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In the Valus - The Heroes of Marchford (Chapter 14 Continues - 12/24/08)
- Thread starter Funeris
- Start date
TheYeti1775
Adventurer
You must be in Europe.Sirya said:Um, is it Monday yet?
Funeris and I are both on the East Coast of the US, just outside of DC.
Yeti
mother1219
First Post
Just finished reading this story from the beginning and it's one of my new favorites. I hope the updates keep coming. It's quite good, both the character play and the writing.
TheYeti1775
Adventurer
Welcome aboard Mother1219, your in for a treat for he is to update tonight.mother1219 said:
Yeti
Funeris
First Post
Chapter 13: Family, Responsibility, and Voyage (Cont'd)
Welcome aboard Mother1219! Just in time for an...unexpected change. Everyone was shocked.
--------------------------------------------
“Nothing to be done,” Fitz stated coldly. The cleric lifted Motega’s flask, draining the last of the whiskey. In his other hand, he twirled one of the clues to the carnage, a feather.
“Nothing at all,” Captain Dougal agreed. The Captain’s face, previously resolute and stoic, mirrored the Heroes’ looks. All wore tight, drawn expressions devoid of hope or happiness. “How many exactly?”
“Too many,” Magnus replied. “Too many dead.”
From behind the gathering at the gates of the estate, random wailing sounded within the courtyard. A number of townsfolk were attempting to identify the bodies of their fallen brothers, children and lovers. No one within the walls, save for a few missing individuals, were spared from the massacre. Some of the bodies that had been found were mutilated beyond recognition. Strange feathers and gigantic bird-like claw marks had littered the ground and bodies.
Tobias shuddered as a cool breeze clawed its way eastward from the bay. He opened his mouth, but quickly shut it instead of speaking. Words could not describe the scene.
“Birds,” Motega growled.
“Demonic, I think,” Fitz nodded. He lifted the flask, trying to drag a few last drops from its interior.
“The Lady, her Lieutenant, the Baronet, and a few other castle members are missing,” Ebbam spoke as he moved from within the walls. “Everyone else is dead. The treasury has been ransacked, hastily it looks. But whoever did the stealing had a key; none of the chests were broken. It just looked as though they were in a hurry to leave.”
“I claim the remaining treasury for the King,” Dougal stated unenthusiastically. “Were there any signs of…what was the state of the Baronet’s room?”
Ebbem sighed. “The door, like many others, was naught but splinters. However, there was no blood in the room itself.”
“Murder, thievery, and kidnapping,” Dougal growled. “The King will not be pleased.”
“I think…whatever it was that did this was gated in,” Ebbem hypothesized.
The Rornman nodded in acquiescence. “There are no tracks outside of the walls. They appear in the courtyard and vanish in the Baronet’s chambers.”
“Not to get off subject,” Ebbem spoke as he turned to Magnus, “but I’m going to need one of those mushrooms you found.”
“You think they’re linked?”
“Better safe than sorry at this point.” Ebbem held out his hand in anticipation; Magnus quickly complied.
“Captain,” Magnus said, “I believe our plan is to accompany the Lady Carnelloe to her holdings. She reported possible Harpies in an abandoned keep where her husband is being held for ransom.
"We intend to assist her in recovering her husband, but I believe they were a House out of favor with the King, if I'm not mistaken."
“That's a cursed family if there ever was one,” the Captain snorted. “Surprised they still hold land and title, to be honest.”
"Maybe after we help her, we could convince her to send some of her Men-at-arms down here to assist your skeleton garrison in rebuilding the town?"
“Make sure you see their gold before you go tromping off into the northern wilderness, mage. Her husband’s probably just boarded up with a whore or two; it wouldn’t be the first time with that family. But, the King won’t give one pem’s ass whether you help them or not. And, he won’t want their help, either.” Dougal grimaced, clearing his throat, and spitting upon the ground. “But if that’s what you want to do, I won’t stop you.”
Magnus looked at the ground, contemplative for a moment, before glancing back toward Ebbem. The mage pulled out a fresh scroll and a quill, jotting upon it quickly. “My mark, so that you might recognize any letter from me. We will send word if we find out more information that might be of use.
“Captain, I’d like to recommend Netto in helping lead the town, when he returns. He is a good man in a storm of difficulty.”
Tobias’ frown deepened at the mage’s words. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak, “I disagree with you mage, which happens a lot less often than you may think. Netto would not be a good choice. He needs time to heal, mentally if not physically, from his ordeals. Entrusting any sort of power in his hands before he has come to terms with his experiences, would be ill-advised. I don't want to return and have to remove him from power at some later point.”
