A tiny fairy bathed in blue shimming light appears near Travin. Their colors vibrant and exotic with blues, greens and purples. They seem to have some kind of spear like object that is pure white and almost seems to glow on their back.. It is expertly secured to their back between their wings with multiple straps of what looks like weaved together vines. The blue glow coming from the fairy seeming to create a sphere of blue around both the fairy and everything they hold. They look around at all the newcomers and sigh as they flutter then land on the pile of stuff that is Travin. "At least they gave us warning. I'll think about what you all said. For now, seems like we got stuff to do! Oh! A familiar face! They gave me directions to the rest of the Dawn Guard... HELLO!" The blue glow seems to warp and expand and a giant blue spectral hand waves to Atreyu as they flutter into the air and say hello. Then vanishes as the fairy lands back down with Travin. Delph looks to the heavily piled one and asks, "Do you see the others?" Then they look around. IF they don't see them at first they will fly up into the air to check.
Ward manages to stand up even under the weight of everything he is carrying and upon seeing the dragon hastily throws all the armor he has into the bag, trying to obscure the scale mail from the dragon's view. "Well, finally get to meet the rest of the bands at least." Ward says uncrossing his arms and laying them at his side where on one arm you can see a mess of metal tubes attached on and on the other a pepperbox pistol attached in some fashion. "Let's get this started then." Ward says before taking off the helmet he wears and holding it at his side so that his face can be seen.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
As Jek is standing beside Rum, he looks through the crowd, and realizes that Dageron and Darla aren't there. "I'm glad they're becoming friends." He says to no one in particular.
It about now that Jek starts seeing people start to materialize. Is that weird little creature butting a dismembered leg into a bag? Is he one of those childs? He looks small enough. But, he's carrying a bunch of stuff with him. Should someone help him with that? He didn't think the other races let there childs do anything.
Oh, here comes a lady riding a horse! Oh... wait a second, she's not riding a horse, she's part horse! Oh, Oh, Oh! He heard stories with these creatures before. They are supposed to be very brave and valent hero! Or dastardly villains, depending on the story. As she finishes her poem, Jek is bouncing in place. He'll lean over to Rum. "Rum! Did you hear! She knows about the Bright Lady! How exciting, most of you people call her different names, but she was talking about the Bright Lady! Also, I did not realize when Atreyu said soon, he meant 2 minutes. I thought there would be at least 10. Oh look, more of them are coming through!"
"Hello, everyone," Lelith greeted the heroes of Hyboria with a thin cold smile that did not reach her eyes. "I hope you have all be doing well since we had last gathered at the Ivory Tower..."
"It seems you were not spared either, you took casualties of your own. My condoleances." Lelith offered with genuine sadness in her expression. "I am sure we all have a lot to say to each other."
"Particularly, the Twilight Embers," she offered them a candid wave as she met their eyes, she lingered on Rumble and Tuto for a few moments longer before moving on. "Why don't I start first?"
"/Where is the Princess?/" She asked, although it sounded almost like a demand. "If you don't me asking, of course."
From beneath his black hood, Shirin eyes these newcomers as they poof into existence. The recent string of events had him on edge every time he saw a portal opening. Was it going to be helpful or harmful - it seemed like a flip of a coin at this point. He was glad at it seemed this was an Auryn-bearer party, but he couldn’t help but be paranoid, expecting a portal with some new villain to crash the event. He wondered where he would vacation after all of this, should he make it out alive.
A young, middle aged man stands before you, a black hood covering most of his features though a hint of a red goatee is visible. His skin is pale and he has a black boat covering most of body, making it difficult to determine his shape and size without getting too close. On his shoulder you see a small black bat perching on him as he walks and besides him a small plant like entity follows obediently. When he walks he maintains a distance from people and tries to keep away from direct eye contact.
Johnathan stares at all the familiar faces and some new ones. He takes a moment to get his surroundings, taking count of how many were lost so far. Johnathan seems to get a bit awkward at the mention of the lightning in the sky, though he does his best to not mention it. There are more of us than expected. He looks at the champion of the Childlike Empress, So we finally meet. Must be getting bad now. He sighs when he hears Jek, Rum and the bagpipe person start making speeches and playing music. Great, we will save the world with music and speeches filled with wishful thinking more than actual tactics. Is this why you brought us here Champion? We were in the middle of things you know. I hope there is an actual plan besides calling us a resistance.
Rum shifts a little as the newcomers appear, his feline ears flattening slightly as he warily watches them come into focus. The last arrivals had turned out to be less than friendly, hence his caution, but he soon recognises the faces of the Dawn Guard. Well, some of the faces he recognises, there are new faces as well. Lots of them in truth.
He relaxes and watches the arrivals with curiosity, inclining his head to Kerwyn, Shavaris and Jonathan as he spots them.
As the centaur does her version of a bow in front of Atreyu, he listens to her poem and instantly recognises that she is the Auryn bearer for Andromeda’s Answer. Even before he spots the Auryn she holds up.
He smiles at Jek and his excitement to hear talk about the Bright Lady.
At that moment he spots Lelith in the crowd of those who appear and a growl emanates from deep within his throat. He listens as she makes her little speech, obviously designed to antagonise.
