Suuuuure he isn't. :)
Sad to see it go...
Search Posts
Here's hoping we get lucky! Thanks, Bishop...
The slowdown notwithstanding, I'll be away from Jan 31-Feb 11. Here's hoping I come back to lots of posts in the game thread?
Dracius calls out, "Shelyn, this man has not yet seen the full measure of your beauty..", and draws a tiny fraction of the Eternal Rose's beautiful song into himself, and into Bishop.
Dracius smiles, "Let Shelyn's light illuminate the beauty of the world...", and casts a light spell on Illithia's glaive.
Dracius nods, "Ready as I can be."
Here's hoping.
Dracius says, "I was given some idea of the area they operated in -- I think that would get us close enough for Bishop to find tracks?"
Dracius nods, "That *is* an interesting development... I hadn't thought of who made the drop.... This is somewhat disconcerting -- though I do like that she seems willing to answer our questions....." His deep rumble trails off in thought for a moment, then he sighs and nods, "I'll deliver the monies and then we can discuss the goblin raid."
Dracius enters, still smiling from the beauty of his morning commune with Shelyn, and cocks a head at Dario's statement. "Indeed, sensing magic is a simple orison I was taught as well." He looks at his companions and says, "Why? What did we find that might be magical?"
Dracius mutters, "Maybe the goblins can keep 'til the afternoon." and heads off to his cell.
Dracius says, "While we have more important matters to deal with at the moment, if there is a way to remove that, we should return and do so."
Dracius whispers, "We may want to hood those glowing bits... while the light lets you see, it also lets people see us coming from far away." He then follows, focusing as much as he can on the shadowy areas where the light spell isn't reaching. {Possible +2 due to Scavenger racial trait}
Dracius says, "I have some contacts -- assuming we wait until morning when the curfew's over, we could likely head over to near where the goblins have been attacking before entering the sewer... In fact, with a bit of coin to spread around, we might even be directed to the right part of the sewer to start from." He pauses and then adds, "Of course, if anyone's a skilled tracker, we could always go back to where we met the goblins during our first flight from the Hellknights."
I'm back from away and ready to go.
Demons, I believe, are cold-iron vulnerable. (Devils, not so much, they need silver) Personally, I would say sell and split is the way to go -- though the formula book will be helpful to our allies. And, on that, Dracius would recommend that a half-share of all treasure we find in the future should also be given to the Children -- the better off they are, the better it will be for us all in the long run. [I'm assuming that the formula book does well toward that goal now]
Dracius looks to Arael, "Since I doubt either the goblins or the bandits will be taking a day off, we'd probably best be about it... The only question is which group to strike at first, I think." He then pauses and chuckles slightly, "Of course, that may depend on how big a headache certain people have in the morning."
Dracius says, "We each follow in our own way. As I said earlier, I think we must be better than what we replace, and I fear Ferrucio's so-called pragmatism leads down a dark path..." He sighs, and then adds, "But simply because I revere the beauty of the world around us and must defend it, does not mean that I am required to throw my life away needlessly in order to offer my opponents -- those I am defending others against, directly or indirectly -- a chance to strike me." His voice grows a little more firm and he continues, "However, I will say that I will treat and stabilize the wounded of any group we ambushed without giving them a chance to surrender or redeem themselves, rather than let them die.... though not at the cost of our own lives." He looks up and adds, "You might find Illithia more willing to strike first if we make that promise to her, also.... Or, we can always suggest in cases of ambush that she be the one who seals off the escape route.... I would think that the various evils of this city - or this world - might find themselves demoralized by the sudden appearance of a paladin of light."
Trying to give advanced warning -- I'll be out of town and away from internet access starting Saturday the 13th, and ending Tuesday the 23rd. Feel free to background/NPC me during that time to not hold anything up.
Dracius watches Ferrucio's speech carefully, his discomfort growing as he bites his lip and remains silent. Finally, when Ferrucio's words cease, he says in an even tone, "I will not wrap my intent in lovely words, because that beauty is itself distracting, and more, there is a much deeper and elegant beauty in simple truths. You draw parallels and make equivalencies which do not exist, presenting the decision to do things right as a slippery slope to defeat. While I do accept a number of your premises, the conclusions do not necessarily follow.... and, at the end of the day, the simple truth is that if we must become evil to defeat evil, we have done no good, and leave the city as ugly a place as it was we found it... or maybe even uglier, as a result of the bloodshed. Simply, we must do better -- we must be better -- than that." He takes a sip of his wine and winces, unsure if it's from the acidity or a distaste for the recent conversation.
