Normal voice.
I'm going to be away for the next week without internet. Feel free to run Zethyris in the meantime.
Okay
One of my relatives has passed away. I'll be driving to her funeral and I will very likely not be able to game for Friday, Saturday and part of Sunday. Please bot Rutilux as needed during that time
My condolences on your loss. Drive safe.
Best wishes
Sorry for your loss Rutilux. I wish you and yours a safe trip.
My thoughts are with you Rutilux.
Heya. I've broken out of my funk and so will keep going with the gang. :)
Good to hear!
Glad to hear it.
Wouldn't be the same without Julian's smack talk
Awesome news!
Yeah Julian's smack talk never fails to amuse.
Well, after a couple cross country moves and whatnot, I've come back to peep at the boards. Glad to see the game is still going and sorry I had to leave it. I might have to read through some old posts just to check up on the kind of s$@# Julian has been saying...
Hell Yeah! Welcome back!
Yay!
Welcome back
Nice to meet you. I've been hearing off and on about your exploits.
I did have some fun. :)
I should have tormented Julian more though and jumped Rutilux. ;)
:o
:)
Glad to see you're well.
Hey! Good to see you!
Just had lots of stress, some depression and dropped all my games after the first move. Now after the 3rd, all settled back in and should be fine.
Well you're more than welcome to hop back in if you'd like.
What would we say my character has been off doing though and what level would she come back in at?
She's been kidnapped/rescued by Samuel, when we all were imprisoned by those bandits. That's my personal theory at least.
Welcome back, Dagmar!
Has poor Ana been surrounded by nothing but men (and Julien) since my absence?
She's been holding up well. Hard to get into a conflict with a lady who can throw fireballs!
I'm looking forward to working with your character!
You have been working your own hospital. You made an appearance to save Thorvald after he nearly died saving a woman and child from a burning building which colapsed on him.
Thorvald side story...
The needs of the many out way your desires for sleep as you quietly climb out of bed before first light and make ready to leave. Climbing up onto your horse you ride out for Greyson's Landing and the garrison waiting for you. You easily manage the fastest and safest route and find yourself riding towards the town's outskirts before nightfall.
From the outside, the town looks much like any other in ulfen territory with a sturdy wall made of stone as tall as a man's chest and the most fire resistant houses near the walls. Several figures huddle away from the wind behind the wall taking turns to peer out into the dusk. It doesn't take long for them to notice you riding up and immediately you see the guards moving to intercept you, several readying arrows while one raises a horn.
As you ride into the light of a brandished lantern, the sudden brightness fouling your vision, a cry of warning goes out. Slowing down and riding closer with empty arms outstretched you calmly identify yourself and the guards lower their weapons. They greet you and signal for the nearest gate to be opened for you.
Inside the town you can see most of the homes are stuttered tightly with only small traces of light seeping through gaps in the shutters. One guard guides you to the mayors house and raps noisily on the door before giving the guard inside a warning of whose on the other side and leaving to return to his post.
The door is opened by a wary looking but older ulfen man with three feet of northern steel clasped naked in his hand but sheaths it once he sees who you are. You're waved into the houses open hearth room while you hear movement from a room farther in. Shortly later a heavyset, almost portly, ulfen emerges wrapped in a fur nightgown and greets you warmly. After a quick bite the mayor leads you to a room you can use for your stay and bids you good night before returning to his own chambers.
You are awoken early in the morning, just after dawn, by a tremendous clamour beyond your door. A large group of servants are moving about cleaning, cooking and tending to chores while the major sits at his table enjoying a bowl of porridge. As soon as you're spotted a seat is readied for you and over breakfast you discuss with the mayor your task.
Greyson's Landing is a central hub for travel and commerce in the region so the town makes sure they always have a solid staff of guards to deter and defend against bandit attacks. The town is too large for the majority of bandit groups or monsters to attack directly but they have no real defence against an army.
Spending the first day reviewing the state of affairs and touring the town you set about planning out the best way to defend it against a marching force. By the end of night, long past midnight you stand satisfied staring at a map of the town scribbled on and marked according to your plan.
The next six weeks are spent working tirelessly alongside your men reinforcing the wall, barricading key streets and turning the town into a maze of streets and dead ends as well as working with the guards in training the inhabitants how to use a few weapons and defend themselves should the need arise.