“You have summoned a traitor, Champion Atreyu”, he says as his lips curl and his fangs are exposed.
“The Lord of Darkness’ concubine has no place here, unless she has been summoned to face swift retribution”, he adds ignoring Leith's question entirely.
Beside the poetic centaur appears a young half-elf of slightly above average height, dirty blond hair and a fine-looking longbow over her shoulder. She adjusts a dark green face cloth, leaving only melancholy green eyes staring out, with the same flat expression she might have worn were she out on an evening stroll or viewing the carnage of a battlefield. She blinks once. I liked the darkness better. Just my luck, I probably can't go back.
Ereni Shaidaro does not follow her companion Stasolya to pay tribute to Atreyu. She begins to salute before realizing she no longer has any right to do that. You were long gone before the Ivory Tower was, scout. She not so gracefully turns the gesture into brushing a stray lock of hair from her eyes.
Her morose gaze continues around until it stops on Lelith, expression becoming somehow even flatter at the sight of the tall eladrin. Upon hearing the tabaxi's words, Ereni nods almost imperceptibly to herself but says nothing. Stasolya was right. Ereni continues the scan of her surroundings, assessing them now tactically rather than as a meeting spot. Darkness. As well wish for shade at noon, as darkness in the... Hall of Celestials? Just my luck.
As the others run out, Oten looks at Tuto. In attacking Tuto, mind control or no, he had done something he wished he hadn't and was worried about the consequences. This must be guilt. He looks in the direction everyone is running off to, then back to Tuto. He cautiously extends one hand in invitation, and points the thumb of his other at his back.
Tuto for, perhaps the first time since he could remember, is silent. So many years, so many people, so many dances. He remembers them. All of them. Be it song or dance, he's carried those memories. But, when they went away, Tuto had time. To think of a step and a tune to remember them. Greko, wise and aloof. He reminded Tuto of wandering druids that played with him in the snow. Lelith. He had thought she just needed time to know people. To get accustomed to life apart from fey. She...lied. And Ro...
Ro is gone.
Tuto glanced down at his whistle, his gift, his mask staring back at him. The danger never stops. He can't stop the danger. Why is he here? Why was he called? Tuto is too small.
Tuto slowly took a seat. A familiar shadow loomed over, he tuned to met Oten's gaze, then looked at his hand. Oten is imposing, powerful. What need does he of Tuto. Tuto slowly turned back to the whistle, and sat in silence.
Members of each band teleported into existence, with some accepting the event and beginning to mingle while others questioned its purpose. Though everyone reacted differently, the one constant was that each individual came from a band. That constant was broken when a thri-kreen was teleported amongst the band members; a face that no one could recognize as friend or foe; a complete stranger.
Though its insect-like face showed no emotion, it was obvious that the thri-kreen did not expect to be teleported. His large, orange eyes glanced left and right, taking in its new surroundings and unsure if the people around him were a threat. He wore a single piece of plate mail on his chest, leaving the rest of his body to be protected by his reddish-brown exoskeleton. The color was meant to help the thri-kreen stay hidden in its natural habitat, the desert. But here, far from its home, the red only made the thri-kreen stand out more. If that wasn't enough to make the thri-kreen stand out, then his prosthetic legs and robotic arm surely did. The entire length of the his leg were made of various metals with the lower half being a single piece of metal bent into an L-shape. And while the thri-kreen had 4 arms like the rest of its species, it's lower-left arm was a prosthetic as well. Made of similar materials as its legs; the arm featured three pincer like fingers and a red orb embedded in its palm.
If the thri-kreen's frightened demeanor and odd appearance didn't garner the attention of those around him, then the loud thud that proceeded him did. Perhaps it was a slight error in the teleportation magic, but nonetheless, another figure teleported into the area nearly 7 feet above the ground. The figure fell to the floor with a BANG, as hulking metal met earth. The metal construct landed on a single knee which cratered the ground below it. As it stood up to its full height, steam hissed out from the gaps in its armor. Its two arms were enormous, allowing the construct's knuckles to nearly scrape the ground even as it stood tall. It had a similar insect-shaped head like the thri-kreen but rather than antennae, the construct's head boasted a T-shaped horn that increased its overall height by nearly a foot.
As the construct simply stood amongst the onlooking crowd, a tiny creature revealed itself from atop the construct's shoulder. The small creature appeared to be some sort of silk moth-humanoid as it stood on its two hind legs. The silk moth adorned a tiara on its head and wielded a small staff. Both the steel construct and the silk moth-like creature scanned the room in silence until they saw the thri-kreen. The duo rushed to the thri-kreen's side which appeared to bring great relief to the thri-kreen.
The thri-kreen spoke to the duo in its native language, making a series of clicking noises. The hulking construct and tiny silk-moth creature nodded. In perfect sync, the trio got into position and covered each others backs. The thri-kreen wielded a hilariously large great sword with its two upper arms, a shield in another arm, and its robotic arm shifted into a blaster of sorts trained on anyone who came close. The armored-beetle construct stood beside the thri-kreen with arms out ready to wrestle whilst the tiny silk moth creature hovered in the air between the two.
