War of the Dragon (RP)

[GamerKale]

"Oh you can denounce his actions as much as you like, I certainly do. And you should take anything he says with a measure of skepticism. Speaking of skepticism, I'm surprised you haven't questioned my motives yet." Kale picked up a mug and poured what water was left in the surviving bottom of one of the pitchers and placed it in front of Zorlo. "No telling when you'll get more fresh water, drink up." He sat down, took a deep breath, and began twirling a scalpel again. "You know that decades ago it was possible to raise a person from the dead, yes? For some reason the gods chose to revoke that power from their faithful near the end of the feud of the Roses, The War of the Elves as it is more often known. Maybe the gods just decided to start revoking more of those powers or perhaps there are not enough people praying to them anymore. I don't know, but I have heard of certain clerics since then performing some great act of faith and having their powers bolstered. And I have also heard some clerics of Nethys, the goddess of magic, and Pharasma, the goddess of birth, death, and" he nodded towards Rhys, "prophecy. Have felt closer to their gods than before. But with the recent construction of Xander's tower perhaps Nethys was suitably appeased by that act. And if other faithful are losing their powers then I'm sure the number of deaths have inversely increased, and that should make the goddess of death fat and happy. Maybe if you smite enough powerful and evil things you'll attract your god's attention and have your connection strengthened. Sometimes I think I've attracted the attention of Pharasma, and she decided to curse me with this guy. So, which god are you trying to attract the attention of?"

Jenkins had seemed slightly confused since the start of the conversation. "Why would you think he'd question your motives? You're a healer, you obviously don't want to see anybody come to harm." Kale thought to himself, Oh to be young and naive. "Do no harm. I've sworn to do no harm, not prevent harm. You want to answer your fellow child's question, Paladin?" Jenkins furrowed his brow, clearly not too keen on being called a child.

[Zorolo]

Zorlo sighed. "I didn't WANT to say anything, but I am obliged to answer that question," the paladin said, looking at Jenkins. "This man is evil. I detected it in him the moment I looked at him, but I didn't want to ruin your perception," the green-haired man said as he set his helm down and drank the water. "He may respect the laws and a sense of honor, but there is little that can be defined as "good" within this man. Still, his words are valid. After this encounter, I shall need to atone to Erastil, but that's something else."

Zorlo took another swig and looked at the masked man and the boy. "As for me, I serve Erastil, Goddess of Nature, ANimals, Goodness and Law. Her guidance lends itself to Paladins, some Clerics and some druids. THis land is far removed from her loving hands, though, I have heard. Still, I feel her love... even if it has become somewhat less obvious of late. I shall endeavor to do good more by helping on this quest... after I've properly atoned, that is," the green-haired man said as he set the empty mug down and looked at Jenkins. "Sorry to shatter your illusion of this man, though. I truly hoped to avoid that."

[GamerKale]

Jenkin's eyes went wide, "But he's a-" "Doctor?" Kale finished. "Yes, I am. But believe it or not there is no law that says you have to be good natured. I do it because I like it and I have the skill for it, just like why I grow these plants. What you call evil, I call efficient and practical. They are traits you pick up when you fight in a war," He turned his backlit glare to Zorlo, "and when those servants of gods betray the trust you put in them. You want to hold onto your ideals, don't let this become a war." He put his hat on the table, stood, and walked out the back entrance and into the alley. Kale set his mask down on the barrel next to him and lit a cigarette as rain began to fall. "It would rain."

Jenkins let out a long breath. He started to take another drink from his mug and then just set it back down, eyeing it warily as he suddenly remembered how much he had drunk. "He wouldn't poison us, would he? I mean, he said he had taken an oath to do no harm and all, but he is y'know. Um, so what should we do? Our host is an evil doctor and our only lead is from an unconscious mad man. Should we just take Rhys and go looking for this red ship that's going to lead us to our deaths, after a visit to the temple? Or do you think somebody at the temple would be able to help us?"

[Zorolo]

Zorlo looked at him and resisted the urge to face-palm. "You're a very paranoid man. I may be a paladin, but I accept the grave reality of this world. Good and evil have become inconsequential, unless you're a Kobold, in face of this greater evil. I have to put aside my agreement to slay evil creatures insolong as they are working towards the greater good. The moment he becomes questionable towards goodness, I slay him on first sight. As of now, I see no reason," the man said as he looked towards Jenkins and laughed.

