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<blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1361547" data-attributes="member: 15043"><p>This is the first post of the adventure from the 6th of February... this section was mostly written by drag n fly... so all praise goes to her <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> (I'll take the criticisms... thank you!)</p><p></p><p>And I'm more than happy to listen to critiques of the adventure so far, ideas, writing style, general goofiness... so please, PLEASE feel free to respond! It can only help the adventures get better! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Of Research, and Preparations</strong></p><p></p><p>Tess rose early, far ahead of the others yet again. Bored after a morning meal of some boiled oats and bread from the temple kitchen, she wandered into the library, hoping to find Xanadu.</p><p></p><p><em>He’s so focused... but I bet he didn’t even stay up all night. Wizards even need their sleep,</em> she mused as she gently opened the library door, expecting to see Xanadu sprawled over his books.</p><p></p><p>Instead, she saw his head still up, albeit lolling to a side and rather low. Quietly she walked up behind him, and gently tapped him on the shoulder.</p><p></p><p>“Ah!” the wizard almost leapt out of his chair in surprise, before turning to see her. His face momentarily turns dark with annoyance before a grin breaks through.</p><p></p><p>“I... ah... guess I was asleep,” he said.</p><p></p><p><em>My God... he can smile!</em> Tess wanted to laugh, but noticed instead the piles of books gathered around him. Curious, and with little to do until the others awoke, she sat down beside him.</p><p></p><p>“What are you reading here?” she gestured to the books. She knew better than grab one of them herself... there was no telling if he had a special page marked or was touchy with his research. Xanadu gave her a tired smile, apparently glad someone was interested in his boring research.</p><p></p><p>“Several things,” he said, yawning and stretching before continuing. “This pile here is research stuff for the Temple of Hextor. This pile is the various genealogies of Lucius’ family... and this...”</p><p></p><p>“Um... wait,” Tess gently grabbed Xanadu’s pointing hand to get his attention. “Why Lucius’ genealogy? Have you found anything out about the Countess?”</p><p></p><p>“Um... I’ve found clues, but not what I’m looking for,” Xanadu said with bleary eyes.</p><p></p><p>“What are you looking for?” Tess said, a little exasperated. <em>This old man talks in circles sometimes! C’mon... get to the point!</em> Xanadu turned to her, and for the first time that morning, his violet eyes glowed with a distant, but powerful fire.</p><p></p><p>“I shall not tell you yet!” His head then lowered back to the book he was reading. “Not until I know for sure... otherwise you will worry about Siabrey and her boy...”</p><p></p><p>“What...why do you say that?” Tess asked, raising an eyebrow in alarm.</p><p></p><p>Xanadu turned to fully face her. “Did Siabrey tell you how Lucius defended her last night?” Tess shook her head.</p><p></p><p>“He used magic vile enough that two of the assassins drowned in their own blood after hurting her,” Xanadu said dryly, delivering the news in the same deadpan a peasant would announce his fiftieth cousin thrice removed had died.</p><p></p><p><em>What!? He did WHAT!?</em> Tess’ mind was gripped in a mix of horror and terror. Her mind was unfortunately possessive of a very vivid imagination, and it took only a slight part of that for her to shudder at how horrible a death that might have been.</p><p></p><p>“How... how did he do such things?!” Tess said, her voice quaking now. <em>He is truly going evil... we must stop him...</em></p><p></p><p>“I’m... I’m not sure he even knows when he does those things,” Xanadu continued. “He is a young man with untamed magic in his blood... massive amounts of it. And while he can control some of it... like the fireball you described to Hidalas, I think... when he is under stress or afraid, other magic can explode forth with little or no control.”</p><p></p><p>“So... its... its not him... its his magic?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes. Now, Tess, I would ask you the favor to keep his lover in the dark about this. If Siabrey found out...”</p><p></p><p>“Did someone say my name?” a faint voice came from the other side of hte library, as Siabrey’s small form held open one of the doors. Xanadu immediately stiffened, and closed shut the book he was looking at.