The Golden Age. Act 2: Converging Paths.

[Xinnidy]

"Blue hair, huh? Then it was her, most likely." Raz nodded, still befuddled by the self-claimed King of Time's appearance. "You'd think somebody so self-important would keep himself in hiding rather than losing his element of surprise. I wonder if there's anything about him prior to these incidents, now..." Still deep in thought, finger on her chin, Raz glanced back at Aaron. "If he wants to be the actual king, then that's no good, right Aaron?"

[scorri]

"Ah, thank you for the warning, I appreciate it. Perhaps..." Spotting some long gloves, Kaya placed those over the vest in her arms. "There, keep the extra gold in exchange for these. I think we will be on our way now."

Stepping towards the exit, she pulled on both the gloves and the vest, effectively covering all her tattoos again. "I can always just take these off during battles, but he's right. We both do stand out somewhat. Perhaps you'd best return to the inn before it gets too dark. I do need to go check out that other store, but with all of this, I look just like anyone else. So I should be fine for a quick detour. And I'll meet you back at the inn, alright?" She smiled at Telmara, hoping she wouldn't take this as an attempt to get rid of her.

[SB.]

"Well, knowledge is power." Aaron nodded. "Since we don't understand his full capabilities, we have to remain cautious of him. And yet, leaving him to his own devices hardly seems wise, either." he sighed. It was tricky. Timaeus was certainly dangerous, but they would have to tread carefully around him. If Aaron was to truly intent on becoming king one day, this was a problem that they couldn't avoid.

That being said, when Raz spoke up, Aaron didn't see much of an issue. "He will never be king. He simply wouldn't be accepted, especially not in the wake of Ursula's reign." He spoke firmly, having absolute confidence that the dukes would avoid appointing such a figure - if that was even his goal. Timaeus was certainly an enigma, and aside from an apparent interest in the gifts, they knew little of him.

[riariadne]

Odd Conspiracies

Maximus nodded at both Aaron and Raz's points. "I agree with you both. His boasting is unusual- and there is nothing we could find on him for all his claims of magic skill. Camellia has blue hair, and she was spotted in Grunan. If you saw her recently, then she made her way across the continent very quickly. And caution seems advisable for now. Duke Reid is a very skilled mage in his own right, so he's been researching what sort of magic we're up against, though even his searches have been rather fruitless so far- hence his visit to Jotun. But, any royal ambitions would be out of the question. Duke Reid would never accept someone like him- nor would any of the others, I think, for whatever reasons they choose, and that alone is enough to shut him down." The sun beginning to set was becoming obvious to him. "I can't believe it's this late... tracking time was never my strong suit. I must speak with the Knights before dusk. Thank you both for your information, and best of luck in your travels! May the world be in a better place if we meet again." Maximus made off at last along the directions that Aaron had given him.

--

January 2nd, 963. 11:45 AM. Two miles from Fordright, Trine.

The night in Madrigal calmed down rather quickly compared to the day. With Gawain having departed, there was much less unusual for the cityfolk to be excited over. The evening passed with little disturbances other than the sudden departure of Telmara, especially after her conversations with Kaya the previous day, but collective discussion lead to an agreement- whatever her reasons, tracking her would waste previous time on the search. With no other leads yet, and Aaron's information from Maximus, Fordright seemed to be the best direction to head towards- both in the quest for gifts, as well as learning about the mysterious Timaeus's goals.

The new year came by with little fanfare as they traveled. Such festivities were skipped over- but the second day of the year lead to more intrigue. As the seven approached Fordright, a smattering of people were grouped up across the road. "More travelers! You'd better head elsewhere," a middle-aged woman called from the crowd. "Fordright is under siege... it'll probably be most of the day before it's accessible at all. Damn sandy creatures... I was headed here from my nearby home, only a day away, and this happens again. I don't get why they can't get rid of them and be done with it! The armored guy bossing them around, is he really that hard for the guards to drive out?"

