Lir's jaw drops as he's addressed, then his teeth clench and the jaw line sets.
"I have a feeling that there is more to the answers you seek than you're telling me." Lir said as a flash of insight crossed his face. "Very well then. As I have explained, my commitment is to the regency of Hagsgate. Not my father, but to the seat of authority he occupies. I was once told that to become a good leader, you must first be a good servant. So, as a good servant, I am afraid I will have to direct your inquiries before the Throne of Hagsgate."
Lir replaces the helm upon his head and casts his hand toward the portcullis, and then steps that way, as if leading.
As he walks, he leads the warriors through the portcullis and into the dilapidated keep that sits upon the hill. They step through a massive oaken door that is near rotten; it is a wonder that its rusty hinges allow it to shut. They step into the keep, and find that the hallways are dank and musty, the floors slick with years and years of filth. The rats have smooth lines along the bottoms of all the walls, which are discernable where the sparse light penetrates. Boots clack in the darkness as they are led further into the ancient construction...
“A good servant has many skills, including the knowledge to know when one’s leader is walking them off a cliff.” Ward says as he stands up and collects the teapot.
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P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
Ereni has a sad smile on her face as she and her companions follow Lir into the gloom of the keep. In the brief moments she is in full darkness, she disappears entirely, even to darkvision, as if a departed shade, though since she is not trying to be stealthy, her footsteps still sound on the stone.
In case Joy was left behind, Ereni makes sure to bring the dog with her. As they stride through the keep, she addresses the self-disavowed prince hesitantly in her melancholy drawl, "Lir, I... I lost my mother half as long ago as you. Aye, and my father too. As with Lady Kaede, I know..."
She swallows for a moment and continues, "I know the sorrow that scars over like an old wound and bleeds again at the slightest touch. The sense that nothing has seemed right in my little world since that day, just as nothing has been right in Hagsgate since the day your mother passed. For mine, it was Vader's orcs done for them. And for you? How did it come to pass? Was it to do with the shipwreck down there under the cliffs? The Annabelle Lee?"
Lir stops dead in his tracks. The dark of the corridor shifts around them. Somewhere in the distance, a clock chimes. It's echoes are melancholy as they flit like bats through the dark.
"Sickness took her when I was a child. I barely remember her. My father collapsed into himself when she passed. Ignored me. Ignored the kingdom. That started our fall. Then there was all that talk of Calibos the Fey Slayer, hunting unicorns and Fey things. My father sought the distraction. He wanted to find a way to make all that beauty his own. He always said my mother was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He loved her. Truly, deeply loved her. And then...he was lost. And he gave in to dark desires. Then he made a deal..."
He took a breath as silent as a crypt and as deep as the sea.
"As for the ship. The Annabelle Lee. No, see...that was my fault. I had dared to love once. Well, to openly love, once. She was a goddess incarnate, my Annabelle Lee. Not the most beautiful woman ever, as the cliche goes, as my father regards my mother. But her heart? Her heart was as vast as the sky. She was the daughter of the Duke of Windfall. She came here when Windfall tried to broker a deal with my father to use Hagsgate as a shipping port. They wanted to harvest the crystals of the Crystal Towers. Sorry, I'm rambling. The Annabelle Lee was named after the Duke's daughter. When she decided to stay in Hagsgate, to be with me, her brothers, having seen the conditions of our realm, refused and tried to take her back by force...but I intervened and the ship went aground as they tried to leave the Inlet of Sorrow and..."
He began to walk again, his boots banging the hard construction of the keeps corridors as they went.
"We were only children, really. It was so long ago. But I've...and now... Hagsgate is a cursed place. There is no happiness here. This is where happiness goes to die. So much wretched suffering eminates from here. And my father has contributed to the fall of the unicorns. The whole world is on the brink of endless despair because of what he has done."
The Prince stops talking abruptly, and begins to quickly outpace the band. Not because he's trying to lose them...no. It seems like he is running. Running from his pain. Running from the guilt and the grief and the loss.
“What is the purpose of the authority you serve though?” Nodjeim asks as Prince Lir starts leading them in. “I respect loyalty, of course, but surely that loyalty belongs to the reasons for the power? It’s goals and ideals, no? Is the reason for the seat of authority you serve to allow your kingdom to fall to ruin and it’s people wither away to dust?”
