Kulan: Bard's Gate PbP Campaign (IC) [Game Cancelled]

[Knightfall]

Hammerhand family room:

Borya's eyes smile as does the rest of him.

"Your papa is just resting. Nothing serious, but I'm praying for him.

"What is your name?"

"Ninian," the boy replies. "Do you always smell like that?"

The boy holds his hand over his nose while he talks. Borya realizes he still smells of the road. A few moments later, Wilie enters the room carrying a heavy bowl of stew. The smell seems to act as a counter the dirt and sweat covering ther cleric's garments.

"Borya, here you are." Wilie sets the bowl on a side table next to the bed. "From Aileen. Her way of saying thank you. How is Durst?"

"The smelly man says he's going to be fine," Ninian says.

"Borya likes to sleep outside when he travels," Wilie says with a laugh. "It makes him feel closer to his ancestors." The halfling pulls up a small stool and sits down on the opposite side of the bed. "Now, Ninian, your mother would be very cross to know you're not sleeping."

"Aw, Wilie," the boy complains. "Wrinkle is awake."

"Wrinkle is not a little boy who needs his sleep."

Ninian gets off the bed and grumbles all the way back to his bed. The other small figure tucks him in and then steps out of the shadows. The creature is small, smaller than Wilie. Borya had assumed it had been sitting on the bed, but it is only a foot high. It had been standing on the bed. It is plump and leathery with tiny wings wrapped around it. It's color is that of the dusky shale deposits that exist in the high places of Borya's homeland.

"Borya, this is Wrinkle. He's a fremlin. Wrinkle, this is my cousin Borya."

The winged creature opens its wings and flaps over to land on the bed's heavy headboard. Wrinkle looks at Borya timidly before speaking. The little fremlin's voice sounds like the tiny bells that jingled the harnesses of the reindeer that pulls the sled that Borya rode in once as a child.

"Hello," Wrinkle says. "Thank you for taking care of Durst. He is a good man."

"It's not fair," Ninian mumbles from bed.

Wilie walks over to the other bed. "Go to sleep," he says with some authority. "I'll tell you all about it in morning. I promise." Wilie comes back and sits down.

 

[kinem]

The common room of the Felled Ogre:

"I fancied myself a treasure seeker in my youth, but I found I had no stomach for fighting monsters," Dongar says. "Fought a web of giant spiders once. It gave me the shakes. I'm now happy making coin with my forge."

Sarten tells him "Nothing wrong with that. Not everyone is cut out for a life of danger and adventure. I like the challenge. Of course, I prefer to fight with spells, not a sword."

The message is written clearly and without any hesitation. Sarten can tell the writer is highly intelligent and speaks like most human mages he's dealt with in his life. Just as he is about to hand the note to Jagr, the ink on the page glows and another postscript magically appears on the page.

"Sarten, I am glad you have arrived safely. Please gather with the others on Market Bridge once more than six of you have arrived in Bard's Gate. You will receive directions that will guide you in the quest that must be completed. Please make sure Mr. Wilie is there as well. He can direct latecomers if the rest of you do not wish to wait."

"I don't think I've ever met this So High, but it looks like my reputation has preceded me. Well, it sounds like the matter can wait a little while more. Do you have any idea what it's about, Kisep?"

 

[Scott DeWar]

"Please tell me Lady Mar, Are you an apothecary? I find your shop pleasantly intriguing." His own familiar, the fox, is outside, hiding under the steps to the inside of the shop. Shrough feels concern, which is sent back to the fox as safety. He waves his hands about himself, the grime sliding off into wisps of dissipating smoke. It is followed my a refreshing breeze about him that leaves a fresh scent like that of an apple orchard. His har cleans up quickly as well being now clean of grease and grime.

"Please forgive my manners as I had forgotten that it was a long day about town." He gives a disarming smile.

 

[Scotley]

The common room of the Felled Ogre:

"I fancied myself a treasure seeker in my youth, but I found I had no stomach for fighting monsters," Dongar says. "Fought a web of giant spiders once. It gave me the shakes. I'm now happy making coin with my forge."


