Five Things Go Wrong, The RPG -- IC Adventure 1 "The Lost Boys"

[kizkiz]

Scene 1: The Court of the Iron Baron
Players:Tamilla [unhurt], Tot [unhurt], Kosta [unhurt], Vanora [unhurt]
Epics: The Iron Baron
Elites: Aegar, Jerico, Sythe
Extras: The Master Exchequer, The Chief Scribe, and The Spymaster
Objective:

1. (scene) Join the Third House ran by Master Aegar (patron).
2. (adventure) Find out where the "Lost Boys of Vos" are and/or who is taking them.
3. (bonus) Find out what happened to the girl from your vision.
4. (bonus) Find out what happened to Reginald.
5. (bonus) Find out what happened to Grandmaster Knoton (Kosta's father).
6. (bonus) Find out what happened to Lady Yonna.

--- --- ---​

The call had gone out. It hadn't been a gentle thing. The moment hung in hazy murk in the minds of the remaining Circle. They might not have realized the bond that bound them tighter than blood. Even if they didn't, the Eld within them knew it, remembered it, and honored it. The oaths that had forged this Circle were inscribed in the fabric of Creation. Although none in this fallen age had the power to see the eldritch words of power, they were none the less there.

One of theirs was in pain. She was in a basement. Somewhere rundown. She was close to reaching her prize. A glorious chest of dark wood and banded gold, when glittering red eyes appeared. Not just one or two but hundreds emerged from holes all round the room. Then the skittering, squeaking sounds filled the silence like the cries of a thousand damned souls. Something about the density of the red eyes was significant. She couldn't make it out. The rest of the Circle felt those thoughts and how the nose drove her insane. She whirled in the darkness. A darkness that used to be friend to her but not any more. She raised her hand as the hoard washed over her. Her Eld roared in defiance. Her staff vomited out shards of ice. Waves of the oncoming red eyes blinked out but were replaced within a heartbeat by more. On and on, she wove old magic, slamming ice, wind, and even the darkness itself at the endless tide of her foes. Whatever was swarming over her died in the hundreds, but always there were thousands more. Before the vision winked out, an eerie flute played a few notes. They were quick, vicious things that made her ears bleed. Then nothing.

She'd been in the south, whoever she was. The painful, urgent tugging had winked out as soon as the vision had faded. Another of the Circle lost, perhaps to emerge again when a suitable host was found. Fate and the Oaths that bound this Circle were patient even if their mortal hosts were not.

--- --- ---​

The Iron Baron sat upon his throne deep within the recesses of the Grey Keep. The brick was the color of dull metal. Rumor had veins of raw iron wormed through the walls, a manifesto on of the Baron's Eld upon his seat of power like the god's of old. A few tapestries depicted a choice handful of his victories over nightmares and horrors of the Labyrinth. He rested his hands, each encased in iron grieves, on either side of his throne. Five steps below him the rest of his court was arrayed. Courtiers and bureaucrats scurried about their business. His throne room was dark and brooding; the light sparse and fitful. A pair of knights stood at the base of the five stairs that lead up to his throne. All supplicants knelt before these guards and made their pleas to the Baron. He dismissed most. Some he invoked various facets of his bureaucracy. A handful at most he dealt with himself. His judgements were swift and cruel.

"M...my lord Baron," a plump man said, kneeling before the Baron at the base of the stairs.

"Yes, Aegar?"

Aegar licked his lips and glanced down at the glittering array of rings upon his hands as if they held the courage he lacked. "As you know, our company has been devastated. It has nearly bankrupted our House."

The Baron made a twirling gesture with his right forefinger.

"W..well, we have been unfairly molested by...by our rivals." After a pause, "We fear...as a result-"

The Baron cut in, his cold eyes sweeping the many people packed into his court grew silent. All eyes turned to the Baron. "You have proof of this?" His expression turned dark and his hands moved from the armrests up to the array of blades upon which his throne was built. His right hand settled on a massive hilt, a blade intended to maim horses and stop calvary charges. "Speak it now then."

"Na...nay Lord Baron," Aegar said, dropping to his knees. "We are still gathering evidence for our case, you see." He bit his lip, mopping sweat from his face with a silk handkerchief.

"You hold contract as the third sanctioned mercenary company. A company you are contractually obligated to patron and finance." The Baron said, his voice low. "The terms of default on your obligation are severe. It would represent undue harm to the Barony." He paused for a moment.

The Baron's chief scribe, an old man bent in a gray robe below where the Baron sat, scurried to the knights guarding access to the Baron. The chief scribe prostrated himself and held up a scroll. The scroll was taken by a knight and carried up the five steps to the Lord Baron.

The Baron reviewed the document at his leisure. Aegar wilted as minutes ticked by. "Per the contract," The Baron continued, "It would present 'irredeemable injury to the Barony, her peoples, and her ruler. Where no suitable monetary compensation exists, blood shall be sought.'"

"Ye-yes of course, My L-lord B-baron. We..." Aegar licked his plump lips; the jowls about his throat wiggled. "I nor my house, that is, we are not in default per se."

"As you are aware, we do not award such contracts lightly."

"Of course, My, My Lord Baron." Aegar bowed as low as his stomach would allow. "What we sought, was, ah, con-confirmation that you still saw value in a third mercenary house."

"I see," The Lord Baron said, his eyes picking out two individuals. He spent equal time upon both. One was a swashbuckler with a rapier on either hilt dressed like a dandy. The other was a person swaddled in strips of black cloth until it was impossible to confirm it was in fact a man or a women beneath the cloth. The strips of cloth fluttered in their own breeze like the tentacles of some sea creature. "Grandmaster Jerico and Grandmaster Sythe, I presume that you are in agreement that complete decimation of our third mercenary house threatens the stability and security of our realm?"

Jerico bowed low, his right foot sweeping back. Even his boots were glossy and black. His left hand went low over his waist and his right trailed down along his right thigh. "Of course My Lord Baron. Master Aegar has but to ask, and we would rush to the aid of the Third House."

Master Sythe dipped its head and thumbed its right fist over its heart. "We echo the First House, My Lord Baron." Sythe's voice was a soft caress like the rustle of silk or the hiss of a snake.

"It is as it should be. I trust then that with your combined aid, the decimation of the Third House shall cease henceforth least we be forced to find all Houses grossly incompetent and in violation of contractual obligation as such."

"Absolutely, My Lord Baron." Jerico said, dropping into another bow. He kept his head low this time.

"As it should be, My Lord Baron," Sythe said lowering its head and keeping its hand over its heart.

"M-many thanks, M-my L-lord Baron," Aegar said, still on his knees with his head bowed.

The Lord Baron's right hand loosened and then fell away from the hilt of that giant sword. It was called Oath Breaker, and along its blade written in divine script read: "Ye who shall break thine oaths, shall in turn be broken." Rumor had it that it was an artifact that had killed gods, which the Baron had wrestled from the deepest layers of the Labyrinth. None that he had ever drawn it against were alive. Most took the rumor as fact.

"Now," the Lord Baron said.

"Y-yes, My Lord Baron," Aegar resumed, his eyes staring daggers at Jerico. He rose to his feet with some effort. "With...with Master Reginald and...and Grandmaster Knoton-"

The Lord Baron twirled his right forefinger again. "Yes, since the Third House lost Lady Yonna the Fleshdancer," The Baron's face hardened, "Your House has been in decline. Loss of the Grandmaster and Master have not helped your situation. All of this we are aware of."

"Y-yes," Aegar continued, "We would call in Grandmaster Knoton's debt and summon his heir to lead ground operations."

"Yes," The Lord Baron said, "If you have such," The Iron Baron's eyes sought out Kosta Knoton, "He arrived at our Court just this morning."

The chief scribe scurried back over to a large case of scrolls and removed several in quick succession. He ran them to the knights and these were delivered up to the Baron. "Yes, but we have recognized of such a debt registered with our Exchequer." The Iron Baron's eyes moved back to Aegar.

"Yes...yes, well, our House just acquired such this morning." Aegar gestured frantically with his right hand. A page of the Third House prostrated himself upon the floor, wiggling over the cold flagstone towards Aegar.

The Iron Baron waited.

Aegar grabbed the sealed scroll from the page, starring daggers at the page. He raised it triumphantly into the air.

Grandmaster Jerico furrowed his brow, "Beg your pardon Lord Baron?"

The Iron Baron made a twirling gesture with his right forefinger.

"We'd question the legitimacy of such a document. The Grandmaster's debts are well known by the Court."

The Iron Baron was quiet for many minutes, his cold eyes resting full upon Jerico.

"That is," Jerico said. "We are enthusiastic that Master Aegar has acquired such, it is a rare and auspicious event. Perhaps the Third House is on the rebound."

