Raivont
Novice
Delightfully Bitter
Posts: 20
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Post by Raivont on Apr 14, 2007 10:20:28 GMT -5
[Hurry Trianna! =O! Post! Post like you've never posted before!!! *Mortal Kombat music plays for no reason*]
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Post by Eldarion Kildare on Apr 20, 2007 13:01:05 GMT -5
(Alright, enough waiting. Let's move this thing along, shall we?)
"Well, it looks like you'd better wait here, Yago," Eldarion told his mount. The horse snorted in distaste. "Yes, I know, you'd rather be outside. Just humor me this once, would you? It looks a bit overcast," he said, glancing out the window. The horse snorted again and Eldarion gave his mane a good pat down before following after the others. He wondered idly if the romari really wholly understood why they were all gathered here. There were rumors about the romari and though he didn't like to think of himself as prejudiced well...he'd be keeping a close eye on his meager belongings just in case. The others he had yet to form any real opinion on other than the fact that the deus woman certainly seemed to be a little...loose...and the boy, Sevian, he believe his name was, didn't really seem to be terribly adventurous by nature. He worried a bit about how the boy would handle himself when it came down to it. He worried about all of them a little really. None of them were particularly expert in their chosen trades it seemed and they were supposed to chase down pirates for a magical mirror? This sounded...troubling.
Regardless, before long the group was led into a dining hall. It was a moderately large room with a vaulted ceiling, more long and narrow than anything else, with a fireplace to both left and right, a series of low hanging lanterns, and a slim, long table that could easily seat upwards of forty people. The table was full of the beginnings of a meal--fruit, wine, bread, cheese, and plenty of chilled meats. More than enough to feed everyone, but nothing hot to eat.
Palledon took a seat at the head of the table, to the far end, assuring that the 'lovely' Trianna was to the corner on one side of him. Everyone else could "sit wherever ye please." Eldarion took a seat to his right, three seats down. Tables and chairs...he'd been in many of them now, really, but he still felt so peculiar about eating so far from the ground. It felt terribly unnatural. He took a few moments to adjust himself in the chair. He knew as far as eating habits went perhaps he was unusual, having been born and raised in the Valley, but he just couldn't understand this addiction everyone seemed to have with tables and chairs, a most odd habit, and possibly the one this particular paladin had the most trouble getting accustomed to.
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Avati
Novice
Sweet Talker
Posts: 62
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Post by Avati on Apr 27, 2007 17:51:47 GMT -5
Avati drifted, slowly behind the group as they headed towards the dining hall, in actuality, her feet hurt, and the confines of the Elvin crafted boots, altered with the consideration of Avatis’ nature, were still confining tanned and cured flesh that isolated her from the warm welcoming earth beneath her step. Well, in this case the floor, they needed to be broken in more so, only when they were on the verge of falling apart, as loose and giving as a tavern maid was any foot wear comfortable in the truest sense of the word.
But it was not the thought of her feet or confining boots, but of the group that was to be her companions, because she was certain this would be a contact and skill building adventure, at least those would be the words her father and grandparents would say to some extent. But all this trouble for a looking glass, the thing probably paid the over dressed dwarf complements, to make him appear as what he was not….or sucked the souls from unsuspecting ladies leaving them as mindless playthings….
Her train of thought disintegrated and the woman allowed her wild ideas to lie where they fell. And looked at the table as they entered, fruit and wine, a meal for the divine, even bread, and the cold meats given a glance subtle murmurs were elicited from the womans’ stomach.
Avatis’ eyes rolled as she watched their host, properly arrange himself and the other woman for more ideal fawnship. For the moment she’d put her pursuits for more information, at least from their enamored host, to rest. She sat with careful adjustments, to her cloak and the feathers beneath that lay near her thighs before settling, to Triannas’ left, two seats over. Chairs were such horrid things, confining and hard, and nearly impossible to sit in with a back. A stool anyway, or let the minstrel stand or lounge, but Avati made due, sitting nearly on the edge of her seat, she rested her weight on her elbow and arm upon the tables’ edge.
Be there no information fourth coming to their task, perhaps there would be, of the companions to said task.
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Post by Gristle on May 11, 2007 12:49:01 GMT -5
Gristle was quite pleased by the sight of the food spread out on the table and cheerfully seated himself directly in front of a large plate of meats. Being largely carnivorous, it seemed logical to simply seat himself for convenience. The use of chairs was a little unusual but he was familiar enough with them, they were just a bit uncomfortable; it was so much easier to spread oneself out when sitting on the ground. The chair also made it difficult for Grr to curl up next to him.
