Petals of the Rose Wind: Act I "The A Team"

[Daloth]

The Queen of Kanthaka was under severe duress. Her eldest daughter, and first in line to the throne, had fallen ill, with symptoms that no doctor or magician in her court could pin to a disease they knew of. She was constantly restless, hallucinated, spoke in tongues, had fluids coming in and out of both ends while at the same time devouring all of the meals brought to her in record time, and in the instances where she was not fed, she seemed to grow even sicker, so the Queen had ordered food to be brought to her at her wish.

The Queen has brought in adventurers from all the neighboring areas and formed them into different groups and sent them for different cures in all four directions whether it be magical, medicinal, or even divine, with the promise that whoever cures her daughter will be given anything they desire within her realm.

This particular group was no more rag tag than any of the others, they had an Uldra druid from north of the Capital, a man with demonic ancestry from the west, as well as two cat folk, one from the south and another of unknown origins, an apparent necromancer from the east, and a sorcerer who also hailed from the southern parts of the continent. Their races did not matter to the Queen, her city had long been a haven for diversity in a near otherwise segregated world. No city truly outlawed or even openly admitted to racism in the day and age, but they did still have seeds of times and cultures long past against some other cultures and races.

The diviners and magicians gave several ideas for places they could go (they were even offered to examine the princess if need be though currently no person spoke up) in order to find cures that their particular ideology would fit, but the ultimate decision was left up to the group, both to request and to decide themselves. In a sense, the Queen was at their mercy for their ultimate decision for action or inaction. But the promise of rewards brought them, and they were all prepared with their own thoughts, comments, and ideas as well.

The group began to mingle both with themselves as well as the different advisers to the Queen to see what they could discern before deciding what to do together.


Introduce yourselves, mingle, there is not a person in this group who doesn't know something about any possible thing you can think of and who doesn't have some opinion on the matter no matter how outlandish or logical.

[Anecronwashere]

"Hi I'm Singing Voice from the Tail Clan. Who are you people?"
The grinning catgirl in leather asks, long armored tail flicking around rapidly
"You can call me Jalin, it means Singing Voice in Feline you know. I mean, assuming you don't know Feline but I haven't really met anyone that has since I left my village. So I mostly speak in Common or what you people call Draconic. Which is weird because it's the voice of Fireswords not lizards."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Standing a little ways off to the side is a rather short girl with long black hair, dressed in a dark grey haori and hakama. Her red eyes glint with amusement as she walks slowly forward, muttering. "Ah, but these 'Fireswords' of your tongue are likely the 'dragons' of ours, ne? It is where the word 'draconic' comes from, after all."

She bows and introduces herself. "I am Karakuri Haruka, Sorceress of the South. It is a pleasure to meet you, Jalin-chan."

[Anecronwashere]

"But I thought Dragons were big scaly things. A firesword is a sprite living inside people's fists and swords that like to come out when I sing. Though it hurts my throat so I don't do it more than once a day right now. I'd show you but the guards in the last town tried to put me in jail when I tried to show someone and these guards look meaner. And who's jalin-chan? I'm Jalin Lida, or Singing Voice of Tail Clan in Common.
Though it is nice to meet you Karakuri of Haruka. Is the south nice this time of year? Oooh your eyes are pretty, are the natural or did you use some of your sorcery thingy on them?"
Jalin stares into Karakuri's eyes with innocent curiosity

[Morcleon]

Haruka

The sorceress raises an eyebrow and smiles bemusedly. "Ah, my mistake, then. These firesword sprites of yours... An interesting discovery, to say the least. Perhaps I will meet mine one day, when you sing for us."

Giggling at Jalin's continued enthusiasm, she gently corrects the genetically-formed nekomimi. "Jalin-chan is you. '-chan' is an honorific often used with young children, female friends, and 'cute' things. Also, from where I come from, the clan name is said first, with the given name presented after. So in your culture, I would be Haruka of the Karakuri clan.

"Yes, the south is very nice this time of year. And thank you. My eyes are natural. Well, sort of. It's... a story for another time." These last few lines are muttered in a lowered voice as she glances to the side. She appears rather uncomfortable at the attention given to her unnatural eyes.

[Finkmilkana]

The small blue guy stops leaning on his dog and speaks up, his voice surprisingly deep:
"I'm currently called Fireeyes and I speak the languages of the land, of the earth and of the sky. My big friend here is Strong, he currently doesn't speak.
And it seems we are unified by our task to cure an sick human with no one even knowing whats wrong with her. "
You notice that he is dressed in hides far to hot for this time of year, but doesn't seem to mind.

[Anecronwashere]

The exciteable fur-covered girl squeals and hugs the vampire tightly "Eeee! I have a friend. I can't remember the last time I gotta friend. Don't worry I wont pester you 'bout your eyes till your ready. Cause friends don't bug friends. Unless friends happen to be little sisters then it's their job. So how are we gonna beat this nasty cold the Princess has?"
Jalin stops for a second, still clinging to Haruka her face deep in thought
"Symptoms are increased Gluttony, Pestilence if not sated, visions and tongues are usually signs of Outsider possession and the lack of rest could help support that theory but there is no lost time and gaps in memory nor was the princess doing anything unusual before the symptoms were discovered.
Hmm. I know! It's a failed possession. The negative signs of a possession being fought are there but there isnt any positive...Or would that be negative? indicators from the change in behaviour. Oooh we need to find either a Warlock person or a Cleric who likes to Summon or Bind Outsiders, preferably of the Angelic kind cause those are nicer and don't try to make Catgirl Soup and Catbones in their rituals.
Hmm or would a Devil-summoner be better? If we can avoid the soup they might have more knowledge in possession. Ooh and your not a catgirl Haruka so they won't want to make you into a soup! Yeah, we gotta find a Demon Summoner to bind the demon that couldn't possess the princess. It's so simple."

[Finkmilkana]

"I don't want to squash your excitement, but don't you think the countless wizards, doctors or priests would have checked for possession? If If it failed the demon can't be that strong and they should have found something. I would advise that, before we go to search a cure for a potential, but unconfirmed cause, we should search for the cause."

[Anecronwashere]

"Well maybe...Ooh but dark binders would still know Tons of Magic that a good guy wouldn't use cause we are all Good. So if we threaten a bad guy into ding what we want then we can claim the reward while the bad cleric does all the hard work."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Haruka nods a greeting to the smurf small blue figure with a smile. "Hello, Fireeyes-san. I don't suppose I could place a hyphen in there? Two words that join together with the same letter is a pet peeve of mine, I'm afraid."

Giving a resigned smile at the clingy catgirl, Haruka sighs. "Jalin-chan, while you bring up a valid point, I am inclined to agree with our smur- um, I mean, our blue companion. Possession will likely have been checked for. As for the side-effects of a failed possession, that is an uncommon enough thing that it may have been overlooked. We need to know exactly what has been checked, and what has not been."

"Also, coercing 'evil' people is generally not a good idea, unless you use powerful magical compulsions. And most who are powerful enought to help would probably resist such things with impunity."

[Anecronwashere]

Jalin

"Well what do you suggest Haruka?"

[WrathOfLife]

Karth Silverbrow

Karth, a silvery furred catfolk with a bow across his back, watched the group interact for a time with mild amusement. Social graces always amused him. Deciding to join in as the discussion went to employing evil powers he jumps in.

"The problem with using evil, is that evil lies and works to its own ends. We are better off seeing first what others have checked for, and then see what is most likely out of the options that remain." he flicks his tail in sudden displeasure "That is my thinking anyway"

[Finkmilkana]

"But that would still require that we find a "bad guy" who's powerful enough to do anything about the mysterious affliction. We would also need to subdue him, which probably means he isn't that powerful at all and not able to do anything, especially since it might for example be something only an angle can cure.
No, no, no, that strikes me as quite foolish."

He stops for a bit and thinks.
"Where I came from there are rare but powerful spirits of ice and snow who are virtually omniscient. If one could find them and woo them to help they could tell you anything. While few have ever seen them it's common knowledge that they exist and I'm sure they know whats wrong. "

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"I suggest we see what has already been tried. As for thee ice spirits, I suppose we could try that route if nothing else seems to avail itself. Gazing around the group, Haruka quirks an eyebrow. "Then, we are all in agreement to first see what has been tried, then continue our discussion then?"

"Very well then. I shall see what I can find."*She nods, and begins searching for the head of the medical team for the princess.

[Anecronwashere]

[roll0] Gather Information

The catgirl moves through the crowd, her giddy manic grin turning into a gentle charismatic one as she teases every scrap of info she can. Willingly (or knowingly. Body language is a powerful thing) or not she stockpiles a large dearth of information regarding treatments, possible routes the other adventurers go and the prevailing theories as she moves gracefully through the crowds a total contrast to her manic feline form a few seconds ago clinging to a woman she just met.

EDIT: Curses. Foiled by the roll.

[Finkmilkana]

As their small group disperses Fireeyes starts looking for someone who knows the princess.
Once he finds someone he deems able to answer him, he asks a question:"Excuse me, but could you tell me if the princess has any pets?".

[WrathOfLife]

Karth Silverbrow

Seek out someone who is familiar with the princesses conditions and had recorded the details of it, Karth asks a few rapid fire questions.

"When did she become ill? What symptoms did she display first and last? Who was she meeting with in the weeks before and after the illness?

[Woodsman]

Elzin

Elzin stood off to the side of the group, watching them interact and listening to each suggestion. Some of their thoughts made sense--it seemed that possession was likely, although he wasn't entirely sure. Then again, he didn't know much about outsiders or demons in general. All he knew of was his infernal heritage, and that was very little to go on.

He did not at all like the talk of coercing other beings into anything, especially not Evil creatures. That would likely not accomplish anything of use. The information available to them would have to due, that captured by mundane means.

He stood and pondered what was available silently. Could she be faking it? It wouldn't necessarily explain everything, and there didn't seem to be any motive for it. Was she under a curse or spell? More likely, but the magicians likely would have detected magic. Poison? Again, detectable, and surely the palace medics would have checked for it. Some sort of mental disease? That made the most sense, but how could they know for sure? Or cure such a thing?

He decided that he might as well check to see if the medics had indeed run such tests. It couldn't heard. He made his way to them, asking, "Have you tried to detect any traces of magic or poison in her?"

[distant quasar]

Varius has been observing the enegetic but foolish brainstorming of his companions. While they all have plenty of ideas, he doubts they truly know as much as they are claiming... all in all, the group he has been chosen to work with seems distatefully immature. With the exception, perhaps, of his fellow in silence.

At least they seem to have decided to discover first what has already been tried. No use in repeating what was already done and expecting different results... the very definition of insanity...

He heads off to question those who might know.

Gather Information: [roll0] EDIT: Might starting with people in the palace and telling them the Queen has told me to investigate give a bonus to this unfortunate roll? :smallconfused:

Also, knowledge arcana: [roll1]
and religion: [roll2]
to see if he knows of anything either arcane, divine, undead (anything falling into those realms of knowledge, basically) that could cause these symptoms.

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Having finished her first investigation, the vampire goes around searching for and enthusiastically dragging along the rest of her group. She leads everyone to a spot relatively close to the princess' quarters and glances around with a grin. "Okay, collaboration time."

"Her restlessness and irritability is highest within a few minutes of her consumption of food and when said food is late. Despite her consumption levels, she has not gained any weight. Parasite medicine has been unsuccessful as of now. What have you all found?"

[WrathOfLife]

Karth Silverbrow

Karth pipes up in response "She began showing symptoms 2 months ago, apparently the restlessness and hallucinations came first, and were the worse then, than now. Three different people bring her food, all of which have been all but tortured for all they know. Is it possible she is under the effect of an addictive drug laced in her food? Has anyone else in the kingdom been eating the same food, have they had a similar reaction?"

[Anecronwashere]

"Well all I know is she has a dry mouth and some people think it could be a plot to get the 3rd sister into power. We should take a look at the 2nd sister and see if there is anything unusual about her lately."

[Finkmilkana]

"Well there certainly are some plants who could lead to similar symptoms, but one can't be sure without knowing what she takes."
He points at one man on the other side of the room.
"Oh, and it seems that butler over there is quite insane for human standards, I hope he's not someone who brings her food."

