I'm in no hurry to find another GM. Let's pick this back up when you're ready?
Search Posts
'Eh what just happened there?' Wondered Axel when both Kejak and Ellen suddenly had to leave, all he'd been thinking about was a nice walk down the river and back. Of course when Shayliss spoke things slotted into place. "Well there's an offer..." grinned Axel, all this was getting hard to resist... Sobering slightly, "To be honest it'll be kinda noisy there this time of day, lots of folks about their business. Hardly romantic. Perhaps it's a nice day, perhaps a leisurely stroll down the river and once things have quietened down, we'll see where we end up?"
"Oh my tummy! I don't think I could eat another thing." declared Axel. He gave Shayliss a wry smile, "I'm sorry Lord Foxglove didn't turn up, but even your friends will have to admit it's not every day somebody buys you a seven course banquet! Besides the chef has excelled himself, this was amazing." Axel glances around at the others and asked, "What now though? I feel like we ought to do something to burn all this off, or they're going to have to roll us home."
"Yes, I don't know what to make of that. Ultimately I guess I'm not bothered, lets just enjoy this!" Replied Axel before trying the soup. In a whisper to Shayliss he added, "I don't know about you but seven courses sounds a bit daunting, I hope they're small."
"How peculiar." replied Axel but then Bethana started acting weird. Loudly so there was no chance of her mishearing, Axel enquired with a smile, "Uh Ma'am? I'm probably worrying about nothing, but has he paid for this right?"
He keeps half an aye on Bethana hoping she'll explain what she knows.
"Well I suppose we ought to..." replied Axel uncertainty, all this food was making him very hungry! He squeezed her hand before catching the eye of a member of staff and asking, "Excuse me, have you seen Lord Foxglove? We where expecting him to join us."
Next morning Axel woke up with a smile, yesterday had been rather exciting who could say what The Great Dreamer had planned for today? He couldn't wait to find out! After getting washed, shaved and dressed, he headed over to the general store to meet up with Shayliss before making his way to Rusty Dragon. Normally he'd have hooked up with Kejak but he had a feeling his friend would be busy this morning. Upon seeing Shayliss, he beamed "Good Morning! You look radiant today! He offered her his arm so they could walk together for a while before lunch.
Axel pays the bill with no fuss, leaving a few extra silver for the tip. "Errr.", Axel felt his resolve wavering as Shayliss gazed into his eyes and he found his body responding. But suddenly his mind went back to those stories Ilsoari told them about men with loose morals who took advantage. Ever since he'd been old enough to know what they'd meant, Axel had promised himself he wasn't like that. So a little sheepishly he replied, "Oh heck I'll probably regret saying this in the morning. Look Shayliss I really like you and yes I would love to show you my room, just not tonight. I'm after a relationship not a one night stand and this is all going waaay too fast. I'd like to take you to dinner again tomorrow night and the day after that too. Assuming that's what you want of course."
Axel suddenly looks chagrinned before laughing at himself, "Silly me. Do you know what? I got the dates mixed up, the play starts it's run tomorrow! The Harpie's curse is supposed to be good though, I'll try and get us some tickets." Shayliss answers grinning, "Look, it's getting dark already. My how the time's flown. Perhaps we should head over now before we're too late?" Axel glances out and replies, "Wow when did that happen, I totally didn't notice! Just goes to show hoe much I've enjoyed your company. Anyway maybe I should get the bill and walk you home and then we can reconvene tomorrow? Lunch with nobility and with luck the Theater after, should be fun!" As much as Axel might secretly want something to happen tonight, he's going to be a gentleman and resist those impulses.
Axel smiled enigmatically, he had a few ideas for how she could do that... Without missing a beat he asked, "Perhaps you'd care to accompany me to the theater? I'm afraid I haven't booked any tickets, but I expect today's excitement will have scared a lot of the regulars away so we'll be able buy tickets at the door. I'm pretty sure the show will go on regardless, I heard Cyrdak Drokkus had pulled out all the stops for tonight's performance."
Axel was puzzled by Shayliss' reaction and he shrugged slightly as he replied smoothly, "It's true she's turned out pretty well, but she's really not my type at all though. Pretty sure that's mutual by the way! Besides you're way prettier and much more fun to be around, if she was here she'd be all broody about something." Axel thought about adding that he'd always picture her as that painfully thin shy girl two grades below me, which was inextricably linked with the image of what happened to to that guy during the incident. Of course that wasn't a suitable topic for polite society, so Axel dropped it. On a hunch he asked, "So what do you make of Lord Foxglove?"
Axel pours a little more of the wine and swirls it around in his glass considering it. He replies, "It all happened so fast. I don't think it really sunk in till later just how dangerous that situation had been. We where really lucky more people didn't get hurt, I'm just glad I was able to help. Anyway, apparently we've all been invited to lunch with Lord Foxglove tomorrow, exciting huh? Mind you did you see Ellen's face?! I think he's really into her but it looked like she was waiting for the ground to open up and swallow her..."
