beldar1215
Explorer
Spyscribe,
Any chance of an update before the holidays? Think of it as a Present for all of us!
Beldar
Any chance of an update before the holidays? Think of it as a Present for all of us!
Beldar
-
NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Welcome to the Halmae (updated 2/27/07)
- Thread starter spyscribe
- Start date
dpdx
Explorer
Psst! 'Scribe! I tried to buy you time to prepare your update by posting a stupid comment to the thread, but hurry, it's almost losing steam!
Yeah, I was thinking of Legend, my apologies. The only thing I remember about it was the cool scroller video game it spawned, but at that low a resolution, Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise probably even use the same sprite...
Yeah, I was thinking of Legend, my apologies. The only thing I remember about it was the cool scroller video game it spawned, but at that low a resolution, Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise probably even use the same sprite...
karianna
First Post
O for Awesome
As we'd say back home 'O' for Awesome, this story rocks! Thanks for getting me intro trouble with my girlfriend for reading instead of doing the xmas shopping, getting no work done (sorry boss) and generally pissing myself with laughter
. Made more than a few friends blink twice when I persuaded the off license store owner to sell us booze after the closing hour "Why? Because Justice demands it my good man!"
As we'd say back home 'O' for Awesome, this story rocks! Thanks for getting me intro trouble with my girlfriend for reading instead of doing the xmas shopping, getting no work done (sorry boss) and generally pissing myself with laughter
. Made more than a few friends blink twice when I persuaded the off license store owner to sell us booze after the closing hour "Why? Because Justice demands it my good man!"
spyscribe
First Post
Gah, I had no idea that this update was going to be such a bear to bring together. The long silence was entirely unintentional. But at last...
Part the Two-Hundred Thirteenth
In which: Anvil finds that cold is indeed Kettenek’s element.
With Lira once again alive, and being taken care of by her brother Ehktians, Anvil at last returns to the Temple of Justice.
It is good to be home, Anvil thinks as he deliberately makes his way up the great steps to the entrance. He savors the feeling of the stone stairs, solid beneath his feet, as if the sheer weight of so many years worth of collected Law has lent them added mass. It has been six months since he last walked these steps, having left the Temple just after receiving his promotion to Third Order.
He passes through the familiar doors and takes a silent moment to breathe in the air of Justice once more.
His compatriots pass him by in the busy entryway. He nods a greeting to one, Enduring the Just.
Enduring regards Anvil coldly, and does not return the nod.
Anvil pauses only a moment to consider the meaning of that, but ultimately deems that it is not worth his consideration. He continues on his way back to his cell.
The next three Justicars he greets brush him off just as coldly. And when the next of his brethren, a Second Order Justicar, returns Anvil’s formal greeting with a cold glare, Anvil chooses to stay silent no longer.
“Are you in a great hurry?” Anvil demands of him. “Is there Law that must be made without a moment’s rest?”
The Justicar is taken by surprise. “What? No.”
“Then surely you have time to exchange pleasantries with a brother Justicar,” Anvil replies.
The Justicar is stung at first. Then he bows stiffly and practically spits the words “May Kettenek’s Justice be upon you.”
“And upon you,” Anvil replies.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, Anvil the Just,” the other says, his eyes flicking down to the Third Order stripes on Anvil’s robes, “some of us have work to do.”
With that, the Justicar hurries away.
Anvil watches him go.
###
The next morning, Lira wakes up hungry. At least the gnawing sensation in her stomach feels like a return to normal. Despite exhaustion the night before, sleep was hard to come by.
Fortunately, the Temple of Ehkt does not believe in sending its acolytes off to face the challenges of a new day on an empty stomach. Lira is halfway though a second plate of sausage and eggs when she looks up to find a young priest of the Keepers of Light standing at the chair opposite her.
“You’re feeling better I see.”
She looks on in confusion as he smiles and seats himself. “I’m sorry, we have met, although you wouldn’t remember it. My name is Brother Brightly. I’m your new liaison with the Church of Ehkt.”
Lira blinks; she hadn’t been aware she was in need of a new liaison. “What about Devon?”
“I’m told he asked to be relieved of his assignment…” Brother Brightly stops at Lira’s momentarily stricken expression. “I ah… I believe he has gone off Questing.” Brother Brightly tries to reassure her. “He speaks highly of you.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Shouldn’t he?”
Well, last time I was in town he was avoiding me like I was catching. “He told you about me?”
“Not personally, but I was briefed on your dossier.”
I have a dossier? “So you know about the things I do?”
“Yes.”
“All of them?”
Brother Brightly looks a little bemused. “You’re referring to your varied magical talents? Yes, that did come up.”
