A New Beginning

[harknail]

Aug 18, 2014 3:31:52 GMT -5 at said:

Kara takes the book but only scans the first few pages before looking up, "where did you find this? It is a work of terrible heresy, an affront to the gods themselves."

Vadania answers, "We found it in a secret compartment in an ancient device. We fixed up the device and were going to use it to break the Goblin siege, but were glad to see the siege already broken. We also found a large canvas that has a summoning circle activated by the moon. Since I didn't know what it was summinging, I folded it up until I could find if it would bring weal or woe. There are several pictures of that specific summoning circle in the book. Could you bring yourself to look at it long enough to tell what this circle does and if it should be destroyed or used?" Vadania will point out the illustrations of the summoning circle she has.


OOC: Based on what Garrot is learning I'm inclined to think this circle is connected to the moon goddess in some way, making it more likely to be beneficial to use it.

[at]

"Legend speaks of such symbols used by dark cults to petition otherworldly beings for favours and power. Those who deny the divine order of things. The knights of the flame once sought out such cults in the broken hills to the west and north in dark forests of Woldegard, but still it lingers in the shadows and now it seems grows stronger in the demons shadow."

Kara seems sincere but vague in her omens of dread and Vadania recalls George's similarly vague but energetic warnings of evil gods and non-specific doom.

"If Eldon travels here then he would best know what to do with this symbol of which you speak but until then I implore you to keep it under close guard, away from the moon and from practitioners of magic."

[harknail]

Vadnaia answers, "That is what I thought best, keep it away from the moon till more can be learned. Another cleric advised leaving while it was still spread out in the moonlight, but that would have left it to others to deal with whatever it summoned. A favor from the gods could be helpful in fighting a demon, depending on the favor and any cost of getting it. I'm not inclined to summon evil shadows even if I could control them."

[rhinobullet]

Garrot will listen to the vendor and will nod solemnly (remembering his knocking on the statute). He says "I will consider selling this, but my partner has to have a say in it first. In the meantime, tell me about that shiny dagger there". He points at the very enticing dagger with what appears to be glass tracings in it.

[at]

"You have a good ey, this is the weapon of a great warrior from the distant lands of the great sultan Mustafa the second. Do not let it's size fool you for with each blow it grows stronger stronger until it unleashes all of it's fury at once in a single mighty blow that can cleave stone and shatter armour."

[rhinobullet]

Garrot looks at the vendor with some amusement and says "That is a mighty blade indeed. and what, pray tell, does it cost? And how would I test its powers you are so freely describing?"

[at]

The merchant rubs his stubbled chin, "more than a few goblins out there friend, a good weapon at your side will save your life in these dark days. Normally I would ask three thousand coins for the blade, but if you are here to fight then perhaps I might take a loss on this one."

[rhinobullet]

Garrot looks at the Dagger and says "Oh we are here to fight. Haven't you seen the device we brought to aid your town? He then says, I will go and check on my friends and come back and speak with you again once I see what they have learned from the local cleric". He will then wander over to find Vadania to see what she has learned and share with her what he learned about the statute.

[at]

Garrot returns to Vadania, while Kara is called away to hear news from a recently arrived scout. There seems to be quite some concern amongst the defenders as they debate amongst themsevles and Vadania's keen ears pick out a few words including 'graveyard' and 'army'.

[harknail]

Considering the amount of undead they've seen recently, those aren't good words to hear. Vadania will check later to see what's going on, for now she lets them make their own plans unless they approach her.

Bringing Garrot up to date, "Apparently that book is some kind of heresy, so clerics might be reluctant to translate for us. Eldon might when he arrives. What have you found?"

[rhinobullet]

Garrot shows the statutette to Vadania and says "This is a symbol of the goddess Sune. Seems like she was once worshiped in this area. A vendor offered to buy it, but I wonder if we shouldn't hold on to it and see if the cleric can detect any magic about it. Likewise on the other items we found in the device!"

[at]

Lynette chips in noting that she can cast magical detection spells and, with a moments concentration, states that she cannot sense any magical aura about the statue.

Though she does note that Sune isn't an elf.

[rhinobullet]

Garrot blushes "Sorry, must have been distracted by something not to notice she wasn't an elf." Her surreptitiously places a covering hand over the exposed breast of the figurine.

"Ahem...Ok, what do we do now? There is a nice dagger this trader had for sale, but I am torn between using it with my existing blade and using my spear here."

[harknail]

Vadania thinks for a bit before replying, "Hmm, your device seems to be very old, as is it's contents. The cleric described the book as heresy. And a merchant described your statue as a moon goddess, even though the moon goddess doesn't appear as an elf. Perhaps the gods now aren't the same as they were when the book was written and the statue carved. But if that were the case, how would the merchant recognize the statue as of a moon goddess? I think I want to talk to this merchant."

"As for getting a nice dagger, I see no reason not to. It's not a replacement for your spear, but something to give you more options. Just like I've used bow, wooden sword, or flame blade depending on what I'm fighting. I've a few other weapons that I use less often. What does he want for the dagger?"

Vadania will ask Garrot to bring them back to the merchant that identified the statue. She wants to ask him how he recognized it and why he says it's a statue of the moon goddess when the moon goddess doesn't look like an elf.

[rhinobullet]

Garrot will happily lead the group back to the merchant. He will introduce them and say "My friend here has some more questions about this statute we talked about. We might also take another look at that dagger friend."

[rhinobullet]

Garrot will happily lead the group back to the merchant. He will introduce them and say "My friend here has some more questions about this statute we talked about. We might also take another look at that dagger friend."

[at]

The merchant replies to Vadania, "ah, an elf. Well I would not like to tell you what i'm sure you already know. Your kind ... no offense ... still call the goddess Hanali Celanil do you not?" He glances at the statue, "of course it is a very crude reproduction, my wares are very respectible but I cannot turn away a customer in these times of need, you understand"

He also pulls out the blade, Vadania noting that he has quite a selection of weapons but almost all are odd or exotic in some way, likely the defenders have already claimed the more practical magical weaponry themselves.

[harknail]

Vadania answers, "Truth to be told, I know very little about elves. The only elves I've ever seen were my parents, and they died over 40 years ago. And I was never much interested in the gods before. So what can you tell me about Hanali Celanil?"

After seeing his assortment of unusual blades, Vadania asks, "Do you have any bows? A long bow is always my first choice of weapon."

[at]

"Well you see, that's what they used to call her, Sune that is. Still do in some places but most called her the Queen of Arvandor"

The title is familiar to Vadania, 'Queen' Angharradh, a deity known to druids for the 'Day of Corellon's Peace' after midsummer once every four years, and one of the more prominant deities from accounts of days before man and before the divide of the elven race.

"The sisterhood have taken all of my bows I am afraid... though I do have this remarkable double bladed scimitar from the eastern lands, very fast, very precise, very very sharp."

[harknail]

"Thanks, that helps a bit to figure out what we've found. And why the cleric doesn't like the book we found in the same place," commented Vadania with a smile. She begins to think that whatever the canvas summons is more likely to be a boon rather than a bane. But it would still be good to know what was being summoned before actually doing so.

Vadania looks at the offered scimitar, holds it, and tries handling it (carefully). She hands it back and says, "Thanks, but I think I'd be more likely to cut myself than my foe without a lot of practice. Also I already have a magic sword, a nice wooden longsword that sharpens itself."