Adrian blinks at the swiftness with which their erstwhile guide was dispatched. "Huh. Well done." He steps over to the fallen halfling to inspect the potion Piri finds among his belongings.
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The elemental scampers past Hazel and Sydney up the stairs, pulling up just short of Hargus and the large grease puddle. Adrian follows, pausing part-way up the staircase and waiting for the others to take the lead.
Adrian considers casting a spell for a moment, but instead decides to grab his crossbow and re-position himself closer to the enemy.
While Adrian takes stock of the frantic fighting occurring nearby, his summoned elemental sinks seamlessly into the earth.
Apologies for the absence, some stuff came up IRL and I've been slowly trying adjust and get back in the swing of things.
Adrian grits his teeth at the sudden explosion of violence. This is definitely not how this was supposed to go. "Cofn!" He holds out one hand and shouts this word as he casts a spell. When he does, a vaguely humanoid earthen figure materializes behind one of the cultists attacking Hargus. The creature immediately leaps forward, slamming its stony fists into the cultist.
If you're familiar with magic, or particularly summoning: If you're familiar with summoning spells, you might realize Adrian cast a Summon Monster spell much faster than he probably should be able to.
Adrian chuckles slightly and looks away, instead focusing his gaze on where he thinks the patrolling guards may be coming from. "Whatever we decide, we ought to do so now. Time is short." During this time he retrieves his crossbow from its position on his back, expecting trouble to come strolling around the corner any second.
Plan decided, Adrian follows behind the others, playing the part of an entranced reveler in order to help Valeria's performance.
Just to note, I'm still here too. Had a busy weekend and all the relevant questions have already been asked, so Adrian's just waiting. :P
Adrian places a hand on his chin. He considers Sveng's previous concerns. "Even if we went in with force, it might not matter. If she's still alive, then it's probably because they need something from her," he thinks aloud, speaking to no one in particular. "If they could afford to kill her just because we showed up, it would suggest they already got what they needed from her. In that case she'd already be dead and we'd be retrieving a corpse either way." He shakes his head. "Regardless, Hargus is right. Best to make our way there first and get more information."
I'm probably gonna vote to get to the warehouse, assess the situation, and choose from the available options then. I've seen stealth work before, but I've also seen it blow up in the group's face, so I'm pretty ambivalent about it generally. I would be concerned about the length of real world time it might take given the slow nature of PbP, though.
Adrian wakes early and reluctantly drags himself from bed. After taking time to study from his spellbook, he prepares himself and heads to where the others are gathered. He takes the note from Menas and reads it, then smiles. "Thank you. I should be back... well, later." Menas nods and steps away. "All right," Adrian says, turning to the others and holding up the note in one hand. "It would seem Lady Morilla has already made preparations for our arrival at the warehouse. Shall we? Or is there more to discuss?"
"I like to think I'm full of ideas most nights, my lady, great or otherwise," Adrian responds. He nods at his butler before again sipping on his drink. Menas comes over and takes Valeria's request, listening attentively. His composure falters for a very brief moment at Valeria's unexpected behavior, but he gathers himself quickly. "Ah, yes, as you wish, my lady," says the butler. He glances over at Adrian -- who meets his butler's gaze with a broad, mischievous grin of his own -- before departing the room, taking the note with him. "Excellent! I'll take a look at it before it's sealed and sent, but Menas should be more than up to the task."
The nobleman laughs at Valeria's comment, then sits quietly and listens to the others speak. Adrian smiles, still swirling his wine idly. "I'm not sure what deals you may have made down there, but I wouldn't worry excessively about such things. Meetings and messages can always be arranged, and previous promises of reward can be discussed."
"As it happens, I believe I may have a Chelish red from the Jeggare estates that would be perfect. Menas, you know the one?" Adrian looks to his servant. Menas nods and leaves the room, returning swiftly with a bottle of wine and wine glasses, followed by a pitcher of water and several empty glasses . The servant carefully decants the wine before pouring it into glasses and serving the guests. He also pours Piri's water for him. Adrian swirls the wine and savors its aroma before sipping from his glass. "Perhaps I ought to have been a wine merchant. Or a wealthy drunk," he says with a chuckle.
