Age of Worms: Act I - The Whispering Cairn

[hippocrachus]

"Your commander isn't necessarily the purest of your faith, Father Velias," Chryse joins him standing up, feeling the summons quickly drawing to an end. "When was the last time he renewed his vows? Or does he not need bother himself with such niceties, now that he has all of you wrapped around his finger," he says with venom, matching the older priest's gaze tenfold.
"Your concern for young Jorun is misplaced," he says, his anger washing away since the man seemed only to want to be assured the paladin came to no harm. "Apollo has healed him once already, and as long as his heart remains pure, will continue to do so."

 

[Verbatim]

Shadow:[sblock]In your dreams the rats came at you in never ending waves and no matter how many you turned away, there were more that got through and bit into you savagely. As your bloody grip threatened to loose its hold on your blade, you felt a warmth beginning to fill your body and your eyes began seeing a bright golden light. As the light started filling the darkness around you, the rats began dissolving into a gray mist around you.

The feel of a warm cloth on bare skin was the next sensation you register and as your eyes open once more, you see a middle aged woman in a simple gray dress standing beside you. Beside her is a small pushcart with a ceramic washbowl resting atop it, the water inside it a slight pink color.

"May the Light of Heironeous bless your return Shadow, how do you feel?"[/sblock]

 

[Verbatim]

Chryse:[sblock]Sighing the older priest looked down to the ground and then back up at Chryse.

"I did not mean for my words to sound as a threat, I merely wanted to speak of a father's love for his son, even when the father can not speak for himself. Commander Trask renews his oaths and pledges with High Priest Valkus each day at dawn, and has done so since the first day he took over command here. You should know as well as any that those with a pure heart are rare in the town we protect."

Reaching into his robes, Father Velias pulled out three small silver tiles, each one stamped with the markings of Heironeous.

"I do not understand the god you follow Chryse, and after you leave I will resume my search for texts speaking of the one you call Apollo. I tell you this because while I feel my social skills have become as crass as any soldier, I do not wish for there to be bad blood between us. If that would have been Heironeous' wish, he would not have allowed me to heal you when you entered."

Holding out the tiles for Chryse to take, the older priest resumed talking.

"These are tiles of healing and one needs to merely snap them in half for the effects to work. While I do not know what road you and the others will be walking after you leave here, know that if you will allow it Heironeous will walk with you."[/sblock]

 

[Verbatim]

Jorun:[sblock] Looking at his son, Commander Trask seemed to be weighing something in his mind before speaking.

"I have no doubt that you are doing this out of duty, but if you wish for these men to show you their true selves, you must be your true self. Too long have you walked in my shadow son, too long have you seen yourself as nothing but a Sergeant instead of Jorun. Take this time to be Jorun, and once this exploration is over, if you wish to return to garrison life then do so."

Looking down at his desk, Tolliver Trask laughed softly to himself and Jorun was surprised to hear the rare sound.

"Once your mother asked me to run off with her to have an adventure with her, and like you now I balked at the prospect of stepping down, even if temporarily. I know it matters little now, but there are always questions a man has in his life."

Shaking his head as if to clear it, the elder Trask looked at his son once more.

"Do not take this as anything other than a chance for you to shed the light of Heironeous without my shadow looming over you son. There is no shame in taking a leave for personal reasons, and I will see to it that the leave is not charged against you while you are away.

However, I will ask that you keep your eyes on the one you called Chryse. Two years ago, his mother asked the church to perform an exorcism on him as he was speaking in a strange tongue, and several of his friends had contracted a strange illness that resisted all of our efforts to heal. Father Velias and High Pries Valkus were both in the Free City, but I felt those who remained could handle the situation. It turned out that the youth was singing in the tongue of the angels, but when two of the priests tried to bring the boy into Heironeous' light, they too came down with a sickness that ravaged their bodies so quickly there was no chance to save them.

Even though I could not prove that the boy caused them to become ill, I felt that he did something to them, yet the priests swore his soul was untainted by evil. All of his life, things such as this has happened according to the reports we have from his mother. Be cautious son and always walk in the Light."[/sblock]

 

[Verbatim]

Samuel:[sblock]The room that you are escorted to is a simple 8 x 8 square room. There is a simple bed, a dresser and a washbowl sitting atop the dresser. As you turn to close the door, a young girl in a simple gray dress stands there holding a small bundle held together with a piece of twine.

"My ma told me to make sure you got these and to tell you to leave those muddy things you are wearing on the floor."

As you take the parcel, she quickly dashes down the hallway and out of sight.

