"Well they didn't, did they?" Brock replies with a conspiratorial wink, ignoring Thurston's outburst entirely. "I'm just good at learning little things like that," the gnome explains with a nonchalant shrug. "It's in my nature. So, what do you say? Are you interested? I'm not the only ne'er-do-well in this place with a knack for eavesdropping. We don't move fast and somebody else'll get there first."
"Swiftstep?" Brock asks with a low chuckle as they walk. "Now that's a real dynasty 'round these parts. Thomas Swiftstep was a real force of nature, let me tell you that. As for Archie, sure, I know him. I mean, he's kind of hard to miss," the gnome adds with another laugh. "Korinn did a real number on him after she lost Ilache though. I don't think that he's quite been the same since."
"Last I heard," Brock confirms with nod. "Archibald Swiftstep is the heir to the family name. With him in their claws, the Morrigan had a lot of leverage with a lot of gnomes in this neck of the woods."
“He’s alive?! So he escaped then? Where would he go?... I guess I could ask.” He falls quiet for a moment, thinking of what he’d say before deciding to wait so he could use the power of the codex. “What about you, Brock? How’d you end up working for the sisters?”
"Escaped?" Brock asks, raising his eyebrows. "He was still in Morloth last I saw heard, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's free by now. As for little old me," the gnomes pauses and gives Vark a grin with far too many teeth, "I'm a victim of circumstance."
“He was HERE?!” In a sudden burst of haste Vark rifles through his satchel to produce the runestone. “You guys go get the treasure, I’m gonna ask him where he is.” He plops down right where he’s standing and begins the ritual to cast a sending spell. Red glyphs circle around the codex as he waves them on. “Oh uhm, Aiden please keep and eye out for magic stuff. I’ll meet you guys back with the others.”
Several minutes later, the ritual is complete. “Archie? This is Vark! We’re the ones who killed the Sisters! Where are you?”
"I will stay with you and find Archie!"says Thurston to Vark. "circumstances... sure..." adds almost muttering looking at Brock as he tries to explain himself.
Bründir watches the conversation with Brock, then Vark's spontaneous communication, with helpless, dumbfounded panic. He'd just made threats to those who surrendered not to fight him and his allies, then he was at risk of everyone scattering like rats. Luckily, calm took over once more and the dwarf could breathe.
"Now you lot, all ye sit an ass on these stairs here where we can see ye.." Bründir points to the rise leading upward where blood still dotted the stonework. "Me an' mine're gonna decide what goes on an' what t'do with yerselves. Don' try gettin' bold, or ye'll get lightnin' straight up yer bung like th' gods sent it thenselves."
After the show of bravado, Bründir turns to his allies, "Look, I've got choice words fer Archie, if he's even still 'ere. An' I'd love t'help myself to whatever the scaly twats had stashed. But we've seen what happens when we let these people go. Best we don' repeat, fin' a dungeon 'ere, an' lock'em up till we know they're ok."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
Waving a lazy goodbye to Vark and Thurston as they go, Brock leads Aiden off up through the winding passages of Morloth towards the Morrigan's promised treasure trove. From the sound of the clamour echoing through the halls, the trinity's former followers are fighting, fleeing, looting and killing all over the fortress. Eventually the gnome comes to a stop outside an ornate, wooden door with black metal fittings. The dark wood is carved with a grisly scene of crows feasting on the corpses left on the field of battle. Five dragons circle in the sky above.
"Don't suppose you lifted the key?" Brock asks rhetorically, before fishing a set of lockpicks from his cloak and getting to work. "Nasty trap here if you don't know what to look for," the gnome adds as he scribes runes on the door with a stylus, "Megren loved her glyphs of warding." The finally opens with a click and the door swings inward, revealing a well-furnished bedroom in noble style. A moonstone bowl stands on a short table below the window and a porcelain vase carved with knotwork stands in one corner. A chest at the foot of the four-poster bed is sealed with a heavy lock and a large wardrobe stands against one of the walls.
