Hammer and Anvil

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Kelne
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Hammer and Anvil

Unread postby Kelne » Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:47 am

On this day, as on so many others, a call had gone out to adventurous souls for a mission of importance to the crown. So it was that a group of some half dozen people found themselves seated in a small conference room within Doma Castle. On the table before them sat a small, locked chest, and across from them were seated a Guard lieutennant and a priest of Falis. The priest kept glancing at the chest as if expecting it to bite him.

"A little background on this mission, if I may," the priest began, "The Censer of the Damned is an artifact dating back to the days of the Elven civil war. Incensed at the defeat of her followers at the city of Sitara, the Lady of Spiders would not allow them to pass on to their eternal rest. Instead, she bound them within a censer - the censer contained within this very chest. So long as the censer endured, they would know no peace, condemned to fight the war over and over again.

"They are bound there still. A thousand angry ghosts, ready to swarm forth at any time and wage their ancient war through the living. We would have you break that cycle. Not only for our sake, but for their own, so that they might be granted peace at last.

"We would do this thing ourselves, but..." the priest sighed, "This is not the first time the censer has fallen into the hands of the priesthood. Some millennia ago, in the city of Thilonel, the censer came to the temple of Falis. Knowing that no mortal artifice could harm it, the priesthood resolved to call down the purifying light of Falis.

"It was a disaster beyond comprehension. For even as the holy light poured down from the heavens, darkness rose to meet it, as Lloth intervened to protect her creation. Lightnings born of the clash of deific wrath crashed across the city. Worse yet, in the confusion, the souls escaped their bonds and poured forth. Wizards, poets, warriors, children, all were possessed and all turned upon one another, battling in the streets in a horrific reenactment of the ancient war. For days, the battle raged, ever more terrible spells being called forth. In the end, Silonel slipped beneath the waves, and passed into history.

"It was thought that the censer was lost with Thilonel. Unfortunately, as we have seen, such dark creations always resurface. So long as it exists, it is a dagger pointed at the heart of the Elven people. Yet to call upon the gods to destroy it is to risk loosing its power once more. Nor is there any guarantee of success so long as the Spider Queen shields it with her hand.

"We believe, however, that there is an alternative. According to some of the ancient records, when the world was still being formed, Clangeddin the Smith created a great anvil to unmake dangerous and flawed creations. We have spoken with Clangeddin's clergy. The anvil endures still, deep beneath the northern mountains, near the Dwarven hold of Karaz Gathol. They believe the dwarves there would be willing to guide a small party to the shrine of the anvil, there to see the censer destroyed."

There had been details to be worked out, of course. Payment (500 gil each up front, 2000 upon completion), transportation (specially laid on by the crown), and of course questions, though the priest apparently had little he could add to his speech. A couple of people opted out, deciding that the risks outweighed the benefits. The others made their preparations.

Five days later, the remaining volunteers stood upon the deck of the Royal Fortune, watching the descent towards a large, plainly artificial mountain loch. Held back by a massive, intricately carved dam, the waters of the loch filled a large valley. Karaz Gathol was carved into either valley wall, terraces opening onto the loch and providing the barest hint of what might lie beneath the surface. Great viaducts spanned the gulf, linking the hold together.

As the Fortune settled, drifting towards a set of stone docks, it became apparent that the airship's arrival had garnered a good deal of attention from the populace. Faces peered down from the terraces, and up from the small craft which plied the loch. A small delegation had gathered on the docks, some of whom gladly made fast lines tossed by the sailors.

"Ahoy the airship," one of the dwarves called out, presumably a hastily elected spokesman, "Permission to come aboard?"

Permission was, naturally, granted, and the group traipsed aboard, looking about appreciatively. Now would probably be the best time to make an approach, before the dwarves became too distracted by marveling at the engineering, or looking through the trade goods stacked in the hold.

-----------------------------

OOC notes: With the exception of Storri, the party members have had a few days during the trip to get to know each other somewhat. People should feel free to post up what others may have learned of them over the course of the trip.