“What purpose power, and authority is a form of power… what purpose if not to benefit someone or something? So please, Prince Lir, enlighten us as to what the power you serve benefits?”
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We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
Ward sees Lir begin to run, looks around for any bystanders before focusing a moment and teleporting in front of Lir, grabbing him by the shoulders not threateningly but to still him. “All curses can be broken, just like any deal. And the Unicorns may not yet be lost, as well as this world. If you help us, we may be able to not undo, but mend the pain of some of these wrongs. But it is your choice friend. I understand your grief, I have caused many allies pain and caused them to pass. It is a burden that must be borne by those who lead, whether by choice or chance, as well as to make those deaths not in vein.” Ward says, looking Lir in the eyes. “Running can only last so long before we must plant our feet and fight. Here is the time in which you will have the most people behind you.” Ward says, then looking to his party behind them. “I have chosen to join these folks, to leave my hiding and to fight, and I may yet die for it, but I would rather stand to undo my sins than to try desperately to forget them.” Ward finishes
Thoroughly and absolutely disgusted by the putrid state of the castle, Lady Kaede struggles to keep up with the Prince. Feeling queasy and near vomiting, she slowly picks her way through the nauseating hallways, trying not to let any of the fetid floor and walls touch her silken cloak.
Ereni's heart clenches at Lir's heartfelt anguish. A wounded echo of her own ever-present darkness. She remembers Stasolya. Thea. Malenia.
The words come out of her as if dragged, in a hoarse whisper. "It is never too late to become the redemption you seek."
As the erstwhile prince accelerates and Nodjeim and Ward attempt to exhort and reason with him, she instinctively keeps up (35' move speed), and unlike Lady Kaede, she does not shy away from the darkness, disappearing into the darkest pools of gloom. With a lump in her throat, she tries to keep watch for threats even here inside the keep. Perhaps especially here. Staring into the black, her bow at the ready.
Johnathan just listens as the others talk with the prince. He found it so strange that they openly tell him so much of themselves to a stranger. This kingdom is on the edge of destruction and this prince did nothing. He let his father ruin the world and has let their people suffer. I am starting to hate this royals. Johnathan drops the disguise and speaks in his normal voice. Lir, I understand that your father might’ve done some questionable things for the last decades but how did that make all the guards disappear? And what intentions does he have marrying someone? Will that love make him a better man?
It's hard to tell, at first at least, which words make Lir bow up and stop in the middle of the corridor. He doesn't turn for a moment, and seems to let everyone catch up before looking over his shoulder, turning.
"Would you stay here?" He answered when asked about the guards. "Purpose? Sometimes you have to stay your post, regardless of what horrible thing is going on elsewhere. You're all right, in your own ways. Perhaps I could do more. But that is my father's responsibility, and my responsibility is to him. Do you not see? Marrying...how have...nevermind. That's..."
He jerks, as if shocked, at Ereni's words, then sets his jaw again and continues on.
The corridor finally ends as it opens up into a chamber. Thusfar, it's the most well kept part of the keep, and that's saying something; the floors are at least somewhat clean. The dingy old worn down rug isn't stained, so that's something. The chamber is lit by braziers and candelabras, the interior being a little hazed with smoke. A single throne sits on a short dais, and it looks like the wood of the arms hasn't been polished in decades. The man sitting in it is old, weathered, his face sunken and hard. There's no denying his lineage with Lir.
"Your majesty, I present to you emissaries...of..."
He pauses, thinks, continues.
"They seek audience with you in regards to the Red Bull, and the unicorns."
The King sits there for a moment, an already rough face twisting up in silent rage.
"You foolish whelp. Are you telling me you have brought emissaries before the crown and you don't even know what they're emissaries of?" King Haggard said, his voice a viper's venom. "And not just emissaries? Emissaries with potentially dangerous information? How would common rabble know of MY Red Bull? And MY unicorns? So, emissaries, who are you? Who do you represent? And what do you want? Spit it out so we can get on with our day and I can banish you from my kingdom."
Many responses flash through Nodjeim's head, everything from the polite to the crass, but he remains silent. While he may get mouthy from time to time he is aware he is not particularly skilled at such and this may be a time when words can make a difference for the better. May be, Nodjeim thinks, but he suspects that largely depends on how Lady Kaede takes to being called common rabble by a pitiful king on a soiled throne.
Nodjeim takes a deep breath and readies himself for anything...
