Chapter 1: A Desperate Plea

[yoggemothi]

It's a sunny day and the birds are singing. A cool breeze makes the heat tolerable and only a few puffy white clouds trace across the sky. The group's on its way to the next metropolis in search of adventure and the unknown.

(Feel free to take a few posts to introduce your characters' personalities to each other and interact a bit.)

[Japic]

Striding confidently down the road, Coppertop feels comfortable in his present company. Each man in the group had proven his worth as an ally a hundred times over; especially the convert. That tiefling had shown an interesting progression over their time together and of all those present Coppertop liked him best. Their lingering bloodlines should have made them enemies, but through the faith of their shared god, Brim had certainly proved himself worthy of saving. Yes, evildoers were wise to avoid the pair when they were on the warpath... but that was not this day.

The sun was pleasant, the company good, and prospects for their next mission were plentiful. Yes, a fine day indeed.

(no time for more, I'm late for work... That and I don't have a clue what to say when I'm first in line. Lets start some chatter and ooc sharing.)

[Rojito]

Curt walks along behind the group, not so far as to not be considered part of it, but far enough he can keep both eyes on everyone and all the dangers that might come at them. Open eyes had saved their lives more than once, never again will Curt relax his watch. Not after what happened last time...

He eyes his companions as he strides, thinking of what an odd group they made. In most circles he would have been an oddity, a half-giant just... stands out. But with these friends, normal is the difference.

Little Ereshkigal, a human, the most plentiful race in the land, and only represented by a single form here. Not that anyone should ever underestimate him, there is a reason he has survived this long, even when others fell...

Tyvek, while he might be an elf, which is another common race, his ears are about the only thing he has in common with any of that breed. He is a very confuseing person... but what do you expect when you mix elves with magic... But he does have a soft side, you see a hint of a glimpse of it in Glyphe...

Good Ol' Coppertop, now heres something not too unusual. A cleric, even an Aasimar cleric, isn't all that rare... but finding one that would bend their neck enough to even look at a Half-Giant is far from normal. But finding one who could do that and take it even farther... and befriend a Teifling!

Now Brimstone... probably by far the most unique of the bunch. Who hasn't heard of a Tiefling Thief? I mean just look at the words they are practically spelt the same! Even the gods themselves know that its inevitable! .... I think its just that that causes Brimstone to act how he is. He wont let anyone dictate his life, no god nor mortal nor anything! They taught him how to steal and sneak, he took those things and used them for his own purposes, a Champion of... well he wont really say, says the preaching is more up to Coppertop, but he wont mention who exactly it is they pray to either... No matter though, he has saved my life on multiple occasions, theres not another man alive i'd rather have at my back when the hoards of goblins come swarming in... Course that doesn't mean i'll toss dice with him... some things ya just dont push.

Sliding the Kama's back into their sheaths Curt scans the surroundings again, always on the watch. But before long they are back out and being twirled, always ready for danger. This preparedness had saved everyones lives before... well almost everyone...

SPOILER: Click to show

Ok guys i know i took ALOT of liberties here, but i felt like we should have a decent knowledge of eachother so i ran with the impressions i got off of lookin at your sheets. If ya dont feel like i gave your character his due or i pegged him wrong just pm me and we will talk and i will edit lol. Also hope ya dont mind but since we are supposed to have such a history with eachother i tied some aspects in that could involve our past, the fact that we have obviously lost atleast one member of our party since starting out, and that small but i felt important tie in about the Goblin Hoard. this was all spur of the moment top of my head stuff so if ya dont like it ok i can remove it, if ya do run with it as you'd like, aint no plans for anything said or done here lol

[at]

Tyvek glided silently along, buoyed and shielded by magical energies. Keen eyes scanned from beneath his mask but in truth he cared little for the journey, placing trust in his companions to deal with any mundane distractions.

Only a fool would approach a group such as this with belligerent intentions though, Curts towering presence alone did much to ensure that.

Ahead of him the strange pairing of Brimstone and Horus, always looking for adventure and adept at drawing eyes from the mage. Research into the great gate had proven costly, forcing Tyvek away from his studies, and he was glad of able companions who did not pry into his affairs.

He only hoped that rumours of this place would prove accurate, there were scant few years left to complete his preparations.

[TheUdjat]

Brim always felt out of place on a sunny, birds-singing day. First because the prevalence of vocal birds was not something deeply ingrained in his mind (the city never had much in the way of local avians, except thieving pigeons and the like), and secondly because it left little to do. Everything was fine, no preparation or mitigation needed. Uncomfortable.

