I'm considering a staff, but not sure which one to invest in. Healing? Accursed? Providence? Guardian? So many options!
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Whatever works best for you, GM. You're a player too, after all, it's important for YOU to have fun! ;)
Ardoinel nods.
Something I just thought of, have we been keeping track of our anadi friend? Did she part ways with us after we met the Ekujae, or has she been enjoying their hospitality too? (I know, I know, I'm weird for worrying the fictional character feels left out. :P)
"Resa, we're not Ekujae," Ardoinel replies. "The ward is against them specifically, the Cinderclaws aren't counting on foreigners like us lending the Ekujae aid."
Ardoinel nods as he cleans himself and dries off a bit. "Tell me of this curse. My father, as you might have guessed, taught me the ways of smelting and smithing. And obviously dwarves value gold as one of the most artful metals, but even they know the danger greed for gold brings. It features in tragic sagas Father told me often enough that there's a kenning for it: "the dragon sickness." An apt metaphor, considering what we are up against."
"And already the smoke clears and my visions become clearer," he says somberly. "To speak plainly of my own story, Dahak is the darkness who haunts my nightmares. After my parents could teach me no more from their own experiences, I began to seek answers myself, and my research led me to identify symbols I'd seen in my dreams as his emblems. It is his power that burns in my chest and fills my lungs with smoke. With my eyes he sees, with my ears he hears. He heard your story, and obviously he took offense, and willed me voice it to you with fire. But I do not speak his word, as you saw. I haven't had an episode like I described in my tale in years. I have not ever had a good night's sleep either, however. Perhaps...by drawing me here, he seeks to use me as a "key" to the door your people locked his avatar behind. A god is diminished when its avatar enters the world, but most of the time it is only to commit a brief, singular deed and then returning to the god. For his to have been trapped for so long, keeping his true strength from him...no wonder he is furious."
Ardoinel listens to the description and nods more, stroking his beard. "So like my visions, yes. While Yuelral is the elven goddess I propitiate most, Ketephys holds a special place in my heart to...which makes my performance in the hunt earlier all the more shameful. I didn't just disappoint the hunting party, but THE Hunter as well. By tracking down the Cinderclaws and avenging the blinding of his followers we may redeem ourselves. Dahak keeps taunting me that I cannot resist his will, his power. That I will work his will in the world whether I wish to or not. So I suspect his grudge will let me pass at the very least. For all his bluster, he would not empower me so if he did not need me. And then he will get to watch as I turn his own power against him."
Vrosi's slap, followed by Resa's pouring water snuffs the fire out like a candle (though Vrosi's hand stings, like he'd touched a hot stove for a split second). Ardoinel gives a few weaker coughs before straightening up and haggardly looking at the group. "Thank you," he rasps. "Thank you all." Then he turns to the assembled Ekujae, and gestures like the others have. "Look...despite all this, a moth flaps their wings and blows the smoke away. It brings a story of its own." "There was once a dwarf and an elf. They were comrades-in-arms, fighting alongside their friends to make their world a better place. Though they were very different people, depending on each other and learning to understand each other helped them to become friends, and then to become lovers, and finally they were wed." "Soon after, they built a home in a lush green valley high in the mountains, and had three handsome sons. They reflected and enhanced the light of their parents' love. But all lights cast shadows, and through no fault of their own a darkness fell upon their eldest son." "As the boy slept, the darkness would creep in and whisper to him. It would give him dreams of fire inside the mountains, burning the trees, hollowing the souls of his parents and brothers and blood in the breeze. The nightmares grew with each passing night. Smoke would curl and twist through his lungs, and ash would continually stain his face, his hands and his tongue." "And then one night, the flames from the boy's dreams followed him into the waking world. First his bed burned, then his room, and began to spread to the rest of their home. The parents rushed to save their sons, braving the fire to help their eldest, even as the darkness burned him. All of them survived the night, but their home was destroyed." "The parents did not know what darkness afflicted their son, but they knew that he needed their help. They worked to rebuild their home, showing their son that such destruction as what he had wrought that night was not the end. The father brought his son to the forge and showed him how fire could be contained, could be controlled, and how it could be used to create as well as destroy. The mother led her son on long journeys through the green lands, and showed him that a fire could run wild, yes, but it could purify and it could clear away the old and dead to make room for new life. How he had magic inside him and that magic was not good or evil. It simply was, and it could be wielded with wisdom. The boy learned, and as the darkness came back, he worked hard to turn its fire to light and warmth, and while each night was a struggle, the boy grew and became a man." "So the darkness became more aggressive. It began showing him other places, other peoples, all of them burning and bleeding and dying. The man decided it was time to strike back. He sought out new knowledge beyond his parents' teachings to give the darkness a name. And then to find where the darkness was showing him, so he could go there and find out why it wanted to burn this place. And there he would find new friends who taught him even more, and together, they would fight to stop the darkness once and for all."