Even so, Grr was certainly not forgotten and Gristle gave him a sampling of the chilled meat, actually feeding the wolf before eating anything himself. Nibbles, for his part, hopped down off of the Romari's shoulder and onto the table. Gristle placed a handful of salad on the dinner plate before him then slid it over in front of the rabbit, who immediately began munching on some lettuce. With his two friends served, the uncivilized wolfling finally began taking advantage of the dinner himself.
After eating a few mouthfuls of the meats and washing it down with some water, he cast his gaze at the others gathered around the table, none of whom he knew in the slightest. "Once we fill our bellies we should set out and begin the chase for these waterless pirates!" He suggested jovially, grinning at the prospect. "Have any of you participated in such a hunt before? We seem to have quite an array of people here, from pups to seasoned warriors. It should make for an exciting hunt indeed!"
He wondered if the different races hunted differently. They certainly acted differently so it seemed logical that they would. Especially the woman with wings! She surely hunted like a hawk, soaring high above and diving down to snatch her prey with blinding speed! It would be great fun to witness such different tactics and see how they compared to the Way of the Serene Claw.
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Post by Nicolae on May 12, 2007 18:42:23 GMT -5
Nicolae sat at the table and listened carefully. If he had any chance to truly profit from this. Nicolae sipped his wine as he noticed the winged woman taking her seat. She didn't look completely comfortable, and not just the physical confines. She seemed almost, out of place among this assemblage. Everyone who was here had some sort of...drive for this adventure. Some of them were in it for the money, some of them were in it for the adventure, some of them were just in it for the experience.
But Avati seemed to be a different sort, Nicolae couldn't quite tell why she was there. She didn't seem to crave adventure, or money, she seemed rather...indifferent.
Nicolae then heard the Romari's exclamation about how exciting a "hunt" they would have. Nicolae smiled and found he couldn't disagree.
"True," Nicolae agreed. "We're quite an eclectic group, this adventure should be quite interesting." He turned and raised his glass to Palledon. "And profitable."
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Raivont
Novice
Delightfully Bitter
Posts: 20
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Post by Raivont on May 14, 2007 18:47:08 GMT -5
Raivont, who had remained silent as he gave Iry a plate of meats and then began eating himself, seemed more content with observing for the moment. Gristle was right; this would be an interesting hunt indeed. He cast violet eyes around the table casually, eyeing each of them and sizing them up with the skill of a seasoned warrior. He'd seen battles, and he'd seen death.. Thankfully, he knew a few ways to avoid both, and it seemed to him that such a group would be swift as it was diverse.
"Tell me, Gristle," he began, casual, calm, and genuinely interested. "I don't think I've ever met a Romari before.. How exactly do you and yours hunt?" He was not eloquent, and he was not polite, but somehow he seemed to be attempting both. Whether he succeeded or not was irrelevant, because the effort itself made him feel even more old.
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Sevian
Novice
The proberbial "gray area"
Posts: 16
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Post by Sevian on May 15, 2007 22:21:23 GMT -5
For a moment forgetting his manners, Sevian dug into the food before him like there was no tomorrow. Bread, meat, water, more bread, fruit, fish, potatoes -- He had a little bit of everything and quite a lot of some things. He's never seen this much food before that he was actually allowed to have. True, there would often be banquets and lavish dinners at his grandparents' inn, but he would never even be allowed near that food. He wasn't good enough for it, they said. 'This isn't Deus food' his grandmother would say, unceremoniously shoving and pushing him away.
When he finally satisfied his immediate hunger enough to pay attention to the others, he looked around the table. Finally, he could see everyone in full. The woman with the wings looked uncomfortable, the wolf-man looked very energetic, and others seemed to be put off by chairs. What was wrong with chairs? He'd seen plenty get broken or smashed by drunken soldiers from north of the border, but in the end they were just something that's there to be used.
In the end, he found little to contribute to the discussion. Having never left Iodar before, let alone fought anything but a training dummy, he was beginning to really hope to be used as bait of some sort. As others were engaged in talking, he discretely snatched a few fruits and even a piece of meat into his bag. After all, one never knew when one might get to eat again.
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Post by Eldarion Kildare on May 29, 2007 11:41:28 GMT -5
(At this point, I will assume that Raivont, Gristle, Avati, Sevian, and Nicholae are still with me. Other players will be NPC'd by me long enough to write them out of the adventure so we can get things moving along and not manipulated in any way contrary to the character's nature. Those of you who this applies to know who you are. If you would like to continue with us at a later time, you may rejoin, but keep in mind it will be your responsibility to find a sensible way-given circumstances-to write your way back in.
To the rest of you, for sake of getting us moving, I'll be fast-forwarding a little bit now)
Raivont's question to Gristle might very well go unanswered as a rather loud crash by the head of the table was heard--in which a certain lady thief was swiftly deposited on her ass and Palledon rose, red-faced and ruffled. "Theif!" he declared as if this wasn't already known of the sultry woman. "And not even a good one!" he huffed, tucking what looked to be a large ruby back into his pocket. "Out out OUT! Eliana escort her OUT!"
