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  1. - Top - End - #91
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    BlackDragon

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    Stepping away from the god's husk Angela nods to Berenike's offer. "It would be rude of me to refuse not to join you for the night, especially with the offer of a feast such that you describe. So you can count on me to accompany you."

    Looking to Cheiros she gives a slight smirk "Of course if you don't feel like staying up all night, as I'm sure you'll need to spend some time for your spells, I will take a shift thanks to my ring allowing me to need to sleep only for 2 hours instead of 8. My eyes might not be as sharp as Alcaeus's at times, but then they are better then some."

    "Words ought to be chosen with greater care then either clothing or weaponry. For they can last much longer than the former, and cut deeper than the latter."

    -Doomraga's Revenge by T.A. Barron

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  2. - Top - End - #92
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    BlueWizardGirl

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    Default Re: Climbing Mount Olympus (IC)

    Cheiros nods slowly. By the time he has risen, the marks from Ares' spear and shield are gone.

    "My hounds and I will be pleased to keep watch, and I would welcome your company, Angela. And Berenike, I would be pleased to partake of this meal with you, as we have done in the past, and if it is acceptable, I will invite Hestia to join us as well."

    He looks around the corner where the wolf had disappeared a minute ago, and she comes trotting out.

    "It would be well to make the secrets among us fewer. Hestia is no mere wolf, but my wife, Hestia. Both of us have undergone many changes in our long lives, as I'm sure many of you can understand."

    He nods at the wolf, and it transforms into a wizened grey-skinned creature with small wings, a scorpion-like tail, and a thick silver necklace. The creature, barely taller than a monkey, bows slightly to the great assembled heroes. The voice that comes out is cultured and formal, a strange contrast to the fiendish shape.

    "My apologies for not staying to assist in battle. I am not much one for fighting, I'm afraid. I hope that you will not object to my company."
    "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut

  3. - Top - End - #93
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    Damien is quiet, and he remains quiet as the kings and heroes speak. He stands there, still, his blade held gently in one hand, the tip of the massive, magical blade resting on the earth. He is looking down, down at the body. It is not the husk of a god, not the broken form of Ares; no, it is the violently murdered corpse of a guard, a man who was doing his best to protect his liege and his heroes.

    Damien looks at his blade, and the blood that is already drying and flaking away, repelled by the ancient power of the adamantine. He looks down at the guard, and in his heart a dark, ugly rage is kindled. He grips his sword more firmly, his knuckles popping, and the air around him begins to grow warmer. "Ares." He speaks without meaning too, and his voice is filled with both anger and resolution. "You have always held my respect, Ares, despite all the horrible things you have done in the name of war and slaughter. I have looked up to you, worshiped you, respected you, and in return you have attacked me through a puppet, like a coward. What is worse, you choose an honest, good man to be your intermediate, ensuring that he would die if we overcame you."

    Damien does not raise his voice, but it is firm, and the terrible rage just inside of him cuts through the murmurs of the crowd like a knife. He flicks his greatsword once, and the mighty blade is freed of the guardsman's blood. He sheathes his sword in a smooth, fluid motion, and then he kneels down, gentle, lifting the body of the guard. "You deserve a pyre, friend, one that we have no time to properly construct. You deserve a funeral, a service to commemorate your honor, but such an event would be just another opportunity to strike out at us. You deserve more than I can give you, but I will say this: I will give you revenge."

    He then takes a single step, and his foot falls onto the air as if it were firm ground. He walks, at a steep angle, up into the sky, out above the incline of the hill. Damien looks up into the sky, and he calls out, his voice booming and filled with anger. "I will take revenge on you, Ares. You are my god no longer. You will receive no worship, no praise. I will not call on your name in battle, and I will not celebrate you in victory. You slaughtered this man, and you did it in a way that gave him no chance to fight back. No way to defend himself. It was a coward's act, Ares, but he died a hero. He deserves a hero's pyre."

    And then Damien explodes into a massive conflagration, a hundred and twenty feet across, a ball of fire so hot and bright that it lights the hill like the noonday sun. The fire is one of many colors, shifting through many pattern, a mighty globe that rivals the Chariot of the Sun. After a moment the fires fade, and it takes several long seconds before the crowd's night-eyes have returned. When they do, Damien is descending, and a single scorched coin lies in his hand. "I will give Ares the same pyre, but it will not be out of respect. It will be to erase him from this world and from Olympus, so his evil can never touch another honest man again."

