Storytime! An RPG Adventure-Type Thingy.

LordQuackingstick · **Posted:** Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:40 pm

Taol did not say anything to this; instead, he went back to playing his instrument.

Revenge of the Burninated · **Posted:** Tue Apr 03, 2007 5:09 pm

"I've been thinking. It may actually be easier for me to stake out the golems by myself. The cave is small, and I'm more familiar with the forest. It will be simpler for only one of us to hide. Meanwhile, you can continue to look for clues in the town here and the surrounding area. With your approval, I'll go and see if I can draw the golem's attention safely into the woods."

LordQuackingstick · **Posted:** Tue Apr 03, 2007 7:20 pm

Taol nodded, but did not stop playing the instrument. Then he stopped, said "Fine. But you're overlooking something: If a mage actually is controlling the golems, then the golems won't give up." He went back to the instrument.

LordQuackingstick · **Posted:** Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:30 pm

Revenge of the Burninated wrote:

<ooc> "Crap" is not ye olde english, my friend.<ooc>

<OOC>For your information, it's from the 1490's. Which is not the Middle Ages, but the root of the word crap is crappa, which is late Latin for chaff. And that is before the Middle Ages.</ooc>

Revenge of the Burninated · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:08 am

<ooc> interesting fact of the day!<ooc>

Aayugara · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:33 am

Kain and Taol were too busy talking to each other to notice a mysterious figure in the bushes, watching them. His name was Nero, a human. He was taught in illusion and destruction magic as well as combat as a young boy, and now at the age of 16 he was a theif. He put on his handclaws in case trouble should arise, and continued to listen in on their conversation.

LordQuackingstick · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:37 am

Taol closed his eyes and continued playing. Suddenly, he heard a chink, like a weapon being equipped, and his ear quivvered. He looked over at the bushes. He continued staring at the bushes for a while before going back to playing.

Aayugara · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:54 am

Nero quietly sighed with relief. "that was way too close," he thought. "If I'm discovered, who knows what'll happen...I need to be more quiet. Well, I've heard everything I need to know. He got back up to his feet and backed away, when CRUNCH! He had stepped on a dry twig and broke it. He couldn't be sure if the one playing the instrument had heard, so he remained still, hoping he hadn't.

Revenge of the Burninated · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:57 am

Kain heard the sound as well, but pretended he did not notice.
"The mage will not have to give up. Most mages cannot control golems solely through their minds, neither can they 'see' through the eyes of their slaves. They have to give the golems a command, and when the order is completed, the golems will report back. All I have to do is leave a tasty, but false, clue, and the golems will return to their master to report it. I can follow--at a safe distance, of course. This mission will be reconnaisance only."
Kain glanced barely at the bushes--acting as if he noticed nothing. The skulker would reveal himself in time. Meanwhile Kain would continue as usual. Whoever it was, Taol could deal with it. Kain wanted to proceed with his plan before the golems struck again.
"The sun is reaching the halfway point. I will leave now and be back before it sets. Keep an eye out."
With this, Kain loped into the woods, in the opposite direction of the hider.

LordQuackingstick · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2007 2:05 am

Taol looked at the bushes again, still playing the instrument. He decided he would watch the bushes for as long as it took.

Aayugara · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2007 2:20 am

Nero continued to stand still, soundless. "That's odd...it's as if they didn't even notice...or maybe..." Nero noticed the one playing the instrument would glance up to the bushes every moment or so. "They're on to me...darn...what should I do now?" There was nowhere to go, except for out in the open where the one playing the instrument would notice. He sat down quietly and decided to wait, maybe the one playing the instrument would get tired and fall asleep. "Or maybe, he's waiting...."

LordQuackingstick · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2007 2:24 am

Taol stopped playing. "You know, you might as well come out now," he said. "I won't hurt you...unless I need to." He started playing again.

Aayugara · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:15 am

Nero's hand drew towards the sheath of his dagger. He slowly walked from the bushes with his hand above the dagger's handle if trouble arose. He walked over to the man playing the instrument. "Your name is...Tael, Tale, Taol! Thats it...Sorry I was spying on you...A cloaked man who spotted me stealing from the market told me he'd give me 750 gold coins to follow two men in the city. He was talking about you, but what does he want with you?"

