The Golden Age. Act 2: Converging Paths.

[scorri]

Kaya nodded, listening to Regus and hearing the sense in his words. "No need to worry about things that may not come to be. I suppose that all I can do is continue to seek out the Emblem... Ah. There is..." She hesitated, gripping the scale tightly before pulling it out. "There is one more thing. I found this in Madrigal and can't... I feel there's some power in it but have no idea what that might be. Do you have any idea what it might be?"

[riariadne]

Artifacts

"If you wish to hear about more of the Gifts, maybe some of the other travelers would know that. There are some who arrived from Vespen before Dimitrius started blocking the east entrance- if you encounter any here, they might have something useful to let you know," Regus suggested to Joviana. "It was mentioned to me that a cloaked man had a particularly foul attitude about his adventures in the mountains, but hadn't escalated to the point of violence, so I have simply been watching for signs of trouble as a precaution for now. Perhaps he would be someone to talk with- he was near the river marketplace."

He looked to the scale Kaya presented to him. "Why, it's a dragon's scale, of course. It seems quite genuine, and this dragon seems to have been particularly strong magically. What were you expecting to use this for? By itself, a dragon scale requires refining to be of real use, but it can be a part of powerful artifact if you know the right person to do so, and have other items to compliment it. Using this with normal materials would be a waste of potential, but perhaps you'll find more unusual items in your journey to create something greater."

The Duchess

"You've all done plenty to earn such hospitality! If you want to look at the library yourself, it's on the west side of the third floor," Ashley informed Raz, sipping from a cup of wine. "I wouldn't recommend most of the buildings near here if you don't want to speak with the nobles. They're all so stuffy and old fashioned, but the world we live in is constantly changing. I say it's time that we strip some of them of their titles and pave the way for a fresher generation of people more in touch with the current world, but my husband doesn't like stepping on toes. Duke Therum was my uncle, and I am his closest living relative, but there was some opposition to Reid assuming the title. I can hardly think who they would suggest in his place what with how most of the nobles act, and going without a leader was clearly not an option- just see how hectic Madrigal is."

She shook her head. "Sorry, I'm sure this is all terribly boring to you, I often get carried away by conversation. If you are wondering about entertainment, there is a special fighting tournament in Mattias Square Garden, I believe it starts today. Not my personal cup of tea, but it's very popular, so if that's of interest to you then it is a rare occasion. Other than that, Fordright has many historic sights to see, such as the Watcher's Den. Quite the climb! I've only scaled it once by foot, I usually rely on the transporters who use magic to assist the journey."

No Nonsense Business

Nathaniel eyed Telmara, his neutral expression hardening into a frown. "If you wish to haggle, the market or places like MadrigalMart are for that... unless you can offer an equivalent service or good, the price is listed for a reason. That price is nine hundred gold." He mumbled something quieter about not liking his sister's more random way of business.

[Xinnidy]

"West side of the third floor... I'll keep it in mind." Raz nodded, taking a bite of her food, chewing and swallowing before asking another question. Proper manners, people! "Most of them are old-fashioned, huh?" There was a glimmer in Raz's eyes as Ashley spoke of her ideas, though it was gone pretty quickly. "A fresher generation sounds interesting, but wouldn't that be their children, then, or are they also old-fashioned?" Maybe some of them didn't even have heirs, didn't hurt to learn that one.

The Duchess really went on and on, but for some reason that didn't bother Raz as much as the others, staring at her calmly. "I'm learning quite a bit, so I'm not complaining." She shrugged, "I'll keep those places in mind, thank you very much." It seemed the others had ran out of gas... perhaps it'd do well to finish her meal and check on the captured mage, in a bit.

