A Gift Fit for a Queen – 1.06.2021 – Delilah
Jun 3, 2021 15:59:34 GMT
Jaezred Vandree, WillJ, and 1 more like this
Post by Delilah Daybreaker on Jun 3, 2021 15:59:34 GMT
Rolled into a palm sized tube is a piece of nondescript parchment around a notice, along with a second sheet of sketches and runes. Both sheets of parchment are written in a mix of common, symbols, and elvish.
ASSIGNMENT REPORT #9
People/Organisations of Note:
Jaezred Vandree – drow, noble, mage, male
Veridian – human, mage, male; homunculus companion, Paracleus
Ruk – elf-like [not a true elf], mage, male
Belladonna Thorpe – half-drow, fey-touched warrior, female
Karl Neverwoods – human, noble, semi-decent dancer [now], male
Aurelia Archelson – human[?], mage, Council Chair, female
Sister Sunbane – hag, witch, female
Queen Nicnevin – The Moonweaver, Queen of the Witches, giant, female
Antoine Tarkessa – elf, retired warrior of the Winter Court, male (deceased)
Locations:
Daring Heights – Dawnlands city
Witching Court – home of Queen Nicnevin
Winter Lands Marsh – location of sunken Ziggurat
Body:
Meeting with Hand delayed due to unexpected mission. Details below.
The job was advertised/overheard was an escort mission [see attached notice]. Karl Neverwoods, a noble of less than average importance, wished to see Queen Nicnevin to make a bargain. All present tried to advise, to varying degrees, that Neverwoods take heed when dealing with any monarch of the Seelie Courts. All advice was ignored.
Aurelia Archelson, operating the portal in Daring Heights, sent us to the Witching Court, asking us to ensure Neverwoods return. A vague word was given that it would be done.
Our group was met by a dark blue-skinned hag, Sister Sunbane. She guided us under the mountain, into the heart of the Court. Jaezred Vandree seemed to know Neverwoods well and thus kept up conversation with the noble whilst the rest kept watch on the way we were taken. It was winding with many witches doing all sorts of rituals and magic. (NB: Beyond my ken for magic unfortunately.) Entire homes are built into the mountain, with glowing crystals and vibrant plant life making it not as dead as the stone would make it seem.
Neverwood’s meeting with Queen Nicnvin did not take long. He said what he wanted: To be very talented and very famous. She explained her power: She is a conduit for a great power that is beyond all/most people’s understanding. The price for any bargain is unknowable before the agreement is made, and the agreer will not like it. “It is Law,” as Queen Nicnevin put it.
Neverwoods did not back down. Queen Nicnevin granted his request and left him to dance. (NB: I knew the moment it worked because it was like something in the Weave changed and yes, Neverwoods was famous, of course I’ve heard of him.)
Neverwoods would have kept dancing until he died had Sister Sunbane not tactfully been there to offer another bargain that would help him. Knowing we were there to help him, Sunbane was really asking us if we would do the deed she wished to see done: She wanted a circlet from a warrior by the name of Antoine Tarkessa, who controlled an army of skeletons. Veridian confirmed there was time enough for us to do this before Neverwoods would start to “look bad”.
With Sunbane teleporting with us to a marsh, our group used the Shadows to cloak our approach to our goal: “the mausoleum”. Veridian was the one who recognised it as a Ziggurat when we arrived. P.D. was the one to spot the Winter Court pennant. The situation suddenly got more interesting.
There was much debate on what to do or how to do what Sunbane was asking. Do we approach quietly? Do we try to speak to Tarkessa? Sunbane asked us to not damage the skeletons for getting the circelt but without an army to control would be pointless. (NB: What is it with Dawnlanders and always wanting to try for the harder way when stealth is always the best option?)