Storri, through chance or design, has managed to find a place on the docks a little separate from the delegation, and can certainly get away with attaching himself to them in order to board the Fortune.

Characters also have 500 gil to spend, should they so choose. People should contact me about shopping options from before they left Doma. Otherwise, who knows what goods may be available in Karaz Gathol?

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Unread postby Jak Snide » Mon Apr 07, 2008 9:06 am

Storri Jotunnson had watched the airship's descent with interest. His presence on the docks wasn't an unusual one, the cold mountain air proving quite refreshing after a hard day's work. Most of his fellows would argue that what he did wasn't good, proper work, but they could get stuffed as far as he was concerned.

The vessel was certainly an interesting contraption. He'd heard of them before, but he'd never actually seen one for himself and was keen to get close. And, just as luck would have it, the ship was moving towards the dock where he was sitting. After taking a moment to marvel at it's exterior appearance he made his way towards the delegation, intent on getting a better look.

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Unread postby NamagomiMk0 » Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:13 pm

Finally! A chance to prove myself!

One of the first to have gotten on the Fortune was a young human woman; looking to be about 17 years of age. Brown eyes, blonde hair that was cut to about neck length, and...other features. Slightly above-average height, she wore a Mage Corps Initiate uniform over what appeared to be a newly-purchased set of armor--not very heavy armor, but still slightly stiff in comparison to more broken-in armor. Those tuning in to her aura can see that it is indeed on the strong side, and would easily show why she wore the outfit she did--she may've been new, but that aura wouldn't be put to waste.

Over the trip, she had mostly done a mix of regular magical practice and mostly talking with Sirvix, particularly after learning that she was married to the person that could possibly pass for her idol, General Hakaril Silvar. Turns out he'd hooked up with a succubus, amongst other things. Who'd have thought? She had picked up that there was -another- succubus, reportedly, on board, as well as a...thing. Probably some sort of weird Nekojin from the way it looked.

Of course, she had gone and at least done some practical scouting of everyone on board. While she wasn't exactly the biggest on authority, she at least wanted to know who was good with what...though results felt mixed to say the least.


And now she was looking down a bunch of dwarves who looked particularly intrested in the ship...and realized one fatal flaw with her coming on board. She felt she had -no- idea of what exactly to say next, or how to bring up the more imperative mission at hand...

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Unread postby Seethe » Wed Apr 09, 2008 10:17 pm

This would be the third time the city of Doma had called to Kilisha, and once again she found herself taking up a mission to save the world. She was starting to wonder if she had developed something of a heroic bent.

Nah. Merc jobs just paid good money. And, as it turned out, people who can't stay in one place for long develop a need to take in large amounts of cash at a time. At least, that was her experience. The fact that these jobs tended to involve saving the world was pure coincidence.

But then again, the human part of her did find that coincidence to be a big part of the draw.

During her time on the airship, Kilisha had also made an effort to find out who she would be working with. She had made no attempt to hide the fact that she was a succubus, but she had kept quiet about having once been a human. That bit of her history was probably unique enough that anyone who may have been looking for her would recognize it.

She did reveal, to whoever may have been interested, that she did possess a fair degree of experience in the field. There was one episode she would talk about freely: the time she'd journeyed to the demon-infested town of Belvoken to rescue the children of a Doman sea captain and, in the process, foiled a plot to unleash some great and unspeakable evil upon the world. Unspeakable mainly because she'd already forgotten what its name was. The other experience, she was more inclined to clam up about, revealing only that it had involved a war in a distant land where she had been drawn into a large-scale battle.



As the ship came into the dock and the dwarven delegation boarded the ship, Kilisha wasted no time in getting out to meet them. She also wasn’t entirely sure how to bring up the subject of the mission, but perhaps a way would show itself once a dialogue was opened. With that in mind, a twinge of initiative sprung up in the succubus, so she approached the dwarves to test the waters.

