01. "A Gathering Storm" (RP)

DM:

It was early evening, and the Inn of the Singing Harp was quiet within, though without a mighty storm was blowing down from the mountains. Rain and sleet pelted the closed shutters over the inn's windows, and a constant cold wind tore through the common room, causing the fire in the hearth to gutter every so often, only to be re-lit by the innkeeper's stout wife time and time again.

True to its name, a single minstrel sits in the corner of the common room on a small raised stage, a harp upon his lap as he runs his fingers lovingly over the instrument, eliciting a pure, beautiful melody that perfectly compliments his strong, pure voice.

The few travelers who have come to Dyna Village seem not to notice the minstrel's music, though, lost as they are in their own thoughts and memories, eyes downcast into their mugs of ale, or staring vacantly into the flames of the hearth. A game of dice is being played at a back table, but even the winning players seem subdued. Even the innkeeper, a massive man standing well over six feet in height and showing an impressive array of old battle wounds seems to be feeling a bit off as he fills another mug for himself, taking a deep drink from it without comment.

All in all, there is an atmosphere of heaviness in the air.

AMdG

A crash of thunder boomed through the land, making a couple of the patrons startled by the sudden, loud noise. At the same moment, an Eladrin in platinum and blue stepped into the inn, the accompanying gust of wind slamming the door against the wall as it hurled open. The Eladrin, slightly embarrassed, kept his head down as he held the door unnecessarily for his companions.

A large, silver and black gryphon entered the door way, ducking and pressing his wings to his sides to make himself fit. He headed for an unoccupied corner, sitting as much out of the way as possible. Behind him followed an elf, who was looking apologetically back at the gray dappled gryphon who had been asked to sit outside. Whether it was to stand guard or save room for smaller patrons was unclear.

The trio sat in the corner quietly speaking among themselves, though not in a secretive fashion. The eladrin and elf sat facing the wall, and only the gryphon looked out over their heads to gaze around the room every so often, as if looking for something but not knowing what it was.

"Gods above!" the innkeeper shouts, his face going white with fear as he drops his mug of ale. With a speed that is shocking for one of his size, the aging man pulls a heavy crossbow--loaded--out from under the bar.

Several of the inn's patrons make similar oaths, and hands fly to their weapons as those in the inn unsuited for combat make their way toward the door.

The innkeeper levels the crossbow at Dahkore and fires without warning.

+6 vs. AC

AMdG

The member 'Arius' has done the following action : Rolls

'd20' :

"Barkeep, quit drinkin' yer wares and pour me another ale." Liar watched as the man glared at him and poured the thick brew into a glass. A bit of foam slopped onto the wood of the bar as he set it down just out of reach and walked away. Liar chuckled and focused on the glass, moving it by sheer force of will and sliding it into his waiting palm. The thunder rolled just as he was taking a drink, making him jump and spilling his ale all over himself. "Bah! By the gods!"

He was mopping himself up as the first paladin walked in. It wasn't until the gryphon squeezed it's bulk into the inn that he took notice, however. Staring at the creature, he forgot all about his spilled drink. So did everyone else. He heard the bartender shout something and suddenly a crossbow bolt sped past the artificers ear. He watched as the bolt struck the gryphon and as it's two companions stood up.

Liar turned towards the barkeep. "Ye bastard! What did ye do that fer!?" Arcane energy built up around him as he prepared to punish the idiot in front of him.

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OC: Do I roll initiative?

OOC: It's a hit.

Also: I thought this was an RP thread?? WTF LOL took me totally off guard

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The eladrin and elf both drew swords against the attacker, ready to parry another offense. The bolt from the crossbow had already flew, and buried itself in the shoulder of the gryphon. He pulled it out with his nimble front feet, slightly snarling as he did so, and tossed the bloody post to the feet of his attacker. He stood up, stretching his wings to maximize his presence in the room. "I am a Senior Paladin of Bahamut, sent here by the templars of the Church. Do you wish to strike at me again, barkeep?" he said in perfect common. He made no move to attack, but firmly held his ground and prepared himself for whatever should come next.

OOC: Keep in mind, gryphons are not very common, and a good 60% or so of the population has never seen one. They are only familiar with the gryphons' stupid, vicious cousins the griffons. So, you will probably be getting this treatment a lot, from various villages and towns. As will our minotaur, and our shardmind... There is a reason these races are uncommon or rare.

DM: You take 4 damage from the crossbow bolt.

Slowly, the barkeep loads another bolt, keeping the weapon leveled at Dahkore.

"So ye ken talk, then," he says, trembling a little with fear. His eyes travel over the device of Bahamut emblazoned on the paladins' arms and armor. "I never seen no griffon as could speak afore... Lottie!" he calls out, and his wife emerges from the kitchen, an old, dull short sword clutched in her shaking hands. "Head over t'the garrison. Get Cap'n Wilkes over 'ere and let 'im sort this mess out."

