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6 mos ago
Current So I have this... itch... to run a pbp game... here. Using the Cypher System or ICRPG.
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7 mos ago
I've not been back a full week and I'm already stalking POO and Penny :D
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Lonett looked expectantly at the halfling, awaiting a response, but it was Lady Ada who spoke first. She had some wise words to impart with regard to the mysterious deck of cards that for some reason drew the attentions of a few of the heroes present. Herself included. In her defense, she wasn't one who interested herself with magic items unless she knew exactly how they could help her in her fight against evil. Anything ambiguous, as powerful as it might be, was a double-edged sword she could ill afford to use in a battle she fought on her own. When in group she supposed, with others to watch your back, an item like that could become an asset even with it's uncertain nature.

She returned her attention to the halfling who brushed off Lonett's introduction impatiently, failing to return the gesture, and started answering her question when the two of them were joined by the bard. The man came to them with a similar question about the deck as the ranger herself had posed.

Before the halfling could respond to him Lady Ada approached the bard, who'd introduced himself as James Greerson. She explained that the deck had been in her house's possession for some generations now and that she could sense the magical essence of the cards. She even offered the young man to draw a card so that he could attest to that himself. It was about this time that Lonett felt the nimble halfling skirt around her legs to get a better view, as it appeared, of what was to follow. She herself observed with morbid curiosity. Something about this deck of cards wasn't right to her. She just couldn't put her finger on what it was. But it would appear they were about to find out just what the deck could do.

As James drew a card there was a moment of stillness and then all his magical gear vanished into nothingness and the man was left standing in his birthday suit a frown marring his features. Lonett averted her gaze tactfully as he hastened to grab his spare set of clothing and began putting himself and his scattered gear in order.

Prior to the misfortunate draw, a suggestion was made by the wood elf to go to the library. Lonett's attention was now drawn to the elf woman once more. She looked to be young in appearance, but the ranger felt something from her that belied her youthful appearance. Was it the way she carried herself? Or the way she spoke? Plus with elves one could never be too sure of their actual age. Her thoughts were interrupted by a nervous servant who was standing a few feet from her looking cautiously at Divna.

Lonett smirked. "It would appear it's time, ol' gal." She rubbed the owlbear's neck for comfort. "You promised." She whispered and got a beak nip on her ear as response. "Oy!" The ranger rubbed her ear, congratulating herself for the foresight to put her Earstone on her left ear. She then looked at the servant and beckoned him to come closer. "She's behaved. I assure you. But just to be on the safe side. Put some distance between her and any horses." The nervous man looked almost horrified at the rains in Lonett's hand. She decided to spare him and tied the rains on the saddle. "It's alright. She'll follow you. Just lead her to the stables." The man gulped, nodded and wobbled away, followed by the large owlbear.

As Lonett turned to look what the others were doing she realized they were now all following Lady Ada. The Aasimar hurried to catch up with them and the party was soon led to the library. They were greeted by an elderly librarian who was immediately recognized by Kethan, the Master. As the two of them exchanged pleasantries and caught up on scholarly news, the group settled to do research on the impending threats either in groups, or by their lonesome.

Lonett approached the old librarian and asked him if he could direct her towards any books that pertained to Orcus and any related topics. The man led her to a section of the library that contained the books she'd inquired about.

"Thank you, Master Lawrence. If I can impose on you to inform the group of my line of research and to direct anyone who wants to join me to this spot." Lonett started taking books from shelves and hauling them over to the nearby table. The librarian nodded his assent and the monster slayer sat down and began her research.

After two hours of sifting through tomes of lore and religious texts Lonett had acquired a good amount of information on Orcus. She was taking neat notes on some parchment Lawrence had provided her with. As it turned out Orcus was the demon lord of the undead and necromancy. There was a reference of two Orcus cults worthy of note. One in the Gardens of Carnessa and the other in the backwater areas of the Western Wilderness. That drew Lonett's attention as it was in the general area where Valkur's messenger had said the Ghoul Emperor amassed his armies. She also discovered an interesting connection between Orcus and the Paladins of Conquest. Since she was unfamiliar with the subject she scoured the books on information on The Oath of Conquest and diligently scribbled down what she found.

At first it didn't make sense to her for any lawful Paladins to want to follow a chaotic creature as Orcus. But taking into account their constant search for glory and the desire to subjugate their enemies, she could see how they could be drawn to the demon of the undead, who sought to exert his might over this plane.

Lonett rubbed her eyes to chase the tiredness away and promptly resumed her work. She needed to look more closely into this Orcus cult said to be located in the Western Wilderness. And if her eyes did not betray her, she wanted to put in some hours of research on the subject of white dragons and giants, of which she knew next to nothing.