"Slander is unnecessary... I was not, I am not, and I will never be a concubine or lover to that /thing/," Lelith shuddered in clear disgust as she seemed to be remembering something and that triggered it. "Me? ME? With THAT THING?!"
"I would rather suffer a thousand deaths than allow that. I had been twisted by its dark power to do its bidding..." Lelith's hair, a once luscious white, was steadily becoming orange to red as her wrath was only ignited further. Her eyes were now a vicious crimson. "I will find that disgusting red pig that /dares/ calls itself a fiend and a lord. I /will/ slice it into pieces and feed it to the dogs. I will turn its immortality into its worst nightmare, I will have it experience ultimate despair as I break its mind, every plea of mercy will be symphony to my ears, until it's little more than a f u c k i n g little broken puppet."
"Put my name in the same sentence as that f u c k e r, Rumble of Hunger," Lelith glared at him with the glare of a thousand suns as small sparks of fire danced around her. "I dare you. Do it again, and I will unmake you. I will f u c k i n g make a coat out of you, little kitty. You do not--, you will not presume again to know what has happened to me."
With that outburst done, Lelith took a few deep breaths to calm down as her appearance returned to normal once more. "With that clear, and I apologize for the outburst. It's physically unhealthy for us, Eladrin, to keep our emotional stress contained. I am open to answering questions but I haven't had mine yet answered. Has anyone seen the Princess? Anyone at all knows of her whereabouts?"
"Quite frankly Lilith you come from a place of distrust. You should be kept at far reach. I will not discuss your relations with the darkness, but I will keep blade and barrel pointed in your direction. Very recently I had my allies' faculties taken over, it was obvious. If your allies believe you to be a traitor, I would lean on them for that judgment." Ward says, flashing each arm and an assortment of weapons affixed to them. "Tread carefully, the Dawn Guard has a great deal of weaponry and can deal with you should you wish to attack our allies here. And I, personally, will follow you across planes should you wish to run, regardless of your extra-planar capabilities." Ward says, his veins glowing white with crackly streaks of lightning across his body for a moment before dying down after he has sufficiently made the point. "Moving on, and commenting on what my ally has said, what is our goal here? While I realize it is of some importance, there are some specific goals which our party has, that will greatly affect the current circumstance of this war, which is as detailed as I am willing to be for the moment." Ward says, looking towards the heads of this group
As the teleportation reaches its final destination and Shavaris looks around at her surroundings, it takes quite a few moments for her to find her equilibrium. She smiles seeing the familiar faces of Jek, Rum, Tuto.... Lelith.. she shudders as she sees the elf, recalling the AURYN message Kerwyn recently relayed to them. So few left from when they met at the Ivory Tower. Ro hurts the most. He was the one that she knew before all this, not well, but ah... best not to dwell...
As the others start to talk, whether in arms to the AURYN, in confusion, or against Lelith, it all becomes noise to her. When Travin mentions the hallucination, she puts her hand on him for reassurance and bends down to whisper, "This is most definitely real, we're all here.. all the bands that we told you about."
The Thri-kreen and entourage take her attention next, they were new... and if it wasn't for the carnival, she wouldn't have even known what it was. She hopes they were there to help, but with Lelith there it gives more of an uncertainty to the entire room. Looking around again, she wonders if introductions were going to be made? Or was that trivial?
Shavaris finally focuses on Atreyu and those that surround him, more unfamiliar faces, but after the message that was sent.. she hopes they have news that will help.
A dirty blonde haired man with singed chest hair sporting an Auryn medallion appears in shimmering light. He is riding a flail snail that looks even a little larger than normal, if you’ve ever encountered one. He hops off, he has a circlet on his head, wearing mithral armor and a cape and looks….. regal? perhaps? He is dazed for a minute as he gathers himself, just as the conversation is getting interested, heated perhaps. He sees a hot headed Eladrin elf cursing at … could it be? “Rumble? Good to see you! Thanks for the message, Kerwyn here! We are all assembled, I guess. Whoa, that was crazy. As long as we’re not back in that Labyrinth place.” He turns, looking around, spots Atreyu. He nodes and bows to him. “I have heard and prepared my group, Champion Atreyu. We are here and ready to fight for you. The Dawn Guard stands by your side. Maybe not the most, uh, conventional, form of an army. But we can get it done. You just tell us when you want us to open up the can of whoop ass, and it will be done. In triplicate. Isn’t that right my man, Ward?” he smiles and turns to the overly armed Druid. He bows once again to Atreyu and then moves to assess the current situation. “Rumble, is this the one you were talking about? The traitor Lelith? Why is she here? You want we should handle her?” His hand goes to his side, putting his hand on something on his belt, and he stands beside his flail snail. One flail drops down in anticipation.
Thoroughly confused, Lady Kaede stands off to the edge of the growing crowd all by her lonesome, her resplendent armor speaking volumes of her relative importance in the social structure of the crowd. Arms crossed, visibly broadcasting her reluctance to join in on any of the patter of greetings and salutations amongst apparent friends, she stews in her own anger.
Thinking quietly to herself:
Once again, nobility is the source of loneliness. What in the nine hells have you gotten yourself into?
