Epic Problem : Return to Power

Jemal said:

"By the G..GODS! Such power.. Wait.. You ARE a God, aren't you? Of course I'll help, my lords! There's always bards coming through, this is the Holy City after all!! Why Grennet gets hundreds of bards a year.. Has this one displeased you, my lords? Perhaps a description?"

Click to expand...

Panarchus speaks loud enough to drown out the slightly distant Kobold Magus, into the guard's ear, "Very clever, got it in one. The one we seek is less a bard than the bard, known as the Ancient One. Legends differ as to his appearance." The avatar will go on to describe any appearance details the legends do mention despite the likely contradictions therein.

Panarchus thinks of The Ancient one.. he has always been described as an Old Man full of life, with no hair on his head save a long beard(Sometimes). He always keeps up with the current stylings, can play any instrument, knows any tale or song he's asked for, and it is rumoured that if something is known by any mortal, it is known by him.

The guard thinks hard for a moment "I'm sorry my lord, I can think of at least a dozen people that fit that description! I recognize the name, he is a legend.. as you probably know, my lord.. but there are always bards travelling around dressed like that, either pretending to be him or helping his legend grow. Why I've seen two today."

[sblock=Ijazim]
The door opens and an old man, full of life, bald with green eyes, dressed in what must be the local fashion, enters and inclines his head slightly as he shuts the door behind him.
"You would be the one who's working for HER, wouldn't you. When I heard you had entered this realm, I was actually surprised! I didn't expect her to send someone so.." He trails off as his eyes drift down to where your mark is (Seeming to look right through any illusion or clothing). "OH, so I see. You're NOT falsely marked. Then it would seem the race has begun, after all. Interesting that you should find yourselves in THIS city while they went to that other one... And with the 7 from the past, it seems we've come full circle.. but then I'm rambling and probably not making a word of sense!" He chuckles and sits down, a chair appearing beneath him. "If any of you try to harm me, I will defend myself, so don't think for a moment that you can just extract whatever information you want in whatever manner you deem most convenient. I am neutral in this affair, I'm here to spread the knowledge that is needed for fate to take it's course, though Even I don't know what that course is. That is for you and your counterparts on the 'side of Light', as they put it, to decide."

He stops and looks at you for a moment. "If you wish to speak Civilly, I will freely stay, and you can attempt to weasel whatever you can, but I will answer only a single straight question, and after that, I Will leave. I've allready told the others that they need to prove they are worthy of my information, and the same is true of you."
[/sblock]

[sblock=Jemal]"On the contraty, you make perfect sense. And unless you are the Seventh, you clearly must be the One. But then, I too am quite insane. I assume you are who you appear to be, in due time I will put you to the test and if you fail you will regret it. As you presume to judge me so shall I in turn be your judge." He laughs, then offers the Bard a glass, "But there's no need for blustering and threaths. We are civilized beings, after all, so let us behave civilly."
He looks at the man critically, "You are, or so I've been told, a remnant of the age before the ban. Clearly you are a powerful being and yet you were neither excluded by the ban nor, or so you would have me believe, are you one of its enforcers. And yet you are clearly not divine, I'm certain I would recognize that and even the Gods were apparently restricted by the Ban. That (and your casual attitude towards me) leads me to believe that you have somehow anchored yourself to this world, to a powerful object on this world, perhaps to a certain obelisk... Hmm, I suppose it's possible that you are the Seventh after all, seeking to use us Marked Ones and our need to prove ourselves 'worthy' to claim all of the Obelisk's power for yourself." He gauges the man's reaction, "Ah, but now I too am rambling."
"There are many questions I would ask you if I believed I had any reason to trust your words and your intentions. Whatever you are I'm certain it's more than what you've portrayed yourself as. And yet, assuming I can't simply pry your thoughts from you by force, it would be a shame to waste this opportunity. So, answer this one question if you will, since you will clearly not simply tell me where to find the Obelisk; Where are the Seven, the false marked ones and their Lord?" [/sblock]

[sblock=Ijazim]
The old man takes the glass with a silent thanks, and nods at some of your statements. A smile breaks across his face as you compare him to the seventh, though he says nothing until you've finished. "I am not the seventh, though the way He found to stay here is similar enough to my own method, I suppose." He finishes the drink and sets the cup down, looking thoughtfully at you. "I am not, as you have surmised, Divine, nor am I of the same power type as you or your companions. Power comes in many different forms, you see, and I have chosen a different path. You are correct that I would not tell you where to find the Obelisk, but that is because such is beyond my power. I also can't tell you where the Seventh is, though I will, as promised, answer your question.. To the best of my abilities."