Velvet's ears perked up as she turned towards the rest of the group. "Well, this sounds like what we were to be investigating, doesn't it? What do you all think of it- it sounds like what he said, doesn't it?" She gestured towards Aaron and Raz to confirm. "Turning elsewhere... that isn't really a very good option for us, is it? It might be best to act against them. The sand soldiers were easy, from what I saw, so that shouldn't be too hard, right?"

[scorri]

Kaya had been stunned when they'd woken up and found Telmara gone. No note, no nothing. Things had been going well she'd though. But it seemed that something had changed overnight. It was still bugging her later as they finally approached their destination. She was fiddling with the glimmering scale she'd purchased back in Madrigal, staring at it as she walked, still not entirely sure why she'd bought the thing. It had just called to her for some reason.

She took a deep breath and tucked it back into the pocket in her new vest. This wouldn't do. She was the leader, she needed to be focused. Just because nothing had happened so far didn't mean that wouldn't change. And from the sounds of things, it looked like her intuition had been right. "If it's the same sand enemies we fought before, it should be easy enough. It sounds like it's a different leader than we fought before though, so be careful as we move forward. Raz, Jovi, and Te-- Raz and Jovi. If he's armored heavily, your magic might be our best chance to take him down. Save your strength until we can challenge him, we don't want to risk you two getting banged up badly before you're truly needed. Lets go."

[SB.]

In spite of everything, Aaron was feeling pretty good. His world had crashed and burned several days prior, but the wreckage left behind was... liberating, in a way. It was as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and while he hadn't given up on his dream, tossing aside all of that destiny hogwash meant he could accomplish it on his own terms.

At least, he thought so. His conversation with Maximus had been fruitful, in more ways than one, it seemed. "An armoured man?" That had to be one of Timaeus' men, although his exact identity wasn't clear yet. While Aaron shared Kaya's senitments, he couldn't help but feel as though she was rushing this a little. "Slow down." He placed a hand on the girl's shoulder for a moment, a concerned frown on his face.

"We don't need to rush into this. I agree that this is the best course of action, but we have to be careful. Not just talk about it." He withdrew his hand, turning back towards the crowd. "How many of these 'sand people' are there, then?" Gathering information should be their first course of action, not charging head-first into danger.

[Bluedoom]

Joviana didn't feel very good about their trip to Fordright. After hearing Aaron's story, she didn't think Fordright would be a good place to visit, seeing as they would likely have to fight more unnecessary battles, something that she thought must be avoided at any cost. Besides, she wanted to know about the mysterious knight's country, and thought that it would've been a better idea to follow that lead. Perhaps someone even carried a Gift over to the other kingdom. There were other things worrying Joviana, but she actively tried to block those thoughts out of her mind. She couldn't afford to share her worries with the group as she doubted that they would understand. Besides, over the last couple of weeks, they had lost four of their members, who went missing for mysterious reasons. She could sense a fragile atmosphere within the group after the recent departure of Telmara, and she didn't want to push anything further.

 

Two miles from Fordright, and the group was already alerted of danger. Joviana subconsciously tugged at her hood, trying to cover her face a little. Of course this would happen, why am I still nervous? I knew this wasn't going to be easy but I still don't like rushing into danger like this...maybe its still the cautious thief in me that's telling me that.

"Kaya, are you sure you want to fight the sand soldiers? I mean, sure, we fought Timaeus before, but we don't know his reasons. He hasn't been pursuing us, so would it be wise to fight one of his people?"

[scorri]

Kaya wanted to snap back at Aaron that she knew what she was doing, but a small voice in her head stopped her. Reckless and naive. Rushing in and putting myself in danger doesn't solve anything. Telmara... Dammit. Her thoughts were interrupted by Jovi and she sighed and shook her head. "Am I sure? Not entirely, but I think it's something we'll have to do eventually anyways. They seemed to be looking for the gifts and even if they aren't, he's proclaiming himself king and harassing innocent people. We can't just... The man is threatening to become another tyrant if this is how he sees fit to proclaim himself king. And if I stand aside and avoid challenging someone like that just because he hasn't personally pursued me after a fight, well... What sort of person does that make me?" I can still stick with my beliefs even if I'm more careful about how I follow them, right? I don't need to just give up on them to protect myself. That would be just as bad.

