The Fields of Ash - Game Topic

[Cellamusteen]

Selis

Spoiler

Hm. Well I hope future business sees better fortune for you.

I’m curious to find out why these petty crimes are more frequent nowadays, and I contemplate going to see the fishmonger and wine merchant that he mentioned. Due to limited time, I cannot see both, so decide to go see the wine merchant. I know Ludwin well due to my uncles regular dealings with him (mostly personal purchases).

As I approach his modest shop, I find most of his shelves empty save for a few very cheap bottles of wine (whereas I’m used to seeing him as a man of very palatable tastes).

Ludwin. Good to see you. You may have heard I’m going on an expedition, but before I leave I wanted to check in on you as you’ve been so good to Rowin...

 

[Alonewolf87]

@Cellamusteen

Spoiler

Selis, my boy says the tall, spindly man, cleaning his brow from some sweat and dust, since he seemed to be cleaning the tallest shelves, clearly something that had not been done in a long time. While he climbs down the ladder he was on he looks at you with some curious grey eyes You are going on an expedition you say?And where may I ask?Is your uncle finally putting your brain to some good use sending you to strade some for him?

[Cellamusteen]

Selis

Spoiler

I watch as Ludwin carefully steps onto the floor from the ladder, his old age showing through his deliberate steps. I feel touch of care and concern as I tell him my plans.

Yes, I’d finally worked up the courage to ask for his leave. I’m to join the adventurers looking for Maximilian. And before you start lecturing me on how dangerous this is, be assured that my uncle has complete faith in my abilities, hence allowing me to go.

I look around at the empty shelves, wondering why business has faltered given he’d been doing well for so long.

But don’t worry about me. I came in to ask how you were doing - from the look of your shop, it would seem you’re taking an early retirement!

 

 

[Alonewolf87]

@Cellamusteen 

Spoiler

Ludwin is taken back a little by your news, but congratulates you on the assignment Your uncle is a shrewd man, and a good judge of character so I am trusting his decision. Go out in the world and make great things for yourself Selis. In the meantime, as you said, I am gonna retire. That new big sales market they have opened near the docks is killing me anyway, selling wine at almost two thirds of my price, who knows how, and I am taking the cue for finally getting some rest.

 

[Cellamusteen]

Selis

Spoiler

Then let me at least buy a bottle from you for the upcoming trip, for good luck.

I choose one of his best on the shelves and use some money my Uncle gave me for my adventure. I wish Ludwin farewell as I walk back out on the streets, pausing to contemplate my next move.

Well, I didn't find any leads in the city, might as well meet the rest of the group who I'll be travelling with...

I head toward the departure point, curious as to who my colleagues on this adventure might be.

 

[Alonewolf87]

@Cellamusteen 

Spoiler

while you are walking back toward your home you find yourself approached by an old dwarf, dressed in rags and with a long, filthy red beard, inlaid with lots and lots of small iron rings. The grey eyes of the dwarf have a white patina over them, making you think he might be blind, even though he moves quite confidently. He grabs your arm and looks at your face Tell me young human, would you like a token of good fortune for your trip?

 

[Cellamusteen]

Selis

Spoiler

As he grabs my arm I’m slightly startled, although not all that surprised as I’d mingled with such people during my childhood days.

What DOES surprise me though is that he knows I’m going on a trip, or was that just coincidence...?

Usually these trinkets are superstitious with no evidence of power, but sometimes a street urchin will give something useful, but for a price.

I look curiously into his blind eyes as I say:

What would you have for me, old dwarf? I feel like I need as much luck as I can get.

 

[Alonewolf87]

@Cellamusteen 

Spoiler

the dwarf smile knowingly, showing some remarkably white and shiny teeth. Then take this he says putting a golden compass in your hand, covered in strange runes and symbols, without the usual cardinal points it will alwasy lead you towards the most interesting adventure to be had

 

[Cellamusteen]

Selis

Spoiler

I take the golden compass with surprise, as it’s elaborate etchings and sophistication makes it strange to come from a street urchin. Even more strange is the fact he didn’t ask for something before he handed it to me.

I inspect it further and am even more  surprised to find that I don’t recognize the runes or symbols. Surely I would have seen these somewhere in my studies?

