Argent Wings Take Flight (Hell's Rebels AP)

Game Master Sensen

She sighed and stepped towards the chest containing her personal things. Lifting the lid, she shifted aside various dresses until she uncovered a worn long box. Opening the box revealed an ivory mask among other things. The border of the mask was traced with carvings of flowers - roses. A gift from a friend that she hoped to see again some day. The memories the mask brought filled her heart with warmth. Her face hardened. There was no rule that said that she couldn't relive those memories ... just this once.

Twenty minutes later and a leather-clad figure appeared on the shadow-covered roof of the small theater. Green eyes gazed out at the lantern-lit streets of the city below through the carved mask. She'd just take a little time and wander around, she told herself. The clothes still fit and the pommel of the rapier was still comfortable in her hand. As her gaze followed one of the closer streets, she perked up. There was Lady Jhaltera, herself. Maybe she'd just follow along the lone woman for a little bit. It'd been a long time since she'd played 'Shadow'. A frown crossed her face under the mask. She wasn't going to be the only one following the young noblewoman; Two figures slipped from an alley behind her quarry. Rarely would such as those have benevolent motives.

Rose leaped across to the neighboring building to follow along, making nary a sound.

'That went well,' Adolina thought happily as the cool night air brushed the heat away from her cheeks. Ginetta hadn't had the largest role, but she sang beautifully and Charlus Hayden-Savage had been most impressed. 'Now that he's seen her, it'll be that much easier to bring her to mind for his next show,' she mused with a slight smile. 'Perfect.'

Buoyed up on the satisfaction of a night well done (and three more glasses of champagne than she was accustomed to), Adolina waved her driver away and set off down the street on foot. The night was pleasantly cool and walking would take a fraction of the time the carriage would, especially if she cut through the smaller streets along the edge of the Greens and used the servants gate rather than the long loop around to the main entrance that the carriage would have to take.

Unbidden, the aria from the night's performance sprang to mind and Adolina began to hum to herself, spreading her arms out to her sides and twirling as though she was the one on stage, receiving the rapturous applause of an audience. She'd faint with fright before it ever happened but here and now, under the stars, it is a pleasant dream.

It surprised Rose that the noblewoman would be so daring as to walk these streets alone at night. Didn't she have a driver or an escort? The men - as she could see now that both of Adolina's 'admirers' were male - increased their pace just as the woman began to ... twirl? And was she humming Potrebbe Venire? While flattered that her performance left that much of an impression on Lady Jhaltera, Rose couldn't help feel that at home in a warm bath would be a much more appropriate place for such a performance. Checking her blade in its scabbard she moved across the rooftops to the other side of the lane, closing the distance between herself and the trio.

A few moments later and the curtain began to lift on this private performance.

"Don't she sing nice?" one of the men commented in a voice raised with the intention of Adolina hearing it. The other laughed, playing along. "Maybe she dances as well? We should ask her. Hey! No need to walk away. We just want to know if you dance?"

While Rose heard the comments, she was more concerned with the third shadowy figure she noticed farther up the lane. Was this some innocent bystander or was this the net for the intended prey to be driven into?

Surprise sent a jolt of ice down Adolina's spine, but even as she turned her mind kicked into action. 'Two men. They want to be heard. So they expect me to flee.' That's exactly what she wants to do, but getting caught alone in the streets is one thing, running headlong into a trap is another, and a trap it surely has to be. 'They wouldn't give up surprise if they didn't have another plan.'

With that rather grim thought Adolina stiffened her spine as best she could and faced her pursuers head-on, planting her feet on the street. 'This is where a hero would say something clever. Scare them away with confidence,' she mused grimly. All she had was a decorative knife in a sheathe on her belt, more an accessory than a real weapon.

"I h-h-have no q-quarrel with you," she said, managing to keep the treacherous stutter to a minimum. "G-good night gentlemen."

The third figure moved as Rose watched, its movements meant to be unnoticed. So not an innocent bystander after all, she concluded. Fair enough. Time to even the odds. A moment's tugging pulled the heavy clay top off of a nearby roof stovepipe. Leaning out over the edge, she gauged her timing carefully before loosing her burden to fall upon the newcomer.