"Anyway, if he wanted to kill us, wouldn't he just assassinate us? The way he moves... you and I would be dead already if he wanted to kill us," the man said with another laugh. "As for the temple, they can't really help us that much... the temples are busy trying to rebuild everything. They haven't Clerics, nor druids, nor Paladin to spare. I'm here of my own accord... so I fear that may be why I am losing my powers... but... I swore to goodness and law, and I must defeat these creatures who are threatening those things..." the Paladin said, sighing. So complicated.

[KiteXX]

Rhys' eyes flashed open suddenly, and he dashed into Jenkins, knocking him to the floor. He leaned down, and whispered a few words lightly, to where the paladin would not hear. Immediatley after doing such, he collapsed on top of the boy and drifted through awkward and colourful dreams. Dreams of death, of life, and of future. But most vividly, he saw Jenkin's stab him, and Kale harvest his blood.

[GamerKale]

((Now Kite, why would you think Kale would harvest your blood? It's not like he's actually a vampire who wears the full body outfit to keep the sun from turning him to dust or anything.))
"Silt?" Jenkins rolled Rhys off himself and pulled on his cape. What does dirt have to do with anything? "How can you say I'm paranoid? I just found out that there are evil doctors. Doctors. They go out of their way to help people and at least one of them is evil. It's just such a shock alright? Besides, he seemd so nice."

Kale tossed the still burning cigarette aside and pulled his mask back on before heading back inside. "It's called good business. Besides, there's no reason for me to kill any of you. I beg your forgiveness for being a poor host, but I have to make a few house calls. You don't need to worry about locking up before you leave." He pulled up a floor board and pulled out a bag. "Jenkins, your bags bigger on the inside, right? Here. It's medicine for Rhys's mental instability. It's not a cure mind you, but it does help keep him making sense. Just tell him that he owes me an additional hundred strings of platinum when he comes to." Jenkins mouth dropped, "P-p-platinum? How many pieces are on a string?" "100, you've never seen a string of coins before?" "10,000 platinum pieces!? You really are evil!" Kale waved the statement off and replaced the floorboard. "Just tell him. I've wasted enough time here already." Kale tipped the brim of his hat towards Zorlo as he left, "Open roads, son of Vareil Amaranth."

[KiteXX]

As Rhys pulled himself off the ground, he was hit with a realization about his 'Dream.' It would be his idea. He smiled at the thought. It was perfect. He glared slightly, at the flooring in front of him hearing the cost of such a medicinal substance. "DOES NOT WANT!" He yelled springing to his feet, seemingly normal. Or well, as normal as he could. "DOES NOT WANT, DOES NOT WANT, DOES NOT WANT, DOES NOT WANT!!!"

[GamerKale]

((Right, quick recap in case Kai or anybody else who wants to join hasn't been keeping up. The group is about to head to a ship and set sail for someplace which dear and fluffy Rhys will hopefully be adding another couple of clues as to both where they're going and what they're going to be looking for before they actually set sail.))



Jenkins was tacken aback by Rhys's sudden explosion of activity. "Alright, Rhys, just calm down. I'm putting the medicine away now. You don't have to take it if you don't to." He lowered the big bag of medicine into his pouch, the size of which didn't seem to be affected by the larger bag being added to it's contents. "There, is that better?" He whispered to Zorlo and Rain, "Right, let's get going." Before he suffers another attack. Maybe I'll start spiking his food and drink with whatever this stuff is if that happens again. He quietly added to himself.

[kai the pkk]

Rain: eh?....now?! But I'm so hungry...*sigh* { he stands up with his hand resting on the hilt of his sheathed blade} ...I hate the Rain.....fine.... { he streches} how are we going to go about doing this exactly?

[nekoryuuha]

((A new Adventurer has appeared! My thanks to Kale for letting me step out of the box here.)

Name: Maerlyn
Race: Harpy
Age: Appears 20
Questions: 0

Magic: Witch Hexes & Magics-
Captivating Song: Maerlyn's natural Harpy ability to Captivate the minds of those that hear it, causing those that fail to resist to become helplessly drawn to her and at her mercy until she stops singing. Unfortunately, those that resist are no longer vulnerable to it for the rest of that day. Captivated victims defend themselves from attacks other then Maerlyn herself.

