TMK's Eberron Campaign (IC)

[The-Mage-King]

As you wait in the lobby of the Twelve's Sharn offices, you look around, seeing another five people doing the same.

Thinking back to why you came here, you recall the letter sent to you, saying that you were being requested to help with a brief job, that the branch head wished to keep on the quieter side of the records. And that you were going to be part of a team.

You can guess that it will be a few minutes until you're called in to the meeting room.

Maybe you should introduce yourself to the others...

[Airanath]

There a man standing in the darkest place in the room, he is playing with the platinum piece, dancing it between his fingers, tossing it up, and repeating the process with his other hand. An ugly scar on the left side of his face, all jagged and irregular goes all the way down to his lip, on the same side of the face, making his face not very confortable to look at, but certainly an easy one to recognize. His skin is a light brown contrasting with his blue eyes, that shine with a spark of inteligence, and whatever part of his body is not covered by his clothes shows some kind of scars, quite a few irregular, made by objects without much cutting power, others more regular, made by sharp blades most likely.
The man snorts, "I hate team matches, even more because most of the time they were set up to put me in a group of green nobodies that forced me to fight alone, and more often than not, kill some of my retarded mates for being unable to pull their weights."
"I just hope that if this happens here, the ones who can pull their weights get paid for their extra work, I could use some extra coin, and those have been hard to find lurking around."
He shots a defiant glare at whoever dares speak back to him, one that clearly states he is serious, and maybe thirsting for some blood, if anyone would care to shed some to sate his thirst for it.

[Shadow Lord]

A man with dark blue skin, navy hair, and deep blue eyes can be seen leaning against the wall almost parallel to the door, his face expressing his boredom. Hearing the scared man speak, he chuckles a little, an eyebrow rising at his claims. " Would you mind turning the bravado down? Stuff like that gets you killed, and I'd rather not have someone die. We'd need a new guy then, and I have no interest for that. " The man says, a smirk on his face now, rippling across his scales.

[DueceEsMachine]

*Having only strode through the door a few moments before the exchange, Terrac was still looking around, less than impressed with his surroundings. The people outside were shoving and pushing, trying to make progress down the streets with little success. The smell of filth and bodies magnified in the small spaces and tore at his senses like acid. Disgusting.*

*He's not much to look at - average height, a bit on the thin side and deathly quiet, as he paces the room slowly. He wears heavy, well used clothes - browns and reds in the style of the Valenar. Loose and flowing, the clothes give his movements a liquid quality that is almost beautiful. His head is covered in a long wrap that hangs loose down the front of his chest, obviously meant to be pulled up at a moments notice.

He has bright, brilliant green eyes that stand out harshly against his sun-darkened skin, and the black and grey tattoo stretching from his upper lip, over his nose and onto his forehead only seems to make them stand out starkly. The dead, twisted form of a tree seems almost pale in comparison to his skin, and something about it looks... fresh, would be the best word.*

*Turning slowly, he meets eyes with the scarred man. There's nothing challenging or intimidating about the look. Just steady. Unwavering. After a moment, his eyes continue around the room to the others as he speaks.*

"Bravado is good. It will make things more entertaining when he is dying and crying for another chance."
*With a half chuckle and a smirk, he puts his hands up mockingly, shaking*
"Please, I'm not ready. No. not yet. Bah.

Regardless. If you fight well and face your death, there's no shame in it."

*Reaching into a pouch, he pulls the slip of parchemnt out that had brought him to this alien place, looking it over again. Money rarely interested him, but it was a means to an end, and the Collector had asked a hefty price...*

[shadowedsoul]

A young man stands in the corner, leaning against the wall nonchalantly. He is slender and quiet, paying attention to everything that's going on without focusing on any single exchange exclusively.

