mythicdawnmaster Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 Xallistine stood back near Rhaine and watched as events unravelled rather quickly. There was certainly no holding back from either of these parties, and while he was sworn to remain impartial by staying at Rhaine's side, he had silently rooted for Azuris- He stood by his words, the man had earnt his place, and had more than justified his actions, considering the nature of these so called Necromancers, or was that, children? Roland and his men did not sit well with the Ulitharid, and the paladin's disapproval of Rhaine's chosen comrades irked him- Species came not into it, they were no more monsters than he was. ----------------------- Ravenna grinned at Hasim's words, unable to disagree as it stood "Your hand in partnership would be more than welcome my old friend, it happens to be that I am in need of those who are willing to assist my cause. I have an Orc and his armies at my disposal, the help of dear Quarylene here, and the loyalty of my dear apprentice... wherever it is she may be. My goal is rather grand, but that is a discussion for a later time. Your assistance is welcome Hasim, and perhaps we may whet your appetite for becoming a part of my machinations, with a little trip to the Underdark? Quarylene and I have a number of matron mothers whom need their fingers stepping on." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AurianaValoria1 Posted September 29, 2013 Author Share Posted September 29, 2013 (edited) Rhaine's disappointment only grew as she watched first Arland and then Weyland join Tak'we beside Azuris. This is not their affair! she thought angrily. It seemed she would not only grieve for this conflict between the Kelemvorites (and their poor decision-making), but also for her friends' foolishness. She crossed her arms and spoke again, her tone clipped, "Fine. I've tried to warn you, and yet you insist on joining a fight that isn't yours. If you get injured or killed, I might decide not heal you...or resurrect your corpse. Are you really willing to throw your lives away for this? Think on that carefully." Even though she sounded serious as she said it, it was more a bluff than anything else - a last-ditch effort to convince her friends not to involve themselves. Since she and Amendale were the only professional healers, the group's survival in serious situations like this depended on their benevolence...and it appeared that Amendale was as reluctant to get involved as she. Edited September 29, 2013 by AurianaValoria1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nethgros Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 It seemed with others joining in that this was officially a matter involving his whole pride, even though their Lady had denounced any sort of intervention. Kowolj strode out to stand beside his fellows with a satisfied grin on his face. Not since their battle against the dracolich had he had any sort of fight that he could look forward to seeing out, even if it killed him. He didn't understand what had upset both sides, as death was quite common, but nonetheless he couldn't pass up a chance at such an encounter. "I say we make them into bacon when we're done." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hasim nodded at Ravenna plan, "I am not one for stepping on fingers, but I would be more then happy to set these matrons ablaze; and their homes. You just point out what you want scorched, and it will be." He moved his eyes back over to the drow next to Ravenna's throne, "I would assume this is your Quarylene," He spoke up so that she might here him better, "Come here, fine lady. Introduce yourself to your new ally!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redscorpionarmy Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 Going to the very edge of the tourney grounds, Bar'bark found a secluded spot behind a tree and sat down, exhausted. Searching the crowd had yielded no useful information, but then again, the gnoll had only searched part of the grounds. Sighing, he closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep. -------------------- Dysius watched the gnoll from afar, annoyed that the mercenary was just going to fall asleep. More than once he considered walking up and snapping the creatures neck, but he knew his master would be angered if he did so. He sighed, then began to wander the tourney grounds. Eventually, he came across two groups of people, probably arguing over some trivial matter. Deciding he had nothing better to do, he stood within hearing range, listening to the ordeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrueMaster Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 (edited) Kalin was walking with his fiance, enjoying a lovely evening with her. His heart felt like it was soaring; he had managed to kill Zuir and Saris and escape from his prison, and enough of his memories had returned