With a heavy thud followed by the clattering of clay shards upon the cobbles, the third member of the show collapsed into a heap on the dirty street. Hoping she remembered how to do it correctly, Rose grabbed the drainpipe clinging to the wall below her and let gravity bring her sliding down to land with nary a stumble, right behind Adolina.

"You heard the Lady," she declared to the gaping thugs, "We have no quarrel with you. Off you go." She made a shooing gesture with her hands, foregoing the very visible blade at her hip.

It only took a moment for the men to gather themselves, but when they did they rudely chose to ignore Rose's command. Their faces hardened and their fists clinched. "Would you look at that? There's one for each of us," one of them said before giving his friend a crude grin. "You get the one with the mask, though."

Rose sighed and turned to Adolina. "It's your choice, m'Lady. Would you like them running or bleeding?" With a sing of steel, her rapier was in her left hand and the tip gestured between the two men.

'Now!' Adolina didn't waste time responding with words. This other woman's startling appearance had changed the balance of the conflict and the best way to capitalise is action. A sharp flick of her wrist sent her jeweled knife flashing down the street at the leaders face. An instinctive flinch saved him from any real damage but it bought Adolina precious seconds to scurry back to the now unconscious third man and search frantically for a proper weapon. Hopefully the strange woman could deal with both men long enough for her to get back in support...

By the time Adolina turned around with an appropriated weighted sap, the two men were on the ground. One in a fetal position with his hands clutching his groin and groaning. The other was staring very intently at the tip of the masked woman's rapier which hovered about an inch away from his nose.

"Well done, m'Lady," her rescuer declared, her own eyes not leaving the target of her veiled threat. "Now you will apologize to the nice lady and assist your companions to seek medical aid," she continued, directing her words towards the one man cognizant enough heed them. He nodded very slowly. The blade slipped in close and there was a curse from the man as it drew blood from his cheek. "I said apologize," the masked woman repeated, her light-hearted tone vanishing.

"I'm sorry m-m-m'Lady," he sputtered. "We never meant no harm. We were just ..."

The blade flicked again, drawing blood from his other cheek.

"Lies will gain you nothing but further pain," Rose snapped.

"I'm sorry m'Lady," the thug says in a more contrite voice. "We won't bother you again."

Rose glanced up as if checking with Adolina to see whether the professed apology was sufficient.

Adolina drew on all her aristocratic breeding to hold her nose up high and dismiss the men without even speaking to them. "Begone," she said simply and stepped pointedly to one side while the men departed.

"My thanks," she said gratefully to her rescuer, once the men had disappeared. "I can offer g-gold in reward. I certainly owe you something."

'And seeing you again wouldn't be a hardship,' a small part of her mind remarked. Confident and capable women have always held a fascination for her and this woman, with her flashing sword, confidence and fiery red hair was extremely fascinating.

"Gold? Nay My Lady," the woman replied with a grin. "It's enough for me to know that one such as yourself faces no threat from ruffians intent to impinge upon her honor." Her green eyes sparkled in the lamp light from behind her carved mask.

"I cannot say whether you'll see me again or not. Who knows what fate has laid in our path. But I would be happy to safeguard you further and escort you to your destination." The statement is clearly a question.

"T-take this at least," Adolina replied, tugging the simple gold signet ring from her finger. "P-p-lease. Take it and come to my door. Show it and I'll help you, no q-q-questions asked. Like you helped me."

She waited, unblinking until the other woman came closer and swept the ring from her palm with swift fingers. The ghost of her touch lingered a moment longer and Adolina found herself staring into those deep green eyes a little too readily.

Rose's gloved hand stowed the ring into a pocket in the dark gray sash tied around her waist. "I will keep it safe and secret," she answered as she claimed Adolina's right arm in her own. "Now let's get you home before it gets too late. We wouldn't want anyone to worry about you." As they moved along the lane, she continued the conversation.

"So what was that you were humming?" she questioned with a sideways grin. "I recognize it, but can't place it."