"To your very good health!", grinned Axel! Clink. Gazing into her eyes, Axel said, "Good food, good wine, good company. What more could one want in life?" Of course that was an interesting question, Axel was very much enjoying this moment, but it set him wondering where he wanted to be in five years. With Shayliss yes, but maybe not with a crying infant in tow, not for a good few years at least... He had a good feeling he knew where Shayliss wanted this to go tonight, in truth that would be nice, but rushing into such things tended to ruin everything. He really liked her and so was inclined to play things slow. Smiling at her he asked, "Have you ever thought about what you'd want to do with your life? I guess maybe you'd inherit the shop one day, not a bad life. I'm curious though, is that what you want?"
What a day, Axel had fought goblins, won, lost then won again more money than he's seen in months and to top it all there was Shayliss!
Axel shrugged subtly, he was happy to pay his way still if Kejak was buying... Grinning he replied, "Sure fella, Hemlock then dinner. Do you have a notion of where he might be? Back at his office perhaps?" Axel wasn't surprised Kejak didn't want to celebrate, he suspected Kejak secretly dreamed of becoming sheriff one day and hoped to win Hemlock's respect. Ellen not being interested was a something of a relief, in his minds eye Axel imagined her giving Shayliss funny looks all evening.
Axel grins at Kejak, "We could ask, but I have a feeling Ellen is right. Besides don't know about you two but all that mopping up made me hungry! I was thinking of getting some food and maybe going to the Theater, assuming Cyrdak Drokkus is still going to open it tonight. Uh I was gonna invite Shayliss too, that's OK right?"
What?! Axel felt a surge of annoyance, a menial job like that was demeaning. He was about to angrily demur when suddenly it hit him, the goblin blood was messing up Sandpoint. He was always fastidious and this stain on his hometown would simply never do. His whole demeanor changed just like that to one of determination. This was a chore no doubt, but a worthy one. Turning to Ellen and Kejak, Axel suggests,
Axel nodded and added, "The Goblins where setting some bombs and it seemed some had caught Lord Foxglove although we where able to free him. Seemed kinda organized yet disorganized. Got me wondering if somebody put em up to this..."
Realizing Kejak is still talking to Josie,
Without waiting to see what Kejak does, Axel walks cautiously towards the north gate. When within earshot he hails them, "Hello the gate! Is the Sheriff there? We'd like to talk to him."
Axel smiles at Josie, maybe today really was a lucky day. Turning to the others he says, "Lets head on over to the wall and see if Sheriff Hemlock is there." He starts walking towards the gate.
Shame, interplay between Josie and Ellen could have been interesting!
Axel nods and says laconically, "Ok better head north then, lets cut through Crab Street." Unless anyone suggests otherwise he starts walking north along River Street, cuts through Crab Street and north up Church Street.
Axel enters Market Street and stops to look, he wasn't really expecting there to be goblins but you never know....
Not seeing anything he starts walking towards the gate, saying, "Keep your eyes peeled folks."
Axel laughs, "It's funny when I first saw Foxglove I thought he could handle himself, now I'm not so sure. Those goblins had him trussed up and ready to drag him through the streets. Anyway gotta find the Sheriff, be seeing ya!"
Pagent of the peacock shouldn't exist IMO. Some of the Masterpieces are interesting (Symphony of the Elysian Heart) even in the least generous interpretation. Others are interesting if they are treated like spells and later using performance for something else doesn't cause them to end (which some people argue), e.g. Tales of Twisting Steel, Arrowsong's lament. Depending on how status removal works out Axel might pick up Hymn of Restorative Harmonics.
Axel makes a show of looking behind before grinning at the men like a Cheshire Cat. "I wouldn't know about all of them" he drawled, "but we managed to bag us a few. Hey I don't suppose you've seen the Sheriff? We're looking for him."
@Nate this won't be an issue for a couple of levels, but would you mind coming up with a house ruling for for how Bardic Masterpieces interact with regular bard (well rage) song? I suspect you've seen the FAQ request. It seems there isn't a simple answer as far as the PDT are concerned or they'd have answered this one long ago.
"Lets do it, to the south gate!" replies Axel easily, brimming with confidence. They could deal with a few goblins!
Axel grinned at Kejak and replied far more confidently than he had any right to, "Mate it's Ilsoari, he knows his stuff! Lets try the gates and the barracks after if there's no luck there." Unless somebody demurs, Axel starts walking at a comfortable pace...
Axel strolls back in and notices a strange atmosphere, he shrugs and grins, "Hey what's up? Shall we go find us that Sheriff - maybe there'll be more goblins on the way, although I kinda hope not. Brrr that bath water was way colder than I remembered!"
