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20:38, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Spring - Year 1.

Posted by DM ExtraordinaireFor group 0
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 30 posts
Tue 13 Apr 2021
at 13:45
  • msg #1

Spring

OOC – Ok, time to get this show on the road. We can iron out more details as we go along. One of the advantages of 1-vs-1 is that we can easily backtrack if really needed. I’ll be a bit vague with local descriptions and local colour, enough to set the scene, but also (hopefully) vague enough that you can put your mark (or claw) on the scene. I’m also making an assumption, your people know you are their princess-dragon.

Spring had come early. Not that this much north spring was full of lovely colours, or of bees working, or even with sounds of birds chirping, it mostly meant the rains would stop for a while, temperatures would rise marginally and the lambing season would start. Oh, it also meant merchant caravans would start arriving. The customary spring celebrations would happen and people would be in a generally better mood.

This year the mood was a bit different. People were used to dragons. One could even say, they were partial to them. But recently, there were confused sightings. Some said it was a dragon, some said it was monster from the deep reaches of the most horrendous hells. Those less prone to hyperbole simple noted that it did look like a dragon. When one could see it that is. It often showed itself as a sort of dense mist. Since it was most often seen during the night this only confused matters.

So far, there had been no attacks, or even threats, it just circled, meaningly over a certain area, before showing up over another area on a different night. It’s most powerful effect was that it was getting on people’s nerves. It was quite unsettling to find yourself walking under a misty monster shaped like a dragon. Goes without saying, the first sightings caused some panic, which has now subdued. But grumblings are starting on what is this things, this dark cloud that hovers over them. Since it’s Spring, the most hopeful started to say that royal wedding bells would soon start to sound. Fantasy, of course, trumping reality. Or was it?

Putting the peasantry aside there was no denying that, with ever more frequent sightings, something would need to be done about it. Having a dragon leader tended to keep most faiths away, but the few faiths that had temples had already made their worries known. Inevitably they envisaged the end of the known world if a contribution was not made to their temple. This time even if no contributions were made they may just be right that there was something odd here.

On your side, you had never actually seen the misty dragon shaped thingy. Until today. For the first time, there it was, it almost looked like it was stopped in mid-air. Also, you could swear, it was looking at you.
Ataraxia
player, 21 posts
Wed 14 Apr 2021
at 09:15
  • msg #2

Spring

OOC: Ironing out details as we play is fine by me. I'll try to fill in details as it becomes appropriate to do so and I think of them. Thank you again for running this for me and reaching out to me. Much love! <3

Also, that assumption is fine with me.


I loved this time of year. It was still frigid and cold, which excited me. Heat was in my blood; I was, after all, a fire dragon. That madethe cold interesting, a challenge to overcome, and one that could be beaten simply. Cold made home feel cozy, with a crackling fire and plenty of blankets. And a good book, too! The last one was too expensive for most people though. On the other hand, the beginning of spring was also a time of hope and joy for the humans I had come to take as my own people. They were, for the most part, happy and smiling this time of year. I looked forward to the festivals and games, too, though I didn't participate often anymore. It wasn't a fair contest; even in my human guise, I was stronger, faster, and tougher than any of them. So I have become content to watch and enjoy the spectacle, then give a kiss to the champions. I did still love to play tables, cards, and dice though. Especially tafl!

Unfortunately, this year was sullen. That's not right; spring is supposed to be a wondrous time of merriment. Or something like that. If I was being honest with myself, and I suppose I should have been, I was bristling at the idea of another dragon moving in on my territory. Mine! No touchy!

I hold court on the second and fifth days of the week. Most nobles only hold court once a week, if that often, and of those that do, they often forget that the purpose of court is to do one's duty to one's people: to hear cases and see to the administration of justice. When I'm not doing that, I sometimes fly, or walk, around my territory and let the people see me. I smile and greet them pleasantly. Occasionally, I even help out with heavy labor; since I am both much bigger than the humans and can fly, I can carry, in a day, what would normally take a hundred men three months to move.

Aside from my dragon-ness, there were sometimes murmurings that I was a little odd. First of all, why would human nobility, my late mother and father, have raised a dragon's egg, instead of having children of their own? Second, I didn't take to many of the typical noble pursuits, such as hunting or fashion; learning and books were far more to my taste. Hunting was terribly boring because I had to wait around and do nothing for hours!

The people gave me gifts and said they loved me. They were happy to see me, or so it seemed. I wondered, often, how much of that was genuine and how much was fear, knowing I was, in fact, a particularly large, physically powerful dragon and that I might eat them at any moment. I would never eat my own people, of course. Unless they were criminals. Exeuctions are popular venues in every realm, but they were even moreso in mine; everyone wanted to see the great dragon lady chomp down on and swallow a condemned criminal in one bite. I felt guilty that they tasted so good and I looked forward to the occasions so much.

I stopped my musing and halted in my tracks, confronted by the dragon-mist-thingy. I was wearing my human body, so I had to look up at it.

I decided to try being friendly. I have a strong, clear, resonant voice, of average pitch for a woman. In my dragon shape, my voice is higher than usual, and humans have commented before that they think I sound like a very large person.

"Hello, traveler. I am Ataraxia, lady of this land. Will you tell me your name and why you are here?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 32 posts
Wed 14 Apr 2021
at 12:16
  • msg #3

Spring

OOC : My pleasure! I think this can be an interesting game.

The dragon, and you could now clearly see that even if it had a fuzzy misty composition, it was indeed shaped like a dragon, stretched his neck to peer closer. He seemed to be focusing to see you better. He also seemed to mutter something, but the sound of his voice was rather faint and you cannot perceive the words correctly.

He circles over you a couple of times and then flies away, returning moments after, only to fly away again. It seems he’s wanting you to follow him.
Ataraxia
player, 22 posts
Wed 14 Apr 2021
at 20:35
  • msg #4

Spring

Having no pressing matters to attend, I shrugged and changed. Shapeshifting is mildly uncomfortable, especially when I wore clothes, since the fabrics and metals merged with my dragon-shape as my physical presence expanded. I was tall, strong, sleek, and beautiful as a human, and I am the same as a dragon. Though I did not yet know it, I am both much larger and more lean and muscular than a typical dragon. In the future, when I became aware of that fact, I would ascribe my greater size and strength to better nutrition than other dragons have in their growing phase; noble lords and ladies have casual access to much more food than even a dragon can hunt.

I ran a few steps, leapt, and took flight, following the mist-dragon. At the very least, I would have liked to figure out how to get it to stop bothering my people.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 33 posts
Thu 15 Apr 2021
at 10:04
  • msg #5

Spring

The dragon looks back to make sure you are following and then shoots off at an unbelievable speed towards the west. (OOC: roughly in the direction of the Spine of the World mountains)

Probably after realizing you could never hope to follow him at that speed, you suddenly see it flying back towards you and then turning west again, this time at a pace you can follow. He's clearly hoping to continue to be followed.

OOC - if you try to approach him he's just speed away, he clearly is not interested in talking, merely in being followed... will you keep following him?
Ataraxia
player, 23 posts
Thu 15 Apr 2021
at 19:15
  • msg #6

Spring

ooc: Sure, why not?
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 34 posts
Fri 16 Apr 2021
at 14:13
  • msg #7

Spring

OOC - hope you don't mind but, unless there is an option for you to take, I'll expedite things by making rolls in your place as we go along.

The misty dragon flies leisurely up to the point where you are over the Spine of the World. At that point, he circles, dives down towards the mountain slope , circles for a bit and then flies away. As you follow him, you can see a reflection in the mountain slope, something just reflected the weak sunlight, there is something shiny down there. The misty dragon starts flying away, you are left with a decision to check the 'shiny thing' on the slope, or following the misty dragon.
Ataraxia
player, 24 posts
Fri 16 Apr 2021
at 15:55
  • msg #8

Spring

OOC: That's fine by me. Bigger updates are better! =D

I stop hand hover for a few moments to see if the mist dragon waits for me. If it does, I indicate the shiny thing with one of my claws and go look at it. If the mis dragon doesn't wait, I'll follow it instead of going for the shiny thing. I like shiny things as much as the next dragon, which is to say, a lot, but I also know that a mist dragon in the hand is worth two shiny things in the bush. I'm getting better at human idioms.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 35 posts
Fri 16 Apr 2021
at 19:28
  • msg #9

Spring

OOC - Definitively better at human idioms. Almost human.

The shiny dragon continue apace until something makes him look in your direction. Again, he looks mildly surprised you are chasing him. he takes some turns, flies up and down, in short he seems unsure what to do. Seemingly having come to a decision, he stops mid-air and spins towards your direction of approach. Amazingly, he does not seem to need to do anything to hover in the air and is just there, waiting for you to approach.
Ataraxia
player, 25 posts
Fri 16 Apr 2021
at 22:31
  • msg #10

Spring

I have to flap my wings faster and turn in tight circles to stay in the same place midair.

"That's a nice job hovering! I don't suppose you could teach me that?" I ask, in my dragon's voice, high and soft (for a dragon, still thundering by human standards), two-toned like the voice of every dragon. I can make a melody with myself and am quite good at it, if I do say so myself. And I do!
This message was last edited by the player at 22:32, Fri 16 Apr 2021.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 36 posts
Sat 17 Apr 2021
at 19:43
  • msg #11

Spring

The dragon waits until you approach him. When you speak he seems to consider an answer. You can see his cunning eyes, they almost seem to glitter in the mist of his shape. When he speaks you struggle to hear what sounds more like a whisper than a booming voice...  (OOC - well, whisper in draconic terms, still much louder than your average human would whisper...)

'I prefer to take than to give... and you should take what was just given you...'

Ataraxia
player, 26 posts
Sat 17 Apr 2021
at 20:32
  • msg #12

Spring

"What, that thing?" I indicate the shiny bit on the mountain by inclining my head in its direction, and I swoop lower to go get it. I do love free stuff! Especially when it's shiny.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 37 posts
Sun 18 Apr 2021
at 11:33
  • msg #13

Spring

As you approach the shiny object you slowly realize it's larger than it seemed. Carefully placed on the mountain slope is a circular object, slightly convex and golden. Is it made of gold? Around the edge there are carvings, if they are characters and supposed to mean something, they are on a language you have never seen. At the centre there is another carving, but this time the inscription is recognizable, it's a tree of life.
Ataraxia
player, 28 posts
Mon 19 Apr 2021
at 06:38
  • msg #14

Spring

"Oooh, that's a nice thing, yes it is indeed. Is this for me? I do enjoy presents!"

My instict to hoard shiny objects, especially gold objects, is too much for me to resist. If the ghost is giving me the treasure, that's very nice of it, and I wouldn't want to insult them by not taking it. So I take it!

"What language is this anyway?" I ask, admiring the runes.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 39 posts
Mon 19 Apr 2021
at 10:24
  • msg #15

Spring

With your focus on the golden object you miss the lack of answers, until silence fills up the space. At that point you note that the misty dragon cannot be seen anywhere...

OOC - (successful dragon lore roll) You cannot identify the language, but the characters don't seem totally unknown, you have a (vague) recollection of having seen something similar before in a book and, unless the fresh mountain air is clouding your mind, one of those symbols was used for the word 'dragon'...
Ataraxia
player, 30 posts
Tue 20 Apr 2021
at 18:38
  • msg #16

Spring

I look around for the mist-dragon-ghost-thing for a while, but soon I realize that it's gone and not hiding. Oh well! Presents and treasure are two of my favorite things, and getting both in one day is a great start to a month. I take the bowl and fly back home; I would whistle merrily, but I can't, so I settle for humming. Dragons cannot whistle. Or smile, frown, or make most other human facial expressions. I still have an instinct to do so, having spent most of my life in human form, and it probably looks a little odd to humans.

I make sure to land suitably far away from the castle and its town. Naturally, I would prefer to be able to land in the courtyard, but I know I am very large, several buildings would have to be dismantled to make room for me, and I don't want to make anybody move. Plus, it would be a logistical headache. I've considered having a new castle built, with a larger courtyard, but that would be terribly expensive, more than I can afford currently, and take necessary labor away from agriculture. Also, I don't think horses and other animals will ever get to used to my true body, small and panicky as they are.

It amuses me that, for years, I thought horses and cows were big animals.

Anyway! Time to put away my new treasure. Back to my tall, elegant human body I go. By human standards, the bowl is huge, and if it were actually made of gold, it would take three men to move. Gold is heavy! Fortunately, I am not human, even if I look like one. I balance the bowl on my head and keep hold of it with one hand, whistling happily as I jaunt to the castle. It's a nice treasure, and besides that, the strange language and symbols make for an interesting puzzle. I want to figure it out!

I wonder if there are any issues demanding my attention.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 42 posts
Tue 20 Apr 2021
at 20:21
  • msg #17

Spring

OOC - Funny you mention issues demanding your attention.

As you arrive there is a discussion going on between a newcomer and a member of your staff. The newcomer is a young male, in travelling clothes, his cloak quite dusty and, as you are told later, is trying to gain an audience with you.

He arrived properly equipped with some form of document from whoever send him there, refusing to tell anyone what he was intending other than asking to be 'granted audience with the legitimate rules of this land'. One of your aides also mentions that he speaks with a 'strange accent', the general conclusion being that 'he's not from this part of the world'. Your aides seemed rather embarrassed that this was all they could tell you. Seemingly, the newcomer refused to leave and sat down on the ground as he waited for you to grant him an audience.
Ataraxia
player, 32 posts
Tue 20 Apr 2021
at 21:07
  • msg #18

Spring

Of course he'll be granted an audience! I'm glad my subordinates are concerned for my well-being, though, and I make sure to tell them so.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 43 posts
Wed 21 Apr 2021
at 11:30
  • msg #19

Spring

The locals are still visibly nervous around the newcomer. When they bring him to your presence, he has removed his travel cloak and clearly brushed the worst of the road dust from himself. He looks presentable. He's wearing a dark travel attire, nothing uncommon, nor any special markings and carries a bit of parchment in his hand.

When he actually looks at you his demeanour totally changes and his expression becomes fixated, seeming in total awe of your persona. He prostrates himself on the ground and stammers:

'May... you g-g-grant my w-w-wish of... comm-communicating this message from my L-L-Lady?...'

And he stretches out an arm in your direction, with the hand holding the bit or parchment.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:31, Wed 21 Apr 2021.
Ataraxia
player, 33 posts
Thu 22 Apr 2021
at 03:33
  • msg #20

Spring

Well that's a little strange! I'm used to people kneeling or bowing, occasionally prostrating themselves if they're foreign, but not quite this profusely. I hold out my hand to receive the message. Traditionally, a page would take the message from the man and deliver it to my hand, even though it is only a dozen feet to walk.

"I will. What is your name, and who is your lady?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 44 posts
Thu 22 Apr 2021
at 15:05
  • msg #21

Spring

The young man raises his head 'Anaximander m'Lady, herald of Aurgloroasa...'

You open the thing papyrus, it contains a short message, written in a beautiful calligraphy:

'My Dear Lady Ataraxia, I hope you enjoyed my gift to you, I always find that gold matches red so well. I'm fast marching towards your lands and I hope we'll have a lot to discuss.'

It is signed 'Aurgloroasa'.
Ataraxia
player, 34 posts
Fri 23 Apr 2021
at 03:43
  • msg #22

Spring

Nice choice of name for the herald. =P

"Thank you, Anaximander."

In the books and histories, they say that attacking before planting is the second-most aggressive kind of attack, following attacking during harvest. On the other hand, if this is in fact an attack, it's not a sneak attack.

"Your lady chose a particularly strange wording. She says that she is marching towards me. Does she intend to attack?"

That is usually what 'marching' means, after all.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 45 posts
Fri 23 Apr 2021
at 17:29
  • msg #23

Spring

OOC - Hey, must get those maths and science references somewhere...

The herald turns ashen as you mention 'attack', he seems truly flabbergasted at the mention of it.  (OOC- failed perception roll, you cannot really understand if his shock is true or not)

'...no,no,no... she's coming alone, just with her carriage's guards... well and me... well, not me just now since I'm here... I left her as she was leaving Luskan, so another day or so and she should arrive at your presence...'
Ataraxia
player, 35 posts
Sat 24 Apr 2021
at 04:00
  • msg #24

Spring

I smile for the messenger's benefit, though I am somewhat troubled by his reaction.

"You will, of course, be offered bread and salt." I wave for a page to do just that.

Offering bread and salt is an offer of formal hospitality, and accepting is an acceptance of that. Hospitality is among the most sacred rules; a guest is protected and also guaranteed safety, even if they are an enemy of the host, and likewise the guest is obligated to accord himself peaceably and honorably, even defending his host if necessary, for as long as the guest stays.

Maybe other dragons don't respect hospitality, but every human I know does, and I do as well.

The messenger may decline the offer, if he wishes, and that is no insult to me. It is a straightforward way of declaring that either he or his mistress is my enemy and they will treat with me only in hostility, but in a way that preserves their reputation.

And now to see that the guards are ready and everything is presentable for a noble guest.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 46 posts
Sat 24 Apr 2021
at 16:51
  • msg #25

Spring

The herald is very thankful as regards your hospitality. You cannot shake the impression that he's more in awe than your average citizen, being hard to understand why. Eventually he will thank you and leave. As he says, he's got to relay your message of welcome to his Lady.

As soon as he's out of sight, one of your advisors urges you to send someone to see what is actually coming your way, which is a polite way way of saying, to verify his story. Another mutters that a welcoming party is more appropriate. At some point in their ramblings, they even urge you to prepare the defences, in case it's all a trap.

People in the north are notoriously suspicious of anything coming from a southward direction but, ultimately, it's up to you to decide how you are going to use the 24h before the Lady's arrival to your holding.

OOC - Which a rather pompous way of saying, what do you want to do in the interval between the Lady's arrival and now? Also, where have you placed your new shiny golden disc?
Ataraxia
player, 36 posts
Sat 24 Apr 2021
at 21:17
  • msg #26

Spring

I listen to my advisers, of course. They have, collectively, more experience than I do. Some of them have more experience individually, too. I wait until the messenger is gone and then instruct my retainers to make sure that the knights and household warriors are armed and ready for Aurgloroasa's arrival. Furthermore, I want the militia to be patrolling rather than drilling tomorrow, and I want my ranger to take some silver and recruit a few of the local hunters to scout and look for a potential sneak attack, as well as to see what Aurgloroasa's carriage is doing.

As for myself, I should inspect the granaries and make sure the ledgers are accurate. Planting is almost upon us, and it will not do to need grain to plant and not have enough.

I thought it was a bowl! In either case, plate or bowl, she left it in the great hall, propped in a corner, until she figures out what to do with it. It's much too big and heavy for a human to lift, so she's not worried about it getting stolen; anybody who brought enough guys to steal it would make so much noise the guards would notice. The idea of a dedicated treasury has yet to occur to her. Though of course, she does keep the keys to the spice and coin boxes around her waist, as every noble lady does.

Also, in addition to a LotR social group and a D&D class, "ranger" is a medieval office-holder, an official forest and game warden for a large landholder.

DM Extraordinaire
GM, 47 posts
Mon 26 Apr 2021
at 15:11
  • msg #27

Spring

OOC : Think of it as an (very) oversized shield.

The day proceeds without any further issues. The militia patrols don't report anything bigger than a rather aggressive pack of wolves, retainers you have are ready and (other than causing a sudden desire to sleep), the ledgers match-up and the granaries are getting ready.

On the next day, just hours before Aurgloroasa's arrival, your scouts return. Their report is encouraging, the herald did meet with a lone carriage heading north. The carriage was rather nondescript, perhaps not to attract any thieves, and her escort, as it is, was a carriage driver and a guard by his side. She is clearly not unduly concerned about her safety.

The herald eventually shows-up again, just an hour or so before her arrival to announce it. In due course, Aurgloroasa's carriage arrives. A drab carriage, looking rather aged. The carriage guard steps down and gingerly opens the door and you get your first sight of Aurgloroasa. She's dressed in a black low cut dress that seems rather inappropriate for someone travelling to the cold north. Much like you, she has red hair and her stance does not indicative someone used to serve others, but someone used to have others serving her. She walks gingerly towards you and greets you 'It's a pleasure to meet you Lady Ataraxia'

OOC: right, an image is worth 1000 words, so here is what she looks like:


This message was last edited by the GM at 15:11, Mon 26 Apr 2021.
Ataraxia
player, 37 posts
Tue 27 Apr 2021
at 07:51
  • msg #28

Spring

Learning about how to keep accounts was more interesting than actually keeping the accounts. Ugh. However, it's my duty to make sure the manor runs well, so I put up with it. I have a very keen mind; that makes it go faster. I flick the stones across the counting table with speed and dexterity.

I am helping clear stones to bring wasteland under cultivation when I receive word of the predicted arrival. I return to the manor, wash, and make sure everything is in order to offer proper hospitality for a noble guest. When the appointed hour comes, and Aurgloroasa shows up, I am confused at how drab her carriage is. Carriages are expensive, and the people who can afford them usally can afford good maintenance; perhaps Aurgloroasa's family has fallen on hard times and she wants money. She would hardly be the first noble to have money troubles.

Putting on my best face, I welcome Aurgloroasa by bowing, rather than curtsying. I habitually wear short skirts, since I engage in so much more physical activity, so bowing is more appropriate.

"Welcome, Aurgloroasa, to my home and my land. Take bread and salt, and be a guest in my house. Likewise to your retainers and servants. Your letter spoke of a gift. Forgive my ignorance; what gift did you write of?"

A skirt that poofy combined with a collar that high can only mean trouble! =P
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 48 posts
Wed 28 Apr 2021
at 13:03
  • msg #29

Spring

She politely thanks you. As she approaches you you can see that even the fabric of her clothes seems ancient. Not so much worn out, or poorly kept, but the standard of her dress makes it look like something of a past time.

She seems surprised when you query what gift.

'Why, the golden disc of Dretchroyaster of course... you may have heard of him being called Drecht...'


OOC - Successful 'draconic lore' roll. You have read previously about Dretchroyaster, a green dragon that inhabited the southern realms. He is known as a fell hunter of all forms of life and is known for his merciless manner, unquenchable greed, and masterful cunning. He liked to be called 'The Monarch Reborn'.

Ataraxia
player, 38 posts
Thu 29 Apr 2021
at 01:48
  • msg #30

Spring

"Ah-ha, I did not know the dish had once belonged to him. Again, forgive me if I seem to be playing coy. Was it you who sent an apparition to guide me to Dretchroyaster's dish?"

This will allow her to boast of her abilities and is a social favor to her. Or she can deny it, and it will also be a social favor, as it either is the truth or it is a way for her to conceal her abilities. I wonder if she is also a dragon. I've never met another one!

I keep wanting to pronounce that name as "Dreky Toaster." =P
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 49 posts
Thu 29 Apr 2021
at 14:08
  • msg #31

Re: Spring

OOC - LOL. If we were playing live by now he would by now in fact be 'Dreky Toaster'. Although, being a dragon, I can also see him as 'Dreky Roaster'.

'Apparition?...' she pauses for a second as if trying to understand '...oh. Of course. He's just... a messenger of sorts... the 'dish' used to be Dretchroyaster's favourite mirror. He was rather vain you see... there is a legend associated with it. Dretchroyaster will reward handsomely whoever returns it to him... but since he  disappeared such a long time ago who would ever be able to find him to get the reward...' she shrugs and smiles.
Ataraxia
player, 39 posts
Fri 30 Apr 2021
at 02:30
  • msg #32

Re: Spring

"His favorite mirror?" I look over at it. "It doesn't look like a mirror. Wouldn't all the symbols get in the way? How did you know where it was, up in the mountains? And that messenger you mentioned, was that a conjuring of yours? Ah, forgive my questions. I hope I'm not being rude. Are you tired from your journey? Will you be staying?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 50 posts
Fri 30 Apr 2021
at 14:36
  • msg #33

Re: Spring

OOC I'll break this to form some sort of dialogue.

quote:
It doesn't look like a mirror. Wouldn't all the symbols get in the way?


'He was a peculiar one, who knows what he thought about it... maybe the symbols have power by themselves... maybe the treasure is the understanding of the power of the symbols...' she shrugs the suggestion...

quote:
How did you know where it was, up in the mountains? And that messenger you mentioned, was that a conjuring of yours? Ah, forgive my questions. I hope I'm not being rude.


Not at all, not at all... you are young and have a curious mind, that's very healthy... I'm no conjuror... he's an... old friend, of sorts. He was the one that placed it in the mountains. He has a strange taste for the dramatic. If it was me, I would just place it over the carriage... no need to have you flying around for an old mirror...

quote:
Are you tired from your journey? Will you be staying?


I very much hoped to enjoy your hospitality for a short while. It will give me a break from the headaches on my domains...
Ataraxia
player, 40 posts
Sat 1 May 2021
at 08:43
  • msg #34

Re: Spring

Okie-dokey. I will follow your formatting then!

quote:
'He was a peculiar one, who knows what he thought about it... maybe the symbols have power by themselves... maybe the treasure is the understanding of the power of the symbols...' she shrugs the suggestion...


"Do you know what they mean?"

quote:
Not at all, not at all... you are young and have a curious mind, that's very healthy... I'm no conjuror... he's an... old friend, of sorts. He was the one that placed it in the mountains. He has a strange taste for the dramatic. If it was me, I would just place it over the carriage... no need to have you flying around for an old mirror...


"Well now I'm even more curious. Come, let me show you to a room in the solar." I turn to do just that; as the lady of the land and manor, it is my responsibility to show the guest of honor to her room.

"Master Chamberlain, please see that Lady Aurgloroasa's retainers and attendants are given accommodations and that her effects and theirs are taken where they belong."

In a typical medieval noble household, fortified or otherwise, most areas were communal in some way. The private apartments for the lord or lady and their family, as well as a couple of guests, were called the Great Chambers or solar.

quote:
I very much hoped to enjoy your hospitality for a short while. It will give me a break from the headaches on my domains...


I lead Aurgloroasa up the stairs and to the private apartments, where two guest rooms are maintained, suitable for two people each, in case of noble, wealthy, or otherwise important visitors.

"Your replies have raised more questions, if you don't mind. How did you come to possess the mirror, even though it was all the way out there? Further, how did you come to know a ghostly dragon?"
This message was last edited by the player at 08:43, Sat 01 May 2021.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 51 posts
Mon 3 May 2021
at 10:59
  • msg #35

Re: Spring

OOC - sorry for the late replay some issues here. BTW, like the use of 'royal-red' for her text colour... :-)

quote:
"Do you know what they mean?"


She seems distracted for a brief second before answering 'No.. not really...'

quote:
I lead Aurgloroasa up the stairs and to the private apartments, where two guest rooms are maintained, suitable for two people each, in case of noble, wealthy, or otherwise important visitors.

"Your replies have raised more questions, if you don't mind. How did you come to possess the mirror, even though it was all the way out there? Further, how did you come to know a ghostly dragon?"


She follows you and seems surprised at the lodgings. She very clearly gives you the impression of not being used to such fineries.

'That mirror has been mine for a long while... can't even remember how I got it, I think it must have come with other items. I like to keep things, probably far more things than I need...'
she laughs and shrugs '...the ghostly dragon, I think he would very much enjoy being called that, was the one that took it to the mountains, I just asked him to bring it to you... as I said he's got a passion for the dramatic...'

As she talks, she keeps walking around the room , checking every item she can.

'When I first heard about you, I just had to come and meet you, but I did not want to come without a gift of some sort, and the mirror seemed like a perfect fit...' she suddenly stops and turns looking directly into your eyes 'Tell me, have you used it? Have you seen your reflexion on it?...'
Ataraxia
player, 41 posts
Tue 4 May 2021
at 07:26
  • msg #36

Re: Spring

Well, she's got beautiful red hair or scales, form depending, and she's a princess, so there you go. =3 Glad you like the choice. And no worries about the speed of reply; this week has been ultra busy for me, and that seems likely to continue.

My castle is modest, as far as castles go, built more as a living place than a fortress. I plan to built strong watchtowers over the lands, with their own curtain walls, rather than expand the castle, at least in the near future. This far north, bogging down an enemy and harassing them, making it as difficult as possible to advance and keep supply lines, should be a very effective defense against any invader. Even when I'm not home!

Anyway, by the standards of most humans, my castle is a comfy place to live. I even have velvet cushions for the couches and silk sheets for the beds! Expensive but worth it. I'm glad Aurgloroasa is impressed, and I feel slightly smug about it.

"Well, it's a very nice gift in any case, and I thank you for it. May I ask what the occasion for such a wonderful gift might be?"

Even if there's nothing special about it directly, the sheer amount of gold in that mirror is a small fortune. My prized possessions are my father's sword and my mother's staff, both enchanted weapons of power they won in their adventures, though I care for them because they belonged to my parents, rather than for their magic. I have the weapons mounted under portraits of each of my parents separately, with a portrait of all three of us between.

I wonder if Aurgloroasa knows I'm a dragon. She seems suspiciously aware without giving things away. Maybe she's just very bright. If she is a noble living nearby I would have at least heard of her in passing, wouldn't I?

I also have a sizable library; just over a hundred books. It's not the largest library I know of, but it's the largest owned by a single person.

"Ah? No, I haven't used it as a mirror. I didn't know it was one until you told me! I'll need to polish it before I use it that way. What made you want to meet me?"

She probably knows I'm a dragon. It's not exactly a secret.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 52 posts
Thu 6 May 2021
at 13:03
  • msg #37

Re: Spring

OOC : Velvets and silks? Definitively fancy.
quote:
"Well, it's a very nice gift in any case, and I thank you for it. May I ask what the occasion for such a wonderful gift might be?"


I just thought it would be rude to show up without an invitation... AND... without a suitable gift... she shrugs again. You can see she does have an habit of shrugging.
quote:
I wonder if Aurgloroasa knows I'm a dragon. She seems suspiciously aware without giving things away. Maybe she's just very bright. If she is a noble living nearby I would have at least heard of her in passing, wouldn't I?


OOC : You can roll for your suspicions (by asking the question and testing the answer as truthful or not). Then again... keep reading... ;-) On the other point, you are right, even if she was a local landowner you would have hear of her. More so for someone capable of giving away a massive shield made of gold...
quote:
"Ah? No, I haven't used it as a mirror. I didn't know it was one until you told me! I'll need to polish it before I use it that way. What made you want to meet me?"


She continues going through the room decor items and looking out of the windows for a while. Social skills do not seem to be a major concern of hers. She finally sits down before answering 'I've heard... interesting things about you... and I wanted to know if they were true... now I know they are... I just don't understand... you are the daughter of humans... but you are also a dragon?...'
Ataraxia
player, 42 posts
Fri 7 May 2021
at 02:21
  • msg #38

Re: Spring

Oh yes, very fancy. She'll upgrade to a proper pile of coins once she learns how to be a real dragon. =P

"I don't think it would be all that rude. Unusual for a guest to arrive so close to planting, but not rude. Any noble doing even the bare minimum of their duty would offer hospitality to a well-intentioned traveler." I turn to give her a bright, cheerful smile.

If I was playing a regular character, I would be inclined to be suspicious, well, my character would be, but since I'm playing an awesome dragon lady, I don't feel the need to be defensive.

I put my finger to my cheek, indicating my mild embarrassment. "It's not a secret anyway, I suppose. Yes, I am a dragon, and I was raised by humans. I never met the dragons who sired me; I'm given to understand they were quite monstrous, doing a lot of very evil things. My parents, the humans who raised me, were part of a band of heroes who put a stop to my sires' rampage. They had such strong, moral hearts that they couldn't bring themselves to break my egg, like their fellow heroes thought should be done, and my parents instead raised and shepherded me."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 53 posts
Mon 10 May 2021
at 15:21
  • msg #39

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"It's not a secret anyway, I suppose. Yes, I am a dragon, and I was raised by humans. I never met the dragons who sired me; I'm given to understand they were quite monstrous, doing a lot of very evil things. My parents, the humans who raised me, were part of a band of heroes who put a stop to my sires' rampage. They had such strong, moral hearts that they couldn't bring themselves to break my egg, like their fellow heroes thought should be done, and my parents instead raised and shepherded me."


