The Great Adventure!

[ooc]I was going to enter up above but it looked like the thread might not last. Just enter this above. Sorry for the inconvenience.[/ooc]

I entered the warehouse warily. I had never done anything like this before. Studying combat had always been a hobby of mine and I wanted a chance to test my prowess on a REAL adventure the kind you read about in books. There was a paper that we apparently had to sign up on. Never read about anything like that in a book but oh well.

Name: Phoenix
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Appearance: 6'2 with short black hair and dark eyes. Slim. Stronger than I look.
Adventuring style: Melee and throwing weapons; hand-to-hand. No basis in technology or magic.

Of course, Phoenix wasn't my real name, but it sounded cool. The best thing about all this is it would get me away from my parents who still acted as though I was 10. I went in and took a seat next to a pretty young elf with auburn hair.

 

I sat demurely in the warehouse, feeling very shy, which was somewhat unusual for me. I had already filled out a sheet, and was waiting, somewhat with surpressed curiousity, to find out what would happen next. I glanced down at my hands, more strands of silky auburn hair falling across my grey blue eyes. I pushed them away, wishing that I'd brought something to tie them up with.

Name: Ariana Inglorion (Ari for short)
Gender: Female
Species: elf
Adventuring style: White magic or sword, mediocre archer
Sexual Orientation: Hrumph. Straight, if you must know.
Wingspan: N/A
Favorite Color: Cerulean

 

[OOC]
OK. I'm joining now.

Name: Katherine L'Anara
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Race: Human (Elven heritage)

Description: Fiery red, long, slightly wavey hair. Deep emerald green eyes (part of her Elven heritage). She is very pretty, but still girlish in looks, despite being well-developed and endowed. Slim build and medium height.

She is friendly in nature and usually happy. Very charming, but highly intelligent so she can be very persuasive. She is quite trusting and open and makes friends easily.

She doesn't like to wear combat gear since she disikes the barbarian-like image it conveys so she had fashioned a tailor-made set of softened dragonskin leather. This appears smart and is comfortable, and although it doesn't offer as much protection as normal dragonskin it offers slightly better protection than normal leather, in addition to the natural fireproofing. The set comprises of an elegant top, tight leather leggings and matching elbow-length gloves and shin-length boots. This gives her the appearance of a capable, but smart young woman.

Abilities: Her friendly, charming nature and her beauty makes her naturally good at haggling and diplomacy, although she has had no formal training.

Her elven grandmother gave her training in the art of sorcery. She is a capable white mage and force mage. In addition to this she has recieved basic training in melee, dodge and archery techniques (apprentice) although her skills themselves are quite advanced.

She is dextrous, using her supple body to her advantage and drawing bowstrings have given her a better than average upper body strength, although she cannot be called strong by any means.

Her Elven heritage has provided her with excellent senses, which gives her a good perception of the world around her, although she can be a little naive regarding towns and cities due to her lack of experience in such areas.

She also knows basic first aid, but never really bothered to learn it to any great extent because she could always use magick instead. Her only real experiences are through treating the odd Dwarf or technologically-inclined human she runs across.

Her Elven heritage and magickal training have given her a reasonable, but not excessive magickal aptitude (around 50%). Due to her intelligence, she can figure out how most technological devices work but because she has no formal training she can do little but operate such things (no building or repairing). She appreciates the beauty of such devices and admires the ability of technologists to accomplish what they do, but she has no desire to be able to create such things herself and is far more comfortable with the familiar aura of magicks.

Inventory: Her softened dragonskin leather set of top, leggings, gloves and boots. Over the top of this she wears a thin, tightly-woven green woollen cloak to keep the wind out and to provide her with additional camouflage in wooded/forested or grassland areas. When she has time or needs to relax, she likes to sit out in the wilderness and watch the various wild animals around her.

Brand new quiver of arrows and her Elven grandmother's old mystic bow. She also keeps a filament sword on her left hip and a hunting dagger in a sheath in her right boot.

Her grandmother bought her an Elven amulet when she left home, saying that it would bring her good luck. She had it identified out of curiosity and it turned out to provide a fortification against magickal energies.

Background: She comes from a respected family near Caladon. They may not have as much money as they once used to but their name still means something in their local area. Her grandmother is Elven and ancient by Katherine's standards. Her grandfather is long dead so her grandmother lives with the rest of her family on their country estate to the west of Caladon.

