DMZ

Forgotten Realms: Tales of the Dead

"Ye're going to 'ave to get me much more of that lemonade fer those praises to work, boy," the smith chuckled after he emptied the mug in one go. "Neer heard 'o Iron Thorgood, either. Every dwarf worth their salt knows the family names, and Thorgood ain't one of 'em," he mused.
With an almost apologetic look on his face, the dwarf shook the mug with the last drops of the spirit in it, belched again and walked over to the monk, inspecting the bracers.
"This be good work. Magnificent even. But that ain't dwarvencraft, boy. This be a common above ground item, magically enchanted by some crazy wizardkin of yers. The inscriptions are written in Dwarven, most of 'em nonsense, anecdotes an' other surfacer crap. There be one word that's full 'o magic, but I'm guessing ye know which one." He walked around to get a better look at the other bracer, shaking his head all the while.
"As I thought, more gibberish an' anecdotes. I think ye'be been conned, boy. That pointy hat 'o yer's sold ye a surfacer item, claiming it be dwarf made." he surmised, pacing over to the forge and taking up the hammer again.
"Me break be over, boy. Yer bracers tell a few dwarven jokes, tales of Clangeddin's arse and Moradin's hammer, 'an that be the only dwarven thing on there. Ye want to ask fer yer money back if ye wanted a dwarf-made set, but if ye're lookin' fer a bit 'o magic, those'll do just fine. Some mighty magic in 'em." With nary a word, the dwarf went back to his hammering, occasionally yelling instructions to his assistant.

Forgotten Realms: Tales of the Dead

Harfen huffed and puffed at the lost merchandise he'd miss while the monk was gone, but with his mercenary pool consisting of one, he couldn't argue. In the back of the merchant's mind, he chuckled, thinking that he would deduct some money from the payment for ignoring the rules. Content with the thought, Harfen carried on trying to move his goods to the few remaining passerbys.

The dwarf didn't notice the new arrival at the shop until he almost cut him with a red hot blade on a turn. "Tim!" he yelled, tossing the blade away, once again into the waiting hands of the apprentice, and inspected the newcomer. It didn't take long for the seasoned dwarf to notice the bottle in Keystone's hands, but the dwarf didn't make a move, boring into the monk with a long hard stare.

"Does this look like a proper forge, boy?" he said, sticking out his hands, mocking the hovel."Me homeland, the Delzoun homeland, now that had forges! Heat so strong yer blood would start boilin' if you came close! THAT 'ere forges!" he yelled with the volume of a foghorn. "This is but a campfire compared to that! So don't call me Forgemaster till ye know what a forge looks like!"
Satisfied with the rant, the dwarf grabbed a full mug of ale standing on the table, gulped it down in one go, belched and wiped his beard. With his free hand he took the bottle from keystone, smelling the contents before dumping it in the mug.
"Get that stick out o' yer arse and sit down fer a second," the smith commanded, reading the charcoal note.

"Well, not sure what to tell ye, boy. Fer one, ye didn't transcribe all of the writing on dem bracers of yers, and fer two, I doubt ye have the same sense of humour we do," he exclaimed, having finished reading. "If ye like jokes about the dwarfkin, yer bracers are a goldmine."

Over the Ages Episode 1: All that Remains

So, what tech level are we dealing with?

Falling Skies: 7th Mobile Armor Suit Team

Looks like I'll be joining with some...unexpected guests for you folks to enjoy... If and when the GMs accept or reject my proposals.

Forgotten Realms: Tales of the Dead

@SigilYou don't know the half of it. I may or may not be using you as a villain in a different RP.

And you'll find your job situation has been made easier.

Forgotten Realms: Tales of the Dead

By the time Keystone returned to the wealthy lady, she had already procured bodyguards for her offspring, politely declining the monk's services as she yelled instructions to her staff, busy packing up to head out of town. Elated by the mercenary's mention of the Grandmaster, she threw him a few silvers and walked away, clearly concerned with far too many things.

The merchant, a portly man by the name of Harfen, was very happy to see a fresh pair of hands willing to help him, pleading with the monk how he had lost 'over half his wares' in the last hours alone. With little bartering, the merchant offered Keystone a crummy 20 gold to serve as his guard for the remainder of the day and the next morning, starting immediately, when all the supplies would be loaded onto a caravan and shipped off. If the monk could prevent all theft during this time, Harfen promised he'd throw in some 'invaluable things for a traveler', as he called them. The portly man never elaborated what those things were.

The Merchant's square was packed to the brim, many purchasing the last essential things before they headed out of town, or desperately trying to offload the few remaining supplies before the city came under siege. On the corner of the square, in a low hovel that looked incredibly out of place in the city, the sounds of hammer and hissing water never wavered, never stopped, even as the square slowly bled dry of all other sales and craftsmen. The few stubborn suppliers that remained, were working to give the city guard the best chance of winning, crafting or preparing weapons, armour and supplies.

