Chronicle of Crimson Aristocracy

[Darth Ultron]

In Surthay, the northernmost tharch of Thay, a tower of Red Wizards hunches near the Surmarsh. The wizards wait in their tower for the next attack on their berserker Rashemen neighbors. In between attacks, however, the wizards have long periods of downtime, which they usually spend experimenting.

This small tharch is mainly used as a staging ground for attacks against Rashemen, The locals survive through subsistence farming and trade with Theskian merchants and others. The city of Surthay was originally built as a stronghold against attacks by the Rashemi, but now serves as a base for troops ready to attack that nation and a trade center.. Its proximity to the swamps means it often suffers strange plagues.


The Surmarsh is a wide, fetid swamp on the southern shore of the western end of Lake Mulsantir, at the point where the River Sur flows into the lake. This cold and dreary place lies beyond the effects of the Red Wizards' weather magic and is exposed to seemingly endless rains as the cold air of Ashanath and Rashemen meets the warm, stationary air mass artificially maintained over the Plateau of Thay. Fierce thunderstorms even in the depths of winter are not uncommon here. The Surmarsh swarms with tribes of lizardfolk. These primitive humanoids spend most of their energies struggling with one another for supremacy over this soggy piece of land. Some Red Wizards think the lizardfolk may be the descendants of the serpent-people who built the Citadel, an ancient fortress buried beneath the highest peak in the Thaymount. If that is true, a once-proud folk have fallen a long, hard way.

Almost all the tribes here have a treaty of some sort with the Red Wizards. The lizardfolk agree not to bother the Thayans of the region, and the Red Wizards promise not to annihilate the lizardfolk. The treaty specifically does not apply to foreigners wandering through, whom the lizardfolk capture or kill and turn over to the next Thayan patrol. This is usually rewarded with a bounty of 10 gp worth of food per captive or corpse.

The lizardfolk of the Surmarsh consider it a great honor to be drafted into any Thayan armed force. Many have proudly served in the distant Umber Marshes during numerous campaigns against Aglarond. Thayan nobles sometimes enter the Surmarsh on hunting expeditions, employing the local lizard-folk as porters and guides. The swamp is infested with dangerous creatures, including ropers, otyughs, and beasts even more threatening. The prize trophy of the land is the head of a black dragon. A clan of the creatures lairs in the depths of the Surmarsh, and dragons are routinely spotted soaring high above the swamp. Finding such monsters is hard enough, and besting them is even more unlikely, but several parties of nobles give it a try every year just the same.

You can pick a place to start and we can go from there

Red Wizard-- Voltarius Darwish of the circle of enchantment.

[Quiver]

Deleted my last post since it sounds like we're going for a different opening. So.

Character sheet (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=920849), subject to some minor changes.

Second... as I said, I'd like to start in the Surmash.

[Darth Ultron]

You wake up in a hole in the ground. The hole is about ten feet around and about twenty feet deep. The sides of the hole are not steep at all and are very gradual as they slope upwards. Eight other Viskanya bodies are in this hole, each covered with deep cuts and burns. The bodies look quite bare, having only some scraps of clothing.

The sky above is full of dark clouds, and you don't see anyone nearby.

[Quiver]

Her breaths came suddenly, harsh and ragged gasps that sucked the smell of burnt scales and swamp air and cold water in an acrid mixture that made her lungs scratch.

Echia coughed, once, then again, both times quiet and hesitant. Golden eyes stared at the other bodies in the pit, crossing over and willing themselves not to look too long.

Finally, she unwound herself, unsteadily, to uneven feet. Her own clothes were barely any better than those of the bodies around her, rags hanging from a frame, long hair stuck to her skull with mud and water and blood. She hoped it was blood.

Her skin was itchy, too. Compared to everything else, it wasn't a huge complaint to make, but she found herself scratching, scratching, scratching at the ink printed on her skin.

She was nervous. When Echia got nervous, her tattoos felt itchy. She hated being nervous. It made her angry.

Anger had it's own uses, though.

She glanced over the pile of bodies, feeling only a twinge if guilt. It festive some great fire had burned away parts of her brain, and she wondered if some of those faces were, or were supposed to be, familiar.