All of your planning and preparations are tested less than a week later as a small raiding force pushes past the outer wall. The town is in chaos as guards scramble into position and volunteers run around having forgotten where to go and what to do. Time and again the raiders are forced to split up or double back as they're constantly harried by archers and forced from ambush to ambush as the guards slowly whittle away at their numbers. The last few raiders, cornered in a dead end alley way, end their own lives before they can be captured "Death before failure!" hissed from dying lips.
Several more weeks pass with frequent sightings of enemies and groups of refugees seeking protection within the walls. Soon you spend more time fighting laziness and in attentiveness than than bandits or raiding parties in the vicinity.
That all ends somewhere within your third month, on a night with a full and heavy moon that hangs eerily low in the sky.
Well after midnight while you lay sleeping a thunderous crash shatters your dreams quickly followed by frantic screaming. Grabbing your shield and drawing wintersbane from its sheath resting on a bed post you rush out into the night. Everywhere around you can be heard the sounds of frantic battle and the snarls of monstrous beasts. As you try to decide on the best place to help a pair of gigantic white wolves with rime and frost mingled with blood coating their muzzles lumber out of a side street and sniffing the air turn towards you. Their heads lower and their hackles rise as almost human growls escape from their throats. They rush you in unison and while you raise your shield to deflect one set of fangs aimed at your face the other bites and tears ribbons from your thigh before hopping away ahead of winterbane's steel. The two wolves circle just out of reach, stepping in mirrored unison before abruptly shifting direction. The one to your left rushes in low aiming for you legs below your shield and as your arm stretches out to slash it before it can reach you find your aim grabbed and your shoulder aches as it's nearly popped out of the socket as the second wolf tries to tear your arm clean off but you spin backwards and bring the lip of your shield across the side of its face is a wide and heavy back hand. Backing away again the one shakes its head but this time it's a few seconds slower than the other one and just as your shield smashes into the first wolf's muzzle, wintersbane slashes downwards, cutting off the the wolf's ear and bloodying its hackles. You move to finish off the wounded winter wolf but the first one slams its body mightily into your shield with all its weight, throwing off your aim and sending you stumbling. As you right yourself and turn, prepared for the obvious attack that should follow you are shocked as the wounded wolf is trotting away towards the edge of the town and the unharmed wolf stands between you menacingly as it backs away slowly.
You have no time to pursue them and finish the battle because a terrifying crash and a burst of ash and erupts down the street and you run towards it.
One of the larger buildings, the school you think, lies a burning ruin, the walls are beginning collapse under the weight of the roof and down the street you can see a man cackling like a mad man and juggling lit torches. He spots you at nearly the same time and drops a few torches as he bursts into a run down the opposite way. Your long legs strengthened by years of fighting easily allow you to outpace the scrawny man but just as your about thirty feet away he pauses and blows on a torch in your direction. A cascade of flames erupt outwards much like you would guess a dragon's breath would look rushing up the street towards you and singing your bare skin as you bring up your shield to guard your face. The flames only lick you for a moment before shifting and turning aside blanketing the buildings to your right in flames and setting the waddle and daub as well as the thatch alight. The man begins running again but you stop. Screaming and crying is coming from one of the buildings so you break down the door to find a woman holding an infant and trying to coax a young toddler out from under a table as the burning thatch and bits of the rafters rain down. Before your eyes the image changes as a large section gives way and drops on the woman. Rushing to her aid, heedless of the flames burning your palms and skin you strain your muscles and lift. Wedging you shoulder underneath one of the main cross joists of the roof you push up with your legs, the wolf bite screaming in agony, and lift the debris up. You can feel your skin sizzling and popping as the woman still protectively clutching the infant clambers out. The young boy terrified needs a bit more coaxing as you free one of your arms, grab the boy by his collar and yank him desperately out before your wounded leg gives and you collapse, tumbling away from the debris. You collect the boy in your arms and stumble to your feet barely making it out of the house before the rest of the roof joins the floor.
Several soldiers rush to your aid and hurl a soaked blanket over you. The cold a welcome change to the heat from moments before.
The soldiers send for the towns priest and healer as you sit exhausted and in more pain than you've ever felt. Looking up at the town you see many of the fires are already being put out the soldiers are chasing after several wolves fleeing the town. That when you see him, on a slight rise to the east in clear view stands a large man watching the events unfold. Several winter wolves stand or sit nearby him while he leans almost casually on a long halted weapon before he turns and walks away into the night.
