Post by Dead Greyhawk on Oct 6, 2007 16:27:44 GMT -5
Antonus sits in his room, grumbling to himself about the direction the Company is taking. He flips through his book of spells and tries to see how they can be used to advance his and the Company's goals. His eyes travel down the arcana scribed within until they fix on a certain set of instructions. A mind-altering magic not as strong as that he used on Thomas Louvaine, one that he can use on himself rather than on another, might solve some of his problems. Antonus sits and memorizes the instructions of a spell that will cause him to be attractive, charming, and witty, greatly enhancing facets of personality that the gods have already granted him in some small amounts. Once the glamour has been committed to mind and then cast upon him, he heads out of his shared room and down the hallway. Most of the Company still bickers below, but Jasper sits guard in his room over the valuables of the Company. It is here that Antonus goes.
Jasper smiles at Antonus. "Do you have something heavy you need to move?" asks Jasper, always willing to help. Antonus feels some pangs of conscience, but assuages them by believing that he harms no one by his actions.
"I'm here to see Winthrop's books," says Antonus, his voice resonating as a basso profundo, his smile filling the room. "We're good friends Jasper. I'm certain he wouldn't mind." Jasper seems very uneasy about letting anyone, even the kind, generous, likable Antonus, look at Winthrop's books.
"Winthrop told me no one should look at the books. They are his and he's a wizard. His books aren't safe to look at. They have nasty things in them," says Jasper earnestly.
Antonus gauges the moment and takes the right approach. "Well, I'm a wizard, and I can watch over them if you need a break. They'll be safe with me. After all, you have been up here a long time. Don't you need to take a break after all that water you drank earlier? So much water, big pools of water, like water rushing over a waterfall into a big lake. Are you sure you don't need to step out?" he says.
Jasper shifts from foot to foot and begins to look uncomfortable. "Um, thanks, I, um, need to step outside," realizes Jasper. "You'll watch the books?" Antonus nods, and Jasper flees the room, moving at a remarkable speed. Antonus grins and then moves over to the sack of books. The books themselves are bound in heavy, scaled leather, unlike any material that Antonus has seen before. One has a distinct bluish cast to it, while the others have large reptilian scales of enormous size adorning them. Antonus picks out the least scarred of the books and flips it open, looking quickly through the book to discover if it has any enchantments that he might memorize and later transcribe into his own spell book. As he scans the pages, a small amber character catches his attention. It glows brightly and expands towards him.
Otto, Dell, Raven, and Winthrop argue more about whether it is more important to take prisoners, and thus their enchanted items, or to be effective in slaying them by any means necessary. Jasper interrupts them, a rare occurrence. "Um, I've had an accident," says Jasper. Raven looks pained and sinks his forehead into one hand. "Antonus is all hard and funny colored, and he doesn't seem to be breathing," continues Jasper. "I think I did something wrong with your books, Winthrop." Dell breaks out into a large grin as Winthrop turns a deep shade of purple. Winthrop charges like a mad rhinoceros up the stairs, with Jasper and the others trailing close behind.
Indeed, a sepia-colored Antonus kneels in the middle of the room, one of Winthrop's books askew on the floor near him. Dell begins to laugh with great guffaws, grasping his side, while Winthrop storms up to the statue of Antonus and pushes it over onto its side. Winthrop rages at the statue for a moment until Dell can regain his breath. "Don't be too mad," gasps Dell. "This is the most initiative I've seen from him yet!" Winthrop collects his book and ascertains that the others are unsullied.
"I wonder why the audible wards didn't activate?" asks Winthrop as he stares at the form of the apprentice mage.
"Let him loose again," says Dell. "It's too priceless to not be able to taunt him about it in the future."
Winthrop glares at Dell and the chuckling others before waving one hand over the sepia statue. Antonus gasps in shock as the room suddenly changes position, and Winthrop towers over him. "I can make you wish you were dead," growls Winthrop, fire gouting from one hand. "Let this be your first and last lesson on meddling in affairs of those more powerful than you!" Antonus, his glamour insufficient for such a hostile encounter, quails under the malice in Winthrop's voice. All he can do is mutely nod. The others, except for Jasper, leave the room. Jasper collects the book and replaces it in the bag, tying the bag tightly shut. A great wounded look appears in Jasper's eyes as he sits across from Antonus, and it is all Antonus can do to gamely drag himself and his conscience from the room.