He does smile when the scarred man starts in on the rest of the group though. So you talk and you think you can fight. I suppose that could be handy, but in the jobs I do there's usually a wider skill set required. He says quietly without looking up, the brim of his hat coming just low enough to shield his eyes from view. I suppose it's possible that all they want to hire us for is some kind of cage match, but they'll need to pay me a lot more than what I've gotten so far if that's the case. He pauses, finally looking up. 'Cause if I've gotta be close enough to you to smell you then I must admit that I won't be lasting very long in any situation, violent or otherwise.

[Airanath]

"I would hope so. Has been a while all I did was cut fools and creatures down, could use something else for a change. Ha, speak what you will after you fought some Dolgaunts at odds of three of them to one of you. And I agree with hoping this is more than a cage match... I hope to be done with those for a long while, hopefully, for the rest of my life, which I plan to keep long." He turns to whoever said he would beg for his life. "Haha more likely I will beg for my foes to get up again once dead so I can kill them all over again. I know pain, and I know death, I faced and survived both so far. I guess that damn Fire Scorpion not two years back was the closest, spent weeks in fever from that damn thing sting, spent weeks in fever, they had to tie me down to stop me from walking around and praticing. I think I will have two belly-buttons thanks to it, since the hole its sting made is still there, but seared shut by its own poison."

[DueceEsMachine]

*With a laugh, he looks over to the man with the scar and nods.*
"I can respect a man willing to kill beasties like the dolgaunts. Well." He shrugs, waving one hand in a passive gesture. "Enough to work with you, for certain. Whether you can fight or not is a matter that will be seen to with time."

*Rubbing anxiously at one eyebrow, the man grows visibly more agitated as the seconds seem to stretch by, his casual tour around the room turning into more of repetetive pace, something similar to a caged animal, and he mutters quietly to himself occasionally, though never intelligible. After a moment, he cracks his neck loudly with an agitated groan.*
"Why specifiy the given time if the intent was just to keep us waiting? I'm not fond of waiting. There are things to be done. They could have had the courtesy to have us arrive when they intended to see us!"

*His eyes a bit wild, he looks around, wanting to lash out at something, to releive a bit of the stress he felt at beeing cooped up in the damanable city. As quickly as the mood set on, it seems to pass, however, as he takes a deep breath and calms himself, though he is still visibly tense.*

[Shadow Lord]

" Ha! Three Dolgaunts were a challenge for you? I could kill all three without ever blinking. You think those are hard, you should fight a coupl'a Babau. They'd show you the meaning of pain, probably kill you, too. And with a mouth like yours, barely even speaking common, what chance would you have at even talking them down? " The scaled mans laughs, the smirk now larger across his face.

[DueceEsMachine]

"Three, yes - but in the ugly-mans defence, I think he said three to one, so there must have undoubtedly been scores of the little beasts."

"And speaking of little beasts... I've seen a great many things across the grounds of this world and underneath in it's tunnels - what might you be, exactly?"
*His head tilts to the side slightly as he paces near the scaled man, his movements almost snake-like as he moves across the room slowly.*
"You're not of the common rabble like these two..."
One hand rises to scratch absently at his eyebrow again. No, he's something else, isn't he child? Not of the Daelkyr brood though, near certain.

"Interesting indeed. I have to wonder who would want to assemble such a varied group. And to what end."
*His eyes scan the man, looking for weapons that could be easily concealed. The rapier looked dangerous enough, but it was rarely the threat you could see that killed you.*

[Shadow Lord]

" Me? I'm a Spellscale, and a War Mage too. Rare I may be, especially considering my... profession. " The Spellscale says, " But let me introduce myself; I am Ionon Dorfal, of Clan Dorfal. " Saying this, Ionon moved one hand by his Rapir, the other resting near the two Wands.

[Vuann]

A tall dark figure leans against a wall with it's arms crossed. Until this point it had remained motionless, and if not for the glowing yellow eyes standing out from behind the shadow of it's hooded cloak you might even think it were an actual statue. With no signs of movement a deep monotone voice speaks out from behind the hood.

"Every group of mercenaries I have joined with has begun this way. Each person sizing one another up, making idle threats, speaking of proud victories and attempting to judge each other's worth."

