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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Knightfall" data-source="post: 8590018" data-attributes="member: 2012">OOC: <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f923.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":ROFLMAO:" title="ROFL    :ROFLMAO:"  data-smilie="18"data-shortname=":ROFLMAO:" />Mazz pulls out a large monocle and peers at Maur through it. "I can hardly believe it! A son of the Sonnthord." He inspects Maur's features and his armor. "And an Adrum of Moradin, no less." He pats Maur on the cheek. "It is good to meet you, youngling, you will have to sit at my fire in the evening and tell me the recent news from your Emerald Halls over some Rockberry Wine. I've been up out of the Underearth for almost 100 years now, so I don't get a lot of news from the Deep Below.""It is a pleasure to meet you, Elder Mazz," Aureus says sheepishly. "I did not know there were any gnomes living in these lands.""I am the only one of my blood who lives in these lands. There are other gnomes living in the Thunder Lands, but they are not svirfneblins. In truth, I have not seen any my people in almost 150 years," Mazz replies as he takes a closer look at the hutaakan. He isn't startled by her appearance as much as by her mannerisms. "Hmm, you are definitely not a gnoll. May I ask?"Aureus's tail swishes back and forth happily. "I am Aureus Canis. I am a hutaakan. My people were brought to your world ten years ago during The Transformation.""Ooh, were reborn as a clone?""No, no. I'm who I was back on my world. Maran it is called," Aureus replies."Ah, the Ahamudian Schism," Mazz nods. "I have heard the stories of how the mists completely reshaped the Ragik Peninsula and the war that erupted between those brought from your world and Empire of Swords.""Very few of my people chose to fight, I'm afraid to say," Aureus says with some guilt. "And I was only ten years old when I was brought to these lands.""War is never an easy choice," Mazz consuls. "I'm sure your leaders had their reasons. And you can't fault them for making that choice. But, here you are now, miss, and an adventurer who good companions, it seems. We will talk more later. Now, Ivoron and I must get the inn in shape for your visit. We can't have this mess with guests around." Mazz taps his hand on his chair. "Ivoron, wheel me behind the bar and wind my chair up so I can get to work!"Ivoron smiles and shakes his head, but he does what the old deep gnome asks. Once he has Mazz's chair settled behind the bar, the young half-elf locks the chair's wheels in place and turns a intricate crank on the back of the chair that rises Mazz up to be at the right height to reach things on the bar with his one good hand.Penelope is soon giddily pestering the old gnome with questions and the gnome answers every one of them without a complaint.In Maur's eyes, the venerable svirfneblin seems livelier. He is wise and full of stories and legends, but for now, it is Aries story that Maur and the others must listen to first.[HR][/HR]Mazz is a good distraction, as the villagers are entranced by the old deep gnome as much as by the food that Maur has provided them. They share the meal with Old Mazz and gather around to hear his spin yarns while he works. Ivoron works alongside Mazz at a frenzied pace to clean up the common room.You all gather outside, so that Angus doesn't have to clomp around on the wooden floor of the Hillwall Inn. Mazz lets you take an old wobbly table and some of his less pristine chairs out into the yard in front of the inn. The day is pleasantly cool without being cold and the sun is high in the sky. The day likely won't get too much warmer, but Maur is still forced to put his goggles back on.Everyone finds seat and Ivoron brings you a jug filled with clean water, some mugs, and platter with dried fruit & nuts, some decent crusty bread, and some pungent cheese. He leaves you to speak among yourselves and heads back inside to attend to his chores and helping the villagers.Aries sits on one side of the table away from the inn's door with Caerth sitting closest to him. Aureus sits on the opposite side of the table next to Maur with Phar beside her. Quinn sits in between Maur and Aries with Angus opposite of him."Let me start by saying that there are things I was going to tell you about, eventually," Aries says as he pours himself a mug of water. "However, my brotherhood can be very secretive towards outsiders, especially when it comes to its goals. I can't tell you everything without risking being kicked out of the order and branded a traitor."Aureus crosses her arms impatiently. "Just tell us."Aries sighs."I've already told you that I was sent to infiltrate the cultists at Gurnard's Head and determine how much of a threat they are to the world but that was only part of my mission. I was sent to find & steal Azurak from Tarrak and bring the weapon back to the brotherhood," Aries glances at Angus. "My superiors had learned that the ghast had the great mace and that he was planning something terrible. We had no idea how strong he was or that he was trying to ascend to become a god. It is good that you stopped him. And we had no idea that the other Star Arms were on the island, but when I discovered that Cruel Justice was sticking in the ground near the tower, I had to reconsider my mission. I had wanted to take