“And you don’t have a problem with that?”
“Why would there be a problem? You are clearly quite blessed. The implications for relations between the divine and the arcane are fascinating.”
“Oh.”
Lira eats a few more bites in silence.
“Um, don’t take this the wrong way. I mean, it’s very nice to meet you and all, and I certainly appreciate being… you know… not dead, but, since we’ve delivered the invitations to all of the archmages, is there anything left for you to liason?”
Brother Brightly nods and takes a bite of his own breakfast. “In point of fact, yes. With your mission complete, I was hoping to get your impressions of each of the archmages. After all, those of your group are the selection committee’s best resource.”
Lira nods. “Alright. Although you should know that my knowledge of Barnabus is somewhat…” she gives Euro’s head a scratch, “filtered.”
Hey, you know I give it to you straight, Boss.
Of course you do.
Brother Brightly, unaware of the sidebar conversation going on without him, merely nods. “So noted.”
Lira takes a bite, chews thoughtfully, and thinks back to the beginning of their journey.
###
Although the party was first sent to find the four most powerful archmages in the Halmae, they discovered that there were in fact five wizards with arcane prowess far above those of any of their peers.
The Miyen Kai
The enigmatic Miyen Kai claims to be the living personification of the Health of the eleven Miyen Nation. Though he protects the Miyen from supernatural attacks, the elves seem wary of him. While we suspect that there is more to him than there appears, since we chose not to linger to delve deeper into his nature, we have little hard evidence to support our suspicions.
Chi’i
Of all the archmagi, Chi’i seems most interested in the study of magic itself, probing its origins and seeking out its most powerful practitioners. To our knowledge, aside from her visits with the other archmages, Chi’i rarely if ever departs the tranquility of her secluded valley where her privacy is guarded by the wilds of the Ketkath Mountains. Still, Chi’i is not completely ignorant of the outside world, and it was she who informed us of the existence of Barnabus.
Petros
By contrast, Petros is clearly a crusader, traveling the Halmae in his moving tower, fighting the scourge of the undead. Though he is the archmage who most actively uses his abilities for the greater good of the world, his study of the unholy and the undead borders on the unhealthy.
Manaal al Amani
Manaal: the desert mystic and self-proclaimed Chosen Son of Ehkt. She is also one of two known people (including Lira herself) capable of casting both divine and arcane magic. Her evocational powers are truly formidable, and, self-proclaimed or not, her ability to create fire with arcane magic certainly marks her as special.
Barnabus
And, of course, Barnabus, the artificer. While he has shown the most impressive powers we have seen among the archmages, and his manner is certainly benign, he is also clearly the dottiest of the bunch.
###
Brother Brightly leans back as Lira concludes her narrative. “Well, they certainly are an eclectic group.”
“You could say that.”
“So,” he says, “who would you recommend for the position of Chancellor?”
Lira blinks, not sure she heard correctly.
But it was no mistake. Throughout the city, the same question is being posed by each of the party’s contacts. Who, in their opinion, is most fit to be the next Chancellor of the Mages’ Academy?
###
Okay readers, I now put it to you. You know now as much as we did then. I’m curious, who would you recommend?
Part the Two-Hundred Thirteenth
In which: Anvil finds that cold is indeed Kettenek’s element.
With Lira once again alive, and being taken care of by her brother Ehktians, Anvil at last returns to the Temple of Justice.
It is good to be home, Anvil thinks as he deliberately makes his way up the great steps to the entrance. He savors the feeling of the stone stairs, solid beneath his feet, as if the sheer weight of so many years worth of collected Law has lent them added mass. It has been six months since he last walked these steps, having left the Temple just after receiving his promotion to Third Order.
He passes through the familiar doors and takes a silent moment to breathe in the air of Justice once more.
His compatriots pass him by in the busy entryway. He nods a greeting to one, Enduring the Just.
Enduring regards Anvil coldly, and does not return the nod.
Anvil pauses only a moment to consider the meaning of that, but ultimately deems that it is not worth his consideration. He continues on his way back to his cell.
The next three Justicars he greets brush him off just as coldly. And when the next of his brethren, a Second Order Justicar, returns Anvil’s formal greeting with a cold glare, Anvil chooses to stay silent no longer.
“Are you in a great hurry?” Anvil demands of him. “Is there Law that must be made without a moment’s rest?”
The Justicar is taken by surprise. “What? No.”
“Then surely you have time to exchange pleasantries with a brother Justicar,” Anvil replies.
The Justicar is stung at first. Then he bows stiffly and practically spits the words “May Kettenek’s Justice be upon you.”