The maid who had been serving dinner jumped to the task, pulling Trianna to her feet and looking rather uncertain and ruffled herself before seeing Trianna to the door. It looked as if the profit for the remaining adventurers had just increased a bit with one less division as the dwarf brushed himself off and sat back down. "Of all the nerve..." he scoffed, digging into his food as if it may be a means of calming him down.
Dinner proceeded thenceforth without a hitch--though no one spoke to the master of the house who was in an obvious mood for understandable reasons, and sleeping arrangements were seen to for the guests-who each recieved a room with a warm bed a night stand and a desk. Small but civil affairs, really. Wholly suitable for a guest room.
Eldarion, however, opted out of his to sleep out in the field beside the stable with Yago. The Zhoan are a peculiar race in that way, it would seem. The night was cool without being cold and the sky was clear. In the morning, he returned inside to bathe--hard to say when they might get another chance once they were on the road again, and after a light breakfast that wouldn't rest too heavily on the traveling party they were seen off. At the southern Exit from Auregon, the road split into two trails--one through the mountains, the other somewhat longer over rolling hills and valleys.
Eldarion sat back thoughfully on his mount. "For our purposes The West Road is probably better. Mountain riding is hard, and I hear the Cyrrines are heavy with Yarl. Both roads lead to Patra, but it may be wiser to take the longer road. It will add a few days to the journey, but better that than losing a few lives on the way, at least that's my opinion on the matter."
He turned his gaze to his fellow adventurers. The majority vote would rule on which road they took, but he saw fit, at least, to initiate the conversation.
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Raivont
Novice
Delightfully Bitter
Posts: 20
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Post by Raivont on May 29, 2007 16:47:55 GMT -5
Raivont had ended up sleeping outside as well during the night, not wanting to leave Iry and finding that he and his pup were uncomfortable in the house when the night was so nice. Despite it being cooler than he liked, at least he and Iry were comfortable. Morning had seen him walking out of the bath with just his breeches on, tugging on his tunic and armor without much care for who had seen his scars or whether it was acceptable or not. He was an old man, damn it! He could do as he pleased! If he only looked as old as he was and sometimes felt, perhaps it would be mutual.
Now, he thought to himself as he stood, refusing to ride as it took him away from the ground he so knew how to read. He was clad fully in his armor and cloak, his choice of clothing fur-lined and warm. He hated being cold. Iry sat beside him looking around and seeming to ask Grr to play every so often as he had been for a while. He was a young pup, old enough to be away from his dam without any trouble, but still young enough to want to play a lot.
"I don't know," Raivont said. "Can we afford to take more time? I'm no fan of mountains, but that path might be most expedient. As for Yarl.. If we do take that path, it's just a matter of staying downwind for the most part.. I don't care which way we go, I just want to get this job done and have a few rounds."
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Post by Nicolae on May 31, 2007 21:37:20 GMT -5
Nicolae considered as he mounted Shiba. Out of habit he checked to make sure nothing was taken from Shiba during the night, though he knew that wasn't necessary. No one ever got the best of Shiba and Nicolae would pity any fool that would try.
As for which path to take? That was something of a question.
"It may be better to take the West Road," Nicolae put in. "If we were attacked by Yarl I doubt we would last long, and even if we did survive, it would be a far greater delay than simply taking the West Road."
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Sevian
Novice
The proberbial "gray area"
Posts: 16
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Post by Sevian on Jun 5, 2007 10:10:03 GMT -5
Sevian, having no horse of his own, simply shouldered his pack and looked up at the others. "There was a big fire on the West Road recently. I saw them cleaning up on the way here." He mentioned, simply to provide info for his fellow travellers.
Much like the rest, he was thankful for a night's rest, though he sought out a hotspring somewhat removed from the town to do his bathing in -- call it his Nymandine nature, if you will. Always seeking heat.
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Avati
Novice
Sweet Talker
Posts: 62
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Post by Avati on Jun 11, 2007 20:39:55 GMT -5
The meal had been, interesting previous night, the half elfs’ attempt to steal from their host, and the black mood that in affect fell upon the dwarf then after halted most conversation if not all and led to the near silent meal and quiet room allotment.
Her curiosity had gotten the best of her and thus her she stayed indoors, much to her chagrin, the room very different to those of the Pomira, to even the rooms of her own domicile. The smaller space, crowded and confining gave little ease to sleep. The woman spent most of her night looking at the starry sky and the familiar small goldfinch that had waited anxiously for the winged womans reappearance. Things were promising already to be difficult, and the minstrel had probably been out of her depth since Chem has given her the letter. The old elf probably knew it even then, a learning experience he had said.