She has grown up in the country and can't see why anyone would want to move to the busy, crowded cities. She has a brother who is enlisted in the Caladon guard but she rarely sees from him now, except when he gets leave.

With her grandmother living with them, she grew up learning about Elven society and magick and this has always fascinated her. She knew from a young age that when she grew up she would go out and see the world for herself and that is what she did.

She received training from her grandmother in various skills, in preparation for her journeys and Katherine and her friends from the neighbouring estates used to go out into the local coutryside and play together, so she is well versed in the countryside.

On her 21st birthday she announced her intention to explore the world but her parents had long been expecting this moment and made sure she was well prepared to go. With fond farewells she left her home estate and started to travel the world.

She spent her first year exploring the Caladonian side of the Grey mountains, even venturing up as far as the glittering forest, where she spend a month with a group of Elves in their makeshift encampment within the forest. She paid her way for her adventure by doing odd quests and tasks for local folk in each area she visited and although she never grew rich, she thoroughly enjoyed the experience and knowledge she gained through her travels.

She went back home for her 22nd birthday and ended up spending a month there, recounting her tales and adventures. Her grandmother, proud that Katherine had done so well, presented her with a mystic bow that had been passed down to her from her own grandmother. Her grandmother also gave her the location of Qintarra and a letter to explain why she was there. "If you're ever up that way again please go there. I'm sure you'll love the sights and the history. I've an old friend there by the name of Fawn. Please give her my regards if you see her."

After tucking away the paper securely and saying her farewells again, she traveled to Caladon where she bought a ticket bound for Blackroot. She spent the next year of her life exploring the Cumbrian territories, accumulating some wealth and history of the Cumbrian peoples, as well as a few odd treasures here and there.

She had intended to go home for her 23rd birthday but rough seas prevented any boat travel so she has ventured up into the city of Tarant to send a telegram to the Caladonian office to let her parents know how she is doing.

She has just finished sending her telegram and is making her way out of the city when she runs across a convoy of people entering a warehouse. After asking around she eventually found a noble woman with a nose for gossip. Whilst putting on an air of extreme disdain, she explained that they were a group of adventurers signed up to find some sort of mythical cure for a freak with a tail.

After a while the noble woman began to ramble on about the fall of society and the unwashed citizens beneath contempt so Katherine made her excuses and left, before hurrying to the warehouse...
[/OOC]

I politely knocked on the door of the warehouse and opened the door. I popped my head around and saw there were people still here, seated around a table with a man standing behind it.

"Excuse me. Sorry to bother you, but I've heard that you're looking for people to go adventuring. Is the offer still open? I've spent the last two years wandering around the southern half of this continent so I'm competent enough to get by and I've got everything I need right here. I'm not looking for money either, although that never hurt. I'm just looking to expand my horizons and experience the world at large."

I noticed a pretty young Elf with auburn hair sitting by the table. Another girl! Oh goody. At least I'll have someone to chat to.

The man behind the table sighed and indicated the paperwork on the table. He seemed impatient and there was something not quite right about him but I couldn't tell what it was with the table in the way. He had a slightly relieved-looking smile at the edge of his mouth though as if he was pleased to see me. I guess one more wasn't a problem for him.

I slipped into the warehouse fully and gently pulled the door closed behind me. I smiled politely at the people around me and read the paperwork. I was a little alarmed at some of the information required but I figured it was some sort of attempt at homour. Wingspan indeed. What sort of freak would have a wingspan? Wait... that woman mentioned a freak... nah. It's just a joke.

Name: Katherine L'Anara (Please call me Kat)
Gender: Female
Species: Human (Elven grandmother)
Adventuring style: Archery mostly I suppose but I can get by with sword and magick too.
Sexual Orientation: Orientation? Um.. What does this mean? South I suppose because I'm from near Caladon. That's about as far south as the mainland gets.
Wingspan: Good one this. Very amusing. 24 feet and 3 inches. :razz: Haha!
Favorite Color: Ooh! Probably green I think. Matches my eyes well. Although I like most pastel shades too. Is this important?

Having filled out the strange paperwork as best as I could I picked up a seat from the side of the warehouse and sat myself down eagerly next to the Elf with the auburn hair, flashing her a friendly smile as I did so.

This trip could prove to be fun!

