Dragon War: In The Beginning

[Fixer]

Effrem

"I have only three questions. 1) What is this place we are in? 2) Who else may be brought to this place? and 3) How do we get to where you ask us to go?"

Effrem then says aside to his companions, "Thankfully, instigating fights from non-elven races against the dragons is something I do possess experience with."

[Darius]

Ariel Evenstar

Ariel takes in the grand and holy sanctuary. She cannot help but be filled with the hope brought about the beauty therein. It bolsters her spirit and she inwardly hopes that this land and its freedoms could be shared by others of her race.

She dismounts and approaches the pool as Buteo perches herself upon the crescent of the All-Father. When around the pool, she cannot help but marvel at the beauty of the magic. She returns the bow to the elders and quietly listens.

When the time for questioning presents itself, Ariel begins, "Thank you, elder, for putting your trust in us. We are honored. Forgive my naivity, but how are we to travel to and from this most honored place to the areas we are to assault and return again? Is there a teleporation circle of the ancient magics? If so, how do we use it?"

[kuja.girl]

Legarn

Legarn walks in silence among the not-forest. It's beautiful, but also, strange to be in a place that imitates and honors nature while surrounded by it. After examining some o f the odder plants and their fruits, Legarn finds himself drawn with the others to the pool.
---
Legarn c0cks* his head and listens to the words of the three elders. He's heard their names and physical descriptions enough times to remember a bit about each, but this is the first time he's ever "met" one, much less three, of them. Their instructions seem simple enough, and Airiel asks the only question that comes to mind, how do we get there, much less back here..., before he can ask.

*okay, so the swearing filter doesn't like the other valid name for male fowl. how silly.

[Tacitus]

Lee

He listens quietly but when the time for questions come he bides his time until he may voice his own inquiry, "I would only know if there are any weapons or items of non-elven craftsmanship here that we might use in our mission. Having something handy without having to go looking first would be ideal for speed and anonymity."

[Logain]

Aranos bows gratefully, allowing each of you to fully complete your questions. He pauses, looking to your compatriots as if to allow them to voice similar questions, and then nods when none are stated.

Turning to Effrem, he nods. "First, the name of this place: the name I was told for this place is: Amin harmuva onalle e' cormamin- Treasuring memories, or gifts of the Heart. I know of no other name for it, because I did not know of it. There are few living who do- only the high priest of Correlion, and we three elders. And now your small group."

Aranos' face darkens for a moment, and he looks downward. You realize that the servant who gathered you all together was not listed there. Almost as if giving you enough time to realize that, and then he continues. "For your own safety, and ours, we must insist that you bring no one back here, not even those who need our protection," He clears his throat, looking to your group, and shakes his head No, as if to answer himself something.

He gestures to the rod that Efffrem was handed before coming through the portal. [b]"Your esteemed companion hold the key. By holding it on one of the three beaches, you will be carried away to one of the three glades that is protected from dragon-kind. You visited the first of these glades last night, in the southern reaches of our lands. The two others are on the eastern edge of our land, near the Nevermore Jungle Reaches, and to the far north, in the mountains bordering the icy wastes. By holding the rod in one of those glades or on one of those beaches, and speaking the name of this place, the rod will open a portal here." He gestures to make a point, "That is how you will travel without being discovered by the Dragon-kind."

He glances to Ariel, to ask as if this answers her question as well, before moving on to face toward Lee. "Sadly, we are unable to provide weapons, neither any of elven make, or any made by any other hands. As you know, the dragons keep us extremely isolated from the other races of Abeir Toril, and any attempt for us to contact them would only bring the Dragon's wrath down on us all. I fear that it may be necessary for you to steal these weapons, or for you to make it look as though wounds you inflict were caused by these weapons." He looks around, as if uncomfortable discussing this, and then nods, "Perhaps it would be easiest, at least at first, if you were to alter your weapons so that they appeared to be weilded by giants. I know nothing of them, but from what I have heard, they are like the barbaric-monkey-men, only larger."

Looking over your group again, he nods to no one in particular. "Are there any other questions?"

[Fixer]

Effrem

Effrem ponders a moment, then asks, "You believe we would be better served not to allow the dwarves to know our true identities?"

After hearing the elder's answer, Effrem says as an aside to his companions, "I have seen the weapons wielded by an ogre and by goblins in close detail and can attempt help you disguise your weapons to appear more goblinish until we can procure dwarven gear." Effrem takes from his backpack a club and a dagger not of elvish make and says, "we can use these as templates. I have kept them from the goblins I once lived with."

[kuja.girl]

Legarn

Big...monkey men? How are we supposed to imitate big-barbaric-monkey-men?
Legarn glances down at his hands in contemplation. He only resorts to his weapons, a short sword and bow, when his "hands" have failed.
"If these giants do not posses refined tools, then making imitations should be easy. A large tree limb should do for a club."

