[IC] Swords And Sorcery: The 5th Province

[Dolerman]

We begin our campaign in the peaceful times, no real conflict to be had anywhere on global scale, things are as normal as normal can be. But as our Battle Master Velkon has already told us, there is a conspiracy brewing in the Bishop Isles and Ser Velkon has entrusted a fellowship of unlikely heroes to investigate. Shall we have a look at some of them and what they are doing? All they have been told is to meet me in the small town of Thester, a few miles south of the main Kingdom of Alvion. Lets hope these brave but scattered heroes can make it to me.

-Lomack Irons II, High Councilor of the Arch Order

The heroes were indeed spread out and although they know the need to make their way to Thester, they know nothing else about the quest.

In Brovan the market town which is located 40 miles north of Thester in the Alvion Province, two of our heros have already met.
The spellblade Orion and the Beserker Sinder have stumbled upon each other in a tavern, after a drink and some conversation they have quickly deduced they are on the same quest to Thester. But sadly this meeting would be cut short, the town of Brovan attracts many nasty types and 3 particularly nasty cut throats have already decided to attack the pair for whatever gold they may have.

Oi you two, come outside now, I dont want to get any blood on this lovley tavern floor after I gut you like a pig for all yer gold, come on then lets have it!

*************************************************************************************************************************************

Meanwhile another two of our heroes have been brought together by a strange twist of fate. The Human Eld Brinna was deciding to walk to Thester from the Alvion Kingdom while the Dark Wizard 'Darknite was following a contract from the guildmaster back at the kingdom to find and kill a rouge Griffon. This Griffon happened to see Eld and attack him just as Darknite rushed to the scene....

***********************************************************************************************************************************

The Half Elf Knight Jericho Kaite was on a cargo ship that was travelling from Naveroth to Alvion, she managed to get a ride on the ship after saving the merchant captain of the ship from a twisted cultist who was trying to kidnap him for a ritual sacrafice. He invited Kaite up to the deck to thank her, which began a conversation about her motives.

So, Jericho Kaite, that is one of the more interesting names I've heard and ive travelled everywhere. Is it a name of Halfling origin by chance? I used to have a halfling shipmate who sadly passed away last week from scurvy, his name was Maite Mellock, I could be mistaken though of the origins.

The captain scratched his beard and began to speak again as he finished his tankard of ale and poured Kaite a cup.

We should be in Alvion in about 4 hours from now, its easily the most attractive of the 4 provinces, what brings you there? I already have seen how well you can fight when you killed that psycho cultist, so perhaps you are making your way to the Alvion Proving grounds? I hear you can make a fortune there.

[Gin]

A damp ringing ran through the low density forest as Eld raised a block the griffon's beak. While he had seen a couple of griffons before this was the first time he faced one up close without anyone backing him up with ranged attacks.
While he believed he could make it alone Eld felt slightly discouraged as one never knew what a griffon would do or act. There were rough guidelines on how to battle beasts of Noble creatures like a griffon it brought no guarantee of success.

The beek bounced of the shield nullified by the shields force, the attack would normally have pushed back a human but in this occassion it merely blocked as intended. There was no opening for a counter which was all Eld hoped for, as an opening would give him the advantage. Another beak attack blocked but this time followed by it's tail. Less succesfull block followed by an absorbed yet staggering tail by the griffon, from tough to grim the situation now fell into the griffons favor. Whatever it had done threw Eld off on his focus...

It was by a mere inch that Eld rolled by his counter beak and got up on his knees again... "Damn you Griffon!" Eld yelled out loud in frustration backing away from the griffon as it fixed its gaze on Eld's green eyes.

[Mortimer]

"Kill a Griffon, huh?" DarkNite thought to himself. He had encountered a few of those anthropormophic beasts before, even though they are a rare sight to behold. On his way to a nearby forest, he saw a winged creature fly above his head. Given its speed, he was not quick enough to shoot it out of the sky. "There is my prey," he whispered. Slowly, he walked inside inside the green forest, searching for the beast.

At last, he heard a person cursing against a Griffon. "At last." DarkNite held his staff up in the air, poiting the gem at the Griffon. "Hurting a human like that? Not on my watch, you despicable mutation," he spoke to the hybrid beast. The Griffon looked at the Wizard and let out a growl before quickly flying to him. A grin spread on Dark's face. Soon, the Griffon found itself above a big shadow that startled the bwast, but before he had time to react, the shadows reached up to him and held him against the ground, obstructing his wings from moving.

DarkNite then looked at the knight. "I am here to take the life of this wicked beast. I guess you two have already battled, so you won't have any problem in my killing him," he said. "Who are you, by the way?" As he spoke, he pointed his staff at the head of the Griffon, the gem shining in a dim light. The Griffon's mind was slowly beginning to rot.

[Hawlin]

Kaite had been hung up engaging in vengeful recindence on a bandit group that'd tried to rob her the night before. Arriving to town too late for most shops, she had, convenience, stumbled upon the events taking place leading up to stalking the cultists back to their hideout in the hope to weed them out, lest they come back. The ride to Alvion was a pleasant turn of events, especially since Kaite barely had the money to buy provisions and the merchant had been very gracious enough to supply her as well (at a discount, at least *shrug*).

