Tales of Hibernia IC

[tonberryking]

Carlyn

"Haven't got much use for solitude. I've yet to see enough of the land to pick one place and settle down. Besides, I think Goliath wouldn't like it, would you?

"*Snort*" The horse just looks at Carlyn for a moment and nudges her to keep on brushing, which she shoves back at him for.

"See? Besides, even if there is fighting, I can't help but see it as for a greater good, even if it's violent and hard for one another... In this case, I mean."

[Ipphli]

Aidan

Aidan walks out the gate, leading a horse by a simple hackamore. He smiles as he hears the last of Carlyn's words. "Well then let us hope no fighting occurs, for their sake of course. The others haven't arrived yet?"

[Adeen]

Anthur

With his minor unimportant purchases in hand, he heads towards the gate with Jade, slightly grinning at the thought of the road ahead. He had gotten pretty tired of healing the sick, and while the news may be grim, he is looking forward to a change of pace.

As he arrives at the gate right behind Aidan.
I have arrived, and it is good to see you here. Seeing as how our other two comrades have transport to purchase, we might be waiting just a little bit longer. I am going to rest and try to regain my strength, surprisingly that last battle, as short as it was, took a toll on me. I hope you all are well.

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1 Full minute of concentration/prayer refills my lay on hands ability.

[CullinaneLives]

Cillian

The half-orc arrives at the gate leading a horse that is dwarfed in comparison to its soon-to-be-rider while carrying a small barrel in his other arm.

"Best I could do on short notice. Teastaigh'll suffice, though I don't think he'll win any races with me riding him!" he says with a chuckle as he places the half-keg just behind the saddle and makes sure it will be steady and secure. "Just waitin' on Corley, then?" Cillian inquires.

[Gnorman]

Corley

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While receiving a shave and a trim at the local barber's, you poke around subtly for information about Willoughby and his nephew. Though plenty of customers and staff are abuzz with the news of the attack, very few seem to know the details of the gnomes' relationship. No one seems to indicate that their relationship was out of the ordinary for an uncle and nephew in any way.

[arkol]

Corley Riley, Gnome Beguiler

Corley takes a little longer then expected and weren't for his hat his companions would see that he had a brand new clean hair cut. But even if his new hair could be seen their attention would probably go to his rather strange mount.

It resembles a pig completly covered in black and white fur and it looks like it could tear a lesser man apart by itself but Corley rides it confidently (or at least he tries to pass that idea) to the rest of the party and when he gets there, without stoping he says:

"Well' Let´s go?"

[Adeen]

Anthur

Great! Welcome Corley! And honestly Cillian, I think your mount will suit you just fine for this journey. Now that we're all here and ready to go, let's head out!

Anthur gets up, mounts his horse, and starts heading down the path towards the Abbey.

[CullinaneLives]

Cillian

The half-orc shakes his head, grinning slightly, as he climbs aboard his horse."I suppose we'll find out! Let's get going, then!" And he bumps his heels to his horse and follows the dwarf.

[arkol]

Corley Riley, Gnome Beguiler

The gnome wait for everyone to saddle up and approches the dwarf as he does so. The question he asks him, while clearly directed at the dwarf is made in a way for everyone to hear.

"Did you... tingamagingy Mr. Willoughby? What happened?"

[Adeen]

Anthur

Anthur grins slightly at the gnome's personal terminology of a paladin's divine gift.

Yes my good sir, I ah... ah-hem clears his throat I did attempt to decipher whether or not our employer was leaning more towards the malevolent will of mind. And I can honestly say that I believe he is not evil, and everything he told us is more than likely true. That is, if he told us everything...

[arkol]

Corley Riley, Gnome Beguiler

"Ah well.. my point exactly Mr.... er... do you have a last name?"

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might as well roleplay since no one else is around...

