[D&D 3.5] Dark Storms Gather

Jason_Firewalker · Post by **Jason_Firewalker** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:14 am

Sauntering down from his room from the night before, Sylvandor surveyed the room. A dwarf, a human, a halfling, a draconic humanoid and a..... something..... were sitting at one table. Walking galantly over from the base of the stairs. Sitting in the final seat at the table, next to the draconic fellow, he swept his long robes over his lap and signaled the barmaid to come over. Looking around he quickly assessed the groups individual strengths.

The Dwarf appeared to be some sort of mainline fighter, big and buff, definately not agile. The Raptor was a bit of a mystery, probably a mage. The halfling was pretty obvious, as most halflings wearing all black are theives. The human lacked armor of any sort, was probably also a mage. The last thing was most difficult to figure out. He was obviously at least part human but beyond that he was not entirely natural in apperance but seemed to be mostly natural in the way he was dressed. Some freakish anti-druid probably.

"I am Sylvandor, from the Elven High Court of Sylvadria. May I assume you have all been summoned by the lord of these realms as I have?" With a show of grace he picked up a knife off the table and started spinning it around his hand.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 1:27 am

"Aye, Master Elf," Gror acknowledged, raising his glass slightly to the newcomer before downing a gulp.

Haizu · Post by **Haizu** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 1:47 am

"You bet, just got here myself." replied Eddie. "How are you today young lady?" inquired Eddie as he waved the barmaid over.

rhoenix · Post by **rhoenix** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:19 am

As the barmaid scurried over to the now-expanding table of...very unusual...beings (she still couldn't quite get over the strange man-thing wearing the big coat), she smiled at them in what she hoped was a friendly and encouraging manner. The "adventuring" types tended to be a bit rougher than her usual customers, and though they usually tipped fair to well, they also tended to be louts.

She blinked, but regained her composure quickly at the halfling that had suddenly...just apparently appeared out of nowhere and was now occupying a seat there in a friendly, relaxed way - like he'd been there a while. Halflings who travel always tended to have their quirks - her uncle told her that almost without exception, traveling halflings usually had had problems at home, and had been forced to leave for one reason or another. Seeing those that had to leave begin to love the bottle or mindleaf (or both) as a companion was all too common.

Still, she served them each refreshments, as a large table full of customers not only was a guaranteed minor income, but a lure for potential customers - she was learning from her father what went into running this place little by little, alright.

She faced the group with a friendly smile, swiping her reddish-brown bangs to the side as she addressed the combined table. "May I get you anythin' else, sirs?"

Jason_Firewalker · Post by **Jason_Firewalker** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:45 am

"I will take a snifter of Aileen Wine. Preferably at least seven years old. And a large mixed salad. Whats the toss on that then?" With a smile the jaunty elf looked at the barmaid questioningly.

Haizu · Post by **Haizu** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:50 am

"Yes, please. A, small mind you, bowl of ale and some meat scraps for Fang here." Eddie pat his dog on the head, receiving a toothy grin from it in return. "As for me, a mug of ale, a bowl of soup, some bread and cheese, and....a round of drinks for everyone at the table."

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 7:54 am

"Ah yes... certainly going to reek of fermented grapes...Remind me to create a new cantrip. Protection from Potent Potables"

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:37 am

Daron watched all of this while he snatched up the crushed eggshells and popped them in his mouth. There was plenty of mineral nutrition in there if you could process the tough matter. Daron could process just about anything if it had once been alive.

Daron did a quick count and said, "Is this all of us? It seems like its all of us."

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:48 am

"Well, thar's supposed t' be six, right? Looks like it is." Gror pushed his soup bowl away from him as he finished the last of it. "Gror Hammerbammer, marrec in th' service o' th' Soul Forger."

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:51 am

Nodding to the dwarf, Daron said, "Daron Patience, servant of nature... despite all appearances." He blinked his nictating membranes in an unconscious nervous tic at that moment.

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:53 am

"You whine one more time about the wine and I'll throw a gods damned bottle at you," Saiden said to the draconic mage.