I'll refer back to a previous post in here. In short, though, it depends on generally how much Piri generally keeps up with this stuff. At the very least you'd probably recognize his family name, that they're one of the major families in Oppara, and that the Merosetts are something of a fixture in the bureaucracy. Whether there'd be personal recognition versus simply knowing a name and broad history would depend on how long ago Piri's family had its decline.
Spoiler:
I will note that this house isn't the Merosett family estate, though. This is just where Adrian lives most of the time.
"Then let's be off. Fortunately it's not too far." Adrian leads the rest of the group through the streets away from the Senate building. They head first north, then follow a few roads curving gently west, apparently heading toward the Westpark district. At the edge of the district, Adrian leads them to the front of a medium-sized house with a small but well-maintained garden in front of it. "Please excuse the rather modest state of my home," Adrian says with a hint of irony, "but it works quite well for my purposes." He leads the rest of the group toward the entrance. As they approach the house, the front door opens. A young man, perhaps Adrian's age, stands at attention, a concerned look plastered on his face. Adrian waves him off before he can say much. "It's been a long, strange night, my friend." He pats the servant on the shoulder. "Please ensure we can accommodate our guests to the best of our ability. Refreshments and the like, you know." The servant nods and retreats into the house. Adrian gestures to the others. "Please do come in." With that he enters, leading them to a sitting room. The furnishings and other decor, though modest relative to some of the most lavish and extravagant villas in the city, still suggest considerable wealth. The nobleman sinks into a chair with a sigh, then holds out his arms. "Please, make yourselves comfortable."
Sorry, I know we're kind of waiting on me. I'll try to have a post up soon!
Before she leaves, Adrian stops Lady Morilla briefly. "Thank you for your help. We'll reconvene tomorrow morning to locate and rescue Martella" He places a hand on her shoulder. "Until then, be safe. I'll be in contact soon, I'm sure. There is, as you said, a great deal to unravel here." He turns to the others again. "It's quite possible," he responds to Hargus, nodding thoughtfully. "I suspect we'll know with certainty before tomorrow is over. Regardless, if we are to meet to discuss strategy, where shall we do so? My own home might serve our purposes, but you all may already have a better location in mind."
Adrian bows again, putting on his most charming smile. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Tanessen. Likewise, Dame Trant. I haven't heard news of your father, but I do sincerely hope he is safe." He bends over and closes up his bag, the hoists it off the floor. A curious, amused look crosses his face. "I just came through there. It should be quite clear. Still, if you'd like to proceed with caution, I understand." He finally steps away from his spot and moves closer to Valeria. His expression quickly changes to one of concern when the letter is read. "I ran into Lady Lotheed in the aftermath of the attack. She sent me here, in fact. I hope this 'Brotherhood' hasn't made its move yet."
"And you must be... Sveng." Adrian looks thoughtful, pausing before saying the man's name as he tries to recall physical descriptions he had been provided previously. He smiles in a friendly manner, though his eyes are searching as he responds. He shrugs in response to Sveng's questions. "Does a man who already rules commit a coup?" He shakes his head, waving off his little joke. "It's not entirely clear what's going on. No one's seen the Grand Prince or the Princess since the attack, and any senator I saw escape the Gala was whisked away very quickly. I haven't had a great deal of time to check on any of it, but I'd imagine that if one or both don't reappear soon, lines are going to start being drawn across Taldor." The stone man appears again, dragging Piri along behind it. It deposits him on the floor before moving off to a corner. Adrian gestures at the unconscious man. "I understand that a stranger showing up and offering potions is a bit suspicious," he says with a chuckle. "Feel free to check them if you'd like, but if one of you is capable of healing him, you may want to do so."
Adrian remains still, clasping his hands behind his back. He meets the tiefling's gaze. "Right now, not much is happening up there, Major. It's been some hours since the Gala erupted into violence, and the Senate is mostly clear. There are a few soldiers wandering around upstairs, but they're busy counting the dead. They paid no attention to me. For the most part it's just corpses. I didn't run into trouble until making it down here."
