Gaming W/Jemal: Planar Quest IC (Prologue)

Jemal · Nov 19, 2012

The Chariot of the Clouds rode across the sky, transporting the Legion on their journey. Farmers looked up, some recognizing the cart and waving at the heroic marvels racing through the sky.
Marvelous indeed, for aboard that simple cart rode Braham Bahli and Gerard Hampton, the Founders of the Legion; the once-king Tutek, who helped to 'civilize' his people; the slave-turned-legend Ur; and Mei Ying, once a simple monk and now a hero of at least four countries.
Their destination took them to the mountains not far from Gerard's home, the trade city Kaainsbridge, where an eccentric merchant maintained his home and kept business ties between the Prime Plane and the vast Planar Bazaar.

Their adventures had taken them across the wastelands to the Eternal Empire, deep into the Necropolis of the ArchLich Iridex, and into the heart of Occupied Kadrath, and now they returned to the center, their last clue to the Unknown Power having lead them to this seemingly humble home.

With all that had happened recently, the Legion had been stymied, unsure of where to look next. Every resource they had was coming up empty, until they had received the mysterious invitation.

Dismounting, the companions glanced around. A simple wooden cabin a few miles from town nestled in a nice clearing surrounded by lush woodlands, it was quietly beautiful, out of the way but not overly so. It seemed like just the sort of place a tired adventurer might retire to after years of saving the world..

The door stood open, an inviting smell coming from within, and a freshly painted sign simply stating "Welcome Heroes! Please come in."

Though some were wary, the method of invitation delivery and the knowledge that they were some of the finest mages and warriors in the world helped allay any fears that this could be a trap.

OOC:

Background info: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showpost.php?p=6050928&postcount=9
Welcome to the prologue for my Planar Quest campaign! I know not all characters are 100% finished, don't be afraid to post here, this section is for intro, role playing, and setup. Feel free to change powers even if you use them here, if you change your mind on something. We will be having a new thread for 'chapter 1' when everything's ready to go.

Voda Vosa · Nov 19, 2012

Tutek frowns. Traps have not been particularly something he would expect, back in the days of his kinghood, but he had learnt much since then. You never know when you might step on a wired tile, or anger the gods themselves, for instances.
His long arm reaches out to the door. He looks back to the Legion behind him, giving them 'that' face that meant 'ready?', and opened the door slowly. From the inside, someone would see the face of an ugly ogre stareing inside, as the door slowly revealed its massive body.

Scott DeWar · Nov 19, 2012

"Looks suspiciously like a trap, but the best way to dismantle a trap is to spring it, right?"

Shayuri · Nov 19, 2012

"Shall I have a monkey open the door?" inquires Mei-Ying, the unflappable calm of her soft voice marred only slightly by wryness. She had, in the past, sometimes used conjured creatures to trip traps, though her ability to do so was limited enough that she didn't make a habit of it.

She had changed little since vanishing for a time to start rebuilding her order; though her straight black hair had grown out to her shoulders since then. Still possessed of the elegant features and exotic eyes; features of her homeland on the far side of the barren desert. A desert, it seemed, blasted out by the very Power they now sought to track down.

Mei wore a plain brown hooded cloak, though anyone with subtler senses would know there was magic woven between its otherwise unremarkable threads. Her robe was a dark blue-grey; the shade of the sky at twilight, and had speckles of white and yellow to resemble stars. Sitting on, and around, her head was a soft leather band with a setting on the front; a single diamond lozenge with lapis lazuli around it. When viewed right, it resembled an eye. It was the most ostentatious thing on her person at first glance, though a trained eye would spot other things of equal value, or even greater.

In her right hand was a staff of white ash, seared at the top as if by lightning. At that burned crown, nestled in the crook of a branch, was a single clear gem or crystal within which a tiny cyclone seemed to rage. The 'Eye of the Storm,' forged by the Power and pried from the dead hand of Belzer himself. Despite its name and apparent weather-affinity, the staff had been made to give the storm sorceror a bit more breadth to his power...it transmuted raw magic into predefined forms that he would otherwise not have been able to cast. It worked equally well for Mei-Ying.

She went to the door to stand beside Tutek and knocked her staff's base against the doorframe as the ogre-king started to open it.

"Manners," the monk-sorceror chided Tutek gently. "We don't want our host to think we're savages."

Voda Vosa · Nov 19, 2012

Tutek raised a giant eyebrow. "Manners? Am I to remind you I was a king? Besides, if anyone sees an ogre, they'll think he's a savage, regardless if he knocks or not." the bass and gurgling voice of Tutek spoiled any attempt at subterfuge. When he said King, mortar from the door frame dropped.

Shayuri · Nov 19, 2012

"Manners matter most to those who have the attention of all," Mei-Ying lectures mildly, "And how others see us is a choice we have a hand in making. You cannot stop the prejudiced from reacting to your face, but by your actions you can put such prejudices in the wrong. Or you can confirm them, as you see fit."

She was as fond of pontificating as ever, it seemed.

kinem · Nov 19, 2012

Braham, by contrast to some of his companions, sports a relatively ordinary appearance as a slightly tall armored warrior. The dusty rose prism orbiting his head, and the quiet confidence in the gaze on his tan desert face with its neatly trimmed foot-long beard, suggest that he is something more. His chain shirt appears clean but not shiny, and his amulet is hidden beneath it. He bears a shiny buckler, short sword, and heavy mace, as well as several wands that hang from straps.

As always, this morning he'd activated his abilities of See the Unseen and Fell Flight.

Now, he scans the area for magical auras.

"That's one school of thought, Gerard" he says of the proposed method of dismantling traps "but not mine. Don't underestimate the enemy the way they did us.

"It could be an opportunity, though. I am feeling optimistic today.

And, my friends, it may be that knocking is more of a human cultural thing than something ogres do to be polite. Even so, Tutek, it's often wise to act otherwise than people expect. Especially around potential danger."

Voda Vosa · Nov 19, 2012

"Truly" remarks Tutek. "You live blinded by your own paradigm of civilization, Mei-Ying, you'll be wise to keep an open mind. We ogres don't use doors, so the concept of "knocking" is the most abstract of notions to me. If I were to be polite, I'd scream the dwaelling owner's name. If I don't know the owner, then I'm not polite."

"That's because your people are a bunch of retrograde overgrowth cave men." mutters the sword hanging from Tutek's shoulder. The ogre in reply simply rolls his eyes.

D'Raven · Nov 19, 2012

From inside the wooden cabin, through the open door a voice drifts out. "Okay, you can come in now. The door is open and I have pie!" There is a slight pause. "Also it's not a trap. If it was you'd already have sprong it."