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We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
Already gliding along the sides of the passage where the darkness renders her invisible to both regular sight and darkvision, Ereni slips instinctively into scout-mode, hanging back and staying in the darkness, her footsteps silent on the stone as they approach the grim King on his solitary throne.
Ward approaches the king and goes to a knee if front of the king. “I am Warden dear king. If you would allow I would Wish to approach and tell you of what we need as it is of great importance, as well as of less importance if you would know the location of a Scmendrick The Blue. I have some … questions … about one of his creations, which I of course may give you the details of, but that I would hesitate to say aloud for the comfort of all those present.” Ward says, shuddering a bit thinking of that godsdammed tree.
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P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
"You may not approach, automaton." King Haggard says, declining Ward's request. "Whatever it is you have to say, out with it. I'm impatient, and I have no tolerance for anyone who would waste my time. I would rather be alone with my thoughts, loud as they are. The Blue? You want to know about Schmendrick the Blue? Let me show you Schmendrick the Blue."
The King raises his hands and claps twice. There a moment's ease before two wooden doors on the right side of the room gently part and a wisp of thin fog rolls in. A young man walks in, his stride long and wobbly. He's skinny as a rail; you'd struggle to hit him with a handful of corn, if it wasn't for the way his blue robes hang off him. They're adorned with white stars and moons embroidered all over them. A huge wizard's hat is bunched on his head.
"At your will, your majesty!" The man in the blue robes says, moving clumsily. He bows and almost falls over.
"See here, Schmendrick the Blue! My court wizard!" The King says, gesturing to the wizard. A malicious grin crawls over his lips like a centipede with rabies. "Go on wizard! Show our illustrious guests how entertaining you can be!"
“Scmendrick! What did you do to Beatrice? I don’t know how but you gave a tree daddy issues!” Ward says before composing himself a moment. “Apologies king, for my outburst. But if I may have a conversation with the wizard that would be appreciated. There are a number of his uses of magic that I have interest in.” Ward says, then giving a knowing look dropping the mood of outrage about Beatrice for just a second as he looks at Schmendrick.
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P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
While Ward chats it up with Scmendrick, Kaede approaches the king, but not too close. She marches to the head of the crowd, and announces (without taking a knee or bowing) in a firm an unwavering voice:
"IN greatness and glory most renowned and Right Honorable Haggard, most sacred King, most wise governor of the causes and affairs of the people and family of Hagsgate, glory of the noble realm (whom all sorts seek unto and submit themselves), it is I, Lady Kaede Ashikaga of the Shōgunate Ashikaga, rulers of Kings Landing, do offer unto you such pleasures and courtesies as are worthy of our mutual and eternal familiarity."
After a pause of a few seconds of silence, she continues, "Common Rabble we are not."
"Whispers and rumors of a fanciful bull and magical unicorns have made their way across The Sea of No Return, to my fathers kingdom to the north. Shōgun Ashikaga has sent me, his most renowned daughter, Lady Kaede to investigate. If I am to find truth in any of these matters, I am prepared to make a...generous...offer to you, for your...assistance...in matters of common interest between our two kingdoms."
Again, after a pause of a few seconds of silence, letting her lucrative offer worm its way into King Haggard's measly brain, she continues "So...tell me, Brother Haggard, is there any truth to these rumors, or are they merely the prattling of young whelps with nothing better to do than to while away their time daydreaming up quixotic fantasies for mindless rabble to intrigue upon?"
King Haggard looks from Lady Kaede, to Warden, and back to the young Samurai.
"No you may not." The King says to Ward as he points at Schmendrick. "You are my court wizard, not his. Come here so that we can cease the distraction. I am afraid I overestimated the attention spans of our childlike emissaries."
He sits up a little straighter, his eyes narrowing a little more as he looks over Lady Kaede.
"I assume the Shogun did little to teach you proper manners, young samurai. My patience for those who would waste my time is extremely limited, so I recommend that instead of offering to make offers, you do so. Stop prying me for information. What is it you want, child, so that my simpleton son can escort the lot of you from my castle."
King Haggard's eyes turn to Prince Lir.
"What is it that you were thinking when you brought these people in here? They come here and spout drivel and extend generous offers without extending generous offers...what was it they said to you outside to convince you to let them in here? I count five of them. Five. All armed to the goddesses-be-damned teeth. For all you knew they could be assassins! And you brought them to me!?"
