Legacy of the Silver Dragon - Day 2 (Interlude)

[Goldhammer]

Beatrix listens to Siarla talk for what seems like forever, until something catches her attention. "Sal? Who is being this Sal?" The large cleric asks. "Is seeming foolish to give away map for herbs. Sisterhood has many herbs, use mostly for cooking. Some used for healing. Can use both to make roasted dire wolf leg that bring man back to life."

"Would be nice if treasure map is real however. Wouldn't mind getting some work done on my armour. Maybe get new tower put on shoulder." Beatrix adds, pointing to the line of small metal towers on her already on her right pauldron. "Nice to have something to remember town by. Have to visit armorer later on."

Beatrix then notices the bowls she and Siarla had emptied. "You know, I have some times before I am having to met captain. You like me to teach you a few moves?" She asks, holding up her warhammer. "Think you would be quite at swinging hammer, ja?"

OOC: Sorry it took me so long to post. Didn't notice you had posted. Beatrix is talking about this rumor: (#6) “You know that crazy old guy who lives just outside town – calls himself Sal? I hear he’s offering a treasure map of the mountain if someone brings back some herbs for him.

 

[Binder Fred]

"What?" Muzdim looks confused at an (hopefully) also confused Stellan.

"Perhaps Stellan should- would like to do the cutting?" he explicits. The young elf stands, [etc]

"You over-think stuff elf." the dwarf says, and cuts through the scroll at the pointed place.

Is this foolish? he belatedly wonders as Muzdin's blade advances, seemingly in slow motion, heart dropping in his chest as he realizes he's probably actually under-thought a number of perhaps very important things? (He should probably look away, but how many chances is one likely to have, to observe such a process? To learn of it? Will there be sparks? Blood? Sulfurous vapours? Will the writings, perhaps - most distasteful of possibilities - cry out in keen sorcerous agony?) Things like in-built defenses, for example. And blood. *His* blood -- linking, connecting. (Why does he suddenly feel like he's the one that's going to be cut? That it's *his* flesh-)

This is probably very, very foolish, is his last thought before time reasserts itself and dwarven knife slices through limed goatskin.

OOC: All this assuming Dysare didn't stop us beforehand, of course.

 

[gambler1650]

Antares, Muzdim, Stellan

Dysare murmurs to herself, "Oh Antares..." somewhat fondly and with a small bit of exasperation. She appears to be about to say more when Muzdim leans forward and simplifies things. Nothing happens. Or at least nothing that anyone can feel or hear. Well, except for the scroll separating in two under the knife.

Stellan lets out a soft sigh and mutters... "Can we go kill something? A goblin? A rat? This mind affecting stuff makes my head hurt." It's good natured though...

 

[gambler1650]

Beatrix

Ignoring the fact that she was the one who brought him up, Siarla says "Sal? I don't know why you would be interested in that old man. He can barely walk. Saw him once in town, and he gave me the creeps. Something's not right about him." She backtracks when she hears Beatrix's words, or at least registers what was said, "Oh, a treasure map. Well, I guess it makes sense that you would want one, but the guy could just be crazy. It sounds as though he wants people to go up the mountain a bit, says there's a specific kind of herb grown nowhere else - at least around here. Kind of surprised no one's taken him up on the offer yet, but I think most people just figure he's crazy. Plus, how would he have a map of the mountain? He just arrived recently."

Siarla dubiously eyes the warhammer. "I'm not even sure I could pick it up.. It looks huge..."

 

[Goldhammer]

"Huge? Of course hammer is being huge. It needs to be huge to crush evil. But you will never be lifting it with that attitude." Beatrix says "First you must have believe that you can lift it. Then nothing seems too big to lift. Faith makes the smallest of us into giants and makes mountains light as feathers."

"You might say 'of course you can lift huge hammer, you are just as huge.' Ah, but without faith, being huge is just dead weight. If I did not believe that I could, if I did not have faith, I could not lift even my own bulk, let alone this hammer."

