RP (non-canon): D&D Mission 1: Getting "Acquainted"

"Bah! Just 'urry up and let's go! We haven't all day ta spend wond'rin about whether we can get to destroy th' source or not!" He placed the longsword's broadside over his shoulder and walked away. "I'm gon' go get the rest o' me armor! You lot better be here when I'm back!"

He walked away in a bit of a pissed off mood. Mainly, he was just grumpy that he had been woken from his slumber on account of the damned rats, and that now he was infected with Pelor only knew what.

Talarin sighed as Aurelus walked away. "Sorry, my friend there is just grumpy that we woke up so early and suddenly. He's a good guy when you get to known him."

Gabriel said:

The nurse nodded at what Sorri said. "The man you speak of is a cleric, he used divine spells to detect magic on living rat specimens. He still doesn't know much, but he learns more by the day. We know for a fact that it isn't a poison, we've used antidotes, cast poison curing spells, cast poison prevention spells. We're confident it's not just a poison. We don't know much past that."

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The girl listened as the nurse summed up what was known. The news that the disease had ties to necromancy startled Sorri, but she refused to let it scare her despite a growing knot in her stomach. Fear will do no good right now, she chided herself, then looked up at the nurse.

"I don't know any magic, but I have some training in medicine. What can I do?"

Ghira turned to respond to Talarin, but at the point where he was facing the man, he noticed from the corner of his eye that a woman was standing behind him, guard apparently raised. He wheeled about to meet her and asked, "Just how long have you been standing like that? Although, I can't say I blame you."

After that comment, he turned back to Talarin and with a flourish announced, "My name is Ghira of the Manaalin family. And yours is?"

Denkou sheathed her sword, since the wizard had been accepted as friendly. Not sure I quite buy that one, but we'll let it lie for now. She rolled her head on her neck, cracking it. "Well, I'm Denkou, not that you asked. As for how long I was there... Long enough."

The mob slowly dispersed and left the remaining two adventurers with Ghira. One of them stopped on the way out and said, "You guys better hurry up, we're all counting on you."

The cleric burst into the hospital and turned to the nurse and Sorri. "You need a job to do? We're sending a group at the power source in ten minutes. Arm yourself with what you own and report to the town hall, the party that you're traveling with should be there soon. I have to head there myself, the town elders are meeting."

As the last person in the crowd came back to town, Aurelus had finished donning his studded leather armor and brought back with him his shield, with his sword in it's scabbard which hung from his belt, and his other two weapons. He left his backpack at the inn, but had brought with him the torch he had earlier and the flint and stone to light it with in the pouch where he carried his sling.

He exited the inn and went to meet the group back at the path outside of Caloma, near where the three mysterious figures on the hill had previously been.

Once Aurelus arrived, he looked at the group, then back at the wizard. His hazel eyes looked straight down at the mage's own, and he frowned.

"Now then, wizerd... the elder may've been convinced by that letter, bu' I'm not one ta trust others tha' easily. Ye say ye know where ta find the source o the illness, and ye say it's riddled with traps. Denkou here is good at findin' them things, so I know we've got a chance at this even if ye were leadin us to one.

But rest assured, werdspinner... If I see just a tiny, wee suspicious movement from yer wretched form I won't hesitate to leave you headless-- that is, if the lass doesn't beat me to i' first. Ye'd be lucky if she didn'." He turned to look at the rogue, and for the first time since he woke up, he smiled.

Well, it was more of a smirk than a smile, but it was there. He was no longer as pissed off as he was earlier. He crossed his arms and looked back down at Ghira.

"Le's get to it, then! Elab'rate, wizard: where is it, what is it, and how do we get there?"

"Well, I would, but that villiage elder told us to get to the town hall at about. . . now." The Imaskari told him, beginning to walk towards the aforementioned place. "And don't worry. I only know practical spells, not the silly kind to light people on fire. My name's Ghira, by the way."

Talarin nodded in agreement with the wizard. "My name is Talarin, by the way. And this little budle of joy, in my pocket here, is Joanna." Joanna popped her head out to look at the wizard. "I hope we can get along nicely. I mean we all are on the same side right?" he walked towards the village along with the group."

"But--!" Before Sorri knew it, she was standing at the town hall with whoever the town's cleric had rounded up. Well...maybe they will need someone for the injured, she thought, barely avoiding someone's careless elbow.

"Oh! I still need supplies!" She hadn't thrown the damaged kit components away, they just weren't as clean as she preferred them to be and some of the ingredients had been lost or spilled. But she still wasn't able to buy one...

"Or maybe I'll use what I have..."

"We'll see 'bout that, Talarin." The fighter replied regarding Talarin's remark of being on the same side. Regardless, Aurelus gave the mage his name. "Name's Aurelus. Aurelus of Dolefalle."

As they walked down the path and back into town, Aurelus asked the obvious question. "Why're we goin ta the town hall? 'Ren't we supposed ta get rid of the source? I don' very much care 'bout praises and honors right now!

The sooner we get rid of it the better, ye'd reckon!"

"Because that villiage elder told us to. He said for any person with combat or magical experience to be there. As nice as having a small group to contend with is, having more people in this case is much better." Ghira remarked as the reached and entered the hall.

