LadyAnnaLee

The Curse of Strahd Von Zarovich

@ReedeThe23rd

I can't promise that I will be available if this comes up again but if I am I would love to give it a go.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin heard Ridhane from the ground as she slowly made her way down. It seemed the warrior really had come to find her. Darin almost want to role her eyes. She had been taking care of herself for years. Nothing bad was going to happen in a city people seemed super nice and willing to help others. Alright, she supposed that she could get lost and she was still way clumsier than she really had any right to be. It seemed all the blade training in the world couldn’t train that out of her. It was slightly frustrating, but she supposed that it was what is was.

Darin called down, “Give me a minute. It’s dark. It’s harder to see where to place my hands.”

Zeven called up, “Do you need help?”

Darin responded, “No!” She muttered under her breath, “I’m not that bad.”

It took a few more minutes before she reached sheer truck again. Given the fact that it was dark Darin opted to use the ladders this time. She didn’t want to make it this far only to fall flat on her face. Once her feet were firmly on the ground a smiled lit up her face as she walked over to the two Eluri waiting for her to come down. Her smile turned into a smirk as she held up the chit that meant she had reached the top. She couldn’t help but savor the shocked looks on her challengers faces as she handed the chit over. Not one of them reached out to take it even as Darin held them out to do so.

Yari finally got out, “Keep it. We let people who make it too the top keep it. As a sign of accomplishment.” He suddenly remembered something else and reached into his money pouch, “And here.” He held out a few copper coins towards her, “Your entrance fee.”

Darin took the coins with a polite smile. Then suddenly the two Eluri bowed a bow that Darin could only vaguely recall about being the person bowing honored the person they were bowing to. It threw the young human off and for a moment her smile faltered. They she recalled her manners and bowed the bow she had been taught that came from a grateful guest to an attentive host. She hoped she didn’t offend either one of them and she didn’t think she did if the repeat of the strange bow meant anything. She wished she knew what that one meant. She had a feeling it was important.

Instead of asking she simply waved in farewell, “Fare thee well. My master has come to collect me so I must be off.”

Zeven hesitantly waved back, “Fare the well.”

YAri then told Darin, “If you ever want to scale the trees again just come show us your chit. We’ll let you up without the fee.”

Darin laughed as she told them, “I might just do that.”

With that being said Darin turned to Ridahne and they headed back to the inn. Darin supposed it was glad that the Azurei came to get her. She couldn’t rember the way back to where the inn was. As Darin followed her companion, she found herself thinking about what she had been thinking when she had been above the canopy. Ridahne’s brother was a fisherman and mad a living off of the sea. Where did the names come from? Did The Gardener know? The Tree hadn’t told her. Then again, The Tree mostly just told her about the history of Thee Trees and The Gardeners. The specific history of Astra hadn’t really been touched on. Before this journey Darin hadn’t cared much about history. Now she didn’t even know why humans were called the Children of the Stone.

She did find herself asking, “Ridahne? Why are Elves called Children of the Sky? Do you know? Are there stories that the Azurei tell?”

Darin had a feeling that it was like the story of Ravi. Both she and Ridahne had two different versions of the same story and it was possible that there were more. The true history had been lost. The Tree had been planted thousands of years ago. It made sense that some of the truth had been lost. Yet even in those stories some truth could be found. After all, in both stories of Ravi had included Ravi’s desire to ensure that no one got lost like they had. Both stories had included deities. Darin had heard a few different Eluri versions of the story and those facts were present in those stories as well. That made her think that whoever Ravi was they really had asked some sort of deity for help to guide others. There had to be stories about why Elves were the Children of the Sky. There might even be some hidden gems of truth in them.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Same to you.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

If you get a post up I can post on Sunday. Maybe. No promises.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

I'm glad to know that you are doing okay. It's a relief. It's good to here that you get to do what you love. I'm doing alright. I moved to a day shift which is awesome but it's still retail. So it has been busy as people clean out our shelves. My vacation is in two weeks. I cannot wait.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

You've been online more than normal recently. So I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I hope your hands are okay.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin considered what Ridahne had said about this mysterious chocolate. If they made it with milk and if they served it here, they might be able to make her spiced milk. She would have to consider coming back when she had coin of her own to spare. She had a little, but it had to be used for necessities like resoling her boots and possibly paying someone to cut her hair short. That was one of the cons of preferring short hair. It had to be trimmed regularly. She had been using her knife from home to hack it short since they left The Farm, but now it was uneven and choppy. That was almost as annoying as wearing it long. She needed to find someone who could even it out.

