Zodiac Prequil

[MikelaC1]

Thokk
They are all dead. All except for you. Was it your fault? Does it matter? When every member of a unit but one dies, that's always wear the blame will lie, and given your history, that's not about to change. The Varstok military doesn't have harsh punishments, but you can expect dismissal for sure, hopefully nothing worse. Of course, that does mean your pension is forfeit.
You begin the weary trek back to the city to report in, but along the way you come to a halt. A woman is standing in the road, unbelievably beautiful. But shes not some sort of vision, you can spot toned muscles and shes carrying weapons. To your surprise, she is carrying two long swords, the number of people who can dual wield weapons is rather small and even fewer of them use the much heavier long sword. She is also wearing the symbol of the goddess Lysindra Damaris, you know of her, your groups arcane specialist worshipped her, the goddess of battle magic.

DLotS
One morning, after a particularly strong storm, you are attempting to fix the lines of the ship, fouled by the storm and the incompetence of several crewmen. Just as your temper is about to boil over, you spy the second officer coming towards you. He tells you that the Captain wants to see you. Knowing the Captain's temper, you know that means now, not later, and even though that means leaving the fouled lines in the hands of the two crewmen who should probably be landlubbers, you head to his cabin. When you arrive, you find that the Captain is not alone. The woman who is with him is quite beautiful, but your trained eye can tell she is no silly piece of fluff. Her muscles are toned, and she is armed with not one but two long swords. Both of her hands bear the looks of having wielded weapons and that can mean only one thing, especially when you consider the prominent symbol of the goddess Lysindra Damaris. There are few people who can dual wield the much heavier long sword and this must be the legendary Elinon Darasis-Domar. You know her as one of the more prominent sponsors of this pirate hunting vessel.

smasher
The city is off, and you know it. Or perhaps its not the city, more likely its you. Whatever changes have been wrought by your training in the wild, the safe path of the city is not for you. Heading out, you start to wander the roads between the cities. As you wander your paths, you happen to come across a woman. Dressed all in blue and bearing the symbol of the goddess Glendira, you know this can be only one person, Tishtina Bindar II. You have heard of her, one of the most legendary teachers of magic in the world.

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Mika ducks her head in a not-really-a-bow to the famous woman, and then salutes her and the captain in succession. "Captain," she says, as he returns the salute. To Elinon, she says, "My Lady, uh, Your Grace-- Your Honor? I confess I don't know the proper way to address you." Curiosity is writ plain on her face, why such a prominent woman is visiting the captain, why she herself was summoned to this meeting, and what it's all about, but she leaves the questions unasked, knowing the Captain will want to say his piece first. Had she known that this was who she'd be meeting, she would have left her weapons outside, but as it was, if they weren't going to say anything about it, she wasn't going to bring them up either.

[MikelaC1]

Mika
The captain seems to defer to Elinon, letting her do all the talking
When a ship likes this bears my name or my sponsorship, I like to keep track of things, at least the top people on board. And I have been hearing good things about you from your Captain, no matter how cranky he can be with you.
Further, I know about your desire to one day own a ship of your own. But on the wages of a crewman, even a first mate, that can take a long, long time. Interested in shortening that time, and taking up a real challenge?

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

"Well, no disrespect intended or nothing, but it depends on the challenge. I ain't going to do something like take up piracy, even if it's on your orders, my lady." Without direction as to what to call her, she defaulted to her first guess. She shrugs slightly before she continues, "Aside from that condition, aye, I'd be decidedly interested. What's the job?" She takes a respectful, but casual 'at ease' position as she listens to what the woman has to say.

[Thokk_Smash]

So this is how it's to end, his glamorous life as a military man. Well, it hadn't always been glamorous, but he had liked it, and it had almost seemed to like him sometimes. His higher-ups aren't going to like his story, no matter how he spins it. He sighs, scrubbing a hand through his matted hair; he thinks he can feel another patch of dried blood. Whether it is his own or his team leader's, he can't remember; even so soon after, the memory of his escape is a blur.

The sight of the stranger brings him to a halt. He openly appraises her threat level: highly skilled warrior, no doubt; confident, too, if she is walking alone on the road; and she wears the symbol of a Goddess of battle magic, so she is potentially an arcanist as well. Of course, none of that can tell him why she is standing in the middle of the road, blocking his path. He tries to see if he can remember ever seeing her, perhaps in a painting or somesuch, as he says, Beautiful day for a stroll, wouldn't you agree?

