Mega-Adventure Prologue--The Council and the Fellowship

[Creamsteak]

(I am around, but I'm also avoiding joining in until the adventures are ready to split off.)

 

[ajanders]

"I'm afraid I'm at a loss. Did you say that you were Michael Grannion? If that is true, then how did you survive that explosion? The troops were sure that must have been you destroying the evildoers, especially when you never returned again and the evil was gone too. I have testimony from a good number of reliable soldiers, and other than some uncertainty and inconsistency about that bit with how you were captured by the orc shaman and his mad lieutenant, it seemed like it was pretty clear..."

Michael grits his teeth quietly. Explaining this is disconcertingly like kicking a puppy, if the puppy controlled a small army that you might want on your side.
"I cannot explain how I survived the explosion -- I don't even remember the explosion. I was overcome by a magical disease for a time -- when I returned to myself, I had been bitten a lot, lost all my equipment, and was told I had been wandering around without pants, but with a big stone club I had been whacking evil with.
I was led to believe the cause of the evil was a succubus that was not destroyed at all, but escaped.
I suppose somewhere in there I could have been captured by an orc shaman and his mad lieutenant..."
Michael thinks a minute, sorting through half-formed memories.
"Wait a minute. Did the mad lieutenant use a lot of big meaningless words?"

 

[ethandrul]

(They learn alignment, name, and patron god if the cleric has one. If we have an evil cleric on our side, sure, it could work, but even then the soul is not compelled to return. I'm pretty sure that animating a creature as an undead usually means they lose their memories, though I'm not 100% on that. With Speak with dead, the dead gets a save if the alignment differs, and the answers tend to be cryptic.)

sooo then basically both of these options are better then having nothing right?

 

[LogicsFate]

Valan sits quietly for one of the few times in his life, taking in all he can trying to follow all that has happened.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Michael grits his teeth quietly. Explaining this is disconcertingly like kicking a puppy, if the puppy controlled a small army that you might want on your side.
"I cannot explain how I survived the explosion -- I don't even remember the explosion. I was overcome by a magical disease for a time -- when I returned to myself, I had been bitten a lot, lost all my equipment, and was told I had been wandering around without pants, but with a big stone club I had been whacking evil with.
I was led to believe the cause of the evil was a succubus that was not destroyed at all, but escaped.
I suppose somewhere in there I could have been captured by an orc shaman and his mad lieutenant..."
Michael thinks a minute, sorting through half-formed memories.
"Wait a minute. Did the mad lieutenant use a lot of big meaningless words?"

"A succubus? That could explain how the orc shaman rose to power, with a demon at his side. It's possible that the lieutenant was a liaison between them, or even a demon in disguise as well. Big words? I have no clue. That wasn't in the report. However, the clarifications seem to make more sense...well except the running around without pants part. I take it you were infected with the Affliction and cured yourself. Does that mean you know a cure, in case the succubus comes to someone else with the same offer she made the orc shaman? The shaman may have been defeated, and the threat contained this time, but if the demon escaped, then this could happen again some day. May Azwan shield us and prevent that day from occurring during the threat of this Lichwyrm..."

 

[covaithe]

ooc: I've been out of town and off the internet for the last week, and now I find myself, ah, a little behind. So I'm just posting to say that I'm here, and Corvinus is listening intently, and I'll catch up as soon as I can.

 

[Knight Otu]

sooo then basically both of these options are better then having nothing right?

(Well, the have the potential to be better than nothing. The also have the potential to mislead us horribly, depending on how cryptic the answers are and how much the cultists in question knew. Their knowledge probably wasn't very complete, as already hinted by the fact that even the lieutenants didn't know the location of other shards.)

 

[ajanders]

"The honourable dwarf maybe ain't right about resurrectin' one, but he does have somethin' of a point, ma'am.. we're told the Phi-lactery got made immune to scryin' and divinin' and such, but what about the cult itself? Not all of 'em, and all their assets, can be warded all the time, aye?"

"Jinx raises an interesting point." Michael encourages.
He pitches his voice to carry a bit.
"Let us not doubt the wisdom of the Sage Aliaster Thiliaerin from Rivenblight. The Lichwyrm is doubtless well-imprisoned behind potent wards. We have doubtless wasted our time and boot leather coming here. His cult doubtless wastes its time in theft, murder, and torture attempting to free him from his mystic prison."
He shrugs his shoulders and makes a half bow towards the delegation from Rivenblight.
"As Sage Thiliaerin says, we and the cult of the Lichwyrm are all fools. We should all go home and be about our business."