Wings, check. 3 dire bat tails, check. Extraordinarily impractical hairstyle, check. Hooveshoes, yes, I have pretty normal feet actually, check. Stockings with stones on them that drip occassional jam, because actually using fire here would set both myself and the rehearsal room on fire, check. Someone doing a pretty credible impersonation of the demonlord Nocticula says out loud.

OK boys, lift me up!

A couple of wires click as the tiefling women is lifted in the air

Pffffff how am I supposed to sing an Aria while these wires are messing with my air supply? Well I can try She muses as she begins singing in a Soprano voice

Raise your blades
For the lady of the Dark
Demon with the skill to kill
and the all-conquering heart

urrrrkkk As she tries to draw breath, some of the wires lifting her bind a bit too tightly around her mid section

Are you trying to sing "kitchen" in Abyssal Lucy? If so you are missing one z at the end.
A white haired woman asks with a smile

I am mostly trying to breathe Shensen the somewhat strung Tiefling retorts

Get into character as a demonlord so you dont have to breathe any more the woman says with a chuckle

A more realistic approach is some pseudo see through armor so the wires dont semi choke me, or simply a fly spell The tiefling, still dangling in the air, thinks

Fly spell? And then some joker in the audience dispells it, nah The other woman says

Did you run the libretto past that "Subject matter expert" you spoke off? Tambry or something like that? the tiefling asks a bit quieter.

Yeah, but she didnt quite know much, the topic of the play is faaaaar in the past. the white haired woman answers

According to a subject matter expert I contacted, the entire plot doesnt quite work because in actuality, Desna curbstomped Aolar like a litte trollop, razed her citadel, farted in specifically Lamashtus general direction, wrote "Hunting hiccups honey?" useing the corpses of demons she killed and then swaggered off to Elysium, daring the Abyss to do something about her.
Lucy says in a somewhat lowered tone as Shensen approaches her

But there isnt any useable drama in that, no heroic journey, no overcomeing difficult trials, no real threat... nah, I am sticking with Desna the plucky little underling and her merry band of misfit heroes, far more inspirational too. With a friendly shake of her head, Shensen replies, also in a more conspirational tone

Yes boss Lucy answers

Can I have the Iadaran Illusionist trait and refluff it as Brastlewark Illusionist or something? Illusions are supposed to be gnomes' whole Thing, how is it that the elves get the best illusionist trait?

I'm working on formatting my sheet for the forums. In the meantime, here's a link: Celi's Sheet

Intimidate is mostly in there for fun. Roleplaying a gnome playing up the spooky deranged fey creature image in order to get information out of the enemy? Yes please! But if someone else is using an actual Intimidate build, I'll drop the trait and drawback and assign the skill point elsewhere.

Until recently, the most weaponry Celi carried was a dagger, more for utility than combat. Now she has a gnome-sized light crossbow, quiver of bolts, and a backpack full of odds and ends that might come in handy.

Most gnomes are collectors, and Celi is no exception. She is a book collector, a true bibliophile. Her collection contains everything from novels to engineering manuals to cookbooks to rambling travelogues. Some of the Gnomish volumes with innocuous titles on the cover are actually Celi's own translations of forbidden Chelaxian history tomes borrowed from the Sacred Order of Archivists.

The Alabaster Academy welcomes any student with money and enough ability not to embarrass them, and Celi had both. She discovered a talent for languages and minored in linguistics, majoring in literature as planned. The library was even better than she had hoped; Celi saw no reason to limit herself to the subjects she was formally studying. She made friends with Dr. Kirenna Palamindi, a professor of linguistics, and eventually Kirenna introduced her to the Sacred Order of Archivists. While many of the Irorans didn't appreciate the gnome's energy and unique viewpoint, a few did. Ayrlin Manar, a Chelaxian/Garundi bookstore owner, and Lukas Vidoc, a tiefling paralegal, both enjoyed Celi's company. It can be difficult to make friends in a new city, especially given gnomes' reputation for capriciousness and tricks. Celi deeply appreciated the few who were willing to give her a chance.

