Off to War - Duet (Lora)

[HolyMan]

Well I think to keep the Key to Victory thread from getting jumbled and incase the timelines fall out this may be a better idea.

In this thread we will play Lora's activities while the others are out adventuring in different locales. Also I wouldn't mind RPing here transition to a domain wizard it could be fun.

Let me know what you think ML.

HM

_

 

[HolyMan]

Misc placeholder

 

[Myth and Legend]

HM that was a truly great post!

Lora approaches the bridge and sees the hydra towering over the edge it's head taking arrow fire from the battlements. Knowing she needs to get closer she advances cautiously towards the beast.

She starts to hear the sounds of men advancing from the gate. A charge has issued forth because the arrows aren't hurting the hydra. Throwing caution to the wind, Lora moves forward quickly or she knows more Harkon men will die, or worse... Arthur.

She gets close and sees men being flung back by the great beast as it's four heads swing to and fro, attacking all in it's path. Then she sees Vance and he sees her.

"Lora what are you... tal'wizen get to her! Get her out of here!" he shouts above the roar of the beast.

Lora stands resolute before the great hydra. A beast of strength, a monster of death. And the tiny woman seems like a fly next to a grizzly bear as she stands now in it's devastaing path.

"Lora!!" Vance yells desperatly from the other side, one of the creatures heads blocking his way as the other three heads eye Lora standing there. But she doesn't hear the cries of the men or of Vance. The only thing she hears is the voice of her tutor and the words of the spell coming from her own lips.

From Vance's limited view he sees only the halo of yellow light from the otherside of the hydra and then watches as the four necks all rear up and screech out in pain. The beast then claws at the ground but finds no perches, it tumbles back down the side of the bridge and lands half in and out of the river it looks dead it's necks all flailed about, but it yet breathes. The young lord looks back to where Lora stands, arms still extended and the tiniest yellow glow of her magic yet fading away.

Removing his helment he advances to where she stands and before reaching her he takes to one knee before her. "Mi'lady Loreen, I... I," he looks slightly abashed. And holds his sword before himself point down on the bridge. "I pledge myself to you and your cause, great lady." he says solemnly.

"Never will I allow any harm to come to thee. Never will I allow harm to come to those you hold dear. And never will thy know suffering while I still draw breath, this I do pledge to you." he says using an knightly oath from days long forgotten.

Rising he looks about to see the men of Harkon and Brend watching him. He then holds his blade aloof, "Three cheers, the savor of Harkon! Three cheers the Heroine of the Western Woods! Three cheers the Wizardess Winmer!"

The men of Harkon all raise their blades or bows and cheer.

Huzzah!! Huzzah!! Huzzah!!

Lora flinched slightly at Vance's actions - she was no Lady, nor did she ever expect or even dream of a nobleborn knight such a she to pledge service to one such as her. The girl's "envenomed tongue", as Jareth had put it, got the best of her in this moment however. "Does that mean I won't be tied up like a pig on Winter Solstice and thrown about your own manor any more?" - the girl took some liberties, it seemed Vance was like Arthur in some regard. Her brother would have jumped up in excitement to think that his sister could become Misses Valorn. - Also, here is the magical ring, the fight with the Treylor is now over and Harkon is safe."

The girl took off the ring, a metallic azure tint covering it, and placed it in Vance's palm as the man looked at her with a confused stare. The magical jewelry immediately turned bright pink again in it's original owner's hands. "Hmph. So this is how he sees me? All pink and silk ribbons, and "Get her out of there tal'wizen? Stupid man!"

The girl bent over and retrieved her glaive, mounting it on her shoulder and nodding over to Vance. "It's not dead yet. Just paralyzed. It has no mind, but it's body is strong and we have to cave it to pieces to make sure it doesn't pop back up in a few days. This fifth stump, did you do this? - the girl pointed at the burned flesh at the bottom of the monster's neck. Or necks. - GRAB SOME TORCHES AND SOME LAMP OIL!"

The girl yelled at the nearby men who just stood there like idiots. She then proceeded to methodically wail on the prone monster. Lora used an overhead strike and the glaive sank deep in the flesh, and the shock of the edge meeting the strong bone beneath made the Wizard's arms tremble with recoil. *whack* *whack* *whack* slowly but surely, Lora was chopping trough the Hydra's necks, dark crimson blood splashing liberally about. Normally, the girl would be careful not to get it on her dress, but the garment was ruined already by the fight earlier today.