The Iron Baron nodded. "We echo your enthusiasm. Would Master Knoton step forward then and verify?" The Iron Baron gestured towards a man in green livery who was in deep discussion with the grey robed chief scribe. "With our Exchequer of course. We have not the time for such trivialities. Master Aegar would not waste our time with a forgery. Is that all?"

"N..no," Aegar said. "We, we also wish to have the One-Armed Swordsmen, Master Tot recognized as holding status as Second upon any front our House would undertake."

At this, the Iron Baron's eyes narrowed. Jerico started to say something but closed his mouth, instead he half-turned to watch as the rest of the room turned to look at Tot.

"We are enthused as to the resourcefulness of the Third House," the Iron Baron said. "We welcome the update to the Third House's contract as such."

"Yes," Master Aegar said, smoothing his clothing over his ample gut. "And we also seek formal recognition of Lord Graysom's daughter." At this the entire court erupted into whispers. "Lady Vanora Brightwood."

"Silence." The Iron Baron didn't need to shout or raise his voice. He said it as casually as a husband might say, 'I love you.' to his wife. The silence was immediate. Many a courtier and lording blushed, bowed, and looked at the floor.

"We have confirmation that she inherited the estate of Reginald of the Blackwood." Aegar was looking more confident now as the momentum of his announcements was building.

"A firm foundation upon which to build a House." The Iron Baron said.

Below, quiet so only those nearby could hear, Jerico whispered, "Rebuild."

"Th..thank you, My Lord Baron." Aegar paused, wet his lips, and pressed on. "We seek My Lord Baron's support in a fourth and fifth. More we could support, but for now we wish to build a solid, ah framework."

"That is-" The Iron Baron paused, his eyes never leaving Aegar, "Unusual but not unwarranted. Would the First and Second House support such without undue hardship?"

Jerico nodded, tapping the hilts of his rapiers. Sythe mimicked Jerico.

"Very well. An official writ shall be forth coming making such announcements as to be working out between the Third House and the our heralds." The Baron gestured in no particular direction, but a man dressed in in purple livery with the prominent crest of a heron started making his way through the crowd. The Baron grew silent. The Master Exchequer worked at a nearby desk calculating figures and sums. He handed his completed script to a page, which sprinted to the Knights before the Baron. The page knelt and offered up the script, which was escorted up the five stairs to the Baron by one of the Knights. The Baron reviewed it and nodded. "A sum of twenty gold bars or in-kind services to be worked out with the Master Exchequer. This is above the present contract the Third House won for the missing children in Vos. Speak with our Spymaster for what intelligence as has been gathered, which is to be held as privileged in accordance with the Third House's contractual obligations. That is all."

The Iron Baron twirled his finger and another supplicant wormed her way past Aegar. The next three hours passed as such until the Baron handed off duties to the relevant bureaucracy for the next 10 day. The Baron only presided over the Court every 11th day by long standing decree.

 

[LucianDevine]

Kosta had to stifle several sighs as he forced himself to suffer through the entirety of the formal proceedings. He understood that such things were necessary of course, but until now it was a formality that he was glad to have been able to avoid. His first bit of joy came when the specific business that he had been called here for was finally addressed. He recognized Aegar by name alone, and even that much was only because of brief conversations he'd had with his father before passing.

Once Aegar's business with the Baron had concluded, Kosta stepped out of the general crowd and headed towards the Exchequer, with whom Aegar was already with. The debt itself was a lot more simple than it could have been, thankfully enough. He did verify that the debt was valid, and with its validity assured, the three of them cracked the seal and opened it. It was a simple monetary debt, albeit not a small one. It was quickly arranged that Tastol would honor the debt, and work as a member of the Third House until the debt was repaid, at which point he was free to do as he wished.

With that final bit of official business concluded, Aegar and Kosta exited the courtroom proper and settled themselves at one of the tables in the great hall. They sent pages to fetch Tot and Vanora and summon them here where they would discuss what the plan was going forward.

 

[HotCider]

The formalities and acquisitions that occurred in the court of the Iron Baron were horrendously boring. Tot couldn’t imagine how anyone could survive such ordeals. It was a torture almost worse than actual torture. The One-Armed Swordsman stood there quietly—mostly zoned out as he thought about the food and refreshments that should have been laid out for the reception of he and the other mercenaries but that was too much to hope for from a man who sat on the tallest horse. Regardless, he swore he could smell the distinct odor of aged cheese coming from the other room, or as unlikely as it seemed, the BO of one of several poms in the court room. He found it unlikely to smell a foul body odor from any of the powdered men and women currently in court. With all the money they made, they probably had hired someone to catch their shit and piss when they were too lazy to get off of their pampered asses.

…the One-Armed Swordsmen, Master Tot…

Immediately, Tot returned to earth at the mention of his name. What were they saying about him?

…Second upon any front our House would undertake…

There were several eyes on him then, and as soon as they were off, he turned to leave. Everyone was able to see that he was present, and therefore, his accountability was verified. He had no other reason to stick around for the meeting’s duration. If he had, he would have been driven mad.

Tot followed his nose to the Great Hall where there were several wigs and skirts standing around with their noses in the air and taking virgin sips of wine. Bah! There were several tables laid out with…? As Tot approached one of the tables, he saw the crackers with some mysterious black paste on them, finger sandwiches, and…what the hell was this? He didn’t expect a castle to be on such a tight budget.

Picking up one of the crackers, he turned it before his eyes and gave it a few sniffs. Popping it into his mouth, he closed his eyes as the flavor of a strong cheese and salt soaked into his tongue. The bread was buttery and crunched so loudly between his molars that he was briefly deafened with each chew. The smile on Tot’s face was large, and naturally, he went for another piece and another and another. Before he knew it, the platter was empty and he was kissing the remains of the cheesy cracker paste from his fingers.

By the time, Kosta Knoton had sent a page to retrieve him, half of the tables were empty. Nobles and Elites were standing around the blank tables puzzled and scratching their heads. There had only been crumbs in the wake of Gluttony. Tot had been on his fifth goblet of wine…or had it been eight? Who was counting? The page approached the swordsman with his head timidly bowed so low that his ears near touched his shoulders. He peered up at the man pathetically, watching as he tipped his head back and his neck muscles pump down gulps of the sweet dark liquid.

Tot gasped heavily, his breath cooling off the burn that lingered in his throat. “Burns like liquid fire but tastes so swee~t!”

“M-Master Tot,” the page squeaked.

Tot whirled on the smaller man, startling him with the inebriated energy that was gushing off of him. The swordsman leaned over to stare at the blonde bowl-shaped haircut the young man wore.

“You have a ridiculous haircut,” Tot frankly told him.

The page squinted his eyes through the strong vapors of alcohol that wafted from Tot’s breath. He then said, “M-Master Tot, M-Master Knoton has requested you-”

Tot had found an empty bowl—only because he emptied it—on the table and set it on the page’s head. He then stared closely at how his hair was perfectly cut to not surpass the bowl. He then pressed a finger to the side of the page’s head, causing him to close one eye and his head to tilt to the right. He didn’t think Tot was realizing his strength at that moment, but it was hurting his neck.

“It’s fuckin’ perfect,” he said it as though it disgusted him.

The page straightened out his neck when Tot removed his finger and rubbed it soothing.

“Master Tot! Master Knoton requests your presence at the table!” the page screamed in exasperation.

Tot straightened, raising his shoulders and chin in dominance as his dark brows lowered over his ash-grey eyes in a hardened scowl. His voice fell to a frightening low: “Who are you yellin’ at, boy?”

The page paled, startled by his sudden change in mannerism: “N-n-n-no one! M-m-my apologies Master Tot!”

Tot slapped his hand down upon the page’s head, his fingers curling into it, and with ease, he hefted the servant off the ground. He showed off how strong his one arm was as he raised the young man to eye-level and stared at him.

“Your haircut pisses me off,” Tot told him.

The page was limp and his limbs dangled in the swordsman’s grip. He made a pathetic face as though he were about to cry. “I-I-I’ll have it changed immediately! Please!”

Tot’s lips cracked into a merry grin then. “I only jest, boy.”

Tucking the page under his arm, he curled it until the page could feel the swordsman’s muscles squeezing him. Tot turned back toward the table and instructed him: “Grab that goblet and keg.”

The page did as he was told. He placed the goblet on top of the keg and hefted it. It was lighter than what he had thought it would be (perhaps because Tot had been drinking it). The warrior then walked with the page in his arm over to the table where Master Knoton and Aegar sat.

“We’re here!” Tot cheerfully announced—it was obvious that he had been drinking.

The page placed the keg and goblet on the table before Tot released him, dropping him suddenly to the floor with a thump! Tot had been ready to draw out his chair when he had realized what he had done (after the fact of course).

“Apologies,” was all he said as he sat down and resumed filling his goblet with some wine.

The page recovering from the floor rose to his feet and attempted to pour the keg for the swordsman, but was turned away by the dog-like growl that rolled from his teeth. The servant simply backed away. He wouldn’t put it passed the drunken mercenary to actually bite him!

