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| fooberichu |
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www.seeleyware.com
Joined: 6/29/2007
Posts: 160
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10/27/2006
The haze of my mind cleared and I found myself entering an inn amidst
a great throng of people. Glancing around, I noticed Vance and Kess
sitting at a table with a small space between Kess and a curious
looking female. The female had translucent wings that glittered in
the light and a beautiful tan complexion. I decided to place myself
in that small space and began to sit down when I was pushed away by
Kess as he hissed "Go away old man!"
I squeezed in nearby and tried to take stock of the situation. It
was then that it dawned on me that I couldn't understand a single
word anybody around me was speaking. I listened intently on what was
going on around me and took note that both Vance and Kess seemed
interested in this winged female though the conversation was largely
one-sided. Noting also that the female seemed to reciprocate at
least some interest in Kess, I decided to end his little flirtatious
conversation and get back at him for calling me old. I let loose
with a spell of stench originating from near his rectum, watching as
the rancid cloud of yellow gas mushroomed up and vacated the table.
I was satisfied with the disgust the winged female displayed as she
left, leaving Kess appalled at his apparent lack of bowel control.
Looking around the room again, I noticed Schmendrick rolling his eyes
at me having recognized exactly what took place. I shrugged and took
the opportunity to go talk to him and learn of our whereabouts and
situation.
I was mildly surprised to learn we were in Silothreni though not
surprised to learn that we were here to locate and "eliminate the
threat" of Serena, the witch who had turned her own mother in to a
wraith and sent to start some problems between the Celestines and
Phoenix. He informed me that a couple if not several weeks had
passed since our battle with the wyverns and that, although a bloody
battle, we had triumphed. He told how most of my companions were
able to have armor crafted from the wyvern hides and reminded me of
my take from the booty. (I checked my coffers later and found that I
was several thousand copper richer than I last remembered).
Portions of the past weeks came back to me as willowy wisps of
memory, light, fluttery and hard to capture. I had hazy memories of
myself teleporting away during the heat of the battle, leaving my
comrades to battle without my much needed help. During those
memories, I caught a glimpse of a divine mandate commanding me to
return to Bristol and await a "friend from the sky" whom I was
to "nurse back to health." Surprised, I watched my memories as I
noticed a wyvern fly over Bristol and drop something from its claws.
Horrified I watched as the object came in to view and noticed it was
Crespin, flailing his arms wildly as he attempted to somehow catch
hold of a cloud to stop his fall. I was witness to his crashing
through the roof of the Sentinel's former outpost and landing with a
thundering wet crunch as bone and sinew were rent asunder. I
recognized that event as my "friend from the sky", and watched myself
save him from the grasp of death as I lent my magic to heal his
broken body.
My memories seemed to skitter and weave in and out of reality. I
caught glimpses of an ambush, Schmendrick sporting an arrow
protruding from his body and skeletal skulls glowing an eerie purple
spitting magic at my comrades. The memories skipped ahead and
dissipated in to the void, leaving me back in the inn, speaking with
Schmendrick about our current disposition and whereabouts.
Overwhelmed, I thanked Schmendrick for refreshing me on the recent
events and excused myself to my room.
The next morning I awoke early and went down to the commons to enjoy
a hearty breakfast. I kept to myself (not difficult seeing as I
couldn't communicate with any of the natives anyway). Time passed—
not entirely certain how long—but I noticed Crespin enter the room
looking haggard from a night of drunken partying and confused. I
learned that he was completely without purse, apparently resultant of
his companion last night relieving him of it. I was about to offer
him breakfast when he was approached by a servant of some sort
dressed in finery. The servant handed him a letter and waited
patiently as Crespin read it. Apparently Mort had bested Crespin
last night and found a worthy companion—a noble—who was now securing
audience with the Lord of Dagon, one Dathan, and Mort requested his
armor so he could be "well-dressed" for the event. Crespin didn't
trust the armor with the servant so he accompanied him away.
It wasn't long before Crespin returned and stated that all of our
presence was required and that if we didn't have fine clothing, the
lady with whom Mort had shared intimacy with the night previous would
secure us some. Looking down at my robes, dusty and marked with
holes from travel and battle, I consented to borrowing some fine
robes worthy of my status.
Crystal—the noble whom Mort had slept with—met us at the palace and
educated us on Silothreni custom, then led us in. We spent
approximately a half hour in the lower garden where custom dictated
that we could not speak of anything personal nor of business. We
were to only have light conversation and complements. Rather than
risk breaking protocol, I kept my mouth shut. Dathan came to meet us
and began with a ritual of some sort towards Crystal, then approached
us and spoke with perfect Celen. I was impressed, though not
surprised—nobility frequently must learn to speak the languages of
empires surrounding their own. We moved from garden to garden,
keeping as much to custom and protocol as we could, though some of my
companions treaded perilously close to breaking protocol in the
second garden.
Having remembered seeing gryphon aviaries in Phoenix, I inquired that
of Dathan and learned that he used to be on friendly terms with the
original rulers. It was due to my question that my companions came
close to breaking protocol because they began to inquire more deeply
on that matter. I left it alone.
Finally in the upper garden we were allowed to speak our business and
our mind. We informed him of our purpose—hunting Serena because of
her actions—and showed him the ring. He asked us if he could take
the ring and consult one of his advisors and we consented. He went
in to the building nearby and while we were waiting, we noticed a
massive blue dragon descending from the heavens. It landed in the
second garden and we noticed a man dismount and enter that building,
the dragon itself transforming in to a man and entering behind him.
