Min/Max Boards

Meta Board => Retired PbP Games => Archive => [D&D 3.5] Vale - The Dawn of Magic => Topic started by: erbem on November 14, 2011, 07:48:02 PM

Title: Main Game
Post by: erbem on November 14, 2011, 07:48:02 PM
Just setting everything up. Solara, are you ready?
Title: Re: Main Game
Post by: solara on November 15, 2011, 01:09:50 AM
Yup. Character is done. E-mailed the sheet to you.
Title: Re: Main Game
Post by: erbem on November 16, 2011, 10:30:23 PM
Sweet! Then let's start:

Chapter 1: Professor Cornelius

     Ravaella Chorster, born, raised, and educated in the city of Queensgate. Taken under the wing of Seral, Master-at-arms for all infantry stationed at Queensgate, and Vaqua, the city's head librarian, Ravaella learned history, tactics, strategy, supply, and the use of a wide variety of weaponry. At the age of 18, she graduated from her apprenticeship and began work as a full time city guard. She enjoyed this position for two years until recent events caused massive troop redeployment. With the recent death of the old monarch, the new king fears the nation will appear weak and vulnerable to attack. He plans to make a show of force by imposing strict guard on the nation's borders and ports.

     Four months have passed since the order went out sending Seral and a small company of troops to Nightshire to coordinate patrols along the countryside. Nightshire is a very small town, but its location makes it ideal as a logistic headquarters, so a small military barracks has been set up to accommodate the troops. Ravaella spends her mornings and evenings as an administrator, handling inventory and supply route information for the border patrols. Her afternoons involve training the few new recruits from Nightshire, as well as the less skilled troops transfered from Queensgate.

     One morning while pouring over a particularly dull bit of inventory, a local farm boy you know very well named Eldem bursts into your tent. Eldem typically delivers the mail to the barracks, and sure enough, he is carrying a large stack of letters and packages almost bigger than he is. He sets it down with a thud and begins to dig through the stack, tossing letters your way as he finds them. Soon he as at the bottom of the stack. He collects all the mail not addressed to you, gives you a big grin, and hurries out of your tent, blushing and shouting "Have a nice day, m'am!"

     You gather up the rather large stack of mail Eldem tossed your way and start to sort through it. You recognize bits of mail as you come to them, inventory for the 5th, orders for the 3rd, and so on, that is, until you get near the bottom of the stack. A small yellow envelope, very unlike the others, sits at the bottom of the stack. It is addressed to you, personally, and bears no return address or postage. Thanks to your own writing classes, you can tell the address was written by a person with a large amount of formal education. What do you do?
Title: Re: Main Game
Post by: solara on November 17, 2011, 12:24:39 AM
Ravaella considers the small envelope for a moment, ignoring the more routine mail. Finally, she sighs and opens the envelope.
Title: Re: Main Game
Post by: erbem on November 18, 2011, 03:30:26 PM
You open the envelope and remove several sheets of paper and a small key. You unfold the paper, and on it is written the following, in the same elegant handwriting as the front of the envelope:

"Dear Madame Chorster,

     Let me begin by apologizing for the mysterious nature of this letter. My name is Orban Cornelius. I am a professor here at the Vale College of Archeological Studies. I am contacting you because I feel I have no one else to whom I can turn. Your father and I were very well acquainted until some years ago when I accepted this position at the college. He often spoke of your courage and kindness, which gives me hope that my plea will not fall on deaf ears.

     Before I continue, I must give you a brief account of events leading up to the sending of this letter. I am rather ashamed to admit that despite being a professor of archeology, I do abhor travel. I have never even left the country. Instead, I leave the travel to my younger, more able bodied students. Normally, I send them out to remote regions and they return with all manner of artifacts and documented local legends and the like. They tend to return in high spirits, perhaps a little more world-wise than when they left. However, one such student did not return in such a state.

     I first learned of his return when I received a letter from the police chief summing me to the city jail. Astonished, I headed down at once, and who should I see behind the bars but my very own student! I learned that he boarded a ship bound for Vale some number of weeks ago, and as the voyage progressed, so demented did his demeanor become that the crew demanded that he be incarcerated. I paid his bounty and freed him, taking him back to the living quarters at the college. He seemed more in a state of confusion than madness at this point. All through the night I tried to get a coherent story out of this poor soul, and by the time morning dawned, I was still no closer to ascertaining the truth. I decided next to examine his field notes, only to find that they were equally as incoherent. As I looked farther back in date however, the madness seemed to subside, until I could finally piece together a logical story. It seems the last thing he was working on was recording a local creation myth. I will not release the details to you yet, as I fear this letter may be intercepted.

     As I deciphered more and more of his notes, I felt compelled to find the source of this poor soul's insanity. What could be so aberrant as to unhinge the human mind? I decided to end my hermetic lifestyle and attempt to retrace my student's voyage. However, soon after I submitted a request for a grant to mount an expedition, I entered my office to find that all my work had been seized. When I made inquiries, I was met with dismissal and veiled threats. I can feel myself being followed on the walk home. I see eyes in the shadows and suspicion on the faces of my colleagues, and I am beginning to fear for my own safety. Please, I must meet with you. Meet me in my office at Vale College on the 3rd day after the winter solstice. Please be discrete in your travels, whomever is watching me may be watching you now. I feel horrible putting you in this kind of situation, but you are my only hope. Best of luck,

-Orban Cornelius"
Title: Re: Main Game
Post by: solara on November 19, 2011, 03:28:16 PM
Ravaella reaches behind her for a chair and sits down slowly, not taking her eyes off the note.

"Orban Cornelius? I don't remember an Orban or a Cornelius . . . ." she says as she thinks. Finally, she puts the note back in its envelope and tucks both into her uniform, resolved to ask Seral about the note later, once her duties are finished for the day. Perhaps she would write her father a note, asking about this Orban Cornelius. This could easily be some sort of ploy.
Title: Re: Main Game
Post by: erbem on November 24, 2011, 12:23:47 AM
The rest of the day passes without incident. It is now around 5:30 in the afternoon, and you have completed your duties for the day. Seral is in his tent, finishing up some paperwork for tomorrow.