Sleep came and went like waves upon the shore until finally the great star began to brighten the earths horizon, and the quiet sounds of her companions or perhaps just the house stirring pulled the woman from the gazing out the windows wooden frame.
Bathed and dressed with her cloak on and cowl up the woman set out on foot to quickly catch up to the gathering of her comrades upon the road, her mind already in flight as their voices drifting to her ears and the tiny gold finch flew in the sky above her, a thought, a memory, was temporarily lost in the shuffle of thoughts, and building curiosity.
“Personally, I would prefer to risk embers and fire eaten wood, then to chance upon the creatures you speak of. We can make up time spent talking a longer path, easier than time taken to fight a beast and tend our injured.”
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Post by Gristle on Jun 15, 2007 12:17:20 GMT -5
The first thought to enter Gristle's head when their dwarven host had started shouting about a thief was "What did I do now?" He was actually quite surprised to find that the angry words were directed at one of the women, who was promptly escorted from the premises. Why, he had no idea. The whole "thief" thing still confused him, despite having spent much time around the furless types. It seemed to simply indicate that you'd taken something without asking first, which struck him as a little excessive. True, it was more polite to ask first, if only to make sure that the current possessor of the object in question was finished with it, but if they weren't around or were obviously not using it... then what was the big deal?
Shrugging the entire matter off, he and his companions happily went about enjoying their meal, then retired to the provided room for a good night's sleep. True, Gristle had no real use for a bed as he was used to sleeping outdoors, but he felt such kindness should be accepted. Besides, Grr and Nibbles both enjoyed resting (or sprawling, in the wolf's case) on the soft mattresses such rooms were generally equipped with. Gristle himself slept on the floor with his feet propped up on the edge of the bed. Nibbles nestled into the pillows while Grr managed to claim the remained for himself.
As energetic in the morning as he had been the afternoon and evening before, Grishtole was up and active only shortly after dawn — sleeping in by his standards. The first order of business was a bit of fetch with Grr, then a meal to quell the appetite they'd worked up. By the time they were on the road, Grr had reunited with his new playmate and cheerfully romped at random around the party of travelers as they went. Some of the locals seemed a little concerned by his presence but it quickly became obvious that he was no threat, at least not at the moment.
Gristle, like the two Nymandine and the winged woman, simply walked as he always did, though if needs be he could keep a rather quick pace. The decision of which road to take was the big concern at the moment, though, and left the entire group remaining rather still. Their concern about the Yarl along the shorter road seemed to be the primary issue. Gristle wasn't all too worried about the creatures. He'd never encountered them but had heard wondrous stories; it would surely be quite an adventure to battle one! Still, their quest seemed destined to end in combat regardless, so they would be better served to keep themselves rested until they found the pirates they chased.
Since the others had already said their piece and expressed their opinions, it was clear to Gristle that they'd be taking the longer road, to the west. There was, therefore, no point in standing around any longer. "Very well then, The West Road it shall be!" Smiling, Gristle started forward at a casual pace, albeit one that would seem quite quick to a human, simply assuming that the others would follow. "Adventure awaits us!"
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Post by Eldarion Kildare on Jun 19, 2007 15:51:56 GMT -5
"Those of us with horses would slow the pace on the mountain road anyway," Eldarion said--and anyone with any sense knew that telling a Zhoan to simply leave the horse behind was entirely out of the question. "I've heard that many of the paths through the Cyrrines are narrow and treacherous from a Centaur fellow I know who comes this way to trade. It's not impossible for horse's hooves to get through, but no easy task either." He nodded. "The west road it is. And lets hope we get some word when we arrive."
He nodded to Gristle's comment. "Yes, I think the majority of us are agreed then. Let's be off. The morning is cool but the sun is already high. It will be humid today. With luck we'll have some shade upon us by early afternoon. And at the very least, the west road is so wide open we might not be able to hide from prying eyes, but any enemies we come across--man or beast--should have the same trouble."
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Raivont
Novice
Delightfully Bitter
Posts: 20
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Post by Raivont on Jun 19, 2007 16:31:33 GMT -5
Raivont shrugged in response to all the talk, honestly not caring either way, just as he'd said. He just wanted to know which direction they were going. His attitude did perk up, however, as Eldarion mentioned humidity. Heat? Score! Raivont was more than happy about that, to be honest, though it only showed as a twinkle in his eyes that never reached the rest of his face. He did, however, tug off his fur-lined cloak, stuffing it expertly inside his pack without difficulty. He would gladly suffer the cool morning now for comforting humidity later.
Iry, of course, yipped with excitement, sensing his master's sudden inner glee, and began racing around them, weaving in and out of people's legs, pouncing on Grr once or twice, ever high-spirited.
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