"Durst drank something that didn't agree with him? That sounds fishy. He's got a cast-iron stomach," Wilie says. Dongar nods in agreement. Wilie asks Aileen Borya and Durst are upstairs, "in the family room." She nods and Wilie excuses himself to check on Durst and his cousin. Aileen hands him a big bowl of stew for Borya before he heads upstairs.


The note is, surprisingly, written in Draconic. The same as Sarten's own note. The quill-strokes seem different, however. Not written by the same hand. The note reads as follows:

"To Mr. Wilie, keeper of the Market Bridge in Bard's Gate,

I have a task for you of the utmost importance. In time, eight heroes will come to see you in Bard's Gate. They will not all arrive together although some of them might know each other. I cannot tell you why I've recruited them, but it should become clear once they have gathered together on the Market Bridge. A message will be delivered in a timely fashion once enough of them have gathered together.

I know there is a toll for using the bridge, so I have included 1 gold for each of them. That is a total of 8 gold plus another gold for your time regarding this matter. While it might be to your benefit to keep this information to yourself, I am not concerned with secrecy. Everything has already been set in motion and my enemies are unlikely to learn of these heroes before they are gathered. Once together, they will be a force to be reckoned with, of that I am sure.

Thank you for your help in this matter.

Sincerely,

S.H.

p.s. Mr. Wilie, you an I have never met, so do not concern yourself with trying to put a name to my initials."

The message is written clearly and without any hesitation. Sarten can tell the writer is highly intelligent and speaks like most human mages he's dealt with in his life. Just as he is about to hand the note to Jagr, the ink on the page glows and another postscript magically appears on the page.

"Sarten, I am glad you have arrived safely. Please gather with the others on Market Bridge once more than six of you have arrived in Bard's Gate. You will receive directions that will guide you in the quest that must be completed. Please make sure Mr. Wilie is there as well. He can direct latecomers if the rest of you do not wish to wait."

OOC: BTW, I use one of the black background themes here on EN World.

Jagr accepts Dongar's invitation to dine. Upon being approached about the note Jagr continues to speak in Draconic. "That is a most unusual note. Do you think that the writer guessed where it would arrive or is he somehow adding to the note because he can sense where it is and in who's hand it has been placed.?" Jarg takes up the note and says to it, "I Jagr am here as well and ready to know more." He shrugs wondering if their will be some response. "I have some skill as a hunter. What skills do the others possess. That might tell us something of what this S. H. has in mind."

 

[Knightfall]

Kisep appreciates that several people request another of his tales, and he turns to Aileen before starting. "Could I earn my stay for the night and something to eat and drink with my performance?"

"Of course you may," Aileen replies. "Keep my patrons happy, and you can eat and sleep here tonight for free. If you do well, you can perform each night you wish to stay." She whispers to Kisep," The more they drink and eat, the better your room."

When the kenku hears the other minstrel start a song to accompany his story, he begins. "Not very long ago, I was travelling the trade route between my native lands in the east, and the realm of the genie kings. As the night began to fall, I hurried to get myself to an inn much like this one, but in the wild outdoors with danger all around. I could hear wolves and other threats in the darkness, nearing fast, as I finally arrived at the Inn Of Broken Bottles. The innkeeper, a huge man called Ivar Bloodbeard who must've had some giant blood, greeted me warmly as he casually picked up his heavy crossbow, walked outside and shot down a massive white wolf. 'He was after you,' the innkeeper explained before dragging the dead thing inside and locking the door."

"After delivering me my meal, he set to work on the wolf, removing its pelt to fashion into a warm cloak for himself, the fangs to sell to a maker of necklaces and rings, and the meat to be fed to his pet cats Felix, Neelix and Bob. It was not until I saw his three cats that I understood his reasoning; they were large, human-sized creatures with intelligent eyes and ferocious appetites. It was very unnerving how they looked at me, with hungry gazes and big teeth. I am sure you know the typical relationship between cats and birds, so as I ate my meal, a very juicy and fattening stew, I couldn't help but wonder if I was being held captive so I could be catfeed when the wolfmeat ran out."

"Three days passed, and I watched the pile of meat diminish rapidly, but every time I brought up the subject of leaving, Ivar graciously persuaded me to stay 'just another night' before presenting me with another delicious meal. Besides, I was the only guest and not many people came to the Inn anymore. I dared not ask when the last visitor was here, or what fate happened upon him."