Talarin nodded distractedly in agreement with Ghira. His eyes were studying the strange humanoid, obviously bustling with questions an theories. He continued to pet Joanna's head almost absent mindedly. He'd never seen anything like the strange wizard before and he was very curious, but now didn't really seem appropiate to drill the poor wizard with all the questions he wanted to ask. Instead he said "When the mob was chasing you, I happened to notice that they give off a slight magical aura. Did you or the other wizards cast a spell on them?" He gave the wizard a questioning look.

When the party arrived at the town hall the cleric, the elder that they spoke to earlier, the sorceress that worked in the magic store down the street, and the town armor and weapons smith were all standing at the top of the steps. Below them, standing on the ground, was the quarterling that the group had encountered on the way to Caloma. The elder spoke, "Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but time is of essence. Thank you for coming, we have gathered you here for several reasons. First of all, we hoped that others would come and assist you, and the town cleric has provided us with a young helper to assist you with your injuries on your journey. Also, each of us has a gift to bestow upon the group."

The cleric stepped forward first and drew a bag from inside his cloak. "For Miss Healer, the brand new Healer's Kit that you came for. This one is special though, and the equipment is made out of the best materials that I could find."

Next the armor smith came forward, removed the chain shirt he was wearing, and tossed it at Aurelus. "Fighter, here. I'll trade ya. This one was made specially and should provide just as much mobility as your leather."

Then came forward the sorcerer. "For the arcane of the group, I have a special surprise for you. A Necklace of Eagle's Splendor. It will make you as charismatic as the eagle, and as a sorcerer will help you cast your arcane spells." He the necklace off his neck and walks down the steps before handing it to Talarin.

Lastly the elder closed his eyes and began to sing. After a minute or two the elder stopped singing and opened his eyes. "As long as you are holding your short sword, young rogue, once per day you may blink to the ethereal plane for ten seconds, and then reappear in the material plane. While in the ethereal plane you can see all that is in the material plane, but move through material objects as if they were not there. You will be but a ghost to this plane for those ten seconds. This will help you move through heavily trapped areas and through doors than cannot be unlocked. Cave dweller, you have not yet earned our trust and, if the mission is completed successfully and your companions find you trustworthy, then we will bestow a gift upon you as well."

The elder paused. "We would not give these gifts to you normally, but if you do not succeed then we will have no need for them. Move with all haste, the fate of this village, and possibly the entire nation, rests in the hands of you five. Go now, and return when you are finished." With that the elder and the three village officers retreated inside the town hall.

We are it?!

Sorri took the healing kit and bowed her head to the cleric in thanks, but looked nervous. "I...there is no one else coming?" she asked the cleric, then realized she recognized three of the four. She said nothing, though, and kept the recognition from her expression. If they said something, okay, but if not then that was fine with her...

Nevaraon said:

"When the mob was chasing you, I happened to notice that they give off a slight magical aura. Did you or the other wizards cast a spell on them?"

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"One of my associates had spent time making the disease airborne through magical means, as well as giving the thing some more effects. And before any of you ask, I know nothing of how it was modified. I know nothing of necromancy." The Imaskari responded right before the elder began speaking.

Gabriel said:

Cave dweller, you have not yet earned our trust and, if the mission is completed successfully and your companions find you trustworthy, then we will bestow a gift upon you as well."

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Well, this one is certainly smarter than the average elder. My kind aren't exactly the most common creatures. He thought before turning his attention to Sorri.

"Well, given your presumed skills, altogether this should be enough. I shall tell you where it is now, it being the artifact that powers this disease. We must head to an abandoned mansion to the west. I've never actually seen the thing myself, but there is bound to be a few magically enhanced traps in the way. Now let us hurry, lest we want the disease to kill us." He explained, pulling out his staff and using it as a walking stick*.

*It was on his back until now.

Upon arriving at Town Hall, Aurelus looked at the entourage of people there waiting for them. When he saw the young girl from the other day, he noticed her, but didn't mention anything. It didn't take long before the villagers began bestowing presents onto the adventurers, and eventually him.

Smirking, Aurelus took off his leather vest, and tossed it on the floor before the smith. When he picked up the chain mail shirt, he agreed. "Aye! Light as a baby!" He put it on over his white shirt. It was pretty comfortable, and definitely looked like it would protect him more than his leather vest.

"'Aven't I seen ye before?" Aurelus finally asked the girl as the townsfolk headed into the town hall and just after the wizard finally told them where the source was.

Before heading into the town hall with the others, the cleric turned around and responded to Sorri. "I'm afraid not, but five should be enough. From our understanding the wizards never meant for people to know of the artifact's existence, much less where it was hidden. We're assuming that the guards and traps are not meant to prevent groups like yourselves, but simply to keep out random creatures and single travelers that happen to come across the area. I'm sure you'll do fine." With that the cleric turned around and head into the town hall.

Denkou swung her sword a few times, experimentally testing whether the magic had changed how it handled or not. It seemed a little bit more balanced, but that could be entirely psychological, so she put that thought away for later testing. She nodded her thanks to the elders, and resheathed her sword. "So are we ready then? All we need is a location, and we can get moving. I'd rather move with a group this small anyway."