Epic Among the Shadows (Inactive)

Game Master Raventhorn

A mystery set in a small village, a large problem, and a small band of adventurers are the only thing standing in the way of this town and an evil that has yet to rear it's head.


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Hrmm, well, *grabs defibrillator and attempts to resuscitate* Clear!

Prior to each challenge in the evening, Hermia ensures that each combatant is marginally healthy with a discerning gaze and some minor miracles of internal science most over look, such as, with the participant's permission, taking the measure of their pulse at their wrists and listening at their chest for any sound indicating obstruction when they breathe. This precaution has a greater purpose, however, for she is also checking each participant, travelers claiming to be bound for a community in peril, for disease. Many overlook invisible travelers like ideology, parasites and pest, but Hermia does not.

Flanked by a revolving pair of caravan guard, Hermia observes the proceedings with some interest, not in amusement as her companions, but carefully studying each movement of the challengers. To serve ones community, one must be intimate with it, Hermia has been taught. To best serve her companions in battle, she must know what their strengths and weaknesses are.

A student of history, and many other subjects besides, Hermia knows that the most glorious tales of battle are sung by the bards, of men standing against all odds, but them in histories take a much different tone. Battles are not won by passion alone, indeed, they are often lost. The battle for which one is prepared, and has taken a modicum an effort understand the enemy and anticipate his movements, employing strategy and tactics, is most often won.

I forgot my general rule to preview before I post. Sorry guys.


Look at Hermia "See I'm fine, We trained everyday back in the militia. Damn, why don't people like you signup for the militia, New recruits drop over all the time at first until they get used to the training regiment.
Taking his chain shirt off to clean it some "Want to do any more checks before I take care of this?"


"Nay. I have completed my study," Hermia declines with a bright smile. "For the moment," she adds with an almost song like quality to her voice. "I am very familiar with humans, but I have not met too many gnomes in my service, Mibbi. Perhaps you might tell me of your culture and its differences, if there are any?" she corrects at the end, flushing as though embarrassed to have said the wrong thing.


[after the match, Tina takes off her chain shirt (peasant shirt underneath it) and puts on her bodice (it goes over a shirt), goes to Hermia and speaks with her]
"Well it's nice that there is at least one other woman in this caravan and one with medical knowledge to boot. And can I ask you to check the left side of my hip and thigh, that gnome really knows how to swing a heavy mace and I am not sure if he damaged the bones."

@Hermia you noticed her style is close and has multiple attacks


"Sadly, Me and my parents were the only gnomes in town. I can tell you about my parents, they were most happy go lucky people I know, and awesome bakers too. But people seem to look down on you...not literally..and think less of you because your short. Bullying types seem to think your a prime target because your so small and and they are so much bigger. That's why they never expect it when, you quickly break their kneecaps and then bash them to the head when they drop. That seems to give them a better perspective on life...and about messing with us short folk. At least that's what i suppose as generally they stay on the OTHER side of street after that...once they can walk again that is."


Rousing himself from the fugue he had slipped into, Kynneth starts to clap...for what he thought was the conclusion of the sparing, which actually ended hours ago. A slightly shamed look on his face, the sorcerer wanders over to where the two women are conversing.
"Errhhmm..., he clears his throat, Umm...might I join you? he asks.


Oh, I assumed that people weren't silly enough to spar while the caravan was actively moving towards our destination, as it would A. Cause more noise, and B. Distract attention from the primary purpose of the caravan, which is to move. Hence, why I set that whatever happened happened in the evening, when we had made camp for the night.

Hermia forces her expression to remain placid when Mibbi's answer favors unnecessary details of violence perpetrated against others for very little reason she can discern, concentrating on examining the areas that Tina highlighted. Her long study of anatomy and dedication to her craft assists her in this task. She apologizes softly as she digs her fingers into the bit of flesh just above the joint of Tina's hip a bit.

"Does this hurt?" she asks, when Tina responds in the affirmative, Hermia manages a tight smile. "Very good, there is no lasting damage, although I do suspect that you might be sore tomorrow morning. If that was your intent, Mibbi," she says pointedly.

Hermia clears Tina with a nod, and spares the mage a smile. "Of course. I do believe we are decent now, and shall remain so in the future," she answers.


The spar occurred when the Caravan stopped for the evening, to set camp.

[she replies to Hermia with a thankful and very polite voice]
"Thank you, Hermia, wasn't sure if more damage was done than I thought."

[she replies to Kynneth]
"If you wish, Kynneth"

Right now Tina is only wearing her peasant clothes and She is wearing a red mid Calf length skirt, a white short sleeved shirt and a green bodice that assists with her figure.