    He looks to Berenike, and his eyes seem to be a score of years older than the rest of him; he has ancient eyes, eyes that have seen and accepted more pain and death than most men do in their entire lives. "I will lead us, Daughter of Athena, straight to the throne of Olympus. Ares does not speak for the other gods, and until they raise their hands against us I will not speak ill of them, nor cast idle threats upon them. I will say this, however. Ares will not be replaced in my mind, nor my heart. I have no god now, and I do not need one."

    Damien looks at the burned, melted coin in his hand, and he grips it tightly. He looks to Agamemnon, and his eyes speak volumes. His look is a rebuke, the look a scornful parent might give a child, the look of a teacher when a student has been acting foolish. Damien says nothing. He just looks, and then he looks away, dismissive of the petty king. "We have wasted enough time here, and it is a risk to you all to gather together so closely; it makes a fine target for a vengeful god. Go, now. Go to your armies and your homes. We will retire, as Berenike proposed, and in the morning we will seek our retribution."
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  4. - Top - End - #94
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    The kings nods and agree with both Jason and Odysseus. Agamemnon giving Queen a sour look.

    Menalius and his twin king Leonidas look down at the husk and the slightly molten steps that have got deep indentations and bubbles where divine blood has fallen. "To see a God fall. That would have been a sight." mutters the wiser of the Spartan Kings.
    The fat and bearded one moving to kick the dead body. As he reaches for his kilt muttering "I said I would piss upon the face of the Gods..." but before he can enact on the promised degradation Damien spirits the body away and the dark sky is lit with a great rolling ring of fire that blooms like the awakening of Apollo himself.

    A fitting end for one so cursed a quiet lilting voice says beside Cherios and Mopsus as both look to see a women, worn by the years and face shielded by a heavy cloth with tears of blood trickling down her face. Cassandra- chosen of Apollo and priestess of Troy. Take care seer and lord amidst the dead. There is only islands of blood and fire in your"

  5. - Top - End - #95
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    BlueWizardGirl

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    Default Re: Climbing Mount Olympus (IC)

    Cheiros

    In the eastern realms, Cheiros had seen enough of prophets and soothsayers - both fakirs and fakers - to give Cassandra's words his attention. He pulls out a clean grey cloth and offers it to her, a sop for her tears.

    "I do appreciate the warning, Cassandra, and share your foreboding. I suppose that I should be relieved that they are only islands and not the entire world, but it is a sobering image. You stopped yourself before completing your vision, though. Blood and fire in our...what?"
    "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut

  6. - Top - End - #96
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    BlackDragon

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    Assuming that Hestia doesn't have anyway to deter True Seeing from my mask

    Looking at the wolf as it transforms into its 'true' form (if you can call your bodies physical form as opposed to the spirit's true), it doesn't surprise her as her mask was able to penetrate most if not all illusions including transformation magic. She has seen this wolf before in the past with the necromancer, but never has she heard that the creature was actually his wife. This tremendeously softens her heart towards the man she once couldn't trust as far as she could throw him, only in that even after death and undeath his wife is still willing to travel with him. Returning her bow, though probably not as deeply, Angela also uses her wings to 'embellish' some with more grace then she normally puts into such an act towards non-royalty.

    "You are indeed welcome to join us Hestia, I thought that my mask saw something different about you in the past, but didn't wish to intrude. It is now that I see that it was indeed the correct path to follow. As for your reasons, I'm sure that your husband wouldn't of wished you to endanger yourself as is the way most mates are. I wouldn't of wanted to ask you to do more then you are capable."

    Giving quick glances over to some of her fellow heroes, especially Berenike and Cheiros she decides to voice her thought.

    "Would it be right, if at all possible, to give this man a second chance at life? Is there a way to spite Hades who has wronged many of us as of late to bring this man's soul back?"

    But even as she spoke, Damien took the body with his own plans. Damien started shouting to the heavens with his declaration to never follow another god or goddess again now that he has lost all respect for Ares. Looking up to the sky as he initiates the flaming sphere pyre for the body so very much like the sun, Angela couldn't help but wish to herself that she doesn't lose her connection to Artemis in the same way. Finally she bows her head and offers her own prayers to the fallen warrior.