"That night, another visitor came knocking. Ivar came to the door with his crossbow and a bad temper from being rudely wakened from a pleasant dream, but a big grin came to his bearded face upon seeing who his newest guest was. It was a frail kenku, like myself, calling himself So High and claiming to be a mighty adventurer and liberator of all who are not free. His pockets were overflowing with coins and gems, which Ivar readily and greedily accepted in return for a bed and a meal. When the innkeeper was busy in the kitchen, So High winked at me and said that he was a wizard and a bounty hunter, and both Ivar and his cats were on his list. He confirmed my suspicions about their plan to eat me, and requested my assistance in their capture. Not being much of a fighter, I doubted my usefulness, but agreed nonetheless."

"He called out to Ivar that he had heard stories about his cats, and could he see the creatures for himself? Sure enough, Felix and Neelix came trodding into the room, walking up to So High, so close he could count the veins in their green and yellow eyes. Felix opened his mouth, showing his great fangs, and just when I was about to warn him, the great cat disappeared into the magical pouch on So High's belt. Before anyone realized what happened, the wizard had caught Neelix in the same pouch."

"With a great roar, Ivar Bloodbeard grabbed a huge twoheaded axe from behind the counter and charged towards the kenku mage. This was my cue! Grabbing my trusted whip," and Kisep unties his whip from around his waist to demonstrate, "I wrap the end around the innkeepers foot, tripping him to the ground. However, his weight pulls me down as well, sliding perilously close to Ivar and his axe. I behold, with terrible slowness, the sharp metal rushing towards my face. So close that a feather on my head is cut in twain, when Ivar disappears. The grinning face of So High replaces it, saying, 'We got them. Nice work, partner.' "

"Helping me up from the floor, he looks around. 'Quite the nasty gang, huh?' I thank him, several times, before realizing something. 'Where's the third cat? Where is Bob?' At that moment, laughter erupts from behind the counter, and a feline voice says, 'I'll not be caught that easily, bird!' A strange sound followed, and we rushed around the bar, too late to catch Bob and his magical teleportation. We never found him again, although I have since discovered that many catpeople are actually goodhearted, friendly folk. My friend So High occasionally drops me a note, usually asking my opinion on a specific cat."

The crowd in the Felled Ogre listens with great interest to Kisep's story. When he finishes, the crowd reacts well, overall. The dragonborn, Dongar, bangs his hands on the table appreciatively. Several of the Ogre's patrons come up to Kisep and shake his hand and few hand him coin as well.

OOC: Roll a Perform check for this story. The money Kisep gathers from the performance goes to the inn and will determine if he's earns enough for his room, food, and drink.

 

[Scotley]

Looking directly at Jagr now, Kisep produces his note from the mysteriou S.H. and motions for the catfolk to step forward. "So I assume the note you carry, my feline friend, is from So High, too? Because fear not, your actions today have proven your good heart already, to me and to all those present."

OOC: Sorry I totally missed this post earlier.

Jagr produces his note. "I do carry such a note. I find your story of interest. A bird bounty hunter and catcher of cats would hire me? Most amusing. I would meet this 'So High' and know his mind. I did find insult in your insinuation that only 'many' Catfolk are goodhearted and friendly folk as if this were somehow unexpected. Is it my fault if many birdfolk are easy prey and tasty? I will meet this powerful wizard and bounty hunter and delay judgement on your insulting story for now. A birdfolk hunter might be most amusing. I will even buy you a drink and hear more of your own history should you be willing to give it." He extends a gracious paw and grins showing needle sharp feline teeth.

 

[Shades of Eternity]

Hammerhand Family Room:

<To Ninian>
"It's a pleasure to meet you Ninian, but good little boys sleep so they can rise like lions in the morning."

"If you do, I'll tell you the story of the reluctant werewolf and what shenanigans he got into."

<To Winkile>
Boyra looks down at the little Fremlin with a smile.

"Greetings, little Pooka."

<To cousin Willie>
"I'd imagine that you are the guardian of this house hold"

After some sort of response, he then turns to cousin Willie.

"I feel as if this is instrumental to what brings us all together."

"The gods have told me nothing yet, but is very suspicious behavior."

"What have you heard?"

OOC (honestly, going to have to recalibrate my spells for info gathering)

 

[JustinCase]

OOC: Sorry I totally missed this post earlier.

Jagr produces his note. "I do carry such a note. I find your story of interest. A bird bounty hunter and catcher of cats would hire me? Most amusing. I would meet this 'So High' and know his mind. I did find insult in your insinuation that only 'many' Catfolk are goodhearted and friendly folk as if this were somehow unexpected. Is it my fault if many birdfolk are easy prey and tasty? I will meet this powerful wizard and bounty hunter and delay judgement on your insulting story for now. A birdfolk hunter might be most amusing. I will even buy you a drink and hear more of your own history should you be willing to give it." He extends a gracious paw and grins showing needle sharp feline teeth.

Kisep shakes Jagr's paw, although obviously uncomfortable. "Thank you, sir. Of course I did not mean to be insulting, and to be honest I do not know if my friend is indeed the one who has given us these notes. It would be a very remarkable coincidence for anyone else to have the same initials, however, and the same method of communication."

The kenku takes a seat next to Jagr before asking Aileen for a bowl of water. "A mug is not the easiest way to drink with a beak," he explains to the catfolk. "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Kisep, wandering bard, and this," he motions for the raven who is now finding a place to sit on one of the empty chairs nearby, "is Cousin Corvus. We are far from home, and I would think that you are, too, my feline friend."

OOC: OOC: Roll a Perform check for this story. The money Kisep gathers from the performance goes to the inn and will determine if he's earns enough for his room, food, and drink. Perform (oratory) check: [roll0]

 

[Scotley]

Kisep shakes Jagr's paw, although obviously uncomfortable. "Thank you, sir. Of course I did not mean to be insulting, and to be honest I do not know if my friend is indeed the one who has given us these notes. It would be a very remarkable coincidence for anyone else to have the same initials, however, and the same method of communication."

The kenku takes a seat next to Jagr before asking Aileen for a bowl of water. "A mug is not the easiest way to drink with a beak," he explains to the catfolk. "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Kisep, wandering bard, and this," he motions for the raven who is now finding a place to sit on one of the empty chairs nearby, "is Cousin Corvus. We are far from home, and I would think that you are, too, my feline friend."

OOC: Perform (oratory) check: [roll0]

"I appreciate your difficulty with the mug, my whiskers always get in the way too. And the handles are not really made to fit, but the brew is worth it." He smiles. "I am home now. I have chosen Bardsgate as my home. Where I once dwelt is indeed far far away, but today, I am home."

 

[Knightfall]

Lady Mar's shop:

"Are we headed back to the inn then?"

"There is little more I can offer you," Lady Mar replies. "Thudun, deary, let's let them get some rest, hmm?" She twirls the old dwarf's beard playfully.

Longmantle huffs with a smile. "I'm still on duty," he says to her quietly before looking at the trio. "You are discharged, gentlemen. Feel free to return to the Ogre. I have all the information I need for now."

"Please tell me Lady Mar, Are you an apothecary? I find your shop pleasantly intriguing." His own familiar, the fox, is outside, hiding under the steps to the inside of the shop. Shrough feels concern, which is sent back to the fox as safety. He waves his hands about himself, the grime sliding off into wisps of dissipating smoke. It is followed my a refreshing breeze about him that leaves a fresh scent like that of an apple orchard. His hair cleans up quickly as well being now clean of grease and grime.

"Please forgive my manners as I had forgotten that it was a long day about town." He gives a disarming smile.

"That title is apt," she replies. "Although I dabble in a lot of different magical methods. I owe my skills to my bloodline." She watches Shrough as he casts his cantrip. She smiles and says, "Talented and polite. How nice. I'm always glad to meet fellow practitioners of the arcane."

She sidles right next to the sergeant and says into his ear. "When your shift is over, come back deary."

Sergeant Longmantle gives her a quick peck on the cheek and then ushers the trio of adventurers out of the shop. He tries to casually wave to Mar as she closes the door behind them. She blows him a kiss through the window. Longmantle then heads back towards The Felled Ogre.