Author Topic: STRATA- Chapter 1  (Read 131619 times)

Offline SolEiji

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STRATA- Chapter 1
« on: May 18, 2014, 11:16:16 PM »
Quote
You've been here before...

The frozen wind lashed at your exposed flesh like a scourge, but you've been far too exhausted to even flinch as it stole off with precious warmth.  You've been climbing this steep incline for hours, maybe days, you cannot be certain in this dark place.  You've seen neither sun nor moon nor a single star in the sky, only endless rolling black stormclouds and the gray haze of mist that streamed down this mountain like water.  You were drowning in darkness, but you could not stop to rest.  Its been so long you've forgotten your purpose of coming here, but something was lurking out there just down the slope waiting for you to crumble.  If you stopped now, you'd die for sure.  The only way forward is up, the only open path was ahead.  When you started this journey you knew it would be difficult, but even now the thoughts of surrendering to the perils behind you teased at your mind.

Keep going.  Keep pulling yourself up.  The slope was nearly vertical and impossible to merely walk, only crawl or climb.  The wind intensified as if trying to push you down and away and the ground was slippery with ice.  A few dark splatters of blood was smeared on the rock face and you could not tell if it was yours from an unseen gash you could no longer feel or another's.

Almost there.  Your hand closed around a rock and pulled, dragging you up onto a ledge.  The slope evens out, this is what you wanted, you found it!  You found...

You're awake.

You're having those dreams again.  All of the marked too, dreams of things under the shroud, a massive mountain of ice and wind, and something calling for you.  It was oh so familiar, and yet many have never even seen the Kingdom of Chrysanthemum before the fall, much less after.  But there was something in Chrysanthemum that drew them all closer.

For many of you, the problems became too great, the visions too rapid and too intense.  For some they sought answers, and others fled from rejection.  "Cursed!"  "Damned!"  "Rejected by the gods!" they'd say.  Others were hired, those in governments who sought scouts to brave the darkness ahead of them.  It was known the scouts could pass the terrible titans which now guarded the border of the shrouded area unharmed.  It was a dangerous and forbidden land, but if at least one soul returned with word of events there, perhaps it would prepare the others for what was to come.  For one thing was certain about the darkness; it was growing.  Fast at first, then slow, but it never stopped nor abated.  At this rate it wasn't certain how long the world would last until all became shrouded.

It was for these reasons, or one's held deep and personal, you've taken this carriage ride to Limen.  A catfolk named Rover was running the vehicle on this trip he has taken many times.  From Limen there were many paths, but few carts would go beyond it for between Limen and the next closest town to the shroud, a small settlement of Roanoke on the edge of old Taphos.  There were monsters and shades which crawled from the many abandoned mines and the nearby darkness, and so the latter half the journey was done on horse or foot or boat.  The marked would sometimes band together for safety and security, for what good it did them, but the large scale invasions were a thing of the past.

"Hey it looks like we've arrived." Rover explained as the cart came to a stop.  "Same as always, empty as always.  This is Limen, I suggest finding a room and maybe a map and a friend.  Stock up here while you can, I hear it's not an easy trip.  And... good luck to you guys.  Maybe one day I can ferry you back, eh?"

Limen

Limen is a small fair weathered temperate village which has become smaller over the years as more and more people have moved out.  The place is dominated by one large main street which is lined with buildings, and a dozen smaller off-shoot streets to residential areas on the sides.  The entire place is surrounded by a simple but effective wooden paling that serves as the outskirts of town, wooden buildings within, and one large stone guard tower on each side of the main street.  The place feels as if its in a state of disrepair, with broken cobblestone, heavy weeds, and dusty unkempt patches of dirt.  It's currently late afternoon with clear skies, and a dull hazy line on the horizon.  Even from way back here, you can almost make out the shape of the shroud.  It must be very high in the sky indeed.

There are a few buildings which stand out: The Devil's Crossroads, apparently the local tavern and inn which is connected to a stone building which has the sound of moving metal and clouds of billowing smoke from its smokestack.  Several horses are parked outside already, and one dwarf in heavy stone armor sitting outside and drinking by himself.  There is also a small church of many gods, a typical nondescript shrine used by travelers.  And a building which looks to be a small school.  A colorful fabric tent is found admit the wreck of two former houses.  And finally a small building is near the other gate into town which reads "P THFINDE ".  I think it's missing a few letters.

(click to show/hide)

Did you come by cart? Or were you already here?
« Last Edit: May 19, 2014, 10:09:49 AM by SolEiji »
Mudada.

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #1 on: May 19, 2014, 07:47:39 AM »
Akemi, having arrived by cart, had examined all the normal meeting places and discounted them. She didn't feel overly comfortable in an inn, and that church... she needed no church, and none of these barbarians would properly revere her empress. If they did, the empire would have been bigger: such things were basic logic, to the samurai.