    "To of been used in such a manner is an un-honorable act, especially for the gods that wish to get rid of us yet use us rather then present themselves to battle. I know not what sort of person you were in life, but no person deserves to die by being used as a pawn while the controller is too cowardly to show his real face. If you have a family, a wife or children, I wish to personally find them to tell them we will avenge you for what has happened. I hope that you make it to the Elysian Fields, as you don't deserve Tartarus."

    Bringing her head back up, she straightens her tunic and gets to thinking about what she said. This man, could of had a family, and died while doing his job but not of his choice. How is that fair, where if it was a fight he picked, or a disease his body couldn't fight off at least he could of tried.

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    Edit:
    Originally typed up that I knelt next to body that was carried away by Damien, edited so that I bowed my head instead. Just a quick fix.
    Last edited by Igneel; 2012-04-02 at 02:21 PM.

    "Words ought to be chosen with greater care then either clothing or weaponry. For they can last much longer than the former, and cut deeper than the latter."

    -Doomraga's Revenge by T.A. Barron

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  7. - Top - End - #97
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    BlueWizardGirl

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    Default Re: Climbing Mount Olympus (IC)

    Cheiros purses his lips, and looks a bit nervously at Damien, and also back at the funeral pyre for the oracle.

    "It might be possible for me to offer some aid, although Berenike may have more to say about this. Perhaps it might be somewhat useful to not incinerate the remains. Much as I laud and honour Damien's sentiments."
    "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut

  8. - Top - End - #98
    Colossus in the Playground
     
    lostsole31's Avatar

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    Berenike observes the incredibly emotional series of displays, but holds her own. Not coldly, but resolved nonetheless. "No, Cheiros. He died honorably, and deserves the pyre that he may have his body in .... where he goes."

    Berenike looks at Cheiros with an edge of sadness that is easily overlooked by the more outspoken in the party, and then looks over at Angela as the Amazonian is in her speech. Berenike seems like she is about to make a correction, but does not.

    No, she thinks to herself, a victim is not a hero because we want to make him so. And the cowardice of the engineer of his death does not vault whatever life Knossos may have had to honorable unless he simply was in his life, not his death. He didn't die a fantastically heroic death, but just that of a simple soldier at the wrong place and time. Hades, not Elysium, has him now. He'll need his body else he truly will be nothing but a shade. Better to let them have their hope and sentiment ...

    She smiles the smile of one not in joy, but finding resolve. "Yes ... Yes! Let us give Knossos a warrior's end on the pyre, that he may have the form to enjoy the meadows and foods of the garden.

    "Agamemnon, he was yours, and I ask you to do him this honor, and for his family. But our mission cannot be delayed."
    Last edited by lostsole31; 2012-04-02 at 12:29 PM.
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  9. - Top - End - #99
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    BlueWizardGirl

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    Cheiros looks with confusion at Berenike, wondering if perhaps she does not understand what happens to the dead. But this was neither the time nor the place for such talk. But no - Cheiros remembered what Berenike had managed to do for Alcaeus and Leon in the battle against Agatha. So...well, Cheiros was no seer, and it was neither possible nor necessary to understand the actions of others at all times.
    "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut

  10. - Top - End - #100
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    BlackDragon

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    "Yes, we should be focusing more on the mission at hand. We don't have time to cry over a soldier that died doing his duty. I don't know what came over me. Shall we get going?"

    "Words ought to be chosen with greater care then either clothing or weaponry. For they can last much longer than the former, and cut deeper than the latter."

    -Doomraga's Revenge by T.A. Barron

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  11. - Top - End - #101
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    Damien nods to Angela, and as he does he draws his oaken quarterstaff from his cloak. "We have honored the fallen as best as we can, given the circumstances around us. Let us depart, as Berenike suggested."

    He then walks over to Cheiros and Hestia, giving the latter a formal bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you, milady, and I look forward to becoming your acquaintance."

