BigP4nda |
As the end of the day approaches, you all decide to head back to the Inn where you were approached by a showy wizard. The order in which you all arrive doesn't matter really
Once dusk sets in and the inn is filled with drunks and entertainers you catch sight of a blue-robed man entering the doorway. "Ladies and gentleman! The magician," He removes his hat and takes a bow, "has arrived..." He lifts his head with a cocky smile as he replaces his hat. The crowd inside the room begins applauding as the man's robe flies off of his back and floats over to the coat rack. He rolls his hat along his arms and shoulders in finesse, claps his hands together and out of nothing pulls out a cane. He flicks his fingers and produces sparkling lights and trumpeting sounds. The Inn becomes party central.
In your heads you each hear his whisper, "Enjoy the night, for this may be your last chance."
How are you going to party? ;)
Jonuli Mudarch |
"He does have style and the masses seem to enjoy him. What kind of trouble can I get into here?"
Jonuli looks about the room and spots a few delightful young ladies dancing and joins them.
Nolath Vandoran |
Nolath sits at the corner table, watching the show as he sips from his mug. His armored frame seems entirely comfortable sitting in his booth, although the armor must weigh a considerable amount. A healthy glow emanates from him, barely visible in the dark inn's common room.
BigP4nda |
As the party dies down and the guests either leave or return to their rooms, the remaining individuals consist of you three and Gonzo, along with a couple of other people.
Gonzo is sitting at a booth with a mug in his hand as he says his goodbye to a young lady as she returns home. He then takes a drink from his mug and corrects his seated posture. Once again you hear his soft voice inside your head, "I realize it is pretty late, but now is the best time for us to discuss our future companionship together, as well as the journey ahead of us. Please come sit with me."
Jonuli Mudarch |
Jonuli walks to the table and sits down. He looks at the others and says "I'm Jonuli. Nice to meet you. That was an enjoyable evening with the ladies. Thank you Gonzo."
Nijena |
Nijena had been quiet and kept to herself the entire time, perched on a high stool in the back corner, watching. She now descends from her perch and almost glides across the room gracefully, to slip into a chair with the group. Her four wings which had become unfurled briefly, now refold themselves. She nods. "Nijena."
Nolath Vandoran |
Nolath moves forward to the nearby table. As he approaches, he reaches out with a gauntleted hand to pull back a chair for him to sit in. I'm Nolath, pleasure to meet you.
Gonzo the Magnificent |
He smiles As if I need to say it and claps his hands together, "Good, good. Now that we are all acquainted, let's get to business shall we? I am sure you all are wanting to know exactly where this expedition will be taking us. We will be heading to an island off the Everglade Gulf, " He pulls a map out from his cloak and unravels it on the table, pointing at it. He presses his finger on a small landmass a ways off the western shoreline of Alban.
Clearing his throat, he continues, "There are rumors of an emerging cult or organization on this island, Esterion. There have been two reports so far of missing persons, whether or not this rumored cult is responsible nobody knows. We shall find out, and if need be eliminate this cult before they grow too powerful, should their practices prove inhumane and precarious enough to disrupt the peace."
He pauses for a second staring at the map.
"I'm not a geographer or a topographer or whatever you call it, but I would guess we are looking at almost a month's worth of travel. So ration accordingly and start getting to know each other, we will be together for a good while," He chuckles a bit, "Any questions?"
Nijena |
"I have questions. How much funding will be afforded us to prepare for this expedition, and will there be compensation for materials expended? Will there be remuneration for our services? Under whose authority are we legally empowered to investigate this cult? Should we find their practices to be illegal, are we to confront them and arrest them, or simply kill them? Who is the legal authority on Esterion? Do we make contact there with anyone first? If find we must eliminate the cult, who cleans up the mess? Are we also to seize any possessions of value and to whom do these spoils go? If any of us are injured or killed, will there be any recompense to provide magical restoration? What happens if you are killed, do we continue the mission?" Nijena pauses, as if she has a hundred other questions, but gives the man a chance to address the details so far.
Jonuli Mudarch |
Jonuli laughs as he hears all the questions. "So the PALADIN want's to know who has the authority to take out an evil cult. Do you ask permission before killing undead as well? Or a permit to do good deeds? We just go in there and smash it! The spoils of war belong to the victors. I'll need to buy more food for the journey and payment would help with that."