She looks at you with a vague and undecipherable look on her face. Again, you get the feeling she knows the story you are telling her.

'That is very interesting.... Tell me, have you ever felt interested in meeting other dragons?...' before you even get a chance to answer she continues '...awful reputation I know, but dragons are... understanding to their own kind...'
Ataraxia
player, 43 posts
Mon 10 May 2021
at 15:58
  • msg #40

Re: Spring

I smile sweetly and obliviously.

"Interested? Why, of course I'm interested. I don't know of any, though, at least not any within a couple hundred miles."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 54 posts
Tue 11 May 2021
at 14:33
  • msg #41

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"Interested? Why, of course I'm interested. I don't know of any, though, at least not any within a couple hundred miles."


She smiles back. 'I can help you with that... I can introduce you, for example, to that misty dragon you already saw... Dragons are... complex, you know that for yourself, they are territorial, possessive, sometimes violent... but every now and again, dragons also come together, like when they need to solve a particular problem. So, do you want in the morrow to go and meet some dragons?...'
Ataraxia
player, 44 posts
Tue 11 May 2021
at 15:37
  • msg #42

Re: Spring

I clap my hands together with excitement. "Ah, you can? That would be wonderful! I'd be very interested to meet another dragon. I've never taken a rider before, so we should probably use your carriage."

I start bouncing on the balls of my feet. "I can hardly wait until tomorrow. I hope you don't mind if I see to my duties as soon as possible so that we'll be ready to go as soon as we get up."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 55 posts
Tue 11 May 2021
at 20:06
  • msg #43

Re: Spring

quote:
"Ah, you can? That would be wonderful! I'd be very interested to meet another dragon. I've never taken a rider before, so we should probably use your carriage."


Oh, I'm not going to be around. It's usually bad for humans to be around when dragons meet... I'll send my herald and tomorrow we'll now where the gathering will take place.
quote:
"I can hardly wait until tomorrow. I hope you don't mind if I see to my duties as soon as possible so that we'll be ready to go as soon as we get up."


She smiles almost piously. 'Of course, of course... I understand your excitement...'
Ataraxia
player, 45 posts
Wed 12 May 2021
at 04:20
  • msg #44

Re: Spring

"You sure know a lot of dragons, and a lot about dragons, for just being a human!" I say, but amazed rather than incredulous.

I make sure everything is set for my guest and her entourage, then I do as I say I was going to: see to my duties as lady of the manor and the land. The spring festivals require a lot more organization than I thought they did as a child. I also need to review the treasury to see if there's enough surplus to afford construction of a new watchtower. I'd like to pepper the land with them, to provide security and safety when I'm not around. Plus, they make for great secure storage facilities and I could even set up a postal system. I read about those in my books; reliable message delivery is a huge boon for any economy for many reasons.

If Aurgloroasa is up for it, I'd like to play some table games with her tonight after dinner. Then tomorrow, I get to meet another dragon for the very first time!
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 56 posts
Wed 12 May 2021
at 19:26
  • msg #45

Re: Spring

OOC : 'Going Postal' (c) Terry Pratchet    :-)

quote:
If Aurgloroasa is up for it, I'd like to play some table games with her tonight after dinner.


You'll find her extremely interested in anything of what she describes as 'human activities'. You will also find her rather hopeless at the games. She sulks when she loses.

OOC : I'll do a bigger update on the next day tomorrow.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 57 posts
Fri 14 May 2021
at 13:18
  • msg #46

Re: Spring

OOC  - Sorry for the delay. This is not the post I expected to make, but I suddenly realized I would be taking too much for granted, so let's just keep role-playing this.

Aurgloroasa gives you, not so detailed instructions about what awaits you. She just directs you to go to the same place where the gold mirror was and that the misty dragon and possibly another dragon would meet you there. As mysteriously as her arrival was, she then mentions not wanting to impose any more, since you will be very busy with your state affairs and departs on the same route she came.

When you arrive to the rendezvous site, surely enough the misty dragon is there. He sits on the same location that the golden mirror was. He look statuesque. When you approach him, he greets you in his whispered voice with 'Ah, finally here.'
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:18, Fri 14 May 2021.
Ataraxia
player, 47 posts
Fri 14 May 2021
at 21:56
  • msg #47

Re: Spring

Okie-dokey. I forgive you! I don't know what you did, but I forgive you anyway. =3

I assure Aurgloroasa that she isn't imposing on me at all, but I don't try to keep her. If she wants to leave, then I bid her farewell with a wave, smile, and request that she return some day soon.

Then I turn to my new interlocutor and I look up at him, shimmering in the cold air. I breathe deeply and let it out slowly, exhaling my human shape with the breath. The majestic, beautiful red haired woman flows out of my mouth like smoke, and as she does, my body changes. My clothes and skin merge together and my muscles bulge and swell, my bones grow longer, stronger, and lighter, and wings sprout from my back. A few seconds pass, and I wear my true form, a towering dragon, as majestic and beautiful as the woman-shape, but in a different way. Sleek, shining, muscular, powerful, and very, very big. Beautiful like a tigress, a snow-capped mountain, or the sea at dusk.

I do not smile. This much I know about dragons, at least: we do not smile to show the same things humans do. We smile when we want to be aggressive, for it shows our fangs, our primary weapons when we wish to fight each other.

Instead, I sit down in front of the ghost-dragon and compare his size to my own, looking him up and down with my golden, slit-pupiled eyes.

"Yes I am," I reply, in my two-toned voice. "Were you unable to speak last time? It is good to hear your voice. I am Ataraxia. Who are you?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 58 posts
Mon 17 May 2021
at 13:20
  • msg #48

Re: Spring

quote:
"Yes I am," I reply, in my two-toned voice. "Were you unable to speak last time? It is good to hear your voice. I am Ataraxia. Who are you?"



'Ogothr is the name.' The misty dragon looks appraisingly at you. 'Ataraxia...' he muses '...that's a good dragon name. I approve of it.'

He pauses for a while before continuing 'I guess I should explain to you why I have this shape. It's a long story, but a misty dragon is one that was cheated off his treasure before passing and as such clings to the physical world until it can recuperate his treasure back... Lesson for you young one, always protect your treasure....'
Ataraxia
player, 48 posts
Mon 17 May 2021
at 21:07
  • msg #49

Re: Spring

"Thank you, Ogothr. I am sorry for your predicament."

I tilt my head to the side, in the traditional pose for questioning that almost all sapient species share.

"Why are you telling me this? Was it you who led me here and showed me the golden mirror, and was it your mirror? Do you desire that I return it to your resting place?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 59 posts
Tue 18 May 2021
at 11:21
  • msg #50

Re: Spring

quote:
"Why are you telling me this? Was it you who led me here and showed me the golden mirror, and was it your mirror? Do you desire that I return it to your resting place?"


The misty dragon… chuckles. A rather ungodly sound.

‘I’m not on the same pantheon as the likes of Dretchroyaster… I’m just another dragon… no, to return his mirror and get his treasure you have to go to his lair…’

You suddenly feel very aware of his cunning eyes focusing on you.

‘Young one, are you interested in doing that to get his treasure, that’s what the legends say… I can guide you there...’
Ataraxia
player, 49 posts
Tue 18 May 2021
at 17:40
  • msg #51

Re: Spring

I fold my wings closer to my body and adjust my tail, the dragon equivalent of a shrug.

"I do not know, Ogothr. It is a rather fine treasure, and it is inscribed with many runes I would like to understand. I suppose, though, that it would be good to do so, if Dretchroyaster is cursed with the same fate as yours. I presume that you find your predicament unpleasant."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 60 posts
Wed 19 May 2021
at 14:47
  • msg #52

Re: Spring

quote:
"I do not know, Ogothr. It is a rather fine treasure, and it is inscribed with many runes I would like to understand. I suppose, though, that it would be good to do so, if Dretchroyaster is cursed with the same fate as yours. I presume that you find your predicament unpleasant."


'Dretchroyaster cursed?... no, no, no...'


He suddenly looks up.

'Ah, there she is...'

When you look up you see a green dragon speeding towards your location.
Ataraxia
player, 50 posts
Wed 19 May 2021
at 19:15
  • msg #53

Spring

"Until yesterday, I'd never met another dragon in my life, but today, I've met two. Possibly two others this week; I'm not sure about that."

I look up indeed. Dragons make more noise in flight than I thought. We're very big and rather heavy, so I suppose it makes sense that our wings produce a sort of roaring sound, especially in descent. Not as loud as an actual roar, of course, but the same sort of sound.

"And who is that?" I ask Ogothr.

Dreky Toaster! Dreky Toaster! Dreky Toaster! =DDDDDDDDDDD
This message was last edited by the player at 20:10, Thu 20 May 2021.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 61 posts
Thu 20 May 2021
at 10:06
  • msg #54

Re: Spring

OOC – Get your Dreky Toaster, and breakfast will never be the same.

Ataraxia:
"And who is that?"


The dragon getting ever closer is large, with a lustrous dark-green, almost black,  skin. The misty dragon moves slightly aside, probably more out of habit than anything else, to allow the newcomer to land close to you.

‘That’s the Sibilant Shade…’ he says just before the green dragon lands.

The green dragon looks at you with cunning eyes.

‘Ataraxia, what a pleasure to have you here, amongst your equals…’ you can see where the dragon's name comes from, as it speaks with a hissing sound reinforcing each word…
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:06, Thu 20 May 2021.
Ataraxia
player, 51 posts
Thu 20 May 2021
at 20:31
  • msg #55

Re: Spring

"Sounds like a title, rather than a name," I observe, watching the newcomer land. My tail slowly swishes back and forth, a sign of interest and curiosity.

"I've never seen another dragon before in my life, and today I met two. It is a pleasure to meet you also. May I know your name?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 62 posts
Sat 22 May 2021
at 10:08
  • msg #56

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"I've never seen another dragon before in my life, and today I met two. It is a pleasure to meet you also. May I know your name?"


The new comer brings it's head closer to yours 'You can call me Prasinokailampera...' the sibilant voice says.

'...are you ready to come with us to see Dretchroyaster's lair?...'

OOC : And the inevitable happened. I wrote Dreky Toaster. *face palm* I blame you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:08, Sat 22 May 2021.
Ataraxia
player, 52 posts
Sun 23 May 2021
at 01:56
  • msg #57

Re: Spring

"Hale thee also, Prasinokailampera," I reply.

I find that it is much easier to say Prasinokailampera's complicated name with a draconic mouth and vocal cords. I would have stumbled over it with human body.

"I would not mind going, but why would we go? What is there to see?"

You're welcome. XDDDDDD
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 63 posts
Tue 25 May 2021
at 09:00
  • msg #58

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"I would not mind going, but why would we go? What is there to see?"


Prasinokailampera's eyes glint.

'The biggest treasure hoard you will ever see...'
Ataraxia
player, 53 posts
Tue 25 May 2021
at 18:58
  • msg #59

Re: Spring

"And yet it remains unclaimed?"

It strikes me as very odd that a bunch of dragons would show another dragon a huge treasure hoard. Aren't we all greedy for treasure? I know I am. Not as much as dragons in stories are, but I still have a strong attraction to shiny, valuable things.

I make to follow the other two dragons to their destination, confident that I'm not in danger. After all, I'm really big!
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 64 posts
Wed 26 May 2021
at 14:14
  • msg #60

Re: Spring

quote:
"And yet it remains unclaimed?"


'Ahhh... it's not that simple, come, follow us...'

The two dragons take to the air and swiftly make their ascent. As the crow flies, they go almost to the end of the Spine of the World, just before you reach the eternal ice they take a sudden dive down and land near a cave entrance. The cave is rather nondescript, even if the entrance is clearly dragon sized. They again start flying but this time into the cave. The entrance is so large that the three of you can fly side by side without any problems. Unusually, there is no labyrinthine and tortuous route, just a descending tunnel that eventually leads to a large, natural cave of truly astonishing proportions. You get the feeling magic was heavily involved in the creation of it. Siting at the centre of it is a small mountain of gold, precious stones and golden objects of many kinds. By a quick calculation, it's probably enough to make the owner an absolute ruler of the known world. It would allow the owner to equip armies, feed the people and probably outright buy the known realms.

The sibilant dragon lands on the top of it. 'Didn't I tell you? Have you ever seen anything like this...'
Ataraxia
player, 54 posts
Wed 26 May 2021
at 18:26
  • msg #61

Re: Spring

I haven't flown this far in a while, and I take time to admire the sights. Three dragons in flight together probably has a lot of people looking up in awe and maybe panic. It's a long way, so I have plenty of time to my thoughts and observations.

The cave is enormous, to the point of absurdity, as is the pile of treasure. While of course I am fascinated with it, my first reaction is to ask, "Why is it still here? It's not hard to get to and it's a whole heckofalot of treasure."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 65 posts
Thu 27 May 2021
at 14:39
  • msg #62

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"Why is it still here? It's not hard to get to and it's a whole heckofalot of treasure."


The misty dragon starts answering, he sounds like an old teacher lecturing his young pupils...

'There is a curse. A real one. Dretchroyaster was a cunning old dragon. Also a very powerful one. When the end become inevitable, he used all of his magic to protect his hoard, destroying himself in the process… Quite sad for all of us dragon… the curse is that you can remove anything from here, but not keep it. If you do, then you will die because of it. Dragons have been killed because of the gold they removed from here, humans, the same. With time, the curse became legend and humans assumed the gold never existed and this was just another legend. Those that chanced it, are dead now…’


Silence fills that air until the sibilant voice sounds near to your ears…

‘But there’s a way around the curse… your mirror… a dragon seeing its reflection on the mirror will end the curse…’

The misty dragon looks slightly miffed and, if he wasn’t made of mist you could hear the sound of his tail moving nervously on the stone.

‘Of course, the legend says you will then face Dretchroyaster, that’s why a dragon would get his hoard, you would have to defeat him…’


‘Superstition… nothing but superstition…’ says the sibilant voice…
Ataraxia
player, 55 posts
Fri 28 May 2021
at 03:21
  • msg #63

Re: Spring

"Superstition?" I ask, snorting merrily.

"Come on, we're dragons. Magic is real; you're talking like a bunch of old maids." I make the draconic equivalent of a laugh, which mortals probably find frightening. It's quite funny, how skittish these mighty dragons are about a teensy-weensy supposed curse.

"I bet at least half of this stuff is an illusion. Maybe all of it. But why not try? Maybe there's some real treasure in there. I'll give that mirror a look-see."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:21, Fri 28 May 2021.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 66 posts
Sun 30 May 2021
at 12:11
  • msg #64

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"I bet at least half of this stuff is an illusion. Maybe all of it. But why not try? Maybe there's some real treasure in there. I'll give that mirror a look-see."


The sibilant dragon makes a small flight landing in front of you, hard to understand if excitement or nervousness.

'You are truly worthy of that mirror... imagine what you can achieve when you have this hoard...'

The misty dragon looks at you in silence, he looks like a statue.
Ataraxia
player, 56 posts
Sun 30 May 2021
at 23:23
  • msg #65

Re: Spring

My draconic instincts tell me that this is a lot of treasure, and I am very excited by it. I want to possess all of this gold, silver, gems, and other precious things. My education, however, tells me that there isn't a ton of difference between gold, silver, gems, and so forth and other goods, in regards to their use as a medium of value storage; anything that can be subdivided without losing value can be a currency.

If I did have all of this treasure, I would have to spend it very wisely, not only to make the best use of it, but also to ensure that I didn't make it worth less. After all, if I buy, say, ten thousand cows for two gold coins each, then every farmer in the county suddenly has gold to spend, and that makes everything more expensive very quickly.

Alternatively, there are powerful magical rituals and enchantments that require lots of precious goods to enact. That might be a better use of such mounds of wealth...

I must have been contemplating too long, because Prasinokailampera's interjection makes me jump.

"Ah! Oh, sorry. Well I have to do something with the mirror to get the treasure, right? So I should try that first. I'm starting to count my chickens before they hatch."

It's a human expression, but one that is simple enough that dragons should understand it. Probably.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 67 posts
Mon 31 May 2021
at 14:22
  • msg #66

Re: Spring

quote:
"Ah! Oh, sorry. Well I have to do something with the mirror to get the treasure, right? So I should try that first. I'm starting to count my chickens before they hatch."


Both dragons seem intrigued at the expression you just used.

‘Don’t forget you must use the mirror as a dragon… Come, let’s go, let’s see you do it now…’

Ataraxia
player, 57 posts
Mon 31 May 2021
at 18:19
  • msg #67

Re: Spring

I suspect a trick, but at the same time, if the only way to get this treasure really is for some special dragon or another to do it, then they might not be tricking me. They couldn't get any treasure at all without the "chosen one" and some treasure is better than none, right?

I'm as big as both of them put together, and one's a ghost! What am I wary of?

Let's go check out that mirror! I lead them back to my home for that purpose. I hope my people aren't too frightened.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 68 posts
Mon 31 May 2021
at 19:45
  • msg #68

Re: Spring

OOC : I assume you're changing shape or otherwise in some way get the mirror to a 'dragon sized' space? What is that space? Indoors? Outside?
Ataraxia
player, 58 posts
Mon 31 May 2021
at 20:18
  • msg #69

Re: Spring

That would be a good idea! Um, well, if couple other dragons are gonna be there, then the castle courtyard is probably too small. So how about a nearby hill?
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 69 posts
Tue 1 Jun 2021
at 10:29
  • msg #70

Re: Spring

You were fortunate it was spring. In winter time, the low hill would be covered in frost, gale winds would be blowing and snow would be falling. With spring, your servants are able to move the shield to the hill and quickly get away. One dragon makes them nervous. Three dragons including a misty one makes them positively terrified.

As you approach the mirror and see your reflection nothing happens. The other two dragons keep a respectful distance. As time passes and nothing happens, the misty dragon approaches and utters an unknown incantation, you assume he’s reading the characters along the mirror’s edge.

Still, nothing happens.
Ataraxia
player, 59 posts
Tue 1 Jun 2021
at 18:25
  • msg #71

Re: Spring

Well then I try using the mirror in my human form! Maybe that'll do it! Also that's the only idea I have. After that, we may have to find a particularly learned wizard.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 70 posts
Wed 2 Jun 2021
at 14:57
  • msg #72

Re: Spring

You change to your human form. As you are doing it, even before you get to the mirror, you hear a loud crack in the sky. Thunder and lightning form  above you. If you look around, the other two dragons are now a safe distance away. Suddenly, right above you, from the midst of the thunder and lighting a dark shape emerges. You can see a back dragon head, quicker than you can say dragon, it’s diving towards you. Considering the distance, it’s at least your size (in dragon form).
Ataraxia
player, 60 posts
Thu 3 Jun 2021
at 02:18
  • msg #73

Re: Spring

Well that's ominous and weird. Probably some kind of chicanery though. So I wave at the giant dragon head and grin cheerfully. "Hi there!"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 71 posts
Thu 3 Jun 2021
at 14:35
  • msg #74

Re: Spring

quote:
"Hi there!"


You knew it would be highly unlikely the dragon would even hear you. He’s still dropping like a bomb, head first, towards you, you begin to see flared nostrils, the unmistakable signs of fire following shortly…
Ataraxia
player, 61 posts
Thu 3 Jun 2021
at 19:56
  • msg #75

Re: Spring

Well then! I'd better turn into a dragon too! And also cast my Protection spell, just in case. One can never be too careful with huge dragons. I feel a little disappointed that he's so much bigger than me. Oh well.

Should I be afraid? I don't feel afraid, for some reason.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 72 posts
Sat 5 Jun 2021
at 18:34
  • msg #76

Re: Spring

OOC - We're about to enter a combat round, first dragon-vs-dragon I ever do. Besides casting the protection spell, are you taking any further actions before we actually enter into the combat round?
Ataraxia
player, 62 posts
Sun 6 Jun 2021
at 02:37
  • msg #77

Re: Spring

Cast Protection at level 6, turn into dragon, and do battle! That's what I got. What's the first step to combat in this system? I've never done it before. Sorry about being slow and terse recently. My grandpa died Monday morning and the service was today. This week was exhausting.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 73 posts
Mon 7 Jun 2021
at 13:56
  • msg #78

Re: Spring

OOC : Combat goes:

Initiative (only once)
Combat actions (you have 3), each combatant in turn

You got lucky on the init roll and get to go first, call it luck, distance or quick reflexes...

Ataraxia
player, 63 posts
Wed 9 Jun 2021
at 06:33
  • msg #79

Re: Spring

Having absolutely no experience fighting things larger than myself, I try to emulate what I've seen a mongoose do to a snake. The critters don't live around here, but a traveling performance troupe that comes through about twice a year has a couple they use to put on shows with.

I jump over the line of attack of the even-bigger-than-me-dragon and fly upwards at it, rolling in the air to bite at the nape of its neck.

Dreky Toaster lost initiative. =P

I rolled a 9 to attack with my Bite at an attack skill of 125%. The rulebook doesn't do a very good job of explaining whether that is a good roll or a bad roll.


DM Extraordinaire
GM, 74 posts
Thu 10 Jun 2021
at 09:04
  • msg #80

Re: Spring

OOC :

Think this is a good explaining of the combat round.

https://notesfrompavis.blog/20...low-for-runequest-6/

And this is a good example:

https://philgamer.wordpress.co...quest-sample-combat/

So, in short you have to roll under 125%, with a d100... but... see page 36. You 125% gets reduced to 100%, with the 25% applied as a penalty to the defender.

A roll of 9 is a critical success. Dreky just rolled a 7 to parry your bite, another critical success. So, level of success is 0.

Both characters have now expended a CA, so they are down to 2 CA each.

Dreky will take a second CA to breath flame in front of it. So, you can roll for a defensive action of some form. Not sure what you can do since you are at close quarters.

After that, Ok, first dragon fight here, so, my understanding is that you now roll for 3 hit locations (a human would suffer all hit locations, makes no sense a dragon as big as you would also suffer that, so roll for a hit location). Damage is 19, so, 12 AP, plus 6 of the Protection spell, you suffer 1 HP...

Still trying to get my head around the combat. Did not remember just how strange the manual makes RQ6 combat.

Ataraxia
player, 64 posts
Thu 10 Jun 2021
at 22:53
  • msg #81

Re: Spring

The other dragon' fiery breath washes over me. It sparks and hisses against my magical shield, which is invisible until the last possible moment and then flares for an instant. The heat is uncomfortable but not immediately dangerous.

"Blowing your load early?" I taunt, going in for another attack, this time to rake his wings with my claws.

The second link is for the newest edition of Runequest, and aren't we using an older one? The rulebook I have is black and white. Runequest 2, right? I also have the new Runequest, Roleplaying in Glorantha I think, if you want to use that or had been using that.

I won't use a CA for defense, since that's only 3 damage. I would assume Dodge or something like that would be the only viable option anyway. Fortunately, I wrote down everything that seemed pertinent, so at least determining the hit locations will be easy.

I make a Claw attack! The target is 95% and I rolled a 70. I'm not sure why I would ever want to use an attack other than the bite, other than increased reach, but hey, there you go.

DM Extraordinaire
GM, 75 posts
Mon 14 Jun 2021
at 09:09
  • msg #82

Re: Spring

OOC : Yeah, looking at that link name pretty much gives it away that it's for the wrong edition.

Dreky rolls under 70 and successfully parries your strike. So far it's a stalemate with a slight whiff of burnt scales.


The big dragon reverses his downward flight path and looks at you.

'Whoooo tries to steal my treasure?...' he booms.
Ataraxia
player, 65 posts
Tue 15 Jun 2021
at 23:37
  • msg #83

Re: Spring

Which one is for the wrong edition? I am confused!

"I'm Ataraxia! And I don't think it's stealing, since I'm not sure I want it and also you're supposedly dead. I think. Are you Dreky Toaster?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 76 posts
Wed 16 Jun 2021
at 16:25
  • msg #84

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"I'm Ataraxia! And I don't think it's stealing, since I'm not sure I want it and also you're supposedly dead. I think. Are you Dreky Toaster?"



OOC : Should have been clearer, I was meaning the link that says 'Runequest 6', that's a different edition.

Silence fills the air at the mention of 'dreky toaster'. The dragon's eyes focus on you and narrow. Nostrils start to inflate, clearly there's more fire coming. Theoretically, this should not be possible, he would need a time to regain his fire breathing ability, so the question is, do you risk he will only puff smoke, or do you take action to avoid any incoming fire?
Ataraxia
player, 66 posts
Thu 17 Jun 2021
at 06:34
  • msg #85

Re: Spring

I do my best to blow a raspberry at him. Dragon anatomy is not suited to that, so it probably comes across as even sillier than usual.

Let's go after him one more time! Never give up, never surrender!

Imma bite again! Nermnermnerm. I got a 46 against 125%.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 77 posts
Mon 21 Jun 2021
at 14:25
  • msg #86

Re: Spring

Dreky's fire just achieves nothing, it hits but your scales bounce the damage. (OOC - interesting how dragon fire is so inefficient against other dragons)

Uppps for Dreky, your bite is as bad as your bark and it lands. You apply total of 5 points of damage to the left hind leg.

Of course, you also exposed yourself to a bit, and he does just that. But you are lucky (your rolls are just amazing even when I'm doing them!) and you managed to parry his bit. (OOC - I assumed a parry here as your last action for this round, better double-check that's what you would use it for?)

Ataraxia
player, 67 posts
Wed 23 Jun 2021
at 02:51
  • msg #87

Re: Spring

Indeed, I'd like to parry. Now we exchange rolls until someone is incapacitated or surrenders! Nyah!

Why would dragonfire be efficient against other dragons? They produce it, they're naturally be resistant to it. I rolled an 82 to bite again, then I'll reserve an action to parry, then I'll bite again. If he does return attacks. I rolled an 87 for my second attack and a 48 for my parry. DRAGON AIR BATTLE *guitar riff*

This message was last edited by the player at 02:53, Wed 23 June 2021.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 78 posts
Thu 24 Jun 2021
at 14:42
  • msg #88

Re: Spring

OOC Not sure why I expected dragon flame to be this all combusting substance.

Now, what are the odds of this:

15:35, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 49 using 1d100.  ataraxia parry.
15:35, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 49 using 1d100.  dreky bite.

So , in summary:

CA 1 Dreky has init, he bites, you parry, he's a bit frustrated but life goes on.

CA 2 you bite, he parries, he feels a bit smug.

CA 3, he bites, you fail to parry, he sinks his teeth on your right front leg (arm?) for another 5 points of damage (I've updated the char sheet)

You have a chance here to break combat and try to evade, or we can continue.
Ataraxia
player, 68 posts
Fri 25 Jun 2021
at 07:11
  • msg #89

Re: Spring

It's very dangerous to things with low hit points and armor, but it's not napalm. It does 4d6 to every location on an average human, but armor applies normally. A completely unprotected, average human will probably be killed instantly, but an armored warrior will be only somewhat hurt, if at all, especially if they successfully take cover. Dragon breath in Runequest might be the one thing that's less deadly than in D&D.

Anyway, fuck this careful shit. BERSERKER ATTTTAAAAAAAACK!

All 3 actions on attacks! Bite and two claws! Hyah! Hyah! Her Claws are VL size, so he takes a penalty to parry if he parries with his bite skill.

59 for bite, 28 for first claw, 60 for second claw.

DM Extraordinaire
GM, 79 posts
Sat 26 Jun 2021
at 18:44
  • msg #90

Re: Spring

This is one of the oddest combat results I've seen. You get init, attack first, 3 good attacks, Dreky makes 3 expert parries...

'Weak... why do you keep trying...'
Ataraxia
player, 69 posts
Sun 27 Jun 2021
at 03:06
  • msg #91

Re: Spring

Dragon fights in this system are boring!

More attacks.

Bite: 9

Claw 1: 1

Claw 2: 8

Oooooh a 1. Is that a critical hit or something?

DM Extraordinaire
GM, 80 posts
Mon 28 Jun 2021
at 09:58
  • msg #92

Re: Spring

Yeah, think the system is really all about small vs small, or small vs large, when you get large vs large, there's not enough damage vs armour to make it end quickly. Also, the manoeuvrers, etc are all tailored for humanoids, so you do not really have system support for this. But then again, which system does? Not sure there's any out there.

Now, this is interesting, you actually got three critical hits. I'll roll for parry, which is either three critical parries or some big damage is coming.

10:51, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 29 using 1d100.  dreky parry 1.
10:51, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 80 using 1d100.  dreky parry 2.
10:51, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 6 using 1d100.  dreky parry 3.

So, in summary:

round 1 : critical versus success, you get 1 success level
round 2 : critical versus failure, you get 2 success levels
round 3: critical versus critical, nothing happens

You can try to find on the combat manoeuvrers tables, 1 for the first round and 2 for the second round.

OOC : lesson learned, less dragon vs dragon hand-to-hand combat.
Ataraxia
player, 70 posts
Wed 30 Jun 2021
at 06:25
  • msg #93

Re: Spring

Sorry for the delay. I've been extremely busy the last couple weeks and probably will be very busy for the rest of this week and the coming week. I tutor math, physics, and other subjects privately, and summer courses are in full swing. Rich parents pay well for good tutors!

The Maneuvers tables are on page 86 and the descriptions start on page 88.

For attack 1 (bite), I will choose Stun Location as my Offensive Maneuver.

The bite damage is 30 and the location is Tail.

For attack 2 (claw), I choose Bypass Armor, bypassing natural armor, and I choose Bleed.

The claw damage is 44 and the location is Forequarters (essentially the chest).

For sake of speed, I'll keep up the berserk attack, since it seems to be working thus far:

Bite: 91

Claw 1: 82

Claw 2: 83

Not so good this round! Hopefully the Bleed result works!

Regarding the combat system lacking support for dragon battles, I think D&D could do it well enough, since it's fairly modular. It's the character customization that would need work.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 81 posts
Thu 1 Jul 2021
at 11:24
  • msg #94

Re: Spring

OOC - Steady tiger (dragon). That claw attack is pretty brutal, most of all to the chest.

As your claw rips his chest you feel the skin in your claw burning as if on fire, there's a huge 'BANG!' sound, flashes of light and your opponent is gone in a cloud of smoke. Your skin stops burning and, looking at it, strangely there's no damage, just a tingling sensation in your claw. Nothing can be heard for some seconds then, the sounds of nature begin to flow again.
Ataraxia
player, 71 posts
Fri 2 Jul 2021
at 18:09
  • msg #95

Re: Spring

I look around, confused, my wings flapping unconsciously as I hover over what I thought was going to be a crazy battlefield of scorched destruction. Then I slowly come down to land.

Thump.

"Uh. What was that?" I ask nobody in particular, realizing the other dragons have taken off, possibly in cowardice.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 82 posts
Tue 13 Jul 2021
at 10:01
  • msg #96

Re: Spring

As you land you look at the mirror. It's still a mirror, but the surrounding inscription is now gone. You wonder if the inscription denoted possession and now possession has passed to you. No signs of Dreky in the sky, and no signs of the other two dragons.
Ataraxia
player, 72 posts
Wed 14 Jul 2021
at 00:45
  • msg #97

Re: Spring

Dammit. Those inscriptions were interesting. I spend some time looking for the other dragons, but I get bored if I don't find them in an hour or so, and I go home to find some work to do. Of course, I take the mirror with me. I should send for a sage to evaluate it, preferably a wizard, though where to find such a man for a reasonable fee?
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 83 posts
Thu 15 Jul 2021
at 12:46
  • msg #98

Re: Spring

OOC : Well, wizards are a dime a dozen, good wizards, those are rarer, as to wizards specialized in ancient draconic lore, even rarer. As a draconic-ruler, you have heard about a rather secretive group, called the 'Druids of the Tall Trees'. They are rumoured to be based on the High Forest and, given their millennial oral traditions, supposed to the go to people for ancient lore. If you can find them. And if they actually consent to help you... Failing that, any big city in the north will have some sort of scholar wizard that may also be of help... or not!