Shortly thereafter, both this man who had ridden the dragon and Lord
Dathan came back to meet us, the ring floating ahead of them. They
informed us that the ring was extremely dangerous to wear (which we
already knew) and even to have associated with us. His advisor
(later identified as the famous Sujo) wanted to destroy the ring and
Schmendrick had no qualms letting him take it and do so.
Dathan gave us permission to investigate Serena—who apparently was
family of some sort, and stark raving mad—but wanted us to report
everything to him before taking any action. Some comrades of mine,
thinking ahead, asked if he could send us with a representative who
had authority to give permission to act. Additionally, we requested
of him magical trinkets that they use for visiting dignitaries,
giving them the ability to understand the language and be
understood. He said he'd see what he could do on the trinkets, but
that he would certainly send us with a representative.
Having nothing left to do at this point but wait, we decided we'd
take part in the festivities for their celebration of the "Festival
of Light". We returned to the inn in preparation for the night and I
couldn't help but notice how many menorahs they had put out for
celebration.
Good thing we decided to wait a little because the representative
from Dathan arrived with some amulets that would allow us to
understand and be understood. Having only three, we decided to draw
straws for them. Because Mort was the reason any of this was
possible, we let him take one straight away, but the rest of us had
to draw and luckily Vance and I got to walk away with them for the
party. I felt like I deserved and needed the chance to relax, having
not taken some "me time" in several years.
I went out to the city streets that evening in pursuit of one thing—
female companionship. As I was out and about, I was approached by
Sujo who had taken note of my family heirloom—the staff. He asked
many questions about it, some I answered, others I did not. Feeling
as if I had answered enough of his questions, I turned the tide. I
inquired what he knew of the fall of Old Aerith and Edward Grumby.
He stated that whether on purpose or on accident, Edward had
destroyed the old city and prevented the advancing Suul army from
reaching their goal. Not believing that Edward actually destroyed it
on purpose, I pushed further inquiring about that. Sujo didn't
necessarily believe either way, but seemed inclined to believe that
it is certainly possible that it was an accident through the staff
being destroyed.
Ripples of magic, he stated, come from any magical item when it is
destroyed. The power of the item directly relates the effect of its
destruction; an artifact being completely able to level a city.
Now further educated on his take on things and what could have
happened, I told him how I took possession of the staff. He was
interested to learn about the crystal castle outside of Redcliffe and
I let him know its whereabouts. I informed him about the ghosts in
Old Aerith and Bristol that took an interest in me and he told me how
it could possibly be a curse attached to the staff. He directed me
to the high priestess of Mooring or the three witches in the isles
just south of Silothreni—the priestess being able to lift a curse,
the witches being able to answer questions if they are appropriately
asked. Additionally, he directed me to the vaults below Phoenix or
the libraries in New Aerith as containing information about Edward
prior to the destruction. Seeing Phoenix as out of the question, my
aim is to get back to New Aerith and/or the isles to enhance my
knowledge and clear Edward's name.
Another interesting point I learned during my discussion with Sujo
was that I still look exactly like Edward, even having changed the
style and color of robe I wear. Apparently the images in the books
are directly tied to my own appearance… perhaps Schmendrick's
conjecture is correct?
Heading back to the festivities it didn't take me long to find an
attractive female companion for the night and I headed back to my
room to get some much needed sexercise and relaxation.
Unfortunately, the relaxation was something that did not happen.
After we were done with sex, the lady excused herself to return to
the festivities and I decided to go to sleep. I had a most
disturbing yet potentially revealing dream.
I awoke—or so I thought—to a room I had never before seen yet one
that felt so familiar to me. The room was plush with riches,
obviously a room for someone of high stature. There were books of
all sorts in the shelves, robes—of varying colors yet all with the
same markings and style—in the wardrobe. I noticed my staff on a
special stand above the desk. The desk itself was covered in letters
and had a large map near the center, dotted with pins that I
recognized as marking military camps. There was no legend marking
what each of the different color pins meant, yet somehow I knew that
the pins in red were denoting Suul encampments and the pins in blue
were Celestine.
A sudden knock at my door nearly sent my stumbling over the chair but
I quickly recovered and called out inquisitively. A voice from the
other side asked if I was ready yet, as I was being summoned by His
Royal Majesty. I stammered that I'd be out in a moment and sat
pondering—had I suffered another lapse of memory? Where was I and
why on earth did the Emperor want to see me? Even more, why was I in
a position of riches and power? Had I accomplished my goal of
creating my own mages academy and grown to a position of power? I
quickly selected a robe I thought befitting the situation and grabbed
my staff from its place.
Leaving the room I was approached by a man of small stature yet a
look of stern determination and a hint of fear. He bowed as he
neared me and asked that I follow quickly—I was apparently running
late, not a good thing when meeting with the Emperor. I hastened my
steps to keep up with the man as we hurried through the corridors. I
was too disoriented to ask questions and apprise myself of my
whereabouts or situation, doing my best to keep up and not stumble.
As we entered the antechamber, he asked me to wait while he announced
my presence to the porters. I was given the opportunity to pause and
try to take stock of my situation. The building was like none I had
ever seen before, both in architecture and decoration. While I had a
sense of recognition, I couldn't place where I had seen this before.
It did not appear to me as the Imperial Palace had last time I was
there (accompanying Duke Yurin during the Great Suul war).
While making my observations, I was interrupted by a young man in
royal livery. He invited me to follow him, stating that the Emperor
would see me now. I decided that rather than let my lack of
knowledge of the situation show, I would wait to hear what was going
on and try to piece together what I could.
The Emperor greeted me with ambivalence. It seemed he feared me, yet
admired me. I couldn't understand the feelings, mostly considering I
couldn't remember how much time had passed or what had passed in this
time. I decided to wait, a good course of action because he wasted
no time on small talk.