Patron & Familiar: As a Witch, Her Patron Is a Powerful, supernatural force that helps to grant her powers through Maerlyn's bond with her familiar. Maerlyn's Patron helps her through gradual mastery of Winter's forces.

Hexes: a witches ability to invoke special effects by Hexing a target. Hexes, with a few exceptions, only work once a day on the same target, herself included. Maerlyn's current Hexes are: Water Lung, Unnerve Beast, Beast of Ill-Omen, Misfortune, Dispel, Ice Tomb, Retribution, & Ward.

Blessing "Fire Bird -Flying Phoenix-": Powers granted to her by the Phoenix, Marco, and Her Patron after Helping to resurrect the aforementioned Phoenix. In addition to the sudden change in coloration, It gives her the power to resurrect herself, resistance to Flames & magical Fire, and the power to free ignite her feathers as a 'shroud' of fire. It also, however, gives her a Phoenix's vulnerability to cold damage.

Favored Weapons: Her Talons
Personal Quote: "Waste not, Want not."

Bio: Maerlyn is an oddity, even amongst her own people thanks to her intelligence and ability to cast Arcane spells. Growing tired of both brethren & the boring prey, Maerlyn started traveling for little more reason then to see what the world outside the mountainous forests of her birth had to offer her in terms of both knowledge & prey. Rather then finding Kobold Stig, Kobold Stig came across her in the middle of cleaning up after a successful meal and, after answering her questions, pointed her toward a certain place with the promise that she was unlikely to be bored, hungry, or weak for long if she went along with it.

App: ((Note: Feathers have turned fiery red & orange due to Blessing "Fire Bird -Flying Phoenix-"))



(Added with Kale's permission)
Name: Ceraph
Race: Arcane Slime-girl
Age: N/A
Questions: N/A
Magic: Unknown, though most of it appears to be Sorcerer-type spells & Spell-like powers. "She" also appears to bear an unnatural vulnerability of cold.
Favored Weapons: None
Personal Quote: None
Bio: An unnatural Ooze the was brought into being by an unknown means with Arcane powers and a Human(if child-like) level of intelligence. 'She' was discovered on the cursed 'Isla de Sombra' seemingly trapped inside of a Gelatinous Cube until the party freed 'her'. Scared to possibly be killed, she ultimately joined the party after they spared her life and healed her.

App:


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"Huh... So, is that the place...?" the emerald-colored Harpy asked herself as she soared toward the Rose Apothecary. Beside her, her Hawk Familiar, Aurora, squawked in reply. The white Kobold had told her to follow her nose as she flew this way. Even though she begun to wonder if she'd gotten lost, she found herself able to just smell it. "Flowers, with no flower fields in sight. I guess that means I'm close, at least." With that, she slowly began her decent toward the place, a Warding Hex already in place as she descended in large lazy circles, the smell of the Rose Apothecary becoming stronger as she did so. She'd learned already that most humanoids tended to shoot first and question later when they saw a Harpy. "Aurora, head off a different way. No need for you to get shot at too." Aurora Squawked back before banking off the come in a different way.

[GamerKale]

((Welcome to the party. That checks a caster off the list.))

"HARPY! HARPY! GUARDS! SOMEONE GET THE GUARDS!" Kale didn't even need the benefits of his elven heritage to hear the ruckus outside. "Stay put. I'm sure it's just another one of Xander's illusions, you know how that archmage likes to give everyone a jolt now and again. There's no need to get yourself riled up over nothing. Here drink this." He handed the old woman a vial filled with a green potion, caressed her hand gently, and left the house. Looking up to see the oversized parrot separate from her faithful hawk. Well, she's too bright to be one of that wizard's illusions. And she seems to be heading to my store. This is going to be a little complicated. Kale grabbed a nearby kid and handed him 2 coppers. "Tell Jasper to bring the necklace from the Shadowed Gem job to the Dark Doctor. Immediately. I'll give you a gold piece once it's delivered. Go. Now."