that he could remember his beloved's name and had her resurrected, able to hold her in his arms once more. "I am glad to finally be with you again," he said, holding her hand in his. "We have been apart for too long." She smiled, moonlit shadows falling across her features. "Indeed, Kalin, she said, "far too long." They stopped and she gave Kalin a deep kiss for a moment, then began to kiss him again afterwards, but something caused Kalin to hesitate a moment. Wait... something's not right here... Why can't I remember her name? "What's wrong, my beloved?" his fiance asked, a frown replacing the smile she had. "I don't know," Kalin replied, confusion running through his mind. "Aren't you glad to see me?" she said. "Don't you love me anymore?" "Well, of course, I d-" he began to say, but was cut off in frightened bewilderment when a change in his fiance began to take place: thin lines of blood began to run down her limbs. "I missed you so much, I felt so weak and hollow, like I wasn't alive anymore..." she said with a sad tone, her skin turning deathly pale and the blood beginning to run faster; deep claw marks appeared on her body. She began to fall to the ground and Kalin caught her in a panicked rush in his arms. "I don't understand!" Kalin said, a horrified expression on his face. "I simply couldn't live without you, Kalin," she whispered weakly, as though she barely had the strength for the words. Tears ran down her face and her skin and flesh began to turn to ash as Kalin held her. "No, no, no, nonono...," he cried out, quiet sobs beginning to rack his body. "Why... did you... let me die..., Kalin? I... loved you..." she shuddered one last time, then her body turned to ash and fell apart, nothing but a pile of dust and ash covering the front of Kalin's arms and clothes before being blown away by a sudden gust of wind. "NOOOO!" he screamed through choked sobs, reaching out for the remains of his beloved. "COME BACK!" He grasped for the ashes, but all of it was gone, and so he collapsed in horrified tears, crying out over and over again for his dead fiance.... "Heheheh," a sweet voice chuckled throughout Kalin's surroudings. "Now that was especially entertaining. The way you can't let go of your dead bride was quite amusing." Kalin's eyes snapped open, confusion plaguing his mind for a moment as he took in his surroundings. "What-, where am I?" Then he finally realized what had happened and his mind instantly turned white-hot with anger. "GODS DAMN YOU, SARIS!" he raged against his chains, knowing now that it was all an illusion, Saris' sick way of unraveling his mind. "Ah, now you figure it out," Saris tutted as if disappointed. "I thought I was overdoing it, but not everyone is as perceptive as myself, I guess." She gave a sadistic smile. "The turning to ashes was particularly dramatic, I thought at first, but I absolutely loved it." "Why, Saris!?" Kalin said through clenched teeth as he tried to hold back tears. "Why did you do that? All this because your stupid pride couldn't handle you being spared? You couldn't stand losing to a weak abomination?" Saris' smile disappeared, a venomous glare appearing instead. She sent a ray of electricity running through his body, causing him to cry out in pain once more. "No, you ignorant child. This hate is much deeper than that. I have hated the Orus family for the past two hundred years, dreaming of the day that I could finally destroy the descendants of our family." Kalin's eyes widen in shock. "No... it can't be..." Saris gave a cruel grin. "Why, Kalin, that's no way to treat your grandmother, is it? After all, I'm all that's left of your family." She stood up from the chair she'd been sitting on and stepped closer to him, sending excruciating telepathic needles through his mind. "You see, over two hundred years ago, I fell in love with a young man who had moved to Neverwinter, and spent many an... intimate... night with him. Of course, I couldn't let anyone know such scandalous behavior was going on between a stranger and the heiress of the house of Orus. But, nature being as it was, eventually it was found out once my belly began to swell." Saris sent even more pain coursing through Kalin's head as she talked, eliciting groans of agony from him. "Oh, I tried to run away with my beloved, but alas, young men being as they are, I found myself alone and abandoned. My parents were terribly angry with and shamed of me, but I thought they had gotten over it when they allowed me to stay afterwards. I was so foolish... Once my child was born, rather than letting me have him, my parents threw me out with naught a word or coin, banishing me forever from the family, and kept my son to raise as their heir. I lived in misery, and scraped a living off of running the docks as a filthy prostitute. I was forced to turn into a thing, something to be payed for and used just so I could live!" "Then I found an escape, having been