[OOC]
BTW, what are we going to do about Quethim? Just say he forgot to turn up so we left without him?
[/OOC]

 

After spending the night in the inn across from the warehouse, I made my way across the street to see if there was any change. I was quite surprised to find that Dragon Boy had returned and was standing at the front of the room. I noticed a small, but growing group of individuals seated in front of him. As a young woman finished filling out a form at the front and returned to her seat, I slipped in next to her. She and the others gathered appeared to be more skilled than I had seen at the first meeting. I pushed my hood off my head and pulled my long brown hair back so it lay across my shoulders and waited for our host to continue.

 

I had been chatting with Ari. She was slightly shy at first, but after talking to her for a bit, she livened up a bit and was really quite friendly. Another young woman came and sat to the other side of her. She was very pretty as well, but by the way she held herself I could tell she was not one to be trifled with. Ari said she had been adventuring in the past, but I am not to sure that is true. I had a feeling she was like me and was new at all this. After a few more minutes, Dragon Boy, as some people had begun to call him, stepped up on to a table. He went through the basics of what we were gonna be doin and why. He began to issue out equipment based on what we had put on the sign up sheet. The sword and leather armor he gave me was fine, but he apparently believed a single throwing dagger was enough. Bah! I was glad we had a few days to get our things in order. My first order of business is to find a blacksmith. I happened to know one that made some finely balanced knives. A little gambling down at the dock and I should have the money.

 

My ogre body-guard and myself where standing next to the door when another woman came in. Despite the size of my companion she didn't seem to notice us.

I looked up at Leopold (Aye, thats his name.) A long gobb of snott was hanging out of his nose. honestly! Its so hard to get the old Roxton charm going when you've got one of these beasts. Still, they are quite the rage when it comes to self defense these days...

As I was pondering if I should trade the big lugg in for some good old half-orc mercinaries the tailed fellow came up to us. He looked us over. Just as he was about to hand me a flint-lock pistol of questionable quality I stayed his hand and revealed my custom made diamond-handled revlover. When one holds rank in Tarants gentleman fire arms club, one must keep up apearance...

He shaked his head and moved on to my body-guard. After looking him over he remarked on his immense size. He then went back to the supply cash and found my bondsman a huge two-handed axe. Leopolds eye's which are normally as empty of intellect as a dead badger seemed to shine as he was given the weapon.

The tailed fellow then returned to his table and started to explain our quest in greater detail and how exatly we where to proceed from here...

 

I'd been sitting down for a while now. The Elven girl next to me, dressed in the crude plate mail, had been chatting shyly to the man next to her. After a while, obviously allowing us to settle in and maybe awaiting the arrival of any late comers, the man behind the table stood up and jumped on the table.

I got the shock of my life. The man had a tail! Not just any tail either. It looked like a dragon tail! That woman was right, he IS a freak! I immediately felt bad for thinking that. It wasn't right and I knew it.

He briefly explained the purpose of the adventure we were about to set out on. Apparently his tail was due to a curse of some kind given to him by dragon kin and he was rather anxious to reverse the curse. It was understandable too. He was rather attractive really and it must be incredibly embarrassing and frustrating to have such a tail. I felt rather accutely aware that my clothing was made from the skin of dragon kin.

After his little briefing he began to distribute some old and worn-looking equipment. I didn't get any myself, but then I'd already told him that I was fully equipped. I was a little surprised when he walked to the back of the warehouse. I craned my neck around and was even more surprised to see an arrogant-looking gentleman in noble's clothing with a superior smug look on his face. To his side was a half-ogre, who I assume was his 'slave'.

I didn't like the nobility here in Tarant. Things were different in Caladon. Here everyone had a smugness and air of disdain for anyone not of noble birth. In Caladon there was a small amount of that but for the most part everyone got on well enough with each other. I myself was of noble blood but I'd never normally even associate myself with guys like that. I was determined to hide my nobilty from him lest he latch onto me.

The noble man turned down the offer of a well made flintlock and flashed an ostentatious jewel-encrusted pop-gun. Disgusted I turned back to face forward. I noticed the Elven girl to my left was no longer engaged in conversation with the man next to her so I decided to introduce myself.

"Hello there. My name is Kat. I love your hair. My grandmother is an Elf you know. She comes from a place called Qintarra in the Glittering Forest. I've never been there but apparently it's the home of the Elves and is spectacularly beautiful. My grandmother gave me a letter and direction and told me to drop by if I'm ever over there again." I flashed her a friendly smile, since she seemed to be a little shy. "Have you ever been to Qintarra? I'd love to hear all about it. The Elves are a fascinating race."