 

[MsAmative]

It was only after a long an arduous journey that Vanora arrived in Nord. The message arrived late, leaving her little time to make the trip arriving only a short time before the Iron Baron was set to hold court. After hastily settling her horse Stormlight in a nearby inn she only had moments to make herself presentable before appearing at court.

By the time Vanora had stepped into the court she was anxious, which only grew as she realized that she had already missed much of the proceedings. As she found an out of the way chair towards the back she tried to piece together what she could, and her heart sank as she realized Aegar was already in front of the Iron Baron. Had she already missed what she was summoned here for? As the conversation went on, and she heard the other two houses pledge to assist Aegar her own confidence built. At least she couldn't possibly have missed what she had be summoned for - even if she may have missed a vital opportunity to have gathered more about Reginald and what he was doing when he left. Her own thought was interrupted as she heard Reginald's name being spoken, curious as to how he had been such an asset to the third house. She had always known that he could defend himself, he had taught her himself but she still struggled to think of him as a true fighter or adventurer for he had been too kind to her in the past.

When her father's name was spoken Vanora had to stifle her own gasp as many of the eyes turned towards her as Aegar continued, leading to a vast number of murmurs and whispers around her. By the time that her name was mentioned she was more shocked than the court could have possibly been. Sure, she had already offered her allegiance to the Iron Barron and to Aegar - but she had not expected to be of such importance. In truth, she had only hoped that her offer might bring her connections to find out the rest of Reginald's story, never expecting that it would bring her one of her own in the process.

As Aegar walked off to the Exchequer, Vanora walked as calmly as she could manage through the court and into the great hall. It only took her a moment to seek out a servant and a goblet of wine as she found a quiet table to calm her nerves. When she was approached by a page and beckoned to join Aegar, she paused only momentarily to drain her glass before obediently following the page.

 

[kizkiz]

So it begins...

Aegar watched the antics of Tot out of the corner of his eye as he engaged in small talk with Kosta. They were talking about annual iron yields in the various mines across Vos and Suland. When Tot arrived, Aegar was saying, "Although the Solderfeld mine's yields are up year over year, the Andromov and Ygrald in the Vos claim they match those yields, but I've heard orders to several blacksmiths are delinquent." Aegar gave a small shrug of his pudgy shoulders and popped a cherry tomato adorned with a drop of balsamic vinegar and a sprig of basil into his mouth.

Aegar touched two fingers to his forehead in a small but suitable salute to Tot. "Master Tot." Before he could finish his words, Lady Brightwood made her appearance. Although she might have attempted a token of stealth, when Aegar's eyes fell upon her, he was up upon his feet. He gave a formal bow, one hand crossing over his gut and lowered until his forehead was parallel with the ground. "Lady Brightwood."

Some moments were given to further small talks or pleasantries as might be required, but Aegar responded to Kosta's prompts as soon as they occurred. At least he would have, but a page scurried up, depositing a sealed letter. Aegar broke the seal, reviewed the contents, then instructed the page to burn the letter in the hearth fire. "Ah, I've word on your Aegis. A promising prospect, but an iron," he paused and offered a small smile to Kosta for using the metaphor,
"Still in the fire."

"Let us get to the matters at hand. I regret the necessity of being so melodramatic, but the situation required a certain degree of theatrics." Aegar made a flourish with his hands, "Which allows us to have this conversation. I will answer all and any questions you might have, but I won't presume to lecture where none is needed." Aegar's eyes roamed around the group, "And I would address your leader's question first. That is, the contract under which the Third House finds itself."

Aegar raised his forefinger and several of his fingers on his other hand wiggled in a most peculiar way. The air tingled and then grew still; some bit of magic must have been cast. "While this is not the most ideal place to discuss our contract, there rarely is one. This should at least prevent being overheard."

Aegar cleared his throat with a sip of bubbling, white wine. "Sometime ago, there were children who would go missing. It was a mystery of no great concern as the children who went missing were not of suitable notice or standing." Aegar gave a small shrug. "It is the way of things, but it didn't go unnoticed. The situation resolved itself and matters moved on in the Barony. Now a very similar situation has been noticed. Over the past three months, young boys have gone missing. Although it is difficult to be sure, as its believed this may have gone on longer but it involved street urchins and other undesirables. At any rate, three months ago guilders and other middle class folk began lobbying at Count Balatros Vos court. When he took no action, the more connected guilders lobbied the Baron's court. The Third House bid and was accepted the contract. The Grandmaster Koosta and Master Reginald were assigned to the job, but before they could begin both died. In the case of Grandmaster Koosta, it was a sudden illness. In the case of Master Reginald, it was complications from a duel with Grandmaster Jerico." Aegar's eyes shot to Kosta and Vanora in turn. "If the Lady was not present, I might be inclined to curse the bastard, as it were, you have my condolences."

"In short, the mission is to recover the lost boys if at all possible. To uncover the plot and who is behind it. There is a bonus if either the lost boys are returned alive or the perpetrator of the plot is returned alive. Otherwise, we satisfy the contract so long as the problem is permanently resolved. As this may be new to some, the contract is worth 1 gold bar. A tenth," He glanced to Tot, "Or 200 gold pieces as it were, will be distributed equally amongst yourselves, the the remainder shall be retained by the Third House for sponsoring and supporting your group."

"The bonus is double, so that would be 400 gold pieces. Any additional loot uncovered is yours to do with as you see fit, but all of it needs to be assessed by the Baron's Exchequer in case any item is deemed to represent a threat to the Barony. In which case, fair recompense shall be issued and the item retained by the Barony for safe keeping."

"Are we all clear on that last point? Knowingly and willingly withholding from the Baron is considered high treason. It would jeopardize not only yourselves, your group, the Third House, but anyone you know. All of these are terms or an oath sworn in proxy to the Baron, and the one thing the Baron excels at is finding oath breakers."

 

[LucianDevine]

Not many things passed Kosta's notice, and Tot's antics were no exception. His gaze had moved towards the other man when his name had been called by Aegar in his meeting with the Baron. It had similarly been drawn to Vanora when her name had been called. He was not the kind of man who trusted easily, and he wanted to make sure that the people he was supposed to be grouped with were worthy of that trust.

Kosta put everything that he observed into the back of his mind when Tot approached the table. He had been about to acknowledge the man when Vanora stepped up to the table. He respectfully rose from his seat along with Aegar. As Aegar addressed her, Kosta turned his attention towards the page that had accompanied her. He pulled two gold coins from his pocket and gave them to the man. "One is for you... He said matter-of-factly. Give the other to him.." He gestured to the page that had accompanied Tot. " and leave...both of you...now."

Only after both of the pages were gone and the four of them were properly alone with Kosta finally retake his seat once more. He breathed a heavy sigh, took a long swallow of water, from his goblet and turned his attention to Aegar.

Kosta had to hold back the brunt of his feelings about the mission that Aegar had for them. His first instinct would have been to be concernced for the boys who were disappearing. The second reaction would have been fury though. Deep down, Kosta was furious at the way that society had ignored the disappearances at first, simply because the boys had been peasants and commoners. Then, when it was suddenly children of higher stations, it suddenly became worthy of their notice.

Even when the discussion moved on from the boys to both his father and Vanora's, particularly the suspicious nature of their deaths, it was hard for him to not be suspicious. Aegar had mentioned his own suspicions about the first two houses, who were all of a sudden oh-so-willing to support the third house. Despite his initial reactions, though, it was hard to not be curious as to where this investigation would lead.

"I sadly haven't heard any of these rumors from my home in Suland. Have any of you heard anything about this, and might know of a good place to start looking?" Given his own ignorance on the topic, Kosta had no problems asking the other members of their little group for insight, in the hopes that they could all start off on the right foot.

 

[MsAmative]

Vanora watched Aegar and Kosta rise to their feet as she approached the table. As she took the open space between the two she couldn't help but wonder what had occurred before her own arrival, and Kosta's comment to the page only furthered her confusion. Either way, she couldn't help but wonder if the large amount of alcohol that was adjacent to the table had anything to do with it.

Once the letter arrived at their table, Vanora let her mind wander back to the task at hand. The idea that there had been an ongoing problem of disappearances made her uneasy, and the fact that Aegar seemed to gloss over the reason why the previous situation came to a head only added fuel to the fire. The fact that this was occurring once again and with less care only aggravated her, perhaps if the previous situation had been handled differently this could have been avoided entirely... if only man wasn't so stupid. As the conversation went on and Aegar revealed that both Reginald and Kosta's father had untimely deaths before an investigation could be made she couldn't help but think that there way much more to this story than they were being told.

When he had finished and Kosta asked if there might be any information they could provide she had nothing of note that she could say aloud. "No... cannot say I have heard anything of this." Vanora said with a sigh.