The longer the King spoke, the louder he got, and the more outraged he seemed. He raised a fist and slammed it with a thundering crack against the arm of the throne. Prince Lir at least had the grace to look ashamed. He muttered an apology to his father and turned his eyes away.
"They asked about the unicorns, and the Bull, and I thought...they'd be better to ask you. This is your realm afterall and..."
"You're right! It IS my realm!" The King rages at his son. The Prince, previously a formidable looking warrior in his plates of armor, adorned with a sword as long as he is tall, looks absolutely defeated as his father raises his voice.
Schmendrick slinks to the King's side, looking down and twiddling his thumb, casting his eyes up only twice, once at Ward, once to assess those with the Warforged.
"Go on then, girl! What is it you want! Spit it out or leave immediately! Stop wasting my time with unstated promises!"
“Weird brag, considered by what a dump this realm is,” Nodjeim says.
“Oh, uh, with all due respect, your kingness,” he quickly adds, as if suddenly realizing he had spoken aloud. “All due respect and all intended, of course. I come from a poor desert people so I understand having nothing…”
“I just don’t understand having no pride. But I am sure you are doing your best…”
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We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
"Ha!" Kaede laughs out loud. "Let me use smaller words, then, so his royal highness can understand them."
Annunciating each and every word, pausing between words to ensure that they sink in, she adds "Kings Landing ... wants ... proof ... of ... bull ... and ... unicorn. If ... show ... me ... proof ... I ... offer ... more ... gold ... than ... you've ... ever ... seen ... in ... this ... backwater ... kingdom." (with special emphasis on 'backwater').
And with an even tone, not being flustered at all by King Haggard's obviously rising tension, she continues with "But I can see that you're obviously bluffing, and the rumors of the supposed bull and unicorn are just that...rumors. Pity. I was rather hoping that you'd be more competent than that. I can see that your son truly got his superior genetics from his mother..."
Ward smiles at Kaede and Nodjeim as they speak and then approaches the king, getting within 30 feet of him before raising an arm, as he fires his Hookshot right next to the king getting as close as he can. “As they said. And I assure you we are not some mere common folk. This automoton ” Ward spits “has seen men like you and their kingdoms crumble to ash and dust, and should yours it will be nothing more than a footnote in history. “ Ward says, his veins crackling and voice becoming robotic and a deep booming tone. “And I assure you, if we were assassins your son would not be needed to slice your floundering skull from your body.” Ward says, before backing up a bit from the throne. “We will give you respect king, but only if it is returned. And since it has gone this way I will also drop my fanciful tone. The reason I come here is also in your interest. There is reason to believe the woman to be married into your family as well as this wizard Scmendrick may be in danger or used to get at you. I intend to question them so as to allow their safety, and by extension yours. You skeletal army and Bull are wonderful, however inelegant and slow. So any blade or bullet ,” Ward says, showing his scimitar and shotgun “could quite easily deal with you should they so choose. I intend to hamper those attempts, however much I may dislike you, at the orders of someone much more powerful than the both of us.” Ward says, doing best he can to shiver with his metal and wood frame
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P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
DM:
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Lir's jaw drops as he's addressed, then his teeth clench and the jaw line sets.
"I have a feeling that there is more to the answers you seek than you're telling me." Lir said as a flash of insight crossed his face. "Very well then. As I have explained, my commitment is to the regency of Hagsgate. Not my father, but to the seat of authority he occupies. I was once told that to become a good leader, you must first be a good servant. So, as a good servant, I am afraid I will have to direct your inquiries before the Throne of Hagsgate."
Lir replaces the helm upon his head and casts his hand toward the portcullis, and then steps that way, as if leading.
As he walks, he leads the warriors through the portcullis and into the dilapidated keep that sits upon the hill. They step through a massive oaken door that is near rotten; it is a wonder that its rusty hinges allow it to shut. They step into the keep, and find that the hallways are dank and musty, the floors slick with years and years of filth. The rats have smooth lines along the bottoms of all the walls, which are discernable where the sparse light penetrates. Boots clack in the darkness as they are led further into the ancient construction...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
DM of Legacy of NIMH
“A good servant has many skills, including the knowledge to know when one’s leader is walking them off a cliff.” Ward says as he stands up and collects the teapot.