Opening the bundle, you see a plain gray wool shirt and a pair of sturdy breeches. While they are nothing fancy, they are cleaner than the clothes you have right now.[/sblock]

 

[Verbatim]

Orin and Damien:[sblock]Katrina seemed to be weighing Orin's words as Damien's quarterstaff suddenly went spinning through the air and bouncing on the ground coming to rest a pace from Katrina's boots.

"Perhaps what you say is true Orin, but perhaps not. Only time will tell, as it always does. If you swear by the Oath of the Old Ways Orin of Diamond Lake, then you may follow to the heart of the Bronzewood Lodge."

Bending down to pick up Damien's quarterstaff the female approached them both after she picked it up.

"I will not ask you to swear if you do not wish it city-walker, as the concepts we hold often mean little to those not of our belief. I will allow Orin's oath to speak for the both of you, but while you are in our lands you will be held to our rules. Does that sound fair to you?"

Extending the staff to him, Katrina's face softened slightly and her already pleasing face grew even more attractive.

"It would seem that the story of how you two manage to acquire such wounds will be an interesting one. Wounds from dire rats often carry the fever, and as wounded as you two are, it would be a miracle if you both do not have the infection in your system."[/sblock]

 

[unleashed]

Orin Heartwood, Male Half-Elf Ranger

Damien and Verbatim
[SBLOCK]“I Orin Heartwood swear to uphold the Oath of the Old Ways,” Orin says gravely. Taking his dagger from it’s sheath he makes a shallow cut across his left palm, clenching it into a fist he lets blood drip to the ground for a short while before opening his hand again and binding the wound, “Thus is my oath sealed by my blood upon the land and by the attendance of those of the Old Ways that hear me swear it.”[/SBLOCK]

 

[Verbatim]

Orin and Damien: [sblock]Katrina's eyes widen in surprise as Orin cut his palm and sealed his promise with his blood.

"Perhaps you do know more of the Old Ways than you think Orin of Diamond Lake. I did not mention that blood used to form the bond between the person and the Land, yet you offered it freely."

Seeming to have relaxed fully now among you both, Katrina nodded her head in approval at Orin's actions.

"Let us go and have the wounds tended. As we walk you can both tell me of how this all came to pass."[/sblock]

 

[unleashed]

Orin Heartwood, Male Half-Elf Ranger

Damien and Verbatim
[SBLOCK]Orin starts to relate his tale as they walk, in an almost workmanlike fashion, but omits the names of his new companions other than Damien.

“Well I can start but Damien will have to finish, as I wasn’t in the best of condition towards the end with the dire rats. I was walking the hills near the abandoned mining office when the storm approached, after finishing early with Venelle, so headed there for shelter. Upon my arrival I found stirges attacking a man by the door, I shot one dead pinning it to the door while he took down the other two with his spear.”

“Thinking the office empty we tried to enter, but found goblins within...four if I recall correctly...we then fought those. They took down the priest with thrown spears after he dropped the first at the door, I managed to take down two more one with the bow and another with the blade. Bandaging the priest as best I could I dragged him within the building with the last goblin cowering in the corner I was about to let it leave so as not to endanger the priest further, when another man I had spotted earlier moving quietly around the outside of the office decided to enter and squewered the last with his rapier.”

“Then a guardsman arrived. He aided the us in entering the foreman’s office where we found another five goblins holed up, one of which was a spellcaster. I fired at it first, but missed for the first time in the day, it then cast a spell which dropped the rapier wielder. The guardsman stood strong and offered them quarter if they surrendered then batted at them with the flat of his longsword, the only thing I could think he was doing was to try and take prisoners. On my second shot though the spellcaster was not so lucky and it died with an arrow in its chest. The goblins then wounded the guardsman quite seriously, but amazingly the priest who I though was near death had risen and was tending to the fallen. I managed to drop another with an arrow in its chest before the melee precluded me from getting another clear shot.”

“Having finished those off, a wet young man arrived, followed shortly thereafter by Damien here. Having found earlier that the goblins had locked two angry badgers in the kitchen before we arrived, we assisted their release by making a run from their prison to the front door. They left with little fuss and no additional harm then what the goblins may have inflicted.”

“Then myself and one other entered the cellar where we found the dire rats, they were very hungry and jumped us almost immediately, taking both myself and the other man down. That is all I can impart up until I regained consciousness where we discovered the ratlings and the collapsed hole which had allowed the rats entrance, but not egress. That is my tale before we came to you here.”[/SBLOCK]

 

[Majin]

Damien winces at the sight of Orin slicing his palm and holds his own hand, empathically rubbing where the ranger had begun to bleed, not understanding how he could bring himself to do such a thing.

Taking his staff back from Katrina with a sheepish grin, Damien filled in the gaps of Orin's tale, and continued explaining the rest after the ranger cuts off.