Breaking Chains IC

[Chineselegolas]

Mariz

Reaching out and taking the pouch in his right hand, weighed the pouch in his hand and with a thought and a slight flash the bag disappeared. "I'll hold onto these. No point risking having items of this power in a bag where thieves can get in"

[TheStagesmith]

Lisbiss sits silently and watches and listens, knowing that whatever he may ask would probably just be redundant. He occasionally takes a sip of wine, and picks at an irritating scale on the side of his neck. He sizes up his comrades, trying to figure out exactly where they all fit into the situation. Every so often, one could catch him sneaking a quick glance at the dragonborn beside him.

[Tequila Sunrise]

Bartleby
A fair bargain, I must say. Is Bartleby's response to Petros' promises of compensation. How will I get the information I seek out of a bunch of Raven faithfuls? He silently wonders. Bartleby then turns to Mariz. Don't be over hasty, friend Genasi. It would be wise for each of us to hold a sending stone, don't you agree?

[Chineselegolas]

Mariz

Snapping his fingers and returning the pouch to hand Mariz took the sending stones out and tossed one to each person before putting his into a pocket and storing the pouch again

[Poru93]

"It's not that I don't trust the people here in this room, but should we really allow one person to hold onto something that could be our salvation? Wouldn't it be better to split the sealed letters up? Have three people with one letter. That way if we happened to be separated, we could still use them if need be." Ghesh says to the group.

"I'm sure the State Minister would know my name, but I don't think I have introduced myself to the rest of you. I am Ghesh, a cleric of Bahamut."

[Tequila Sunrise]

Bartleby
An excellent point! I think that Mariz, you and I should each carry a letter. Bartleby responds to Ghesh.

[TheStagesmith]

Without looking, Lisbiss catches his sending stone with two fingers. Not looking at it, he sighs, More killing, and sooner than I thought... Still, if it's to keep the lands from falling into chaos... Well, I suppose it can't be helped. He shakes his head, and puts the stone into a pocket. When Ghesh speaks, he looks up sharply, with a small smile on his lips "Ghesh, you say? I think I've heard of you, Ghesh."

[Moff Chumley]

Ulza

While I think that you should give us more universal access to the forces of Rhodesia, I suppose this is sufficient.

One more question: what are Aldard's goals? Power, or something more?

[Tanaar]

Petros

"Chaid Ardald's goals are difficult to define. On the surface, he is a charismatic man who is a masterful and charismatic leader, likable to most everyone he meets. I have to admit, when I interviewed him during his captivity, I even came to admire him after a fashion. When you dig a bit deeper, though, his goals are far more radical. It seems that as a child, he was brought up in an immigrant household in the southern province of Iricia, on our border with the empire of Fashaar. Iricia is more geographically and culturally diverse than most of Rhodesia, but generally loyal."

"Ardald seeks to lead the ethnic Whan people to carve out an independent state from Iricia and part of northern Fashaar. He recruits from the dispersed Whans, as well as pretty much anyone who signs up. His insurgency group strikes across the border often, fading back away from whichever country sends forces after them. Our relations with Fashaar are not the best so...this is where you come in." He shrugs. "We need a group that isn't officially affiliated with the Kingdom to hunt Ardald's group down, who can act without political restriction."

[TheStagesmith]

Lisbiss' eyes quickly narrow down to pinpricks. "Without political restriction, or moral restriction?" he rumbles, "The distinction is fine, but significant nonetheless."

[Tanaar]

Petros

Petros frowns in Lisbiss's direction. "I mean what I say, Lisbiss. Ardald is a problem of both Fashaar and Rhodesia, and while we admit this in private, our political differences prevent us from working in concert. His band is outlawed in both realms, and you would be serving both by dealing with him."

[TheStagesmith]

Lisbiss nods and leans back in his chair. He begins to make an annoying clicking sound with his foot, presumably using the one uncovered talon. Obviously, he's impatient to get moving.

[Poru93]

Ghesh

As he nods to Bartleby's suggestion, he catches the bag with the sending stone in it. Opening the small bag at his waist he drops the new bag into it. When Lisbiss speaks his name, Ghesh looks over at him. "You've heard of me? I'm flattered. I didn't think anything I've done was that noteworthy. Though, I think I may have heard of you. After all, there can only be so many silver dragonborn in the world, right?" Ghesh says with a grin. "You're Lisbiss, the paladin who no rogue has ever survived meeting."