P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
DM:
Ereni has a sad smile on her face as she and her companions follow Lir into the gloom of the keep. In the brief moments she is in full darkness, she disappears entirely, even to darkvision, as if a departed shade, though since she is not trying to be stealthy, her footsteps still sound on the stone.
In case Joy was left behind, Ereni makes sure to bring the dog with her. As they stride through the keep, she addresses the self-disavowed prince hesitantly in her melancholy drawl, "Lir, I... I lost my mother half as long ago as you. Aye, and my father too. As with Lady Kaede, I know..."
She swallows for a moment and continues, "I know the sorrow that scars over like an old wound and bleeds again at the slightest touch. The sense that nothing has seemed right in my little world since that day, just as nothing has been right in Hagsgate since the day your mother passed. For mine, it was Vader's orcs done for them. And for you? How did it come to pass? Was it to do with the shipwreck down there under the cliffs? The Annabelle Lee?"
Mud(Paladin2):Frandal's Scourge/Inge(Barbarian1):Krayveneer's After the Fall/Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles/Shin(Wizard2):Dimir_MTG's Surviving
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric3):Vos' Beyond the Veil/Soren(Druid4):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft/Nivi(Rogue3):Raiketsu's CoS/Lyra(Warlock2/Bard2):BlameItOnWinter's Will of the Ancients
Joren(Fighter5):NotDrizzt's Simple Request/Quyen(Adept1):Constance's Nentir Vale/Rel(Warlock2):Uhtred's Phandelver/Xarian(Fighter1/Wizard1):ShieldHero's Drakkenheim
Lir stops dead in his tracks. The dark of the corridor shifts around them. Somewhere in the distance, a clock chimes. It's echoes are melancholy as they flit like bats through the dark.
"Sickness took her when I was a child. I barely remember her. My father collapsed into himself when she passed. Ignored me. Ignored the kingdom. That started our fall. Then there was all that talk of Calibos the Fey Slayer, hunting unicorns and Fey things. My father sought the distraction. He wanted to find a way to make all that beauty his own. He always said my mother was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He loved her. Truly, deeply loved her. And then...he was lost. And he gave in to dark desires. Then he made a deal..."
He took a breath as silent as a crypt and as deep as the sea.
"As for the ship. The Annabelle Lee. No, see...that was my fault. I had dared to love once. Well, to openly love, once. She was a goddess incarnate, my Annabelle Lee. Not the most beautiful woman ever, as the cliche goes, as my father regards my mother. But her heart? Her heart was as vast as the sky. She was the daughter of the Duke of Windfall. She came here when Windfall tried to broker a deal with my father to use Hagsgate as a shipping port. They wanted to harvest the crystals of the Crystal Towers. Sorry, I'm rambling. The Annabelle Lee was named after the Duke's daughter. When she decided to stay in Hagsgate, to be with me, her brothers, having seen the conditions of our realm, refused and tried to take her back by force...but I intervened and the ship went aground as they tried to leave the Inlet of Sorrow and..."
He began to walk again, his boots banging the hard construction of the keeps corridors as they went.
"We were only children, really. It was so long ago. But I've...and now... Hagsgate is a cursed place. There is no happiness here. This is where happiness goes to die. So much wretched suffering eminates from here. And my father has contributed to the fall of the unicorns. The whole world is on the brink of endless despair because of what he has done."
The Prince stops talking abruptly, and begins to quickly outpace the band. Not because he's trying to lose them...no. It seems like he is running. Running from his pain. Running from the guilt and the grief and the loss.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
DM of Legacy of NIMH
“What is the purpose of the authority you serve though?” Nodjeim asks as Prince Lir starts leading them in. “I respect loyalty, of course, but surely that loyalty belongs to the reasons for the power? It’s goals and ideals, no? Is the reason for the seat of authority you serve to allow your kingdom to fall to ruin and it’s people wither away to dust?”
“What purpose power, and authority is a form of power… what purpose if not to benefit someone or something? So please, Prince Lir, enlighten us as to what the power you serve benefits?”
