IC: White Rabbit

[Stupendous_Man]

"Huh... me too. Got a letter telling me to go to the palace. You don't suppose...?"

[Kantur]

Sir Siech grins slightly.

"It would seem it's a small world. Or a smaller city than I believed at least. We're heading there as well, so if you've no objections, we may as well go together if you'll give me a moment to make sure Fabion's saddle's sitting right so I don't slow you down for the whole trip. The problem with shorter legs."

He starts checking the riding equipment and making sure everything's sitting right.

[Taffimai]

Sir Siech leads the way along the winding road until you reach the Circle of Temples. Fifteen temples, one dedicated to each non-evil god, watch over an enormous park. Perfect green meadows speckled with tiny flowers of all colours stretch out before you. Topiary bushes shaped in a variety of animals – deer, wild boar, unicorns – stand around grazing leisurely. As you cross the green, you notice it slopes gently upwards towards the centre, where you see a gleaming white gazebo with a golden roof and seven convex pillars.

On your way over, you are being watched by three horse-sized creatures with canine bodies. One has the massive head of a lion, the second that of a tiger and the third that of a bear. Their fur is a dark gold and they have feathered wings with an impressive wingspan. They keep a respectable distance and if you look straight at them they seem to respectfully nod their head at you.

[Stupendous_Man]

Bjorn will draw his axe and attack the gazeebo just stare at the strange and curious beasts.

"What are those?" He whispered to Sir Siech.

[Kantur]

"Those are the guardians of the palace gardens. Half celestials, and very gentle with people that behave or the innocent. Though I've never even heard of them all being in the same part of the grounds before, they patrol seperately if I'm not mistaken..."

[Stupendous_Man]

"I think it is a sign; of something.... perhaps why we're called here. My barbarian senses tell me there's trouble about..."

Bjorn will respectfully avert his eyes from the half celestials and follow Sir Seich into the palace.

[Taffimai]

Dead centre in the Gardens stands the gazebo you noticed earlier. It’s well-built, ornamental and it commands an amazing view. You can see all the way to the temples and admire the intricate patterns in which the flowers grow, but there is no sign of anything that could be a palace. As soon as one of you sets foot inside the gazebo, however, you hear a female voice, apparently coming from the gazebo itself.

“Please state the nature of the emergency. No, wait, that’s wrong. Let me try again: password, please. No, that’s not it, either. Oh dear, oh dear, I’m making a mess of it, today, uhm.... Yes! Wait, I’ve got it: please state your name and reason for visiting. That’s it! Please state your name and reason for visiting!”

The gazebo sounds mighty pleased with herself and hums a joyful tune while waiting for your answers.

[Stupendous_Man]

Does the gazeebo look vulnerable to fire attacks Bjorn think a bit and says "We have been summoned by the king, but I don't think that's an emergency..."

[Taffimai]

"Summoned by the King?" the gazebo interrupts, "How odd, I didn't get a memo about that. They usually tell me when... oh, wait a minute, I do have a memo about that... uh-huh...uh-huh... Oh, it appears that I was supposed to let you in immediately. Well in that case: thank you for coming! We hope you will enjoy your visit!"

By the time she finishes her sentence, your surroundings have changed and you now find yourselves in some sort of circular foyer with wallpaintings uncannily like the view from the gazebo.

A gnome leans against the wall in the foyer, arms crossed over his chest, sapphire blue eyes staring a hole into the door of the chamber. His right foot taps out a staccato rhythm, obviously signifying a high degree of either impatience or excess energy; possibly both.

Faeren Googan looks once more from the spot where the other summoned folks should enter to the grand doors which would lead to the King's audience. He shakes his head, then stands up from the wall and paces around the room, idly drumming his fingers on the hilt of his rapier. His clothing is immaculate, which is odd, for it sits well on his small body. Broad shoulders and a barrel chest fill out the armor, a mottled gray and black cloak hangs from his shoulders, covering a leather rucksack slung over his shoulder and a quiver on the hip opposite his rapier.

[GimliFett]

Faerfen Googan

The gnome stops pacing and stands ramrod straight. "'Bout time! Faerfen Googan, at your service, gents!" he says walking forward and holding out his hand towards the newcomers.