Tina Azura Valerius wrote:

[she replies to Hermia with a thankful and very polite voice]
"Thank you, Hermia, wasn't sure if more damage was done than I thought."

"Aye, is why I tested the ability of your nerves to continue to send a signal of pain to your mind," Hermia explains for Tina's benefit, and the mage's as well. "If there were any greater damage, there exists a point in bundle of them in your back where, if your mind is unable to process the so many signals at once, it will close the channel to save itself. This is typically done in times of extreme physical stress, to allow one to escape from a pursuer, mind, or fight through pain to ensure her survival."


[Tina replies, with an surprised and intrigued look]
"Wow, you learn something, new every day."


No No I wasn't trying to hurt anyone...I Just practicing...I was trying to hold back on my hits...That hit was a slip...Sorry Tina."


"Excellent! My apologies for my judgment, Mibbi, but as a trained healer, you can say I have a dedicated interest in preserving the talents of those under my care rather than in observing them combat each other," she says. "And given the cooperative nature of our task, it is essential that we all remain on as good of terms as possible."

Hermia smiles and leans back slightly and hums softly, a snatch of an impossibly beautiful tune that few will be able to place. "For myself, I find the swirl of activity with you all to be quite pleasant, even if a bit more violent than I am accustomed to at the temple," she muses.


[Tina replies to MibbiWicket]
"Apologies accepted, and sometimes in sparing we go a little to far. "

[Tina replies to Hermia]
"If you want activity try, where I used to work, everyone did their job and it was busy, and when a customer or two went out of line, then it gets a little violent, but the Bar fights were the peak of the violence, but shop policy was "You broke it, you bought it" and that kept bar fights to a minimum, that and Alkaid would kick their ass if they did not pay up and then have them work locally to pay it off."


"That situation sounds incredibly unhealthy," Hermia muses. "I prefer the calm quiet of the temple to the chaos that seemed to be the standard at your place of employment. It assists me in structuring my thoughts and responses. I am quite empathetic to the plight and suffering of others, but as you say, so far as I am actively engaged in combating them alongside my brothers and sisters I find that I am more confident and thus effective."

Hermia takes a deep breath of the crisp evening air and smiles. "I will say though, that having returned to nature is liberating. My studies were particularly exhaustive, meant to bend my errant will to a purpose. And I did abide," Hermia hums and seems reflective. "I was much wilder as a youth. My Father, the Abbot quelled the rebellious streak in me, set me to a task, and assisted me to achieve a new definition of my self."


Kynneth bows to the two women. "Many thanks. I simply wished to apologize for any rude or inappropriate questions I might have asked. I have spent much time in study, and considerable less in the world around me. As such I sometimes forget the people I am talking to are not my tutors.
Kynneth gestures at Tina's clothing, and all of a sudden all the dirt and sweat are removed and they smell fresh and clean.


Devin, having watched the sparring match with great interest, chimes in. "Hermia, you seem to not like combat and violence in general? As glad as I am to have an experienced healer along with us, I hope you understand why I'm so glad. We are going to a place where, if I understand correctly, people are going to try to visit a great deal of violence upon us. And we will, in turn, be trying to do the same back to them. I just hope this doesn't bother you too much, patching us up to send us right back in to get messed up again." He shakes his head slowly, "As for being chaotic, from what I hear, things are bad there and they may get worse before we can help anything get better."


[Tina replies to Hermia]
"I think you misunderstand, my work place was peaceful most of the week, but tended to get rowdy the days customer's got their paychecks or at the end of the week.
And Alkaid would stop any rebellion within the Employees and from the customers.

[Tina replies to Kynneth, with a smile]
"Why, Thank you, Kynneth, you even got one of the hard to remove stains out of my clothes."


Devin Cross wrote:
Devin, having watched the sparring match with great interest, chimes in. "Hermia, you seem to not like combat and violence in general? As glad as I am to have an experienced healer along with us, I hope you understand why I'm so glad. We are going to a place where, if I understand correctly, people are going to try to visit a great deal of violence upon us. And we will, in turn, be trying to do the same back to them. I just hope this doesn't bother you too much, patching us up to send us right back in to get messed up again." He shakes his head slowly, "As for being chaotic, from what I hear, things are bad there and they may get worse before we can help anything get better."

Hermia regards Devin with a gentle smile. "It is true I have a goodly soul that is disposed towards peace, but I am not simple. It would not be my first course of action to march up to the orc army threatening a village and say to them 'we have no need of your violence here, kindly turn away.' I would, with my magics, bolster the ability of my allies to combat the threat.