And it was sunny. Oh-so-sunny. Yes, yes, 'a fine day for doing whatever-it-is-peasants-and-craftsmen-do-with-their-time.' Brim was neither. Sun was fine in its way, it just limited the number of places he could skulk--an integral part of his daily activities. He suspected this discomfort was part of his less-than-desirable heritage, but what could be done about?

Still. Fair weather was, if nothing else, excellent for travel.

Brim walked in silence with his companions, for the most part. Curt always looming behind them like the very best of tower shields and the others immersed in their own thoughts--especially the arcane ones. Brim's own understanding of the arcane was limited at best, so he enjoyed watching and listening to them, trying to understand what they were about. Ereshkigal was obvious enough--the argent savant favored overwhelming force and could execute it impressively, which he could certainly respect. And, admittedly, fear a little. Healthy fear. He was glad the sorcerer was on their side.

Tyvek was more interesting. All this business of gates... he would probably accompany the man just to figure out what he was researching. Anything involving other planes tended to interest Brim at any rate, even if he didn't know much of it. His own parentage descended from another plane, after all--even and vile that it was.

So Brim walked and wondered and watched his surroundings, perfectly comfortable leading the way with Coppertop while Curt brought up the back. More often than not when trouble hit, the monk seemed to wind up in front in no time, anyway.

Brim looked up at the sunny sky and frowned. "How much further to the city?" He longed for a solid wall.


[Still getting into the voice here; I apologize for randomness. Looking forward to this game!]

[yoggemothi]

Before anyone can answer, Curt spies a fork in the road up ahead. A humanoid is slumped against the signpost, apparently using it for support.

[Rojito]

Curt signals with his hands for everyone to slow down, and increases his speed. Reaching the man leaning on the post Curt scans the area looking for a potential ambush. After making sure there isn't anyone else around Curt will examine the fellow, trying to figure out what he is doing here.

SPOILER: Click to show

Ok i figure i would make use of my speed and let the rest of the group stay back till we know its safe.

[TheUdjat]

"Curt, what are you--" But the big man's already past him. Brim rolls his eyes into a chastising stare at Coppertop. "I thought you said you were going to talk to him about this kind of thing." With that said, Brim hurries up behind the giant, using his bulk to shield himself from sight. When he gets wherever the big guy is going, he'll listen, hoping Curt hasn't managed to terrify whoever or whatever is in front of him.

[menatkhufu]

Scratching the black tuft of hair jutting from his head, Eresh, son of Kigal grunted with vexation and boredom. Ereshkigal didn’t complain much -usually, that is- but this long, boring road with nothing of importance happening for the last four days made him sick. He drew closer to his friends, in hopes of bringing up a heated subject to keep them busy for some hours.

Eresh came closer to Tyvek for some idle chatter, but quickly changed his mind. Tyvek would mumble a couple of words that barely made sense and make Eresh wish that he never opened his mouth.

The elven conjurer -in complete contrast with his volatile persona- was hard for him to analyze, but then Eresh intentionally abstained from fathoming things. Tyvek continuously brooded behind his heavy mask, in search for seemingly inexistent secrets of the world beyond. So be it. The elf had a keen mind, and in this aspect, brightly complemented the group of friends, which lacked precognition and patience above anything when it was time to decide.

Amongst his companions, he liked the devil and the angel most, slightly favoring the former. Both fierce and brave in their own ways, but Coppertop had the nasty habit of overpreaching his audience. Brimstone, on the other hand, had a likeable on-the-go attitude. He embraced the better part of the “fire and virtue“ doctrine. As far as Eresh cared to understand.

He threw them some jokes about their divine patron. Coppertop didnt’t like to speak of his god’s faces, saying that to understand it was to understand what it set as rule. Ereshkigal zealously thought this to be wrong. “Maybe„ he said, “this god of yours shows the truth to its followers, but is the size of a goblin, smells of refuse and is limping in the leg.„ Eresh ran a hard through his dusty hair, smiling. “ Simply, one like me would not worship that kind of god, so you’d better tell me what he looks like.„

Mild havoc ensued whenever the joke was made.

Cheering up a bit, Ereshkigal headed back to Curt to tell a story involving a smutty adventure with the local Ladies of the last city he had to abandon, but the giant was distracted elsewhere.

“What now!„ he protested. Only then he noticed the figure along the signpost. Eresh approached the front to get a better glimpse.

[at]

Tyvek raises an eyebrow, scanning the area for magical auras but making no attempt to increase his pace unless the others follow Brimstone - the mage's magic easily capable of covering the distance should it be required.

Bandits or raiders no doubt, how tiresome.