Turning back to the main conversation, Ghesh hears the exchange between the dragonborn sitting next to him and the State Minister. I can't help feeling doubts about all of this. Do we know that this group is evil? Well, I suppose if two of the world's leading nations, who are advised by priests and priestesses no less, agree that the man is a threat then he must be evil. Ghesh reasons to himself not wanting to spill innocent blood.

[Moff Chumley]

Ulza

Ulza snorts loudly. Because priests and priestesses always know what's right.

He stands up and walks to the door. Let's be going, then.

[Tequila Sunrise]

Bartleby
Yes, let's. My feet itch to tread the road again. Bartleby follows Ulza's lead.

[Tanaar]

Petros

The State Minister rises to his feet. "Very well, if you're ready to go. You are welcome to stay in your rooms in the palace tonight, in the morning we will teleport you to Agea, the closest town with a Teleportation Circle to where Ardald is believed to be. If you need anything at all for the completion of your assignment, ask and we will do what we can to provide. Dinner will be brought to you in your quarters. I'll see you in the morning." Petros rises and goes to leave through a small side-door. As it opens, you see that it leads to a spacious office.

[TheStagesmith]

As Lisbiss pushes himself up from the table, he grimaces at Ghesh's comment, "Those were... unfortunate incidents. If they had only been more willing to listen," he lowers his voice as he furtively glances towards the minister "they might be alive now. I don't like killing." He begins walking back to his room, still picking at that irksome scale on his neck. If he sees a servant on the way, he beckons to him her it. "That bath earlier was positively divine. Could you whip up another in a bit? Thanks! Toodle-doo!"

(assuming that all the bedrooms are in the same general area)
Lisbiss walks along with Bartleby if he can. He's curious about the man. "Hmmm. So, let's see... What's your name? I don't think I caught it. And what do you do? And have you had one of their baths here? They are absolutely wizard."

[Tequila Sunrise]

Bartleby
Hahaha! Is Bartleby's response to Lisbiss' pun, though it is impossible to tell whether the laughter is sincere or a subtle mockery. It might be his unnerving hourglass pupils that make his attitude hard to divine. What do I do? That question has a lot of answers, but I will be the one hampering our enemies with spells while you hack them apart with that large sword of yours. As to my name, I am Bartleby the humble scrivener until I have to use my magic. And what do you do, friend dragonborn?

[Moff Chumley]

Ulza

Ulza returns to his room and awaits... adventure.

[Poru93]

Ghesh

Stretching as he stands, Ghesh hurries to ask the State Minister a few quick questions. "By chance is there a temple of Bahamut somewhere in the city? I would like to pay it a visit before I leave. Also, about the boon the king would grant us, to what extent would he go? Would he, say, put his support behind a certain church?"

[Tanaar]

Petros

Petros hesitates at the door. "Yes, I suppose it would be alright for you to visit the temple. But I will have your word not to speak of what we discussed here with those who were not present. The prophecy and Ardald's confinement and escape are not common knowledge, and I would keep it that way." Stroking an old scar on his jaw, he ponders Ghesh's second line of questioning. "Royal boons are very rare, and usually granted without hesitation. However, the extraordinary is still not possible...to use an extreme example, he would not name you his heir, or give you half the kingdom. You would have to take it up with him, I suppose. And it would depend on what you meant by 'support', and how much of it you asked for. The Crell House traditionally follows Pelor, though I know King Andross has the utmost respect for your patron."

[Poru93]

Ghesh

"I am glad to hear that the King has respect for my god. The values held dear by my god are something that is very important to every ruler. Well, thank you for answering my questions; I will leave you to your other pressing matters. I also had best get to the temple as well, but I will be sure to keep what was discussed here between myself and Bahamut at the temple. I'm sure the priests at home sent word of my coming, so they will be expecting me. Farewell, State Minister Petros." With that, Ghesh quickly walked out of the room, heading for the temple of Bahamut.

[Chineselegolas]

Mariz

Nodding and getting to his feet, Mariz said "Splitting the letters may be a good idea, once we get underway and see who is most capable and worthy of guarding them I will hand them to who..." stopping suddenly and pausing for a moment before saying "We... find most fit for the duty."

[Inyssius Tor]

Locke

Locke hastily wolfs down one last sandwich and gets up, brushing crumbs off his armor, to follow Mariz out of the now-deserted room. "Right. And until then, we'll just-- Wait one minute," he says, his voice dropping to a fierce whisper. "Do these damn talking stones turn off?"