[scorri]

"It is! I knew it!" She held the scale close to her body, smiling. A real dragon scale. She couldn't believe it. "And it could be used to make artifacts? Interesting, I never knew that. Though I also never knew that there were dragon scales still around, so." She shook her head in amazement as she considered all the options ahead of her. "Thank you for your time. I can't think of much else I have to ask you. I don't want to hold you up too long though, since I'm sure you have more important things to be doing. But I will see you again some time in the future." She smiled and bowed her head briefly, before glancing over at Jovi. "Was there anything you wanted to do? Perhaps go and try and find that man he was talking about?"

[eclipse]

Kolmar decided that the noble chick taking a liking to Aaron was for the best, so he kept his mouth shut.  Once there was a lull in the conversation, and his face wasn't full of the best meat he'd had in the past few months, he spoke up.

"Stuffy nobles, eh?  An' a new generation?  How'd you change things?"  This was probably the worst thing to discuss, but some young upstart duchess with loose lips was bound to spill something interesting.

[riariadne]

The System

"It is my pleasure to tell you about our historic city. As for the nobility, well, that's a tougher problem... some of them are without heirs. Some have suitable heirs, but whether or not they would follow in the path of their family is unclear. Some don't need replacing- I'm not saying everyone should be stripped of power, just that a change seems necessary to me. My uncle was too trusting as his greatest flaw, which sadly ended with him agreeing to Ursula's reign and then dying during it." Ashley shook her head, sipping more from her wine glass. Just before it looked like she would continue on another lengthy tirade, one of the guards- Sir Ronald from earlier- approached through the doors, catching his breath.

"Duchess Mazzarin, the prisoner has awoken. I came as quickly as possible to inform you and our guests of this." He bowed, bringing a smile to the Duchess's face anyway. "Well, our young mage Mr. Hale has himself quite some explaining to do, doesn't he? If you were all interested, I can lead you the way- shall we?" She started on her way, leading through winding corridors of the extensive castle, until they came to a room with several glass doors that lead to smaller rooms. One of them held the man inside, staring at Ashley and the four. Only one other room had anyone in it, but their features were harder to note. "Brilliant, isn't it? The power of magic allows for extraordinary things, and it is quite difficult to break despite its look, yet easy to adjust with the proper key. I'm afraid you won't be casting any spells today, Morris. Now which of you said you wanted to speak with him first?"

"What do you want me to say?" Morris spoke up, his voice rather squeaky. "I'm sorry! I made a mistake following him! D-don't torture me." He seemed quite terrified of all of them, though especially of Mikhaila's mask.

Tired Magus

"More important things such as sleeping," Regus agreed. "Magic makes staying awake for so long simpler, but it is still something I'd rather avoid... so I grow wary. Once, Noctus had a theory for a spell to allow for less sleep time, but it ended up being a false positive with his absurd endurance. Of all the amazing power that magic has and how destructive it can be... the need for rest has not quite been figured out. Anyway, I am glad to have been of assistance. If you've nothing else to say, then I'll take my leave to rest." He turned towards the inn, walking slowly and holding to his staff still, the crowd that had dispersed before starting to flitter back into the town square.

[Bluedoom]

"We should search for the man he was talking about. The Magus said he'd be loud and obnoxious, right? I'm not one to talk to talk to obnoxious people, but we'll have to make do with what we have. Besides, I'm sure it'll be easy to find him, if that's the case. He said that we'd find the man at the marketplace near the river...we could also go to Baldur's Square! We could hear a lot of rumours and interesting things there. Oh, and we should pay a visit to the Watcher's Den. You'd get to meet people who've been keeping watch on the and learn what transpired over here."  Joviana replied, wanting to get down to business. They were not going to be there for long, so it was best to start looking as soon as possible.

Edited July 30, 2017 by Magnificence Incarnate

[scorri]

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down." Kaya had no idea what most of the things Joviana was talking about were, and she was talking about a mile a minute. "I don't know where... any of that is, if I'm being honest. I do want to try and get a new heal staff at some point, but besides that, I don't really have anything specific I want to do." She tucked the dragon scale back into her pocket, and glanced around. "I guess whatever you think is the best place to start is what we should do. You seem to know this area better than I do after all." Hopefully Jovi would be able to make a decision so that they could start moving forward.