Haizu · Post by **Haizu** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:53 am

"A pleasure to meet all of you. My name is Eddie Barslow, Explorer and Treasure Hunter Extaordinaire." Eddie said, bowing his head to everyone at the table.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:08 pm

"Ye'll do nae such thing, an' if'n ye do, I'll put ye out o' 'ere on yer arse so fast ye'll think I was time stopped," the dwarf growled.

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:18 pm

Cynical Cat wrote:"You whine one more time about the wine and I'll throw a gods damned bottle at you," Saiden said to the draconic mage.

"First off, I am not whining. Joking is the proper term. I can hardly be faulted if you do not grasp the concept of sarcasm." he responded to the apparently violent one. His non-verbal communication said what he was thinking however, even if he did not. His body puffed up slightly, his metallic blue dewlap extended slightly from his throat, and his words came out in a more forceful manner than they typically did, creating an angry hiss. Not intended to intimidate, merely inform as to agitation. He doubted the lout would be able to hit him with a bottle regardless. His wards were always up, he did however orient his shield spell toward Saiden which caused a slight shimmer as the otherwise invisible disk moved into position. And he put himself on the edge of his seat and watched the other man out of the corner of his eye so as not to be caught by surprise.

"In any case, while we are doing introductions" he said in his calm voice. Bringing back in the dewlap but still staying slightly puffed

"I am Volans Dracias, and appreciate the gallant defense Sir Knight"

Jason_Firewalker · Post by **Jason_Firewalker** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:15 pm

"Wow, quite a lot of anger here. We are all friends. Don't worry. Peace be with you. I think its about time we headed over to see the king after I have this snifter and my salad. I hope that we never have to cross swords good Sir Dwarf, and pardon me, I am extremely bad with names, for it looks like each of us has their own strengths. But let calm prevail and let us eat. A round of Aileen on me barkeep, and make it deep." Sylvandor was almost amused by the bickering of the young ones. The only one who he would have expected to not become at least aggitated would have been the Dwarf, since the Dwarf appeared to be some sort of Paladin.

The young maiden brought over the wine requested and the salad. With great care Sylvandor began to sip on his wine. "Do try the wine, it is a classic vintage, I believe its a insert year here. Very good aroma and head to it. Its delicate flavors will not overwhelm your palate and let you see that even us Elves are capable of making a most exquisite beverage besides juice."

rhoenix · Post by **rhoenix** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 5:03 pm

As the six began to become friends with one another, or at least become more familiar with one another, the time passed surprisingly quickly. All too soon, it was half an hour until the meeting with the king, and runners came to escort the six under royal guard into the palace proper.

The palace itself was as immense as it was splendorous; the walls were all painted a gleaming uniform white, the guards' uniforms made from silks as part of their official attire, the high, vaulted ceilings; the entire place gave the impression of overwhelming luxury and opulence. The contrast between the palace proper and the surrounding town was somewhat jarring as a result.

As they reached yet another set of tall double doors, the travelers were stopped by the palace steward. The palace steward gave the impression that concepts such as peace, calm, or even finding the joy in what you do were all entirely foreign concepts. He looked as if he hadn't seen really anything positive over the past century, and he only looked to be in his late forties. With how his brow appeared to be permanently furrowed with worry and suspicion, his approximate age very well could be an underestimation.

As he spoke, his voice sounded tired, but brooking no nonsense. His voice sounded less welcoming than one might expect, and even gave a hint that the arrival of the six had done the steward no favors. "Welcome to Impetrus, holders of the spheres. You must relinquish your weapons here; failure to do so will mean immediate death by beating. You must never address the king directly unless he addresses you directly first; failure to do so will mean immediate death by beating. You must give the king respectful answers to his comments or questions, with no backtalk no matter how you might personally view the comments or questions; failure to do so will mean immediate death by beating."

Without waiting for acknowledgment from the six at all, he turned to the two guards standing on either side of the doors, more ornate than the rest (though it didn't quite seem possible). At a nod from the steward, the guards hauled open the large doors open wide. The steward waved to the six absently without looking, obviously expecting them to follow him as he began walking with a somewhat strange, stiff, and formal walk into the throne room. He finished by bowing on one knee two paces before the king, as did the guards with him, who both motioned to the six travelers to do the same.