I was more than surprised when he asked me the state of the army and
how it was possible that the Suul had managed to get so close to our
stronghold. I didn't want to appear stupid nor out of sorts, so I
kept listening. He asked why, after my having stopped the Suul at
Bristol, they seemed to have been able to recoup and come back with
greater force and determination. It was at that point, between the
event at Bristol and him finally using a name that I realized where I
was and what was happening. He called me "Edward." Schmedrick was
right! I am Edward! I took a second look at the Emperor and
realized that although I seemed to recognize him, he was not the
Emperor I last knew to stand leader of the Celestine empire (that is,
Emperor Terren Haentra).
Coming back to the conversation, I heard the Emperor command me to
take whatever measures I deemed necessary to halt the Suul army and
restore peace to the nation. With that my audience was over and I
was escorted out. The page offered to accompany me to my room and
was to be at my disposal for any correspondence I needed with the
generals.
Entering my room, I rushed to the desk and began scouring the letters
and correspondence, trying to grasp the situation and exactly what
part I played in all this. It became apparent through the literature
that I was a very powerful and well respected player in the Celestine
Empire, a hero in my own right, and that a lot of responsibility and
expectations were placed on me to help stop the onslaught of the Suul
invaders. Through the reports from scouts, I was able to determine
that I had two or three days at best before they would reach our city
walls and that a great number of our soldiers had been pulled back to
Aerith with the intent of protecting our capital and thus leaving
many of the outlying cities and fiefdoms in jeopardy.
The next couple days passed with much studying and eerie
revelations. I learned that I was indeed a much more powerful mage
than last I had known myself to be. In addition to the staff, which
augmented my own magical ability, I had increased in ability far
beyond what I had possessed in my most recent lucid state. Not only
that, my repertoire of spells had increased dramatically leaving me
perhaps as powerful and knowledgeable if not more so than the famous
Sujo whom I had met in my most recent memories. In my grimoire, I
learned that I had knowledge of several powerful spells that I
thought could be used in protection of the city until the rest of our
reinforcements arrived from the provinces. Taking that as my best
course of action, I rushed out to the city proper and began my
preparations to cast this monumental spell.
As I began the ritual to cast my spell, the city bells began to ring
signaling the arrival of the Suul army. I had a brief lapse of panic
strike me and almost lost concentration of my spell, but pushed
forward. I knew the troops on the walls, our arsenal of trebuchets
and catapults, and of course the massive array of foot soldiers and
cavalry would keep me out of harm's way while I prepared my spell.
Time seemed to slow as chaos erupted all around me, yet I sat
entranced and working my powerful magics. I began to pulse with the
energy as I neared the end of my ritual, the ruby eyes of my staff
began to glow and pulsate with every beat of my heart. My heartbeat
itself became the rhythmic beating of a drum thumping in my ears. A
sound as if rushing wind joined in with the pulsating beat of my
heart, drowning out all other sound. I could see soldiers, their
mouth's agape as they watched the tendrils of magic pouring from my
fingers, my eyes, my staff. It seemed as if they were trying to
speak yet they appeared to be locked in the embrace of time as my
spell reached its apex.
Suddenly time reinstated itself and the magic blasted out of me with
the rage of a hundred dragons, arcing in to the sky as my intended
magic began to take form. It was my intention to place a protective
barrier around the entire city, one capable of stopping not only
magic (though the Suul had very little magic in their ranks) but also
the engines of war.
Seeing this massive display of energy, several of my countrymen fell
to their knees in awe, praising the Gods for this saving grace. It
was at that precise moment that I knew something was wrong. I saw
the tendrils of magic reverse their course and turn back towards my
staff. Time seemed to slow again as the tendrils raced their course,
getting ever closer yet so far away. I yelled out to warn the people
in my immediate vicinity but the words would not form. My throat
became hoarse and dry, my body losing its strength. I couldn't
explain what was happening except that I know I had somehow expended
more energy than I could possibly have possessed, possibly sucking
the mana from the very life and essence of all that surrounded me.
With sudden abruptness, the tendrils smashed back in to my staff and
rent it in twain. Three equal pieces fell from my hands; striking
the ground with such force it knocked me off my feet. I watched in
horror as a shockwave went out from the staff and blasted through
every soul and building with such force as to completely obliterate
most of them and severely damage the rest. A massive tremor shook
the ground and my attention was drawn to a section of land that
suddenly jutted out and struck towards the sky, several hundred yards
in height, carrying off a portion of the city. All around me I saw
death and destruction, and I knew it had originated from me.
I collapsed under the strain of the terrible magic and death I had
just unleashed on the land and passed out.
Cold sweat woke me. I was in a dark room with a few candles lit, a
feeling of despair washed over me. Looking around I recognized this
place—it was the castle outside of Redcliffe. I don't know how I got
here or how much time has passed, but one thing is certain—I know
exactly what happened. I destroyed Aerith. Forever will this awful
guilt live on in me, knowing that my attempt to save them was
actually the cause of their destruction.
As I sat wallowing in self-pity and remorse, Ellisar entered the
room. He had a look of pity and sorrow etched in his face. He
approached and said "I'm sorry Edward… there was nothing you could
have done." I looked up at him, disbelief played out like dark lines
on my face. "How could I have done this? What went wrong?" I asked
exasperated. "With great power comes great responsibility and risk.
Sometimes magic doesn't work the way we expect it to work… even more
so with humans. You could not have done anything to change events.
I'm just glad you survived… had I not arrived when I did, the
backlash of magic would have consumed you." He stated emphatically.
The next several days passed in discussion. It was decided, after
much deliberation, that Ellisar would repair the staff and give it
back to me when he was done. He entered in to his "place away" as he
called it, and told me that when he was done, he'd call for me. I
left and went to Tristen, where several more months passed in
obscurity… a flash of reality.