I take my eyes off him for a moment as I reach into my pockets for an appropriate item to exchange for such an elaborate gift...

 

[Alonewolf87]

@Cellamusteen 

Spoiler

you find in your satchel a small book about legends of the east, that you were studying in anticipation of a possible travel. It seems a good gift for the strange dwarf, even though it appears blind.

 

[Cellamusteen]

Selis

Spoiler

A useful book, but not as interesting as what this dwarf has given me, despite the possibility of it being a fake...

I handover the book in exchange for the compass, and look at it again. Although I don’t understand the runes, the compass seems to be pointing in a particular direction (although I am unsure as to whether it’s pointing to the meeting point where I’m supposed to be going).

It’s getting to the time that I should be leaving with the group, having spent a lot of time investigating beforehand. 

But this compass is so tempting to follow...

Going against by better instincts, I choose to attempt to follow the compass.

 

[Alonewolf87]

@Cellamusteen 

Spoiler

the dwarf takes the book, putting it away under his rags then bows to you, wishing you good luck in the Ash, then take his leave, getting inside a narrow alley. Taking out the compass you notice that the direction where it points seems to change sometimes, with some abrupt movements of the needle.

 

[Cellamusteen]

Selis

Spoiler

I walk in the direction where the needle most steadily points to, although this is difficult as it seems to want to change direction almost randomly. 

While walking I realize this may not have been the best of ideas, and while keeping an eye on the compass, start heading toward the meeting point for the party chasing Maximillian.

 

[Alonewolf87]

@Cellamusteen 

Spoiler

 

the compass seemed to be taking you towards the piers, but you decide it may not be the best choice right now to follow it.

You turn back and start walking towards one of the warehouses of the Third Moon Company, where the party of hunters is supposed to gather in preparation for the trip. By the time you get there, met by some of the guards of the Company outside, the party is almost complete and you can see lots of different races and attitudes amongst them. There is a couple of halfling riders from the plains, a dwarf in heavy armor carrying more weapons than you thought possibile, a human dressed in strange colorful robes with what seems to be a talking crow, a tall imposing woman with lots of scars on her bare, well muscled shoulders and arms and so forth. At least a couple of dozen people are gathered here today.

 

 

[Cellamusteen]

Selis

Spoiler

As I walk in, I’m surprised at how many adventurers are here. I was expecting a small group of seasoned adventurers, perhaps mercenaries, not this smorgasbord of riff raffs who look only to be in it because of the money involved...

I look around to see who may be in charge, and spot a man in Third Moon Company attire who I vaguely recognize from my interactions across the company in my daily duties. I fail to remember his name but approach him regardless as I feel like I should be doing something, rather than standing around with this riff raff...

Sir, I’ve come to join the hunt for Maximus. Are we to await further instructions here?

 

Modificato 5 Maggio 2018 da Cellamusteen

[Alonewolf87]

@Peter Östergren 

Spoiler

The town you are living in right now is called Calimor, one of the largest port cities of the Kingdoms of Ash, on the straits leading from the Arel Sea to the Inner Sea. You came here after escaping from the town of Jamailla, in the inside of Ash, near the Scorching Desert. You had been taken in and raised by the largest shadowy organization of Ash, the Eight Fingers, a giant criminal syndicate with different branches and interests. In particular you had been trained to work as part of the Three Swords, the "military" branch of the Eight Fingers which provides muscle and skilled fighters for all the endeavors of the syndicate. You had been placed, with several other orphans and rejects, under the tutelage of Amir Shaum, an ex-monk from the Jade Palace of Lian Mu, the most renowned martial arts school in all the world. The circustances of Amir's parting from the Jade Palace were never fully explained but they didn't seem amicable. Amir shaped you with hard and rigorous training in a fighting machine, able to deliver blows on par with even the most hardened warrior, without having to be burdened by all that armor and weaponry. But he also thought you all how to concentrate your mind and take complete control of all that makes you, mind, body and soul.

Still the life of the unlawful thug didn't sit well with you, your desire for perfection was not only of the body but also of the soul and you sought to elevate yourself with more noble actions. So you decided to leave the Three Swords and the Eight Fingers, knowing quite well that such an act would not go unpunished. And so you braved the steppes of the western Ash till you reached the sunny and beautiful cliffs and shores of the Inner Sea, seeking shelter in Calimor, hoping to lose yourself for a while in the crowds of the city.

