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Post by Bane Emural on May 13, 2014 17:12:11 GMT
A lone traveller finally arrives at the city of Thalassana and enters into The Fair Maiden. The traveller looks like that of a farmer from another kingdom, a foreigner. However, he appears to have a sword. The foreign traveller walks towards the bartender and takes out a small bag of money. "I would like something to drink. Some ale if ya have any. As well as information on where I can find this Paragonis fellow."
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Post by wanderingmagus on May 13, 2014 18:50:09 GMT
An old man in a blue robe and a pony in similar garb sitting behind the guards smile and turn to greet the newcomer.
"Ah, greetings and well met indeed, Mage-Knight! It has been too long. Come, sit with us! How was your travel? I hope it was not too difficult a journey."
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The bartender, a jolly and somewhat stout middle-aged man with red cheeks and a kind face nodded at the traveler's request, filling up a mug.
"The wizard? He's over there, sir. Seems everyone's looking for him these days, after King Leonard sent out those royal summons. Hear it's going to be quite an adventure awaiting you! Good luck with it."
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Post by Bane Emural on May 13, 2014 19:32:29 GMT
Bane nods in thanks and takes the mug. He pays for the ale, a little extra for the information. "Thank you sir. Hope you enjoy the day." He takes a sip of the ale. Hmm, not bad. He walks over to where the wizard is at. He stops to the right of the Mage-Knight. "Sorry to interrupt, but which one of you is Paragonis, the wizard?"
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Post by wanderingmagus on May 13, 2014 21:11:43 GMT
The blue-cloaked old man turned and smiled at the newcomer. "That would be me, sir. Archmage Varius Paragonis the Blue of the City of Wonders, at your service. Most simply call me Paragonis. And these two are Petronella Brown and Tienasha Thundercloud, who prefer to be called Nellie and Asha for the record. Guarding us are Fides and Silentium. Come, sit with us! I presume you are here on account of the Quest for the Cursed Stones of Light?"
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on May 13, 2014 21:25:01 GMT
An old man in a blue robe and a pony in similar garb sitting behind the guards smile and turn to greet the newcomer. " Ah, greetings and well met indeed, Mage-Knight! It has been too long. Come, sit with us! How was your travel? I hope it was not too difficult a journey." Asha sits at the table with them and says, " Please call me Asha or if you wish to be formal you may call me ex-captain. i gave up my place as a gate guard brigade captain for this mission. I hope we aren't here long." Right now Asha is in her full equine form. as she is talking with them. A Pegasus mare with Rune forged wing-blades on her back instead of normal wings. Those from the city of wonders already know how and why she has them. Those not of the city of wonders may think it is odd for a Pegasus to have them. She also has similar runic markings all over her body. she stand goes over to the bar and says, " One pint of your strongest ale, please." She hooves over to the barkeep the price for the ale in question. |
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Post by wanderingmagus on May 13, 2014 21:39:07 GMT
The barkeep raised his eyebrows. "The strongest! Well, if you insist, and I admit it's not anything like Farthi's Stone Brew, but I hope you've got a stomach for drinking!"
He walked over to an ebony barrel with a white skull-and-crossbones symbol painted whimsically on the side. The skull had bubbles coming out of its mouth and swirly eyes.
The smell of concentrated alcohol permeated the room as the clear, dark liquid poured into the mug, drawing the attention of most of the patrons, some of whom began cheering.
"One mug of Goblin Stout, coming right up!"
Paragonis raised his eyebrows quite high at the request, but said nothing.
Nellie leaned over and muttered in his ear something only the enhanced hearing of wizards could make out. "If I didn't know better, I'd have thought she was trying to show off."
"Oh, let her have her fun. You could join her if you wanted."
The mare snorted. "Unlike some ponies, I don't fancy having to regenerate my liver or replace half the nanites in my body come morning."
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Post by Bane Emural on May 13, 2014 21:59:07 GMT
He sits down with the others with his mug of ale. He takes a drink before speaking. "Well it's nice to meet the lot of you. I am Bane Lionheart of Crestioz. One of the kingdoms of the Alliance, from beyond the Great Sea." A barely audible hum is heard. Bane looks down at his sword and slowly takes it out. "Oh and this is Aldorn." He slides the sword back into its sheathe. "You are right about us joining in on your quest. They offered a bit of coin to anyone who would dare take it. And seeing how I was nearly broke riding on that blasted ship to get to here. I thought I would take the opportunity and I did." He talked as if his sword is a living thing.