[Tackyhillbillu]

Tilvan pulled himself up on his mount as well, clicking softly to speed the Horse up past Anthur. He'd much rather ride point then follow in the main body. He'd stand a better chance of catching sight of sound of threats that way.

"I'll take point."

[Adeen]

Anthur

Oh, uh Nulzak. Nulzak be my surname, but I would prefer being addressed as Anthur if you don't mind.

Being distracted by conversation, Anthur pays no mind to Tilvan speeding ahead of him.

But I agree Sir Corley, I do believe the councilman had more that he could have told us, it would have been a pointless effort to attempt to squeeze more out of him though.

[arkol]

"Ok then Sir Anthur ... " the gnome turns his head around and speak with a solid and semi-loud voice indicating he's not talking to the dwarf alone

"Let's analize the recent events shall we?"

"So this man knows about a possible Balorite conspirancy correct? And what does he do? He takes it to the most public square in town to hire someone to deal with the delivery of an important message to those most likely to be able to deal with the subject, hiding the true nature of the mission from the ones who will actually carry the mission out.

Strange, but beliveble. But foolish also. The Balorites could already be onto him, and as proved by empirical and unequivocal evidence, they were."

"Had they been smarter or maybe just possesed the right resources (a human spy maybe?) they could have infiltrated the mission, leaving the gnome to think it was being taken care off and then slowly and methodically kill us one by one."

"Make no mistake, we being alive is a mere whim of fate for had whoever lead those Balorites been more... crafty and less... hasty ... we could already be six feet under."

"But now comes the strangest part. Turn out our would-be-employer is nephew to one of the most politicaly powerfull man in the city. And of all things he's willing, and one could even say, eager, to help us carry on with the mission and spread the message about the Balorites.

"Which leads to only one obvious and inescapable question. Why didn't the gnome boy turn to his uncle before trusting such important mission to lady luck on some unknow and maybe not even loyal mercenaries?"

"No sir, that doesn't make any sense at all. So pardon me if I do not feel at ease that your powers (which are strong I don't doubt) didn't detect any "malevolent will" in that gnome"

[Adeen]

Anthur

Being at ease is not an option in these events of course. I have a feeling we may not be entirely safe on this journey, especially after that attack.

Why didn't the nephew turn to his uncle? I have no idea. But it is likely that he and very few others knew what this letter meant, maybe he was in a rush to get the word out and counted on the general populace not being able to figure this out. He probably wouldn't have paid us in advance.

Maybe they weren't even nephew and uncle, although that seems unlikely, given that a dozen or so town guards were able to identify him. Just because this Willoughby isn't evil, does not mean he can be trusted.

Sure, maybe they didn't go about recruitment in the brightest of manners, but we do not know the entire circumstances that he may have been put into.

All I can truly know for sure is that those were evil assassins who worship Balor. And they apparently did not want this letter being delivered. Maybe we are getting way over our heads here, and might be facing some real danger. But in my opinion, whatever those assassins are up to, I have a duty to my goddess and my homeland to ensure that they do no succeed. Payment is but a mere benefit.

[arkol]

Corley Riley, Gnome Beguiler

"All fine points Mr. Nul... er.. Sir Anthur. But you fail on one account, just because your powers don't register Mr. Willoughby as evil doesn't mean he is not.

It just reduces the possibilities. Yes he might be innocent on that acount, or he might just be powerfull enough to magically veil it.

Which takes me to my second point"

The small gnome reaches inside his cloack and takes out a piece of paper, he holds it up and you seem to recognize it as the letter Willoughby nephew had. He holds it up in the air saying nothing for a few moments ãs if creating suspense and then says

"The letter!"

"You see, Mr. Willoughby translation wasn't wrong, but was far from complete..."

[Adeen]

Anthur

That is certainly a distinct possibility that he is evil Sir Corley. Disregarding that, I still have a feeling this letter should reach the Abbey, and we can deal with Willoughby separately hopefully. However, I do not have the proper knowledge or study to decipher the runes on this text, how do you know what they say?

