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Post by Clockwork on Aug 17, 2014 11:56:01 GMT
Paragonis smiled slightly. " If I know Rakazath, shields, rail-engines, lightning-coils and poison gas would be the least of our worries. Personally, I fear more for the Truemagic Forbidden Spells he may have used. The Nevernever was never a safe place to be wandering about to begin with, and the Outer Gates are locked and guarded with ten thousand spirits for good reasons. There are ways around even the Gates, however, roads not even Fate Herself knows, and the insane, or extremely paranoid, may find or make up reasons for turning to such beings, such as it is." Urrod stepped up again, poking the wizard's back. Dwarves were an open race, they never kept to themselves even if lives depended on it, even if the world hung in the balance. "Show a dwarf a sword and he will show an axe" was the saying round here on these trails, and even at Orod Khazad. " We ain't too keen o' folks keepin' secr'ts roond us, even if business be business. Wit' th't in mind, here's ma deal..." Digging into thick robes, Urrod produced a scroll, tied together by animal hide, and held it out for the wizard, or any of his coterie, to take " I ov'rhe'rd th't Lady Fate 'erself doesn't know paths int' th' Folly of th' mad wizard without error most gre'vous, so I g'ess I have one ov'r th' gel aft'r all." Before anyone could take it, however, the dwarf pulled the assumed map close to him " Th' price o' this map, howev'r, is that we dwarves want th' spoils of th' folly. Rumors come and go, yer wizardlyness, but gold and steel dinnea..."
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Post by wanderingmagus on Aug 19, 2014 2:12:43 GMT
GM note: Dwarves in this world are notorious for keeping most of their technology a secret from those that don't understand it, and tend to look down on citizens of Thalassana in particular, although they view inhabitants of Fairfields with some condescending admiration, as one might admire a group of children. Their only true peers are the Wizards and the occasional visitors from the North Kingdom beyond the Great Sea. Very few, if any, understand the Dwarvish language, and fewer still understand the inner workings of the Hall of Fire. Of the True Names of Dwarves, none save their closest kin know, and even in death this Name is not written, but purposely forgotten. The reason for this distrust reaches far back into the centuries after the Plague, when foolish Men misused tools and magic beyond their comprehension, and so brought about great destruction, torturing and murdering Dwarves by the thousands. After this came still more horrors as warlords, distrustful of anything more advanced than a windmill, engaged on witch hunts intending to purge the land of all knowledge altogether. In the Wizards and their own refuge of Orod Khazad alone did the dwarves find safety in those dark times, and to this day they view Men with contempt rivaled only by their contempt for Goblins.
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on Sept 3, 2014 15:59:09 GMT
Asha listens and then says, "So what's next on the travel plan?" Asha is polishing and recoating Thunder, her katana, while she waits.
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Post by Bane Emural on Sept 5, 2014 0:29:02 GMT
Bane leans closer towards the wizard and whispers to him. "I thought Dwarves are secretive about everything down south as well as up north. Because the Dwarves in the Alliance of Kingdoms are so secretive and secure that it takes a certain passport just to go into one of their cities. The only way to get into a dwarven city is to receive it from dwarven merchant traveling outside the city and even those guys are hard to find, and even if you get past the gates you need a certain security pass to enter into workshops, labs, and so forth. Even the individual workshops has security. A friend of mine, a dwarven mechanic, had this giant mechanical golem outside his door to his workshop and it always ask a security pass to anyone walking near it. I didn't have a security pass back then and almost got myself blasted by the golem's weapons until the mechanic came out and quickly deactivated the golem."
He stopped for a second before proceeding on. "Getting the security pass was easy enough if you know the mechanic or scientist in charge of the lab or workshop. Getting the pass into the city was the hardest since you have to prove that you are trustworthy to not only the merchant, but to the guards as well. The only ones with easy access are the emissaries and politicians."
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Post by wanderingmagus on Sept 5, 2014 3:11:50 GMT
Paragonis continued smiling warmly, though his hand now stroked his staff lightly. A voice came to Bane's thoughts and Asha's, though the old man's lips did not move.
They are. I have a suspicion that this 'Urrod' is no true dwarf, or if he is, that he is working on some other power's behalf. We must be careful.
Speaking out loud, "A map? A most inviting offer... but I know not whether such a map would still be valid, or indeed if the fact that it exists at all is not some sort of trap itself devised by old Rakazath. My late colleague was known for being rather... prepared, if I might say, for potential trespassers. And as for gold or steel?"
He smiled grimly, holding up a crystal. "Master Dwarf, you are familiar with Dwarvish magicks, are you not? What is more valuable - a cart full of mithril, or a single crystal from the machines of the Ancients?"
The wizard flicked his hand, and the stone vanished. "And what exactly do you expect us to find in Rakazath's Folley? Gold? Jewels? Ask yourself, Master Dwarf - what do Wizards treasure far above silver and gold?"