Dracius nods at Illithia's comments, "We can hope that he might open his eyes to more than an ugly life." He sits back for a moment to allow Dario to tell the tale, then nods again, "They are ugly, vile little creatures -- and I have some fear about who or what may have led them here. Though, I do think that removing them would also win us some goodwill of a large group of people who have little trust or faith in the Hellknights or the pretty much anyone else... and while they may not be the proprietors of magic shop, I will say at least a few of them deal in information." He turns to Illithia and adds, "It may not be less violent, though goblins are usually evil by nature and not by choice, and likely eating innocent folk... and it should help win at least a few hearts and minds." He then stands and says, "However, I do like the idea of planning over a glass of wine or a tankard."
Once safely back at the compound, Dracius will invite Dario to the small infirmary, where he will use half of his remaining channels to heal him (and any of the other Children who may be injured).
Dracius looks at Dario with a look of concern on his face, "You really need to take better care of yourself.", he says with a smile and then closes his eyes, letting the beauty of the Eternal Rose fill him. Lady, let me wash away these ugly wounds..., he whispers silently as he places his right hand on the enameled silver and his left on Dario.
{Scavenger racial trait}
Dracius takes a small step to the side, putting the doll between Dario and himself before swinging with his flail again. for
Dracius steps forward, drawing his flail in an attempt to crush the tiny thing. for
Dracius leans forward into the dark, his orcish eyes showing him the crates. What is that thick liquid? He opens his mouth to ask when four little balls of light appear, shifting his vision back to colour. He blinks once as his eyes adjust and asks, "Does anyone know what that thick silvery stuff is?"
{+2 from scavenger racial trait not included}
Seems reasonable.
Dracius nods at Bishop's comments, But then, as a half-orc myself, it makes sense that I'd agree...
Dracius says, "One moment. I'd rather encourage him to make a better decision about his future than just going back." Dracius leans in with his dagger drawn, his expression somewhat harsh. "There are far better choices than going back and having your soul devoured by the undead -- or having your soul destroyed and corrupted by those you call your allies." He begins to partially cut through the ropes, weakening them without cutting through, "So, while you're breaking out of these ropes, I want you to think about the life you were living, how you were in fear of your own friends and leaders, and to think, instead about the simple beauty of living a life with meaning, one where you help yourself by helping others." He takes back the flask of Holy Water and smiles, "Maybe this will help you think things through instead of running back to the supposed safety of your little gang." He stands and puts his dagger away, saying, "Those ropes shouldn't give you any trouble, now, but I wouldn't recommend breaking out until we're out of sight. It might make the paladin angry and, as we say, full of smite..... And remember, we left you alive and gave you the choice of what sort of man you care to be and what sort of life you care to live."
His tone suddenly turns dark as he finishes with a flourish, "But if we see you again, up to your old tricks, or worse... we'll know that you made your choice, and will treat you accordingly."
Dracius nods, "I recommend you consider what the lady is saying. A life spent pursuing such ugliness is a life wasted." Of course, I wonder if he's truly repentant or just sorry that he's been caught.... wait, did he say mummies? Dracius cocks his head and says, "I'm sorry. Did you say that they would feed you to the mummies? In addition to adding the horrible, ugly evil of giving a living sentient creature over to the undead to the list of horrible things the Bastards do... I have to ask... which mummies would those be?"
Dracius will likely also have issues with it -- he's an idealist and filled with romantic notions -- But, the bottom line is that he, who worships beauty, will not do well will the sheer ugliness of the act... Based on how people are playing their PCs, I would say that he's a little less of a pacifist than Illithia -- possibly as a result of his street-level upbringing -- so that he views standing up in defense of loved ones, or the weak, as the proper role, as abuse and random violence are, themselves, ugly, ugly things... and so he has a duty to act against them. In terms of the RP, I think it's hard to predict -- I will say that having mature players who realize that characters arguing means exactly and only that is probably the single most important element, but at the same time, playing those characters (properly) may still result in an IC impasse.
Dracius will keep an eye out for trouble while Dario asks his questions.
I think that jives with what Dracius had in mind -- It's not like he or (especially) Illithia would be allowing thumbscrews and chains as part of the interrogation.
Dracius smiles at Illitia's statement, "I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who could not abide the sheer... ugliness... of such murders. I say we take one with us to question, and leave the others here, tied up, and let them be an object lesson to the others."
If only being an evil outsider actually gave him the evil subtype. :)
Seeing all his foes down, Dracius quickly draws upon his link to his goddess, Shelyn, save this man, that he may find the true beauty of this world..., and stabilizes Bishop.
Dracius steps over Bishop's fallen self and swings his flail at the nearest Tiefling, Don't die on us yet, Bishop... for
I didn't see the (new) for that either. Posting now. Sorry for the hold-up. Hopefully me posting in there will shake it loose and make it work properly again.
|