[Daloth]

As the waiter for the food (The lunch lady) brings the food to the door, you all immediately stop her with the approval of the guard. Having been let in on your plan, he has supplied you with new, previously unopened plates, bowls, and even a new tray itself. The food and drink is then cleansed magically as best as the castle provides, and placed on the new flatware and with new utensils, with no chance anything could have been added in between.

The food is then given back to the waitress and you place her in the middle of the group, with eyes in all directions at her, as she heads into the room. You each take a corner of the bed or a place of advantageous sight, and watch as the princess awaits her food. The waitress places the food on a small table in front of the bed, bows to the princess as per custom, and walks out. The princess devours the food in record time, and you all wait in the room for a few hours to see if anything happens out of the ordinary. After a while of waiting, the head doctor and cleric (both cautiously optimistic to the plan) simply shake their heads and claim nothing new has happened. It seems the food cleansing did not work, as her behavior is completely unchanged. The group leaves the room with the only information having been gathered that the cleanse did not work.

The castle has no ill will against you for being wrong as they have been wrong more times than you can probably even have ideas.

[distant quasar]

"Perhaps we should consider the possibility that this ailment, wether natural or not, has been caused. It might be fitting to ask who else would stand to benefit from the princesses death or incapacitation, and then spend at least some of our effort investigating anything they might have done to her. Naturally, the first people to investigate would be her sisters, but there may be more besides...

I simply suggest this since we are having such difficulty in simply determining the cause of the disease. This could be of great help, though of course we would need to use some of our efforts to continue searching as we have been."

[Daloth]

As the group converses the myriad of possibilities wrong with the princess and how to determine the cause and cure, they did not realize that the time had passed enough that it was time for her mid afternoon snack.

The same girl as before brought the food, and they followed her in in the same manner. They did not bother to cleanse the meal and simply watched. This time, with eyes more focused on their surroundings instead of their actions, some of them saw something.

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Pulling her companions to the side after the serving girl has left, Haruka whispers to them. "Did any of you notice the servant's jewelry. Definitely not on the normal budget. Also, her necklace had the royal insignia on it, same one as above the bed." She gestures to the curtains on the princess' bed, showing the royal symbol.

[WrathOfLife]

Karth Silverbrow

A silent flickering of Karth's tail was all that revealed the rage inside him. Waiting for the servant woman to leave Karth joins the groups huddle and adds quietly to it, his voice stretched with anger. "She smiled. The servant smiled, bowed and then there was a shimmer a shifting of light over the princesses food. I suspect magic, I suspect the servant is concealing her casting by bowing. I suspect she has become overly confident in her own cleverness."

[Anecronwashere]

"Maybe we should get a new server? Do everything the same as the first time but choose an adventurer from the crowd at random to take the food from where it was cleansed."

[Finkmilkana]

"She doesn't cast, I'm pretty sure her necklace casts. We have to get her when she wears it and then look at it." He turns towards their contact "Might it be possible to stop and question the serving girl when she next brings food? don't bother now, just directly when she brings the servings. "

[Woodsman]

"We have a lead," Elzin states quietly, "one servant girl that seems suspicious. I think an appropriate course of action is to follow this one, while keeping an eye out for more. I suggest we post someone hear to keep an eye on the other two servers. A number of us might draw suspicion from whoever is orchestrating this, enough to cut off the lead we do have. The rest of us should wait or continue searching, I think."

[Anecronwashere]

"I should help interview her, I'm really good at talking to people. See I got the Sorceror here to be my friend in just a couple minutes!"
Jain hugs the vampire tightly and grins
"I've had Lots of practice since I, um, left my village." A small frown appears before getting wiped away back into the excitable grin
"So who wants to go with me to talk to the server person? Right after she serves the food would be best, I'll subtly hit her with a Detect Magic to see if there is any auras from the necklace you mentioned."

[Finkmilkana]

"I'm not the best person to talk to humans. Oddly enough it seems they sometimes find it strange to talk to little blue guys, so they ignore me in conversations. But since that gives me all the more time to watch them and see if they hide something I should maybe still come. And Strong usually keeps everyone from doing something stupid by just being there."
He turns to his dog and starts to talk to him in Sylvan while petting him. "Yes my dear, you are a good dog. Just be carefull not to eat something in here. It seems the food is not that good."

[Anecronwashere]

Jalin hisses at the dog and hides behind Haruka

[Finkmilkana]

Fireeyes smiles at the catgirls surfacing fear of the dog she was next to for the last few hours.
"You don't have to fear him, he doesn't bite. Well, at least as long as you don't rub yourself with liver pie or try to hurt anyone. Or if you step on his tail, he doesn't like that."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Chuckling softly at the catgirl's reaction, Haruka reaches over and gently scratches Jalin behind the ears. "Calm, Jalin-chan. Calm. The dog won't bite you. Resist your instincts. Control them, or they will control you."

Then, she beams cheerfully. "I'll go with you to interro- erm, I mean, to interview the server. I'm pretty good at persuading people."

[Anecronwashere]

"No-one does, that's why mine is armored. But still, DOG! Sneaky little mutt Hiss!"
(I totally had no idea you had a dog)

"Murrrr. Okie Haruka-san"

[Morcleon]

Haruka

The sorceress blinks in surprise and smiles at Jalin. "Oh, you've learned honorifics, and rather quickly too. I'm so proud of you." Pat, pat, pat.

"Although," continues Haruka with a grin. "Wouldn't '-chan' be more appropriate? We are friends, aren't we...?"

[Anecronwashere]

"Right, I said Chan didn't I?" The dainty-fanged girl looks a bit bewildered, but very relaxed by the petting, forgetting the dog she was hiding from
"Stupid fangs, I knew I should have gotten them filed down like my sister. Bless her soul."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"Ah, no. You used '-san', which is generally used for strangers or acquaintences." Haruka smiles reassuringly. "Don't worry about it; it's a common enough mistake."

The sorceress frowns slightly. "What's wrong with having fangs?" She leans forward and whispers softly into Jalin's ear, letting her cute little fangs jut out of her mouth. "I have them too, you know. I would appreciate it if you didn't spread this around."

She stands straight and gives the catgirl an inquisitive yet compassionate look. "Your sister... what happened to her?"

[Anecronwashere]

"Nothing's wrong wih fangs, it's just hard to pronounce ch and s differently in Common. With Feline the use of a catfolk's type of fang is inherent to the language but Common is based on the Human unfanged mouth. And my sister passed away. I-I don't want to talk about it right now, just...If you see a catfolk from the Claw clan don't mention me or the Tail clan. Especially if the catfolk is missing most of his tail.
...
So, anyway the serving girl right? When should we pull her aside. Maybe right before she serves again, so we know she has the necklace thingy. And we can serve the food from a different server. Maybe another adventurer so we know they aren't in on it? Ooh, especially if that adventurer is a Cleric who can Purify the food."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"I understand. If you ever feel ready to tell, know that I will listen." Haruka replies, nodding slowly.

She listens to Jalin's outline of a plan, a grin slowly creeping across her face. "Couldn't have said it better myself, Jalin-chan. Wonderful job. Now, would anyone else like to join us on this questioning?"

[WrathOfLife]

Karth Silverbrow

Watching the interactions with bemused distance Karth shrugs off suggestions of joining the others talking to humans.

"I would like to remain with the princess, observe the other servants in their duties and day to day business."

[distant quasar]

"I am not the best when it comes to niceties. However, I will go along in case we need a more direct approach to make her answer our questions."

[WrathOfLife]

Karth Silverbrow

After the next servant comes and goes, Karth leans out and summons over a guard with a simple message for the rest of his team. "Can you pass on to the others of my group, Ask where the necklace comes from. But do not touch it, it may be quiet valuable. I cannot stress the urgency of this message enough. Thank you." He then returns to keep the princess under watch.

[Daloth]

The group assigned to "interrogate" the servant waits until the next day for the girl to show up. Luckily for them, she is wearing the same necklace as the day before.

They have another servant hand off the food to the princess as she is taken to another room.

She speaks in a very eloquent common

"I have been interrogated several times. Please, do not tell me I must do this again. I live only to serve the Queen and her heirs."

You look at each other knowingly as she remains stoic.

"We only wish to ask a few questions. You do not oppose?"

She shakes her head.

The most intimidating simply blurts

"Are you poisoning the princess somehow?"

The servant looks wide eyed. Clearly his intimidation worked, she responds in earnest.

"No sir, I have served her my whole life. I would never poison my own family."

The group is shocked. Luckily, the girl explains,

"My uncle and the queen are siblings... we are able to serve in the castle in luxury but we must be servants to the main branch of the family... I grew up with Aleya. She is like a sister to me. I would never harm her."

Each of you looks at her for different possible hints of a lie, but you see nothing. Convinced that one of you would be able to tell if she is lying, you ask her instead about her necklace.

"It is a family heirloom. They permit us to wear it only because we are of royal blood, even if it is not the main line."

You again believe her.

"We personally saw something happen to her food as you fed her. what do you say to this?"

"You must be mistaken... I simply follow the customs as they are ordered."

This time, you are not so sure as to her answer.

"Then you will have no problem having us examine your necklace?"

"Not at all. but please, do not break it. It means much to me"

You all understand, but as the nearest reaches out his hand you feel a small heat wave. Not enough to hurt you, but enough to knock your hand away. The servant seems to change instantaneously. Her eyes become red. The necklace she is wearing glows red also. You blink and she is in the far end of the room near the door.

She speaks in a new voice, a deep voice:

"You have done well to discern this. But even now when I am not at full power, I will defeat you with the power I have!"

She opens the door and the other female servant is there, her eyes glow green and her bracelet seems to cause her arm to float almost inhumanly. They share the same voice, and in unison they speak, "You will not stop me. I have prepared for this."

----------

Elsewhere in the Princess' Bedroom, The Breakfast server has replaced the lunch server, and he throws his food to the ground. He looks up at Karth who has been stationed there, his eyes blue... almost frozen, and a ring on his hand, bright blue, glows as his arm raises. Karth had not noticed it like the other servant's bracelet. He was not ready and caught by surprise as the man materialized a small sphere of ice and shot it at him as the princess, seemingly oblivious, sat there watching.

I need everyone to roll initiative. If you are not with the interrogating group, I will put you one round away from Karth. But, he will be hit by a surprise attack at the start of the battle. You can fight or do nothing as you so see fit. If you do not fight, the other side will not notice you as a threat.

[Anecronwashere]

"Right this is bad, very bad. Quick Haruka use your Sorcerer stuff."
Jalin draws her Longsword "If you kill us others will find out. You've already lost."

[WrathOfLife]

Karth Silverbrow

Seeing the blast come towards him, Karth screams at the top of his lungs.

"Assassin! Assassin attacking the Princess!"

[Morcleon]

Haruka

The sorceress just laughs. "Oh dear, looks like you two are just raring to go."

A searing mote of glowing light flares into life at her outstretched finger, illuminating her fanged grin. "Let's see how you fare against my power, ne?"

[Daloth]

Karth is caught completely unaware by the man's sudden change as an orb of ice is hurled at him. It barely misses him, however it hits the wall behind him and explodes into shards that dig into Karth's skin and fur.

[roll0] Cold damage

Reflex 16 DC for half

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


A few rooms down the hall the main party prepares itself for the two girls who almost appear to be fully glowing now from their energy. The group prepares their actions for the fight.


You all may begin your actions (and you can plan them out ahead if you wish or won't be around on a day like today especially

[Anecronwashere]

"You wanted to see the firespirits right Haruka?" Jalin smiles as she starts to sing, her voice turning the Draconic song into a high lilting and uplifting sound even as the room heats up.
Fire bursting into existence around the weapons, hands and paws of everyone (except the demons) but they do not burn or hurt the wielder

Jalin readies her weapon against the demons about to pounce


Gogo Dragonfire Inspiration. +1d6 fire damage

[Daloth]

As the battle starts to heat up, the servant ***** her head sideways at the singing cat. All three servants speak in unison in the same deep voice despite Karth's assailant clearly in the other room.

"I recognize your tune, animal. If you like fire, let me show you real heat."

The servant raises her hands and pulls off her ear rings before throwing them simultaneously at Jalin and Fireeyes.