We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
-- Eleanor Shellstrop
Ward sees Lir begin to run, looks around for any bystanders before focusing a moment and teleporting in front of Lir, grabbing him by the shoulders not threateningly but to still him. “All curses can be broken, just like any deal. And the Unicorns may not yet be lost, as well as this world. If you help us, we may be able to not undo, but mend the pain of some of these wrongs. But it is your choice friend. I understand your grief, I have caused many allies pain and caused them to pass. It is a burden that must be borne by those who lead, whether by choice or chance, as well as to make those deaths not in vein.” Ward says, looking Lir in the eyes. “Running can only last so long before we must plant our feet and fight. Here is the time in which you will have the most people behind you.” Ward says, then looking to his party behind them. “I have chosen to join these folks, to leave my hiding and to fight, and I may yet die for it, but I would rather stand to undo my sins than to try desperately to forget them.” Ward finishes
P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
DM:
Thoroughly and absolutely disgusted by the putrid state of the castle, Lady Kaede struggles to keep up with the Prince. Feeling queasy and near vomiting, she slowly picks her way through the nauseating hallways, trying not to let any of the fetid floor and walls touch her silken cloak.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Ereni's heart clenches at Lir's heartfelt anguish. A wounded echo of her own ever-present darkness. She remembers Stasolya. Thea. Malenia.
The words come out of her as if dragged, in a hoarse whisper. "It is never too late to become the redemption you seek."
As the erstwhile prince accelerates and Nodjeim and Ward attempt to exhort and reason with him, she instinctively keeps up (35' move speed), and unlike Lady Kaede, she does not shy away from the darkness, disappearing into the darkest pools of gloom. With a lump in her throat, she tries to keep watch for threats even here inside the keep. Perhaps especially here. Staring into the black, her bow at the ready.
Perception: 15 (passive 20).
Mud(Paladin2):Frandal's Scourge/Inge(Barbarian1):Krayveneer's After the Fall/Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles/Shin(Wizard2):Dimir_MTG's Surviving
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric3):Vos' Beyond the Veil/Soren(Druid4):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft/Nivi(Rogue3):Raiketsu's CoS/Lyra(Warlock2/Bard2):BlameItOnWinter's Will of the Ancients
Joren(Fighter5):NotDrizzt's Simple Request/Quyen(Adept1):Constance's Nentir Vale/Rel(Warlock2):Uhtred's Phandelver/Xarian(Fighter1/Wizard1):ShieldHero's Drakkenheim
Johnathan just listens as the others talk with the prince. He found it so strange that they openly tell him so much of themselves to a stranger. This kingdom is on the edge of destruction and this prince did nothing. He let his father ruin the world and has let their people suffer. I am starting to hate this royals. Johnathan drops the disguise and speaks in his normal voice. Lir, I understand that your father might’ve done some questionable things for the last decades but how did that make all the guards disappear? And what intentions does he have marrying someone? Will that love make him a better man?
It's hard to tell, at first at least, which words make Lir bow up and stop in the middle of the corridor. He doesn't turn for a moment, and seems to let everyone catch up before looking over his shoulder, turning.
"Would you stay here?" He answered when asked about the guards. "Purpose? Sometimes you have to stay your post, regardless of what horrible thing is going on elsewhere. You're all right, in your own ways. Perhaps I could do more. But that is my father's responsibility, and my responsibility is to him. Do you not see? Marrying...how have...nevermind. That's..."
He jerks, as if shocked, at Ereni's words, then sets his jaw again and continues on.
The corridor finally ends as it opens up into a chamber. Thusfar, it's the most well kept part of the keep, and that's saying something; the floors are at least somewhat clean. The dingy old worn down rug isn't stained, so that's something. The chamber is lit by braziers and candelabras, the interior being a little hazed with smoke. A single throne sits on a short dais, and it looks like the wood of the arms hasn't been polished in decades. The man sitting in it is old, weathered, his face sunken and hard. There's no denying his lineage with Lir.
"Your majesty, I present to you emissaries...of..."
He pauses, thinks, continues.
"They seek audience with you in regards to the Red Bull, and the unicorns."
The King sits there for a moment, an already rough face twisting up in silent rage.
"You foolish whelp. Are you telling me you have brought emissaries before the crown and you don't even know what they're emissaries of?" King Haggard said, his voice a viper's venom. "And not just emissaries? Emissaries with potentially dangerous information? How would common rabble know of MY Red Bull? And MY unicorns? So, emissaries, who are you? Who do you represent? And what do you want? Spit it out so we can get on with our day and I can banish you from my kingdom."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
DM of Legacy of NIMH
Many responses flash through Nodjeim's head, everything from the polite to the crass, but he remains silent. While he may get mouthy from time to time he is aware he is not particularly skilled at such and this may be a time when words can make a difference for the better. May be, Nodjeim thinks, but he suspects that largely depends on how Lady Kaede takes to being called common rabble by a pitiful king on a soiled throne.