[Chineselegolas]

Mariz

Bringing the stone to hand Mariz had a quick look over it before shaking his head. "They turn themselves off as far as I can tell, and shouldn't say anything until we activate them"

[Tanaar]

Night falls quickly in Rhodesia City. Warm, late summer winds find the party restlessly awaiting the beginning of what must be destiny, scheduled for the morning.

Ghesh

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Ghesh spends the evening praying in the Temple of Bahamut for guidance and protection on the coming quest. After assisting the priests with the night's final devotion, he is escorted back to the palace by a pair of the House Guard. As he beds down for the night, he cannot help but think on the remote chances of meeting another silver dragonborn.

The next morning, Ghesh rises early, washing in the cold water provided in his room. After saying his morning devotions, he meets the others and their escorts in the hallway.

Lisbiss and Bartleby

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Lisbiss and Bartleby talk long into the night, the rough paladin and unorthodox wizard taking an easy liking to one another. They exchange tales and histories, though each can tell that the other is holding some things back.

Some time after the midnight watch is sounded, they return to their respective rooms, fatigue finally making its presence known.
Lisbiss

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Sleep finds Lisbiss quickly, as only a long-time soldier or adventurer could relate to. As he drifts into slumber, an image of Ghesh appears in his mind, vague recognition nagging at his memory.

In the morning, Lisbiss wakes to the House Guard pounding on his door. Rising, he takes his time dressing, checking every piece of his valued warplate armor as it is strapped on, testing the edge of his great falchion. Entering the hallway, he smirks as he finds the rest of the party waiting for him, accompanied by irritated soldiers.

Bartleby

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As Bartleby prepares for somnolence, remembered sights of his new companions withering and rotting plague him. Resolving to prevent these dire visions from becoming real, he falls into a troubled sleep.

Very early the next morning, Bartleby wakes in a cold sweat. He had been having a nightmare in which he and the newly-formed party were assaulted by endless waves of bandits. Though the others fought bravely and skillfully, Bartleby could not bring any but the simplest of cantrips to bear. One by one, the others died, even his healing magic failing to save them. As the blades and arrows of his enemies pierced his body, his last sensation before waking was of coldness, and death.

With no possibility of sleep after that, Bartleby is already up and ready to go when the guards knocked on his door. He enters the hallway and waits on the others.

Ulza

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Retiring early to his chambers, Ulza fidgets with anticipation all evening. Seeking to relieve his anxiety, he changes forms and personalities, practicing his finely-tuned repertoire of identities. Little succeeds in distracting him. Eating a solitary dinner, he occupies himself with pricing out the many fine items in his room, finally drifting to sleep in a large, overstuffed chair in his sitting room.

Startled into wakefulness by a knock on the door, Ulza rises to his feet, wincing in irritation at knotted muscles of the silvery dragonborn body he had been amusing himself with. Shifting back to the familiar elven form of Alesus, the knotting disappears as the bulging draconic muscles reform into slender arms of an elf. Ensuring he has everything he came with, he joins those in the hall.

Locke and Mariz

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The two old friends return to Locke's room, chatting amiably. Their impending adventure for not forgotten, they indulge in the palace's hospitality. Knowing they are not likely to see such fine fair any time soon, and not likely for free, they keep the servants busy delivering some of the best food and drinks they'd ever had. At some point, Mariz suggested they find a tavern somewhere in the city, but the guards bluntly denied the request. Apparently, the rakish genasi were not quite as trusted as the devout Ghesh. Hints about pretty serving wenches were simply ignored. They drank and joked long into the night, finally succumbing to the drink.

In the morning, the pair were woken with cups of water splashed in their faces, lightning crackling in the conductive liquid. Nursing slight hangover headaches, Mariz returns to his room to get his things while Locke gathers their own. Their Stormsoul biology not requiring frequent maintenance, they meet again in the corridor minutes late. Both give a start as they notice Bartleby already waiting, anxiety plain in even his strange hourglass eyes.

The party gathers in their common hallway. Bartleby is out first, followed shortly by Locke and Mariz, then Alesus/Ulza. A bit later, they are joined by Ghesh. In what may promise to become a pattern, Lisbiss keeps the party (and impatient soldiers) waiting for a bit longer before smugly entering the passage.