As you return home, bad luck ensues, some of the crop fields are on fire, victims of a random strike of thunder that ignited the ripe crop. Peasants struggle backwards and forwards desperately trying to create fire breakers to prevent more crops being lost.
Ataraxia
player, 73 posts
Fri 16 Jul 2021
at 02:31
  • msg #99

Re: Spring

It's going to be quite the journey!

Oh hey, a fire. Large fires are always bad for any settlement. I may be highly resistant to flames myself, but that doesn't mean I fail to recognize the danger posed by fire. A wildfire could completely ruin several families, maybe as many as twenty, burn down homes, kill animals, ruin hunting grounds and fishing spots, clear out charcoal groves, and bring other devastation.

I've started many fires myself, learning to use my flaming breath, and so I also learned magic to put out fires. That'll be handy! It will also take strategic use of my magical power. If I can, I'd like to put out all the fires, but if there's too much for me to put out before I run out of magic, then I'll prioritize livestock pens and barns, storage buildings, houses, and crops, in that order.

It will be easier to transform into a human shape before casting.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:32, Fri 16 July 2021.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 84 posts
Tue 20 Jul 2021
at 13:59
  • msg #100

Re: Spring

The fires take a considerable amount of time to put, but by nighttime they look largely extinguished. There is a reasonable amount of fear in the populace as they feel badly hit by this moment of bad luck and started to fear for their crops.

By the time you return to your manor and put your draconic mirror away, you note the mirror not only lost the inscriptions, but it's now beginning to look duller and less reflective.
Ataraxia
player, 74 posts
Wed 21 Jul 2021
at 19:43
  • msg #101

Re: Spring

I'm not exactly happy that the fire happened, but it's good that we put it out before the damage was more than modest. A few families will not profit as much this year as they otherwise would have. I think about whether they should be compensated. Could they have prevented the fire? If so, the sages say that they should not be compensated, but if so, that they should. I can count on no reliable witnesses, though, and so I must trust my judgement.

I am disappointed that the mirror is no longer as beautiful. Oh well. It's still a massive slab of gold.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 85 posts
Mon 26 Jul 2021
at 16:54
  • msg #102

Re: Spring

OOC : crazy here, sigh.

There was no way to prevent the fire, it was a freak accident, a bolt out of the blue...

As to the mirror, it's looking duller and duller by the hour. In fact, it may the light playing tricks, but is it turning to iron?

OOC : there was an open action from a post above, to search or not for a wizard and, if so, which of the options.
Ataraxia
player, 75 posts
Tue 27 Jul 2021
at 01:40
  • msg #103

Re: Spring

On the one hand, it would be very disappointing if the mirror turned to iron. On the other, that much gold could never be spent fruitfully in a short enough time to make a real difference, as compared to something more directly useful, like food. Dumping that much gold into a society makes everything painfully expensive and only ends up harming the poor. At least, that's what the old masters say.

I will, of course, go to the city to search for a wizard of suitably great knowledge. Maybe they can even teach me some more spells. It has been a long time since I learned new spells.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 86 posts
Tue 27 Jul 2021
at 13:54
  • msg #104

Re: Spring

Ok, let's assume you take the normal precautions, leave someone keeping an eye on the city, instruct the guards, etc. The nearest city to the North is Luskan, 'City of Sails'.

Luskan is a seafaring merchant city, home to fierce, proud and warlike Northmen. This important northern port city is located at the mouth of the river Mirar, a swift and icy, cold and rocky, unnavigable river.

Although it seeks merchant trade, visitors are few and often made to feel unwelcome. This probably has much to do with the fact that Luskan is a known harbour for northern pirates, if not an outright sponsor of their activities.

If you chose anonymity and decided to stay an an inn, then be forwarned that inns that serve travellers are rare; The Cutlass, a notorious dive on the docks (a pirate haven no doubt) and the Seven Sails Inn are the only known lodgings in the city.

Besides those inns and all the residences, the most notorious public buildings and locations are:
Reavers Muster Hall (the court of Law)
Captains Court (government palace)
Winter Palace (Temple of Auril)
Hall of Warriors (Temple of Tempus)
Red Dragon Trading Lodge & Warehouses
Dragon Beach (private harbor of the High Captains)
Illusk Ruins (Remnants of ancient Illusk)
Hosttower of the Arcane (mercantile company and wizards guild)
Ataraxia
player, 76 posts
Thu 29 Jul 2021
at 07:36
  • msg #105

Re: Spring

Ooooh, pirates. They could make a good army for world conqu-

Wait, what? What was I just thinking? Actually, pirates could make effective mercenaries or even soldiers, if properly motivated. Most pirates, like most brigands, at least as far as I know, don't choose their life of theft but rather have no other option if they want to survive. I wouldn't be the first person to organize a coalition of pirates into a fleet of liberation...

But hiring good-hearted adventurers and training an actual army would probably be better.

Why would I want to conquer the world anyway? That seems silly. Whatever!

I take on my human guise to visit Luskan, with bright red hair and a brighter smile. Of course, I am visibly armed, with a fine sword to complement my fine clothes; Luskan is not a place one wishes to go about without a weapon to deter scoundrels, thieves, and ne'er-do-wells. The finest room at the Seven Sails Inn will be in order, followed by a visit to the Hosttower. They're wizards, after all, and they work for money, do they not?
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 87 posts
Mon 2 Aug 2021
at 08:17
  • msg #106

Re: Spring

At the Hosttower, they seem duly impressed with your fine appearance. You get a feeling that everyone you speak with is making a quick total on the total sum value of your clothes, equipment and jewellery. They do not seem particularly fussed finding out exactly who you are. In a short time, a rather unctuous individual in dark wizard robes comes to meet you, he introduces himself as Dendybar, the Mottled, a 'humble servant of that great wizard that rules the Hosttower, Arklem Greeth'.

After an elaborate gesticulation as he introduces himself he 'gets down to business' by enquiring who are you and what may the Hosttower do for you?
Ataraxia
player, 77 posts
Sun 8 Aug 2021
at 10:08
  • msg #107

Re: Spring

I inform the seedy fellow, Dendybar, that I seek the services of a scholar of languages and also of magic, possibly two people if necessary, to translate a passage I found inscribed on a huge enchanted mirror, which originally appeared to be made of gold but has since proved to be of some baser metal.

I took notes!
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 88 posts
Mon 9 Aug 2021
at 14:46
  • msg #108

Re: Spring

He raises an eyebrow at the mention of 'huge' and 'gold' but seems visibly deflated at the mention of 'baser metal'.

He mentions that they are 'always interested in new knowledge', unfortunately , expenses will be incurred, time will be spent, 'this can take a long time if no proper effort' is made, he wonders if you could confirm who are you and how will you pay for their expenses?
Ataraxia
player, 78 posts
Fri 13 Aug 2021
at 04:24
  • msg #109

Re: Spring

I explain that I am landed nobility, giving the location and my lands. Even though they are cold, the soil is good, the fishing better, and the land full of mineral wealth, all of which I have the rights to tax, as well as road taxes. I also hold my lands in allodium, that is, not subject to confiscation by a higher authority, so they can be assured of the reliability of my finances.

Fortunately for them, I am also a dragon, so my natural propensity for stockpiling shiny stuff has resulted in plenty of ready coin, which most nobles do not have. Taxes are almost always paid in kind, rather than money.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 89 posts
Fri 13 Aug 2021
at 14:13
  • msg #110

Re: Spring

As impossible as it seems they become even more unctuous.  They clearly value the fact that money is available. He apologizes profusely, leaves your for a minute and returns with another fellow in tow. An youngish male, at best in his very early 30s, he introduces himself as Vermillion (and promptly his face turns red).

After a bit of rambling, he finally makes it clear that he will be joining you on your return so that he can study the item...
Ataraxia
player, 79 posts
Wed 18 Aug 2021
at 08:57
  • msg #111

Re: Spring

I need to get back on the wagon.

I introduce myself genially to Vermillion. He has an interesting name. Isn't that a kind of dye? Naturally, he will be receiving my hospitality; any noble worth their position provides room and board to people staying in their home.

Once I've taken him out of the city, he is probably curious as to why I do not have any guards with me. I am not shy about demonstrating that I am a very large dragon, and that I can and will carry him home. Not riding me, though; that is ridiculous. Unless of course he objects, in which case I shall have to hire a coach.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 90 posts
Thu 19 Aug 2021
at 14:36
  • msg #112

Re: Spring

OOC : I'm going on the basis that you go about it in a 'see (transforms) I'm also a dragon' way.

He recoils in shock, a rather surprised development for a supposed learned wizard. Clearly, if he reads a lot of books, he's not used to having to face what he read in the books in reality. He makes a mini-dash for any immediate cover and stays behind well away from you.
Ataraxia
player, 80 posts
Sat 21 Aug 2021
at 19:32
  • msg #113

Re: Spring

Mmmmyes. That is correct. MISCHIEF. =3

"Oh come on," I say, rolling my eyes. This is probably much more intimidating coming from a massive, sleekly muscular predator the size of two barns put together. I should have thought of that. Oops.

"Look, I can fly there and we can be home before dinner or we can take a coach and be there in five days. If I was gonna eat you, I would've done it already."

I do not go over to where he is. It would be easy to just step over the rock and grab him, but that would also make the situation worse.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 91 posts
Tue 24 Aug 2021
at 15:37
  • msg #114

Re: Spring

He peeks out of the meagre protection he's behind to take another look at you. You can see his pale face and the panic on his face. You can see him taking a deep breath before tentatively coming out.

He stops after a couple of stops showing no desire to move closer. 'Who... who... are you?...' is all he can ask.
Ataraxia
player, 81 posts
Wed 25 Aug 2021
at 17:22
  • msg #115

Re: Spring

Dragons don't exactly have the same facial expressions as humans, but we have some of them. One of those is wide-eyed innocence. I have no idea what he's on about.

"I am Ataraxia, Duchess of Whitecoast. I already said so." Slow blinking. "Should I be somebody else?"

Perhaps I should have considered that my multi-tonal draconic voice is very intimidating to most humans before I started talking. Whoopsie. I also probably should have considered that the human is barely the size of one of my claws. But humans are so little! I want to pet them. What's wrong with that?

I forgot what the name of her province was! Derp. Did it have a name? I can't find it. I am very bad at finding things. Feel free to correct my post if her province had a different name.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 92 posts
Fri 27 Aug 2021
at 14:06
  • msg #116

Re: Spring

OOC: Never agreed on a name. It has now been officially named and entered into the annals of history.

He seems to hesitate a bit and you notice his look is directed towards your claws. 'You said I could not ride you... so how would you carry me?...'
Ataraxia
player, 82 posts
Mon 30 Aug 2021
at 06:34
  • msg #117

Re: Spring

I require vast reserves of will to avoid cooing at the human wizard. I attempt to remain dignified and respectful and am hopefully successful.

"Like so," I demonstrate, carefully picking up a medium-sized rock with my right forepaw.

"Now there's a question. Do dragons have paws? Or do we have claws? Paws have claws but claws have talons. Cats have claws, and our bodies are somewhat like cats. Birds have claws, and our bodies are somewhat like birds."

These are life's important questions.

I only realize in retrospect that I have started looking at the sky and voiced that second part out loud.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 93 posts
Tue 7 Sep 2021
at 13:40
  • msg #118

Re: Spring

The poor wizard was listening to you rumbling monologue in awe. When you finally look at him he takes a couple of steps back, just in case.

In a rather low voice he starts '...well, there are also talons... a claw is a curved, pointed nail on the digits of an animal. A talon is a sharp, hooked claw of a bird of prey. That means all talons are claws, but not all claws are talons... anyway...' he loudly sighs '...talons or claws, I'm ready to go...'
Ataraxia
player, 83 posts
Tue 14 Sep 2021
at 10:09
  • msg #119

Re: Spring

We need to start posting daily again. I should lead by example!

I have to narrow my pupils to mild slits to get a good look at his face. It's not that he's far away or I have bad eyesight. Probably. Wait, do I have bad eyesight? What's normal eyesight, for a dragon?

I have so many questions. I have always had many questions. This often irritated my tutors.

"Great!"

I reach for him with my forepaw and pick him up, gently. He is very small and probably quite fragile. This makes taking off slightly awkward, but I have a lot of practice holding things while flying, so it's almost second nature. In fact, I bet I'm better at holding stuff and flying than any dragon out there. Probably.

Anyway, off we go! Much faster than the human has likely ever traveled before. Rapid beats to gain altitude, then slow, stately flaps to maintain.

I wonder if it's acceptable for dragons to keep people as pets. This is not the first time I have wondered about that. If I started acting like a proper dragon, with a mountain lair and that sort of thing, I'd want a bunch of cute mortals around to play with.

Mortals? What kind of a thought is that? Dragons are mortal too. I think.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 94 posts
Thu 16 Sep 2021
at 14:36
  • msg #120

Re: Spring

If you look down during flight, you can see that the wizard kept his eyes closed and is mumbling something for the part of the flight. Probably a prayer.

Your flight is rather uneventful and, for a change, this time no unfortunate events have happened in your absence, in fact, you could see as you flew in that the fire damage has begun to repaired. Your peasants are active at work.

(slight step forward)
After you landed, it takes some minutes and a stiff brandy for the wizard to recover his composure. He was stammering so much after landing that it was virtually impossible to understanding him.

Now recovered he takes a bit of time to look at his surroundings. He seems surprised you live in a house, not a cave.
Ataraxia
player, 84 posts
Fri 17 Sep 2021
at 04:20
  • msg #121

Re: Spring

Well good! One wildfire was quite enough for the month. It occurs to me that I might be able to convince this wizard guy to teach me some more magic. Or at least sell me grimoires. His order seems pretty interested in money.

I live in a manor! I have the maids prepare a room for him in the solar. He'll be a guest for a while and try to figure out what the business is with that strange magic mirror and the odd visitor. Speaking of which! I'll show him to my library, which may not have much in the way of arcane lore but of which I'm quite proud. I'm also looking forward to playing table games with him; I haven't had a new opponent in a while. Double also, I should show him that magic mirror that used to be made of gold but isn't anymore! And the copies of the inscriptions I made! Can he make something of them?
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 95 posts
Fri 17 Sep 2021
at 13:45
  • msg #122

Re: Spring

One of the things he seems more impressed is at the prospect of having his own lodgings in the manor. You quickly get the impression he's quite happy to be away from his fellow wizards. When shown to the library he immerses himself in it rather quickly and you have to virtually drag him out to have a look at the mirror. The mirror now looks like rusty cast iron. He looks dubiously at it and kind of shrugs as to what it might be. Upon looking at the inscriptions he perks up. He briefly glances at them, asks twice if the inscription was really on that bit of rusty metal he has just seen, when you confirm he looks dubiously at them. He's silent for a lon while looking at them and then asks another question 'So, how did you get hold of that bit of metal that used to look like gold?'
Ataraxia
player, 85 posts
Fri 17 Sep 2021
at 23:43
  • msg #123

Re: Spring

"A ghost!"

But anyway, I tell him the story, of a shade-dragon, a mysterious lady, and something about Drekytoaster. Also I fought a great big illusion dragon. I definitely remember their names. Yes.

I do not have to go check my notes to get their names for him. Not at all. That is not the case. Nope.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 96 posts
Tue 21 Sep 2021
at 09:22
  • msg #124

Re: Spring

He's rather literally goggle-eyed as you tell him the story. he gets visibly stuck on a point and asks you repeatedly, at several stages, if it was really someone that called herself 'Aurgloroasa' that you met. It gets somewhat unnerving that he keeps asking the same thing. He then starts to explain his fascination.

She was the first record of a dragon that could transform into an human. By all records she should have been dead for aeons now. Unless it was all very well crafted myth, or someone impersonating her, she was the linchpin of something called the 'cult of the dragon', they were a bunch of rather crazy people that thought they had devised a way to control dragons and use them to obtain power. Aurgloroasa, as rumours go, devoured (literally) the core cult members and that was that. But this happened thousands of years ago, even for draconic life spans, it was too long for she to still be parading herself in the world. Or is it?... What was so unique about her was that she was a master manipulator. She cleverly served the cult as long as it served her interests, they allowed her to expand her territory and hoard by helping her defeat other dragons. When they stopped serving her purpose, she finished them. He had never read of her actually gifting anything to anyone without that gift being entirely in her own interest.

After that he was silent for a time before concluding by saying, the illusion dragon seemed to be serving Aurgloroasa. That is very, very bad. She's obviously got an hold on him, last time she was manipulating dragons and people, she ate a cult, destroyed who knows how many dragons, and demolished a couple of kingdoms.

He shook his head... he was certain it all myth and someone was just playing you along. He then asks if you can take him to the hoard of Drekytoaster. He clearly is starting to see the advantages of having a big red dragon on his side.
Ataraxia
player, 86 posts
Tue 28 Sep 2021
at 03:48
  • msg #125

Re: Spring

I confirm that it was such a person. I have a little trouble saying her name, and it gets more difficult the more often I have to repeat it. After the tenth time saying "Aurgloroasa," I've practically lost the ability to pronounce the name, and I start giggling and fumbling over it.

After I recover from the giggles, with occasional relapses, I make sure to describe the apparent poor conditions she showed up in, her threadbare dress and beaten-down coach.

I venture that Aurgloroasa was pretty open about wanting me to find Drekytoaster's treasure so that she could have a finder's fee. Does Vermillion think she might have had some ulterior motive, assuming she wasn't an illusion or impersonation or something like that?

I tell him that I'll need to carry him again if he wants to see the place where the hoard is supposed to be. I'm fine taking him; getting in is supposedly suicide from way too many traps. But I can show him the cave at least.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 97 posts
Wed 29 Sep 2021
at 13:51
  • msg #126

Re: Spring

Rather more confident of himself he chuckles when you ask if Aurgloroasa could have ulterior motives...

'If she was around, she would be very personification of ulterior motives, she never did anything that wasn't double-sided, she never showed anything other than a two-faced duplicity...'
he then goes dead serious and gets visibly paler '...I'm still assuming we are talking about someone impersonating her... if you were now to tell me you saw a green sibilant dragon, then we would have to consider the serious possibility she was somehow around... fighting also supposedly extinct dragons, helped by phantom dragons... this would be like a return to the age of dragons...' he gets even paler '...that was not a good time for humans...'

Then, bolder as you have ever seen him 'Can we go and see that cave now?...'
Ataraxia
player, 87 posts
Thu 30 Sep 2021
at 05:01
  • msg #127

Re: Spring

"Uh. Wait here!"

I have to check my notes. Was there a green sibilant dragon?

I come jogging back into the solar and consulting what I'd written down. Fortunately, I used parchment, which is expensive but keeps very well. I knew it would be important!

Following with my finger in my notes, "The ghost dragon was named Ogothr. There was a green dragon with a thick sibilant accent that Ogothr called the Sibilant Shade. She introduced herself as Prasinokailampera."

Saying "Prasinokailampera" with a human mouth and tongue is very difficult and I stumble over it a few times before I get it right.

I look back up at Vermillion excitedly, with a puppy-like glee. Excitement!

"Oh, the cave. Right, sure!" I close the book but leave a piece of leather in it to mark my place. Then I hike up my skirt and run outside to the open lawn I use for transforming, taking off, and landing. I bounce excitedly, waiting for the wizard to come out.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 98 posts
Mon 4 Oct 2021
at 19:28
  • msg #128

Re: Spring

He drags a bit behind you, you can see he's gone paler again and stays a considerable distance, even after you have finished turning into a dragon, only moving closer very tentatively.

The flight is uneventful. As you both arrive at the cave entrance he mutters some incantations, sniffs a bit and then looks doubtfully at you querying if this is indeed the right place. He eventually enters the cave quite gingerly... as you go down the large entrance, the place sounds eerily empty, your steps echoing loudly. As the place where the hoard was, there now is... nothing.

Vermillion does not seem surprised. He looks slightly worried and moves a fair few steps away from you before speaking.

'They duped you. There's no magical traces of a dragon hoard here... whatever they did, they did because they needed you to get that piece of iron with the inscription, or to get you to fight the other dragon , Dreky-something... question now is why...'

Ataraxia
player, 88 posts
Wed 13 Oct 2021
at 23:58
  • msg #129

Re: Spring

I could swear I already posted. I blame Kevin.

I try to remain patient with the human wizard. His nervous is understandable, in an abstract way, though I can't remember ever being afraid of anything so I don't fully comprehend why he is scared of being picked up and carried by a dragon.

In the cave, I tap my tongue against my teeth. In my true, gigantic, draconic body, I am not able to actually tsk, but I can get close.

"I suspected as much," I reply with my polyphonic voice, "But I hoped otherwise. I suppose there are more mysteries to investigate, then. By the by."

I look down at the tiny human in front of me, as he inspects the cave walls. "I would pay well for a tutor in the mystic sciences."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 99 posts
Fri 15 Oct 2021
at 11:45
  • msg #130

Re: Spring

Kevin, always up to no good.

Vermillion spends quite a bit of time moving around the cave, mostly mumbling to himself, eventually he stops and approaches you.

'Not sure I would be a good tutor of mystic sciences... you know, this was a dragon cave, centuries ago... maybe there was some truth to what you were told. I wonder how they got you to see a treasure here, dragon's are usually able to see through magic rather well... very interesting. I wonder if that object really is iron...' he was clearly turning into teaching mode... '...I'm beginning to doubt everything we see regarding this, maybe there is a treasure here and we cannot see it now, maybe the object is actually gold and is now looking like iron...' he looks dubiously at you '...a dragon should be able to see through the veil of dragon magic... so may the magic is not dragon magic, maybe it's some sort of human sorcery... do you have many enemies?... Powerful enemies?...' 
Ataraxia
player, 89 posts
Sat 16 Oct 2021
at 10:40
  • msg #131

Re: Spring

If I had the appropriate anatomy, I would put my palm over my face. What a silly fellow. "Magic, Vermillion. Spellcraft."

I take his suggestion despite his silliness and use my own Detect Magic spell to see, hear, taste, smell, and touch the fabric of magic around me. If there is any, of course. A few consonants and vowels is all that spell takes; it's the simplest one I know.

I start looking around, from my much higher vantage point with much better eyesight, plus the ability to see in the dark, listening to Vermillion talk.

"To be honest with you, I don't know. My parents' rivals, that is to say, the rivals of the humans who cared for me and raised me to adulthood, decided that it was in their best interests to make peace when it became known that a full-grown dragon was fiercely protective of my parents. I imagine I've got a few resentful rivals I just don't know about because they're careful to not catch my attention."

I look down at him, towering over and eclipsing him completely. I am a bit surprised how quickly he forgot just how tiny he is by comparison to myself.

"Can you blame them?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 100 posts
Wed 20 Oct 2021
at 14:15
  • msg #132

Re: Spring

You can detect magic, but you cannot pierce whatever magic is at play here. It feels familiar, hence you guess probably draconic in origin, but you also get a sense you are dealing with magic an order of magnitude above yours...

quote:
"Can you blame them?"


Vermillion shrugs. Noting you towering above him he carefully scuttles away from your legs.

'No... not really... I think there's something here on this cave, but cannot understand it... yet... so I guess this level of magic would be a cut above any petty human rivalry... what about dragon rivalry?...' 
Ataraxia
player, 90 posts
Fri 22 Oct 2021
at 05:20
  • msg #133

Re: Spring

I don't know what magic is at work. I only know it is there. It is very strong, though, I think.

I blink slowly, draconic pupils contracted to slits to focus on the human in front of me. Just one of my claws is larger than him, and the outermost scales that protect my legs are as big as horses. I'm surprised he forgot I was there.

"What you say could be the case. There were a few different dragons involved, as far as I know. We will stay here as long as you need to search the cavern and make copies of any inscriptions, writings, or symbols you find. Then we may return for a meal and rest."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 101 posts
Tue 26 Oct 2021
at 09:42
  • msg #134

Re: Spring

It takes him a good while looking at walls, humming, tutting, moaning, ‘AH!’ loud exclamations. After a time sitting pensive on the floor Vermillion calls your attention.

‘This is quite remarkable… there is an inscription, written rather beautifully along the walls of the entire cave, it seems written by human hand, it was too…ermmm… small, for dragon writing… if that’s even a thing… anyway, it connects two dragons you mentioned. To cut it short, Dretchroyaster and Aurgloroasa were… building a nest?... I think that’s the best description… but Aurgloroasa seems to have double-crossed Dretchroyaster. She sealed the cave magically when his hoard was in here and took possession of it. Now, Dretchroyaster went berserk, many battles and fights, lots of destruction, but he managed to get hold, not sure how but it seems he had some external help, of not only his hoard but also Aurgloroasa’s. Dramatically, to make sure she never got it, he sealed himself inside a magical barrier, together with both hoards and thus seemed to have died in here. No more mentions of Aurgloroasa’s fate… I had never heard this tale before… It also mentions a ‘keystone’ that held the entire magical barrier together… I think it’s time we go back and had another look at that bit of iron… you mentioned you met with someone called Aurgloroasa… can you find her again?...’

Ataraxia
player, 91 posts
Thu 28 Oct 2021
at 07:23
  • msg #135

Re: Spring

I let out a long sigh. I do not know that, by draconic standards, I am very attractive. How would I, having never had close relationships with another dragon?

The idea of a relationship, of romance, does not appeal to me, for exactly the reasons that seem to be playing out in story form.

I hold up one claw to gesture. "The language of dragons is written with a series of wedges and lines, which we can make with our claws."

Like Sumerian! Which also has the benefit of being a language isolate almost completely incomprehensible to outsiders and really old.

"Dragons engaged in betrayal and spiteful revenge. I suppose we are no better than humans, in that way. I believe I could speak with her again, if I sent a messenger. Her bedraggled carriage was very strange, and it would fit with someone who'd had their wealth taken. What else is there? Can you see anything else? Even graffiti or scratchings of minion creatures."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 102 posts
Thu 28 Oct 2021
at 13:48
  • msg #136

Re: Spring

He shrugs... he seems hesitant to answer as if not wanting to disappointing the gigantic being towering over him...

'No... nothing else... not unusual you see!... Very rarely we find loads of writings but then again, we assume we know where dragon lair's are. There're plenty of knights with high tales of dragon slaying.. but...' he points and him and at you '...there are obvious difficulties for them to be very believable...'

He look around and then 'Yes, I think we definitely should contact Aurgloroasa... even is she IS a dragon, we should be ok...' he again points at you.
Ataraxia
player, 92 posts
Sat 30 Oct 2021
at 02:47
  • msg #137

Re: Spring

"Gigantic" would be an understatement. Other than the illusion dragon, I'd never see any living thing even close to my natural size before. I spend most of my time in a human-sized, if very tall, shape so that I don't have to eat an entire herd every month to survive.

"If you think there's nothing else to be found, let us go back, and you can examine that old iron disc and review my notes on its inscriptions again. Perhaps your education will allow you to have some insight I do not."

Presuming he doesn't have anything else to say and doesn't interrupt, I pick him up again, gingerly of course, since he is very tiny and would go splat if I were not careful. Then I fly back home, deposit him, transform back into my human shape, and take the mage back to my solar to do as mentioned.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 103 posts
Mon 1 Nov 2021
at 13:01
  • msg #138

Re: Spring

Ok, at this stage you have some options:

a) You can wait for Vermillion to complete his research, mind you, at this moment, he does not know how long it will take, or even if it will produce any result.
b) You can try to find Aurgloroasa, whilst he does his research.
c) You can try any other course of action you want, he'll just keep at his research as long as you allow him and do not eat him.

Ataraxia
player, 93 posts
Tue 2 Nov 2021
at 07:48
  • msg #139

Re: Spring

Finding Aurgloroasa seems like the best thing to try to me. Unfortunately, I am perhaps the single worst noble at hunting I have ever met. I might be able to find traces of her with a spell to sniff out magic, maybe, or if I look very closely.

I'll give that a shot, but I don't think I'll find anything. So, before I go to do that, while tending to my duties as liege of the land, holding court, settling disputes among the peasants, and that sort of thing, I ask around my household if anybody knows and woodsmen, rangers, or even druids who might know how to track quarry able to conceal itself with magic.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 104 posts
Tue 2 Nov 2021
at 17:26
  • msg #140

Re: Spring

She did mention her 'domains', so that might make it easier to track. I'll update this in the morrow!
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 105 posts
Thu 4 Nov 2021
at 10:14
  • msg #141

Re: Spring

Your enquiries into how best to track down Aurgloroasa quickly come to fruition from a most unexpected side. Your Steward quietly notes to you that since she announced she had 'domains', someone is bound to know them. Given she arrived in her own carriage, she either made it by road, which means she's not far, or she brought her carriage in a ship and then rode here from the nearest harbour. Either way, discrete enquiries in Luskan and Waterdeep should bring something to light quickly. If she came by boat, then Luskan's harbour was the nearest, failing that Waterdeep. If her domains are nearby, then the Lords of Waterdeep must have knowledge of them...
Ataraxia
player, 94 posts
Fri 5 Nov 2021
at 03:35
  • msg #142

Re: Spring

That is an interesting and fine idea. I will have to check my notes to see how she introduced herself. Huh, just as Aurgloroasa. Well, that makes things easier.

"Discrete" is not my specialty. Or even really in my vocabulary. I can just barely sort of manage to hide if I'm not too bored. Being more than twice the size of a large barn and physically very powerful, I've never had a need for subtlety. Of course, I know it might have been useful sometimes. But that's in the past or something. Maybe.

The point is that I should go to Waterdeep. Flying is the fastest way, and they won't shoot a dragon on sight. Probably. Or they can, and I can giggle when their silly weapons tickle, then we can talk like adults.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 106 posts
Tue 9 Nov 2021
at 08:07
  • msg #143

Re: Spring

Sorry for the delay. I'll take a leap of faith that you will follow advice, if you go into terror mode, just let me know and I'll amend accordingly. Also, I'm assuming you are going solo?

Given that you were advised that Waterdeep would probably shot first and not only with arrows (the Lords have a substantial arsenal of magic at their disposal) you decide to fly and then conveniently change back to human mode closer to the city. This is highly inconvenient clothing wise, but you make do.

The city if full of people. You can see why it is such a valuable crossroads city, sailors, merchants, caravans all gather here. There's an array of assorted smells from the diverse food being cooked and sold by street vendors, smelling the possibility of money, street vendors try to sell you something whenever you go past one. Despite the crowd the city seems remarkably orderly, probably helped by a steady presence of the local militia and the reputation of the Lords as rather stern leaders that are prone to deal harsh punishments to those they don't like.

Now, where to? Virtually everything you can think off will be available in one way or another in here.
Ataraxia
player, 95 posts
Wed 10 Nov 2021
at 05:19
  • msg #144

Re: Spring

Awwwww. No fun! Oh well. =p

Well I have some money! Not a fantastically huge amount of wealth to sling around willy-nilly; I do have to keep a decent budget to make sure that I have enough to cover my own expenses for the foreseeable future, ensure supplies and wages for my staff and retainers (you'd be surprised how many soldiers a dragon needs to keep in order to make sure her lands are safe!), pay for projects and maintenance, and so forth. It can really add up.

Also, those things smell good!

I can't help but gravitate to the apple dumplings. And the mince pies. And the...I don't even know how to pronounce that. It's some kind of egg thing.

No wait! You're here for the information. Yes. A registration of landholdings. Is there some kind of great hall in this city? Somewhere the Lords of Waterdeep hold court?

Or maybe a library? That would be amazing. I've never been in a library before!
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 107 posts
Wed 10 Nov 2021
at 14:55
  • msg #145

Re: Spring

You will be happy to know, both are available in the Castle Ward:

Palace of Waterdeep
The white marble palace of the city's Lords. The shining tower houses the Lords' court, embassies from other city-states and nations and the offices of city officials, including those from the City Guard and Watch.

Font of Knowledge: Known too as the Great Library, this sprawling repository of knowledge is tended by the clergy of Oghma who worked with various groups like the Scriveners', Scribes', & Clerks' Guild and the bards college of New Olamn to provide wisdom and understanding to all the citizens of Waterdeep.