 

[kizkiz]

Every group needs a crazy man who sees dead people...

Aegar picked at the basil adorning one of his cherry tomatoes. He lifted it up and laid it on his tongue. He chewed on the herb for a few moments while he listened to Kosta and Vanora. "Well, I wonder if Master Tot, might have any insight into why the boys might have gone missing? Who might be taking them?" Aegar shrugged. "I'm not sure myself what the motivate could be other than slave labor or base deviancy." Aegar frowned down at the naked cherry tomato, before lifting it up to his lips. "I could understand if it was peasants or the scale was smaller, but the tally is too high for someone to be trying to keep it secret."

Another page scurried up to Aegar, handing over another scroll before bowing and withdrawing. Aegar broke the seal and chuckled. "Well now, Lady Vanora have you heard of a Captain Blair? He's filed a petition to join the Third House. He was a middling member of the Baron's Second Pike before distinguishing himself by saving now Viscountess Larissa Oolong in the Blackwood one of the lessor nobility of Vos."

"She seems like a great lead, if the guilders have been complaining to Count Balatros Vos and he's refused to do anything about it, perhaps one of his Viscounts knows why?"

Aegar beaconed to one of his pages. When the lad neared, he said, "Please send for Captain Blair. Infor him that the Third House would like to retain his services, if the Iron Baron permits. Then file a Motion of Transfer with the Iron Baron's Exchequer for the transfer of service."

Aegar leaned forward and popped another cherry tomato into his mouth and munched on it, grinning like a cat in front of a wounded bird.

 

[HotCider]

Tot had been draining his goblet when Aegar and Kosta Knoton rose respectfully at the approach of some woman. Not wanting to stand out like a sore thumb, Tot stood with the goblet still against his face as he gulped down the remains.

Lady Brightwood.

Was that who she was? The one the court had fallen into serious whispers about while he had been exiting the throne room? The more he sat at these fancy tables with all of these poms, the more he was reminded how the polished and frou-frou environment had not been his privilege. Thus why he was drinking for it was the only thing that he could do to build a tolerance to such a drab culture.

As everyone took a seat, Tot sat back in his chair as though the piece of furniture was what was keeping him up at that moment. He had his weight leaned against it at a slant, his face flushed from multiple sips of his cup and eyes closed as he rested his heavy lids.

Let us get to the matters at hand…

Finally, Tot thought, but he didn’t know how long he was going to stay attentive for the explanation.

Are we all clear on that last point?...

“I don’t understand this high-speech shit,” Tot grumbled before he slowly opened his eyes. He glared at Aegar irritably and said rather frankly, “You talk so fuckin’ much…I can barely keep my eyes open. Just tell me who to kill already. I didn’t sign up to play detective. You’re supposed to have all of that figured out when you hire me.”

I sadly haven’t heard any of these rumors from my home in Suland. Have any of you heard anything about this, and might know of a good place to start looking?

Tot made no comment as his eyes retreated right back underneath his lids.

Well, I wonder if Master Tot, might have any insight into why the boys might have gone missing? Who might be taking them?”

The sellsword opened his eyes and he stared so harshly at Aegar as though his metaphorical hackles were raised.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked defensively.

Tot was all too familiar with abduction, and he had a strong hunch as to what might have happened to those children but he didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t know how else to share his knowledge without reliving the horrors that he had endured. It made his blood hot just thinking about it, and he had gotten so defensive because he wasn’t sure if the fat man had actually known anything about him or if he had been insisting on asking for Tot's input since he had chosen to remain silent on the matter.

It’s not another situation like that. That was a fuckin’ monster, Tot thought to himself. Somebody was just stealing kids for labor as life normally went for a street urchin.

Unfortunately, the more Tot tried to ignore it, and the more Aegar insisted on lingering on the subject, the more Tot felt the sting of justice.

I could understand if it was peasants or the scale was smaller, but the tally is too high for someone to be trying to keep it secret.

The sellsword’s grey eyes lowered to his lap and a hard frown drew his brows together on his forehead.

“Somebody’s makin’ money off them boys,” Tot finally shared. “If you think one of those house lords or whatever you want to call them are suspect, then they might be gettin’ paid to slit the throat of anyone who goes after their employer. I wouldn’t be surprised if the culprit was here in this court. This isn’t the streets—this place is worse than the streets. These nobles are in power here and as guarded as the Lord Baron’s treasury. They have immunity until proven guilty and how is anyone supposed to go about investigating these people without them findin’ out? If he got money, then he got plenty of ears and plenty of backstabbers. We shouldn’t even be talkin’ about this here.”

It just made him want to leave the castle even more.

 

[sodalitas]

Captain Blair stood alone in the antechamber, even while surrounded by a sea of lords, ladies, pages and petitioners flitting around and between the rooms. He was uncomfortable. The soft linen of his tunic felt more stifling than his armor, and he missed his weapons as if they were phantom limbs, the absent weight of them a constant reminder of his vulnerability. But he was here as a petitioner, and as such it would have been improper to present himself in front of the Baron with his arms and armor. He had allowed his hair to grow in the last few months, and his white locks, normally cut short to avoid being grabbed in combat, now fell to shoulder length. His tunic and breeches were well-made but plain, especially compared to the outfits of many other petitioners, and his boots were mostly utilitarian. His only accoutrement was a small token of office pinned to his tunic, denoting him as a Captain in the Baron's Pike.

The page had been deployed with the petition some time ago, and Marcus had no idea how long these things could be expected to take. Still, he did not fidget, instead unconsciously settling into the pose of a guard, surveying the room without spying on anyone in particular, taking note of the ebb and flow of movement, the layout of the room and looking for behavior that stood out as inconsistent. As he took note of the room, some were taking note of him. The lightness of the clothing he wore showed off his musculature in a way his armor could not, and he was slightly embarrassed to note the admiring glances of some of the ladies in the room.

A voice interrupted him. “We must ask them about the eyes,” came the whispered breath. “<The eyes in the darkness.>”

“I know, Aeolus, that is why we are here,” thought Marcus in reply. “I feel the pull. Now stop distracting me.”

An insolent “Hmph!”, and then silence.

Finally the page arrived, and Marcus waited patiently for him to approach. The page greeted him with a slight bow, stating "Captain Blair, I am here to inform you that The Third House has accepted your petition, and you are hereby summoned to Great Hall to meet with Master Aegar."

Noticeably relieved, he followed the page from the antechamber, through the courtyard and into the Great Hall, where Marcus noted a table at which there were three men and a woman already seated. He noticed something odd as he approached – although the people at the table seemed to be speaking freely, Marcus couldn’t make out what they were saying. However, he was able to pick up some sounds that were coming from even further away.

His eyes were drawn towards the throne, but stopped on an area a few steps in front of it, where the petitioners might approach the Baron. Faintly, he could detect whispers, incoherent but insistent. “There is death there,” Aeolus observed. Marcus looked back towards the table and continued.

Those at the table noticed him as he approached, but the silence effect was more pronounced the closer he got to the table, until finally the full sound of their voices rang clear and true. Although it wasn’t particularly loud, the absence of the voices just a step earlier made them quite pronounced, and he took a moment to recover. The voices stopped momentarily and Marcus could feel himself being sized up.

The page motioned briefly towards one of the men seated at the table, and then excused himself and left. Marcus held his fist to his chest and bowed slightly with a nod towards the gentleman. “Master Aegar? I am Captain Marcus Blair of the Second Pike.”

 

[LucianDevine]

Kosta listened to each of his companions and their host as they spoke. He wished that any one of them, himself included, had had an idea of a better place to start than the court of Count Balatros Vos.

"I had hoped that we could start our investigation some place outside of court, be it this court or that of Count Balatros Vos. Sadly, Tot's assessment is correct in that regard. If it is somebody at one of the courts that is behind the disappearance, it means that they have the money, power, influence, and reach to not only pull off the kidnappings but cover it up with lies and murder, all while keeping their identity safe. Our best option is probably to question the people at Count Balatros Vos. It means that we'll basically be painting targets on our backs, and we'll have to be careful."

 

[kizkiz]

Aegar's expression brightened when Captain Blair showed up. "Ah, Captain Blair," Aegar half stood, nodded his head, and sat back down. "Come join us. The group is just deciding what to do." Aegar brought Captain Blair up to speed with what he'd missed so far, did the introductions, and some small talk about nothing in particular.

Kosta's suggested the direct route...

Aegar shrugged. "Remember in this you act on behalf of the Iron Baron. As a group, you are exceedingly powerful and mobile. Three of the Baron's military units are currently stationed in Vos at the gate to the Blackwood. It would be a toss up if they'd come to your aid, but in theory you have the authority to request their assistance if you need large scale military intervention. Granted, there are the political fallouts of a showdown with the Count or one of his Viscounts." Aegar stroked his bare chin. "Although the Baron ventured forth the Spymaster, I've already spoken with him. There isn't a whole lot to go on. The Baron just did that for show. A cursory inspection of the situation was done, but none of the nobility of Vos appeared involved based upon those reports. It's our job to the get the bottom of things and bring things back to the status quo. We are supposed to make the Iron Baron look all powerful and unassailable."