both the mace and scimitar and flee the island but it was too risky. Tarrak was so powerful that I could not have hoped to stand against him."Aries looks at Quinn. "But, you came to the island with Aureus, Caerth, and the bard and recovered the scimitar before I figure out a way to get ahold of both of them and rush them back into the hands of my brotherhood." He glances at Caerth next. "And then you came back and helped the wererat and his brood escape and claimed Kang as well.""So far, I'm not hearing anything about you betraying us," Aureus interrupts."I have been tasked with retrieving Azurak and I cannot go back to my superiors without it," Aries says bluntly. "I know I can't force you to give it up, but I cannot just let you keep it and the other Star Arms. They are a danger to the world. Every time they are gathered together, the continent suffers a great catastrophe. The brotherhood has evidence that they were gathered together during both the First and Second Ogre Wars, as well as during the fall of the elven city of Amylinyon.""It is true that we were together when the Second Ogre War erupted but not the first war," Cruel Justice intones. "Your superiors have their facts wrong.""The ogre scion known as Vodik had both Azurak and Kang during the first war, not just the great mace," Aries insists. "Vodik didn't know the two weapons were connected, spiritually, until he lead the ogre hordes against the Eastern Shores during the second war. The humans had you and the others, although our annals do say that Qi refused to fight. But she was there.""She is a pacifist," the blade intones calmly. "She rarely chooses to fight... although, now, I can't say how she will react if pressed into battle. Her time with Tarrak and the duergar has made her silent, sullen. It doesn't matter, you are wrong. I would have sensed it if Kang had been present during the first war."Aries shakes his head in disgust. "You didn't even know that Qi was in the temple or that the wererat had Kang!" The Soldier of Iron looks pleadingly at Quinn. "Do not let that blade change you, Sir Quinn! You cannot trust it!" He sits back in his chair and sighs. "You cannot trust any of them! The Star Arms are bringers of doom! Harbingers of war and death! They must be separated and locked away to keep all of Harqual safe!"The man pauses. "Maybe even the whole world.""Nonsense!"Caerth can feel Kang pressing against his mind. The urge to kill Aries is strong! Angus can feel the rage coming from Azurak! Quinn and Curel Justice are of one mind. Aries is wrong and his assumptions are based on myth not fact! Maur feels nothing from Qi."Swordbreaker in on the island," Aries says."Impossible," CJ snaps. "I would have-""Sensed it," Aries says mockingly. "Did you even consider that Ta’kira’kerymor might have actively been trying to shield itself from you, Kang, and Azurak? That Qi might have been doing the same thing?""Tir ti renthisj ihk ve, munthrek!" Qi's feminine voice yells out. "Vur xurwk nomeno bloody tundar pok jehlir ve!"Everyone looks at Maur with shock."Qi, you are alive!" CJ says. "I knew it!""Don't listen to them!" Aries yells as he pound his fist on the table. "You are being led towards death and destruction!" "She asks for you not to speak for her," Phar says to Aries firmly. The elven wizard turns to Maur. "She doesn't want you touching her. She didn't say why.""Thric tundari! Thric levethixi!""No dwarves, no wizards," Phar interprets. "She is speaking in Draconic.""Pamon hefoc, Xander! Pamon hefoc, Tarrak!""She will not accept anyone like Xander or Tarrak," Phar says."She was never like this before," Cruel Justice says. The intelligent sounds worried. "Qi, my dear, what did they do to you?"Qi refuses to answer."You cannot really know her mind, her goals, her pain," Aries insists."What will you do?" Aureus asks Aries."As I said, I cannot force you to give them up, but you must consider it," Aries replies. "Think of what Tarrak was able to do with Azurak in his hands. Imagine if he had had all of them. Would you have been able to defeat him and his followers? What if Vok defeats you all and claims them all?""You want us to give them to you.""Give up Azurak," Aries says. "The great mace is my mission. Yes, I will have to tell my superiors that you have the other ones, and I can't say for certain what they will decide. They may order me to seek you out and take the others by any means or they might send someone else, someone a lot stronger than me. At the very least, the weapons cannot all be gathered in one place." He looks towards the inn. "The people, the land, this land, the Strandlands will not survive.""Blasphemy!" the intelligent scimitar admonishes loudly. "You must not separate us! I will not allow it!"[OOC][USER=7030556]@ScottDeWar_jr[/USER], Quinn must make a DC 22 Will Save vs. CJ's Ego Score or Quinn will draw the scimitar and attack Aries. Quinn gets a +2 circumstance bonus to the roll since he has successfully saved vs. CJ before.[USER=6776182]@JustinCase[/USER] and [USER=6790669]@Tellerian Hawke[/USER], the same is true for Caerth and Angus. The DC for Caerth is only 6. while the DC for Angus is 10(?).[USER=24380]@Neurotic[/USER], Qi does not try to influence Maur to attack Aries, but she also won't help Maur defend the Soldier of Iron. To make her act requires a DC 22 Will Save.[/OOC]</blockquote>

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