Dragons of Despair, Chapter 1: The Tower of High Sorcery
Location: The Tower of High Sorcery, The Forest of Wayreth
Date: Shiarai, Morning, 26th Reorxmont 351 AC

The night before the Test passed dreamlessly for all the companions in peaceful comfort.  The morning brought with it the sound of gentle rain falling outside the windows, tempting people to stay abed.  There was a quietness to the Tower this morning -- a tension, anticipatory in its nature, pressing on the nerves.  For Aelina and Ayrron, this could easily be identified as pre-test jitters.  For Vailin and Valik, perhaps their slight unease had a different source....

A note was on the each of the writing desks in the companions rooms.  The handwriting was elegant, but unfamiliar.

The Test begins at moonrise.  Prepare yourself accordingly, but do not leave the Tower grounds.  Good luck.

OOC: You've all had a long rest.  If you have inspiration or temporary hit points, you may keep them for the time being, due to the nature of how you acquired them.

I have no planned events before the Test this evening.  You may choose to rest and relax until the time of Testing, you may want to explore the tower grounds, or strategise with each other.  The day is yours to spend how you wish.

What would you like to do?

Ayrron woke late after the interview of the masters, the kender slow to sleep with his thoughts going over what had been said. He got up and went to the desk, and had tools out and working on the small bronze item he had so many times.

It wasn't long before he finished, and sighing, sat it there and looked at it. The work was all but finished - all he needed was a heart. With a sigh, he absently rummaged through his pockets

---

<OOC: use the kender pockets feature

Ayrron rolled 69 using 1d100+2 - Kender pockets>
This message was last edited by the player at 05:24, Wed 12 July 2023.

Rummaging through his pockets, Ayrron pulled out a small canister of some waxy goop.  The guys who left it behind accidentally had told some wild stories about how the goop made crazy changes to his hair -- from longer to shorter to all the different colours of the rainbow.

OOC: Ayrron's found
Pomade of Ten Thousand Styles
Wondrous item, common

This canister of waxy pomade has magical properties, allowing you to change your hair’s color, style, thickness, and length (up to 1 foot longer or shorter per use).  The canister steadily replenishes its pomade over time.  It can hold up to 4 uses at a time and regains 1d4 expended uses each day at dawn.  Using 1 use of the pomade takes 1 minute.  Once you’ve used this product in your hair, it returns to its normal appearance after you finish a long rest.  Hair produced by the pomade that’s been cut off turns to dust after 24 hours. If you use the pomade every day for 7 days to make the same changes, the changes become permanent.

Ayrron feels the cold of a bottle in a pocket, and pulled out the small bottle. He frowned as he looked at it, then remembered where he ot it - the merchant left the bottle behind after the two talked about magic versus magical effects of technology.  The human left in a huff, muttering the kender's views as 'preposterous' as he left.

He remembered what he said it would do, and he smiled - he had a few ideas to test the limits.

He held the bottle and whistled as he went to find his mentor.

---

<OOC: Plan is to try and fid his mentor and have a chat with him. If i can't find him, find Vailin and offer him a drink. Next, Valik. Finally Aelina and try plan a strategy with her (or the three>

Aelina did not sleep well, a feeling of dread keeping her awake. Although she knew the dark mage had casted an illusion on her, she still couldn't shake the feeling of inadequacy she was afraid of. Wanting to get out of this state of mind, she went to the student theater, where she had spend a lot of time developing her skills with the lute and started to play, forcing her negative emotions out in the notes.

Only after feeling refreshed did she start looking for any of her friends.

Once he finally managed to fall asleep, Valik slept quite soundly. When most of the furnishings of the room had disappeared after the...interview, he was half expecting to wake up to find that the whole thing had been little more than an illusion. He was unsure what today's challenge would actually hold, but he was quite sure that it would one of the most challenging days of his life.