"My lord Erastil is the huntsman. The death of the doe and the boar are equal in his eyes, so far as each are capable of sustaining us in times of scarcity. When food is plentiful, however, the harvest rich and surplus sufficiently gathered for leaner times, I would ask that the hunters pass up the doe. Unless of course the proliferation of them threatened crops or their own health-" Hermia flushes somewhat meekly. "Care to say, I am quite versed in the practical applications of violence. So far as men killing men is concerned, however, for any manner of passion, but especially greed and ignorance, that I oppose."

Hermia's smile fades as her eyes seem to fix on an intangible point. "I am quite aware that my heart has yet to see the last of its trials, but it and I are strong, as is my faith that man can see past its immediate desires and come to recognize that we are each part of a greater community with each other, and nature."


A broad smile on his face at the praise Tina gave him, he produces a bouquet of red roses out of thin air and hands them to her, while blushing a deep crimson from his collar to the tips of his ears.


"Hey that's a good trick, can you do it again?" Pointing to his chain shirt he was a bout to clean
To Tina "He should have got you to take care of the rowdy ones, with the way you fought today."
To Kynneth "Can you do other cool tricks too...We had wizard stop by and help us once...Couple of giants had wandered by and were eating peoples cattle and not payin'. Well we had to put stop to that. He could cast lightning right from his fingertips...can you do that? He also said he could do ball of fire, but we didn't want to burn down the barn, so we took care of them after that.

Hanging his head looking Solemn We lost a few good men that day


Kynneth smiles and waves his hand, removing the dirt and rust from the gnomes armour.
"A powerful wizard or sorcerer could indeed do such things, alas I am barely out of my apprenticeship."

He turns to Hermia and asks, with the deepest of reverence, "My good lady, do you think all magic comes from one source? Are your healings prayers, and my cantrips from the same magical 'pot', as it were. Please, I mean no offense if my words seem blunt or lack elegance."


Thanks Nodding his add at Kynneth


Hermia smiles at Kynneth. "No, sir, I have trained in recognizing magics as well. I see that you cast yours without reliance upon components, as mine. Your magics are innate. Mine are on loan to me from my Lord, to serve His will on this plane of existence."

Hermia pauses and pets a good tendril of her hair, looking as though she would draw it in front of her face. "Some might say my adherence to faith makes my magics inferior," she continues, and then smiles more brightly, "but I choose not to believe them."


[Tina replies to MibbiWicket]
"Alkaid is a woman of great skill, I once saw her stop a bar fight and in less than a minute knocking out about say 20 brawling customers, whom were doing the most damage. In fact I think a few asked her to take them as her disciples."

[Tina replies to Kynneth with a grateful smile]
"How sweet and gentlemanly you are, and Thank you."
[she pauses, and turns her head slightly to the left side]
"Are you blushing?"

I'm stopping for the night, I'll be back in 9 hours


Doesn't hurt to ask.


With a bashul smile, he turns to listen to what the cleric has to say.
Kynneth's complexion turns from a delicate red-pink to ashen in a heartbeat. "Never think such a thing my lady!" he says to Hermia. "I would never thing your magic was weak, rather the opposite. I can perform some interesting tricks, but you can heal and help people. It is a gift that I hope to some day be offered so that I may know, first hand what it is like.


Wow you guys post alot I go see the Movie Conan and come back theres 5 pages sheesh


"I am afraid I misunderstood your intent, friend. It has been my experience that more learned sages, like them who have contributed to my training, have little to no respect for the influence of the gods in our daily lives," Hermia explains. "I apologize for phrasing my answer in a manner that was offensive to you. If you wish to learn to heal, however, I see that you have two hands, and they are quite deft. Should you wish to observe me in my mundane examinations, provided that the patient agrees, I would be delighted to instruct you."


Bowing deeply to this wonderful woman, Kynneth nods his head, "I would be honoured to learn from such a skilled teacher as you!"


[Tina seeing Kynneth's response, raises her right hand to cover her mouth with a girlish expression on her face and says]
"Oh, you are blushing."


Hermia smiles and observes Tina's reaction to Kynneth with a smile. "Your first lesson will be very basic," she says, and holds out her left wrist to him, then gestures with her right hand. "Take my wrist, and place your two fingers here," she demonstrates by pressing her index and middle fingers against the veins standing out against paler flesh on the inside of her wrist, "then count the beats of my pulse. You can learn many things this way, first, if a heartbeat is very rapid, it is under some amount of stress. This is not always negative. A person experiencing some amount of passion can be quite rapid."


Kynneth does as he is shown, and feels the strong, even pulse in Hermia's wrist. He checks his own, and notices how it beats faster, in tune with the rapid fluttering of his own heart.
Blushing again, even a deeper shade of red, he glances over at the two women. "Errmm..yes, I see what you mean. It mirrors the beating of your heart."