"Greetings, good dwarves," she hailed, her accent suggesting that Common wasn't the language she was used to speaking. But at least she had gotten used to it enough that her speech wasn't as halting as it had once been. "If any of you've got a minute, some of us have a... bit of business we need to discuss."

Not knowing if these dwarves had been told anything about the Censer, she paused there to wait for a response.

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Unread postby Kelne » Wed Apr 09, 2008 10:29 pm

Kilisha had managed to attract the attention of the spokesman, an older, grey-bearded dwarf whose somewhat scorched in places leathers suggested he might be a smith.

"Aye, lass, we don't see many visitors up here. Leastways, not coming in by air. What is it that brings ye to Karaz Gathol?"

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Unread postby Seethe » Thu Apr 10, 2008 5:11 am

Unable to tell just by the response how much the dwarf knew, if anything, Kilisha wondered just how careful her response should be.

"We've been told that there's... a certain shrine around this area," she started. "A shrine to Clangeddin. In that shrine, there's supposed to be an anvil that was created to destroy dangerous and evil items. We have with us an item that needs that anvil's attention. So, we were hoping that we could find someone here who could guide us to the shrine."

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Unread postby Jak Snide » Thu Apr 10, 2008 12:06 pm

Storri stood on the deck with his kin, listening to the strange looking lady and weighing her words. She'd more or less stated that they wanted to waltz into one of his people's holy shrines and use it for their own ends without a hint of compensation. He let a smirk spread across his face, waiting for the spokesman to knock her down a peg for her presumptions.

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Unread postby Kelne » Thu Apr 10, 2008 8:05 pm

"Just like that, huh?" the dwarf looked rather amused by Kilisha's presumption, "The Anvil's not something to be used smashing trinkets, ye know. Why it's been decades now since anybody went in search of the shrine. Can't say as they returned, either.

"Still, if ye're set on this, ye'd better talk to the council. Thane Axegrinder'll give ye a fair hearing, at least." He glanced about for someone with nothing better to do, and his eyes immediately settled on someone who could use keeping out of mischief on general principle, "Storri here'll show ye the way."

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Unread postby Jak Snide » Thu Apr 10, 2008 8:18 pm

Well, he wasn't expecting that. He wasn't stupid enough to assume that the spokesman had singled him out for this task as one of the most reputable representatives present. That said, there was some degree of responsibility to this task, and he hadn't had cause to visit the Thane's court in a long time.

The dwarf spent a moment stroking his beard, short as it was, before speaking up in a thick accent. "Alrecht 'en, come alang noo. Dunno if the thane will hae time fur ye, but we'll see."

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Unread postby Night Shadowflake » Fri Apr 11, 2008 8:44 pm

Night, not being so good with the language of this new world, found a corner to sit and watch everyone during the flight (It didn't help that he wasn't used to flying). When they were docked he followed the rest of the party. He trusts them, but he keeps his hands near his blades just in case he has misplaced his trust....again.

Coming from a land of opportunity he didn't want to get too relaxed. He is incredibly interested in these people, though. He didn't understand the short old old man's words but he also didn't have a bad feeling, so he just stood back and observed.

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Unread postby Seethe » Sat Apr 12, 2008 1:10 am

Kilisha's words may have been presumptuous, but she found herself satisfied with how things had turned out. It was probably as good of an outcome as she could have expected. Though the group would probably end up having to reveal the entire truth of the item they carried in order to win this council's blessing, she somehow doubted that they would turn their petitioners away once they learned that truth.

For now, she wasn't really bothered that the dwarf had assumed the item to be a mere "trinket." That was better than having him guess that it was actually something more, something potentially worth stealing.

"Thank you," she said, looking between the dwarven spokesman and the guide who had been appointed.

While she moved a bit closer to the guide, ready to follow him, she looked back to the rest of the group to see if they were ready as well. Hopefully one of them had the censer with them.

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Unread postby Night Shadowflake » Sat Apr 12, 2008 1:41 pm

Seeing a good excuse to walk behind the party Night grabbed the little Censor. When the priest said it was a prison he assumed it would have more weight, but the only thing reminding him that it was there was the new pressure on his back. Years of continual battle and marching taught him to pack light and tight. Sensing one of his comrades were concerned with it he waited for the first one to look at him. When one did he made the slightest of gestures to his pack, letting her know he had it. Now he just waited patiently for the hump to start.