[eclipse]

"Ya mean after ALL the pain we had to endure partly because of your shitty decision?" Kolmar growled.  "Didn't your ma teach you that your actions have consequences?"

[Xinnidy]

Hmm, so things weren't all that set in stone, and it certainly wasn't a move without repercussions, but the Duchess sure didn't mind entertaining it with strangers... of course, she lacked the actual power, that was probably her husband's job, but nonetheless a curious topic to go on about. Either way, that was enough of that soon, as the prisoner had woken up sometime during the conversation... how much time had passed, really? Raz finished only half her plate... she probably should have chatted less.

Following the Duchess, they were led to the enchanted prison, which apparently blocked a captive's magic, and housed another person as well. One Raz couldn't quite make out, but it was a surprise considering how the city just recovered from a siege. "Well, well." She glanced at the mage, tilting her head with her usual curious smile. "And how does one make a mistake for that long?Did he entice you with money, some possession, or promises of power, dare I say? He wasn't really a popular guy in these parts." If he had been contacted at all, that'd make for valuable information.

[Nanami Touko]

Telmara grumbled and fiddled out nine hundred gold, setting it on the counter. She mumbled her own complaint about no flexibility in business, pointing at the Conflagrate spell. "I'll t-take that, then..." Having another of the spell was good enough, and she could pay back Kaya. Her tail swayed in mild annoyance, not expecting the shopkeep to be so rigid, though. Why would I be buying this tome if I couldn't offer a similar service... I have a wealth of knowledge, I can even write a magic tome! Just ask... Gods.

---

Raz was eating, things were seemingly fine... She quietly cut into a piece of ham and decided to eat some, herself. She had to restore herself after all of that fighting, anyway... And if it truly was fine, there wasn't a problem in following along. The talk of a fighting tournament piqued her ears, but before she could ask about it, their prisoner was awake, and the duchess was leaving to lead them along. "O-Oh... I..." Curse me. I'll have to ask after. This proceedings were still rather awkward, but became less so once they stepped into... What seemed to be the estate's prison? It was quite elaborate, and definitely odd. Why all the glass?

Still, this was more her element, as she immediately noticed the man's attention to her mask. She didn't smile, but it definitely brought her more comfort, concentrating on the apparel to flare the burning light up enough to startle him. Taking steps in front of Raz, she brought herself down to one knee, giving the man a full stare. "You'd better be telling the truth with whatever you say. One lie, and this mask's light is the last thing you're going to see. Do you understand me?"

[SB.]

Aaron watched the interrogation unfold before him, taking a back seat at first. Kolmar seemed eager to light a fire under Morris' ass to start it out, and Raz had plenty of questions of her own, but they weren't especially direct. With even Mikhaila seemed willing to get involved and threaten him, Aaron suspected their newly woken prisoner would be more than happy to spill his information over his guts.

"How did you end up meeting with him to begin with?" The armoured fighter was curious. He very much doubted that Dimitrius would've entrusted crucial information to this slacker, but looking at how the events leading up to the siege unfolded could give them some sort of clue towards the inner workings of this strange time cult. They needed the full story before rushing to any judgement - a lesson he'd learned himself far too late.

Edited August 4, 2017 by SB.

[riariadne]

Prisoner's Dilemma

Morris drew towards the back of his cell as the four began speaking to him. "He... he was so convincing. I went to the city walls at first, because I thought I had a chance, as a mage to defeat Dimitrius in his armor... but, his boss was talking to him. Then, he waved his hand, and I found myself more interested in his side. I didn't understand, but he said there was plenty of money, since they had no need, and that it would be for the best- for the greater good for him to gain power. He said it was power that was rightfully his." He nervously shifted to the side. "Slowly I started to not like the plan as much after he left, and I never saw him come back, b-but I wasn't really about to turn against the armored guy when I was all amidst those sand... things. S-so I just went along with it and patrolled around. I didn't even hurt anyone, I just couldn't ever fight back... why'd you lock up me and not the other two? The armored one was in charge here, a-and Weston was crazy! Dimitrius almost kicked him out when he kept trying to duel the sand creatures that had swords. They're the kind of people who should be locked up in here with that guy..."