One night, while living in Tristen, I awoke with a start. I felt
like something was sorely out of place though I couldn't identify
what was wrong. I started to get up to investigate when I noticed a
presence in the room. Looking around, my eyes rested on a figure in
the darkness. I called out, wondering who was there. The figure
stepped forward and I saw a being that was unlike any I had ever seen
before. He had some sort of tentacle-like appendages spewing out
from his head and eyes as dark as night. His face twisted in what
appeared to be a smile just as his hand flicked. I felt excruciating
pain in my chest and looked down to see a deep black dagger
protruding from just below my sternum. Grasping it and yanking it
out, I looked back up and the figure was gone. I could feel
something rushing through my veins like fire, my eyesight growing
dim. I collapsed to the ground in pain and agony and knew that I had
finally gained release from all the pain I had suffered and caused
these last several months. Death swallowed me up.
And then I woke up. I was back in the inn during the Festival of
Lights and I am Griswold. What the hell just happened?
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| fooberichu |
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www.seeleyware.com
Joined: 6/29/2007
Posts: 160
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11/10/2006
Falling back asleep was difficult and staying asleep was even more
difficult. My mind kept returning to my dream and racing back and
forth through the details. I couldn't shake the feeling that what I
had seen was very real and that my mind had not concocted it, but
rather, somehow I was remembering something that happened long ago.
To make matters worse, I had a burning pain in my bosom where the
knife had sat pouring death in to the body of my dream. A sudden
sense of panic shook over me and I pulled open my sleep tunic only to
find that my chest was all still intact and I was free from injury.
I woke this morning, groggy from the troubled sleep. Leaving my room
I sought out my companions, eager to get away from this place and on
our journey; it seemed I slept in later than usual so I found myself
arriving in the commons much the same time as Ivan—our
guide/representative. We left shortly after he arrived to take
journey.
With all honesty, I don't remember much of what happened on our
journey towards Serena's compound because I was too deep in thought
about my dream from last night. It seemed like no sooner had we left
than we were arriving to a deeply forested area and could see the
compound atop a hill. Placement of the fortification was very well
thought out by a masterful tactician—the compound itself had a single
narrow path leading up through the forest towards the gate. On the
one side was a sheer drop off a large cliff, on the other was a steep
cliff towards the mountain above. Nobody could approach and hope to
scale the cliffs in large numbers, and getting above the
fortification on the other side was sheer suicide.
Expecting Serena to be completely in league with the undead, we sent
Vance ahead to scout. He was gone for quite a while and I got lost
in thought again. I don't know how much time passed, but I suddenly
came out of my reverie and noticed Crespin pacing back and forth with
anticipation. Suggesting to him that I turn him in to a cloud of
vapor, he graciously sprung forward to have me place my magic on
him. I was about to do so when somebody mentioned that he should
wait until dark. Crespin grudgingly agreed and went back to his
pacings.
Shortly before sundown, Vance returned and reported his findings.
Unfortunately the information he was able to gather was not enough to
support an all-out assault, nor was there any evidence to suggest
that Serena had any undead at her compound. This reinforced my
desire to turn Crespin and now Vance in to puffs of air and sending
them on their way so they could investigate more freely. It seemed
the very essence of the air around me poured itself in to preparation
of my spell because I felt completely at one with the elements as I
let loose the tendrils of magic. The tendrils wrapped themselves
around Crespin and weaved his body in to a wisp of haze. His
momentary surprise was quickly turned to joy as he learned he could
will himself to fly, and off he went. I followed suit with Vance and
sent him away also. Glancing around the party, I caught glimpse of
Kess as a look of enlightenment seemed to pass over him—realizing
that I'm the one that gave him the gift back at the inn the other
night.
A half hour passed without Vance and Crespin returning. Beginning to
ponder their potential demise, we set out ourselves in force. Mort
suggested we approach from the left, along the base of the large
cliff and having no complaints or suggestions otherwise, we all
followed suit. I sank back in to my reverie and followed closely,
only coming back to reality when the party halted.
Mort had noted light in the torrent and suggested we approach slowly
and quietly. Putting myself to the task, I moved as quietly as I
thought I possibly could—pretty good for a battlemage if you ask me—
but apparently it wasn't good enough. We heard a voice call out an
inquiry and we scattered like cockroaches to a flame. An arrow
clattered to the wall just behind me as I scurried away, sending me
in to a much faster flight. I rushed around the torrent and paused a
moment, noticing Schmendrick and Lydia up ahead and still moving
quietly. Apparently they decided not to follow us, and I vaguely
remember Kess asking something about shooting Vance with an arrow—if
it would hurt. I think he saw Vance flying away and wanted to get
his attention; in fact, I now remember Vance mentioning that Crespin
was waiting on just the other side of the gate awaiting our signal to
open it (signal being me dropping the spell). They (Schmendrick and
Lydia) thought it was a stupid idea and moved the other direction and
I—being in my stupor of thought—didn't really object but just
followed along.
That aside, I was approaching Schmendrick and Lydia when I heard a
howl that pierced me to the bone. I looked behind me and noticed a
very large dog flying through the air and watched it land limberly.
Peering up at me with deep red eyes of hell, I realized this was a
hell-hound of some sort and turned to run. As I ran, I realized that
there was no way I could outrun this beast and I certainly didn't
have time to prepare any offensive magic, so I did the next best
thing. I turned and faced the dog whilst preparing a spell of
teleportation. At precisely the moment it's teeth should have
pierced my body, my spell went off and whisked me to the other side
of the compound where Mort, Ivan, Kess, and Vance were scaling the
wall.
