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Message: <blockquote data-quote="shilsen" data-source="post: 4403179" data-attributes="member: 198">While Gareth is celebrating his engagement with Lalia, Six is at Onatar’s Forge in the Cogs, speaking to the warforged priest Smith about all the things he has discovered recently. Among other things, he describes his encounter with the warforged in the Mournland at the Lord of Blades’ old camp. When Smith asks if there was actually a creation forge there, Six says, “Yes. Some of the warforged were priests of the Lord of Blades, I think, but I don’t believe they can use the forge. They are completely distrustful of non-warforged and warforged that work with House Cannith.”“But,” he continues, “They are a less important issue now. There are two bigger problems. One is the harnesses. Have you heard anything new about them?”“No,” says Smith, sounding slightly puzzled. “I have heard nothing new, other than that House Cannith has apparently ceased offering them to our people.”“I think I know why,” says Six. “So there is no news about whether they have succeeding at removing any harnesses that are currently being used by warforged?” “No,” says Smith. “Why?”“Because of the quori.” Six proceeds to explain whatever he knows about the harnesses and the manner in which they and their wearers can be possessed. “In short,” he concludes, “The harnesses give great power at great cost. Aside from the physical boosts to the user, the quori are very powerful. Some might think to bargain with the quori in the tough times ahead. And some who do so won’t be warforged. Which reminds me,” he changes tack for a moment, “If you can come up with another name than warforged let me know. It gives people the wrong impression.”“And,” Six continues, “That brings me to the other matter. A war with the aberrations of Xoriat is here. Trust me. You’ll learn about it soon enough. This situation will present mercenaries great opportunities. Spread the word that no one should trade their services cheaply.”Smith is naturally very interested in the issue of the quori, but this interest is surmounted by curiosity about the war with Xoriat, which he has even more questions about. After asking some and having them answered, he returns to the issue of mercenaries, asking a trifle dourly, “So you think the nations will want to make substantial use of the warforged as troops again? Do you think it is a good idea for our people to be involved? Or will they even have a choice?”Six says with certainty, “We will be pressed into service again. This will be a desperate struggle, but within it lie opportunities for concrete gains, lands, and autonomy. One of my comrades goes on about a pirate warforged nation,” he chuckles, “And though her ideas are strange, I think seafaring might be a good set of skills for us to develop as a community. I’m just musing out loud here.” Smith nods, though his posture bespeaks some confusion, and then says, “Clearly you are better informed about this situation than any of us in Sharn. And even if not, I would take your opinions very seriously. What do you think our response should be?”“Firstly,” Six says, “Even if not directly related to the war, stay away from the quori as much as possible. It’s difficult to find a good bargaining position with those possessing you. And if dealing with them through a possessed warforged, I suggest staying away from long-term negotiation. An immediate bargain, if any, would be better. The kalashtar, in case you didn’t know, are strongly opposed to the quori and might be able to help deal with them too.”“Very well,” says Smith. “As for the war and our role in it, in view of what you said I’m thinking of perhaps trying to organize some sort of representation for those warforged joining the war. Is that something you would be able to help with? Or want to?”“Yes, but that depends on what I am doing and how free I am,” says Six. “Making sure that the warforged receive adequate payment would be good. And preferably, as I said, some lands and autonomy. I’m thinking an island would be especially good, partly because it would separate us from the people of Khorvaire and partly because we could defend it better.” Six chuckles again as he thinks of Luna. “We’ll just have to make sure that they’re warned that if a large female druid visits, they need to pretend to be pirates.”As Smith stares at Six in confusion, the latter laughs and says, “It’s a complicated story. I’ll tell you another time. Now let me discuss some ideas with you…”* * * After leaving Smith, Six travels up to Morgrave University and hands over the book he had picked up on the “History of Io’lokar” as a personal gift to the library. After speaking to a couple of surprised, originally skeptical, and then grateful scholars on the subject of his visit to Argonnessen, he leaves the book with them, saying that he might have more books on the subject to provide later. And that he hopes, though he makes no demands, that he will be allowed access to the library’s – and general University’s – more esoteric holdings.After Morgrave University, Six visits the local chapter of the Wayfarer’s Guild and talks to them about membership. The Wayfarer representatives he meets are interested enough once they learn who he is, and even more so once he produces a map that he drew of Io’lokar and provides some information about his visit to Argonnessen. After providing a number of details (which omits some salient aspects) about his trip, Six leaves, promising to return at some point in the future. Before he does, the Wayfarers ask if Six – and perhaps the other Angels – would be interested in helping with an expedition to Argonnessen. “Perhaps, if we have the time,” says Six, Though I think I – and you – will be busy with other things for a while now.