[Edwin]

"So.. many.. new people! And a gnome at that!" Jones muttered, almost silently to himself. Was not too fond of gnomes, no, he thought to himself. Sneaky, lying little folks, very annoying - usually not too keen on fair fights either. Damn bastards.

In a sudden move of his head, Joe formed a smile that would outshine the Famine God during a potatoe blight, and politely turned to the gnome; "Why hello! My name is Jones. People call me Joe, and so can you, dear friend! Or not..".

[GimliFett]

Faerfen Googan

Faerfen smiles in return. "Well, hello, Jones-Joe! JJ! I'll call you JJ!" His grin widens and there's a twinkle in his eyes. "Who're your friends?"

[Edwin]

"JJ.. Alright" Joe kept his smile going.

"Siech and Bjorn are these fine people at my side" Jones said, as he pointed first Siech, and then Bjorn.

[Taffimai]

Before you have the time to finish getting acquainted with Faerfen and find out what his position is here at the palace, you are all distracted by the sound of two men approaching, apparently debating some point or other. Before long, the doors are thrown open and two well-clad men stand before you.

"Well would you look at that, all three of them, and right on time. Jones, you surprise me, I never would have believed you had the discipline. His Majesty will be most pleased."

The speaker is a tall man, somewhat gaunt yet well-built with what could have been an attractive face if it weren't for the obvious dismay written all over it. His companion is of equal height, but older and rather plump. The lines in his face bear out a jovial nature, though right now he seems to be torn between annoyance or shame regarding his colleague's behaviour and a reluctance to reproach him in front of you. He quickly intervenes:

"Lord Jefferson will indeed be pleased to know you have all arrived safely. If you would care to follow us, gentlemen?"

At this, the men turn to lead the way, though not without exchanging glances.

[Taffimai]

The doors lead to a long, straight hallway with floor mosaics and wall frescos. The scenes depicted are all sorts of fantastical animals in their natural habitats. Several corridors branch off, but you keep going straight towards a set of double doors identical to the ones you just came through.

The older man knocks twice on the door before entering. You don't hear anything, so apparantly he is given a visual signal to let you in. The room you enter is diamond-shaped with the entrance at the pointy end. In front of a large desk stand four wide, comfortable chairs waiting for you. Behind the desk, a broad man, well into middle age, rises from his seat and beams at you benevolently. Standing next to him is a male elf with an impassive face, wearing ornate robes embroidered with the holy symbols of several gods.

[Stupendous_Man]

"Lord Jefforson?" Bjorn whispers to Joe. "He seems regal enough..."

[Taffimai]

"Welcome to the palace, gentlemen, I am grateful for your presence. Please make yourselves comfortable." He gestures at the chairs and while waiting for you to take a seat, signals to the messengers that they may leave. After they have closed the door, he presents himself:"As you have undoubtably guessed, I am Lord Jefferson, and these are two of my counselors and friends. Lord Memling advises me in all magical matters,” at this, the elf nods curtly, “and Lord Havard is my Head of Security."

“Well met,” says a suave, disembodied voice. It isn’t until he raises his hand in greeting that you notice the other elf, who apparently was standing right on the other side of Lord Jefferson the entire time.

[GimliFett]

Faerfen Googan

Faerfen bows gracefully to the Lord and his advisors, an arched eyebrow the only sign of surprise at the second advisor's rather abrupt appearance. "Well met, indeed! I look forward to working with and for you, your Highness." The gnome takes a seat in the left-most chair (unless there are two specifically designed for small-sized folk) and tilts his head to the side while he waits for the others to decide what to do.

[Kantur]

Siech bows when meeting Lord Jefferson, offering his sword to him.

"My Lord, I am honoured and offer you my sword and service."

[Stupendous_Man]

"And my axe!" Bjorn kneels, holding the axe high above his head.

[Taffimai]

Lord Jefferson smiles as he lays a hand on your shoulders as in an act of blessing, then holds out his hand to help you up.

“Please, my good men, don’t kneel before me. Your loyalty is wholeheartedly accepted, and it is true that I took upon me the responsibility of a ruler when the people of Saraam offered it, but I seek neither deference nor submission. I would be greatly honoured, however, if you would accept me as your equal and speak your mind freely before me, for the four of you are men of great talent. This is why I have summoned you.”