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Unread postby Kelne » Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:27 pm

The trip to the council chambers was a journey in itself, involving a couple of lift ascents, crossing one of the great bridges, and winding their way upwards through a series of passages. Thankfully, keeping people waiting for no good reason didn't seem to be a dwarven trait, as the guards waved them through the doors.

Inside, the chambers were well-lit, with the afternoon sunlight streaming down from overhead skylights, and a balcony looking out over the hold. The council itself numbered nine dwarves, plainly if neatly dressed, each in garb suggestive of their own profession, though not all of these professions were immediately apparent to outsiders.

At the centre of the table, the crown of his office upon his brow, sat Thane Throm Axegrinder, a look of typical sternness on his face. After letting his visitors arrange themselves, he spoke, "So, then, I hear ye want to put some cursed drow artifact to the Anvil." While Axegrinder himself looked studiously neutral, other members of the council looked openly disapproving.

It seemed word had indeed traveled before them as to their purpose.

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Unread postby Jak Snide » Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:40 pm

Storri stood back from the group, thankful to not be the focus of the council's attention today. He wanted to see how these outsiders handled themselves when under the scrutiny of his hold's leaders, though he did his best to keep his expression neutral.

A drow artifact, though? This was turning out to be an especially interesting turn of events. He wondered what the cursed elves would make of such an item being sundered by the power of the dwarven gods.

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Unread postby NamagomiMk0 » Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:20 pm

"To put it shortly, yes." Adrienne cut in. The trip was long and...less than fun, but at the same time, it was her job--and she'd be damned if a bunch of dwarves simply told her to fuck off and go home at this point. There was a DAMN good reason they brought the fucking thing here, and she would get it out if she had to. She was out to prove herself to everyone, most of all herself, after all...

"To elaborate on the issue, this 'artifact', if you desire to call it that, is from what I've gathered, a form of astral prison, holding a high quantity of auras under what is likely an immensely complex and powerful series of bindings to keep them both in place and preserved in stasis until one of two conditions" ...she started almost -lecturing- the room... "That is, either until somebody of sufficient knowledge activates a sort of 'bypass' on the seals to utilize it for the purpose of accessing the auras within, or as I have been told, someone attempts to destroy or neutralize the device with a high-energy or counter-frequency manalogical wavelength, the latter activating a failsafe which causes the auras to swarm and possess all within a large distance, overriding the people's consciousness with their own or driving them to madness, apparently, thus in turn indirectly causing death on a massive scale as the 'infected', to put a lack of a better word, begin to fight each other."

...She paused for a second, presumably to catch her breath, before continuing, almost taking a matter-of-fact tone as she continued on "As such, we have been informed that this 'anvil' has the ability to destroy it without triggering the aforementioned failsafe; how that is managed, I am estimating has to likely do with some capability to create an immensely powerful energy cascade, not only directly annihilating the auras contained within the censer and the myriad enchantments held, but also consuming the very item itself in the process of its destruction. Regardless, this is why I believe it is necessary to have it destroyed here under all circumstances, if what I have heard has been true--that a malefactor whose identity is unknown to myself had attempted to steal and use the artifact for his own purposes."

...breathe, damn you. Breathe. Just BREATHE ALREADY.

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Unread postby Jak Snide » Mon Apr 14, 2008 6:45 pm

Storri smiled slightly as he listened to the girl speak, guessing this was what a "modern" mage was. All talk of energy and wavelengths and making the Art sound very clinical and scientific. Certainly different from how he'd come to develop a talent for it, but he couldn't say the approach was unappealing. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, focusing on the astral so he could assess just who these people were. The biggest surprise was that the blue woman barely had a lick of magic about her, while the strange animal-thing seemed about as attuned as he was. The speaker, well, she had a rare power there. He wondered if her approach to magic was the cause of that.