Darin did reply to Ridahne’s comment about trying apple pie and potatoes, “I’ll have to make you proper potatoes. Those, of course, are mostly butter and milk with some salt and chives, if you can find them. We can have it before apple pie for dessert. Maybe when we finally swing back up towards my home.”

That was a long time off and thinking about that made Darin homesick again. She was tired of feeling that way. She didn’t think the feelings would ever fade. She wasn’t sure she wanted them to fade. Though those thoughts did bring her back to climbing the trees of the city. If she took off her boots, she could probably do it. She was decent at climbing; not the best but decent. She was willing to give it a shot. As such she leaned down to unlace her boots and peal them off.

As she stood, she handed them out to her companion, “Could you get these to the inn as well. I’m going to go see if I can find a place to try my climb.” She smiled slightly as she started to walk away, “I’ll try to be back by night.”

With that Darin was off. It wasn’t that difficult to figure out were to go. She did get to practice her bows as she asked for directions and advice. Most of the Eluri seemed more than happy to help. One claimed they knew that humans shook hands the way that they bowed. Darin happily confirmed that fact and found herself laughing as she helped him practice. He was enthusiastic. Darin enjoyed it as he practically ripped her arm off as he shook it up and down. Eventually he pointed her on her way, and she introduced him to a new human custom, waving. He was enthusiastic about that until she was practically out of sight.

Soon Darin found a spot specifically for tourist to try their luck at climbing the trees. There were several set apart for that use and there were ladders about halfway up. Then the climbing had to do it free hand. There were nets strung about to catch those who fell. There was an undercurrent of challenge to the whole thing. A person had to pay to have a go and then pay double if they fell. If they made it down on their own with out making it to the top, they forfeited their original payment without having to pay more. If they made it to the top and back down, they got their first payment back. There was someone at the top to give people who made it a chit. There were just as many Eluri as there were tourist. Darin supposed that meant very few people actually made it to the top. She had practically no hope.

Still Darin wanted to try and knew she would be able to make it down on her own. So, she paid the small fee and then ignored the ladders. She got a few raised eyebrows for that, but the young human ignored those too. She lost herself in the journey upwards. She looked carefully for groves in the bark were her fingers could get a decent grip. Her trip wasn’t easy, and she almost slipped a couple of times. Darin found herself moving from tree to tree. She passed the sheer trunk and moved into branches. The branches got thinner and thinner. She refused to look down. Then without processing she broke thought the canopy of leaves. She took in a deep breath of surprise as she looked across the sky of Astra. Then she let out a shout of joy as she felt the heat of the setting sun. She braced herself and pushed herself out more fully. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the heat of the sun. It had been so long.

It was odd in a way. She was human, a Child of the Stone. Yet before this journey she had spent every day under the sky of Astra. She was willing to bet that there were Eluri that had never even seen the sky, yet they were Elves, Children of the Sky. Where had those names come from. There had to be a reason for it. Darin watched the sunset and the countless stars come out. She figured that she should get back to Ridahne. There was an Eluri tied to a tree near her. She carefully went over to him to collect her chit before heading back down. She was feeling so peaceful that she didn’t process the chit-givers shocked look. She felt much better and was now worried about Ridhane coming to look for her.

Back on the ground Yari spoke to his coworker Zeven, “Do you think he’s okay? Night has fallen and he’s still not back.”

Zeven responded, “They might be stuck somewhere. We’ll give it fifteen more minutes and then send someone after them. The crazy human started at the bottom. That takes longer.”

Yari made a noise that was a cross between a scoff and a laugh, “I’m surprised they even made it pass the ladders. I do hope they are okay. I doubt the council will be happy if a human dies while visiting.”

Zeven repeated, “Fifteen minutes. Then we go up.”

The Curse of Strahd Von Zarovich

I don't know much about D&D, but I think we are going to have a very interesting party.