Aryn stumbled forward a bit, the support of the wall she was leaning on no longer there, nor the warm body she was pressing to in languid exploration. Put out of sorts by the swift change of location she immediately went for her battleaxe and looked around cautiously. Gone was the inn and the room she'd rented for the night. And, of course, no sign of Renya, the sweet, sweet bard she'd managed to charm into her room and possibly into her bed. But apparently that would no longer be happening as Aryn found herself in a grassy field, surrounded by trees, a funny shaped building that she could see in the distance and the familiar sound of waves coming from the north and west.

She was also not alone. Five others stood there beside her, in a loose circle. To her right was a half-ling woman who appeared to be some sort of magic user and right next to her a giant toad. Aryn did not appear at all surprised by the sight of the large amphibian. She'd seen far more interesting creatures in the oceans she'd roamed twice over. On her left, a rock gnome surrounded by a sort of dark aura, who also appeared to be the magic type. Is she grinning or cackling? Aryn wondered. Almost directly opposite her stood the only male in the mismatched group of strangers. A stocky dwarf who possessed a sort of balance about him that belied his burly outlook. To the left of the dwarf a tiefling female, who appeared quite weak and fragile, but also very alluring. And next to the tiefling an impressive and imposing female figure, riding a unicorn. A strong and captivating specimen of the human race, wielding a spear and looking down on all the rest of them from her elevated position atop her mount.

An impressive assembly to be sure. Aryn mused, observing the strangers with her weary, cold blue eyes. Well, I know they're not friends. But are they foe? Is any of them responsible for us being here? And more to the point. Why are we here? Aryn's thoughts flowed freely assessing the situation she found herself in, wishing strongly that she be back in her inn, in her room, pinning the sweet, sweet Renya to the wall.

While Aryn was imagining herself against the warm and supple female body, the alluring thiefling spoke:

"It was wonderful to meet you all, but I think I would prefer to return to what I was previously doing now." And promptly disappeared into nothingness.

That spurred more to voice their thoughts and concerns. The dwarf following suit after the thiefling:

“Alright, lasses. I don’t know which of you brought me here, but I wouldn’t mind going back as well.” He appeared to hesitated for a moment, before adding. “Er… please?”

Aryn opened her mouth to say something but tall, handsome and mounted beat her to it.

"We did not summon you dwarf. I am Alex and this is Adal. We too seek passage back to a battle against demons assailing our temple. Who was it who summon us? Speak now!"

Well, that's three out of six total that claim to not be responsible for this sudden shift in location. Aryn mused. I know I didn't bring us here. So if I can believe those three, which I'm not likely to do without hard evidence, and if the other two also have nothing to do with this, then who. And why?

Aryn lowered her battleaxe, but never losing her battle stance.

"I don't know who brought it upon themselves to bring me... us, here, and frankly I don't care. But whoever it is, you will undo it promptly for I have affairs to go back to!" Her words, frosty like the oceans depths and her tone imperial never doubting her request will be met with the appropriate actions.

Storm Herald Barbarian 16/Immortal Mystic 4
Civilization is like a thin layer of ice upon a deep ocean of chaos and darkness.
Lonett listened to Ada's words of greeting with a head cocked to the side. She'd stepped a little back when all the other heroes had stepped forward to voice their thoughts and concerns. She knew Divna would get restless with all the humans talking and her having to stand obediently waiting. The monster huntress approached her fierce companion and petted her shoulder soothingly.

"Looks like we'll be here for a while after all, ol' girl." Lonett whispered to Divna who bumped her beak against the woman's head. "There's trouble brewing and the people of this land will need our help." The owlbear nipped at Lonett's ear. "Yes, I know. Just a little while longer. Until we know what exactly it is we are dealing with. And then we'll be on our way." The aasimar ranger looked her friend in the eyes and stated her following sentence with great care. "I can trust you to play nice with the horses while I do some research with the group, right." It was more of a statement. But there was a question implied there for Divna's sake. The large owlbear sighed dramatically, lowered her head and without preamble shoved Lonett away and in the direction of all the other heroes. As if saying 'Go! I'll behave.'

"Thanks, ol' girl." Lonett whispered and turned to walk towards the now former Duchess when she heard Divna emit a low squawk. The ranger grinned and approaching Ada who was currently giving out gifts to the heroes who'd answered the call as a way of helping their future quests. Lonett lowered her hood. Something she rarely did in public. More so when her mask was also down. Her long, dark hair was kept practically out of her face by way of a simple pony tail. She stood tall in front of Ada, making eye contact, but not really. And then her eyes fell on the Earstones of Communication laying in the palm of her fellow ranger. A deep purple one called out to her and she raised her hand taking it gently from the other woman's open palm.

