Six From Gate Pass - A War of the Burning Sky Campaign (3.5)

[Gregor]

Kirio, you make eye contact with the woman when you speak, but you get the sense that she is looking not at you, but through you. She remains quiet for a moment after hearing your greeting and then she suddenly replies in a monotone voice: "The Scourge comes, and the skulls of the dragon pursue you. I saw it in a dream.”

Then she shakes her head as if coming to her senses, and meekly apologizes.

"Sorry, I do that sometimes. I dreamed of a group of warriors emerging from the mountains and travelling into the fire forest. That is where you are headed right? Why else would you be on this road?"

She blushes after being so direct and apologies again.

"Sorry, sorry, I should not pry. Oh, where are my manners. Father will be sore to learn that I was rude. My name is Crystin. Crystin Ja-Laffa. My Father, Haddin Ja-Laffa, is a mighty wizard! He and I are being hunted by the Ragesians. I saw that in my dream too. You saved us in my dream. My father doesn't like my dreams and says I am playing make believe. I need your help to make my dream come true. Can you help me to convince my father to leave this place? I don't want to be caught by the Ragesians."

 

[funkmamagoat]

Kirio is taken a little aback by prophetic ramblings of the young woman... he maintains his smile without too much difficulty however

			"Haddin Ja-Laffa, have I heard that somewhere? Skulls of Dragons?? When will I grow up and learn to avoid this kind of thing...? Ah well, she IS rather pretty."

"Well now, apology accepted... Crystin was it? We are indeed on our way to the forest. Do these dreams come to you often? Skulls of the Dragons you say?? Could you perhaps expand on these fellows pursuing us? I cannot speak for my companions, but see no problem speaking to your father if the others agree. I for one would not mind a roof over my head tonight if you think you could accommodate us for the evening, and we can discuss the matter further over supper, yes?"

OOC: Knowledge checks forthcoming

 

[Gregor]

She smiles: "Oh yes, please do come inside with me. Father wants me to come home now anyway. You can all sleep here tonight. We have a few unused rooms from when ... my mother ... was still alive. I am making stew as well so yes, I can offer you some dinner as well!"

[sblock="What Kirio knows"]Kirio, the "skulls of the dragon" mean nothing to you.

About Haddin however, you have heard a great deal. Twenty years ago, Haddin was a skilled artist
and respected wizard of Gate Pass, but his half-orc half-brother Mandragore was a notorious criminal.
One day, suddenly, Mandragore turned over a new leaf and began working to redeem his name. Rumors
eventually arose that Haddin was mentally dominating his brother, and an investigation revealed it was true.
Within weeks, amid protests of countless people who believed — right or wrong — that Haddin had
likewise dominated them, Haddin’s reputation was ruined. His brother tried to defend him, but was killed by rioters, and Haddin fled the city in disgust, taking his wife and newborn daughter. Occasionally people would see a young woman who closely resembled Haddin’s wife come into town to get supplies, her expression distant. The stories say that this is Haddin’s daughter, dominated by the bitter old mage.[/sblock]

 

[Bannock]

Bannock sidles forth towards the girl, reins in his big horse, which he has taken to calling Lumpy, and swings his leg out of the saddle and lands heavily on his feet. He smiles at the attractive girl.

"Beautiful lady, if I'm honest, seeing you on this road made this day for me before you spoke a word, but an offer of dinner too? I must be the one hallucinating."

Trying to emulate the sophisticated noblemen he liked to sneer at back in Gate Pass, he reaches out to take her hand and kiss it, then takes a step back and looks surprised.

"You are real! Well then, uh, I'm Bannock, and I'm going to save Gate Pass, and these others are helping me out. If you want to leave, you should come with us! I'm sure your father would be completely fine with it. And we'd love to stay for dinner. I mean, if you'll have us. But, of course you will, I am a man of your dreams, right?"

He grins and laughs.

 

[Bannock]

I forgot to add, as Bannock has his initial exchange with the girl, he looks in her eyes and watches her face, passively absorbing clues as to how she truly feels towards him and the group, both because he subconsciously doesn't trust her yet, and because he fancies his chances.

 

[Gregor]

Bannock, your gut tells you nothing about this social situation, nor the odds of you getting under Crystin's dress.

Torrent has to restrain herself from bowling over in laughter at Bannock's attempt: "Hey Bannock, why don't you sing the young lass that ballad from last night. You know, the one with the tavern wench with the tremendous ... assets?"

Crystin smiles nervously at Bannock's words and look confused at Torrent's.