The first goes off without a hitch and hits Jalin in the arm before dropping at her feet and immediately exploding in a small ball of flame, but the one in her left hand seems to be let go too late, and it goes straight to the floor near her, exploding in her face.

However, she was able to see her blunder in time and transfer the brunt of the damage to the other earring.

[roll0] Fire damage. No save

Due to her natural one, the servant takes 2 splash damage, also with no save.

HP totals as of this post (not counting the attack on harutha yet).

Male Servant: full HP
Green Servant: Full HP
Red Servant: 2 damage of ??? HP
Karth: 4 HP (reflex save halved the surprise attack)

--------

Elsewhere, the Male Servant sees that his attack was not enough to finish off Karth. He looks down at his ring, now missing the stone, and presses it with his finger. He starts to glow a brighter blue than before but nothing else seems to happen yet.

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Grimacing at both the heat and the damage done to the catgirl, Haruka takes a step back, placing herself in front of Jalin. She flicks her marble of glowing power at the two, and it explodes in a cone of dissonant light.

And with her other hand, she draws her crossbow, the preloaded bolt already burning bright. "Not a good idea. Had you attacked me, perhaps I would have given you mercy. But you struck my companions, and today you die."

5' step such that Haruka is between the enemy and Jalin, and that she can hit Red and Green with a 15' cone.

Standard: Cast color spray (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/colorSpray.htm) on both Red and Green. DC 16 Will negates.
Unconscious, blind, stun: [roll0] rounds
Blind, stun: [roll1] rounds

Move: Draw crossbow.
Conditions and Effects
HP: 15/15
AC: 17 (15 against animal, fey, magical beast)
Touch: 16 (14)
Flat-footed: 13 (11)

Spells: 5/2

Effects:
Magic Circle of Nature: As magic circle against evil, but only negated by animal, fey, and magical beast types.

[Woodsman]

Elzin

Elzin burst into the room with Karth and the princess sword drawn. He paused to catch his breath, lifting his sword and pointing it toward the now blue-eyed servant. "Surrender now and you will be spared," he states coldly. "Continue to resist and you shall be executed."

[Finkmilkana]

Fireeyes takes a quick step to get his dog between him and the blue glowing servant, barking in Sylvan "Bite the hot one!" before starting to cast a spell.

If at least one still stands: 5ft. step to get the dog as cover from green and starting to cast SNA I (sacrificing Speak with Animals).

Should they already both have fallen down he'll instead start to move towards the princess room.

[Anecronwashere]

The exploding fireballs end the song abruptly "AAh! Hisss!"
But the fire still burns on, crackling with rage at the one who caused the end

"Quickly, we do not have much time. The firespirits rest before the minute is up."

Jalin draws and fires her crossbow into the demonic servant
[roll0]
damage:
[roll1] Fire
[roll2] Crossbow

[WrathOfLife]

Karth Silverbrow

Karth stumbles from the blast of ice, cursing violently he roars "Don't negotiate with the assassin, just hold it off! Its being mind control! Look at its eyes!" Suiting his words, he bundles up the princess, grabbing her unceremoniously in his arms, and bolting for the door. Attempting to shield the princess with his full body as he sprints for the place there will be the most guards, either where the adventurers were assembled or the throne room. The whole time screaming "Guards to arms! Assassin in the princesses room! To Arms protect the princess!"

[Finkmilkana]

Hearing the uldras command Strong jumps at the red eyed servant and tries to take her down.

Since everyone is doing it:
Either move or charge (if more than 10 ft away) at the servant.
Bite:[roll0](+2 if charged)
Damage:[roll1] (+[roll2] fire damage)
Trip:[roll3]

[distant quasar]

Varius moves to distance himself from his comrades (assuming he isn't already) so that they will not be able to hit more than one of them with their sorcereries. Then he raises his hand, firing a bolt aimed at the red one, who he takes to be the leader. He raises his voice to speak to his comrades: "It seems these sorcerors possess a great deal of skill--for those who know what it means, they arrived her by an Ethereal Jaunt. Nonetheless," he said looking at the one he fired at, "death will claim them."

Attack: [roll0] ranged touch
Damage: [roll1] negative energy; if she would be healed normally (doubtful) she is not, just not damaged either

[Daloth]

Though the group has been together only a short time, they work together in a surprisingly efficient manner.
As a series of bright colors blast through the room, causing convulsions in the girl glowing green, forcing her to pass out almost instantly, Fire eyes begins to cast a spell. Various channels negative energy towards the Red servant and she is hit, almost too easily, and immediately collapses on the floor. Having the two threats disposed of the group interrogating stops their spells or actions wondering what to do next as guards come in to help detain the unconscious servants.
------
At the end of the hall, the Blue servant continues holding his finger into his now socketless ring. Karth immediately bolts for the princess as Elzin bursts into the room, having not been with the other group. He is followed by two guards who see Karth's movement toward the princess and halt him from leaving the room with her while also placing spears to the neck of the man. They order him to not move, and he does not, so they do not strike him down.
However, less than a few seconds later, his eyes change again. This time they take a full black hue with no discernible pupil or iris, and he speaks with his own voice:
"It Seems my master seems to think I still have a use."
And with that he disappears leaving behind a spot of frost where he stood.

Karth, still covered in ice, decides to place the princess back on her bed. She has hardly moved or even reacted despite being awake and unharmed, and he and Elzin stare at each other in wonder at what exactly just happened.

250XP for everyone

If there is anything you wish to check the two remaining girls for, do it now before they are taken away and afterwards we will go from there

[WrathOfLife]

Karth Silverbrow

Rubbing the back of his head with a rueful smirk on his face Karth comments to the guards "Well thank Obad-Hai for you three, much longer and I'd be frozen solid with not a defender to speak of for the princess."

Looking at the frost on the ground where the man was Karth rubs his bloody face in thought. "We have two issues here. One, that was clearly magic, magic that was undetected by all the wizards and clerics thus far. So either from an outside hidden source, or maybe a large conspiracy, which admittedly seems less likely. And two." Karth swings round to look at the princess "You were nearly killed and didn't react at all. Not a peep or sound.... " Karth spins around in sudden shock to face Elzin "What if they've taken her mind and left the body!"

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"Hm. That was easier than expected. Too easy, perhaps." Haruka mutters, lowering her crossbow and putting it away. She crouches by the two servants and stares at them. Turning back to the singed catgirl, she smiles faintly with a hint of concern lacing her voice. "Jalin-chan, are you alright? I would hope that attack didn't hurt you too much, did it?"

"Oh, do you still have your detect magic active? Could you scan these two and tell me if anything is magical?" She will remove anything the Jalin's detect magic senses as magic (as well as Red's necklace and Green's bracelet). Then, she will let the guards restrain Red and Green, but will also halt the taking away until the two awaken in 24 seconds.

"Hello there," smiles Haruka innocently. She lets her magic circle of nature wash over the two, protecting from and suppressing any possession. "I don't suppose you would care to tell me why it was that you ladies attacked us?"

[Woodsman]

Elzin curses under his breath at the escape of the servant, but quickly sheathes his sword. "I doubt they've taken her mind. They were enchanting her food, not her person. Little wonder no one could detect it then," he states, stepping forward to check the princess for injuries. Finding none, he pulls away."If they'd taken her mind, I think the spell would show up. No matter what, she'll likely need magical and medical attention now, and I doubt either of us are qualified. I suggest we find the others and see what's happened with them." With that, he turns and exits the room to track down the others.

[distant quasar]

Varius raises his eyebrows as the women fall. It happened all too quickly, he thought.

Nonetheless, he goes towards the red one, searching her, particularly looking for jewelry.

He's going to take everything he finds except her clothes, no matter how mundane it seems

If I need search, then [roll0]

[WrathOfLife]

Karth

Nodding at Elzin suggestion but unconvinced about his spell theory, Karth talks to one of the guards on his way out "Make sure there are two guards with her, in the room at all times. Any sign of something strange, call for help, THEN investigate."

He then heads off with Elzin. "Thanks for the help before. I'm not much of a fighter myself. Back home, I was a hunter, I could take down the biggest creatures with my bow. Sadly that doesn't really translate well to kicking doors down and brandishing swords."

[Daloth]

Searching the bodies before awakening the group finds two pieces of copper and one piece of silver between the two girls, as well as the bracelet and the necklace.

The guards do not argue this, but do restrain the girls as the one in green begins to awaken.

She responds to Haruka's calm demeaner in a terrified manner, "Why am I here?"

She turns and sees the red servant, unconscious, "What did you do to my sister! Jesa! Wake Up!"

The guard holding her assures her that she is well, merely knocked out it seems.

Haruka asks one more question as the guards begin to take the prisoners away "Where did you get the bracelet? And where did she get her necklace and earrings?"

The girl looks confused and shakes her head, "We... we've had them since we were born. They are unwanted items from previous Queens and Princesses."

Haruka, knowing they are not possessed, and knowing that in her state she was not lying, simply stands there confused by her new found information as the girls are taken away to a lower level before further investigations can be made.

[Woodsman]

Elzin

Elzin merely shrugs at Karth's words. "You're welcome, I suppose." He doesn't say anything more until they reach the room where the girls have been taken away. Elzin does a quick head count, and finding no one has died, asks, "Were you attacked as well? And have you found anything out?"

[Morcleon]

Haruka

The vampire examines the bracelet and necklace, slowly turning them over in her hands. "Yes, we were attacked. Jalin-chan was injured."

"These two items," she gestures at the two pieces of jewelry. "Were apparently unwanted items from royalty past, and have been in the possession of those two girls since their birth. Now this, in conjunction with the fact that neither seems to remember attacking us, leads me to believe that whatever had possessed them resides in these items. Also, they're probably innocent. Also, we should check on the princess."

She goes to check on the princess!

[WrathOfLife]

Karth

Tilting his head slightly in confusion at the scene. Karth frowns "That doesn't seem right... the third server, he returned to normal and spoke of a master. I think these two are lying. Their master has abandoned them, but not the other."

As Haruka goes to leave Karth calls to her back "I just came from there, shes fine and under guard. Elzin here saved me from the third server who randomly attacked me. I think it was linked to the questions you were asking...."

[Anecronwashere]

"I'm fine Haruka, it was just a little fire. I'm used to it really. But thank you for the concern."
The catgirl rubs the tip of her singed tail and smiles at the vampire
"Just don't expect me to take another hit like that and I'll be fine. As for the servants I truly believe they are innocent, consciously, but they have been in possession of jewelry that can clearly take control at any time.
Guard, I want you and the other guards to check every member of the staff for jewelry like the ones found on our attackers. And have an adventurer with you in case one of your own has a piece of possession-jewelry that could influence their actions. Oh, and see if any adventurers can cook, I want them to replace the kitchen staff temporarily, simply because they are a new party, no chance of corruption by the possession jewels. Same with the person who serves the Princess, adventurer OR someone you have checked for jewelry and found nothing. Though check them every time they are going to serve food just in case they hid it."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"If you say so..." The sorceress shrugs and halts, turning back to the party. She continues to give Jalin a concerned look. "Go find a cleric to patch you up, alright, Jalin-chan? I don't want you dying on me because you want to keep up appearances."

With a curious look, Haruka examines the two pieces of jewelry, and twirls the bracelet around her finger while musing to herself. "Hmm... I wonder if I can contact the entity inside this little trinket by putting it on...? Certainly wouldn't hurt to try..."

[Anecronwashere]

"Yes Haruka-chan. I promise." The catgirl says, smiling at the vampire
"Be careful with the ring, if you put it on make sure you are tied down, I don't want you to be hurt if you get possessed." Jalin hugs Haruka tightly before skipping off in search of a healer

[WrathOfLife]

Karth

Karth shakes his head at his fellow Catfolk "I'd like to believe that, but it doesn't make sense." Turning to some of the others who fought in the other battle Karth questions "Did you notice any change in the others when they attacked? Voice, eyes, etc? The servant who attacked me. He acted normal, then his eyes glazed over and he attacked. But then, afterwards, he returned to normal, spoke in his own voice, his eyes appeared normal, and he spoke of a master having further use of him. I suspect from this that he at least, was aware that he was being used by an outside power."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

With a faint smile, Haruka nods, still a bit shocked that anyone could accept her that quickly. "I will take care."