[riariadne]

"You guys planning to do something about it? Good for you if you can... there's about a dozen of sandy soldiers that were blocking off the entrance, and three real people. Dimitrius, the armored guy called himself, he's bossing the sandfolk around... then some sellsword and a traveling mage. What kind of crazies would work with sand people, beats me," the woman explained. "Working for someone who calls himself a king. Well, there's no king around these parts, whatever they think- but we're just common folk, so we can't deal with people like that. But you guys, if you're all trained, then we sure hope you can do it... without making it to the city, we can't get the stuff our villages need." There was a murmur of agreement amongst the crowd. "Plus... if you were to do it, the city guard might reward you for it. There's lots of ruffians about, so they pay helpers often, but never this sort of roadblock."

[Xinnidy]

"I'm not sure my magic will prove all that effective..." Raz murmured, pondering things before chiming into the decision. "If they have the place under siege, it might be that our biggest concern is the three." If the sandmen were of similar caliber from before, it really meant the armored man was the one putting in most of the work. "If we can find a way in while fighting the least sand images possible, we should try to and save our strength." It wouldn't do if Timaeus showed up again...

[SB.]

Aaron nodded wordlessly at the villagers, their words confirming his suspicions. So, what does the King of Time have in store for us this time? Raz raised a good point with the sand soldiers, but there was something else playing in their favour this time. 

"Without Timaeus present, it's possible that the number of enemies we would have to face would be more limited. As long as we don't get ahead of ourselves, we should be able to do this." Perhaps they would even learn more of Timaeus' plot, and his intended purpose for the Gifts. Capturing this Dimitrius fellow, or one of his lackeys would be a big step in the right direction, but would they be able to do so when push came to shove?

Edited June 7, 2017 by SB.

[scorri]

"I agree. We will be careful, but we need to help the town. The sand men we faced before gave us no real challenge and they had the ability to be resummoned. Here, they have no such advantage. We can do this. If everyone is ready, there's no point in holding back any longer. It's time we push forward." With that said, she slid her staff around to her side where she could more easily grab it, and slipped the small shuriken that Velvet had found for her out of the pouch at her side. "Time to go."

[riariadne]

With their decision to press on made, the crowd waved the group goodbye. "You give them hell or all of us!" an elderly man called to them, to the approval and applause of the rest of the people. With how close they were to the city already, it did not take long for them to spot the mysterious figures at the city gates.

"Another group? They'll soon flee like the last," a man with dark brown hair spoke from behind the wall, sharpening a sword to what seemed to be fairly little effect with how sharp it already was. "Such pedestrians are beneath my skill level. I was told that this job would provide me with challenges for my bladework, so I hope they pick up soon."

"Hm. Don't be dismissive so soon." Standing at the gates was a man glad in dark gray armor, arms crossed as he surveyed the land. His features were entirely obscured, and his voice distorted but deep. "I recognize them by description- the woman in red hair is very distinctive. His Majesty confronted them soon after his return and they possessed enough skill to challenge him, weakened though he and us Four are. If you seek challenge, Weston, I would expect you will find some here. I expect your best efforts still, of course... and I hope they will not be like when Duke Reid and his guard, Maximus passed by quite easily."

Weston scowled at mention of this apparent previous incident. "That pesky guard... he was of reasonable skill, but what truly hampered me was his lance. The Iraxen far outmatches any blade I could get my hands on for now. I doubt this group will have anything so strong as that. Don't think less of me based on that, Dimitrius. I will demonstrate my skills here, if they are indeed interesting."

"So you say." Dimitrius reached for an axe that was leaned against the wall, hoisting it over his shoulder, and pointing to a mage who stood behind the wall as well. "You there! Be ready, for challengers to the will of His Majesty approach. Soldiers of time! You have a new target- advance upon them."

