The Gavisoria Games (IC)

[Galathir]

Norvartis takes a final sip of tea and smiles as he turns to Alwynn.

"Even if I possessed the power to read your mind, I would not do so. Your volition and privacy will remain unconditionally your own."

[Serpentine]

"Oh, it's not necessarily my privacy I'm worried about", he sparkles.

[chrisrawr]

With a slantwise glance at Alwynn, Vinto places his hand on the stone as well. If a dragon wanted to help him out from time to time, well, so be it.

[GrassyGnoll]

Sanfeng presses a finger against the flattened globe, scowling.

"It has taken many years of gung fu to sculpt this vessel. I do not trust fleeting, arcane means to power lightly."

The orc bows his head and grumbles, "Neither am I so rude as to refuse a gift..."

[Jarian]

Taking one last glance around the table, Janen presses her hand to the globe.

[Galathir]

After you all place your hands upon the Orb, Norvartis covers them with his own hand. The ritual itself is rather anti-climatic. You each feel a faint ripple of energy from from the Orb pass up your hand and through your body and then a moment of pure silence. Norvartis withdraws his hand and sits back.

"Well, it is completed. I will consider you as my Avatars and I have bestowed upon each of you five favours with which you may call upon my assistance when needed. Use them wisely for my power is not unlimited and performing the ritual is more draining then it might appear."

"Now, unless any of you have any business that you need to complete, I will direct you to your first goal."

OOC: Ritual Details

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Avatar of Norvartis

Languages: You can communicate telepathically with Norvartis at a range of 100 miles.

Favour of Norvartis (Su): At the conclusion of the ritual, you are granted five favours. You can spend any number of favours as an immediate action to gain one of the following benefits.

- Energy immunity: You can spend a favour to gain immunity to fire with a duration of 10 minutes.

- Frightful Presence: You may spend a favour to gain frightful presence with a range of 150 feet. Whenever you charge or attack, creatures that have fewer Hit Die then you must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 HD + Cha modifier) or become shaken for as long as they remain within range. A creature that successfully saves can not be affected by the same frightful presence for 24 hours.

- Draconic Flight: If you clasp hands with at least one other Avatar and each spends one favour, you all gain fly speed 200 ft. (poor) for as long as you continue holding hands.

- Insight of Norvartis: An Avatar may spend a favour to tap into the draconic wisdom that flows through the mind of Norvartis. Doing so provides a glimpse of the possible future - enough to grant a +4 bonus on the Avatar's next saving throw or next attack roll.

- Sanctum's Return: You may spend two favours to use word of recall. Your sanctuary is the entrance chamber of the High Citadel of Corvantia.

- Sanctum's Rebirth: If you take damage that would reduce you to -10 hit points, you can instead spend all your remaining favours (at least one) to instantly return to the entrance chamber of the High Citadel of Corvantia, unconscious and with 0 hit points.

[Serpentine]

Alwynn rubs his hand.
"Oooh, tingly!"

[chrisrawr]

"...The power to subvert death... I know you asked me not to take this lightly, but YOU HAVE THE POWER TO SUBVERT DEATH! " An extremely flustered Vinto paces furiously back and forth, throwing his arms in the air to punctuate his ill-advised rant. "The children I can't reach in time - their lives are on your hands! The victims of theft gone wrong, of plague and famine and war - THEY COULD BE HERE IF YOU'D DONE SOMETHING! ANYTHING! WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THEY DIED?!"

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Writing this is extremely awkward, because Vinto and I are on opposite scales of the naivete ladder when it comes to games of power (at least in theory - I can't actually challenge the gods. <.<;;) Right now he's going through all the questions and ethical doubts I first had when worrying over just what exactly a powerful Wizard or Politician should do, given so much leeway over the powers of life and death. It's like seeing myself as an angsty tween huffing and puffing about at the injustices of the world.