To Karth, she nods her head. "Our enemy only took on a possessed form when we reached for the necklace. In fact, they even let us. After I knocked them out and removed their jewelry, they reverted to normal."

She places her crossbow and bolts on a nearby table, then glances around questioningly. "Does anyone have some rope they can use to tie me down while I try these out? Also, I'll need to be gagged so I can't cast. Make sure you take off the bracelet before you let me up."

[Woodsman]

Elzin

"I do not deem this to be a wise course of action," Elzin states. "We have discovered the cause of the princess' illness. Why should we have to find out why these things caused it as well?"

[Anecronwashere]

"Because it's the right thing to do. And besides, if we don't then we might not find the cure for what's Already been done to her. It could be a slow-acting poison held in check by repeated dosages of a counter-poison holding it in stasis so without the bad guys giving her more of the poioned food she'll die!
Also reward money. I'm wanna roll around in gold like the dragons do in my book."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

The vampire nods in agreement. "Indeed. If we know why, then her treatment will be that much easier."

"Oh, and if you're worried about me being possessed," she grins and laughs. "Well, that's what the restraints are for, ne?"

[Daloth]

As members of the group begin getting healed by some of the clergy, Haruka plans to use her abilities to try and commune with whatever is possessing or using the objects.

After being gagged and have one arm and both legs restrained, the bracelet is put on the same wrist as the servant's, with her arm then immediately tied as well. She sits for a few moments and realizes nothing happens. She then gives the nod for the necklace to be placed on her, and they place it on her. She tries moving, wiggling a little to see if they have a somatic component or an action that activates them, but she discovers nothing.

In her frustration she bends her head and looks down, and she feels a small click, which immediately releases a few of the glimmers from before from beneath the stone. Unsure how she activated it, she tries it again, to the same effect. a few more of the things fall down, almost floating.

The group is able to place them on a sheet of paper after examining her. There are three of them on it as of now, slightly red. Nobody is sure of what they look like, but they do believe they have found whatever it is that was poisoning the princess.


(All of you are as healed to full HP now also)


This tiny bit is just for Haruka (easier than PMing because of its length)
As she is untied, Haruka has a strange urge to pull the stone out, but fights it. It did not feel sinister in nature, more like intuition. She is unsure of if she should or not. Or, if she should do it with others around.

[Morcleon]

Haruka

As she climbs to her feet, Haruka wipes the aftertaste of the gag away with her hand. "Well then, we know how the princess was poisoned. Now we just have to figure out what that stuff is, then create an antidote."

She stretches and yawns, before a contented smile appears on her face. Taking off both the necklace and the bracelet, she places the latter in a small pouch on her waist. The former, however, is held up to the light to be looked at curiously.*An idea suddenly appears. "While the substance seems to be coming from this necklace, there must be a source somewhere. And typically, the source for something this obviously magical is the centerpiece, in this case, the stone. Combine that with my sudden and unnatural urge to remove this stone from the necklace, it is possible that the stone is the source for the poison and/or the possessor."

[Finkmilkana]

"I guess we should tell the doctor about this, maybe he can identify the poison and has a cure? Or maybe it's a drug and the cure is just not to give her anymore of it." After a short moment he adds "Oh, but one should maybe care not to kill her with hard drug withdrawal."

[Daloth]

After a few hours the group is summoned to the Queen's chamber. The room is not what one would expect, quite small, a large table with enough room for twenty or thirty people to sit, and nothing more. It had as much to do with the Queens being avid travelers and diplomats as it does with the current one's lack of care for a throne room with its pointless ceremonies.

As the party enters the room they see the Queen is already there, dressed no differently than they are in fact, only noticeable by her location at the head of the table and her clear control of the room. She has shoulder length red hair, and quite curly at that, and appears to have a small scar on her cheek. As she sees you enter she does not show any sign of emotion, but motions for you to sit down, and the guards show you to your seats.

You hear her talking about taxes, inflation, nearby orc and goblin infestations, problems that would seem to be enormous she is discussing and deciding on as casually as you would order a meal. Servants enter and go as they please, but each is doing something, bringing information or texts, informing the queen of something, or bringing her advisers things. After sitting in the awkwardness for a few minutes things begin to quiet down. The Queen herself sees that things are slow, and though she does not slow down you can see she has now taken notice to each of you. Abruptly she turns,

"You may all leave me. Only Andre and Cynthia stay, as well as these young people."

Everyone is out of the room within not even a minute. And as the door shuts only two people remain. One is a rather old man, who looks barely able to stand despite being clad in armor that appears to be four times his size. He is balding, but has a gray beard that makes him appear to look like what one would expect of a wizard or a mage. The other is a blonde with hair down to her lower back with kind eyes and dressed as if she were barely able to afford a meal.

The queen sighs heavily before speaking with a rather raspy voice, "This is Andre, my head of defense, and Cynthia, my...." she pauses almost unsure of what to say.

"I work in Diplomatic Relations," the blonde says casually.

"Thank you, Cynthia." She smiles and nods her head before continuing, "I am sure you wonder why it is I trust you alone with me, and that is for two reasons. First being, you have helped in saving my daughter's life, if you were going to kill me then there would be much more efficient ways. However, the biggest reason is I do not doubt for a second that either of these people with me could kill all of you at once without the other two of us having to even leave our chairs, let alone all three of us at once."

You all do your best, but each of you is a tad bit shocked at her bluntness, and even more so at the fact you know she is telling the truth.

"Now, with those formalities out of the way... I have had a small look at each of your files that we have on record. I know each of your homes, or claim to lack of homes, though we even know those as well. You don't get to be the most powerful nation in the world by not having sources. I would not have let a one of you into my home if I thought you would be unable to be handled or trusted to an extent. And it is with that knowledge that I must sadly ask for your help once more."

Cynthia speaks now, "You see, we know what the servants were feeding to the princess. And by 'know' we mean that we know that it has several names on the streets and in different countries and nothing more. In our country the drug is called Dragon's Bite, though the most common name throughout the world is Rose Wind. It is a highly addictive and expensive drug of unknown origin. The only thing we do know is that it is not made from magic, and that it is biological. It causes all of the symptoms that the princess has had, including her apathy to being attacked as you know." She looks at Karth and he understands.

"Our biggest problem is, we have no idea where it comes from. We have two ideas for cities, which are where we have had the biggest smuggling busts come from, but otherwise we know nothing, and to be honest, it is such a small threat to the country that we really have no reason until now to try and stop it or even care."

The Queen speaks up, "Why they would want to drug my daughter I do not know, as the drug has not shown to cause death in but a low percentage of people. And if it were up to me, I would go out to the cities myself and hunt the people responsible down with my own hands. But, I have much more important things to take care of as you might guess. And, even if I did not, I am a bit recognizable to the masses, and would not do as well as you could in reaching the lowest slums or the highest citizenry in order to see where this trail may lead. So, I must ask you to take one of our leads and look up on it. See what you find, and bring back as much information as you can, or a head or two if you wish. I understand that you did find out what was CAUSING my daughter's illness. However, you have not cured it, nor can we. So, I am unable to pay you for your services yet. If you do not wish to help, then I can give you a much smaller sum and let you be on your way with my gratitude. For those of you who stay, I will provide you with as much aid as I can, though there is a small problem in there as well..."

The old man speaks up, quite sternly at that, "We cannot provide you any arms or armor, or even able bodies at this time. You see, we do not know where the drug comes from. It is most likely a gang or some group out for money, but we cannot discount the fact it could be another country. If it is, then you cannot go in brandishing our weapons as they all have a magical signature as well as a brand to identify them as ours in case they are stolen, and naturally we do not want to be ill prepared for a war if you are killed in your search and our weapons are found. We like to know what our enemies are doing, not the other way around. Now, we could give you large sums of money to help, but that will take an order to the bank and bureaucrats in charge of the treasury to pass a bill for the necessary sum that would be able to actually help you. However, come back with some information, and they will be much more willing to sign off or expedite the process. As of now, you essentially would be on your own. But, in the end, you could potentially have our entire armed forces behind you."

The queen finishes, "So, the choice is yours. You can help and find a cure for the drug and potentially destroy a crime ring in the process, and in return we would reward you for the rest of your lives and your children's most likely as well. Or we can give you all a few pieces of gold and a room for the night and be on your way."

[Woodsman]

Elzin

Elzin immediately steps forward, his red eyes blazing. He kneels before the queen, his sword drawn and planted in front of him, tip-down. "M'lady, I would be honored to assist you in finding a cure for this drug afflicting your daughter, especially should we vanquish those responsible. I promise that I will do all within my power to aid you, even though I have little but my wits and the items I now carry on my person."

Elzin remains kneeling, waiting for the queen to accept his offer.

[Finkmilkana]

"Well, since neither me nor Strong have anything else to do right now we might as well try to help you." Saying that he tips his hat.

[Anecronwashere]

"Let's go stop some bad guys." Jalin grins
"I don't have anywhere to be right now and it would be a good way to train and practice without doing those boring drill that don't teach nothing. I'm sure you know why I would want too Milady."

[distant quasar]

Varius inclines his head towards the queen. "I will assist you, my Queen."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

After a few seconds' thought, Haruka nods with a grin, bowing slightly. "It would be an honor to help in saving the life of the princess. I shall assist in anyway I can."

[Anecronwashere]

"Yay! We get to send more time together. I can teach you all about the Firespirits."
Jalin hugs Haruka tightly, grinning brightly

[Morcleon]

Haruka

The vampire stiffens under the hug. Slowly, she relaxes and hesitantly returns the embrace.

"Yes," murmurs Haruka with a small, unreadable smile on her face. "Yes, you can."

[WrathOfLife]

Karth

Appearing uncomfortably stiff in the meeting. Karth nods along with the others. "I'm willing and able, your highness." Although he shifts his weight nervously.

[Daloth]

The queen nods her head and gives a very feint smile, you can tell she is not used to smiling.

"Elzin, you may rise. I don't believe in those crazy customs. However, If you so wish, upon your completion of this I will gladly put on a dress and a crown and dub each of you a knight of our kingdom."

Elzin stands, a bit red in the face at her knowing his name, she was quite beautiful in a strange sort of way.

"Well, We caught a large group of smuggling from Coalminster down south. And our spies inform us there is a large amount of the drug in Manfyll to the west. As you do not officially work for me you are free to go to either, both, or to find your own clues as you see fit, though I believe one of those cities will have the best information to start. You all are free to stay in my castle and we will feed you at any time as royal guests, we can easily pass that off as you finding the... "reason" for my daughter being sick. If there is any way we can help, just ask, we may not be able to provide you direct assistance now, but we do know many people who can."


I will let you all decide where you want to go between the two cities. or if you wish to go somewhere else. Just ask and I'll tell you what your characters should/shouldn't know.

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Still with an amiable arm around her catgirl friend, Haruka smirks slightly and mutters quietly under her breath. "...bet he'd rather see her take off the dress..."

She coughs slightly, and raises her voice. "Thank you for your hospitality. I believe that visiting both would be preferable, although as to which one to visit first, I leave that to my companions." She looks to said companions with a smile and raised eyebrow. "So, which one do you think holds the most promise for an answer?"

[Woodsman]

Elzin looks down as the queen addresses him, still blushing. Even though she might believe in his customs, they were of the utmost importance to him. It was a ritual he had to go through.

At Haruka's question though, he looks up, the blush fading. "I believe Coalminster might be the best option. It has more of an underworld than Manfyll, though visiting the latter afterward would indeed be ideal."

[WrathOfLife]

Karth

Nodding at Elzin's suggestion Karth adds his voice "I agree, it seems that smuggling must be a two way street, we could see where the drug came from, and where it is going. This seems more profitable information."

Karth struggles with the formalities of the situation unsure if he should face the queen or the group he was addressing and choose instead to speak the space between them.

[Finkmilkana]

"Hmm, yes, Coalminster. While I'm not sure what I should think about the kobolds, it at least isn't that freaking hot around those parts."

[distant quasar]

"If the others desire to go to Coalminster, I will go with them."

[Anecronwashere]

Jalin giggle "Hehe maybe, then again so would I. She seems pretty."

"So we are agreed? To the Coalminster city."

