A World Torn [IC1]

[dark.sun.druid]

“I can't very well stand by and let this man continue on as he is doing now, can I?” The tall man in the fancy red cloak paced back and forth in front of the small group of adventurers, rubbing his temples with one hand and letting the other swing freely by his side, “He's raising an army to conquer my hold, and I'm supposed to just sit idly by and let it happen? No, no,” The man wore velvet boots that matched his cloak, and they made a soft sound as he moved back and forth across the thin carpet, “And a slave army, to boot! How would my men feel about going into battle to fight slaves? I just cannot abide by this situation,” The man stopped abruptly, whirling to face the quartet. He stood atop a small flight of stairs, so that he as higher than any other person in the room. The way he had stopped, he was framed perfectly by the tall, gold-enameled throne on the pedestal behind him. His long, oiled, black hair shone fiercely in the bright light from the hearth in the center of the room,

“So that's why I need you four. I can't very well march on this upstart. I'm too short on troops, and it would leave my northern borders unguarded. But I've heard tell that the four of you are some of the most fearsome warriors for hire that a body can find on the big isle. Surely you could infiltrate my enemy's hold and put a stop to his plottings. I am sure it would be a trivial task, and I am willing to pay very generously. What say you?” His lips were pulled tight into a thin line that might have been a smile if not for weariness...


The man is Lord Edding. In the grand scheme of things, he is a relatively minor noble, but he holds a tract of land which controls a choke point through the mountains on the big island, to the eastern side. Recently, another minor Lord (Lord Jacob), with holdings near the Savageland, has decided to expand his reign. He took a large swath of plainsland mostly uncontested, for the men who lived there were unorganized and had no ruler. However, he wants to move further North, into the more populated regions of the island, and he sees Lord Edding's holdings are the perfect entry point. Lord Jacob has been gathering what are in effect slaves from the surrounding area, and planning to mount an assault on Lord Edding. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to enter Lord Jacob's holdings, and to take down his scheme from within. The specifics are left up to you to figure out. Oh, and one more thing: you're to be hired as a group; it's all of you or none of you, so figure it out amongst yourselves.

[J-H]

Match, probably the shortest person in the room, twirls a small flame between his fingers, tossing it from his left hand to his right and back again. Scratching his bandanna-covered scalp, he speaks. "I've no problem with it, as long as you're not looking for it to be neat and clean. What's yer plan on pay?" He produces a whip of fire out of thin air and coils it around one arm. "I've got my weapon of choice, but if ye've magic items to pay us with, I'd rather have 'em in advance; might make the difference between success and a messy failure, and since we're not..." He thinks for a moment, "...subtle or sneaky, a failure'd bounce right back on ya."


Also, [roll0] Intimidate. Most people don't like someone pulling fire out of nowhere and using it as a toy in their throne room.

[Von Krieger]

"What our vertically challenged associate means is that HE is not subtle or sneaky. I, on the other hand, am easily capable of performing whatever deeds require stealth, subtlety, precision, finesse, professionalism, and dozens of other words that my colleague neither knows the definition of, nor can reliably pronounce." The tall woman says politely.

At her six and a half foot height, one might call her Amazonian in stature, where it not for sporting a build that lies on the border between lithe and gaunt, reminiscent of a hunting cat who has missed a few meals, and is all the more dangerous for it.

[roll0] Diplomacy

[Morcleon]

Lambda

Listening absentmindedly to Lord Edding's mission proposal, Lambda shrugs. "Sure. It doesn't seem too bad... We could always assassinate him or something if infiltration fails."

The bored-looking freelancer's black coat contrasts drastically with his white hair and red eyes, while at the same time matching quite well. He appears rather pale and slight, as if the smallest breeze would knock him over, but his blazing eyes speak of one not so easily beaten.

With a slight chuckle at Rose's not-quite-so-veiled insult, he continues, "To help us with aforementioned subtlety, some information about his fortress layout, defenses, and schedules would be nice."

Moar diplomacy! Use as aid another for Rose if result is 20 or less. [roll0]

[Mial]

Molly giggles internally at the flame Match played with. The proposal seems sound in her mind, straightforward even. Indeed, by the looks her companions, this could be cake.

"Sneaky will be possible and effective, but don't doubt we have the firepower to pull it off the old fashioned way if things go south, as they say. We can get this done."