[Serpentine]

Arwynn leans back in awkward surprise, and watches Vinto pace with eyebrow cocked.
"Considering - as far as I'm aware - he is not omnipresent, I imagine he was busy being not in their immediate viscinity. And then there is the matter of his "not unlimited" power..."
He stands up and goes to give Vinto a comradery slap on the shoulder.
"Come, lad. You have been given an opportunity to help this poor, unomnipotent creature do good! Will you look a gift-horse so deep in the mouth you'll come out the other end?"

[GrassyGnoll]

Sanfeng stifles a bark of laughter. When it becomes clear the gweilo is not talking out of jest, the orc stands tall.

"This favour, its good pales before the salvation of death!"

The mountainous monk interposes himself between Vinto's pacing. Sanfeng demonstrates his savage grasp of authority by grabbing the man's flailing arms together in the palm of one hand.

"A world of unending life is an unnatural dream. Power heeds only its increase! How many enslaved and broken wretches might be denied their own end? Their suffering and labor prolonged by dragon lords. The chronically ill and inconsolable, their only prescription can be death. All this world is fleeting, it is a mercy that pain ceases as well."

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Mechanically, Sanfeng automatically makes the touch attack (except on a 1?). Vinto is unarmed and cannot make attacks of opportunity. Fluffwise, it's heavily implied Sanfeng euthanized his late master. He's also from a monastery heavily populated by orphans of the Gavisorian mines.

[Jarian]

Janen sits in quiet contemplation for a time, considering this new power. At last she speaks, her voice reverent. "Show me the path, master Norvartis, and I will gladly walk it in your name."

[Galathir]

Norvartis looks with patience at Vinto, but a concerned looks glances across his face. He stands silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and then in a soft deep voice, addresses him.

"Peace, Vinto. I fear you mistake my gift for something it is not. I am not a deity and strong as I may seem, my power is woefully limited. I have nearly drained myself to grant this small favour to just the four of you. If I could assist all those who needed my help, I would gladly do so, but I possess neither omnipotence nor omnipresence. I dare not take the place of Robin nor attempt to circumvent his rule. Not all who die, die in vain and it is not for the likes of us to judge the workings of Robin's intentions. Besides, it is not my place to decide if you should live or die. Through my gift, I offer you the option, I do not require it. Not all death is unwelcome and for many, it is even wished for. Who am I to meddle in such affairs?"

He looks down at the floor and with obvious sorrow on his face, he again addressed Vinto.

"However, I feel your pain, more then you can know. You are not the only person in this room to have lost dear friends. However disturbing it may seem at present, and how unsatisfactory might seem my response, please understand that I do indeed have the greatest good for the land in mind. The force for good that you will become will prevent the needless deaths of many more then I could avert with my own weak strength. But I do not ask you to forget the deaths of those you know. From our perspective all death is a tragedy, but let them not die in vain. Those you have been unable to save are a memory now and while it may not mean much to some of us, to others, it encompasses all that they have ever known. Yes, they are a memory now, but it is a memory that must live forever in the hearts and minds of those gathered here today. It is a memory that will give us the resolve to bring retribution to those responsible. It is a memory that brings to mind everything that we stand for, and what we stand against!"

Norvartis remains silent for a few seconds and then sits back down.

"I hold no displeasure with you and you can always speak your mind with me. I seek only to give you the tools to further yourselves and your missions. I will give you what assistance I can, but it is to Robin that we ultimately trust."

[chrisrawr]

Vinto struggles quite uselessly in Sanfeng's grip, the impassioned fire in his eyes slowly softening into regret, then bitter shame. He averts his gaze, unable to look the others' faces. Robin's a bitch...

[GrassyGnoll]

Sanfeng releases Vinto. His heavy hand rests on the cleric's shoulder. The massive orc pats his fiery companion on the square of his back and sighs.

"You'll do right by myself and many others. It is as Master Zhongyan admonished me, 'All we do merely tarries nature.' I do not believe he had met a man of your conviction. That is my fortune."

[Serpentine]

Alwynn nods at Norvatis as he says his peace, and waits for Sanfeng to say his. Then he swoops up Vinto in a big spinning bearhug with a broad grin on his face.
"Oh, the idealistic naivette of youth! Isn't it glorious!" he crows. "Hold onto it, my boy. It's beautiful!"