The talk of the malefactor snapped him out of his curious state of mind, bringing him back to the matter of why these people were here. He kept his mouth shut, waiting to see what the ol' Axegrinder himself would make of this.

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Unread postby Kelne » Mon Apr 14, 2008 7:56 pm

"Wizards," one of the council members muttered acerbically, drawing nods from various others. Still, some seemed to have more or less followed the speech, looking suitably grim at the potential for destruction.

Axegrinder himself seemed somewhat impressed by the passion with which Adrienne had spoken, irregardless of the motivation from which it had sprung. He glanced down the table at an older dwarf wearing Clangeddin's symbol - the anvil under the mountain. A grave nod answered his unspoken query.

"So, ye'd say the drow'd do a great deal to get their hands on the thing, and do terrible things with it if they did?"

"Bah!" The interruption came from the same dwarf who'd uttered the disparaging comment about wizards, "If the drow come, we'll see 'em off, same as we always do." He wore solid looking armour, engraved here and there with dwarven runes.

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Unread postby Jak Snide » Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:08 pm

Storri felt his beard bristle. He was none too fond of the runesmith, and the feeling was more than mutual. Tradition was one thing, but the man was utterly stuck in the past, his vision too narrow to see the unusual and foreign as anything more than a threat to the hold. Wizardry being one such thing. He wanted to speak up, but he bit down on his lip, reminding himself that it wasn't his place to do so.

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Unread postby Night Shadowflake » Mon Apr 14, 2008 9:04 pm

Night, looking at the council members individually says, "At home if a city-state held a weapon of power it was only a timematter before alliances made to steal it. It is useless to any people represented, but is useful to enemy, why should we leave the possibility of a thief in the night?"

He then sits back hoping he had spoken the words that he meant to. He had just let the sounds tumble from his mouth in the order they came into his mind. Running on feeling, one can never be positive all the time.

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Unread postby Seethe » Mon Apr 14, 2008 9:22 pm

Kilisha had no idea what Adrienne had just said. Of course, that was to be expected of someone who hadn't had a day of formal education in her life. Though she couldn't follow the speech, the human-turned-succubus found herself feeling rather jealous, wishing she'd had the chance to learn about all of that magic stuff. But having no latent magical power at all and being born to a poor family in the countryside of a backwards nation, she really never had any chance. Even if it hadn't been for the demons, her lot never would have been that grand.

Noticing a pause in the mage's speech, Kilisha's attention returned to the present. The disapproving looks that had been on the council members' faces when they arrived were rather disheartening, especially considering that they already knew it was a drow artifact being discussed. The succubus had hoped that dwarves, of all people, would be more than willing to see the destruction of anything belonging to the drow.

The fact that Adrienne's speech had some effect on them was a relief, though. But was it enough? There was still resistance, it seemed. But once that resistance gained a voice, Kilisha saw an opportunity. It would have been one thing if fear of reprisal had been the issue, but the dwarf who had scoffed had taken a dismissive tone towards the drow and towards wizardry. Traditionalist? Maybe the succubus could turn that into an advantage.

"That's a good point though," Kilisha said, directing her words towards the runesmith once the cat-person had spoken. "Drow couldn't even win their civil war against a bunch of dancin' elves."

She hoped that might help to turn his voice against anyone who may have been thinking to avoid reprisal from the dark elves.

"But this artifact isn't just the toy of some drow wizard," she went on. "It's an abomination straight from the hands of the spider queen herself. Its very existence is a stain upon the world. That anvil's there for a reason, and that's to destroy evil creations like this. We do that, and we give the dark elves and their queen a nice black eye to go with their white hair. So how about it?"

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Unread postby Kelne » Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:53 pm

Kilisha's words certainly seemed to have the desired impact, prompting nods from the council, though a couple were grudging. The runesmith simply glared, seeing that he'd been outmaneouvred. Those watching might have caught a flicker of a smile from Axegrinder before he schooled himself to neutrality once more. It seemed he wouldn't mind the chance to give the drow a black eye in the least.

"Well, that's settled then," he said, after a quick glance to assess the mood of the table, "Ye'll enjoy the hold's hospitality tonight, and we'll set you up with a guide in the morning."

This was clearly too much for the runesmith, "Ye can't mean to just let them traipse into the shrine of the anvil!" he exploded.

The response this time came from the high priest, "Clangeddin's work's not so fragile as to be ruined by the tread of a few outsiders," he said sternly, "Even wizards."

With the one dwarf who might have swayed the opinion of the council on the side of the outsiders, the runesmith subsided, muttering into his beard.

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Unread postby Jak Snide » Wed Apr 16, 2008 6:12 am

Storri did his best not to crack a grin, taking no small pleasure in seeing one of his greatest detractors put in his place. That said, the newly apparent gravity of the situation helped him keep his expression neutral as his mood grew dour and he ran the odd looking lady's words through his head. She hadn't used them lightly and, while the thing they'd brought here was presumably contained, it put him ill at ease to know such a thing was within his home. He couldn't help but wonder what those damn elves would do to try and seize it back, either.

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Unread postby Seethe » Fri Apr 18, 2008 12:09 pm

Kilisha gave a respectful bow of her head to the council.

"Thank you," she said. "Your assistance is appreciated. We will not be any longer in the shrine than we must, and I will personally make sure that nobody does anything to harm it."

Though she could tell that a few on the council were only grudgingly supportive of her party's proposal, and the runesmith still seemed against it, she was greatly relieved overall that the decision had gone as it had. The mission would be simpler this way than it would have been if they'd had to carry it out without the council's support, especially since Kilisha had taken the risk of being upfront about what they were trying to do.

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Unread postby NamagomiMk0 » Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:03 pm

Adrienne snorted at the scene--how the hell did an argument based on theology win out over logic? She never was one to worship, to be honest, and preferred straight up logic as opposed to something to do with gods. However, it can't be argued that this was still effective.

That point aside, she noted that the Runesmith could go to hell for all she cared, and if nothing else, they at least had a place to stay before the trip commenced. While she wanted to ask more details about the journey there, logic gave her the suggestion that such would be asking too much--they had already obtained access to a significantly powerful magical artifact that they revered as sacred. It would be better not to bother with more demands, at least at this meeting.

Turning forward to the group, she likewise bowed to the council, what she was intending to say already having been said. She would have to keep an eye on that Runesmith, though, just in case he intended to go ahead and interfere with their plan in any matter...chances are that, given the reports she had heard of other incidents from the base, those after the Censer had a lich in their number--while he was reportedly 're-killed', for a lack of a better term, there might be others...and they weren't anything to mess with.

After all, while binding oneself to unlife as a means to prolong a lifespan is questionable from a moral standpoint to most, it was undeniable in the benefits it brought about; Not having to eat, sleep, breathe, or get sick. And the matter of lifespan becoming quite literally meaningless--this was more important than anything else, for, at least to her, one's magical power is defined by three things in the end: Innate capacity; the effort that is put into the pursuit of arcane power; and the amount of time that is given to their pursuit. When the amount of time becomes infinite, the potential magical power becomes infinite.

...She hated the concept of infinity.

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Unread postby Night Shadowflake » Sat Apr 19, 2008 4:17 pm

Even though he is sure only Seethe knows where it is, Night still would be keeping a careful eye on the contents of his pack from now on. He wasn't about to have such a weapon be taken from him just before it's destruction.The first chance he got he would have to hide it better then he had.

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Unread postby Kelne » Sat Apr 19, 2008 6:17 pm

With the audience at an end, the group made their way out, catching the beginnings of a discussion on the hold's battle readiness as they left. Since they were going to be departing on the morrow, they had the rest of the day to themselves to explore the hold, and a guide who might be talked into showing them around.

((People can engage in CI for a while here. When you're ready to be broomed, put a note in your post, and feel free to detail your character's activities over the day.))

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Unread postby Jak Snide » Sat Apr 19, 2008 6:45 pm

Storri made his way back to his quarters with a spring in his step. He'd asked the council if he could guide the outsiders and, against all expectations, they'd agreed. They hadn't even questioned his motives, placing their trust in him like none had ever before, especially not since he'd started his studies. He knew he needed to prepare for the journey ahead, but first he would go home and tell his clan brothers and sisters of his task.

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Unread postby Night Shadowflake » Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:17 pm

Night, having what he would need for the journey in his pack, he locked his bedroom door and unpacked his things. He then opened a seam pocket (a secret pocket hidden by overlapping seams) and removed some extra cloth to make room. The cloth is then added to a normal pocket and everything is repacked in a way that hides the censor from all but the keenest eyes.
After things are packed to his liking he does his exercises for the day and meditates a bit to center himself for the road ahead. This would all take about 3 hrs. After this Night takes a walk around the hold to see what he can see. He makes sure to take his pack to keep an eye on it.

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Unread postby Seethe » Wed Apr 23, 2008 1:52 am

After leaving the council chamber, Kilisha's first order of business was to make sure Adrienne knew that the cat-person had the censer. It was important that she not be left out of the loop, after all, since all three of the mercenaries were responsible for keeping track of the thing.

She would then make her way to the lodging that was to be provided for the group. There the succubus waited until Night emerged from his room, then proceeded to accompany him as he went to explore the hold. She had no agenda of her own, but merely went along wherever Night went so that he wouldn't be the only person guarding the censer.

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Unread postby Kelne » Wed Apr 23, 2008 7:58 pm

Kilisha and Night would find that the hold was a large place and one filled with wonders. There was the Great Hall, a seriously huge place somehow kept up against the crushing weight of the mountain and decorated with a great many tapestries, banners and other artistic pieces. This would be the site of a feast later in the evening. Then there was the marketplace, clearly smaller than it might have been in the hold's heyday, but enjoying a busy trade indeed with the influx of sailors and trade goods from the Fortune.

Higher in the cliffs were the workshops and forges, open to visitors provided they wore protective gear and stayed out of the way. Again, the workshops were clearly seeing less use than they once had, with numerous doors closed, apparently for some time. Still, those which were open were seeing quite a bit of use, by a wide range of dwarves, metalworking being a common pastime even among those who didn't make a profession out of it. If ever anybody wanted quality weapons or armour, this would be the place to come, though most of it was sized for dwarves. There were even a few firearms on display.

On the heights themselves, outside the hold proper, were terraced fields and gardens, irrigated by waters pumped from the lake below. Enquiries would reveal that the dwarves also kept herds, pasturing them in the lowlands.

Adding to the subtle signs of a place experiencing a slow decline were entire lower levels fallen into disuse, save for guard posts and solid looking gates blocking passage deeper into the tunnels below the mountain.

One of the few places entirely off limits were the Halls of the Dead, tombs for the honoured ancestors. The Halls were entered only in the event of funerals, and for maintenance.

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Unread postby Kelne » Wed Apr 23, 2008 9:08 pm

Storri, meanwhile, finds news of his task met with cautious approval. It's clearly the sort of thing his fellows approve of, though it's probably a bit much to expect that approval to extend to his chosen profession. Still, Storri gets the impression that if he can manage to accomplish his chosen task in a particularly impressive fashion, it might go some way towards being labeled merely eccentric, rather than borderline undwarven.

Nobody said that winning over the traditionally minded dwarves would be easy.

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Unread postby Kelne » Tue Apr 29, 2008 8:43 pm

((As I see nobody acting to explore the hold, moving on.))

In time, the day drew to a close, giving way to the evening and the promised feast. The Great Hall was lit by a roaring fire, along with a multitude of torches. Food was plentiful and tasty, and the ale flowed freely. There were few among the crew silly enough to try matching dwarves drink for drink, but a few made the attempt, leading to a certain amount of drunkenness. Entertainment consisted of skalds reciting some of the ancient sagas, thankfully rendered into common for the benefit of the guests.

