Metropolis (The World in Waiting) - Chapter One

Ba'aktar's ears prick up at mention of returning to the Robes' Den.

"More killing? I'm game," he pipes up.

He walks back to collect his weapon and the ettin's heads.

"I suppose it depends on what our torso here has to say about the Key," Ru pipes up. "I've been tasked with finding that in much the same way you were asked to find the soul. If it turns out they're in the same place (and why not, since they'd both seem to be important to the Yellow Robes, yes?), I'd be happy to do a little mutual back-scratching."

OOC:[sblock]Did Ru get his question in before Vulgrath finally killed Hentre?[/sblock]

OOC:
[sblock]- Hentre is still...alive...for the moment.
- I don't mind splitting the group at all.
- Do what needs to be done.
- The men that went with you will need a lot of time to rest.[/sblock]

Ghost Hound Elf Bard

Ghost digs into his pocket and pulls out a small scrap of paper, he spends a minute contemplating it and then addresses the group "I need to see Bourke, and I need to tell Zimemrman what is going on with Stephanie. I need to take her with me and return her to her father. But at the same time we need her soul. I'm afraid it is goodbye my friends, Stephanie and I must depart. Please, for the sake of the girl's life, find her soul and return it to me. I will be forever in your debt.

Ba'aktar approached Vulgrath, looking respectfully upon the elder elf. He reached into his pocket and started rummaging around.

"You know a lot, Jundiil*. What can you tell me of this?" he removes the coin from his pocket and holds it before the elf, "Does it have any meaning?"

[sblock=ooc]*Jundiil: Orcish for elder.[/sblock]

D20Dazza said:

Ghost digs into his pocket and pulls out a small scrap of paper, he spends a minute contemplating it and then addresses the group "I need to see Bourke, and I need to tell Zimemrman what is going on with Stephanie. I need to take her with me and return her to her father. But at the same time we need her soul. I'm afraid it is goodbye my friends, Stephanie and I must depart. Please, for the sake of the girl's life, find her soul and return it to me. I will be forever in your debt.

Click to expand...

"I think her soul should be returned to her first, can the party not wait?" Taran asks. "Hentre said of she returns to Zimmerman it's all over, but is that in body or in soul?"

Phoenix Only

[sblock] Well, I have wanted to rifle the body, but there were all these stupid idiots standing over him. But now that there is a discussion going on to distract them, I will give it a go.

But we'll do this the Jackal way

I'll catch the 'boys' eye and give the signal for a distraction (bluff on my part if not) and then use slight on hand to make it less obvious. I figure the legs and belt may be seperate from the torso at this poiunt and I can do the trunk first and the legs second under less notice anyway.

[/sblock]

Ghost Hound Elf Bard

Bront said:

"I think her soul should be returned to her first, can the party not wait?" Taran asks. "Hentre said of she returns to Zimmerman it's all over, but is that in body or in soul?"

Click to expand...

"Well no, it's not my party so I can't put a stop to it or even delay it. I could though delay taking Steph to Zimmerman. I could front his party and leave you with Steph to bring along at a later time - depending on what is discovered at the cultists lair" Ghost says, adressing Taran.

D20Dazza said:

"Well no, it's not my party so I can't put a stop to it or even delay it. I could though delay taking Steph to Zimmerman. I could front his party and leave you with Steph to bring along at a later time - depending on what is discovered at the cultists lair" Ghost says, adressing Taran.

Click to expand...

"That might be better." Taran says. "I think her soul is of the utmost importance."

Festy_Dog said:

Ba'aktar approached Vulgrath, looking respectfully upon the elder elf. He reached into his pocket and started rummaging around.

"You know a lot, Jundiil*. What can you tell me of this?" he removes the coin from his pocket and holds it before the elf, "Does it have any meaning?"

[sblock=ooc]*Jundiil: Orcish for elder.[/sblock]

Click to expand...

Vulgrath looks at the coin for a moment, the bewilderment on his face obviously betraying his lack of knowledge before he speaks.

"Keyw."

From his legs the sound comes, the small form of Stephanie Zimmerman's tortured mouth tries to speak for the first time since her ordeal. Her small twisted hand points to the coin.

"Keyw."

Vulgrath kneals down to the girl, stroking her hair and looking into her eyes. "What do you know little one, what can you tell us?"

The other children begin to gather around, as if drawn to the story that may or may not be told by the little girl.

Jovik:
[sblock]So long as the others find the story more interesting that the severed body, you can loot away. I'm not going to give you a roll simply because rifling through the corpse will be easily spotted if somebody looks. The children give you decent cover, just not that good.[/sblock]

"Da keyw rarks keakle, who has helg it. Dat ray tha city knows who is alloged inta the heark."

At this point a small boy steps forward, looking sadly at Stephanie, but addressing the growing crowd.

"I think that perhaps it is time for me to explain a few things, we were a little scared to impart our secrets again, but I think that know we have little choice.

"My name is Wasp, at least that's what the Jackal calls me, it's a good enough name for now. We, us, the children, we're...different.

"We are the last of the children in the city, no more will be born after us. The reason for this is that the city is dying, there is no more life in her. For some reason the city is dying, this we know for sure, because we have lived that life already.

"We are the last to have walked the city in the dark times, the city knew us for who we were and empowered us to live our lives again, this time backwards. We would have all the knowledge of our previous life, but would be able to view the events again and eventually warn people that we thought could help us, but we would have to go back a long way to make sure.

"That was one of the problems though, the younger we got the more, childlike, we became. The more we forgot, the more we began to slip back into the proper timestream and live forwards again. We were forced to tell our secrets soon, so that we would remember them all, so we told a man.

"He betrayed us, took our knowledge and used it for his own gain. He is this cult leader you are looking for, this ... what was his name again?

"He learned to tap the powers of time that the city granted us, some of you may have experianced it already. He took the Key to the City and began making his plans, kidnapping us, using our souls.

"Stephanie here, is a scion of sorts. She was last child born in the city, no more came after her, her soul is the final thing of creation that the city could offer. If this man has her soul, than he has something important indeed.

"Before you ask me anymore questions, or Stephanie, know this. We have forgotten anything more than what I have already told you, our memories have faded, much of our powers are stolen. We do not know how to save the city anymore, only one man does..."