offered a chance at a new life. The Cullers accepted me, and made me more powerful than the Orus family ever could. And ever since that day, I had thought only of the extinction of our bloodline." Saris gave a maniacal giggle. "One day encountered the one I still call my master. He gave me the means needed to kill you all without revealing myself. It was too easy to give your friend that book..." She frowned for moment, as if she'd forgotten some important detail. "Oh, yes, I was the one who gave your wizard friend the means to summon the demons that murdered your family." She giggled once more to herself. "That was a stroke of brilliance, don't you think?" Kalin could barely contain his torment, anger, and hatred. "You... monster! You foul, damnable bi- ARRGH!" She cut off his sentence with yet another wave of pain. "Please, Kalin, at least try to show some respect for your elders." She gave a sigh of disappointment, not unlike a child told playtime was over as Zuir entered the room and whispered some unintelligible message to her. "Well, as much as I enjoyed this, I'm afraid I have some business to attend to once more." She turned to leave, speaking as she went. "Don't go anywhere, my dear grandson. I'll be back later." And with that left with Zuir in tow. "I'LL KILL YOU!" Kalin screamed in rage as the door to his cell shut, then let exhaustion take him, sobbing ever so softly as he fell into painless oblivion... Edited September 30, 2013 by GrueMaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh900 Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Roland hadn't taken his eyes off of Rhaine as her companions made their threats. "This is a matter involving those loyal to Kelemvor.... And those who are not." He said before looking back to Azuris and those around him. "But now... a matter more important than a simple traitor has arisen. The Lady Chosen has decided to meet the threat of the necromancers... with apathy." He motioned for his men to follow him as he walked away. "You have allied yourself with allies of the Necromancers, Chosen, the Order will hear about this and we will meet again, and deliver their judgment."--------- Azuris let out a sigh as the paladins walked away. "That was a mistake Rhaine.... You should have had them arrest me, you didn't do yourself any favors with standing aside. That either with them or against them mentality is just one more reason I left. I'd say I'd head off on my own again but, I don't think that will help now." He put away his sword when the paladins were out of view and looked to those standing with him. "Thank you, but this wasn't your fight, but... still, you have my thanks." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AurianaValoria1 Posted October 1, 2013 Author Share Posted October 1, 2013 (edited) Rhaine was seething with anger as she watched Roland and his fellows depart. That presumptuous bastard! she thought. You mete out judgment on me!? How dare you! She turned to Azuris, no small amount of fury in her tone, "Perhaps it was a mistake; but I stand by my decision. As for you, after the tournament, you are to leave this party's company. You knew who I was when you joined us, and you knew that the Order was chasing you. As such, you also knew that you were bringing those troubles - troubles that should never have involved us - to our doorstep. You never told me of these problems...never told me the risk you posed to this group. I thank you for the help that you brought against Valthanarax, but that is where my gratitude ends." With that, she spun on her heel and stalked towards the horses, shoving the satchel of sugar cubes back into Azrael's saddle bag. She spoke not another word as she went, finding her own tent, and securing the flaps closed behind her. --------------------------------------------------------------- Quarylene narrowed her white eyes at Hasim, "You may be Ravenna's ally, but that does not make you mine, jaluk. You know my name, and that is more than enough." She glanced to Ravenna, "I'd rather do this sooner than later." --------------------------------------------------------------- The following morning, Conall woke early to sign up for the archery competition; he noticed that the list was already substantial. Unfortunately, it was also longbows only...no crossbows. He cursed his ill luck. He hadn't used a longbow in years. The paladin borrowed a practice bow and was positioned a bit away from the tents, firing practice shots into a tree, as the bright sun just barely cleared the canopy of the forest. There was only a very slight breeze. It would be a good day for the competition, it seemed. Edited October 1, 2013 by AurianaValoria1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redscorpionarmy Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Bar'bark was gagged when he awoke. He still sat by the tree he had been resting on, but a man sat before him, watching him as he