[dark.sun.druid]

Lord Edding looked back and forth with his eyes as each member of the group spoke in turn, keeping his head still. When they were done, he closed his eyes and nodded,
"Good," he said, before looking up again, "If you are in need of any magic items in particular, you can take the matter up with our house Artificer. I'm sure she can accommodate you. Otherwise, I had planned on paying you in other ways: gold and gems, a small plot of land toward the south of my holdings, and access to my personal stores of wine for a feast of celebration. All, of course, conditional on your success." Lord Edding smiled around, taking the time to lock eyes with Match specifically, before saying,
"And I hope it goes without saying that, should something go afoul, the four of you are on your own." He let his smile disappear as he spoke,
"Now, on to business. Lord Jacob holds much land, but most of it is sparsely populated at best. You should have no trouble getting to his main hold near the Savageland, except from the local fauna. When you arrive there, we know little of his defenses. Be prepared to take a variety of approaches. We do know that Lord Jacob has decided to personally take charge of a large portion of his force, so there is a good chance you will run into him personally. He is a tall man with an abundance of bright red facial hair. He won't be hard to recognize. If you do, I wouldn't object to seeing him out of the picture in a more permanent way, but that isn't your primary goal. His armies must be disbanded; if he is simply killed, someone else will take the charge." Lord Edding took a step back, and sat in his throne. As he did, the air around him took on a visible sheen, as if he were being seen through a thin layer of water,
"That is all. You can see yourselves out. If you want to speak with Maria, our Artificer, she has her own outbuilding near the forges. Someone will help you find it."

[Morcleon]

"Very well then." Lambda replies with a slight bow. He glances back to the other three. "Come on Rose, let's go see if the artificer has anything fun for us. You two wanna come?"

Regardless of their responses, he shall head to the outside, and ask the closest NPC for directions to Maria the Artificer.

[J-H]

"Aye." Match's flame vanishes and he turns to follow the others.

[Mial]

"Alright then."

Molly follows the group, but once outside has an idea.
"If his army is primarily slaves we could probably cause a lot of problems by liberating them."

[Von Krieger]

"As you say, beloved." Rose says with a smirk, following behind Lambda. The way she moves is odd and eye-catching, every motion perfectly fluid, graceful, and without the slightest hint of wasted motion. She also seems to be walking at a lazy pace, and yet easily keeping up with Lambda while doing so.

There are other aspects about her that tend to put one on edge, for example the fact that she makes no noise as she moves. Just casually strolling down the hallway and being completely and utterly silent without conscious effort into being quiet.

Her professional reputation is that of a calm, cool, professional who can accomplish nearly any task that she is put to, despite occasionally overwhelming odds, and that she fights exclusively with a bow and arrows. But beyond that stories fracture into dozens of strange tales about her and her abilities. If even a tenth of them are true, Rose is a force to be reckoned with.

The most well-known tale of her skill with a bow is likely one of the reasons Lord Edding has hired her for this mission. An Orcish warlord had managed to gather quite a large warband underneath him, not quite enough to send an army after, too large to be ignored. Rose decapitated the warband and the warlord with one shot. The shot was made from a mile away and went through the head of the warlord's dinosaur mount before it went through his neck. Both were dead before they hit the ground. Though her prowess with her bow is incredible, it's likely that the tale might have become a bit exaggerated in the telling.

"It depends on what nature of slavery we're dealing with. Likely it would be of the magical sort. An army of slaves would be incredibly ineffective from the perspective of resources. Where to even begin? They would have no loyalty or morale to speak of. You can't have them sporting effective weapons or give them combat training, as that would spectacularly backfire. Likely they would live in poor conditions and be fed similarly, resulting in weakened, sickly warriors in comparison to a proper fighting force." Rose says matter-of-factually, the words flowing easily.

"With the cost it would take to feed, clothe, and shelter such a force, it would be more financially viable to just murder them all and raise them as your garden variety undead. Of course unless you are familiar with one of several methods to get around it, the size of the army would be limited entirely by the amount of onyx one could get one's hands on."

"Hopefully the Artificer might have some idea on what sort of enslavement we're looking at, or can direct me to whomever is in charge of keeping Lord Edding appraised on the movements of his fellows and rivals who can answer the question." She pauses for a moment.

"If I am correct, which is usually the way of things, Lord Jacob is more than likely consorting with some rather dark powers. The creatures that come to mind with high capacity for the magical enslavement of a large number of beings are outsiders, typically Erinyes or Succubi, and Illithids."

[Morcleon]

"Rose... I'm not..." Lambda sighs and continues walking towards the artificer's location. It was generally pointless arguing with her about their relationship.

He seems extremely unconcerned about the fact that they just received a rather important mission. However, a careful look shows that he is in fact quite excited, in his own, subtle way. "If it's the illithid, then this is likely just the tip of the iceberg. If it's the Lower Planes, then it may be just a bid for power. He could have a vampire at his side, though. They can make some rather powerful spawn, and I don't believe they have any limit to their control. Or he could have a skilled spellcaster. Or a whole myriad of other possibilities." He mutters, with a look over to Rose.

A concerned expression crosses his face. "...no, you're not always right. You remember the river incident? You may be the best archer I know, but that doesn't make you invincible. Be careful that you don't let hubris get the best of you, okay?"

[Von Krieger]

"That is why I said 'usually,' my love." Rose says with a smirk, "And I will remind you that mounted overland travel was at your insistence. You are well aware of my capacity for flight, and my superior speed to a common land animal. Thus the reason I ended up in that river, dearest, was due to this silly irrational phobia you spot of being alone in my garden, and the fanciful idea that my Mourning Glories want to chew on your eyeballs."