Right now you are working for a small mercenary company called the Golden Griffin, whose captain Jerome Valesca you impressed during a brawl in your first week here. You have been given some small security jobs, nothing fancy but quite easy tasks, just enough to let you live a simple but quiet life.

@Cellamusteen

Spoiler

 

Just a short while after you have come to the gathering you all hear an heavy *thud* as an old man, with one of the most amazingly long and curly pair of mustaches you ever saw, come out from a side room, stomping a long, golden rod on the planks that cover the ground. He is escorted by four bodyguards, but something in his posture seems to indicate he may not need them so much

Welcome you all he says with a low, grumbling voice I am Mevar Luhah, chief of security for the Third Moon Company, here today to put finally in motion the hunt for the traitor, Maximillian. I guess you all know by now what he has done and why we are looking for him so let's skip ahead to what we will do from now on. 

From what our sources have gathered Maxillian, after fleeing from the Awn sneaked upon a ship set for Calimor, where he stayed for a short while, before taking to the east still, towards the heart of the Ash and the Scorching Desert. So our plan for now is to follow him in his footsteps. We will sail the day after tomorrow for Calimor ourselves, on a Third Moon's ship. Once we get to Calimor we will look for Maxillian's associates, cause we are sure he had some contacts and help there, since Calimor is one of the greatests hubs for the distribution of the Black, the drug Maximillian tried to build a fortune out of. Once we found Maximillian's associates we will question them, found everything we can about it and then find him, whatever the cost.

If any of you has any questions for the trip and the work now is a good time to ask them says then Mevar.

In the meantime you notice that the big, hulking woman seems to be looking at you quite often, with an intense look in her eyes.

 

 

[Cellamusteen]

Selis

Spoiler

Calimor? Ash and the Scorching Desert?

I keep to my own thoughts as other adventurers ask practical, and monetary related questions.

I only know of these locations from maps or books. Never had I imagined we’d travel so far to find this Maximillian.

Yet even as I think these thoughts, it doesn’t deter me. If this is where my decision has taken me then so be it.

However it doesn’t stop me from feeling out of place in the adventuring group. I never doubted my abilities before, yet those who stand around me are seasoned warriors and adventurers, only around because they’ve survived a few harrowing hunts already...

I stop this train of thought as I suddenly feel like I’m being watched. Without moving or changing expression, I note that a large woman seems to be unsuccessfully hiding her interest in me. Her interest makes me uncomfortable and I decide to ignore her in the hope that she doesn’t try to approach me later for whatever she wants.

 

[Alonewolf87]

@Cellamusteen 

Spoiler

While some of the adventurers start asking some practical questions to Mevar, from payment to travel arrangements, the woman start walking towards you, with a leisurely and calm step, almost like a predator confortable in its own environment. She comes close to you, towering at least 10 inches over you, and then her huge hand comes crashing down on your shoulder, almost making you buckle. She flashes a savage grin, showing a couple missing teeth, Well, well it seems nowadays they are starting recruitment quite young at the Third Moon. Tell me boy, you are here to take notes or something?

 

[Cellamusteen]

Selis

Spoiler

 

I stumble slightly as her large hand hits my shoulder, and I’m left feeling slightly on edge but not completely outside my comfort zone. Without thinking, I try to subtly cast Charm Person to deflate the situation before it’s even begun.

As I do so, I confidently attempt to engage in a polite rebuttal:

No. I am here, like you, to seek this Maximilian and to ensure the Third Moon Company does not fall into further trouble. Although I would admit, I don’t have the experience as you do for such adventures, and would appreciate your patience with me.

The last sentence makes me cringe inside, as I’m not used to admitting weakness, however here I felt it necessary to avoid conflict with this uncivilized woman.

 

 

Modificato 20 Maggio 2018 da Cellamusteen
Added spoiler thing to post

[Alonewolf87]

@Cellamusteen 

Spoiler

The woman is taken aback by your words, but your natural charm and amiable look seems to placate her. Really?A strange choice, perhaps a bold one even, but they say even the biggest avalanche starts as a snowflake. So tell me, what are you good at? No offense but fighting does not seem your strong suit, are you perhaps one of these....sneaky....types?