(CSDGH) Demon with a Glass Hand [IC]

[Creamsteak]

Suited in his full battle gear, Caladan stands within the crowd surrounding the two champions intently watching them both. He knows that if these two were to come to blows that the best he would be able to do, would to get as many of the innocent bystanders out of main hall as quickly as possible. However, for now he simply waits patiently for a peaceful resolution.

[sblock=Caladan]To recap what happened only a few minutes ago...

An alert went out that the city was under attack, for the second time in as many weeks. Various consuls and other figures began to gather in the Urn of the Waters, the throne-room. Reports had come out of fires along the cities outer districts, of a monster strafing over the populace and unleashing its horrible breath weapon on the people below. Word was being passed down on how to initiate the counter attack, where to unleash the cities garrisons, and to be prepared for a follow up assault.

Undine stood from her throne, having just sent a courier of lantern archons below. The lady drew her swords, of the four on her back she drew the two upper-most blades. She jumped down from her oversized throne and moved towards the center of the room. She yelled at Captain Zahirdahl, the massive warrior, "Get back! Away from the north wall!" Her warning landed a bit late, and the captain was knocked prone by the sudden dragonfire that burst into the room. He drew his weapon and tried to counter-attack the beast, but was batted away easily by the creature's massive claws.

The wyrm rescinded from its openning, and then a man appeared. He climbed up the openning and into the room. The stranger walked towards the center of the room, confronting the lady Undine. He began, "I come here..."

(continuing into post 177)[/sblock]

 

[Creamsteak]

"Your brother? Have you not heard my words? You are no-longer kin to Kareel no more than I am to Priscilla. Your actions have earned you more than that much contempt."

Undine tilts her head slightly to the side as she speaks her next words, to imply a slight tinge of disrespect towards Drevin.

"As for your request, Karael is in the desert, of course. Where else could he be?"

Drevin holds his blade up a bit higher and steps forwards three times. With his left hand he brushes his cloak back a bit to reveal a green glass-like dagger holstered onto his belt. He does not draw the weapon, but simply allows it to be seen.

"I have found the Illvithar, Undine. Don't toy with me. I can kill you with this. A clean kill. Not like the others."

"Another threat? Is that all you have now?"

"I know your path, my dearest friend, the sister of my bride. You survive to protect these people and to continue living peacefully. I offer you the chance to continue that path. The offer is simple. In exchange for sharing with me the definitive location of my brother, I will stop the coming war. I will stop Priscilla. I will stop Conundrum. I will stop Huserl. I will stop Senikisu. I will even go so far as to find that heretic Seto and kill him and his lover. All of this, I will do for you, in exchange for nothing more than information."

He turns around looking at the crowd. He takes in the full breath of the room, looking at each of the witnesses in turn. While he does this he continues...

"How can you deny me this? These poor and loathsome wretches depend on you for guidance and protection. How can you deny them such an opportunity? You are faced with a gambit. You must fail here, Undine. If you do not tell me the truth about Karael, they will all die hopelessly. If you tell me, you will no-longer be exhalted... but you will be alive! You are sentencing your own tribe to DEATH because you refuse to bend just this once!"

His eyes seem to glow a bloodshot gold, his rage is visible in every word, and he seems to be the very epitome of madness. Despite this, every word seems to be absolutely and undeniably honest.

Undine seems to suddenly relax, a sigh coming down from her lips. She looks directly into the eyes of the dragon, as it were, and whispers a few soft words across the room.

"Drevin, you know that I cannot do what you ask. If it were so simple, I would have traded my petty principles for the safety of others a long time ago. My path is set. My fate is stayed. If these survivors feel poorly of me for refusing your offer, then that is a burden that I take upon myself. Karael is working towards a better tomorrow, and I cannot allow you to interfere with that."

Drevin draws his blade even higher, and takes two more steps towards Undine. He tries to take a third step, but his feet stifle on the ground. He stops himself suddenly, no more than 10 feet from the woman. He also exhales, tilting his head forward and briefly closing his eyes. He speaks softly now, though the words are clearly audible to all in the room.

"So it goes then... I should not have even bothered. My path is set, the same as yours. I am sorry, dearest friend, that things have come to this. When we next meet... no... I dare not say it. Your sister, she still loves you, even if you have denied her. She misses all of you. She still cries over killing our friends. Her sadness is heavy, as is my own. It is a horrible fate that this is how it must be..."

He lowers his weapon towards the ground, and begins to walk towards the make-shift entrance to the room. Once he reaches it, he leaps out, clearing nearly 30 feet before his body transforms. As he exits, he is in the shape of the wyrm that first attacked the city.

 

[Shayuri]

Shard starts to move forward towards Undine, the expression on her face one of concern and pity...but she only gets two or three steps out before she stops...perhaps the absurdity of "comforting" a living goddess actually penetrated her skull, or maybe something shiny distracted her...who can say?

"He didn't want the glove...he wanted...her brother?" she says a little breathlessly, as if asking someone standing beside her. The problem, of course, being that there was no one there.

 

[Creamsteak]

General recaps just to be helpful here...

[sblock=Recap]Haros can share the following insights...

Undine, Claire, Galatea, Teresa, and Priscilla are sisters.
The sisters, at one time, reveared the old god known as the Valkyrie.
Drevin and Karael are brothers.
Drevin and Priscilla are lovers. The are also members of Purgatory, which opposes the virtues.
The remaining sisters + Karael make up the current virtues.