Calm yourself. These petty arguments are of no consequence to you. Focus on what really matters....your people. Your family. Your kingdom.
She slowly blows out a long breath of air, whistling between her clenched teeth, and quietly repeats her mantra to no one in particular but her own spirit and many gods:
"The undisturbed mind is like the calm body water reflecting the brilliance of the moon. Empty the mind and you will realize the undisturbed mind."
Atreyu smiles as Stasolya prances forward and kneels in a way that only a Centaur could, and then waves at Delphinium as they float up and make themselves known. He watches and listens as the gathering crowd takes shape, realizes its situation, and the members of the throng begin to interact with one another. He makes a motion of de-escalation as Johnathan addresses him and smiles wryly while watching Lelith's appearance with concern. As her exchange with Rumble of Hunger begins to get out of hand, he makes a step as if to come down from his position, then stops himself.
"I listened to what you said, Rumble." Atreyu said, referring to the message Rum had sent about Lelith. "We'll handle that situation. For now, Lelith, stop worrying about the Princess. I'm going to have to insist that you remain unarmed and unarmored while we decide what to do with you. This meeting of Hyboria's heroes will remain cordial."
He nods toward the crowd as if to say I mean it.
He listens to what Ward says, and then addresses the crowd again.
"Friends...things have taken a turn." Atreyu says, finally replacing the AURYN Medallion that he was holding to its spot around his neck, and then let it fall beneath his leather tunic. "I have been busy these last few weeks trying to determine where we stand in our efforts, but it's clear, now anyway, that...well. Things aren't going well."
He pauses here for a moment and then looks at Gandalf. The old wizard nods and indicates that he should go on.
"The Childlike Empress was my mentor. My leader. She was my trusted friend. My oldest friend." He takes a second to wet his lips with his tongue. "She was a beacon in the storm when I needed her the most, and I have felt her loss greater than anything in my life. I'm ashamed to say...I think she waited too late to call you to us. We were building a levee while the floodwaters were already in the city streets, and we were too naïve, or preoccupied, or in denial to admit that our feet were getting wet. All is not lost, though. We're still in this fight. And I think, based on what I've seen and heard...I think we have a chance. But I think that chance really depends on what we do next. There are men better suited for this than me. There are leaders who should be here but they can't be because they've been stripped from us. But I'm going to do what I can. I've already been working on a plan, but Gandalf and I will have a conference before we decide what to do next. In the meantime, I need to know what you know."
Gandalf took a moment to make a gesture of his hands, holding his hand up to the crowd before approaching Atreyu and whispering something in his ear. Then he turned to face the gathered bands.
"I've been eavesdropping on your thoughts." He says, taking a moment to lean his weight forward on his staff. "Some of you don't trust your current situation. I think that, given the circumstances, that's understandable."
His eyes fall on Lelith for a moment.
"Unless you just want to say it out loud here, Atreyu and I will wait inside in a private room. You can come there and tell us your say. If it's important, we need to know. Lives, all of Hyboria, everything is on the line. Witholding information isn't helping anyone except the enemy. Now, Krille, was it? I need every mirror you have in the Hall. Every single one, you understand? Find me a room where we can sit every single one of them up in a big ring."
The Owlin Elder bowed and moved into the Hall of the Celestials.
Atreyu waves a hand and a smile to Kerwyn.
"Nevermind Lelith for now. She is going to have her day in court, as she is entitled."
Gandalf watches Kerwyn and strokes his beard.
"Where are you from, young man? There is something about you that is familiar to this old fool."
Amitola, being quiet, per her usual self, looks at each and every face around her trying to comprehend everything at once. She's usually used to a little chaos, but she doesn't know where to begin, who to talk to, she's just been listening. Her, already someone who doesn't do well with new people, used to being to herself she usually avoids speaking. While studying the faces of the others, she looks upon Lady Kaede, sensing a bit of herself in the young one, she walks over.
Careful not to be pushy, she gently approaches, and softly speaks just above a whisper, "Young one, I'm not well with words, but I will say this, I may understand more of you than you know. If you would like to speak of anything, know I am willing to listen all while casting no judgement."
With that being said, Amitola remains standing beside her, not knowing whether or not there would be a response.
Oten stands, by himself at the back of things as Atreyu makes his speech. But at Lelith's arrival, he moves to stand beside Rum and draws himself up to his full height, crossing his arms and staring impassively at her.
The message is clear. If she makes a move on anyone, Oten will be in her path.
Dageron works closely with the library keepers to find the information he seeks as quickly as possible. Above all else, he seeks reference to a teacher. Many things cannot be learned from a book alone.