Dougal also smirked. He allowed the paladin to say his piece before he spoke, “This ain't a democracy. I'll be picking who rules this place in the name of the King. I was thinking of grabbing one of those peasants that showed some spine during the resistance. Also, I'll be leaving my Sergeant...to advise as necessary.”
“Well, Netto was,” Magnus interjected.
“Not a part of the battle for the same reasons,” Tobias countered. The paladin looked at the Captain. A storm welled within his eyes, a deep dark shadow against the blue. As it passed, Tobias stood a little taller and spoke a little deeper. “Captain Dougal, I request you leave me in charge of Minetown until the King can send a permanent replacement. After which time I may decide to stay on to work with the nobility.” The Captain’s eyes widened, twitching, but Tobias gave him no time to interject.
“You may think me too young for the request, but what I lack in age, I make up in the experiences I have with my friends, my ka-tet. And with your sergeant to aide me, I truly doubt any other would be better at the task. I have battle experience and leadership experience. Plus, I know there are doubts about where our loyalties lie. We are not common mercenaries, especially since we've only accepted payment for our first mission which was for intelligence. Since then, we have done what we've felt was right, for Marchford, for Minetown, and for the whole of Rhelm. If I were to stay, it could alleviate some of the mistrust we've experienced, for example from the nobles of Dun Moor.” The paladin took a deep breath and turned from the shocked Captain to his friends. Each of their sets of eyes were stretched wide in surprise as well, except Fitz whose slight inebriation kept his eyes from opening fully.
"My ka-tet. I have enjoyed my travels with you. I consider you all family. If I were to leave with you and we returned at a later date to see this town ravaged like Marchford, I could not live with myself knowing I could've been here to avert any sort of disaster. I will NOT see another Marchford event occur. My place is here, one way or the other. It is my responsibility.
"I will always await your return, perhaps later in my life we will meet and we can travel again. But for now, my place is here. So, forgive me my friends if you feel I am abandoning you. I'm sure you all will choose a noble path and if you don't, I'll be seeing you sooner than later." Tobias broke a grin after his threat, probably more to cover the slight watering of his eyes....
Welcome aboard Mother1219! Just in time for an...unexpected change. Everyone was shocked.
--------------------------------------------
“Nothing to be done,” Fitz stated coldly. The cleric lifted Motega’s flask, draining the last of the whiskey. In his other hand, he twirled one of the clues to the carnage, a feather.
“Nothing at all,” Captain Dougal agreed. The Captain’s face, previously resolute and stoic, mirrored the Heroes’ looks. All wore tight, drawn expressions devoid of hope or happiness. “How many exactly?”
“Too many,” Magnus replied. “Too many dead.”
From behind the gathering at the gates of the estate, random wailing sounded within the courtyard. A number of townsfolk were attempting to identify the bodies of their fallen brothers, children and lovers. No one within the walls, save for a few missing individuals, were spared from the massacre. Some of the bodies that had been found were mutilated beyond recognition. Strange feathers and gigantic bird-like claw marks had littered the ground and bodies.
Tobias shuddered as a cool breeze clawed its way eastward from the bay. He opened his mouth, but quickly shut it instead of speaking. Words could not describe the scene.
“Birds,” Motega growled.
“Demonic, I think,” Fitz nodded. He lifted the flask, trying to drag a few last drops from its interior.
“The Lady, her Lieutenant, the Baronet, and a few other castle members are missing,” Ebbam spoke as he moved from within the walls. “Everyone else is dead. The treasury has been ransacked, hastily it looks. But whoever did the stealing had a key; none of the chests were broken. It just looked as though they were in a hurry to leave.”
“I claim the remaining treasury for the King,” Dougal stated unenthusiastically. “Were there any signs of…what was the state of the Baronet’s room?”
Ebbem sighed. “The door, like many others, was naught but splinters. However, there was no blood in the room itself.”
“Murder, thievery, and kidnapping,” Dougal growled. “The King will not be pleased.”
“I think…whatever it was that did this was gated in,” Ebbem hypothesized.
The Rornman nodded in acquiescence. “There are no tracks outside of the walls. They appear in the courtyard and vanish in the Baronet’s chambers.”
“Not to get off subject,” Ebbem spoke as he turned to Magnus, “but I’m going to need one of those mushrooms you found.”
“You think they’re linked?”
“Better safe than sorry at this point.” Ebbem held out his hand in anticipation; Magnus quickly complied.