The king was an immense man, and not due to muscle or hard living. He was seated somewhat slovenly in an equally immense chair, and he appeared to be reading a large book, and every few moments, a barely-visible serf turned the pages as the king made a lazy pointing gesture with his right or left hand. As the steward and the six travelers waited patiently, the page was turned twice, when without warning the king exploded at the serf, in a somewhat nasal, wobbly voice, his jowls suddenly shaking with restrained rage. "I said LEFT, you stupid ungrateful useless thankless whining maggot spawn of a mule's anus! Steward! Have this serf replaced with a fresh one, and have this one beaten to death. Too much freedom makes them think they can be sloppy at their jobs - it's so hard to find good help these days."

As the current serf was escorted from the throne room by two guards and a new one moved almost at a dead run from a small, unobtrusive door in the side of the throne room to the book, and the king's reading resumed.

After a few minutes, the steward coughed politely, hoping to catch his leige's attention. After another few moments, the king addressed the steward. "Ah good, there you are steward. So, are the serfs ready for my sponge bath?"

There was a small pause before the steward answered, probably at the extreme limit of how long the steward could make the king wait for an answer without being punished. "My good king, the travelers with the spheres are here to see you, at your request."

"Oh good," said the king absently. "Send them to the throne room so I can talk with them. These poor 'adventuring' types must be all orphans, since they all act so grateful for a bit of gold. Ah well - all the better to get the many problems around the kingdom done."

"My king," the steward began, displaying an amazing amount of patience and tact, "the six are here in the throne room now, at your request. they await your audience."

The page turned again, and silence settled over the throne room for a few seconds before the king answered. "Oh good, let them in, I've a job for them. And be quick about it, I don't like waiting."

After another few seconds, as the travelers' knees began to ache from being leaned upon for so long, but the king absently let go of his golden jewel-encrusted chalice, spilling red wine upon the floor. Once again, he lost his temper, fire blazing in his small, pig-like eyes as his jowls shook with rage as he again spoke to his reading-serf, almost screaming with volume as his face grew a rather interesting shade of red. "Stupid incompetent fool! Can't you afford any smarts in that hovel you call home? Guards! Take this one out for a beating, and get me a less useless serf this time."

As the king was having difficulty bending down to the get his chalice, he thought better of it and spoke up. "Steward! Get my chalice re...Oh! The travelers with the spheres are here. That you're late for this audience doesn't speak well for your reliability, so I don't know what those other yokels expected from you, but I expect results!"

"Sire," the steward said tiredly, "here are the papers for the job you wanted them to do."

"Ah, good," said the king as he immediately handed the papers back to the steward without even a glance. "Take them to the briefing room and explain things to them. And get me another chalice!"

Once more, the steward motioned for the travelers to follow him, and led them through three rooms away from the throne room before reaching one with a large table. He unrolled a map upon it, pointing with his finger toward a sketch of a castle on the map. "Here is Impetrus. Slightly northwest of here is a sealed cave, and north of that is the former location of Impetrus, which is now just ruins. The king wants his old set of chalices from the larder there, if they're still there, as well as you six to take care of whatever currently lives in the ruins."

After showing on the map each part of what he meant, he stood upright, and unrolled another, smaller paper. "For this, all of you will be paid the amount of 1000 gold each, plus 100 gold each per head you bring back. The King Tenusid believes that since you came into the possession of the Spheres, that you would be the right ones for this task. Do you accept this charge the King has given you?"

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 5:55 pm

Gror stared at the man in disbelief. "D' ye mean t' tell me he dragged us all th' way down 'ere t' go fetch his damned dishes? I hiked all th' way from Dargorholme fer this!"

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 8:57 pm

"Welcome to the wonderful world of royalty stunty," said Saiden. He didn't appreciate being threatened by the short piece of shit anymore than he appreciated the lizards whiny, unfunny jokes." He addressed the steward. "What's the catch?"

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:38 pm

Volans knew that they were being intentionally low-balled, and in fact it took an incident with an angry mage to get them to improve. WIth a bit of haggling they should be able to get at least five times that much. He was ill-equipped however. A Paladin probably was not.

He leaned over, and whispered in the Paladin's ear

"This is a milk run from a king drunk on his own pretension. He is typically willing to pay five times as much as he initially low-balls. It can be worth the trouble, and you will regain a certain amount of dignity, if you can negotiate and get him to up the price. I would recommend high balling between seven and eight times their starting price and meeting in the middle"

He whispered quietly, just enough that the Paladin could hear him.