"Oi, get yer hairless arse 'ooer here, Tim!" yelled the dwarf. A young boy came running out of a storeroom, grabbing a hot blade the dwarf nonchalantly threw in the air shortly after his call. With practiced ease, Tim dumped the scalding blade in cold water, coughing from the cloud of steam exploding out of the bucket. "Master Rocksteady, we have two more orders from the Merchant's Council for blades, to be delivered tomorrow!" he called out, pulling the blade free of the water and inspecting it.
"Dem 'umans think we've got all the dwarves in the Realms to help us do their work!" the dwarf yelled back, extracting a second blade from the oven, its steel white hot, and hammering away. "Tell 'em I'd be more than happy, if they be willin' to pay me double, the greedy runts!"

Forgotten Realms: Tales of the Dead

The monk got many offers that day, from a lady willing to pay good money to protect her beautiful daughters until they left town, to a bunch of merchants that already started losing supplies to the many thieves. It would be up to Keystone to pick what he wanted to do, but both offers expired that very day, as rumours about the menace hitting the city within two days were getting louder.

The priest of Tyr was not happy to see Keystone again, shrinking back as the monk strode up to him with the same forceful personality that the priest was afraid of. He recoiled upon hearing the name Glith again, stammering to give the monk a reply.
"G-Glith is great evil, great evil!" the priest muttered, seeming at a loss for words. "I know the name only because s-several years ago there was a great battle at D-Delhumide, the castle.." he paused, gathering his breath. "A great battle was waged, amidst a fortress full of demons. Many perished that day, but some walked away from it. One of them was named G-Glith, a source of great evil, for none traveling with him were ever seen again after Delhumide. T-That is all I know!" the priest exclaimed, eyes the size of teacups. Seeming content with Keystone's reaction, the priest eased up even more, taking a step back just in case.

"For your visions, there is little we can do to help. We only exorcise, we don't communicate with spirits. Psionicists could help you, but I don't know of one in this city. The other options may be the Red Wizards, but Tyr protect me, I will never recommend allowing one of them to poke around in your head, lest you wish to lose everything."

The tumult in the rest of the temple took his gaze away from the monk. When the holy man looked back upon the monk, his face was an expression of plea: "Please, leave. We have many people to attend to, and I have nothing more to offer you. Beware of the evil you have called upon yourself."

Forgotten Realms: Tales of the Dead

Telflamm only got busier the next day, with more preparations being made to combat the now dangerously close and still unknown threat. The scrying attempts of wizards and clerics were blocked by some unknown force, and any riders sent out to investigate never came back to report their findings. The mood grew sour, with many merchants already starting to secure a safe way out across the Sea of Fallen Stars. The attendance at the Hall of Avenging Hammer nearly tripled since the refugees with the bad news came in, and many other places started feeling the effects of the mounting fear.

As the result of this, many merchants, clerics, wizards and other people of importance were looking to hire some extra muscle to either protect them in their fortresses, or to serve as guards on the many caravans preparing to leave the city. The Merchant's Council put out a call to any willing able to join the swelling ranks of the city guard. Many monks from the Xiang Temple already formed high organized regiments to combat the new threat and could now be seen in the streets keeping order and doing their daily training. As is usual during the chaos of a siege, prices shot up within the day to almost absurd levels, thievery and scamming rising along with it. Shopkeepers all over Telflamm were willing to part with a bit of coin to help guard their wares.

The morning training at the temple was at an all time low due to the many monks being out on the streets, but trainings of some younger monks were continuing in full swing. Of particular note was a specific class taught to the better students, and only accessible for special guests such as foreign practitioners of the art. Here, one could see the monks practicing punches and kicks that sent jolts of electricity through the target dummies with each strike.

The many taverns and inns were quickly filling up with the overflow from more refugees coming in from the eastern towns, telling horror stories about a vast horde heading for the coastal trading capital. Rooms were at a premium in all inns.

Halfway through the day, the small piece of paper with the wizard's name suddenly had an extra entry on it: Sunset, Enclave, 90 gold, 5 minutes.

Keystone hadn't seen Raa since they had first entered the city, the half orc palading blending in seamlessly with the rest of the inhabitants, but rumours were already reaching out far about 'the half orc paladin leading the refugee troops on the walls'.

Keystone's head remained clear of any outside presence, aside from the subtle but noticeable feeling of distress the closer the undead horde came.

Forgotten Realms: Tales of the Dead

You can always use PM to tell me what you want to do. (42)

Forgotten Realms: Tales of the Dead

@SigilI haven't read that you have any intentions of you doing so, so I didn't include any options for it. I act based on what you tell me you want to do.