Keeping the weapon readied but looking at Liar out of the corner of his eyes, the barkeep says, "Stand down, sir. I got everthin' under control. Everone, get calm and we'll 'ave this whole mess sorted out in a jiff."

The stout old woman runs from the inn, ignoring the storm outside as she makes her way to the garrison barracks in the center of the village.

AMdG

In the corner of the common room sat a shardmind, his crystal-like "hair" going down to his shoulders. He simply wore a white robe, slightly tattered but it was enough to serve it's purpose. He sat at his table, minding his own business as he looked through his spell book, avidly studying the contents within. His larger hand could be seen stroking a jiggling cube that sat on the table while it gurgled contently. Rubicon glanced up as he heard the commotion. From the situation in front of him, he quickly gathered that the barkeep, who was holding a crossbow, had fired at the now-wounded gryphon. He tilted his head, curious as to why he had attacked. Ever curious, he closed his spell book, placed his gelatinous familiar on his shoulder, which it stuck to like melted candy, and proceeded to walk closer to the scene, staff in hand. "Now barkeep, if I may inquire, why did you fire your crossbow at this creature?" Rubicon wasn't all too aware of the differences between griffons and gryphons, and of course was all for gaining new knowledge. "Did it try to attack you?"

OOC: Yeah, I figured as much, I just wasn't expecting to be shot one post into the game. It's all good though I found it rather funny, actually.

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The gryphon looks at the paladins with him. "Velsio and Darrien, put down your weapons. We can resolve this without unnecessary bloodshed." He turns back to the man brandishing the crossbow. "Good man, I understand that my kind are not prevalent in this area, but I can assure you I mean no harm. If I did, do you believe that I would come in here, wearing the same garb as my companions, and sit quietly in the corner? As the fellow points out, I have not tried to attack you, and have still not made a move to do so, though you still point a weapon at my head. I will, however, consent to your local laws and speak with this Captain Wilkes of yours. My comrades and I will wait here, though I must make it known that any attempts to imprison us will have to be fought."

As the barkeep was distracted by the strange stone man and the gryphon, Liar took the opportunity to levitate the bolt away from the crossbow.

OOC: Make sure, Sigil, that you roll Gift checks for your Fetching. I'm not too concerned about it for the small stuff at the moment like the bold and the mug, but keep in mind there's always a chance that you'll botch, and botching with Fetching is very bad.

DM:

The barkeep doesn't even notice the bolt.

He turns his attention to Rubicon. "Now you take yer seat. I still dunno wut ta think about you, but as ya seem to be a decent enough fella, despite yer..." He waves the crossbow around toward Rubicon. "Well, all that... In all my years, I never seen two such creatures come stridin' so casually inta my 'stablishment. So, take yer seat sir, and soon as my Lottie gets back wif the cap'n we'll get this whole mess sorted out..."

Sweat is trickling down his face, and he still doesn't notice the missing bolt as he goes back to pointing the weapon at Dahkore.

"Had one uh my boys get gobbled up by on uh your kind a lotta years back," he says to Dahkore, swallowing hard. "An now I'll be damned if I'm gonna let ya just come in here and plop yerself down like ya own the place..."

AMdG

"Sir, I mean you no disrespect, and I apologize for my casual air. Where I am from the inns have special places for my kind, and I forgot myself and my location in my attempt to exit the rain. I am sorry for the loss of your child, but I can assure you the monster who consumed him was no relative of mine. There is a distinct difference between my people and the creatures you are familiar with. The main one being that you and I are having a more or less civil conversation instead of me swooping down from the skies to eat you. Now, if you will please lower your crossbow, I will be more than happy to wait here for the Captain."

"Bah! I still think I should kick yer arse! Just cause the bird walks in the door doesn't mean ye gotta shoot 'im!" He turns to the shardmind. "Wait... I didn't notice ye before. How long have ye been in here? How do ye work? Are mechanical, magical, or just sorta walkin' around. Eh, don't bother answerin'. Nothin' a few experiments won't bring to light!" Liar starts rambling to himself about the mechanics of the shardmind. All thoughts of the altercation have been scattered from his mind.

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OOC: Alas, we see that Liar is easily distracted by shiny things.

DM:

Moments later, Lottie returns with a young man wearing the uniform of a Westenran officer. The man pauses, looks toward Dahkore, and with an expression of open relief exclaims, "Gods be praised!" He then turns his attention to the barkeep. "Lower that weapon Mason, you damn fool! These are the paladins we requested, and just in time too."