* * *When Six finally returns to the Gray House, it is to find Gareth in the sitting room with a long-suffering expression on his face and Luna animatedly discussing something with him.“What’s going on?” Six asks. “And do I want to know?”Korm, watching with an amused expression, laughingly explains. “Lalia agreed, so Gareth’s getting married to her. At some point. But Luna’s all excited and is already making plans for the wedding. And apparently to be all of the bridesmaids, the best man, and an usher all at once. And to host the bachelor party as well.”Nameless, wandering past, pauses and says dryly, “This is why Xoriat doesn’t scare me,” and continues on to his room.* * * * * * * * * *The next morning, during breakfast, the Angels receive the sendings which now seem to be almost a daily part of their routine. The first sending is from Elabenna, the Io’lokari sage – “I am still waiting for your return. When will you be in Io’lokar next? Looking forward to discussing what you discovered.” Korm, who receives it, discusses it quickly with the others and replies, “We will be there today. Wish to discuss getting Io’lokari to aid with Xoriat situation in Khorvaire. Also wish to meet with members of the Chamber.”Serendipitously, the next sending is from the Chamber dragon Essirise, this one to Nameless –  “Have asked for conclave of Chamber leaders. Will occur in two days in the Tapestry. Suggest you return to Io’lokar tomorrow to meet me.” The alienist replies, “Thank you. We will be there later today to meet Elabenna and hoping to find allies from the city. Will see you there.”  Gareth too receives a sending, this one from closer to home. It is his mother, saying, “Royal troops here to take us to safe location. Considering going to Sentinel Tower instead. Do you have a preference? And are you safe?” Pleased at the news, Gareth replies, “Sentinel Tower is a good choice. I am safe. Lalia said ‘Yes.’ Am making plans for wedding. Will visit when I can.”“Well, that message will get her excited enough for a while now,” comments Korm. “I wonder if anyone else will contact us now.”“At least one,” points out Luna as Fett walks in carrying a large, Sivis-sealed envelope. She frowns. “I hope it’s not someone offering us another job.”Luna’s suspicions quickly turn to first pleasure and then glee as the contents of the envelope are revealed. The first document is a letter thanking the Guardian Angels for their gallantry, signed by King Boranel, King Kaius, Queen Aurala and Jaela Daran. Accompanying it is a letter from the Kundarak bank in Sharn, informing them that 50,000 galifars have been placed in its vaults in their names. And the last document is a legal document certifying that the Angels, as a group, are owners of the Gray House, which has been irrevocably granted to them by King Boranel, for their services to the crown. “Well,” says Luna, rising to her feet with a grin that threatens to decapitate her, “I need to go out for a bit.”“Why?” asks Gareth suspiciously, as she picks up the third of the documents.“And who’s going to be sorry?” chuckles Korm.“I’m just going to make a hundred copies and drop one off at each of our neighbours!”True to her word, Luna does leave and return a while later, still grinning broadly. “They were not amused. It was glorious! I think I made at least three people cry!” After expounding at length about how much fun she’d had, Luna also mentions the fact that there is a lot of commotion and significant alarm in Sharn, and for once, not due to her. Official announcements have been made in various places about the planar invasion from Xoriat and that Breland is going to a state of war, as are the other nations. More news is also coming in about attacks by aberrations across Breland and elsewhere. Naturally, people are quite surprised, confused, scared and angry. Especially since most have no idea what Xoriat is. “I tried to explain to some of them,” says Luna, “But it didn’t seem to help.”“I wonder why,” says Nameless, before addressing the group. “Are we all ready to go?” When the others say they are, he turns to Korm. “I suggest you use a master earth spell, so that I can save my greater teleport for emergencies, since your spell requires us all to be in the portable hole.”“Sure,” says the Gatekeeper, “But we’ve got to go down to the lower levels first. I have to be in contact with the earth, or at least closer to it than this place is, to use it.” * * * A few minutes later, the guards standing atop some of the towers of Io’lokar see Korm erupt suddenly from the earth near the main gate. Once he drops the portable hole and the others emerge, they are quickly recognized and allowed in. A couple of the guards inform them that Elabenna had sent news that they should be allowed in as soon as they arrive, and that she is expecting them. A short time later, the Angels are seated in a comfortable meeting room in the Colleges of Io’lokar, with Elabenna asking them a stream of questions regarding everything they saw and learned there, and a young scribe taking down their answers. The Angels provide a detailed coverage of their experiences, only omitting all information about the relationship between the dimensional seals and blood magic. Once she has covered every piece of information in detail, Elabenna says, “Thank you very much for all your information and efforts. I have to admit that I hadn’t expected you to be so successful. Now I have just one question – would you be willing to return?”