“And upon you,” Anvil replies.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, Anvil the Just,” the other says, his eyes flicking down to the Third Order stripes on Anvil’s robes, “some of us have work to do.”
With that, the Justicar hurries away.
Anvil watches him go.
###
The next morning, Lira wakes up hungry. At least the gnawing sensation in her stomach feels like a return to normal. Despite exhaustion the night before, sleep was hard to come by.
Fortunately, the Temple of Ehkt does not believe in sending its acolytes off to face the challenges of a new day on an empty stomach. Lira is halfway though a second plate of sausage and eggs when she looks up to find a young priest of the Keepers of Light standing at the chair opposite her.
“You’re feeling better I see.”
She looks on in confusion as he smiles and seats himself. “I’m sorry, we have met, although you wouldn’t remember it. My name is Brother Brightly. I’m your new liaison with the Church of Ehkt.”
Lira blinks; she hadn’t been aware she was in need of a new liaison. “What about Devon?”
“I’m told he asked to be relieved of his assignment…” Brother Brightly stops at Lira’s momentarily stricken expression. “I ah… I believe he has gone off Questing.” Brother Brightly tries to reassure her. “He speaks highly of you.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Shouldn’t he?”
Well, last time I was in town he was avoiding me like I was catching. “He told you about me?”
“Not personally, but I was briefed on your dossier.”
I have a dossier? “So you know about the things I do?”
“Yes.”
“All of them?”
Brother Brightly looks a little bemused. “You’re referring to your varied magical talents? Yes, that did come up.”
“And you don’t have a problem with that?”
“Why would there be a problem? You are clearly quite blessed. The implications for relations between the divine and the arcane are fascinating.”
“Oh.”
Lira eats a few more bites in silence.
“Um, don’t take this the wrong way. I mean, it’s very nice to meet you and all, and I certainly appreciate being… you know… not dead, but, since we’ve delivered the invitations to all of the archmages, is there anything left for you to liason?”
Brother Brightly nods and takes a bite of his own breakfast. “In point of fact, yes. With your mission complete, I was hoping to get your impressions of each of the archmages. After all, those of your group are the selection committee’s best resource.”
Lira nods. “Alright. Although you should know that my knowledge of Barnabus is somewhat…” she gives Euro’s head a scratch, “filtered.”
Hey, you know I give it to you straight, Boss.
Of course you do.
Brother Brightly, unaware of the sidebar conversation going on without him, merely nods. “So noted.”
Lira takes a bite, chews thoughtfully, and thinks back to the beginning of their journey.
###
Although the party was first sent to find the four most powerful archmages in the Halmae, they discovered that there were in fact five wizards with arcane prowess far above those of any of their peers.
The Miyen Kai
The enigmatic Miyen Kai claims to be the living personification of the Health of the eleven Miyen Nation. Though he protects the Miyen from supernatural attacks, the elves seem wary of him. While we suspect that there is more to him than there appears, since we chose not to linger to delve deeper into his nature, we have little hard evidence to support our suspicions.
Chi’i
Of all the archmagi, Chi’i seems most interested in the study of magic itself, probing its origins and seeking out its most powerful practitioners. To our knowledge, aside from her visits with the other archmages, Chi’i rarely if ever departs the tranquility of her secluded valley where her privacy is guarded by the wilds of the Ketkath Mountains. Still, Chi’i is not completely ignorant of the outside world, and it was she who informed us of the existence of Barnabus.
Petros
By contrast, Petros is clearly a crusader, traveling the Halmae in his moving tower, fighting the scourge of the undead. Though he is the archmage who most actively uses his abilities for the greater good of the world, his study of the unholy and the undead borders on the unhealthy.
Manaal al Amani
Manaal: the desert mystic and self-proclaimed Chosen Son of Ehkt. She is also one of two known people (including Lira herself) capable of casting both divine and arcane magic. Her evocational powers are truly formidable, and, self-proclaimed or not, her ability to create fire with arcane magic certainly marks her as special.
Barnabus
And, of course, Barnabus, the artificer. While he has shown the most impressive powers we have seen among the archmages, and his manner is certainly benign, he is also clearly the dottiest of the bunch.
###
Brother Brightly leans back as Lira concludes her narrative. “Well, they certainly are an eclectic group.”
“You could say that.”
“So,” he says, “who would you recommend for the position of Chancellor?”
Lira blinks, not sure she heard correctly.
But it was no mistake. Throughout the city, the same question is being posed by each of the party’s contacts. Who, in their opinion, is most fit to be the next Chancellor of the Mages’ Academy?
###
Okay readers, I now put it to you. You know now as much as we did then. I’m curious, who would you recommend?
Gold Roger
First Post
Barnabus or Chi'i.
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