"You... You mean that monster really is a servant a Bahamut?" Mason the barkeep cries out. Dropping the weapon, he vaults over the bar and runs across the common room, falling to his knees before Dahkore and his companions. "Fergive me, m'lords. I... I didn't know!" He then slowly, cautiously stands to his feet, reaching out tentatively to check the damage done by his bolt. "Lottie! Get some bandages and a bottle a that potion we's been keepin' fer 'mergencies."

Ignoring Mason, Captain Wilkes salutes Dahkore and the other paladins sharply. "Welcome to Dyna Village, and I apologize for the inconvenience. Had you come by the garrison first thing, we could have assured that something like this never would have happened." There's only a small amount of condemnation in his voice, and he is obviously glad to see the paladins here.

AMdG

The gryphon raised a clawed foot and brought the fist to his chest over his heart in his own salute back. "Captain, I apologize for not heading to your post first. The skies were not friendly to those of us who fly, and we needed to take shelter immediately when the storm picked up. I do not blame this man for his reaction, but I do appreciate you intervening. I am Senior Paladin Dahkore, and these two here are our recruits, Velsio", he pointed to the elf, "and Darrien," he motioned to the Eladrin. "You no doubt saw Montiker outside as you came in."

He turned his attention to the barkeep. "In these times, I do not fault you for not trusting me, especially with your past encounters with those similar to me. Be at ease, there is little harm done."

As Liar began to ramble off, Rubicon attempted to answer his question, but was stopped short when he was told not to worry about it. He seemed deeply saddened, missing out on an opportunity to share the knowledge he had with someone. That is, until he had heard he was in the presence of a trio of paladins. "Paladins!?", he cried out excitedly, dashing over to the gryphon and his comrades. "My, I've heard of them, but I've never spoken to one before! Tell me, is it hard to become a paladin? I bet it's very hard, but surely you all worked hard..." he would begin to ramble quietly to himself, examining the three paladins, especially the majestic gryphon. "I've noticed gryphons aren't widely accepted, but surely you must have made quite an impact for your superiors to look beyond your race..." He reached out to raise Dahkore's wing, looking it over with great interest.

Cubert bubbled and gurgled.

As Rubicon walked over to Dahkore, Liar followed and watched his movements. "Hmm... Ye look like yer made o' stone. 'Cept for that bubbly bit on yer shoulder. Perhaps some kind of parasite? I'll need ye, Rune." Light flared from his arm and a small mechanical dragonfly peeled itself off of his body. It buzzed around and sputtered the many gears of it's tail. It puttered over to Rubicon and landed on the gelatinous mass on his shoulder.

And promptly sank into it.

"Oi, Rune!" Liar quickly pulled out the little construct by it's wings and sighed in relief to see it wasn't hurt. It's two glow-bulb eyes looked up at the artificer and it ground it's gears once more. "Well how was I to know ye'd be too heavy fer the thing? Come to think o' it, it might be 'is familiar." He closed his eyes in concentration. "Yep. Familiar." He shook Rune out, little squeals emanating from it's metal body. "Quit yer bellyachin'. Yer fine." He carefully placed it on his shoulder where it buzzed its wings and clanked its gears in irritation. "I can see why he'd prefer a tiny gelatinous cube."

Dahkore watched the two strange beings in front of him, and cleared his throat to get their attention. "Your attempts to intervene on my behalf were unnecessary but noble, and you have my thanks." He held out a foreclaw to the human, in an attempt at a shake. "I am Dahkore. Who might you be?"

"What? Oh, right." Liar wiped the excess Cubert off of his hand and grasped the gryphons talons. "Me name's Sigil SizzleSpike but ye can call me Liar. Pleasure to meet ye. Me parents told me all about ye Gryphons."

The gryphon shook the hand and raised an eyebrow. "Liar?" he said. "If you don't mind, I think I shall leave your nickname to those who know you best for now, and not inquire as to how you might have come by that name." He offered the same claw to the shardmind, "I've lived a while but have not met one of your kind yet. Who, and if I may be so bold, what are you?"

Rubicon looked to the gryphon's extended limb, then he promptly shook it with his not-so-gigantic hand. "I am Rubicon. I am a Shardmind. I hail from the Astral Sea! And this..." He motions to his familiar. "Is Cubert, my familiar, who has taken the form of this world's most majestic creature."

Rune clanked and ground its gears in irritation. "Ha! Told ye it was 'is familiar! Ye owe me a gold piece!"

"Err. Majestic, yes. To each his own, I suppose. Nice to meet the both of you."

A hammer and chisel float out of Liar's pack and into his hands. "Right, Mr. Rubicon. Hold still while I take me some samples!" Just as he starts to place the chisel against the shardmind he notices the guards. "Wait. I didn't start a brawl again did I?" He looks around the room and notices the gryphon once more. "Oh! Right. Anyway, samples!" He swings the hammer back...