Gonzo the Magnificent |
He chuckles a bit at Nijena's many questions, and a bit more at Jonuli's response. "Sadly, I do not possess the funding to accommodate your traveling needs. Whatever we find on our journey should be divided among ourselves evenly, provided the treasure is useful to the respective person. Esterion is under the jurisdiction of the High Priest of Alban, Roderick, He looks to Nolath, "I believe you are acquainted with him. Unfortunately, Roderick is much too busy to pay mind to minor cults that may or may not exist, and he likely doesn't even know about it. It would be best it stays that way. As for Esterion, they do have a counselor, though I can't recall his name. We should speak with him once we arrive. As for who's authority we have to conduct this mission? The same authority all men have, the authority of the gods'. The world we live in is ruthless; men, women, and children die everyday, and more are born. Should we come to the resolution of this cult's demise, the dead will be dead because it was meant to be. Their time had come and we were the messengers. Now, when law comes into play is when it gets very difficult and unclear to tell who has what authority to do what, when, and how. Though the law only circumferences what is dealt to the townspeople, or the citizens living under the law. Correct me if I am wrong, but worshiping evil lords and casting black magic, as well as kidnapping and performing sacrificial rituals would all be considered unlawful and disruptive to society, thus the people enacting these heinous crimes are no longer living 'under the law', thus our laws do not apply to them. Sure, you can recite the old saying, 'innocent until proven guilty' but nobody will bother to prosecute the cleansing of evil taint by disguising devilworshipers as anything but guilty." His smile has all but vanished now, which is a disturbing image for you to grasp.
He clears his thoat, "My, my, it's been a while since I've said so much at once; but I digress, what the rest of our party might do should one of you die is beyond me to say at this point, if I were to unfortunately perish, there would be nothing keeping you together; whatever you choose to do, you may. This is not a job nor a mission per say, but an opportunity for each of us to explore this huge world and live our lives to the fullest."
Nolath Vandoran |
Nolath shrugs at Jonuli's comment, Unless I have no choice, I prefer to follow the rules whenever possible. Obviously if they're harming people or attacking me, then I will do something, but until that point I would prefer to work with authorities when possible, so I'd prefer to get all the information I can before we do anything.
Nijena |
Nijena nods, but seems to be internally assessing Gonzo. "Very well, you make some valid points. I just want to be sure we aren't breaking into someone's home and slaughtering everyone inside and grabbing their belongings under the guise of them being an evil cult. To some, worshipping evil is black and white, and of course, to most, it doesn't stop at merely the philosophical level. Those involved with evil act on it, their evil gods demanding action to back up their ideals. If we know they are kidnapping and performing sacrifices, then we are duty bound to stop them if the realm itself is not concerned with the murder of its citizens."
"I also understand this cause is undertaken of our own volition, and the rewards may be only that we have removed a stain of evil from the world. If the spoils are ours to take, it will help in funding future such causes as well as research and studies."
Gonzo the Magnificent |
"Agreed, while this part of our journey is rather charitable, some rewards to cover expenditures would help keep us continuing our venture, though there most likely will be times when the reward is insignificant or nonexistent all-together; in those cases, we may need to spend some time earning money ourselves before continuing, so it'd be a good idea to keep an eye on towns and villages while we travel, see if there is anywhere you wouldn't mind staying for a certain amount of time."
"Any other questions come to mind?"
Yes, this means we will have downtime, and I would like to have quite a bit of it, but not too much. So get your ideas going for crafting and brewing
Jonuli Mudarch |
"I'm in. Doing the right thing is what matters, let the "rules" fall where they may. Once I buy more food, I'll be ready to go. Glad to be traveling with you all."
Nijena |
Nijena stretches in her chair, a long leg flexing as she stands. "I am ready to go soon. I will look into buying food with the remaining money I have if I have the room to carry it. Shall we arrange a time and place to being our journey?"
Jonuli Mudarch |
"I do not have a horse having arrived by boat and I don't have the money to purchase one. How far is Fairgrove? If it's less than 6 days I can wait until then to buy more food."
My rear is going to be sore by the end of the first day! I just know it.
Nijena |
"I do not have a horse, but I typically fly when travelling." Nijena flexes her four wings. "I only need to purchase some more food for the journey. Perhaps we can augment it via hunting and foraging. I have close to enough gold to purchase nearly a month's supply but not quite enough. Also, if we are to be in settled lands, I will not purchase it all ahead of time, and merely restock periodically."
