Is'Merith - Campaign Thread

Sezarious

Explorer
Greetings ladies and gentlemen, please gather round; for it is I, Ikun Dracor the Bard and I am here to tell you the history of the lands far off to the east where once I travelled as a boy; of a city in the dry harsh deserts, North of the Omarsh Mountains and South of the Great Borkan Sea.

Yes, it is a story about the great desert city of Is'Merith, once at the centre of a great empire, surrounded by lands which were lush and fertile. But alas, too good a target for the enemies of the Empire was this great city. You see the Empire was constantly attempting to expand, waging war on multiple fronts. Is'Merith was the keystone to their war effort however, for it supplied not only vast troop numbers, but the finest and most abundant variety of mineral resources in the world. To this day, that hasn't changed.

As battles raged, alliances were forged and many resisted the Empire; these forces became known as the free armies. A war lasting just over three hundred years ended in a final push which would last for less than six months! The final twenty years that made that possible consisted of a brutal war tactic, known as the Vastatio strategy, named after Archmage Kas Vastatio who oversaw it. Through careful reconnaissance, Vastatio co-ordinated the gradual destruction and de-fertilisation of the surrounding lands.

Under Vastatio, were hundreds of other archmagi who each commanded hundreds of powerful wizards of their own. Wizard scouts were sent out into enemy territory to magically report to their superiors when all was clear. Next, entire battalions would scry the scouts location and teleport in, then blight the land around for several miles before teleporting out. After removing the cities crops and source of food from the picture, the free armies focused all their efforts on cutting off supply lines, and starved the city half to death.

You see, Is'Merith always was and still is a highly populated city. After just one month, cannibalism had been legalised. By the third month, murder of anyone not in the noble districts was also made legal. By the forth month, the soldiers and the nobles controlling them lost control of their populous and they were overthrown. The people emerged from the city and surrendered, their population completely at the mercy of the free armies.

Vastatio's work wasn't quite done yet. He siphoned food in to feed the city for three months at great cost, while his wizards completely focused their efforts on the construction of a canal. This canal, 70 miles long, joined to the Great Borkan Sea to the north and with the thousands of wizards of the free army working non-stop, was constructed in just one month.

In that one month period, Vastatio helped the cities population to re-establish their mining operations and when the canal was completed and the sea water came rushing in, so did the free armies trade ships and war ship's. Finally, Vastatio created several never-ending water wells throughout the city as he could already see that the surrounding rivers were drying up, going deep underground in a soil that simply could not hold water. Is'Merith would survive, but survive only... Eight months after Is'Merith's original surrender, the Empire was declared officially defeated.

Today, Is'Merith has a newly established nobles court comprised of descendants of the free army. It's populous all have access to free food and medicine, provided by the churches of the sun god Pelor. The nobles above do not tax their people; instead the profits from mining mostly go towards paying for the upkeep of the city. The nobles take what's left.

The war ended just over seven hundred years ago. But that was not the first time Is'Merith had been destroyed. They say that there is a curse on this city. That there is a cycle of some kind that cannot be broken. They say that ruins thousands of years old lie deep below its surface; that these tombs of forgotten times whisper of doom as they slowly sink deeper in to the ground.

So, whoever you are, whatever you do for a living, however brave you are, I warn you, stay away. There is nothing there but death...
 
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Sezarious

Explorer
It would seem most outsiders have heeded Ikun the Bard's warning... Except for one. A female wood Elf Ranger Soldier by the name of Shen; No sooner had the Bard finished his tale before Shen finished her meal and headed straight up to her room for an early night. She finished her meditation well before dawn, but wanted to get moving on the old road quickly and completed all her preparation twice over before going down for a quick breakfast, paying the innkeeper and hitting the road. When Shen found the city, she was swiftly welcomed into the city and promised excellent wages due to her expertise in navigating deserts. To Shen though, this desert was unlike any she had seen. (Survival roll total 14) Even for her, survival was difficult and she had to rely on her rations to stay alive when she was out there. There was something... Unnatural about it all too, but she couldn't put her finger on it; but looks like the bard might have been right (Nature roll total 10).

After some time trying to handle the desert herself, Shen decides to ask around town for further information about this desert. She begins by asking around for the best place to find the information in the tavern she has been staying in...
 

Sezarious

Explorer
Alejandro preferred the Undercity to the surface. He was safer there in his own mind and was a part of the community down there, but when he found that little Archibald was constantly getting mites and sneezing from the dust, he decided he had to get him out of that environment. Through his knowledge of almost every turn, corner and alleyway in the city, he was easily able to find the passage up. Using his map to pinpoint the locations of surface level gardens, he eventually found what he was searching for, tree roots. These roots ran down from the gardens above. After a small amount of digging, he found both himself and Archibald on the upper level. After the purchase of some excellent forged documents from a contact of yours by the name of Daedarai, Alejandro legalised his upper level residency.

He has since been staying in the same tavern for a month now; there is a wood elf (Shen) that keeps coming in there with facial features that remind him of his mother. One evening, the girl's routine changes. He sees her approach an elderly man and begins having a conversation. The man stands up angrily yelling at her "You outsiders need to stop sticking your noses in where they don't belong; now get the hell out of here!" You hear the girl argue back "There's no need to be rude, it's just a part of my job!" The old man turns to the girl "You still here miss? well I'm going to have to deal with that!" The man waves to a pair of males behind the girl, gesturing them forward...
 