Ataraxia
player, 96 posts
Sun 14 Nov 2021
at 09:23
  • msg #146

Re: Spring

While I nearly drool over the prospect of all those delicious books, I'm actually in the city to see official records of known landholders. The web of alliances, fealties, and lordships is probably mind-boggling in complexity, which might be intimidating to a lesser mind. But I am a genius! Probably. This is going to get boring, isn't it?
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 108 posts
Sun 14 Nov 2021
at 16:03
  • msg #147

Re: Spring

Sorry, need to ask as I'm in a little doubt here, are you going to see the palace first?
Ataraxia
player, 97 posts
Mon 15 Nov 2021
at 17:14
  • msg #148

Re: Spring

Yep, palace first. Side quests are tempting but this isn't a video game. =3
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 109 posts
Tue 16 Nov 2021
at 14:03
  • msg #149

Re: Spring

The road to the castle was long and winding. Watch towers guarded it at regular points. Despite this, you could see the walls towering over the adjacent city, coloured banners on display.

As you make your way, you can see an even bigger presence of the City Guard when compared to the city itself. A steady movement of people going and leaving the castle makes its presence felt, you almost collide with a couple of people that were engrossed in their conversation.

As you reach the castle gate, you get your first taste of the Lord's bureaucracy and are sent not to the castle itself but to an adjacent low level stone building. A queue has formed outside, under the rather eerie sight of a body hanging from the walls. A sign stuck to it merely reads 'BANDIT'. After some more re-directions, you are eventually directed to the 'Hall of Registers'.

When you reach it, the 'hall' is actually a small windowless room with a door open ajar. When you enter you can see and feel the dust hanging in the air. A rather bored looking young woman sits at an empty undecorated timber desk. Behind her, on top of a sturdy lectern sits a huge book, impressive as much for its size as for its gilded decoration. There is no other furniture in the room, so you have to stand. She raises an eyebrow when she looks at you, which seems to be a sign for you to state the nature of your enquiry.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:06, Tue 16 Nov 2021.
Ataraxia
player, 98 posts
Wed 17 Nov 2021
at 23:54
  • msg #150

Re: Spring

Bonus points for using "enquiry" correctly in a sentence. =3

Now where are the crowds of admirers? =PPPPP


Having to walk on the ground everywhere would be a terrible mood depressor if the city wasn't so colorful and interesting. I may just have to mind the smell. And the dirt. My natural radiant charisma and beauty push crowds aside, either in fear or awe, depending on the person, so I probably don't get a real feel for what living in Waterdeep is like, not that I would want one. I'm glad I brought boots, a short cloak, and a mid-length skirt instead of something fancier.

I ask somebody what that body and BANDIT sign are about. I've had to have some bandits executed, but displaying the body seems rather morbid and unnecessary.

Why let that meat go to waste? is the thought that I do not vocalize or pay much attention to. I have been tempted to eat people before. Only evildoers of course! Never anybody else. No. Definitely not people who annoy me. I wonder if mustard goes well with roasted human...

No, bad me! Bad self! I pat my own cheeks at my mild blushing embarrassment of thoughts only I can hear. Probably. Unless there's some kind of mind reading mage around, which I suppose is possible. Oh I hope not. That would be extra embarassing!

Ah uh. Here I am.

I wave and smile winningly. I'm very tall and absolutely gorgeous, as a human. And a dragon too! But right now I'm a human. Ooh, maybe this records lady has heard of me. I stand with a straight and majestic posture. My well-fitted bronzed breastplate shows off my figure and my cleavage, my skirt doesn't quite reach my knees, my boots have fetching filigree, and my crimson cloak and white tunic show off my perfect hourglass figure and athletic build. I'm quite proud of my body, even my tiny (but big for a human) shapeshifted human body. Yes. Surely this mortal will acknowledge my greatness! Or at least my gorgeousness!

Grandiose self-importance mode, activate!

"Hello there. I'm Ataraxia. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've come looking to see if there are any records of an Aurgloroasa as a landholder in your archives, either in Waterdeep territory or elsewhere."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 110 posts
Thu 18 Nov 2021
at 15:48
  • msg #151

Re: Spring

quote:
...Yes. Surely this mortal will acknowledge my greatness! Or at least my gorgeousness!

"Hello there. I'm Ataraxia. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've come looking to see if there are any records of an Aurgloroasa as a landholder in your archives, either in Waterdeep territory or elsewhere."


She was not suitably impressed. Then again, this is the biggest Castle in the entire north, so maybe she had a fair sure of Lords, Ladies, Kings and Queens was just not impressed by it any more.

After a few minutes of wrestling with the spelling for 'Aurgloroasa' (she sighed a lot during this), she turns around, opens the book and starts writing in it. It's pretty obvious to you that it is a magical book, not only by what's happening in front of your eyes, but you can also feel the magic emanating from it.

The book starts auto-writing and, when it finishes, the girl starts reading it. Her voice is... hard to describe... for some reason melodious does not seem to even get anywhere near describing it, every syllable, every word, every punctuation mark is clearly defined, the intonation is... perfect. Not only that, she's reading a dry extent of public records and it sounds... interesting.

What she reads is a title deed under that name, well, noted as Lady Aurgloroasa of Winterfare. The title deed is a description of geographical locations at the boundary.

(successful perception roll)

The locations sound familiar and you mentally travel the land as the locations are read. You realize that the cave you travelled to (Dreky's cave) is in it, but that the area her holdings occupy is immense and... that it includes a small portion of your own holdings.
Ataraxia
player, 99 posts
Thu 18 Nov 2021
at 20:03
  • msg #152

Re: Spring

Her voice is beautiful and special. I put my hands on her desk and lean forward with excitement and joy in my wide eyes.

"What is your name, and how are you doing that with your voice? Your intonation, diction, and flow are wonderful. It must be magic, right? Wow! Can you teach me? Please?"

If I had my tail, it would be wagging with excitement. I've nearly forgotten about Aurgloroasa. Any hint of new magic has me quivering with interest and glee.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 111 posts
Fri 19 Nov 2021
at 15:04
  • msg #153

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"What is your name, and how are you doing that with your voice? Your intonation, diction, and flow are wonderful. It must be magic, right? Wow! Can you teach me? Please?"


The girl suddenly looks at her feet, hesitates. She seems to have been taken aback by your compliment. She then starts speaking, her voice now, normal?...

'Ermm... it's... the book... it only works when I'm reading from it... I'm Merey...'
and then, with obviously recovered pride '...Herald to the Lords of Waterdep.'
Ataraxia
player, 100 posts
Sat 20 Nov 2021
at 03:16
  • msg #154

Re: Spring

I am only slightly disappointed, and I stand up to my full and considerable, if still human, height. "Well! It's a pleasure to meet you, Merey. You can probably find my name in that ledger if you look. Is it some kind of magical book that keeps records without anyone making entries? Ah, I would very much like one of its kind, to learn how it works, so that I can make my voice like that! Will you sell it to me or teach me the method of its creation?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 112 posts
Mon 22 Nov 2021
at 10:09
  • msg #155

Re: Spring

She visibly recoils in shock. She looks dubiously at you and seems to be hesitating to do something.

'I don't care if your name is in the book or not, this book is the property of the Lords, it would be a crime to sell it... or for you to try to take it!...'
she says in a most determined way.
Ataraxia
player, 101 posts
Mon 22 Nov 2021
at 20:46
  • msg #156

Re: Spring

"I don't want to take it, I want one like it, so I can understand how your voice worked that way, that's all. Do you know where the book came from or who made it?"

I've got that sparkling look in my eyes again, excited at the prospect of knowledge, which is the second-greatest of all treasures. After virtue.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 113 posts
Tue 23 Nov 2021
at 15:03
  • msg #157

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"I don't want to take it, I want one like it, so I can understand how your voice worked that way, that's all. Do you know where the book came from or who made it?"


She hesitates again and bites her lower lip. After having clearly made up her mind she says 'I'll call the Sergeant and he can take you to speak with the wizards...'

You failed a roll and succeeded at another one, there was a bit more of rolling in the background. In short, things will happen...
Ataraxia
player, 102 posts
Tue 23 Nov 2021
at 17:47
  • msg #158

Re: Spring

OH NO! Thiiiiings. *gasp* =P

I smile brightly, bouncing on my feet with anticipation.

"Thank you very much. While we wait for him, do you have records of transactions or purchases? If you look up my name in there, there should be a record of my own landholdings, and they'll overlap with some of Aurgloroasa's. I'd like to know if she's done anything underhanded. Or maybe if my parents sold some land and forgot to tell me."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 114 posts
Thu 25 Nov 2021
at 16:28
  • msg #159

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
..."Thank you very much. While we wait for him, do you have records of transactions or purchases? If you look up my name in there, there should be a record of my own landholdings, and they'll overlap with some of Aurgloroasa's. I'd like to know if she's done anything underhanded. Or maybe if my parents sold some land and forgot to tell me."...



After going through another spelling exercise, the girl goes back to her professional voice and starts reciting the tale of the lands now belonging to 'Lady Ataraxia'.

After going through some unknown names the lands become the possession of a certain... Lady Aurgloroasa of Winterfare (no mention on how they became her possesion). The Lady 'graciously' donated a stretch of her holdings to your parents for... 'valuable services rendered to her'.
Ataraxia
player, 103 posts
Sun 28 Nov 2021
at 05:59
  • msg #160

Re: Spring

I know, for practical purposes, ownership is a matter of possession. You either have something and can force others to get off it, or you don't own it.

I ask her if the lands in question have reverted back to ownership of Aurgloroasa due to some contract or other maneuvering. I also would like to know how exactly Waterdeep's government manages to get these records, since neither Aurgloroasa nor myself are subjects of the city-state.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 115 posts
Tue 30 Nov 2021
at 16:01
  • msg #161

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
I know, for practical purposes, ownership is a matter of possession. You either have something and can force others to get off it, or you don't own it.

I ask her if the lands in question have reverted back to ownership of Aurgloroasa due to some contract or other maneuvering. I also would like to know how exactly Waterdeep's government manages to get these records, since neither Aurgloroasa nor myself are subjects of the city-state.


She does not know how the lands change possession, the book only records the changes. It was common practice, back in the day, to go the the Palace and get the land possession recognized. In short, the Lords had the biggest muscle to ensure compliance, this gave them some power projection they would not normally have, place whoever they helped in their favour, etc.

OOC : totally failed Lore (Regional) roll, was trying to see if your deep memory would be triggered, but no...

Ataraxia
player, 104 posts
Wed 1 Dec 2021
at 00:48
  • msg #162

Re: Spring

Well, drat.

Do the records currently record Aurgloroasa as the owner of those lands, or do they record myself as such?

I have the information I came for and now I'm just after clarification. That and for someone to show me how this magic book was made. I want to figure out the magic behind it. That was a very interesting effect.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 116 posts
Wed 1 Dec 2021
at 12:19
  • msg #163

Re: Spring

For clarity, the records show you as owner (well, your parents and their heirs, which makes it yours) with a small stretch of land shown as still belonging to Aurgloroasa even though you were always lead to believe it was yours. (you know this bit of land and it's a small portion of woods and farmland, with a stream at the edge, you believed the stream was the border, but it's not)

The Sergeant will be there to take you to a wizard when you have no further queries.
Ataraxia
player, 105 posts
Fri 3 Dec 2021
at 02:03
  • msg #164

Re: Spring

I don't have more questions! But I do lean on the desk with confidence and poise, oozing charisma.

"Merey, I'm going to be seeing the countryside from the skies later. You want to see it with me? Meet me at the southern gates an hour before sunset."

I wink at her, then scooch off her desk and go with the sergeant to see the wizard.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 117 posts
Fri 3 Dec 2021
at 14:21
  • msg #165

Re: Spring

She looks surprised at you and say nothing as you leave with the gruff Sergeant. Without many words he takes you to another little annex to the castle, where your archetypical wizard (robes, pointy hat, long beard, old aged...) sits in a meditative state (or was he dozing off?) when you arrive. The Sergeant, rather curtly, tells him what you are after (well, his interpretation of it) and the wizard eventually opens his grey eyes and looks at you.

'Am I to understand you want to buy our Book of Registers?'
Ataraxia
player, 106 posts
Sat 4 Dec 2021
at 22:31
  • msg #166

Re: Spring

"Actually," I respond, brimming with excitement and bouncing on my feet, "I was hoping to learn how its enchantment works. The way Merey's voice flowed was positively enchanting, and I want to know how to do that with my voice, too. I thought that, by investigating the item and its magic I could puzzle out the enchantment and learn to reproduce it."

My smile is wide and genuine. I'm very interested in the topic.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 118 posts
Tue 7 Dec 2021
at 15:26
  • msg #167

Re: Spring

He drums his fingers on the ground near him before motioning for you to sit on the of the cushions spread out in the room.

'And why would he give those secrets away for nothing?...' he says, almost seeming to be talking more to himself more than to you. You can then feel the focus of his eyes, he looks at you head to toe. 'Tell me, can you do magic?...'
Ataraxia
player, 107 posts
Wed 8 Dec 2021
at 16:24
  • msg #168

Re: Spring

I sit down as he bids. I have to move my sash out of the way so that I don't plant my butt on it.

"I'm willing to pay of course," I answer, rocking back and forth slightly. "I know some spells, yes, but not very many. My parents weren't able to afford, or find, more than a couple tutors."

I grin brightly. "Would it help if I was a dragon?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 119 posts
Thu 9 Dec 2021
at 14:37
  • msg #169

Re: Spring

He rubs his beard as he seems to consider what you just said. The he opens his eyes and looks straight at you.

'What do you mean if you were a dragon?...'

Ataraxia
player, 108 posts
Sat 11 Dec 2021
at 07:50
  • msg #170

Re: Spring

I reply with great cheer. "I met this wizard, named Vermillion, and I hired him to look at some ancient writing I found in a cave. He said that dragons have especially powerful magic. I don't really know. But I'm a dragon, so I thought maybe that meant something."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 120 posts
Sat 11 Dec 2021
at 21:22
  • msg #171

Re: Spring

His eyes narrow.

'Ah, so you are Lady Ataraxia... Welcome to the Palace of Waterdeep... and you want to acquire the magic of the voice on the Book of Registers... I'm fairly certain we can come to an arrangement... I'm wondering... do you have the time to meet with one of the Lords? I'm certain he would be delighted to meet with you... we can go there now if you are available of course...'
Ataraxia
player, 109 posts
Sun 12 Dec 2021
at 23:19
  • msg #172

Re: Spring

I hold up my hand in greeting and keep grinning.

"Yep, that's me. I do have time. Thanks for the invitation. I came to town to check some records, so I'm not on a schedule. Do you know what this lord fellow wants to talk to me about?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 121 posts
Mon 13 Dec 2021
at 15:17
  • msg #173

Re: Spring

'Excellent!' he says and, amazingly nimbly for such a venerable figure, he gets up and leads the way.

'He has no idea you are here, but I think we can reach a mutual agreement and that needs a Lord's vetting...'


He walks to another building in the entrance yard. You notice by now that, for day-to-day business nobody need to enter the main Palace.

He takes into a study where, amongst piles of parchments and books, a middle-aged greying man sits. The wizard makes the introductions. He's Lord Vetinari, one of the Lords of Waterdeep. Quickly, yhe wizard outlines his thoughts, you want the enchantment, Waterdeep would be most glad to receive your support in times of need. Vetinari, who seems the 'straight-to-business' type turns the entire agreement into a single sentence.

'We'll be delighted to hand you the enchantment, and also our help with anything of the sort you may need, and you agree to enter your name into the roll of the defenders of Waterdeep. In short, if there's a war we want to know we can count on your draconic persona to help us.'

Ataraxia
player, 110 posts
Tue 14 Dec 2021
at 00:31
  • msg #174

Re: Spring

I look around, oohing and aahing appropriately.

"Hello, Lord Vetinari!

That's pretty vague, 'anything of the sort you may need.'"


I put my hands on my hips.

"I don't want to be the sort of dragon known for breaking her word. You want me to help you fight wars. Does that include aggressive wars? Or just defensive wars? And what is covered by 'anything of the sort?' Does that mean magical assistance, research, education, and really anything under that purview? Or is it more specific. I also don't want to have to negotiate for everything every time."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 122 posts
Tue 14 Dec 2021
at 12:48
  • msg #175

Re: Spring

The Lord smiles.

'Was hoping you did not notice that small detail... in any case, let's make it easy, you only have to help us if we're attacked, we'll help you with your magic studies, if you need any help with that...'
Ataraxia
player, 112 posts
Wed 15 Dec 2021
at 23:43
  • msg #176

Re: Spring

I pause for a while, to draw out the moment, then smirk. Of course they want my magnificence to protect them. They are vulnerable tiny humans after all!

With an enthusiastic nod, "Very well. I will help Waterdeep fight its aggressors and, in return, Waterdeep will provide me with instruction in the magical arts at my request. I trust you have a scribe or two to make copies for us to seal?"

I rummage about in my purse for my signet ring to impress in wax.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 123 posts
Thu 16 Dec 2021
at 12:45
  • msg #177

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"Very well. I will help Waterdeep fight its aggressors and, in return, Waterdeep will provide me with instruction in the magical arts at my request. I trust you have a scribe or two to make copies for us to seal?"


The Lords nods in agreement. A scribe is called, a text is dictated and ready for you to put your seal on it. The Lord goes first and seals it. The text very literally states that, in the event of Waterdeep being attacked you are obliged to come to their rescue, unless you are also being attacked, which would temporarily discharge the obligation.Penalty for failing to fulfil your obligations are rather standard hefty taxation penalties, in would make you a serf of Waterdeep if you failed to come to their rescue. In exchange, they place their wizardry at your call if you need help with such matters, as long as such help would not create a conflict of interest with their obligations to Waterdeep. In short, your average defence pact.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:48, Thu 16 Dec 2021.
Ataraxia
player, 113 posts
Thu 16 Dec 2021
at 23:12
  • msg #178

Re: Spring

Of course, there's a big "you and what army" question about how they would enforce the "penalty" for my failure to comply with the defense obligation.

I don't mention that. I do, however, ask what I will receive if Waterdeep fails to keep its obligation to provide me with magical instructors, researchers, and knowledge. Will Waterdeep pledge itself as my vassal in that case, in a reciprocal obligation?

If they are unwilling to do that, which I suspect that are, then I offer that, instead of my becoming Waterdeep's vassal in the event that I should fail to come to their defense, there should be a mutually equivalent penalty. Should either party fail to abide by the agreement, then the agreement shall be terminated and the offender shall pay the other party a sum of one hundred pounds of gold. That's a lot, enough to sting even the treasury of a large and wealthy city like Waterdeep, but not big enough to be ruinous for either of us.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 124 posts
Thu 23 Dec 2021
at 10:35
  • msg #179

Re: Spring

OOC : Sorry for the delay, it's that time of the year. BTW, Happy Christmas!

The Lord merely smiles when you mention Waterdeep becoming your vassal.

'You want to make money the condition for us fulfilling our side of the deal?... Ah... this modern world, nobody trusts a Lord's word any more...' he says with humorous sarcasm.

'So be it. Scribe, make a new treaty and let's get this signed... also, Lady Ataraxia, might I interest in joining the Lords for our meal?... Meanwhile, our good Wizard will get your enchantment... ready, or whatever the manufacturing is called...'
Ataraxia
player, 114 posts
Fri 24 Dec 2021
at 09:30
  • msg #180

Re: Spring

I forgive you, and it is in fact that time of year. Merry Christmas. ^_^

In reply to his protests, I answer, projecting majesty and authority, "I want to make our obligations mutual and just, Lord Vetinari. I do not distrust your word or discount a lord's oath. On the other hand, because I respect you and your city, I ask for respect in turn. I will not be yoked unequally, and I am not a fool. I am a dragon, proud, noble, and mighty, not a serf, and I shall not be made one."

But the serious cast disappears and a mischievous twinkle appears when dinner is mentioned.

"Be careful not to tempt a dragon's appetite, Lord Vetinari."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 125 posts
Sat 25 Dec 2021
at 20:12
  • msg #181

Re: Spring

This is the Christmas cake and coffee post.

The Lord looks dubiously at you followed by a thin smile. You get the feeling he took the joke a bit more seriously than intended. Following the formal signatures, you are handed your own copy and then he takes through a door hidden behind a flamboyant banner of Waterdeep. The door opens into stone passage and after walking for some minutes, he opens another non-descript door, leading to an empty stone chamber that he quickly crosses before open yet another door, this time leading you straight into the inner Palace courtyard. Mid-ranking functionaries, guards, wizards all move with haste through it going their own ways, the nod briefly to the Lord and look curiously at you. He finally goes through a set of gates where two guards stand to attention. On the other side, clearly upper-class citizens are softly talking in small groups. A hog roast is being prepared and flagons are on a table, pages stand at attention ready to pour the drinks. Some of the people in there turn as you enter, one of them salutes Vetinari by name.

Vetinari shouts for attention, when most of the people are looking at both of us he introduces you, Lady Ataraxia, a noble invited to share of Waterdeep finest hospitality on this joyous occasion. He then call the Lords to 'assembly' and introduces you to them, Lords Duncan, Drakowski and Agoventto, together with him they form the current 'Lords of Waterdeep'. He outlines the term of the agreement you just entered. Duncan and Drakowski, the two seniors in the assembly, show total indifference, but Agoventto, by looks the youngest of the four, seems somewhat sombre at the mention of the agreement.

Duncan takes the lead in the inevitable 'questioning' that will follow. 'Lady Ataraxia, a pleasure...' he stiffly bows his head '... we have heard a lot about you... you will have to tell us how does that prodigious magic works that allows you to be come a dragon...'
Ataraxia
player, 115 posts
Sun 26 Dec 2021
at 01:02
  • msg #182

Re: Spring

Merry Christmas again! Still! I had some delicious pie. Did you have a good day?

Well piffle on him if he can't take a joke! He threatened me with slavery and I told him off, as diplomatically as I could manage. I put the contract away in my satchel and make sure it is secure and safe before following Vetinari.

Anyway, dinner! Hooray! Doo-dee-doo. I nearly skip and have to stop myself from humming merrily on the way. I have smiles and waves and pleasant "Hello"s for everyone who looks my way, which is just about everybody at least a little bit. They cannot resist my beauty, after all!

Ooooh a whole roast hog! And mulled wine! It is difficult for me not to drool at the prospect of such a fine meal, but I do manage to control myself. I incline my head and give a small curtsy to each of the lords in turn and say their names out loud:

"Lord Duncan, Lord Drakowski, Lord Agoventto. It is a pleasure to meet you as well."

I smile sweetly at Lord Duncan and tilt my head to the side, inquisitive. "You've heard a lot about me? What have you heard? I did not know I was famous. Ah, forgive me, your lordship, but you've got the magic the wrong way around. I am not a human who turns into a dragon; I am a dragon who turns into a human."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 126 posts
Tue 28 Dec 2021
at 21:54
  • msg #183

Re: Spring

It was ok, very quiet this year, even the city was unusually quiet...

Duncan look at you in amazement. 'That's remarkable, I'm here speaking with a breathing dragon and I still have my head attached to my body...' he seems genuinely amazed. Meanwhile, Vetinari as been called aside by Agoventto who is clearly giving him a piece of his mind but you cannot discern the reason...

Duncan sips his wine and then suddenly blurts out 'My manners!... My Lady, can I offer you some spiced wine?... the food is almost ready...'
Ataraxia
player, 116 posts
Tue 28 Dec 2021
at 23:36
  • msg #184

Re: Spring

"Of course, Lord Duncan. Thank you." I smile and take it when offered. A servant probably does the actual pouring and offering, but maybe not.

"Being barbaric wouldn't suit anyone's purposes, would it?" I grin enigmatically. "I do sometimes wish I could simply fly or gallop around, instead of walking; human legs are very slow, even when this long."

I decide to mess with him.

"In any case, cultivating people to farm and pay taxes for you is so much easier and more productive than pillaging all the time. Don't you agree?"

I...may or may not consider my people part of my treasure. My property. Ahem.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:48, Sun 02 Jan 2022.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 127 posts
Sat 1 Jan 2022
at 21:44
  • msg #185

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
...
"In any case, cultivating people to farm and pay taxes for you is so much easier and more productive than pillaging all the time. Don't you agree?" ...


AKA, serfs.

With a smile Drakowski intervenes 'I think Duncan's time of pillaging is gone... like you, now he's more into cultivating people...'

You can notice Duncan flashing briefly an annoyed look towards Drakowski. Duncan laughs loudly with seemingly good humour.

Lost until now was a group of ladies that now approaches you, they are three of Duncan's daughters, the youngest three, and Drakowski's wife. Duncan and Drakowski quickly excuse themselves ('to check on the food'...) and Drakowski wife introduces the ladies, Mariella, Angela and Vadera, Duncan's daughters and herself, another Mariella. After a brief comment trivialities such as the weather, she's eager to know how did Vetinari met you? You get the impression she's mistaken your relationship with him.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:44, Sat 01 Jan 2022.
Ataraxia
player, 117 posts
Sun 2 Jan 2022
at 08:27
  • msg #186

Re: Spring

Hey, those are my peasants! =P=P=P

"Oh, I only met Lord Vetinari about half an hour past. I came to the city looking for records of land ownership, after unearthing a strange magical mirror and consulting a wizard from Luskan about it."

I smile smugly and lean into my left hip. "I discovered a wonderful enchantment, and when I had someone show me to the magicians to learn how it might be done, Lord Vetinari heard that a real dragon was visiting the city. Naturally, he wanted to make an alliance between myself and the city right away."

I wave my hand dismissively. "Ah, but I barely know him. A much greater pleasure to meet your ladyships." I take their hands and kiss their fingers, naming them in turn and being generally both charming and sweet. I am, of course, tall and imposing, majestic and gorgeous, but even so I giggle a bit. It's a fun game!

Even if my draconic instincts do immediately seize upon the prospect of a princess or five. Or maybe that's just the stories and there's no real instinct.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 128 posts
Wed 5 Jan 2022
at 20:57
  • msg #187

Re: Spring

The younger girls giggle in good nature together with you, the older Mariella looks appraisingly at you and you can note the hint of a carefully disguised smirk when you mentioned only knowing Vetinari for about half an hour.

She smiles at your mention of ladyships and smiles as she says 'Of, hardly ladyships, those are all titles that go with the job...  Duncan and Agoventto are merchants, Drakowski was a soldier, and an handsome one at that, Vetinari was... well, let's just say he's originally from Luskan...' and she winks at you '...but you are a true Lady, the real Ataraxia here amongst us, no wonder Vetinari was so quick to get you enlisted...' she says as she turns to check on the Lords '...oh, look, food is about to be served, come, join us at our table, much better than being with those old boring Lords...'

OOC Also, how impolite of me, Happy New Year!
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:41, Wed 05 Jan 2022.
Ataraxia
player, 118 posts
Wed 5 Jan 2022
at 21:51
  • msg #188

Re: Spring

"What's that smirk for?" I ask, oblivious to the secret joke.

"Ah, they're not lords? But it seems that they are. They're called lord and have servants."

"'The real Ataraxia?' You've heard of me before?"


Oooh, dinner. I do like dinner. I follow the ladies as indicated, lured by the promise of...whatever food they have. I'm hoping for ham.

I'm torn though. The conversation is actually just as interesting as the prospect of dinner; there is so much to learn about this city that I don't know. The library and its magic book seems to have just been the start.

Happy new year to you too! ^3^
This message was last edited by the player at 21:52, Wed 05 Jan 2022.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 129 posts
Thu 6 Jan 2022
at 16:12
  • msg #189

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"What's that smirk for?"


Mariella seems genuinely taken aback by your question, failing to answer it, she clearly did not notice the unconscious gesture.

Ataraxia:
"Ah, they're not lords? But it seems that they are. They're called lord and have servants."


Angela raises a finger and starts declaiming, clearly in mockery of some tutor of the younger girls, 'The Lords of Waterdeep are called Lords in the tradition of the Nobles that founded the city. They are elected for a four crops period by the Council of Merchants and are not necessarily Nobles but must in all cases be full Citizens of Waterdeep...'

And the younger girls break in utter guffaw at this imitation.

Mariella, the older, continues. 'No, they are not Lords as in nobility, what Angela said is right. Duncan is a merchant, a very cunning and very rich one. His son is around your age (of course she's alluding to your human form) he's usually around but unfortunately is away right now, you would probably like him, most girls your age do...'

At this point the younger girls engage in a furious discussion regarding you and their brother. Their conclusion is that you are too glamorous for him. That seemed to settle the matter for them. Ignoring this , Mariella continued. 'Agoventto is another merchant. By rights his father seems to be the richest man in Waterdeep, if you ask me, Agoventto tries desperately to ensure he's fit to take over his business, so he spends the vast majority of his time brooding over one thing or another. His father was the one they wanted to elect, but he was also an elecotr, so they went for the son... Vetinari, well, my advice, keep on his good side. He's from Luskan. My Dabrowski was the former Captain of the Guard, we were both soldiers until his election, at which point we both had to retire. Civilian life has proven to be very boring... Speaking of which, our daughter should be leaving duty soon, she'll probably come here to report to him. This makes for a strange family life...'


Ataraxia:
"'The real Ataraxia?' You've heard of me before?"


'Oh we have heard plenty about the Dragon of the North, I can tell you your visit is timely, the Lords were about to send someone your way to try and convince you to meet them. My daughter was the volunteer for that.'

At this point you get the distinct impression that, for her and for the younger girls, 'dragon' is something of an honorific, you cannot be sure she actually understands what you are.

The meal is served. The servants bring roast hog, over fresh bread, served with spiced wine. Duncan makes a jest about a 'meal not fit for Lords but made of Lords' which draws a moderate success as comedy goes and plenty of eye rolling by his daughters.

Minutes after you started what can be best described as a 'knight in shinning armour' makes an appearance. As tall as you, with a lean, athletic yet feminine frame, dressed in black with the most polished cuirass you have ever seen, Drakowski's daughter makes an appearance. She speaks quietly with her father, you notice that the other Lords greet her with utmost formality, and then heads to your table. She has got her mother's high cheekbones and slightly slanted eyes and a raven black hair on a top knot. At either side of her hip, a thin slightly curved blade sits, her hands resting on the pommels. She walks with the grace of a predator. When she reaches your table, the younger girls are all busy looking at their feet, she stops and comes to attention. 'Mother. A pleasure to see you here today.' She says with no hint of emotion. Her mother, probably unconsciously also came to attention even if sitting.

Mariella turns to you 'Lady Ataraxia, this is my daughter, Lieutenant of the Guard Ailig. She was to be our envoy to you, now you have met in Waterdeep.'
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:16, Thu 06 Jan 2022.
Ataraxia
player, 119 posts
Fri 7 Jan 2022
at 11:24
  • msg #190

Re: Spring

quote:
And the younger girls break in utter guffaw at this imitation.


I don't know why it's funny, since I've never met the tutor in question, but I smile anyway.

quote:
Mariella, the older, continues. 'No, they are not Lords as in nobility, what Angela said is right. Duncan is a merchant, a very cunning and very rich one. His son is around your age (of course she's alluding to your human form) he's usually around but unfortunately is away right now, you would probably like him, most girls your age do...'


I interject, "Duncan must be old indeed then. He didn't look like an elf. I passed my first century some years ago." This may be enough of a prod to impress on the ladies that I am actually a dragon and not a human called a dragon.

quote:
At this point the younger girls engage in a furious discussion regarding you and their brother. Their conclusion is that you are too glamorous for him. That seemed to settle the matter for them.


I feel very smug and proud that the girls conclude I am too beautiful and enchanting for the man. Their praise makes my smile grow.

"Flattery will get you everywhere!"

quote:
My Dabrowski was the former Captain of the Guard, we were both soldiers until his election, at which point we both had to retire. Civilian life has proven to be very boring... Speaking of which, our daughter should be leaving duty soon, she'll probably come here to report to him. This makes for a strange family life...'


I nod through her explanation.

"I see, I see. So the Lords of Waterdeep are sort of like guild deans. I have never lived in a free city like Waterdeep before. I imagine that changing lives from a warrior to a housewife would be terrifically boring indeed. Surely, though, your position means that you get to deal with the joy of neverending politics." My flat tone gives the danger quotes and sarcasm around "joy."

quote:
'Oh we have heard plenty about the Dragon of the North, I can tell you your visit is timely, the Lords were about to send someone your way to try and convince you to meet them. My daughter was the volunteer for that.'


