Hands of Fate - Chapter 1 - The Orbs of Insight

[Krug]

"I agree to this task," says Nyela eagerly, before anyone else can speak.

 

[Drakknyte32]

Kevin Hill, Fighter 1

Kevin watches the trainees as they walk by. So many of them practiced with sword or staff, and so few with the chain. It didn't really surprise Kevin, few could see the incredible power and grace that resided in a whirling chain, and few that could see were willing to make the sacrifices needed to harness that power. But perhaps he would be able to come by later and show them what a real weapon could do.

He banished such thoughts from his mind when they reached Maximo. The man was built like a warrior, that was obvious even through his age, just by looking at him Kevin could see why Jonathan had respect for this man. But his words were rather confusing. Maximo was a great warrior, and he had many apprentices with at least some skill, why did he need them to complete this task? Maximo talked about fate, but Kevin wasn't sure he believed in such a thing. Nonetheless, Jonathan had told him to come here and listen to Maximo, and listen he would.

"The last thing I remember was sitting at the gates with Ferro. We had just noticed a wagon coming over the hill. And then all of a sudden we were attacked by a horde of warriors yelling something about a prophecy. We held them off for a bit but then some big armored guy did something that wracked me with pain and I passed out. When I woke up I was here"

"I'm still kind of confused about what's going on, but if it will help me get some answers then I will go to this cave as well."

"Oh, and can you tell me about this ring? My old teacher, Jonathan Chainslayer, gave it to me before I left. He said that you would be able to tell me what it does."

 

[D'Amico Vega]

Darius shakes Maximo's hand, and gives Ferro a concerned stare, and replies
"The last thing I saw was when Sparrow and I were walking towards Springside, a wave of warriors attacked us screaming that the prophecy will not be finished. After we fought most of them off, a man with a warhammer that had inscriptions on it said we would all die." Darius pauses a moment then says "But as you said "the world's fate may lie in our hands", how the hell are we supposed to just roll along with that? I'll retrieve the spheres, but if those don't unlock answers to us having to save the world, then I don't know what'll happen."

 

[Lefferts]

Nedander nods his head in agreement as the others tell the tale. "That's how I remember it, too. If retrieving the spheres will get me some answers, then count me in."

 

[Gomez]

Gray Sparrow bows to Maximo, "It was as the other describe, we were attacked by many soliders and then felled by some sort of magic. If our task is to retrieve this sphere, I will do it, Master Maximo."

 

[Krug]

Nyela chimes in quickly, "As what they said," she says.

 

[Fangor the Fierce]

"Oh, and can you tell me about this ring? My old teacher, Jonathan Chainslayer, gave it to me before I left. He said that you would be able to tell me what it does."

Maximo listens to each of you without inerupting. His patience and resolve shows and when he takes in your words, he pauses, as if summarizing everything before talking. "The ring you have was your fathers. It helped him a few times and may prove to aid you as well. I believe he named it Quick Strike, for it aided him in his movement. And I see by your choice of weapon that it will come in handy." He hands back the ring and turns toward the others.

"As for the rest, I am sure that each of you has been given a family heirloom. Keep those safe, for each of them is special. You all are a little hesitant about this feat thatI ask of you, but your trust must not falter. Now go and return soon. Upon your return, I will tell you everything." He turns to Ferro and then seems to realize something.

"Stop by the last door on your left, as you may pick up some rations for the day. When you head out of the academy, take a right and follow the creek out of town. cross the bridge near the southern border of town and out through the rear gates. COntinue this path and you will find the cave in about an hour, near the edge of the south forest. And may the gods watch over you." He turns to Ferro and begins opening some scrolls and parchment. They start pouring through these old writings as if looking for something. You are left to leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Assuming you leave:

You head out of the study, and stop by the last door on the right. It appears that it is a dining area, with a long centered table and a cooking area in the rear. The woman that tended to you during the night is here as well. "Come on, go ahead and take your food and be on your way to your daily studies." She points towards the table, where there are small bags layed out. She doesn't look up and continues to go about her business of cooking. It appears that she is used to the students coming in and getting their food and leaving. Inside the bags are enough dried fruits, cheese and bread for a quick meal. Taking your rations, you leave out the door and walk towards the front of the academy. As you enter this area, you see more students and some trainers sparring with many different weapons. The difference here is that these weapons are not the wooden duplicates. And all weaponry is used, as there are racks lining the walls with various types. The students see you enter and sort of pause, not recognizing you. The trainers, spotting this shout, "Back to work!" Following it up with a strike with their weapon. The students react and block the strike, and continue their business. The main gate is a huge double wide door and outside, you see the creek to the south.

This side of town must be the furthest east of Springside you can go, for the mountains loom very close, and the fortified wall that surrounds this town is all there is to your left. You can see houses, a nearby church, and kids running around near the creek. The town is in full swing and seems oblivious to your presence.

As you head south, you find that the creek has the bridge mentioned earlier and as you cross it, you notice that there is somewhat of a little island on the other side, cut off from the rest of the town. You spy one larger house in the center, and a bunch of smaller ones to the sides. The trees here are a little different than the rest, and seem to be much bigger. The center house, which you have to walk by, has a fenced in yard, and a few animals running around the yard. You spy a few goats, a few chickens, a horse and then the two dogs. They run at you and start their barking. They stop at the fence, growling at you. Nobody seems to be home, for the curtains in the windows do not stir at all.

The path you follow leads southward, to a gate. It is a smaller gate, and only one guard is there. As you near, he stands from his sitting position and watches you closely. "Maximo said that there would be a group of new students arriving. Said to let you go about your business also. All I am saying is keep your nose clean, or a night in the cells will clear that up." He is a medium sized guard, with Studded Leather armour, a spear and longsword as weapons.

Outside of the town, you can see that the southern edge of the area is more of a grassy plain. The creek continues on its trek, etching out the edge of the mountains on its path. You can see foilage in various areas, but the grass is at least waist high for humans. You can see that to your right, (West), there are a few areas for farming, and workers in full motion with their daily farmwork.

Continuing on your way, you head south, following the creek until you see the forest that was mentioned nearing. As you close in, you begin your search for the cave entrance at the foot of the mountains.

After a few minutes of looking around, you all decide it best to split up to make it go quicker. Nyela is searching a small area, when she hears the scutter of a small mouse. It darts past her, and disappears. Gray Sparrow, searching near her, spies the mouse disappear behind a large boulder. Behind this boulder, she sees that there is an entrance. It must be the cave that they were here to find. The others, seeing her interest in the boulder, all gather around and see that they have found the cave, and now must continue on.

OOC - Seems as though I still left it open for Belvar to continue. If not, then he disappears by next update. If there is anything you all wanted to talk about while walking to the cave, go ahead and play that out. If any other actions would like to be done, just let me know and I can ammend this posting to include it. And now for your first adventure...Sorry to keep you guys waiting so long.

 

[Krug]

"Ooh poor mouse... hmm what's this," says Nyela as she sees the mouse disappear. On seeing the cave Nyela gulps. "So do we go in? Who's... who's first?"

 

[Drakknyte32]

As they travel along Kevin holds his ring between two fingers and peers intently at it.

"Interesting, so it's called quick strike. I've never had a magic ring before, I wonder how it works? From the way Maximo was talking I'll get a chance to find out soon enough."

Kevin slips the ring on to his finger and hurries to catch up with the others. Once they find the cave Kevin unwraps his chain and holds it at the ready.

"I'll go first if no one else wants to."

 

[Lefferts]

Nedander draws his sword, lights his lantern, and says "After you," with a wave of his hand.