After university, Celi worked as a research assistant for Kirenna, writing her first novel in her off hours. To everyone's surprise, a local publisher bought the finished manuscript! Celi knows what sells; her work tends to be formulaic adventure/romance, but it's well written with engaging characters and surprising plot twists. The first book sold well enough that the publisher contracted several more books, and her career as an author was off.

Once she had a comfortable nest egg saved up, Celi began secretly working on something very different from the light reading that paid her bills. She wanted to publish something deeper. Something that would make people think, make them reevaluate viewpoints and prejudices that they took for granted. Not that she could publish something like that in Cheliax, of course. It would never get past the Thrune censors that haunt every Chelaxian publishing house. No, Celi found a Druman merchant and arranged to have him take her manuscript to a publisher in Druma. The Prophets of Kalistrade will happily publish works that would attract unwanted governmental attention in Cheliax, Isger, or Nidal. To be extra safe, Celi submitted her work under a pen name, Teressina Darel. Ms. Darel's novel, 'Finding Grace', sold well in Andoran and Taldor, enough that Andoren smugglers (who may or may not be Eagle Knight agents trying to encourage rebellious thought in Cheliax) started selling it on the Chelaxian black market.

(Celi's mom Siv greased some palms to get her daughter's first novel published, without her knowledge. It sold on its own merits, though, and the publisher commissioned more books of their own accord.)

Everything was coming up roses for Celi. Until Barzillai Thrune came to town, and every member of the Sacred Order of Archivists vanished overnight. Since Celi isn't an Iroran and thus couldn't be an official member, nobody came after her. That was their mistake. Celi didn't have many friends in Kintargo, and she was not about to sit idly when they were in danger. So she dusted off her old spellbook, but the spells there were frankly unimpressive. She knew all too well how long it takes for a wizard to achieve real power. There was no time for that. She needed better magic right now! Fortunately, she had acquired a book of arcane rituals a while back. One of them purported to call a 'great power from beyond' with which a wizard could bargain for power. Celi had no idea what kind of power it would call, or if it would even work, but it was her best shot.

Somebody answered- the Redeemer Queen, Nocticula. The goddess was intrigued by Celi's creative spirit, and she wanted more mortal worshipers to spread the word of her apotheosis. She offered Celi the magic of darkness and shadow. Naturally the gnome accepted, despite Nocticula's warnings of a price to be paid later. As long as the price wasn't her life or that of other people, she was willing to take the risk. After all, Nocticula isn't evil anymore, so Celi probably won't end up insane or damned to the Abyss. Totally worth it for the power to find her friends!

Since that night, Celi considers Nocticula to be her patron deity. She was never very religious, but gods like prayers and offerings, right? It's only polite to thank Nocticula for her gifts. She doesn't know much about the faith yet, but she's doing her best with the little she does know.

There's a protest coming up, and Celi received a mysterious message offering information on the fate of the Sacred Order of Archivists. It could be a trap, but if it's genuine, she has to be there.

Entry 114 - Martial law has been in place for a few days now, but people are already starting to chafe. One of the assistant cooks was talking about some sort of mass arrest in Villegre for violating curfew. They've formed some sort of group, the Thrunies have, called the CCG or something - so they can get snitches in every house in the city, like as not. Old Frenzel, the head butler, he made a big speech about how as citizens we have to uphold the laws of the land - he was wearing an armband with a Thrunie sigil on it, I got a good look.

I talked with Sav the other day, and she said she'd been working on a big nest at the Academy. She thinks it might be a king She's overworked, starting to spread old legends when everyone knows there's no such thing. She says Dad's fine, but the ale merchant's raised his prices because of some new tax, so they're tightening their belts. They won't say it to us, but they're suffering. I'll see if there's anything I can hock - maybe those nice picks I scrounged up - and I'm sure Sav is doing the same, we'll see if we can get some money to send home.