"And perhaps being too caught up in attempting to get a closer look at a rare subspecies of dragonfly to think that an insect that breathes fire as a defense mechanism just might spook the creature upon which I am sitting."

She pauses for a moment, "And the rather surly giant toad encountered as a result of falling off said panicking beast, onto said napping toad."

[Morcleon]

"Your garden is a rather scary place. It's like it's trying to eat me." Lambda replies, with a slight shudder. "More than once, may I remind you, have I woken up wrapped in both your flowers and your arms. The latter keeping me from rising, and the former nibbling on me when I try to move at all."

He chuckles. "Ah, you and your obsessions... They suppress your common sense far too much."

[dark.sun.druid]

The four of you exit through the great oak doors at the front of the hall. They are themselves two stories tall, and the boards are all wider across than a human. Inlaid in the doors is a gold-leaf portrayal of the mountains rising behind a broad farm plain. When the doors are closed, the scene is continuous, but at the moment the doors are open wide to the summer air. The castle is situated on a wide outcropping of rock, with steep cliffs behind and a sheer dropoff ahead. Exiting the front doors leads to a courtyard with low walls, built to a height to allow the casual overlooker to see several miles of plains below the mountain. A cobblestone path leads through a carefully maintained garden filled with plants that would have no place being this far north, if not for the magically treated soil. Even so, nothing here bloomed in the winter. A lone gardener sat at the far end of the courtyard pulling out the weeds that insisted on growing in the palace soil, long black hair not quite hiding the point of an ear. Several clouds drifted lazily overhead, and the sounds of a marketplace could be heard in the distance, along with the scents of baking bread and wet grass drifting in over the flowers. It was a peaceful vista.

As Lambda approaches the gardener to ask where Maria might be found, he notices a yellow and black striped tail flick momentarily off the ground. The elf stood and turned to face him, and as he did a broad-shouldered tiger came into view behind him. It fixed its dark eyes on Lambda, but kept its head resting serenely on its paws. The gardener addressed him,
"Is there anything I can do for you, ma'am?" His voice was light and melodic, and something about the way he held himself reminded Lambda of the the tiger, dangerous but peaceful.

[Morcleon]

Lambda's eye twitches again. He clenches his one gloved hand, and releases it. Why did everyone think he was a girl at first glance? Even Rose had, when they first met. Was it the soft white hair? The delicate cheekbones? Or was the world just suffering from a glitch?

Shaking his head of these almost-angsty notions, he sighs, replying. "First off, I'm not a woman. Second, we're looking for Maria, the artificer. Do you know where we can find her?"

[dark.sun.druid]

The tiger perked up its ears, as if skeptical, but its eyes remained firmly fixed on Lambda. The elf glanced over his shoulder at the animal, and a bit of color rose to his cheeks as he responded,
"I am very sorry, sir. Yes, Maria has a workshop near the smithy. Caltha will show you there, if you like." The elf gestured at the tiger who, despite not moving, seemed to project an air of indignation at being demoted to the level of a guide.

[Morcleon]

"It's fine. People do it all the time." Lambda mutters, nodding his thanks. He turns to the tiger, and smiles softly. "Well then, Caltha. Care to lead us to 5° Maria?"

He twists his head to look over at his companions, and smiles slightly, murmuring, "Come, let's follow the tiger."

OOC:
Cookie if you get the joke/reference. :smallamused:

[J-H]

Match ***** his head at the tiger, completely ignoring the discussion and the elf. He mumbles to himself.... "Tyger, tiger, almost rhymes with fire. I've heard a poem somewhere about you, haven't I? Something about forests...?"

He keeps mumbling to himself until he realizes that the rest of the party is walking away from him.

[Mial]

Molly shudders at the mention of the otherworldly powers mentioned. She'd read about some of them in books, but confronting them was something else entirely.

While walking along with the tiger, she continues the conversation.
"Considering the price those types of powers usually charge for services of that nature, I'd much rather pay the mundane cost and deal with the hardship."

She stops for a moment and looks thoughtful, then adds wistfully, "Life would be so much easier if we could choose how our enemies did things I suppose."

[Von Krieger]

"Tyger, tyger burning bright, in the forests of the night, what immortal hand or eye, could frame thy fearful symmetry?" Rose recites in a pleasant, musical tone. Add "incredibly good hearing" to the list of creepy things Rose does. "Dwarven poem, unnamed author. Found on a tablet in an abandoned underground city. Relatively remote, little contact with the outside world. Had a quasi-monotheistic culture involving a triune deity. Interestingly enough the same wordmason was in the process of making some exceptionally accurate engravings of various aspects of Baator. Which were never finished due to the seemingly sudden depopulation of the area. Likely due to similar dabblings and investigations into the Nine Hells."

[J-H]

"That's what I was looking for." Match looks sideways at Rose. "You didn't pull that out of my head, did you?"