The little stone man faces Hargus, looking at him with gemstone eyes, but stays still otherwise. Adrian walks forward, smoothing his clothes as he goes. He taps the little creature on its head and snaps his fingers. Then he gestures back to Piri, makes a sort of pulling motion, and points to a spot near everyone else. The elemental lumbers off on stubby legs and begins dragging Piri toward the rest. "Now now," he says, raising a hand to placate them. "No need for that, Hargus. It is Hargus right now, correct? " He wears a friendly smile, a knowing glint in his eye. "Forgive the late introduction. I am Adrian Merosett, at your service." He gives an easy, well-practiced bow as he speaks. It is obvious he has done this many, many times before. "Our mutual friend Lady Lotheed asked me to return to the Senate and try to find you. I didn't expect all this, though." He looks down at the fallen halfling and shakes his head. "I had hoped the slaughter was limited to upstairs." Adrian removes a bag and places it on the ground before him. He undoes the clasp and opens it, revealing a number of potions. "Most of you look injured. There should be seven of these left."
Adrian curses under his breath. The potion wasn't as potent as he'd hoped, but he didn't have time to sit and nurse Piri back to health. He steps away from the wounded man and toward the door, bringing the halfling into full view. The noble makes a series of gestures with his hands, speaks a few words, preparing to cast his spell. Suddenly he finishes, then leans forward and opens his mouth wide. It looks like he is screaming at the top of his lungs, but to everyone but the halfling he is making no sound whatsoever.
Meanwhile the elemental pounds its fists on the ground in frustration, then again brings them down at its enemy's head.
Lol I've been in this combat for two rounds and I'm already frustrated with it. Whoever put this immediately after the rat wizard must have really wanted the party to wipe and go play a different AP.
Adrian kneels down beside Piri's unconscious form and carefully administers the healing potion to him, hoping it will revive him.
As he does this, his summoned elemental minion again swings its stony limbs at its halfling adversary.
Upon reaching the door, Adrian pauses for a moment to catch his breath and gather himself. He opens the door and is shocked to find someone lying wounded on the other side of it. Even more shocking is realizing that he knows who the wounded man is. He goes to help Piri, but the sounds of ferocious fighting draw his attention momentarily. Adrian steps around Piri's unconscious form, trying to get a view of the combat he hears happening just a short distance away. Through the open doorway on the other end of the room he can just see a halfling he doesn't recognize in combat with someone else he does: a tiefling woman he surmises must be Major Fothergilla. "Seems I've found them," he mutters. "Confn ekess ve." He speaks these words calmly and clearly, makes a swift gesture with one hand, and then snaps his fingers. Across the room, behind the hostile halfling, a small, sturdy earthen figure appears. Though it moves like it has clawed its way from beneath the ground, it appears to materialize from nowhere. Roughly humanoid in form, it is faceless and featureless save for a pair of glowing gemstone eyes. After casting his spell, Adrian grabs his pack and fishes out a potion. "Let's see what we can do here..." As he goes through his pack, the conjured elemental goes to attack the halfling, slamming him with its stone fists.
Wew, these dice are not liking you guys.
Almost finished the boost to level 3. All that's really left is gearing him, I think.
Thanks all. Let's see. His background will stay mostly the same, with only slight adjustments to account for him coming into things a bit ahead of where one normally starts off. Here's what I'm thinking (obviously GM can change/veto if you want): Most of you would probably recognize his family name if nothing else. There's basically nothing in the books about the Merosett family besides what's in the player's guide, but my impression is that they're probably pretty low-key for a major noble family. His family is large and something of a fixture in the Opparan bureaucracy, which could color your impressions of him. You might also recognize his personal name and the fact that he's the heir apparent of that family if you're the sort of person to care about that kind of thing. If you run in similar circles, you would know he's a spellcaster, and that he moves around in noble and scholarly environments comfortably. If you're more plugged into the political scene and some of the scheming that goes on there, you're probably aware that he's someone who buys, sells, and otherwise trades in information. It's something he downplays and is otherwise pretty circumspect about, but Adrian doesn't go to great lengths to hide this fact. He is quite careful to hide exactly where his information comes from, where it goes, and how large his own network actually is. I can really only think of a couple things that are really hidden about Adrian. The first is his connection to Martella and the pro-Eutropia movement. He's been quietly aligning himself with the Loyalists for a bit of time, but until now he's been very subtle and careful about it. A few carefully placed words here and there, some information making its way to sympathetic parties, etc. With enough time and effort one might be able to pick out this pattern of behavior, but it's unlikely anyone has done so. Of course, by this point he's going to have to be more open about it, so it hardly matters. :P The second hidden thing isn't even in his background and has to do with his archetype. A lot of Adrian's magical study is focused on looking to extraplanar entities for knowledge. His particular extraplanar research is known to no one but him at this time. There's only one little clue, but it won't come up until Adrian actually casts the spell, and even then it doesn't suggest much.