As Nketiah tells her story, Ardoinel flinches and begins to shudder. Thoughts came unbidden. Recognition. Rage not his own. He doubles over and starts coughing and gasping smoke and ash. INSECTS. STINGING, BITING AND BUZZING . YOU HAVE TRAPPED NOTHING! YOUR KIN GAVE THEIR SOULS FOR NOTHING! I HAVE SET THIS SPARK TO PLUCK YOUR LITTLE INSECT WINGS AND BURN YOUR PRETTY LITTLE FORESTS! LET MY FIRE LOOSE, WORMLING! BURN THEM "NOOOO!" Ardoinel howls as he tries to stand back up and a jet of flame roars out of his mouth, harmlessly into the air, thankfully. YOU CANNOT KEEP ME AT BAY FOREVER, WORMLING. YOU ARE MY INSTRUMENT IN THIS WORLD. THE MEWLING WRETCHES YOU PRAY TO CANNOT CHANGE THAT, NO MATTER HOW MANY PRAYERS YOU SCREAM TO THEM. THESE BITS OF KINDLING YOU CALL FRIENDS CANNOT CHANGE THAT. YOU ARE MINE. IT IS MY WILL YOU WORK, AND MY WILL IS THAT YOU BURN BRIGHTLY. BURN THEM He writhes as he struggles to keep the fire within from spreading outwards, smoke rising from gaps and folds in his gear. Anyone who tries to touch him to help him finds his body burning hot, like an iron in the forge. "HELP!" he chokes out. BURN THEM. "NO!"
Ardoinel screams as he seems to start on fire!
Same here.
Ardoinel chuckles a bit. "Ah, so she comes and goes as she pleases in the way all cats do!" As he listens to the discussion amongst the rest of the group, he strokes his beard. "Is it wise? Resa, from what I know of love it's one of the wisest and most foolish things in the Universe...I mean, look at me! My parents couldn't have been more different and yet they found love for each other, and I'm the result. Though Ellaeaanda raises a good point: Nketiah, if you don't care for your elders' disapproval, why not just...tell them? As much as I admire elven artistry in both word and deed, there is something to be said for blunt dwarven honesty."
Ardoinel listens to Nketiah and nods. "I am reminded a bit of my own parents. They adventured together for at least a decade before they married, settled, and had me." Then he thinks a moment. "There was a lioness lazing about before the feast...given her comfortable appearance I presumed she's the companion of one of your people. Can you tell me more about her?" he asks Nketiah. He didn't know if anything would come of it, but his curiosity lingered, and if it turned out one of these lovers was the lioness' friend, maybe he could leverage the rapport he'd built with her to ask her aid in this scheme.
I did at least wanna show off my tolerance for burning >:P
Any word on the hero point?
Ardoinel looks the peppers over and begins sampling them one by one.
Ardoinel coughs out some ash and smoke and gives the youths a smirk with a raised eyebrow. "Try me," he says in Elven.