"After you," Brock tells Aiden with a bow, gesturing to the entrance.
Aiden smiles at Brock's invitation, quirking an eyebrow as he opens his senses to the arcane. The runes on the door, the bowl, the chest, the rug, and something in the wardrobe all glow with a magical aura. The door and the rug are specifically concerning, but the door seems to be disabled for now. The rug, however...that could be nasty.
Aiden's gaze returns to Brock. "I'm not quite foolish enough to enter what is almost assuredly a trap with you at my back," he says. Aiden draws his sword and holds it at his side -- not actively threatening the gnome, but also not unnoticed. "After you."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Aiden Olrikson | Human | Tempest Domain Cleric of Thor
"As you wish," Brock replies with a dispassionate shrug, "just don't tread on the rug. It's a trap."
Slipping past Aiden and into the room, the Gnome skirts around the edge of the carpet to the wardrobe and cracks the door. A little hand snatches a folded black cloth about the size of a handkerchief from within, before flicking it open with a flourish. A circular sheet settles over the top in the carpet and suddenly seems very deep and three dimensional.
"Satisfied?" Brock calls across the hole, carefully sidestepping to a spot with better footing, between the the pit and the window.
Aiden watches Brock with care and not a small amount of amusement. "Sure," he says, stepping forward and strafing around the pit, opposite the way Brock had sidestepped.
He heads toward the wardrobe that Brock had pulled the pit from and opens it. Inside, some very ornate clothing hangs neatly from a bar. Draped over the bar as well is a belt set with turquoise that glows with conjuration magic. He pulls the belt free and puts it in his pack. Then he turns back to see Brock on the opposite side of the pit, standing in front of the moonstone bowl. Aiden gives Brock a knowing look, and is about to move toward the bowl when he spies a glow coming from a bedside table. Inside, a brooch made of two shiny silver metals and designed like a tiny piece of armor, glows with transmutation magic. Gingerly, he picks it up with a cloth on the table and wraps it, careful not to touch something laced with transmutation magic, lest he be turned into something.
He turns back to Brock. "Step away from the bowl, please," he says slowly.
While Aiden goes through the wardrobe and the bedside table, Brock has been poring over the contents of the moonstone bowl in Unus's silver light as it shines down through the bedroom window. The Gnome turns to the Norscan with a glint in his eye when addressed. His features and attire shift and morph from leather armour to blue robes and slicked back red hair.
"Thank you for your escort, Aiden," he notes, "you've been very helpful. However, I'm afraid that this is where we part ways."
Brock raises his right arm to reveal a leather bag that it had secreted and hurls it into the portable hole.
"You will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Archibald Swiftstep!"
The hole billows out in a swirling vortex of silver as a rift forms in the middle of the bedroom, sucking in nearby unattended objects. Archie immediately dives inside.
Aiden quickly grabs ahold of one of the bedposts and holds on for dear life as the vortex tears the sheets from the bed. Five agonizing seconds later, the pull subsides and Aiden crumples to a seated position on the ground, swearing colorfully in Norscan. Shaking his head, Aiden stands and moves over to take a look at what Brock -- no, Archibald -- had been looking at in the bowl. But the bowl had vanished along with the gnome, leading Aiden back to another long string of curses.
Turning his attention back to the room, Aiden's heightened sense pick out the chest that seems to be aglow with magic. He prepares to open it, but then thinks better of it. He had better things to do than to take a blast of fire to the face right now. Conjuring up a burst of magic of his own, he attempts to break the enchantment on the chest. But the runes are more powerful than he had accounted for and they erupt in a gout of acid that he narrowly dodges, only catching a few drops on his tunic that begins to burn away at the fabric.
Moreover, the acid splashes across the rug that Archie had called a trap. With a burning sizzle, it springs to life! Aiden breaks into curses once more. He points his finger and a thunderclap smashes the rug back down onto the ground.