Shaking off morning grogginess (and for some of you, hangovers,) you follow your House Guard escort through the twisting palace passages. They take you to a spiraling staircase. Climbing upwards, you can tell from occasional arrow slits that you are in a remote tower on a corner of the palace complex. Arcane symbols on the doors make it apparent that you are in a wizard's tower.

Near the top of the tower, your escort leads you into a simple meeting room. Minister Petros is already there, waiting for you. Gesturing toward a table laden with breakfast foods, he welcomes you in. "Come in! Sit, eat. We have a few more minutes before L'turen has fully prepared the Teleportation Circle. If you have any final concerns or questions for me before you leave, now is the time."

OOC

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Apologies if I was overly free with your characters. Let me know if changes should be made to any of the above to maintain character integrity. Also, I use third person to describe what has already happened, with second person ("you" references) for describing what is going on presently. Think of the third person as cut scenes.

[Moff Chumley]

Ulza

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*deep voice* DOUBLE POST FAIL!

Ulza is visibly exited, and quite chatty.

[TheStagesmith]

OOC:

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More than anything Lisbiss is chronically late simply because of absent-mindedness (I'm modeling him quite a bit after Kenshin from the Rurouni Kenshin series, if that helps - especially the awkwardness). He's a bit sheepish about being late, but of course it's something that he's always going to do :)

Lisbiss studies Bartleby a bit as he strides down the hall towards breakfast. The human intrigues him; Lisbiss has always been fascinated by magic, even though he doesn't understand a bit of it. Last night, all Lisbiss did was harangue the poor wizard with noobish questions regarding the arcane, and of course completely ignored any and all hints that a change of subject was in order. Now he's a bit groggy, but he's alert.
A bag that looks way too small to hold anything is now slung across his torso, hanging close to his belt. The falchion is back in its familiar place. You have to wonder how someone who is supposed to have taken down so many heavily armed enemies at once thinks it's a good idea to go into battle with absolutely no head protection of any kind. Nevertheless, there he is, bareheaded and confident.
When he gets to the dining hall, Lisbiss immediately goes looking for more wine. He's got a bit of a hangover, and needs to take the edge off...

[TheStagesmith]

OOC:

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More than anything Lisbiss is chronically late simply because of absent-mindedness (I'm modeling him quite a bit after Kenshin from the Rurouni Kenshin series, if that helps - especially the awkwardness). He's a bit sheepish about being late, but of course it's something that he's always going to do :)

Lisbiss studies Bartleby a bit as he strides down the hall towards breakfast. The human intrigues him; Lisbiss has always been fascinated by magic, even though he doesn't understand a bit of it. Last night, all Lisbiss did was harangue the poor wizard with noobish questions regarding the arcane, and of course completely ignored any and all hints that a change of subject was in order. Now he's a bit groggy, but he's alert.
A bag that looks way too small to hold anything is now slung across his torso, hanging close to his belt. The falchion is back in its familiar place. You have to wonder how someone who is supposed to have taken down so many heavily armed enemies at once thinks it's a good idea to go into battle with absolutely no head protection of any kind. Nevertheless, there he is, bareheaded and confident.
When he gets to the dining hall, Lisbiss immediately goes looking for more wine. He's got a bit of a hangover, and needs to take the edge off...

[Tequila Sunrise]

Bartleby
After his nightmare, Bartleby reflects on the possible challenges he might soon face. It had probably just been a dream, but one never knew...

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Arcana check to remember any possible energies, areas, creatures or weapons that can neutralize his best spells (aside from Dispel Magic of course): [roll]1d20+18[/roll] Ugh, the die roller isn't working and I'm too tired to figure out why...so you're free to roll for me Tanaar.

Despite the bags under his eyes and his obvious fatigue, Bartleby greets Lisbiss with a nod and a smile. But then his eyes catch on Mariz, and he speaks sharply so that everyone is sure to hear. Our conversation trailed off yesterday, but I'd like to resolve the issue of the letters of mark, genasi. Forgive me for being over-cautious, but I find it hard to trust a man who declares himself the arbiter of resources in our new band of merry men after barely getting beyond 'hello'. I hope I will grow to trust you, but for now I'd like to see at least two of those letters in others' hands. Bartleby's hourglass eyes bore into the genasi's head as he adds Others are free to comment, of course.

Once this issue is settled, Bartleby will pick at a few victuals and have a swallow of wine before commencing teleportation.