Instead, she had found somewhere else to whittle away the day waiting for people to show up that were willing to brave the darkness as a group: sit in the park, on a dilapidated bench, feeding the ducks.

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #2 on: May 19, 2014, 08:23:26 AM »
After a few minutes, a thin man wearing black robes and a strange mask that looks like a giant bird's face, and whom smells of an odd mix of spices, flowers, death, and embalming fluid, says to the warrior in a voice that sounds like a croaking frog (in Jingu) "All hail Empress Jingu, Glory to the Empire. I am surprised and delighted to find one of Her Majesty's warriors so far from home. I am Mattsu, a Psychic Surgeon, also in her Majesty's Service." He clumsily salutes the warrior.

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Offline ketaro

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #3 on: May 19, 2014, 11:57:33 PM »
Axejack had been hanging around Limen for most of the day propositioning most people about not just venturing alongside him further into the Shroud, but entering under employ of the mercenary clan branch he was seeking to set up in this little nook. Ah, but there wasn't much but gloomy folk about with rather a disinterest in reaching for heroic acts of territorial expansion. From a ways down the road however, he spotted a new cart-full of potential being dropped off in this here little town; what he wouldn't give for some good luck right about now. Hmm, though calling it a day and running a bar dry was also sounding like a good idea right about now. Make up for this loss of a day.

Heaving a grunt as he got up from the wall he'd been leaning against, his eyes followed the motley crew as the cart left again, and the only noteworthy ones that stood out...hmm, of course they would be from there. Well, hopefully they wouldn't be the ones to bring that animosity all the way out here in the edge of nowhere pleasant thought the dwarf as his eyes locked onto the obviously Jingu (Jingen? Jingun? Jingese?  :lol ) woman seated in the park a short ways down and the more subtle associate standing nearby being assumed as the same.

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #4 on: May 20, 2014, 10:19:54 AM »
After a long, awkward silence, the man decides that maybe she's not in a talkative mood, and turns and heads towards the travel agency to see if he can join the next incursion into the shadowed lands as a medic.
I don't pee messages into the snow often , but when I do , it's in Cyrillic with Fake Viagra.  Stay frosty my friends.

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #5 on: May 20, 2014, 10:32:08 AM »
"Ah, I must apologise for my lack of response; my thoughts were of our Empress," the samurai said, responding and rising from the bench, returning the salute with a deep bow, "What brings a surgeon so far from our lands?"

At least two things were readily apparent: Akemi was surprisingly tall, and had replied in the tongue of Chrysanthemum rather than the same language spoken to her. Hopefully, this wouldn't cause any trouble.

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #6 on: May 20, 2014, 10:39:08 AM »
He stops mid-step from turning away, and after a pause replies in the same tongue "I... am on a mission to investigate the nature of this Shadow that is spreading across the land. My name is Matsu."

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I don't pee messages into the snow often , but when I do , it's in Cyrillic with Fake Viagra.  Stay frosty my friends.

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #7 on: May 20, 2014, 10:46:20 AM »
"Ah, a similar quest to my own, then; though mine is sanctioned by naught more than my authority as a free agent. Should war once again threaten our home, then I must inevitably return," she answered, falling for the lie with nary a thought that it could be a lie. It would require beating her over the head with evidence of falsehoods to even enter into the paladin's mind that someone could be lying; whilst she would be better at it than Matsu, she would never even consider it.

Offline Frogman55

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #8 on: May 20, 2014, 10:56:44 AM »
As the others approach the Pathfinder Agency, a tall and lithe man resolves suddenly out of the shadows. At first glance it appears that he is wearing a mask similar to that of the good doctor, but as he speaks it is apparent that this is one of that doomed race, the Tengu - obvious from his feathered crest and curved beak. Other than a few straps holding bits of gear, he is shirtless. Numerous tattoos depicting his rank and achievements are blurred by a large black mark - a thing with clear yet unknowable purpose, easily recognized as a key to the shrouded lands. "There is no longer authority within those lands, beyond what you carry within. I am Ptembridge, I knew much of the shrouded lands from before, and it is time I return now.

"I can act as a guide, at least along the old trade routes, for I doubt the Shadow has changed the very stones.

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #9 on: May 20, 2014, 11:12:12 AM »
Despite the fact that he of course knows he's himself lying, he still finds himself encouraged by the fact that she seems to share his "mission". It helps calm the compulsive need he has for order, and purpose. As does his lie... "Of course. Of course. As would I...

So, perhaps we can aid one another, then?"
He takes off his odd bird-mask, showing that his skin is blue, and that his eyes are a uniformly light blue color as well, with no visible pupils or irises.

"I had thought to enlist others to aid me in my task, but had worried that I would find none whom would be trustworthy, and that I would have to constantly watch my back, and worry that they were working at cross-purposes from mine. It would be a great comfort to know that I have at least one ally that I could depend upon unfailingly."


