In the devastation, a cloaked skeleton appears. He is grumbling to himself.
"Just because some Clytoloth under my command broke the rules, I'm being punished with cleanup? Gr..." He walks over to a dead man, and holds up his scythe. Silvery essence begins to pour into it, then stops. It begins fleeing from the Yugoloth, as fast as possible. "Oh--for the love of Charon, why do I get the restless ghosts?" The Yugoloth only gives half-hearted pursuit before giving up and going back to his grisly work. Anybody looking closely can see that he is incorporeal, and he walks through walls on occasion. Finally he is done, and vanishes.
The omniportal flashes. JH strides thru and heads straight to a small shop set apart from the bustle and cries of the aftermath of the attack. He enters.
"Give them to me."
The omniportal flashes. JH strides thru and heads straight to a small shop set apart from the bustle and cries of the aftermath of the attack. He enters.
"Give them to me."
"My Lord, you said that I should never do that. No matter how many times you asked, no matter how hard you asked..."
The small gnome trembles visibly
"Give them to me..."
"I won't ask a 3rd time..."
The omniportal flashes to life again, and Devlyn comes out of it in a full run, skidding to a halt and checking the air for JH's scent. After getting information from passerby on the streets, he races back to the scene of the battle.
"I won't ask a 3rd time...""My Lord. You may not survive a second transformation. Even if you do, you will not be able to return."
"I know why you ask. I saw the battle. You cannot protect the god-child forever."
"I beg you. Please calm yourself, and think this thru. If you still wish it, I will return them to you."
JH seems to shrink a bit
"She is too young. There are too many enemies. The World-Splitter could keep her safe."
Devlyn moves to the sidestreets and alleys to avoid any entanglements with the city guard and the clerics of Sunny G. He makes it back to the battle site, sniffing the air. He's close, but not here...he keeps homing in.
"And in the process destroy everything she has come to love since she was born...""I won't ask a 3rd time...""My Lord. You may not survive a second transformation. Even if you do, you will not be able to return."
"I know why you ask. I saw the battle. You cannot protect the god-child forever."
"I beg you. Please calm yourself, and think this thru. If you still wish it, I will return them to you."
JH seems to shrink a bit
"She is too young. There are too many enemies. The World-Splitter could keep her safe."
"She is young...she will recover. Her enemies won't."
"Why do people always assume there's some sort of age limitation on soul-crushing sorrow?"
"I'm not usually one to interfere, but given the direct amount of emotional damage you're contemplating inflicting on your mate and your daughter I felt the need to deliver a sharp blow to the head. I'll restrain the urge and simply remind you of what you told my granddaughter when she was faced with temptation. You don't need more power. Power isn't what's important."
"Now, if you will excuse me, I have a good deal more work to do undoing the damage to the weather patterns caused by Arielle's first storm."
"Why do people always assume there's some sort of age limitation on soul-crushing sorrow?"
"I'm not usually one to interfere, but given the direct amount of emotional damage you're contemplating inflicting on your mate and your daughter I felt the need to deliver a sharp blow to the head. I'll restrain the urge and simply remind you of what you told my granddaughter when she was faced with temptation. You don't need more power. Power isn't what's important."
"Now, if you will excuse me, I have a good deal more work to do undoing the damage to the weather patterns caused by Arielle's first storm."
JH shrinks a bit more.
"Maybe they'll be better off without a hot-headed hunk of has-been metal."
heads out of shop with a goodbye and begins walking, ignoring everything he passes.
JH shrinks a bit more.
"Maybe they'll be better off without a hot-headed hunk of has-been metal."
heads out of shop with a goodbye and begins walking, ignoring everything he passes.
Devlyn almost screeches to a halt as he finally finds JH. Somebody must have talked him out of whatever he was about to do, judging by the look on his face.
"Uh, JH?"
Walks after him.
"Jack Hammer?"
Catches up to him.
"Hey!!" as he finally slugs him in the shoulder to knock him out of his funk. "Owwwww...."
The portal flashes as Aidan and Oroth step through.
"Aidan, stabilize anyone who hasn't been reached by the clerics okay?"
"And you're going to help with the ones who are really hurt?"
"Right. Be sure to cauterize any bleeding your magic can't stop."
The pair set off on their respective tasks.
JH shrinks a bit more.
"Maybe they'll be better off without a hot-headed hunk of has-been metal."
heads out of shop with a goodbye and begins walking, ignoring everything he passes.
Devlyn almost screeches to a halt as he finally finds JH. Somebody must have talked him out of whatever he was about to do, judging by the look on his face.
"Uh, JH?"
Walks after him.
"Jack Hammer?"
Catches up to him.
"Hey!!" as he finally slugs him in the shoulder to knock him out of his funk. "Owwwww...."
"Huh? Oh, it's you."
"Hey, do me a favor will ya?"
"Watch after the girls a bit for me. Not that they need it. They don't need my...meddling."
"I need to find something... I'll be around."
shakes Devlyn's hand and walks off. A bit away a portal of mist opens and the screech of a hunting bird is heard, JH pauses then walks thru. It closes behind him.
Having done all they can, Aidan and Oroth wearily make their way back to the omniportal and the Eyrie.
"Huh? Oh, it's you."
"Hey, do me a favor will ya?"
"Watch after the girls a bit for me. Not that they need it. They don't need my...meddling."
"I need to find something... I'll be around."
shakes Devlyn's hand and walks off. A bit away a portal of mist opens and the screech of a hunting bird is heard, JH pauses then walks thru. It closes behind him.