[yoggemothi]

The man is human, with commoner's clothes on. He struggles to look up at Curt, apparently not phased by the half-giant's size. "A ... giant? You ... survived. Help her ... you have to help her." With that, he collapses to the ground. He's obviously exhausted and possibly dehydrated. You have no idea how long he's been standing at this sign, but his sunburned skin gives you an idea.

Speaking of the sign, it says that to the northeast is Bald Mountain and Tempest Gorge, while to the southeast is the metropolis your group was heading for. None of the group knows about either Bald Mountain nor Tempest Gorge, although the mountain sounds familiar to a few of you.

[Japic]

Watching the retreating backs of his companions Coppertop reflects on Brims words. Yes, he had been meaning to speak with the Giant, though it rarely went well. That one has a thick skull he thought to himself with a wry smile.

The smile was quickly replaced with a frown however when he sees the man hit the dirt. This usually occurred when Curt hit things, but there had been no sign of a struggle. He instantly switches into healer mode and sprints forward toward the fallen man. On the way he mutters an incantation in order to better assess the situation.

Kneeling next to the man he visibly scans for signs of injury while focusing his magic to determine whether to render assistance or not.

SPOILER: Click to show

Thats a detect evil, to determine if he's evil or not. Then Heal check at +15 to determine his condition. If this guy is evil he's gonna have a rough afternoon.

How would you like to handle die rolls DM? Are we rolling them, or are you?

[yoggemothi]

(I'll roll 'em. After nearly two years, I found my missing dice and I can't wait to use 'em again!) ;D

The man is not evil, but he is in bad shape. He's severely dehydrated and has obviously taken significant nonlethal damage from both that and the sun. Given a few more hours in this state, he might die. As it is, he's already unconscious.

(He's a 2nd level commoner, so a cure light wounds would pretty well take care of his condition.)

[Japic]

SPOILER: Click to show

Oooooh.... he's got levels. That's snazzy. I needs to get me some of them.

Opting to save a more useful spell for later Coppertop drops a pair of cure minor wounds on the man, hoping to revive him without wasting further effort. For now, he only needed to be well enough to talk.

[at]

In turn each of his companions moved to aid the fallen man, who seemed to have no aim but to foist his problems on the first travellers to pass this way.

"Let us see what we can see", in a single swift motion Tyvek is far above the ground. Below him Glyphe keeps pace with Ereshkigal, ever dutiful.

[Rojito]

Curt sighs when most of the rest of the troop show up, with never a thought of an ambush. As soon as Coppertop starts checking on the guy Curt is no longer looking at him, but rather their surroundings, once more waiting for something unsavory. Seeing nothing he will look for the man's tracks, where did he come from? How long had he been standing at this post? Who was the female he refered to? These are all thoughts that passed through Curt's mind as he scanned the area.

[yoggemothi]

Curt glances around, but the same cool wind that's been keeping everyone comfortable has also shifted the dust on the road, destroying any tracks the man may have left.

The man opens his eyes, looking up at Coppertop, "Thank you stranger. I've been waiting days for someone to come. Please, you have to help her, my dear Nola. If she were to die, I ... I don't know what I'd do."

[at]

Even from his lofty position Tyvek could see little of note, it surprised him that there would be so little trade along the road.

Looking down he observed the man harrassing his companions, the aura of Coppertop's magic still visible and judging by the intensity of it the man was in good enough health and no doubt trying to rope them all into some fools errand for trifling compensation.

Tyvek muttered under his breath, "bloody peasant..."

[TheUdjat]

Brim gives Tyvek a scolding look, never a big fan of his lack of compassion for commoners. He doubts this man has underhanded intentions for them, but doesn't particularly care if he does. Either he'll help someone in need, or inflict retribution on one who harms others. Either way, divinity is pleased.

He sidles up to the commotion, staying a short distance away. Close enough for conversation, but with a weather eye on the road. Not so much for deceit as the presence of others that have spotted this peasant, followed him, or are using him as bait without his knowledge. "Tell us what happened," he says brusquely. He wonders if Tyvek will bother to point out the man's rather inefficient means of recruiting aid.

[Sense Motive @ +9, Spot/Listen +5]

[yoggemothi]

"My name's Clyde Wolden," the man explains, "I'm from Tempest Gorge. Nola came to our town to save us from the monster, like an angel." He sighs, looking dreamily into the sky, "She's so beautiful. Smooth, golden skin, stunning amber eyes, full, luscious lips, and her body ... oh her body ..."

The man's voice trails off and a line of drool proceeds to make its way down the side of his chin. He may not be evil, but he sure seems to be a lecher. Suddenly he snaps back into reality, "Oh, I'm sorry. We simple folk don't see many half-dragons. I suppose a group as," he looks around, "diverse as yours has seen all manner of beings though."

(New info added to Important NPCs section)