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Post by Clockwork on Sept 5, 2014 9:41:08 GMT
Paragonis continued smiling warmly, though his hand now stroked his staff lightly. A voice came to Bane's thoughts and Asha's, though the old man's lips did not move. They are. I have a suspicion that this 'Urrod' is no true dwarf, or if he is, that he is working on some other power's behalf. We must be careful.Speaking out loud, " A map? A most inviting offer... but I know not whether such a map would still be valid, or indeed if the fact that it exists at all is not some sort of trap itself devised by old Rakazath. My late colleague was known for being rather... prepared, if I might say, for potential trespassers. And as for gold or steel?" He smiled grimly, holding up a crystal. " Master Dwarf, you are familiar with Dwarvish magicks, are you not? What is more valuable - a cart full of mithril, or a single crystal from the machines of the Ancients?" The wizard flicked his hand, and the stone vanished. " And what exactly do you expect us to find in Rakazath's Folley? Gold? Jewels? Ask yourself, Master Dwarf - what do Wizards treasure far above silver and gold?" Urrod growled, clenching the map in his gloved hands. " Now ye list'n t' me, bushbeard. I dinnae care what ye fin' in ther', it most likely ha' a price, and tha' means it can be sol'! I ran to a cartograph'r the momen' I left tha' blasted monst'r in dust, thi' map is as genuine as me hand!" The dwarf pulled at his glove, showing skin to the bottom of his thumb before shoving the material back down. " Wizards treasure knowledge, ev'n a troll knows tha', and I know th' Folly has mines of th' stuff 'neath th' creature's warpath." he looks sternly over at the group, eyes narrowing " n' there be somethin' else within tha' ye want, somethin' big. Why else would ye bring expendables...?"
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Post by Wavelength on Sept 5, 2014 19:32:53 GMT
Fides choked on a flagon of water he was drinking and Silentium gave Urrod a chilling glare. Neither spoke, however; they truly were prepared to give their lives for this quest's completion. They were knights of Thalassana, and they'd die as knights when the time came.
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on Sept 5, 2014 21:53:41 GMT
Asha, being once a guard captain, says, "I for one know none of our comrades are anything near what you would call an expendable. We are comrades in arms. I would sooner die first then let a friend fall before me."
(Spell used = mind link Target = Paragonis)
Asha says through the link, "I think this one has gone mad, Lord Paragonis. If you choose to trust him, I will support you the whole way. I however do not trust him."
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Post by Bane Emural on Sept 6, 2014 1:02:43 GMT
Bane whispers to the wizard, Paragonis. "Either two things has come to mind about this dwarf: he is either a dwarven assassin posing as a merchant, or he is nothing more than a greedy dwarven merchant. Either way, he is not trustworthy to me. And for once, I think the Dwarves up north would agree. If only I had brought my Draconic friend, things would have been a little bit simpler."
Bane speaks up to the dwarf, Urrod. "I don't see any expendables in this group, do you Paragonis? Is anyone in our group here to die that easily for one's own purpose? I know for sure I can't die, for no Dark Lords of the Mother can kill me, not even the oldest sibling of the Dark Mother. Don't to try judge others for what they appear, or you will make more enemies than you would have wished, dwarf."
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Post by wanderingmagus on Sept 7, 2014 2:23:17 GMT
The wizard gestured broadly to the group as more dwarves and halflings turned their attention to the suddenly harsh old dwarf. "Master Dwarf, I see no expendables here. Each of my companions are infinitely more valuable than the things we set out to seek, but that does not prevent us from setting out in search of them. The Hidden Fortress that is Rakazath's Folly is dangerous, to be sure, but that is exactly the reason for which I have brought these companions - and I do not intend to lose a single life in the search of that which the High Council of the City of Wonders has tasked me to retrieve from the very heart of that guarded hall beneath the earth, though it be filled with spells of warding and death. And why would I seek to uncover this precious thing? My answer, Master Dwarf, is to give these companions PRACTICE for the greater journey."
He lifted up his voice at the startled gasps and mutterings of the crowd. "Yes, the greater journey! For such a gathering of wizards and knights and warriors of every race would be over-qualified for undertaking so small a task as entering Rakazath's own Folly. We prepare for a greater journey, one which will take us far beyond the borders of Thalassana, beyond even the burning shade-less deserts of the south! You have heard of this journey, which the High Council has proclaimed to all the land, I assume?"
The archmage of the City of Wonders smiled, rising to his full, commanding height, and no more did he seem a mere old man in weather-stained cloths, but a mighty warden of timeless magics, cloaked in power.
"Yes, Master Dwarf. You see standing before you the Fellowship of Archmage Lord Paragonis the Blue, and our quest is for the Cursed Stones of Light, hidden in the depths of the Snowy Mountains by the Ancients That Have Fallen in the time before the Plague. If you think your map of use to us in besting the Creature which guards the treasure of Rakazath, I would invite you to join us in this quest. Perhaps, Master Dwarf, your skills may be the key to solving the riddles within. And if you choose to come, I can only promise you an even share of what reward we may receive for the finding of that which we seek, provided you help, and do not simply watch from behind. I will not promise riches or fortunes. The choice is yours."
It's not like we're keeping the broad, somewhat "mystical" aspects of our journey a secret, after all. There was even an advertisement out for mercenaries willing to join in the quest.
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jan 6, 2015 18:12:58 GMT
Asha says through the mind link,"Lord, do you think he will join?"
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