Gods and Monsters: Legends Reborn main campaign thread

[Ductus]

Big trouble in little Midgaard...

As the deal comes to Loki next, he guides the conversation towards the the cheater's gloves. Noticing a warrior who has been itching to brawl for most of the evening, he incorporates the large man's mildly inebriated aggression into his ploy. Tilting his head to be sure his voice carries, Loki "wonders" aloud.

"The stitch work on your gloves is quite interesting. And here I thought only Gunnar had a pair like that. Why... Gunnar, where *are* your lucky gloves? You always keep them at your belt when you drink, so as not to lose them. You said you had never had a pair so soft, almost as though they were magic."

Slurring his voice slightly, Loki leans forward, squinting as he shuffles.

"They look nearly identical, even down to the the worn spot where your thumb brushes your weapon. I'm sure this man didn't *know* they were yours when he picked them up, he must surely have thought they belong to another reveler. No one in their right mind would *steal* from you... I remember when that bandit tried to rob you at the roadside, and you were kind enough to leave him with his innards as scarf to keep him warm. Why do you look so angry, Gunnar?"

OOC: Bluff 30 to distract players to look at gloves, and then Gunnar in order to get better chance at Sleight of Hand Sleight of Hand 23 to try to deal myself the Ace of Hearts, in case the hand proceeds, so I can try to call him out. Bluff 39 to try to incite Gunnar to smash the cheater's face in to a fine red paste.

 

[akahdrin]

I will approach each of the doors to admire the craftsmanship. I will look at the things on the shelves, but take none of it as it is not mine. The door with the polished disc will be the first door I go in. I will say a prayer for the sun as I enter and make sure to not be stealthy at all.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Merlin Calls His Companion!

The order you sound the bells in, which bells you sound, and how many you sound, each play a role in defining and finding your desired companion. [...] Each symbol corresponds to one of the seven goodly virtues, seven deadly sins, and the four elements. You are focusing on your companion, and so your dreamscape is asking you to sound the heavens for him, to bring him to you. And you must do this by defining him with the bell rings. You can also feel an uneasy presence around you, as if you are being watched.

~Hmmm... Perhaps the Heavens are offering me a companion beyond the expectations of a mere mortal... I wonder... what if...?~

OOC: Assuming: 7 Virtues: Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Patience, Kindness, and Humility.

Merlin rings the bell of Fire thrice, saying, "Fire! Which cleanses and purifies! Which brings righteous wrath upon the minions of evil! Let my companion burn with Righteous Flame!"

Merlin rings the bell of Air thrice, saying, "Wind! Let my companion soar upon the wind, bringing judgment from above! Let my companion be the master of the skies!"

Merlin rings the bell for Chastity twice, saying: "Chastity is the source of Wisdom, one of the traits of a faithful companion. It is also the source of honesty, which I pay toward all of Nature's creatures. I call not my companion without explaining the risks that would accompany that station."

Merlin rings the bell for Kindness twice, saying, "Kindness, the source of Loyalty and Integrity! Let my companion have these in abundance!"

Merlin rings the bell for Temperance twice, saying, "Temperance, the source of Justice and Honour! Let my companion adhere to these precepts!"

Merlin rings the bell for Charity once, saying, "Charity, the source of Sacrifice! Let my companion leave their family, to be ever by my side!"

Merlin rings the bell for Diligence twice, saying, "Diligence, the source of Persistence and Fortitude! Let my companion be strong of Will and Body!"

Merlin rings the bell for Humility twice, saying, "Humility, the source of Altruism and Bravery! Let my companion be Fearless and Forthright!"


After the chimes fade, Merlin sits still, with his eyes closed, meditating on what he has done, knowing that his intentions were pure, and hoping that the heavens heard his pleas.