He paused, picking at another tomato. "Shall I send word ahead with a formal introduction or do you wish to go covertly?"

 

[LucianDevine]

"If it's all the same to you Aegar..." Kosta started as he cast his gaze around the table once more. "I think I would prefer it if we went covertly. I do think that it would be in our best interest to stop by and see Viscountess Larissa Oolong. She may have some insight into the situation, and pending what she might have to say we will decide as a group where and what to do from there. Unless anybody has any other opinions, I propose that we break for now and meet back up at the gates when everybody is ready to depart. Does that sound agreeable to everybody?"

 

[HotCider]

Kosta was just jumping right ahead and making decisions for the group without even hearing anyone’s input. It only made Tot’s brow heavy with a scowl. Firstly, he didn’t work for Kosta Knoton, and secondly, being a sellsword, he had one mission and he was free to go about completing it how he felt best. His nose wrinkled as a frown pulled at his lips.

“They know me in Vos,” Tot informed. He had learned that the assassins who were occasionally out to kill him spawned from Vos. It had taken a few tortures. Some of the assassins were loyal to the very end, while others weren’t so brave. “They’re called ‘The Reapers,’ and they want my head. Why? I haven’t exactly figured that out yet. I feel that it’s risky for me to go…bein’ one-armed and all. I would draw unwanted attention to us. If The Reapers knew that I was in town, we’d have a gang war on our hands. I figure someone’s employin’em. Payin’ them some hefty gold.”

Chewing his bottom lip in thought, he contemplated the possibility of the mysterious employer being the Count. He had the money, the power, and the influence…but what would he have against him? They didn’t even know each other and Tot couldn’t recall having ever dabbled in the man’s business. The mercenary was almost tempted to tell the group to go without him and send him word if they uncovered anything about the boys or the assassins’ employer.

 

[kizkiz]

Scene 2 - The Pied Piper

Scene 2: The Pied Piper
Players: Kosta [unhurt], Tot [unhurt], Vanora [hurt], Captain Blair [unhurt]
Epics: The Pied Piper
Elites: Knight of the Veil [maimed]
Extras: 6 Ratkin
Objective:

• (scene) Figure out what's going on.
• (adventure) Find out where the "Lost Boys of Vos" are and/or who is taking them.
• (bonus) Find out what happened to the girl from your vision.

The party debated into the evening on the particulars of what their first step would be. Tot expressed his hesitancy to return to Vos, despite agreeing to the job because of the "Reapers" chasing him. Aegar pointed out that that would have been nice to bring up before being hired. There was long discussion on who had to listen to whom and why, but Aegar made it clear that all groups had a leader and Kosta was the leader for all ground operations. This could change, but for now that was the way it was. As far as Tot should be concerned, Kosta was his employer. As for the others, Vanora and Captain Blair, the same applied. Then the discussion descended into how to go about getting to the Viscountess without being observed. This turned out to be easier than it could have been, because Captain Blair disclosed his ability to navigate the Ley Lines. With a bit of coin and assistance from Aegar, they were able to locate a Ley Line in the city of Nord controlled by the Guild of Navigators, but one which Captain Blair was never-the-less able to manipulate. The Guild expressed great interest in Captain Blair, but he re-iterated his commitment to the Third House. Never the less, the The Guild required certain assurances to use the Ley Lines that they controlled, chief of which was an Oath to do no harm to those traveling the Ley Lines and to never do harm to a Guild Navigator or those they escort. Captain Blair's agreement wasn't immediate, but after discussion with Aegar it was eventually given.

With the small details worked out, the group assembled after making suitable preparations for leaving the Nord and starting the adventure proper. Captain Blair pealed apart the skin of Creation, leaving bare her bones and arteries. It was a small vein, a stark white line wide enough for one person to walk without falling off. Outside the boundaries of the white line, the Ley Line, was murk. It was possible to make out a blurred representation of Creation, but the images were indistinct and bunched up in impossible ways. Almost like the layout of the city of Nord wasn't linear and regular as it appeared in real life, but instead a bunch of clumps of buildings, people, and things with large stretches of seething grey. Whether what the party experienced traveling the Ley Line from the Nord to Vos was real or delusion remained up to the individual to decide. Captain Blair was no Guild Navigator, he had no instruction as to what was what or why it was the way it was.

The party exited the Ley Line at its terminus on the outskirts of Vos. The terminus on both ends were large structures of rock pillars laid in odd arrangements etched with mercurial runes. The terminus, as strategic assets, were guarded with a contingent of the Baron's elite infantry as well as a Knight of the Veil. At least they should be. In Nord it was that way. The elite infantry laid around the perimeter with crossbows and pole arms. The Knight of the Veil guarding the Nord terminus was only glimpsed from afar. They were aloof and mysterious as a rule, and the one guarding the Nord was no different.

Exiting the terminus in Vos was schizophrenic vertigo. Captain Blair's hold on the Ley Line slipped as the party approached the exit. Reality distorted, contorting like a snake trying to bite the hand holding it. The party was hurled back to Creation landing all about the stone pillars.

Vanora shot through the air like a javelin hurled straight into one of the largest pillars. Her body twisted in mid-air, catching the pillar on her side. Her right arm shattered upon impact, the bone bursting through her skin and spurting blood everywhere. A few ribs burst. Her head swam with stars that refused to leave her vision. Her neck throbbed with the whip lash of her body rebounding off the pillar and tumbling back the way she came. Captain Blair was nearby and halted her progress towards another pillar. If not for the Captain, she might have broken more bones. Then again if not for the Captain she wouldn't be in this situation to start with!

Tot struck a pillar with his left shoulder, but somehow the impact didn't bother him much. Kosta kept his feet enough to keep from tumbling. He danced with the movement and dodged several pillars before slowing enough that he could take in the scene.

The Terminus was in bad shape. Several of the pillars were cracked, the sundered runes bleed liquid mercury in ever shifting pools. Pools that moved towards nearby people (or body parts). The elite infantry unit was hard to make out, because the only thing left of them was body parts strewn around and gallons of blood. Bits and pieces of shattered armor and broken weapons peaked from here and there. The Knight of the Veil was curled in a fetal position. She held what remained of her right forearm in her left hand. Her right hand was no were to be found, although there were many hands and arms strewn around so it was possible one of them was hers. Her body convulsed with terrible shivers.

Then there was the bare chested man with the stag's head helmet dancing upon the pillars like they were a game of hopscotch. His body blurred as he moved through the air from the top of one pillar to another. He had a pair of breeches that did a poor job of hiding his junk. They were ripped in a thousand places. Every now and then, as he landed on a pillar, he'd stop playing his pipe and instead bring it down with thunderous force. The air would shriek like nails on a chalkboard and the pillar he was on would shatter bleeding quicksilver from where the runes were broken.

When he wasn't jumping on or shattering the pillars, he played the most delightful melody. It brought to mind the happiest moments, those times when the world was golden and every fiber of one's body saturated with love. The song evoked joy and peace. It made the hearer want to get closer so it could be heard better.

The Pied Piper stopped playing when he noticed the party's arrival. "Oh, I see how it's to be then." He rolled his eyes and brought his pipe back to his lips. This time when he played the air screamed and hissed. From the shadows salivating nightmares emerged. They had motley grey fur and patches of pustulant, rotting flesh. Their faces were rat-like, just stretched to fit the head of a human. Their bodies were covered in an assortment of leather, and they wielded rusty, mold covered machetes.

Three of the ratkin were close to Vanora and Captain Blair. They sniffed the air and leapt at Vanora, giggling at the pain and blood covering her body.

Two of the ratkin circled Tot. The last leapt over two pillars, machete held high in both hands towards Kosta.

 

[sodalitas]

A barrage of stimuli assaulted his senses - the disorientation of returning to Creation, the frustration of losing control of the Ley Line, the surprise of the battlefield site, and not the least of which being Vanora's injury. He had recovered quickly, and that was when the next assault came.

He knew that the creature on the pillars was the biggest threat, but the most immediate threat was to Vanora. Two fluid motions let him ready his shield and spear, and he leapt between Vanora and the beasts. The first was knocked aside as Marcus stepped into it with a backhand, bringing his shield into contact with the beast and knocking it to the ground while the one beside it found itself impaled through the heart by the end of his spear. Deftly, the spear was withdrawn from the beast and a quick thrust found the head of the first creature, ending it. He barely had time to drop into a defensive stance to protect Vanora from the remaining creature which was closing quickly.

"Vanora!" he called, unsure of the mage's abilities but hoping she could take it out before it broke past his defenses.