The Elven girl looked a little bewildered and I realised that I was rambling on. I'm not normally like this. But I'm so excited! I blushed a little and lowered my head. Perhaps I should let her answer before continuing....

[OOC]
BTW, if you don't know the convention I use, then I'll explain the colours. I've taken green. All text spoken by my character will be green. If you want to write anything I say in your posts green then you can do so if you wish, but it's just something I do to make it easier to see in my posts.

Anything in italics is thought and not spoken. Thus the green italics is stuff thought by my character.
[/OOC]

 

After picking up my knives, I started to head home. I wasn't planning to stay long. All I did was pack up the few things I was taking with me. I was glad to finally be out of this house. It was very annoying to still be living with my parents. I had planned to move out as soon as I turned 18, but I had believed that I wanted to go to college here in Tarant and the only way they said they would pay for me to go would be if I still lived under their roof. So, here I am at 20 and still there.

College had turned out to be not what I expected. Nothing they taught was very interesting to me. I had mixed emotions about dropping out of the college when I saw the sign about adventurers being needed. I had taken it as a sign and dropped all of my classes immediately.

I really wish I could see my parents' faces when they found out but they would probably knock me out with the nearest blunt object and that might keep me from going with the group.

Before heading out, I took care to hide my knives from view in my clothes, but where I could get to them in an instant if they were needed. If anyone saw me they would believe I only had the dagger in my belt and sword at my side in its scabbard. The only thing better than having my knives was my opponent not knowing they were there.

I still had some coins left over after getting my knives, so I headed out to an inn for a drink and a place to wait until time to head out.

 

I talked first with the human man named Phoenix. He seemed very friendly, although I was shy and took a little while to open up. I was not used to socializing with so many humans! Eventually he departed, and a girl who looked to have some elven heritage started talking to me.

Although I was a bit shocked by how quickly she talked, I smiled hesitantly back when she smiled at me. "Hello Kat," I replied. I'm Ariana, Ari for short. Thanks you, but I'm afraid that I stand out a bit in a crowd, or amongst my fellow elves with my hair color. What's your grandmother's name? I live in Qintarra, in the Glittering Forest, as you know. It is beautiful. All the trees, all the plants... well," I said as I thought about it, realising that I was just a touch homesick already, "I love it. It's beautiful. But I just needed a change. It can be a bit stuffy, that's all."

I laughed when she said that elves are a facsinating race. I'd never thought of myself as fascingating. I smiled unreservedly back at Kat, tippin my chin up. "I'd love to tell you about Qintarra."

 

[OOC]
The font color and italic is a nice idea. I think I'll adopt it as well.
[/OOC]

Right, I've just about had enough of this! I rose from the little stool where I'd been sitting for the last hour. After brushing of most of the dust that had settled on my trousers and coat, I made my way over to the two ladies. The boredom was getting to me, I might as well socialize with the people who where going to be the only decent company during the expiditon, the ladies. Frankly, most of the other people here look about as interesting as the servants potatos gathering mildew. I thought to myself.

As I came up to where they where sitting chatting away about their womanly things, I gave a slitght bow and let out a gentle cough. They both turned and looked at me. Neither looked as if they where happy to see me, but the one of them which had just come in seemed especially cold towards me.
Nevermind, she'll come around. I have yet to meet a woman who can resist the Roxton charm. I thought as I gave them a broad smile and introduced myself.

Greetings to you ladies! Permit me to introduce myself, I am Charles Roxton, Lord Charles Roxton the third to be exact. The last thing I expected to see in this filthy flea pit where women of your breathtaking beauty. I gave a slight whink and gently grabbed the newly arived womans hand and gave it a kiss before returning it. She still didn't look very happy about me interupting their conversation. I smiled, she'll come around, they always do.

I say, have any of you distinguished ladies given a tought about our so called employer? I pointed dicreetly at the tailed fellow. Cursed by a dragon indeed! Humbug! I'll wager he's just some would be wizard playing around with powers he should leave well enough alone. Regardless, I'm looking forward to be facing danger ones again, I've been in peril many a time. No need to worry, I'll be here to protect you from any harm. I ones again showed my pistol. I then turned to the elven woman, deciding that she might be more susceptible to the Roxton charm then her friend. I gently picked her hand up as well, and gave it a kiss before returning it. Forgive me my lady for letting you wait. It would be a shame if you thought less of me for not showing you the same respect as I showed your friend. For you deserve it, and so much more!