Thirteen of the familiar sand soldiers fanned out. While there were certainly less of them than in the group's encounter with Timaeus, there were also fewer members of the group to deal with them- six opposed to nine. Before either side could make any immediate moves, Velvet yelped- somewhat further behind them. A fourteenth sand image had been a bit more stealthy, but also apparently frail- she swiped through it with her claws very quickly, causing it to dissolve back into sand that faded away. She looked to the other six members, apparently embarrassed that they noticed the distance she was keeping. "It was like some sort of thief... alright, alright! There's a lot of them, I suppooose I can help instead of just hide, but... you all better keep me safe! I'm very frail, and not that strong either." Helping or not, she slunk towards the back of the group still.

Objective: Defeat Dimitrius... twice.

It is now turn 1. Player phase begins.

--

Before you begin:

Velvet is a combat unit now, controlled by Juliette. This is how her stats were made, which I mentioned on Discord but am putting here for a permanent record of them.

The Crusader's Calling glows for Raz! For this map she has the skill Stratus Walk, which grants +2 movement if she doesn't enter combat during her turn, and +1 AS for the whole battle.

Spreadsheet Map 4 enemies don't have complete battle stats yet, but they will tomorrow.

[Xinnidy]

 

Memories of a Fun Night

Spoiler

With the talk over and the sun down, Raz decided to finally go to the House in Noir. Good, that afternoon seemed like it took forever! Finally, it was time to release her stress, and donning her newest dress (when was the last time she wore one, again?), Raz made her way to the building, nodding to the guards at the entrance --this time, there was nothing stopping her--.

The space was as expansive as she remembered, with tables full of people wanting to strike... a bit of an income boost. Really, what kind of rude leader sets an 'one thousand coins limit per customer' rule? They couldn't gamble their day away now, and couldn't even gain all that much... you'd need to be really fortunate in a big table to win a lot! Well, I guess you still can try every night... That was enough of that, anyways, Raz was here to have fun and win big, and she'd do no good ruining the mood to herself already!

Finding a small table first, she nodded to the dealer and the players already present. It seemed they were just starting, but one of them seemed agitated... was he on a losing streak? Poor guy. Nonetheless, Raz made her first bet of the day, deciding to go moderately big, already betting half of her cap total. And her first hand was... fantastic, better than the other players by a good shot, what a way to start the night! Unfortunately, her next few hands weren't as good... but to stop her trend, her final hand just barely made it. Two for four... and there was no fifth round, as the unfortunate guy quit the table, leaving stressed with the few chips he still had. Oh well. Deciding to WIN BIGGER or go home, Raz hit a bigger table --6 people, more rounds!--, and... well, that was way better, three for five. She was certain the dealer was glaring at her after that lucky streak she had... I'm not cheating, glare all you want. With a sly smirk, she left the House in Noir a handful of coin richer that day. That wasn't so bad!

On her way back, she wondered how the night always seemed to go by faster than the day...

Overnight, Raz gained 1200 gold! And went to the MadrigalMart and spent it on a strength vial, a magic vial, and a mystery gift (shuriken)! Worth it!

Naturally, she uses the two vials on herself, so selfish!

With Aaron and Kaya's opinions set, Raz only nodded non-chalantly. "Well, okay." No sneak attacks this time, but they should be able to handle if it were the same weak things. Now to hope this Dimitrius wasn't an issue of his own either.

---

That was a quick greeting, but it made sense since they were so close to the town to begin with. The man spared no time in grandstanding, which took a sigh out of Raz. This really only makes you guys look worse... Hopefully they could send the images packing quickly enough...

An yelp beside her made Raz turn her head, surprised at Velvet's antics. "If you're going to try something... you should at least grab a weapon. Can you wield a sword? Well, if you can't, I bought a trinket in madrigal mart yesterday... should be in your stuff, see if you can use that." More help was more help, but she wondered if it was okay for the demicat to be risking herself like that, with her concerns...