The Curse of Strahd Von Zarovich

Maggie Gamble

Name: Maggie Gamble
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Race: Human

Appearance: Maggie is short, 5 foot 2, petite, and weighs at most 110 pounds. She has tightly wound red curls that she typical wears in a tightly coiled bun at the nape of her neck. Stray curls are constantly escape so she constantly pins them back. The result is a head full of hair pins. When allowed to hang loose her hair hangs to just bellow her shoulder blades. She has at least three quills stinking out of the bun at all time. Her round sapphire blue eyes are hidden behind glasses with lenses made of grey colored glass and frames made of a gold colored metal. When traveling she wears dark brown traveling skirt that hits her mid calves and sturdy brown boots that come up to her knees. She also favors a black wool coat that come to her mid-thigh with a high collar that is double breasted. The six buttons match her glasses. It also has a hood. Underneath she wears elbow length fingerless gloves and a thin long-sleeved shirt. The shirt is light grey cotton while the gloves are black wool. Maggie is not classically pretty, has a lack of curves, and has a bad habit of scowling.

Favored Alignment Major and Minor Focuses: Maggie tends to be Good Neutral. She will follow laws and rules until she no longer thinks they are ethical of moral or they prevent her from helping others. Then she completely ignores them. She will also cheat at cards for no other reason than she thinks it’s fun to cheat and not get caught.

Favored Class Archetype Major and Minor Focuses: Divine Arcane. Maggie’s magic is innate, but without study she would be unable to control it.

Equipment: Maggie has a half used writing kit, q walking stick that she also uses to hit people with, a tent, a bed roll, a blanket, basic camping crockery, a set of utensils, a small but sharp dagger that she hides in her left boot, a set of trapping gear, a basic first aid kit, a water skin, a flint and striker, a small pouch of gold, silver, and cooper coins, a simple sewing kit, a change of socks, a few well read books on magical theory, a bad to carry all her stuff, and four decks of cards. Three of these decks are practically identical though they are in various states of use. Maggie keeps them wrapped in string. One of them has the backs marked, but only she knows how. These three decks are made of sturdy paper. The fourth deck in not keep in her bag. Rather it is kept in a box designed for it on her upper right arm. Whether she is wearing her coat or not this box it on outside. The Cards are made of thin metal and have nothing on the backs at all. While the other three decks of cards are traditionally colored the symbols of the metal deck are simply etched into cards. The metal deck is also slightly large than the other three. The three are for playing and gambling. The metal deck is for magic.

Signature Techniques: Maggie’s magic is based on the four elements and she channels it though her metal cards. Each suit is a different element and each card is a different spell. There is a level of unpredictably to Maggie’s magic that both exasperates and excites her. When she goes to cast her magic, she can only draw five cards, or one hand, at a time. As her magic shuffles her cards in a manner that is beyond her control each hand is completely random. Then she can either use each of those cards as a separate attack or combine them to create unpredictable results. There are rules to how she can combine cards. Below is a list of the 52 basic spells as well as what the elements can combine into.

Cards

Spades-Air
Ace – A low level air burst cast towards a target
Two – A mid-level air burst cast towards a target
Three – A high level air burst cast towards a target
Four – A target is surrounded by a weak whirlwind that can easily be blown away
Five – A target is surrounded by a vortex of wind that can be past though if one grits their teeth
Six – A target is surrounded by a practical tornado that is near impossible to pass through
Seven – A single whip of air that can make contact with a target three times before blowing away
Eight – A pair of air whips that can make contact with a target three times each before blowing away
Nine – A single whip of air that can make contact with a target six times before blowing away
Ten – A pair of air whips that can make contact with a target six times each before blowing away
Jack – Summons a lesser air elemental that tends to be nearly neurotic.
Queen – Summons an air elemental that tends to be fatalistically fiendish
King – Summons a greater air elemental that tends to be simply sadistic

Hearts-Fire
Ace – A low level fireball cast towards a target
Two – A mid-level fireball cast towards a target
Three – A high level fireball cast towards a target
Four – A target is surrounded by a ring of fire that can easily be stepped over
Five – A target is surrounded by a ring of fire about three feet high
Six – A target is surrounded by a ring of fire about six feet tall
Seven – A single blade of fire that can make contact with a target three times before extinguishing
Eight – A pair of fire blades that can make contact with a target three times each before extinguishing
Nine – A single blade of fire that can make contact with a target six times before extinguishing
Ten – A pair of fire blades that can make contact with a target six times each before extinguishing
Jack – Summons a lesser fire elemental that tends to be mainly mischievous
Queen – Summons a fire elemental that tends to be determinedly direct
King – Summons a greater fire elemental that tends to be explosively excitable