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Sense Motive - (1d20+4)[7]

[arkol]

Corley Riley, Gnome Beguiler


"Ah well I know a thing or two about ancient languages...

Here's what the letter says:

"THE SLEEPING EYE AWAKES."

"THE PROPHECY IS NIGH. LONG-DEAD GODS SHALL LIVE AGAIN AND LIVING GODS SHALL DIE. THE SIX SHALL FIND THE NINE. AND HEROES THEY BE ALL. FOR IF THIS QUEST IS NOT FULFILLED, HIBERNIA WILL FALL."

the gnome says nothing else, letting the obvious sink in into the group.

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I know that using sense motive/bluff between PCs is not the best way to deal with stuff like this but oh well...

(1d20+7)[19]

[Gnorman]

As your conversations keep you company during the journey, the day drags on. You notice that the sun is gradually slipping away, the sky shifting slowly from blue to orange to pink to purple to black, and stars begin to twinkle in the clear night sky.

The weather is clear, the night is relatively warm, and you are on a well-traveled road. You've seen your fair share of tradesmen, merchants, pilgrims, and travelers wandering along, but now the road is conspicuously empty.

Across a wide open field you can see the outskirts of the Connacht Wood, and you can hear faint howling coming from that direction. A few hundred meters in the distance is a farmhouse with a light flickering in the window.

It's been a long day, and you are beginning to feel the fatigue.

[tonberryking]

Carlyn

Finally getting onto the brutish warhorse as they leave, Carlyn seems to have an easy time of riding though the afternoon, though she seems dwarfed on his back, unarmored and slim. Though not very experienced with riding she seems to have the natural talent for it, but discussing the tactics and reasoning of this predicament is not her strong suit. For most of the discussion she leads Goliath along side the others in their conversing, moving around on either side of the road just listening and not really adding in much, but she appears at least to be receptive.

Well, except for one thing:

"Is nine a significant number in, uh, religious matters? I'm with the Trinity and.. well I guess I don't need to explain that one, but what about anything else? A group? A kingdom? ...The calendar?"

If she feels fatigue she and the horse must know how to hide it. Goliath isn't moving along or around the others so fast anymore, but neither he nor his rider seem terribly out of it.

[Adeen]

Anthur

Hmm... the six shall find the nine. Well, there are 9 very highly worshiped deities, both good and evil. That certainly would explain the mention of gods. And of course, these gods aren't the ones who been around since the beginning, those ones are long g...
The Dwarf's voice trails off and he mumbles incoherently a bit.
6 heroes? Huh. Well, the 6 of us are delivering the prophecy to the abbey, but I honestly don't expect to find 9 almighty gods there. And that does seem pretty coincidental, but according to the gods' wills, sometimes it's not a coincidence. Let us not try to breed our egos and think we are chosen heroes here though. I'll try to remember anything about some sort of "prophecy." It may take me a little bit.

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Knowledge, Religion - (1d20+2)[20]
I am really rolling to see if I can uncover anything about this, not just the prophecy, I've already read the history you gave us.

Oh wow, it's getting pretty late, I hadn't even noticed. We got in almost a full day's ride because of that. Does anyone mind if we wrap up and set camp for tonight? Hmm... there's a farm house over yonder, that'd be a possibility of a roof over our heads, but it may be best to leave them be. What do you guys say?

[Tackyhillbillu]

Tilvan remained silent on the subject of religion. He gave the occassional offering to Lir, but his duties were the core of his life. The Priests had told him that such was just fine. The question about the Farmhouse roused Tilvan though. He honestly would rather just stay outside. He'd had enough of such in Teague. He was more comfortable outdoors.

"My vote is for camping here. I'd much rather just bunk down, and sleep for the night, rather then having to explain what we are doing to a Farmer."

Tilvan waited for the others to chip in.