[Daloth]

The group has been traveling for two days, and the landscape has clearly changed. The temperature has dropped and the hills have begun to become much more rugged. They are quite surprised at the lack of trouble so far.

But. those fears were soon alleviated as near noon of the third day they noticed something was amiss. There were large holes around the road, and a small tunneling system, as well as a few large animals eaten or half frozen. The group prepared for anything.


Roll Initiative and I'll put up the map

[Daloth]

As the group draws their weapons and slowly begin to investigate the nearby holes, a very loud roar is heard from one of the nearest ones, but it was so loud they couldn't determine which one, simply that it came from under them. The group at first is unsure of if they should head towards it or stay back.




Trying to get an adequate map up. I thought I had one on my computer but it's not there so I'm looking to make a new map/find a new mapmaking program

[Daloth]

First basic map attempt here. don't hate too much. the black splotches are the holes around you. they are from 8 to 20 feet wide in some places. (naturally the artwork will get better as I get used to using google docs)


https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1YtOndrfplrgdNZQIp3jBuvT2L8c-PzKsO9N1QZmbMu0/pub?w=960&h=720

[Finkmilkana]

As combat seems to be aproaching, Fireeyes get's off of his dog.

[Woodsman]

Elzin draws his sword and puts on his shield, carefully approaching the right side of the holes. "Let's hope it's nothing," he mutters under his breath.

[Anecronwashere]

"Why? You don't like fighting? I'm sure we can handle anything that comes out of the hole. Oh, but first."
Jalin starts to sing, sparks running up and down the drawn weapons and hands of her allies before bursting into full flames

(technically this happens at my initiative but with no enemies right now there seems to be little difference)

[Finkmilkana]

As everyone gets ready for battle and he's off his dog, Fireeyes starts to cast a spell.

Summon Natures Ally, sacrificing Speak with Animal.
I somewhat doubt I'll manage to finish it before the battle starts.

[WrathOfLife]

Karth

Karth crouches down low and notches an arrow in his bow. Looking around carefully he looks for any signs of what could be out there.

He carefully shifts so that he can fire on the entire battlefield without interposing an ally.

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"Well I would prefer it if we didn't have to fight, but it's not as if we're unprepared." Haruka answers, her outstretched finger holding a small glowing orb of light. She smiles at Jalin's song, and the resultant flames.

[WrathOfLife]

Karth

Sliding carefully into a low stance Karth seeks to move around the holes, carefully and quietly pointing to the claw marks on the ground near the holes. He attempts to move around the holes inorder to bypass any conflict. If he makes it past safely he'll wave for the others to follow in his steps.

[Daloth]

As Karth tries to sneak around the holes, the group prepares themselves for anything that might be there. He makes it to the 3rd hole before he peeks over the ledge just enough to be seen by what was down the hole. The creature immediately springs up and blasts him with its icy breath, and everyone sees it is a very small white dragon. It lands on the ground next to Karth ready to fight.


Damage and attack order

[roll0] cold damage (reflex 12 for half) on Karth

Fireeyes' dog
Elzin
Haruka
Karth
Dragon
Varius
Jalin
Fireeyes

[Finkmilkana]

Seeing the wyrm attack one of his current "pack", Strong immediately tries to get him off of his legs.



Attack:(+2 if charging possible)
Damage:[roll1](+[roll]1d6*1.5 fire)
Trip:[roll2]

[Daloth]

Just letting you guys know. If you want to make a diplomacy check, no big deal. but attacking it is naturally going to raise the DC for that check.

[Woodsman]

Elzin was stunned at the appearance of the dragon. He recognized that the dragon was clearly young It was not an adult. Elzin hesitated to attack, instead attempting to communicate with it. "Are you lost, little one?" (in Draconic).

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Anecronwashere]

"Aww it's so cute." The catgirl grins, walking forward and switches to Draconic
"Do you speak Dragon little white? What's your name? I'm Singing Voice of the Tail Clan. We just want to be your friend.
Are you lost? I didn't think Whites played in this area, I thought you liked the cold."

[roll0]

OOC: Jalin is a Feline word, Singing Voice is the Common translation.
Jalin isn't speaking Feline right now, what you are seeing is the Common translation of Draconic, thus Singing Voice instead of Jalin

[Morcleon]

Haruka

The blazing glow on Haruka's finger dies down as she sees the small dragon. A grin forms on her face and she stands beside Jalin, smiling at it. She speaks, softly and in Draconic. "Hello there little one. I'm Spring Flower of the Machines. Would you like some food?"

She takes a small travel ration bar from her pouch, mutters something under her breath, and holds the newly flavored, colored, textured and scented bar toward the wyrmling. "Would you like some food?"

((Spring Flower of the Machines is the direct translation of Karakuri Haruka... Also, the bar is as a piece of frozen meat.))

[Daloth]

The tiny dragon ***** its head at the approaching people, clearly holding its restraint to assault you. It's shock at you speaking its language is obvious as well, but it does not speak it as fluently as you.

For draconic speakers only

"How you speak? You not run. WHY YOU NOT RUN!!" it yells quite loudly and flaps its wings almost ready to run away. But then it sees the food in your hand and stops.

What you want? This My Land. Brother give me."

The ones who got closer see that he is heavily scarred for such a small dragon. Clearly he has seen much fighting (or at least suffering) in his short life.

[Woodsman]

"We don't want to hurt you, little one," Elzin says (still in Draconic), cautiously approaching the wyrmling. The word "brother" set off alarm bells. "We are just passing through."

[Daloth]

(Still for the draconics only)





The young dragon is extremely curious, it almost seems to have never seen kindness or even someone who can speak to it. It's language is quite rough.

"Brother said. Stay there. Kill anything in. Not Out. Take from and stay for him come back. He been gone long time. Long. Long. Time... Me move from spot. more things steal here. You... give food? No must take? Why?"

[WrathOfLife]

Karth

Seeing a real life, breath, angry dragon in front of him and realising that his bow is not really designed to stab with. Karth backs away carefully from the dragon trying to appear non hostile.

Withdraw action.

[Morcleon]

Haruka

The vampire gives the little dragon a cute smile. "Perhaps you could make some decisions for yourself? You don't always have to do what others tell you to do."

She continues to offer it the magicked 'meat'.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Anecronwashere]

Diplomacy: [roll0]

"You're such a cute little dragon. Yes you are. Now happy little dragons that don't bite get more food okay."
Jalin slowly reaches out, stroking the scales of the beast

[Woodsman]

"You are a child," Elzin states simply to the dragon. "A dragon child, but still a child. To take from you would be bad."

He keeps some distance from the dragon, but continues approaching.

[Daloth]

The wyrmling hisses at Jalin "NOT LITTLE" but then it calms down a bit more. It seems indifferent to the party at this point.

"You not take from me. I not take from you now. But Brother Come. He hurt me and you."

[Woodsman]

"What is your brother's name, young dragon?" Elzin asks, wondering if he knows of this dragon's brother.

[Anecronwashere]

"Play along and I'll give you as many snacks as you can fill your belly with." The furred girl whispers to the dragon, before lifting it up and holding it facing the vampire
"Aww he's so cuute. Can we keep him? Please Haruka. Pwease. I promise to love him and feed him and huggle him and let him roll around in my pile of gold when I'm not rolling in it."
Jalin pouts cutely, eyes wide and innocent

[Daloth]

"Mother named him. Ulhar Oglened when she died. He only one with name."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

The dark-haired sorceress blinks at the hopeful catgirl, her face slowly breaking into a smile. "...alright, Jalin-chan. But only if you can take responsibility for him."

Haruka crouches down and looks the wyrmling in the eyes. "If your brother comes to hurt us, we will stop him from doing so." Then she pauses at his next words and beams kindly. "Oh? Have you no name? Would you like us to give you one?"

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Anecronwashere]

"Yay! I have a pet dragon." Jalin speaks in Common as she grins before returning to Draconic
"I think we should call him Scaly, cause of his sleek handsome scales."

EDIT: I'd aid Haruka but we cant get +10 Diplomacy to go from indifferent to helpful, but we easily pass the DC to get friendly


OOC: Feel free to come up with a more dragony name that translates into Scaly.
Like Singing Voice is the word Jalin in feline. Whats the dragon word for scaly

[Daloth]

The small dragon jumps back a good five feet as she draws much closer, more at her offer than her motions though.

"NO! NO! NO! EARN NAME! EARN NAME IN CLAN!"

He calms down

"Brother kill you. much stronger than me."

As he says these words you hear a hint of fear in his voice.

[Anecronwashere]

"Then you can join our clan. Earn your name with us. We are trying to save a pretty princess from bad people trying to hurt her.
And if your brother comes we can tell him to go away your our friend now. We can take him."

[Daloth]

You see that the dragon is still clearly troubled at the idea of leaving his post.

"You save her. Me stay here. Me Buy self from brother then may go with you."

[Anecronwashere]

"How much do you need to buy yourself? Maybe we can help."

[Daloth]

The dragon pauses for a moment and looks at the ground.

he whispers

ir oweri owier aurix

Jalin moves closer listening...

"ir oweri owier aurix."

Her eyes grow wide as she says to the group "One hundred thousand gold"

[Woodsman]

"You do not deserve to live in slavery, young one," Elzin states. "I promise to help you pay your brother the gold," he says, kneeling by the dragon. "You are welcome to accompany us if you like. It will be easier to find more gold traveling than staying in one place."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

With a devious grin to Jalin, Haruka chuckles, switching temporarily to Common. "Who says we have to pay him at all? If we can train ourselves long enough with the excuse of collecting money, we should be able to defeat him with some planning."

"You should come with us, little one." murmurs the vampire. "Would it not be better than having to be subservient to your brother? When will come, anyway?"

[Daloth]

"Brother back soon. Very soon. He know me grow big soon."

[Woodsman]

Elzin kneels by the dragon. "You realize that your brother might kill you when he returns if you don't have the gold," he says gently.

[Daloth]

"Brother no kill me. Me give him little every time. He not care it take long time. He only get mad when have nothing. He kill you though. Punish me for not kill you..."

His last sentence was again, much weaker than the others.

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"Troublesome..." mutters Haruka with a sigh. "We could risk the fight with this one's brother, but that would likely result in all of our deaths. We could take this one with us. That would be safer, but it may also result in us having a vengeful dragon on our trail."

"However," she continues. "If we can make it to Coalminster before his brother catches up with us, we may be able to rely on the city's defenses to defeat him."

[Woodsman]

"I won't abandon this child to its fate," Elzin says firmly in Common. "It will be safer with us regardless of if its brother follows us or not."

[Daloth]

The dragon seems to get the general idea of the discussion from body languages and movements, and he speaks for the ones who understand him.

"Me must stay. Stay near horde. Horde make strong. That why brother come soon."

[distant quasar]

Varius speaks up now. "Either we take the wrymling with us, or we don't. Either way we must leave now, and quickly, lest we die fighting it's brother. And while it would be nice to help the wyrmling, we already have an obligation to the queen. It would not be helpful to have to deal with a vengeful dragon in addition to what we are already committed to doing. I say we leave now, before we entangle ourselves in a situation beyond our power to change, and by doing so render ourselvse incapable of doing something that is within our power - namely, helping the queen as we have already agreed to do."

[Daloth]

The group, unable to make the dragon budge from fear of its brother, nonetheless is able to pass without further incident. As the sun rises the next day they are able to see, at the base of a large mountain, what appears to be an enormous tower in front of an even more gargantuan cave. They get closer and realize that the tower is merely the tallest of buildings, not near, but INSIDE the cave itself, protected in nearly all directions but the one they are traveling from.

As they reach the city gate, they see that there are no guards stationed, but as they begin to question something wrong, they see a sight to behold, a colossal golden wyrm flies over them, completely ignored by the townspeople below. It flies up to the top of the tower and disappears on the roof.

A person walking by notices the groups surprise and calmly responds without stopping, "No need for guards when there are ten guys like him roaming around at any given time."

You see in the middle of the street, a large map of the city, as well as markings for inns, a few taverns, as well as supply and weapons shops.

Each of you gets 100xp for the encounter. and 25 bonus xp for solving it in a way that would make Sun Tzu proud

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"Ah, Coalminster... What an utterly urbanized and dragon-dominated place," quips Haruka as she looks around with a wry grin. "I love it."