Instead, she began to pick at the bodies.

A few minutes, she crawled up, out of the pit. The clothes weren't any better, but there had been enough bits and pieces that she felt -marginally- less guilty about stealing from the dead.

Okay, so...Bardic Knowledge. Geography. Where could I go from here?

[roll0]

[Darth Ultron]

So then no memory loss?

Ok? You ''remember'' there is a small town to the east called Kurd'zar. You could go there.

The swamp around you looks familiar, and you recall the name ''Surmarsh''.

[Quiver]

No, I do think memory loss is the best idea! Just had...trouble balancing it with a decent introduction? I'm picturing Echia sort of...dazed right now? Confused, semi-delusional. Not in any frame of mind to process that she's missing lots of information, just kind of stumbling.

...just, couldnt quite strike the tone between that and "I need to introduce a character, personality, appearance and do things," kind of intro post. So...I figure the holes in her brain will become more obvious? But yeah, that's how my, line of thinking went...

Unless you intended total memory loss in which case, Um. Sorry. I can edit? Or retcon that flashes of insight in the last post are fleeting stuff she doesn't actually, concuously know.

A swamp. A wide, sweaty, stinking swamp. Stagnant pools, and swarms of files and, apparently, muddy shallow graves.

The last was the most pressing, of course, and the vishkanya glanced about her. She didn't see anyone, that was true; but just because she didn't see them didn't mean they were there.

'think,' he told herself. She didn't want to -her heart was pounding, and stopping to breath much less take the time to think felt like it would cause it to stop. [I]'think,' she told herself again.

The grave was shallow. Whoever had...however it got there, it hadn't been filled. Yet. They might be coming back to get around to it. In which case, she could hope that they couldn't count, or that one snake looked much the same as another, or she could leave.

That last opton sounded the most preferable; pack everything she could, and run. There was a town somewhere near here (Was there? She thought there was...)... Except, wouldn't a town be the first place to look for a walking corpse?

So instead, her feet started carry her in the opposite direction.

So...Yeah. Much as I'd love to stay and find out why there are a mass grave of my people, I thinking that might not be in my best health interest's?

So. Walking away from the town -though I'm pretty much guessing at the direction- with a Stealth roll to try and keep anyone who might be returning to the grave from tracking me.

[roll0]

[Quiver]

Typo's / instead of +...

[roll0]

[Darth Ultron]

The swamp all around is full of all sorts of life. Bugs, insects and vermin are everywhere..as are plenty of birds and lizards and snakes. Most look like the normal enough harmless enough animals and vermin, though you do pass a seven or so foot long snake dangling from a tree that looks a bit dangerous, but while it does watch you it does not otherwise move.

Loud noises come from one direction though, as you see five large hyena headed furry humanoids trampling through the swamp. Each has dark yellow fur, and deep purple leather armor and are armed with a mix of axes, maces and spears. They are moving quickly, loudly and more or less in a stright line back towards the hole you came out of. They give no indication if they have seen or detected you at all.

[Quiver]

The snake may have looked dangerous, but the vishkanya didn't dislike that, actually. Quite the opposite. It may have been just a snake, but it felt like a sign of something more.

What, exactly, she wasn't sure. She wasn't sure of a lot of things, actually. There had been a smell of fire in the pit, the other bodies covered with scars and cuts and burns. The fact that her own body wasn't might have been a miracle...but the aches and pains said otherwise. Whatever else she had, the vishkanya didn't have the stamina for walking.

And it wasn't just a physical ache. It felt as if a dark smoke was smothering her brain. She actually wasn't sure how literal that part was; it might have been a concussion. Still, her thoughts came slow, and it felt like she was missing things, great things, that should have been obvious. It was a frustrating feeling.

Her ears pricked up at the sound of the noise in brush, and she looked towards it reflexively. Golden eyes widened, weighing what to do.

The creatures didn't seem to have noticed her. So, wait for them to leave? Maybe use their noise to cover her exit. That might be the smart thing.

But they walked towards that pit, and suddenly, it felt like that seven foot snake in the tree was coiling in her stomach, dangerously...and angry.