"Um...you say nice things but I don't know what to say Bannock. Maybe you can sing that song for me after dinner? Father wants me to go inside, so you all should follow me. I don't like it when he gets mad. I can tell he's getting angry." She points over at the stable as she walks: "You can stable your horses over there. There is plenty of hay for them to eat."

You all follow Crystin to the stables where you tether your mounts and then follow her into her modest stone home. When you enter, the home smells of a home cooked meal. Aside from a few old cloth decorations, all the furniture here is made of stone, looking to be magically shaped. A small hearth crackles
with too-bright fire, and beside it an old man sits on a stone bench, perusing a thick tome and coughing incessantly. A finely-crafted warhammer hangs on the wall, surrounded by countless beautiful paintings.

The old man, presumably Haddin, looks up from his book and stares at you. His hair is disheveled and you can tell that he was probably handsome and strong at one point. He dresses like a common merchant and his hands shake slightly. His eyes narrow and he calls out in a haggard voice filled with coughs and spurts.

"Crystin, who are these fools you've brought home? Hmmmm?! They look like some highwaymen. No doubt you have invited these cut throats to dine at our table. Let me guess, another foolish vision? You have lost your wits woman! If your mother was alive to see this she would die of shame!" He pauses to cough up and spit into the fire before shaking a fist in your direction and continuing his rant, "Be warned you bandits and rogues, if your intentions are rotten I'll smite you with fire and lightning. I'll turn your genitals into worms and bind your souls to my eternal service! Now ... come in and mind yourself while my daughter fixes the meal.

 

[digimattic]

Arnir sits back in his saddle and idly watches his two companions trip over themselves to impress the admittedly beautiful woman. Though it's been at least three days since Arnir has tasted the sweet nectar of a woman, something about this beauty's words put a frown on his face. He drifts off as she talks of her vision and idly summons a crude dragon skull with his powers. it floats and bobbles above his hand before he tosses it aside, shattering into an infinite number of pieces on the ground below.

The prospect of a warm meal greatly entices him however, and he's always keen to meet any wizard, so he eagerly follows the maiden to her house.

Upon entering, Arnir is struck by the magically crafted furniture and decides to tread lightly. To the old man he politely says "Greetings - I assume you are Haddin? You seem to be a mage of considerable talent. I am Arnir, but a novice in wielding the arcane."

 

[Gregor]

GM: Kirio is without internet access right now, but he texted me to ask that his character perform the following actions

En route to the house, Kirio takes a quick second to speak quietly to the group, careful not to alert Crystin. He tells you all he knows about Haddin, mentioning that he was apparently a mage and artist that had a reputation for dominating his family members. He apparently once dominated his half-brother to keep him from being a criminal. People learned of it though and believed that Haddin had domianted them too. His half-brother was murdered in the ensuing riot in Gate Pass. Haddin fled the city and people have talked about Crystin coming in to town to buy supplies with a vacant look on her face.

**********

[sblock="What Arnir knows"]Arnir, you don't know anything else about Haddin beyond what Kirio has shared. [/sblock]

Haddin squints as he listens to Arnir's words and then snaps a reply: "I didn't ask for your name Elf. I asked you to mind yourself while in my home! Can't you see that I am reading by my fire? Wait. Who told you I was a wizard? Who?! I don't like people talking about me ... especially strangers."

Crystin, who is busy putting out bowls, pipes up: "Oh I told them you were a wizard father, I was going to tell them all abou-" her voice cuts off as Haddin's gaze bores into her skull with menace. She meekly goes back to preparing your dinner.

 

[digimattic]

Arnir's eyes narrow slightly and you can tell he is not accustomed to being spoken to in such a way. He swallows his pride and says

"Quite right. My apologies."

With a curt nod he spins on his heels and surveys Crystin, trying to remember what he knows about domination magic.

 

[fromage67]

Lars awakes with a pounding headache, and spends way too long untying the unfamiliar knots and bindings of the Ragesian tent. He grabs a quick bite to eat and spends the rest of the day riding and mostly quiet.

Kirio, you make eye contact with the woman when you speak, but you get the sense that she is looking not at you, but through you. She remains quiet for a moment after hearing your greeting and then she suddenly replies in a monotone voice: "The Scourge comes, and the skulls of the dragon pursue you. I saw it in a dream.”

Lars' eyes widen upon hearing this.

Once inside, Lars chooses an appropriate moment to approach Crystin and whispers, "I dream as well. I have seen a dragon made of bones, but I don't know what it means."

Lars later says to the wizard, "Don't you fear the Ragesians, all alone here? It is only a matter of time till they come here for you."

OOC: Sorry about the double roll. I am on March break with my kids, skiing. This theoretically means I should be more available to post, but it hasn't worked out that way so far.