He closes his eyes and the room begins glowing, swirling blue and green motes circling. "Oh, and just to keep things civil.." He opens one eye and grins at you "I'll try to keep it less cryptic." He raises his arms, standing as the chair dissapears, and speaks "Master and Apprentice travel together across the country of Lyrevan, searching for the great dragon's lair. The Warrior heads to Islo, capital of Lyrevan... The Seeker travels the Great Desert to the south, seeking the Child of the Sun. The Heartborn has gone to the great Barbarian Empire to the north, looking to destroy the Druids council, and the Dragon's Disciple is... Here!" His eyes open wide. "She is here in this city..." He turns towards the gate "NO... but she will be in moments." He looks back at you "Well, I did say I'd leave after telling you, so.. good luck, old chap.. I'll be watching." And with that, he heads out the door.
[/sblock]

[sblock=Jemal]
Ijazim lets the Bard go "Thank you. But remember, 'when you look into the abyss the abyss also looks into you'." and casts a Quickened True Seeing and a PowerSight spell to measure the strength of the peculiar creature. There was no need to confront him now, though there surely would be in the future, but now that Ijazim had seen the man in person finding him again would be easy enough.
He leans back, letting the door close, and takes another sip from the cheap local brandy. The Dragon's Disciple... What did he know about her? A half-Red Dragon, skilled in swordplay and yet with sufficient arcane power to dispell a gatekeepers scrying. A Dragon Disciple, then, probably a Sorcerer with some study as an Eldritch Knight. Powerful enough to slaughter some of the local children, but then who wasn't? Still, clearly a warrior at the core, a good match for Jools perhaps but nothing worth worrying Ijazim himself. It was a pity, though, that he could not Destroy her body and she would doubtless be immune to the effects of a Blasphemy. Ah, but that would only make the fight more interesting, assuming he could even find her.
He rises and goes to stand before the Mirror. Activating it he once again begins searching the city. What in this city, except for he himself and his companions, could be important enough to warrant the attention of one of the Seven? The Bard had made them seem lacking in focus, blundering uncoordinated seemingly without a coherent plan or direction, but they had been here longer than himself and their leader at least had access to considerable amounts of information. No, they definately had some reason for being where they were, and now one of them had come here... If only he knew more of this city, of this gods forsaken little planet filled with frightened little fools who had closed themselves off from true power for so long that they no longer had any means of defending themselves.
The Temple seemed to be the primary structure in the city. It seemed the most likely location the Disciple would appear. And since the temple itself was warded from scrying and set into the side of the mountain with only one apparent entrance the Disciple would likely teleport to the temple square just outside its gates.
Ijazim sets the Mirror's sensor on watching the front of the temple and the space before it, reading the minds of some of the passers by and hoping that his prey will soon arrive.[/sblock]

"Well, my good man, there are two of us, so we can probably accomidate the both of them. If you would be so kind as to provide directions? Also, it might be good if you kept our enterance into the city a secret. We have enemies about in the world, and it would not do for them to know of us too early." asks Salarassa quietly.

The guard looks at Salrassa, nodding. "One went to the Dizzy Sheep, the other to the Filthy Weasel. I promise, Lords, I'll tell noone of your coming.. but please, oh blessed ones, tell me.. Does this mean the world will change again? Are the Legends returning to rescue us from these horrid happenings?"

(OOC: The Kobold and Ijazim have entered the city, Panarchus and Salrassa are just finishing with the guard.. What's Jool doing, where's Xis going? Are you sticking together or splitting off like Ijazim did?)

[sblock=Ijazim]
Your True Sight reveals no disguise, and the PowerSight cannot pinpoint a power level, finally settling on 20. He did say he chose a different path to power, however.

You search the minds of those coming and going near the temple. Most simply think about the normal, boring everyday mundanities that pass for life on this plane, but you do catch site of a man walking around nervously, trying to keep moving so he doesn't appear to be loitering, though he's been there for a good 10 minutes. You zero in on him, reading his thoughts, and discover that he's waiting for a great warrior, he received a vision that told him to meet a female Half-draconic warrior here, for she would herald the return of the Dragon Disciples, and he would be needed to guide her.. though he doesn't know what he's supposed to guide her to, or how, and it scares the crap out of him.

(OOC: We need to slow down, the other's are about an hour behind you in game.)
[/sblock]

[sblock=Jemal]
ooc:
Aww, it's so close I can almost taste it. But I'll wait.
[/sblock]

Jool the Drogorn

Jool continues with the main group into the city, but waits for them to decide what to do next. She waits for them to parlay with the guards as she wonders when she will get to kill something.

Jemal said:

The guard looks at Salrassa, nodding. "One went to the Dizzy Sheep, the other to the Filthy Weasel. I promise, Lords, I'll tell noone of your coming.. but please, oh blessed ones, tell me.. Does this mean the world will change again? Are the Legends returning to rescue us from these horrid happenings?"

Click to expand...

"Yes, the turning of epochs is upon us. I won't lie to you. Matters are bound to get worse before they get better. But fate has smiled upon you. You are the first to recognize the divine return. And that can be no mere coincidence. Tell me, would you walk the path of glory, and gain the might to protect those you love from the dark tide to come? Or would you continue as a simple guardsman? Speak now, for this opportunity shall not arise again."

If the guard wishes to take the 'path of glory'.

"Then commit yourself, now and for all time to Panarchus, the Architect of Time. For the rest of this day watch closely who comes and who goes. Soon, I shall come to you. And you shall take your first footsteps towards greatness."

Whatever his response, afterwards Panarchus Bellum will join the others heading towards one of the inns.