“Definitely,” says Gareth, even as Luna firmly says, “No!”Elabenna looks back and forth in surprise as an argument promptly breaks out, till Nameless interrupts, his raspy tone as diplomatic as he can make it. “As you can see, this is something we will need to discuss further among ourselves. But if we decide that we are able and wish to return, we shall inform you.”“Yes,” adds Six quickly. “And since it seems that the myth about people not being able to find Khesavuthir more than once might be true, it may work better to have others from Io’lokar try to find the place following our directions. And if we are going to go too, we could follow them. Also, remember, I cannot return there due to my pact with the dragon.”“What difference does a promise to an evi…,” begins Gareth, before Nameless again cuts him off. “As Six said, it’s more than just a promise. And I too am in no hurry to encounter Xagygyrag again, without substantially more firepower at our disposal.” He turns slightly to their hostess. “As you see, Elabenna, we can make no promises yet. But, as I said, we will inform you of our decision.”Seeing that arguing will not help, Gareth changes subjects. “There is something else I wished to ask you, Elabenna. We have great problems in Khorvaire with the invasion from Xoriat that I mentioned to you. There is more power in Io’lokar than in any kingdom in Khorvaire and I’m hoping to garner some support for our cause here. Could you suggest how I might best do so? Who should I speak to?”Elabenna looks surprised again at this query and takes a few seconds before she responds. “I doubt that many here will be interested in the affairs of Khorvaire, and especially not in traveling there. Still, you may find some in the Union of the Shield or of the Spear who will be. There’s a weekly martial tournament held at the Dragon Green, a large park you probably saw on the way here. Many people will be there to take part and watch. If you participate yourselves, you can meet and speak to them. Also, if any of you win, though I sincerely doubt it will happen, or do well then it would gain you some notoriety and good-will in the city. The next tournament occurs tomorrow, and it’s likely that you would have received an invitation if you had been in the city a little longer, since visitors to the city are often invited. Since you arrived recently, I will arrange one for you.”* * * * * * * * * *Elabenna is true to her word and the next day, the Angels join a large gathering of people at the Dragon Green. The park is huge, the largest in the city, and contains shrines to all fifteen of the dragon Sovereigns. A section has been set apart from the rest, with stands for spectators and seats set up, including a few for dragons. A good-sized crowd is present, including a pair of dragons. The smaller is a copper dragon a dozen feet from nose to tail, who is surrounded by a dozen people, whom he is regaling with stories. Sitting in solitary splendor a short distance away is a much larger gold dragon, perhaps twice his length.A couple of the Angels, especially Gareth, move around and introduce themselves to people, many of whom are politely curious to see them. As Elabenna had opined, a number of those present wear the insignia of the Shield or of the Spear, especially the former. A small gathering of them, who are clearly older, seem to be of higher rank. The one whom Gareth finds that they are especially deferential to is an aged half-elf bearing no insignia at all, who introduces himself as Nalyna. He wears an unusual holy symbol, which the paladin realizes is one dedicated to the dragon gods as a whole.The introductions are cut short as lots are drawn to assign competitors to their opposition, and an elderly priest from the House of Life announces the basic rules. Duels will be between individual foes and lethal force may be used, though he reassures contestants that anyone dropped – or killed – will be revived. Contestants get twenty seconds to use magic items or spells to prepare themselves. Magic may be used directly to harm enemies, but only after the initial preparation period. Out of the Angels, Nameless and Six are not participating, so the others toss their names into the pile from which lots will be drawn. Korm is the first to go, having drawn a much smaller human opponent, who fights with flail and shield. The Gatekeeper quickly discovers that his opponent is quite canny, focusing on defense yet swinging powerful blows through any chinks in his defense. Once he even manages to spin Korm off his feet and disarm him of the meteoric blade he wields, before the Gatekeeper quickly gets up and recovers it. Finally, the bruised and battered Korm has to draw on the orcish battle-fury of his ancestors to keep himself on his