"Is that so? Hmm, hmm. Do you know what they wanted?"

quote:
The meal is served. The servants bring roast hog, over fresh bread, served with spiced wine. Duncan makes a jest about a 'meal not fit for Lords but made of Lords' which draws a moderate success as comedy goes and plenty of eye rolling by his daughters.


I don't get this joke either, but I laugh politely anyway. It seems the right thing to do.

quote:
As tall as you, with a lean, athletic yet feminine frame, dressed in black with the most polished cuirass you have ever seen, Drakowski's daughter makes an appearance.


She is surely striking. Not as beautiful as myself, of course, but still fetching. She also has the look of someone who has some ambition but not enough to get herself in trouble. My draconic instincts tell me that I should possess this woman. I try to ignore them. More intriguing than her appearance is the way everyone else reacts to her. The high-ranking people seem to have some combination of fear and irritation regarding her presence. What might cause that?

I smile wide and warmly enough to banish the ice from a glacier. Actually being able to breathe fire does help me smile warmly, I admit.

"Lieutenant Ailig! A pleasure to meet you. Your lady mother was just telling me that you volunteered to come see me. It seems I've spared you the trip; what did you want me to see me about?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 130 posts
Fri 7 Jan 2022
at 21:19
  • msg #191

Re: Spring

'being able to breathe fire does help me smile warmly'

Must be terrible on the digestion.


Ataraxia:
"Is that so? Hmm, hmm. Do you know what they wanted?"


'Believe it or not, to meet you. Of course, oblivious to all practicalities instead of going themselves they would be making a big production out of it...'


Ataraxia:
"Lieutenant Ailig! A pleasure to meet you. Your lady mother was just telling me that you volunteered to come see me. It seems I've spared you the trip; what did you want me to see me about?"


Ailig nods formally. She does seem to be someone that does not wastes words.

'Lady Ataraxia. Merely an invitation for you to attend Waterdeep. That is now not required. I'm afraid I'm interrupting your meal, please accept my apologies.'

Ataraxia
player, 120 posts
Sat 8 Jan 2022
at 08:55
  • msg #192

Re: Spring

Some people don't appreciate good puns! ^3^

I take a bite of some meat. Mmmm, tasty meat.

"What would they want to meet me for, I wonder? To introduce me to their daughters for kidnapping I suppose." I wiggle my eyebrows playfully again. "You know, it's in the rulebook that a girl isn't a princess until she's kidnapped by a dragon at least once."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 131 posts
Mon 10 Jan 2022
at 12:44
  • msg #193

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"What would they want to meet me for, I wonder? To introduce me to their daughters for kidnapping I suppose. You know, it's in the rulebook that a girl isn't a princess until she's kidnapped by a dragon at least once."


The three younger girls look deeper into their shoes, Mariella raise an eyebrow, it might just be dawning on her the reality of your, her... situation... Ailig is the one to answer.

'I'm not aware what the discussion would be, but I can assure you, I'm not a princess... more to the point, I would be notoriously difficult to kidnap...'
Ataraxia
player, 121 posts
Tue 11 Jan 2022
at 03:48
  • msg #194

Re: Spring

"Sounds like a challenge to me," I jest, reaching over to poke Ailig in the hip. Poke poke.

Cheerfully and with a big bright smile, "Are you going to sit with us? Everyone seems so uncomfortable. Isn't this supposed to be a feast?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 132 posts
Tue 11 Jan 2022
at 16:44
  • msg #195

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
I jest, reaching over to poke Ailig in the hip. Poke poke.


Ailig looks down at your finger and raises an eyebrow.

She winks at you, turns her back to leave and says 'I guess we'll only know when you try!...'

Ataraxia:
... Everyone seems so uncomfortable. Isn't this supposed to be a feast?"


With Ailig leaving, the younger girls perk up a bit. The younger Mariella picks up on your question.

'I agree, this is beyond boring, yet, come rain or sun, once per week we always have to join the Lords...' With perspicacity she continues '...I guess they are just trying to have what they consider family time...'

The elder Mariella gently rebukes her but you can see she also finds it quite boring. Meanwhile, a beaming Drakowski approaches your table smiling at you.

'I'm very glad you met Ailig. If you ever need a sword by your side, make sure its hers!...' then , with a total lack of understanding of what could motivate a young girl (or a young dragon...) he actually rambles on about her training and how she'll going to be training later in the day, if you are so inclined to go and see it.

His wife, with military precision, sends him packing back to the Lords table. The younger girls start a tirade about the time when a very young Ailig completely defeated their brother in a mock duel. You can see they actually admire, and fear, her, probably in equal parts.

You also notice the wizard coming , and placing a small box in the Lords table. Vetinari grabs the box and heads to your table. He opens the box and places it in front of you, it's your enchantment, in jewellery form.

The jewellery piece itself, it's a discrete very finely carved silver necklace. The centre piece, a knotted motif surrounding an emerald. 'Our side of the agreement.' he says. The younger girls immediately hover around you to look at it in more detail.
Ataraxia
player, 122 posts
Tue 11 Jan 2022
at 23:38
  • msg #196

Re: Spring

I watch Ailig go for a few moments, taking the time to memorize her scent and appearance. Even though I've spent most of my life "civilized," so to speak, I still have the instincts of a gigantic predator that - let's be honest here - has more in common with a panther or tiger than a lizard. If I do want to kidnap Ailig to do...I dunno what dragons do with princesses actually. The point is that if I want to kidnap her, I'll need to remember what she looks and smells like.

But then I turn my attention back to the other girls and their mother. "I am not familiar with democratic politics. It would seem to me, though, that men like your husband have to spend a great deal of time socializing and making friends with the people who elect them, in order to gain and maintain their position." It doesn't occur to me that speaking so frankly about the nature of democracy might be considered rude; I am a direct and truthful person by nature.

I am in fact somewhat interested in Ailig's martial accomplishments. I haven't had a sparring partner in quite a while.

The amulet is not what I wanted; I wanted to know how the enchantment was made so that I could reproduce it myself. But nevertheless, the amulet is a fabulous gift, and I can analyze it myself later. So despite the disappointment of not getting what I desired, the substitution is very nice, and I am suitably impressed. I make the right ooing and aahing noises. Plus, it's a beautiful piece. Almost as beautiful as me! And it goes well with my bright red hair! (Or scales.)

"This is a wonderful work of art! I hesitate to touch it. Was this amulet made for the purpose of holding the enchantment?" I slowly reach into the box to delicately take the jewel in both hands and hold it up to the light, so everyone who cares to can marvel at it.

"How do I use it?" I inquire of the wizard.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 133 posts
Wed 12 Jan 2022
at 11:25
  • msg #197

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
..."I am not familiar with democratic politics. It would seem to me, though, that men like your husband have to spend a great deal of time socializing and making friends with the people who elect them, in order to gain and maintain their position."


Mariella look at her husband and said 'I think he regrets having accepted this appointment... I think we both do...'


Ataraxia:
"This is a wonderful work of art! I hesitate to touch it. Was this amulet made for the purpose of holding the enchantment?"


'Yes...' the wizard answers. 'The enchantment is actually contained in the gem.'

Ataraxia:
"How do I use it?"


'As long as the gem is in contact with you, it will work, please remember, the enchantment will pick the vibrations of the first body it touched, so, if you could touch the gem, it will become latched to you and nobody else will be able to use it.'
Ataraxia
player, 123 posts
Thu 13 Jan 2022
at 10:05
  • msg #198

Re: Spring

I joke, with self-aware pomposity, "Well, if I ruled this city, you wouldn't have to worry about that. I'd need plenty of good soldiers and merchants." I wink at the older Mariella.

I nod at the wizard's explanation. "If you will permit, sir wizard, my purpose in requesting this enchantment was to learn how it was made. I will of course study it, but I would like to cast a spell to sense the magic before I touch it."

It would not do to just cast a spell in a crowded place like this, so I request permission first.

Assuming nobody minds, I'll cast Detect Magic and then touch the gem, in order to use the former spell to see what the latter enchantment does even when I touch it and activate it for the first time.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 134 posts
Mon 17 Jan 2022
at 14:27
  • msg #199

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
Assuming nobody minds, I'll cast Detect Magic and then touch the gem, in order to use the former spell to see what the latter enchantment does even when I touch it and activate it for the first time.


Uppps. Never noticed the answer.

Nobody minds. We can skip rolls since, even if you failed, they would tell how to create the enchantment (that's part of the deal after all and they are rather scrupulous about all sides of deals...). In short, you can fell the magic, you can see the enchantment and can reproduce it if needed and you have touched the gem with no visible ill effects.
Ataraxia
player, 124 posts
Tue 18 Jan 2022
at 02:33
  • msg #200

Re: Spring

Snickerdoodles!

That is an interjection of happiness, in case that wasn't clear.


I try it out by announcing something silly, to see if the enchantment lends my voice more gravitas or some other ephemeral quality.

"Blue cabbage runabout ale swindler!"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 135 posts
Tue 18 Jan 2022
at 11:12
  • msg #201

Re: Spring

Snickerdoodles look tasty.

*goes get a cookie*


Ataraxia:
"Blue cabbage runabout ale swindler!"


The voice modulation only catches up on the last word so, you sound like a mixture of, let's say, an angry quacking duck and a hoarse cat until the last word that you can recognize as sounding like the herald. Maybe it needs a few more tries. Goes without saying, everyone at the table laughs it out.
Ataraxia
player, 125 posts
Thu 20 Jan 2022
at 03:13
  • msg #202

Re: Spring

I give the enchantment further tests! I'm also happy to be the center of attention. Yay! They really should have been admiring my physical perfection. They are, right?

I jest: "I volunteer at the jousting lists. I'm a free lancer."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 136 posts
Tue 25 Jan 2022
at 15:00
  • msg #203

Re: Spring

Again in short, it works. Unfortunately, it does work for Duncan that is greeted by a chorus of his daughters also wanting one each. Last time you see him, he's trying to escape their clutches and requests.

The assembly comes to an end, Mariella retires, leaving you, Dabrowski, Vetinari and a still rather sullen Agoventto. You can spot a look being exchanged between them. Dabrowski then sighs as if he has lost a bet and addresses you. 'Lady ataraxia, please don't misunderstand what I'm about to say, it's no reflection on your honour, but, you are rumoured to be a dragon, we entered a pact with you based on that, hence we would very much like to see the dragon.'
Ataraxia
player, 126 posts
Wed 26 Jan 2022
at 10:29
  • msg #204

Re: Spring

I take the amulet off, admire its beauty a bit more, and then put it back in its box. It would be both rude and silly to keep using that enchantment all day, as much as I might want to. Mmm, sausage, nom nom nom.

After the party, when the gathered Lords of Waterdeep seem so strangely nervous, I can only curiously tilt my head to the side in a silent question. I don't understand what is passing between them.

"Mmhmm, that's understandable. I'm very big though, so we'll need lots of open space. A particularly large greens might do. Is there anywhere with that much space in the city? At least twice as tall as a temple and three times as long as a barn." I thumb over my shoulder. "Sometimes the tail starts wagging on its own."

I'm surprised that they didn't ask sooner. I hope the Lords' daughters will be there to see. The "kidnap a princess" instinct really went off around that gaggle of girls.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 137 posts
Thu 27 Jan 2022
at 10:41
  • msg #205

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"Mmhmm, that's understandable. I'm very big though, so we'll need lots of open space. A particularly large greens might do. Is there anywhere with that much space in the city? At least twice as tall as a temple and three times as long as a barn." I thumb over my shoulder. "Sometimes the tail starts wagging on its own."


They don't seem surprised by this. They agree to propose a demonstration, on the north part of Waterdeep, what's called the 'common greens', which are not surprisingly well outside the city walls... They propose to do it now and even offer to bring their carriage to take everyone there right now.
Ataraxia
player, 127 posts
Fri 28 Jan 2022
at 06:59
  • msg #206

Re: Spring

I don't have any problem with that, so I agree to get in the carriage and go to the green north of the city proper. Assuming nothing stops us on the way or causes problems, I will warn them to stand back, and then I will assume my true form, towering taller than a castle turret at my shoulders, with claws each as big as a horse, my body sleek with strong, lithe muscle, shining crimson and gold in the sun. Aren't I majestic? Admire me, humans! Give me attention and presents! I spread my wings wide, their span longer than a stone bridge across a mighty river, to add extra dramatic effect.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:00, Fri 28 Jan 2022.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 138 posts
Mon 31 Jan 2022
at 21:17
  • msg #207

Re: Spring

You most certainly get the full effect of your... introduction to them what you see varies from awe (Dabrowski), shear panic (Agoventto) and the cold look of calculation (Vetinari, who else?).

No princesses to kidnap anywhere near.

You get a feeling that the demonstration was more than enough for them.
Ataraxia
player, 128 posts
Wed 2 Feb 2022
at 08:38
  • msg #208

Re: Spring

I loom over the assembled humans, a titan among ants, and I very slowly tilt my head to the side in the gesture for questioning that I'm pretty sure is universal.

I was expecting admiration and presents! I'm getting some admiration, and the fear is definitely gratifying, but there are no presents. Drat.

I speak with a polyphonous voice, feminine-timbred thunder: "Are you satisfied, Lords of Waterdeep, that I am what I say I am?" Shall I demand treasure and princesses? I can't quite keep the smug self-amusement out of my voice.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 139 posts
Fri 4 Feb 2022
at 15:06
  • msg #209

Re: Spring

Vetinari takes it all in his step 'Ohhh... we are VERY satisfied... no presents I'm a afraid, but we can always offer a princess or two for company... or perhaps someone handy with a sword?...' he says with a smile. Dabrowski looks sideways at him.
Ataraxia
player, 129 posts
Mon 7 Feb 2022
at 03:57
  • msg #210

Re: Spring

"The hinterlands are not as lonely as they seem, but company is always appreciated." Dragons cannot actually smile, but I do my best without showing my fangs.

Then I stuff myself back into a (tall) human body again. I don't like the process of transforming into a human; it feels constraining and uncomfortable for a few minutes. Changing back into a dragon, my true shape, is very different, like coming out into warm sunshine after a day in a small, dark cell.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 140 posts
Mon 7 Feb 2022
at 16:49
  • msg #211

Re: Spring

They are all in a sort of uncomfortable awe, only Vetinari manages to almost hide it.

They clearly relax when you are back in human form. Having seen what they came for, but probably never expected to be real, they welcome your human form and offer to take you back to the city in their carriage so that you can continue any business you may have in Waterdeep.
Ataraxia
player, 130 posts
Wed 9 Feb 2022
at 11:06
  • msg #212

Re: Spring

I do love feeling smug, and the attention of the Lords of Waterdeep, now humbled, makes me feel terrifically smug indeed. I came to check on land records, then I was sidetracked by an enchantment, a party, and an agreement. I am tempted to spend money on luxuries, but that would be deeply imprudent.

Instead, I inquire after engineers who can build and repair watermills. I would like one built on my land, preferably two. Such a contrivance will greatly aid my subjects in their daily tasks and, thereby, make me wealthier in the long run.

Also I want to know how watermills work. I've seen three already in Waterdeep. What strange artifice turns the motion of a river into mechanical power?

I would also like to fund the construction and maintenance of a school, whether monastic or secular, where my people can, if they have the inclination and time, learn to read, write, and perform arithmetic. This seems to me a fine thing to do. A school will require a building, at least one teacher, some books, and various materials.

Perhaps that would stretch my funds too far. I may have quite a bit of treasure laid up, but savings is prudent. I do not know. Shopping for skilled people to do things is a completely foreign endeavor to me.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 141 posts
Fri 11 Feb 2022
at 14:58
  • msg #213

Re: Spring

Something just occurred to me. How do you want to go about finding these things? You have the traditional route, which is to leg it to the guilds and ask around. Now, you can also use the in you have with the Lords and see if they can point you in one direction or another. Which Lord though? The other way is through temples of one denomination or another, they obviously have stonemasons that work for them. There's a crapload of them:

The largest temples in the city were dedicated to Oghma, Tyr, Tempus, Gond, Selûne, Mystra, Silvanus and Mielikki, Lathander, Sune, Tymora, along with and a temple dedicated to Baravar Cloakshadow located within the Warrens beneath Waterdeep. There is also a large temple known as the Plinth, which is open to all faiths.

Ataraxia
player, 131 posts
Sun 13 Feb 2022
at 07:29
  • msg #214

Re: Spring

I don't know what any of those deities do! Uuuuuh.

Let's start with the guilds. They'll have guarantees and standards of quality that I can rely on.

Is there a god of craftsmen or machinists? Or of stonemasons? Or learning and literacy? Priests of those temples would also be good to contact for learning things and for setting up a school. I'd like to be able to have the school teach not just literacy and numeracy but also practical skills that are rare but useful, like making furniture. Basically whatever can expand the economic base and prosperity of my people, who are my greatest treasure.

This message was last edited by the player at 07:31, Sun 13 Feb 2022.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 142 posts
Tue 15 Feb 2022
at 12:26
  • msg #215

Re: Spring

God of craft would be Gond. List below of the gods for which there are temples. For leraning it would be Oghma.

Oghma, greater deity of bards, inspiration, invention, and knowledge
Tyr, greater god of law and justice
Tempus, god of war
Gond, god of craft, smithing, and inventiveness
Selûne, goddess of the moon
Mystra, goddess of magic
Silvanus, power of wild nature
Mielikki, goddess of autumn, druids, dryads, forests, forest creatures, and rangers
Lathander, deity of creativity, dawn, renewal, birth, athletics, spring, self-perfection, vitality, and youth
Sune, deity of beauty, with governance also over love
Tymora, goddess of good fortune
Baravar Cloakshadow, gnome deity of illusion and deception

As to guilds , there is the 'Guild of Stonecutters, Masons, Potters, and Tile-makers'. What there isn't is a guild or college for numeracy, most of the guilds focus on practical labour.Essentially, they offer practical knowledge and would teach basic numeracy and literacy as required for their occupations. The best one-stop-shop for this type of 'book knowledge' would probably be 'Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors'. Originally formed to provide protection for weaker spellcasters against people opposed to magic, it now serves as the largest arcane school in Waterdeep.

Ataraxia
player, 132 posts
Fri 18 Feb 2022
at 01:42
  • msg #216

Re: Spring

That is a lot of temples. Wow. Rome at its height had, what, 10 total? Waterdeep must be loaded.

Is there a guild of machinists who build, maintain, and repair mills and the like? If not, then the temple of Gond seems like the best place to hire someone to build watermills. The masons would also be best for building things that will last, though they'll be more expensive. Maybe I can commission a school building and an almshouse at the same time...

DM Extraordinaire
GM, 143 posts
Wed 23 Feb 2022
at 11:44
  • msg #217

Re: Spring

Way more than 10:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...t_Roman_temples#Rome

Yeah, building works in general would be governed by the masons. Now, you can of course get someone to build it. But there is question on how do you intend to finance it. These things took a long time to be built by traditional means (sourcing base materials, prep stone, mobilizing workforce, etc) and since you are local mid-nobility, essentially a large landowner, these guys will want to be paid on delivery by stages, they also expect you to shelter and feed the workforce. Your treasury will be stretched to the limit, also, there is the question on where are you going to house the workforce?

Ataraxia
player, 133 posts
Sun 27 Feb 2022
at 09:59
  • msg #218

Re: Spring

Well I stand corrected. That is a lotta temples.

My treasury will be stretched to the limit to build a watermill and a small, insulated stone building? You must have a much more grandiose image of this than me! I won't hold it against you. ^_^

If both projects will be too much, then the watermill is higher priority, so let's just go with that one. It's also probably more expensive. Unless this setting has printing presses. Does it?

Anywhoodles, yes. Watermill with the various associated machinery. I'll probably need masons and a few other specialists to build the building and then the mill itself. A watermill doesn't just grind grain, you know. It's quite the useful thing. Naturally, I would be feeding, housing, and guarding the workforce; any noble worth their title would do so.

DM Extraordinaire
GM, 144 posts
Mon 28 Feb 2022
at 13:55
  • msg #219

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
...
My treasury will be stretched to the limit to build a watermill and a small, insulated stone building? You must have a much more grandiose image of this than me! I won't hold it against you. ^_^
...


I was kind off over-hyping the school, I was well into monastic university style of thing by now.

I mean, a watermill with grain storage, a small school building, would be easily procured. Given materials, labour, etc, it would be doable, but only ready for autumn. Call it around 6 months, give or take. Very handy for the harvest season. It still presupposes a decent sized workforce (we're talking around 20 people) that you will have to lodge.

Side note - Traditional stone masonry is not actually that easy to do well. I'm still gobsmacked, after being there, how it only took a couple of centuries to build the big cathedrals. The workforce in those must have been tremendous.

Ataraxia
player, 134 posts
Wed 2 Mar 2022
at 06:43
  • msg #220

Re: Spring

A university is a bit much in the country like that. Maybe once there's a sizeable population of literate people and enough economic prosperity to support that kind of specialization!

For now, just a durable school building for teaching literacy and numeracy, plus the room and supplies to store some books, writing implements, inks, and so forth. I don't know if this setting has printed books; if not, enough manuscripts for a school is going to get pricey, that's for sure. In the Dark Ages, the largest library in all of Europe was Benedict Bede's, which contained 250 books.

The mill is more straightforward in that sense. A watermill does what it does: provides mechanical power from the current of a river.

Yeah, ancient masonry before modern machinery is beyond impressive. Whole generations of people dedicated to constructing a single grand building. I hope I can visit the great cathedrals some day.

What do I need to do in the game to get that stuff rolling? Be a decent, productive, beneficial overlady for my slaves? I mean people. Look, okay, dragons like their treasure. My people are my treasure, especially because they generate more treasure.

DM Extraordinaire
GM, 145 posts
Thu 3 Mar 2022
at 14:07
  • msg #221

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
What do I need to do in the game to get that stuff rolling? Be a decent, productive, beneficial overlady for my slaves? I mean people. Look, okay, dragons like their treasure. My people are my treasure, especially because they generate more treasure.


Assume the commitment taken. As good contractors they will be in touch 'shortly' to finalize the details. At this point, time has moved on and it's not time to the rendez-vous that you have previously arranged. (msg #164)

Ataraxia
player, 135 posts
Sat 5 Mar 2022
at 07:53
  • msg #222

Re: Spring

Great! ^_^

It's an hour before sunset. I wait for Merey, the herald girl. I've met quite a few ladies today, and it really feels like I should be at least charming one of them. I wonder if she knows any magic, speaking of charming. I wait just inside the south gates, leaning against the stonework, legs crossed and arms folded in a passive lounging pose.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 146 posts
Tue 8 Mar 2022
at 11:59
  • msg #223

Re: Spring

As she approaches you can see the slight unease in her posture. She's clearly curious, but looking like a bit worried about what do you want with her. She looks all around where you are waiting almost as if expecting to see someone else there. She waves and says a rather muted 'Hello...'
Ataraxia
player, 136 posts
Sat 12 Mar 2022
at 08:47
  • msg #224

Re: Spring

I wave right back, stand up straight, and smile brightly. "Merey! Hey come on, let me show something fun. Have you ever flown?" I take her hand and start leading her out of the city gates, looking for a place suitably big enough so I can transform without destroying anything.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 147 posts
Mon 14 Mar 2022
at 10:33
  • msg #225

Re: Spring

She gets dragged along with a mystified look on her face but does not run away in terror. Yet...

Are you transforming without warning at the first opportunity, or are you giving her a head's up on what's about to happen?
Ataraxia
player, 137 posts
Wed 16 Mar 2022
at 09:14
  • msg #226

Re: Spring

I let her know that I'm actually a dragon, and a very big one at that. I'm just going to carry her though, no kidnapping or devouring, I promise. I'm very excited to show her flying, and I can barely contain my energy.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 148 posts
Wed 16 Mar 2022
at 14:57
  • msg #227

Re: Spring

You have a certain feeling of deja vu as Merey nods her head in excitement at what you tell her, only to freak out when she's actually facing you, The Dragon. Lacking any cover in the area, she's stuck in place, pale as snow and stiff as a plank, looking goggle-eyed at you.
Ataraxia
player, 138 posts
Sat 19 Mar 2022
at 07:31
  • msg #228

Re: Spring

This is gonna happen every time, huh? Siiiiigh.

I just sit there and wait for her to get used to the fact that I'm not going to step on her or squash her or eat her or anything like that.

Unless it takes more than five minutes. Then I get bored and turn back into human form. Then back into my true form. Then back into my human form. Dragon. Human. Dragon. Human. Maybe that will get her used to the idea that I'm not going to hurt her. Maybe.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 149 posts
Mon 21 Mar 2022
at 16:57
  • msg #229

Re: Spring

Fortunately, young people's fears tend to be easily overcome by the excitement. The sight of a rather large claw sends her recoiling, but some persistence soon finds her sitting on your back trying to find something to get hold of but ready to fly. Or at least, thinking she's ready to fly...
Ataraxia
player, 139 posts
Mon 21 Mar 2022
at 19:50
  • msg #230

Re: Spring

Putting her on my back is difficult with my claws, and I'm much too tall to climb. Even if I laid down, she would need a long ladder to get on my shoulder. So I pick her up by wrapping the tip of my tail around her and using said tail to deposit her just above the base of my neck, where she'll be able to sit comfortably I hope. My scales are smoother than most dragons', probably because I spend so much time in human form.

Once Merey is settled and holding on, and start my gallop, leaving noticeable impressions in the ground where my put my weight. I push off and take flight, going slow on purpose so as not to frighten her or cause her to slip. I climb about half a mile up and then start banking in a slowly widening spiral, so she can look down at see her city.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 150 posts
Sat 26 Mar 2022
at 08:35
  • msg #231

Re: Spring

If you turn your head to see how Merey's faring, you can see that she goes from a dead quiet pale, into screaming ecstatic. She clearly started not very sure what was about to happen, but then quickly adapted to to it and was delighted to be flying around.
Ataraxia
player, 140 posts
Mon 28 Mar 2022
at 04:59
  • msg #232

Re: Spring

I fly around with her for a while, then I speed up and go higher in the sky, to fly her over the ocean and to see the coastal islands from the air.

Unless Merey has any objections, I do my best to get her home before dark.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 151 posts
Mon 28 Mar 2022
at 11:24
  • msg #233

Re: Spring

Merey is best described as 'high as a kite' when you land. She's kind of speechless until you swap back to human but then bombards you with all sorts of questions on what it means to be a dragon, how did you become a dragon, if she can become a dragon... In short, she's become a convert to the 'lady-that-turns-into-a-dragon' lifestyle.
Ataraxia
player, 141 posts
Tue 29 Mar 2022
at 19:15
  • msg #234

Re: Spring

I do my best to answer her questions. I think her enthusiasm is very cute, and she makes me laugh.

I don't really know what it means to be a dragon, other than being much larger and stronger than other people. Also not having hands. That can get inconvenient, but you'd be surprised how dexterous a dragon's claws can be.

I don't know how I became a dragon. I'm pretty sure I was born a dragon, though I suppose it's possible I wasn't, since I don't remember being born. Or hatching. Honestly, I'm not sure if dragons are born or if they hatch, since I've never seen that either. Or a dragon egg. Nor have I ever laid an egg. But I have had cycles in my human body. I start to go on a long-winded academic tangent about the implications of biological processes or lack thereof, but I stop myself after about a minute and a half and go back to answering Merey's other questions.

I suppose it's theoretically possible she could become a dragon. The magic I use to turn myself into a human, then back into a dragon, is a subtractive process. I take away things that make me a dragon until I have a human body, then I take away the things that took those things away and the dragon parts come back. It should be possible to do that same thing in reverse, but it's probably more difficult because adding new stuff is harder than removing existing stuff, usually. I'm always interested in new things to learn, especially magic and spellcraft, so I'd like to help experiment and understand the topic. Is Merey a mage? If not we'll need to get her an apprenticeship; I don't think I know enough magic to be anybody's teacher.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 152 posts
Wed 30 Mar 2022
at 09:32
  • msg #235

Re: Spring

Merey is not a mage, as far as she knows she's got no magic powers. She clearly wants to know more, but night is truly descending and she must make it back into Waterdeep before night sets in. Still full of questions, she asks if you intend to come back to Waterdeep in the future?
Ataraxia
player, 142 posts
Fri 1 Apr 2022
at 05:48
  • msg #236

Re: Spring

I do intend to return, and I look forward to seeing her again. I imagine I'll come back to the city somewhat regularly, since Waterdeep has such wonderful libraries. And of course, I need to collect some princesses before I can call myself a proper dragon. I wink at her, then I want for her to leave before I myself make preparations to return home.

Oh, speaking of princesses!

What was that woman's name? The athletic woman with the swords?

Ailig! Right! She challenged me to kidnap her. That means I definitely should. Right? Maybe? I better find out where she lives.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 153 posts
Fri 1 Apr 2022
at 09:19
  • msg #237

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
...

Ailig! Right! She challenged me to kidnap her. That means I definitely should. Right? Maybe? I better find out where she lives.


As part of the Guard, not hard to find that all senior ranks live in the Palace of Waterdeep. As do the senior ranks of the City Watch. Maybe that's why she felt so confident to raise that challenge...

Are you going directly home?

This message was last edited by the GM at 09:19, Fri 01 Apr 2022.
Ataraxia
player, 143 posts
Fri 1 Apr 2022
at 16:53
  • msg #238

Re: Spring

I inquire about the palace as to the apartments of Lieutenant Ailig Drakowski, then I go there. Standing proudly before the door, I knock and announce, hands on my hips, with stentorian confidence: "Ailig Drakowski! The dragon Ataraxia has come to kidnap you! Get your clothes!"

Eeeeehehehe. Mischief. ^_^
This message was last edited by the player at 16:54, Fri 01 Apr 2022.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 154 posts
Sat 2 Apr 2022
at 13:45
  • msg #239

Re: Spring

It is late dusk when you arrive at the Guard's building. It's a two storey stone annex to the Palace with its own entrance iron gate leading to an inner courtyard. The gate is up, with guardsman movig, presumably due to a change in shift. Questioning them you find the window on the top floor that gives to Ailig's quarters. Standing outside at courtyard level, you say your piece. Heads start to appear at several windows. Eventually, Ailig, still in her uniform shows up and looks dumbfounded at you. She hesitates for a split second and then says 'I thought Ladies were not supposed to get drunk...' to much guffaw from the other Guards.
Ataraxia
player, 144 posts
Mon 4 Apr 2022
at 19:34
  • msg #240

Re: Spring

I maintain perfect posture and stentorian confidence.

"Don't make me come up there young lady!" I tease.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 155 posts
Tue 5 Apr 2022
at 10:12
  • msg #241

Re: Spring

Your visit has now attracted numerous guardsman to the windows of the courtyard. A couple that were arriving are now standing in the courtyard watching as things unfold.

Ailig raises an eyebrow. 'I think you will find the doors to be very sturdy...'

Some guardsman are now challenging you to try and take a door down.

OOC : Just tried artflow<dot>ai, and got a pretty convincing portrait for Ailig:


This message was last edited by the GM at 10:12, Tue 05 Apr 2022.
Ataraxia
player, 145 posts
Wed 6 Apr 2022
at 04:01
  • msg #242

Re: Spring

We never determined what her human stats are. I assume that her strength would still be extremely high. Is that a fair thing to assume? Should I proceed without determining those stats?
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 156 posts
Wed 6 Apr 2022
at 08:42
  • msg #243

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
We never determined what her human stats are. I assume that her strength would still be extremely high. Is that a fair thing to assume? Should I proceed without determining those stats?