 

[Nezkrul]

Loki- With the others at the table distracted by your ploy, making people look at the cheaters hands more closely, you manage search the deck while shuffling, and you notice that there is no ace of hearts in the deck, it seems to be the only missing card. Your ploy to try to start fight takes a drastic turn towards success as you see a drunken warrior nearby frantically looking for his gloves that were hanging from his belt (his gloves are on his hands, he is just too drunk to see them). The drunkard comes to the table demanding to know who you were talking about, and seems to be but a moment from raging. When you indicate the cheater, the cheater tries to say something along the lines of "Now just a minute..." but he only gets out the word "Now" and is immediately punched square in the nose by the drunkard, and a fight erupts between the two. In the toss and turn of the grapple, you see the drunkard tear the invisible gloves, and a finger, off the cheaters hands, and an ace of hearts, a stiletto, a small scroll, and a vial of liquid fall out of them, as well as a bloody finger. The fight continues as you are witness both them amidst a bloody screaming rage of fists and elbows and biting. A ring of merry-makers has encircled them as well as the men at the table. The warrior woman seems to be counting the coins that she has scraped from the cheater's side of the table into her pile. Your coins haven't been touched.



Zoser- You place hand upon the door with the polished golden disc to push it open, but a warmth surges into you through your hand and arm. You get a vision of the rising sun as it reaches its apex in midday. You hear a voice, both commanding and firm, but friendly and soft, "You are not of Aurifar, but you are below him. The way is shut." The door refuses to budge, even putting the full effort of your strength into pushing (taking a 20 on a strength check). You recognize the language you heard the voice speak in, but you do not know why you understood it, it was spoken in Marru.

The ashes behind you suddenly begin swirling, and a coldness begins radiating out from them. The swirling ashes form themselves into a great eye, that sheds blue light in a cone. The eye turns its gaze upon you. You sense malice and a great willingness to cause you harm, but no immediate threats appear.




Merlin- The Bell of Fire blazes a triple-crackling tone into the sky, a thrice-wrapped ribbon of fire streaks into the heavens, lighting up one of the stars bright with fiery red color. The Bell of Air causes a reverse tornado to whip up out of it, with a distinctly 3-toned whine of blowing wind, winding all the way up into the sky into another star, near the fiery one, lighting it up a bright white color. The Bell of Chastity rings 2 soft tones as a pink beam of light streaks into the sky, lighting up another star a bright pink. The Bell of Kindness rings 2 firm but melodic tones as a beam of sky-blue light shoots up to light up another star the same color. The Bell of Temperance rings 2 harmonic tones, a pair made together in unison, as a beam of of white and violet light entwined shoots into the sky to a binary star, lighting one up bright white and the other bright purple, as the two begin to circle each other in a yin-yang pattern. The Bell of Charity rings a soft note that grows with confidence as a beam of bright leafy green light shoots up to another star, causing it to swirl and pulse a bright green color. The Bell of Diligence rings 2 solid and supportive tones that never lose their strength, as a beam of silver light flies into the sky causing another star to light up and swirl with silver light. The Bell of Humility rings 2 soft and subdued tones out of respect for others potentially wounded sense of hearing, as a beam of orange light flies into the sky causing one more star to light up with color.

After sounding the bells, you close your eyes to focus on your companions virtues, when you sense the presence, that has been watching you, step away from you. You are startled by the feeling of something being bodily pulled out of you by outside force, yet the discomfort is absent of pain. A dark and shadowy figure floats away from you to the bells of deadly sins. As it does so, it splits into three indescript shadowy forms. One grasps the chord of The Bell of Sloth, one grasps the chord of The Bell of Pride, and one grasps the chord of The Bell of Wrath. In unison, and before you can react to the realization of what is happening, they ring each bell thrice, producing a torrent of horrible tones. A purple beam, an aquamarine beam, and a bright seething red beam streak up into the sky, illuminating three more stars. Then all of the colored stars swirl around eachother in the sky, and one by one find a place in the heavens. Once they have finished moving, an electric blue beam flows around them giving a sillohouette to the new constellation in your dreamscape, and it looks nothing like an owl...

Suddenly you are bodily slammed by an outside force, knocking you over, and a coldness sweeps over you for a moment, and then it dissipates. The three shadowy figures have disappeared. But that constellation, it looks familiar, but not an owl...

 

[Ductus]

Such a lovely little tavern you had here... it's such a shame that something had to happen to it...