"It is a struggle. Between the shadows and the haze of smoke, it's hard to tell just what my sight shows. I think that's part of his game: if I can't see where my visions lead, it is easier to frustrate me into lashing out as the monster he wants me to be." Ardoinel nods as he gives the lioness a gentle scratch behind the ear. "Thank you, Ellaeaanda," he says. "For all the training my parents gave me, they couldn't understand how best to help me understand my visions and powers. Just control. Just how to sift through the ashes after the fire has burned. You are different. You understand. I would welcome what you have to teach. And I'll share with you what I can, even if I don't know how it will help."
Ardoinel frowns a bit as Akosa makes his disdain for them known, but says nothing. Of course a skilled hunter would want to keep his distance from amateurs who'd made him look bad.
While Ellaeeanda ignores the lioness, Ardoinel immediately notices how out of place she is here. That, and her plump appearance implied she was not some wild animal, but likely someone's beloved companion. "It is a struggle. Between the shadows and the haze of smoke, it's hard to tell just what my sight shows. I think that's part of his game: if I can't see where my visions lead, it is easier to frustrate me into lashing out as the monster he wants me to be." He knew better than to ask her what she meant, since she was likely already being as explicit and plain as she could be. He approaches the lioness slowly and blinks slowly, in the way that cats do when they wish to say they are calm and comfortable in another's presence.
Oh dear! I hope they get well soon. :(
Ardoinel walks very slowly, trying to make as few heavy dwarven footfalls as possible.
He grimaces as he steps on a very loud branch.
Ardoinel joins the party in identifying animal trails and following them, looking for disturbed flora, tracks or scat.
"I am not as good a hunter as my mother or younger brother," he comments quietly. "But think I've picked up...a scent?" He watches the heat shimmer through the foliage, and a curl of smoke trickles out of his nose as he exhales. "THE PREY IS RIGHT BEFORE YOU WORMLING. YOU BUT HAVE TO BITE." "Be SILENT, worm!" he mutters. "They are my KIN." "THEY SMELL MY FIRE WITHIN YOU, WORMLING. HOW LONG BEFORE YOUR "KIN" BETRAY YOU TO SAVE THEMSELVES?"
Ardoinel cheers as Resa wins the game. "Well done, Resa!" Afterwards, as they meet the hunting party, Ardoinel bows to Akosa. "It is an honor and a pleasure, Akosa. I am Ardoinel, child of Kyonin and son of the dwarven clan Oreflame both."
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
While Ardoinel's edge falters and his tromping dwarf-blooded are easily dodged by his opponents, preventing him from scoring more, he's still able to keep up with the rhythm of the dance.
Ardoinel's mind drifts to the forge chants of his father, the jingling of the anklets reminding him of the clang of hammer on anvil.
Ardoinel's armor clanks a bit as he attempts to strike the anklets of his partner.
Ellaeaanda gazes through the girls with a look that is both kindly and distant. “No dancer am I, but play I shall.” "Nor am I, but I shall try too." Ardoinel adds. "I'd like to take a look at the anklets too when we're done; I'm curious about their design and how they can chime so differently despite looking so similar."
Nketiah laughs at Netkin's comment, "It is very warm, but I revel in it! When I was young, I traveled all over Garund with my mother and father. I certainly prefer this heat to the winds off the Barrier Peaks." "We have something in common, then!" Ardoinel says. "My parents took me and my brothers around Kyonin and the Five Kings Mountains when we were young. It was...kind of a way to keep us occupied as our house was being rebuilt...after the fire...that, erm...that I'd started in my sleep." He blushes and grimaces a bit. "I imagine your travels weren't spurred by that kind of necessity," he adds sheepishly. After Nketiah departs, Ardoinel begins wandering the village to see their artisans and craftspeople, especially their metalworkers, jewelers and enchanters.