An agent of darkness? Here. Johnathan gives Lilith a cold stare. For a moment his eyes turn a faint red colour as he clenches his fists. WHY DID THEY BRING THEM HERE! After a moment they return to their usual green. Making deals with lord of darkness will get us all killed. Your party is right to fear you. This can easily be trap. Get all of lord of darkness enemies in one place to wipe us out. Johnathan turns to the old wizard folk. Is this area secure? This is too risky, and if Lilith knows our location then who knows what else will be joining this meeting. Johnathan will keep a close eye on Lilith, he did not want to give them a chance to spring a trap or run away.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
A tiny fairy bathed in blue shimming light appears near Travin. Their colors vibrant and exotic with blues, greens and purples. They seem to have some kind of spear like object that is pure white and almost seems to glow on their back.. It is expertly secured to their back between their wings with multiple straps of what looks like weaved together vines. The blue glow coming from the fairy seeming to create a sphere of blue around both the fairy and everything they hold. They look around at all the newcomers and sigh as they flutter then land on the pile of stuff that is Travin. "At least they gave us warning. I'll think about what you all said. For now, seems like we got stuff to do! Oh! A familiar face! They gave me directions to the rest of the Dawn Guard... HELLO!" The blue glow seems to warp and expand and a giant blue spectral hand waves to Atreyu as they flutter into the air and say hello. Then vanishes as the fairy lands back down with Travin. Delph looks to the heavily piled one and asks, "Do you see the others?" Then they look around. IF they don't see them at first they will fly up into the air to check.
Ward manages to stand up even under the weight of everything he is carrying and upon seeing the dragon hastily throws all the armor he has into the bag, trying to obscure the scale mail from the dragon's view. "Well, finally get to meet the rest of the bands at least." Ward says uncrossing his arms and laying them at his side where on one arm you can see a mess of metal tubes attached on and on the other a pepperbox pistol attached in some fashion. "Let's get this started then." Ward says before taking off the helmet he wears and holding it at his side so that his face can be seen.
P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
DM:
As Jek is standing beside Rum, he looks through the crowd, and realizes that Dageron and Darla aren't there. "I'm glad they're becoming friends." He says to no one in particular.
It about now that Jek starts seeing people start to materialize. Is that weird little creature butting a dismembered leg into a bag? Is he one of those childs? He looks small enough. But, he's carrying a bunch of stuff with him. Should someone help him with that? He didn't think the other races let there childs do anything.
Oh, here comes a lady riding a horse! Oh... wait a second, she's not riding a horse, she's part horse! Oh, Oh, Oh! He heard stories with these creatures before. They are supposed to be very brave and valent hero! Or dastardly villains, depending on the story. As she finishes her poem, Jek is bouncing in place. He'll lean over to Rum. "Rum! Did you hear! She knows about the Bright Lady! How exciting, most of you people call her different names, but she was talking about the Bright Lady! Also, I did not realize when Atreyu said soon, he meant 2 minutes. I thought there would be at least 10. Oh look, more of them are coming through!"
"Hello, everyone," Lelith greeted the heroes of Hyboria with a thin cold smile that did not reach her eyes. "I hope you have all be doing well since we had last gathered at the Ivory Tower..."
"It seems you were not spared either, you took casualties of your own. My condoleances." Lelith offered with genuine sadness in her expression. "I am sure we all have a lot to say to each other."
"Particularly, the Twilight Embers," she offered them a candid wave as she met their eyes, she lingered on Rumble and Tuto for a few moments longer before moving on. "Why don't I start first?"
"/Where is the Princess?/" She asked, although it sounded almost like a demand. "If you don't me asking, of course."
From beneath his black hood, Shirin eyes these newcomers as they poof into existence. The recent string of events had him on edge every time he saw a portal opening. Was it going to be helpful or harmful - it seemed like a flip of a coin at this point. He was glad at it seemed this was an Auryn-bearer party, but he couldn’t help but be paranoid, expecting a portal with some new villain to crash the event. He wondered where he would vacation after all of this, should he make it out alive.
(Spoiler is character description)
A young, middle aged man stands before you, a black hood covering most of his features though a hint of a red goatee is visible. His skin is pale and he has a black boat covering most of body, making it difficult to determine his shape and size without getting too close. On his shoulder you see a small black bat perching on him as he walks and besides him a small plant like entity follows obediently. When he walks he maintains a distance from people and tries to keep away from direct eye contact.
Johnathan stares at all the familiar faces and some new ones. He takes a moment to get his surroundings, taking count of how many were lost so far. Johnathan seems to get a bit awkward at the mention of the lightning in the sky, though he does his best to not mention it. There are more of us than expected. He looks at the champion of the Childlike Empress, So we finally meet. Must be getting bad now. He sighs when he hears Jek, Rum and the bagpipe person start making speeches and playing music. Great, we will save the world with music and speeches filled with wishful thinking more than actual tactics. Is this why you brought us here Champion? We were in the middle of things you know. I hope there is an actual plan besides calling us a resistance.
Rum shifts a little as the newcomers appear, his feline ears flattening slightly as he warily watches them come into focus. The last arrivals had turned out to be less than friendly, hence his caution, but he soon recognises the faces of the Dawn Guard. Well, some of the faces he recognises, there are new faces as well. Lots of them in truth.
He relaxes and watches the arrivals with curiosity, inclining his head to Kerwyn, Shavaris and Jonathan as he spots them.
As the centaur does her version of a bow in front of Atreyu, he listens to her poem and instantly recognises that she is the Auryn bearer for Andromeda’s Answer. Even before he spots the Auryn she holds up.
He smiles at Jek and his excitement to hear talk about the Bright Lady.