[Gnorman]

Anthur

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Your religious training as a Paladin mentions nine major gods, but it also lends you a familiarity with certain minor gods - the White Lady, a minor deity of undeath, pestilence, and madness; Nuada, the dead god of the hunt, ferocity, and battle; Queen Medb, the ruler of the fey folk; Dian Cecht, a demigod of invention, medicine, and craft; and Goibniu, the patron deity of smiths, metalworkers, and tradesmen.

As far as a prophecy goes, you seem to recall in passing priests and clerics speaking of a time of trials, when Hibernia's very pantheon would experience radical upheaval. If this is indeed the time of prophecy, then the gods will certainly give up their casual indifference and become personally involved with the tribulations to come.

The Six mentioned in the letter could indeed refer to the six of you, but it could also refer to the six formal political bodies of Hibernia: the Dwarven republic, the Elven empire, the Human kingdom, the Gnomish merchant oligarchy, the Goblin theocracy, and the relatively small, but still formally recognized, Halfling tribal alliance from Baighmore.

"The Sleeping Eye awakes" no doubt refers to Balor, whose legendary "evil eye" is well known for its ability to kill with just a gaze. Ever since his defeat at the hands of Lugh and the world-shattering events of Ragnarok over three hundred years ago, Balor is rumored to be biding his time in the temple city of Bal Iobairt. Whether he was truly sleeping or just waiting for the right moment is unclear, but should he rekindle his dreams of domination, Hibernia would indeed be at risk.

EDIT/OOC: New information, Kirrik. Read it again just in case! (That was a good roll.)

[arkol]

Corley Riley, Gnome Beguiler

Corley burrows his head in his cloack, contemplating what the paladin had said. He continued the ride in silence till the farmhouse doted the horizon.

"I would much rather lseep with a roof over my head, but if you all prefer to sleep outside, so be it"

[CullinaneLives]

Cillian

Cillian had been content to let the conversations follow their courses, thinking on how things had changed for him in so short a span of time. While the others may not think they had some destiny, Cillian believed it was his birth-right and why his village sent out represetatives each generation.

As the farmhouse neared and the wolves howled, he perked up and took a renewed interest in his surroundings as opposed to his internal thoughts.

"I, too, am fine sleeping wherever. Perhaps we could speak with the farmer for some feed for the mounts," he looks at Corley and his big badger, "Aside from your mount, I think. It'd probably scare the hells out of the livestock. Plus there's the smell." Cillian chuckles as he waves a hand in front of his face.

[Gnorman]

Cillian

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Though most of the prophecy doesn't make much sense to you, the phrase "Dead gods shall live again" resonates strongly. You're almost certain that it refers to Nuada - you haven't come across any mention of other dead gods in your studies as a cleric.

[tonberryking]

Carlyn

"Hmm... Anyone know if it'll rain? That's what gets me indoors, really." Carlyn doesn't seem bothered by the sound of wolves; they'll be sorry if they try to eat her horse. I bet we could find a nice big tree with longs of branches to sleep under around here... maybe roast a fish with a campfire..." Her stomach complains. "Or.. um..maybe the farmers have something readily on hand they'd be okay sharing with us...."

[CullinaneLives]

Cillian

The half-orc nods agreement. He sidles his own mount up next to the paladin. "You seem an amiable fella. Maybe you should take the head and get things started. If necessary, I'll be willing to share some of the brew," Cillian adds with a pat to the keg behind him.

[Tackyhillbillu]

Tilvan shrugged at Carlyn's question, and pointed up at the sky.

"It's clear at the moment."

OOC: Will edit.

(1d20+7)[25] Survival Roll to predict Weather.

[Adeen]

Anthur

Anthur chuckles slightly at the half-orc's remark. Why thank you Sir, I appreciate the offer. Let us approach the farm house then, and let fate decide whether or not we deserve hospitality. I will tell you all what I know of the prophecy once we are settled. With his ending statement, the dwarf heads across the field at a slot trot.