Further more loose notes...

Undine I'm sure is familiar at this point.
Iantia and Dian are significant priests of Undine.
Haros was taken in by Claire after the events of his past.
Drevin was apparently "that guy" you just encountered. Transformed into a dragon.
Seto is creepy, nobody likes him, and he may want something you have.
Seto is served by a group of his "knights" that are otherwise known as wraiths.
The Old Gods Antonidas and Slaadi have been mentioned at least once each.
Something about frog-men, eggs, and magical 'quells'.
Undine said a while back that Karael was somewhere far away fighting against some ancient horror.
She also mentioned the Monolith of Water.

Throw on Shard's and Haros backgrounds, sprinkle some magical green demon gauntlet, add a crazy midget loremaster, and I think that's where we stand.

[/sblock]

It may be relevant enough to warrant having something in the RG that describes some of the player-knowledge of all of these names.

 

[Bloodweaver1]

Caladan

Caladan continues to mill about the chamber as fellow on lookers begin filter into nearby halls. His attention is fixed on Undine her reaction to this event.

 

[Creamsteak]

Undine's first reaction is to heal the few injurred, primarily the captain. Once that task is finished, she returns to her thrown, throwing her arms up onto the seat above and pulling herself into the chair. She gives a few more orders, removing many of the ansulary assistants for the time being.

"That was exactly who you think it was. If you despise me for refusing his offer, then know that I beg forgiveness. I could not make any other choice."

Dian seems rather fanatic to respond, "You are not at fault-our loyalty is absolute. We will serve you nomatter what." Some of the other patrons seem to groan though, either because of Dian's fawning attitude or because they disagree with her statement. Either way, the majority seem to agree at least enough to remain silent.

"He has given us fair warning. We will undoubtedly be attacked soon. Based on his words, I expect his own armies to come first. We should ready ourselves as best we can. Those of you that feel any tinge of desire to leave are free to do so. I would not let my own path cost you your lives. I am afraid, however, for the people in the city below. If they flee, they will die in the desert. If they stay, they may face worse."

She seems to ask the open question to everyone around, "Does anyone have any ideas for how to protect the people, or how we might better fight off the aggressors?"

 

[Creamsteak]

A handful of ideas and plans are presented on the floor. The circumstances seem rather strange for this open court to discuss politics, especially with the vast number of unfamiliars in attendance. In her absense, Undine's court had grown more governmental and less L'aisez Faire with respect to it's discussions. Upon her return, she instituted a more open system that she finds more comfortable.

Eventually most of the lower ranking officials are given responsibilities, which they take to heart to complete. It seems that this nation is not one that readies for war in the usual way, much more focus is given to sheltering the helpless than to destroying the enemy.

Eventually the guard captain makes a general call to those that remain. "Walkers and other strangers from beyond the gates, make yourself known. I have been ordered to speak with anyone who might offer aid in the coming night."

 

[Shayuri]

Shard pops forward, looking startled.

"I...I have an idea maybe," she says. "And also I offer aid, but I have an idea too."

"We could move the people who aren't going to fight through a door...or a tent...or something...that leads somewhere else. Then we'd only have to defend one thing really really a lot."

Looking around at the reactions, she deflates a bit.

"And I also offer aid."

 

[Creamsteak]

While most of the crowd does react to Shard's query with some degree of disdain, Undine seems a bit less skeptical. "Shard, I knew there was something about you that I liked. You remind me of someone else... I can't put my finger on it... but it seems like I should remember something."

She walks over to Shard and Haros, essentially at the center of the room. "We can move the willing to the serpent's way. We'll migrate as many people to Liberalitas as we can. That way we only have to worry about one front, and can focus on the battle. It's so simple, but at the same time not at-all obvious. We will need to dedicate a number of volunteers to both the defense of the gate and to act as an escort."

Undine sends Iantia and Dian down below. "Shard, that will work excellently. I thank you for your suggestion. Now another question comes to mind... what do you plan to do? If you wish, we can evacuate you through the gates as well. You are free here, to do as you choose. You could aid the travelers, or you could stay here."

**Serpents Gate refers to a two-way road that leads under the desert. It occupies its own dimension, and makes trips significantly shorter than they otherwise would be. It is essentially a path through the plane of shadows, so any travel implies a great deal of danger.

[sblock=OOC-All]I'm trying to get an idea of where the group wants to take the story, so please give me some inclination if you can. I've obviously introduced a rather whelming amount of plot and potential exploration, but I've tried to let you make the choices, which may be potentially the big slow-down in this game.

So, here's the ideas running through my head:

1) Stay and fight. Epic battles against multiple factions await!
2) Escort the civilians to safety in the city of Liberalitas. Epic battles on the plane of shadows!
3) Head into the desert after either the Monolith of Water or in search of Karael (I doubt this one, but it has been mentioned). Somewhat subverted since the other party went on this quest.
4) Something else I hadn't thought of...

Give me a choice, and I'll try to get us into action![/sblock]

 

[Bloodweaver1]

Caladan

“I too will offer my blade and my services to the defense of the city.” Says Caladan as he steps through the crowd towards Undine and Shard. Dressed for battle he approaches Undine and offers her a polite bow. Perhaps the two most noticeable characteristics about him is that large portions of his hands and face are covered in numerous exotic dark tattoos and that he is not carrying a blade of any kind.

[sblock=OOC]Either one of those options works for me. Since I am the new kid on the block, whatever the veterans decides to do works for me.[/sblock]