I smiled ones again and gave them both a bow before returning to my seat sure that I'd made a positive impression on them both.

 

After some slight adjustments, I sat down in a comfy chair in The Gentlemen’s Club. I had just arrived, wearing my newly brought penguin-suit, which the elf in the tailor shop had ensured me was “The latest rage”. Not that I would be able to tell if he was right in that statement. (Keeping up with the fads had never really been my cup of tea.)
“At least they got a bar” I grumbled, moving to the edge of the chair, while trying to extent my arm in an attempt to grab the newspaper which was lying at my feet.

I got hold of the newspaper, and held it in front of my face in a nonchalant way, trying to seem as inconspicuous as dwarven possible.
I spied over the top of the tabloid, eyeing the people in the club warily. Fully aware of the fact that many of these men could possibly buy and sell me a thousand times over.

In the farthest corner of the room, a man in a green suit was playing billiard, he looked fairly concentrated with his tongue edging from side to side in his mouth. I jumped down from the chair and walked over to him.

“Winning are you ?” I said, right as the man in the green clothes was about to shoot.
He turned around, and looked from side to side, holding his billiard stick in a very treating manner. As he looked down and saw the smiling dwarf in front of him, his eyes clinching in disgust and his knuckles went white as his grip tightened around the mahogany stick.
“Yes, I WAS winning, now if you don’t mind, I have a game here, so please bugger off…” He spoke quickly and with a hint of “I want to kill the bastard, but I don’t like the sight of blood” in his voice.
He turned around and took aim again.
“Just trying to be friendly ‘n all that” I said, once again making the man shudder and turn around.
“Quite, better luck next time” The man turned from me and took a little piece of red chalk, and proceeded to put ludicrous amounts of chalk on the billiard stick.
He nodded to his opponent, who in return readied a pencil on a small block of paper.
He put the stick down on the billiard table, and started to draw back.
“Well, there is a reason I want to talk to you, in fact, it SHOULD have you quite interested” I said hurriedly, as a pulsating vain appeared on the mans neck.
The man could not have been very strong, but he still managed to break this finely carved stick with one hand.
He turned around and wiped the sweat of his forehead, while his butler proceeded to bring him a new billiard stick.
I presented my grubby sot covered hand to the green-clothed man. “Ragnor Goldvein to your service Mr.… ?”
“Armand… Peter Armand Roseburg the III, if you MUST know.” He said, while doing his best to avoid my hand, trying to grasp his.
“So Peter, I suspect you know a man named “Ed”, tall guy, wears a robe, lurks around in alleys ‘n things like that ?”
His eyes went, if possibly, even harder that before, as he hissed: “What do you know about Percy ?, where is he ?, did he screw up again ?“
“I dare say so old chap, he’s currently pushing up daisies behind a barrel on Kingsford way.”
His face took a nasty grayish color, as he started wheezing for air.
“looks like he was killed by a bloody mage I reckon, not much left to tell by really”
He sat down in a nearby chair, while his butler brought him a glass of wine. He turned his face and looked at me.
“Mr. Rocknar, Did you per chance find an amulet on him, a golden amulet depicturing a hand with an eye in the middle” He asked, obviously afraid.
“No, no amulet nor anything else ‘cept this watch here.” I said as I held it in front of him.
He suddenly grinned, and looked at me as if I had been a long lost friend.
He laid his hand on my shoulder “Say, Roknoir, would you be interested in earning a few coins ?, I think I have a little job which might be perfect for you…”


I made my way trough the old streets in Tarant, while mumbling to myself. A hundred coin was more than I had ever had before, and now I had more than a thousand in my pocket. This “Luinil” character was seemingly very important to Mr. Armand, and finding him should not pose the hardest of tasks, though I was still unsure of WHY I had to track him down.
Mr. Armand had also given me a small box, it seemed like a little treasure chest, and had finely orated gold hinges. “A nice little piece” he had said, and had instructed me to show the contents to the mage I had seen dismembering Mr. Percy in the alley.

I backtracked my steps to the alley where the scene had taken place, and from there I continued to go in the direction where Mr. Luinil had went.


“Maybe I should go get a beer first ?, no, that was what got me into this mess from the start…”

 

Ari and I seemed to hit it off from the start. She was engaging and friendly and we had a lot to talk about. I'd almost forgotten about our little adventure as we talked and I knew I had a new friend.