[Von Krieger]

Rose chuckles, "No, I would think it likely an unpleasant experience investigating your mind. I'm not fond of the scent of charcoal. I have extremely keen senses, and poetry is one of my many areas of interest. Nothing more."

And then she grins, the conversation continuing inside Match's head. "But I am also capable of telepathic communication. I'm only rudimentarily familiar with psionics and the power of the mind in those areas. So as a relatively minor talent in that regard I can only pick up particularly noisy thoughts, and only then if I'm opening myself up to it. I usually don't, since most folk prefer their privacy. However in this case, I merely heard you mumble it under your breath."

[dark.sun.druid]

Everyone:
Caltha lead the four of you along garden paths for a long distance; the garden was immense, and it was difficult to imagine one elf tending to it all by himself, but there were no other people in sight. Caltha's claws made a quiet clicking sound against the cobblestones as you all made your way toward a hedgerow that, presumably, marked the end of the garden. As you moved along, you passed a small mountain stream, running with cold, clear snowmelt. A small chipmunk sat by the stream, warily eyeing the party as they passed. Toward the edge of the garden, the plants started to thin out somewhat, and loose, light-colored gravel could be seen between little islands of green flora. The cobblestone path lead through an arched opening in the hedgerow, supported by a truss of light wood. Just before she passed through it, Caltha looked back, fixing her intense eyes on Atrocity for a moment, before turning and padding on as if nothing had happened.

Outside the garden, the ground was barren. The loose scrabble was everywhere, and only a few hardy weeds managed to grow. The cobblestone path ended, and you all stepped out onto the gravely ground. Before you was a tall cliff, which meant you were now facing the mountain. Indeed, if any of you were to look straight up, you would see the snow capped peak rising high above the keep. Ahead, the forge was clearly visible, a squat building with several smoking holes in the roof and a plethora of steel and iron tools and weapons hanging outside. Next to it, there was a small, squarish building, made all out of the same light orange brick as the forge. The building lacked any windows, and had no doors save for one small steel door set into the near side. It was this door that Caltha padded up to, gravel crunching under her paws. The smell from the forge was oppressive and sulfur-smelling as Caltha turned to face the party and sat down.

Atrocity:
Out of the corner of your eye, as you were exiting the garden, you noticed a pair of tiny, green faces with bright eyes watching you from behind a dense patch of chrysanthemums. Their features appeared to be woven from grasses and little bits of plant like material. When they noticed you looking at them, they disappeared behind the flowers and were gone from sight. This happened just before Caltha paused to look at you.

[Morcleon]

Lambda shudders. Of course. Rose could reach into people's minds. She hadn't done so to him. Or so he thought...

Sighing, he glances back to Rose with a slightly raised eyebrow as the tiger does so, but then continues to walk along the cobblestone path as it leads onto crunching gravel underfoot. He glances around, coughs a little, then strides up to the steel door.

Knocking lightly, he calls out, "Hello? Is Maria there?"

[Mial]

Molly looks glances at the building ahead, but her gaze switches between the stream behind and the mountain above. Both reminded her of home, and if this simple beauty was what she was going to fight to preserve she'd fight tooth and nail. Spells first of course, but tooth and nail if it came down to it.

"I don't think I need anything from Maria. I'll be at the stream, come and get me when you're done."

She glides to the stream and takes off her gloves. Dabbling a hand in the stream is cold and nice.

[dark.sun.druid]

Molly:
The cold water running past Molly's hand makes little ripples, reflecting the sky back in distorted wave shapes and making the gravely bottom of the stream take on new shapes in her eyes. Through the rippling water, Molly thought she saw something shining in between the little pieces of gray, water-polished scree that covered the bottom of the stream...

Everyone Else:
"Just a moment, please," a voice called from inside. The voice was high-pitched, and rang through the metal door. Several minutes of uncomfortable silence passed, and then a panel at eye level, previously invisible for it's seamless fit with the rest of the door, opened, revealing a pair of strangely colored eyes, one violet and one white and blind,
"Can I help you?" The voice asked as the eyes scanned the faces of the visitors. There was a strangeness about those eyes, as if they saw more than they were supposed to.

[J-H]

"The boss said ye'd be able to help us with some magic items to be better equipped for a little 'job' he has us doing. We have a few lists, I think. What can ye do?"

[Von Krieger]

"And I was also wondering whom I should talk to regarding information. Lord Edding has hired us for a job, and I'm sure that there is someone about who can answer a few questions I have regarding the situation." Rose adds.

[Morcleon]

His companions having already stated their primary two goals, Lambda finishes with a soft smile, asking, "May we come in?"

[Mial]

"Curious..." Molly muses as she lifts her head and looks around. She then moves the gravel a bit to expose the shining object.


OOC: If it's something she can readily identify, she'll just lift it from the stream, but if she gets a clear look at it and can't identify it, she may seek the tiger or grounds keeper.