*Clutching his cloak, Loki stands in "shock." Knocking his chair backwards, he steps forward out of "concern." Loki "trips" on the uneven floor. Trying to steady himself, Loki "accidentally" sweeps the his own coins off the table (and into the waiting folds of his carefully held cloak. He lands lightly next to the gloves and dropped items, scooping them in with the fold.*

*Rolling nimbly away from the battle, he passes behind the woman with the battleaxe, briefly dropping the Ace of Hearts on the table beside her elbow*

"The young man may have dropped one of his cards. If you should be interested in employment, I could use a warrior who can be quick with their steel, and quicker still with her wit. It would seem you've already made quite a few coin tonight, thanks to me. You might be able to to put your ax to work to earn quite a few more. See me by the mead keg to discuss the pay. *


*As Loki passes the bar, he makes eye contact with the bartender*

Speaking very quietly, "It is such a shame, that Loki has fallen out of favor. It seems everyone thinks themselves free to indulge themselves. Between the boy in the tub with the magic ring, the cheater with the darts, and this little skirmish, one might consider this place to be getting a bad reputation. And to think, some of this might have been avoided if his standard hadn't been sullied..."

*Shaking his head sadly, Loki places a coin from his winnings on the bar in front of the man, and heads to refill his tankard from the mead keg, and takings Olidammara's now empty seat.*

OOC: Sleight of hand D20+*13*=21 (subtract 1 from roll result in the image) to steal the dropped items, Bluff to appear innocent d20+29=36, Acrobatics d20+11=30 to stand smoothly, keeping everything hidden, Diplomacy d20+36=54 to attempt to recruit the woman as a bodyguard/follower/convert, Diplomacy take 10=46 to suggest the barkeep restore the tattered banner of Loki on the wall

OOC: If the warrior woman was friendly (having possibly noticed I was dealing her winning hands, or that I have no intention of ratting her out, or even asking for a cut of her haul) she may now be considered a fanatical follower. The attempts of the above scene are to play into my trickster nature, and enhance my standing with new worshipers

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Merlin tries to ascertain the shape of this new constellation. What is it?

GM: Your knowledge of the mystical world is great, and you recall that, even though it appears to be a bird, it is not an owl. Indeed, it is the shape of the creature of which you sought companionship: a phoenix

Merlin will wait for the Phoenix to come.

 

[Nezkrul]

Loki- 10th of Hammer, evening
You easily gather up all the objects that were dropped during the brawl, and are confident no one noticed you. After quickly conversing with the warrior, and then the bartender, you find yourself a seat near the mead keg, awaiting your potential new ally. You notice that she was sitting there, looking at the ace of hearts, seemingly trying to recall each hand the "cheater" had won with that very card, and how he was hiding it, like she were angry at herself for missing the clues. Eventually, she stops pondering the events, scoops the table's contents into her backpack, slings her axe on her back, and heads your way. You also notice the bartender, looking around, worried that what you told him was indeed a truth to which he has been blind. You see him grabbing something from under the bar, and soon he has a torn banner in his arms. He grabs a ladder and places it so that he can climb to the ceiling to rehang it, with some help from a needle and thread. Once he has rehung the banner, you immediately see some sores appear on his skin, and he has trouble climbing down the ladder, coughing up bile, but nothing too serious. No one in the mead hall has noticed, since the brawl has not yet concluded.

The woman finds a stool and sets it up near you, so as to be able to talk quietly. She sits down so that she can see everyone else, and you, careful not to leave her back toward a door or other people. She addresses you bluntly.

"How did you know he was cheating, and how did you get this card? I was watching him like a hawk and I didn't see it. Where could he have hidden it? Oooh, that J'vel, if I ever see him in here again, I'll use his skull as a whetstone!" She stops suddenly, realizing she doesn't know your name. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Marin."




Merlin- 10th of Hammer, evening
Once you have finished with your meditation, the dreamscape fades and you wake. You immediately notice the cinders and wispy flames coming from the stone bier. Where once there was a mummified corpse of a man, there is nought but ash, coals... and egg-shaped rock with rivulets of liquid fire highlighting its features. You do not sense any other creatures in your vicinity, nor do you see any as you look around. Your ritual to summon a familiar didn't fail, but no creature answered your call. You look upon the rock, and as you stare at it, what it could really be, understanding dawns upon you.