She takes out a medium-sized scroll out of her pouch and casts a minor spell to copy the map onto it for further reference. "Now, first order of business is to get us a place to stay, seeing as we'll be staying here for some time."

Cast amanuensis to copy the map. Reading fail... :smalltongue:

[Finkmilkana]

"Hmpf, still far to hot here for my taste. And to many dragons. But that's adventuring live for you, you never know where you have to go." He pets Strong behind his ear.
"Yes, I believe accommodations are required in here, no more sleeping under the night sky. It seems there are a few inns marked here, one seems as good as the other. Just take this one?" He point's to an inn somewhat near the entrance and in ample distance to the tower.

[Anecronwashere]

"But the night sky is so pretty. Though the stars are all funny compared to my forest. Alright, let's go to an inn. Who here has any money?"
Jalin stalks around, her hyperactive nature leaving her impatient and restless

[roll0] Bardic Knowledge about the city
[roll1] Knowledge: nobility about the ruling class here in Coalminster

[Anecronwashere]

"I knew I recognized that Wyrm, it was one of the Council of 9. One of the 4 Dragons on the it. I have a bad feeling about this place, the nobles aren't very Good, focused entirely on making profit. I'm just glad I'm not some Kobold, they get discriminated against and only has a single seat on the Council."

[distant quasar]

Varius raises his eyebrows at the information Jalin discloses. "One would think a city with such a presence of noble dragons might be more noble itself." he comments dryly. Even while he responds he tries to remember what he knows of the city that concerns his field of study.

Knowledge religion: [roll0] most common faiths here, any unique customs in churches
Knowledge arcana: [roll1] information about the dragons, how common magic is in the city, how it is viewed, is it more common/acceptable (or vice versa) among certain groups, any special traditions/myths regarding magic in the city

[Morcleon]

Haruka

The sorceress shrugs. "Dragons may be noble in some ways, but they are all arrogant to some extent."

"Yes, I've got some money. We should make our way to an inn," she answers, then gives the catgirl a bemused glance. "And Jalin-chan? Could you stop pacing around?"

Knowledge (arcana): [roll0] On the particular dragons here, as well as view on magic.

[Anecronwashere]

"I'm bored. All this slow ambling around waiting for you to catch up for days and now a stupid city. We are going to that Elf city next, hopefully its more homelike cause its in a forest. Though that might be worse, Elves are Reeally slow at thinking and are as slow as you are when it comes to moving everywhere.
I feel more pent up than when I was all lost on a plain during that Time of Year.
But anyway, to the Inn! Mmm a nice warm bed. I wonder if its big enough for 3? It's always better to make sure of those things just in case there is a mating pair in the tavern."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Haruka winces slightly. "What, exactly, does the size of a bed have to do with whether or not there is a... mating pair?"

"And I'm not slow, they are. I can fly, remember?" She winks and chuckles.

[Woodsman]

Elzin looks around the city. Something about it set him on edge. "Let us be out of this city as soon as we can," he mutters, mostly to himself.

[Anecronwashere]

"Well it's generally rude to split up a mating pair for even a night. Well, unless they agree but that's a different matter." Jalin shrugs
"It just is. I don't really know how to explain it...It's like, um, breaking a vase then repairing it good as new? You still broke a vase. I guess.
What's wrong? Your eye did a little twitchy thingy."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Haruka turns to Elzin with a concerned look. "Why? Is something wrong with this place?"

"But, in that case, the bed only needs to be big enough for two. It is a mating pair, after all, not a trio."

She blinks in confusion at Jalin's latest words, then starts laughing as she realizes the catgirl's meaning. "Oh Jalin-chan... It's... it's... nothing's wrong. It's called a wink. It's an informal gesture that either indicates friendship or greeting, shared hidden knowledge, or flirting."

[Anecronwashere]

"But why would I give my bed to a pair and not join in?" the catgirl looks confused, head tilted
"And winks are when you close one eye, your eye twitched. Its different silly."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"...wait, what? Join... in?" Haruka's eye twitches and a faint blush crosses her face. "Are you... implying that you would just... join in on two lovers? And that they would welcome you?"

"And what twitch? I see no twitching going on." Sure, Haruka, sure... :smalltongue:

[Anecronwashere]

"Well of course. It's not nice to only take one of them. And I'm too young to have kittens so I can't just take one away to be my own mate. Well, I'm not too young physically, but I'm just not ready yet I have things I gotta do first.
Why are you acting all embarrassed? Is your culture different? Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know you thought that single girls could only watch mating pairs. It must be so hard for you without a mate then. I cant even imagine the crankiness when all the single girls go into Heat.
And the twitch is there, you cant see it cause its your eye. It's a bit like this."

Jalin twitches her eyes a few times similar to Haruka's involuntary twitching

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Haruka closes her eyes and sighs, the blush becoming more pronounced. "I don't go into heat. At all. None of us do. And our culture places... mating as a private activity, only to be done between pairs without anyone else around."

"My eye does not twitch! And especially not like that!" Getting a bit tsun-tsun, are we now... :smallwink:

[Anecronwashere]

"You Humans are weird. I mean, wearing clothes when it isn't cold or as armour, only paired mating, no Heat and you walk so slowly. Next you'll be claiming you walk on water or something."
Jalin bounces up to Haruka and grins innocently
"And its this eye see. Look, twitchy-twitchy. It's cute, I like it."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"Only the magical ones." Haruka sighs. Then blushes again. "Wait what? You don't wear clothes when it's warm?"

"C- cute...? What? It's an... involuntary habit. I hate it!" Twitch, twitch.

[Anecronwashere]

"Not lately, in case I see a Claw. But back in my old village yeah. Clothes are for protection, against weather or blade. If you don't have an attacker and the air isn't trying to turn your tail into a tailcicle why would you?
And I like the twitches, it's cute and endearing." Jalin smiles warmly at the vampire

[distant quasar]

Varius clears his throat. Loudly.
"I seem to recall," he begins with a tone even harsher than usual, "that this town has a slightly odd way of dealing with religion. Apparently anyone can start a church to anything (provided I assume that said "anything" is not a vile god), so long as they make contributions to the council. Also, there is no dominant religion here, but rather churches for all the main religions. On the surface, they seem to get along well, but beyond that... I'm not too sure. This seems to be a benenficial custom in regards to allowing religious freedom, but I suspect it has more to do with the noble's hunger for money, as Jalin stated earlier. And there may well be more to the churches cooperation than meets the eye. I wonder whom the Kobolds worship, exactly?" he keeps talking until he has the groups attention, fully intending to change the topic of conversation...

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"B- because... ehm... privacy..." Haruka flounders. Explaining cultural habits is hard! She sighs. "People will stare at you if you don't wear clothes. And those feel disgusting. The stares, I mean."

"F- fine. If you say so..." The vampire sighs and turns to Varius, glad to have an excuse to stop embarrassing herself in front of the adorable little catgirl. "Kurtulmak, I would presume. He is the god the kobolds, is he not?"

[distant quasar]

"Yes, though more to the point I wonder how well the other churches truly get along with the Kobolds church--does the discrimination extend into the religious customs here?" he shakes his head slightly "It's probably of no consequence, considering our mission, but it doesn't stop me being curious."

[Woodsman]

Elzin shrugs, "This city makes me uneasy. I can't put my finger on it, though."

He turns to Varius. "I wouldn't be surprised if the kobolds' church is discriminated against." He pauses. "Hm... the kobolds might be our best lead. The discriminated tend to turn to crime to make their living. We should attempt to see if this holds true here."

[Daloth]

The group agrees that an inn is the best place to go for now, and they head for the nearest one, the Golden Feather (bar and inn). It's a decent sized inn and the host welcomes them. The group decides to save a bit of money by getting three rooms, two each (unless someone objects).

As you head to the rooms to put some of your things you see the bar is not very busy compared to what you imagined, but that there are a few people there, mostly kobolds, and one or two very apparent half dragon humanoids. None of them seem to even notice the group walking by.


Those of you who go to the bar say so, those of you who do other things go for it.

[Anecronwashere]

Jalin picks up her key and enters the tavern (moving quickly compared to Humans, ambling by catgirl standards), seeking out the most attractive Medium-sized Humanoid to enter a conversation with.

I'm going to skip this scene, partly board rules, partly I dont really want too.
Suffice to say I'm Taking 20 on a Charisma check to find a 'mate' or 'mates'

[Woodsman]

Elzin walks up to the bar and orders a cheap drink, taking a seat at the stool. He plans to see if he can gather any leads on a drug ring by pretending to be a mercenary. Being a tiefling as he was, he was automatically suspect of doing such things, making his cover all the more believable.

[distant quasar]

Varius heads to the bath (or what comes closest to one), cleaning himself and then his clothing after the time traveling. After this is taken care of, he heads out into the city (if before evening) or to the tavern (if after).

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Not needing food nor drink, the vampire decides to follow her... um... yeah, let's go with "friend". She decides to follow her friend and see what's going on around these parts.

As soon as she realizes that Jalin is looking for a mate/s for the night, she mentally sighs in exasperation and tries to direct her friend to someone who at least seems like a decent person. Crazy catgirls...:smallsigh::smalltongue:

[Finkmilkana]

Fireeyes first takes his dog for a walk around the city before later on joining the rest at the bar. There he tries to listen in on a few conversations in draconic to get a feeling for that language, as he has decided it might be worth to learn it.

[Daloth]

As the group splits up, from walking around town, to cleaning up, to going to the bar for some fun, the scenery outside becomes quite dark, that is, until previously unseen lights come on, atop each building. Not street lights, but more like building lights, illuminating the tops of the buildings better than they were during the daytime.

The inside of the inn, however, remains with the illusion that it is night time, as it slowly begins to fill up.

Jalin awaits for more people to arrive before deciding she wants a mate for the night. She looks around and sees nobody suitable in the bar to even pique her interest. That is, until she catches sight of the bartender.

His hair was golden, his eyes blue, and he was quite tall for a human. His skin was exceedingly tan, and he spoke with such a sway that everyone in the room seemed to hang onto his word if they could hear him. Jalin knew it wasn't magical, but she knew it wasn't normal either, and it made her want to find out even more.

She got close to him and realized, his tan skin was not exactly skin, they appeared to be very small scales, and she then understood why he was the way he was. He had dragon blood.

She immediately did her best to draw his attention, and it worked quite well until he spoke.

"You and your friends aren't from here, are you?" he said with a smile, showing slightly jagged, but perfectly white, teeth.

She nodded, smiling herself, unable to speak for the first time she could remember.

"Are you mercenaries or just travelers?"

He paused, "No, that's not it exactly either..."

Jalin froze, not knowing if he was reading her mind or simply being lucky and observant. Haruka immediately noticed something amiss, and came to her friends aid.

"Is everything already, Jalin?"

The bartender turned to Haruka, and Jalin blinked rapidly a few times before suddenly becoming her bouncy self once again.

"Maybe you can help me," he began, but quickly realized something was different about Haruka as well. At first he appears shocked, but then his eyes light up, and briefly flash red.

"If you and your friends stay after the bar closes, I might have a business proposition for you. You seem to be just the type of person I'm looking for."

For those of you who made gather info checks, with no connections to the underworld of this city (yet) you heard nothing more than a few words of the council meeting in a few days and that coal has become more expensive for some unknown reason.

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Narrowing her eyes with a soft chuckle, Haruka leans in, staring at the bartender with a slight grin. "Perhaps... depends on the type of proposition."

She leans closer to Jalin, almost possessively, and whispers, "This one seems interesting..."

[Daloth]

The man pours a drink for a nearby customer and without even batting an eye says "I know people in high and low places, or maybe a little money is what you want, or like your friend here maybe a person to have some fun with is what you want. It doesn't matter, If it's within this city, I can give it to you. But, it won't be easy. Let's just say, I have a person who needs checking up on, tonight."

[Anecronwashere]

"Um, yeah, interesting." The catgirl purrs
"So you want us to check out a person for you? OR provide bodyguard services? Cause I would be happy to guard your body."