Several hours later the clerics return, having performed their rituals and determinations throughout the city. They have heavily marked a map purchased in the marketplace and bring both the results of their prayers and other news. Their prayers show quite clearly that an undead force lies to the west of the city. The distance the two clerics were able to travel between the divinations was not long enough to get a fine focus on where the undead force is, but it must be near the Javan River. The fact that the undead are so near, and that no alarm has been or is being raised in Flen is somewhat distressing.
Additionally, Adrienne and Hugh have heard of a street preacher who has gained great credibility with the miners. This preacher, one Mordrammu, works in the mines and preaches first to his fellow worshippers but then also to the general populace between his shifts. He has obtained a sizable following, though few would consider them sole adherents to his cult. This preacher speaks of a great Earth Dragon who will protect the city. The mines reach down towards the Earth Dragon, and the gems the mines provide are the spiritual eggs that the Earth Dragon provides to those who worship him. The religion sounds odd, to say the least, but this preacher is the only one who, so far, seems at all cognizant of a threat to the city. The Company decides to go to hear him the next day.
The trip to the marketplace the following day is commonplace. They eat breakfast on the way and find a vibrant, if somewhat limited, marketplace in full swing. The vendors sell food, raw and prepared, goods, both new and found, and finished works in a range of prices and styles. The Company wanders through the agora, looking at the various stalls and staring further at the surrounding storefronts where more established merchants do business. The preacher is slow to appear, the night shift of miners still struggling to rise out of the depths below. Diego suddenly jumps up on a nearby stall and shoots into the crowd!
The rest of the Company stands in amazement at Diego's actions. Only Otto successfully follows the flight of Diego's arrow. It flies through the crowd, narrowly avoiding small children and old ladies, until it sinks deep into the side of a beefy man. "Karmuk, you son of a gnoll, I'm going to gut you and drag your entrails around a tree!" bellows Diego as he leaps forward. Karmuk, unsurprisingly, runs as quickly as he can into the crowd and away from the berserk archer. Diego plows through people, knocking them bodily to the ground and stomping on them in his attempts to chase Karmuk. Otto, with his magical boots, and Raven, eventually, join in the chase. It is plain that Diego cares not for those people between him and his goal; it is fortunate for them that drawing his bastard sword would delay him in his chase, or they would be struck down by worse than a stout ash staff.
Karmuk barrels into an alleyway off the agora and then dodges into the nearest open door, frustrating Otto who has been rapidly closing with him. Otto's large armored frame has acted like a battering ram, clearing a path through the townsfolk without resorting to actual blows from his fists or sword. The crowd has slowed him though, and while Otto can see the door that Karmuk has dodged into, it takes precious moments for him to get there. He and Diego run into the shop screaming at the customers and owners. When they provide limited direction at best, Diego pulls out his sword and shouts, "I'll kill you three ways to Godsday if you don't tell me where that bastard went right NOW!" The frightened folk all point out the front door, and the two warriors run out it.
Raven finds a group of hysterical customers and merchants and knows his fellow Company members have come through here. To Raven, this is a nightmare. The Company's actions can only be viewed in a negative light. "All we need is for Winthrop to light an orphanage on fire and then it will be a full day," mutters Raven as he spills a pouch of gold eagles on the floor and runs out the front door. Behind him, he can hear Dell directing the priests and the mages to take care of the wounded and make a quick, quiet, unseen exit, but Raven needs to reign in Diego and Otto, of all people.
The path carved by the two men is plain to see, but runs through a number of stores, in and out of doors, and through windows and over walls. The good news is that they moved quickly. The bad news is that they moved violently. Broken doors and walls strew the alleyways, and Raven lacks easily distributable coins. Fortunately, Diego's angry cursing leads Raven to the two warriors promptly. "Well?" he asks, seeing them together in an allyway without Karmuk's body.
"He must have doubled back and faked us out, or someone lied for him," says Otto. "I was moving too fast to track him, but I can now. He can't be more than a few streets away."
"We're done," orders Raven. "Do you hear those whistles? That's the City Guard if we're lucky, the Army if we aren't. It's time for us to become scarce. We'll deal with Karmuk another day."
"He killed me, and then he lied to me," growls Diego, his knuckles going white on his sword. "I'm not going to forget that."