Ashley glanced at the other prisoner with a frown before looking back at Morris. "Dimitrius had access to teleportation magic. As for Weston, he was apparently crafty enough to escape during the havoc caused by the battle. And of course, there's nothing to be learned from magic sand creatures. So as it is, you are the only attacker to find their sorry self in the position of being arrested. Perhaps when they are done interrogating you, regular jail would do better. But for now, you shouldn't be complaining that they were kind enough to spare you at all."

The mage turned his head down towards the floor. "Fine, but really, I wasn't let in on that much... and I've been telling the truth, I promise."

Uncompromising

Despite her mumbling, Nathaniel didn't budge until Telmara put the requisite gold on the counter, and he counted it silently before sliding the book across the counter to her. "Nine hundred gold, then. Consider it yours." His expression softened somewhat with that out of the way, though not that much. "Is there anything else you have interest in here?"

[eclipse]

"A.  Plan.  You just gonna leave us hangin'?" Kolmar said gruffly, arms across his chest.  He realized his choice of words was. . .rather unfortunate, but amusing.

[Xinnidy]

"That's right, you did mention they had a plan, and that the way his boss talked convinced you." Raz tilted her head to the other side, placing a finger on her chin as she continued to stare at the mage contemplatively. "So, what was the plan he convinced you about? Surely it couldn't have been that vague." Power that is rightfully his... sounded like exactly the kind of thing that time king lunatic would say. How bothersome, but at least it strongly implied Morris did contact him at some point.

[Bluedoom]

"You know, I guess we'll just go to the Sword and Scroll, first. There are a lot of interesting things that they sell, from what I remember, and we should probably finish buying everything that we need before searching this place for more information."

 

Joviana(and Kaya?) go to Sword and Scroll!

[Nanami Touko]

Mikhaila made her mask flare violently as their prisoner spoke, not adding a word to the conversation. It strained on her muscles, but she didn't flinch. If he wasn't going to give them the whole story, he was going to be in a world of hurt. I don't see what anyone seeks to gain from withholding information in these situations. It only does to improve their standing to give the whole truth. There are some wholly foolish people in this world, aren't there...

[SB.]

"Hm..." Aaron couldn't help but feel something towards Morris. He almost pitied him. Unlike his associates, who seemed to be all business about this - if Timaeus really had placed some kind of charm on him, was he truly at fault for what had happened? It was difficult to judge. He sighed. Perhaps it was all just a ruse, and he was being too soft on the man. Instead, he posed another question, independent of Morris' true loyalties. "What was the importance of Fordright?" It was strange for the sand soldiers to appear so suddenly and attack such a major city, there had to be some kind of reason behind it.

[riariadne]

Pressure

"Wh-what, I just said what it was!" Morris seemed to be attempting to be hiding even further towards the back of the cell. "He wants to be stronger and have power over everyone! Didn't you hear that lunatic call him His Majesty all the time? I d-didn't get told more than that, he probably didn't trust me that much. I just meant I didn't like blocking the city entrance from most everyone... W-well, Duke Reid and his guard got by, because Weston tried to fight them and got whooped. He complained about Sir M-Maximus's weapon, saying he couldn't possibly beat the Iraxen without better weaponry, but I think he was just worse anyway. A-anyway, best I can guess, the places he attacked he thought had powerful items for him to be collecting so he could make use of those. But, he didn't stick around, cause he wants to be checking on the other places or something. H-he had a weird looking tome he was carrying around, and Dimitriys mentioned he was l-looking for some other ones when Weston was whining again, so maybe he knew about that lance. R-really don't know much more than that."