Sheela- 10th of Hammer, morning
As you fly upon the back of Mortimer over the great forest, you can see in the far distance a mountain range with a great volcano. It is raining quite hard all around the peak, and you can see mudslides rushing down the moutain. Soon you come upon the clearing that you were sent to find. There is a misty cloud hanging over the area, but not thick enough to obscure vision completely. When you direct Mortimer to land in a tall tree near it, you come upon a horrific sight.

All around the standing stones are creatures of undeath. Shambling, swinging their limbs at an unseen force, toward the stone circle. Humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, orcs, goblins, and bugbears alike. As if an invisible force were blocking them from getting into the stone circle. You see a man sitting infront of a stone bier, deep in meditation. There is roll of furs on the table, and what looks like a man's corpse inside them, as if he were preserved there. The man in meditation looks very much alive, and oblivious to the potential danger around him, but he also doesn't look like a man. You notice he has feathered wings, and you get a sense of peace as you look upon him. He is very still, and breathing long and deep and slow breathes, very calm.

From your vantage point, you make out about 100 zombies around the stone circle's perimeter, counting the exact number will take some time, as many of them look to be in similar sorry shape and it is hard to pick them out individually with just a cursory glance.

 

[gargoyleking]

Thaklor listens to the crowd with a small frown, not knowing quite what disturbs him so about their comments. Then turns as the innkeeper addresses him. He listens politely to the offer and then shakes his head to show his regret at having to decline the kind offer. "I thank you, but no. I need to visit the temple of Tyr as soon as possible. Should your city watch wish to question me regarding this incident I shall be there. My name is Thaklor Iollnys. Kossuth warm your hearth."

With those final words, Thaklor continues his trek. The response of the crowd troubled him for some reason he couldn't quite place a finger on it. He mulled over this as he strode on, trying to untangle the knot in his mind.

Sent from my LG-H918 using EN World mobile app

 

[Liltroll2]

Sheela lets out a gasp as she looks at Mortimer, "Care to kill some undead." she gives the animal a small smile. "Lets return these things to the land of the dead," Turning to the sky the halfling woman smiles, "I call upon the forces of nature." Her voice starts to echo against the sky. "Strike down the undead, with your thunder and lightning...." Her fingers move for the spell, and then end with a point at the undead surrounding the man. "STRIKE TRUE..."

GM: Your spell's lightning incinerates many of the undead near the stone circle, nearly 1/4 of them have been destroyed.

 

[Ductus]

"I am not the skilled warrior I appear to be. I am a practitioner of magic known to few. A shaman might know of herbs and animals. Some sorcerers possess magic of the elements. My skills are in powers lost and eldritch. My study of ancient lore allows me sense many things which others might not notice. Such that the gloves the man wore bore an enchantment which allowed the owner to hide a small object out of sight. One could search all his possessions, but would never find a hidden card."

Loki pauses to drink from his mug.

"Names, in the the hands of a powerful magic user, can be dangerous. Were I to tell you mine, there might be others nearby who would use it to cause me harm. You may call me Halloesh. It means, simply, enchanter."

Sighing softly, Loki scans the room, watching for any trouble that might come their way.

"My interest in a warrior, is for a companion on the road. A bodyguard. I have recently been made aware of a theft perpetrated against my family. I have been
accused of a crime which I did not commit, and I cannot return to my home until I have either proof of the true villain, or I am able to return the missing heirloom. If you should take up with me, there will be combat. There are most likely more than a few who would see me remain banished. I have reasonable funds to begin my journey, but to do so alone, would be foolhardy. With someone to watch my back, for a share of any earnings, my quest will be much more likely to succeed. You're clever, to hold your own so long against the cheater. You're strong, as told by your ax. You're diligent, keeping its edge honed sharp as a razor. And you're not easily turn from your course. You've seen many battles. Having someone with your skills, combined with my knowledge, could lead to a great deal of profit for both of us. You would be more than just a hired thug. You would receive fair payment, and partial share in any spoils. What say you?"