Finding a side entrance to the half-sunken pyramid, Ruk shared his tactical evaluation of the undead force: They require a set of instructions to follow, however some are able to do things above simple, menial tasks. The not-elf also noticed undead skeletons had carvings on them, like designs or patterns. From after the confrontation with Tarkessa, P.D. was able to determine these markings are a code, an Archive, a record of information but in a raw sense. More time would have been needed to study it but there was none at the time. See attached sketches for drawings of these runes, sent with one skull.
Entering inside, our stealth was going well, the Shadows keeping us safe, protected, until Veridian and Ruk stepped too far away and one of the many patrols saw them and discovered the undead Thorp and P.D. had taken out previously. A quick skirmish, then dashing up towards the chamber where the group thought Tarkessa would be.
He was waiting for us.
The others mistook Tarkessa’s age for something to be exploited. Veridian threw a beam of crackling, necrotic magic at him but Tarkessa easily dodged it. The warning that he was a great warrior was no lie. The undead were also still coming to us. Vandree cast magic that temporarily broke the connection between Tarkessa and his circlet and so we were able to deal with him without the worry of being overrun. Then Ruk summoned a huge hand and successfully grabbed Tarkessa.
Whilst the mages were trying to wrest the circlet away from the warrior, Thorp and P.D. focused solely on attacking. Unfortunately, Ruk’s magical hand did not last after being struck by Tarkessa. There was a brief exchange between P.D. and the warrior but his quivering palm was too great.
Thorp helped with familiar feywild healing. Once returned, and with everyone focusing on taking Tarkessa down, the group was able to bombard him with spells, fists and blades. Knowing the Winter Court’s penchant for using undead, Veridian ensured Tarkessa’s skull was destroyed so no conversations could happen with the dead.
(NB: I know it was important to kill him. I understand keeping our identities hidden from Winter would mean our safety. But I would be lying if I did not say that part of me mourned the loss of a warrior so proficient in the Arts of Combat.)
Time was spent with the circlet so Ruk could control the undead and to explore the ziggurat. Besides the already mentioned runic information on the skeletons themselves, there was nothing else of value or note.
Before handing over the circlet, an improved agreement was arranged between Sunbane and us to receive part of Neverwood’s talent the hag would be taking away. Veridian and Vandree also received the teleportation sequence to the Witching Court.
The group was able to return to Daring Heights the same day. Thorp stayed with the Witches, wanting to speak more about their magic.
Report passed on 3 day of The Flowering.
Neh diis lus’a, lus diis’a.
The girl steps out from the shadows in the alleyway next to the first place she stayed in after arriving in these lands. It hasn’t really changed, just in name. The Three Headed Dragon. Still familiar with the crates that line the wall next to the kitchen door, she leaps from the ground into another shadow, only to emerge twenty feet higher on the ledge of a shuttered window, the night undisturbed from her passing. The girl gives a muffled whistle, pauses, then lightly taps the worn wooden pane five times in a rhythmic pattern. One of the shutters opens slightly and she looks inside. Melting back into the shadows the girl emerges again inside the still, dark room.
“You are late.”
“I got tied up.”
“Is that what I should tell the Blades at the Temple?”
“Do you really think they would care?”
“You are doing important work here but that does not excuse-”
“I have another report.”
The girl sets a small, palm sized tube on the ground. Then she reaches around, pulls a bag to her front, takes out a black box and lays it beside the tube.
“A present,” the girl says with a mocking flourish.
The other, cowled figure looks down at the box tilting their head.
“What’s inside?”
“The bones of a barren garden.”
There is an exasperated sigh. The cowled figure picks up the box and the tube, placing them on a small table in the private room. They wave their hands, drawing out somatic shapes as they continue to speak to the girl of shadows over their shoulder.
“I am here to assist yet you do not come to me for anything. Your pet cat delivers your reports – which is an inconvenience I might add – it is more involved than me, your Hand.” They utter some words in Sylvan, completing the spell. In a flash of navy blue smoke of magic the tube and box disappear from this Realm into the next. “You know you don’t have to prove anything. You have-”
The figure turns around and the room is empty. They go over to the window to look outside. The night is dark but even their eyes cannot see the girl, or any trace of her.