The large priestess get's out of her chair and leaves some gold coins on the table to pay for her food. "Come, I go introduce myself to the captain of the guard, then I shall show how to be using that hammer."

She offers her warhammer to Siarla and smiles.

"Here, you take up the warhammer. I believe that you can."

OOC: Beatrix is going to introduce herself to the captain of the guard on behalf of the sisterhood, then go about teaching Siarla how to swing a warhammer.

 

[Binder Fred]

Antares, Muzdim, Stellan

Nothing happens. Or at least nothing that anyone can feel or hear. Well, except for the scroll separating in two under the knife.

"Perhaps you are right, master Stonehand," admits Antares after a *very* pregnant pause, giving credit where credit is due. He sinks back down onto his seat, an amount of tension leaving his over-tensed muscles with a long, slightly-shuddery breath. "I- I had almost fully convinced myself, in that last heartbeat, that strange link had been established by foolish use of substances too personal; that *I*, myself, was the one going to be cut, each slice an echo onto my own flesh," he confesses with a weak, embarrassed titter after the fact... But of course, his once and future Teacher would not have allowed such, if there had been anything but remotest possibility! (And perhaps not even then.)

Stellan lets out a soft sigh and mutters... "Can we go kill something? A goblin? A rat? This mind affecting stuff makes my head hurt." It's good natured though...

"Is not the almost-severing of your greatest friend excitement enough for the now?" The young mage raises both eyebrows, gently mocking his own sudden fright: sovereign medicine, he's finding out, to forcefully wash out the last tastes of it from his mouth!

<Response Stellan?>

It seems news of the runes power over even his own mind had affected him deeper than he had first thought, led to wild, alarmist imaginings, to grave over-estimation of their power... Still, the lack of the more than half-expected pain is a relief in and of itself! (Would it have been his wrists, does he think, or the whole of him that was cut? He's not sure what he imagined exactly...)

The last of his tension goes out as he squares himself in his chair once more, contemplating what they have accomplished: two cylinders of rolled parchments, one slightly longer than the other...

"This is good news, I think?" he communicates to the others. "For it means the runes - and their creators? - can be thwarted, circumvented by even such simple physical means as this...?" Right? inquire emerald eyes. "Truly, if we can but correctly inform the descending party of the nature of these runes... Then a great deal of the power of the unknown entity might be stripped from it before it can ever be brought to bear?" He leans forward: "Who here would know more of such things, Teacher?" Hopefully: "Perhaps some document in Lord Romani's collection?"

With permission, Antares borrows some ink (he must really replace his old, travel-worthy inkwell), and inscribes titles on the outside of each half of the newly-severed parchment -- carefully marking orientation and identifying top and bottom halves, lest there be some confusion at a later date?

<Response Dysare?>

OOC: While he's at it he'll also check that the runes are still there, intact, though just with a corner of the lower scroll.

 

[gambler1650]

Beatrix

Siarla reaches out hesitantly, "Oh I don't know..." and then gets her hands around the hammer. When you release it she lets out a squawk and barely misses letting it swing into her leg. The head clunks to the ground, causing people to look over, but Siarla's hands didn't release. She more carefully gets a grip and lifts it, until it's horizontal to the ground and follows you, muttering, "Oh, I think I won't be able to lift my arms tomorrow..."

As Beatrix approaches the building where officer Gregof is usually found, a couple of the guards outside laugh at the odd pair. One of them yells out, "Siarla. That's not a big pestle to grind spices with! Come to my place tonight and you can do what you do best with pestles. Oh, and you can cook for me too."

The girl flushes, but doesn't say anything.

 

[gambler1650]

Antares, Muzdin, Stellan

"I _still_ think we should go find something to kill..." says Stellan with a sigh. "Wouldn't you feel better? I know I would..." He looks over at Muzdin, "C'mon, I know you'd rather be swinging that axe rather than looking at squiggles." But then he leans forward, betraying at least some interest in said squiggles, "You're sure they're safe now? Just by cutting them in two? I know that works for magic, right? But are these magic? It doesn't sound like it..." He looks at Dysare as if for confirmation, and she just shrugs slightly and says, "As I said.. I can't detect it as magic, but... Well, that doesn't mean it isn't."