However, the moment was spoiled. The arrogant nobleman made his way over here. The lustful gleam in his eye made me sick and I felt my stomach fold in on itself. The smell of his cologne made my nostrils burn. He'd obviously bought something expensive and was making a point of being able to afford such luxuries, pointless though they were.

He bowed and coughed in that annoying way that people do when it's obvious that they are desperate to get someone's attention whilst appearing nonchelant. I gave him a scowl that I hoped would put him off, but he didn't seem to notice. He's either stupid, insensitive or both! Ari had just started telling me about this beautiful glade called Falcon's Ache too. Apparently it was a glade of utter tranquility where you could sit for hours ALONGSIDE the wild animals! It must be amazing to get that close.

He introduced himself with a smile that was obviously meant to impress us. "Greetings to you ladies! Permit me to introduce myself, I am Charles Roxton, Lord Charles Roxton the third to be exact. The last thing I expected to see in this filthy flea pit where women of your breathtaking beauty." Oh please! He winked at me in that disturbing way that only dirty old men can and before I could react he grabbed my hand and laid a sloppy wet kiss on my knuckles.

I felt sick. I scowled at him again but once again he took no notice. Please just go away!

"I say, have any of you distinguished ladies given a thought about our so called employer?" He pointed at the tailed half-Elf. "Cursed by a dragon indeed! Humbug! I'll wager he's just some would be wizard playing around with powers he should leave well enough alone. Regardless, I'm looking forward to be facing danger ones again, I've been in peril many a time. No need to worry, I'll be here to protect you from any harm."

He once again showed us his 'pistol'. I got a better glimpse at it this time. He'd been ripped off. Sure, it looked fancy but you could see the build quality was poor. There must be one happy merchant out there right now! It can't have been fired more than a dozen times; there was no sign of the etching around the muzzle that a gun developed from exposure to the hot gases after firing. Personally I would have taken that flintlock....

He kissed Ari in that same disgusting way. I felt so sorry for her. "Forgive me my lady for letting you wait. It would be a shame if you thought less of me for not showing you the same respect as I showed your friend. For you deserve it, and so much more!"

He smiled and gave another awkward bow before finally leaving us in peace. I was glad that was over. All he'd done is reaffirm my dislike for the arrogant and superficial people who termed themselves 'nobles' around here. Easy money did bad things to people. No discipline...

I turned back to Ari, who looked somewhat perplexed. I sighed. "I'm sorry you had to be party to that. There are some very pompous people here and I don't like it. Now, where were we? You were about to tell me of Falcon's Ache..."


[OOC]
Flink, sorry if I've painted your character too badly. It's just that my character has taken an instant dislike to the Tarant 'nobles'. They're just a waste of space as far as she is concerned and she has no time for the pompous and superficial attitude of most of the moronic nobles around Tarant.
[/OOC]

 

[OOC]
Perfectly all right Ferret. My character is ment to be a pompous, arrogant fop. It was exactly the reaction I was expecting.
[/OOC]

 

I was chatting with Kat, an very charming young woman, when some sort of Tarant 'nobility' approached us. He spewed out some drivel, then seized Kat's hand, laying a sloppy kiss on it. I attempted my best Elven haughty demeanor, but he didn't seem to notice. Instead, he seized my hand, and layed a sloppy kiss on it too. I was stunned. No one is supposed to touch an elf without their consent! It was a sort of unspoken law.

After this man left, Kat and I continued our conversation. She was very curious about Qintarra, and everything in, and around it. "I'm sorry you had to be party to that. There are some very pompous people here and I don't like it. Now, where were we? You were about to tell me of Falcon's Ache..." Kat said.

"Yes, Falcon's Ache..." I said, thinking of it. "It's quite beautiful, very tranquil. There, animals are completely unafraid of us, and you can sit alongside them for hours. It is sacred ground, and if you commit any act of violence there, the penalty..." I trailed off, then smiled. "Well, let's just say that it's not something you should do."

I wondered about where our employer had gone. I glanced around but saw no trace of the cursed elf, only various people who were in this adventure. I was a little nervous; they mostly seemed like seasoned adventurers.

 

Continuing the adventure

[ooc]I would like to get this so that it can operate without me... I'm not entirely sure how to lead a big group of adventurers...
He has now gained wings, the full 20-foot dragon wings. Somehow, however, they do not affect his balance[/ooc]
I finally recovered from my most recent transformation, and returned to the boil.
I informed everyone that now was the time, that we would be heading off... and everyone just gaped and stared... which was expected... I didn't really look all that half-elf at all anymore, with a dragon tail and wings.
I didn't want to give them too much time to just gape, and so I told everyone to come along and left Tarant.