Kale moved through the urban jungle just as quickly as any of the elves of yore could have sprinted through a forest. A half dozen scalpels shot out from a side street as guards pulled the triggers on their crossbows for a second volley. Two things happened, first the bolts were intercepted in mid-air and secondly each of the guards fell over, snoring loudly. At some point during the sprint the doctor had lost his hat, "What do you think you're doing? Get down here." Kale whispered loudly at the harpy as he ducked into his shop. With practiced speed he discarded his doctor outfit onto the counter. Oddly enough this didn't reveal too much skin as he had been wearing practically skin tight black clothes beneath the heavy and also black healer's garb. It did reveal Kale's red hair which was oddly short for an elf, what skin there was visible above the nape of his neck was crimson as well, and the trademark long pointed elven ears which he massaged liberally. The left ear had a series of ornate obsidian rose earrings running all the way from the tip to the base. Black was an apparent theme with his dress and with the dark circles under his emerald eyes. Given that he was an elf, that probably meant he spent more nights awake than an owl. "Did any of the guard's get a lucky shot off on you?"
--------------------
Jenkins and the others waited in the receiving hall of the church while Zorlo did whatever it was he needed to do. "Honestly, Rain, was it? I don't know. We're going to be hopping a ship and heading for an island. I'd guess we'll be either getting the thing to trap the dragon's soul in or the reagent. Though, what a fire aspected creature would be doing in the middle of the ocean is beyond me, but the obvious solution to the caster is a visit to the mage's tower, although I doubt any of the students there would believe us and even if they did it's unlikely they would want to face almost certain death, their job is the most dangerous after all. There's a very real chance that they will get trapped within the soul trap instead of Drelliel."

[nekoryuuha]

As the Harpy landed and ducked inside, she quickly checked herself over. Considering the fact that she was wearing little more then a belt with a large pouch, a tube-top, and shorts, in wasn't hard to see the shallow cut on her side. Ward had done its job of preventing a direct hit. "Just a scratch. I'll live," she replied before taking a moment to check for poisons with a quick spell. Nothing this time. Good. "So then, Are you the one that White Kobold-thing with the dog wanted me to join up with? And do I have you to thank for there being no second volley?" she asked as she looked him completely over now. Not bad. Got some meat on him...

[Zorolo]

The Holiest of Holies opened up and light emanated from within and blinded everyone who wasn't a Paladin, Cleric or Inquisitor within the building. The green-haired Paladin emerged with a renewed, golden glow as he looked at them. "I feel somewhat renewed," the Paladin stated as he walked past the group and heard the commotion as they left the church. "Hmm? Sleeping guards? What happened?" Zorlo asked as several guards moved towards him.

"Ser Zorlo, 'tis good you're here! Something has happened?"

"What's wrong, nameless guard?" In truth, the guard wasn't nameless, it was just in their armor, they all looked and sounded the same.

"A Harpy has flown into that... that... that PERSON'S... Apothecary. That man is gathering up monsters indeed."

Zorlo sighed before resting his hand on the guard's head, alleviating his concern as Zorlo moved towards the Apothecary and opened the door. As he looked in, he saw the Harpy and chuckled. "Well, I'll be damned, a harpy with green feathers. I think I've seen it all." The Paladin turned towards Kale and remained silent for a moment. "She's with us, isn't she?" he asked, sighing.

Great, an evil doctor, a farmboy, some guy that doesn't talk much, a false prophet, and now a harpy. Erastil, what in the world am I doing? If I didn't know this was for the GREATER good, I'm not sure quite how I'd be handling this...

The Paladin almost started reaching for his sword and paused as he held his free hand up and detected the Harpy. Well, at least she isn't evil. This whole adventure will get very complicated if I have to atone at every... EVERY city I need to head to... that'd be unnecessarily constraining. With a second sigh, Zorlo moved towards the woman and held his hand out. "I'm Zorlo, Paladin of Erastil. It's nice to meet you," he said, breaking the ice with relative simplicity. After all, building bridges was one of the functions of Paladins.

[kai the pkk]

Rain: so basically Were going to die....sweet { he looks at the harpy} soooo she's with us?.... wow and now even a Harpy... allright I have no problem with that seems Legit Aren''t we the sketchest looking band of heroes out there where are we going to get a boat?