[Galathir]

"Well then, I suppose you are ready to begin."

He reaches inside his tunic and pulls out a tattered faded parchment that had been folded into a tight square. He moves aside a few tea cups and then unfurls the paper revealing a map of the region. Reaching a finger down, he points to a small dot in the upper right side of the map.

"This marks the location of this Citadel. And this," he says as he drags his finger southwest "is your first goal. It will take you about six days travel if you make good time. Of course the storms and rains will take their toll and who knows what manner of foul beasts will stumble across your path. I am not sure what trials will await you inside the ruin, but I trust that warriors of your calibre will win through. Now, there are several hours of daylight remaining if you wish to leave immediately. Otherwise, if you have tasks remaining, I would urge you to start at first light tomorrow."

[chrisrawr]

Unsure how to respond to the bursts of affection greeting his embarrassing performance, Vinto shuffles his feet as he listens to Norvartis. A tiny bit of his earlier flame at the mention of making haste. Still not trusting himself to speak, he glances furtively from face to face, trying to show his wish for haste with each small gesture.

[Jarian]

Janen regards the others with a critical eye.

"Storms do not bother me, master Norvartis. I would simply fly above the clouds, should they begin to pose a problem. If we are meant to travel together, however..." She looks over the others again, noting a distinct lack of flying appendages. "Well. Not everyone can be touched by the Ancients. It is no fault of their own. Still, do you, perhaps, know of a local man of Robin's faith? With some divine assistance, we may be able to shorten the journey considerably, and bypass the inconvenience of the storms altogether."

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Clerics of Robin can grab one of the domains that grant Teleport, right?

I mean, it is supposedly an important task... I would hope Norvartis could spare 450 gp or so.

[Serpentine]

Alwynn sparkles a mysterious grin at Janen as she appraises everyone.
(just how careful is that appraisal, by the way?)
"Personally, I prefer the ground - much more interesting - but I don't mind."
He ponders for a moment.
"I don't mind leaving right away, but... Norvartis, could I ask a favour while we're gone? Could you keep an eye out for... well, for a woman, unknown age, pure white hair, perfect blue eyes... unearthly beauty, sweetest temperament beyond compare, blah blah blah, that sort of thing." He trails off a little embarrassedly.

[Galathir]

"I think you find yourself in good company Vinto. I think the others share your desire for haste."

"Unfortunately, I fear that we will find no clerics with the skill that you seek. If I possessed the power, I would not be content to let you wander the path on foot, but I must confess I am wholly unable to contrive a plan to ease the journey. Unless your ingenuity is greater than my own, I fear you must indeed toil along under your own power."

He grins as he looks at Alwynn.

"I shall indeed keep my eyes open for such a person as you seek though I must urge you not to return with too many expectations. But should such a person come into my notice, you shall be the first to know."

[GrassyGnoll]

Sanfeng shakes his head. The orc takes a step towards the door. He produces a waterskin from his coat and sloshes its tepid contents around.

"The wastes are not so harsh. A waterhole and spot of rations will do. If you'll leave me to my errands, I will meet you at the south gate this evening."

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Don't mean to get RP intensive. Sanfeng will just fill his waterskin, buy 20 days of trail rations and retrieve his greataxe.

[Jarian]

"Very well, if that is how the task must be performed, it will be so, master Norvartis. With your leave, I will begin my preparations immediately."

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I don't have much that needs doing, but I suppose I'll pick up a backpack and 20 days of cheap hobo food trail rations.

[Serpentine]

"Excellent! Much obliged, my good drake! I suppose I shall also fetch a few things, say a few goodbyes, and then be off..."

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Shall get rations and sweets (and I guess I'd better actually finalise my equipment <.<), and kiss some girls.

[chrisrawr]

"I'll see to the others' needs, then," Vinto sighs. He didn't need much himself - He'd long ago managed to grab hold of some 'trinkets' that had allowed him to sustain small villages through troubled times, and to keep himself alive in places where food and water are scarce. They were some of his most jealously guarded possessions, and he'd worked hard to keep them safe all these years.