Hermia laughs at Kynneth's flushed reaction, but the tone is not mocking. "Your heart has not to fear with me, friend," she hums and seeing that the matches have concluded, rises. "Unless you intend to petition for my hand in marriage," she teases in a light manner. "My good Lord Erastil's edicts on courtship are... demanding," she sighs, and with every appearance of being quite disappointed.


[Tina over hears the lesson and speaks]
"If the pulse is fast under stress, could one not use it to tell if one is lying to another?"


"The observation measures the physical state of the heart, not the mental state of the patient," Hermia answers. "If you are concerned that a subject is lying to you, I would suggest that you observe his facial features first. In my experience, a very poor liar will not look a priestess straight in the eye when he fibs. But then, my experience as such has been limited to rebuking children who scrump fruits and berries, and not men who assault and murder. Our Father does not allow acolytes to be present at such interviews. We are only allowed to know the wisdom of his judgment in such cases."


Kynneth puts a finger to his lips and thinks, that would be an interesting skill, but after listening to Hermia's explaination, nods his agreement.
"So, if I may be bold to ask, what brings the two of you on this endevor? I, for myself, wished to gain more knowledge of the world around me, and to see what changes I may make in it with my magic."


[Tina replies to Hermia]
"That maybe true, that the heart and mental state are separate, but yet I believe that they are connected to each other, but with varying strength for an individual. And use the eyes is a tried and true method, though if you look at the direction the eyes look you can tell truth or lie, and example is if one's eyes moves to look down they are lying, but if they look up they are telling the truth. And as they say "The eyes are the window to the soul" am I right."

[Tina's reply to Kynneth, with her face still having a bit of the girlish expression left on it]
"I wish to see the world a bit more, and experience it, with its glory and its horror, as you can't have one with out the other and serves to contrast each other and understand both sides of the coin."


Kynneth wrote:


"So, if I may be bold to ask, what brings the two of you on this endevor? I, for myself, wished to gain more knowledge of the world around me, and to see what changes I may make in it with my magic."

Hermia's eyes flash at Kynneth's question. "I grew weary of instruction and dictation, and my Father's narrow focus and adherence to the letter of my good Lord's tenants while disregarding His intent. I travel to Grunshire to assist its people in whatever way they find use for me, if at all," Hermia adds after a brief pause, somewhat flushed herself. I leave too much to hope that they will have me, perhaps, but... I cannot return home, either.


"Using the heart rate, or where someone is looking to determine their intentions is only scratching the surface. Everyone has their own, individual, giveaways that can tell you much more than just if they are lying. You can learn about someone just by watching them. And if you can figure out their most telling habits, the ones they don't know themselves, then you really have an advantage." He shrugs thoughtfully, "But the real trick is knowing your own and controlling them, using them to your advantage against those observing you."


[Tina's Reply to Devin]
"You are very right, I have seen that technique used in the card games that were played in Alkaid's Inn and Pub, the more experienced players were more observant than the amateur players and as a result could make better choices, but those aware of their habits could use them to give false leads once in a while."


Kynneth looks over to Devin and smiles. "Yes I can see how that would be an important skill to learn. Unfortunately I am not very good at such things...and am an open book to most.
Looking at the beautiful giant beside him, he nods in agreement to her statement. The good and the bad, indeed. One makes the other that much more precious, I think!
He finally looks Hermia and a sad smile crosses his face. I, too understand the need to expand my knowledge, and to leave those who think they know what is good for me. I could not imagine them turning away such a brave and talented person like yourself.


Ok the choices were tough but I believe the selections I made were based off who i think will best fit inside the world I had planned. For those of you I didnt pick I am deeply sorry I am just not an experienced enough GM to run two games with two groups. All of the characters seemed well thought out and the role play....was well intense? Anyways thank you all for showing a new GM such support and interest.

Ill wait for a day for these people to cherck in otherwise I will need replacement players as such i will be back on this thread to let you all know

Other than that the people I selectd are:
Gaeron

Hermia

Devin

Kynneth

please proceed to OOC thread
OOC Thread


Thank you GM Raventhorn, I do not envy the choice you had to make.

For all our companions who will not be joining us in Grunshire, I will miss you, it has been a blast. Pleasant journey and good hunting as your caravan rolls on.


Thank you for the opportunity, GM Raventhorn
Hope you don't mind me observing the game?

If one of them does not show up, just contact me and I'll join in


So the party is one Ranger, One cleric, and 2 sorcerers, I am surprised it's not the party of five that was originally posted.


I hope that those chosen have fun and congrats.

I'm starting to think, I'm unlucky. I have applied to 10 PBPs in total and get 0 bites when there is a limited number of slots, I only get in by chance when a player drops out (happened once)


Congratulations to those selected...at least it I had few fun days RPing..If someone drops I hope to be considered still

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