That felt like a familiar feeling. She decided to hold onto that, and let herself be angry.

But not stupid. Whatever those creatures were, there were five of them, armed to the death. They looked fit and Hardy; enough to tramp their way through a swamp she had difficulty picking through.

No, she couldn't let herself be stupid...but then, the first step towards being smart was knowledge, and it felt like she didn't have much of that, yet.

She hesitated a few moments longer, weighing the choice, before deciding...and creeping back towards the deathpit behind the humanoids, ears pricked, and legs primed to run.

Following behind them, with some perception for potential eavesdropping.

[roll0]

And, just in case more Stealth is required...
[roll1]

[Darth Ultron]

the five humanoids get back to the pit and stand on the edge.

One "I only count 12, there was 13."

Two "They were all in there."

Three"If one is missing, it might still be alive and know something."

Two "What do you want us to do, search the whole swamp?"

One "You want to be the one that tells Lord Voltarius Darwish that one of his pretty snake people got away?"

Two, Three, four "No"

Five "There is a scaly town to the east...they might have gone there."

One "spread out, look for tracks!"


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

[Quiver]

'Know something?' if she didn't want so desperately not to be spotted, she might have laughed. If there was something she knew, she didn't know she knew it, a train of thought as convoluted and twisted as the the twinned snakes coiled along her arms.

The name they said made her skin crawl, though. Not itch; it felt like it was crawling, or maybe like the tattoo's were crawling, constricting. She didn't like the name; she wasn't fond of the term 'pretty snake people,' either.

And a 'scaly town'? So there was a village nearby. She wet her lips, mulling that thought over; not just a village, from the sounds of it. If there were enough there that they'd call it scaly...

Was that where the eight -or twelve- dead bodies had come from? For that matter, was that where she had come from? She wondered, briefly, whether she would have been better setting that way directly...

Then again, the fact that they thought so too maybe spoke against that option.

As a matter of fact, it sounded like she was running out of options, if she ever truly had any to begin with. The hunters sounded intent on finding the loose snake woman. How long would it take them to give up the hunt?

They were spreading out to search -she mentally thanked One for that- but did she have the time to slip through their net? She was less certain. Not to mention tracks; she didn't think she wanted to put her luck in the chance of being undiscovered.

Or maybe, she thought, eyes narrowing, she was looking at this the wrong way. Maybe these hunters weren't her enemy.

Well, they were. They tossed her in a pit of dead bodies. That spoke clearly to intent. But maybe they, or one in particular, didn't have to be...

I said I'd like to try a social game, so...first step towards practicing yhst. I want to see if I can figure out any of the dynamics of this group. I have a few impressions from the dialogue about who One might be as a character, but figured a Sense Motives roll would be of use.

(Rolling Motives with Bardic Versatility)

[roll0]

As a corollary...perception roll. I want to know, do they look like mercenaries, nobles, or just regular troops?

[roll1]

Besides that...if they are actively searching, do you want another Stealth roll? If so...

[roll2]

[Darth Ultron]

One seems to be the leader.



The matching colored leather armor would seem to indicate they were part of some group or unit. It seems odd they don't display any symbols....unless they were hiding.

They sure don't seem like nobles, as they are working. They lack the basic Discipline of the army and most troops carry similar weapons and they carry a mix, so it is unlike they are troops. Mercenaries is very likely.




they split up and search around the pit. They are very sloppy and not careful...and don't seem to find anything.

Two "I think more then one is missing...three teens and eight is more then one, right? he says out loud.

The others stop an count out on their fingers.

one "We might be missing a handful...five."

[Quiver]

Five? Her heart pounced a little at that. It didn't do her much use, of course - all it meant was four who weren't here- but it was still something. She felt a little better, in an odd way, knowing that she wasn't the only one running around the swamp.

Of course, with so many missing, that meant the men -mercenaries- would have all the more motivation not to stop looking. Maybe that wasn't such a good thing.

She liked her lips again. She wasn't sure if mercenaries were an improvement or not. Maybe if she had something to bargain with, besides the clothes and supplies in her back. As it was, she doubted anything she had to offer would match with that of a 'lord' like Voltarius Darwish.