Ardoinel, stubborn as he is and wanting to impress his hosts, begins climbing.
He scales the trees with relative ease and follows them to the bower, taking a seat and coughing for a moment, before taking advantage of the proffered water to soothe his throat and wash his face and hands. "You have my thanks, Nketiah, he says. "Even as I stated I find comfort in the heat of the forge, I find water's gifts to us, cold and clear, equally comforting. After all, iron heated in the forge and hammered on the anvil, must then be quenched for its new form to truly take shape."
Ardoinel endures the journey without complaint, though his discomfort is clear as he coughs out ashes and they mingle with his sweat to make his face grimy. "Fear not," he tells Jahsi in Elven should he ask if Ardoinel's all right. "I am used to the heat of the forge, and this heat is not much different." When they arrive at the settlement, he looks up at it and his eyes widen. He was familiar with Aiudeen architecture, interlinking with nature, but this seemed to be almost in complete harmony with nature, to the point where the line between city and wild didn't exist. He tears up a bit. "I...I don't think I've seen beauty like this even in Kyonin!" he exclaims. "My youngest brother would adore this place, I think...He walks the path of Druidry." When Nketiah introduces herself, Ardoinel bows to her. "It is an honor and a pleasure, to be welcomed into your beautiful home, Nketiah. I am Ardoinel, once of Kyonin and of the Five Kings Mountains. My father is of the Oreflame clan of dwarves."
That's a relief!
"Those kin will not trouble you. We took care of them, and now occupy the Citadel Huntergate rests under." He holds up the hand which wears the clawed gauntlet. "I claimed this from their leader as a trophy."
Ardoinel straightens up and then bows back to Jahsi. "It is an honor and a pleasure, Jahsi, fellow student of The Wise. Though my father was forged by Torag's hammer, my mother instructed me in Yuelral's truths, to embrace both magic and life without fear."
Ardoinel watches as his own prayers prove ineffective, while Ellaeanda's drives the apparition away. "It seems the gods cannot hear my pleas over Dahak's roar," he says grimly. YOU BEGIN TO SEE NOW, WORMLING. THEY CANNOT..WILL NOT...HELP YOU NO MATTER HOW LOUD YOU CRY FOR THEM. "No!" he says as he clutches his holy symbols. "Be SILENT!" He tries to steady his breathing, but it only brings another coughing fit, ash spewing from his mouth. He joins the group as they exit the tunnel, and raises his hand weakly as they're confronted by the locals.
"Peace, noble Ekujae!" he wheezes in Elven. "My friend speaks true: we are kin, and we come to aid you. I am Ardoinel, of the Clan Oreflame."
Ardoinel gazes up at the forming shape in horror. he cries. He struggles to breathe as it seems the dragon-god himself stares down at him, but then he clutches at his holy symbols. "Torag, grant me the strength to stand against this evil. Yuelral, strengthen my roots to weather this storm. Angradd, lend vigor to my arm and lungs to pass through this fire. Alseta, shelter me on this sacred threshold. Gaasham, fortify my foundations against your foul brother. Apsu, guide and guard me as I challenge your son!" Praying to every god he'd learned about, both from his parents and his own research into his dark "benefactor" he makes an invocation, hoping if one god's strength wasn't enough, many gods were!
Then he notices something and turns to Resa. "RESA! HIS ENERGIES! YOU CAN TURN THEM BACK ON HIM! IMAGINE HIM LIKE A LOCK YOU CAN PICK!"
So it turns out I'm a dumbass who can't remember which month comes when, and my jury summons was actually for the end of APRIL instead of March. >_<
Ardoinel's eyes have widened in shock and horror as Ellaeaanda asks her question. "Yes...The glow, the heat, the smell, the texture of the walls...the only difference is there was no light at the end...I just ran and ran through this tunnel without end, chased by something horrible."
