Warriors Of The Coast

[DEFCON 1]

Khalia enters the temple of Aureon... or what looks to be more like a library than a temple. She sees a number of priests and worshipers... all of them sitting at desks, flipping through papers, books, and parchments.

 

[drothgery]

Khalia finds the first priest she can drag away from her books for a few minutes. I really ought to have changed before I came here. Scholar's robes, not weapons and armor, are the order of this place. But surely they have dealt with adventurers before.

"May I ask you a few questions?" She asks.

 

[Velmont]

Jango enters the Inn and walk up to his mother. "Is everything fine? Are you too busy without me and Jina giving you some help?" As his mother look at him Jango adds "By the way, I present you Griot." He put his arm next to his shoulder so the bird can place himself on his sleeve and extend the arm to show teh bird to his mother. "I've talk to father. I suggets him to talk to Zan. He seems interested to train me, even if I am not sure it would be all the time. I think you'll have enough job with the Inn without having to look over my training with that."

 

[DEFCON 1]

"You there. I have some purchases I'd like to make. Both here and next door. Can we arrange that?"

A very attractive blonde woman in the curio shop hustles over to Ari and runs her eyes up and down his body before taking a look at the shopping list that he had written for himself. She hems and haws over the list for a few seconds. "Hmm... yes... yes... we have that... not exactly that... I'll check next door for that... hmm..."

She signals to another woman, and the two whisper for a second, before the second woman hustles through a door to head into the forge next door. The first woman throws a glance back to Ari, her eyes stopping slightly around waist level, then quickly moves through a curtain in the back. A minute later she comes out with an amulet, two vials with silvery liquid swirling within it, and a belt carrier for potions. "We have these items in stock. The amulet will harden your skin considerably, the carrier is of high quality, and the two vials are of silversheen... you aren't the first person to inquire or purchase this item in the last few days. Several templars have done so as well." She smiles at the monster hunter and leans forward slightly. "We do not have this resistance item in vest form, however. We do have a cloak that accomplishes what you intend... but if you wanted a vest, that would take a few days to design and create. Would you like to do that, or is the cloak fine? It's of very fine quality. And the color matches your tunic and would hang very well over your broad shoulders, if I might say." She again smiles at Ari and leans forward even more, and he notices how she keeps trying to highlight and emphasize a certain part of her own body that sits within her blouse.

A minute or so later, the second woman returns and holds a silent conference with the blonde woman. A few nods, and then the blonde comes back to the monster hunter. "Well, I have good news and bad news. Good news is that our armourer next door CAN forge and meld some high-quality spikes into your chain shirt. It IS magical, correct?" Her lips purse ever so slightly and her eyes casually run over Ari's well-muscled form once more. "The bad news is that we do not have any cold iron in stock. Not much call for it in New Galifar... fey creatures wouldn't last five minutes in the jungles around here... not with all the lizardfolk tribes and Rhashaak living out there. Would you like the spikes forged regardless? That would take about two days, and you'd need to leave your armor here until then. Cost of everything-- amulet, vials, carrier, cloak, spikes of masterwork quality... would run you about... 4200. If you wanted a vest made instead of a cloak, that would bring it up to 4300."

 

[DEFCON 1]

"May I ask you a few questions?"

The older Aureon adept she pulls away from his work smiles at Khalia. "Of course, my child. How can I help you?" The two speak for a few minutes about the possibility of scribing some scrolls with several prayers that would create divine magical energy. The adept is very forthright and is fascinated by Khalia's prayerbook, not having much experience with those who do not receive their divine magic directly through prayer and meditation. He leads Khalia to one of the side study rooms, and the two begin their work. He pulls out several prayer books for her to use and look through, and several other adepts come in throughout the day to lend their expertise. At the end of the evening, Khalia has scribed a scroll with four divine spells on it... Cure Moderate Wounds, Hold Person, Resist Energy, & Remove Paralysis. She spends 300 gold to acquire the raw materials needed to write it, and makes a donation of 100 gold to the church for the efforts of everyone involved. (Total Cost: 24 XP and 400 GP)

She leaves the temple well into the evening, and the pangs of hunger have overtaken her.

 

[DEFCON 1]

"Is everything fine? Are you too busy without me and Jina giving you some help? By the way, I present you Griot."

Morinda looks at her child and grins from ear to ear. "A familiar. Oh Jango, he's lovely. I always thought about casting about for one, but once I married your father I didn't think I should divide my attention. Your father is my familiar now." She laughs lightly at her own joke. "Don't worry about this place... the Lilac always has people lookng for work. We never intended for you or your sister to work here full time anyway, so you needn't worry."

"I've talk to father. I suggets him to talk to Zan. He seems interested to train me, even if I am not sure it would be all the time. I think you'll have enough job with the Inn without having to look over my training with that."

Morinda raises an eyebrow, surprised at her husband's acquiesence to letting someone other than her train Jango. "Really? Well... your father is surprising me today. And I must say, I'm pleased. But for now... you look like you could use some rest. There's still warm oatmeal in the kitchens if you want a quick breakfast, but then I think you should get some sleep." She leans over and kisses Jango on the cheek.

 

[stonegod]

"Cost of everything-- amulet, vials, carrier, cloak, spikes of masterwork quality... would run you about... 4200. If you wanted a vest made instead of a cloak, that would bring it up to 4300."

Ari flirts with the attendant light-heartedly. His... reputation... in Seawell kept him from such friendly banter. It put a spring in his step. It was entertainment, and helped pass the time while the quotes were gathered.