 

[MsAmative]

When their small group assembled once again she tried to settle her own uneasy feeling as they approached. While she certainly knew this was much faster than traveling traditionally by horse and would certainly provide less opportunity for drawing attention she wasn't able to squelch her own hesitation as they approached the terminus. Stepping out onto the lay line was disorienting at best and inevitably she focused only on the figure of Captain Blair before her attempting to block out the sights around her and the nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right.

It was the feeling of weightlessness that first alerted her that something was wrong before her eyes and the rest of her brain could even process what was happening. As she spun in the air she thought she could make out the terminus at the end of the lay line but in her disoriented state she couldn't be sure. When it seemed as if she'd never land she finally struck what felt like one of the largest pillars side first, pinning her arm against the stone as the force of the throw attempted to wrap the rest of her length around it. Thankfully with her smaller frame the other damage was minimal, leaving only her head and neck minorly affected as they took the force of the blow before she found herself traveling back in the opposite direction.

Vanora's head spun as her body finally came to a stop at the base of the second pillar with Captain Blair's help, the searing pain in her arm and her side left her with no questions to the severity of her injuries. Gripping her staff tightly against the pain she attempted to survey of the scene, the strange music only furthering hampering her thoughts. It only took a moment to verify that the terminus was no longer under the protection of navigators and that her own injury may put her in grave danger. Steadying herself on her staff she pushed through her own pain, forcing her concentration within and connecting her spirit with the powers of her staff. A slight wind rose from beneath her, causing her now tousled hair to flutter around her head as she beckoned the god of her staff to protect her and invoke his shield. When the wind finally died down, a faint glimmer of light on the outskirts of the shield was the only evidence of what she'd done. The enchantment came not a moment too soon as she witnessed three of the strange rat like creatures barrelling towards her, causing her heart to drop. In her state there was no way she could handle this many on her own in such close range, and she could only wonder if this would be the end.

Pulling together what she could of her strength as the adrenaline of her injury started to wear away, she focused on the only logical attack she could come up with. With some effort, Vanora planted her feet securely as she willed the earth to yield to her will. At first the tremor beneath her feet was barely noticeable but as Marcus dove in front of her to come between her and the beasts the tremors intensified. As the invocation continued the shuttering became more violent traveling up the already cracked and compromised pillars destabilizing them and causing the lintels above them to shift. As Marcus handily dispatched the second ratkin one the lintels nearby began to fully destabilize. As he called out to her, bringing her focus back to the present the lintel began to free fall, crushing the remaining foe as it attempted to rush the pair. Vanora's gaze scanned the area as quickly as she could manage as the stones around the terminus began to fall.

"Look out!" Ava called as loud as she could muster "The Piper! He is going to fall..."

 

[LucianDevine]

Though Kosta had heard of the Ley Lines and how they could be used as a form of transportation, he had never used one before, and the experience was disconcerting, to say the least. It was near-impossible to make out much of anything on either side of the white line that served as their path.

Though Kosta would have thought it impossible before it happened, exiting the Ley Line was far more unnerving than walking it had been. The world around him distorted and twisted, making it almost impossible to tell which way was up until he and the rest of the party were almost vomited back into reality as they knew it. Though he managed to land on his feet, the sheer momentum with which he was still moving made the stationary pillars that suddenly surrounded him dangerous obstacles. Even as his feet were sliding in the dirt towards one of them he forced his body to react, an action that took more effort than he would have liked. While he was sliding sideways towards one of the massive stone pillars he pushed himself off his toes and leapt forward, barely dodging the first pillar. The next obstacle was upon him almost before he could react. He had no chance to dodge around both this pillar and the adjoining one that, together, held up one of the many lintels in the circle. He did have enough time to force his body sideways, giving him just enough room on either side to slip between the two pillars.

Once he was finally clear of those two, Kosta was able to force himself into a suitable position to dig in his heels and force his body to stop. The world around him swam as his body was still recovering from the many forces that had assaulted him.

When Kosta finally managed to focus on the scene before him, his heart sank. This terminus was physically similar to the one they'd left in Nord, but in bad shape to say the least. For starters, a few of the stone pillars had collapsed, some were cracked and deteriorated, and the remains of a brutal battle were everywhere. The sound of strange music brought his gaze to the top of one of the pillars where he saw a bare-chested man with the stag's head helmet dancing upon the pillars playing a pipe. If that wasn't strange enough, when he saw the man stop, he brought the pipe down with enough force to somehow force cracks into the stones. A strange liquid oozed from cracks.

When the strange man noticed their presence, he said something that Kosta couldn't make out and played a different note on his pipe. The effect of this new note was almost instantaneous. Six ragged but savage looking rat-like humanoid creatures emerged from the shadows. "Who the hell is this guy..." Kosta thought to himself before forcing himself to focus on the six abominations. Three of them broke off towards Captain Blair and Vanora, the latter of which was on her feet but clearly injured and leaning heavily on her staff. Two heading towards Tot while the last one came towards him.

Kosta's hand lowered to the hilt of his sheathed katana as he saw the creature leap over two fallen pillars holding his machete in both hands over its head. Despite his surroundings, the sight of the creature in the air brought a small smile to Kosta's face. The attack would be strong, but the creature had no ability to move or react now that it was airborne. His mind quickly formulated a reaction, but then the ground beneath his feet started to shake. His left hand extended outwards to help him keep his balance, and he forced his mind to stay focused on the creature in the air. It would naturally be unaffected by the earthquake. The quake itself was an unwelcome distraction that could have been the death of him. As it was, he barely managed to maintain his balance, turn himself sideways, and take a step back before the creature landed, blade already outstretched in anticipation of success. The wild aerial attack missed its target and hit the ground hard. Despite that, though, the creature was surprisingly quick to recover. It turned towards him bringing the blade up in a brutal arc that could have cut him in half. Kosta was ready this time, though. He unsheathed half his katana and blocked the rising diagonal slash in the process. Now it was his turn to surprise the creature. Once he blocked the machete with his blade he reversed his own momentum, turning his body towards the creature and swinging his right elbow around to hit the creature square in the face. The second it staggered back, he reversed his momentum once more, fully unsheathing his katana. A single rising slash of his own cut the creature's throat and practically severed its head.

Vanora's yell pulled Kosta's attention towards the Piper. He saw the strange man lose his balance on the destabilised lintel. As he watched the man start to fall, Kosta started to move. His katana was still in his hand as he rushed to get ahead of the falling man. As the man started to get close, Kosta started his swing, his blue gaze reflecting pure intensity as he focused on his target, the pipe in the man's hand.

 

[HotCider]

Ley Lines? That had been the first time Tot had ever heard of them for he didn’t travel around on imaginary highways. He walked to and fro or rode sometimes…like a normal person. However, traveling the white mythical road had been quite the experience. The mercenary thought that he might have been dreaming as he glanced left, right, and around at the blurred scenery darting about them. It was like being in some sort of warp tunnel until it suddenly came to an end. He felt a wave of dizziness and nausea when everything started to blur before his eyes, and then as all the magic collapsed, Tot found himself soaring through the air.

“Fuuuuu~ck!”

There was a loud crash and chain-like clatter from his armor as Tot struck a stone pillar shoulder-first. He wasn’t thinking it at that moment, but thank the gods it had been his armless side—maybe having only one arm wasn’t so bad after all? His back followed and his legs near buckled to his chest as the inertia folded him against the wall, and with a blast of breath on a groan, he unfolded to fall face-down in the dirt.

A plume of dust billowed about his face as Tot hissed and winced. “What the fuck…you didn’t say it’d throw us into a fuckin’ wall at the end!”

The sellsword was pissed as he pushed off the ground and slowly climbed back to his feet on an unsteady stagger. He grasped his skull where a mild headache was from the earlier vertigo he had experienced.

“’Should have taken a carriage or a wagon or somethin’ like everyone else!” he growled. Amidst his fuss, he had been trying to raise his voice over some light-hearted childish tune until he finally yelled, “And who the fuck is playin’ that fuckin’ pipe?”

The mercenary shot his angriest and ugliest face up at a deranged man who hadn’t been any prettier. He was dancing around half-dressed and flaunting his partially-veiled prick to the world.

“What kinda’ grass is that fucker on?” Tot muttered in confusion before his grey eyes lowered down the rune face of the pillar he had struck to see the strange liquid seeping from it. He followed the stream down to patches of spilled blood and the bodies, limbs, and entrails that were strewn about The Terminus. The strong, rotten and metallic odor of blood was thick in the air, casting a dark shadow over Tot’s eyes.

It became apparent who the criminal was when he summoned a slew of rat monsters. Those creatures must had made food out of whoever had been stationed at the end of the magic road. He heard the snarls and gnashing of teeth behind him and Tot simply brought his right arm to his face. His jaws parted, and his teeth clenched about the hilt of a dagger sheathed behind his buckler. Turning his head, he drew it free and brought his hand up to take it from his mouth.