The figures head begins to move back and forth slowly as his voice continues.

"Such words are meaningless, true mettle can only be displayed when lives are at risk and one's capabilities are put to the test. I have been in this line of work for many years and this is the first time I have been called to the office of The Twelve directly. I would assume that soon enough we will all find out the limits of our abilities."

The figures head stops moving and again assumes it's statue-like posture.

"I am Venator and soon enough you will learn of my capabilities."

[DueceEsMachine]

"A spellscale...and a warmage?"
*Making a warding gesture with one hand, Terrac shakes his head, backing away from the man a step or two in disgust.*
"For the sake of the my own goals, I will not strike at you, but I will tell you only this once to keep your accursed magiks to yourself. I am more tolerant than most of my beleif, but only because I beleive you to be a lesser threat. Do not make me reconsider my stance."

*With a look at the other man, who is now still as can be, he nods, finding nothing in the mans statement to disagree with.*
"Indeed. Approximation of abilities must be made, and often times swaggering to maintain inflated pride, but despite all of that, I am eager to hear the proposal before us."

[Airanath]

"I was tossed at the pits because some ******* tought it funny to double cross me, he is now sleeping with the dragon below. I am one with my weapons and I know how to deal with doors and traps, they made my previous business harder after all." He avoids mentioning his other tricks, better not to spill all your beans when its going to bring you more harm than good.

[The-Mage-King]

As the conversation continues, the meeting room's doors open.

"Ah, the people I contacted. Come in, come in." A male voice says in a boisterous tone.



Upon walking in, you look around the room, seeing a large table in the center, ten chairs around it, with one seat filled.

The man sitting in the chair is old, his hair already greying, and is wearing a practical outfit suitable for wizards to wear at meetings.

"Now then, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Shulal d'Cannith, head of the Sharn branch office of the Twelve." Shulal says, looking at each of you as he does so.

"I called you here because a small... unofficial, expedition that I sent to the Eldeen Reaches a month ago failed to report back on time. I want you to investigate the area that they said they were going to make camp in, and report your findings to me." He continues, setting a simple folder on the table and sliding it to the edge closest to the door.

"You will be paid 500 gold apiece for completing this mission. Any questions?" He finishes, looking at each of you.

[DueceEsMachine]

*His eyes narrow at the sight of the man, but Terrac is at least smart enough not to look a gift horse in the mouth, as it were. An expedition lost to the Reaches? No small wonder there.*

*Taking a seat just to one side, Terrac watches the others file in before speaking, his eyes taking the rest of the room in carefully. When he does speak, it is more to the room in general than to the old man*
"So, what inexperienced fool was it that got conned into leading an even more foolish group into the Reaches?"
He pauses a moment and continues.
"And you want us to find them - I can do that easily enough if you give me an idea of how many there were and how they were equipped. Simple looking for a group of earth-stomping 'forged, after all."

*Reaching out to finger the folder, he scowls for a moment, looking at the others.*
"Also, if we were to find this 'expedition', that's our assignment, yes? What was it they were hired to find, and how much were they getting paid? I wouldn't mind laying claim to their pay, if they were unable and unskilled enough to earn it."

[The-Mage-King]

"They were a research group under Nysn d'Tarkanan," Pausing briefly, you can almost feel the disgust in the man's words. "A wizard studying Dhakani artifacts."

"The group consisted of a dozen apprentice mages of the Twelve, a trio of instructors, Nysn, and a half dozen of House Tarkanan mercenaries. I suspect that Nysn may have made a deal with the mercenaries to kill off her team, but I'm not entierly certain." Shulal continues, scratching his beard.

"They were carrying our standard research expedition gear- spellbooks, scrolls of some useful spells, tents, and a portable laboratory. Nothing that shouldn't leave a trail through the woods to the site."

"As for their pay, they were members of the Twelve- by Xoriat, most of them were paying us for this. Only Nysn, the instructors, and the mercenaries were being paid, and not much at that."