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on May 13, 2014 23:03:35 GMT
Asha accepted the drink with a polite thanks to the bar keep and returned to the table. She says to the mare with Paragonis, "If your wondering it was a trick I picked up when I was younger. The trick is, if you want to keep your emotions in line while in a civilized area and are under one of the many darker emotions drink a strong ale. I have always had a strong body when it came to ale. Father was and is still stronger then me though. Also, if your wondering why, I am still having difficulty with the emotion mastery of mourning and sorrow. This will help so I don't go berserk in town. I have also been drinking, every so often, just to improve my resilience for ale. Not to force a need to regenerate my liver." She is also speaking in the same way that only trained wizards can hear. She also lets out a chuckle. She holds up the mug and then downs about 1/4th of the mug in view of everyone, just to wet their entertainment appetites and be funny at the same time. When she spoke of her father, those at the table could see tears beginning to form in her eyes.
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Post by Wavelength on May 14, 2014 5:54:31 GMT
Silentium quietly watched the new arrival to the party, tensing up when Bane began to draw his sword. He remained where he was, however, as the man put his sword back in its sheath and continued talking. About his sword's name...? The knight glanced at his halberd, then back at Bane. People had named their weapons before, but they never introduced them to people... Silentium made a mental note to keep an eye on this stranger until he found out whether or not he was crazy.
Bingo was not having a good day. A hired pony carrying his survival gear, with no luxuries at all, and for some reason he didn't turn back; of course, this only caused him to hate himself as much as the road he traveled on.
Finally arriving at the Fair Maiden after a day and a half of nonstop travel, Bingo was only too happy to dismount and stand on his own hairy feet again. "Oh, why did I ever agree to this... I'll miss the Saturday party for sure!" the hobbit groaned miserably, his thoughts full of wine and cake that he wouldn't get to eat.
The pony carrying his supplies gave a snort. "Keep asking yourself that, I'm sure it'll come to you eventually."
Bingo paid the pony for his services and took his supplies. "Oh, I've been doing nothing but complain all the way over here... I'm dreadfully sorry," he said to the pony as he finally figured out what was so irritating.
"Don't mention it," the pony replied with no hint of sarcasm before heading inside the inn for a break of his own.
Bingo went inside after giving the pony a respectful few seconds to get some distance. Catching sight of Paragonis at a table in the corner, Bingo was both comforted and infuriated to the point where he merely stood there like a quietly stuttering mess in the doorway, trying to think of a fitting accusation to throw at the wizard when his conversation found a pause. Oh, you'd better keep talking to them... you dragged me into this wretched road trip, right out of my comfy home... the nerve! I'll give you a piece of my mind, Bingo thought to himself confidently. The outside viewer, however, would see anything but confidence in the halfling's trembling, defeated posture.
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Post by wanderingmagus on May 14, 2014 19:14:32 GMT
Paragonis nodded politely to both Bane and Aldorn. "A pleasure indeed. We'll certainly be needing protection on our journey," he commented as the crowd cheered at Asha chugging her mug of Goblin Stout.
Nellie rested her head on the table, sighing. "Sorry to hear that, Dame Thundercloud," she murmured silently. Then, raising her head, "Paragonis is right. While he may have had experience with the desert lands far to the southwest, I certainly do not. What are our plans for travel?"
The wizard in question pulled out a few maps, laying them flat on an empty part of the table. "First, if I may beg your pardons, I would like to retrieve a certain orb from a late friend of mine, just slightly to the east of Orod Khazad. A short trip, relatively, and through familiar lands that should give us a bit of practice first before the real journey begins. I expect to also meet and recruit a certain... well, let's be honest here, a centaur who thinks himself a golem. Please do not mention it to him. He was a guardian of my colleague. Then, after that..."
He moved to the larger-scale map.
"The two-thousand-mile journey. The safest route, I deem, would be to head straight west first, avoiding having to cross the River Seepay at its broadest, skirting the Badlands and moving through the prairies. That should give us plenty of time to stock up on supplies, and provide a wide open space where we'll be less likely to be ambushed. Then, we make our way south along the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, avoiding the Great Desert completely until absolutely necessary, to reach the Temple of the Cursed Stones of Light. We should also encounter a second temple, the Temple of the Long Now, along the way. I hope to find a few relics there that may be of use."
The wizard stopped and turned as the door opened, grinning as he saw the halfling who stood there stuttering in half fury and half defeat.