Knowledge (Local): [roll0]
Sense Motive to get a general feel of her body language: [roll1]

[MikelaC1]

"Well, no disrespect intended or nothing, but it depends on the challenge. I ain't going to do something like take up piracy, even if it's on your orders, my lady." Without direction as to what to call her, she defaulted to her first guess. She shrugs slightly before she continues, "Aside from that condition, aye, I'd be decidedly interested. What's the job?" She takes a respectful, but casual 'at ease' position as she listens to what the woman has to say.


Piracy? Hardly. Rather the challenge is one of fighting outsiders of some kind, or spirits. Im not quite sure how to define them. The rewards for an adventurer tend to be a lot higher than the wages of a sailor. I have a group of people working on the situation now, but I feel they need some back up. I can let you know more if you are really interested.


So this is how it's to end, his glamorous life as a military man. Well, it hadn't always been glamorous, but he had liked it, and it had almost seemed to like him sometimes. His higher-ups aren't going to like his story, no matter how he spins it. He sighs, scrubbing a hand through his matted hair; he thinks he can feel another patch of dried blood. Whether it is his own or his team leader's, he can't remember; even so soon after, the memory of his escape is a blur.

The sight of the stranger brings him to a halt. He openly appraises her threat level: highly skilled warrior, no doubt; confident, too, if she is walking alone on the road; and she wears the symbol of a Goddess of battle magic, so she is potentially an arcanist as well. Of course, none of that can tell him why she is standing in the middle of the road, blocking his path. He tries to see if he can remember ever seeing her, perhaps in a painting or somesuch, as he says, Beautiful day for a stroll, wouldn't you agree?

Knowledge (Local): [roll0]
Sense Motive to get a general feel of her body language: [roll1]

Beautiful day for a stroll? Perhaps, if you weren't weighed down by other issues. You cant go back to Varstok, you know. Dishonourable discharge would be the best you could hope for, military jail is more likely. And the shame of being the only survivor of your team. I offer a different challenge, one that would even pay better than the wages of a grunt. You would be fighting outsiders, or spirits, Im not quite sure how to define them. I have a team fighting them already, but I think they need back up

[smasher0404]

Upon seeing Tishtana Bindar II, Edmund cautiously approaches her, with a small stutter, trying to pretend that he doesn't know who she is, aware of the chance that this person might be pretending to be her but eager all the same for the chance to meet a master of the arcane arts. "Go-goood mor-mor-row ma-madam! Go-good weather we-we are having to-today is-isn't it?" A small amount of blush appears on Edmund's cheeks as he says this, having met someone who even his mentor admired.

[Thokk_Smash]

Beautiful day for a stroll? Perhaps, if you weren't weighed down by other issues. You cant go back to Varstok, you know. Dishonourable discharge would be the best you could hope for, military jail is more likely. And the shame of being the only survivor of your team. I offer a different challenge, one that would even pay better than the wages of a grunt. You would be fighting outsiders, or spirits, Im not quite sure how to define them. I have a team fighting them already, but I think they need back up

How the hell do you--

David cuts himself off before his voice's pitch can go any higher. Okay, he hadn't been expecting that, but other than her knowledge of his recent debacle her offer is not a bad one. She has a point about there being nothing for him at Varstok; he'd known it before, but he hadn't known what else to do. Now, though, with this woman's offer...

You make a good case, he says simply. I wasn't looking forward to returning to Varstok anyway. I would be happy to assist your team, Miss... He lets the word hang in the air, silently asking for the identity of his new employer.

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

"If'n you're really serious about getting me my own ship, gods, yes, I'm interested. No offense, Captain," she adds to her current leader, "you're a fine man to sail for, and I'd knock the teeth out of anyone who said otherwise, but it ain't quite the same as having my own ship." Addressing Elinon again she says, "They need a sailor to help them out, or were you thinking more of my fighting skills? Happy to take up the task either way, just want to know what you expect of me."

[MikelaC1]

Upon seeing Tishtana Bindar II, Edmund cautiously approaches her, with a small stutter, trying to pretend that he doesn't know who she is, aware of the chance that this person might be pretending to be her but eager all the same for the chance to meet a master of the arcane arts. "Go-goood mor-mor-row ma-madam! Go-good weather we-we are having to-today is-isn't it?" A small amount of blush appears on Edmund's cheeks as he says this, having met someone who even his mentor admired.