</p><p></p><p>“Yes, your name was mentioned in passing, but not on anything important.” He looked up, his face growing deeply annoyed as Siabrey got closer. “Go run along to your boy! Check up on him!” he said in his grouchiest voice, which finally got Siabrey to leave the room.</p><p></p><p>As the door closed with a slight slam as she stomped out, miffed at his grumpiness, Xanadu turned to Tess.</p><p></p><p>“That was a close one, fair one. I would advise you to go rise the others,” he turned back to his work, “there’s much fighting to do this morning. I shall stay here and...”</p><p></p><p>“Sleep?” Tess suggested hopefully. “For research this important, we need your mind to be fully working, Xanadu.” The half elve’s eyes had deep bags under them, and he looked like the walking dead.</p><p></p><p>“No... no sleep. This is too important. I’ve been awake for 52 hours straight before... I can do it again if neccessary. Now,” he looked back at her, his eyes kind but firm, “please, run along Tess. You have fun to do... don’t stay here with crusty bookworms like myself.”</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Shaun, for his part, rose early in the morning and headed out to the Thieves Guild to try and find some more information on events in the region... notably the questions pertaining to Ilia and her movements.</p><p></p><p>The guild rep immediately recognized Shaun this time, and with a smile answered the questions he had.... </p><p></p><p>Ilia had last been seen, only two days prior, riding back westward across the Inerman River. As to Shaun’s questions whether she was headed northwards, or towards Holstean, they could not answer...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>After leaving the tired, and in her opinion, grouchy half-elf to his reading, Siabrey headed back down the hall to the room she still shared with Lucius. As she walked, she reflected on the turns her life had taken.</p><p></p><p><em>First I like the guy, then I love the guy, then I fear he’ll leave me for a nobler women, then I find out I may have to leave HIM because of my ancestry…</em></p><p></p><p>The course of events was mindboggling. Only a month ago she had been strolling into a bar full of dwarves and heard about the missing countesses son…</p><p></p><p><em>If I had known then that I would fall in love with him…</em>She smiled, and paused outside of the door to their room. <em>He is the most magnificent person I have ever known…</em></p><p></p><p>She opened the door, expecting to find Lucius still asleep, which meant perhaps a little cuddle time as she woke him up. Instead, she found a gray cat with bright green eyes staring back at her. She froze.</p><p></p><p><em>Oh my God…Lucius no, please tell me you haven’t been turned into a cat like Xanadu! </em> A plethora of thoughts ran through her head, ranging from a prank by Xanadu and Shaun to a manifestation of the evil in his bloodline.</p><p></p><p>While she stood there frozen, the cat jumped off the bed and ran over to her, rubbed against her leg, ran back over to the bed, and with a small “popping” sound, changed back into a giggling Lucius. Siabrey stood frozen for a few more seconds before her mind realized he had been playing a trick on her. She strode the five quick steps to the bed and punched him on the shoulder, playfully, but still hard.</p><p></p><p>“Don’t DO that!” she exclaimed. <em>My heart is still pounding…</em></p><p></p><p>Lucius looked a little sad at her reaction. “It’s a new spell I learned just this morning. I thought you would like it.”</p><p></p><p>“I do like it,” so softened at his expression and ran a hand gently through his hair. “You just scared me, ok.”</p><p></p><p>He gave her his best puppy-dog look, then, with another small “pop” changed into a cute brown dog. He changed back a second later laughing, she couldn’t help but grin along with him.</p><p></p><p>“Alright you silly, enough playing. We’ve got to get ready to go sac the Temple of Hextor.” <em>And I for one am going to seriously enjoy hurting the temple of the evil twin of Heironeaous.</em></p><p></p><p>Lucius agreed, and they proceeded to help each other put on their armor. </p><p></p><p>A few minutes later, a captain of the Imperial Casalad Rangers arrived, and with a curt nod, began taking the party on a long, circuitous route to their destination. A walk that should have taken 15 minutes instead took 45, as the man clearly was taking the party the long way to avoid detection. Finally, they arrived to the back side of a blacksmithy/tavern, a small door sunk at basement level with a set of stairs greeted them.</p><p></p><p>“This is the back door to the suspected temple,” the guardsman whispered quietly. “We shall hit them from the front with 100 guardsman... the fodder will try to stream out here. Your job is to keep them from escaping.” Tess and the party nodded in understanding, and the guardsman saluted, before slipping around the building’s corner and into the main street.