Jalin shakes her head, tail twitching as she clear her mind "We are adventurers, so kind of both traveler and mercenary but more gooder and focused on monsters than other humanoids. Using the non-rascist version of monsters of course. Why does Common have such double meanings? Draconic too I've noticed which is odd, the firespirits aren't like that."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Answering Jalin's question first, Haruka grins. "Common actually came after all of the other languages. It just started out as a trade language that spread to become a rather prominent medium."

She turns to the draconic bartender and nods slowly. "Jalin-chan's assertion is correct, if a bit fragmented. Still, this person... tell me about him. Or her, as it may be."

[Daloth]

The barman motions to a large breasted female no other kind of barwomen to take his spot.

"Get your friends and follow me, and I'll not only tell you. I'll show you."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Giving a smirk and a wink to the new woman, Haruka quickly takes Jalin's hand and pulls her along to follow the bartender. "Come, Jalin-chan. Let's see what this one has to show us..."

"Our friends will meet us on the way. Lead on." Haruka will gather together Elzin, Varius and Fireeyes if they do not complain.

[Woodsman]

Elzin, having been listening to the conversation, quickly joins Haruka and Jalin without complaint.

[distant quasar]

Varius will join as well.

[Finkmilkana]

The Uldra will also follow.

[Morcleon]

Haruka

As they walk, Haruka turns to Jalin and whispers. "So, just out of curiosity, do you plan on finding a new 'mate' each night? Is this a catfolk thing?"

[Anecronwashere]

"I don't think it's a catfolk thing. I mean, don't other cultures have casual mating to satisfy the urges given before we are ready to raise a litter of kittens? I mean, other races must have the urge to mate for reproduction purposes or they would have died out long before making it to a civilization. And it's just scratching an itch. I might or might not have a regular scratcher depending on the other's wishes."
Jalin whispers back
"Why are we whispering anyway? Is it like your cultures rule that single women can only watch?"

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"...yes. We do." Haruka mutters. "We do have an... urge to mate, if you will, but those who try to liberally fulfill it are seen as, well, less than moral. And wait, a regular 'scratcher'...?"

She blushes and her eye twitches again. "You... could say that, I guess. Although single women generally aren't even allowed in the same room as a mating pair. That's why it's just called a pair."

[Anecronwashere]

"I think it's the right word. What do you call someone you mate with, with no, um, romantic basis. Just scratching the mating itch as it were.
It's known as an Ocaideach in Feline."
Jalin looks at the twitching vampire confused "But then why did you wonder earlier why I needed a 3person bed? I mean, unless I were to give up my room and not even watch or join in or...Your culture is weird." The catgirl giggles and hugs Haruka "I like you, you're funny. And so huggable."

[Daloth]

As the group enters the back room after what seemed like days, they realize, by the decorations, that this is clearly no ordinary barman. The wall is adorned with weapons, works of art, even a few framed coins and papers that seem to be centuries old.

The man notices them eyeing the room, "Collecting is a... hobby of mine," he says casually. He sits at the end of a desk, which happens to have a few similarly priceless looking artifacts on it, a small dagger in a stone with jewels surrounding it, a tobacco pipe of what appeared to be bone, and an orb resting in a small basket that swirled with smoke inside continuously.

"I'd let you sit, but there are only two chairs, no use in making you fight. Besides, it won't be long and you won't be traveling that far anyway. See, I keep some of my... larger items in a more safe location. and the rumor is that someone will be coming after some of my things tonight. Now, we will make a fair sum of money at the bar with me working, but not enough to counteract what I would lose if it was stolen. But, I'm a man of business. I would rather lose nothing. So, if it wouldn't be a problem, I would like to have you watch over my collection for the night. Again, it may just be a rumor, but I trust my sources very much and I would be fool to not at least prepare. Now, I could tell from my conversation with the lovely lady here" he winks at Jalin, "that you all are in need of some knowledge about this city. If you wish, I'm sure that I could tell you what you need to know, and if I do not know... I know someone who would. Or, again, there are several other things I can provide if needed. I'll pay you whether someone shows up or not, I just want the safety net to fall back on, just in case.

So, what say you all? Does my offer seem fair?"

[Anecronwashere]

Jalin blushes under her fur
"So we have to stop some thieves? Sounds fun." The excitable catgirl nods in agreement to the deal

[distant quasar]

Varius inclines his head. "Your offer seems reasonable," his way of giving assent.

[Morcleon]

Haruka

The vampire just blushes more and looks away. "...I... think the term would be 'one-night stand'..."

"Because that's not normal for our society! 'Mating', as you put it, is a private thing." And then she pouts as Jalin hugs her, although she secretly enjoys it.

Turning to the dragon-man, Haruka narrows her eyes slightlyt at Jalin's blush. She's my pawn! ...er, friend. She nods and grins darkly at their new employer.. "Should be interesting. I accept."

[Finkmilkana]

"Since we don't have any other plans yet, that does seem like a fair way to spend the night."

[Daloth]

The half dragon man smiles again and every feels a slight jump in their stomachs, even the men. As soon as they started to question that feeling he spoke, "Well, it seems you all agree. that's excellent. Now if you'll excuse me for one moment."


He stands up and places his hand on the knife that appeared to be nothing more than an ornament, and pushes it down into the desk. There is a slight click sound, and the desk slides back, revealing a staircase big enough for two to walk down.

"Don't think of trying that yourself when I'm not around. It will kill someone else but me, those kobolds and their pesky inventions. They make things us normal people could never even imagine."

As the group follows him down they realize that this is part of a series of tunnels beneath the city, and the bartender explains that it was once a coal mine, now hollowed out and protected from collapse by magic and a few well placed beams. He makes sure to mention that there are, technically, three forms of entrance to the place. One from his bar, one from directly above the location they were heading, and one from the far west, which leads back deeper into the mountain so far that even he hasn't reached the end.

"I don't expect them to come in through the bar. Or really even from the mountain. If you see anyone else down here but me, you can kill them."

They go up a slight incline, and as they do they see that he lied slightly about what they were protecting. It was not his largest items. It was more gold and valuables than they believed a King would have access too. Scepters, Shields, Swords, gold and silver coins, gemstones, they even saw what appeared to be a grandfather clock in the back, and the pile of coins rose to a small hill, with everything back against the far wall as far as it would go, leaving only the deeper ends of the cave to the right of them.

As the group stands in shock for a moment, he explains "I have small compulsions to keep things. Forgive the tidiness issues. Oh, and I should mention, just because I am good at... reading people. If you as much as take one coin from this room without my permission. I will know. And I will consider our contract, and any future deals, null and void. If someone does come in, keep them from the most valuable things. If they steal a coin or two, I'm not going to be too terribly angry. But if they get something valuable AND you don't kill them? I will take it out of you.

When I return in a few hours I will have met with a friend who can ward this cave to where I won't need protection for it anymore. So, if you can make it tonight we should be good.

Any last questions before I head back? And feel free to ask anything. Just, don't be offended if I don't answer in the way you like."

He smiles sardonically at his last words.

[Finkmilkana]

"Hmm, seems you've got quite some items down here. Anything that we are allowed to touch and that could help us defend your hoard if someone comes by, uninvited?"

[Daloth]

The man turns his head slightly sideways, "To be honest. If the person shows up, I would say that I don't have anything that would help you at all."


If you all wish to set up spells of any kind or anything of the sort go for it. Otherwise we can start

[Morcleon]

Haruka

With a nod of understanding, the vampire turns away and begins to survey the area they needed to protect. She makes careful note of places that would be hard to properly check in the midst of battle and places where a hidden assailant could set up an ambush.

"Alright then, we have been tasked with protecting this place; what can we find out about the battlefield?"

[Anecronwashere]

"Well if we know where they are coming from roughly we can set up detection. Something like a tripwire set to dump flour down would reveal any invisible people. Add in hiding ourselves so we can ambush the thieves we should get the drop on them and take em down before they can react.."

[Woodsman]

"Jalin's idea about the flour works. Even if they aren't invisible, they'd reveal themselves and leave a trail to follow," Elzin says. "We should probably have only one or two of us on watch at all times as well. All of us on watch throughout the night would be tiresome and less efficient."

[Finkmilkana]

"Yeah, but do you, or anyone else, have any flour and wire?"

[Daloth]

"I could get you some flour and wire from the bar. After that I must be going."


A few minutes pass and the man brings back four bags of flour and enough wire to create an equal number of traps with a bit left over.

"Now, I must go. Good luck."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

The vampire smiles at the catgirl. "Very nice, Jalin-chan. I like it."

"Come now, folks, we don't have all the time in the world. Let's start setting these traps up." Haruka walks over to the floury bags and crouches down. "Now then... where shall we place these...?"

[Anecronwashere]

Jalin grins at the praise, bouncing after the vampiric sorceress
"Well we have enough for 4 traps and there are 2 main entrances the thieves could come from. Clearly we have to put two in each."
Jalin gathers up some of the wire, heading a bit down the neverending tunnel to set it up

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"Very well then," agrees Haruka with a chuckle. She takes two of the flour bags and follows Jalin to start setting up traps on one side.

As they do so, something occurs to the sorceress, and she turns to Jalin. "Hey, Jalin-chan? Could I ask you something...?"

[Anecronwashere]

"Sure Haruka-chan. What is it?"

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Haruka pauses for a second, then continues on, staring Jalin directly in the eyes. "The Claw clan. Who are they, and why are you scared of them? And why that one with the missing tail in particular?"

[Anecronwashere]

"I...They...That is a long story Haruka-chan.
You see, There was this prophecy. The basic gist being that either a Tail or a Claw would lay the killing blow on the final member of the other's Clan. One is destined to eradicate the other.
So about 2 years ago the Claw decided to 'solve' the issue. Invading my home village and slaughtering the inhabitants."
Jalin's eyes go unfocused as she sits down, remembering the dreadful time
"It happened just past sunset, our warriors had returned from hunting many wolves. There was much singing, laughter. I saw this beautiful young female warrior and was talking her into joining me in my tent. Then suddenly the ring of steel and the cries of battle, the Claw had surrounded the clearing and attacked as one.
I saw the woman I was chatting to impaled, my mother's home set aflame by an enchanted sword.
I tried to run but they were everywhere. I-I found a sword, I don't remember where and used it. My voice summoning the firespirits to help. Burning through Claw warrior after Claw warrior. T-Then he came. The leader of the attack.
He was a monster, a ferocious fighter wielding three swords. One in each hand and his tail holding the third.
We fought. M-My blade clashing against his as war waged around us. My paws powered by the need to survive, his with the training and skill of a master swordsman.
But I won. hehe, I still can't believe I won. I swung my sword as he spun to cleave my head in half. Catching his tail, taking almost all in one fiery attack.
The three-sworded fighter, a man NAMED after his skills was rendered tailless.
I ran after that, I...I just ran. Some others ran with me, or met up with the group the next day but they tracked us down.
Months passed while we ran. Our numbers whittling down with every strike by the Claw. Now, I'm the only one left.
The last of the Lida. The last Tail. My destiny to die at the hands of Claw, or kill every last one of an entire Clan focused on war and martial prowess."

[Woodsman]

"Pardon me for eavesdropping," Elzin says, "And correct me if I'm wrong, but the prophecy says that this certain member of the Tail or Claw clan will kill the final member of the opposing clan. Nothing says you have to kill all of them, just the last one."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Staying silent during the catgirl's story, Haruka remains silent for some time. Then, she wraps her arms around Jalin. "Calm, Jalin-chan. You will not die. Not if I still am."

The vampire nods at Elzin's suggestion. "Indeed. You only have to kill the last of their clan, yes? Which means that we are free to help destroy the rest. And rest assured... we will." A confident, comforting smile appears on her face.

[distant quasar]

Varius looks over at the catgirl during her story. "If Death desires their lives, I will help deliver them. If they attack you while we are working together, I will help defend you. Otherwise, I will appreciate you not speaking for me," he says, shifting his gaze pointedly to Haruka.

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Still continuing to embrace her catgirl, Haruka rolls her eyes at Varius. "Well, if you don't want to help, then you don't have to."