Her hands hurt, and her eyes were itching from exhaustion -this was one long day indeed. Deep down she felts some remorse for the monster - it was a carnivore and a predator, and a living thing. But it wasn't a mother bear protecting it's cups, nor was it a pack of wolves watching over their territory. It was a mindless, ferocious beast that felt confident enough to attack a settlement. This had to be done.

[sblock]She starts Coup-De-Grace-ing the Hydra. Seeing as how it can't recover from ability damage by tomorrow i figure there's no need to actually roll the attempts. She will make sure that the stumps are burned off, just in case, although the Hydra will fail it's save vs CDG - It dies eventually to 10+1d8x3 coup de grace vs fort save.[/sblock]

 

[HolyMan]

[sblock=OOC] Glad you liked the post worked hard on what would happen after I saw your rolls for the ray attack.

Single handlely defeating the beast is no small thing, so would effect Vance strongly. Now if it's ok with you I think we should end this "long day". I will advance things forward to the next morning tommorrow night (SUN) if you have no objections. [/sblock]

 

[Myth and Legend]

[sblock]Sure go ahead. I wanted to see Vance's reaction though [/sblock]

 

[HolyMan]

VAnce holds the ring staring at it unable to say anything. When Lora steps up to finish the hydra he "snaps" back to reality and orders the men about to follow her instructions.

When asked about the fifth head he looks dumbfounded and confused. Perhaps Lora is going from subject to subject to fast for the man she thinks.

When the hydra is finally finished and all the necks are burnt to blackened stubs Lora stands leaning on her glaive. She takes a hand to wipe sweat from her brow and ends up smearing blood across her forehead. "A bath would be in order." she says mostly to herself.

"Mi'lady shall have whatever she requires, but might I ask," he says looking at her questioningly. "How did you come to be here?"

 

[Myth and Legend]

Lora raised an eyebrow - she would have looked around to find Arthur but decided against it. The girl hoped her brother didn't go swinging his sword at Dellex's whim. Although he couldn't really say no without risking being tried for treason. And Dellex was quite content to be his own judge, so long as he saw fault in someone for breaking the law.

"You showed such fascination with myself from the start, I almost expected you to remember the first time we met. - Lora smirked as she undid her hair, finding the purple rose clasp with surprise. The Wizardress had forgotten about that. - I came to Harkon as the leader of a group of irregulars from the main army supposedly under Lord Bairan's command. We were sent along Spider's Path and now i think Dellex might have wanted us to die either by that Ettercap or by the horsemen he sent after us. Fortunately once we came out the other side they had fallen behind. Out of that group of men, one retreated or... worse. The other I think joined your own men at arms, or is back to the camp now. A third one disappeared after the battle - the Reygirian Paladin. And the last two took to their own way immediately before i came to your aid now. I think Jareth might go and do something stupid, and Trinham mentioned something about some boat."

The girl paused as she asked one of the stable boys to bring her a rag and some oil. He did, possibly because Vance was silently looming behind the girl's shoulder. Lora continued, as she started cleaning her weapon methodically.

"In any event, I'm no longer the leader of anything. And I don't owe any particular allegiance to the irregulars. And definitely not to... the main army. - she omitted Dellex's name to avoid arousing any talk of treason. Lora suspected that was the Wizard's most favorite thing. Treason, and offing people's heads for it. - So here I am. I have actually achieved the task I set out for in the beginning. There are a few things i need to figure out, but I will be leaving you in a few days. In the mean time lord Valorn I would gladly accept your hospitality. I'd rather not sleep in the dirt back at the camp, even if Fallon's cooking is better than my mother's. And that's saying something, as she's the best cook in my town."

Lora paused and fixated her stare on the ground between her feet. She was not that talkative - or at least hadn't been, for some years. And she wasn't lashing out at anyone, at lest not right now. The girl was tired, covered in dried blood, sweat and muck, hungry, thirsty, but not angry. Not really. Not in that way that had a lump of lead stuck in her stomach for so long. She felt dirty on the outside but for a first time in so long, Lora did not feel soiled as a woman and a human being. That soldier back then had taken a lot from her. It was time she took some of it back.

The Wizard remembered her parents - they must have been worried sick by now, with Arthur leaving so abruptly and their daughter disappearing. She also thought of Mirella. The Witch was wise and incredibly calm. When first she approached Lora and her family, asking the girl to become her apprentice, that was the one thing she noticed about her future mentor - her incredible serenity of her character and the mellow sound of her soothing voice.

"Mirella has probably known what I was doing this whole time. She has decided it was time i discovered the world for myself. She has used that mirror in her room to see where i was, and probably told my parents."