 

[OOC]
Hi again Icairus! Good to see you again. So its ok if we take a bit more freedom? I hope so, because I'll make an atempt right now!
[/OOC]

Ah! We are finally on our way! I looked around and just managed to see the last lights of Tarant disapear in to the darkness.
Normally it wouldn't be wise to travel during the night, but the urgency of our mission gave us little choice. The Half-Elf/Half-Dragon had now sprouted huge bat-like wings! The sight of this had asured us that the sooner we lifted the curse, the better. A raging dragon isn't to be triffled with after all.

However, before leaving we gathered up a few of the stragglers that had signed up for the adventure, but had run off to do other buissness in the city.

I ones again returned to the thoughts of our mission. That terrors would we face? How would the others react to seeing the famous Roxton bravery with their own eyes? How was I going to tell my tales at the gentleman's clu... As I was thinking this, my price winning polo-horse rose on his hind-legs almost throwing me off. He also let out an ear-periceing scream. (For lack of a better word.) Something had really spooked him!

Indeed. Just as we came up to a small glade, 8 highwaymen jumped out of the bushes!

One of the larger robbers, probably a half-orc altho it was hard to tell as he was wearing a black hood moved closer, reavealing an impressive broad sword.

Stand and deliver! Yer gold or yer lives!

 

[OOC] I hope its not to late to join?[/OOC]

[OOC]

Name: James Midnight

Status: freelance gunslinger

Race: Quarter Orc

Skills: Gunsmithy, firearms, explosives, pick locks, pick pocket and electrical

[/OOC]

 

[OOC]
Be careful with your use of colours. Snowmane already picked red so you shouldn't use it for anyone else. I usually use Olive for Narrator or plot NPC's.

Ferret = Green
Snowmane = Red
Flink = DarkBlue
[/OOC]


I'd been so busy talking to Ari that I hadn't noticed that our host had disappeared. I had no idea how long he had been gone. An hour. Maybe two. Anyway, the first time I noticed he was gone was when he walked back in. It was a good job it was dark outside now. He had enormous dragon wings! Even with them folded in against his back they were still troublingly noticable.

It was obvious we had to make haste and it wasn't long before the group had packed up, checked and prepared and were walking out of the door.

As we walked to the outskirts of Tarant I looked around. Our group seemed somewhat larger than before. There were obviously some people who had already signed up and had not attended the briefing.

Our decidedly mottly group started to walk north. Somehow it didn't surprise me that 'Lord' Roxton was the only one with a horse and he rode a little to the side with his half-Ogre servant leading by the reigns. He had a sort of dreamy smile on his face. I hope he falls off his horse!

We weren't long out of Tarant's outskirts when there was a little commotion from the front of the group. Ari and I who had been walking together, glad to be back out in the open country, quickly moved to see what the commotion was. It was our host. He and a couple of other people were gathered around a piece of parchment and he was cursing bitterly.

I looked over his wings at the parchment. It was a map. I was about to ask what was wrong but then I noticed the problem. The part where Hardin's pass was supposed to be - our current destination - had been torn out! That's a problem...

After a brief discussion we decided the best course of action would be to head to Stillwater. There we could ask directions.

We must have been so engrossed in the problem that we didn't notice them until too late. I looked up to see a small group of bandits blocking our path. Roxton's horse winnied loudly and I looked around. A large half-Orc jumped out from the shrubberies infront of the horse. That made eight. "Stand and deliver! Yer gold or yer lives!"

The half-Orc had a quality broadsword but that wasn't what was bothering me though. It was the four other bandits that had outflanked us and were currently fingering a range of rusted weaponry.

Roxton quickly pulled out his fancy pistol. Upon seeing it, the eyes lit up on the half-Orc and he raised his broadsword. It was a signal for the rest of us and our group quickly armed themselves as the bandits charged us.

I quickly slipped my bow from my shoulders and in one fluid movement notched an arrow, drew the string and loosed it into the throat of the nearest bandit. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his throat, with a horrible gurgling noise as he drowned in his own blood.

I immediately notched another arrow and leased it into another bandit. This time I missed my mark and it left nothing but a small tear in her leather armour. She closed the distance between us too quickly for me to ready another arrow and she swung at me with a worn-looking mace.