</p><p></p><p>It was only a few minutes later when the loud shout of, “Open this door in the name of the Emperor!” cascaded between the buildings, and the loud crashes of an impromptu battering ram of shoulders on wood thunderously followed afterwards...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Emperor Valerian, post: 1361547, member: 15043"] This is the first post of the adventure from the 6th of February... this section was mostly written by drag n fly... so all praise goes to her :) (I'll take the criticisms... thank you!) And I'm more than happy to listen to critiques of the adventure so far, ideas, writing style, general goofiness... so please, PLEASE feel free to respond! It can only help the adventures get better! :) [b]Of Research, and Preparations[/b] Tess rose early, far ahead of the others yet again. Bored after a morning meal of some boiled oats and bread from the temple kitchen, she wandered into the library, hoping to find Xanadu. [i]He’s so focused... but I bet he didn’t even stay up all night. Wizards even need their sleep,[/i] she mused as she gently opened the library door, expecting to see Xanadu sprawled over his books. Instead, she saw his head still up, albeit lolling to a side and rather low. Quietly she walked up behind him, and gently tapped him on the shoulder. “Ah!” the wizard almost leapt out of his chair in surprise, before turning to see her. His face momentarily turns dark with annoyance before a grin breaks through. “I... ah... guess I was asleep,” he said. [i]My God... he can smile![/i] Tess wanted to laugh, but noticed instead the piles of books gathered around him. Curious, and with little to do until the others awoke, she sat down beside him. “What are you reading here?” she gestured to the books. She knew better than grab one of them herself... there was no telling if he had a special page marked or was touchy with his research. Xanadu gave her a tired smile, apparently glad someone was interested in his boring research. “Several things,” he said, yawning and stretching before continuing. “This pile here is research stuff for the Temple of Hextor. This pile is the various genealogies of Lucius’ family... and this...” “Um... wait,” Tess gently grabbed Xanadu’s pointing hand to get his attention. “Why Lucius’ genealogy? Have you found anything out about the Countess?” “Um... I’ve found clues, but not what I’m looking for,” Xanadu said with bleary eyes. “What are you looking for?” Tess said, a little exasperated. [i]This old man talks in circles sometimes! C’mon... get to the point![/i] Xanadu turned to her, and for the first time that morning, his violet eyes glowed with a distant, but powerful fire. “I shall not tell you yet!” His head then lowered back to the book he was reading. “Not until I know for sure... otherwise you will worry about Siabrey and her boy...” “What...why do you say that?” Tess asked, raising an eyebrow in alarm. Xanadu turned to fully face her. “Did Siabrey tell you how Lucius defended her last night?” Tess shook her head. “He used magic vile enough that two of the assassins drowned in their own blood after hurting her,” Xanadu said dryly, delivering the news in the same deadpan a peasant would announce his fiftieth cousin thrice removed had died. [i]What!? He did WHAT!?[/i] Tess’ mind was gripped in a mix of horror and terror. Her mind was unfortunately possessive of a very vivid imagination, and it took only a slight part of that for her to shudder at how horrible a death that might have been. “How... how did he do such things?!” Tess said, her voice quaking now. [i]He is truly going evil... we must stop him...[/i] “I’m... I’m not sure he even knows when he does those things,” Xanadu continued. “He is a young man with untamed magic in his blood... massive amounts of it. And while he can control some of it... like the fireball you described to Hidalas, I think... when he is under stress or afraid, other magic can explode forth with little or no control.” “So... its... its not him... its his magic?” “Yes. Now, Tess, I would ask you the favor to keep his lover in the dark about this. If Siabrey found out...” “Did someone say my name?” a faint voice came from the other side of hte library, as Siabrey’s small form held open one of the doors. Xanadu immediately stiffened, and closed shut the book he was looking at. “Yes, your name was mentioned in passing, but not on anything important.” He looked up, his face growing deeply annoyed as Siabrey got closer. “Go run along to your boy! Check up on him!” he said in