Valik checked all of his gear to be certain that it was in good condition and ready for the task at hand. He had no idea if combat would be involved or not after so many illusions and tricks of the mind, but if he did then he wanted to be prepared. He went through a series of physical exercises, a habit he had picked up in his life as a raider, getting the muscles warmed up and ready for movements. He checked both of his crossbows, trying to decide if he would need the lighter, more-accurate weapon, or if he would have to use Gale punch through metal armors or thicker hides. He knew he was going to take both, why he was bothering with such a consideration made little sense, but he hoped that Gale could remain unused for one more day.

Before he set out to go regroup with the test-takers, Valik went to check on Goldmoon.

Vailin went to a suitable training area to work with his sword and shield.  Finding Valik he trained with the goliath.  Their differing styles would be of use in a battle, should such traditional combat be required.

"Tell me.  Have you fought with wizards before?  I must admit my training was mostly 'keep the enemy back so the wizrds can incinerate them'.  Wasn't exactly intricate combined arms tactics.  Weren't exactly a lot of wizards where I served, well there weren't any." he admitted.

Valik took a deep breath and let out a rough sigh before he answered, "I have raided with mages, but it is not the same. It was tactics against the unwary; people living their lives. Working in their fields, buying their food, their children playing. They were not fights. There was nothing..." Valik took a moment to search for the word, "Challenging? They would set fire to the thatch, bring fog to the streets, things that brought chaos and confusion, while we killed them one by one. It was not hard to kill people with no armor to keep them alive. No weapons to fight back. No time to prepare. When they did have guards, I would kill them first. That was the signal for everything else to begin."

"When they were able to defend themselves, the mages would limit sight or paths for reinforcements to arrive, and then they would leave. With soldiers separated in small grounds, here and there, we could pick them off one at a time. It was very effective. Brutal. Unnecessary. But, very effective."

Vailin and Valik conversed in the hallway as they made their way down to the empty courtyard below.  Not a soul could be seen as they navigated their way down, and the hallways had the empty presence one could always feel when a house was vacant.

Ayrron spotted the pair as he came out of his room.  He had been intent on seeking out Master Ormorn, but now he was torn, unsure of what to do.

From inside the room opposite his own, the familiar sound of Aelina's lute sounded -- a muted sound through the thick walls and doors, but the tune and fingering were enough to tell him she was within.

OOC: We have several thngs happening here.  We're going to break them up a little and move the camera around to follow various people doing their things until we come back to the group as a whole.

We have:
* Aelina playing her heart out in her room.  I'll consider this as off-camera, unless something happens to disturb her.
* Vailin and Valik discussing things in the yard.
These two things are happening simultaneously.
Then we'll have:
* Ayrron wants to visit his old master, and
* Valik wants to check on Goldmoon.
These will probably happen simultaneously, but we'll focus on one at a time.

Anything else anyone wants to accomplish today?

OOC: Vailin's goal for the day is to work on combined arm tactics.  Wether reaing books (if he can find them) or fighting with the group.  As they hadn't fought together he didn't know their style of fighting.  Not to the level he needed to plan strategy and improvise tactics.

Ayrron had set off to see his master, someone he hadn't seen in a while when he saw his two warrior friends in the courtyard. The kender smiled as he came up to them. "So....have a nice sleep? I know i did after i was interrogated by the three head mages of the school." He lost his smile and shuddered. "...the leader of the black robe always freaked me out - like he was looking at me like i was a rodent."

He brightened up as he produced a jar. "I found this in my room....left by one of the former students and said it might help us. Your supposed to rub some on your head - boosts concentration or something." He opened the jar and offered it to the others.

"Wanna try?"

---

<OOC: Offers Valik and Vailin some of the pomade>
This message was last edited by the player at 11:42, Sat 15 July 2023.

Aelina felt better with her emotions after playing her heart out and got out in the yard, seeing her friends there. Ayrron was offering something to the two non-magic users. "What do you have there Ayrron? Do you dabble in salves too?"

Aelina came up and he smiled. "You'd appreciate this - i found this in the room from one of the former students with a label. Says it  has some power to make you stronger....or smarter, or prettier - not that you need that one!"