[DueceEsMachine]

*With a snort, Terrac leans back a bit in his chair.*
"Well, no small surprise there, if they up and decided to eliminate their fellows so as to cover their tracks. Greed and lust for power will do that to a man."
*That same greed that you wizards call ambition.*
"If they can be found, I can do it - especially considering the size of the group. Two dozen fools trampling through the forest with a full assortment of 'necessary' gear would leave a path wide enough to herd cats through without much difficulty."

*Standing up, he paces over to one of the shelves on the wall - an entire peice carved painstakingly from a massive bronzewood tree. It was worth twenty times what they were all getting paid for this little foray, no doubt. Still. Coin was coin - there'd be more before the end. These kinds threw money around like it was the dirt they walked on.*

"If it turns out that this Nysn is a traitor who would betray those under her protection, what kind of methods should we use to bring her in?"
*He doesn't say it, but the look he levels at the man conveys the question quite clearly: Or should we?*

[Airanath]

"Small pay for a small job I guess... But do you really think it was the mercenaries work? Even house Tarkanan wouldn't be fool enough to bring attention to themselves like this, not with the previous mark wars still making them thirst for revenge, which they won't get like this."
"How important was this job tought? I would expect to see Deneith guarding an important expedition. Unless the job was on the shady side..." the man claims in a inquisitive tone.

[shadowedsoul]

Nicolai watches the exchange, keeping his mouth shut for the time being. Watching what the others ask he makes mental notes and waits for the answers from the man who wanted to hire them.


Yeah, it's a bitch post, I'm mostly saying I'm here and paying attention.

[Shadow Lord]

A narrowing of eyes occurred as Ionon considers what the man just said. Letting the others continue without him, Ionon considered the man's proposal by himself, withholding any questions that he had until a later time.

Bull**** post. I'm sorry, I'm having a very busy week, and my internet is flickering on and off.

[The-Mage-King]

"If Nysn was the one to cause the expedition to disappear, excersise the usual caution for apprehending wizards. She is an evoker, and has mastered the fifth layer of spellweaving." Shulal says, looking to Terrac. "She knows far greater spells than the rest of the group did. Do."

"As for the importance of this job..." He continues, looking slightly embarassed. "It was a preliminary research expedition to an alleged Dhakani vault. The purpose was to see if it was actually there, and, if so, what defenses it had. It also served as a way to give our apprentices some fieldwork."

"Since I have... had poor dealings with House Deneith in the past, I decided to take the advice of a friend of mine and contract a different group. You understand, I assume?"

[Airanath]

"Yes, I can understand that... hopefully they do too, I hear they get pretty rough on those who step on their toes."
"Where exactly is the said presumed vault? Could you provide a map for us... maybe transportation, considering it most likely isn't close."

[DueceEsMachine]

"Mastered the fifth layer? I wasn't aware that there were 'layers', as such. At least I'd never seen the point of labeling them and all that. I'd rather they just be eliminated altogether, though I realize I'm not getting paid for my opinions."

*Looking at the table and around to the others, he shrugs and picks up the folder placed there, retreiving the contents without asking further permission. He speaks again as he reviews the contents.*

"House Denieth can eat mud for all I care - If they want to come get me in the woods, they're welcome to try and find me, though they're not likely to find their way back again." Pausing for a moment, he rubs at his eyebrow again, thinking. "A Dhakani vault? Sounds like trouble to me, but that's irrelevant."

[The-Mage-King]

"A map and tickets to the nearest Lightning Rail station are in the folder." Shulal replies, nodding to the folder now held by Terrac.

"Most other information is in the packet, as well." He continues, clasping his hands together and nodding towards the door.

[Airanath]

"Sure beats the hell out of walking, and is at least three times better than riding an old mule. Not to forget, we are getting paid to ride the rails. Does sound the kind of job I would take, some adrenaline by the end just to make you actually earn the pay."
He waits till the others move to the doors, before going himself.