Devlyn is about to stop him when he disappears through the mist.
"Oh iblith" he swears to himself as he vainly tries to reach him via his communication crystal. When he gets no answer (not that he was expecting one), he starts heading back to the omniportal. He then goes to the Eyrie of Celestial Harmony.
Business is brisk for the intrepid merchant. Orders and personal requests for elemental wards and likewise magical trinkets are flowing into her shop along with gold coins and gemstones. The pace is breathtaking.
Mililani will have enough capital to expand her business into a larger warehouse and possibily hire two or three apprentises to aid her in future endevors. Business is looking good for the wyaward elf-maiden.
MacGardun with the aid of clan surveyors discovered a untapped and pure source of groundwater. Able to tap the pool with dwarven pumps and other mechanisms, MacGardun is able to tweak the family beer recipe. He's then able to expand his line-of-products in wines and oddly enough purified bottle waters.
with several grants he's obtained form the Bazaar's merchant council, he soon expands into foodstuffs like chicken, eggs, sausage, and cattle for a better line of cheeses.
The destruction inflicted upon the Bazaar has created a demand for housing and building labor. MacGardun, seeing an opening, has already positioned his business at the head of a lucrative business enterprise.
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"I just can't keep up with the demands for more housing blueprints...." She mutters to herself as he labors over her drafting boards.
[i]"Gods of Travel and Adventure, I think I busted my notery stamp."
Clan Surveyors report the opening of two more salt mines and MacGardun has wisely collected the mining rights and land deeds to them. Business is very good indeed.
If he had lips, the more he would grin at the flow of coins into his store.
Demands for elelmental bane and nature bane weapons empty out his cellars. His armor and shield inventory almost gone. It's time to contact his suppliers across the myriad worlds and cities of his new home. Oh yes, new magic indeed.
Rowan had watched the fight from afar, too late to ingratiate herself with the heroes by trying to help. She observed carefully the panic in the bazaar and its aftermath. She picked up more than a few short term jobs guarding nervous citizens. And in the aftermath of such great destruction no one missed a few poor souls here and there.
Rowan had watched the fight from afar, too late to ingratiate herself with the heroes by trying to help. She observed carefully the panic in the bazaar and its aftermath. She picked up more than a few short term jobs guarding nervous citizens. And in the aftermath of such great destruction no one missed a few poor souls here and there.
Rowan had watched the fight from afar, too late to ingratiate herself with the heroes by trying to help. She observed carefully the panic in the bazaar and its aftermath. She picked up more than a few short term jobs guarding nervous citizens. And in the aftermath of such great destruction no one missed a few poor souls here and there.
Devlyn enters the Bazaar undetected from the desert. He starts to hunt around for any signs of activity up here from the denizens of the Tunnels. His routes are rooftop and back alley, his method this time clandestine surveillance rather than open questioning.
Devlyn enters the Bazaar undetected from the desert. He starts to hunt around for any signs of activity up here from the denizens of the Tunnels. His routes are rooftop and back alley, his method this time clandestine surveillance rather than open questioning.
Now and then, Devlyn is forced to intervene a burglary or a back alley mugging as the day advances however, his back alley inquiries reveal little in the way any useful information. He heads towards the mercantile districts under a flash of insight. While investigating from the tops of buildings, he notices three cloaked figures and a fourth larger bulky figure draped in a thick canvass. All four proceed into a larger alley way and enter a large side-door in a warehouse.
The first figure, by its stride, figure, and heavily pace, is definitely an armored woman. Slung across her back is a large obsidian-colored spear. She carries a heavy shield.
The second figure, is male, heavily armored with a spiked mace slung to one side. A heavy shield is strapped to his back. The well recognized symbol of Beshaba is etched onto its polished surface.
The third figure makes Devlyn's skin crawl. He carries no weapons save a coiled bladed chain. He hands, the back anyway is covered in runes and symbols. The wind in the right direction, Devlyn can detect a scent, or rather stench of brimstone.
The fourth figure is heavily draped and it give no indications of its race or abilities
Devlyn has seen this warehouse and its owner. The war-merchant only known as the Spirit of Vengeance. Caution indicates that it would be suicidal if Devlyn were to proceed any farther. Self-preservation is advised.
The burglaries and muggings were welcome distractions. In light of the total lack of useful information, it was nice to be doing some good out here.
After returning to the mercantile districts and spotting the four figures going into the Spirit of Vengeance's warehouse, Devlyn commits their appearances and mannerisms (what little he could note) to memory.
He then does a thorough recon of the warehouse from the surrounding rooftops, looking for all the likely 'security measures' a weapons merchant would set up to protect his wares. He also notes the flow of people and goods in and out of the facility, trying to ascertain the best (and worst) times to make a move against it if that becomes necessary.
In the midst of this, he falls back to a more discrete distance to contact Allura and pass along the news.
De;ighted by all the destruction, Corona seems to almost dance around the roof tops, happily ending suffering or causing it.
De;ighted by all the destruction, Corona seems to almost dance around the roof tops, happily ending suffering or causing it.
A seemingly important wizard makes his way through the thick crowds in the Bazaar. Oblivious to Devlyn's observations, he passes within 40 to 50 feet of the Warehouse. He gives it the once-over then proceed into the sea of humanity that occupies the merchantile district today.
Maybe he will find something or that special someone he so urgently seeks.
She continued to pass her days wandering the bazaar, picking up the occasional odd job. She had found enough souls during the aftermath of the fight with the elemental to keep her appetite sated for some time. She could afford to be patient for now.