"Kaitra, really" she began with a gracious nod as she took the cup and swirled the contents. " 'Jericho' is just a family name that stuck" Kaite continued with a small chuckle before taking a sip. She had let her down, partially, leaving her helmet with her affects, hooked to the bag.
Common sailor rum, bitter but smooth enough. "It was supposedly from a friend of my father I've never met, or something...sorry about your crewman" She answered in regards to the question, having never actually considered its origin.

"Mostly wandering, at the moment, although I'm on the lookout for just such tips." She said, furrowing her brows, slightly. "This goes on in Alvion?...this?" she inquired.

[Magnato]

@knighthawk@Capra

The Druid Potnia Theron was doing a few jobs for the local tavern, she knew enough about botany and animals to bring up better meat and new flavors for the ale. As she got into the tavern however she saw three shady figures and quickly heard the terrible business they were up to. Normally she wouldn't care much for some random adventurers but she was working with that tavern and having clients gutted would surely be bad for business.

Quietly sneaking out again she made a signal to the two clients being robbed suggesting that they should, for now, comply and go outside

[knighthawk]

*Glug, glug, glug...*
There is nothing better than the warmth of a good fire, be it campfire or hearth, it warms the bones as well as the soul. When he was younger, sometimes all he had was the campfire to keep away the pain of hunger with the illusion of hot food in his belly. Up until now he had never been a man of beer or ale, but this was by far more hard and damn it all if it wasn't good. Who knew you could drink a flagon of wiskey?

*Glug, glug, glug...*
The road had been a long one from the most south back home to the north with much to have seen in the three years. He was here for the chance to lawfully own the land of his people and this tavern was the first step on that road. He hoped to find his way through a wizard willing to enchant his blade or else find the altar to a wargod for him to get the weapon blessed, if not exorcised.

*Glug, glug, glug...*
~Oh come on, you think that's going to keep me away?~ Came a dark and grating voice that only he and others of a sensitive nature could hear, it was the voice of his father possessing the sword. On one hand it annoyed him that he hadn't gotten him to shut up yet, it mean the had yet to prove himself better than the one before him. But on the other hand, when he had enough, he could still cow his ancestor spirit into aiding him from time to time.
*Glug, glug, glug...*

"Oi you two, come outside now, I dont want to get any blood on this lovley tavern floor after I gut you like a pig for all yer gold, come on then lets have it!"

*...Glug*

THe three foot tall fiend looked at his opponents with squinted eyes, then over to the new man he met today with the owl. His hand fell to rest uponhis blade, kaaping it in place befre one decided to be a stupid thief instead of just an idiot. the part of him that hadent had a fight in days was pacing in its cage, but the part that liked this new drink didnt want to get thrown out for fighting.

"It hardly seems fair, three on two... You want to take them all on and I'll order the net round, or do you wan to sit this out?"

[Dolerman]

The griffon was wild, snapping and clawing at brave human, his skilled shield-play keeping a metal barrier between the claws of the griffon and himself. The wild life had all scurried back into their respective homes, the river, the forest, underground, anywhere to escape the truly terrifying cries of the mad griffon. This particular beast was starting to gain ground on the human Eld, as the mighty creatures huge strength was sapping the young man's stamina and caused him to fall a few times. Just as the griffon was starting to salivate thinking he had the human in his grasp, a mighty shadow appeared.

A wizard cast a darkness spell that was entrenching around the griffon and the effects were not physical, it was plaguing the creatures thoughts with darkness and despair, the insanity was setting in as it fell to the floor, now unable to take flight, but still thrashing around trying to snap at its new opponent. But the effects of the mind rot were powerful, and the griffon's thoughts were now an open target to any who wanted to infiltrate it.

The bishop isles will have this one....

The voice seemed to come from nowhere but both the heroes heard it....

*****************************************************************************************************************
On the merchant ship, the half elf knight Kaite responded to the captain, the conversation was intrugiung but very civil, the merchant liked Kaite as she reminded him of one his daughters. He decided to bring her up as he finished his tanker and ordered a shipmate to bring him another flask.

If you dont mind me saying, you remind me very much of my own daughter, Malorie Vayne her name is, also of mixed elven blood, her mother was librarian in Ispar. My daughter actually fought very well in the colliseum, she was a master with the pike and shield and slew many opponents, the family used the winnings to fund my merchant business, I actually bought this ship with the gold that I bet on her. I always bet on my beloved Malorie.

The shipmate came back with a fresh tanker, it was frothing delicously, but another man also entered the room with an equally frothy brew, he sat down near the captain, he was a studious, thin looking man holding a large scroll with him and a quill to go with it. The merchant captain nodded to him and began to speak again.

Ah please excuse my guest, this man is call Theo Linegom, he is a book keeper at the proving ground coliseum i was telling you of, he kept the records of all my bets on my daughter malorie. Ive brought him here so we can discuss my business with you, I'm sure you will be excited.