I need a few of you for a trip to the Feywild. You'll be well paid for the escort. Meet me at the Neverwoods manor at the time and day below.
Lord Karl Neverwoods
Daring Heights
Lord Karl Neverwoods
Daring Heights
ASSIGNMENT REPORT #9
People/Organisations of Note:
Jaezred Vandree – drow, noble, mage, male
Veridian – human, mage, male; homunculus companion, Paracleus
Ruk – elf-like [not a true elf], mage, male
Belladonna Thorpe – half-drow, fey-touched warrior, female
Karl Neverwoods – human, noble, semi-decent dancer [now], male
Aurelia Archelson – human[?], mage, Council Chair, female
Sister Sunbane – hag, witch, female
Queen Nicnevin – The Moonweaver, Queen of the Witches, giant, female
Antoine Tarkessa – elf, retired warrior of the Winter Court, male (deceased)
Locations:
Daring Heights – Dawnlands city
Witching Court – home of Queen Nicnevin
Winter Lands Marsh – location of sunken Ziggurat
Body:
Meeting with Hand delayed due to unexpected mission. Details below.
The job was advertised/overheard was an escort mission [see attached notice]. Karl Neverwoods, a noble of less than average importance, wished to see Queen Nicnevin to make a bargain. All present tried to advise, to varying degrees, that Neverwoods take heed when dealing with any monarch of the Seelie Courts. All advice was ignored.
Aurelia Archelson, operating the portal in Daring Heights, sent us to the Witching Court, asking us to ensure Neverwoods return. A vague word was given that it would be done.
Our group was met by a dark blue-skinned hag, Sister Sunbane. She guided us under the mountain, into the heart of the Court. Jaezred Vandree seemed to know Neverwoods well and thus kept up conversation with the noble whilst the rest kept watch on the way we were taken. It was winding with many witches doing all sorts of rituals and magic. (NB: Beyond my ken for magic unfortunately.) Entire homes are built into the mountain, with glowing crystals and vibrant plant life making it not as dead as the stone would make it seem.
Neverwood’s meeting with Queen Nicnvin did not take long. He said what he wanted: To be very talented and very famous. She explained her power: She is a conduit for a great power that is beyond all/most people’s understanding. The price for any bargain is unknowable before the agreement is made, and the agreer will not like it. “It is Law,” as Queen Nicnevin put it.
Neverwoods did not back down. Queen Nicnevin granted his request and left him to dance. (NB: I knew the moment it worked because it was like something in the Weave changed and yes, Neverwoods was famous, of course I’ve heard of him.)
Neverwoods would have kept dancing until he died had Sister Sunbane not tactfully been there to offer another bargain that would help him. Knowing we were there to help him, Sunbane was really asking us if we would do the deed she wished to see done: She wanted a circlet from a warrior by the name of Antoine Tarkessa, who controlled an army of skeletons. Veridian confirmed there was time enough for us to do this before Neverwoods would start to “look bad”.
With Sunbane teleporting with us to a marsh, our group used the Shadows to cloak our approach to our goal: “the mausoleum”. Veridian was the one who recognised it as a Ziggurat when we arrived. P.D. was the one to spot the Winter Court pennant. The situation suddenly got more interesting.
There was much debate on what to do or how to do what Sunbane was asking. Do we approach quietly? Do we try to speak to Tarkessa? Sunbane asked us to not damage the skeletons for getting the circelt but without an army to control would be pointless. (NB: What is it with Dawnlanders and always wanting to try for the harder way when stealth is always the best option?)
Finding a side entrance to the half-sunken pyramid, Ruk shared his tactical evaluation of the undead force: They require a set of instructions to follow, however some are able to do things above simple, menial tasks. The not-elf also noticed undead skeletons had carvings on them, like designs or patterns. From after the confrontation with Tarkessa, P.D. was able to determine these markings are a code, an Archive, a record of information but in a raw sense. More time would have been needed to study it but there was none at the time. See attached sketches for drawings of these runes, sent with one skull.