"Your generosity is much appreciated, my lady." She said, clipping the stone to her left ear. It would not be safe on her right as Divna tended to walk on her right side and would surely peck it off. Lonett felt a pleasant tingle roll down her neck as the stone attached to her ear and settled. But then something else drew her gaze. Ada was holding a pouch in her hands that appeared to be a deck of cards. Lonett fixated on the object trying to discern what it was, but from what she could tell it looked to be a deck of illusions or something. So the following words of Ada made little sense. Apparently it was a very dangerous object meant to be used only as a last resort.

A sentiment confirmed by the nimble half-ling who offered her services as the objects keeper a little bit too eagerly. This left Lonett even more perplexed. Why would a deck of illusions inspire such awe in two heroes that had probably seen wonders beyond imagine? She approached the half-ling cautiously.

"Forgive me, Mistress..." She hesitated, realizing she didn't know this person or of her prior to meeting her here and now. "Mistress Ada warned us of this object, but I fail to see its importance. Is this not a deck of illusions? I believe these are not something to be feared as you two seem to be concerned with this deck of cards." She was speaking in a polite tone, making eye contact, but yet again, not really. It was her way as a solitary traveler. People often wondered how she did it. The only ones who seemed to be able to draw her gaze in completely were the children. Then as if remembering something, she placed her right hand on her heart and bowed slightly. "Ah, forgive my rudeness. I am Lonett of Caernath." She introduced herself.



@JBRam2002@16 Bit
Blaine Moore


Location: Washington Square
Interacting With: Genevieve Alleron @Alfhedil


Blaine was surveying the damage. Her eyes stoic, but also sad. On the ground a few feet from her lay the bodies of the Weres Genevieve had dispatched. And Blaine could still catch a whiff of the scent of the ones who'd fled. Her hand gripped the baton harder for a few seconds before she regained control of her raging wolf and she collapsed it and stowed it in its pouch. The Alpha raised her head and sniffed the air, searching for the scent of her wolves. When she was able to discern their presence on the winds, separating them from the smell of blood and horror, she felt a little bit at ease.

Blaine sensed Genevieve approaching before the other woman spoke. What she said surprised Blaine, but most of all saddened her deeply. She was shocked to say the least that her newfound friend had any knowledge of the supernatural. But it was immediately outweighed by the venom in her voice when she spat the word 'werewolves' out. Blaine closed her eyes and her posture diminished a bit, her shoulders hunching. She was distraught enough to not even contemplate the implications of Genevieve having knowledge of the supernatural world, coupled with her skill set. She even missed what would have been otherwise a giveaway when Genevieve referred to the Hunters as the 'other Hunters'. As it stood she blinked once. Then twice and when she was sure the Were glow was no more present in her eyes, she turned and looked upon the other woman with sad eyes.

"I'm not sure what's going on. But I know one thing." Blaine glanced at the fell Were, continuously saddened by the unnecessary waste of life. "These creatures were sick. Wolf, werewolf, nothing would betray their nature so much so unless it is not well for whatever reason. Putting them down was a necessity and a mercy. But I take no pleasure in it." The Alpha hesitated then stepped closer to Genevieve. "And you're very welcome. I wouldn't..." She started to say something, her eyes darkened and reconsidering she just shook her head. "You're right, we should try to help the injured. I don't have my supplies with me, but we can at least escort people to ambulances. Help with triage." Blaine could hear the wail of sirens all around them. The sound almost managed to suppress the cries of pain and shock and horror.
I, for one, have no intention of playing the politics game
I'll probably post before the weekend... Was preoccupied with old pup worry. Things are hopefully starting to look up on that front *knocks on wood*
I kinda want to throw my hat in this, but I'm not sure my n00b D&D heart can handle more than three campaigns at once Still if holes remain to be filled... If not, then it's as if I didn't even say anything
Lonett waited for the dashing looking... bard... to ask his questions. Lowering her mask she whispered something to Divna. The owlbear pecked her shoulder gently in acknowledgement. The aasimar ranger stepped forward from the group of gathered heroes and approached the Twin Dukes.

"Forgive me, Your Graces..." She spoke giving a side glance at the bard. "If I may as well. Far be it for me to doubt the will of the gods, but all of us here..." She turned to look at the group of heroes. "We've all traveled the world twice over and I think none of us would jump blindly into battle, even with the chance to smite down evil. You say the summons didn't come from you, but you were prepared to welcome us and to send one of your own into danger." Lonett squared the Duchess with an unflinching stare. "It would appear you know at least a little bit more then us at the very least. If we are to help, we'll need all the information. Anything there is to know about this Ghoul Emperor to the West and about the conclave of this White Dragon with the giants on the North. This is your land, you surely know its ins and outs."

Lonett kept her tone even and polite, giving the two rulers before her their due. She hoped brother and sister had more to tell them than the peppy message announcing the will of Valkur. The monster slayer thought back on all she knew about this particular divinity. Unfortunately all she could remember about Valkur was that he was a god of storms and thunder or something.



@JBRam2002
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