To Antares she pauses a moment, brushing a few hairs from her cheek while she thinks, "I don't know. This has the feeling of something we would know if it had been seen before. The effects aren't subtle.." Then she corrects herself, "Well, they're not ALWAYS subtle. They certainly weren't with our young friend Stellan here. But what it did to you Antares.. that was subtle indeed... I guess Lord Romani would be the best to check with, and at least you would get a good idea whether this is something completely new, or something that's been seen before."

OOC: The runes are indeed still present.

 

[Binder Fred]

Antares, Muzdin, Stellan

"You're sure they're safe now? Just by cutting them in two? I know that works for magic, right? But are these magic? It doesn't sound like it..." He looks at Dysare as if for confirmation, and she just shrugs slightly and says, "As I said.. I can't detect it as magic, but... Well, that doesn't mean it isn't."

"What else could they be?" inquires bi-coloured Antares from across the table with some curiosity. "Certainly the stone runes themselves most litterally sang with it, of a kind master Stonehand is quite convinced stems from sources Divine?" That worthy has no less than bet his holy symbol on that very outcome!

<Response Dysare (and maybe Muzdin)?>

To Antares she pauses a moment, brushing a few hairs from her cheek while she thinks, "I don't know. This has the feeling of something we would know if it had been seen before. The effects aren't subtle.." Then she corrects herself, "Well, they're not ALWAYS subtle. They certainly weren't with our young friend Stellan here. But what it did to you Antares.. that was subtle indeed... I guess Lord Romani would be the best to check with, and at least you would get a good idea whether this is something completely new, or something that's been seen before."

"In truth," nods the robed mage in easy agreement of her analysis (and he might just - possibly, quite possibly, maybe even probably - get to peruse part of Askadar's greatest treasure?!)... "Ah, though perhaps these are set things and less complex than they would seem, Teacher? If there truly exists no connections between runes and creator - as I at first mistakenly thought - than... Than perhaps we see but two pieces of limited intention? 'Copy me without flaws, that I may travel and spread' says the first, and 'Bring jewels bright, that I may...' Consume and transform them? Use them as links to owner's past?" Oh, that's right! He turns to the dwarf to his right, a bit excited at the prospect: "Did you in fact find any in town that knew of our two gems, master Stonehand?"

He'd meant to ask on the way over, but then somehow got distracted...

<Response Muzdin?>

After all relevant info is shared, he turns back to Dysare, looking a bit sheepish: "Ah. Perhaps you would be kind enough to furnish us with Letter of Introduction, Teacher, recommending our company to Lord Romani...? That our quest, at least, be seen in favourable light?" Despite their youth and obvious lack of gathered experience, is what he means (or town status, for that matter -- no doubt brother Myst could have helped there? Might still be willing to...?).

 

[Goldhammer]

Beatrix

Siarla reaches out hesitantly, "Oh I don't know..." and then gets her hands around the hammer. When you release it she lets out a squawk and barely misses letting it swing into her leg. The head clunks to the ground, causing people to look over, but Siarla's hands didn't release. She more carefully gets a grip and lifts it, until it's horizontal to the ground and follows you, muttering, "Oh, I think I won't be able to lift my arms tomorrow..."

As Beatrix approaches the building where officer Gregof is usually found, a couple of the guards outside laugh at the odd pair. One of them yells out, "Siarla. That's not a big pestle to grind spices with! Come to my place tonight and you can do what you do best with pestles. Oh, and you can cook for me too."

The girl flushes, but doesn't say anything.

"Are they being friends of yours?" Beatrix asks before approaching the guards.

"Greetings. I am Sister Wall-Sentry Beatrix Merriburg, servant of the Goddess, Malborka." The large cleric says to the guard. "I have been sent on behalf of the Great Sisterhood of Malborka to offer my service to the town of Ascadar. I wish to speak to captain of guard."