The priest and everyone else trained in healing have their hands full tending to the wounded and you lie bed ridden for several days wrapped in healing poultices and herbs. Most of your body is numb and the medicine clouds your head as you slip in and out of consciousness.
You aren't sure how long you've been asleep but when you wake a familiar scent, a perfume, and a familiar voice fill your head. As your head slowly clears the face of Dagmar comes into view as she finished peeling off some old poultices. "Dear me, you get left alone for a few months and the next time I see you you look more like one of those desert mummies I've heard about than a north man. No stop, you need to rest. I've tended to your wounds. I came rushing here from my hospice when I heard how badly you had been hurt but you'll be fine now. You just need to give the medicine a bit of time to wear off. Go back to sleep." as she places a moist cloth over your eyes and forehead and your consciousness fades again.
The next time you wake up you feel much better, your body isn't covered in bandages and you don't smell of herbs and weeds anymore. Looking around you can't find Dagmar but another woman sits nearby knitting.
Seeing you stir and the question obviously on your parched lips the woman stands and grabs a cup, handing it to you, "The mistress had to leave sir, Lady Dagmar was called away to tend to more wounded but she bid me stay and help here. I'm Holly, Dagmar's assistant. Your wounds have put you out of the fight for two weeks milord. You may feel a little week but your body is fine and you can return to your duties. I will remain to help with the wounded as well." with that she bows and leaves you alone to dress.
Returning to duty is hard for the first few days as your body is stiff and weak from lying in bed for so long but soon your muscles remember how to move.
While you slept several raids had occurred at night but the wolves retreated shortly after waking everyone. The wolves seemed to be probing the defences in a far more organized manner than you've ever heard of winter wolves doing.
A few nights later the wolves attack again but you were ready for them. You slept during the evening and had all the soldier ready in full armour each and every night.
This night, when the wolves attacked and flooded into the town in greater number than before they avoided you. Several times your movements put you face to face with wolves but they always retreated before you could engage them. With your frustration rising you finally understand why when the large ulfen looking man with dominantly wolves features marches down the main street towards you and the winter wolves seem to guide him. You know in your gut that the raids these past two weeks were merely a ruse to search for you. This man that commands winter wolves has been waiting for you to recover and let the town survive so that he could meet you in battle fully rested.
(The man speaks in a broken mix of skald and common with a heavy accent you don't recognize)
"Ah there you are. I've been waiting soo long for someone like you. It's been such a long time since I've found someone worthy of fighting. Worthy of killing with my own hands." his lips curl back in a snarl as his smile begins to extend towards the back of his jaw.
"I haven't had someone kindle my bloodlust like this in years." he lifts his head and groans as if in pleasure and his ears begin to get pointy and his teeth in his long wide mouth turn into fangs. His long greyish brown hair grows longer and turns white, "Come north man, come embrace death and fight me one on one!".
By now he is less than ten feet away from you as his body continues to shift and contort into that of the largest werewolf you've ever seen with pure white, long fur and frost clinging to his lips. In his hand is a mighty two handed hammer. Seeing before you the cause of this towns trouble and a monster leaves you unable to hold yourself in check as your primal fury, your own blood lust boils to the surface and you rush him. Bashing his hammer away with your shield and slashing with all your might, wintersbane buries itself deep in the mans shoulder before he brings his hammer back and with inhuman force smashes you through your shield. Your whole body leaves the ground and you find find yourself partially buried inside a nearby building. You clamber out and move towards him again. Your rage and bloodlust warring with you instincts to be cautious as you step in, ducking under a wide swing and securing two more slashes on his body. Again and again you trade blows with the werewolf. Cut after cut closes and seals on him while you stoically ignore your own. Frustration continues to fuel your anger, keeping your body moving despite begin long out of breath and you can see that your many wounds are finally having an affect on your enemy. You stab him and your aim is true as wintersbane buries itself sixteen inches deep into his chest right where his heart should be but when you look up into the wolves face you see sadness. Confused you hesitate and his foot connects with your chest sending you flying back and forcing you to drop your shield.
"No, you can hurt me but you are capable of killing me. I grow bored." he raises his hammer high over his head and brings it down as you lift wintersbane two handed to block but his hammer smashes through wintersbane's blade and crushes your shoulder. You can barely lift your arm but within your hand lies only a hilt, only eight or nine inches remain.