Good weather? I suppose, although what is good weather without the occasional lightning display Edmund knows enough that Glendira is known as the mistress of lightning. I can tell by your wandering that you seek something more. You seek a greater understanding of magic. While your way of going about things is not the way I would choose, I might be able to help you. Or at least find a path that would lead to more understanding. Interested?


How the hell do you--

David cuts himself off before his voice's pitch can go any higher. Okay, he hadn't been expecting that, but other than her knowledge of his recent debacle her offer is not a bad one. She has a point about there being nothing for him at Varstok; he'd known it before, but he hadn't known what else to do. Now, though, with this woman's offer...

You make a good case, he says simply. I wasn't looking forward to returning to Varstok anyway. I would be happy to assist your team, Miss... He lets the word hang in the air, silently asking for the identity of his new employer.

My name is Elinon Darasis-Domar. And I am recruiting people to fight the signs of the Zodiac She pauses a moment to let that sink in. Yes, it sounded strange to me as well when I first heard it. But I can assure you, it seems to be no joke.


"If'n you're really serious about getting me my own ship, gods, yes, I'm interested. No offense, Captain," she adds to her current leader, "you're a fine man to sail for, and I'd knock the teeth out of anyone who said otherwise, but it ain't quite the same as having my own ship." Addressing Elinon again she says, "They need a sailor to help them out, or were you thinking more of my fighting skills? Happy to take up the task either way, just want to know what you expect of me."

They need a person with your fighting skills and all your other skills. And while they wont be going on the ocean, at least at first, I forsee an ocean voyage in the very near future. And because we are trying to keep things a bit quiet, I don't want them sailing on someone elses vessel. So you will be a big hand there.
As for the mission itself, the group is fighting signs of the Zodiac She pauses for a moment to let that sink in. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but I can assure you, Ive seen it for myself.

[smasher0404]

While a little shocked by Tishtina's quick analysis of him, Edmund manages to gather enough composure to reply, but is a little suspicious why a famous mage, such as she, is offering any sort of help to a stranger in the road. "To receive guidance from one of the greatest mages in the world? Only a fool would reject. That is assuming you are who I think you are, and not some clever pretender. You are who I think you are, correct?"

[MikelaC1]

Edmund
Ive never known someone to pretend to me, and if someone were to be so impertinent, I would have to deal with them. So it is likely that I am.
Now, as for what I offer, one of my allies, Elinon Darasis-Domar has put together a party that is dealing with some outsider spirits. From what I understand, these spirits take the form of the signs of the Zodiac. It may sound strange, but I have seen it to be so. And the opportunity to travel far and wide should afford the most varied of learning opportunities. Interested?

[Thokk_Smash]

My name is Elinon Darasis-Domar. And I am recruiting people to fight the signs of the Zodiac She pauses a moment to let that sink in. Yes, it sounded strange to me as well when I first heard it. But I can assure you, it seems to be no joke.

You've got to be kidding me. It was a natural reaction, he thinks. He isn't a magic-user of any kind, he isn't used to much more than the military operations he's performed. Certainly not fighting living personifications of the Zodiac signs.

A bit outside of my normal purview, but I'm a fast learner. What else will you need me to do aside from fight them? I'm skilled at clandestine operations as well as close-quarters combat. Although I do admit, I prefer sneaking to actual fighting.

[smasher0404]

Edmund
Ive never known someone to pretend to me, and if someone were to be so impertinent, I would have to deal with them. So it is likely that I am.
Now, as for what I offer, one of my allies, Elinon Darasis-Domar has put together a party that is dealing with some outsider spirits. From what I understand, these spirits take the form of the signs of the Zodiac. It may sound strange, but I have seen it to be so. And the opportunity to travel far and wide should afford the most varied of learning opportunities. Interested?


"Well I'm not doing anything in particular right now, dealing with some sort of incarnation of the Zodiac does seem like a good learning experience. And you do seem to be who you say you are, so I am inclined to trust what you say. So, I'm pretty sure I can say that I am interested." says Edmund with a small grin on his face.

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

"What, you mean like the water-bearer and the scorpion and so on? How's that work? She's seen enough strange things at sea to not be too disbelieving of such a story. "More importantly, when do we start? And how soon do I get my ship?"