The thin man turned to face Kaite, completely expressionless and opened a small book and began to write. The captain cleared his throat and continued.

I never told you what my 'cargo' for this ship was, or my business, but my business is the coliseum and YOU are the cargo. I knew from the moment you saved me you would be an excellent addition to my roster of fighters, you see Malorie was a skilled fighter but she grew tired of the life of bloodshed and wanted to start a family of her own, obviously that could not work as my business relied on her winnings, so we had a bit of a.....falling out. But that is no matter now as you can take her place and win me all the money i need to stay in business with these people, like mister Linegom you see here. We will get to Alvion in a few hours, I trust youll comply with us?

The Captain remained jolly and happy and Mr Linegom, lowerd his eyes at Kaites weapons, and began to murmur to himself.

[Gin]

Gasping for breath Eld saw how the Griffon suddenly got held up by an (to Eld), unidentified force, magic cast by a suspicious looking man. Doing a fine job stalling the noble beast.
It was a man, asking Eld for his name, unfatomably calm which had Eld biting together a prepared reply. However, annoyingly being interrupted by another voice claiming the beast's bounty.

While Eld heard it well dropping focus of the beast was out of the question.
"If you numnuts want the bounty then take it. I don't give a damn as long as you can finish it or I will!" Eld was fine on proviant and money, enough so to get by so whatever bounty that they talked about made no difference to Eld.

While wanting to thank his likely savior Eld remained alerted and passive, deciding to leave them to it if possible.

[Mortimer]

DarkNite looked up as the ethereal voice spoke. He had come to hunt and eliminate this griffon, and he was not going back empty-handed. "As you wish, but it will be me who takes the life of this feral creature," He said with his everlasting evil grin on his face. The Griffon started to squirm and scream as the head-ache turned worse and worse, his brain was actually starting to rot. Within seconds, Eld witnessesd how the Griffon stopped moving and fell to the floor as if someone had instantly taken the life from him.

"No need to get so violent over this, my boy. Hehe, it is already dead. My job here is done...I believe. Did that Griffon cause you any trouble? Harmed you in any way?" DarkNite crossed his arms while he waited for a reply from the knight. Even though he just killed the Griffon, he was still trying to figure out why that voice seemed to interrupt them and tried to take his prey.

[Hawlin]

"I was never much for the coliseum" She mused, setting her cup on the table before continuing, "Killing other people for sport while others wave you on with one hand and exchange money with their other?" Her interest quickly tapering off. Frankly, the situation was starting to make her uncomfortable. Hesitant about jumping right to the man's hesitance with mentioning the 'falling out' he'd had with his daughter, she played it cool and close with her preference to drifting as she doubted she'd see most of the winnings if she played it his way.

"No thank you, I am fortunate enough with what I have" Kaite sighed with a slight bow of the head, the sip of the drink warming her face. Her hope at this point was that the captain wasn't the insistent type who'd sold his daughter into slavery to make up for the lapse in earnings or something crazy like that. As far as money went, she had enough provisions to support herself for the next few days although no coins to speak of. The way the expressionless guy looked at Kaite unnerved her, slightly. "It was nice meeting you, Mister Linegom" she offered.

[Capra]

The wizard's face is surrounded by a cloud of thick, white smoke, streaming from his nostrils and disappearing above his head, in the dim air of the tavern. Orion grins slightly, looking down at the wooden table, and at the flickering flame of the candle lying on top of it. Vox is trotting around the tavern, picking up with her beak the crumbs and insects on the floor: yet, as the boasting voice from outside reached her hears, she opened her wings and fluttered to her master's shoulder. The wizard turns his head slowly, and pets the owl as he lowers his pipe. His cup of mead stands now half empty before him, reflecting the torchlight illuminating the tavern. Orion raises his gaze to meet that of the demon, then turns his head to see a strangely gesturing girl outside. Orion sighs. Another adventure, another group of bandits.

The wizard draws another hit from his pipe, exhaling from his mouth, as a faint smell spreads in the ether. Orion gets up, put his pipe back in one of his many purses, and turns to the demon, speaking in a deep voice. "I say we go outside. After all, we do need to get going." Vox emits a deep call, as Orion walks outside, raising his hood over his head.

[knighthawk]

Sinder nods and sets a gold coin upon the table.
Tab and advance on the damages...Well, Lets go kill 'em.

Standing to his full height of three feet, he picks up the sword twice his size in one hand and starts to walk out, staggering a bit from ten shots of whiskey in the mug. It would clear up soon enough once the fight started, if this was even going to be a fight. Halfway out the tavern the Small man broke out into a hard run like a drunk goat as he dropped the sword off his shoulder with enough force to cut a pig in half right outside the doorway into the wall of the tavern. They saw three, that didnt mean there wasent one with his back against the wall for a surprise attack.

If there was a fourth, then he would only be half the man he used to be if he was wearing anything less than chainmail armor. If he was just swinging at the air, then the drunken swing would still rattle the wall as an act of drunken intimidation. Either way he was going to push the aggressive.

Three on two and you're drunk, nice watching you get killed. Think they'll skin you for demon parts? Think they know a cock merchant for all your organs?