[dark.sun.druid]

Molly:
The object on the bottom of the stream is a key. It is light and silvery, and there is a frayed black cord wrapped around the loop. It appears to have been on the bottom of the river for quite some time, as a thin layer of algae is growing on the cord.

Everyone Else:
The panel on the door slid shut with a click, and scraping sounds could be heard from behind the thick steel door. A moment passed, and then the door swung open, revealing a woman who was about four feet tall, with long black hair and a violet eye.
"Come on in then, and we'll see what we can do for you," She smiled at the group, and stood to one side to let them in. There was a small stepping stool near the door.
The room was more spacious than it looked like it was from the outside. In the center of the room was a lowered area, with some sort of large, half-finished construct resting in it. Shining metal parts were scattered on the floor around this area. Low tables covered in alchemical, magical, and mechanical equipment stand to the sides of the room, and stacks of scrolls and books cover a large portion of the floor. The room is brightly lit by several glowing orbs floating several inches from the low ceiling.

[Morcleon]

Nodding his thanks, Lambda steps in, flicking his gaze backward to look at his group. His eyes wander around the unmoving flurry of equipment, and settle on the construct, curiosity brimming on his face. Turning back to Maria, he asks, "Is there anything you have ready for use for us?"

Then, curiosity overwhelming his mind, he continues, "And what is that construct? A commission? Or just a personal project?"

[dark.sun.druid]

Everyone Except Molly:
Maria, delighted by the interest taken in her work, smiled at Lambda,
"That's a Kolyarut. Or, it's going to be. It's not finished yet. They hunt down traitors and deal breakers. They're merciless, and very efficient. It's the first one I've had the pleasure of building, but Lord Edding thinks it will be helpful in our future negotiations if people know we have it. I'd tell you more about it but... well, it has some little tricks that I've built in to it, and I'm not really free to go telling people willy-nilly. I would love to though." The short woman smiled at Lambda again, and moved to one of the low tables in the room. She picked up a heavy ledger, and flipped to the end. After scanning the page, she looked up,
"I'm sorry, I don't have anything in here right now that's not spoken for. If there's anything in particular you're looking for, I can put aside my other work to make it for you, but I'm sure you're on a tight schedule, so I won't be able to make you more than one or two thing."

[J-H]

Spotting a small forge off to the side, Match wanders over to it and plays with the fire inside, drawing tendrils of flame out and making shapes that flicker in the air briefly before vanishing into nothingness.

"Ye know what we're about, aye? Is there anything ye can do to improve our equipment? Resistance upgrades, Protection rings, magical boots, and whatnot? Talismans to get us past our enemies?

I'd like something with cold protection meself."

[dark.sun.druid]

Molly nodded to Match,
"Yes, I can do all of that. Why don't the three of you decide among yourselves what you want." The artificer eyed Match's fire-manipulation warily with her one good eye, undoubtedly worried that he would set something important on fire by accident.

OOC:
Since nobody else is, I don't see any point in continuing to spoil my posts. Molly, you don't know that any of this is happening. :smalltongue:

[Morcleon]

Stepping closer to the unfinished kolyarut, Lambda peers curiously at the creation. Glancing at Maria, he pipes up. "Perhaps some weapon crystals? Or some agility enhancers?"

[Von Krieger]

Rose has been silent for quite some time, which Lambda always finds worrying. She isn't touching the half-built construct, but she is examining it about as thoroughly as she can without actually touching it.

"Quite an interesting project, considering Inevitables are sentient constructs. Typically one can't simply instill a consciousness into something of this nature without tapping into some font of greater power. I've never personally seen it attempted on the material plane before."

Rose shrugs, "Though you may not be shaping body and intellect at the same time. I know of several practices that involve binding a pre-existing consciousness or using one as a template. One requires an elemental, the other a great deal of life force and a relatively fresh sentient brain."

"I did, however, notice several small constructs outside peering out of the greenery outside. Boguns, I believe. Yours? Or are they associated with the druid in residence? Extrapolating from the starting point of the Bogun creation ritual might..."

Rose stops for a moment, looking lost in thought. After a few moments she chuckles, "Amusing and a flamboyant and theatrical display of power, but most certainly not cost effective considering the price of assassins. Or mercenaries."

She chuckles again and makes a dismissive wave with her hand, as if shooing off the idea. "Not your construct, but rather a momentary flight of fancy I'd envisioned using a rather dark and powerful extrapolation of the aforementioned Bogun ritual. Oh la, the strange ways in which inspiration can come."

[Mial]

Molly lifts the key from the water and inspects it. The frayed cord lay limply in her hand, and slimy with algae.

She looked around intently, trying to find the tiger or the druid grounds keeper.
It wouldn't do to find such a thing and not at least inquire if anyone had lost a key.

[dark.sun.druid]

Molly
You are alone in the garden. Nobody appears to be around at all. You know that the tiger is with the rest of your party, however.