Nodjeim takes a deep breath and readies himself for anything...
We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
-- Eleanor Shellstrop
Already gliding along the sides of the passage where the darkness renders her invisible to both regular sight and darkvision, Ereni slips instinctively into scout-mode, hanging back and staying in the darkness, her footsteps silent on the stone as they approach the grim King on his solitary throne.
Stealth: 25
Passive Perception: 20
Mud(Paladin2):Frandal's Scourge/Inge(Barbarian1):Krayveneer's After the Fall/Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles/Shin(Wizard2):Dimir_MTG's Surviving
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric3):Vos' Beyond the Veil/Soren(Druid4):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft/Nivi(Rogue3):Raiketsu's CoS/Lyra(Warlock2/Bard2):BlameItOnWinter's Will of the Ancients
Joren(Fighter5):NotDrizzt's Simple Request/Quyen(Adept1):Constance's Nentir Vale/Rel(Warlock2):Uhtred's Phandelver/Xarian(Fighter1/Wizard1):ShieldHero's Drakkenheim
Ward approaches the king and goes to a knee if front of the king. “I am Warden dear king. If you would allow I would Wish to approach and tell you of what we need as it is of great importance, as well as of less importance if you would know the location of a Scmendrick The Blue. I have some … questions … about one of his creations, which I of course may give you the details of, but that I would hesitate to say aloud for the comfort of all those present.” Ward says, shuddering a bit thinking of that godsdammed tree.
P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
DM:
"You may not approach, automaton." King Haggard says, declining Ward's request. "Whatever it is you have to say, out with it. I'm impatient, and I have no tolerance for anyone who would waste my time. I would rather be alone with my thoughts, loud as they are. The Blue? You want to know about Schmendrick the Blue? Let me show you Schmendrick the Blue."
The King raises his hands and claps twice. There a moment's ease before two wooden doors on the right side of the room gently part and a wisp of thin fog rolls in. A young man walks in, his stride long and wobbly. He's skinny as a rail; you'd struggle to hit him with a handful of corn, if it wasn't for the way his blue robes hang off him. They're adorned with white stars and moons embroidered all over them. A huge wizard's hat is bunched on his head.
"At your will, your majesty!" The man in the blue robes says, moving clumsily. He bows and almost falls over.
"See here, Schmendrick the Blue! My court wizard!" The King says, gesturing to the wizard. A malicious grin crawls over his lips like a centipede with rabies. "Go on wizard! Show our illustrious guests how entertaining you can be!"
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
DM of Legacy of NIMH
“Scmendrick! What did you do to Beatrice? I don’t know how but you gave a tree daddy issues!” Ward says before composing himself a moment. “Apologies king, for my outburst. But if I may have a conversation with the wizard that would be appreciated. There are a number of his uses of magic that I have interest in.” Ward says, then giving a knowing look dropping the mood of outrage about Beatrice for just a second as he looks at Schmendrick.
P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
DM:
While Ward chats it up with Scmendrick, Kaede approaches the king, but not too close. She marches to the head of the crowd, and announces (without taking a knee or bowing) in a firm an unwavering voice:
"IN greatness and glory most renowned and Right Honorable Haggard, most sacred King, most wise governor of the causes and affairs of the people and family of Hagsgate, glory of the noble realm (whom all sorts seek unto and submit themselves), it is I, Lady Kaede Ashikaga of the Shōgunate Ashikaga, rulers of Kings Landing, do offer unto you such pleasures and courtesies as are worthy of our mutual and eternal familiarity."
After a pause of a few seconds of silence, she continues, "Common Rabble we are not."
"Whispers and rumors of a fanciful bull and magical unicorns have made their way across The Sea of No Return, to my fathers kingdom to the north. Shōgun Ashikaga has sent me, his most renowned daughter, Lady Kaede to investigate. If I am to find truth in any of these matters, I am prepared to make a...generous...offer to you, for your...assistance...in matters of common interest between our two kingdoms."