The dust settles, and Aiden is left standing, his hair fallen out of its customary tied-back position and fallen across his face. His tunic sleeve has burnt away under the armor, and his left arm stings with a slight acid burn. Chagrined, Aiden tries to lift the lid of the chest.
It doesn't budge. Locked.
Another string of curses, a sharp kick, and another pain-induced string of curses.
"I hate this place," Aiden says to nobody, blowing his hair out of his face.
He turns to head back down to where the rest of the Archanost were, still skirting around the rug. Just for safety.
“He was HERE?!” In a sudden burst of haste Vark rifles through his satchel to produce the runestone. “You guys go get the treasure, I’m gonna ask him where he is.” He plops down right where he’s standing and begins the ritual to cast a sending spell. Red glyphs circle around the codex as he waves them on. “Oh uhm, Aiden please keep and eye out for magic stuff. I’ll meet you guys back with the others.”
Several minutes later, the ritual is complete. “Archie? This is Vark! We’re the ones who killed the Sisters! Where are you?”
"The astral plane, though not for long. You may have foiled Quinton's plans for greatness, Vark, but he is not the Mabinogi's only Magus."
“Wait... what?” he responds despite the arcane line going dead. Not wanting to expend more of his own energy he once again begins to turn and prod at the runestone’s glyphs. Minutes later he completes the ritual and asks his questions, “What do you mean? Why are you in the Astral Plane? Where are you going?” he asks, rapid fire. As Aiden steps back into the room, Vark just looks up in confusion.
"Well they didn't, did they?" Brock replies with a conspiratorial wink, ignoring Thurston's outburst entirely. "I'm just good at learning little things like that," the gnome explains with a nonchalant shrug. "It's in my nature. So, what do you say? Are you interested? I'm not the only ne'er-do-well in this place with a knack for eavesdropping. We don't move fast and somebody else'll get there first."
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Aiden's nose wrinkles in disgust at Brock's unabashed and unwarranted confidence. "Fine," Aiden says. "Lead the way."
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Aiden Olrikson | Human | Tempest Domain Cleric of Thor
“Did you know Archie Swiftstep?” Vark asks, inserting himself into the conversation as he trails along after Aiden and his new informant.
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Vark Galestone | Half-Orc | Storm Sorcerer
Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - Caio Cypherien | Shadar-Kai | Inquisitor Ranger
"Swiftstep?" Brock asks with a low chuckle as they walk. "Now that's a real dynasty 'round these parts. Thomas Swiftstep was a real force of nature, let me tell you that. As for Archie, sure, I know him. I mean, he's kind of hard to miss," the gnome adds with another laugh. "Korinn did a real number on him after she lost Ilache though. I don't think that he's quite been the same since."
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
“Wait there little one “ interrupts Thurston “are you saying that he is still alive?”
PbP Character: A few ;)
"Last I heard," Brock confirms with nod. "Archibald Swiftstep is the heir to the family name. With him in their claws, the Morrigan had a lot of leverage with a lot of gnomes in this neck of the woods."
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
“He’s alive?! So he escaped then? Where would he go?... I guess I could ask.” He falls quiet for a moment, thinking of what he’d say before deciding to wait so he could use the power of the codex. “What about you, Brock? How’d you end up working for the sisters?”
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Vark Galestone | Half-Orc | Storm Sorcerer
Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - Caio Cypherien | Shadar-Kai | Inquisitor Ranger
"Escaped?" Brock asks, raising his eyebrows. "He was still in Morloth last I saw heard, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's free by now. As for little old me," the gnomes pauses and gives Vark a grin with far too many teeth, "I'm a victim of circumstance."
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
“He was HERE?!” In a sudden burst of haste Vark rifles through his satchel to produce the runestone. “You guys go get the treasure, I’m gonna ask him where he is.” He plops down right where he’s standing and begins the ritual to cast a sending spell. Red glyphs circle around the codex as he waves them on. “Oh uhm, Aiden please keep and eye out for magic stuff. I’ll meet you guys back with the others.”
Several minutes later, the ritual is complete. “Archie? This is Vark! We’re the ones who killed the Sisters! Where are you?”