Everyone Else
Maria looks quietly at Atrocity for a moment, ignoring everyone else in the room, before saying,
"The boguns belong to the druid. He uses them to assist in tending the garden. That was quite an impressive display of intellect, my friend. Would you like to wager a guess as to how I plan to instill a mind in this construct, after I have created its body?"

[J-H]

After Atrocity and Maria finish their conversation, Match walks over.

"Rings, you say? Can ye spare a Ring of Protection +2 and a Ring of Cold Resistance?

I c'd go for some Boots of Striding and Springing as well, if ye've got them."
He gestures to his worn and scorched leather boots. "Tis time for a new set anyway.

[Von Krieger]

"Hmm... the only thing that deviates from the standard design is this bit right here," she points to the hollow sphere shape, "So something is going to be placed in here. Something this small, containing an intellect. Hmm. Soul gems are relatively hard to come by on the material plane and most folk frown upon them anyway. Crystaline. The crystal focus from a Magic Jar spell, perhaps? Or a psicrystal?"

[Morcleon]

"I don't suppose you could spare a few weapon crystals of energy assault? Lesser, of lightning or acid, preferably." Lambda asks with a smile.

Turning to the unfinished kolyarut, he mutters. "Or an astral seed, or a bound elemental, or a brain-in-a-jar, or some form of Quori crystal." Grinning at Maria, he finishes. "So, what is it?"

[Von Krieger]

"I mentioned binding an elemental before I even examined the focus, beloved." Rose chides.

[Morcleon]

Glancing away in slight embarrassment, Lambda sighs. "...so you did. So you did. I don't have your insanely good perception, you know."

[Mial]

After a cursory look around, Molly decides the best place would simply be to take it to Maria. This tiny curiosity would drive her mad until she figured out where it belonged.

She stands determinedly and heads towards the artificier's building. Walking in the door confidently, she's taken aback by the construction of the construct. She's a bit shy still, so she patiently waits for the ongoing conversation to have natural break before butting in with something unrelated.

When at last the pause happens, Molly walks up and gently asks, "Umm, Maria? Hi, I found this key outside and I was wondering if you knew who it belonged to, or what it was to?" Molly holds up the key, still drying in the air with the damp limp cord stained green with algae.

[dark.sun.druid]

"Binding elementals isn't too far off, but it's not quite right." Maria grinned, highlighting her blind, white eye, "I needed the help of a wizard friend to get the spells that I needed. It's a complicated process, but the key -- the element that will make this construct a Kolyarut, not just any old golem or shield guardian -- is to bind the essence of Mechanus into that sphere. This process is similar to the programming that is typically done on-plane, although I'm doing it on a much smaller scale than is done on Mechanus."

Still grinning, Maria turned her attention to the others in the room,
"Well, you all seem to have different ideas about what sort of things you need. Come back in two days, and I'll have something for you. Why don't you head down the mountain in the mean time. There are shops, hotels, theaters, and anything else you might find yourself wanting for."

During the ensuing lull in the conversation, Maria heard Molly's question. She turned, and responded,
"Ahh, I forgot to close the door. Well, let's see what you have there." Taking the key from Molly, Maria turns the silver piece of metal over in her hand several times. At one point, she held it up to her blind eye, as if inspecting it closely,
"It's no key I've ever seen before. I suggest you hold onto it though; I think you'll find it will prove useful."

[Morcleon]

"And Mechanus is letting you do this for free?" Lambda questions. "I would have expected that they'd require something from you in exchange..."

His attention is caught by the aged key. "Oh? It's a key... Where'd you get that?"

[dark.sun.druid]

"There's a price for everything. In this case, my wizard friend and I are sharing that price. He's already paid. I have yet to." Maria grins devilishly, as if she's sharing some sort of fantastic secret.

[Morcleon]

"And I don't suppose you would mind sharing with me what this price is?" Lambda smiles with a quirked eyebrow. "Just out of curiosity, of course."

[dark.sun.druid]

Still smiling, Maria looks Lambda squarely in the face,
"A woman has to keep some secrets, now, doesn't she."

[Morcleon]

Lambda stares straight back with a wry grin. "Oh, you women and your secrets. Very well then, if you insist, I shall not pry any further."

He sighs, and mutters under his breath. "Hope it doesn't involve sacrificing people... especially not me." He gives a pointed glare toward Rose.

[J-H]

"Thank ye, Maria." Match looks up at her seriously for a moment, then turns and saunters to and out the workshop's door.

[Mial]

"Alright, thanks a lot Maria." Molly says as she walks out of the workshop. She was looking forward to the hike down the mountain, and if they were planning on waiting the 2 days to come back, might spend some time on the mountainside.

Molly waits patiently just outside, ready to start the journey when the party leaves the workshop.

[J-H]

"We've what we need Moll, let's not wait around." Match starts walking along the gravelled track that leads down to the town. "He wants subtle, any spies in town that see the four of us all together coming from his castle might think we're in a group or somethin'."