[MikelaC1]

ALL

The woman in front you reaches out and touches you and you are suddenly teleported. When the momentary disorientation leaves you, you find yourself in a well appointed room that looks like it would be a noble's study. Elinon and Tishtina II are still both there, however Edmund can see that Tishtina is deferring to Elinon. You also see two other people whom you do not know. (Insert physical descriptions)

Elinon addresses you.
Several months ago, a group of adventurers were transporting a prisoner to Varstok for trial, however in the course of that transport, the prisoner escaped and made his way to an abandoned manor house. The group pursued, but the manor house was a trap with the man as bait, and the group was taken to some sort of extra dimensional pocket. In order to escape the pocket, the group ended up releasing 13 spirits into the world. 12 of the spirits were in the form of the signs of the Zodiac, Libra, Capricorn, Pisces and so on. Aries was a giant ram, Taurus was a gorgon, Gemini an ettin, and so on. The thirteenth figure was a humanoid, we cant find a reference to him and for want of a better term we have called him Lord Zodiac.
The group has vowed to destroy the spirits in turn, and what they found out so far is that only a person whose star sign or sun sign corresponds to the Zodiac in question can harm it...along with a magic instrument that corresponds to the creature in some way, Aries was damaged by a ring of the ram, Cancer required a apparatus of kwalish, and so on. So far, Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer have been destroyed and the group is currently questing after Leo. It seems like the battles in turn follow the order of the Zodiac as well. What the situation with Lord Zodiac is, we cannot say.
The group has suffered some losses, and some desertions, and I need replacements in order for them to succeed. Principally an arcanist was needed, and the group has never had any sort of rogue talents to assist them. As well, the group will soon be doing some ocean travel and presumably to take on Pisces and Aquarius, that will be needed as well. I would rather not have the group booking passage on a commercial vessel if possible, to keep the nature of this mission under wraps and that is just another reason for you, Mika, to be recruited.

[smasher0404]

Edmund, after clearing his throat, responds "Pardon my rudeness, but where exactly are we headed, and who exactly are the other members of this group? Do we have any clue as to what this "Lord Zodiac" is doing or planning? If the other adventurers you've hired are hunting the locations of said creatures, have they been discovering the locations in order or have they just happened to encounter them in that order? If they just happened to decide they are hunting them in order do we know the location of any of the other spirits??If these spirits are powerful enough to have killed some of those you've recruited towards this cause, any more information you could provide would be helpful to avoid such a fate. "

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Mika Anova

Mika takes a few startled moments to check herself over to make sure nothing is missing-- fingers, feet, that sort of thing. Being instantly teleported was not something she'd ever done before, and she wasn't sure she trusted, or liked, it. Reassured that all her body parts were intact, she follows the apparent magic-users questions with some of her own. "What happened to the prisoner they were tracking? Did he become this Lord Zodiac? Or one of the other spirits?"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/darkladyofthesith/PbP/500full.jpg

[Thokk_Smash]

Ah, teleportation. The arcane specialist from David's squad had been their teleporter, so he doesn't so much as blink from it. He looks over the two strangers beside him appraisingly, then turns to his new employer. These spirits, are they similar to golems or the undead, in that they cannot be critically injured? He gives the other two a professional nod out of courtesy.

[MikelaC1]

Edmund, after clearing his throat, responds "Pardon my rudeness, but where exactly are we headed, and who exactly are the other members of this group? Do we have any clue as to what this "Lord Zodiac" is doing or planning? If the other adventurers you've hired are hunting the locations of said creatures, have they been discovering the locations in order or have they just happened to encounter them in that order? If they just happened to decide they are hunting them in order do we know the location of any of the other spirits??If these spirits are powerful enough to have killed some of those you've recruited towards this cause, any more information you could provide would be helpful to avoid such a fate. "

The group is just about to enter an old manor house, located in South Enicom, just north of Kroy. They have reason to believe that Leo, or at least creatures loyal to Leo is located there. I will transport you there once we are done here. We have no idea of what Lord Zodiac is or what he is planning but we do know that the Zodiac spirits capture humans and any that are captured seem to undergo some sort of bizarre transformation into creatures of the same type. So far they have been encountering them in order by happenstance, they quested after Aries and then in the course of returning to report back, they ran into Taurus. They went into the Terkaton swamp to kill Cancer and were then were recruited by Koblan Darizon to track one of his shipments to Kroy, which turned out to be hijacked by Leo.