“Captain,” Magnus said, “I believe our plan is to accompany the Lady Carnelloe to her holdings. She reported possible Harpies in an abandoned keep where her husband is being held for ransom.
"We intend to assist her in recovering her husband, but I believe they were a House out of favor with the King, if I'm not mistaken."
“That's a cursed family if there ever was one,” the Captain snorted. “Surprised they still hold land and title, to be honest.”
"Maybe after we help her, we could convince her to send some of her Men-at-arms down here to assist your skeleton garrison in rebuilding the town?"
“Make sure you see their gold before you go tromping off into the northern wilderness, mage. Her husband’s probably just boarded up with a whore or two; it wouldn’t be the first time with that family. But, the King won’t give one pem’s ass whether you help them or not. And, he won’t want their help, either.” Dougal grimaced, clearing his throat, and spitting upon the ground. “But if that’s what you want to do, I won’t stop you.”
Magnus looked at the ground, contemplative for a moment, before glancing back toward Ebbem. The mage pulled out a fresh scroll and a quill, jotting upon it quickly. “My mark, so that you might recognize any letter from me. We will send word if we find out more information that might be of use.
“Captain, I’d like to recommend Netto in helping lead the town, when he returns. He is a good man in a storm of difficulty.”
Tobias’ frown deepened at the mage’s words. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak, “I disagree with you mage, which happens a lot less often than you may think. Netto would not be a good choice. He needs time to heal, mentally if not physically, from his ordeals. Entrusting any sort of power in his hands before he has come to terms with his experiences, would be ill-advised. I don't want to return and have to remove him from power at some later point.”
Dougal also smirked. He allowed the paladin to say his piece before he spoke, “This ain't a democracy. I'll be picking who rules this place in the name of the King. I was thinking of grabbing one of those peasants that showed some spine during the resistance. Also, I'll be leaving my Sergeant...to advise as necessary.”
“Well, Netto was,” Magnus interjected.
“Not a part of the battle for the same reasons,” Tobias countered. The paladin looked at the Captain. A storm welled within his eyes, a deep dark shadow against the blue. As it passed, Tobias stood a little taller and spoke a little deeper. “Captain Dougal, I request you leave me in charge of Minetown until the King can send a permanent replacement. After which time I may decide to stay on to work with the nobility.” The Captain’s eyes widened, twitching, but Tobias gave him no time to interject.
“You may think me too young for the request, but what I lack in age, I make up in the experiences I have with my friends, my ka-tet. And with your sergeant to aide me, I truly doubt any other would be better at the task. I have battle experience and leadership experience. Plus, I know there are doubts about where our loyalties lie. We are not common mercenaries, especially since we've only accepted payment for our first mission which was for intelligence. Since then, we have done what we've felt was right, for Marchford, for Minetown, and for the whole of Rhelm. If I were to stay, it could alleviate some of the mistrust we've experienced, for example from the nobles of Dun Moor.” The paladin took a deep breath and turned from the shocked Captain to his friends. Each of their sets of eyes were stretched wide in surprise as well, except Fitz whose slight inebriation kept his eyes from opening fully.
"My ka-tet. I have enjoyed my travels with you. I consider you all family. If I were to leave with you and we returned at a later date to see this town ravaged like Marchford, I could not live with myself knowing I could've been here to avert any sort of disaster. I will NOT see another Marchford event occur. My place is here, one way or the other. It is my responsibility.
"I will always await your return, perhaps later in my life we will meet and we can travel again. But for now, my place is here. So, forgive me my friends if you feel I am abandoning you. I'm sure you all will choose a noble path and if you don't, I'll be seeing you sooner than later." Tobias broke a grin after his threat, probably more to cover the slight watering of his eyes....
HalfOrc HalfBiscuit
Adventurer
Well, that certainly was a surprise!!
What was the (OOC) reason? Player leaving the game? Or wanting to switch PCs?
What was the (OOC) reason? Player leaving the game? Or wanting to switch PCs?
Funeris
First Post
You know, when I fired off that email, I instantly received a response along the lines of: Do you know what the hell you're doing?
OOC: I did not leave the game. I bring in another character. Did I want to switch PCs? I liked Tobias but I was getting tired with Yeti always boasting about Magnus being larger than the fighter. So, I brought in a character that was 7'2" tall and 400 pounds of solid muscle.
But, my OOC reasons weren't important. Tobias would not let Minetown fall as Marchford had. They needed protection. And...well, that's one of the descriptions for paladin, in my head. So, Tobias stayed...
(to Magnus' later dismay....mwa ha ha ha haaaaaa)
~Fune
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