Small Meetings

Joviana and Kaya's trip over towards the Sword and Scroll was fairly uneventful, other than a few people staring at Kaya's tattoos. Whatever reputation Joviana had acquired seemed to have faded away to at least a neutral with news of the people that had helped let loose Dimitrius's grip on Fordright. Nathaniel raised an eyebrow at the appearance of the two, a glance lingering on each of them before speaking up again, "Welcome to Sword and Scroll, offering the finest combat equipment here in Fordright. My name is Sir Nathaniel, and please let me know if you need any assistance." Apparently his introduction was at least somewhat consistent.

Edited August 7, 2017 by Reinfleche
i hit post instead of starting the next segment

[Bluedoom]

Joviana noticed the stares from strangers and felt a little uncomfortable. The two of them were noticeable, especially Kaya and her tattoos. Perhaps she would've been better off buying a robe in Madrigal instead of the weird scale. I sure hope we don't get into a messy situation. Come to think of it, no one has tried to lay a finger on me either. I guess Regus really wasn't lying.

 

The two entered the shop, soon enough. An assortment of weapons and tomes lay before them, and a familiar face was there too. "Oh hello again, Telmara," Joviana said to the demihuman, before speaking to Nathaniel, "My friend over here is looking for a new staff. Can you show us some of your staves?"

 

 

 

 

[Nanami Touko]

"There are a few things... But I don't w-want to spend all of my money here, just yet. I might come back later, to--" The door opened, Telmara collecting her tail on instinct, looking back at--

"O-Oh. Joviana... Kaya. H-Hey..." Collecting her tail out of the way, she picked up the new tome and slid away from the counter, not starting to say anything about the quality of the vendor. "New staffs, huh? Maybe I can help with suggesting something good, depending on what's available..." Maybe. It'd be nice to put all her knowledge to use.

[scorri]

Kaya had been following right behind Jovianna, falling a bit behind as she glanced around, trying to take in the city, but always making sure to rush forward and catch up to the other girl when she noticed. They were making their way through one of the side streets when she froze briefly, staring off into the distance, like she was trying to see something far away. Suddenly she shook herself and glanced around, realizing that Jovianna was ahead of her again. Racing to catch up, she fell into a contemplative silence, no longer glancing around at all the sights but instead staring down at the ground while she followed the mage into the store.

Her desire for a new staff being mentioned caused her to look up, and distractedly comment, "Err, yes, that's me. I... Oh, Telmara, hello, I missed you there. Erm, I was hoping to just get another heal staff to be honest, nothing fancy. Mine is almost out of juice I think..." She trailed off again, as she glanced back the way they had come, a small frown on her face. Something wasn't right about that...

[SB.]

He just wants power, eh... Even I could have told you that. Aaron shook his head, glancing at his fellow interrogators. "This doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I don't think he's lying to us, but he's clearly clueless." He didn't attempt to hide the irritation in his voice. Did any of the others have any ideas? He was fine to just leave the unfortunate mage to the officials now and deal with other business otherwise.

[Xinnidy]

Raz scoffed, almost disappointed, when something clicked to her. "...I see, so we can use places he has gone to as information. I think... no, there is definitely a clearer picture." So he was going after powerful spells? And probably a select few of the artifacts, huh... "Well, I might be satisfied now, a shame about your choices." Just doing it for money... oh well, at least it helped them.

[Nanami Touko]

"Oh. Just a heal staff... That's fine. Th-Those are still useful, after all... Er, I can, give you the gold I owe you, once you're done. And... Uh..." I guess I can ask after we're out of here. But she has another staff on her, one that I'm curious about. I wonder if she wouldn't mind telling me...?

---

Mikhaila scoffed, letting her mask quiet itself, and taking a step back from the cell. Turning back towards her allies, she folded her arms. "It seemed as though he was telling the truth. So, what now? I'm not quite picking up what Raz seems to be. Does this mean anything for us?"