feet while he launches a series of increasingly powerful blows, until his opponent surrenders.Gareth’s first foe is another warrior, this one wielding an adamantine greatsword larger than the Endless Blade. This is a battle of little finesse and mostly brute force, both enemies chopping at the other till one drops. Luckily for Gareth, it is his foeman, whom a nearby priest has to hurry and heal before he dies of his considerable wounds.While Korm’s and Gareth’s fights draw a fair amount of applause and appreciation, Luna’s is a whole other matter. Faced by a warrior-priest who uses magic to grow to an imposing height, the druid uses characteristically idiosyncratic tactics. To the confusion of those watching, she begins by producing a potion from a pouch and placing it on the ground. Then she transforms into a tendriculos, towering far above the enlarged cleric. And then the tendriculos picks up the potion, drinks it, and turns invisible. Which is followed a moment later by her thin voice saying, “Boo!”As the priest gapes at the space she occupied, people begin to laugh, the copper dragon’s loud guffaws ringing about them. The priest’s face reddens and he gestures quickly bringing a column of divine flame down before him. The flames momentarily outline Luna’s huge shape and she emits a loud “ouch!” as she rolls forward. A second later there is a loud impact and the priest hits the ground and quickly rolls over, though not of his own accord. The still smoldering tendriculos appears, half resting on the unfortunate man’s back and legs, one huge tentacle forcing his right arm painfully around his back, and another pushing his face into the ground. “Say you quit!” she cries, bringing her weight to bear and rolling back and forth. “Oh, and ‘I think Luna is beautiful!’”More laughter erupts, and the sound of reptilian choking as the copper dragon – now lying on its side – stuffs its left forefoot into its mouth to stifle its laughter. Even the haughty-looking gold dragon’s lips twitch as she tries to hide a smile and fails.The spectators’ laughter is cut off by a sickening crack and the screams of the priest as he yells, “I surrender! I surrender!” Luna rolls off the man and lets him up, but he needs the aid of two of the available healers before he can arise. The druid turns and waves her tentacles to acknowledge the applause and laughter of the crowd, before shrinking back to her shifter form and joining the others. “That’s how you do it!” After her victory, the Angels are the cynosure of all eyes at the tournament. Unfortunately, that is about as far as they advance, Gareth and Korm lasting only one more duel before elimination, and Luna two. That does, however, confirm for Gareth the quality of the warriors in Io’lokar, and gives him some hope of attracting aid. But Gareth’s best opportunity to that end arises from an unexpected source. As the final duels are taking place, the elderly half-elven warrior Nalyna walks over to Six and says, “I hope you won’t find this rude, but I’ve never had the pleasure of dueling someone of your species. And your weapon is very interesting, one that I’ve seen only a couple of times before. Would you grant me the honor of exchanging a few passes with you?” Though surprised, Six accedes to the request and the two move a little distance from where the more official duels are taking place. As his companions follow, so does a large part of the crowd, many of them murmuring among themselves. Even some of those busy with or still engaged in the competition’s duels look wistfully after them. When the spectators following the pair stop and form a circle to watch, Korm asks one of them, “Who’s this guy, and why so much interest?”The man looks at Korm as if he’s crazy and then understanding dawns. “Ah, you’re new to Io’lokar. That’s Nalyna. He used to head the Union of the Shield for nearly two centuries. He’s the most skilled and respected weapon-master in the city, and author of the definitive encyclopedia on fighting styles. He normally doesn’t duel openly, so it’s an honor to see him at work.”This should be interesting! Korm whistles under his breath and turns to look at the combatants. Nalyna, who is unarmored and wielding only a longsword, albeit one with red and blue flames running up the blade, casts a mage armor spell and then clicks his fingers, causing a shield to appear in his hand. He touches his holy symbol and concentrates, and the shield begins to glow with a golden light. Nalyna then salutes Six, keenly studying the warforged, whose form is wreathed in the shadows emanating from his harness. “Please,” the half-elven warrior says, “Begin.”Having picked up enough information from the people in the crowd talking amongst themselves, Six hesitates for a moment and then decides that this is a fight where his usual strike-and-move style needs to be even more focused on the movement. He comes in with a whirl of his chain, feinting high and striking low, the shadows flowing along the chain making the weapon difficult to discern as he tries to snap it around his foe’s ankle. Even so, Nalyna adjusts his shield at the very last second, interposing it and letting the spikes bounce harmlessly off the surface. He steps in with a slash but Six is already leaping backwards, ending up a dozen feet away. Nalyna’s face shows no surprise, simply a quiet