Lord Brightblade, a Knight of the Rose, was in charge of the trade expedition from Solamnia to Khur. It had been a long arduous journey. But you had finally arrived in Pashin.

With Lord Brightblade traveled three other knights, though none of them wore the colors or markings of Knights of Solamnia, as Pashin was located in territory controlled by the Knights of Takhisis, the enemy of the Solamnics. But the people of Khur also had the best horses in Ansalon and the King wanted the best. No matter who was occupying the territory.

Attending the four knights were four squires, one of them the newly appointed Marcus Valarian, who was one of the King’s own.

With them traveled five others, none of them part of the Solamnic Orders, but all yet with the express permission of the King.

Digorye, the half elf actor.

Gabriel, the big warrior.

Grov, the kender. And to many that was all one ever cared to know. Kender, stay away! But the King wasn’t one of them. There were many Kender coming and going through Dragonword Keep, though the King never seemed to lose anything he couldn’t be without.

Julian, a weaver of strange magics.

Gina, one of the King’s granddaughters.

And while the three cousins, Digorye, Gabriel, and Julian all had been asked to come to Dragonword Keep, by message delivered by a kender, all six of them had something in common. They were all the descendants of the Godsbringers, who decades ago had ended centuries of silence by returning the gods of Good and Neutrality back to Krynn. And this was not the first time the six of them had met.

In many eyes they were the greatest heroes ever.

But Destiny would change all that.

Having arrived in Pashin, the knights left the squires to their duties, for they had not come empty handed. Pashin was known for its horse market, but other things changed hands here too. And the knights had brought things to sell.

And while the squires unloaded all their stuff and carried it into the rooms Lord Brightblade had ordered one of the younger knights to arrange for them, the other younger knight offered to bring Gina’s stuff to her room himself. And Gina, pleasantly, but uncommitedly agreed.

Having gotten all that out of the way, the six of them, to the young knights chagrin, left to explore the town together, leaving the knights and the other squires to their own devices.

[OOC: Now that’s done. I’d like everyone to post something in their description so we know what you look like. As well as make your first IC post.]

Digorye looked around at their new surroundings. As had become common practice for him, he'd taken on the look of the place already. Ever the chameleon Digorye now sported a thick growth of beard-stubble on his face (completely hiding the unusual definition of his cheekbones), and rather unkempt looking hair falling down the sides of his head (completely obscuring his somewhat pointed ears) and was clad in his armor and cloak (disguising his thin frame). Yes, he thought he'd fit in here fine like this.

"So friends, welcome to Pashin! Where shall we go first? After the long journey, my votes on a local pub. My throat is dry from the road dust, and my ears long for news."

The trip was as uneventful as it was boring.  Julian had already decided an hour outside of town that the most important thing to be done once they hit town was get a drink and hit on the local women, assuming they were good-looking.  Julian wasn't really interested in sleeping with every woman he met (Gina being a notable example), but he did like flirting, drinking, carousing and generally carrying on.

He ran upstairs to ditch his traveling clothes and came down again with his flamboyant red robes with gold trim.  He'd spent a bit of coin to get them and he was damned if he was going to not show them off.  The burgundy color of the robes was good for drinking, too, since the deep color could hid all manner of stains.  Other than that, his rakish charm was as clear as his bright blue eyes.

He brightened at Digorye's suggestion, since it made him seem less the instigator.

"That's a capital idea!  Capital! ... Race 'ya."

With that, he was gone out the front door.  He didn't really go far - he was right outside the door, actually - but he did want to lend some impetus to their eventual departure.

Gina was the only female in the expedition and she was used to being the only female. She was used to having princes and knights lavish her with expensive gifts as an expression of Gina wasn't sure exactly what. Except perhaps as a testament of what they were capable of so that she would marry them.

But so far all it had given her was a vast collection of expensive gifts. About half of the suitors couldn't accept that she wasn't her grandmother. She had been the perfect stay at home Solamnic wife, even when Eisen brought his bastard son into their home and because he was older than Gina's mother, Eisen had dubbed Steel as heir to the Dragonword throne.

And for months after that, there had been gossip about the proof of the rumored Dragonword ability to always recognize another Dragonword no matter what. But as a Dragonword, Gina of course knew the truth of that story.

During the two weeks that the trip to Pashin took, Gina had found the time each evening to sequeste herself from the others and though there had always been a soft change that had come over her while she had been gone, it had never become clear what she was doing.

"I like that idea too," Gina replied to the suggestion of going to a pub. And she did so with a smile on her face.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:16, Thu 21 June 2007.