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Sezarious

Explorer
Daedarai has carved out a pretty comfortable life in the outer ring of the surface of Is'Merith. A great asset to the thieves guild of which he is a member, Daedarai forges documents for a living, keeping a regular 'day job'.

Every evening, you go to a different tavern to do business, primarily on the lower levels, but at times, the outer city district has people who either want to disappear, or pay to bring family members or friends to the surface, smuggling them out of the city, then bringing them back in as skilled outsiders.

You've come to this particular tavern tonight for your regular business, but also to meet up with an old client as well. The guild wishes for you to recruit him for his unique ability to navigate around the lower levels. Successfully doing so, will see you paid 150 gold for your troubles. The clients name is a young Gnome by the name of Alejandro.

Just as you see him upon entry into the Tavern, you note a familiar quietness that only ever encroaches on such a setting just before a bar fight erupts. Alejandro's attention is focused on an elderly man who's disguise does not fool your trained eye as a specialist in identity (Perception roll, total 18). An enemy of the thieves guild, you recognise the man as a member of FAS, the Free Army Spy network. FAS are an organisation that quietly polices the people, often getting in the way of the thieves guilds efforts, FAS does it's best to prevent people from cheating the system. It's agents do so through infiltration of the community. Though they are not officially recognised by the Nobility, who officially dismiss their existence, FAS agents are very real.

What is curious to you however is that this man is confronting someone who is CLEARLY neither a c citizen with false documents, nor a thrives guild member. She is an outsider, a wood elf, who is arguing with a member of the most dangerous organisation in the city. What could she possibly have said to draw his attention and the attention of the two thugs he has commanded in front of you? You note a half-Orc and a scruffy human male the old man had signalled to. The pair, 15 feet from you, draw daggers as they approach.

This doesn't make sense. The guild would want to know what the outsider was talking about and you're confident that if you intervene for the right reasons, they can mop up the heat on your behalf.

So what do you do?
 
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Sezarious

Explorer
[sblock=OOC]Where am I in relation to these two thugs?[/sblock]

Alejandro, you have been watching the old man from behind, just 10 feet away. Your eyes widen in shock as you see take a step back from the girl and flourish his hands in what is clear to you to be the casting of a spell centred on himself (intelligence roll, NATURAL 20!).

This is no ordinary bar fight. The wood elf is in trouble! What do you do?
 

Sezarious

Explorer
Shen, after speaking to a couple of people who were clueless as to your questions, you feel your eyes are being watched by an old man who you think has been listening to you. As your eyes meet, he loudly speaks up over the crowd, "what are ya look in' for girlie".

Though you probably don't have a lot of time for old men who label you "girlie". There was something about his attitude that told you he may know something. Shame he was so hostile.

Before you knew it, the man waved his hand and stood up menacingly. With a maniacal look in his eye you knew all too well from your time as a soldier, you knew you had just pissed of a man who has killed before (wisdom (insight) total roll 16). Why you've pissed him off, you have no idea, but you keep your eyes trained on him the whole time (perception total 10).

What do you do?
 

Macv12

First Post
[sblock="OOC"]I understand it that I'm already in this guy's face? If so, I want to break this guy's nose with my forehead once he starts calling goons or throwing up gang signs, hopefully using Ambuscade. Then knock him prone if I get the chance. Unless someone says "hey let's be cool here" before the stuff goes down, I guess. IC stuff to follow, which I'll edit if I got the details wrong.[/sblock]
 

Macv12

First Post
Is'Merith was a fascinating city. Utterly miserable. No forests? No natural water? For this big a place? It was an aberration of nature. So different from just open dunes or oasis villages. Shen hadn't been so excited to visit somewhere in a long time. (And that was saying something, for a wanderer whose years numbered in centuries.)

She had come to the tavern armored, but unarmed. Her first rule of bars: don't flash weapons, it'll probably start a fight. Second rule: you'll probably start a fight anyway, so be ready. At least, that's been her experience. The moment the old man gets ornery, her fists are clenched.

At the words "deal with that," Shen realizes the pig has left the pen; this won't end pretty. Adopting the same confident attitude she would use to cow any other wild animal, she tilts her wide-brimmed hat up to stare the old man in the eye, leaning in close enough nearly to smell his breath. She murmured in an even tone: "You gamble, girlie? Cuz I bet I can be more man than you."

Shen, of course, doesn't like to gamble, not with stakes involved. The moment she sees him gesticulating for something, or someone, she doesn't wait to puzzle his plan out. Her body springs like a trap, snapping her headfirst into the man's face.
 

Alejandro has had his curiosity piqued by this elf. Since moving "upstairs" he has seen a great many of the same faces, all part of the system. This elf, though, stirs a memory of his mother and she is an outsider like he is (he still remembers his outside origins). He smells adventure.

Seeing the old man start to cast a spell, and seeing one of the hated half orcs rise up, his sense of belonging rises up. She is somehow "one of us".

His anger rises within him and he slides his morning star out and swings it at the old man before he can save a spell, shouting "Watch out!".

[sblock=OOC]I activate my Rage ability[/sblock]
 

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