"Yeah, I agree with Amdaeng, let's stick to finding the wizard right now and then we can decide how to deal with Shareella and the artifacts afterward."
Zarbyn wants to focus on the here and now although they can't help but wonder if Shareella already knows about the black lotus. He forces himself to table those thoughts and embrace the current moment... where to go now.
"Anybody want to visit a shop on the way to the Queen, we have been traipsing around the mountains for quite a while recently?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
Seeing from the gate attendants directions that the Serpent Queens estate is just around the corner, you take Goose street west to Stable street (G11 and additional areas).
The streets of the Garden District are significantly more pleasant than the Harbor district of Blacksand, where the streets are made of polished stone and the air smells faintly of jasmine and spice. Ahead, rising beyond a wrought-iron gate entwined with sculpted serpents, stands an opulent walled estate unlike anything you’ve seen in the city so far.
Lush gardens overflow with strange, flowering plants from distant lands, their blossoms curling like coiled snakes. Waterfalls cascade into marble basins, and pale-robed servants drift silently along the paths. At the heart of it all, a grand villa of sandstone and carved marble rises, its walls etched with ancient desert sigils — a gift, they say, from Lord Azzur himself.
At the main gate stand two eight foot tall lizard men guards. Their green scaled bodies covered with additional well made polished armor, equipped with Spears, Axes and Crossbows. Two horns come out of their helmets, where holes were cut. (LORE: Lizard men were a species of reptilian humanoids found in a number of desert and tropical regions in Allansia.)
Lev and Lira see that they are clearly well trained, from their stance and how they carry themselves. Both look at the group.
One says in a gravel like scratchy voice, "Do you seek an audience with Her Grace, the Serpent Queen?"
The guards you the group over, then the first lizard man says as he unlocks and opens the steel gate with a large black key.
“Welcome to the Serpent Queen’s grounds. Should you choose violence, expect a swift and final courtesy.” As you walk past the gate, the guards relock the gate.
(LORE: It is well known that the Lord Azzur is the patron for the Serpent Queen. Lev would know that her presence here gives Azzur a unique power in the Garden District--a person that is exotic, faered, and symbolically potent.
Lira
Lira knows the following from the thieves guild: You don’t cross the Serpent Queen. Not for coin, not for sport. Lord Azzur might own the city, but she owns the shadows in her garden.” The Serpent Queen is considered off-limits to every guild in Blacksand. Lord Azzur’s protection is reason enough, but there’s more: several thieves have tried to rob her manor or blackmail her servants — none were seen again. In addition, the guild master was executed publicly in the Noose District. The guild’s word is that she doesn’t call for guards; the gardens themselves “move” to deal with intruders. This is intriguing to Lira both from the guild perspective as well as her druidic curiosity both for these gardens and those she just visited (the black lotus).
Amdaeng
Amdaeng has heard of the Serpent Queen, yet she has heard two conflicting stories. The first was told to children at night to encourage them not to go out at night (the boogeyman stories)
She was kidnapped by the Caarth priests as a young noblewoman, used in their experiments to create a snake-prophet or a hybrid creature. The ritual was cruel — perhaps it was meant to bind her soul to serpent powers.
Those of House Almighty taught a different story: She might have accepted the ritual to prevent a greater evil (e.g. plague, famine) or to seal away an enemy, thus taking a monstrous form to protect her people — now she is trapped in that form.
"Hopefully she can help us find the wizard or even arrange a meeting with him."
Zarbyn glances at the bouquet of roses and then toward the grand villa.
"Otherwise we're wasting time but we currently don't have any other leads."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
— A basic prayer.
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"Yeah, I agree with Amdaeng, let's stick to finding the wizard right now and then we can decide how to deal with Shareella and the artifacts afterward."
Zarbyn wants to focus on the here and now although they can't help but wonder if Shareella already knows about the black lotus. He forces himself to table those thoughts and embrace the current moment... where to go now.
"Anybody want to visit a shop on the way to the Queen, we have been traipsing around the mountains for quite a while recently?"
(OOC: Trying to keep it moving)
Seeing from the gate attendants directions that the Serpent Queens estate is just around the corner, you take Goose street west to Stable street (G11 and additional areas).
The streets of the Garden District are significantly more pleasant than the Harbor district of Blacksand, where the streets are made of polished stone and the air smells faintly of jasmine and spice. Ahead, rising beyond a wrought-iron gate entwined with sculpted serpents, stands an opulent walled estate unlike anything you’ve seen in the city so far.
Lush gardens overflow with strange, flowering plants from distant lands, their blossoms curling like coiled snakes. Waterfalls cascade into marble basins, and pale-robed servants drift silently along the paths. At the heart of it all, a grand villa of sandstone and carved marble rises, its walls etched with ancient desert sigils — a gift, they say, from Lord Azzur himself.
At the main gate stand two eight foot tall lizard men guards. Their green scaled bodies covered with additional well made polished armor, equipped with Spears, Axes and Crossbows. Two horns come out of their helmets, where holes were cut. (LORE: Lizard men were a species of reptilian humanoids found in a number of desert and tropical regions in Allansia.)
Lev and Lira see that they are clearly well trained, from their stance and how they carry themselves. Both look at the group.
One says in a gravel like scratchy voice, "Do you seek an audience with Her Grace, the Serpent Queen?"
Amdaeng nodded, " Uh....yes. Yes we do."
The guards you the group over, then the first lizard man says as he unlocks and opens the steel gate with a large black key.
“Welcome to the Serpent Queen’s grounds. Should you choose violence, expect a swift and final courtesy.”
As you walk past the gate, the guards relock the gate.
(LORE: It is well known that the Lord Azzur is the patron for the Serpent Queen. Lev would know that her presence here gives Azzur a unique power in the Garden District--a person that is exotic, faered, and symbolically potent.
Lira
Lira knows the following from the thieves guild: You don’t cross the Serpent Queen. Not for coin, not for sport. Lord Azzur might own the city, but she owns the shadows in her garden.”
The Serpent Queen is considered off-limits to every guild in Blacksand. Lord Azzur’s protection is reason enough, but there’s more: several thieves have tried to rob her manor or blackmail her servants — none were seen again. In addition, the guild master was executed publicly in the Noose District. The guild’s word is that she doesn’t call for guards; the gardens themselves “move” to deal with intruders. This is intriguing to Lira both from the guild perspective as well as her druidic curiosity both for these gardens and those she just visited (the black lotus).
Amdaeng
Amdaeng has heard of the Serpent Queen, yet she has heard two conflicting stories. The first was told to children at night to encourage them not to go out at night (the boogeyman stories)
She was kidnapped by the Caarth priests as a young noblewoman, used in their experiments to create a snake-prophet or a hybrid creature. The ritual was cruel — perhaps it was meant to bind her soul to serpent powers.
Those of House Almighty taught a different story: She might have accepted the ritual to prevent a greater evil (e.g. plague, famine) or to seal away an enemy, thus taking a monstrous form to protect her people — now she is trapped in that form.
"Hopefully she can help us find the wizard or even arrange a meeting with him."
Zarbyn glances at the bouquet of roses and then toward the grand villa.
"Otherwise we're wasting time but we currently don't have any other leads."