He begins an awkward shuffle after the others, trying to catch up while appearing casual, not wanting to seem put-off by the day's events. Needless to say, he fails miserably in his attempts, but manages to query the needs of his new companions, and offer his services. "Aches? Pains? Old breaks set improperly? There's very wrong with a body that I can't fix," he intones, perhaps a bit proud - though he'd never admit to it. "If you need money for supplies, I've saved up quite a bit - my needs are few on the road, but good horses can be a burden to upkeep." From someone else, such attentions might soon become wearisome, or irritating - "No, I'm fine, no thanks, I've got money, yes I know the weather can be harsh, would you please stop bothering me" - but Vinto's youthful, awkward smile, his pleading eyes, and the genuine interest and compassion in his voice somehow combined to make you feel at ease; someone cared, and they were there if you needed anything.

[Serpentine]

Alwynn grins broadly at Vinto and drapes a friendly arm over his shoulders.
"Then I shall depend on you, love, to keep me pretty! Care to keep me company whilst I tie up a few loose ends? I'll get you a present" he winks.

[Galathir]

You go about your various activities and finish purchasing your supplies for the trip ahead. Loaded up with miscellaneous rations, you meet at the south gate a few hours after departing the company of Norvartis. It remains a clear beautiful day and the setting sun gives a cheery glow to the city as if trying to give you a good omen for the coming adventure. The moon and a few of the brightest stars are visible on the opposite horizon and while a faint chill is settling on the ground following the dimming of the sun, it promises to be a comfortable night with enough light to easily follow the path. Perfect for a walk into what could potentially be enemy territory.

With Norvartis's directions in your mind, you take the main south road for a mile or so, and then turn onto a smaller dirt path which, as it meanders around hills and brooks, heads generally eastwards. By the time you reach this road, referred to by the locals as Aukamp Lane, night has well and truly fallen but the moon has risen high enough that you are able to find your way along the trail without artificial light. The path is obviously travelled but infrequently: while plain and smooth, it is often obscured by tall grasses and small shrubberies. Occasional branches and fallen trees create minor obstructions, but nothing that delays you for more then a few minutes.

A faint breeze rustles through the forests surrounding you. A few crickets chirp their farewell to the departing summer and as you pass, you startle the occasional rabbit, mouse, fox, and other small animals. Far away from any source of illumination, the stars seem close and heavy, almost seeming to hover within jumping distance. The air is heavy with the calm of late summer and laced with just the first crisp hint of coming autumn. Once in a while, while passing through a particularly low valley, the cooling air causes your breath to condense as you exhale, but your steady pace generates enough warmth to keep you from feeling the evening chill.

It is the perfect time to be alone in your thoughts and the dim, shadowy figures of your friends seem almost a phantom of child-like make-believe. The cool air swallows up your footsteps giving the impression that you are walking through a dream. The darkness allows your mind to relax and sink into a type of subconscious while at the same time, remaining alert and thoughtful. The night passes almost outside of time as you pace your measured steps with the practised stride of a seasoned adventurer. Largely occupied by your own thoughts, you are almost surprised when you see the first dim spark of the new day kindling a glow of eager anticipation over the horizon before you. A single wren beings a glorious song and is quickly joined by another and then you hear the chirping of a robin as it adds its voice to the chorus. Morning is about to break and the potential of a fresh new days lies before you.

[Serpentine]

Alwynn spends the night alternating between enjoying the fine surroundings in silence, and trying to get to know his companions.
Questions he'll put to pretty much everyone (and answer himself, regardless of whether anyone seems interested) include: Where are you from? ("A smallish town on a plateau from which you could see the whole sunrise and sunset.") What was it like there? ("Mostly grew flowers for honeybees. My father was a bookmerchant, you know. It was a pleasant place...") Did you have a sweetheart back there? ("Isobella was my first and sweetest love. I gave her my prettiest rattle... She hit me over the head with it. She was a little immature...") What brought you to the city? ("Family is important, don't you think?") What did you think of the dragon? ("I thought he was beautiful. You know they live for thousands and thousands of years? The things they must see! The music they must hear!") What did you like most about the city? ("I liked everything") Wasn't it beautiful? ("I think it was beautiful.") Weren't the people beautiful? ("Oh, their silks and the spring in their steps...") Anyone there especially catch your eye? ("Oh, but how could I choose between them? Such glorious butterflies... Not least among them being yourself, my dear scale-winged angel ") Wasn't the food nice? ("Perhaps a touch on the bland side for the most part...") What's your favourite food? ("I prefer mine with a bit of... bite.")
...and so on and so forth.
When he notices light hit the sky Alwynn pauses and scratches his head.
"...huh. Dawn already? Oh dear. Shall we push on all day regardless, or should we get some rest and try to improve our timing subsequently?"