“Over the years, I have amassed both power and fame. As a result, many people turn to me with their problems. Even before I founded Saraam, this had reached the point where it was no longer feasible to answer all of these requests personally. On the other hand there are men and women such as yourselves, who need no more than some experience to reach a capacity similar to my own. Therefore it has become my wont every year to summon budding heroes to the palace and ask them to bear my sigil and act on my behalf.”

“You would be free to choose from the most pressing supplications, and of course you would be rewarded for your efforts. Both my Weapons Master and my Props Designer would assuredly enjoy the challenge of working with you to maximise your potential.”

At this, he presents you with four white signet rings picturing a rabbit sitting watchfully upright.

[Stupendous_Man]

"That sounds wonderful", Bjorn grins. "One can never have enough choppa, after all."

He studies a ring closely before picking it up. "I take it these are ours?"

[Taffimai]

"They are yours, and yours alone. As soon as you put them on, they will attune themselves to you and become worthless in another's hands. As they are, they carry my arcane mark, which will allow other agents or allies of mine to recognise you. If you should ever meet with someone with a similar ring, it suffices to let your ring and theirs touch to verify that they truely are who they claim to be. If they are genuine, the rings will light up. If they are not, the imposter will be cursed. Even though they are magical, I assure you that they won't interfere with any other magic items you carry, not even other magic rings. "

[Stupendous_Man]

"Then I am pleased to join you and my four companions in your service; our fellowship shall surely benefit your kingdom."

[GimliFett]

Faerfen Googan

Faerfen arches an eyebrow at mention of the Props Designer, but accepts the ring and places it upon the second finger of his left hand without comment. For five seconds anyway. "It is an honor and privelege, Lord! I take it there is something specific which has prompted our selection. Name it and it shall be solved poste-haste!"

[Kantur]

"Thank you my Lord, it is an honour."

Siech comments as he takes one of the rings.

[Taffimai]

“It is good to see you all eager to test your mettle. Before we take a look at the most urgent missions, you should know that there is what we like to call a ‘training dungeon’ right here at the palace. In there, everything is controlled by magic; the enemies aren’t real and you don’t get lethal damage. It was built to allow parties who don’t know each other well to practice tactics and get to know what kind of powers and fighting styles the others have. However, it is entirely optional.” At this, he glances at Lord Memling, who is staring at you with a fixed gaze.

“Perhaps it would be fairest to give you an idea of the alternatives. Let’s see, there is a village where an inexperienced and rather reckless young priest opened up a tomb, releasing a nasty undead. Unfortunately, this case has been postponed a few times, so by now I would expect the whole village to be overrun.
Then there are some reports from the Saerian Hills about missing cattle, without any obvious leads to what might be stealing them, and last but not least you could go and investigate one of the werewolf sightings. You must know that hardly a day goes by without someone reporting having seen a werewolf. Only very rarely is there an actual werewolf involved, and once in a while it’s just a prank.
Still, it is advisable to be vigilant in these cases, for there are a great number of creatures far more powerful than a werewolf that could be mistaken for one. Take a moment to think it over, gentlemen, and don’t forget the option of our training dungeon.”

[Stupendous_Man]

"Hm. Undead... foul abominations against nature!" Bjorn's clenches his teeth as he says so. "I'm all for ending that problem, sir."

[GimliFett]

Faerfen Googan

The gnome strokes his chestnut brown goatee. "I think a quick jaunt into the Training Dungeon would serve us well, then I agree we should head for the village with the possible undead infestation. Followed by checking on the missing cattle. Given the fact there's only sightings of werewolves, pfft, and there's no reports of attacks associated with them, I think the other two situations hold precedence. Hm?"

[Kantur]

"Hmm, so long as the training dungeon wouldn't take more than an hour, two at most, if you all want to go through it, we shall, but there are people at stake. And if we encouter anything along the way that doesn't wish to surrender, then it could be an impromptu tactics session and taking about it as we continue..."

But hopefully without it turning out like the one in The Order of the Stick: Origins of PCs....