New Tavern Thread: The Hanged Man

garyh · Jul 30, 2009

Growl sits down, saying to the bard, "I've been more of a protector than an agent of change, though that takes courage, too."

"Although I am not unfamiliar with change," he adds.

Suddenly, Growl's armor panels shift, his limbs contort, and - as his chair goes flying backwards - before your eyes sits a very large brown bear, albeit with a few armor plates still showing on his shoulders, head, and back. The bear emits a low growls, and then more shifting and contorting result in the warforged again standing before you. He calmly retrieves his chair and sits down again.

Boddynock · Jul 31, 2009

Adran nearly falls off his chair when the warforged undergoes his surprising transformation. Chuckling to himself as he regains his balance, the young half-elf leans forward and says, "Now that was something! How did you do that?"

garyh · Jul 31, 2009

Growl shrugs. "It's what I was built to do. Do your kind have any such talents?"

skotothalamos · Aug 1, 2009

Another humanoid construct enters the Hanged Man and looks around. At first, it appears to be an animated suit of chainmail. Those who choose to look more closely will see more fine chains where one would expect to see exposed flesh. Bundles of these tiny thin chains seem to contract and relax in a manner similar to threads of muscle tissue. Even the thing's face is a fine mesh of miniscule chains shaped into a mechanical mockery of a human face. Fiery green orbs float in the space where one would expect to find eyes.

The assembled patrons of the Hanged Man who choose to notice the newcomer can't help but match the gaze of those eerie eyes. They feel compelled to hold that gaze for just a moment, and are left with the unshakeable feeling that they have just been judged by some higher power, and found wanting. Guilt over past (and current) misdeeds picks at the corners of their minds, leaving them questioning a lifetime of choices. These thoughts are rapidly subsumed again as the chain thing proceeds to the bar.

Its hand reaches for a barstool, but just before making contact, the tiny chains of its fingers seem to break free of their anthropomorphical structure and become a writhing mass of tiny linked tentacles which grasp the stool in a hundred places, drawing it back a foot or so in order that the construct can sit. It then lets go of the chair and sits as its hand reforms into a hand shape.

"Tell me about this place," it says to the bartender, making no effort to order a drink, "is it in need of protection? Do these beasts need to be broken for their weaknesses? Or do they come here to wallow in the depths of their miserable existences, merely passing the time until the meat falls off their bones and putrifies? I am Catein, the chainer, and I am here to help those in need of Justice."

The bartender, wide-eyed (and feeling that vague sense of guilt), backs away and looks to see if anyone a little less creepy is in need of a drink...

[sblock=ooc]
Catein is just roleplaying for a while, as it's my second character and needs to wait for Vrrsk't to level before it's playable. It will happily hang out here and be disturbing for a while, though
[/sblock]

Boddynock · Aug 1, 2009

garyh said:
Growl shrugs. "It's what I was built to do. Do your kind have any such talents?"

"Well, we're good at getting on with other races. Apart from that - individuals vary. I'm a musician and a shaper of words. I can encourage others, inspire them with stories of the legendary heroes ... that sort of thing."

Adran sips his drink before continuing.

"My dream is to change the world - and so I look for other change-makers, who might help me do so."

garyh · Aug 1, 2009

"I know what I seek to preserve. I protect the wild things of the world," Growl replies to Adran. "What is it you wish to change the world into?"

The warforged looks at the strange contraption made of chains that enters the tavern, wondering about the complete... artificial-ness of it. What a strange being, he thought.

Boddynock · Aug 1, 2009

"Darkness threatens to engulf our world. The light of civilization flickers - a precious, precarious presence in the cosmos. You exist to protect nature. But what of those to whom nature is no more than raw materials and easy pickings? Without a deep and abiding passion for nobility - without a culture to educate and inspire the finest in all people, then life is reduced to a struggle for existence in which nothing is more precious than the moment and such dedication as yours is simply an obstacle to be overcome in the quest for dominance and destruction."

The young man's voice has risen as his passion has kindled. When he finishes speaking he sits back, takes a deep breath, and adds in a more measured tone, "And so I seek to change the world, to recapture the lost glory of the Imperium, and to ensure that barbarism doesn't win the day."

garyh · Aug 2, 2009

"I care not for civilization, and I do not know of this 'Imperium'," Growl replies to the bard, "but I think I understand your meaning. Before I arrived in this place, I spent months defending my forest home against the ravaging legions of the Empire of Hzaka. If your 'change' involves reigning those like them in, perhaps you and I are not so far apart in our goals."

Boddynock · Aug 2, 2009

Adran smiles at the warforged, glad to have found common ground.

"Yes, that is part of what I mean by change. And the sweeping changes of social order are grounded in the concrete actions of courageous individuals - so you and I are travelling a similar path."

garyh · Aug 2, 2009

"If only I knew what path I was traveling. Only a short time ago a portal brought be to this place," Growl explains, "and I have no idea how or if I can get back home."

After a pause the warforged continues. "But perhaps it is time for a new path. Those who directed me here said this was a place to find direction. Would that some sign would appear to guide my next steps."