Yeah, please do. I was actually assuming she would be a normal human. But I guess that depends on the origins of her draconic transformation. Assuming she's essentially a dragon that assumes human form as some sort of 'visual trickery', then obviously she would be a surprisingly strong one... If she transforms on the other hand, I was assuming something like Hulk, normal human, super dragon. Up to you!
Ataraxia
player, 146 posts
Wed 6 Apr 2022
at 20:51
  • msg #244

Re: Spring

Okay. We already established that she was about to pick up and haul around that big metal mirror, so she's definitely very strong in human form, unless you want to pretend that was something else or like that didn't happen. I'm fine with that, if it's what you want.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 157 posts
Thu 7 Apr 2022
at 07:56
  • msg #245

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
Okay. We already established that she was about to pick up and haul around that big metal mirror, so she's definitely very strong in human form, unless you want to pretend that was something else or like that didn't happen. I'm fine with that, if it's what you want.


No, no, don't misunderstand me, I was just offering two possible routes and my thoughts. I have no preference either way. Make it whatever is fun for you as a player.
Ataraxia
player, 147 posts
Sat 9 Apr 2022
at 09:11
  • msg #246

Re: Spring

Well. They are asking me to do it. Is shrug theatrically and continue in very hammy fashion:

"Very well! If you insist that I show you my strength, I shall!" I even put my hands on my hips and pose for extra drama.

Then I examine the door for the sturdiest place to grab it. Any part that I can actually hold onto will snap off before the door comes free, unless...

Ah-hah! My boots are heeled and nailed for optimal traction on slippery muddy roads. I can use them to break off the hinges. I spin around and deliver a flat-heeled back kick to the lower hinge, then spin again and give another to the upper hinge. This makes two loud PANG sounds and unmoors the hinges where they connect to the door itself by forcing the nails to rebound off their back and fall on the ground.

Then I pull on the door handle, catch the door as it is falling, pick it up, and set it to the left of the entrance.

I feel terribly smug, since not only did I break down the door easily, they can fix it with a hammer and five minutes' effort. It probably shows on my face that I am quite proud of myself indeed.

Then I go on in! Unless they're pointing weapons at me. Which seems possible, even likely.

Plausible super-human strength door takedown! You're welcome! *kung fu pose*
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 158 posts
Sat 9 Apr 2022
at 11:07
  • msg #247

Re: Spring

Still my favourite kung-fu fighting TV moment: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pi...-193514115213705430/

As you expected there are some rowdy cheers as you inspect the door and raise your first kung-fu kick, shortly followed by a general commotion of people running around. Unfortunately they are not running aimlessly and, as you are finally putting the door aside you find yourself facing a circle of swords and lances, with4 people outside the building and 2 inside. A bell can now be heard ringing, which you assume to be the general alarm.

The same sergeant that escorted you to Vetinari shows up, thumbs on his sword belt.

'Now lass, that was most impressive, but destruction of Waterdeep's property is an offence... if you can quietly follow me, we'll get the paperwork taken care off...'

He's clearly trying to make it all sound as a minor thing... More steps can be heard inside the building. If you look up, Ailig has disappeared from the window.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:07, Sat 09 Apr 2022.
Ataraxia
player, 148 posts
Sat 9 Apr 2022
at 20:57
  • msg #248

Re: Spring

Ha! "You do know what a fight is, right?" =P

A back kick isn't so much a kung fu thing as imitating a horse, but I get you.


I anticipated this. It would have been much more strange and awkward if they clapped and cheered, or something of that sort. It's actually a relief; there are times when the cold impersonality of paperwork is preferable to dealing with people.

I harumph. "I was invited, I'll have you know, both to come try and to break the door down." Then I shrug theatrically. "But I suppose it can't be helped." I roll my eyes and wink at whoever is looking at me. Then, to the sergeant: "Lead the way, sir."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 18:08, Mon 11 Apr 2022.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 159 posts
Sun 10 Apr 2022
at 19:39
  • msg #249

Re: Spring

Our horse has the ability to kick sideways, proper ninja style. Of course, we're talking about a horse that, whilst heavily sedated, and with two legs being held above the ground, still tried to kick the vets...

The sergeant does not take you very far. He rounds the corner, goes through a gate and you quickly find yourself in the same block of buildings you started your day at, he opens a door, signals for you to go in. When you go in he closes the door behind him. Opposite the door, Ailig his sitting at the desk, legs crossed over the desk.

She tut-tuts you.

'What a disgrace for a Lady to suffer... bringing down good solid doors and ending up having to explain herself to the authorities... ohhh... how the mighty fall...'

You detect a heavy dosage of sarcasm.
Ataraxia
player, 149 posts
Mon 11 Apr 2022
at 18:20
  • msg #250

Re: Spring

Bonus: Dragons have feline body plans, so kicking backwards and sideways comes naturally! They're giant firebreathing lizard-cats. That's only moderately terrifying.

I lean against the wall and smirk at her, brimming with self-confidence. "There are consequences for challenging a dragon."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 160 posts
Mon 11 Apr 2022
at 20:15
  • msg #251

Re: Spring

She will match you in self-confidence.

'So there are to challenging the Waterdeep Guard and they seem to be more immediate. Do you want to settle the damages for the door now?...' she says with a smile.
Ataraxia
player, 150 posts
Wed 13 Apr 2022
at 08:39
  • msg #252

Re: Spring

"Ah, I admit it. You tricked me into paying for a new door."

I take my purse off my belt and count out enough gold coins to pay for a nice oak door. Ten should do; that's worth about a two pounds of silver. Then, I sit across from her and lean back in the same manner she does, putting my boots on the table next to hers. It is a direct social confrontation, though playful.

"I have not had a new chess opponent in years. Do you play?"

I don't actually know what things cost in this setting. I'm just going on something like "real world" medieval prices.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 161 posts
Wed 13 Apr 2022
at 11:15
  • msg #253

Re: Spring

It's a bit of a nightmare to get correct prices. I usually use price list from the RPG Harn, they are the most 'medievally accurate'. To cut a long story short, you are roughly correct when workmanship, etc is taken into account.


quote:
"Ah, I admit it. You tricked me into paying for a new door."


'We'll make sure to provide suitable dedication plaque.'

She starts carefully and slowly writing a receipt for your payment. (failed perception roll, no more info gained) She then hands it over.

quote:
"I have not had a new chess opponent in years. Do you play?"


'Unfortunately, I have no time for parlour games... I assume 'dragons' do not take part on sword fights?... I imagine they are more into wrestling opponents... or just burning them...'

Ataraxia
player, 151 posts
Thu 14 Apr 2022
at 09:32
  • msg #254

Re: Spring

"Chess is the game of kings, not a parlour game." I raise one eyebrow at her.

"My father, the man who cared for me as an infant, taught me to use a sword. Why do you ask?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 162 posts
Thu 14 Apr 2022
at 11:57
  • msg #255

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"My father, the man who cared for me as an infant, taught me to use a sword. Why do you ask?"


'Oh, he did... wonder why have you not challenged me to a duel... loser is kidnapped kind of thing...'


(failed insight roll, you cannot gleam if there's something hidden behind this apparent challenge...)
Ataraxia
player, 152 posts
Fri 15 Apr 2022
at 09:32
  • msg #256

Re: Spring

I state, as if it is the most obvious thing in the world, "Because I am a dragon. Dragons do not challenge princesses to duels, they kidnap princesses."

I shrug and gesture with my hands. That and my tone indicate that I am not being facetious. I really do think that it is strange for a dragon to duel a human.

"Besides, you could not kidnap me. There would need to be some other stake, should I lose. You are very brave, though, to try to bait out a fight with me when you have seen my strength."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 163 posts
Fri 15 Apr 2022
at 18:39
  • msg #257

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"Besides, you could not kidnap me. There would need to be some other stake, should I lose. You are very brave, though, to try to bait out a fight with me when you have seen my strength."


'You are right, I'm also not princess... so that's out of the question.' she hesitates for a split second 'Still, I fancy my chances with a sword, tell you what, since neither of us is a princess to be kidnapped, if I win, you have to do me a favour. Fair warning, it will either be deadly dull, or deadly dangerous...'
Ataraxia
player, 153 posts
Sat 16 Apr 2022
at 08:07
  • msg #258

Re: Spring

"It could be interesting. What rules of the ring do you propose, princess?" I wiggle my eyebrows at her, being deliberately humorous.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 164 posts
Sat 16 Apr 2022
at 19:40
  • msg #259

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"It could be interesting. What rules of the ring do you propose, princess?"


'First touch, you can take your pick from our training swords, I'll use my own training swords... they are balanced for me, no trickery... we'll use our training room.'
She does exude confidence...
Ataraxia
player, 154 posts
Tue 19 Apr 2022
at 04:32
  • msg #260

Re: Spring

I sense her scheme immediately. Or at least I think I do.

"Ah-hah, first touch, very clever. But as is traditional, the challenged party chooses the arms. Since the first touch will favor your own specialty spectacularly, I choose the pollaxe for our arms."

I feel smug about it. The pollaxe is a common knight's weapon, probably the most common, since it is a combination of axe, spear, and hammer. It favors strength and endurance to use.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 165 posts
Tue 19 Apr 2022
at 15:30
  • msg #261

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"Ah-hah, first touch, very clever. But as is traditional, the challenged party chooses the arms. Since the first touch will favor your own specialty spectacularly, I choose the pollaxe for our arms."


She smiles... 'Pollaxe?... Not sure we even have one, let alone two... also, doubt anyone has ever made a training pollaxe... but if you want to use one, I'll get you one, even if not a training one... But, I'm keeping my swords...' she then pauses, looks at the ceiling and says '...oh, I can offer you a middle ground. If you like rustic weapons, how about a simple staff?... I'm certain we can find a couple of them, failing that we can even use broom sticks... also, I think I take exception at you being the challenged party, after all, I'm the one being threatened with kidnapping...'
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:32, Tue 19 Apr 2022.
Ataraxia
player, 155 posts
Wed 20 Apr 2022
at 13:06
  • msg #262

Re: Spring

I roll my eyes at her many protests.

"Oh fine. For guardsmen, your armory is lacking. Next you'll tell me they're out of crossbows and halberds. Staves it is."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 166 posts
Thu 21 Apr 2022
at 07:39
  • msg #263

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"Oh fine. For guardsmen, your armory is lacking. Next you'll tell me they're out of crossbows and halberds. Staves it is."


She seems content with that. Quite fittingly, duel is set for the morrow at first light. She seems to have a flair for the dramatic. On the up side, if you want, you are offered lodging on the visitor's wing of the Palace.

*successful Insight roll*
It dawns on you that Ailig is not being obstructive. She's trying her best to maximize her odds in this fight, because she really needs that favour and does not seem to know any other way to get it. Clearly it would not be fit for a Guard to be asking a landowner for favours without offering something in return, so she's trying to do something that will get what she needs with the means she has at hand.
Ataraxia
player, 156 posts
Fri 22 Apr 2022
at 19:34
  • msg #264

Re: Spring

I will not rob Ailig of her dignity by just offering to do her a favor, nor would I want to just do her a favor. The game is the thing, after all. I'm not out to prove my physical superiority; I could crush Ailing, literally, with one claw if I chose to do so. Instead, I want to interact with and be part of society, to make friends and influence people.

If Ailig wants a favor from me but is to proud to ask, then so be it. Maybe she will win one and maybe she won't. If she doesn't, perhaps she will learn to swallow her pride when she needs something desperately.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 167 posts
Sat 23 Apr 2022
at 09:18
  • msg #265

Re: Spring

OOC - assume we're moving on to the next day?
Ataraxia
player, 157 posts
Sun 24 Apr 2022
at 18:35
  • msg #266

Re: Spring

Yep!
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 168 posts
Sun 24 Apr 2022
at 19:44
  • msg #267

Re: Spring

The night is uneventful. At the agreed time there's a soft knock on your door, the Sergeant politely invites you to join Lt Ailig on the training arena.

The arena is nothing more than a rectangular, double height, large room with a compacted earth floor and an array of training weapons collected in racks on all four sides. Ailig is standing t one hand. She's wearing a strange garment, some kind of black two pieces attire, with a sleeveless loose fitting and trousers, tucked into soft riding boots. She's holding a staff and has that predator look you previously saw.

Opposite her, some 20 feet away, neatly placed on a holding bracket is what you assume to be your staff.
Ataraxia
player, 158 posts
Sun 24 Apr 2022
at 23:34
  • msg #268

Re: Spring

I thank the sergeant for his time and courtesy.

I find the "arena" very strange. Do the guards fight individual duals often? It is no wonder, then, that they are ineffective. Soldiers who train to fight as individuals aren't much use in battle; not everybody can be a gigantic fire-breathing dragon like me.

I pick up the staff that looks about right for my size. I'm very tall, even in human guise, so I need a tall staff; it should be about my height. I don't know what kind of maneuvers she will try, so I plan to present the staff like a spear, which is the best way to use one anyway.

I take a loose stance and wait for whoever is seconding to call a start.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 169 posts
Mon 25 Apr 2022
at 09:30
  • msg #269

Re: Spring

Hmmm. This is a curious one, how to decide your human strike rank. Obviously, +42 as a dragon makes total sense, if not for anything else, for the huge reach. But as a human, even if you are strong, the reach is gone. So is the speed, as you will still move largely as a human. I would guesstimate this would cut your strike rank by at least 50%, prob more, but let's use this at present?

10:27, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 5 using 1d10.  ailig's strike rank.
10:27, Today: DM Extraordinaire, on behalf of Ataraxia, rolled 1 using 1d10.  strike rank.

21 +1 = 22
16 +5 = 21

You have first action.
Ataraxia
player, 159 posts
Wed 27 Apr 2022
at 00:06
  • msg #270

Re: Spring

Yeah, the reach is the big thing - ha, big thing, get it, because she's really really big - in dragon shape. In human shape, she definitely wouldn't have that, and while she's had a lot of time spent as a human and learned to use weapons as a human, she's still not quite as connected to instinctively moving in a human body as a human would be. So halving makes sense to me!

I don't know what her STR or DEX are in human form. I'm guessing DEX would stay the same; what she loses in instinctive understanding of body position she gains in speed from being way way smaller. I don't remember what "a lot" would be for human strength. Is 30 too much? That would give me a target number of 67 for my attack roll. I tried to select a Runequest system, but apparently there isn't one on the RPoL dice roller. It kept the number, fortunately. I believe 56 hits against a target of 67?


I double-step forward, staff presented, to jab under Ailing's guard and at her stomach.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 170 posts
Wed 27 Apr 2022
at 16:19
  • msg #271

Re: Spring

One note , you have 3 combat actions, so you approached and attacked which still leaves on left. And yes, 57 is a strike.

Ailig seems to accuse the odd weapon, but she sucessfuly, even if in-extremis, manages to parry your strike.

17:15, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 74 using 1d100.  ailig's parry.
she has a target of 75 for the staff, 90 for double weapons.... which will come handy because she...


After parrying, she promptly breaks the staff into two and grabs the two bits using them as swords...

this exhausts her 3 actions (parry/break/grab) now that she has broken the staff into two, she'll get an extra action per round. you are up again.
Ataraxia
player, 160 posts
Wed 27 Apr 2022
at 20:21
  • msg #272

Re: Spring

Now that she's deprived herself of length, I step back to take advantage of reach. A polearm versus two short weapons with no shield is a large advantage to the polearm; there's a reason even knights prefer spears and pollaxes to swords. Fighting to the touch makes things different, naturally.

I make two quick thrusts at her chest and head and a swiping jab at her feet.

I don't remember the game mechanical effects of reach in Runequest 2, but I know it's there. I believe it comes with a small offense and large defense bonus.

I don't know if I need to use an action to move out of her reach and still be able to hit her. I rolled two attacks anyway just in case, one for the action I have for this round and one for the first action next round.

I got a 22 and a 42.

DM Extraordinaire
GM, 171 posts
Thu 28 Apr 2022
at 08:33
  • msg #273

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
...
I don't remember the game mechanical effects of reach in Runequest 2, but I know it's there. I believe it comes with a small offense and large defense bonus.
...


pp 92-93 : Essentialy, the opp needs to close in before striking, which means they need to spend an action and 'make an Opposed Test using their Evade skills.' At close range the advantage is all with the short weapon. In short, you need to keep her at bay.


09:35, Today: DM Extraordinaire, on behalf of Ataraxia, rolled 76 using 1d100.  poke 2.
09:34, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 100 using 1d100.  ailig parry 3.
09:34, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 7 using 1d100.  ailig parry 2.
09:34, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 82 using 1d100.  ailig parry 1.
21:21, Yesterday: Ataraxia rolled 42 using 1d100.  swipe.
21:21, Yesterday: Ataraxia rolled 22 using 1d100.  poke.


You always strike, lukily for ailig, none within critical, she manages to parry 2 out of 3, but the second is a critical success, so she gains a combat maneuvre, which she uses to try and break your weapon, which she succeeeds with:

09:40, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 15 using 1d100.  break pole.

Thi means the lower half of your pole goes flying into the air with your third hit being nothing more than a well placed strike into the air.

OOC : We have not done a combat in such a long time, I think this is all correct?
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:43, Thu 28 Apr 2022.
Ataraxia
player, 161 posts
Sat 30 Apr 2022
at 02:32
  • msg #274

Re: Spring

I don't know. This game is my first exposure to playing Runequest and my only exposure to 2nd edition Runequest. Um. Maybe?

Did I get a hit in though? That's the question.

DM Extraordinaire
GM, 172 posts
Sat 30 Apr 2022
at 08:26
  • msg #275

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
I don't know. This game is my first exposure to playing Runequest and my only exposure to 2nd edition Runequest. Um. Maybe?

Did I get a hit in though? That's the question.


No, it's the short answer. It went strike/parry; strike/critical parry; broken pole could not strike (lack of reach).

Sensing an advantage, Ailig closes the distance and makes a 'high and low' strike with both ends or her pole. She seemed confident it would end it. Alas, you can see, for possibly the first time, a genuine question mark forming on her face as you easily parry one of her strikes and she misses with the other.

(OOC : as you may have noticed, because of all hand held weapons %s being derived from STR, there's virtually zero chance of Ailig ever hitting you since you will have to roll 100 to fail a parry, her only chance is you fumbling and losing your weapon. In short, because of the rules for skills over 100%, your weapon skill is reduced to 100 and you reduce your opponents by whatever you have over 100 (page 35).)

Edit to clarify the above: There's an option to reason with her and to try to explain the foolishness of persisting. Or to continue the combat until she grocks it or gets a critical and an attack combat maneuvre. If you prefer the combat route, to speed things up, I'll just roll a series of consecutive rounds.

This message was last edited by the GM at 09:24, Sat 30 Apr 2022.
Ataraxia
player, 162 posts
Sat 30 Apr 2022
at 16:48
  • msg #276

Re: Spring

I thought parrying was a roll of weapon skill against weapon skill. Going by Strength 30 and Dexterity 17 and sword and shield skill 30, that's a 77, and it's hardly impossible for her to hit. but uh, okay. Ataraxia won't insult Ailig by taunting her and will instead put herself in for a serious contest; go ahead and make the rolls you think are appropriate.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 173 posts
Sun 1 May 2022
at 18:11
  • msg #277

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
I thought parrying was a roll of weapon skill against weapon skill. Going by Strength 30 and Dexterity 17 and sword and shield skill 30, that's a 77, and it's hardly impossible for her to hit. but uh, okay. Ataraxia won't insult Ailig by taunting her and will instead put herself in for a serious contest; go ahead and make the rolls you think are appropriate.



My mistake then. I was taking from our previous disc (posts 243-245) that her physical chars, other than volume and related chars (like reach, size) would remain the same in either dragon or human form, so I was assuming the 120 STR in the char sheet. Think we'll need an update in the char sheet to note in brackets the human form chars.

Speaking of parrying, one interestidbit, page 200: "An adventurer may make a subsequent parry with a weapon they have already parried with.  Any subsequent parry is at a cumulative –20% penalty..."

So, a parry with a weapon or shield that you have not parried with is not "subsequent" so is not penalized.  This is a minor benefit to using a 1H weapon and shield or 2 1H weapons.  You get two parries at full skill.

Forgot to say 'weapon skill against weapon skill' is correct.

This message was last edited by the GM at 09:27, Mon 02 May 2022.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 174 posts
Mon 2 May 2022
at 09:42
  • msg #278

Re: Spring

So, on the basis of the above, actions exhuasted, Ailig is left with 2 actions for her round (from a total of 3+1), which se uses for another 'high and low' strike.

10:30, Today: DM Extraordinaire, on behalf of Ataraxia, rolled 20 using 1d100.  ataraxia parry low.
10:30, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 29 using 1d100.  ailig strike low.
10:29, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 96 using 1d100.  ailig strike high.

This is quite remarcable, with a skill of 90, she has not yet scored a single strike.


For the next round, Ailig saves herself in extremis. (I've saved an action for your next parry)


10:32, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 69 using 1d100.  ailig parry 2.
10:32, Today: DM Extraordinaire, on behalf of Ataraxia, rolled 8 using 1d100.  ataraxia strike 2.
10:32, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 87 using 1d100.  ailig parry 1.
10:31, Today: DM Extraordinaire, on behalf of Ataraxia, rolled 44 using 1d100.  ataraxia strike 1.

Rolled for NPC reaction and she is not frustrated, but even more determined!


You expected her being frustrated, but that's not the case and again she strikes.

10:36, Today: DM Extraordinaire, on behalf of Ataraxia, rolled 44 using 1d100.  ataraxia parry high.
10:35, Today: DM Extraordinaire rolled 67 using 1d100.  ailig strike high.

Rolled for NPC reaction and she is finished with this.


After another easy parry, Ailig gets flustered, shouts a curse against herself, throws her weapons into the ring. Shouts 'This is hopeless, you win!...' as she turns and promptly heads for the exit and leaves the room. The Sergeant shrugs and starts clearing up after offering you congratulations. (failed insight roll) You suspect there's something amiss about this whole charade, but cannot place your claw on what it is.

OOC note: Hate the rulebook, it's a nightmare to find anything and there are no charts guiding you. In any case, quite remarcable that a skill of 90 cannot result in a strike after so many rounds.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:43, Mon 02 May 2022.
Ataraxia
player, 163 posts
Mon 2 May 2022
at 22:41
  • msg #279

Re: Spring

Yeah, the game mechanics break down at the top end. The top end isn't even all that high, which is disappointing to me. Do you want to switch game systems or stick with this one?

I bend over to pick up the broken half of staff and hand both ends to the sergeant. I also give him a handful of silver pennies, significantly more than the value of the broken staves. "To replace the shafts and the time. And for your hospitality."

Beat.

"What troubles Ailig so?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 175 posts
Tue 3 May 2022
at 08:19
  • msg #280

Re: Spring

OOC : Let me have a think about changing system. There must be something more suitable out there. I actually thought this would do nicely, since it covers everything, but it clearly works in a very wonky way at the top levels. The combat maneuvers are also a neat trick, but they are so random that even if they read as something really cool, they just work out as pot luck.

Ataraxia:
"What troubles Ailig so?"


The Sergeant nods in thanks for your coins. He keeps tidying things over as he mulls your question. He turns to you, hesistates, shakes his head.

'I actually cannot tell. Most unusual. It's been this way since her disagreement with the Lord Captain.
(her father) It was a public thing, so I'm breaking no confidence...' he quickly adds.

He looks at both ends of Ailig's pole. 'No disrepect m'Lady, you fought well, but she really would have beaten you if she was herself...'
Ataraxia
player, 164 posts
Wed 4 May 2022
at 23:04
  • msg #281

Re: Spring

There isn't much give and take. It devolves to mostly a luck contest. The big draw of Runequest, for me, is that compared to most fantasy games, there are no character levels. This means that techniques, skills, and spells can be learned individually, rather than as part of a level package. But if the base mechanics don't work well, then they don't.

Something could be kitbashed from D&D I suppose.

I'm fine with sticking with Runequest 2 myself, it's just not mechanically interesting at the top end and you've expressed frustration with it several times now. So a switch is fine by me too.


"What did they disagree about?" I lean against the fence that marks the boundary of the arena. Best not to get in the sergeant's way when he tidies up. I know how antsy I get when people mess with my private effects, even my servants.

"I believe that she would have."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 176 posts
Thu 5 May 2022
at 12:27
  • msg #282

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"What did they disagree about?"


He is silent for a bit, possibly mulling if he tells you not. In the end he shrugs. 'Problems with Waterdeep's protection... they are both very committed to keeping the city safe.'

(failed insight roll, so you cannot tell if he knows more than he is saying or not. Do you want to try any type of persuasion, or tackle the issue in a different way, or even abandon it altogether?)
Ataraxia
player, 165 posts
Sat 7 May 2022
at 00:15
  • msg #283

Re: Spring

"She wanted to press me for a favor if she won. Do you know what that might be?"

I use my posture and tone of voice to express a combination of sympathy and authority, hopefully coming off as a noblewoman who is concerned for the wellbeing of the lower orders. This is not condescension, but rather the appropriate attitude: I have been given many advantages by nature and by society, and it is my responsibility to use those advantages for the benefit of those who are not so advantaged.

I want to use Influence! The base target is 65. I know that the newest edition for Runequest lets you supplement skills with other skills or abilities as long as it makes sense for them to be tied together. If Runequest 2e has that too, would Culture, Courtesy, or Oratory be appropriate supplements?
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 177 posts
Sat 7 May 2022
at 19:27
  • msg #284

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
...
I want to use Influence! The base target is 65. I know that the newest edition for Runequest lets you supplement skills with other skills or abilities as long as it makes sense for them to be tied together. If Runequest 2e has that too, would Culture, Courtesy, or Oratory be appropriate supplements?


Yes, it does:
Augmenting Skills with Other Skills
There are occasions where one skill can help with another. For
example, a merchant trying to get a good price on a rare vase
might want to use his Lore (Pottery) skill to help his Infl uence or
Commerce skill and thus get a good deal. In such situations it is
permissible to allow the secondary skill to provide a bonus equal to
its critical score to the primary skill. Thus, in the example above,
the merchant has Infl uence at 70% and Lore (Carmanian Pottery)
at 63%. The critical score for Lore (Carmanian Pottery) is 7%
making the merchant’s Infl uence 77% in total.
Only one skill at a time can be used to boost another skill and the
skills must be complementary to each other for the given situation.
The Games Master should also stipulate when an augmentation like
this can be applied; it is never an automatic right.

I think oratory would be appropriate given what you say you did.


Ataraxia:
"She wanted to press me for a favor if she won. Do you know what that might be?"
...


Had to roll twice because I made a mistake on the first roll's target.
20:16, Today: DM Extraordinaire, on behalf of Ataraxia, rolled 63 using 1d100.  influence w/ oratory support (target is 70).


He hesitates, you can see him making up his mind. In the end he sighs and stops cleaning, turning to you.

'I'm certain it has to do with the son of Lord Duncan. And please don't do what the good Captain did and think this is some romantic thing, that will just drive her into a fury. A proper fury... and I've never said anything to you about any of this...' he concludes.
Ataraxia
player, 166 posts
Tue 10 May 2022
at 09:50
  • msg #285

Re: Spring

"Of course not, sergeant," I assure him.

I take my leave of the dueling arena and then go to find Ailig and ask for the ransom I am due. As well as to inquire about the favor she wanted from me.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 178 posts
Tue 10 May 2022
at 11:32
  • msg #286

Re: Spring

You have to ask several guards before you finally find Ailig. She's chopping firewood with an axe. The wood has no chance against her obvious fury. When you inquire about the favour she just curtly answers 'You won, I lost, I'll pay for the door, it would not be proper to ask for favours.'.

(another failed insight roll, you don't get the full understanding but, one possible explanation that would be clear to you and maybe explain her attitude  is that you are a part of a defence pact with the city and a landowner, Ailig is an official of the city and the daughter of the Captain of the Guard , who also is one of the Lords, hence it could be dicey politically for her and her father to be seen to ask and receive special favours from you.)
Ataraxia
player, 167 posts
Fri 13 May 2022
at 05:05
  • msg #287

Re: Spring

I do not provoke her by being patronizing. Instead I leave her to her anger and prepare for the journey home. If she wants to speak to me about it, then she will. If not, then not. So be it, either way.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 179 posts
Fri 13 May 2022
at 14:24
  • msg #288

Re: Spring

Straight back home? No pit stops?

Also, time wise, we are now about to enter the Flamerule, AKA "Summertide". It's a big thing because the end of it is marked with Midsummer:

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Midsummer

Ataraxia
player, 168 posts
Fri 13 May 2022
at 23:55
  • msg #289

Re: Spring

Did I have any other trips or errands pr dates set? I forget!

I could go to the market and buy spices and fine cloth and tools such to give as presents to my servants peasants and retainers during the Midsummer festival.

 Or arrange for a delivery of cattle to the manor to distribute for autumn and help harvest. Or a lot of other mundane benevolent medieval lord things.

Ooh. Are there rumors of monsters? Or a guild of adventurers where people hire bands or companions? That could be neat too.

I could also on invest in commerce and buy shares of merchant ventures before they set out. That was a thing rich people did in the middle ages.

Oghma dudes sign and renew contracts on Midsummer and I want to hire teachers but I was more interested in contracting craft guilds and tradesmen to teach their trades to my peasants. Would I still want to hire Oghmites?

This message was last edited by the player at 23:59, Fri 13 May 2022.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 180 posts
Mon 16 May 2022
at 15:48
  • msg #290

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
Did I have any other trips or errands pr dates set? I forget!


Not that I know of!

Ataraxia:
I could go to the market and buy spices and fine cloth and tools such to give as presents to my servants peasants and retainers during the Midsummer festival.

 Or arrange for a delivery of cattle to the manor to distribute for autumn and help harvest. Or a lot of other mundane benevolent medieval lord things.


Both possible. This is a big city, so either of those is possible with minimum complications.

Ataraxia:
Ooh. Are there rumors of monsters? Or a guild of adventurers where people hire bands or companions? That could be neat too.


Welll… both are available. The most notorious rumour of monsters relates to the so called ‘Anaur Caravan’ that was slaughtered on the way to Mirabar. At first the reason was bandits, then slowly it emerged that nothing had been taken, all wares were found still on the carts, but the people had been torn to shreds by some unknown beast. The city Guard sent a patrol to investigate the rumours, the patrol returned without actually finding the remains of the caravan thus increasing the rumours surrounding it.

Ataraxia:
I could also on invest in commerce and buy shares of merchant ventures before they set out. That was a thing rich people did in the middle ages.


Also possible. In fact, two of the Lords you met have interests in such ventures, so there’s a way in…

Ataraxia:
Oghma dudes sign and renew contracts on Midsummer and I want to hire teachers but I was more interested in contracting craft guilds and tradesmen to teach their trades to my peasants. Would I still want to hire Oghmites?


Oghma is a God so, if you are a follower of Oghma there would be a religious incentive to renew and sign your contracts at that time, not so much if you are not a follower… You have already contracted a building!

On a separate note, we'll have to start creating your realm's stats so that we can control the finances, holdings, etc as it develops. More on that tomorrow.
Ataraxia
player, 171 posts
Tue 7 Jun 2022
at 23:42
  • msg #291

Re: Spring

Before I head home, I make sure to write down and keep notes on everything I can find out about the Anaur Caravan. I also arrange for a hundred head of cattle to be delivered to my manor in high summer; I'll pay half now and half when taking delivery, as is traditional. The peasants will be able to train oxen from them to help with the harvest and plowing.

Then I'll check out that adventurers' guild! I've read about places like that but never been to one.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 184 posts
Wed 8 Jun 2022
at 13:05
  • msg #292

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
Before I head home, I make sure to write down and keep notes on everything I can find out about the Anaur Caravan. I also arrange for a hundred head of cattle to be delivered to my manor in high summer; I'll pay half now and half when taking delivery, as is traditional. The peasants will be able to train oxen from them to help with the harvest and plowing.

Then I'll check out that adventurers' guild! I've read about places like that but never been to one.


a) Anaur Caravan

Not much you had not heard before. The Guard is not spilling the beans and information is, at best, sketchy. You do manage to find out that their last staging station was in Waterdeep's notorious 'The Spouting Fish' inn near the Southern Gate.

b) Cattle

Yeeee Haaaawwwwww. Sorted. Let's pray that they are not eaten by another dragon passing by.

c) Adventurer's Guild

We move to IC:


Located in the affluent Sea Ward and adjacent to the West Gate, The Waterdeep Guild Hall is the main base for the Waterdeep branch of the Adventurer's Guild.