Diamonds-Water
Ace – A low level waterspout cast towards a target
Two – A mid-level waterspout cast towards a target
Three – A high level waterspout cast towards a target
Four – A target is surrounded by a shallow puddle that can easily be walked over
Five – A target is surrounded by a deeper puddle that requires wading to get across
Six – A target is surrounded by a deep pool that requires swimming to get across
Seven – A single shield of water that can take a hit three times before evaporating away
Eight – A pair of water shields that can take a hit three times each before evaporating away
Nine – A single shield of water that can take a hit six times before evaporating away
Ten – A pair of water shields that can take a hit six times each before evaporating away
Jack – Summons a lesser water elemental that tends to be favorable feisty
Queen – Summons a water elemental that tends to be tolerably testy
King – Summons a greater water elemental that tends to be bearably brutal

Clubs-earth
Ace – A small rock cast towards a target
Two – A medium sized rock cast towards a target
Three – A large rock cast towards a target
Four – A target is surrounded by a chasm in the ground that can be easily hopped over
Five – A target is surrounded by a chasm in the ground about three feet wide
Six – A target is surrounded by a chasm in the ground about six feet wide
Seven – A single gauntlet of earth that can make contact with a target three times before crumbling away
Eight – A pair of earth gauntlets that can make contact with a target three times before crumbling way
Nine – A single gauntlet of earth that can make contact with a target three times before crumbling away
Ten – A pair of earth gauntlets that can make contact with a target six times before crumbling way
Jack – Summons a lesser earth elemental that tends to be hopelessly horrid
Queen – Summons an earth elemental that tends to be vaguely violent
King – Summons a greater earth elemental that tends to be terribly tyrannical

Air/Water – Ice
Air/Fire – Lightning
Air/Earth – Dust
Water/Fire – Steam
Water/Earth – Ooze
Fire/Earth – Magma
Air/Water/Fire – Lightning Storm
Air/Water/Earth – Ice Storm
Air/Fire/Earth – Ash Smog
Water/Fire/Earth – Molten Runoff
Air/Water/Fire/Earth – Magic

History: Maggie was raised solely by a good father on account that her mother got sick and never got better when Maggie was five. Though he was never quite sure how to communicate with his lone child he did his best to show her his love for her and teach her to help others as best she could. He taught her to read and write as well as how to do sums. He also taught her how to play and cheat at cards. He was a good father and a decent man. He was not perfect, and he could only really be described as a traveling vagabond. He did not take money from those who could not afford to lose it, but gambling was how he earned a living and it was how he taught his Maggie to survive. It was why he took the name Gamble. One day his cheating caught up with him and Maggie had to run hard and fast to avoid the came fate. She was fourteen. When she finally stopped running, she was in a land she did not know, but the card games were mostly the same. She used the skills she had learned at her father’s knee, and she survived. Then when she was sixteen odd things started to happen around her. Water wouldn’t stick to her as she waded though rivers though it would soak and freeze the man who kept touching her when she did not want him to. Candles would ignite by themselves in her presences. In her anger rocks would fly at those she despised. Winds would collect her fallen things without her touching them. At sixteen and a half she was willing to try doing these things on purpose. At seventeen she lost control and the pure magic leveled the camp of bandits that had taken her to sell her. She was the only survivor. A mage who had been traveling nearby was intrigued by the display. He arrived just in time to see Maggie fall unconscious. He collected her and took her to his school for magic where she struggled to learn control. At 20, after much testing, it was discovered that not only Maggie’s based on the elemental planes it was also based on randomness and statistics. That meant what happened with the bandits would, sooner or later, happen again. In her despair Maggie hightailed it to the nearest bar, got fabulously drunk, and still managed to outplay everyone there at cards. It was there that she realized that her power was almost like cards. There were four elements like there were four suits. Cards were based both on random luck and statistical probability. Yet, Maggie had learned to control of that. It was one of her life’s greatest joys. Maybe she could find a way to combine it with her magic to make magic one of her life’s joys as well. It took a lot of study, several trips to the elemental planes, and a lot of trial and error. Finally, by the time she was 23 she had crafted her metal deck. By allowing for some randomness Maggie had enough control to only hurt and/or kill people when she wanted to. Finally, she could claim mastery of her magic and was released from the school. She took to traveling the land just because that was the way she grew up. Those six years trapped in one place had been practical hell for the gambler filled with wanderlust. For four years she has traveled where she would, learned what she should, and experienced life as best she could. She pays her way with cards and by selling small magical favors. She not particularly looking for adventures, but she can hardly say no when she stumbles into one. She also is a sucker for a sob story and does her best to help people when she can.