interest. “Fascinating,” he says, calmly striding forward, sword and shield at the ready.Okay, try blocking this. Six steps forward and the shadows swirl around him – and then disappear, along with every trace of the warforged, though Korm and Luna can still see the faint shimmer which reveals his invisible form. And apparently so can Nalyna, as his sword comes up to deflect the invisible attack, though this time he can’t fully block it and takes a light blow to the arm. The weapon-master strikes back quickly and despite the invisibility Six feels the blade rasp along his side and the mingled heat and cold of the magical flames as he retreats again.As Six’s invisibility wears off, Nalyna follows him, sword moving in a complicated pattern which none of the Angels have ever seen, and which combines with the shield to present a defense Six realizes he cannot penetrate. He’s way out of my league – but I have a few surprises. The warforged retreats momentarily, the shadows again whirling around him. And again, when they disappear, he is gone. But this time, he is not invisible. Instead, a swirl of shadow rises and instantly dissipates behind Nalyna’s unprotected back, leaving Six behind. The warforged strikes immediately and even though Nalyna spins quickly, the chain smacks into his shoulder. Taking the blow, he comes in under it, sword first. Six whirls the chain into a deflecting pattern, and then realizes too late that it was a feint as the shield swings powerfully into his unprotected side. Rolling with the blow, Six hits the ground and comes up on his feet in an instant, expecting Nalyna to come in after him. But the weapon-master simply stands there, looking at him for a moment. Then he salutes again and lowers his sword. As the flames along the blade dissipate, he sheathes it and smiles. “You have a fascinating fighting style. Thank you. That was very interesting.” As Nalyna bows and walks towards Six, the audience applaud and begin to break up, some walking up to join them and others beginning to drift back to the tournament. The other Angels walk over too, and Six introduces them to Nalyna. The aged warrior greets them politely, but it’s clear that his interest is primarily in Six. Once the introductions are over, he says to the warforged, “I’m very interested in your fighting techniques and how that harness and those shadows play into it. If you have some free time, could I persuade you to come to my home and let me study some of your techniques?”“Your home?” asks Luna, “Is it nice? And will there be fo…”Gareth sighs and quickly interrupts, “We would be pleased to do so. We are fairly new to Io’lokar and had not actually made final arrangements about where we would stay tonight.”“In that case,” says Nalyna, clearly pleased, “You are welcome to stay at my home. There is more than enough space for all of you and it is in the Terrace, so it is close by.”“Good,” says Luna, glaring at Gareth for the interruption and then talking loudly before he can, “You see, we’re here to find some allies who could help us deal with this invasion from Xoriat by this army, well, probably many armies, of aberrations led by these daelkyr guys. We’ve been fighting them for a bit and kicked a lot of ass, but there are too many for us to handle, so if any of you want to come over and join in the fun, we’d appreciate it.”While the Io’lokari stare at her in some confusion and Korm tries to hold back his laughter, Gareth mutters, “Oh, my god!” under his breath and opens his mouth.But Luna isn’t done yet, and she continues, “Plus everyone keeps trying to give us these stupid jobs, and we have better things to do. I have a house to decorate. Two houses, actually, now that the king of Breland gave us the Gray House. The king’s a very nice man, by the way, and hunky in an older man kinda way. He’s on our side too. If you come with us, I’ll introduce you. And he’ll probably reward you and all.”“Oh … my … god!” thinks Gareth, wondering when it will be over.“And actually,” Luna continues, blissfully ignoring the expressions around her, “We know lots of kings. And queens. And princes. Prince Ryger ir’Wynarn,” she announces proudly, “Is my boyfriend. He’s the ruler of all of the Lhazaar Principalities.” She beams around and then her expression shifts slightly, taking on a faintly predatory cast, as she focuses on a tall warrior, standing beside her with a confused expression on his handsome face. “But I haven’t seen him in a long while!” “OH … MY … GOD!!!”As Luna finally falls silent, Gareth hurriedly says, “As my companion was saying, there is a serious problem in Khorvaire and I hoped we might get some aid from Io’lokar. I especially wished to talk to some people at the Union of the Spear and the Union of the Shield about it.”Nalyna, who has been looking as puzzled as anyone else, nods and says, “That sounds interesting. Let us head to my home and you can tell us more there, and maybe I can put you in touch with some people in both organizations.”The weapon-master leads the Angels away from the Dragon Green, and half a dozen of the Io’lokari present accompany them. Luna brings up the rear, her arm linked through that of the unfortunate man who has drawn her attention, explaining to him as they walk how her boyfriend and she have a very open relationship. Very!</blockquote>

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