture, "We both have our suspicions that there is a far greater evil brewing in the land. Something that could change the steady balance of the weave."

[Ditto]

Carin

"Whatever the nature of this threat, I'm inclined to agree with our friend in the tabard - Randolph, yes? - that we best collect ourselves and tuck in to this Colon fellow before... well, yes. Is this Greater Threat of direct relevance to our mission? If it is, so to speak, above our pay grade, then it is perhaps prudent that we move to play our part posthaste."

[tape_measure]

Shaeffer nods to you, Carin, as you speak, "Yes, yes. While we have many ideas as to what could be coming, there is no way to know of any threat until it has shown itself." You can see this comment does not sit well with many around the table, though no one speaks to the opposite.

Looking up to shaft of light that beams through the solid rock above you, Shaeffer's brow furrows, "I would not ask that you leave this day. It seems a storm brews from the South and travel will not be pleasant in the least. We can finish our meal, and set out at first light." You have a feeling that these words were more of a statement than a question.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-

You spend the remaining hours of the day as you wish in the Citadel, wondering the halls and listening to the tale of the adventurers that came before you.
Adventurers Story:

Spoiler

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Gathered by the strange gnome Shaeffer, this was the group that found the Citadel of One buried deep within the mountain and time itself. Together, Rimbar - the dwarven leader, Asmodeous - the human mage, Gerbil - the gnomish artificer, Jon - the human hunter, Elias - the human druid, Hrothgar - the human barbarian, traveled East from Sin Rael to this area in search of the lost treasure that is the citadel. Along their travels, they came across a Titan Ogre, a race of ogres long extinct up until that point, who is also looking for the citadel. The description you hear told oddly matches that of the barkeep from the inn.

Putting their powers together, the group ventured on to find the ancient keep of the dwarven race. Thomas, the Titan Ogre, told the group of the last days of the citadel, and how his ancestors had forged a union between the dwarves that remained and Titan Ogres. This union, unfortunately, fell as the last defenses of the citadel crumbled around them. They also found out that this union was closely related to the great split between the clans of the dwarves.

After finding the citadel, the group learned that it had become haunted by ghosts of dwarves stuck in what seemed to be the final battle for their home. Gerbil had gone into great detail about the ghosts of the dwarves and how they fought off a band of orcs that were unlike any other orc ever seen. The group also found that the citadel was now infested with a strange, carnivourous mold that took the life of the traveler Hrothgar.

This was where Mikhail had stumbled upon the group. Sensing the urgency of their mission, and hearing the call of St. Cuthbert, Mikhail was quickly recruited to aid the party in their newly developed quest to clear the citadel.

As the group moved further down the ancient halls, they found that this mold had taken over much of the citadel except for one room; The Hall of Heroes. The Hall of Heroes still stands in the citadel and its walls are lined with the statues of the great dwarven heroes that legends are made of. And, as they delved deeper into the citadel, they found that a necromancer named Birona was behind the mold. He had found the crypts of the citadel to be a nice place to test his new spells of reanimation and the development of the mold. He had even enlisted a local orc tribe to aid him in his unatural quest.

Defeating the necromancer was the first step in clearing the citadel. The group then traveled to a closed off section of the citadel to find that Birona had transformed a room to a summoning circle where the group had encountered an avatar of Asmodeous (the Demon King) and fought it back to the depths of the Abyss.

The story continues for several months about how they cleared the mold with an invention of Gerbil's and how groups of citizens flocked to the Citadel as it opened its doors again after hundreds of years.

As night takes over the land, you see that the young silver dragon has returned to her elven form. She seemed much stronger as the group gathers once more in the Throne Room for dinner that night.

Seated around the table with everyone else, Shaeffer tells a story about his brother and an adventure they had been on as young gnomes heading out into the world. In the story, Shaeffer makes reference of the elf Oros Llewellyn and his half-brother, and how the four of them had stumbled upon a large nest of wyverns. You can get a sense from how Shaeffers speaks of Oros and his brother that there was some hostility between the four, but the story is quickly diverted to other tales as most gatherings like these seem to do.

Hours go by and, one by one, the group disbands for the evening as wine and bread fill stomachs and weigh heavy on eyelids. You find your room as previosuly pointed out to you by Rimbar, and turn in for the night. As you sleep, dreams of the tales you had heard fly through your heads. They give way to the excitement found in adventures, and before you realize, morning has come and the small sound of someone knocking on your door stirs you from your sleep.

Making your way back to the Throne Room, you find a ready and alert Shaeffer standing next to a not-so-ready Rimbar who clutches his head as he pokes at dish of food before him at the table, his crown tilted back on his head. Even the axe at his side that glowed a bright red light is dimmed this morning.

"Good morning one and all!" Shaeffer's voice echoes in the empty hall, "We have breakfast, and when you are ready, I have half of your payment as well as collection of handy items that should help you along the way." His open hand gestures to a smaller table by the fire place that holds six purple bags not bigger than the pouches that you carry yourself.

[ooc]Check out the OOC thread, kids for XP rewards[/ooc]

[Forgotten T.S.]

Parn - The Nightman


Parn listens casually as he stuffs his face with enormous amounts of quality food, only perking up at the mention of treasure and other golden like things. As the group breaks up, he pats his stomach, stashes some quality pieces of food in his backpack, and excuses himself as he takes off.