Instinctively I threw up a shield of protection, which slowed the blow enough for me to block it with the shaft of my bow. It was a good job it was magickal or it would have broken with the force of the hit. I staggered backwards.

Before the bandit could recover from her swing I slipped my bow to the side, sliding the mace off the bow and then I flicked the end of the bow into the bandit's face. She grunted and flinched backward, a small drop of blood running down her left cheek.

She tightented her grip on the mace and pulled back to swing. I slipped my bow back onto my shoulder and drew my filament sword. As the bandit swung she stepped forward to gain momentum and I stabbed out with my sword. The needle point of the blade slipped neatly between her ribs and she let out a shocked gasp. A bewildered expression crossed her face and she lost her grip on the mace, letting it drop to the ground with a dull thud. It appeared that she couldn't quite work out why she could no longer maintain a grip on her weapon and I gently pulled the blade from her body. Her eyes glazed over and she sank to the ground.

I looked around and was pleased to see the last of the bandits being dealt with. I relaxed my will, allowing my magickal energies to disappate and dispersing my shield. I then cleaned the blade on the grass and proceeded over to the recently deceased bandit. "We get any spoils from the ones we killed!" It was usual in situations like this to retain any loot from your kills. If it were not the case then there would be hell to pay!

I quickly stripped anything of value from my two victims. I grabbed the mace from my second kill and then the leather armour. The hold from my blade was invisible and would not detract from the price. It was a trick I'd learned long ago to use a narrow blade. It avoided damaging the armour whilst allowing easy penetration. She also had several coins on her so I grabbed those too. My first victim was somewhat less profitable. He had a fine steel dagger, some worn shoes and a healing potion.

After examining the shoes I threw them away. They were almost worthless and took up too much room. The potion I tucked into my belt and then I rolled the dagger in the leather armour and stuffed them into my backpack. Once done looting I retrieved my two arrows, checking them first for any damage. I put my sword back in it's place on my hip and looked around.

Time to get going again.

 

I had had to hurry to catch up with the group. Apparently Dragon Boy was in a hurry. When I finally caught up I realized why. HE HAD SPROUTED WINGS!! I wouldn't want to be hangin around in any town with a zoological society if I had just sprouted wings either. I didn't really know what I was supposed to be doing so I just hung out about the middle of the group. A little ways down the road, several highwaymen jumped out around us. The apparent leader said something, but I couldn't quite make it out from where I was. When Roxton drew his pistol all of the bandits charged in. I saw Roxton and some of the others already with their weapons out. One was comin up behind Roxton that he apparently didn't see. He was a prick but he was still part of our group. I whipped out one of my knives and threw it straight into the approaching man's throat. I had another blade out in an instant but the last one was already down. I went to remove my blade from the man's throat and wiped it in the grass. I saw everyone looting the bodies so I figured that was what I was supposed to be do. There wasn't much to take. I slipped my pack off my back, and loaded his few coins and leather armor into my pack. His sword was a piece of junk so I just left it. Well, fairly exciting first day.

 

I'd been walking with Kat for awhile, listening to the birds around us, to the clopping of 'Lord' Ruxton's horse's hooves, and to Kat, who talked with such speed it amazed me. We'd left Tarant when our employer, Jonathon, had grown huge wings. We had to break this curse before he turned into a dragon completely.

All of a sudden, we were attacked by highway men! "Stand and deliver! Yer gold or yer lives!" One of them had said. Almost before I knew what was happening, we were in the midst of a skirmish. And a brawny half orc was charging right at me! He held a rusty mace in his hand, which, as far as I was concerned, was enough to do the trick, the trick being killing me. He neared me enough to swing it at me, luckily, the weapon only grazed my arm. I screamed out the first spell that came to mind: unseen force.

The brutish half orc was thrown back, into a nearby tree. This just enraged him more, but as he charged at me again, I was ready."JOLT!" I shouted, sending the charge to him. He yelped in pain, and in the time he'd stalled, unwilling to near me, I'd drawn my bow and notched an arrow. I loosed it, and it found it's mark in his throat. He gurgled, going down. I was shocked that I'd killed him. I was too sickened to even touch the body, if some one else wanted his loot, they could have it.

I pretended that I was completely uninterested in the whole affair, though my heart was racing inside. I went over and joined Kat, staying with the member of the group whom I knew the best, and whom I liked a lot.