Random: Maggie will not swear, but she will use proxies. I.e. “Darn!” “Flippity! Flipflip!” and “Aw heck no!” She also has a fondness for sweets. She loves to smell things and her nose will wrinkle if she smells things she dislikes.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

This time Darin stayed close to Ridahne. She didn’t feel a need to go somewhere specific. She just got the sense that The Seed wanted to see all that It could. Well, see was the wrong word. It was more like know. The Seed wanted to know all that It could. As such The Seed-Bearer followed their traveling companion closely as they went up ladders and across bridges. Darin was shocked into stillness at her first sight of the market. It was busy. She had never seen anything so busy. A few people bumped into her and that got her moving again with a few bows of apology. She got a few odd looks, so she figured she didn’t do it quite right. Still no one look offended so she assumed she hadn’t messed up too badly.

Darin quickly hurried back to Ridhane to listen to the Azurei point out interesting types of food, but she kept getting distracted to stand and just look around. There were so many smells and so many sights and so many sounds. It was more than just a little bit overwhelming. Darin found herself, not for the first time, wishing she could go home. It was much more peaceful there. Then she would shake her head and rush to catch up with Ridahne. She would take her share of the load only for the market to overwhelm her again to lock her back into place. She knew she had to be drawing stares, but she simply didn’t care. Darin just didn’t know how to process everything

Finally, she got to sit down. The human took the small cup that Ridahne pushed into her hands with a small sense of wariness. The air around the whole stall smelled slightly bitter, and bitter had never been one of her favorite flavors. She had a fondness for sweet things though she didn’t get a chance to indulge her sweet tooth often. Still Darin did her best to refrain from wrinkling her nose at the smell of the beverage and even tried a decent sized swallow. That time her nose did wrinkle. This coffee, as Ridahne called it, was not her favorite at all.

She placed the cup back on the table and pushed it towards the Azurei, “You can have the rest of mine if you want it.”

Though the drink had been warm and that was nice. It was slightly chilly underneath the canopy of the trees. Even that small swallow had done something to fight the chill. Suddenly Darin found herself wanting spiced milk, but she had no idea where to get it, or even if she could only get the supplies to make it, where to make it. The human didn’t even know if it was something people in this part of Astra would know about or if she would have to describe it. It didn’t help that spiced milk had no real recipe. It usually depended on what spices were available. Still Darin found herself craving, what to her was, the simple mixture of warm milk, honey, and various spices. Of course, she mainly just wanted to be warm.

She found herself looking up at the canopy above the market and the entire city, “Tell me Ridahne, what would the Eluri of Lihaelen think if I started climbing these trees?”

To be honest Darin wasn’t sure she cared what people thought. She was just suddenly struck by a desire to see the top of the canopy. That desire didn’t come from The Seed. It was all her. That was the only reason why she didn’t just go for it. She wasn’t sure she wanted to cause an upset just yet. She just felt crowded and pressed upon. She hadn’t seen proper sun for a while as they traveled deeper and deeper into the forest. She couldn’t begrudge the journey. She would have had to come here sooner or later. She just wasn’t sure how much long she could take the lack of the sun AND the crowds AND all the newness without any familiar source of comfort. She had always been good at climbing tree. She wasn’t sure how easy it would be to get to the top, but she just desperately wanted to see the sun. She would get Ridahne’s opinion and then she might ignore it anyways. Everything up to this point may had been new, but it also had some sort of familiarity. This was completely new. Darin could feel the tension and panic crawling underneath her skin. She needed to do something quickly or she might wind up try to dig it out with her finger nails.