Lacks

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

@BCTheEntity @The ZAX Posted it. Good times.

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

Yaroslav listened to the Vrettonian mage explain how the practices of the Vrettonian mage’s had changed and he realized that it had truly been a long time since he had set foot on Vrettonian ground and the only time he had it had been as part of a raiding party. He winced at the memory; that had been a bloody two months. He managed to refocus on the conversation by the time that Alice made her joke about Von Feralis' planar theory and gave a chuckle.

“It is true I know little of Vrettonian magic these days, we’ll have to talk shop some while we travel. We could probably learn much from each other” Yaroslav smiled at Alice and was about to make another joke when he saw the young warrior sit down next to the man called Settionne.

In the company of less experienced people Settionne’s grandeur and demeanor would have been written off as being charming almost bard like but this room was full of seasoned adventures and warriors. Yaroslav noticed the skill in the way he moved his eyes and the way he artfully drew attention away from one had with the other, the man had to be some kind of rogue or thief and Yaroslav thought he could tell that other members of the party had caught on too, every time Settionne spoke the Paladin would seem to wince and the wood elf might be narrowing his eyes. Thieves had their uses and Yaroslav would not have judged Settionne had he come right out and admitted his talents but as of yet he had not.

Yaroslav figured he should probably speak up and see if this man would admit his profession, if not for the sake of the party then for the sake of the young warrior who was probably too green to see through the thief’s charm. Yaroslav turned to Settionne and said in a friendly and inquisitive tone. “So Settionne was it? I am very glad we have a thief in our party, you lot are always so useful, what manner of thievery is your specialty? We all really should know each other’s strengths before we face our foes don’t you think?”

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

@BCTheEntity I have a post typed up where Yaroslav feels bad for Harvan and in a pretty friendly way calls out Sett on being some kind of thief. I wanted to make sure you were cool with being called out before I posted.

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

@Fetzen @The Fated Fallen I did our doubled up conversation. If An-Hasst Ahal is going to punch up Yaroslav don't let him aim for the face that's his money maker.

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

Just as Yaroslav had seated himself the Skayleigh said in a booming voice that we would not be teleported and would travel on foot, Yaroslav had no problem with this as he was very familiar with the dangers of a misused teleport spell. He was about to voice an agreement when he saw out of the corner of his eye the Skayleigh moving slowly toward him. Yaroslav began to consider whether an Andred battle mage dying at the hands of a Skayleigh in front of a menagerie of adventurers and Elven Royalty in a tavern in Riverhope would be interesting enough for bards to make quips about years down the line when the Skayleigh extended his hand in greeting.

"Don't worry. It's not a carnivorous plant that will snap close and crush the end of your arm once you touch its center. I've always spared this kind of action for mage apprentices on the battlefield." The Skayleigh said in a voice barely concealing displeasure then followed with "Where my family has been decimated..." with his voice a low rumbling growl.

Yaroslav knew the Skayleigh could easily crush his hand, he had seen hundreds of Andred’s men die at the hands of the Skayleigh, but he also knew that the Skayleigh were not monsters so he did not hesitate and sat his small hard in the center of the Skayleigh’s palm and locked eyes with the man as he said calmly. “Thank you for the greeting. I hope you fight with the same vigor as those I have faced in battle.”

Before the Skayleigh could reply the young mage woman across the table called out a greeting to him. "Hello, Yaroslav. I am Alice Peerbane as I'm sure you heard, Andred are you? How are the arts over there, I confess I have never been long in those parts." She had a Vrettonian accent, something Yaroslav had heard many times from both friend and foe. Yaroslav assumed that this obviously astute young woman had noticed Yaroslav’s predicament and jumped in and broken up the awkward situation. He turned his attention away for the Skayleigh and listened as Alice continued "At the very least I can't remember the brooding school being officially recognized, though I know it was well practiced among many mages."

At this Yaroslav gave a chuckle and replied. “Yes I am from Andred. The arts there are full of stuffy old angry men and woman unwilling to change or try anything new, but we get by.” He shrugs his shoulders. “As for the brooding school of magic I am considering trying to get it officially recognized and opening my own Guild as Guild Master. I would invite you to join but it will probably be a rather dreadful place.” He smiles widely as he unsuccessfully tries to deliver this joke dryly. “Do I hear a Vrettonian accent? It has been awhile since I have travelled that way, are the arts still as antiquated as always?" he says with an almost playful badgering tone then takes a bite from a small loaf of bread with a rather thick crust.

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

Yaroslav was stunned this Elven royal had just used magic to clean off his robes without his permission. In Andred using magic on someone else was an intimiate act; an act of caring, healing, harming or killing. To use magic on someone without their permission is strictly taboo. The fact that she had used it on him was either a difference in Elven culture and Andred culture or an act of disrespect. Yaroslav suspected the latter.

Despite his feelings of disgust Yaroslav listened as the Elf royal spoke. He noted that Vanya would openly mock the other members of the party as they asked questions or piled on flattery. The half-elf half-giant had asked a useful question and that pompous royal had treated him as a child and the priest had gotten sarcasm in return for his over the top flattery. Yarslav had seen leaders like this in his past, Vanya believed that all the people in this room were worthless. In Yaroslav’s mind there would be one of two reasons she had assembled this team and was now treating them with so little respect. She was expecting this group to fail and her shining royal knights would have to come in and save the day making for a great legend to be told for ages of Vanya the wonderful, or she wasn’t telling the whole truth and this party was to be a distraction destined to meet a horrible end so that the real war party could make its move.