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Vark Galestone | Half-Orc | Storm Sorcerer
Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - Caio Cypherien | Shadar-Kai | Inquisitor Ranger
"I will stay with you and find Archie!" says Thurston to Vark. "circumstances... sure..." adds almost muttering looking at Brock as he tries to explain himself.
PbP Character: A few ;)
Bründir watches the conversation with Brock, then Vark's spontaneous communication, with helpless, dumbfounded panic. He'd just made threats to those who surrendered not to fight him and his allies, then he was at risk of everyone scattering like rats. Luckily, calm took over once more and the dwarf could breathe.
"Now you lot, all ye sit an ass on these stairs here where we can see ye.." Bründir points to the rise leading upward where blood still dotted the stonework. "Me an' mine're gonna decide what goes on an' what t'do with yerselves. Don' try gettin' bold, or ye'll get lightnin' straight up yer bung like th' gods sent it thenselves."
After the show of bravado, Bründir turns to his allies, "Look, I've got choice words fer Archie, if he's even still 'ere. An' I'd love t'help myself to whatever the scaly twats had stashed. But we've seen what happens when we let these people go. Best we don' repeat, fin' a dungeon 'ere, an' lock'em up till we know they're ok."
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
With Vark's outburst concluded, Aiden looks back to Brock. "Lead on, Mr. Victim of Circumstance. If you try anything, I'll send you to your gods."
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Aiden Olrikson | Human | Tempest Domain Cleric of Thor
Waving a lazy goodbye to Vark and Thurston as they go, Brock leads Aiden off up through the winding passages of Morloth towards the Morrigan's promised treasure trove. From the sound of the clamour echoing through the halls, the trinity's former followers are fighting, fleeing, looting and killing all over the fortress. Eventually the gnome comes to a stop outside an ornate, wooden door with black metal fittings. The dark wood is carved with a grisly scene of crows feasting on the corpses left on the field of battle. Five dragons circle in the sky above.
"Don't suppose you lifted the key?" Brock asks rhetorically, before fishing a set of lockpicks from his cloak and getting to work. "Nasty trap here if you don't know what to look for," the gnome adds as he scribes runes on the door with a stylus, "Megren loved her glyphs of warding." The finally opens with a click and the door swings inward, revealing a well-furnished bedroom in noble style. A moonstone bowl stands on a short table below the window and a porcelain vase carved with knotwork stands in one corner. A chest at the foot of the four-poster bed is sealed with a heavy lock and a large wardrobe stands against one of the walls.
"After you," Brock tells Aiden with a bow, gesturing to the entrance.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Aiden smiles at Brock's invitation, quirking an eyebrow as he opens his senses to the arcane. The runes on the door, the bowl, the chest, the rug, and something in the wardrobe all glow with a magical aura. The door and the rug are specifically concerning, but the door seems to be disabled for now. The rug, however...that could be nasty.
Aiden's gaze returns to Brock. "I'm not quite foolish enough to enter what is almost assuredly a trap with you at my back," he says. Aiden draws his sword and holds it at his side -- not actively threatening the gnome, but also not unnoticed. "After you."
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Aiden Olrikson | Human | Tempest Domain Cleric of Thor
"As you wish," Brock replies with a dispassionate shrug, "just don't tread on the rug. It's a trap."
Slipping past Aiden and into the room, the Gnome skirts around the edge of the carpet to the wardrobe and cracks the door. A little hand snatches a folded black cloth about the size of a handkerchief from within, before flicking it open with a flourish. A circular sheet settles over the top in the carpet and suddenly seems very deep and three dimensional.
"Satisfied?" Brock calls across the hole, carefully sidestepping to a spot with better footing, between the the pit and the window.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Aiden watches Brock with care and not a small amount of amusement. "Sure," he says, stepping forward and strafing around the pit, opposite the way Brock had sidestepped.