So, did that mean her only option was to run and hide? That felt less than satisfying. Every nerve was telling her to run and escape, of course...but there was something else mixed in with that. A thought of that snake, dangerous but lazily coiled in the tree.

She thought of that snake, thought of it's watchfulness, and her mouth tightened to a line. That anger that had boiled inside her was still there, and she clutched at the mud of the swamp with frustration.

Could she fight the group? She doubted it. The weapons felt heavy at her waist, whereas the mercenaries were...sloppy, perhaps, but no reason not to assume they were seasoned.

But what other weapons did she have at her disposal?
Her skin, and the tattoo, itched again.

So...no actions. Yet. Want to see what they'll do next, because it means the difference of 'run and hide', or 'try to confront/sway them'.

[Darth Ultron]

One "The five of us can't search the whole swamp. We will need more gnolls, maybe some dark wings to search from the air. "

Two "We will have to tell Shikari to get more gnolls. And she might tell Voltarius."

One "We don't have much choice. Everyone back to the compound!"

All five of them turn and start to run northward.

[Quiver]

She stayed where she was a little longer, until the group had headed north, then waited a little longer.

They had shed some light on things, but not in the good way. Quite the opposite; from the sounds of things, there was a whole compound of people who would be swarming the swamp looking for her.

Her, and the others.

There were other survivors from the pit. Others who would be hunted. And there was a town of what sounded like kin.

With any luck, travelling to the 'compound' would take long enough for her to create some sort of a plan.


Perception. Want to look for any signs or trails if any of the other Vishkanya that escaped.

[roll0]

If I find any sign of a trail, want to follow that. If I don't, going to try heading towards that 'scaly village' the mercy mentioned.

[Darth Ultron]

Other then the big gnoll boot prints, there are two trails leading out of the pit. They are fairly obvious trails, obviously made by someone who did not even try to hied the tracks they made. Both trails head off in different directions.

[Quiver]

Two trails; so, at least two others had left the pit, as well as herself. The mercenaries seemed to have missed their tracks, too, which was a fortunate turn.

Two trails, different directions. It was a start.

Want to follow the trail which moves away from the direction the men went.

[Darth Ultron]

The trail you pick is obvious and easy to follow, someone clearly no wilderness skill.

After about a half hour the trail leads into a cluster of trees, where sitting on a branch about ten feet up is a female vishkanya in torn black clothing...maybe that once was a dress. She is looking up at the cloudy sky, but does not seem to be looking at anything.

[Quiver]

The Vishkanya bard felt a knot she hadn't been conscious of unwind a little. Given how obvious therapy was, she had started to worry she was just following a trail the huntsmen had left.

The sight of another vishkanya, however, had settled that fear a little...though she approached the tree warily all the same.

She debated, for a second, reaching for the crossbow, or the whip, but decided against it. After all, it was one woman, and her own kind; that struck her as immediatly more trustworthy than the hunters had.

And, she trusted herself to be able to draw the dagger quickly enough if she was mistaken...

She stepped forward openly, blowing a sharp whistle between her teeth to get the woman's attention.

[Darth Ultron]

The other vishkanya looks over and down at you when you whistle.....then falls out of the tree. With a soft thud she lands in the mud and rolls a bit, stopping to look up at you.

[Quiver]

The grace was unexpected. With how obvious the trail had been, the bard expected her to be clumsy or wrong-footed.

Regardless, it was a member of her own kind. That was an improvement over the hunters.

"I was starting go think I was the only one out here." She found herself surprised by her own voice. It was...smoother than she had expected, somehow.

[Darth Ultron]

Vriiatha "Vriiatha, Vriiatha I see Vriiatha me. Eyes of red, seas of blue, who are you? " she says in her soft voice, still laying on the ground.

[Quiver]

Graceful, and utterly mad. The bard couldn't entirely keep the disappointment from her face.

"Me? I..."

She trailed off unnaturally, suddenly finding herself grasping.

What was her name? It suddenly occurred to the bard how odd it was for something so intimately personal to have been absent from her thoughts. Of course, she had had more pressing concerns; survival, the hunters, the trail. Buy the fact that such a simple thing had escaped her notice vexed her.