[Von Krieger]

When Lambda gives Rose a look he finds her already looking at him and grinning, "So long as my heart belongs to you and you alone, dearest, you need not fear such a happening. Be also reassured in knowing that offhand I have no plans that involve that manner of participation. I could investigate one for you, if you would like." Super scary hearing.

"My lady has provided for all of my immediate wants. She has provided weapon, armor, and shelter. However it is the little unexpectancies that usually provide most of my issues. There are a variety of alchemical, magical, and quasi-magical substances that have a variety of uses. I have an inventory list, one moment."

Rose seems to lash out with her left hand, as if suddenly seizing something that had been flitting about around her. Except that the something would have to be several inches within the wall, into which Rose's hand has vanished. For the brief moment of the movement it looks like her fingertips end in needle-like claws. She raises her hand, moving up the wall as she goes.

After a few moments it's apparent that she didn't actually stick her hand in the wall, but rather called a portal upon the wall. The portal is outlined with a braided garland of thorned, flowering vines, the same sort that the bracelet she wears on that hand show. Though for the moment her bracelet seems to be missing, perhaps growing into the portal?

A sweet, floral scent fills the air, with hints of mushroom, crushed centipede, metal, and raw meat as the portal opens and Rose steps through. She returns a few moments later with a scroll made of what looks to be greenish vellum. As she steps back through the portal she leaves her left arm trailing behind her. The portal closes focused around her arm, and once more her bracelet is around her wrist. She hands the scroll to Maria.

"My current shopping list, with which I am sure I have annoyed the alchemists and artificers in every major city I've visited to no end. Most of the items are actually more useful for any traveling companions I happen to be with, since many of the situations they are meant to correct are ones I can overcome under my own power, or just don't apply to me due to other gifts my lady has chosen to bless me with."

[Morcleon]

"No. Not in the least," replies Lambda hurriedly. "Sacrifical plans often end up with significant backlash. And of course, your heart totally stops you from doing stuff to me."*This last part is said with no small degree of sarcasm, before he calls out to the artificer. "Maria, you already know what I've requested. "

Turning back to Rose, he hesitates, wincing at the all-too-familiar scent, then shakes his head with a bemused look. Offering his hand to her, he sighs. "As troublesome as it is, would you care to go down to the town with me?"

[Von Krieger]

"They only have significant backlash if they're not carried out with cunning and care, beloved. And I am not one to rush into preparations. Carefully researching the ritual, the offering, and foci required. Why would I have anything less than perfection, I have eternity, after all. And I have the perfect place where I can carry out such a task without interruption by anything short of the greatest of teleportation spells." Rose says matter-of-factly, without a hint of anger or malice in her voice.

"And do not mock my affections, dearest, for it is indeed the fact that my heart is yours that prevents me from carrying out any sort of unpleasantness upon you. You would know this were you were not as careless and forgetful as you are." she says, walking out the doorway and heading to the town, keeping an eye out for other oddities in the garden.

[roll0] Perception

[Morcleon]

"Ah, yes, you do have eternity to tweak things ever closer to perfection. But when you have the mindset that perfection is standard, what happens when you fail? When your hubris overcomes your skill?" Keeping in step with Rose, Lambda asks, and glances away. He sighs, and mutters. "...I just don't want to see another one of my companions lost to hubris. Not again..."

He gives a small chuckle at her mention of affections. "So it's either I accept your affections, or I suffer your wrath? Mm, I suppose it is better than the alternative. And as for my carelessness and forgetfulness... the reason for that is just that I've never really had any real purpose in my life. As of now, I simply exist to continue my own existence. It's circular."

[Von Krieger]

"That's when I fire arrows at the problem until it stops moving. That has worked rather nicely thus far." Rose says with a chuckle.

[Morcleon]

Lambda rolls his eyes with a grin, and replies. "What if they have a wind wall? Or are otherwise immune to your shooting? What then?"

[dark.sun.druid]

The two little groups proceed down the mountainside path. There is sparse little vegetation growing in the scree that covers this side of the mountain, and the air is calm and languid, heavy with moisture from some unseen body of water. As your two small groups continue further down the mountain, you find yourselves emerging from shadow of the cliffs and into the bright afternoon sunlight. The trek down the mountain is easy enough, although the summer sun makes the moist air humid and slightly oppressive on this face of the mountain. Over the course of two hours, you approach the town at the base of the mountain. Looking down from above, it seems almost to have spilled out into the valley below: a few, small buildings dot the lowest part of the mountainside, but as your gazes move down into the surrounding lower lands the buildings sprout up more densely packed, and spread wide over the landscape. Eventually, the metropolitan areas give way to farmland, and then, just before the horizon, the farmland gives way to forest. Smoke rises from many of the buildings in thin black or white ribbons, and the paved streets look like stone veins from this vantage.

After moving down the mountain at an easy pace, you will first reach some residential land, and a small inn. Beyond that the city begins in earnest, although you may or may not choose to continue into its busy streets. You are still separated into two groups.