Gabriel stood with the group, well close to them but not actually among them, his brown shoulder length hair danced about his shoulders as he look back and forht at the goings on. His tall frame stood a little hunched from the amount of weaponry he carried. He brushed dirt from his metal studded leather armor almost unconciously at the mention of a tavern he let out a sigh, but followed none the less.

The pub now that sounded fun to the Kender. With his innocent look it seamed hard to believe he was even old enough to go to the bar.

He was clean shaven with long dark hair and very pale skin. He always seamed happy as if he didn't have a problem in the world, nor a brain cell for the matter. His innocent looks however did get him to places that others could not attain.

A pub could be fun...

"To the PuB!"

The six of you headed towards where you thought you'd find a local tavern. But before you got there, you saw a filthy Ergothian, dressed in shabby clothes and mismatched armor, having an argument with a kender. And the kender in question stood protectively in front of a female kender child.

Digorye takes a look at the arguing pair and briefly considers simply walking past... but then his curiousity gets the best of him. Stopping to mutter a brief spell to himself so he wouldn't regret this too much later, he approached the pair.

[Private to GM: Secure Items - Enchantment, Force
Casting Time - 1 Round (6)
Range - Touch (1)
Duration - 10 minutes (3)
Activation - Auto item (2)
Area: Weight - 50 lbs (4)
Effect: Creation - Secure Items (5)
Total: 21 SP, L0 Spell. Secures all of the casters personal belongings (up to 50 lbs) to him for 10 minutes, so that they can't be picked, plundered, or purloined. The caster may end this enchantment at any time.]

As he approaches, he starts to put an over-the-top bounce into his step, such that he's practically skipping by the time he arrives at them. He suddenly speaks up in a overly cheery voice, acting completely oblivious to the argument they were just having. "Good day, fine townsfolk, and how are you all this fine day? Beautiful weather we're having here, isn't it? I just love this time of year!" Putting one arm across the Ergothian's shoulders he continues, "I say new friend, could you point us in the direction of a nearby pub? My friends and I are parched from the road and would absolutely kill for a good drink. Anything in particular you could recommend? Maybe you'd join us for one?"

Julian was taken aback at Digorye's disarming of the situation.  He was more inclined to just dry gulch the Ergothian from behind for roughing up a mom and kid, kenders no less.  The human looked like a mercenary with a little too much piss in his veins and a punch to the kidneys and a push into the mud for harassing children seemed an appropriate punishment.

Then again, Digorye was probably about to get insulted, so maybe that fight was just about to start.

"She stole from me," the Ergothian said. "And a mug of ale won't change that. But what's it to you?"

Marcus aided the other squires in unpacking for the knights, then they were turned loose on the city. He was inclined to go with the other squires, but he spent all of his time with them already. He decided to seek out new company for a change. He started to wander off when he noticed the others from the expedition moving along parallel to him. He decided to join in with them, and moved towards them. Offering a slight bow of greeting he joined step and accompanied them towards what he assumed was a tavern of some sort. He was curious about them all, as fellow descendants of the Godsbringers. He watched them carefully from the corner of his eye, trying to get an understanding of what sort of people they were. He saw the Ergothian standing over the kender family, and a savage scowl crossed his chiselled features. He rested a hand on the hilt of his razor edged longsword as he carefully approached the unpredictable looking man. He saw Digorye try and apparently fail to calm the situation, and he asked the man in a quiet and forcibly calm voice, "What did the kender take that was so valuable that you feel the need to threaten females and children?" His voice had an odd tone to it, and there was a stone cold expression to his face, contrasted with a burning intensity in his almond shaped crystal blue eyes. He sttod silently as he waited for an answer. He was young looking, but the dignity and power in his stance, as well as the armour and weapon of a Solamnic Knight marked him as a man not to be ignored, even by a bullying drunk.

"It was the child that stole my purse," the ergothian said looking at Marcus with disdain and disgust. "But I should have expected a pointy eared half-breed like yourself to take the side of your cousins."

As a Kender, Grov knew exactly what to say. He also knew that these weren't common Kenders and probably had little interest in this man's things. Maybe he was lying maybe not.

" How do we know you are telling the truth? These are not object seeker Kenders. I love objects but Kenders like them, they don't like objects like me. And you should know Kenders are not thieves. We don't steal. You look drunk did you drop the purse? Maybe they were bringing it back? Or maybe you are lying? Did you try and steal their purse? Did you?"