Revenge of the Burninated · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2007 3:48 pm

Meanwhile, Kain's plan was going perfectly. He had set a spare cloak aflame and poured water quickly on the fire. As the smoke rose over the forest, Kain crawled into the cave to watch. The fire would appear to be an amateur attempt at burning their clothes to destroy evidence of their presense.
Sure enough, four wood golems ran into the clearing. Naturally afraid of fire, the monsters held back, but one who appeared to be the leader eventually stepped forward and examined the smouldering ashes. He found the clue Kain had purposely left in the open--a badge he had stolen from a Royal Guard of the Aramian Empire. Even the golems would recognize the significance of a political emblem, and their master's eye would be turned far to the east, thinking the Aramian Empire had recruited them.
The golems grunted in their primitive language, apparently deciding to report back.
Perfect!
Kain waited a moment, then followed the golems completely silently through the woods. Soon he would get to the bottom of this.

LordQuackingstick · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:24 pm

Taol looked at the spy. "No idea," he said. Must be the mage, he thought. He went back, once again, to his playing. He wished people would just let him play his instrument.

Revenge of the Burninated · **Posted:** Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:34 am

Kain followed the golems deep into the woods, into a large clearing. From a rise he watched as thousands of wood golems assembled in the valley, around a wiry black-cloaked figure. The leader of the party Kain had followed ran up to the stranger and spoke to him in his own guttural language. The stranger nodded silently and turned away. He raised his arm, and a window appeared in the air. The image of an old, black-bearded man was shown in the mirror.
"Report, Sriz," the image said.
Sriz? Where have I heard that name before?
The thin man bowed deeply.
"I have found startling new evidence, Master."
Kain was taken aback. This was the sound of a deep-voiced woman! Looking more carefully at her figure, he could see that under the layers of black cloth, it was indeed a woman.
"The subjects are consorting with Aram, my lord. They left behind a badge of the Aramian Royal Guard."
"Hmm." The mage looked unmoved. "This is new information. I will send five thousand stone golems to destroy the Empire. I will not have my subjects allying with any nation."
"Sir? I also require more golems to complete my task. The subjects are proving, difficult, to detain."
"Very well. I will send you more wood golems, as well as some straw and mud golems. The reinforcements should be plenty. Do not fail in this task, Sriz."
"I will not fail you, my lord."
Kain backed away as the image disappeared. He loped off away from the clearing, reeling from the news. Clearly this mage had more at his command than previosly thought. And the new types of golems---Wood were cheap and easy for mages to create, but easy to beat. But stone golems were strong and nearly invincible, straw golems could move with the wind--fast and undetectable, and mud golems could take on any form they wished. The threat was greater than Kain had ever realized.
Kain returned to town. Taol would need to know.

Revenge of the Burninated · **Posted:** Fri Apr 06, 2007 1:55 am

<ooc> sorry about the double post, but someone has to keep this moving! <ooc>

When Kain entered the town, Taol was still playing his instrument, and the stranger had revealed himself. Taol seemed preoccupied, and knowing the elf, the instrument would have some significance. Instead, Kain adressed the newcomer.
"Who are you? And why were you watching us?"

Aayugara · **Posted:** Fri Apr 06, 2007 4:59 am

Nero looked at Kain. "A cloaked man in town offered seven hundred and fifty gold coins to follow a half-elf hybrid and a human in town. He didn't show his face and he acted rather odd. He said it was extremely important and said that you were two dangerous assassins that recently killed his son, although I have a feeling he made the whole thing up....What does he want with you two?"

Revenge of the Burninated · **Posted:** Fri Apr 06, 2007 12:21 pm

"An incredibly powerful mage is after me and Taol for some reason. Another of our company already disappeared. I had thought the mage only had a few golems at his command, but I was wrong. He has a vast army, as well as at least one mage--the cloaked figure you saw. It was a female mage--and now that I remember it, she had some association with the priest, perhaps his wife or daughter. I doubt he knew that she was using her powers for evil, if he even knew of her powers.
"The threat is greater than I ever realized. The mage has an incredible arsenal--and he may have even more than I have seen at his command. I don't know why he wants us, but I don't fancy letting him have us."
Kain considered the boy. Apparently this one was a mercenary of some sort, probably also a thief. Kain felt sorry for the boy in a way. He had never wanted to be a thief--and here this boy had chosen it, probably drawn by the excitement. This young, it would be hard for the boy to change. Yet perhaps his skills could be useful. And Kain knew the one way to use a thief.
"I'll pay you if you help us. Go back to where you met the cloaked figure. Pretend like you've still been following us. Find out as much about her as you can, but don't let on you know she's a woman, or that she's a mage. Fake ignorance of the entire plot. Can you do that? You'll be rewarded."

LordQuackingstick · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2007 2:24 am

<ooc>Sorry, I've been in New York.<ooc>
Listening to Kain, Taol suddenly realized who he was talking about. "If you mean Sriz, then she must be under a spell..." he said. For the umpteenth time, he went back to his instrument.