[GamerKale]

"Don't mention it." Kale applied something that stung to the harpy's wound. "You're right, it's nothing serious but this should get rid of it completely before the day is out and prevent scarring. And no, I'm not the one the Stig wanted you to join with. I'm just a doctor, or I was until you showed up. There are going to be a lot of questions that I just don't feel up to answering now that you've shown up." Kale sighed quietly as Zorlo arrived. "He's one of the ones you're supposed to be joining with. Stay put, both of you." Kale ducked into the back room and locked the door. Some hushed whispering was barely audible to Zorlo before the door opened back up and Kale had a gorgeous necklace in hand. He walked around behind Maerlyn and put it around her neck saying, "Vanima". Her appearance changed in many subtle ways to accentuate her natural beauty and a few major ones to hide the fact that she was a harpy. The most notable of which was that her wings disappeared. "As long as you're wearing that you will look like a normal, albeit beautiful, elven woman. But if you do anything particularly out of the ordinary, like fly the illusion will break and you will have to wait an hour before you can reactivate it by saying Vanima. Which means beautiful in Elvish. To deactivate it, just remove the necklace. Now, I'm going to leave before the guards surround this place." Kale took the rear exit and disappeared.
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Jenkins was still blinking and rubbing his eyes, recovering from the temporary blindness. And so, while he gave chase after the paladin, he wasn't quite able to get through the guards like Zorlo and Rain had, so he waited with the other onlookers. A harpy? I've never seen one of those before. I wonder if what old gaffer said is true, that they lure men to their deaths. But why would a harpy come here?

[kai the pkk]

Rain: { rubbing his eyes as he walks in circles} great I was able to see the harpy lady at first and now green hair shows up and blinds me ahh! { he walks into a wall as he falls over as the blindness slowly fades}... ow { he looks around} hey { he stands up right as he pats himself off} great how do we proceed from here?

[nekoryuuha]

"I see..." Maerlyn replied as she turned to Zorlo while Kale walked into the back. "So you're it then. Name's Maerlyn. I'm just your ordinary Witch," the Harpy greeted, jumping slightly at Kale placing the necklace on her and activating it. It was weird to be under the illusion as she could see herself normally as well as the illusion over her body. But this could have some uses it. Maerlyn was not blind to the possibilities of the Necklace. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind, Doctor. But I agree, it's best we all left before people come calling for answers we can't give, she finished as she closed her wings as tightly to her body as she could if for no other reason then to start getting used to doing it. She'd need to help prevent suspicion from brushing her unseen wings. "Better question. Where are you all heading towards?"

[KiteXX]

Rhys tucked his legs under himself, and stood awkwardly. Almost as if he felt out of place. His eyes chased the eagle as it flew around. He opened his mouth as wide as possible once it flew too close to him, "SQWAACK!!" Rhys screamed at the bird out of trepidation.

[Zorolo]

Zorlo sighed as he drew his sword and removed his gauntlet. In a quick movement, he'd sliced opened his own hand and dotted his face and armor with blood. "It's actually quite easy to get out of this situation, it just requires some... creative story-telling," the Paladin stated as he headed outside, putting his gauntlet back on, and looking at everyone. "GOod day! I've dealt with the creature," he said, showing the blood. "I shall now cleanse this house of evil spirits. The doctor here has fled. Return to your lives!" Zorlo said as the crowd began to disperse.

Zorlo headed back into the apothecary and sighed. "I swear to Erastil the greater good requires things that goodness deems wrong. Still, at times, some deception is necessary for the sake of the overall greater good," the Paladin stated with a firm bit of logic. IN truth, lying was wrong. Creative story telling for the sake of the average person, however, was within the boundaries of law. He'd simply need to atone later... like in another town. HIs powers would work fine until they arrived there. After all, he hadn't done anything WRONG, so much as alleviated the worries of the masses and protected the group by exaggerating events so they'd seem less dangerous than they were.

[GamerKale]

((Well, it isn't really a lie. It's just letting them infer something that is incorrect.))
Jenkins finally got through as the crowd dispersed and popped his head into the apothecary, hoping to see what a harpy looked like. He was simultaneously disappointed and pleasantly surprised by the apparently human woman standing there and ge forgot about the harpy. "Uh um, h-hi. Ah are you uh are you here for some flowers?"