OOC: Post edited for prudence

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:14 am

Doran had held his tongue for the sake of the others in front of the king, but such a disgusting waste of food and an abuse of power, it pissed him off to no end!

Darkly suspicious, Doran asked, "What moved into the city that it is in ruins?"

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 12:23 pm

Gror snorted. "It'll take more'n tha' t' get me t' play fetchin' boy fer some fat-arsed monarch tha' ain't even mine," he said to the steward, looking obstinately up at the taller human. "If'n he wants t' drag us all 'ere from 'cross the known world t' fetch his drinkin' 'orns, there be a reason fer it. An' that reason's gotta be worth more'n tha' to 'im, or e'd just send 'is troops."

Cynical Cat · Post by **Cynical Cat** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 12:59 pm

"By the lords of light and dark," said Saiden, "can you avoid committing les majesty in front of the king's own steward?" And to think some people called him arrogant and reckless.

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 1:22 pm

Volans winced inwardly and his jaw dropped. It seemed that he had potentially fatally miscalculated the paladin's skill. There were only a few ways the steward would react to That and very few were good. Volans could only hope that three conditions were met. That the Steward held no personal loyalty to the crazed monarch, that his power was independent of respect for said king, and that they were viewed as being useful enough to not execute.

Doubting that any of these were the case save the first, Volans started looking for possible escape routes, and called several spells to the forefront of his working memory.

Haizu · Post by **Haizu** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 1:39 pm

Cringing at what the dwarf just said, Eddie believed that it was high time found himself a good place to hide and watch. No sense in getting caught up in the crossfire when he could shoot into it instead....

Move Silently Check: 1d20+16 = 1458426517

Hide Check: 1d20+16 = 1033139825

rhoenix · Post by **rhoenix** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 4:48 pm

Fixing the armored dwarf with a steely glare, the room itself seemed to become more still for a few moments, almost as if the meeting room itself was holding its breath. When the steward spoke, it was with an almost-friendly smile, though his voice was low, slow, and somewhat bone-chilling, though nobody in the room could say exactly why.

"Master Dwarf, you seem particularly keen on questioning the judgement of this kingdom, as well as her king. I'm getting the feeling you really don't feel at home in Impetrus, and that's alright. I can arrange a royal escort to take you and your companions to the edge of our territory, so our kingdom and your judgement may go their separate ways. I'll note in the records your displeasure as well, lest future generations of your line, or your companions' won't be tempted to return to a place that treats them so terribly, upon pain of immediate and public disembowelment with a hand trowel, administered by the blind and beggars of this town you appear to have problems with."

After finishing, the steward walked to one of the room's large windows, closed his eyes, and massaged the bridge of his nose for a moment before continuing. He continued speaking in the same low, slow voice, but there wasn't an edge to it this time. "I'll be frank, since I don't enjoy having my time wasted, and I'm getting the sneaking suspicion some of you don't either. My job is to help the king ensure smooth running of this kingdom, and I will do my job to the utmost of my ability until either my dying breath, or the kingdom's, whichever comes first. Therefore, steps must be taken when dealing with those not native to the kingdom to ensure the kingdom's safety."

He stopped, but it appeared to only be a moment's pause to collect his thoughts before continuing. "Yes, there is something else there, something much more vitally important than some old and dusty cups. Perhaps the last group of adventurers carrying the prophecied somethings will find what this kingdom truly is trying to find in those ruins."

Upon saying this however, he suddenly turned around to face the six, with a cold look. "I am still willing to give you six a single chance to see just how useful you can be to the Kingdom of Impetrus, and mind you, I normally give someone three chances. If you are as useful as having all of the World Spheres in your possession might suggest, then this should be easy for you, and we can move onto the more interesting and profitable errands afterward. However, you must admit being paid gold to bring back items which have no value other than monetary is a good test to see just how useful a passing traveler might be to this kingdom."

"Now," he said, looking more relaxed, "would you like to give at least one proper attempt at a civil negotiation of terms and duties, or do you wish to cut your losses now and be on your way, to set everyone's mind at ease?"

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[D&D 3.5] Dark Storms Gather

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