She frowned, trying to are her tongue form a word that would sound familiar.

"I'm..friendly" She said instead. "[color=green]Which is worth a lot now I'd say./color]"

[Darth Ultron]

Vriiatha "Feindly? One of them? One of me? You have scales, I see. I see...I see....they did something to me....something something... Feindly?"

[Quiver]

Typo'd friendly. Sorry.

With the way the hunters had talked about 'pretty snake people', that they did something to the vishkanya wasn't surprising.

Enraging -she almost hissed- but unsurprising.

"I'm not one of them," She answered, spitting, and offering a hand. "So, I guess I'm like you."

[Darth Ultron]

Vriiatha "Yes, you are like me...me...me..me. Blood and scales....dipped in red...red...red!"


A tiny about one foot tall black skinned very skinny hairy humanoid with large bat like wings glides silently over, fairly obviously, and lands on a tree branch about ten feet off the ground, and looks down.

[Quiver]

"I'd say my scales are more green," She said dryly, "bur I agree with the sentiment."

Most of it, anyway. She didn't think she was as much of a blathering fool as Vriiatha, but still...

The movement on the tree above them caught her attention away from the babbling Vishkanya, however.

A loud cracking split the air as the whip unwound from her waist, accompanied by a hiss.

It seemed unlikely thar the hunters had reached their compound and despatched fliers so soon; even if they had, she'd have expected a bit more Stealth. Either way, she eyed the batlike creature warily.

I have Quick Draw, so that seems...doable.

[Darth Ultron]

The small hairy humanoid jumps a little when you draw the weapon, but it does not otherwise more or seem to do anything.

Vriiatha "Whip it, whip it good. If a problem comes along you can whip it!"

[Quiver]

A problem? Well, at least the vishkanya was making some sort of sense. Everything the bard had seen today had not disposed her to think kindly of other races.

She stared at the batcreature, hiding between her teeth. She was probably reacting roo quickly, to hotly. But...

But she had woken upon a ditch surrounding design by dead bodies, followed by hunters. Now she was dealing with a woman who sounded near-miss. Her patience was rather fraying.

"Whip it? I might do that," She said aloud, eying the creature. "It's not a friend of yours, then?"

[spoiler]
If the bat looks like it tries to leave. I want o attack it.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Darth Ultron]

Vriiatha "No friends, just fiends."

The small hairy humanoid bat creature does not try and leave, but just sits on the branch, ten feet up above the ground and watches the two of you.

[Quiver]

Not friends? That made it a bit easier then...or it should have done. Instead, the bard felt...uneasy, holding the whip.

It was a strange feeling, of wrongness. Not that she was holding a weapon; just at the prospect of using a whip, specifically. It felt like the sort of thing that should be used by slave drivers, and for some reason, that felt...uncommonly uncomfortable.

"You heard her," She found herself saying. "Any problem that comes along, I can whip it. Now, do you really want to it up in that tree and be a problem?"

Might as well give diplomacy a shot...

[roll0]

[Darth Ultron]

small hairy humanoid bat creature "No problem from me...I just watch."


A large patch of mud, about twenty feet away, rises up from the ground in a huge mass...and then falls away to reveal a black skinned humanoid with tiny horns on his head, sharp teeth, a long black tail and red eyes. He has on hide armor and a long black cloak, with a long sword in a sheath at his side. The mud all falls away, more or less to fill the hole made....he is not muddy at all but is perfectly clean.

"Now, now...no need to be hostile. J'obroth is just a seeker, and he does his job well. He is mostly harmless. Now I'm
Norixious Tarhun , not so harmless...but friendly enough."

[Quiver]

"A seeker is just a different word for hunter, and I've had my fill of those for the day."

Her tone was blithe and dry, but she maintained a wary posture. Obviously. Whatever overtures of friendship the man might make, the manner of his appearance at least merited caution.

"But, neither of you have tried to throw me in a grave yet, so that's an improvement. Or does that part come later?"