Heads-up I got jury duty tomorrow. <_<
As Ardoinel helps with the finishing touches, he steps back and looks up at Huntergate in awe. Then he bows his head and whispers a prayer in Elven.
"I wish I could foresee good things they way you do, Ellaeaanda," Ardoinel replies. "The only visions I ever get are of fire, darkness and blood." He nods at her suggestion of taking a day to prepare. "I'll join you, Markus. I'd be honored to be a hand on the hammer that shapes the future of Alseta's Ring."
"I wholeheartedly agree, Ellaeeanda, but I doubt Master Axebain would want to add the duties of seneschal on top of the work he's been doing for us." Ardoinel comments, shaking his head. "There are others more suited to that, I think, like Mistress Warbal. She's...very much not like any goblin I've met, and seems like she'd be an expert at soothing tensions and tempers among the people living here, and who may move in in the future."
"I would say the other elves are...stern. They are very dedicated to the tasks that they have given themselves and hold themselves to a high standard of behavior," Renali shares. "Still, they know how to kick back and have fun, and they will help anyone who proves trustworthy and not wicked." "They sound like I'd get along with them quite well, even though they sound like very different elves from my mother," Ardoinel says.
Ardoinel shakes his head. "No, my family did do some traveling as I grew up, but we only really visited places in the Five Kings Mountains and Kyonin. I've never seen lands beyond Avistan."
Ardoinel gestures up to the arches. "These," he explains. "Alseta's Ring. Six aiudara or "elfgates," as they are more commonly called. Most such gates are singular, but this collection here forms a "crossroads" of sorts, allowing travel from across the world." He then walks over to Huntergate and indicates it. "This is the one you emerged from, but it is now in need of repair, its power slumbering. Once we have restored it, we have the key to re-open it, so we should be able to help you return home. And in the meantime, we would be happy to offer you hospitality in Citadel Altaerein above. We are still cleaning and repairing what time and neglect have wrought upon it, but I imagine it would be much more comfortable than what you've endured down here."
"Your...friends?" Ardoinel asks, his expression turning grave. He winces a bit as a dark chuckle reverberates in his head. "Are...are you the "spider lady" the tixitog complained of?"
Ardoinel shadows Rorsk as he directs the crew, helping the goblins lift the heavier stones. By the time they've cleared the way into the Ring and Ardoinel opens the door with the Alsetan amulet once more, he's taken aback by the stranger who'd apparently arrived. "As Alseta welcomes all, so do we welcome you to Citadel Altaerein," he says, once he's regained his composure and takes a bow. "Will you honor us with your name? I am Ardoinel Oreflame."
Plus, it gives us an excuse to go down there and check on the spider lady issue! Ardoinel isn't necessarily going to be comfortable with the fact that the Ring's "back door" isn't really secure. We may wanna invent a project to sort of "fortify" the caves there, fix the crumbly ceiling, install some doors and stairs, and make sure we can use it as an escape hatch if problems come to the keep in the future (like, say, an Inner Sea War! :P ). Or, if that seems like too much time and resources, just collapse the place so the Ring only has one way in or out.
Markus thanks Ardoinel for his suggestion and "I feel we should probably patrol the chambers outside Alseta's Ring a bit, at least until we get the stairs connecting to it restored. That tixitog is still down there, and while we made a bargain with it, I suspect that courtesy won't extend to any workers we send down there. It told us of a "spider lady" who was interfering with its hunts or something, and I don't think we encountered her either. As long as that remains unfinished, the Ring won't be safe to study."
Just a heads-up, we got a massive winter storm blowing in tomorrow, so I will be stranded at the hotel I work at for the weekend, so I won't be able to do any intensive posting since I'm stuck with just my phone.
"Through the wisdom of Yuelral and the diligence of Torag, I learn and I persevere," Ardoinel says. When Markus describes his childhood, he nods thoughtfully. "You may want to talk to Resa...the story of her childhood in Kintargo is very similar to you and your sister's."
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