While the others scaled the wall, I prepared a spell to defend myself
from arrows and then followed with a spell to make me fly. I soared
in to the air above the compound, intent on drawing their fire and
allow my comrades time to dispatch the soldiers. Surprisingly, Mort
and Ivan had already taken out the three soldiers from the torrent
and there were no more to be seen. I noticed the front door to the
commons crash open and a hulking man adorned in full plate stepped
out. He instantly noticed me hovering overhead and called out to me,
imploring me to come down and "talk this through." At first, I
ignored him.
Noticing Mort leaving the torrent, followed by Ivan, and seeing Kess
take aim at the hulk, I decided to lower myself down for a friendly
chat. I learned that this man was named Leroy and was charge of the
compound. Seeing as Serena was pretty much completely gone, he had
full responsibility over the compound.
He invited us in after learning of our mission and was allowed us to
interrogate the inhabitants and staff. After talking with everybody,
we started to piece together the facts. Serena had been crazy ever
since her brother Migos brought a cursed sword back to the compound
and had wanted her to do something. When she refused, he was furious
and left… then she went crazy. Additionally, the ring that Serena
gifted her mother on her last visit was actually a ring that
originated from Migos. All evidence was leading us back to Migos,
yet we still had the problem of helping cure Serena of her madness.
During the investigation, it was brought to my attention that there
were two individuals missing from interrogation. We began
investigating the room where Mort and Vance had observed them having
sex and found it to be not only empty, but covered in dust. About to
leave, I noticed a fresh bootprint near the bed. In the meantime, we
had begun talking with Serena in the guise of her servants and Mort
in the guise of her lover (though he didn't realize that's who he
was) in the attempt to glean some information from her. During our
chat, she began spouting off about a secret room in the linen
closet. Mort asked me to "clean up" the linens (as I was a servant),
and while I cleaned I searched for clues of a hidden compartment. I
deduced that there very well could be one, but that the entrance was
definitely not in the closet.
Once the other two missing individuals were brought up and I found
evidence of them being there, I turned myself in to air and began
seeking a crack in the wall. I found one and entered a dark room and
heard the breathing of individuals who were obviously scared and
trying hard to control their breathing. I left and apprised my
companions of the situation and finally Leroy told us the truth.
He was hiding two fugitives—the one deserted the army, the other his
lover. We gleaned what info we could from them before promising to
help smuggle them out of the country.
Interestingly, Leroy was willing to lend me his book of curses so I
can learn some spells and hopefully help dispel the madness that has
taken hold of Serena. It will be useful, I imagine, in far more than
this case. Perhaps I will unravel my own memory lapses and unlock
the truth to my past (or future).
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| fooberichu |
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www.seeleyware.com
Joined: 6/29/2007
Posts: 160
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11/24/2006 (Fake Journal Entry -- Gaming Cancelled)
We took our journey back to Lord Dathan's hold to report our
findings. The return journey was uneventful and quiet, nobody
speaking much on what happened (and hoping to maintain the secret
about the fugitives we had encountered). Ivan didn't seem to care or
notice, perhaps enjoying the silence.
Upon arriving back in Dathan's city, we spent the day in preparation
for our visit. His lacky—Ivan—went his way to report and mentioned
that we would likely meet with Dathan on the morrow.
I spent that night deep in thought, studying the books, when I came
across a particular entry that interested me—"Visions of the Past".
It came to me that I would likely have chance to use this spell in
Bristol as well as Old Aerith to see the events that enshrouded my
ancestor (or perhaps myself) and leading up to the destruction of Old
Aerith. The thought occurred to me that if this spell exists, then
surely somebody must have already tried the same when writing the
history books about Edward and the destruction of Old Aerith… but
perhaps something was blocking their view, or perhaps this is
something meant only for me to accomplish? I decided that since this
spell was one that could be used in preparation for the spell to
remove curses, I would set myself to learning said spell.
The next day arrived all too soon and we were called upon to report
to Lord Dathan. We went to collect Mort from the manor where Crystal
lives (and where he stayed the night), and proceeded on to Dathan's
court. Amazingly, my comrades were much better behaved and
remembered the customs of each garden—something that obviously
impressed Crystal.
Finally our turn to meet with Dathan arrived and we were ushered in
to the third garden where he and Sujo were anxiously awaiting. Vance
was first to point it out, but both Dathan and Sujo seemed somewhat
distraught—we were hoping it had nothing to do with us.
As the conversation ensued, we reported what we were able to find and
that we had not found any indication of undead nor foul play on
Serena's part, but that we had uncovered a lead connected to her
brother Migos. At that, both Sujo and Dathan lost composure for only
a brief moment, too brief for the majority of my friends to notice
but Schmendrick and I (the only two completely aware of the
situation) took note of. It was their turn to talk, and they did.
They informed us that Migos had gone missing, presumably kidnapped
based on the evidence, and that this brought a whole new playing card
to the table. Not so much asking as commanding (now where does
Dathan get the idea he can command us, not a one citizens of
Silothreni?) us to find Migos and either bring him to justice as the
instigator in this plot, or clear his name and weed out the
perpetrators.
Frankly, I was amused with the whole situation because it was
blazingly obvious to me. Migos had staged his own kidnapping after
catching wind that a group from the Empire was investigating the
attempt to start a war between Phoenix and the Empire, even more so
that we knew exactly where to start looking. He must have been
observing us the first time we entered the city and learned of our
plans (he being a noble of some report) and in our absence began
laying the groundwork for his escape.
Of course, we agreed to track down Migos and were given authority to
search his house and learn his business affairs—again in the presence
of Ivan.