Digressing, Raz drew an arrow on her new bow, excited to test it out. These things shouldn't be a challenge... here goes something. Ready for combat, Raz set her sights at an image that was trying too hard to be sneaky...

Raz to P10, shoot soldier image A with her steel bow.

Edited June 10, 2017 by Xinnidy

[riariadne]

(31, 65) EDIT: adept (65, 88) (78, 28) Raz hits once for 12 damage then adepts for 12 more damage.

30 exp/3 wexp is enough for a LEVEL UP

(97, 6, 73, 9, 32, 45, 9, 80) Str, Skl, Spd, Lck, Def. nice level hacker

Edited June 11, 2017 by Reinfleche
fuk u adept

[Bluedoom]

Joviana moves to N10, attacks Fighter A with Gust.

[riariadne]

Joviana almost channels Wolfgang (93, 20) but does hit for 8 damage. (89, 54) She nicely dodges his counter as well. 10 exp and 1 wexp for her.

[SB.]

And so it begins.

Aaron to N10, apply Iron Axe to face.

Edited June 13, 2017 by SB.

[riariadne]

Aaron hits Fighter A (17, 88) in the face for 11 damage. He doesn't like that much, (27, 74) and swings back for 9. (10 exp/1 wexp)

[Ether]

Mikhaila to M11, attack Fighter A with Iron Sword

[Bluedoom]

Kolmar moves to M12, equips the Javelin.

Edited June 14, 2017 by Magnificence Incarnate

[riariadne]

Mikhaila finishes off the Fighter (28, 56) pretty easily for 10. 33 exp and 2 wexp for her makes a level.

(80, 77, 34, 22, 99, 34, 28, 81) Skl, Lck, Def

[scorri]

Pulling off her gloves, Kaya tucked them neatly into a pocket in her vest. "Time to be serious..."

Kaya moves to N-11, preps a round of magical dragons, and heals Aaron

[Juliette]

"A weapon?" Velvet asked Raz, a bit surprised. "Well, I have no training, no..." She shuffled through her bag, withdrawing the shuriken from it. "This thing? I guess I could give it a try... it's so small that it's probably all I could be helpful with."

Despite her willingness to help, the demicat was decidedly not willing to stand in the front of the battle, and as the others lined up in a formation, she crept forward only slightly, staying behind them.

Velvet to O12

[riariadne]

Kaya heals Aaron to full (11 exp/2 wexp). He will need it shortly! Then everyone scurries along.

It's time for enemy phase. Here are their moves:

Myrmidon A M10, Soldier B I8, Archer A L10, Archer B K11, Archer C P8, Monk A P9, Monk B K5, Fighter B K6, Mage A C6, Weston C4. Of course, these positions come with some combats.

Myrmidon Image A attacks Aaron (26, 9) for 8. However (30, 34), Aaron makes his talent completely useless still by not missing, dealing 12. If sand soldiers had feelings, Myrmidon Image A would likely be experiencing regret. (10 exp/1 wexp).

Aaron levels. (49, 85, 13, 22, 64, 31, 63, 10) HP, Mag, Skl, Lck, Res. thank god, stop getting speed (aaron now has more magic than raz bydeway)

Archer A attacks Mikhaila and connects (54, 67) for 8. (1 exp)

Archer B is cheekier and longbows Kaya (38, 19) for 13, but he takes 7 damage back from Dragon's Rage. (5 exp)

Archer C sees Raz's snazzy new Steel Bow and raises his own Silver Bow. However he didn't factor how quick she was (79, 32), giving Raz Endorphins for her troubles. (46, 30) (64, 69) Raz returns fire impressively and that guy got completely dunked for 12 then 6. I seem to have not thought that attack through well. (10 exp/ 2 wexp)

After the archer fails, Monk A uses the opportunity to hit Raz at close range while she's bow-equipped (42, 49), hitting her for 10. (1 exp)

That was a lot of fight for turn 1. But, now it's over!

It is now turn 2. Player phase begins.

Spreadsheet. Even though it's already on this page.