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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Viking Bastard" data-source="post: 265602" data-attributes="member: 509">.The King just built a new spire in the city, opening the whole area to trade by aircruisers. The Merchant Guild wants power there and has sent Guildmaster Qter to open negotiations with the King. The PCs are to escort him as his bodyguards. They have been travelling for a whole three weeks by the Guild’s luxury cruiser, the Unicorn, beyond the vast inner seas to the eastern continent, beyond the Kentaari Empire and to the South-Eastern lands. When they finally arrive it’s late, about eleven o’clock. They dock with the newly built spire where they are greeted by a special envoy, the King’s right hand man, Ser Leonard and a group of the royal guards.Ser Leonard escorts the Serpent City citizens to the palace. They go through the tight streets of Centrum. The city is very dirty and colourless, everything in the same yellow-grey colour of the sand. The people seem poor, yet content, and very very busy.The palace is rather small when compared to the great buildings of Serpent City, yet very glamorous. Especially when compared to the rest of the city. It’s white, with a shining red roof and archways. It’s well guarded, by both members of the royals and the Jt’eri.In the Palace entrance they are greeted by the King. He’s large and strong, with a big mighty brunette beard. He’s wearing a somekinda mix of Kentaari and Centrum native outfit. While he wears a classic (if somewhat outdated) Kentaari suit, he wears a native cloak and jewellery. He shakes Qter’s hand with much intensity, letting out a loud laugh. After showing Qter the palace and all his riches (who pale when compared to the Guild’s, but Qter seems most impressed) he takes them to his office, who is seems more like a big playroom, filled of food and riches as well as things that might only be seen as toys.Ser Leonard takes a guarding posture outside the main entrance to the “office” and when the PCs see the last of him he’s standing loyally outside the door.Qter tries to engage the King in business talk, but all he seems to want to discuss is idle chitchat, of the newest Harrgard gadgets and the state of world politics.Suddenly a loud crash can be heard from the hallway. The PCs, along with the King, jump to their feet and smash their way through the door. Leonard is on his knees, his face torn by agony and his body shaking in spasms of pain. Over him stands a robed man. He has red bronze-like skin and on the forehead of his completely shaven bald head there’s a tattoo of a Snake. He’s holding a shining glowing sphere right in front of Leonard’s torn face. When the PCs burst in he mumbles something under his breath and extends his hand in their direction. The King, mad with rage, rushes at the stranger with his sword drawn but crashes into somekinda invisible barrier and bounces back. The stranger grins, clutches the sphere and jumps out the broken window behind him.When the PCs try to walk forward, the barrier seems to be gone. They run to the window and look out. The stranger is climbing into a carriage. Three similarly robed men are helping him. When the carriage takes off, they stay behind. Two of them seem to be armed, one with a large scimitar and the other with two crescent shaped daggers.[ Music = “Spybreak” by Propellerheads from the Matrix soundtrack ]The PCs jump out the window and down onto the street. Incognito takes out his pistol and prepares to shoot one of the robed men. The unarmed guy stretches out his arms and mumbles something in a foreign language. When Incognito fires, the pistols only gives a very disappointing hiss and a lot of smoke. When Stickler and Kurk try to fire their weapons they get the same results.The scimitar-wielding thug slashes at Incognito but he easily dodges and throws away the gun and unsheathes his two rapiers. Stickler pistol-whips the scimitar thug across the back of his head, sending him stumbling forward. Incognito uses the opportunity and separates the thug’s head from his body with a quick and strong blow. Meanwhile, the dagger-wielding thug lounges at Kurk and it able to cut him slightly. Kurk grabs one of the thug’s arms and head butts him so he falls limp to the ground.Stickler and Incognito make their way to the spellcaster. He seems calm and braces himself into defensive postures. When they seem to be about to attack he raises out his open palm and pushes forward. Stickler and Incognito are thrown backwards by some invisible force. Kurk grabs his axe and with a berserk roar he rushes at the spellcaster and slashes. The spellcaster easily avoids the blow and circle kicks Kurk in the lower back, knocking him off his feet.Stickler and Incognito get to their feet. Stickler lounges at the spellcaster with his short sword. The spellcaster mumbles something and casts another spell but Incognito casts dispel magic and the spellcaster finds Stickler’s sword ripping open his gut. While trying to shove his intestines back into his stomach and with a stunned look on his face he falls down onto his knees. Stickler finishes the job with a quick beheading.</blockquote>

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