[Logain]

Aranos nods to Effrem's question. "We seek to save our people, not theirs. It is sad that we must turn the dragon's wrath onto another species, but that is the only option we saw when we searched for an answer. I regret that some of these small mountain men may die, but they die that the elves may be freed. Perhaps they will defend themselves better beneath the mountain than we did in our forests, in any case, there are as likely to be traitors among the dwarves, willing to sell our secrets to the dragons, as there are traitors among our own kind. I urge you to keep your dealings secret, even from your own people."

Listening to the group move on to other topics of discussion, Aranos nods. "At your leave, I will rest now. I bargained to be able to send you off, but soon it will be Lillian's turn to receive your reports. No matter whom you speak with, be assured that we will all know of your actions..."

He pauses as if considering something, and then looks intently at your group "Be forewarned, there is disagreement in how to handle this. Not all of your missions will make sense, as we have each been given areas of responsibility, and each serves to complete the task of freeing our peoples in the way we think best."

His short warning done, Aranos raises a hand in the ancient salute and disappears.

[Fixer]

Effrem

Effrem watches as the face of the elder disappears from the pool.

"I have never had dealings with these mountain people. I have had some contact with giants and with goblins and can speak their languages with relative fluency but it would not be within my ability to disguise myself as an intelligible dwarf without the aid of magic. I do have an idea on how to infiltrate them and obtain gear if I can obtain the assistance of Legarn. We will, first, need to discover their whereabouts in that region."

"Does anyone else have a plan they believe would do better to distract the dragons from the Sylvan than that which the Elders have placed before us?"

[kuja.girl]

Legarn

"I am willing to hear your plan Effrem but we shouldn't plan too far ahead. We have no idea what the conditions, physical and otherwise, will be like in the mountains.
"Perhaps we should take today to rest, think, and discuss ideas before settling on a plan of action." Legarn falls quite after finishing. It's unlike him to be this verbose, but he's a little wary of just blindly agreeing to follow someone who is still a stranger; even if they have the trust of the three elders.

[Darius]

Ariel Evenstar

Ariel listens to the elder and understands the situation. She wishes she knew more than what was being told, but she accepts the need for secrecy and deniability. When the elder salutes and the group begins discussing the possible actions to take, Ariel says, "I believe I have been chosen for my abilities and mastery of illusion. Unfortunately, since we are to leave no witnesses, those skills will be of little use. Unlike many of the other wielders of the arcane arts, I do not bend the elements to evoke flashy results. I only wish I could influence and dominate the wills of our opponents through enchantments so that our enemies would attack each other - but I vowed to myself to never enslave another living creature."

[Fixer]

Effrem

"I have already rested and prepared my magicks for the day so I will stand watch while those others of you who still require rest do so. Until the moon is high into the night my magic will remain as-is."

Effrem looks around a bit for a place to stand watch over everyone in the glade. He glances around for others while taking his club out of his bag. With a bit of concentration he takes the shape of a small ogre or large goblin (sort of a mix of the two) and heaves what now appears to be a mighty greatclub over his shoulder and casts his gaze about the clearing for potential threats.

"If I see somfin, I yell."

[Fixer]

Effrem

Effrem stands guard as the others rest, discuss matters between themselves, and recover their strength. He thinks, as he watches, Well, they seem capable enough, but can they play the part the gods have given them? Until they learn they can trust one another I expect this will be a very difficult time. If only I could use my charms on them to make them get along better.

When night settles upon the group, Effrem prays to Hanali Celanil for his daily magic, thanking her for placing him upon this path and asking for the strength to succeed.

Effrem stands, stating, "I believe the time has come to get us moving. Those Sylvan elves won't be saving themselves. I shall go open the portal."

Effrem turns and walks to the northern beach where the elders had indicated he was to use the rod. Doing a quick headcount that everyone was present, he stands before the archway and speaks the words "Amin harmuva onalle e' cormamin."

[kuja.girl]

Legarn

At first Legran distances himself from the others, taking time to examine and enjoy the strange scenery of the island. But as the day progresses he wanders back and joins the others. The two archers still puzzle him a little, and the cleric is... odd to say the least, but honest as is Ariel.
In spite of his nature, he finds himself opening up to these strangers. If the elders have decided to trust them, then so shall I, he thinks to himself, hopefully we will make a difference.

He waits patiently for the portal to open, curious to see what lands await them.

[Darius]

Ariel Evenstar

After resting and studying her spellbook, Ariel takes the time to commit the darkweave method to memory. She joins the others and nods to the cleric to indicate that she is ready. She raises her hand and calls out with a shrill cry, and Buteo flies down to land on her perch.

[Logain]

Thank you for your participation, but this thread is...

[End]