He held it out. "...wanna try?"

Valik looked skeptical, "Why do I need help concentrating? On what?"

The kender shrugged. "Maybe against some magic they'll throw at us. Maybe it'll help your aim. Maybe it's just a student that made some hair balm....i dunno!"

Valik stepped forward and looked down at the odd substance. He looked up at Ayrron to check his expression once more, just in case, and then dipped a finger in and rubbed it across his forehead.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:18, Tue 18 July 2023.

Aelina was getting her pearl from the depths of her component pouch when Valik decided to try the salve."Wait! I can identify it!"

Rolling her eyes at the goliath imprudence, although it was to be expected with Ayrron needling them, she extended her hand to the kender, asking for the salve. "Was this from a kind of treasure hunt in your room? I found an initial message for one in my room but could not understand the clues."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:22, Mon 17 July 2023.

Where the goliath rubbed the goop on his forehead, a shock of baby-pink hair sprouted with alarming swiftness growing to about 6 inches in length before stopping and falling against his face and cheek.  To the goliath, who'd never had hair before, this was an entirely new experience.

"Ayrron...what is this?" Valik tugged on the pink hair. "Ayrron, why is it stuck?"

Narrowing his eyes, Valik turned his gaze on the halfling, "What did you do to me?"

Ayrron looked on as the shock of pink hair grew on the goliath's head, and a smirk came to his face. "Oh....um, my" he muttered as he looked at the salve. "I ahh, didn't expect that to happen. wow."

He looked at Valik and tried (without much luck) to hold a straight face. "Look at the bright side - it's a vibrant colour!"

When he got angry, he held his hands up. "Hey, hey - i found it in the room. It had a label......thats all i know!" To appease his friend, he took a scoop of it himself, and slatered his hair in it.

His blonde spiky hair remained as it was - for a moment, then it turned dark red and purple. "See....would i do it if i knew it was harmful? No! Personally i think the streak gives you a vibrant edge." He smiled, then wiped his hands on his pants.

"....what's mine look like?"

Vailin sighed and continued his training.  For him, the key to military success was trust.  Trust in your orders, trust in your officers, trust in the solider beside you.  He wasn't sure how Ayrron's antics were supposed to help but he let them pass.  This was his trial after all, his and Aelina's.  Let them prepare their way.

Sensing that perhaps he had pushed Valik farther than was prudent, Ayrron made his getaway from the courtyard, heading for the forge.  Vailin and Valik continued their practice.  Ordinarily,  a pair of fighters working in the yard of the Tower of High Sorcery would be a strange sight to see.  Today, there appeared to be no one around to witness it.

OOC: I'll leave this thread open for a bit, so you all have a place to roleplay.  If there's anything in particular you want to get done before the Test begins, let me know.  You can post here OOC, in the OOC thread, or on discord.  Once I'm done with the open threads and matters, we'll kick of the Test proper.

Ayrron, with a slight smile, turned and trotted away, waving to his friends. "Gotta go....have to see a gnome about a fine tipped screwdriver!"

The kender disappeared towards the forge

Aelina watched the men sparring for a while, shivering at the thought of having to face them in physical battle. Don Enrique had shown her some martial skills, she was still wearing a rapier on her hip as a testament to that training, but she was much more comfortable using the effects that music could have on the soul as her main weapon. She clapped at the men during one of their pauses then rose "Well done boys, I would not have lasted 10 seconds against any of you. If you'll excuse me, I will try to find the quartermaster, I love my cloak but I've learned it's not a proper way of staying warm all night!"

With that, the apprentice bard left the courtyard to go get some basic outdoor supplies, something she never thought she would ever need.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:54, Sat 22 July 2023.

Vailin was about to call out to Aelina but held his breath until she left.  He then turned to Vailik.

"I wish they would stay.  I would like to practice how I might defend our wizards our how our attacks might complement each other.  How their abilities complent ours.  Still, I guess they have much to think about."