"And it seems quite an important member of our Fellowship has finally arrived! Welcome and well-met again, Bingo Fallowfoot. I trust your journey was enjoyable?"
Nellie snickered at the wizard's comments, and the flabbergasted expression on the halfling's face.
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on May 14, 2014 19:38:27 GMT
Asha having entertained the rest of the bar finishes her drink in a more leisure manner. She shows them what a Thundercloud is capable of when given the need to drink. She goes back over to the bar not a single sign yet of her being drunk but a definite improvement of her mood though. She says to the barkeep, "One more if you will. Please make it a bit less potent then the one before. I don't want to be a burden to my friends on our trip. It really hit the spot though. Also one for our new arrival. I think he could use one by the look of him." She pays for the two drinks and returns to the table with them. She offers one to the Halfling while saying, "How about a drink for the road, Bingo?"
she looks at their route and says, "Well it a good thing I chose to come along then. Would it be possible to visit the Thundercloud tomb, while we are at it? Dad's journal held information about an item there that may be of use to us." She points to a spot on the map not too far off the road near the River Seepay. |
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Post by Bane Emural on May 14, 2014 21:01:37 GMT
Bane looks at Bingo. "So that's a halfling. Never seen one in my travels before until now. Didn't think they actually existed when I first heard of them. And that was around the time when I got off the ship." He looks at Paragonis. "Now these stones, what are they exactly? And what use would they have, if we were to retrieve them?" A barely audible hum is heard and Bane quietly shushes it. Best to play it safe Aldorn. I don't exactly want to be picking up something that could blow up in our faces.
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Post by Wavelength on May 14, 2014 23:10:15 GMT
Bingo's face was as red as a tomato when he dropped his luggage, shivering with anger, and pointed an accusing finger at Paragonis. "Y-you mean to just brush it off like that, as though I enjoyed the trip?" he asked in disbelief. "You fooled me into accepting this dangerous... adventure...," he spat the word as though it was a curse, "and now you're going to rub it in...!" If Bingo was feeling foul, he reckoned the wizard responsible had no right to be happy at the same time, so he tried to fabricate a story to make it seem like the wizard interrupted a good deed. "I was just about to throw a splendid party for my neighbor just across the way!" he exclaimed, not catching the inconsistency that no one lived across the road from his home. "I was even going to pay back every last penny I gambled from them this year--I even took count!" Of course, he didn't have any count of the money he owed to the nonexistent neighbor. As this finally dawned on Bingo, it only made his face that much more red. He started seriously contemplating that drink the pegasus was offering him.
Fides gathered Bingo's bags and gestured for the halfling to join the group. Bingo, quite clearly pouting with regret and self-pity at this point, slowly sulked his way to the table. He doubted the wizard was sharing ANY of his sorrow at this point... for some reason, he could never come up with a good lie when the wizard was around. It was most frustrating. Bingo gave Asha a nod for the drink, but Fides was already on his way over to get it from her.
Silentium didn't blame the halfling for disliking the idea of an adventure... such things were extremely dangerous, especially for people of that size. In spite of the small man's anger, Silentium didn't believe him a threat to Paragonis, so he remained at the wall.
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on May 14, 2014 23:19:21 GMT
Asha hands over the drink and says, "You know an uncontrolled emotion is similar to an unstable spell. it could backfire in your face at any given moment. I knew from the time I chose to volunteer for this 'adventure' as you put it, that is was going to be filled with danger not much else. The time we spend in safety will be well earned and much appreciated. I may not look it but I was a gate guard brigade captain until I took on this task. I will shield my allies and friends no mater what will try to trouble them. please enjoy the time we have. It seams we will not have many of these along the way."
Asha seams to understand his frustration about the task they have before them and when it comes to fighting she can proudly say she is one of the few who could take on a number and come out on top. What she didn't tell him was she was going through a dark time in her life right now and she could as well be a ticking time bomb of energy, which could explode at any given time. She also knows for now the others around her are safe from that as long as she keeps her emotions in line.
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Post by Wavelength on May 16, 2014 6:31:52 GMT
Bingo considered Asha's words about his uncontrolled emotions, but shivered when he considered the other things that awaited him on the road ahead. "Forget my emotions, what about all the monstrous creatures and goblins out there? I've got bigger concerns than my emotions!" the halfling complained. "I should never have come... I should have stayed home at the fireplace reading a relaxing book."
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