Hey, fair enough, that's why I wanted to make sure. :) So is Sveng a person whose name he might know at least? Or are we coming in as total strangers? Either works for me. Or maybe Adrian is in the dark while Sveng isn't? Lots of possibilities. Adrian doesn't have the same underworld connections Sveng has, but I'd say he's been at it in the info business for a few years now, and the Merosett name and upbringing don't hurt when it comes to maneuvering in noble circles.
I wonder what the Perception DC is to spot the symbol from... wherever Adrian is. :P Since it's quasi-related, I suppose I should go ahead and put it out there. Adrian is liable to try to spot what the symbol is, particularly if Sveng isn't very forthcoming about it, but part of Adrian's concept involves him trading and brokering information. Part of his deal with coming over to this game is that he was the source of a lot of Martella's information about everyone else. So he'd probably know a good bit about you, but probably not as much vice versa. Anywho, he'd probably try to find out, but it's also conceivable he might already know or have suspicions. So I put to Sveng and everyone else: how much would you be comfortable with Adrian knowing about your characters?
Hey all, I'll be joining you eventually. Until then, well, I hope the rats don't eat you. :D
I think we're probably in a position where it's best to recruit some new people, so that would be my vote.
"I see. I would agree with Caspian, it would be best if you stayed close. Safety in numbers and all that. Do you know if there are others in any of the other rooms here?"
Adrian nods a polite greeting to the three in the room. "Adrian Merosett, at your service. Tell me, how did you get down here?"
Adrian hears something coming from the door on a nearby wall. Gesturing to it for the others, he warily approaches the door and leans in to listen.
"I didn't bring one with me, unfortunately," Adrian says dryly. "I didn't believe I'd need one at that sort of event." His eyes are still wide and alert as he scans the hallway, apparently still not convinced that they're out of danger.
Upon seeing both Caspian take two swipes from the undead creature, Adrian decides that throwing small globs of acid isn't going to kill this thing fast enough to prevent serious injury. He reaches deep within himself, tapping into the pool of power waiting there. Using that power, he begins speaking, his hands begin moving, as he reaches out beyond the Material Plane.
An eagle materializes from the ether, appearing just above and ahead of Adrian. The bird beats it wings furiously and lets out a screech before diving at the walcofinde, clawing and biting.
Adrian's eyes go wide in surprise as the creature emerges from the wall, clawing at Cyrene. A walcofinde! he thinks in panic after hearing Ana's outburst. He dashes away a few feet, chanting a few words, before flinging a small orb of acid from his finger.
I've been around, just waiting for things to move along before posting. Seems to have stalled, though. :/
Anyone still here?
Adrian hesitates a moment, then kneels beside the dead man for anything that might be useful. Dirty as it makes him feel, it's not like this poor sap was going to be using any of his things again anyway.
Adrian grimaces. "Even down here we can't escape the slaughter, it would seem," he says. With little other choice, he continues on with the rest, alert for the aggressor he's sure will come sooner or later.
Apologies, a fever spike has made my posting the last couple days erratic at best. All better now, though. That and what Caspian said. If we need to keep pushing forward, though, that's fine.
Adrian follows, staying toward the rear of the group. He looks about as they go, constantly alert for some sign of danger.
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