Axel quickly found his way to the communal bathrooms. It was strange he knew this place so well yet it seemed oddly small now, a part of his life that was huge at the time but over now. True to his word he didn't bother heating the water and quickly scrubbed the worst of the ichor off his skin, hair and clothes. A few minutes later a very much colder, but cleaner Axel emerges, ready to hit the town.
"Thank you, I'll be back shortly." calls Axel as he heads off to get washed. As he goes it occurs to him that Ellen is still really young something that's easy to forget at times. He wonders how she'll cope with Lord Fox Glove tomorrow, hopefully the man won't be overbearing.
With a wry grin Axel laughed, "Eh I won't need long Josie, just goblin blood is icky. I don't even care if the water is ice cold, Fifteen minutes and I'll be mostly presentable again and ready to go."
On the way out from the general store:
"Sure thing!" replies Axel with a smile. Wow this was going so fast, it near made his head spin. Shayliss seemed awful keen, which is strange since somebody that hot could afford to be choosy... Perhaps he should have thought on this more, but on Desna's holy day Axel just checked it down to luck or perhaps even destiny. Axel considers Ilsoari's words before replying, "Well we should find the Sheriff today, but maybe we could freshen up a little first? I mean look at the state of us."
Axel nodded at Kejak's words but as he explained something didn't quite add up, "They certainly made a lot of noise, throwing bombs and nearly kidnapping Lord Foxglove but I don't think there was enough of them to do real damage. The why of it is bugging me. It seems like it was a suicide mission for them, what could possibly motivate such a thing?"
Axel felt torn, he very much wanted to spend more time with Shayliss. Just not Shayliss and her mother... Also nagging at him was a though that he really ought to be sure little Joanna was OK. That might give them an excuse to talk to the headmaster, Axel had always been a little in awe of him and his experience may help make sense of what happened today. Somewhat huskily Axel replied, "Uh, well, for now yes. I do need a bath Later once I've cleaned up and things have calmed down I'll swing by." He made his excuses and on the way out said, "Good day, glad you're fine Mrs Vinder. We all had a bit of a scare today." He was slightly irritated with himself thinking, 'Why was I gabbling to her in front of Shayliss?' Outside he went to catch up with his friends, spotting them huddled by the Academy door. He hailed them, "Hey do you think we should talk to Ilsoari about what happened today?"
Axel had been acting all smooth but he suddenly felt awkward around Shayliss' mom. This was all going to fast it made his head spin. "Oh uh hi Mrs Vinder." he managed, "There's been quite the excitement out there today. First with the swallowtail festival then with a bunch of goblins blowing stuff up." Noticing the green blood spotting his clothing he stammers, "Um yeah, I probably ought to go and clean up or something..."
Axel nods at Kejak and squeezes Shayliss's hand and replies, "Of course. Those goblins are sneaky, we'd better make sure." He cautiously stats walking towards the store, alert for danger.
Axel finds Shayliss' attention most intoxicating and he whispers, "Glad you're safe." Louder so the others can hear he suggests, "We should find somewhere safe for Joanna and check on Shayliss' family." Holding Shayliss's hand, he walks over to Kejak and adds, "Don't worry Joanna, we won't let anything bad happen to you. We do need to talk to the headmaster though, I wonder were he is."
Axel grits his teeth when the goblin's filthy dogslicer opens a deep cut on his left arm. Wary now Axel starts to circle the goblin hoping that he and Ellen can take it down together before it's too late! He thrusts high but stops mid stroke, bats the dogslicer away with the flat of his at the same time as thrusting out towards the goblin's liver.
When his blade bit deeply into the Goblin's flesh and he could feel the wretched thing's heart bust, Axel felt a terrible pang of remorse. Killing was a wretched business but then he looked up at poor terrified Joanna and his heart hardened. "Somebody must have put them up to this." he muttered darkly before he sprinted towards the final goblin. This one was apparently a shaman and had just completed a spell. Axel lashed out with his dagger shouting, "That's enough Voodoo from you!"
With his eyes wide, Axel stares at the rusty horsechopper as it falls towards him. At the last moment he steps aside and thrusts out with his dagger, aiming for the goblin's heart!
Axel pauses momentarily watching Josie and Inc team up on one of the charging goblins and Kejack shoot the chanting one. Realizing one was going to get through, Axel sprints towards the other charging goblin. The air whistling past him as his right arm raised up and falls down, dagger point gleaming as it plunges towards the goblin's neck!
Axel squeezes her hand before racing south. As he went he called to the others, "Quickly to the General Store. We'll check the Academe after." Feet pounding, he tried to determine where the scream came from but the sound of his breathing, his footfalls and the blood rushing through his veins drowned out everything else!
Any plan beat standing around while people might be getting hurt. Axel grinned, "Lets do it!" Turning to Lord Foxglove, Axel replied formally, "Until tomorrow Sir!" He then went to check on Shayliss saying, "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you! We're going to make sure nobody else is getting hurt. You're probably still safest with us."
|