Lowering the weapon, Tot nonchalantly turned to face the rat creatures, his eyes fierce like a predator and a long, malicious smirk pulled on his face. He brought the side of his hand up to the corner of his mouth to wipe away some drool that had escaped when he removed the knife.

“Mm…smell that? ‘Smells like buttered potatoes, salty beef stew, honeyed bread, and pie—apple. Blood and food—they’re all the same to me.”

The blade of the dagger was directed downward at the soiled earth as he started walking in a prowling circle around the rats. His lips cracked into a feral grin. He could feel the ache of his stomach, the ache of The Glutton to feast. His Eld loved blood, and it was making Tot feel ravenous as he gazed upon the two ratmen as though they were two golden-brown chickens.

“Come on, appetizer, let’s go!” he taunted.

The Ratkins screeched at him and charged with a swiftness expected from rodents. Their hands, which held the machetes swung to their sprint, while their free hands clawed at the air with eager razor-sharp claws. As the two rodents charged, Tot charged in return; and as the rats drew back their weapons to impale him, the mercenary dropped into a slide. He slid on his armored hip, sliding smoothly through the dirt to have both of his feet connect with the naturally bent knees of the rat on the left. The Ratkin shrieked as it went somersaulting onto its back.

The second Ratkin’s clawed-feet ground through the dirt as it stopped and whirled to face the first Ratkin and the merc with a snarl. Tot, while on his side, pushed off the ground with his fist and whipped his knife-hand at the second Ratkin, sending the dagger between its beady eyes with a spark of blood. Collapsing back onto his side again, the first Ratkin, having been flailing and screeching in an enraged mess, had recovered to its feet and attempted to take advantage of Tot while he was down.

With a shrill scream, the creature sprang at him and Tot swung his legs back over his head. His legs buckled like two springs above his face and for a brief second, he and the rat made eye-contact. The rat’s eyes gleamed in dread seeing Tot’s booted feet already prepared…and that smile, but there was nothing it could do. It was already at the mercy of physics, soaring through the air just as Tot forcefully kicked both of his feet outwards. His boots met with the rat’s chin with a crunch and pop of bone and an unhinged jaw. The Ratkin’s bucked teeth were sent straight up into the roof of its mouth and out through its snout, while its upper teeth snapped free to go whirling off to the side. The strength Tot had used to propel himself coupled with his right hand pushing off the ground had been enough to send him upright onto his feet.

The first Ratkin landed on its back between Tot’s legs, staring up at him with a crooked jaw and disfigured face. Tot peered down his armored chest at the rat with a wicked grin and raising his right foot, he brought his boot down on the creature’s face crushing it.

 

[kizkiz]

Scene 2.2: More things go wrong than go right.

The Pied Piper watched with a wide grin on his face. Captain Blair and Tot attacked first. Both moved in short killing bursts. The Piper raised his pipe to his lips and changed the song again to something quick and fiery. It filled everyone with a sense of urgency, but it affected the two remaining ratkin the most. Their eyes narrowed and their bodies started to jitter and jive. Then Vanora planted her feet, and her feet became the earth's feet. When she moved them, the earth moved. The ground quaked and writhed in turmoil. Pillars and lintels shifted. One crushed a ratkin.

The Piper raised his mouth from his pipe, a giant grin on his face. He did a cartwheel on top the pillar, waving his pipe around like a crazy man. "She is friend! Is she? She is!"

The tremors radiating out from Vanora reached the huge slab of stone, bigger than the rest, that the Pied Piper was cavorting around on. Like dominos lined up, as lintels fell and pillars quavered more followed suit. The Pied Piper's pillar must have been rotten on the inside, because it snapped clean and plunged to the ground taking the Piper with it. He shrieked. "Friendly fire! Hahaha."

Kosta seized the moment, dispatching the remaining ratkin. He never stopped. The momentum of his killing blow carried his body like a leaf on the wind. He sprinted around tumbling chunks of rock and gaping holes in the ground.

Kosta timed his arrival, striking as the Piper fell through the air.

Throughout his fall, the Pied Piper hadn't seemed bothered. He'd taken the call of gravity with an unhurried response. However, he did take exception with Kosta's katana rushing at his pipe. It's hard to be sure, but it seemed like only when it was certain Kosta was intending to strike the pipe and not the Piper, he acted. The Piper's eyes narrowed to slits then popped open right as Kosta's katana struck the pipe. "Steel. Resonant!" An odd, just audible hum filled the air as the two weapons touched. The sword didn't strike the pipe. The pipe wasn't struck by the sword. Instead their touch rippled with the oscillation of resonance. Just like how a gifted singer can shatter glass with the right note, the Piper's pipe now responded with the perfect frequency to match and excite the molecular components of Kosta's beloved weapon.

The explosive force sent Kosta and his katana flying in one direction and the Pied Piper and his pipe on the exact opposite direction. Kosta's sword wasn't broken, but cracks formed all along its length as its magic tried to contain the damaging harmonic amplification threatening to shatter it.
The Pied Piper was projected back up and and away at an angle to match his prior descent. He sailed thirty feet into the air on an arc like a tossed ball. He landed well beyond the outer edge of the Terminus. Should anyone make it to the Piper in time, they would see him cradling his pipe. A few fat tears rolling down his closed eyes. He shook his head, "Not you too! That wasn't supposed to happen. No baby. No no no. P-please be okay. C'mon. Talk to me, please?"

Now it's entirely possible no one made it to the Piper to share or spectate on his grief sixty feet away.

A few moments after dying, all six ratkin's bodies exploded as tiny nightmares tore their way through the corpses and back out into the night's air. Bits of pieces of the body parts flew around like shrapnel. Jagged bits of bone and bloody globs of flesh went everywhere. As the nightmares fled what remained of the dead bodies, the bodies shed all appearance of being anything other than a human corpse. The nightmares took on a semblance to mangy, plague ridden rats with gleaming coals for eyes and broken, yellowed saw teeth sprouting from their mouths. In total, thirteen bits of nightmare had possessed each body. That meant close to eighty rats were running around. Worse it looked like more rats were scurrying out of the shadows of the fallen pillars and lintels of the Terminus.

And of course there was the Knight of the Veil. Her face was snow white and her body shook with horrible convulsions. Her lips moved as if to give voice to her pain and terror, but no words came. If something didn't happen to stem the flow of blood, death would not be long.

About twenty rats were running towards Vanora. Another twenty or so towards the Knight of the Veil. The rest were running off in the direction of Vos, which was about a mile away.

If that all wasn't bad enough, the mercurial silver oozing like sap from a wounded tree was collecting into larger and larger puddles. Whenever a rivulet of silver ran through living remains on its way to merge, it sizzled and hissed. Like acid, the body parts melted and disappeared. So far none of the silver had touched or gotten too close to one of the party members, but a large puddle was forming near the Knight of the Veil. Once she noticed it, her eyes went wide and she screamed.

 

[LucianDevine]

Even as Kosta had been moving forward to attack, his eyes focused on the Piper and his target, his instincts had not allowed him to miss anything happening around him. He'd heard the latest note from the Piper, seen the way the fallen ratkin's bodies were twitching, and seen what happened when the strange silver liquid touched living remains.

Despite everything around him, though, Kosta still saw the Piper in front of him and heard the words he shouted just moments before his katana made contact with its target. Everything seemed to move in slow motion then, to Kosta at least. The weapons touched, a strange hum lifted into the air between them, and then an explosion of force violently separated the two weapons and their wielders.

Even as he sailed backwards through the air, Kosta saw the Poper flying away from him. With his focus on the Piper alone, Kosta forced his airborne body to respond and rotate. With the power of his will and determination alone, he forced himself to flip backwards, head over heels. He got his feet under him just before he hit the ground. The momentum of the explosion kept him sliding backwards until the sudden impact of his back against a mostly collapsed pillar finally halted him.

The sudden impact took his breath away and had him seeing stars for a few seconds. He crumpled to one knee as he surveyed the scene before him once more. He cursed to himself and turned towards Tot.

"Tot! Take care of the Piper! Aim for the kill, but don't touch the pipe! I'll handle the rats!" He forced himself upright once more, his eyes falling to the blade of his katana and the small cracks that the explosion had caused. With a single shake of his head, he forced his body into action, sheathing his weapon as he focused on the static aura that surrounded him and pulled that energy inward.

"Vanora! Blair!" Kosta continued, turning his gaze towards the other two members of the group. "Group up on me!" His last statement came as he moved, slowly at first, to stand in front of the badly injured knight of the veil. He took just a second to make sure the group was doing as directed, a promising sign, before turning his attention to the two large groups of rats coming at him. His left hand pointed his sheath downward as he drew the weapon once more with his right, executing a low sweeping horizontal strike as he let the energy he'd gathered just moments ago explode outwards. "Thunderclap!" He exclaimed moments before a shockwave burst outward from him in all directions. The shockwave wouldn't hinder his eldritch bonded allies in any way, but would have devastating effects on both the small rats and the remains of the terminus that were still bleeding the mercurial quicksilver.