Suddenly, Lora missed her lessons with the wise Witch. "Vance do you think it appropriate if i were to ask Skazul for a lesson in magic? And perhaps, to borrow a tome or two from his vast library?"

 

[HolyMan]

[sblock=OOC] Sorry ML, Vance was refering to how did you get free and out of the manor LOL I shall be more coherent in the future. [/sblock]

"You wish to study with Skazul, I'm sure that would be alright." Vance says as the two enter the manor leaving the disposal of the beast to others.

Lora notices that the main room is all but empty but Vance leads her through and back to her room, Brend a little distance behind acting as chaperone.

"I know not everything that is going on but I hope we can speak more in the morning, Miss Lora." he says giving her his best smile and leaving the girl standing at the door.

Alone with her thoughts only a moment Lora is surprised by a knock at the door. Hoping it is Arthur, but she is not surprised when it is a maid come to see to her needs for the evening.

[sblock=OOC2] Trying to put all these threads to "bed" please post up anything you wish for the evening and then waking in the morning. Couple things.

1) Leave a few spell slots open to take anything "new" you learn. Plan for studying the day away though.

2) Post Lora leaving to find some breakfast, but I will post you in downstairs. Thanks. [/sblock]

 

[Myth and Legend]

Lora nodded and headed off to her chambers. The room did not seem as glorious as it had the first time she had entered it, now that the girl had been held prisoner inside.

When the made came, Lora asked for the brass tub to be filled with hot water, and that soap and herbs were brought so that she could enjoy a bath. The Wizardress was quickly growing accustomed to having servants do her bidding, and yet it was not that long ago when she would have to bathe with water she had heated herself in a big kettle placed on the iron stove in her parent's house, having her mother spill it from a basin over her head while scrubbing vigorously so she could dry off sooner and escape the winter cold creeping from under the door crack.

The girl brushed her hair, giving it the much needed one hundred strokes, and took yet another garment from the wardrobe. "If these are Rizella's she will be thoroughly pissed, I've managed to ruin two of her dresses already." Lora thought as she prepared her grab for tomorrow. She then snuggled amongst the sheets, despite the weather not being overly brisk, and fell fast to sleep.

On the morrow, Lora dressed in the brown and green dress she had picked - ideal for studying and not provoking unwanted attention. She hopped down from her room, after her morning ritual and the preparation of her spells. Carrying one's spellbook around was not very convenient without extradimensional spaces to store it in, but leaving it unattended was very risky indeed.

[sblock]Lora can't leave open spell slots. Learning a spell (copying it from anothers' spellbook) takes days. The info is found in the PHB page 178 and 179. IT takes DAYS and gold. Lots of gold. Honestly, a Blessed Book is one of the best investments one can do if they are to be a dedicated caster. But that's too costly for a charter of level 4. I normally wouldn't give it to a player before level 8, and I would have been dragging their WBL down considerably to do so. (wealth by level is in the DMG page 135)

Spell selection for today:

0 level: Prestidigitation, Mage Hand, Detect Magic x 2
1 level: Shield, Mage Armor, True Strike, Benign Transposition
2 level: Glitterdust, Cloud of Bewilderment, Ray of Stupidity

added in the RG.

Anyhow, I was thinking. Since i'm giving up on the whole warrior mage thing, can I redo my feat selection? I remember a rule where you said we can redo anything we haven't used yet. Here is my list:

Militia - had it since level one. Intertwined with Lora's story. Plus i can't picture her without her glaive, even if i don't go full blown warrior/mage she can still doo melee quite well with Transformation, Wraitstrike and Bite of the Weretiger.

Dodge - not really optimal but if we are going with mostly SRD, not a bad choice. Plus i used it already.

Mobility - never made use of it. I was intending to go for Spellstrike + WW but.. naw. Whirlwind Attack is not really an optimal choice even for full blown fighters. I'd rather cast Fireball honestly. Could i swipe it for Empower Spell? I could RP that in with the training session.
[/sblock]

 

[HolyMan]

Lora heads down to the common room eager to get to Skazul and his vast library. She turns the corner following the smell of hot cinnamon, and stops short as she sees Lord Vir alone at the table having breakfast.

He sits hunched over and while not truly alone, (his nurse and bodyguard are present) he is the only one eating.

"Ah, it is you." he says looking up at the young wizardess. "Please come and sit, sit. I wish to speak with you."

The guard comes around and pulls a chair away from the table, his look is like someone who will come sit you down, if you don't do it yourself.

[sblock=OOC] That switch out is ok with me, but would you want to save it for your fifth lvl Wizard Bonus feat or are you looking at something else also? [/sblock]