"You got better," replies Raven. "Let's go. Quietly and like we belong here." The three of them, two of them reluctantly at best, head through the alleys away from the marketplace and back towards the Drinking Gnome. The city guard swarms through the area, searching for the ruffians, or worse, assassins, that caused the rioting in the marketplace. Only Otto's preternatural awareness and great speed gets the three of them back to the tavern without incident.
Jasper smiles at Antonus. "Do you have something heavy you need to move?" asks Jasper, always willing to help. Antonus feels some pangs of conscience, but assuages them by believing that he harms no one by his actions.
"I'm here to see Winthrop's books," says Antonus, his voice resonating as a basso profundo, his smile filling the room. "We're good friends Jasper. I'm certain he wouldn't mind." Jasper seems very uneasy about letting anyone, even the kind, generous, likable Antonus, look at Winthrop's books.
"Winthrop told me no one should look at the books. They are his and he's a wizard. His books aren't safe to look at. They have nasty things in them," says Jasper earnestly.
Antonus gauges the moment and takes the right approach. "Well, I'm a wizard, and I can watch over them if you need a break. They'll be safe with me. After all, you have been up here a long time. Don't you need to take a break after all that water you drank earlier? So much water, big pools of water, like water rushing over a waterfall into a big lake. Are you sure you don't need to step out?" he says.
Jasper shifts from foot to foot and begins to look uncomfortable. "Um, thanks, I, um, need to step outside," realizes Jasper. "You'll watch the books?" Antonus nods, and Jasper flees the room, moving at a remarkable speed. Antonus grins and then moves over to the sack of books. The books themselves are bound in heavy, scaled leather, unlike any material that Antonus has seen before. One has a distinct bluish cast to it, while the others have large reptilian scales of enormous size adorning them. Antonus picks out the least scarred of the books and flips it open, looking quickly through the book to discover if it has any enchantments that he might memorize and later transcribe into his own spell book. As he scans the pages, a small amber character catches his attention. It glows brightly and expands towards him.
Otto, Dell, Raven, and Winthrop argue more about whether it is more important to take prisoners, and thus their enchanted items, or to be effective in slaying them by any means necessary. Jasper interrupts them, a rare occurrence. "Um, I've had an accident," says Jasper. Raven looks pained and sinks his forehead into one hand. "Antonus is all hard and funny colored, and he doesn't seem to be breathing," continues Jasper. "I think I did something wrong with your books, Winthrop." Dell breaks out into a large grin as Winthrop turns a deep shade of purple. Winthrop charges like a mad rhinoceros up the stairs, with Jasper and the others trailing close behind.
Indeed, a sepia-colored Antonus kneels in the middle of the room, one of Winthrop's books askew on the floor near him. Dell begins to laugh with great guffaws, grasping his side, while Winthrop storms up to the statue of Antonus and pushes it over onto its side. Winthrop rages at the statue for a moment until Dell can regain his breath. "Don't be too mad," gasps Dell. "This is the most initiative I've seen from him yet!" Winthrop collects his book and ascertains that the others are unsullied.
"I wonder why the audible wards didn't activate?" asks Winthrop as he stares at the form of the apprentice mage.
"Let him loose again," says Dell. "It's too priceless to not be able to taunt him about it in the future."
Winthrop glares at Dell and the chuckling others before waving one hand over the sepia statue. Antonus gasps in shock as the room suddenly changes position, and Winthrop towers over him. "I can make you wish you were dead," growls Winthrop, fire gouting from one hand. "Let this be your first and last lesson on meddling in affairs of those more powerful than you!" Antonus, his glamour insufficient for such a hostile encounter, quails under the malice in Winthrop's voice. All he can do is mutely nod. The others, except for Jasper, leave the room. Jasper collects the book and replaces it in the bag, tying the bag tightly shut. A great wounded look appears in Jasper's eyes as he sits across from Antonus, and it is all Antonus can do to gamely drag himself and his conscience from the room.
Several hours later the clerics return, having performed their rituals and determinations throughout the city. They have heavily marked a map purchased in the marketplace and bring both the results of their prayers and other news. Their prayers show quite clearly that an undead force lies to the west of the city. The distance the two clerics were able to travel between the divinations was not long enough to get a fine focus on where the undead force is, but it must be near the Javan River. The fact that the undead are so near, and that no alarm has been or is being raised in Flen is somewhat distressing.