    He shifts his attention to Cheiros, inquisitive. "I have a few questions about Death, and I can think of few others who might understand them as well as you. If it is no trouble, may I ask on the subject later?"
    Last edited by RaggedAngel; 2012-04-02 at 03:51 PM.
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  12. - Top - End - #102
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    Hestia bows formally to the young warrior.

    "You honour an old woman with your kindness, sir. Compared to this old ball of mud -"

    She glances over at Cheiros with a roll of her eyes.

    "-I'm certain that your acquaintance will be as sunshine in a fountain."

    Cheiros grimaces. Clearly, this was not the first time that he had heard such an exchange. Nor, perhaps, one of the first hundred times.

    "I am saddened to hear that you have been forced to contemplate such a sad topic, Damien, but it is one that weighs heavily on me as well. It would be my great honour to speak of such things - perhaps tonight, at watch?"
    "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut

  13. - Top - End - #103
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    Damien finds himself grinning at the exchange, despite the sadness of recent events; there was no love in the world like that of an old couple bickering. "That sounds excellent, elder. I need little sleep these days, and I can go without any with but a small bit of effort."

    He sighs, and when he speaks again his voice is far more hesitant than usual. "I... do not wish to offend, elder, but I feel I must know for tactical reasons. It is said that you have the power to bring animation to fallen forms. Do you currently have any such, ah, creatures in your employ?"
    Last edited by RaggedAngel; 2012-04-02 at 03:51 PM.
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  14. - Top - End - #104
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    Cheiros nods at Damien's question.

    "I do. Many, in fact. Some are mere soulless husks, while others have become friends of a sort. Because I did not know what to expect when we came to the oracle, I have many of them with me now. If you like, when we have set up our camp, I would be pleased to introduce you."
    Last edited by Toliudar; 2012-04-02 at 04:06 PM.
    "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut

  15. - Top - End - #105
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    BlackDragon

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    At Damien's querry, Angela couldn't help but glance at Cheiros from the corner of her eye. More out of habit then on purpose, her hand goes to her sword's pommel designed to look much like a sun. Realizing what she was doing, she takes her hand off the pommel with a sigh as she tries to compose herself. "Yes Cheiros... I suppose it would be a good idea for tactical reasons to know how many you have in tow. As much as I regret admitting it, but I will have to work with such creatures for once aside from taking your advice in the past."

    "Words ought to be chosen with greater care then either clothing or weaponry. For they can last much longer than the former, and cut deeper than the latter."

    -Doomraga's Revenge by T.A. Barron

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  16. - Top - End - #106
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    Cheiros bobs his head.

    "Thank you, Angela. I acknowledge that my colleagues are not for all tastes, and appreciate your patience. But we are setting off on a mission in which gods have been judged not by their nature as gods, but by their actions. I would hope that we would extend the same privilege to each other."
    "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut

  17. - Top - End - #107
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
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    Readjusting her mask mostly so that she doesn't have to turn to look at Cheiros she nods.

    "I will try to keep that in mind. Just as not all men are untrustworthy, I suppose it is possible for the unliving to not all be bad. Just except the fact that I will always feel uncomfortable working with such unnatural beings, and have a hard time dealing with that part of my nature. I will do my part to adjust, but it won't be immediate."

    "Words ought to be chosen with greater care then either clothing or weaponry. For they can last much longer than the former, and cut deeper than the latter."

    -Doomraga's Revenge by T.A. Barron

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  18. - Top - End - #108
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    Alcaeus just observes all this. He understands the human's need for respect, but he always thought the body-burning business was wasteful. Ashes are bereft of nutrition for plants (contrary to many human's beliefs), and putting someone in a box in the ground instead of a basic cairn is snubbing one's nose at Gaia, when that person can feed new growth in the world.

    Silly two-limbers.

    Alkie trots with Berenike to camp. He'll take watch when its time, and sleep when its time.
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  19. - Top - End - #109
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    Once we set camp, Berenike will set up the 20' radius area and pray for alarm (SLA). The alarm will be a mental one for her, but she gives everyone in the party the password, and lets them know the effect's limits.
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  20. - Top - End - #110
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    At the camp, Cheiros pulls what looks like a handkerchief out of his pocket, and unfolds it on the ground. And unfolds it, and unfolds it. He gives a dry, quiet whistle, and soon a dozen skeletal creatures clamber up out of what seems to be a hole in the ground. The creatures are feral and graceful quadrupeds, about the size of a large wolf, and seem to have features both of canids and dragons. Vestigial wings are folded against to their exposed spines.