LordQuackingstick · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2007 2:19 pm

I can only think of one mage I have ever encountered that was able to do a mind control spell... thought Taol.

Revenge of the Burninated · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2007 4:27 pm

Kain shurgged. "Maybe." Kain thought Taol was too quick to assume the best of his friend, but maybe Taol knew her well enough. Personally, Kain did not think it too much of a stretch for someone associated with the temple to become a dark mage. However, Taol seemed to be a good judge of character, if a little more innocent in his judgments than Kain.
But Kain would keep an open mind. It was also not a stretch to think a mage was controlling her--after all, he was controlling the golems. They did not have time to debate this fact. The mage was powerful--and time would only allow him to create more golems. They would have to act soon.
"Any ideas, Taol?"

LordQuackingstick · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2007 5:41 pm

Taol thought. "What we need to do is to break the spell the golems and Sriz are under." If Sriz is under a spell... thought Taol pessimistically. "That should be easy, if what you say about the number of golems is true. With that big an army, the mage's power must be stretched thin. More powerful than magic is instinct. All living things have instinct, but humans and elves typically ascribe too much of the behavior of non-human or non-elf animals to instinct, while humans and elves typically ascribe too little of their own behavior to instinct. Golems, however, live a lot of their lives on instinct. If we can make their orders and their instincts conflict, then hopefully it will break the spell. It should probably work on Sriz, too."

Revenge of the Burninated · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2007 6:30 pm

"You mean, by forcing them to put themselves in danger to detain us? Good idea. The head golem I followed hesitated when he saw the remains of the fire. Naturally, wood golems hate fire. If we put a lot of fire between us and the golems...
"There's only one question I have. I don't know much about coercion spells. Would this break the spell of every golem being controlled, or just the ones we encounter?
"One more thing...if we break the spell, millions of golems will be running amok throughout the kingdoms. An uncontrolled golem can be as dangerous as a controlled one. The ones I encountered in the woods were remnants of the Mage Wars of Old. They were few and far between--easy enough to trick or avoid. But now--with this many golems uncontrolled, it will pose a serious threat.
"No matter. Now the main issue is to save our skins and break the mage's power. Let's see, fire should discourage wood and grass golems. Flowing water is the one thing stone golems fear--erosion, you see. Mud golems, I'm worried about. We may not even know they're here. They can change into the shape of inanimate objects--or even one of us. They were the biggest threat in the Mage Wars."
Kain shuddered. The return of mud golems was unsettling. If Kain could not even be sure who he was speaking to at any time...

LordQuackingstick · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2007 6:41 pm

"Keeping them from running amok is easy enough. We simply put a ring of what they fear around them. They will be freed and contained. As for mud golems... I think they are the offspring of water and soil golems. Water golems fear both cold and heat- freezing and evaporation. Soil golems fear digging implements. If we combine the two, maybe that will beat mud golems. I'm not sure, though." Taol's ear suddenly quivvered. "Well, I think think we should find a mage."
I wonder if that "Sriz" is a mud golem?

Revenge of the Burninated · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2007 7:20 pm

"Find a mage? Or the mage, the one after us? If that's what you meant, it may be difficult. I get the idea he's nowhere near here, or he'd do the dirty work himself. Who knows? He may even be in control of a nation. It would certainly explain how he's able to have the time and resources required to build so many golems."
Kain stopped a moment. Should he be telling Taol so much? What if this wasn't even Taol?
This would not do, he thought. He could not constantly be on the lookout for imposters.
"We'll need to develop some way of recognizing each other--in case mud golems try to impersonate us. Something only we would know." Kain looked around. No one else could hear this.

LordQuackingstick · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2007 7:24 pm

"I meant a mage." Taol looked into the nearby woods. "As for recognizing each other, any password is too risky. Do you have a mirror?"

Revenge of the Burninated · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2007 7:26 pm

Kain chuckled. Of course he had a mirror! He reached into his rucksack and pulled out an average-looking mirror he had taken from the inn in town.

LordQuackingstick · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2007 7:30 pm

Taol looked into the mirror, positioning it so that Kain could see his (Taol's) reflection. "As you can see, that's me in the reflection. If a transformed mud golem looked into a mirror, their true form would show." He handed the mirror back to Kain. "Your turn."

Revenge of the Burninated · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2007 7:38 pm

Kain held the mirror to his face, showing his reflection.
"Perfect. We'll each need one, in case we split up. Sorry I don't have two, but my ability only lets me know if I personally need something."
Suddenly Kain stopped. He had said too much. Could he trust this half-elf with knowledge of his ability? Hopefully Taol had not noticed.

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