played with a dagger. A dark cowl covered his face, hiding his identity. A slight lift of the head, however, revealed his purple-blue skin, the octopus-like features of his face. It was an Illithid. The slimy creature quickly removed the cloth from the gnolls mouth, but not before checking that the rope binding him to the tree was secure. "Who are you?" Bar'bark gasped. "I am, well, let's just say, an associate of your employer. Did you realize you were being shadowed?" said the creature in its small voice, barely more than a whisper. "By who?" said the gnoll, intrigued despite the probably fatal consequences of being held captive by a mind flayer. "Another associate of your employer. A small, rugged man, distasteful at best. But he is not the reason I came to you for. Sign up for the archery competition today. Find out whatever you can about any questionable characters in the crowd. I've left a small knife in your back pocket - it will take you a few minutes to cut the rope," whispered the Illithid, who was gone within the next few seconds. Bar'bark stared into space, intrigued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mythicdawnmaster Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 (edited) Xallistine sighed, shaking his head as Rhaine stormed away after her beratement of Azuris. He looked at the fallen doomguide, his eyes holding pity. He did not relish the thought of loosing a fighter as capable of Azuris over matters of the Kelemvorite troubles; such petty trivialities, no matter how important to Rhaine and her beliefs, had to come secondary to the goal the group as a whole worked together to undertake- destroying Valthanarax before he was able to ascend. Azuris's expulsion would do nothing to aid them, only protect Rhaine's reputation. The man was a powerful warrior, and his expertise fighting the undead had proven invaluable in the past. The events that had transpired were, in Xallistine's eyes, no reason to deprive the group of another sword. If Rhaine had not deigned them sufficient enough for execution, then surely, she had ruled that he deserved to live? Rhaine would certainly not be in any way receptive to advice Xallistine could muster that night, and so he settled for rest. Night often stripped away rage in it's comforting grasp, so he would offer her his words in the morning. But he would not force his observations upon her; as he had said to the group, her decisions and her enemies were theirs by extension. Nevertheless, he would offer his words of wisdom as an outside party, as he had done in the past. It was, after all, the duty of an advisor to take all things into account, was it not? ------------- Ravenna turned her head to address Quarylene with a golden stare. "As would I my dear." Rising to her feet the devil queen wasted no time in beginning her descent of the staircase, heels clicking purposefully and leather train dragging heavily behind her, she watched as her reflection danced across the circle of the scrying pool. "We shall take the exit through which you entered, Quarylene, and from there you may guide us to your foes. I trust you will be able to acquire suitable transportation? I am not going to walk the fetid tunnels of your home, and I sincerely doubt that the carriage will fit through that little structural weakness in the wine cellar." Edited October 1, 2013 by mythicdawnmaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nethgros Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 On waking up in the morning Kowolj thought back on the events of the night before and imagined gleefully just how it would've played out had the paladins accepted the challenge.Thinking about his dream he had just had made him cringe; it was yet another featuring the red faced beastman. It's very likely these recurring dreams, or occasionally nightmares, were the source of his increased bloodlust, as all of them advocated it. He had slept in the fields surrounding the fair; he yawned loudly as he entered back onto the fairgrounds, looking around for where his pride might congregate. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hasim was not offended by the woman at all, in fact he had dealt with several militant ultra-feminist cults in Zakhara. Very often the dealings involved violence, but he at least hope the drow might be civil enough to cooperate. He decided to allow Quarylene to take second in the procession downstairs. Not in a 'protect my back' kind of way, but rather in a chivalric manner. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Horo departed the tree within moments of waking up, deciding that he would need to acquisition some money, or quite possibly just the goods he needed. That, and perhaps he could stay on the lookout for particularly unlawful types, as he has a knack for picking them out of a crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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