Even as he watched the force of the shockwave blow the rats away and shatter the remaining stone pillars and lintels into tiny pieces, he couldn't help the low groan of dismay when he saw that it had no effect on the mercurial quicksilver that was steadily creeping towards them.

 

[MsAmative]

As the carnage and fight continued on the other side of the Terminus and the pillars continued to fall, Vanora's eyes raced once again over the scene before her. Once again, as she had felt on their way here there was something very wrong. If she could only figure out what it was she could warn the others, perhaps it was the lack of death in the air with all the death and carnage that surrounded them? Or perhaps her own injuries were just messing with her perception of things. Her circumspection did highlight something unexpected - what could only be the knight of the veil's sword. Sitting at around 10 feet away, it would be more than out of reach for the wounded warrior. With the puddle slowly growing towards both the weapon and the knight it seemed as though the two may soon be in grave danger.

Vanora's attention was pulled back to the moment in an instant as the sharp ring of the Raven's caw echoed across the terminus. The sound caused a shiver to ring down to her bones, fearful that this was yet another attack of the piper. When the sharp noise drew no curiosity from the other members of the group he forced herself to look for the source and spied the Raven on one of the few remaining stable pieces. Her heart soared momentarily as their gaze intertwines. a simple message shared between them. It was meant to warn them! Before the remaining message could be shared a pair of dark red eyes slinks up behind the raven, crushing the message and the life of the raven in a single moment. In the background, she can almost make out another set of eyes inching closer to share the meal.

"Captain, I think there is something other than just the ratkins out there." Vanora remarked shakily, shuddering against her staff as she called upon the vines of earth. She could only barely see the vines that were growing swiftly out in the darkness, quickly becoming the thorny perimeter she knew it would at the very least give them an extra moment of separation from the prey and more than enough to give her courage to move on.

Vanora stumbled her way through what remained of the terminus, leaning heavily on her staff for balance leaving a small trail of water and swath of mud in her wake as she moved as quickly as she could while calling once again on mother earth to assist them. As she forced her gaze upwards and towards the sound of Kosta's voice she realized her worst fears had been realized and those small eyes had belonged to a horrendous flood of smaller rats. Hopefully the tremendous wave of energy Kosta managed to unleash would help push them back over the vines she managed to summon and hopefully buy them more time.

Vanora faltered as she reached the halfway point, with the sword right in front of her and the toxic silver only inches away - could she even manage to lift it? Focusing on what she could change Vanora continued to call upon the god of water and the earth, causing a greater stream of water to appear flooding the earth around them in all directions. The steam that rose from the ground when the water hit the mercurial silver certainly ruled out that idea of water being their savior, but thankfully that was not what she had in mind. Dragging her staff through the now thick mud Vanora aimed a sharp kick in the swords direction, hoping it would land the sword somewhere between where Kosta now stood and the Knight rested. When she had finally dragged herself within the slowly closing circle she stopped and concentrated, forcing the remaining energy she could muster down into the ground. Slowly the now saturated earth that encircled them began to move and reshape along the edges, as if pushed upwards by an unseen force. As the seconds slowly the piles of earth became higher until it served almost as a simple earthen wall about 5 inches high and ditch where the soil once stood. Having created a semi-circle around them and diverting it to a now demolished portion of the terminus. As the mercurial silver hit the sides of the mud walls steam rose through the air, drying the mud much like a kiln would bringing them some relative safety for the time being.

"Knight of the Veil... is there any way we can contain or fix the runes to control the material that is leaking? Or is the terminus lost..." Vanora asked as she inched closer to the Knight and behind her two uninjuried group members.

 

[HotCider]

Tot!

Tot looked up from having just stomped the ratkin’s brains out.

Take care of the Piper! Aim for the kill, but don’t touch the pipe! I’ll handle the rats!

The warrior’s eyes narrowed a little. He couldn’t promise that he would spare the pipe. If he wanted him to kill The Piper, then killing him was going to be his priority over the pipe. If the pipe happened to survive, then it did. What Tot noticed was that Kosta must have been having a difficult time with The Piper if he couldn’t take him out with all of his flair. It only meant that the crazy bastard shouldn’t be underestimated.

Looks like I gotta use my big knife, Tot mused.

Tot tossed the dagger that he had in his right hand over to his left side, which had at first seemed like nothing had been there. The knife stopped in mid-air before the air seemed to melt, dissolving the illusion of nothingness to present a pale sun-deprived human arm bare of armor. Tot threw his shoulders forward into a sprint as he charged where The Piper had landed. Moments behind him, the ratkin corpse he had stomped burst as a plague of disgusting vermin gushed from its remains like a lanced pustule.

Tot stopped five meters from The Piper. His left boot slid, the soil grinding beneath it, and he hopped into the air, twirling his body as his knife was brought around. He was building momentum for the dagger transformed into a broad six-foot greatsword. His opposite foot touched down on the ground, the soil and moss wrinkling against it as the sword was swung in a second circle, this one arcing vertically to have its weight lift Tot ten-feet into the air. The greatsword after reaching the apex of its arc naturally swung down to have its vicious edge descending over The Piper with the intention of cleaving him in half. If he missed, the weight of the blade colliding with the earth would have sent a small explosion of dirt and earth fragments flying in all directions.

 

[sodalitas]

"Vanora! Blair! Group up on me!"

They moved at once. As Vanora worked her way towards where Kosta was rallying the group, Marcus followed her - inching backwards with his shield up so as to protect her from the rear. It was not a large distance to cover, but her injuries slowed her. The bodies of the creatures they had dispatched erupted into a swarm of rats, who poured out of the carcasses and descended upon them like a river of fur and fang.

The ground under his feet became slick and muddy as they proceeded, and the rats were quickly closing the distance between them. Glancing across the small battlefield, he saw Tot moving to engage the Piper, and the earth move to stem the flow of the molten silver. Something in his Eld was called to it, but the more immediate threat of the rats refused to afford him the time to investigate.

The swarm was almost on them by the time they reached the rally point. Immediately a shock wave ripped out from Kosta, blasting the rats back. Noticing the extent of the Knight's wounds, he tossed his spear and shield to the ground beside him and knelt down to tend to her hand as Vanora addressed her. He had spent enough time in the aftermath of skirmishes to be able to quickly field dress a wound, hopefully delaying the worst of it long enough to get her to safety.

As he worked, he glanced back to the puddles forming from the liquid. There was something familiar about it, something on the tip of his mind.

 

[kizkiz]

Scene 2 - Round 3. 3 Rat Groups (extras), Silver (elite), Pied Piper (epic)

The rat nightmares burst like popcorn, sending a shower of protoplasm in all directions. It tasted like crap and smelled like vomit. The other rat nightmares, those that weren't going after Vanora or the Knight, streamed off into the night towards Vos. In the darkness, they were hard to track, just tiny scurrying shadows amongst the high grass.

The moot of mercurial silver seethed around the majority of the party. Waves of the stuff crashed against the earthen sides of the barrier. As more and more of the stuff converged towards the party it gained more control over itself. The path of the converging mercurial silver was clean of body parts, any thing living that the stuff rolled over disappeared. Whenever the Silver "consumed" organic matter, it swelled in size.

Blair worked his battle field first aid. Against an Extra it might have been insufficient, but the body of an Elite fought harder to survive. A quick tourniquet and mass of bandaging was sufficient to cease the fountain of blood. A few seconds later the Knight of the Veil shook her head and rolled to her knees.

--- --- ---

Over by the Piper, Tot hurled himself ten feet into the air. His dagger was now a giant sword. The Piper looked up from crying over his hurt pipe. He still cradled his pipe in one arm, but he raised the other hand, palm up. "Side Lashing Pillar."

Tot found himself not leaping in a ten foot arc along the earth, but instead somehow re-orientated so that his center of gravity was one of the few remaining pillars that still stood upright. Now the pillar was "down." Where the pillar met the earth was a wall. The re-orientated can be confusing, as for most humans down was always the earth and up was always the sky. Changing that mid-jump so that a rock pillar was down, the ground was a wall, and Pied Piper somehow was walking on that wall, perpendicular to Tot's new center of gravity...well no one could blame him if that confused the hell out of him. So now Tot was not ten-feet in the air, but thirty-feet from the pillar. The pull of "gravity" from that pillar was too much. Before he reached the Piper, Tot found himself falling back towards the pillar.

The Pied Piper shook his head. "You are a bad man to attack someone who is grieving." He sighed, scrubbing the tears from his face. He cradled his injured pipe in the crook of his right arm, and walked "up along the ground" according to Tot's perspective. To anyone else, he walked along the ground out into the night away from both the Terminus and Vos.