We went straightaway to his quarters in the palace and found a site
that to the common eye would spell out kidnapping. His belongings
were strewn about as if somebody was searching them for something,
furniture overturned as if a struggle had ensued, even some blood
spattered here and there. We asked Vance to take a look around and
see if he could find anything to lead us towards him and in the mean
time, Schmendrick and I started perusing his belongings (ie, books).
What we found was damning.
Either Migos really was framed and kidnapped, or he is just plain
stupid. Among his belongings (yes, well-hidden, but still…) was a
book of forbidden magic—Necromancy. I had no desire to even place my
hands on the book so Schmendrick obliged me and tucked it away in his
hat. Evidence, he said. We continued looking and found some letters
from an unknown person or group addressed to Migos, questioning him
on his progress about some task (presumably the war).
After spending a couple hours in his quarters, we decided it was time
to move on. Vance, waiting patiently in the corner, apprised us that
he was able to locate a trail that we could follow and possibly pick
up on where Migos went.
Hoping not to offend my friends, I asked if it would be a problem if
I simply went back to the inn and began studying the spells, hoping
to learn the spell to remove curses within the next few days and thus
being able to help Serena as quickly as possible. I went with the
premise that, should we not be able to find Migos, then having Serena
in a lucid state would certainly help us know why he found her
dangerous enough to remove her mind from her, possibly leading us to
this unknown party that Migos was underling to.
Surprisingly, everybody agreed with me and followed Vance along the
trail. I returned to the inn and began studying the spells.
First on my list was this spell to see the past. I spent every
waking moment studying the spells and attempting to perfect them. At
one point, I felt like I was far enough along on the "Visions of the
Past" that I decided it was time to give it a try. Devious thoughts
began forming in my mind… and I went to Crespin's room. Several
nights previous came to mind and how he was so mad at Mort for
getting the hot noble chick and ended up drinking himself to a stupor
and going off with some ugly whore. I took it upon myself to either
prove or disprove the event and began preparing my spell.
The tendrils of magic began weaving themselves around me in a
tapestry. The windows of time opened and I could see willowy figures
begin emerging around me as time began moving backwards. Reaching my
destination, the figures turned from willowy wisps to translucent
(but discernible) beings and I watched as Crespin entered his room
staggering. Following at his side was a brute of a man. I peered
intently, hoping to learn that this individual was not a man, but
rather a very unfortunate woman.
Crespin lead his quarry to the bed and began undressing himself, all
the while talking about how he was a great hero and had saved
hundreds of people. The individual merely watched and waited. Once
Crespin was naked (and I might add that he may be a strong young lad,
but as far as manhood goes he is more like a short, thin writing
utensil), the man approached him and sat on the bed and began
undressing himself also. I shuddered at what I was about to see but
somehow loathe to turn away and undo my spell. I was at least
vindicated to see that this brute was indeed a woman, not a man…
something to Crespin's credit at least. She must have weighed at
least twice what Crespin did and could have likely benched three
times his weight.
The oaf wrapped her meaty hands around Crespin's body and began
laying in to him like a pit bull on a rabbit. She must not get
action very often, even if she is big enough to take advantage of any
man I've seen around Silothreni (minus Leroy, perhaps). I was
completely grossed out at what I was seeing and couldn't bear to
watch any longer. Deactivating my spell, I turned and heaved in the
corner.
Standing up and taking my leave, the image of Crespin and the oaf
entered my mind again causing another spell of heaving. I needed to
cleanse my mind of what I had just seen and, more importantly, clean
up my robe now stained with bits of lunch and dinner.
I went back to my room and outright disposed of the robe. I felt too
dirty with it in my possession any more. Cleaning myself up and
donning one of my spare robes, I went down and paid the keeper to
clean Crespin's room. I mentioned that I had entered hoping to
borrow an item from him and seen the rancid mess (not about to admit
it was me). Disgusted, he sent his maid up to the room to clean it
up.
I returned to my studies and spent the next several days deep in
study. I was able to achieve the spell and several others in the
time I spent.
Upon finishing my studies, I was surprised to find that my comrades
had not yet returned. Checking and rechecking the calendar to see
what day it was, I noted that five days had passed and no word yet.
I couldn't necessarily go after them because for one, I had no idea
where they went and second, if we crossed paths there is no telling
how long it would take before we were reunited.
I spent the remainder of my time away from my comrades practicing
with my spell to see the past. Hoping to cleanse my mind of Crespin
and his oafish lover, I went out on the town myself hoping to find an
attractive young female to spend the night. I was successful.
At long last my comrades returned, dejected. They had traced Migos
all the way to a castle several days out where they suddenly lost the
trail and could find no leads. They investigated the abandoned
castle and encountered a small trove of undead, which they hurriedly
dispatched, but were not able to find anything that would lead them
any other direction.
With hope in all their eyes, they questioned if I was successful in
learning the spell to remove curses to which I replied that I had, in
addition to several other useful spells. When I mentioned the other
useful spells, I couldn't help but glance toward Crespin and
shudder. I doubt I'll ever cleanse my mind of that sight, short of
removing my memory the same way Schmendrick did. Not exactly a bad
idea, but probably not the best course of action.
We shall see what we can learn from Serena, should I prove successful
in removing her madness.
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| fooberichu |
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www.seeleyware.com
Joined: 6/29/2007
Posts: 160
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11/24/2006 ("Real" journal -- as edited by GM)
Below is the editted and corrected version of the story. Feel free to
ask questions if things are not clear. We will be continuing tonight
from this poing forward. Jeremy
---------------------------
We took our journey back to Lord Dathan's hold to report our findings.
The return journey was uneventful and quiet, nobody speaking much on
what happened (and hoping to maintain the secret about the fugitives
we had encountered). Ivan didn't seem to care or notice, perhaps
enjoying the silence.