He waits half a breath for the elf to relax and for everyone else to get thoroughly confused, then pitches his voice to ring the rafters.

"But the cult of the Lichwyrm has NOT heard Sage Thiliaerin!!" One hand sweeps up to indicate the appropriate elf.

"And so the cult of the Lichwyrm will continue to waste their time in theft, murder, and torture until they are stopped."

Michael hops down from the podium and walks across the delegations, speaking to each in turn, fixing each delegate with his eyes in turn, but stopping before he gets to Fallon.

"When elven throats are slit in Rivenblight, will they bleed any the less because an ignorant fool slit them?
When children are taken for sacrifice in Hendralia, will they suffer less because they suffer in vain?
When the king asks why his land is troubled with black magic, will he be appeased to know such villainy is ultimately futile?
When libraries and centers of knowledge are robbed of priceless books, will the pages be restored when they contain nothing of value?"

Michael returns to the podium.
"The Lichwyrm's cult has not heeded Sage Aliaster Thiliaerin's advice -- so they will be about their torture and murder and robbery in vain. They are a threat for the council to consider even if Rayne Liore is wrong."

Michael clicks his heels and bows to Umbryn Albion.
"For your time and courtesy I thank you, and yield the floor."

He returns to his seat.

Did I just say a powerful wizard might be wrong? I'm so gonna be a toad...

 

[ajanders]

"....
I take it you were infected with the Affliction and cured yourself...

"No, not exactly. I was blessed to be met by a wandering cleric who cured me. He did it by casting remove curse and remove disease in sequence. It does take both of them."

...The shaman may have been defeated, and the threat contained this time, but if the demon escaped, then this could happen again some day. May Azwan shield us and prevent that day from occurring during the threat of this Lichwyrm..."

"So say I, except for a different deity."
Michael pauses.
"Actually, Azwan too. This thing crops up again, there'll be work for everybody."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"Hrrm....let us make any final amendments to our proposals, hmm?" Albion asks.

"My proposal is still going to follow the basic structure of the original. As a few others have mentioned, a small thinktank to help think about and direct the actions of the expeditionary forces is a good idea. We should listen to the information that Liore has to share, but that doesn't mean that we'll believe it out of hand. In fact, Liore should not be a member--just an expert witness we can call in if necessary to best serve our people and protect everyone from the Lichwyrm. I know that working on this new Advisory Committee will be a lot of work, but we will need minds from each of our nations to take part."

"As for things like divinations, the Advisory Committee can decide on what course to pursue. I would assume that lack of knowledge as to the identities of individual cultists would make most divinations prohibitive at this stage, but we will do what we can. Deciding such specific details is not at all the province of this current Council."

"So in summary, protection forces, six small expeditions, and a think tank for further planning and ideas."

"We...we need to protect ourselves from traitors. The children could be in danger...We should protect them...But I don't trust any of this..."

"I agree with the concerns of Delegate Xanthar. His ideas seem sound. I would like to offer Fallon's support in any joint effort to protect our people."

*Rinaldo adds any additions here.*

"You are all making a terrible mistake! Have you not read any stories where the misguided actions of the protagonists are the only thing that facilitate the antagonist's plans? Well, you're about to be the patsies who make such a story come true. Do not take action. Do not unearth the shards and allow the cult to find them. I can only offer these warnings. If I have anything to say about it, Rivenblight will oppose any further action to the best of our ability."

"O...on behalf of Monemvassia, I must say that while we hear the arguments of the delegate from Rivenblight, the evidence in favour of action is...too strong. Monemvassia will take its rightful place along the other nations in this alliance..."

"Hrrm, hmmm....Very well. Then in that case, those in favour of Delegate Xanthar's plan, cast your vote, yes?"

*The Medibarian, Fallonese, (presumably Orussian?), and then Monemvassian representatives raise their hands or say 'Aye'. Then shortly thereafter, the Hendrallian representative follows suit.*

"And all opposed?"

*The representative from Rivenblight raises his hand quite sharply.*

"Hrrrm, then we have decided. The Council is concluded."

"At this point, all interested in joining in one of the expeditions should meet...hmmm, the Academy has rooms that can be made private, so we will meet there tomorrow morning, at dawn sharp. I thank everyone for supporting our effort, and as to the delegate from Rivenblight, I hope you will come around in time once we unearth more proof."

(OOC: Everyone can post what you will do until tomorrow at dawn. I'll be posting about that soon, but even if I post it first, you can still post about what you did or who you talked with in the interim)