He heads toward the wardrobe that Brock had pulled the pit from and opens it. Inside, some very ornate clothing hangs neatly from a bar. Draped over the bar as well is a belt set with turquoise that glows with conjuration magic. He pulls the belt free and puts it in his pack. Then he turns back to see Brock on the opposite side of the pit, standing in front of the moonstone bowl. Aiden gives Brock a knowing look, and is about to move toward the bowl when he spies a glow coming from a bedside table. Inside, a brooch made of two shiny silver metals and designed like a tiny piece of armor, glows with transmutation magic. Gingerly, he picks it up with a cloth on the table and wraps it, careful not to touch something laced with transmutation magic, lest he be turned into something.
He turns back to Brock. "Step away from the bowl, please," he says slowly.
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Aiden Olrikson | Human | Tempest Domain Cleric of Thor
While Aiden goes through the wardrobe and the bedside table, Brock has been poring over the contents of the moonstone bowl in Unus's silver light as it shines down through the bedroom window. The Gnome turns to the Norscan with a glint in his eye when addressed. His features and attire shift and morph from leather armour to blue robes and slicked back red hair.
"Thank you for your escort, Aiden," he notes, "you've been very helpful. However, I'm afraid that this is where we part ways."
Brock raises his right arm to reveal a leather bag that it had secreted and hurls it into the portable hole.
"You will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Archibald Swiftstep!"
The hole billows out in a swirling vortex of silver as a rift forms in the middle of the bedroom, sucking in nearby unattended objects. Archie immediately dives inside.
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
Aiden quickly grabs ahold of one of the bedposts and holds on for dear life as the vortex tears the sheets from the bed. Five agonizing seconds later, the pull subsides and Aiden crumples to a seated position on the ground, swearing colorfully in Norscan. Shaking his head, Aiden stands and moves over to take a look at what Brock -- no, Archibald -- had been looking at in the bowl. But the bowl had vanished along with the gnome, leading Aiden back to another long string of curses.
Turning his attention back to the room, Aiden's heightened sense pick out the chest that seems to be aglow with magic. He prepares to open it, but then thinks better of it. He had better things to do than to take a blast of fire to the face right now. Conjuring up a burst of magic of his own, he attempts to break the enchantment on the chest. But the runes are more powerful than he had accounted for and they erupt in a gout of acid that he narrowly dodges, only catching a few drops on his tunic that begins to burn away at the fabric.
Moreover, the acid splashes across the rug that Archie had called a trap. With a burning sizzle, it springs to life! Aiden breaks into curses once more. He points his finger and a thunderclap smashes the rug back down onto the ground.
The dust settles, and Aiden is left standing, his hair fallen out of its customary tied-back position and fallen across his face. His tunic sleeve has burnt away under the armor, and his left arm stings with a slight acid burn. Chagrined, Aiden tries to lift the lid of the chest.
It doesn't budge. Locked.
Another string of curses, a sharp kick, and another pain-induced string of curses.
"I hate this place," Aiden says to nobody, blowing his hair out of his face.
He turns to head back down to where the rest of the Archanost were, still skirting around the rug. Just for safety.
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Aiden Olrikson | Human | Tempest Domain Cleric of Thor
"The astral plane, though not for long. You may have foiled Quinton's plans for greatness, Vark, but he is not the Mabinogi's only Magus."
The Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - DM for Aiden, Bründir, Jex, Thurston, Valaith and Vark
The Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - DM for Alaris, Astrid, Caio and Shiva
“Wait... what?” he responds despite the arcane line going dead. Not wanting to expend more of his own energy he once again begins to turn and prod at the runestone’s glyphs. Minutes later he completes the ritual and asks his questions, “What do you mean? Why are you in the Astral Plane? Where are you going?” he asks, rapid fire. As Aiden steps back into the room, Vark just looks up in confusion.
Chronicles of Arden: Sheercleft - Vark Galestone | Half-Orc | Storm Sorcerer
Chronicles of Arden: Hunters - Caio Cypherien | Shadar-Kai | Inquisitor Ranger