    "Form a ring around this camp. Alert me if you sense any creature or other danger approaching."

    Nodding, the skeletal forms pace out around the camp, forming a loose circle outside the light. They settle into hunched positions, low to the ground, and become perfectly still. Cheiros folds up the fabric into a small packet again, and slips it back into his robes.

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    It would be a knowledge arcana check of about DC 22 to identify these as the skeletal remains of Ambush Drakes. Or anyone could just ask Cheiros.
    "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut

  21. - Top - End - #111
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    Damien looks around the outskirts of the camp for a little while before coming back with a large, leafy branch. He sits on an available log or stone near Cheiros, and he sets to trimming the branch of all of its smaller offshoots and leaves with a palm-sized knife. "Now then, Cheiros, I think this is a bit of a more comfortable place to discuss things of a more practical nature. The kings and queens are noble and honorable, mostly, but the often lack understanding for the tools and weapons that have to be employed to save lives and crush grand and terrible threats."

    He speaks casually as he works, but his words are clearly preselected; he has been considering this conversation since the group left the funeral pyre. "So, tell me, if you are will. What is it that you do? What kind of power do you have over life and death, that you are both so feared and so respected? I can end lives, and I can bring a man back from the steep cliff of the dying, but death itself is insurmountable for one such as I. Tell me, elder; how little do I know?"

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    I am of the opinion that Intelligence is knowing, and Wisdom is acknowledging that you know nothing. Hopefully Damien conveys that sentiment, though he isn't the wisest or the most intelligent character here by a good margin.
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  22. - Top - End - #112
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    Cheiros and Hestia settle on the ground next to Damien. She begins to sketch intricate patterns in the dirt.

    "I beg you sir, as one who has to live with Cheiros. Puffing him up in this way will only make him insufferable for weeks to come."

    Cheiros glares over at the back of Hestia's head for a moment, and then a moment more, before bursting out into laughter that sounds remarkably like a warped door opening and closing.

    "I am sorry to hear that I inspire fear. It has never been my goal to do so. Once, I was a faithful servant of Hades, aiding families int heir grief, and shepherding the souls of the departed to what I saw, at the time, as their deserved reward. Now, I'm not so sure.

    "Please understand, young man, that in many ways you know death even better than I do. Based on the skill with which you dispatched that fragment of Ares, you have probably faced more men in battle than I ever have.

    "But I have found a way to step outside of the flow of time for myself. Charms to speed decay and death, to return the mind and body to a kind of not-life - and the paralysis that, I apologize again, you felt in battle with Ares. It's completely understandable that this might make people nervous, perhaps even more so than someone who can kill a a man with a flick of his sword, or burn with the brightness of the sun."


    The old man smiles, grey skin stretching tight over his cheekbones.

    "But who wants to listen to the ramblings of an old man. You certainly wouldn't be the first warrior who I've spoken with who thinks deeply about what happens at the wrong side of the sword thrust. So I start by asking you...what should happen when we die?"
    "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut

  23. - Top - End - #113
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    Default Re: Climbing Mount Olympus (IC)

    As the kings and heroes slowly filter back to their own camps the night slowly quietens. Guards patrolling the long lines and large fires where entire cows and goats slowly roast and mariande in sweet yoghurt sauces.

    The camp from Naxos is a small contingent and as the skeletal beasts slowly climb out of the piece of magical cloth the guards give an even wider birth to the small enclave of brave heroes. Before the brave Queen and her companions settled down for the night Nassus slowly appears from the darkness walking into the camp to whisper a quiet "I shall return as Apollo's chariot touches the horizon Queen" is all that needs said. "I have matters and fine women to attend tonight." With a curt nod at the others and a slight bow to Berenike he leaves again,, massive hulking shoulders and razor sharp harpoon on his back.

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    Nothing else will really happen till morning so feel free to talk amongst yourselves and let me know when you're ready for morning to dawn.