Despite the flamboyant motto engraved on the main facade 'Here lies a bastion of heroes, a safe haven for those that pledge their allegiance to adventuring.' , the hall is hard to distinguish from any number of other inns in the city. It's a well kept medium sized building, with a stone ground floor and a timber upper floor, under a roof of slate.

Upon going through the main door, you see a typical inn, with the usual assortment of tables and a counter at the end. In one thing it is different from most inns, it is a quiet and rather clean environment. A couple is behind the bar cleaning and filling jugs. And several patrons sit quietly at tables, either alone or in small groups, having quite conversations with the odd laugh. It's almost as if adventurer's would come here to be away from the dangers and pressures of adventuring.
Ataraxia
player, 172 posts
Wed 15 Jun 2022
at 09:27
  • msg #293

Re: Spring

Man, if random dragon attacks on cattle herds are common enough to worry about, it's a wonder civilization exists at all.

If it's okay with you, it seems like looking into that caravan would take too much time away from being a good princess, so I'm going to skip it. Unless it comes up again of course!


The Adventurers' Guildhall is impressive. I'm amazed that there's a guild for adventurers at all, but then I suppose that delving into ancient ruins, lifting curses, driving out undead, and other sorts of things like that is both dangerous and not entirely reputable, so having an established organization to make sure that both adventurers and the people who hire them keep things civil and keep to their contracts does seem like a good idea.

This might be the sort of place to inquire about the "magic mirror" I found, along with its inscriptions, and visits from ghost dragons. Which is why I'm here! I also sort of harbor dreams of following in my parents' footsteps and engaging in combat with monstrous foes for treasure and fame and so forth, but that's secondary to my responsibilities as ruler of my people.

I look for the most in-charge looking person there and go greet them!
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 185 posts
Wed 15 Jun 2022
at 10:27
  • msg #294

Re: Spring

quote:
I look for the most in-charge looking person there and go greet them!


And those are the couple behind the bar.

They both stop what they are doing when approach.

'Uh, hullo adventurer!...' he greets you, only for the lady to continue 'Looking for lodging, a meal, a drink? All of them?...'
Ataraxia
player, 173 posts
Mon 20 Jun 2022
at 08:09
  • msg #295

Re: Spring

I didn't forget that I'd read this but not replied, that was you.

>.>

<.<


"Thank you, sir! My name is Ataraxia, and I am in search of people who might be familiar with ancient scripts and strange magic. I can't think of anywhere better to find people like that than here!"

I take a copy of the rubbing I made of the symbols on the shield/mirror/illusion when it was still golden out of my satchel and show the symbols to the couple.

"This sort of thing. Adventurers need to know lots of elder lore to go delving into the ruins of ancient empires and so forth, right?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 186 posts
Mon 20 Jun 2022
at 13:51
  • msg #296

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
I didn't forget that I'd read this but not replied, that was you.


Happy to take one for the team.

Ataraxia:
This sort of thing. Adventurers need to know lots of elder lore to go delving into the ruins of ancient empires and so forth, right?


They both look with interest at the markings.

‘Usually, that’s where some kind of wizard joins the party…’ he says, with her picking-up the conclusion to the comments ‘… but feel free to ask here to the patrons, one of them might have seen something like it before…’
Ataraxia
player, 174 posts
Thu 23 Jun 2022
at 21:57
  • msg #297

Re: Spring

"Excellent, thank you." I beam happily at them.

I ask to purchase a bottle of their best mead and, once I've paid them, I start canvasing the patrons to see if any of them can identify the strange writing, as the innkeeper suggested.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 187 posts
Fri 24 Jun 2022
at 10:54
  • msg #298

Re: Spring

OOC - Are you just showing them the print with the writing, or are you giving them any other information?
Ataraxia
player, 175 posts
Sat 25 Jun 2022
at 23:13
  • msg #299

Re: Spring

I will tell them the entire story and especially make note of the fact that the gold color and the inscriptions disappeared when that ghost dragon showed up. The second ghost dragon, not the first one.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 188 posts
Mon 27 Jun 2022
at 07:20
  • msg #300

Re: Spring

OOC - Cursing myself now, I should have been more specific, are you telling them you turn into a dragon and telling the whole story of the fight with the dragons?
Ataraxia
player, 176 posts
Wed 29 Jun 2022
at 04:06
  • msg #301

Re: Spring

Yes. I tell them that I turn into a dragon and the dragon fight story. I don't know why I wouldn't! I mean I do, but my character doesn't. She's kind of dense.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 189 posts
Wed 29 Jun 2022
at 12:56
  • msg #302

Re: Spring

As your story gathers momentum, so does the number of adventurers around you listening to it. There is a marked increase in number when a 'gold shield' is mentioned. There are quite a number of raised eyebrows when you mention your ability to turn into a dragon. You particularly notice a group of two adventures, still covered in dust from the road, that look knowingly at each other when you mention that. (successful perception roll)

For all the interest, there are no conclusions as to what the inscription actually means. There is a long rambling discussion, with a lot of 'that's silly' thrown around. The only success is for the innkeepers as the patrons keep the food and drink running whilst they discuss the markings.

After a good while, the only agreement is that it is a 'wizard's job' but, one adventurer, looking like an old hand at this business did mention that he had seen similar markings before. There was widespread disbelief in the other adventurers as to this remark, he was accused of having only said that to extort some gold from you for the location and of being an 'old fool'. At this point there was almost a duel, but cooler heads prevailed and the discussion subsided, with some adventurers going back to their tables, or to their rooms. The old adventurer finishes with a 'I'll tell you lass, I saw it before, and nothing good come out of that'. After the cryptic remark he goes to the bar an orders another flagon.
Ataraxia
player, 177 posts
Thu 30 Jun 2022
at 03:16
  • msg #303

Re: Spring

I greatly enjoy being the center of attention and really ham up the story. I don't think I could be a bard, though. Doing this every day would get tiresome pretty quickly. I make sure to buy a round for the house to really cement my reputation as being awesome and pretty and generous.

After that statement from the mystery guy, I can't just let it go. I follow that guy to the bar and say, "Well now I have to know!"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 190 posts
Thu 30 Jun 2022
at 08:49
  • msg #304

Re: Spring

He lights his pipe and sits down motioning for you to join him.

'When was a younglad, the company I was with was hired by this nervous little man to explore some caves in the Scimitar Spires... in old Netheril you know... The little man said he had heard a rumour there were ancient artefacts in the caves, he proposed to go there with us and split the booty in equal parts, but he had first choice. Seemed ok, he paid for the expenses, so off we went. Took us a long time to get there. It's a forsaken place, in the middle of the great desert, with crazy nomads around... by the time we arrived at the caves, we were all worse for wear. None of us had ever tried to cross the desert, we were young and had no clue as to what we were doing, almost killed us all... The caves were easy to get to, the little man had a map. They were small, only a tunnel leading to a large cave, not so much caves as a single cave. I can swear to you, around the cave ceiling there were markings just like the ones you have in there... I'm old, but I can still remember it! Don't know what happened then. There was this wind suddenly passing by us, almost a shade, and half the company was cut to pieces by this wind... the little man fell on a rock as he tried to flee and broke his head beyond repair. I think I was the only survivor... I slipped on rocks, fell on a chasm. Took me an entire day to get out. Was saved by the nomads. Nice people they were...'
Ataraxia
player, 178 posts
Sat 2 Jul 2022
at 20:36
  • msg #305

Re: Spring

I am engrossed by his tail, imagining the vast sands and the beautiful but desolate landscape.

I'm excited, leaning in with sparkling eyes. "I have heard of Old Netheril but know little about it besides myths and legends. How long was the journey? It would be faster flying, I'm sure, just because the terrain wouldn't be as much of a problem, but wow, I bet it's still quite the trip! Do you think you could guide me back to that cave?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 191 posts
Tue 5 Jul 2022
at 14:04
  • msg #306

Re: Spring

He puffs... 'Uhhh... took us the best part of 2 weeks and we started closer... nightmare of a place to travel... flying you say? yeah, recon that would be faster... do you have wings?...' he chuckles in good nature.

He frowns when you mention guiding. 'Maybe... I have no map, so it would have to be based on landmarks. If they are there, then yes, I could do so...'
Ataraxia
player, 179 posts
Fri 8 Jul 2022
at 17:26
  • msg #307

Re: Spring

I put my hands on my hips and raise an eyebrow. "Why yes, I do have wings."

Gesturing with my left hand, "Well, okay not right now, but I can have wings whenever I want. You said you were the only survivor of that expedition? My name is Ataraxia. What's yours?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 192 posts
Mon 11 Jul 2022
at 11:40
  • msg #308

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
..."Well, okay not right now, but I can have wings whenever I want. You said you were the only survivor of that expedition? My name is Ataraxia. What's yours?"...


He raises an eyebrow and leaves it at that, at your mention that you can have wings when you want

'Name is Gilmartin. As far as I know, yes, I alone came out of the scorching hell... and even that was a close thing. The nomads found me half-dead and saved me... for which I will be forever in their gratitude... they even took me to Cormyr with them...'

Ataraxia
player, 180 posts
Wed 13 Jul 2022
at 08:28
  • msg #309

Re: Spring

"Nice ta meecha, Gilmartin. I'd like to commission an expedition to go to those Scimitar Caves. If we can map the route first, that'd be great. I have to return home for a while to tend to my duties - being a lord is a responsibility you know, despite what a lot of nobles seem to think. Do you live in the city? Would I be able to find you here in the future? After harvest would be the best time to set out, I think.

What about those nomads? Do you know who they were and where I might find any of them? Sages of the desert would be very useful on a journey like I'm thinking of!"

DM Extraordinaire
GM, 193 posts
Thu 14 Jul 2022
at 11:05
  • msg #310

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"Nice ta meecha, Gilmartin. I'd like to commission an expedition to go to those Scimitar Caves. If we can map the route first, that'd be great. I have to return home for a while to tend to my duties - being a lord is a responsibility you know, despite what a lot of nobles seem to think. Do you live in the city? Would I be able to find you here in the future? After harvest would be the best time to set out, I think.


He looks dubiously at you. 'Yer a lord?... be that as it may, to mount an expedition ye'll need gold. Need to hire mounts and guards.'

Ataraxia:
What about those nomads? Do you know who they were and where I might find any of them? Sages of the desert would be very useful on a journey like I'm thinking of!"


'That's easier. They do caravans. Ye would want to 'void the northern route. 'fter harvest would start to be snowy. East to the Graypeak, then through the pass. Should find nomads in that route...'
Ataraxia
player, 181 posts
Tue 19 Jul 2022
at 19:49
  • msg #311

Re: Spring

Nice accent by the way. Adds color!

Considering my fine appearance and clothes, I would have thought it obvious that I have at least some money, but maybe adventurers are commonly ostentatious.

"Naturally!" I answer. "Guides, grooms, and porters too. How long do you think it would take to get to the Scimitar Caves if one were a bird, flying there? I'd like to scout the route if possible to get an idea of the terrain and destination, but it may be too far even airborne."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 194 posts
Mon 25 Jul 2022
at 13:55
  • msg #312

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
...
"Guides, grooms, and porters too. How long do you think it would take to get to the Scimitar Caves if one were a bird, flying there? I'd like to scout the route if possible to get an idea of the terrain and destination, but it may be too far even airborne."


OOC - Sorry for the delay. Too much happening.

‘A bird?...’ He frowns in thought. ‘How fast does a wee bird fly?... A week if you’re slow?... Couple of days if you’re fast?...’

Ataraxia
player, 182 posts
Sat 30 Jul 2022
at 01:15
  • msg #313

Re: Spring

I explain, gesturing with my hands in chopping motions to indicate position and movement.

"Well you know, distance as the crow flies. It's an expression. How far is it in a straight line, without accounting for roads and turns and hills and such things? Like on a map."

Smugly I say, "Also, I am quite fast! Yep!"

Short pause to consider. "I've never raced anything though, so I'm not sure exactly how fast."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 195 posts
Sat 30 Jul 2022
at 18:52
  • msg #314

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"Well you know, distance as the crow flies. It's an expression. How far is it in a straight line, without accounting for roads and turns and hills and such things? Like on a map."


He shrugs. 'Never saw a big map like that... 300 leagues?... A tad more?... It's far and and over the mountains... the nomads would know.'

He pauses for a sec after you mention flying.

''Yer some kind of wizard?...'
Ataraxia
player, 183 posts
Sun 31 Jul 2022
at 17:47
  • msg #315

Re: Spring

Matter-of-factly, "No - well I do know a few spells but not very many - I'm a dragon."

I gesture expansively at my human body: tall, athletic, regal, beautiful, red-haired, and in tailored, bright red clothes with bronze fittings. I think it's pretty obvious that I'm a shapeshifted dragon, actually.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 196 posts
Tue 2 Aug 2022
at 07:54
  • msg #316

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"No - well I do know a few spells but not very many - I'm a dragon."


He mumbles something about his old missus also being a dragon and then decides that, in true adventurer fashion, an employer with gold is always right and can be as quirky as they want to be.

He moves himself a wee bit closer and, in a low voice, says 'If ye know a spell or two you may try your wizardry at getting the inn keepers son and daughter to join us. Finest guides and swords yer ever find... but they hit a real horde some years back and have since retired from the business... that's how their folks got this inn...'
Ataraxia
player, 184 posts
Fri 5 Aug 2022
at 00:45
  • msg #317

Re: Spring

"No, I'm actually a dragon. It's not a metaphor. Why does nobody believe that?"

I throw my hands up in exasperation.

"Okay then. As I said, I'm not looking to leave right away. Will you be in the city come Midwinter?
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 197 posts
Mon 8 Aug 2022
at 13:06
  • msg #318

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"No, I'm actually a dragon. It's not a metaphor. Why does nobody believe that?"



‘Ermmm… shapeshifters, real ones, not that common… a dragon? Never even heard of one!...’



Ataraxia:
"Okay then. As I said, I'm not looking to leave right away. Will you be in the city come Midwinter?



‘If I have the gold, I’ll have the expedition ready for when you want it… failing that, not much work for ol’ adventurers, so aye, I’ll be here.’
Ataraxia
player, 185 posts
Mon 8 Aug 2022
at 20:37
  • msg #319

Re: Spring

"Great! Thank you for your help and your time, Mister Gilmartin."

I excuse myself and go to find the aforementioned son and daughter of the innkeepers to inquire with them as to whether they would like to join the expedition! When it happens. I do have duties to attend.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 198 posts
Tue 9 Aug 2022
at 15:23
  • msg #320

Re: Spring

After a long tirade extolling the virtues of their children, they are quite happy to hand you the address of the children, both living in different parts of Waterdeep. Which one do you want to visit first? They both live in wealthy neighbourhoods and at similar distances from your current location.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:23, Tue 09 Aug 2022.
Ataraxia
player, 186 posts
Thu 11 Aug 2022
at 18:49
  • msg #321

Re: Spring

I will visit the son first. Maybe he will be impressed by my beauty. I worked hard to make sure this human body was attractive! Harumph! I'd rather the daughter be impressed with my beauty though. Everyone knows dragons prefer princesses. It's in the handbook. Both would be even better!
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 199 posts
Fri 12 Aug 2022
at 11:37
  • msg #322

Re: Spring

The way to the son’s house is quick and pleasant as it’s made through the leafy, affluent part of Waterdeep. His villa is one a number in very much the same style, given the street the unusual look of a something that was clearly planned and not happened by hazard like the rest of the city. Even the smells were not city smells. You could actually feel the subtle fragrances of the trees and flower beds that lined the road.

Upon reaching the house, you go through the usual motions of someone that is a total stranger but his still expecting to speak to the owner. An old servant asks you politely to wait, his ‘not impressed’ hinting at a long wait or just a flat no. Alas, in a very short time a young man arrived. He’s dressed in a good quality attire, with a well-tailored cotton shirt, seemingly designed to make the best of a sculptural torso and arms. Long hair gently flowing, lightly tanned skin, he looked very much a portrait out of an ‘adventurer’s guild’ recruitment poster. Of course, bound to be expected, when he speaks he also has a melodious voice.

‘Lady Ataraxia… what can I do for you?...’
he politely asks.
Ataraxia
player, 187 posts
Mon 15 Aug 2022
at 01:56
  • msg #323

Re: Spring

I get the feeling all of this is meant to impress people with wealth. It could also be a desperate attempt to "fit in" with the aristocracy by a new generation of wealthy people.

I put my hands on my hips and stand straight, projecting easy natural charisma. "You've the right of it, sir. May I have your name?

I have some ancient writing I would like to decipher, but no sages I have asked know how to read it. Therefore, I am preparing an expedition into the deep desert, to a cavern where writing similar to it has been found before. A Mister Gilmartin directed me to you and your sister, who might either be able to decipher this script or would be interested in joining the expedition."

DM Extraordinaire
GM, 200 posts
Tue 16 Aug 2022
at 07:49
  • msg #324

Re: Spring

quote:
You've the right of it, sir. May I have your name?


'Randulf.' he says with a flourish.

quote:
I have some ancient writing I would like to decipher, but no sages I have asked know how to read it. Therefore, I am preparing an expedition into the deep desert, to a cavern where writing similar to it has been found before. A Mister Gilmartin directed me to you and your sister, who might either be able to decipher this script or would be interested in joining the expedition.


The old servant come in again and was busy setting up some tea and some sort of iced drink on a small table.

Randulf nodded sagely. 'Gilmartin, of course. Good man him. So, I'm unsure what you require from us, do you want to hire us as swords hands or are you looking for gold to fund your expedition?...'
Ataraxia
player, 188 posts
Fri 19 Aug 2022
at 00:27
  • msg #325

Re: Spring

I take a seat, which might be a bit rude now that I've thought about it, but eh, I'm a dragon, I do what I want. Right? Maybe. Kinda. It's a reason at least.

I cross my legs and lean forward, studying Randulf. The closed posture is a less dominant gesture than just sitting down without invitation, which might smooth feathers before they're ruffled. "Mister Gilmartin tells me that you and your sister are the 'finest guides and swords' around. I will need guides, at the very least, and people accustomed to living off the land. Your expertise in the catalogue of arms will also be useful fending off the many dangers of the high desert. I further venture that you and your sister are experienced in dungeoneering, and since I have need of ancient secrets buried in the sands and caverns of Old Netheril, that is a bonus on top."

"Catalogue of arms" is the archaic English term for "martial arts."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 201 posts
Fri 19 Aug 2022
at 09:42
  • msg #326

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"Catalogue of arms" is the archaic English term for "martial arts."


We never finish learning in life. That is quite interesting and I had no idea at all.

Ataraxia:
Mister Gilmartin tells me that you and your sister are the 'finest guides and swords' around. I will need guides, at the very least, and people accustomed to living off the land. Your expertise in the catalogue of arms will also be useful fending off the many dangers of the high desert. I further venture that you and your sister are experienced in dungeoneering, and since I have need of ancient secrets buried in the sands and caverns of Old Netheril, that is a bonus on top.


Randulf takes your cue and sits down. ‘Quite interesting I must say. So, just to be clear, you are sponsoring this expedition?...’

Ataraxia
player, 189 posts
Sat 20 Aug 2022
at 17:06
  • msg #327

Re: Spring

I nod at him. "Yes, that's correct."

Sorry, I dunno what else to say.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:06, Sat 20 Aug 2022.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 202 posts
Sat 20 Aug 2022
at 18:10
  • msg #328

Re: Spring

A hidden panelled door on the wall opens. A man in his late 20s comes out. He's dressed in rather plain, but good quality clothes. He's a good head shorter than Randulf, and looks rather nondescript, he's almost the opposite of Randulf's flamboyancy.

Randulf looks at him and stands awkwardly. The newcomer thanks Randulf and Randulf makes a final flourish and leaves the room.

OOC - Assuming you don't intervene...

The newcomer sits where Randulf was and starts by apologizing. He explains that he's actually Randulf. The other man is an actor, hired to impersonate him. Unfortunately, as he explains, since striking it lucky, the sheer amount of people knocking on his door asking for gold has been well beyond what he ever expected. He even has nobles knocking on his door. It has become quite unbearable, so much he's considering leaving the city all together. He continues to explain that he has heard of you. He's somewhat informed about what the Lords of Waterdeep do. He heard great prodigies of your abilities, he's honest enough to say he believed them all highly exaggerated, until the Lords entered into a deal with you. He's now most curious to see such prodigy with his own eyes but he understands that too many people seeking you and demanding of you can be taxing, as such he won't insist on anything. He seems tired at this point. Only then he expressed interest in your proposition. He explains that he's hardly an adventurer, yes, his parents were. Alas, he was mostly a bookworm and his sister much prefers staying at home than going on the road. Pre-empting your question, he mentions that he used his brain rather than his brawn to get the gold they got. His sister can be rather cunning, ruthless and resourceful when she's so inclined, so both of them used their heads where most people would use swords and proved that it worked.

Still, he concludes, 'you have me really interested with ancient writing, ancient wisdom is my milieu so to say. My sister, you may find her harder to convince, and if you are going on an expedition, you will find that she has an almost unnatural talent for danger. It's almost as if she can smell or fell it in her bones... when are you thinking of leaving? I won't lie, the excuse for getting away from here is even more welcomed than anything we may find...'
Ataraxia
player, 190 posts
Wed 24 Aug 2022
at 07:11
  • msg #329

Re: Spring

There are so many Randulfs. *confused* =p

I uncross my legs and lean back to witness this strange exchange of Randulfs. His story is interesting, and I lean forward again to listen. Of course, I forgive the charade.

I sympathize with him: nobles are often short of money. Especially urban nobles. They have no estates to produce anything, but they have images to uphold, and they live above their means. Nobles like myself, who actually make some effort to steward their finances carefully, are often badgered for loans.

What a coincidence! My parents were also adventurers. Noble-born, but then, so are most adventurers, I'd think. Who else has the spare time and money to buy plate armor and books and go traipsing around the country, looking for excitement? I inherited their land and title when they passed away, as a personal union of two baronies.

"Ah, if cleverness and cunning are your strengths, that's even better. I'm a dragon, you see, so I've got the might well-covered. It's knowledge and cleverness that I lack. I have a tendency to just smash into my problems until they surrender, which they usually do, since, you know," I spread my arms above my head, "big scary monster."

"This, though, I can't solve that way. No amount of physical strength or fire breathing is going to help me understand these things. I spent most of my life having never met another dragon, and several have appeared recently, looking for some great hoard of treasure or to end a curse. I'm not sure which. Maybe both. The key to moving forward in my understanding of the situation is to translate some runes I found on a magic mirror that might have been itself an illusion. I'm assured that they're a real language, but no one I've talked to knows what they say. Gilmartin claimed he say similar writing in a desert cavern some years ago. As for when I'd like to leave, a week or so before Midwinter. We'll be going to the High Desert of Old Netheril, so that seems the best time to leave to me. It's well before planting, meaning my responsibilities as lady of the land will be minimal and easily deputized, and it should be cold enough to keep the worst deprivations of the desert at bay."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 203 posts
Wed 24 Aug 2022
at 13:37
  • msg #330

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"This, though, I can't solve that way. No amount of physical strength or fire breathing is going to help me understand these things. I spent most of my life having never met another dragon, and several have appeared recently, looking for some great hoard of treasure or to end a curse. I'm not sure which. Maybe both. The key to moving forward in my understanding of the situation is to translate some runes I found on a magic mirror that might have been itself an illusion. I'm assured that they're a real language, but no one I've talked to knows what they say. Gilmartin claimed he say similar writing in a desert cavern some years ago. As for when I'd like to leave, a week or so before Midwinter. We'll be going to the High Desert of Old Netheril, so that seems the best time to leave to me. It's well before planting, meaning my responsibilities as lady of the land will be minimal and easily deputized, and it should be cold enough to keep the worst deprivations of the desert at bay."


He listened to your story with interest. For a change, there are no ‘dragon???’ moments.

‘Your story and challenge interest me. An old writing that no one can decipher? I assume you have obviously employed wizards. If they cannot find an answer, then it’s a challenge indeed. I wonder what my sister will think of all of this… Tell me, how do the dragons feature into this? Is there a connection? Dragons, you will pardon me for saying it, are usually bad news. They are not of the kind to go out after something if they can avoid, there’s usually a very compelling reason…’
Ataraxia
player, 191 posts
Wed 31 Aug 2022
at 08:00
  • msg #331

Re: Spring

I shrug. "As far as I can tell, they want some of the treasure that's supposedly hidden by the riddle or illusion or whatever connected to this mysterious writing. I don't really know. The other dragons seem like they want me to do it, for whatever reason. Maybe they're just lazy. I admit I was mostly just eager to talk to another dragon; I've never done that before. Or since, come to think of it. I have hired a wizard to look into it, which is part of the reason I don't want to set out for a while. He may be able to figure it out from materials already available. If not, then he can come along to get more samples of the writing."

Sorry for the delay.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 204 posts
Wed 31 Aug 2022
at 14:52
  • msg #332

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"As far as I can tell, they want some of the treasure that's supposedly hidden by the riddle or illusion or whatever connected to this mysterious writing. I don't really know. The other dragons seem like they want me to do it, for whatever reason. Maybe they're just lazy. I admit I was mostly just eager to talk to another dragon; I've never done that before. Or since, come to think of it. I have hired a wizard to look into it, which is part of the reason I don't want to set out for a while. He may be able to figure it out from materials already available. If not, then he can come along to get more samples of the writing."


'Hmmmm... dragons suddenly showing up with unreal and possibly dubious intentions... now that's a slice of history if I ever heard one...' He hesitates for a split second '...Maybe I should go with you to visit my sister, perhaps together we can persuade her...'
Ataraxia
player, 192 posts
Tue 6 Sep 2022
at 02:46
  • msg #333

Re: Spring

"That sounds like a fine idea! And I can tell you the whole story on the way." I grin cheekily at him and kip up to my full height, to go do just that. Naturally, I'll keep my word and relate the whole story, assuming he wants to hear it!

To adventure! By which I mean convincing his sister to come on a trip into the horrible monster-infested Netherese wastes in a few months!
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 205 posts
Thu 8 Sep 2022
at 12:00
  • msg #334

Re: Spring

In reply to Ataraxia (msg # 333):

Covered in a rather common looking cloak he guides to the sister's house. He listens attentively to your story, sometimes asking questions of detail. Expertly guided you quickly arrive to your destination. Unlike his, the sister's house is a much more discreet affair. Still good quality, still on the right part of Waterdeep, but clearly more discreet than the manor. He mumbles something that sounded like 'she had good sense to buy something small'.

His sister does not need smoke and mirrors, after being allowed in by a servant, she quickly joins you, happily greeting her brother. He introduces you and makes a short summary of the story so far. She seemed doubtful but when he makes clear he's going she reluctantly agrees to join more to 'keep him safe' than for anything else. She does seem puzzled as to what will happen if once there, nobody can still make head or tails of the writing or even if the writing is not what it seems at first glance. Memory is treacherous and Gilmartin might be assuming he has saw the same thing, but actually have seen something similar but not the same...
Ataraxia
player, 193 posts
Tue 13 Sep 2022
at 06:01
  • msg #335

Re: Spring

I try to reassure them that I'll be funding and paying for the expedition regardless. Furthermore, I think that, if either of them have contacts or friends in merchant groups, they could arrange for transporting goods along the route, which could help offset costs and turn everyone involved a small profit, even if there's nothing to be found.

I need to get back on the posting wagon. I've been very busy lately. Sorry, sorry.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 206 posts
Tue 13 Sep 2022
at 16:13
  • msg #336

Re: Spring

OOC No worries, as it happened, I was horrendously busy with the move over these past 2 weeks.

The sister does not seem concerned with monies, she was more wondering if this could turn into a longer expedition than anyone thinks. As to the brother, for the first time he raises the possibility of returning to your estate with you. He seems most eager to speak with the wizard you have hired. His interest in all things ancient clearly talking louder.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:13, Tue 13 Sept 2022.
Ataraxia
player, 194 posts
Thu 15 Sep 2022
at 22:15
  • msg #337

Re: Spring

It's quite possible the expedition could go on longer. I don't know how far it is and have never traveled through desert, which is why I am hiring guides and experts on adventuring into the unknown. That being said, have no fear! I am a dragon and can fly people back if there's an emergency. Yep! I am very smug about this fact.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 207 posts
Fri 16 Sep 2022
at 11:50
  • msg #338

Re: Spring

OOC See msg 336, can the brother go back with you to talk with Vermillion?

Also, where do you want to go next?

Ataraxia
player, 195 posts
Sun 18 Sep 2022
at 05:29
  • msg #339

Re: Spring

Sure he can come! I hope he doesn't mind be carried in a dragon's paw! WOOOOSH.

Next stop is home. I think I've taken care of everything in the city.

DM Extraordinaire
GM, 208 posts
Wed 21 Sep 2022
at 10:25
  • msg #340

Re: Spring

Unlike some of your other ‘passengers’, he’s not particularly fazed by the experience. Yes, he’s a bit ‘cautious’ about the heights, but he seems far more in wonder than in fear. Once you start flying over your lands you can see the peasants going about their daily business all seemingly in order.

Until your reach your manor. At that point Vermillion almost crashes into you both, so eager he is. Without even waiting for you to address him, he starts reporting his great finding. According to him, you had a visitor in your absence. Aurgloroasa paid you a visit. In your absence she got talking to Vermillion and helped him with his work. She actually (conveniently...) knew a couple of the letters and Vermillion was then able to decode the rest. The whole text was ‘My first is in hold, my second is in wield, my third is in power’. He concludes, rather obviously, that it is some form of riddle related to three components. Hold could be this shield, if so, it would make sense that wield relates to some sort of weapon, which leaves open the aspect of power.
Ataraxia
player, 196 posts
Wed 21 Sep 2022
at 21:30
  • msg #341

Re: Spring

Well that's handy.

I greet Vermillion's enthusiasm with me own, despite how incredibly convenient the "discovery" is. Is there any information as to where I might find the other two parts of the "thing," so to speak? I tell Vermillion about a venture into the deep desert to seach for an ancient possibly Netherese ruin that might have some of the same writing in it. Is the script Netherese or about that age?
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 209 posts
Fri 30 Sep 2022
at 11:52
  • msg #342

Re: Spring

OOC - and back.

Vermillion nearly jumps at the opportunity of searching for Netherese ruins, he’s rather unsure about any connection between the age of the scripts.

At your side, the brother openly mulls about the convenience of Aurgloroasa’s arrival when you were out. He queries Vermillion about her whereabouts to which the wizard can only shrug. You can feel he’s very intrigued by her.
Ataraxia
player, 197 posts
Sun 2 Oct 2022
at 22:25
  • msg #343

Re: Spring

I tell the brother what I know about Aurgloroasa, which isn't much, and ask him if he knows anything about her.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 210 posts
Tue 4 Oct 2022
at 10:42
  • msg #344

Re: Spring

'It's an old name, out of ancient stories, most interestingly, almost all related to dragons. She's variously described, but the 'sibilant shade' is commonly found. The name is not exactly what one would call an 'ancient legend', but it's a name I've often found to be around whenever major intrigue is happening. Quite honestly, I frequently saw this name as a sort of generic designation for someone pulling the strings behind the stage... I never assumed for a second this was a real person, much less so one that would live through hundreds of years... Still think it must be someone using a name because it gives them some kind of status...'
Ataraxia
player, 198 posts
Tue 4 Oct 2022
at 22:35
  • msg #345

Re: Spring

"It might just be a pseudonym, sure. She at least appeared to be able to shapeshift into a dragon, but with illusions, that could have been possible without her actually being one."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 211 posts
Thu 6 Oct 2022
at 14:06
  • msg #346

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
"It might just be a pseudonym, sure. She at least appeared to be able to shapeshift into a dragon, but with illusions, that could have been possible without her actually being one."