Yaroslav didn’t care what the truth was he knew he wanted to do this quest, not only for the chance to really use his magic but also for the possibility of succeeding and showing this awful Royal not to underestimate the little people. He looked around the room and really studied the other adventures assembled as Vanya finished talking. He knew after a speech like what Her Highness had just given, full of mockery and doom, that moral for this journey would start low he needed to break the mood and give everyone a chance to inflate a little. As the other adventurers looked into the bag of Elven goods Yaroslav cleared his voice, stood, and addressed the other adventurers.

“Hello everyone. I know I have made a very messy first impression with all of you but I would like to make an introduction so that you all will know who will be fighting by your side. My name is Yaroslav and I am a broody scholar mage of the Vailhearth Guild in Andred, as you could tell by my state earlier I have been taking the broody part of scholarship very serious as of late.” He says this will a chuckle.

“My magic is mostly used for battle but I might be able to heal some small wounds if you don’t mind a scar. I am a retired battle mage and a traveling teacher of Andred army tactics” he glances at the half-elf half-giant as he says this not in a threatening manner but to make sure the man did not react badly to this fact, then he continues “and battle magic. If time permits on our journey I will gladly share my knowledge of the killing arts with the other magic users here.” At this he glances at the brown haired female magic user who had somehow escaped his song reading earlier.

“Now I’d like to know who I will be journeying with, and I’d love to share a drink with whoever will be killing the forces of darkness at my side.” At this he grabs a goblet filled with wine off the table and lifts it in the air then takes a deep drink and sits down. He thinks to himself “Well now they for sure think I’m crazy.”

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

Working on post. Going to be pretty awesome. Yaroslav is going to announce that he is @Fetzen's half elf half giant's father.

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

@The Fated Fallen I'm assuming that anyone in tune to the flow of mage can detect magic in a basic way but Yaroslav's Mage Guild has turned hearing the flow of magic as music and interpreting its meaning into their main skill/purpose. All members of the guild are taught to hear the flow of mage as songs through concentration techniques. Most people in his guild just sit around reading and writing scholarly papers about interpreting different magic songs. Yaroslav knows how to hear magic songs but his interpretation skills aren't great because he left his studies to serve in the army when he was fairly young. Even for a master interpreting a magic song is an art form and not a science.

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

The elven servant stood before Yaroslav offering a clean cloth. Yaroslav was too deep in thought to really hear or understand what the attractive young elf was saying and Yaroslav dismissed him with a wave of his hand. To add emphasis to the gesture Yaroslav let out a small pop of lightning from his index finger. The servant withdrew with a look of both dismay and confusion on his face.

Yaroslav sat at the table covered in food and drink, gave a brief glance around the other individuals at the table, then closed his eyes and concentrated. He wanted to know if any of the others where users of magic and the Vailhearth Guild technique Song of Magic could help him do just that.

As his concentration grew he began to hear the steady bass of new magic user, eager and full of potential, this he believed was the song of the half elf sitting farther down the table. This is the song of all new magic users but this one was deeper and louder than most. He felt that if he were to go questing with this individual he might blow the dust off of his teaching skills and give some pointers maybe he would even teach her some simple spells good for questing.

As Yaroslav day dreamed about being a useful teacher again his mind focused on another song. It was hard to hear at first and he began to concentrate deeper barely making it out. Whispers and chatting in unknowable languages. His brain began to ache as he heard words and hymns not meant for mortal minds. He quickly unfocused as he realized he was hearing the song or songs of the Gods. At least one maybe even two or three of the people in the room were favored by at least one God. This group was going to make for a very interesting adventure.

Yaroslav began to think about his own song of magic. The sound of steel clashing against steel, flesh being pierced and torn, and the guttural moans and screams of dying men. His song had been shaped and made hideous by his own obsession with the art of using magic to kill. He hoped that no one else at the table knew how to hear other peoples' song of magic in fact he hoped no one would ever have to hear the hideous sounds of his magic. He was going deeper into his dark mind when he heard the wind.

At first he heard a gentle breeze, then the breeze became a prominent wind. The sound of trees swaying back and forth in the wind while a thousand wooden wind chimes gently clanged was drawing near. Yaroslav was sure this had to be the sound the queen’s Song of Magic, but as the door to the room opened in walked what appeared to be an elven mage warrior.

He listened as Vanya Eldendawn, the Queen's sister, explained the situation and who they may be up against. Dorcha and Vampires, there was no way they would be completing this quest without a fight. No one on this team would expect mercy from these vile races which means Yaroslav did not have to show them mercy. The excitement began to well up in Yaroslav, they were about to face an enemy that he would not have to hold back against, he could truly let his magic flow. He began to breath heavy and he stopped focusing on the room around him as all he could think about was the amount of magic he would soon be using. He heard the dwarf make a quip when he snapped back to reality, he realized in his introspective state he had accidentally made a wine cup, a plate, and several piece of cutlery before him levitate several inches above the table. He focused and somewhat gently placed the items back on the table. He turned his eyes up to Vanya, cleared his throat, and in a voice just barely containing his excitement said “It is an honor to serve the Queen.”

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

I'm working on a post now. I am going to be better about posting in the future, I've been on a stupid long business trip.