Mika Anova

Mika takes a few startled moments to check herself over to make sure nothing is missing-- fingers, feet, that sort of thing. Being instantly teleported was not something she'd ever done before, and she wasn't sure she trusted, or liked, it. Reassured that all her body parts were intact, she follows the apparent magic-users questions with some of her own. "What happened to the prisoner they were tracking? Did he become this Lord Zodiac? Or one of the other spirits?"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/darkladyofthesith/PbP/500full.jpg

They discovered the prisoner dead, in the first manor house. It was his body that lured them into the final room of the trap. As far as we know, he was just a tool of the Zodiacs, and never knew what he was being used for



Ah, teleportation. The arcane specialist from David's squad had been their teleporter, so he doesn't so much as blink from it. He looks over the two strangers beside him appraisingly, then turns to his new employer. These spirits, are they similar to golems or the undead, in that they cannot be critically injured? He gives the other two a professional nod out of courtesy.

As long as you are one of the people who can injure the creature, all of your attacks will work perfectly. If you arent, then nothing you can do will help. However, what they have found is that the spirit usually has allies with him and when its not your turn to kill the spirit, your responsibility will be to keep the allies off the designated person's back

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Mika Anova

Mika has a decided mercenary streak, thanks to her particularly line of work. "When do we get paid?" is the next question to come to her mind.

[MikelaC1]

Elinon's smile quirks slightly at the directness of Mika, although she probably expected something like that.

The three of you present me with a slight quandary. Of the group, 2 of them are morally bound to destroy the spirits, seeing as they were responsible for their release. The paladin would naturally take up such a quest, and the last two have a divine bet as to the outcome, not to mention the fact that their moral compass guides them that way. But the three of you, you have no such ties.
Of course, anything that you recover in the course of your missions would be yours to keep, but I can think of a few more rewards that may entice you. For you David, your record will be expunged. No one will ever know what happened to your group, and you will not be held responsible. For you Mika, I know you desire a ship of your own, so I will make you this deal. When you finish this particular spirit, you will be headed to Kroy, to report your success to Koblan's men. In Kroy, I had planned for your group to take a ship to Amazonia. That ship is completely new and has only a skeleton crew, including no captain. You will be captain of that ship, and it will be the party's for the duration of the quest. When the last spirit and Lord Zodiac are killed, that ship will be yours and yours alone. Free and clear. And you Edmund, what do you desire to take up this mantle?

[smasher0404]

Edmund responds hesitantly "I want to learn, my original training may have been enough to prevent unwilling manifestations of my power, but there is still much chaos left in my abilities. Traveling the world in hunt of theses spirits may provide me with the answers I need to completely tame my own abilities for the good of others, as well as learn what within me changed, to cause me to fell lonesome in the city. The cause is just, and I have things to learn, I don't think I need much more reason than that."

[Thokk_Smash]

David feels himself slump so slightly in relief at hearing what his reward would be. He gathers himself together quickly and says, You have my greatest thanks for that, milady. I travel light, everything I need is on my person. I'm ready to assist whenever my new teammates are.

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Mika Anova

Mika leans over towards Edmund and whispers, "You should at least ask for some coin or something. A few hundred gold coins never go unwanted." Straightening up again, she says, "We have an accord, your ladyship. Ready to ship out at your word."

[MikelaC1]

And with that, Elinon shakes her hand on the deal. Moments later, you feel the lurch of a teleport, its a bit easier to deal with this time as its more expected, and you're getting a bit more used to it by now.
You find yourself to the side of a former manor home, but its clearly fallen into disrepair. Some of the roof and the walls have collapsed, and the yard is ridiculously overgrown. Before you can even think to move, you suddenly hear the sounds of battle, and see a huge divine column of flame roar down from the sky and obliterate a mark. You hear the roar of lions, and the yells of humans, its clear that a pitched battle is already underway. Running to the spot, you see 5 people engaged against 6 lions. 3 of them are human (2 males, 1 unearthly beautiful female) and 2 others who are likely some of sort outsiders, one is a trumpet archon and you aren't quite sure what the other is.

Roll initiative in the Zodiac OOC, and I will slot you into the next round.