Marcus ignored Grov's questions. This had just become a matter of honour, and with a cold certainty he knew that blood would flow. The only questions appeared to be whose and how much. He stepped forward, to within a sword's length of the man. "And it takes a full grown human to take on a kender child, who could barely even reach your purse. You are a true hero. Are you sure that you don't want your friends to come and help you beat him? You never know, the child might be armed with a rubber duck, and then you could be in trouble," he said in icy contempt. He ignored the attack on his parentage. For all the problems he had with his parents, he felt no shame at his mixed heritage. He knew that he would be still fighting for the Knighthood centuries after this oaf was dust. He knew violence was inevitable, so the best thing that he could do was to goad the man into fighting him, a trained and well equipped warrior, rather than let him lash out at the kender family.

The man and his two friends drew their weapons.

Rolling for Initiative.

Digorye Minaat 22
Gina Dragonword 19
Marcus Valarian 18
Gabriel Uth Argus 14
Thugs 11
Julian Uth Argus 11
Grov Nimblefingers 9

[What do you do? The order you post doesn't matter, I'll adjudicate things in teh right order anyway.]

Digorye takes a couple steps back at hearing Marcus get insulted for simply being a half-elf, and his manner instantly changes. Instead of being flamboyant and carefree, he suddenly grows hard and cold. "You are outnumbered here, friend. You don't want to fight us. If I were you, I'd just turn and walk away."

He calmly holds out his hand towards the man as he draws his weapon, muttering a few words under his breath.

[Private to GM: Hold Weapon - Force
Casting Time - Standard Action (7)
Range - 20 feet (2)
Duration - 10 minutes (3)
Activation - Auto vs Inanimate (2)
Area: Weight - 10 lbs (2)
Effect: Creation - Hold item (5)
Total: 21 (L0 Spell). Telekinetically holds the target weapon in place so that it cannot be swung or effectively used offensively.]

Gabriel had been content to stay at the back and let this play out, but now the situation had forced their hands. He reached back and loosed his glaive from the strap that held it to his pack, and let the wooden handle slide through his fingers. It then spun to his front and his other hand grasped the weapon as he rushed forward to attack the man who had been exchanging words with Marcus. His weapon sweeps forward and hits its mark.

OOC: Gabriel charges the offender, if he can otherwise he will just attack whichever he can reach.

20:28, Today: Gabriel Uth Argus rolled 19 using 1d20+6. charge attack power attack for 1   If I could not charge take wo away from the to hit.

20:29, Today: Gabriel Uth Argus rolled 11 using 1d10+8. damage.

AC 15 for the rest of the round, If I could charge.

The situation deteriorated so rapidly Julian wondered just what was going on that couldn't be talked through.  Kender were notorious for taking stuff that wasn't theirs, and they returned it easy enough so Julian really didn't understand all the fuss.  Ask the kid for the item to see if it 'fell' into his pack and get on to the serious business of relaxing.

Instead, his goon of a brother was going to run a man through.  It was going to be a bad day.

[Private to GM: Julian will interpose himself between the fight and the kender.

Casting a spell...

Casting Time: 1 standard action (7)
Range: Close (3)
Duration: Concentration (0)
Activation: 0
Area: 10ft (3)
Effect: Movement, Move with Caster (1)

This will create a 10ft radius wall of Force to keep out attackers.]

As the three men pulled weapons Marcus calmly and delibirately did the same. Damn it. Why must these fools always pull steel to defend their stupidity? he thought to himself. He resigned himself to fate and offered a quick prayer under his breath to Paladine. But his voice only held contempt as he tried to keep the attention of the drunkard and his friends. It was still best if he kept the fool focused on him rather than his travelling companions or the helpless kender. "Ah, so you did feel the need to bring help. I wondered how you had enough courage to assault a woman AND child all on your own. I should have known that you wouldn't allow yourself to fight outnumbered. Now, do tell me if you need help with your technique. Remember that you hold the blunt end and point the sharp bit towards me." Marcus knew that such verbal distractions were not usually used by knights, but he also hoped to confuse the man and bring him down without anyone having to die. He suddenly swept in low, trying to slash the sword arm of the man he was arguing with.

[Private to GM: Marcus rolled 19 to hit and inflicted 10 points of damage.]

Grov is not ready to fight and is actually wondering what he should do. He couldn't show his abilities, not here in front of everyone... During the time he thinks about this the combat seams to have already started. The hafling pulls out his weapon and fires at the man who is closest to the kenders. He also starts swearing at him.

"Your a $%^&!* you coward. A big fat ogre and even they find you ugly."

He then pulls out his tongue at the man.