At that moment he spots Lelith in the crowd of those who appear and a growl emanates from deep within his throat. He listens as she makes her little speech, obviously designed to antagonise.
“You have summoned a traitor, Champion Atreyu”, he says as his lips curl and his fangs are exposed.
“The Lord of Darkness’ concubine has no place here, unless she has been summoned to face swift retribution”, he adds ignoring Leith's question entirely.
Beside the poetic centaur appears a young half-elf of slightly above average height, dirty blond hair and a fine-looking longbow over her shoulder. She adjusts a dark green face cloth, leaving only melancholy green eyes staring out, with the same flat expression she might have worn were she out on an evening stroll or viewing the carnage of a battlefield. She blinks once. I liked the darkness better. Just my luck, I probably can't go back.
Ereni Shaidaro does not follow her companion Stasolya to pay tribute to Atreyu. She begins to salute before realizing she no longer has any right to do that. You were long gone before the Ivory Tower was, scout. She not so gracefully turns the gesture into brushing a stray lock of hair from her eyes.
Her morose gaze continues around until it stops on Lelith, expression becoming somehow even flatter at the sight of the tall eladrin. Upon hearing the tabaxi's words, Ereni nods almost imperceptibly to herself but says nothing. Stasolya was right. Ereni continues the scan of her surroundings, assessing them now tactically rather than as a meeting spot. Darkness. As well wish for shade at noon, as darkness in the... Hall of Celestials? Just my luck.
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Tuto for, perhaps the first time since he could remember, is silent. So many years, so many people, so many dances. He remembers them. All of them. Be it song or dance, he's carried those memories. But, when they went away, Tuto had time. To think of a step and a tune to remember them. Greko, wise and aloof. He reminded Tuto of wandering druids that played with him in the snow. Lelith. He had thought she just needed time to know people. To get accustomed to life apart from fey. She...lied. And Ro...
Ro is gone.
Tuto glanced down at his whistle, his gift, his mask staring back at him. The danger never stops. He can't stop the danger. Why is he here? Why was he called? Tuto is too small.
Tuto slowly took a seat. A familiar shadow loomed over, he tuned to met Oten's gaze, then looked at his hand. Oten is imposing, powerful. What need does he of Tuto. Tuto slowly turned back to the whistle, and sat in silence.
Members of each band teleported into existence, with some accepting the event and beginning to mingle while others questioned its purpose. Though everyone reacted differently, the one constant was that each individual came from a band. That constant was broken when a thri-kreen was teleported amongst the band members; a face that no one could recognize as friend or foe; a complete stranger.
Though its insect-like face showed no emotion, it was obvious that the thri-kreen did not expect to be teleported. His large, orange eyes glanced left and right, taking in its new surroundings and unsure if the people around him were a threat. He wore a single piece of plate mail on his chest, leaving the rest of his body to be protected by his reddish-brown exoskeleton. The color was meant to help the thri-kreen stay hidden in its natural habitat, the desert. But here, far from its home, the red only made the thri-kreen stand out more. If that wasn't enough to make the thri-kreen stand out, then his prosthetic legs and robotic arm surely did. The entire length of the his leg were made of various metals with the lower half being a single piece of metal bent into an L-shape. And while the thri-kreen had 4 arms like the rest of its species, it's lower-left arm was a prosthetic as well. Made of similar materials as its legs; the arm featured three pincer like fingers and a red orb embedded in its palm.
If the thri-kreen's frightened demeanor and odd appearance didn't garner the attention of those around him, then the loud thud that proceeded him did. Perhaps it was a slight error in the teleportation magic, but nonetheless, another figure teleported into the area nearly 7 feet above the ground. The figure fell to the floor with a BANG, as hulking metal met earth. The metal construct landed on a single knee which cratered the ground below it. As it stood up to its full height, steam hissed out from the gaps in its armor. Its two arms were enormous, allowing the construct's knuckles to nearly scrape the ground even as it stood tall. It had a similar insect-shaped head like the thri-kreen but rather than antennae, the construct's head boasted a T-shaped horn that increased its overall height by nearly a foot.
As the construct simply stood amongst the onlooking crowd, a tiny creature revealed itself from atop the construct's shoulder. The small creature appeared to be some sort of silk moth-humanoid as it stood on its two hind legs. The silk moth adorned a tiara on its head and wielded a small staff. Both the steel construct and the silk moth-like creature scanned the room in silence until they saw the thri-kreen. The duo rushed to the thri-kreen's side which appeared to bring great relief to the thri-kreen.
The thri-kreen spoke to the duo in its native language, making a series of clicking noises. The hulking construct and tiny silk-moth creature nodded. In perfect sync, the trio got into position and covered each others backs. The thri-kreen wielded a hilariously large great sword with its two upper arms, a shield in another arm, and its robotic arm shifted into a blaster of sorts trained on anyone who came close. The armored-beetle construct stood beside the thri-kreen with arms out ready to wrestle whilst the tiny silk moth creature hovered in the air between the two.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
"Slander is unnecessary... I was not, I am not, and I will never be a concubine or lover to that /thing/," Lelith shuddered in clear disgust as she seemed to be remembering something and that triggered it. "Me? ME? With THAT THING?!"