[Darth Ultron]

Norixious Tarhun "Depends on if your worth anything, really." He pulls out an iron loop and holds it up "Escaped slaves? Oh how mundane. I was so hopping for more. But it does put gold in the pouch."


Vriiatha stays still and quiet, not looking at anything.

[Quiver]

"Slaves?"

The bard felt her tattoo's itch again, and her head pound. It felt like it was ringing, a dull chime smothering everything.

"Mundane," she said instead, shaking her head slightly. She still felt groggy from everything that had happened. "That sounds like a good way to describe it. Gold, I mean. That's short-sighted."

[Darth Ultron]

Norixious Tarhun "You don't look so good...either of you. Are you hurt? Injured? I have a couple of extra potions of healing if you need one." He reaches into his side sack and pulls out two hide flasks. "Here, take one"

[Quiver]

A potion. He seriously expected them to accept a potion from someone who was tying with handing them over as slaves? She felt insulted.

She smiled, sweetly. "How kind of you," she said evenly, taking the bottles. "We've had a rough day."

She tossed one of the bottles to Vriiatha, waiting for her to drink. If it was a healing potion, maybe it would do something for the creatures babbling. And if it was something besides healing...well, better Vriiatha than her...

[Darth Ultron]

Vriiatha wastes no time and pops off the cork and drinks down the whole bottle.


[roll0]


Then Vriiatha falls to the ground, fast asleep.

Norixious Tarhun "good girl, now you drink up too"

[Quiver]

"So, by friendly you meant you would let us knock ourselves out without a fight. Charming."

Maybe she should have smashed the potion...but that seemed like a waste of perfectly good magic

"I think I'll decline your drink," she said finally, cautiously. "I suspect those manacles would chafe.

[Darth Ultron]

Norixious Tarhun "Manacles? Oh, come now I'm no slaver. I'm being nice here. Don't make me do things the hard way. "

[Quiver]

"I don't get to do things the easy way, so why should you."

She resisted the urge to hiss out that last statement, and watched the man warily. She wanted to crack her whip across his face, or stick her sword into his gut. Instead, she started talking.

"We both seem like reasonable people," she said, trying to keep her tone even. "I'm sure that we can come to an... understanding."

Diplomacy
[roll0]

[Darth Ultron]

Norixious Tarhun "That is very possible. Your just a way for me to make a little coin. And as far as I know, no one is after you by name. So I'm only going to get a handful of gold. And that is after I drag you all the way back to the city and find your owner and return you. Maybe you'd have a better deal?"

[Quiver]

Sorry. Work was busy.

"That sounds like a lot of work to go to for only a little coin. And," she raised the bottle, shaking it, "I get the impression you don't like doing more work than you have to."

An assumption, yes; he might just have been especially underhanded. A forked tongue wet her lips.

"Are a pair of slaves really going to be worth all that effort? How much do you really think my..owner, is going to pay?"

[Darth Ultron]

Norixious Tarhun "It is a bit of work....but it is what I do. And a little coin is a little coin. And it might lead to another job.

And you know....if I don't someone else will. Your chances of escape are slim."

[Quiver]

Okay, so... think I'm gonna need some information before I can post stuff. So.

1) Do I recognize what kind of species Norixioius is? If so... how is that race treated in Thay?

2) What is J'oborth? My assumption is he's either a creature, or some kind of summouned demon. If I need a roll for it, then..

Knowledge [Arcana] [roll0]

[Darth Ultron]

You can always roll to try and identify something....

(I'll use your roll for both)

Norixious Tarhun looks basically human, but with fiendish traits...and he is friendly and acts human(and cares about money)....that most likely makes him a tefiling. A human with a bit of fiend blood in him. And summoning fiends is a very common thing to do in Thay(and, really the world too).

Tefilings are uncommon in Thay, as their are plenty of fiends around to make them. They are excepted as much as any ''half human'' is by the humans of Thay. Most commoners fear their ''demonic powers'', but most know they are just people. Most humans, in general, don't like ''mixed races''. Other races see them as humans or demons or both.

J'oborth, looking like a small demon, is most likely a Quasit. Quasit are common enough as familiars for spellcasters, though only chaotic evil ones.