[chrisrawr]

Vinto is torn between running himself to the ground with exhaustion, and finding a nice rut in the ground to collapse in. Alwynn's questions and banter help keep his spirits up, as the man's store of optimism seems boundless.

"I'm from a port village, our only real export was quarry rock, so we only got barges and stay-overs. It was... bleak. Free, though. My family was large by the time I came into it, and couldn't spare much time away from the stone-pit to keep an eye on me.

My mother always managed to keep the girls away from me, I suppose. I never saw the point of it, myself. Romance, I mean. Yes, yes, I'll take your word for it, Alwynn. I'm sure it's amazing, it's just... not for me, I suppose. The dragon was... presence-ful. Like there's more of him than can fit just in the present, so a little slips between the cracks. No, I don't know what I mean by that, it's just how it felt. The city itself? I suppose it was alright.

There weren't many in need, that I could find - and I've grown a bit accustomed to how a city's uncared-for tend to cluster, out of sight. I agree, butterflies are an excellent example of the city's patrons! Splashed colour against the marble and stone. Favourite food? Is that... can you do that? I could never choose between them all."

After a while, though, the sun's rays register the length of their journey - Vinto calls out to the others, "Perhaps we should make camp now, get some rest. We'll carry on at mid-morning, and then get a proper sleep on morrow's nigh'?"

[Jarian]

"I am the last of the last, a remnant of a remnant..." Janen says wistfully, in response to the question of her origins. "Once, not so long ago in the histories of men, people such as I were almost commonplace, but the Awakening... it takes fewer and fewer, and no more have manifested the signs since my birth. My village was once renowned for its devotion to the Ancients; now I doubt it is even mentioned on a map."

After a while, she continues answering Alwynn's questions. "The duties of a Chosen in their youth do not lend themselves to finding love. I thought for a time that perhaps there would be one who could share my affections, but in the end, he understood my duties and needs as little as the rest.

"I have traveled much of the world, master Alwynn. Coming to this city was but one step in a journey of many thousands. I could not say what drew me here any more than I could say why I so readily agreed to make you three my companions for this task. There are simply things I know to be right, things that must be done. I do not question the insight of the Ancients.

"Norvartis was... how to explain to one not like myself?" She considers for a moment, then continues. "Have you ever dreamed of something in such detail that you knew it was real, something so wonderful it seems to complete you? And upon waking, have you felt the sadness that comes with realizing that it was all just a figment of your imagination? My entire life has been thus, until I met master Norvartis. Words cannot express the joy I now know, to have finally met with one of the Ancients, to know that they are as noble and wise as the histories say."

Janen passes over the mention of the city with the merest of shrugs, uninterested in architecture or the local populace, no matter how refined. She regards Alwynn with a curious glance at the mention of "scale-winged angel", but otherwise seems to pay the comment no heed.

At the mention of the new day, Janen turns to regard the sunrise, staring unblinkingly at the horizon for a long minute. "If you are weary, then you should rest, friends," she says at last, turning back to the group. "But remember well the importance of our task, and that we are not alone in our journey to complete it."

[Serpentine]

Alwynn waits to see what the last member of our little troupe thinks.

(retroactive conversation)

The duties of a Chosen in their youth do not lend themselves to finding love. I thought for a time that perhaps there would be one who could share my affections, but in the end, he understood my duties and needs as little as the rest.

Ah, love of duty! Not my personal choice, but beautiful and tragic nonetheless!"