"I would rather suffer a thousand deaths than allow that. I had been twisted by its dark power to do its bidding..." Lelith's hair, a once luscious white, was steadily becoming orange to red as her wrath was only ignited further. Her eyes were now a vicious crimson. "I will find that disgusting red pig that /dares/ calls itself a fiend and a lord. I /will/ slice it into pieces and feed it to the dogs. I will turn its immortality into its worst nightmare, I will have it experience ultimate despair as I break its mind, every plea of mercy will be symphony to my ears, until it's little more than a f u c k i n g little broken puppet."
"Put my name in the same sentence as that f u c k e r, Rumble of Hunger," Lelith glared at him with the glare of a thousand suns as small sparks of fire danced around her. "I dare you. Do it again, and I will unmake you. I will f u c k i n g make a coat out of you, little kitty. You do not--, you will not presume again to know what has happened to me."
With that outburst done, Lelith took a few deep breaths to calm down as her appearance returned to normal once more. "With that clear, and I apologize for the outburst. It's physically unhealthy for us, Eladrin, to keep our emotional stress contained. I am open to answering questions but I haven't had mine yet answered. Has anyone seen the Princess? Anyone at all knows of her whereabouts?"
"Quite frankly Lilith you come from a place of distrust. You should be kept at far reach. I will not discuss your relations with the darkness, but I will keep blade and barrel pointed in your direction. Very recently I had my allies' faculties taken over, it was obvious. If your allies believe you to be a traitor, I would lean on them for that judgment." Ward says, flashing each arm and an assortment of weapons affixed to them. "Tread carefully, the Dawn Guard has a great deal of weaponry and can deal with you should you wish to attack our allies here. And I, personally, will follow you across planes should you wish to run, regardless of your extra-planar capabilities." Ward says, his veins glowing white with crackly streaks of lightning across his body for a moment before dying down after he has sufficiently made the point. "Moving on, and commenting on what my ally has said, what is our goal here? While I realize it is of some importance, there are some specific goals which our party has, that will greatly affect the current circumstance of this war, which is as detailed as I am willing to be for the moment." Ward says, looking towards the heads of this group
P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
DM:
As the teleportation reaches its final destination and Shavaris looks around at her surroundings, it takes quite a few moments for her to find her equilibrium. She smiles seeing the familiar faces of Jek, Rum, Tuto.... Lelith.. she shudders as she sees the elf, recalling the AURYN message Kerwyn recently relayed to them. So few left from when they met at the Ivory Tower. Ro hurts the most. He was the one that she knew before all this, not well, but ah... best not to dwell...
As the others start to talk, whether in arms to the AURYN, in confusion, or against Lelith, it all becomes noise to her. When Travin mentions the hallucination, she puts her hand on him for reassurance and bends down to whisper, "This is most definitely real, we're all here.. all the bands that we told you about."
The Thri-kreen and entourage take her attention next, they were new... and if it wasn't for the carnival, she wouldn't have even known what it was. She hopes they were there to help, but with Lelith there it gives more of an uncertainty to the entire room. Looking around again, she wonders if introductions were going to be made? Or was that trivial?
Shavaris finally focuses on Atreyu and those that surround him, more unfamiliar faces, but after the message that was sent.. she hopes they have news that will help.
A dirty blonde haired man with singed chest hair sporting an Auryn medallion appears in shimmering light. He is riding a flail snail that looks even a little larger than normal, if you’ve ever encountered one. He hops off, he has a circlet on his head, wearing mithral armor and a cape and looks….. regal? perhaps? He is dazed for a minute as he gathers himself, just as the conversation is getting interested, heated perhaps. He sees a hot headed Eladrin elf cursing at … could it be? “Rumble? Good to see you! Thanks for the message, Kerwyn here! We are all assembled, I guess. Whoa, that was crazy. As long as we’re not back in that Labyrinth place.” He turns, looking around, spots Atreyu. He nodes and bows to him. “I have heard and prepared my group, Champion Atreyu. We are here and ready to fight for you. The Dawn Guard stands by your side. Maybe not the most, uh, conventional, form of an army. But we can get it done. You just tell us when you want us to open up the can of whoop ass, and it will be done. In triplicate. Isn’t that right my man, Ward?” he smiles and turns to the overly armed Druid. He bows once again to Atreyu and then moves to assess the current situation. “Rumble, is this the one you were talking about? The traitor Lelith? Why is she here? You want we should handle her?” His hand goes to his side, putting his hand on something on his belt, and he stands beside his flail snail. One flail drops down in anticipation.
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Thoroughly confused, Lady Kaede stands off to the edge of the growing crowd all by her lonesome, her resplendent armor speaking volumes of her relative importance in the social structure of the crowd. Arms crossed, visibly broadcasting her reluctance to join in on any of the patter of greetings and salutations amongst apparent friends, she stews in her own anger.
Thinking quietly to herself:
Once again, nobility is the source of loneliness. What in the nine hells have you gotten yourself into?
Calm yourself. These petty arguments are of no consequence to you. Focus on what really matters....your people. Your family. Your kingdom.