Upon arriving back in Dathan's city, Dagonhold, we spent the day in
preparation for our visit. His lackey, Ivan, went his way to report
and mentioned that we would likely meet with Lord Dathan on the morrow.
I spent that night deep in thought, studying the books, when I came
across a particular entry that interested me—"Visions of the Past". It
came to me that I would likely have chance to use this spell in
Bristol as well as Old Aerith to see the events that enshrouded my
ancestor (or perhaps myself) and leading up to the destruction of Old
Aerith. The thought occurred to me that if this spell exists, then
surely somebody must have already tried the same when writing the
history books about Edward and the destruction of Old Aerith… but
perhaps something was blocking their view, or perhaps this is
something meant only for me to accomplish? I decided that since this
spell was one that could be used in preparation for the spell to
remove curses, I would set myself to learning said spell.
The next day arrived all too soon and we were called upon to report to
Lord Dathan. We went to collect Mort from the manor where Crystal
lives (and where he stayed the night), and proceeded on to Dathan's
court. Amazingly, my comrades were much better behaved and remembered
the customs of each garden—something that obviously impressed Crystal.
Finally our turn to meet with Dathan arrived and we were ushered in to
the third garden where he and Sujo were anxiously awaiting. Vance was
first to point it out, but both Dathan and Sujo seemed somewhat
distraught—we were hoping it had nothing to do with us.
As the conversation ensued, we reported what we were able to find and
that we had not found any indication of undead nor foul play on
Serena's part, but that we had uncovered a lead connected to her
brother Migos. At that, both Sujo and Dathan lost composure for only a
brief moment, too brief for the majority of my friends to notice but
Schmendrick and I (the only two completely aware of the situation)
took note of. It was their turn to talk, and they did.
They informed us that Migos had gone missing, presumably kidnapped
based on the evidence, and that this brought a whole new playing card
to the table. Not so much asking as commanding (now where does Dathan
get the idea he can command us, not a one citizens of Silothreni?) us
to find Migos and either bring him to justice as the instigator in
this plot, or clear his name and weed out the perpetrators.
Frankly, I was amused with the whole situation because it was
blazingly obvious to me. Migos had staged his own kidnapping after
catching wind that a group from the Empire was investigating the
attempt to start a war between Phoenix and the Empire, even more so
that we knew exactly where to start looking. He must have been
observing us the first time we entered the city and learned of our
plans (he being a noble of some report) and in our absence began
laying the groundwork for his escape.
Of course, we agreed to track down Migos and were given authority to
search his house and learn his business affairs—again in the presence
of Ivan.
We went straightaway to his quarters in the manor house and found a
site that to the common eye would spell out kidnapping. His belongings
were strewn about as if somebody was searching them for something,
furniture overturned as if a struggle had ensued, even some blood
spattered here and there. We asked Vance to take a look around and see
if he could find anything to lead us towards him and in the mean time,
Schmendrick and I started perusing his belongings (i.e., books).
Either Migos really was framed and kidnapped, or he is just plain
stupid. Among his belongings (yes, well-hidden, but still...) was a
cryptic book which took Schmendrick and I quite some time to decipher.
Eventually we concluded that it was some sort of book of dark, even
necromantic rituals. I had no desire to even place my hands on the
book so Schmendrick obliged me and tucked it away in his hat.
Evidence, he said. We continued looking and found some letters from an
unknown person or group addressed to Migos, questioning him on his
progress about some task (presumably the war).
After spending a couple hours in his quarters, we decided it was time
to move on. Vance, waiting patiently in the corner, apprised us that
he was able to locate a trail that we could follow and possibly pick
up on where Migos went.
Hoping not to offend my friends, I asked if it would be a problem if I
simply went back to the inn and began studying the spells, hoping to
learn the spell to remove curses within the next few days and thus
being able to help Serena as quickly as possible. I went with the
premise that, should we not be able to find Migos, then having Serena
in a lucid state would certainly help us know why he found her
dangerous enough to remove her mind from her, possibly leading us to
this unknown party that Migos was underling to.
Surprisingly, everybody agreed with me and they followed Vance along
the trail. I returned to the inn and began studying the spells. It
proved somewhat difficult with the noise of the inn. Apparently the
celebrations weren't completely over.
First on my list was this spell to see the past. I spent every waking
moment studying the spells and attempting to perfect them. At one
point, I felt like I was far enough along on the "Visions of the Past"
that I decided it was time to give it a try. Devious thoughts began
forming in my mind... and I went to Crespin's room. Several nights
previous came to mind of how he was so mad at Mort for getting the hot
noble chick and ended up drinking himself to a stupor and going off
with some tattooed whore. I took it upon myself to either prove or
disprove the event and began preparing my spell.
The tendrils of magic began weaving themselves around me in a
tapestry. The windows of time opened and I could see willowy figures
begin emerging around me as time began moving backwards. Reaching my
destination, the figures turned from willowy wisps to translucent (but
discernible) beings and I watched as he entered the room just short of
staggering. Following at his side was a tattooed whore from downstairs.
The rest went as suspected and I went back to my room when the spell
expired. I spent the next several days deep in study. I was able to
achieve the spell and several others in the time I spent.
Upon finishing my studies, I was surprised to find that my comrades
had not yet returned. Checking and rechecking the calendar to see what
day it was, I noted that five days had passed and no word yet. I
couldn't necessarily go after them because for one, I had no idea
where they went and second, if we crossed paths there is no telling
how long it would take before we were reunited.
