Ring of the Fey Lord (DM:Atanatotatos, Judge:Lord Sessadore)Up:Lorik, etc.

[JoeNotCharles]

Ironheart looks at Haruka skeptically (if you read his expression right). "I do not like to think on it. But if it will help you to understand what just happened, I will speak. Many ages ago - I know not how long - I was planted protector of a sacred grove in the mists of the Feywild. Think not that there was anything special about this grove, or of me - all trees are sacred. But I failed in my task. There was a war - I remember not who fought, or why. My grove was overrun. I remember them hacking at the trees, tearing root and... I..." His voice falters, then strengthens a little. "I remember a man. A dark man, cloaked in a power I had never felt before, and have not since, until..." He pauses, and indicates the iron rod. "He carried this, somehow worked his spells through it. I had never seen its like, or felt such purity of iron." Ironheart's mouth twists with distaste as he says the word. He shudders slightly, and hunches his boughs, the burned and cracked bark on his left side drawing together tensely. "I fought my way to his side through waves of fire and darkness. When at last I reached him, I cut him down, but with the last of his strength he drove his rod of power into my heart."

"When I awoke, I found my sacrifice came too late. His minions had - had destroyed it! Destroyed my grove! The chopped it down with their axes and burned even the stumps to the ground. That is the last thing I remember for a long time. Since then I have wandered, through this world and the Feywild, without charge or purpose." He turns away from the cabin to view the surrounding trees and slumps forward again, staring at the ground. The speech seems to have drained him.

[sblock=Insight 19]
(I rolled a 19 for Bluff.)

Ironheart hesitates noticeably after saying, "When I awoke," as if he is trying to decide how much to reveal.
[/sblock]

 

[TwoHeadsBarking]

[sblock=ooc]Haruka doesn't have a reason to distrust Ironheart, so no Insight check from her, and her passive Insight isn't hot enough to spot that[/sblock]

"You haven't felt power like that until today. Until you met me. That's what you were going to say, right? I'm familiar to you because I remind you of that man. Which might also explain why you keep nearly attacking me."

Haruka hesitates for a moment, lost in thought. She extends her fingers as though examining her nails. As she stares at her fingertips, small tongues of red and black flame dart around them. She continues talking, but her voice sounds somewhat distant. "I don't know what to tell you. I'm not him, obviously, and I don't think my patron is the same as his. But there are... similarities. Some which are obvious, some which may be less so."

Suddenly, she clenches her hand into a fist, extinguishing the flames. "No matter. Do you have a name? Our initial introduction was a little rushed."

 

[JoeNotCharles]

The woad stares at Haruka suspiciously. A low rumble begins deep in its chest. At last the rumble subsides and it sighs. "No," it agrees. "You are not he."

"My true name, my first name, is long lost. I believe the fey call me Ironheart."

 

[TwoHeadsBarking]

"Really? What imaginative folk, the Fey, to come up with a name like that. Speaking of which, the quiet elf over there is Derien. The man shivering on the cot is Lorik. She," Haruka gestures towards the genasi, "is Iknip-, Ikniqpa-," Haruka's face contorts as she attempts to pronounce the unfamiliar name, "Ikni. Her name is Ikni. And as I said before, I am-" Suddenly Haruka staggers, but catches herself on the wall. "...I am a little more tired than I thought. We should rest up, and continue on in the morning."

[sblock=ooc]Ok, extended rest time for me, unless someone else has something to say.[/sblock]

 

[JoeNotCharles]

[sblock=OOC]
We still haven't established I'm coming with you?
[/sblock]

"To where do you continue?" rumbles Ironheart.

 

[covaithe]

Ikni rises, circles under her eyes, brow creased in frustration. "This blade... it hides from me. Its destiny may lie somewhere else. Still, I will carry it for a time. Perhaps with familiarity..." She trails off, still looking troubled and unsure.

[sblock=ooc]Where were we going? To visit the Lady of Nightmares? I can't remember.[/sblock]

 

[TwoHeadsBarking]

[sblock=ooc]

We still haven't established I'm coming with you?

Whoops. I Haruka just assumed you'd keep following her.

Where were we going? To visit the Lady of Nightmares? I can't remember.

Yeah. About a dozen pages back Romulin gave us directions to the Lady's cave or whatever. We were originally going to visit Arnamil first, but we decided he'd probably be more receptive to us if we came bearing the gift of his ring.

After a quick perusal through the thread, it would appear that the Lady resides in a shack west of where we are.[/sblock]
"We are going to talk to this Lady of Nightmares about returning Lord Arnamil's ring. Of course, we are in Fey lands, and as such, it would be disrespectful of us not to observe their traditions, like how 'talk' generally seems to mean 'attack without provocation'. Although it is interesting how it is Lord Arnamil's servants who keep trying to murder us, rather than the Lady's."

 

[JoeNotCharles]

[sblock=DM]
Do I recognize the dead fey as Lord Arnamil's servants as opposed to he Lady's?
[/sblock]

"Hrrrm. Best beware, mortals. The Lady of Nightmares is feared by all who live in this domain, plant and animal both. Many wonder why Lord Arnamil has not yet disposed of her."

He pauses, lost in thought. Eventually he straightens and continue. "I will accompany you. You may need protection. And I will watch," he shoots a glance at Haruka, "to be sure you do not transgress, and damage nature more than needs be to defend yourselves." He picks up his axe and shoulders it once again.

 

[Atanatotatos]

[sblock=joe]Well, it'd be strange that alves and eladrins were serving the Lady. Also, though you have no clear sign that they aren't, it is pretty clear that the outpost they were guarding is made for Arnamil's scout.[/sblock]

 

[TwoHeadsBarking]

And I will watch," he shoots a glance at Haruka, "to be sure you do not transgress, and damage nature more than needs be to defend yourselves."

"Good. I will hold you to that."

[sblock=Insight 18 (16 if you are from the Kingdom of Jade)]What appears to be a smirk momentarily flashes across Haruka's face as she responds.

Here is the bluff roll.[/sblock]

ooc: I'm a little embarrassed that Haruka couldn't tell a better lie than a tree...