Nolath Vandoran |
Nolath shakes his head, I'm afraid that I have no horse or supplies, or the money to access either of them. Gonzo, do you have any funds set aside for this expedition that could be used for these things?
Nijena |
"I have no skill in riding beasts of burden, and so much of flying is actually gliding on air current, it is actually not very tiring at all and certainly less so than walking. In fact I prefer to be in the air, it is invigorating and free. It also allows me a better vantage point, and hopefully no one misses my company." Nijena attempts a joke, which probably comes across not terribly funny and perhaps sounds off in her thick accent.
Gonzo the Magnificent |
For a second Gonzo gives the feathered woman a blank stare, smiling back at her. "Well, suit yourself then. I believe we have everything in order now. We will meet at noon tomorrow, that should give you plenty of time to prepare or purchase anything necessary before our travels." He stands up and tips his hat to the group, "Rest up, we have a long journey ahead of us."
And with that he leaves the inn.
Nijena |
Nijena is willing to converse more, or even just sit up and observe other people. She doesn't need to sleep much, but eventually will turn in if nothing interesting seems to be going on.
BigP4nda |
You all wake up and pack up the last of your gear and head to the east gate of Cyridia, you say whatever goodbyes or farewells you may need to. Gonzo is waiting atop his horse with two other horse tied to the post, one is black and the other is white with brown spots. Jonuli and Nolath may choose which they want.
After your greetings you saddle up and head east towards Fairgrove.
I'll give you all a chance to make any conversation before moving on.
Jonuli Mudarch |
"Good morning! I've got my extra rations, and I'm ready to proceed. Thank you for the horse Gonzo. Does it have a name?"
All right big fella, hope you don't wear my rear off today.
Nolath Vandoran |
Ride: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (6) - 3 = 3
Nolath attempts to vault into the saddlefast mount, but his heavy full plate hinders him and he instead just kind of slams into the horse, forcing it to quickly step to the side to avoid being pushed over. This time more carefully, he pulls himself into the saddle.
Gonzo the Magnificent |
In response to Jonuli, "Why no, it does not have one." horse with no name, +50 xp if you can guess that reference "You may name it yourself if you'd like."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Jonuli Mudarch |
"Well, then I think I'll name the horse America. I hope there are no deserts ahead." You can then barely hear him mumbling, "In the desert, you can't remember your name.."
Gonzo the Magnificent |
nice!
He gives you a peculiar look but shrugs and continues. "How about you, Nolath, shall you be naming your horse too?"
-Posted with Wayfinder
Gonzo the Magnificent |
In response to Nolath's question, "He might'v been given a name by one of his previous owners, but when I purchased him the seller mentioned nothing in regards to the horse's history. So you are welcome to name him whatever you like!" He grins.
He looks up and shouts to Nijena flying around, "Can you hear us from up there, milady!? You are more than welcome to chime into the conversation!"
Nijena |
Nijena wheels in over the group. "Yes I can hear fairly well. When we travel I may fly at a greater height to see the road ahead. If you require my attention use a hand signal. I will try the same. I also have this signal whistle which I will use. It is not quiet, but if there is danger, it is likely that any enemy will have already seen me in the sky and I can alert you to their presence. We can devise a more elaborate code system if you like. A long, short, long signal will indicate enemies or danger. An number of short quick tweets thereafter will indicate approximate number. I typically fly over 250' up which is a difficult shot for most archers straight under me, much less at an angled distance. If this separation from the group creates difficulty in discussing our plans, please advise."
Nijena looks at the group with her amber birdlike eyes, blinking, head moving quickly back and forth.
Jonuli Mudarch |
"I know of spells that will let you communicate over such distances. Do you know any of them? Shout up to hold a conversation is a bit tiresome."
I'm ready to continue on whenever.
Nijena |
"Ahh, yes there is a whispered message cantrip that could accomplish the messaging easily. The range is much less, about one hundred feet, and it must be refreshed every so often, this could however work when quiet is needed. I can fly low and whisper the message. I did not prepare that today, but I can remember to study it tomorrow. If we are among civilized lands we may have little to worry about."
Nolath Vandoran |
Nolath considers for a moment before nodding firmly, Ryeus, that will be his name. It seems right. As for communication, such a spell could certainly work, as could some sort of signal that lets you know when to come lower so we can converse.