-------

Parn returns in the morning with a smile and waves to Shaeffer with a cheery good-morning welcome. At the mention of food he instantly starts walking to the tablet... only to turn 180 degrees and head straight for the table of stuff. Getting there he quickly jumps up and snags one of the bags and promptly opens it up for all the treasure that there must be inside!

[Ditto]

Carin

Slicing an apple into his hand, Carin walks with slightly less gusto to Parn's side and scoops up a bag for himself. He plops back into his seat at the table and begins looking into it with the bole of the apple stuck in his mouth.

[tape_measure]

Flipping through the bag, you find it holds much more than you initially realized. Inside, you find; a long rope (length unknown), a small coin purse filled with platinum, a lantern, two small veils with blue liquid in them, flint and steel, a tindertwig, a strange looking rod that resembles a torch...sort of, and small symbol that looks like an eye.

Seating himself at the table, Shaeffer looks about the room as you wander in, "Oh, before I forget. I asked Garzuun and Amon to run an errand for me in Sin Rael. Unfortunately, it is going to take them away from the group for some time." He sits back and watches as the group turns the bags inside out as you look them over. Anyone who takes a look up at Shaeffer will catch a smile across his face as he watches on.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Finishing up the breakfast, Shaeffer escorts the remainder of group to exit of the Citadel. Pushing open the doors, the sunlight causes you blink a few times as you adjust to the morning light. The crowds of people gathering again in the market place seem sluggish this morning, but late spring air is crisp in your lungs.

Moving quickly, Shaeffer leads you to the edge of the settlement before turning to address the group, "And this is where I leave you adventurers. You have your mission; head North East to Talis Fen in search of Colon, and see what information you can gather about Rust Belly's disappearance." his eyes move about the group as he talks, as if asking for questions without words coming from his lips.

[sum1won]

Randolph

After glancing through the bag briefly, Randolph put it in his backpack. The contents were puzzling, but Schaeffer seemed to think that they would be useful, and he wasn't about to doubt the odd gnome's ideas.

The next morning, he showed up, somewhat surprised that only 3 of his new companions were there to meet him. Nevertheless, they would continue with what they had, and hopefully meet the two others before too long.
So, shall we set out as we are, or perhaps obtain some transportation first? I'm in favor of getting there as quickly as possible, so unless all of you can move quickly on your own two feet, I'd like to find an alternate mode of transport.

[Forgotten T.S.]

Parn


His hands dive into the platinum, and within a minute he has it counted down to the piece. Heaving up his bag, he runs over to Shaeffer and throws it down infront of him, "Hey! Hey! What's this stuff... I don't speak magic." He points to the special items inside.

[MammonAzrael]

Skullweaver

Skullweaver shifts though bag's contents, examining them slowly. He looks up in curiosity whey Parn loudly questions Shaeffer about the stranger items.

-------------------------------------------------

Following the gnome the next morning, he feels good to be out from under the ground, and back under the open sky. Surrounded by his new companions, he does not say much. Once they reach the edge of the town and Randolph brings up transportation, Skullweaver shakes his head. "I have yet to find the steed that can bear me any faster than my own feet. And I trust them more, as well."

[Ditto]

Carin

Carin nods appreciatetively at the goliath's bit. "I, for one, will be locating a mount. My feet are not nearly so capable for a week's journey, and locating a pony will greatly speed our progress."

As Parn questions Schaeffer, Carin draws out several items to examine them himself.

Spoiler

Show

Well, let's just see what sticks. I mean, he'll probably just tell us, but it's a good exercise!

Kn: Arcana on...
Blue vials: (1d20+8)[10]
Torch-ish thing: (1d20+8)[13]
Eye symbol: (1d20+8)[18]
Item that is allegedly a tindertwig: (1d20+8)[22]

[tape_measure]

Back inside

Chuckling to himself, Shaeffer picks up Parn's bag and begins rifling through it himself. Holding up the viles of liquid, "These are healing potions, young Parn." He replaces them and retrieves the rod, "This is a sunrod and the bag itself holds more than you can stuff in all of your pockets at one time." He smiles as he draws the string on the bag, cinching it closed once more.

Carin:
As you think back to what Shaeffer had mentioned to Parn right before you left (see above), your eyes solidify the memory. Each of the items seem to be as they were told to be, except for one. The symbol had been skipped over carefully in Shaeffer's explanation, and avoided when asked straightly about it as well. Perhaps there was more to it that needed to be hedged out as you went along (cough).

[Ditto]

Carin

[...]

Having purchased a capable pony and saddled up, Carin sits perched upon his noble steed and still finds his eyeline to be at about the level of Skullweaver's elbow. Shee, at that size doesn't he ever get tired of human-shaped doors?

"Best be off then, team! We will be in touch as we're able. Mr. Schaeffer, and pass along news of our departure when next you hear from our partners. Hyah!" He spurs his pony and sets off on the path to Talis Fen.

[sum1won]

Randolph
Randolph comes in behind Carin leading an incredibly ugly, pibald horse. On seeing the others, he mounts up and gives them a nod.

On the whole, I'd prefer to walk, but I I figure that the faster we get there, the better. Shall we go, then?

[MammonAzrael]

Skullweaver

Skullweaver returns Randolph's nod as he arrives. "Yes, I don't think there is anything left to take care of here. Lets be off, and hope this journey does not take too long." With that he gestures goodbye to Shaeffer and starts after Carin.