She slowly blows out a long breath of air, whistling between her clenched teeth, and quietly repeats her mantra to no one in particular but her own spirit and many gods:
"The undisturbed mind is like the calm body water reflecting the brilliance of the moon. Empty the mind and you will realize the undisturbed mind."
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Atreyu smiles as Stasolya prances forward and kneels in a way that only a Centaur could, and then waves at Delphinium as they float up and make themselves known. He watches and listens as the gathering crowd takes shape, realizes its situation, and the members of the throng begin to interact with one another. He makes a motion of de-escalation as Johnathan addresses him and smiles wryly while watching Lelith's appearance with concern. As her exchange with Rumble of Hunger begins to get out of hand, he makes a step as if to come down from his position, then stops himself.
"I listened to what you said, Rumble." Atreyu said, referring to the message Rum had sent about Lelith. "We'll handle that situation. For now, Lelith, stop worrying about the Princess. I'm going to have to insist that you remain unarmed and unarmored while we decide what to do with you. This meeting of Hyboria's heroes will remain cordial."
He nods toward the crowd as if to say I mean it.
He listens to what Ward says, and then addresses the crowd again.
"Friends...things have taken a turn." Atreyu says, finally replacing the AURYN Medallion that he was holding to its spot around his neck, and then let it fall beneath his leather tunic. "I have been busy these last few weeks trying to determine where we stand in our efforts, but it's clear, now anyway, that...well. Things aren't going well."
He pauses here for a moment and then looks at Gandalf. The old wizard nods and indicates that he should go on.
"The Childlike Empress was my mentor. My leader. She was my trusted friend. My oldest friend." He takes a second to wet his lips with his tongue. "She was a beacon in the storm when I needed her the most, and I have felt her loss greater than anything in my life. I'm ashamed to say...I think she waited too late to call you to us. We were building a levee while the floodwaters were already in the city streets, and we were too naïve, or preoccupied, or in denial to admit that our feet were getting wet. All is not lost, though. We're still in this fight. And I think, based on what I've seen and heard...I think we have a chance. But I think that chance really depends on what we do next. There are men better suited for this than me. There are leaders who should be here but they can't be because they've been stripped from us. But I'm going to do what I can. I've already been working on a plan, but Gandalf and I will have a conference before we decide what to do next. In the meantime, I need to know what you know."
Gandalf took a moment to make a gesture of his hands, holding his hand up to the crowd before approaching Atreyu and whispering something in his ear. Then he turned to face the gathered bands.
"I've been eavesdropping on your thoughts." He says, taking a moment to lean his weight forward on his staff. "Some of you don't trust your current situation. I think that, given the circumstances, that's understandable."
His eyes fall on Lelith for a moment.
"Unless you just want to say it out loud here, Atreyu and I will wait inside in a private room. You can come there and tell us your say. If it's important, we need to know. Lives, all of Hyboria, everything is on the line. Witholding information isn't helping anyone except the enemy. Now, Krille, was it? I need every mirror you have in the Hall. Every single one, you understand? Find me a room where we can sit every single one of them up in a big ring."
The Owlin Elder bowed and moved into the Hall of the Celestials.
Atreyu waves a hand and a smile to Kerwyn.
"Nevermind Lelith for now. She is going to have her day in court, as she is entitled."
Gandalf watches Kerwyn and strokes his beard.
"Where are you from, young man? There is something about you that is familiar to this old fool."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Amitola, being quiet, per her usual self, looks at each and every face around her trying to comprehend everything at once. She's usually used to a little chaos, but she doesn't know where to begin, who to talk to, she's just been listening. Her, already someone who doesn't do well with new people, used to being to herself she usually avoids speaking. While studying the faces of the others, she looks upon Lady Kaede, sensing a bit of herself in the young one, she walks over.
Careful not to be pushy, she gently approaches, and softly speaks just above a whisper, "Young one, I'm not well with words, but I will say this, I may understand more of you than you know. If you would like to speak of anything, know I am willing to listen all while casting no judgement."
With that being said, Amitola remains standing beside her, not knowing whether or not there would be a response.
Oten stands, by himself at the back of things as Atreyu makes his speech. But at Lelith's arrival, he moves to stand beside Rum and draws himself up to his full height, crossing his arms and staring impassively at her.
The message is clear. If she makes a move on anyone, Oten will be in her path.
(( Meanwhile, in the library... ))
Dageron works closely with the library keepers to find the information he seeks as quickly as possible. Above all else, he seeks reference to a teacher. Many things cannot be learned from a book alone.
An agent of darkness? Here. Johnathan gives Lilith a cold stare. For a moment his eyes turn a faint red colour as he clenches his fists. WHY DID THEY BRING THEM HERE! After a moment they return to their usual green. Making deals with lord of darkness will get us all killed. Your party is right to fear you. This can easily be trap. Get all of lord of darkness enemies in one place to wipe us out. Johnathan turns to the old wizard folk. Is this area secure? This is too risky, and if Lilith knows our location then who knows what else will be joining this meeting. Johnathan will keep a close eye on Lilith, he did not want to give them a chance to spring a trap or run away.