I'll be busy tomorrow. There's some sort of protest in Aria Park about Barazill Brazali Brizial the new lord-mayor, and Kesra wants to go. Her mother wants me to go with her, keep an eye on her - she gave me a big talk about how I was too much a peasant to understand all that highborn infighting stuff and how I was too smart and needed my job too badly to squeal about that stuff that even I couldn't miss (like how I didn't turn snitch to the Jhalteros when her niece was at it with that messenger girl).

The protest will be a place to keep an eye out - big crowds of strangers all focused on something else, there's half a dozen sequential killers who'd probably be there if they weren't rotting in a shallow grave, and that's just the ones that got caught. Salt Market Slasher used to be like that, pluck people right out of the marketplace to kill them quietlike. Nicola, he's the other hellspawn works for House Tanessen, he said something about killings back in the Nursery - I'll try to find Arkose, see if he knows anything, if he can get a posse together. If it's another Slasher, we'll have to start boarding windows again, but either way, that scum won't find his way into the dottari's hands if I have anything to say about it.

2. Born to a family of halfling slaves in Westcrown, Berenice was separated from her family as a child as they were split up and sold to different owners.

3. After escaping her owner and gaining her freedom, Berenice learned of the Bellflower Network and hopes to use their resources to find and free the rest of the Bluethistles.

4. Berenice came to Kintargo shortly after failing to free her older sister from captivity, partly out of a sense of self-loathing at her failure and partly because since slavery wasn't present in Kintargo it was an opportunity for her to start anew.

5. Berenice is attending the protest at Aria Park to make her voice heard. She believes that with a Thrune in the position of Lord-Mayor, slavery may be reintroduced to Kintargo, and nothing would anger Berenice more.

2. Berenice continues to search for her parents and remaining siblings, whom she's been separated from since she was a child.

2. Berenice's family is not only alive, but has been mostly reunited and freed. The only reason Berenice hasn't received word of this is because they're in Westcrown trying to find her.

2. Berenice's former owner hasn't forgotten the injury she inflicted on his son before escaping, nearly killing the arrogant boy with a thrown rock. As Berenice becomes more famous, he may learn of her and come to Kintargo seeking revenge.

3. One of the first friends Berenice made after arriving in Kintargo was Laria Longroad, the halfling proprietress of Longroads Coffeehouse. As the former head of the Bellflower Network in Kintargo, Laria was aware of Berenice's exploits and had been hoping to smooth over the bad blood between Berenice and the Network to bring Berenice into the fold as a full member.

2. When she was a teenager, Berenice managed to free herself from the Chelish noble who'd bought her from her patience. She was a domestic slave on the noble's estate, and had made something of a reputation for herself clambering along the rooftops of his manor, throwing stones at the various pigeons and crows that would nest in hard-to-reach places up there. When her master's son took to abusing one of the other halflings in the house, anger filled Berenice and for the first time she threw a stone at a person, nearly killing the boy. Partly seizing her chance at escape and partly out of fear for her life, she fled into the forest on the estate and never returned.

3. Another traumatic memory that haunts Berenice is that of the death of her older sister, Marioza. Not long after her escape, Berenice had gotten the attention of the Bellflower Network. Learning there was a group dedicated to freeing halflings from slavery gave Berenice a sense of purpose, and she attempted to use their resources to find her family. The only lead they had was on her sister, owned by a lord in Ravounel. The lord had a large mine on his land and Marioza was one of the slaves who worked in it. After infiltrating the mine, Berenice tried to persuade Marioza to run away with her, but Marioza refused, stating she was not abandoning Jacopone, a young halfling man she'd met in the mine and fallen in love with. Unfortunately, there was a collapse in the mine and Marioza was buried under it. Berenice was angry and heartbroken, lashing out at her sister's boyfriend before running off and making her way to Kintargo. She's since been ambivalent about the Bellflower Network, feeling her sister's death could have been prevented if they'd been more aggressive.

2. Something else Berenice has a deep fear of is the insidious magics some people, especially Asmodeans, use to get in the heads of their victims. Taking control of her own mind and body away from her is possibly the worst kind of slavery in Berenice's eyes, even worse than raising the dead, because at least there there's no mind being subverted.