  24. - Top - End - #114
    Titan in the Playground
     
    RaggedAngel's Avatar

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    Default Re: Climbing Mount Olympus (IC)

    Damien pauses for a moment, concentrating on a particularly large offshoot of the branch he's carving. Now that most of the smaller twigs have been pared away it becomes apparent that the branch is almost as tall as he is, and that it is fairly straight and sturdy down its entire length.

    After he cleanly slices off the offending wood he replies, faintly smiling. "What should happen when we die? That's a very interesting question, one that I have never given enough thought. I suppose, if things were simple, nothing would happen when we died. We would simply die, and things would end for us, and life would go on for others.

    Things are not simple, however; the very existence of Hades proves that. I suppose, when we die, we should be given a just reward for the merit of our soul; most people should be given peace, as most people do not lift up or drag down their society. Most people are normal, and a normal person deserves rest when they die.

    For those who are especially malicious, some kind of punishment is in order. It seems only fair, after all; being corrupt and vile is one of the easiest ways to profit and become powerful in life, so in death those who are corrupt and vile should be given a measure of their own failings. I don't think they should suffer forever, though; after a time any soul would be purged, and they should join the resting.

    Then there are those who do not rest in life, only so that they can seek a greater good. Those who stand up against the darkness and evil of the world not for themselves, but for those that cannot protect themselves."
    Damien looks Cheiros in his eyes, his own expression proud. "We deserve more than peace, Cheiros. We deserve to keep doing. To keep acting, to keep making things better, though perhaps in different ways.

    I have unsure knowledge about what is, but that is what I believe should be."
    Last edited by RaggedAngel; 2012-04-03 at 02:49 PM.
    Red Hand of Doom in Eberron IC | OOC | Rolls

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  25. - Top - End - #115
    Colossus in the Playground
     
    lostsole31's Avatar

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    Default Re: Climbing Mount Olympus (IC)

    Berenike smiles to Nassus and says, "Enjoy what pleasures this world brings, if such it be for you, brave warrior. You do not know when next you will have the chance."

    Berenike would love to chat with the others, but she has to conduct business. She talks with the captain of her entourage, detailing what instructions and information Nikanor (her regent in Hora) will need to know.
    Spoiler
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    DrK, On a whim, I rolled Nikanor's stats on the recruiting thread and started to make up his character sheet, though I don't think I finished. I might have given permissions to you already.
    Last edited by lostsole31; 2012-04-03 at 11:43 PM.
    20MAR2024: Completed reading Paizo's Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Worldwound (2013, Jacobs, Keith, et. al.).
    28JAN2024: Completed reading TPK Games' The Deductionist (2013, Everhart). This source is authorized for playtest.
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    bcool999: On hiatus through 01APR2024.

  26. - Top - End - #116
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    BlackDragon

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    Default Re: Climbing Mount Olympus (IC)

    Taking off her cloak, Angela places it down on the ground letting the starry field on the cloth seemingly reflect the night sky above. Running her hand over it, the cloak rises up by itself and forms a single person tent of starlite. Crawling under she puts away some of her things along with unrolling a bedroll and blanket before coming back out with a waterskin.

    Coming over to where Cheiros and Damien are sitting she grabs herself a few sticks and a spot to sit more to listen then converse. She desires to learn more about the body animator. Summoning a dagger to her hand using her gauntlet she starts whittling the sticks to possibly be made into mundane arrows later.

    Occasionally looking up, she decides it better to stay silent until something of interest for her comes up.

    "Words ought to be chosen with greater care then either clothing or weaponry. For they can last much longer than the former, and cut deeper than the latter."

    -Doomraga's Revenge by T.A. Barron

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  27. - Top - End - #117
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Bristol, PA

    Default Re: Climbing Mount Olympus (IC)

    Alcaeus looks at Damien during his entire series of questions on death, his philosophical demeanor, his seeking nature, his introspection and how it may apply, his ...