[J-H]

As they walk towards the city, Match looks at his companion. "Where to, Moll? I traveled a way to get here and c'd use a rest, but don't care beyond that. Big cities and me don't usually get along well."

[Von Krieger]

"If it's out of doors, a Wind Wall is not a problem. I am intelligent enough to be able to use higher math and calculate the arc I need to fire an arrow with in order to hit a target on the other side of a barrier. If he's indoors he's going to be close enough that I can get to him through anything sort of a solid or force barrier. And in most cases I can do so invisibly." Rose explains patiently, "It is rather cute that you worry about me so, but it takes quite an effort to actually cause me an injury that I will not recover from in a matter of moments. Your time would be better spent contemplating your own wellbeing, rather than mine."

[Morcleon]

"Tch... I've already contemplated my own for a long time. Worrying about someone else is nice for a change." Lambda chuckles. He glances around the residential area, muttering to himself. "Ah, the town. Now, where do we go from here...? You hungry?"

[Von Krieger]

"Why? Are we close to an orphanage?" Rose deadpans, looking perfectly serious for a few moments before smirking. "I'm perfectly content with tea and travel rations. Unless you're paying, then I'm starving."

[Mial]

"Me either, with the cities. We should find a small inn on the edge so it won't feel as...controlled. We can sneak out tonight and practice with our ice and fire in some grove, so long as it's not owned by some farmer it should be fun. We are staying here right, 2 days for Maria to finish your goodies? Maybe we can make some money selling magic services to the local mages. Either way, we should wait up a minute to see what the other 2 are going to do."

Molly looks ahead to the city, and back up the trail they just walked down, looking for signs of their companions. Part of her wanted to just walk off the trail right there and set up camp, but the allure of city cooked food was too much to pass up. She fingered the key in her pocket idly, a foreign weight in her pocket...she would definitely enjoy finding the door this key unlocked.

[Morcleon]

"..." Lambda gives her a bemused stare and shakes his head. "Oh you crazy child-eating plant..."

"And no, not now. You know I only eat the night before a mission. And this is two nights before." He stretches. "Where are we gonna stay then? You want to rent a room or something?"

[Von Krieger]

Rose merely gives Lambda a roll of her eyes and points at her bracelet.

[Morcleon]

Lambda blinks and glances away. "Right. You have your little garden thing. I was just asking... Also, mind if I put my portal-room there?"

[J-H]

If nobody objects and nothing happens, Match gets a room at a moderate-quality inn, enjoys a nice dinner, pulls his bed over next to the fire in his room, and sleeps in. He buys some raw bacon and roasts it himself for breakfast, then wanders around town annoying shopkeepers for a while before going back to the inn and getting buzzed on a few half-pints of ale and going to bed.

[Von Krieger]

Lambda blinks and glances away. "Right. You have your little garden thing. I was just asking... Also, mind if I put my portal-room there?"

"I don't mind in the slightest. Though with your strange phobia regarding my plants, you might want to place the portal on the patio or in the gazebo. That is unless you have a phobia of deadly dire gazebos also." Rose says with a smirk.

[Morcleon]

"I don't mind in the slightest. Though with your strange phobia regarding my plants, you might want to place the portal on the patio or in the gazebo. That is unless you have a phobia of deadly dire gazebos also." Rose says with a smirk.

"Wonderful," mutters Lambda, rolling his eyes. "Well, it's not as if your plants have tried to eat me before or anything..."

"So, are you gonna set it up anytime soon?"*He looks to Rose expectantly.

[Von Krieger]

Rose chuckles and turns down an alleyway, not wanting to show off her magical power in the midst of a populated area. Reaching the middle of the dead end alley and seeing no one in sight, she plunges her hand into the wall, opening the portal to her little pocket realm.

Rose's garden is small as gardens go, but large as personal extradimensional storage goes. If one removed the curtain of red-blue vines that were vaguely reminiscent of veins along the outskirts, there was space beyond that, but Rose had advised against it. The plant-animal-monster-things out there weren't as 'friendly' as the ones in her garden.

The portal opens onto a 10x20 stone patio with a fire pit, some chairs and benches, and a pair of smallish tables. Two 5 foot wide paths lead to either side of a gazebo, which Rose has dubbed her 'office.' The paths and patio alike are outlined with shelves upon shelves, holding books, scrolls, and various items, trinkets, and geegaws.

The rest of the space is left to uncomfortably fur-like green grass, and the various floral-esque abominations she calls plants. Likely the most unsettling one are the pair of 'fruit trees' at the northern corners that combine features of cherry trees, sea anemones, and HR Giger pictures. Rose has dubbed the varieties, with their glowing, sometimes twitching, fruit as "Meatfruit" and "Eggplant."

In the middle of the two paths are a mass of tangled, thorny vines with flower buds the size of chicken eggs. The brightly colored and rather pretty blossoms are actually tiny mouths full of teeth. They have a tendency to try and chew on anybody that comes close. Rose says that they're like puppies, and just trying to play.