All this was brought to an abrupt end by the sounding of a horn, echoing through the stones of the hold. Merriment died on the instant, the assempled dwarves draining their drinks (no sense letting good ale go to waste) and making for the doors, checking weapons as they went. It was clearly a call to battle, but against whom?

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Unread postby Jak Snide » Wed Apr 30, 2008 6:14 am

Storri had a feeling he knew what had happened and, while the thought of torching a few dark elves was always a pleasing one, the thought of his home being under attack always had a sobering effect on him and his kin. He cast a glance around, trying to spot the visitors, wondering if they'd answer the call to arms.

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Unread postby Seethe » Wed Apr 30, 2008 7:33 pm

Kilisha heard the horn and, going by the dwarves' reaction to it, was quick to figure out what it meant. If the attackers were after the censer, then her group held enough of the responsibility that they needed to aid in the defense. On top of that, protecting the censer, she thought, would become quite a bit more difficult if the hold fell.

Setting her helmet onto her head, she glanced at Night to see if the censer was safe, then moved to follow the dwarves.

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Unread postby Night Shadowflake » Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:50 pm

Night puts on his pack at the sound of the horn. Such a sound during a feast is never good in any place. He fastens and and secures every strap, hoping to lessen the amount it may unbalance him. The seatbelt is tightened around his waist and the chest strap is loosened slightly to allow for breathing room. He then draws his bow and follows Seethe.

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Unread postby Kelne » Fri May 02, 2008 2:03 am

Merging themselves into the flow of dwarves making for the exit, the group are swept along and out onto the balconies. They arrived just in time to spy a monstrous black shape pulling itself over the lip of the dam. Fully the size of the Royal Fortune, the monstrous spider ignored the efforts of those dwarves manning the ramparts to harm it, creeping north towards the docks. Even as the dwarves to its rear formed up for a concerted charge, a multitude of lesser spiders poured from its back, swarming over the defenders and plunging the dam into chaos.

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Unread postby Jak Snide » Fri May 02, 2008 5:23 am

Storri had taken part in skirmishes with the drow before, but this...this was something of a far greater magnitude. The visitors clearly hadn't been exaggerating their claims of just how important this artifact was if this was what the bastards sent first.

He took a step back, unsure of himself for a moment, before steeling himself. He reminded himself that he had talents his kin didn't have, and it was up to him to put them to good use. He looked over the battle, trying to assess where his abilities would be put to best use.

(Looking for bits of terrain to safely collapse onto the swarm or, if he can manage it, the gigantic spider. Failing that he'll look for pockets of enemies he can safely launch a fireball into.)

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Unread postby Night Shadowflake » Fri May 02, 2008 8:45 pm

When Night sees the monster emerging from the dam he is taken aback by it's size but he takes a deep breathe and kisses his bow. When he looks back up he draws an arrow and scans for weaknesses in the head and legs. (If none are found he looks for targets among the forward ranks of the smaller spiders)

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Unread postby Seethe » Sat May 03, 2008 12:46 am

At the first sight of the giant spider, Kilisha looked like she had seen a ghost. But she quickly collected herself, realizing that she shouldn't be surprised to see monstrous spiders in the service of drow.

Staying close to Night, her primary concern still being to make sure the censer wasn't taken, she took up her own bow and began to take careful aim at the giant spider, drawing a bead on the center of its face.

(Kilisha spends the round using the Aim tech to prepare for a called shot at the giant spider's head-analogue.)

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Unread postby Kelne » Sat May 03, 2008 7:36 pm

At present, the party was a couple of levels above the docks, and still a fair distance from the oncoming spider. The range would be long, but it was certainly a big target. Storri could see that his best chance of bringing rubble down on top of the spider would be as it stepped off the dam and onto the docks. The stone wasn't as thoroughly worked there as at other locations, and dislodging it ought to be doable with a minimum of structural damage to the hold.

The dwarves, meanwhile, were either piling down the stairs or hauling ballistae into new firing positions to engage the hideous creature.

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