I spent the remainder of my time away from my comrades practicing with
my spell to see the past. I went out on the town myself hoping to find
someone to spend the time with. I found an attractive young female
whom I spent much of my free time with. Who knows how long I'll be in
this town? She might turn out to be a useful, long-term investment.
At long last my comrades returned, dejected. They had traced Migos all
the way to a partially ruined castle several days out where they
suddenly lost the trail and could find no leads. They investigated the
abandoned castle and encountered a small trove of undead, which they
hurriedly dispatched. They also located a room with a great deal of
fresh blood in it. Other than that, they were not able to find
anything that would lead them any further. Perhaps my new spells would
help.
With hope in all their eyes, they questioned if I was successful in
learning the spell to remove curses to which I replied that I had, in
addition to several other useful spells. When I mentioned the other
useful spells, I couldn't help but glance toward Crespin and shudder.
I probably shouldn't have watched that.
We shall see what we can learn from Serena, should I prove successful
in removing her madness.
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| fooberichu |
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www.seeleyware.com
Joined: 6/29/2007
Posts: 160
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12/8/2006
My companions arrived late in the day yesterday from their journey to
find Migos. They seemed downtrodden and ill at ease, yet with hopes
in their eyes that perhaps I was able to successfully learn the spell
necessary to unlock Serena's mind and free her from madness. I was
more than happy to report that I had done so, and picked up some
other useful spells on the way.
While speaking about the events, Schmendrick finally mentioned that
he thought Crystal was probably in on the whole scheme in some
fashion as not only was she able to secure us audience with the Lord
of Dagon on such short notice and without a fuss, but she was also
extremely interested in each one of us. Additionally, she was
severely out of place in the inn where we were staying—her status
warranting a much nicer tavern if nothing else. It was interesting
that none of us had even considered that possibility before, perhaps
because we were all too happy to have received audience with Dathan
in the first place (and Mort because he was no longer thinking with
his big head).
As we were speaking about events and our suspicions, I noticed that
the inn keeper was all too interested in what we were talking about
and I noted this to my companions. Schmendrick asked the keeper to
go get more ale so as to get rid of him, and then Mort started
speaking Celan with a different dialect—we all followed suit.
Additionally, it was surmised that Ivan could possibly have something
to do with the plot, if only to report all of our findings. We
decided to leave without him early that morning and Schmendrick left
Willy—his familiar—behind to keep watch on Crystal and Ivan.
We arrived to the compound without incident. As we entered, Crespin
seemed to have a moment of genius as he realized that our amulets of
translation were quite likely also used to listen in on our
conversations. We quickly discarded the amulets and had to work with
Alyson and Leroy with their somewhat broken language skills in
Celan.
It was decided to drug Serena so she would be out long enough for me
to perform the spell to remove the curse so Crespin prepared some
sort of concoction to do so. We then entered her quarters and began
preparing our spells. Schmendrick went with me, I suppose just as
backup in case Serena awoke, and Lydia went in to make sure we didn't
try anything funny with her. (um, yeah, like we're going to try to
do anything with a crazy lesbian).
I was deep into my spell when I was nearly distracted enough to lose
concentration, some sort of altercation between Lydia and
Schmendrick. Luckily my hold was strong enough to not lose all the
time I had already spent, and I continued my ritual.
The moment of truth arrived and the tendrils of magic began weaving
themselves around the room, wrapping themselves around the
unconscious Serena. Just as the spell was about to unleash, the room
filled with a blindingly bright light and I felt as if the room had
lost all it's life. It took me a moment to recover and realize that
the area was dead of all magic.
Gathering my senses, I noted that Crespin was in the room gawking at
Lydia—who was frozen in place—and that Schmendrick was hurriedly
attempting to hide some orb in his hat.
Pondering the events, we wondered if perhaps because the area was
dead of magic, that the spell that had Serena ensorcelled would
actually be nullified, at least while in this void, and that we may
have effectively accomplished our task in spite of the issue that
arose. We decided to spend the night and then await Serena's arousal
the next morning. Schmendrick and I left the void and spent the
night outside the walls where the magic was still alive and available
to us.
Events unfolded quickly as the next morning came around. Serena
entered the kitchen quite lucid, if not a little ornery. She felt a
little sick, but we attributed this to the lack of magic she is used
to feeling.
We decided to interrogate her and learn as much as possible and were
disappointed to learn that she doesn't remember anything out of the
ordinary with Migos' last visit, nor does she believe that he is
doing this willingly—if at all. The question arose at some point
whether or not she would be under the spell if she left the magic-
void, so we—with her consent—drugged her and took her outside to the
area where the magic was.
Schmendrick used some magic to read her body and discovered a very
small object attached to her heart. While he believed he could
remove it surgically, he thought better of it and we summoned Sujo to
remove it. He arrived a short time later and did just that, removing
a very small shard of some sort, so small as to not be visible to the
naked eye.
After she awoke and we spoke some more, she finally agreed (somewhat
begrudgingly, I might add) to assist us in finding Migos. She
informed us of an old keep where she and Migos used to play as
children some short distance from their home town. She stated that,
if anyway, that is likely where he would be hiding.
With Serena assisting most of my companions in flight, I tagged along
and we flew to the keep. Upon arriving, I turned Vance into a little
air cloud and sent him along to scout. He returned shortly and
informed us about one of the Fallen, Migos tied up, and a couple of
other soldiers. We spent some time preparing several spells to buff
up our companions and then charged in.
We were met by two hell-hounds, two soldiers, and, of course, the
Fallen. We battled a fierce battle but in the end Crespin was able
to drop a heavily armored soldier only to learn that he was actually
Migos, supposedly under control of the Fallen. The Fallen escaped,
and we were left with a fuming Serena and badly injured Migos. It
will be interesting to see what information we now glean.
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