"Vass is out there. And we follow us. Be wary."
Nodding towards the temple, "Let's go."
Pulsifer:
The Deceiver tells the others, "Let us move to sacred ground. Vass should not be able to come after us. But he is a tricky customer. Be on your guard."
His hand lingers on the hilt of his lightning enhanced dagger.
Pulsifer:** spoiler omitted **
Pharasma
i need to learn more about DND, as i always don't know what should i talk in the game.
Ian:
Domo stops for a moment to admire the bouts. Calling out to his comrades he exclaims, "I am always happy to see these bouts! Brother Patience always said that my head was more fit for being hit than anything else!"
Cordoba strides off past the sparring match toward the Temple of Iomedae.
Wedged into a narrow convergence of streets, the temple is long and slender with wide stairs leading up into the foyer where two men stand talking.
One of them is well known to Aref and the Varisians: Bhodan, washed and without armor but still wearing a massive sword on his back. And the other, stern and tanned, looks like a desert nomad with a polish of civilization - and wears his weapons in the fashion of a very experienced combatant.
The latter looks down at Cordoba and nudges Bhodan.
Domo stops for a moment to admire the bouts. Calling out to his comrades he exclaims, "I am always happy to see these bouts! Brother Patience always said that my head was more fit for being hit than anything else!"
"Vass will most definitely squash your head and use your skull as a tea cup if we don't find something to even the odds. Now, move!"
The Deceiver mutters, "And I'm fncked if Book gets away."
The Deceiver notices Bhodan but quickly focuses on his companion.
"Greeting, effendi."
"By the light!"
"Cordoba, you viper. Pulsifer and Jon. Aref. Where are Ryor and Syd?"
"And the abomination...."
Bhodan goes on to introduce the warrior, a paladin called Rohit, a asks the names of the gnome and monastic.
"And the abomination...."
"Yeah, yeah, we know you missed us."
"Vass is out there." The Deceiver points at the teeming masses of humanity. "He's following us. And I aim to make him regret it."
"Ryor is dead and the body at Gulaf's. Syd is gone in the bazaar. These are Hoktsu and Domo who helped us fight the demon."
Also, Domo was raised in a monastery to Irori. He only found out about Cayden Cailean from some rather off-color comic books he found hidden in the library...[/ooc]
"I fear the demon got Syd."
"Bohdan, your friend looks like a man of sufficient moral fiber. Introduce him."
"I am Cordoba, recently of Riddleport, a place well-known for its scum and villainy."
"Vass is out there." The Deceiver points at the teeming masses of humanity. "He's following us. And I aim to make him regret it."
"You still have the Eye? I hope so, you're going to need it."
"And I'm sorry but I won't be able to join you. I leave for Varisia tomorrow with the children, I can't leave them."
"But this fellow is here to help you. You must find a follower of Aroden and he will take you there, south across the Qadr. And Book is found, Cordoba. Down on the water with new crew and looking for a boat. He's at the Toiling Midget. Waiting for you, I have no doubt."
"I am Cordoba, recently of Riddleport, a place well-known for its scum and villainy."
"I give you Rohit Faris, paladin of the Inheritor."
"Book is found but with Vass following... I wonder." The Deceiver rubs his chin feeling the several days old stubble. "I need a shave."
Rohit:
And although it is a divine artifact, it does not rely on Aroden living because it contains a both a piece of his divine being (but now weakening perhaps), and the 'soul' of a possessor demon, both bound within. Perhaps the litanies of the Order of the Holy Sentinel may also be of use, as many of them were passed down by paladins of Aroden.
Its effects:
"You're going to travel south. A boat will take you across the river, before, perhaps, you can have your reckoning with Book. I'd certainly feel safer returning to Varisia with him dead."
"You're going to travel south. A boat will take you across the river, before, perhaps, you can have your reckoning with Book. I'd certainly feel safer returning to Varisia with him dead."
"Won't you offer us the hospitality of your order before you send us on another quest?"
"Greetings, Bhodan has told me of your need to get across the desert. If your intentions are ture and pure than Rhoit Faris is humbly at your service. My bow and blade are yours to command untill this task is done or you viloate that which Imoedea hold dear." The tribes man walks towards you tall and proud and raising his forearm in a gesture of greeting.
Imitating the tribesman's gesture, "Peace to you as well. Now shall we get inside."
"Yes, welcome to the temple. Anything you need can be provided."