As the werewolf walks away the winter wolves follow, "Keep your town, I will find better sport elsewhere."
The next few days are a blur as reinforcements arrive and the townsfolk praise you for saving them. Released from your deputies here you return to the fortress. When you arrive no one else has returned from their own duties but you do hear rumours of daring raids by Isham and praise for Rutilux saving a flank during a heated battle.
Not sure what to do next you turn to Julianda who currently commands in Bron's absence who after listening to your report bids you seek out Toopil who was on his way back to Tweyd.
Several days ride later you find Toopil back at his forge and show him your ruined blade, "I see lad. The steel tells me what happened. This blade was made with borrowed strength, your uncle was a great warrior but his strength alone is not enough for what you face now. Come, I will show you how to remake your blade into a true Wintersbane. I will teach you the secrets of Kodiak steel."
Over the next month Toopil guides you in picking out the proper ores and show your his secret ways of smelting the metal, part reverent prayer, part alchemy and the right temperature. Much hotter than you would normal work and much longer. When the time comes, you take the remainder of the blade and melt it down with ores Gathered from dwarven mines in the north and sprinkle in black obsidian and metal dust. Heating and folding the mixture upon itself again and again before burning the raw blade into the white hot coals. You hammer the blade endlessly in a constant pattern of coals, powder, anvil, coals, powder, anvil. Night and day for a full week before Toopil finally admits its ready for quenching. You reach forward to plunge the blade into the bucket but he grabs you arm forcefully, "No, Kodiak steel can only be quenched with blood. You've toiled to shape the blade now give Gorum his due. Spill your blood upon the blade then plunge it deep into the ice." surprised by the look on Toopil's face and his request to start to falter but steel yourself and open your vein over the blade, watching as your blood sizzles and cools the metal it touches before taking it out onto the frozen pond nearby and with two hands plunging the blade through the ice to the hilt as steam rises and bathes you in a mix of heat and chill.
Pulling your hands out of the now melted water you lift the reformed Wintersbane to you eyes and wonder at its beauty. Even though the blade is cool to the touch it looks as if heat radiates from within it. With this you are ready to face your enemies again.
You have a assistant too, did you pick up the leadership feat? :)
Has poor Ana been surrounded by nothing but men (and Julien) since my absence?
Well, Ana was living with her aunt Anabella for a while. That episode didn't end well though. Compared to that, she's been getting along with the men extremely well. Ana feels the men's relationship with her has improved greatly, especially since the beginning of their undercover mission behind enemy lines.
(Now that I think of it: Hey guys, I think we will need to keep up our false identities for a while longer, even after we return from Irrisen! At least till the end of the war. Maybe longer. Just in case there is someone spying on us.)
Rat hides behind a bush and starts searching for that scary white owl.
Then he remembers he is now the size of a dog - and continues to watch out for the white owl, which suddenly seems a lot less scary.
Sorry for the absence. We had a family scare that turned out to be a false alarm that had us waaaay outta town.
Better a false alarm than a real emergency.
Amen to that!
That's odd. I would have sworn that I had already posted about fireballing that witch a couple of days ago. But appaently either I mis-remember or those website maintenance goblins ate my post.
I've been having some troubles too. I've been writing my posts in Google docs lately because the gremlins are eating then from the site. I had one here yesterday and saw it was missing a few hours later and had to repost it.
That seems to happen a lot.
So two fireballs and an arrow critical took out the baddie, maybe I should start giving them a bit more health.
Sure, you say that now, but the the next big fight our dice turn on us and bam! We're running for our little lives just to prevent a TPK*
*(Except for Julian, who left three rounds before the rest of us did and is now sipping whatever it is Ninjas drink by a warm fire wondering when he's going to have to go rescue the survivors of us that got taken hostage...again ;) )
So, so true
Sorry I've been kinda AWOL lately; end of summer vacation madness has been intense.
Got that summertime, summertime sadness!?
If I remember right Julian's a RL teacher so it's back to work time for him.
Less than a week of vacation left ...so I'll be sober and on normal sleep schedules soon.
Ahah! So now we know the reason for your behavior. Tsk tsk.
I've been ran over by a bus
As soon as I'm feeling more coherent and less medicamated I'll continue
Okay here goes...
Jediah has no claims on items found