Additionally, Adrienne and Hugh have heard of a street preacher who has gained great credibility with the miners. This preacher, one Mordrammu, works in the mines and preaches first to his fellow worshippers but then also to the general populace between his shifts. He has obtained a sizable following, though few would consider them sole adherents to his cult. This preacher speaks of a great Earth Dragon who will protect the city. The mines reach down towards the Earth Dragon, and the gems the mines provide are the spiritual eggs that the Earth Dragon provides to those who worship him. The religion sounds odd, to say the least, but this preacher is the only one who, so far, seems at all cognizant of a threat to the city. The Company decides to go to hear him the next day.
The trip to the marketplace the following day is commonplace. They eat breakfast on the way and find a vibrant, if somewhat limited, marketplace in full swing. The vendors sell food, raw and prepared, goods, both new and found, and finished works in a range of prices and styles. The Company wanders through the agora, looking at the various stalls and staring further at the surrounding storefronts where more established merchants do business. The preacher is slow to appear, the night shift of miners still struggling to rise out of the depths below. Diego suddenly jumps up on a nearby stall and shoots into the crowd!
The rest of the Company stands in amazement at Diego's actions. Only Otto successfully follows the flight of Diego's arrow. It flies through the crowd, narrowly avoiding small children and old ladies, until it sinks deep into the side of a beefy man. "Karmuk, you son of a gnoll, I'm going to gut you and drag your entrails around a tree!" bellows Diego as he leaps forward. Karmuk, unsurprisingly, runs as quickly as he can into the crowd and away from the berserk archer. Diego plows through people, knocking them bodily to the ground and stomping on them in his attempts to chase Karmuk. Otto, with his magical boots, and Raven, eventually, join in the chase. It is plain that Diego cares not for those people between him and his goal; it is fortunate for them that drawing his bastard sword would delay him in his chase, or they would be struck down by worse than a stout ash staff.
Karmuk barrels into an alleyway off the agora and then dodges into the nearest open door, frustrating Otto who has been rapidly closing with him. Otto's large armored frame has acted like a battering ram, clearing a path through the townsfolk without resorting to actual blows from his fists or sword. The crowd has slowed him though, and while Otto can see the door that Karmuk has dodged into, it takes precious moments for him to get there. He and Diego run into the shop screaming at the customers and owners. When they provide limited direction at best, Diego pulls out his sword and shouts, "I'll kill you three ways to Godsday if you don't tell me where that bastard went right NOW!" The frightened folk all point out the front door, and the two warriors run out it.
Raven finds a group of hysterical customers and merchants and knows his fellow Company members have come through here. To Raven, this is a nightmare. The Company's actions can only be viewed in a negative light. "All we need is for Winthrop to light an orphanage on fire and then it will be a full day," mutters Raven as he spills a pouch of gold eagles on the floor and runs out the front door. Behind him, he can hear Dell directing the priests and the mages to take care of the wounded and make a quick, quiet, unseen exit, but Raven needs to reign in Diego and Otto, of all people.
The path carved by the two men is plain to see, but runs through a number of stores, in and out of doors, and through windows and over walls. The good news is that they moved quickly. The bad news is that they moved violently. Broken doors and walls strew the alleyways, and Raven lacks easily distributable coins. Fortunately, Diego's angry cursing leads Raven to the two warriors promptly. "Well?" he asks, seeing them together in an allyway without Karmuk's body.
"He must have doubled back and faked us out, or someone lied for him," says Otto. "I was moving too fast to track him, but I can now. He can't be more than a few streets away."
"We're done," orders Raven. "Do you hear those whistles? That's the City Guard if we're lucky, the Army if we aren't. It's time for us to become scarce. We'll deal with Karmuk another day."
"He killed me, and then he lied to me," growls Diego, his knuckles going white on his sword. "I'm not going to forget that."
"You got better," replies Raven. "Let's go. Quietly and like we belong here." The three of them, two of them reluctantly at best, head through the alleys away from the marketplace and back towards the Drinking Gnome. The city guard swarms through the area, searching for the ruffians, or worse, assassins, that caused the rioting in the marketplace. Only Otto's preternatural awareness and great speed gets the three of them back to the tavern without incident.