Again, after a pause of a few seconds of silence, letting her lucrative offer worm its way into King Haggard's measly brain, she continues "So...tell me, Brother Haggard, is there any truth to these rumors, or are they merely the prattling of young whelps with nothing better to do than to while away their time daydreaming up quixotic fantasies for mindless rabble to intrigue upon?"
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
King Haggard looks from Lady Kaede, to Warden, and back to the young Samurai.
"No you may not." The King says to Ward as he points at Schmendrick. "You are my court wizard, not his. Come here so that we can cease the distraction. I am afraid I overestimated the attention spans of our childlike emissaries."
He sits up a little straighter, his eyes narrowing a little more as he looks over Lady Kaede.
"I assume the Shogun did little to teach you proper manners, young samurai. My patience for those who would waste my time is extremely limited, so I recommend that instead of offering to make offers, you do so. Stop prying me for information. What is it you want, child, so that my simpleton son can escort the lot of you from my castle."
King Haggard's eyes turn to Prince Lir.
"What is it that you were thinking when you brought these people in here? They come here and spout drivel and extend generous offers without extending generous offers...what was it they said to you outside to convince you to let them in here? I count five of them. Five. All armed to the goddesses-be-damned teeth. For all you knew they could be assassins! And you brought them to me!?"
The longer the King spoke, the louder he got, and the more outraged he seemed. He raised a fist and slammed it with a thundering crack against the arm of the throne. Prince Lir at least had the grace to look ashamed. He muttered an apology to his father and turned his eyes away.
"They asked about the unicorns, and the Bull, and I thought...they'd be better to ask you. This is your realm afterall and..."
"You're right! It IS my realm!" The King rages at his son. The Prince, previously a formidable looking warrior in his plates of armor, adorned with a sword as long as he is tall, looks absolutely defeated as his father raises his voice.
Schmendrick slinks to the King's side, looking down and twiddling his thumb, casting his eyes up only twice, once at Ward, once to assess those with the Warforged.
"Go on then, girl! What is it you want! Spit it out or leave immediately! Stop wasting my time with unstated promises!"
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
DM of Legacy of NIMH
“Weird brag, considered by what a dump this realm is,” Nodjeim says.
“Oh, uh, with all due respect, your kingness,” he quickly adds, as if suddenly realizing he had spoken aloud. “All due respect and all intended, of course. I come from a poor desert people so I understand having nothing…”
“I just don’t understand having no pride. But I am sure you are doing your best…”
We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
-- Eleanor Shellstrop
"Ha!" Kaede laughs out loud. "Let me use smaller words, then, so his royal highness can understand them."
Annunciating each and every word, pausing between words to ensure that they sink in, she adds "Kings Landing ... wants ... proof ... of ... bull ... and ... unicorn. If ... show ... me ... proof ... I ... offer ... more ... gold ... than ... you've ... ever ... seen ... in ... this ... backwater ... kingdom." (with special emphasis on 'backwater').
And with an even tone, not being flustered at all by King Haggard's obviously rising tension, she continues with "But I can see that you're obviously bluffing, and the rumors of the supposed bull and unicorn are just that...rumors. Pity. I was rather hoping that you'd be more competent than that. I can see that your son truly got his superior genetics from his mother..."
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Ward smiles at Kaede and Nodjeim as they speak and then approaches the king, getting within 30 feet of him before raising an arm, as he fires his Hookshot right next to the king getting as close as he can. “As they said. And I assure you we are not some mere common folk. This automoton ” Ward spits “has seen men like you and their kingdoms crumble to ash and dust, and should yours it will be nothing more than a footnote in history. “ Ward says, his veins crackling and voice becoming robotic and a deep booming tone. “And I assure you, if we were assassins your son would not be needed to slice your floundering skull from your body.” Ward says, before backing up a bit from the throne. “We will give you respect king, but only if it is returned. And since it has gone this way I will also drop my fanciful tone. The reason I come here is also in your interest. There is reason to believe the woman to be married into your family as well as this wizard Scmendrick may be in danger or used to get at you. I intend to question them so as to allow their safety, and by extension yours. You skeletal army and Bull are wonderful, however inelegant and slow. So any blade or bullet ,” Ward says, showing his scimitar and shotgun “could quite easily deal with you should they so choose. I intend to hamper those attempts, however much I may dislike you, at the orders of someone much more powerful than the both of us.” Ward says, doing best he can to shiver with his metal and wood frame
P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
DM: