Walking Dad
First Post
Thomas looks again confused at the others. If they follow he will, too.
Ars Magica 5e, Rhine Tribunal, 1220
Strahd_Von_Zarovich
First Post
Gorgamesh decides that he beleave her for now and limp after her with the help of his hunter friend.
"Come on, do not let a hunchback wait ..."
He call to the others
"Come on, do not let a hunchback wait ..."
He call to the others
You follow the shadow and quickly rush outside. In the central chamber, the instrument in the corner plays an odd, melancholic tune even as a great wolf changes, shifts, and turns into an old woman, her hair covered in white cloth and wearing an apron with a circular symbol of a wolf in the bottom left corner.
"I am the faerie queen you seek. It was I who steal the breath from the sleepers for the binding of my daughter. But it was also I who tempted these fools, and I who convinced her to go. Why have you broken my spell over this place? Such a thing is ill mannered, and we Faerie folk.. dislike bad manners."
"I am the faerie queen you seek. It was I who steal the breath from the sleepers for the binding of my daughter. But it was also I who tempted these fools, and I who convinced her to go. Why have you broken my spell over this place? Such a thing is ill mannered, and we Faerie folk.. dislike bad manners."
Ilshana steps forward and curtsies with a sweep of her arms in a surprisingly courtly gesture. Questions like that, she knew, had no good answers. Either obvious route would lead to doom. You had to gamble on an unseen path. Since this creature had pridefully introduced itself as a Queen, Ilshana decided to gamble on flattery. One thing about fey...if you gave them a lie that was more attractive than the truth, sometimes they'd be beguiled by it, and forget what the truth had been.
"We meant no offense, your Highness," she chirps amiably, though with a definite undercurrent of respect in her voice. "We came across this castle by night, and found within a grand tale in mid-spinning. An epic drama of betrayal and loss and redemption, such that bards would weep to tell! I see now that you are the author of this, and I congratulate you...truly no mortal mind could have set such a thing in motion."
She beams effusively. "I think my favorite part though was how cleverly you enticed us to be your agents for ending the tale...for of course, every drama, every story, has an ending. Otherwise they become prisons...and no one wants to be a prisoner for all time!" Ilshana chuckles at the very thought, then shakes a finger. "And yet, the subtlety you showed, bending us to your ultimate design...goading us through challenge and hurdle...until finally we'd accomplished the impossible and freed your daughter, saving the good people of this keep in the process!"
With a shrug, Ilshana sighs wistfully. "I can only hope that one day I will possess even a fraction of the skill I see at work here now. The ballads sung of this tower will inspire dreams and hopes and fears for generations to come...now that the story is complete."
She bows again. "All I can say is thank you for having made us a part of this."
Quickly she mentally reviewed her words. She'd included a couple of 'carrots' amidst the sea of buttering-up, just in case the fae was actually listening. Mentioning that undoing the spell had freed not just her daughter, but the Queen herself. Mentioning that the story of these events would fuel human tales, emotions, dreams...things that faeries had interests in...but that tales didn't spread far until they were stories...and stories had endings.
It would have to do. Now, if I haven't managed to piss her off with all the bootlicking, or if she doesn't decide that the heroes dying would make a better ending, we may just have a chance...
"We meant no offense, your Highness," she chirps amiably, though with a definite undercurrent of respect in her voice. "We came across this castle by night, and found within a grand tale in mid-spinning. An epic drama of betrayal and loss and redemption, such that bards would weep to tell! I see now that you are the author of this, and I congratulate you...truly no mortal mind could have set such a thing in motion."
She beams effusively. "I think my favorite part though was how cleverly you enticed us to be your agents for ending the tale...for of course, every drama, every story, has an ending. Otherwise they become prisons...and no one wants to be a prisoner for all time!" Ilshana chuckles at the very thought, then shakes a finger. "And yet, the subtlety you showed, bending us to your ultimate design...goading us through challenge and hurdle...until finally we'd accomplished the impossible and freed your daughter, saving the good people of this keep in the process!"
With a shrug, Ilshana sighs wistfully. "I can only hope that one day I will possess even a fraction of the skill I see at work here now. The ballads sung of this tower will inspire dreams and hopes and fears for generations to come...now that the story is complete."
She bows again. "All I can say is thank you for having made us a part of this."
Quickly she mentally reviewed her words. She'd included a couple of 'carrots' amidst the sea of buttering-up, just in case the fae was actually listening. Mentioning that undoing the spell had freed not just her daughter, but the Queen herself. Mentioning that the story of these events would fuel human tales, emotions, dreams...things that faeries had interests in...but that tales didn't spread far until they were stories...and stories had endings.
It would have to do. Now, if I haven't managed to piss her off with all the bootlicking, or if she doesn't decide that the heroes dying would make a better ending, we may just have a chance...
The ancient crone gazes at you all, weighing your words.
"I have a price for you, oh speaker of fine words and teller of fine tales, or my curse shall fall again upon you and yours. For each person you speak to for a month, you must tell a story of the Wolf Queen. One of you, a different one each time, must tell of the sleeping curse, and of the dread curse of the Wolf Queen, and each time you must tell it different."
The woman grins, showing her teeth are those of a hounds.
"Otherwise, I shall crack your bones between my teeth. What say you?"
"I have a price for you, oh speaker of fine words and teller of fine tales, or my curse shall fall again upon you and yours. For each person you speak to for a month, you must tell a story of the Wolf Queen. One of you, a different one each time, must tell of the sleeping curse, and of the dread curse of the Wolf Queen, and each time you must tell it different."
The woman grins, showing her teeth are those of a hounds.
"Otherwise, I shall crack your bones between my teeth. What say you?"
Strahd_Von_Zarovich
First Post
Looks like Ilshana managed to get us out of this with a minor worthy deal and a challenging curse...
Gorgamesh thinks to himself as he eyes the queen of faeries and the wizardess.
Gorgamesh thinks to himself as he eyes the queen of faeries and the wizardess.
Ilshana somehow managed to both relax and tense up in her belly at the same time. One threat gone, replaced by another, and one potentially just as intense. The fey bargain. Mentally she cracked her knuckles and reviewed the Wolf Queen's proposal.
So, for one month, anyone that any of us talk to has to be told the tale of this keep and what happened here, in a different way than any time before, by a different one of us. A few dangerous interpretations flung themselves at her instantly. Fortunately, no bargain was a TRUE bargain, without a bit of haggling.
"Your proposal is just and fair, Queen of the Wolves," Ilshana assured her, "But as we are mortal and our memories and minds somewhat feeble, let me ensure that what is obvious to you is as clear to us... Firstly, let us say that we need not repeat the story to anyone who was actually present for the events it chronicles, nor if they've heard the story before, such as yourself, great Queen, or ourselves and our retainers...else we'd spend the month merely repeating it between ourselves!" She smiled gaily at the foolishness of that. "Secondly, let us say that one of us three who has told the tale before can do so again, but only after all three of us has done so once more. That is, that once we have each told the tale once, any of us can do so again to the next person we speak to, but then a different one of us must tell it to the next two, at which point the cycle starts again." She grinned again. "Otherwise it would seem as if we could only talk to three people in the month, before none of us could tell the tale again and I'm sure that's not what you wanted. Oh...and lets also be sure to allow that someone we speak to may not -allow- us to tell them the story. We must make honest effort to sway them to listen, short of forcing them against their will...after all, we wish them to remember your tale with excitement and fondness, so that it will live in their hearts! And finally, for our poor mortal minds, let us make certain that 'person' applies only to human beings, or creatures that we can recognize as understanding our speech...lest we carelessly speak to a frog that is one of the Good Folk in disguise, and all unwitting violate this most excellent contract!"
She holds out a hand towards the Queen. "Those things considered, we would be honored and delighted to spread your tale far and wide, Wolf Queen. Jaws will wag, speaking your name, and men and women will dream uneasily of your power. Agreed?"
So, for one month, anyone that any of us talk to has to be told the tale of this keep and what happened here, in a different way than any time before, by a different one of us. A few dangerous interpretations flung themselves at her instantly. Fortunately, no bargain was a TRUE bargain, without a bit of haggling.
"Your proposal is just and fair, Queen of the Wolves," Ilshana assured her, "But as we are mortal and our memories and minds somewhat feeble, let me ensure that what is obvious to you is as clear to us... Firstly, let us say that we need not repeat the story to anyone who was actually present for the events it chronicles, nor if they've heard the story before, such as yourself, great Queen, or ourselves and our retainers...else we'd spend the month merely repeating it between ourselves!" She smiled gaily at the foolishness of that. "Secondly, let us say that one of us three who has told the tale before can do so again, but only after all three of us has done so once more. That is, that once we have each told the tale once, any of us can do so again to the next person we speak to, but then a different one of us must tell it to the next two, at which point the cycle starts again." She grinned again. "Otherwise it would seem as if we could only talk to three people in the month, before none of us could tell the tale again and I'm sure that's not what you wanted. Oh...and lets also be sure to allow that someone we speak to may not -allow- us to tell them the story. We must make honest effort to sway them to listen, short of forcing them against their will...after all, we wish them to remember your tale with excitement and fondness, so that it will live in their hearts! And finally, for our poor mortal minds, let us make certain that 'person' applies only to human beings, or creatures that we can recognize as understanding our speech...lest we carelessly speak to a frog that is one of the Good Folk in disguise, and all unwitting violate this most excellent contract!"
She holds out a hand towards the Queen. "Those things considered, we would be honored and delighted to spread your tale far and wide, Wolf Queen. Jaws will wag, speaking your name, and men and women will dream uneasily of your power. Agreed?"
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Yair
Community Supporter
Leo absent-mindidly bears his teeth as he contemplates going for the direct route, but decides to let Ilshana lead on this. The whole situation appears immensly strange to him, Ilshana's words strange and it isn't clear at all what the Wolf Queen has to gain from any of this. But he supposes that means he's out of his leaguge - let the faerie-specialist handle this.
Instead, he eyes the child carefully. "She" is the one that led us all to the Queen - why, and why is she up to now that we're bargaining with what she wanted us to kill?
Instead, he eyes the child carefully. "She" is the one that led us all to the Queen - why, and why is she up to now that we're bargaining with what she wanted us to kill?
Walking Dad
First Post
Fully over his head, Thomas just watches as the situation unfolds...