Whenever everything was together, he rubs his chin a moment. "Let me tell you what. I'll leave my armor with you so you can start the measurements now. I have some other business to attend to which will give me an idea of how long I'll be in town. Once I got that done, I'll make my final decision. How's that, beautiful?" He adds with a grin.

OOC: He plans on checking in with "the Job" to find out if he has three days. That is his next stop.

 

[DEFCON 1]

"Let me tell you what. I'll leave my armor with you so you can start the measurements now. I have some other business to attend to which will give me an idea of how long I'll be in town. Once I got that done, I'll make my final decision. How's that, beautiful?"

Upon hearing the 'beautiful' comment, her eyes sparkle ever so slightly and her body language relaxes just a bit... now that she knows her come ons are being reciprocated. She laughs airily and says "Don't worry... I've been measuring you up since you came in here."

She takes a long look up and down him, not even trying to hide it anymore. But as she turns, she sees that the second woman (who is quite a bit older than she is) looking at her with her arms crossed and a 'tsk tsk' look on her face. The blonde woman suddenly straightens up, makes her face do neutral, and tries to go back to a more official tone. "Um... would you like us to hold these other items for you sir, or will you take any of them now? If you'd like the amulet, vials, and carrier straight away, that would be 2600." She then throws one more glance to the older woman to see if she is paying attention, then the blonde leans over the counter once more and says very quietly to Ari under her breath "I'd be happy to deliver these personally this evening, if you'd like?"

 

[Velmont]

"I'm tired. I'll go get some sleep." Jango goes to his room and once inside, close teh door and open teh shutter. He puts the eagle on the window's edge. "I'm feeling sleepy, so I'll get some rest." he tells to Griot. "But I'll leave the windows open, so you can go outside if you want. I'm so tired that even teh sun and the noise won't prevent me to sleep." Jango change his clothing to keep something light he usualy wear when he sleep and lay down on his bed. He looks at Griot.

"I hope you'll like your new life. I don't know why, but he was against that idea..." tells Jango, with some concerns. "Against I summon a familiar. Against that i talk of him to anyone. Against I keep friends. Why do he want to isolate me? It worry me." After a moment of silence he adds. "I'm stupid, you can feels my emotion, not read my thoughts. A few days ago, I stop some cultist in some hidden underground shrine. And it seems there was a voice that inhabit this shrine. It talked to me. It tells me he has answers about my mark." Jango shows his mark to Griot. "That mark is not welcome among humans. Or any other races. But I have it, and it wasn't my choice. I got it from birth. Only my close family know about it. It gives me powers, but I don't know what lies under that mark. I want to know, as ignorance is the source of fear. I want to vanquish that fear that lives in me."

 

[DEFCON 1]

"That mark is not welcome among humans. Or any other races. But I have it, and it wasn't my choice. I got it from birth. Only my close family know about it. It gives me powers, but I don't know what lies under that mark. I want to know, as ignorance is the source of fear. I want to vanquish that fear that lives in me."

Griot looks at Jango as the elf explains himself, but there is no emotional resonance from the hawk. It either doesn't understand how strongly Jango fears the public perception with regards to the aberrant mark, or the hawk doesn't care. Is Jango making too big an issue of having this mark? Ari would certainly seem to think so. But then again... the voice would say he's not making the issue big enough.

Jango lies down to go to sleep. As relaxation washes over him, he thinks about his mark. He drifts off to sleep.

And that's when the nightmare begins.

"YOU DO NOT LISTEN!!!"

The face is horrid... skin pulled overly tight around a mishapen skull... eye sockets empty and white... tentacles reaching out from the pocked, swollen, pinkish skin.

"YOU DOOM YOURSELF JANGO!!! YOU IGNORE OUR WARNINGS!!! YOU DO NOT LEARN!!!"

Jango is back in the cultist's temple standing in front of the tall statue. Only the statue is not stone anyomore... it is that horrid pink flesh. This... thing... this human? This... creature... stands over the elf, and a look of absolutely rage creases his face. Jango tires to run, but he finds his feet are cemented into the floor. He cannot move. He is stuck. And as he looks up at this twelve foot monstrosity before him, he is afraid. So very, very afraid.

"WE TRY AND HELP YOU, BUT YOU IGNORE US!!! WE TRY TO BE KIND AND YOU SLAP US IN THE FACE!!! YOUR MARK WILL BRING YOU NOTHING BUT SUFFERING IF YOU DO NOT HEED OUR WARNINGS!!! BUT YOU PAY NO ATTENTION TO WHAT WE SAY!!!"

A six foot long arm reaches down towards him, and the taloned hand reaches out, grabs Jango by the chin, and squeezes his face. It pulls Jango's eyes directly into his.

"RETURN TO THE TEMPLE! DO NOT DELAY! WE HAVE FINISHED BEING KIND! OUR KINDNESS HAS BEEN THROWN BACK INTO OUR FACES! COME BACK TO THE TEMPLE OR ALL THAT YOU LOVE WILL DIE!"

"DO YOU HEAR US, JANGO?"

"ALL -- THAT -- YOU -- LOVE -- WILL -- DIE."

And the hand squeezes shut and crushes Jango's skull.





"ARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Jango wakes with a start. He is in his bedroom. The sun outside seems to be setting. He quickly looks around and sees that Griot is not here. It was a dream. A nightmare. But so real. So very real.