Entering inside, our stealth was going well, the Shadows keeping us safe, protected, until Veridian and Ruk stepped too far away and one of the many patrols saw them and discovered the undead Thorp and P.D. had taken out previously. A quick skirmish, then dashing up towards the chamber where the group thought Tarkessa would be.
He was waiting for us.
The others mistook Tarkessa’s age for something to be exploited. Veridian threw a beam of crackling, necrotic magic at him but Tarkessa easily dodged it. The warning that he was a great warrior was no lie. The undead were also still coming to us. Vandree cast magic that temporarily broke the connection between Tarkessa and his circlet and so we were able to deal with him without the worry of being overrun. Then Ruk summoned a huge hand and successfully grabbed Tarkessa.
Whilst the mages were trying to wrest the circlet away from the warrior, Thorp and P.D. focused solely on attacking. Unfortunately, Ruk’s magical hand did not last after being struck by Tarkessa. There was a brief exchange between P.D. and the warrior but his quivering palm was too great.
Thorp helped with familiar feywild healing. Once returned, and with everyone focusing on taking Tarkessa down, the group was able to bombard him with spells, fists and blades. Knowing the Winter Court’s penchant for using undead, Veridian ensured Tarkessa’s skull was destroyed so no conversations could happen with the dead.
(NB: I know it was important to kill him. I understand keeping our identities hidden from Winter would mean our safety. But I would be lying if I did not say that part of me mourned the loss of a warrior so proficient in the Arts of Combat.)
Time was spent with the circlet so Ruk could control the undead and to explore the ziggurat. Besides the already mentioned runic information on the skeletons themselves, there was nothing else of value or note.
Before handing over the circlet, an improved agreement was arranged between Sunbane and us to receive part of Neverwood’s talent the hag would be taking away. Veridian and Vandree also received the teleportation sequence to the Witching Court.
The group was able to return to Daring Heights the same day. Thorp stayed with the Witches, wanting to speak more about their magic.
Report passed on 3 day of The Flowering.
Neh diis lus’a, lus diis’a.
The girl steps out from the shadows in the alleyway next to the first place she stayed in after arriving in these lands. It hasn’t really changed, just in name. The Three Headed Dragon. Still familiar with the crates that line the wall next to the kitchen door, she leaps from the ground into another shadow, only to emerge twenty feet higher on the ledge of a shuttered window, the night undisturbed from her passing. The girl gives a muffled whistle, pauses, then lightly taps the worn wooden pane five times in a rhythmic pattern. One of the shutters opens slightly and she looks inside. Melting back into the shadows the girl emerges again inside the still, dark room.
“You are late.”
“I got tied up.”
“Is that what I should tell the Blades at the Temple?”
“Do you really think they would care?”
“You are doing important work here but that does not excuse-”
“I have another report.”
The girl sets a small, palm sized tube on the ground. Then she reaches around, pulls a bag to her front, takes out a black box and lays it beside the tube.
“A present,” the girl says with a mocking flourish.
The other, cowled figure looks down at the box tilting their head.
“What’s inside?”
“The bones of a barren garden.”
There is an exasperated sigh. The cowled figure picks up the box and the tube, placing them on a small table in the private room. They wave their hands, drawing out somatic shapes as they continue to speak to the girl of shadows over their shoulder.
“I am here to assist yet you do not come to me for anything. Your pet cat delivers your reports – which is an inconvenience I might add – it is more involved than me, your Hand.” They utter some words in Sylvan, completing the spell. In a flash of navy blue smoke of magic the tube and box disappear from this Realm into the next. “You know you don’t have to prove anything. You have-”
The figure turns around and the room is empty. They go over to the window to look outside. The night is dark but even their eyes cannot see the girl, or any trace of her.