his grouchiest voice, which finally got Siabrey to leave the room. As the door closed with a slight slam as she stomped out, miffed at his grumpiness, Xanadu turned to Tess. “That was a close one, fair one. I would advise you to go rise the others,” he turned back to his work, “there’s much fighting to do this morning. I shall stay here and...” “Sleep?” Tess suggested hopefully. “For research this important, we need your mind to be fully working, Xanadu.” The half elve’s eyes had deep bags under them, and he looked like the walking dead. “No... no sleep. This is too important. I’ve been awake for 52 hours straight before... I can do it again if neccessary. Now,” he looked back at her, his eyes kind but firm, “please, run along Tess. You have fun to do... don’t stay here with crusty bookworms like myself.” Shaun, for his part, rose early in the morning and headed out to the Thieves Guild to try and find some more information on events in the region... notably the questions pertaining to Ilia and her movements. The guild rep immediately recognized Shaun this time, and with a smile answered the questions he had.... Ilia had last been seen, only two days prior, riding back westward across the Inerman River. As to Shaun’s questions whether she was headed northwards, or towards Holstean, they could not answer... After leaving the tired, and in her opinion, grouchy half-elf to his reading, Siabrey headed back down the hall to the room she still shared with Lucius. As she walked, she reflected on the turns her life had taken. [i]First I like the guy, then I love the guy, then I fear he’ll leave me for a nobler women, then I find out I may have to leave HIM because of my ancestry…[/i] The course of events was mindboggling. Only a month ago she had been strolling into a bar full of dwarves and heard about the missing countesses son… [i]If I had known then that I would fall in love with him…[/i]She smiled, and paused outside of the door to their room. [i]He is the most magnificent person I have ever known…[/i] She opened the door, expecting to find Lucius still asleep, which meant perhaps a little cuddle time as she woke him up. Instead, she found a gray cat with bright green eyes staring back at her. She froze. [i]Oh my God…Lucius no, please tell me you haven’t been turned into a cat like Xanadu! [/i] A plethora of thoughts ran through her head, ranging from a prank by Xanadu and Shaun to a manifestation of the evil in his bloodline. While she stood there frozen, the cat jumped off the bed and ran over to her, rubbed against her leg, ran back over to the bed, and with a small “popping” sound, changed back into a giggling Lucius. Siabrey stood frozen for a few more seconds before her mind realized he had been playing a trick on her. She strode the five quick steps to the bed and punched him on the shoulder, playfully, but still hard. “Don’t DO that!” she exclaimed. [i]My heart is still pounding…[/i] Lucius looked a little sad at her reaction. “It’s a new spell I learned just this morning. I thought you would like it.” “I do like it,” so softened at his expression and ran a hand gently through his hair. “You just scared me, ok.” He gave her his best puppy-dog look, then, with another small “pop” changed into a cute brown dog. He changed back a second later laughing, she couldn’t help but grin along with him. “Alright you silly, enough playing. We’ve got to get ready to go sac the Temple of Hextor.” [i]And I for one am going to seriously enjoy hurting the temple of the evil twin of Heironeaous.[/i] Lucius agreed, and they proceeded to help each other put on their armor. A few minutes later, a captain of the Imperial Casalad Rangers arrived, and with a curt nod, began taking the party on a long, circuitous route to their destination. A walk that should have taken 15 minutes instead took 45, as the man clearly was taking the party the long way to avoid detection. Finally, they arrived to the back side of a blacksmithy/tavern, a small door sunk at basement level with a set of stairs greeted them. “This is the back door to the suspected temple,” the guardsman whispered quietly. “We shall hit them from the front with 100 guardsman... the fodder will try to stream out here. Your job is to keep them from escaping.” Tess and the party nodded in understanding, and the guardsman saluted, before slipping around the building’s corner and into the main street. It was only a few minutes later when the loud shout of, “Open this door in the name of the Emperor!” cascaded between the buildings, and the loud crashes of an impromptu battering ram of shoulders on wood thunderously followed afterwards... [/QUOTE]
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