    The centaur laughs and slaps the man on the back and heartily says, "No use wasting time thinking about it. We're fools enough for this quest. I'm sure we'll find the answers to your questions sooner than we'd care to, gods love us."
    Current Games
    Curse of the Crimson Throne: Dušana Essert(Zeta), & Fathi (Phi) and Hülya (Eta) Sharif of House al-Din
    Legacy of Fire: Water Prince Rafiq Karim
    Rise of the Runelords: Keghart Valdemar & Valbard the Velociraptor
    Savage Tide: Rabbi Eliezer "Lazer" Whuraili Cohen ben Mordechai of Clan Ironoath of Oriadeth
    Serpent's Skull: Harsk! (yes, that one)
    Shattered Star: Lilim
    Strange Aeons: Dorn

  28. - Top - End - #118
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    Default Re: Climbing Mount Olympus (IC)

    The night passes as the dark of cloak of Nyx holds sway, the fires fading to embers as the heat is drawn out of them and the very stars themselves move and writhe in the heavens.

    Nothing seems to move in the darkness of the night as the skeletal guard beasts are not alerted by any strange creature and neither Cherios not any other hero notices anything amiss.

    As the day begins to dawn, Nyx slowly withdrawing back into the shadows of the udnerworld, her sisters Aether and Hemerea chasing away the darkness to reveal a new day. From the hillside of Delphi the impossibly tall spire of Olympus can be faintly seen piercing the heavens, a vast layer of cloud blocking view of the tip of the spire and the home of the possibly enemy Gods.

    A stir from the edge of the camp as the skeletal drakes give throaty coughs and a faint mental thunder of trumpets rings inside the Queen's skull before her more mundane guards send one the serving girls into her tent with news. "Nassus approaches highness".

    The rest of the heroes can see the lone hero from across the Aegean approaching. A small belt pouch at his waist the only accoutrement to aid travel as he stands clad in a glittering vest of strange scales wrested from one of Poseidon's monsters coating his chest and arms, a massive clam shaped helm with a large tuft of feathers atop his head- the kraken helm famous for its ability allow the wearer to breathe beneath the waves as a fish and the heavy harpoon honed to a razor edge surmounted with the tooth of a vast beast of the deep. "I stand ready Queen of Naxos"

    As the camp begins to stir you can already see a trio of doves flying eastwards with thin streamers tied to leg with ciphers bound for Nikanor in her distant capital. The orders Berenike is assured will be followed to the letter to ensure that her lands remain as helathy as possible in the cataclysmic storms to come should her mission fail.

    Even in the predawn light the other camps writhe and squirm with activity as many prepare to leave. The boats being pulled out to shore, the Kings readying to march or sail home and prepare as best they can for war...

  29. - Top - End - #119
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Bristol, PA

    Default Re: Climbing Mount Olympus (IC)

    Alcaeus wakes early, usually just before dawn. He enjoys a stroll in the slightly chill air and the colors of the sky.

    As Nassus approaches in full regalia, Alcaeus looks him up and down appreciatively before smiling, "Wow, look at you all grow'd up and ready for war. I think you missed the memo, though ... we're going up a mountain, not down into an ocean."
    Current Games
    Curse of the Crimson Throne: Dušana Essert(Zeta), & Fathi (Phi) and Hülya (Eta) Sharif of House al-Din
    Legacy of Fire: Water Prince Rafiq Karim
    Rise of the Runelords: Keghart Valdemar & Valbard the Velociraptor
    Savage Tide: Rabbi Eliezer "Lazer" Whuraili Cohen ben Mordechai of Clan Ironoath of Oriadeth
    Serpent's Skull: Harsk! (yes, that one)
    Shattered Star: Lilim
    Strange Aeons: Dorn

  30. - Top - End - #120
    Colossus in the Playground
     
    lostsole31's Avatar

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    Default Re: Climbing Mount Olympus (IC)

    There is a thing called "beauty sleep" ... and Berenike enjoys it as well as possible. She's not slothful, but she doesn't skimp on sleep. She wakes up and greets Nassus for the morning and sets out a heroes' feast for the party.
    Spoiler
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    There may be some issues where Cheiros is concerned, still awaiting a reply from the PM I sent a few days ago.

    Short form: Immune to fear & poison. +18 temporary hp's. +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and Will saves.
    She then retires for an hour to pray and meditate to gain wisdom for the coming day. (Read: recharges spells.)
    20MAR2024: Completed reading Paizo's Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Worldwound (2013, Jacobs, Keith, et. al.).
    28JAN2024: Completed reading TPK Games' The Deductionist (2013, Everhart). This source is authorized for playtest.
    Spoiler: Player Status
    Show
    bcool999: On hiatus through 01APR2024.

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