(What language is Ptembridge speaking? I'm sure at least one of us knows it, but it would be nice to know. :P I assume it is likely Draconic/Chrysanthemum, since he seems to have been listening in at least to the last of our conversation).

The Doctor turns to the newcomer and holds his spectacles up to his eyes, scrutinizing him with the detached curiosity one might use to look upon a worm. He then turns back to the paladin and says (in Jingu) "A local guide could be useful... but can we trust him? His kind are known for being duplicitous..."
« Last Edit: May 20, 2014, 11:30:14 AM by phaedrusxy »
I don't pee messages into the snow often , but when I do , it's in Cyrillic with Fake Viagra.  Stay frosty my friends.

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #10 on: May 20, 2014, 11:56:20 AM »
"I'm sure he's trustworthy; why would someone wish to lie their way into danger?" Akemi argued, tapping her sword absent-mindedly, before returning to their previous language "A guide sounds wonderful, sir. And even should law falter, honour and morals remain."

"Though my companion here has some concerns about your trustworthiness: if you will allow it, may I take a moment to assuage his doubts?"

(AKA: asking permission to use Detect Evil)
« Last Edit: May 20, 2014, 11:58:30 AM by Raineh Daze »

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #11 on: May 20, 2014, 01:49:52 PM »
Matsu scans the Tengu's surface emotions while his new friend scans for evil auras.

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Offline Frogman55

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #12 on: May 20, 2014, 01:57:57 PM »
Ptembridge seems to be feeling little more than a patient regard for the newcomers. There is a subtle hint of despair lurking deeper which flavors his other emotions. A simple nod shows his acceptance of the Samurai's request.
« Last Edit: May 20, 2014, 06:28:48 PM by Frogman55 »

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #13 on: May 20, 2014, 06:42:35 PM »
"He can be trusted to not backstab us," the only female in by appearances the entire roleplay stated, not offering any opinion on whether he could be trusted to keep his word. She hoped so, but it at least seemed unlikely he'd murder them in their sleep over a handful of change.

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #14 on: May 20, 2014, 06:49:20 PM »
"I agree. I detect no malicious intent from him, either. If you both don't mind, I can link us all mentally so that we can be certain our conversations aren't overheard. It will also help me to protect you, by allowing me to bring you under the umbrella of my psychic abilities."

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Offline ketaro

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #15 on: May 20, 2014, 08:45:02 PM »
Being a quick dwarf or not, Axejack was in no hurry. And what luck, they motley duo had become a trio. Less legwork was less work work, mmhm.

"Hail strangers!" he calls out in dwarven in a gruff voice at the group amassing before him before switching over to Common. "Aye, ya look like some proper fightin' folk finally in this here miserable spot. I can tell, those weapons aren't just for self defense! I'd be looking for some fellows willing to fight alongside me, blazing a proper trail through this malignant shroud of darkness that draws so many into it to naught return. I seek to start a reclamation of the land stolen from this world and bring it back to the people who it belonged to! Aye! Proper justice served."

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #16 on: May 20, 2014, 09:17:34 PM »
The man with the bird mask (not the bird-headed man... ) replies in his craggy "A noble goal for sure... but one that seems a bit too ambitious. You'd not be the first to try such a thing. The growing shadow has claimed many with such aims, kings and great warriors among them, along with their armies. What makes you think you could succeed? Or that we'd be willing to follow you to your death trying to?"

((Still reading surface emotions))

Mentally he says over the link to the Tengu and Samurai <This one is either a con artist or lunatic, I'd bet.>
I don't pee messages into the snow often , but when I do , it's in Cyrillic with Fake Viagra.  Stay frosty my friends.

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #17 on: May 20, 2014, 09:21:26 PM »
<We're all mad, here.>

Offline ketaro

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #18 on: May 20, 2014, 09:30:44 PM »
"It's good to know you're still grounded in reality then compared to the madness some that get led here have drowned in. But none the less, it's better to have a goal when moving forward than to simply walk into the unknown and wait for death to catch you! Aye, and I'd certainly enjoy some competent company that could be trusted to watch my back, and likewise to be trusted to watch theirs."

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: STRATA- Chapter 1
« Reply #19 on: May 20, 2014, 09:55:42 PM »
"Agreed, on all counts. Of course we'd like to see the Shadow lifted as well. I think rather than trying to take it on ourselves, though, we'd be better off trying to get information back to those who might be able to use it. So that's our aim. To relay back information to the... Greater Hinnom Confederacy... about what we find inside the Veil, and especially what is behind it.

We were just discussing this before your arrival."
I don't pee messages into the snow often , but when I do , it's in Cyrillic with Fake Viagra.  Stay frosty my friends.