[Anecronwashere]

Jalin hugs the vampire tightly "Thank you Haruka-chan...KKisoladis."
"I would appreciate any help at all in fulfilling my destiny. You are all Dustus tenas Lida."
The catgirl slips into her native tongue as she grins widely

Kkisoladis = Best Friend
Dustus = Friends/Honorary members/Allies
tenas = of the
Lida = Tail Clan

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Smiling at the catgirl and not understanding at all her language, Haruka chuckles slightly. "You're quite welcome, Jalin-chan. But, if I may ask, what exactly is 'kkisoladis'?"

[Anecronwashere]

"It means best friend, roughly."
Jalin smiles, showing her dainty fangs

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"...oh." Haruka blinks once and then smiles back, her own two fangs poking out as well. "That does make me feel quite good, Jalin-chan. I would say that you're probably my closest friend as well."

[Anecronwashere]

"You don't have anyone back home?" The black-furred girl asks, cocking her head to the side
"Actually I don't know much about anyone's past. I've shared my story. What's yours?"

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"Don't have one. A home, I mean," Haruka shakes her head as she sits down beside Jalin. "Before I start, perhaps you should know something about me. I... am a vampire."

"When I was younger, I didn't much care about my life. I just sorta lived day to day, playing around with my magic every so often. But then, I was noticed by a vampire." She shudders and looks away. "She... took me. Took me from my family, what few friends I had, and my life. Of course, I went willingly, as it was the best option for me at the time."

The sorceress sighs and gives her companions a wistful gaze. "She turned me into what I am now." She gestures down at herself. "A vampire. When she did that to me, I had no choice but to continue serving her. What else could I do?" A faint smile. "But I escaped from her. One night, I, ah, convinced her into dropping her guard. And I escaped."

"Perhaps she is still searching for me, perhaps she has given up. I would suspect the former. Mistress has always had an obsession over me..." Haruka chuckles darkly and stares down at the ground. "Well, there you have it. My life, in all of it's lackluster glory..."

[distant quasar]

Varius turns sharply towards Haruka as soon as the word "vampire" leaves her lips, something unidentifiable glimmering in his usually expressionless grey eyes.

Not going to believe this on Haruka's word alone, he examines her with his gaze. Upon verifying what she claimed to be true, however - at least concering what she is, if not how she became one - he crosses his arms over his chest, staring at the vampire with an almost disturbing intensity.

[Anecronwashere]

"Wow a vampire! That's so cool." The exciteable catgirl glomps Haruka tightly "I've never met a vampire before! Oooh can you turn into a bat?"

[Woodsman]

The revelation of Haruka being a vampire doesn't seem to faze Elzin. He does turn his head to look at her, an eyebrow raised, but he says nothing.

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Noticing Varius' glare, the newly revealed vampire stares right back and the corner of her mouth twitches up.

She blinks at Jalin, and mutters to the huggy catgirl with a deadpan expression. "One of these days, seeing as how close you tend to get to me, I'm not going to be able to resist the smell of your blood, and I'll kill you and turn you into a vampire too."

"...I can't do transformations yet. Mistress didn't place nearly enough of her power into me..."

[Anecronwashere]

"Nu-uh you cant. The prophecy said the last of the Lida shall draw their last breath due to the Letas or the last of the Letas shall draw their last breath due to the Lida. You aren't a catfolk so you can't be Letas Unplena. Claw Clan in full. I'm the last of my Clan so my death comes after the extinction of the Claw or comes at the hands of a Claw warrior.
So I'm safe from you. Even if you tried to turn me into a vampire it wouldn't work."
Jalin curls into the undead woman's lap "Wake me when we get attacked."

Singing a soft lullaby to herself in her native tongue Singing Voice of the Tail Clan drifts off to sleep curled in the lap of a vampire

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Blinking slightly at the catgirl's blatant disregard for her own safety, a small smile makes its way onto Haruka's face. She places her arms around Jalin and chuckles. "...well then... this little one certainly is quite bold."

[Anecronwashere]

"I'm not little I'm just petite." Jalin sticks her tongue out at the vamp before snuggling deeper

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"Same difference, Jalin-chan," murmurs the sorceress with a grin. She strokes the petite catgirl's hair, sighing. "...your fur is really soft, you know?"

[Anecronwashere]

Jalin nods purring contentedly as she gets petted

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Haruka continues to pet Jalin! She giggles slightly as the catgirl's purr, and mutters quietly. "You really are still a child at heart, aren't you...?"

[Anecronwashere]

"What makes one a kitten at heart? I have adult desires and needs, yet enjoy simple things like being petted, cuddled or attacking the accursed string that is so... jakiladi. It dangles, teasing me."
The catgirl pouts, looking around for string

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"Ah, but it's those little things that make living so much better, yes?"

Haruka smirks and reaches down to her pouch, pulling out a small piece of string. "Oh, so what is string?" She waves it around, winking at Jalin. "C'mon Jalin-chan..."

[Anecronwashere]

Jalin bats at it with her paws glaring at the dangling string
"Jakiladi means roughly Blessed of the String God. It's used to say something is really annoying and must be attacked. Stupid Jakil making this accursed thing."


OOC: I hope no-one minds me making all this stuff up about the Catfolk. Especially since most of it is improvised

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Suppressing a snort, Haruka gives the catgirl an incredulous raised eyebrow. "You have a String God?"

"Not really surprised though," she mutters, dropping her chin to rest on the top of Jalin's head. "You are a catgirl, after all..."

((Nah, it's fine. :smalltongue:))

[Anecronwashere]

"Kinda, technically Jakil is God of Tricks and Treachery but he created string to enrage and distract Giadun during the Proving at the beginning of time.
Clerics of him have string as part of their holy symbols bound into a complex pattern wrapped around a ring of bronze or copper."

Jakil is basically Catfolk-Loki

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"..." Haruka stares down at Jalin for a moment before chuckling and shaking her head. "Ah, you catfolk always have the most interesting of ideas..."

She begins to gently nibble on the catgirl's ear.

[Anecronwashere]

Jalin mewls in pleasure, snuggling into the vampire's lap
"It's not an idea it's True! He made it so he could take the title of Sky in the Proving but Giadun tore it into itty bitty pieces and threw it out of the arena into the world before beating Jakil."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"Ah, but if you think about it, can you really be sure that your world existed before you perceived it? Perhaps everything is simply an idea within your brain, and the world is just a construct to let you view it properly." Haruka continues to nibble and lick at the furry ear. After a while, one of her fangs should break the skin.

[Anecronwashere]

"Then where did I come from silly? You sound like those old OUCH! Careful Haruka-chan that hurt.
If the world did come from me then clearly my ideas about the world's history would be correct and have evidence for everyone else so I can continue believing that's what happened because it did. Time is part of the world after all."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"Oh! S- Sorry..." The sorceress blushes slightly and looks away. She laps up the small drop of blood that had formed and shudders. "Ah! It's... it's been so long..."

"Ngh!" She shakes herself, staring longingly at the next drop of blood welling up. "Hmph. Of course I sound like I'm old. I'm probably older than anyone human in the world."

[Anecronwashere]

"Most races that aren't green live longer than Humans Haruka-chan. A couple of our allies in the forest who were more sciencey said they thought the green skin effect was linked to the shortened span. But Humans don't have green skin so that can't be it...Unless, they wear pink coats to hide their green skin! Yeah, Humans are like orcs and goblins, that's why they are short-lived like them."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"Ah yes, I've heard a few of those theories myself," sighs Haruka. She begins subconsciously licking up the small drops of blood that had formed on Jalin's ear. "But of course, they all die from old age eventually... I will not."

[Anecronwashere]

"Aww I'm sure you'll have some company. It's not like your the only immortal. And if your lonely can't you make more vampires?"

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"Hah! The rest of the immortals on the Prime Material are a bunch of fools, or are far too arrogant." Haruka grins at Jalin, slowly lapping up another drop of blood. "I could. And I have. But none of them have particularly appreciated it. Now... if only I could do that to you..."

[Anecronwashere]

"But you can't or won't. The prophecy says you haven't so you won't.
Maybe after the Claw tribe are defeated I guess, that part isn't told."
Jalin sits up, tail swishing through the air
"Maybe i will take that offer later though Haruka-chan. An eternity with you would be fun."

[Morcleon]

Haruka

"No, I won't," agrees Haruka, sadly licking up another droplet of Jalin. "Not yet anyway. And... thank you. I've never had anyone take my vampirism so calmly and caringly. An eternity of us..." She trails off, gazing off into the distance, a faint smile on her face.

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Having nodded off, Haruka wakes up and, feeling bored, begins to nibble and lick Jalin. "Hey Jalin-chan... tell me a story? I'll give you one in return."

[Anecronwashere]

"Oooh I like stories." The catgirl mewls sleepily
"Well how about the story of Creation? How the world came to be according to the Catfolk religion."
The bard clears her throat and begins to orate

"Long ago before the world was formed there existed Nothing. No trees, no mountains or plains. No catfolk or normal kitties. There was only Nothing.
But see, with nothing happening it gets Really boring so Nothing decided to do something. So Nothing spoke the one phrase it had ever spoken, out into Nothing "Let there be Something Interesting"
Commanding small portions of it's body to form into Something. That something was the 3 High Gods.
Hadris, Queen of the Gods. Bearing a tail sleek and majestic. The most magnificent tail ever made. Prim and proper, many being of royalty and nobility are the unknowing Champions of her cause holding themselves to noble ideals and behaviours.
Giadun, Lord of Combat. His claws capable of cleaving mountains in twain and fangs of biting through solid metal like it was perfectly cooked deer. His champions are the mighty generals leading armies for conquest and the mercenaries with reputations of being unbeatable. Chosen are those who are brave, strong and capable.
And lastly Jakil, Master of Trickery. Unlike the other two Jakil did not have a trait that differed from the catfolk race. Instead he had all of them. Jakil was a shapeshifter, capable of assuming the form of every being imaginable but never matching them. In the form of Giadun his claws could cut forests, but mountains were too hard. Hadris could pull off poise and tail-tricks far exceeding that of Jakil in his natural form. Even a regular catfolk's signature ability would be stronger than Jakil's divine copying.
From the 3 High Gods came the rest, Numarie the Goddess of Humanity, Montaris who made the Dwarves. Even Leda who made all the animals of the forests were all given form by the 3 High Gods shaping the Nothing.

From there the world was shaped, mountains rose from Nothing, linked by plains. On which jungle and forest grew before being flooded by the onrushing flood of Meras' Tears. Though that is a different story.
As the world grew the Nothing shrank. it's pieces formed into Something piece by piece. Until there was nothing left of the Nothing.
It's essence formed into the rocks and the earth, life and the sea. The Elemental Planes and the Astral. All came from Nothing until there was no more Nothing to use.
And so the command of the Nothing was fulfilled, and it was happy. For where there was Boredom, there was Interesting."

Jalin sits down as she finishes her story smiling.
"Did you like it KKisoladis Haruka-chan?"

[Morcleon]

Haruka

Smiling at the catgirl, Haruka applauds quietly and tightens her embrace on Jalin. "A wonderful story, Jalin-chan. I enjoyed it very much. You really are a talented speaker..."

"Now then, what story shall I tell you...? Ah, I know. You've heard of Khorvaire's Lightning Rail, yes? I shall tell you a story of a world of trains. Trains with millions upon millions of cars, travelling between stations under a white expanse of sky, on dark grey rails on light grey earth.

"In each car lives one person. They travel between cars, and stations, forever living on their trains. In one car lived a girl named Wind. She was young, inexperienced, naive. One day, she met another person who was passing through her car. This wanderer entranced the young girl with stories of the wonders of other trains and other stations, and offered to take her on as an apprentice.

"Of course, young Wind accepted this offer. After all, she had never seen any of this before. And so the two traveled around the trains and stations. It was a wondrous trip for Wind. She learned from her guide and soon, she began to fall in love.

"And of course, this was when her wandering friend and love disappeared from her life, leaving nothing but a small envelope. Wind was devastated, a- and didn't know what to do for a long time, sitting on the bench of a station, watching trains pass by. Eventually, she fought past the pain and opened her mentor's last words.

"It was for her. A lovely letter thanking Wind, and praising her. A letter that told her of a world beyond, and a quest for her to fulfill. And I believe she is still on that mission now."

"A confusing story, I know. But I am not nearly as articulate as you," chuckles Haruka, stroking Jalin's fur. "Still, I hope it was entertaining at least."