Within the temple you're shown sincere hospitality. You are taken to the refuge and offered pillows to rest. For the Varisians tattered robes are replaced. Everyone is fed. Drasheer and Buttercup are fetched. Questions are answered. You are cleaned and shaved - feet are oiled. Weapons and armor are cleaned and repaired. In the late afternoon you are brought a second meal.
"Vass is out there." The Deceiver points at the teeming masses of humanity. "He's following us. And I aim to make him regret it.""You still have the Eye? I hope so, you're going to need it."
"And I'm sorry but I won't be able to join you. I leave for Varisia tomorrow with the children, I can't leave them."
"But this fellow is here to help you. You must find a follower of Aroden and he will take you there, south across the Qadr. And Book is found, Cordoba. Down on the water with new crew and looking for a boat. He's at the Toiling Midget. Waiting for you, I have no doubt."
Rackham nods.
"We have the Eye, and intend to learn as much as possible about its use."
He turns to the newcomer, bowing slightly.
"I seem to have forgotten my manners. I am Rackham Pulsifer, humble servant of the Lady. We seem to share a calling."
He turns back to Bodhan.
"As for Book, we must deal with that scum. I shall not have his presence nagging at my conscience as we search for the demon. If I were possessed of my full abilities, I would SMITE..."
Rackham's declaration dissolves into a riot of hacking coughs. He wipes his mouth, and his hand comes away bloody.
"Yes, welcome to the temple. Anything you need can be provided."
"We need a place to rest for the moment."
<A wry, gray haired man strolls into the refuge and looks down at you.>
"You'll have plenty of time to sleep when you're dead, young man."
<Sigh>
"Tell me about. And I'm not that young."
"I understand you have the Eye, but that the demon is escaped? And the slaver Book is out free to do his evils again? These are things we must put right.
"I admire you desire to right all the wrongs in the world, but you have to agree doing that will be easier after we've had some food."
" Hoktsu has questions , yes ? Hoktsu thought slavery legal in Katheer so can we kill this Book in public or do we need to be sneaky ? And can we loot them this time , last time you guys got rid of the corpses of the perfect strangers too fast ... "
"Be at ease my young friend, the next mark is yours."
"Tell me about. And I'm not that young."
“You must be Mr. Cordoba. Bhodan has told me of the escape on the Intractable. Very bravely fought. You’re young enough to have some of that fight left in you I assume.”
“I am Primarch Pangloss.”
<The Primarch casts a craggy eye around the circle.>
"I understand you have the Eye, but that the demon is escaped? And the slaver Book is out free to do his evils again? These are things we must put right.
"I admire you desire to right all the wrongs in the world, but you have to agree doing that will be easier after we've had some food."
”Food is coming Mr. Cordoba. As for the eye, Rohit is quite correct. I think it must be brought out, let us see this artifact.”
"Hoktsu has questions , yes ? Hoktsu thought slavery legal in Katheer so can we kill this Book in public or do we need to be sneaky ? And can we loot them this time , last time you guys got rid of the corpses of the perfect strangers too fast ... "
"Be at ease my young friend, the next mark is yours."
“Pleased to meet you Mister Hoktsu. Indeed, slavery is quite legal here, and killing a man is not. But kidnapping IS frowned upon, even when it is done to outsiders. And vengeance, and the will to see your own justice, these the people of Katheer understand quite well - and the Judges do know right from wrong, misguided as they may be in their worship of the Dawnflower. I doubt you’ll find much legal resistance from the law should you advise Mr. Book to stop breathing. His associates in the slave trade might not take so kindly to such assassinations, however, and of their justice you must be cautious.”
As for LOOT <he says the word with a sneer>, I’ve heard that pirates are wont to carry with them maps. And although that may just be a cliché my ambitious friend, it may interest you to know that Mister Book is said to have stolen something from Gozreh himself and was cursed by the god. One wonders what could be stolen from a god, and what value it might be. Doesn’t one?”
“As I am already indebted to you, Mr. Hoktsu, for the assistance you have lent to the men who carry the gem, I am hesitant to suggest that you might become more so. Vadatajs, the demon, walks. He is not mighty in and of himself, but could, potentially, destroy this nation, others, and has done so to many nations before. May I suggest that your continued assistance might find some motivation in self interest? Because if this demon gets into the nobility he’ll most likely try to bring the war to the Inner Sea. I think he would find that quite comforting. As it is, I find we in the Order are rather busy enough with the Worldwound. We don’t need another war."
"Besides, it will be a hell of an adventure, little one."
"So to speak"