'Keep in mind that, if it's someone using her name and just using some illusions, then it's probably something you can very well cope with... I never imagined I would say this but, if the historical Aurgloroasa is real, and she's is hovering around you, then there is little way of knowing what she is up to, what her intentions are or what she can do... shape-shifting is not unusual in ancient tomes... well, you know it better than me... but Aurgloroasa was more than a shape shifter, she was not a human, she was a dragon. She just happened to shape-shift into human form whenever it was convenient to her purposes...' he seemed genuinely taken back by this turn of events '...we may be facing history, myth and danger all rolled into one...'
Ataraxia
player, 199 posts
Thu 6 Oct 2022
at 21:30
  • msg #347

Re: Spring

"Well, I'm a dragon too!" I reply, maybe a bit too huffy.

"What exactly is Aurgloroasa supposed to have done?"

I wave at one of the maids to bring my guests some refreshments. Everybody likes mead and snacks. Right? I like mead and snacks.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 212 posts
Fri 7 Oct 2022
at 19:48
  • msg #348

Re: Spring

'Well, you need to take into account we're talking about ancient myth, hard to know what's true or not. When humans started to become a force, they naturally clashed with dragons. Territory and treasure made sure of that. Dragons did not recognize any leader or structure, or so myth goes, all this until something that I call 'the council of three' emerged. As you can Aurgloroasa was one of them. A 'peace treaty' was brokered and humans and dragons lived in peace. Again, or so myth says. Eventually, humans kept expanding into new territories, and the clashes begun again. The relationship between humans and dragons as been pretty much the same since. But Aurgloroasa kept re-appearing. She is often noted as broker of deals between humans and dragons, as far as I know, since the council of three, she never again shows up as a dragon. Her deals were often fiascos, ending up with humans eaten by dragons. She finally disappears, well until now, when an obscure group called the Cult of the Dragon started worshipping her as a god. There's not a lot about them, but they show up, create some chaos, as the story goes to bring Aurgloroasa to her true dragon-god form, and then go back into oblivion... In short, she''s been busy over the centuries...'
Ataraxia
player, 200 posts
Mon 10 Oct 2022
at 21:39
  • msg #349

Re: Spring

"How ancient are these myths? It sounds like a bunch of stuff some sorcerers made up to justify a cult that gives them legitimacy to political power. But I mean, I'm a dragon, and there's a wizard in the room, so it's not impossible. Does anything about that three part uh, well for lack of a better word, riddle stick out to you?"

I show him the "mirror" that was just a giant iron dish in the end and describe what it looked like before, all shiny gold and such. Then I tell him about the ghost dragon, which was the weirdest part of the whole experience to me.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 213 posts
Tue 11 Oct 2022
at 11:17
  • msg #350

Re: Spring

Vermillion nods in agreement.

‘Who knows how ancient? A lot of things are written many, many years after the facts they tell, there may a lot of creative licence in those tales… The council of 3 contained another dragon you mentioned, that Dreky something or another. But I have never read of him being a ghost dragon. Mind you, ghost dragons are not uncommon in the east. Sort of about in the same direction we are heading later in the year… Maybe he was just an apparition?... They both got along very well in the old tales, well, when they were in dragon form. The human Aurgloroasa was a different thing to her dragon form. She was brutal as a dragon, cunning as a human…’
Ataraxia
player, 201 posts
Sat 15 Oct 2022
at 03:32
  • msg #351

Re: Spring

"Drekroyaster? I called him Drekytoaster because I couldn't pronounce his real name. At least in my head. Seemed disrespectful to say that to his ghost face. So, what do you think? Is that expedition into a deep desert a good idea? Or is there somewhere else we might look for useful insight?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 214 posts
Sat 15 Oct 2022
at 14:51
  • msg #352

Re: Spring

'Well, I think it's an excellent idea... I'm a bit more excited with it now. Of course, that's not to say there are not dangers ahead, I suspect there are plenty. And if we assume we have a legendary shape-shifting dragon in it, then things become double more interesting but the danger level raises ten-fold... I wonder if anything on your family tree relatis to this... I mean, you have some kind of drago ancestry? Otherwise...' He gesticulates towards you as if saying 'how would you be possible?...'
Ataraxia
player, 202 posts
Tue 18 Oct 2022
at 05:48
  • msg #353

Re: Spring

I explain: "The people who raised me, who I call my parents, were human warriors and heroic people, deeply beloved of justice and right. The dragon who laid the egg from which I hatched was a cruel monster who murdered many innocents, as I have been told, and my parents raised me in a manner befitting their ideals, rather than kill me before I hatched. So, I don't really know much about my ancestry. Is there a way to find out through divination magics?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 215 posts
Wed 19 Oct 2022
at 13:23
  • msg #354

Re: Spring

The brother, which we shall again name from now onwards, Randulf, looks and nods at Vermillion 'That's his department...'

He nods in agreement 'that would probably be something like a visions of the past spell, witches stuff for the most part...'

Randulf smiles 'there, now we need to find a witch... unless you know one?' he asks you.
Ataraxia
player, 203 posts
Fri 21 Oct 2022
at 08:38
  • msg #355

Re: Spring

"I don't know any witches. Where would we find witches? There are rumors, of course, but there are always rumors, and people like to blame ugly old widows for bad things that happen, because they're easy targets. As far as I know, real magic comes from cities, scholars, like yourselves."

I shrug, noncommittal.

"There are some mountains that a witch might live in, but that's not very specific. We could ask the villagers and farmers."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 216 posts
Fri 21 Oct 2022
at 12:41
  • msg #356

Re: Spring

Vermillion chips in. 'The problem is not finding a witch, the problem is finding a witch that can actually do... well any witching...'

Randulf concurs. The they start discussing amongst themselves how best to find a witch, who knows one, hoe to go about it and so on. At the end Vermillion agrees to go and get a witch He'll just need you to provide with transport. 'A horse' he states rather quickly, presumably before you offer to take him there yourself.
Ataraxia
player, 204 posts
Mon 24 Oct 2022
at 01:42
  • msg #357

Re: Spring

I'm mid-starting-talk, even have my finger in the air, when he asks for a horse.

"Oh, uh, yes. How well can you ride? Are you sure you don't want an escort?"

I have dreamed of sending adventurers on quests before...
This message was last edited by the player at 01:42, Mon 24 Oct 2022.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 217 posts
Mon 24 Oct 2022
at 12:24
  • msg #358

Re: Spring

'Ermmm... yes... well, mostly yes. I think I will survive it... but a guard would probably not go amiss. I'm heading to the woods south of the Spine, so there's all sorts of critters in there...'

'And here I was thinking you were an all powerful wizard.'
Randulf says.

'I'm a learned scholar...' Vermillion retorts.
Ataraxia
player, 205 posts
Thu 27 Oct 2022
at 23:39
  • msg #359

Re: Spring

"My mother always said that the true power of wizards was in what you didn't know they could do. That's why commoners are frightened of magic. Anyway, I can have some of my men go with you. How many guards do you think is enough to ensure safety but not enough to slow things down or drive away the witches?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 218 posts
Fri 28 Oct 2022
at 10:26
  • msg #360

Re: Spring

‘One. I don’t expect any trouble, certainly not from the witch, but road bandits and the odd critters are another thing…’

Randulf quips ‘Let’s hope the dragon lady does not make an appearance…’ he then realizes what he just said and makes a gesture of apology to you ‘…I mean the other dragon lady… speaking of which, when you battled dreky-something, was she there watching from the sidelines?...’

Ataraxia
player, 206 posts
Sun 30 Oct 2022
at 22:33
  • msg #361

Re: Spring

"I will send two. Never send just one man on watch. One man can be ambushed silently; two at least have a chance to react." That was a lesson my father taught me.

"Drekroyaster. I keep wanting to call him Drekytoaster."

I snicker self-indulgently.

"Yes, let's hope she doesn't show up. I know who you mean."

This time I smile pleasantly, to indicate I am not offended and not threatening anyone.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 219 posts
Tue 1 Nov 2022
at 12:21
  • msg #362

Re: Spring

OOC intermezzo

So, where are we.

a) Vermillion will go find a neighbouring witch
b) Randulf is lodging with you until the time comes to go on your quest
c) Meanwhile... your domains have been somewhat neglected!... We'll soon be entering summer and the first crop.


What do you want to do next? Bit of feudal lord business and manage the domains (ie, check crops, etc) make sure all is well in the lands of Ataraxia? Or something else all together?

Ataraxia
player, 207 posts
Tue 1 Nov 2022
at 22:50
  • msg #363

Re: Spring

Entering summer! I thought she was only gone for like a week. Whoah. Best to do her job then.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 220 posts
Wed 2 Nov 2022
at 08:38
  • msg #364

Re: Spring

Ataraxia:
Entering summer! I thought she was only gone for like a week. Whoah. Best to do her job then.


The key word is 'soon', how long soon is depends on what you want to do in the meanwhile...

Ataraxia
player, 208 posts
Thu 3 Nov 2022
at 22:40
  • msg #365

Re: Spring

Investigate the strange magical stuff! Mostly just do her job though.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 221 posts
Sun 6 Nov 2022
at 19:08
  • msg #366

Re: Spring

Kingdom

OOC : This is a bit of a far ranging posts, essentially it covers the 'kingdom run' portion of the game, rather than the nitty gritty investigation on the magical stuff. As such, the actions in these posts will span more time and be broader than the normal RPG. I'm titling these posts 'Kingdom'. Let's try to see how this goes, or we may end up splitting them into another thread.

As you gather the fine minds that run your lands in your absence they bring to your attention the main point in the agenda. The crop this year is looking to be poor. This is not really new as they have seen the same in all of the lands of the north. This promises a hard winter which will require you to source some further animal forage.

There are also issues on the south-east border. It's not a major problem, the odd bandit is expected, but the bandits that have shown up in that area have been a bit more... resilient than usual. There's the expected fight in your 'council' between those that live close by and that urge more action and those that live far away and that end up saying it's all exaggeration.
Ataraxia
player, 209 posts
Sat 12 Nov 2022
at 10:15
  • msg #367

Re: Spring

Sorry to be slow again. I'm very demoralized lately. I need to get back into regular posting. Also, that plan is fine.

I even arranged for more animals to be delivered in the summer to help with harvest and then planting next year. Drat. Being a huge dragon won't really help with that. I can't possibly hunt enough to feed the many people in my demesne. Unless...

I wonder if I could somehow drag some really big nets behind me as I fly. Could I catch enough fish that way to make a difference? It wouldn't be a long-term solution, but it might help for the winter. Alternatively, I could use my size and strength to fly around to nearby cities and buy surplus food there, before the winter really sets in and prices go up. I don't think I could afford it, with all my other projects, but if the common people want to put their own coin into a fund, so to speak, I could take advantage of better prices elsewhere. That would require them trusting me.

Bandits, though. That I can take care of. My huntsmen can find where they are, and then I can fly over there and destroy them. Maybe have a little fun. I haven't gotten to properly stomp around for a while. As much as I restrain my impulses, I am still a dragon.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 222 posts
Sat 12 Nov 2022
at 19:51
  • msg #368

Re: Spring

Re the nets, are you really up to try that?
Ataraxia
player, 210 posts
Tue 15 Nov 2022
at 06:50
  • msg #369

Re: Spring

I dunno, if they think it will help keep people from starving, sure. Let it not be said that Ataraxia the Great and Powerful was unwilling to use her Great Powerfulness to help the Not So Powerful.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 223 posts
Tue 15 Nov 2022
at 11:26
  • msg #370

Re: Spring

Go figure. Great ideas come on the spur of the moment. It will not save winter, because there is still the matter of salting or smoking the fish, preparing it, etc and there are no facilities to industrialize this process but, this certainly was a morale booster around your manor. People gathered to, almost literally, see fish falling out of the sky. An impromptu celebration is held and lumberers are sent to bring in the wood needed for the smoking. One of the storage buildings is converted into an ersatz smoke-house. It's a real feel good moment for all, something much needed as the spectre of an hard winter sets in.

The bandits prove to be a wee bit more strange. The huntsmen arrive back heavily divided, much like your council was. Some say it's a real problem, some say it's just banditry as usual. What was not controversial is that they are struggling top actually pin point their origin. It's clearly somewhere in the east, but where is another matter. More troubling, they brought fresh news of bandit activity and this time the bandits where not local, but looked like eastern tribesmen (well, or what your huntsmen think it's an eastern tribesmen since none of them ever actually saw one...).
Ataraxia
player, 211 posts
Wed 16 Nov 2022
at 01:22
  • msg #371

Re: Spring

I go through a lot of nets, which will take the women of the land some time to replace. I am very, very large as a dragon and unusually strong even for my size, so I tend to break human-made things when I stay in my true shape for a while. This is also not sustainable, either on my time or, more importantly, the fish. I would probably deplete the bay entirely if I did this for more than a few weeks, and I can't carry the nets out to see in my paws; they're too fragile. Nevertheless, I enjoy the praise and feel quite smug about the whole thing.

Are these supposed easterners preying on my people? Or across the border on people nearby? Do they appear to be attacking anything in particular? What are they stealing? Are they kidnapping anyone?

Oh no. It's Genghis Khan isn't it. It's Genghis Khan. EVERYBODY PANIC AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA =p
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 224 posts
Wed 16 Nov 2022
at 12:31
  • msg #372

Re: Spring

I can assure you it's not Genghis Khan. Speaking of which:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4xmOc_Ou0A


The reports are mostly highway robbery, the occasional raid on a farm, etc. It does not seem to be organized as a big storm of invaders, but it does seem like a big coincidence that groups of marauders are now showing a lot more frequently than they ever did.
Ataraxia
player, 212 posts
Sun 20 Nov 2022
at 00:20
  • msg #373

Re: Spring

If I go stomping around, they'll probably go to ground until I leave, wait for a while, and then start up their banditry again. Explaining this to my huntsmen, I instruct them to let up on gamekeeping and focus on gathering intelligence on the bandits, especially any indication of where they might be coming from and any camps or hideouts they may have.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 225 posts
Sun 20 Nov 2022
at 14:31
  • msg #374

Re: Spring

Ok, there will be a period of time for info gathering, etc. We're talking weeks not months. Your people generally accept this as a sensible way of proceeding even if, as could be expected, the locals are manifestly more anxious and a bit cross at the lack of apparent immediate action. Now game wise, we move some time deeper into summer so, Vermillion is back...

Vermillion returns, safe and sound, no problems to report. Well, other than the witch manifestly not budging from her location. He's a bit apologetic as the guards were keen to just put her over their shoulder and bring her back, but Vermillion stopped them. He mentions being very alarmed at what the consequences could have been. Ultimately, you have to go to the witch, rather than the witch coming to you. Randulf just says 'Witches eh?...'
Ataraxia
player, 213 posts
Wed 23 Nov 2022
at 11:29
  • msg #375

Re: Spring

Well it is their stuff getting looted after all. I can understand why they'd be upset, even with things explained to them. Hopefully they can be compensated somehow.

I shrug at Randulf. Witches indeed. Strange people. Well, whatever. I finish my work for the day, which consists of assuming my true shape and uprooting a lot of trees. It was suggested that, since I was willing to help fish earlier in the year, that I could also put my size and power to use helping to clear wasteland for cultivation next year. It's a good plan, and I'm a bit ashamed I didn't think of it earlier. Let other dragons be content lying on piles of gold; I am making more wealth generation capacity. It's not like I'm ever going to get old. I can enjoy the slightly increased productivity of my people for thousands of years. Probably. Unless something kills me.

Naaaaaah.

I have Vermillion lead the way and bring the same guards. I don't need them, but they also went the same way, so that will be helpful if the witch does any shenanigans with faerie mists or something of that sort.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 226 posts
Thu 24 Nov 2022
at 09:24
  • msg #376

Re: Spring

(fast forward)

The witch lives in a rather atypical setting. Rather than an isolated cottage in a mystical groove, she lives on a large farmhouse, part of a small village nestled at the base of the Spine of the World. The setting is quite breathtaking, with the mountains a looming presence, majestically presiding over the plains and the village. The archetypical idyllic stream runs from the mountain through the village, the gurgling sounds of the running water being clearly heard.

Vermillion leads the way into the house, where children run about in play. The only thing typical about the witch is that she's on her winter years. She busy cooking the family meal, for her children that will soon return from a hunt in the mountains. The children are her grand children. You cannot help to notice that Vermillion does not play the grand wizard, but instead the meek supplicant. The witch welcomes you warmly and offers you a seat at the table whenever the meal is done and the hunters return. She then takes her apron looks sharply at you and asks, 'Lady Ataraxia, what do you want from me?...'
Ataraxia
player, 214 posts
Tue 29 Nov 2022
at 10:02
  • msg #377

Re: Spring

Sorry for the delay. I'm going to get back on the wagon and post daily! It will happen! I'm just so busy, studying for exams.

"It makes sense to me," I comment to Vermillion, Randulf, and the couple of retainers with us. "If she has real magic powers, of course the villagers will want to set her up in comfort."

I want to run around in my true shape, but that would probably panic the locals. I don't get to just run around much, and it's fun. Almost as much fun as flying.

I make sure to thank the lady for the meal and her hospitality. Taking bread and salt is sacred, as is the oath of hospitality. I have never broken it, nor have I ever allowed it to be broken in my presence. I give the witch a gift of salt in the appropriate ritual reciprocation of a wealthy noble receiving hospitality.

As we take our repast, I reply to her, "I seek your help with something of an arcane, mystical nature. Forgive me, madame, but you have me at a disadvantage. May I know your name?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 227 posts
Wed 30 Nov 2022
at 09:00
  • msg #378

Re: Spring

'Arcane and mystical? The wizard not up to the job then?...' and she laughs much to Vermillion's discomfort, but you can understand it's all in good nature. '...Adaire is my name... and what is this mystical and arcane matter?...'
Ataraxia
player, 215 posts
Thu 1 Dec 2022
at 09:54
  • msg #379

Re: Spring

I explain: "There is a mystery around my court, with visions of ghosts and ancient wyrms long though disappeared into myth, a magic shield with a glamour cast upon it, hints of great treasure and other such things. I will tell you the full story if you wish. For now, I will say that Vermillion here believes that my ancestry may have something to do with it, and magic which scries upon the past is, apparently, the domain of witches, rather than academics. I am a dragon, raised from a hatchling by good-hearted humans, and so I do not know the ancestry of my blood."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 228 posts
Thu 1 Dec 2022
at 14:08
  • msg #380

Re: Spring

The children look positively engrossed with your tale. Adaire, not so much. 'Hmmm... I see. As long as you understand that there limits into what can be seen from the past... and that what you see might be unhelpful... a dragon raised by humans... that is... unique... tell me more about your upbringing...'
 

Ataraxia
player, 216 posts
Mon 5 Dec 2022
at 21:25
  • msg #381

Re: Spring

It took me a while to come up with some stuff whole cloth without stepping on your toes as narrator. I'm not very good at it anymore. Sorry.

"My adoptive father was a knight errant, his wife and my adoptive mother a priestess. They did many heroic things and wandered the world for several years in their late teens and early twenties, along with several companions. They slew a red dragon that had been the terror of this land a few decades ago; you may remember the beast. My parents were no more able to slaughter an egg than a babe, so they adopted me and raised me well, in morality and comfort, as lords of the land by acclaim rather than royal decree.

I know very little about the dragons which were my parents by blood, not even their names, which my blood-mother did not give before attacking. She slew three of my parent's friends in her death-frenzy and razed a village to the dirt. I was told that not much of her treasure was found; either she had little or hid it with exceptional cleverness.

My parents were kind and attentive. They treated me with dignity and respect, as an individual, and appropriately for my age. They would have been wonderful parents for any child, though as far as I know they never had children by their own blood. They taught me empathy and morality first, to ward off the instinct of my kind to regard mercy and generosity as weakness. It was, I think, their final righteous deed in this world, to mold a creature like a dragon, rapacious and greedy by nature, into someone better than its forebears."


At some point my eyes got misty and a couple tears appeared, which I wipe away.

"They have not been departed long, and I miss them very much."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 229 posts
Tue 6 Dec 2022
at 11:24
  • msg #382

Re: Spring

Step freely, you're a dragon after all. Big feet, etc...

The witch puts a friendly hand on your shoulder ‘now, now, child, all is well…. We, the living, always suffer for the departed… but we must take comfort in what we have around us. If you know nothing else then, at least, I can tell you your mother’s name might have been Ovnyrth. It’s old language, I’m told it means something ‘lady in white’, from what I heard, she was a wee bit on the pale side… feisty temper…. But there may be many reasons for that… dragons are complicated…’

She then turns to Vermillion wondering why he think ancestry has anything to do with current troubles, he explains he believes there might be a possible link between these dragons that have suddenly appeared and your mother and father, the dragons that is. The witch nods ‘that may be…’

She stays in thought for a while before saying ‘I can tell who your parents may have been and, as you can see, not much witchery is involved, I can look into your past, what I cannot do is look into their past… I’m not sure I can give you all you want…’
Ataraxia
player, 217 posts
Fri 9 Dec 2022
at 21:16
  • msg #383

Re: Spring

Well as long as you say I'm pretty! =p=p=p=p

I feel a bit awestruck and it probably shows on my face. "You can tell that without spellcraft? Maybe you already knew, but it doesn't sound that way. You can see the past just by looking at people?"
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 230 posts
Sun 11 Dec 2022
at 08:22
  • msg #384

Re: Spring

She chuckles. Or cackles, probably a more apt thing for a witch.

'I wish it was that simple... no, some witchery is involved, but I know a lot from folks' tales. It's not often that we get a dragon these days, it's even less often when someone brings it down... all tales have your dragon father as being one Kymog, which is supposed to mean 'eternal' or something like that. What's odd, he never made it up north so, the tales don't actually say a lot about him. I still wonder why would your mother come up north to lay the egg. Maybe that's a dragon thing? What do you know of dragon's habits?...'
Ataraxia
player, 218 posts
Mon 12 Dec 2022
at 09:06
  • msg #385

Re: Spring

Am I supposed to make things up? Or should I know some things? Or just say I don't know?
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 231 posts
Mon 12 Dec 2022
at 19:02
  • msg #386

Re: Spring

It's either / or. It's an opportunity for you to introduce something you may want, if there's not anything, you can just answer 'dunno' and we'll take it from there.
Ataraxia
player, 219 posts
Fri 16 Dec 2022
at 08:27
  • msg #387

Re: Spring

I don't often get the chance to expound on something intellectual, so I jump into it without thinking too much:

"Not as much as I would like. I had never met another dragon until a few months ago." I gesture vaguely with my left hand. "I know that I'm exceptionally large and strong for my age. I put it down to diet; I imagine that, since we're apex predators, dragons are hungry most of the time. We don't need as much food as you'd think for our size, build, general muscular development, or the ability to breathe fire, so that's a little odd."

I pause for a while because the next thought I have is very...well, it's uncomfortable to talk about.

"Most egg-laying animals have a cloaca. Like birds. They eliminate waste and lay eggs out of the same thing. Dragons don't have that. In fact, we don't make waste at all. Or lay eggs. I don't know exactly how it's done, but it has to be something taught, because I don't have an instinct to do it. Dragon eggs are constructed, somehow, which is why there are so very few of them. Treasure might have a lot to do with it; the drive to have treasure can't be just an attraction to shiny things or we wouldn't be drawn to ugly but valuable objects."

I'm blushing because of how strange this is to talk about, but I otherwise maintain composure.

"If I was guessing why the dragons who made my egg came this far North, it would be that. Something about making eggs requires secrecy, privacy, a lot of treasure, or something else that was here but wasn't where they came from before that."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 232 posts
Fri 23 Dec 2022
at 10:12
  • msg #388

Re: Spring

She nods. Vermillion becomes somewhat alive and starts lecturing.

'It would make sense if it was treasure driven. Back in the day, there was something called the three dragons. Supposedly, for a brief period, well, brief for dragon standards, three dragons ruled over their folk... well, other dragons that is. They had some sort of objects of power that allowed the three of them, if they worked together to be much like gods. In isolation, the objects served no purpose. The last place of rest of the objects was the Spine of the World, but there are many legends that end up in the Spine, I don't think that many of them ever proved true...' he then looks at you and says, somewhat cryptically for those not in the know '...that's my best guess right now for what the shield or mirror might be...' 

The witch listens to him and then says '...I think you will know when the time comes for the egg, nature is wonderful at that... and speaking of nature...' she finishes mixing some herbs into a glass of wine '...drink this, and we'll get started into your past...'
Ataraxia
player, 220 posts
Wed 28 Dec 2022
at 22:05
  • msg #389

Re: Spring

"Ah, I was just about to ask if one of the objects was a very large mirror or shield." I wink at Vermillion.

Witches are known for their herbal brews. I wonder if it will work on a dragon. Our constitutions are far sturdier than humans', if my ability to drink anyone I've ever met under the table is anything to go by. And I don't even drink that often.

I thank the lady and down the wine politely, then set down the cup she provided and wait.

"Thank you again for your help."
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 233 posts
Sun 1 Jan 2023
at 18:58
  • msg #390

Re: Spring

As you drink it you feel no change. Well, it's a nice concoction to drink but other than that...

'...your dreams... that's what's going to tell us a lot more... or not much, that's the way with dreams, they are hard to understand and sometimes just do not happen...'

Will jump a bit here, to catch up with days of not posting. Bad GM.

You end up having a rather restless night. The dreams are intense, vivid, you wake up drenched in sweat, and it's still the middle of the night.

You dream of dragons. There are a multitude of dragons, all colours, including some misty dragons like the one you just saw recently. There are no mirrors, but there is a substantially sized red dragon, hard to figure out if it's you at first, you then understand it is protecting something, again you do not see it clearly but you assume it's the egg. You also dream of humans. Your parents. They fight the red dragon and kill it. They seem to be aided in this by another human figure, a figure you cannot see clearly enough to identify. This third figure then battle your parents over some object, your parents defeat the figure and retain possession of the object. It's a confusing sequence and the object might be a sword or some sort of long stick. The egg finally shows up again, the red dragon was protecting both the egg and the object, your parents take both, and you wake up.
Ataraxia
player, 221 posts
Tue 3 Jan 2023
at 01:48
  • msg #391

Re: Spring

No worries. We all get busy, and you've had a lot on your plate.

I look around. Where am I? What time is it? If this is one of those mystic visions with dreams inside dreams, things are about to get weird.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 234 posts
Tue 3 Jan 2023
at 11:04
  • msg #392

Re: Spring

When you wake up you are in the room you were when you went to sleep. Pinching yourself results in pain. To all appearances you are in your reality, in your time. Nothing seems amiss. There is one thing that just clocks in your mind. You saw the red dragon protecting the egg and the object, but you could not figure if it was protecting both or one, also, you didn't actually see the red dragon 'produce' the egg.
Ataraxia
player, 222 posts
Tue 3 Jan 2023
at 22:16
  • msg #393

Re: Spring

Well okay then. Whatever magic was in that drink, assuming it was magic and not a potion - but aren't those magic? - worked pretty well. That was supposedly my past. The natural conclusion is that the egg hatched into me, but that's not the only possibility, not by a long shot.

I get up and go look for the witch, Vermillion, or both to relay what I saw in my dream. I don't plan to keep anything secret.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 235 posts
Thu 5 Jan 2023
at 10:26
  • msg #394

Re: Spring

Vermillion clinches to the object, he sees it as the cause of the entire dispute, potentially one of the three objects of legend, 'no disrespect' he says but the egg was a side show.

The witch sees it slightly differently. She's rather curious about the third person, she sees in it a sort of dark presence that may have engineered things to suit their own purposes and she disagrees with Vermillion that the object might have been the lure whilst the egg was the real objective. She wonders if the entire thing was not a plan to get your parents to raise the dragon for the mysterious figure that for some reason or another possibly could not do it...
Ataraxia
player, 223 posts
Fri 6 Jan 2023
at 06:54
  • msg #395

Re: Spring

I agree that Vermillion is probably correct, but the theory that my parents were somehow manipulated or duped into raising me has merit and should be investigated. It's a disturbing idea, but I can't afford to flinch away from it. If it really is the truth, I must accept it, rather than try to hide in a comforting illusion.

Hopefully, such an object, a magic sword or staff or something of that kind, should be relatively easy to find. I don't know of any particularly special thing like that my parents had, but they were clever enough that they wouldn't have made a big deal of something they were trying to hide. We'll need to look around the estate, then the lands, for it. Hopefully it's hidden in the manor somewhere; I don't relish an exhaustive search of my domain.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 236 posts
Sat 7 Jan 2023
at 10:10
  • msg #396

Re: Spring

Vermillion offers to cast some sort of 'locate magic object' spell. It will probably flag more than one thing, but at least should help reduce the search radius...

The witch has a final word of warning, cautioning you regarding involvement with elder beings such as dragons. Their disputes are often bitter and last for a long, long time. The ancient dragons are also formidable opponents, never let your guard down with them, remember, you are but a baby in terms of what a dragon is...
Ataraxia
player, 224 posts
Sun 8 Jan 2023
at 03:42
  • msg #397

Re: Spring

Maybe it will reveal multiple magical treasures. Wouldn't that be great?

I make sure to thank Adaire for her help and hospitality. I insist that she and her family come visit me at my manor. I will do my best to heed her warnings but I can't avoid investigating

Is this village part of my domain? Are these people my subjects?
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 237 posts
Sun 8 Jan 2023
at 19:54
  • msg #398

Re: Spring

One of those border villages that is in everyone's and nobody's domains... Since tax determines this, no, they do not pay tax to you, but you are the closest Lord, well Lady to their village. This far out in the Spine, they probably just hope nobody remembers to tax them...

Back to the manor, start a search? Any specific plans, other than Vermillion's spell?

Ataraxia
player, 225 posts
Mon 9 Jan 2023
at 00:02
  • msg #399

Re: Spring

We'll start with his magic. I assume Ataraxia also knows where all of the locked treasure areas are. She can also search the solar and apartments, then the manor in general. In a lot of medieval manors, the spice chest and buttery (where they stored wine) were also where the treasure was kept, since they tended to be very securely locked.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 238 posts
Wed 11 Jan 2023
at 10:16
  • msg #400

Re: Spring

The outcome of the initial magical search is disappointing. Other than confirmation that the shield / mirror is indeed of a magical nature, which was no news at all, Vermillion’s search returns some possible leads, but these all turn out to be objects related to magic, rather than magical objects. There’s a tome that probably belonged at some time to a wizard, some sort of jar that, creepily, may have contained the ashes of a magic user, and other such joys.
Ataraxia
player, 226 posts
Thu 12 Jan 2023
at 00:30
  • msg #401

Re: Spring

Well then, time to make an exhaustive search of everything in the manor. Then my parents' tombs. This is going to take a while, but I have time.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 239 posts
Fri 13 Jan 2023
at 11:02
  • msg #402

Re: Spring

Was about to type this but then remembered something, what resources are you putting into this? Is this you, Vermillion and Randulf, will you use your people, if so how and how many?... Just need an understanding of the strategy here.
Ataraxia
player, 227 posts
Fri 13 Jan 2023
at 19:05
  • msg #403

Re: Spring

Since it involves searching for treasure and family secrets and looking for magical doodads, I'll put myself, Vermillion, Randulf, and my most trusted retainers on it. Vermillion and Randulf will accompany me personally.

I won't even begin to mention it, but I want them with me because I don't entirely trust them to not steal important things they find. I am playing a dragon, after all.

This message was last edited by the player at 19:06, Fri 13 Jan 2023.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 240 posts
Mon 16 Jan 2023
at 12:30
  • msg #404

Re: Spring

I was thinking how to do this, it's going to take a while. There's two ways we can do this, we can do a random clock, it will just tick away until something is (or not!) found, and we can continue the story with anything you want as the search goes on, or we could just jump forward to the end of the search. Your choice!
Ataraxia
player, 228 posts
Tue 17 Jan 2023
at 02:36
  • msg #405

Re: Spring

Currently I'm just waiting. The expedition to the desert will be in the winter and my scouts are getting info on the border raiders. And of course I need to manage my territory. So, skipping to the end is probably the best course.
DM Extraordinaire
GM, 242 posts
Tue 17 Jan 2023
at 09:30
  • msg #406

Re: Spring

-> We move to the 'Autumn - Year 1' thread
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