[Warhammer Fantasy] The Thousand Thrones

[shaar]

Well, that was uncomfortable.

 

Yussie was happy to be out of that building, with it's caustic and stifling scent, abject loss and depression around every corner.  A graveyard of broken men, she muses in her head, blinking a few times as her empty gaze locks on the dirty cobblestones beneath their feet.  What a shame.  No matter what else befell her, she suddenly decided she would never let herself succumb to a fate like that.  Easier said than done, a single devil's advocate thought lingered.  Brows knitted and Yussie pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders as they turned to head back down the street.

 

Tiny, deliberate steps led her briefly to Lanric's side as she left the unpleasant thoughts back on the road behind them - the two of them surely making an odd pair to any passerby, true polar opposites.  She hesitated a moment before speaking, a bit boldly.  "I ... wanted to thank you, for your assistance back there.  You may have guessed, defense is not my strong suit."  Her light voice held a lilt of amusement within the latter sentence, and her chin dipped briefly in acknowledgement of his help.  "So, thank you for your kindness."  Yussie was still gently untrusting of the entire situation at hand, but instead of being fearful and acting overtly suspicious because of it she'd chosen to be wise about her interactions, keeping her wits about her at all time while still trying to play it (mostly) cool.

 

Besides, she could read and write, and that alone escalated her worth greatly.  It was important to have use.

[cn3wton]

After the dust from the skirmish settles Ziegel scoops Dusty into his arms. He keeps him secured there until the group returns to their temporary place of residence.

 

Once safely located beneath the arch Ziegel begins to frantically pat the dog down searching for any wounds inflicted during the fight. As he does so Dusty furiously licks the mans face, cleaning the blood dripping from the wound on his brow. Seeing that his friend is unharmed he smiles and begins to laugh as the adrenaline rush begins to wear off.

 

Even Ziegel had begun to notice the changes to his life. Rarely did he spend so much time with the same people. He drew his prized brush from the folds of his clothes and began to comb Dusty's fur as the small dog began to fall asleep in his lap. 

 

As Dusty fell deeper into sleep his tiny breaths caused his chest to rise and fall in a steady rhythm. Ziegel ceased the pampering of his friend and wrapped his friend in the excess folds of his clothing. Falling fast asleep with a large toothy grin on his face.

[Balthazar]

Well, that was uncomfortable.

 

Yussie was happy to be out of that building, with it's caustic and stifling scent, abject loss and depression around every corner.  A graveyard of broken men, she muses in her head, blinking a few times as her empty gaze locks on the dirty cobblestones beneath their feet.  What a shame.  No matter what else befell her, she suddenly decided she would never let herself succumb to a fate like that.  Easier said than done, a single devil's advocate thought lingered.  Brows knitted and Yussie pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders as they turned to head back down the street.

 

Tiny, deliberate steps led her briefly to Lanric's side as she left the unpleasant thoughts back on the road behind them - the two of them surely making an odd pair to any passerby, true polar opposites.  She hesitated a moment before speaking, a bit boldly.  "I ... wanted to thank you, for your assistance back there.  You may have guessed, defense is not my strong suit."  Her light voice held a lilt of amusement within the latter sentence, and her chin dipped briefly in acknowledgement of his help.  "So, thank you for your kindness."  Yussie was still gently untrusting of the entire situation at hand, but instead of being fearful and acting overtly suspicious because of it she'd chosen to be wise about her interactions, keeping her wits about her at all time while still trying to play it (mostly) cool.

 

Besides, she could read and write, and that alone escalated her worth greatly.  It was important to have use.

 

awesome new avatar is awesome

[shaar]

awesome new avatar is awesome

Man I just love crows (and ravens), it's of The Morrigan! One of my random RP characters is a raven priest, I think I plugged him into the upcoming Ranger mini.

[Wild Wolf]

"You're more than welcome, Miss Yussie..."

It was an odd site to see the old witch hunter so broken and lost within the depths of his own mind. The thought gave Lanric a slight shudder, sending pain up and down his bruised body. But this was pain he embraced with welcomed arms. At least it gave Lanric the notion that he was still alive and kicking. The rumble on the docks early went better than the pit fighter could have imagined. Scrapes and bruises were the worse of things and that made it a victory. That and Yussie remained unharmed.

The little scribe had thanked Lanric on their walk back and it was the most warming thing he had received in many years. He was never thanked genuinely, for that matter, but things like this were small items to be upset over. Lanric felt this natural sort of need to look after Yussie more than the others. Maybe it was because she was smaller and lacked the physical presence to defend herself, or maybe it was something else. Lanric shook the distracting thoughts from his head.

Lanric spoke with a bit of shyness in his voice, "Ya know, if the swamps prove too difficult for you to walk through, you're more than welcomed to take a seat on my shoulder...it gives a pretty good view, even in the swamps." Lanric chuckled and could see the little scribe blush, as she began toying with her many arm bracelets...

[Wild Wolf]

How is everyone? It's been raining cats and dogs here in Texas so there's not a whole lot to do.. Sad. Just check on my fellow questrians [emoji106]ðŸ»[emoji123]ðŸ»

Wolf

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[DarK_RaideR]

How is everyone? It's been raining cats and dogs here in Texas so there's not a whole lot to do.. Sad. Just check on my fellow questrians

I've been reading bout the floods in the news. It is oddly fitting with your characters' upcoming swamp trip. The gods of Chaos have a pretty twisted sense of humor.

 

Stay safe, I'll wait if Daniel or kzacher want to post anything during the weekend, then I'll have the next part of the story up around the start of the week

[Balthazar]

How is everyone? It's been raining cats and dogs here in Texas so there's not a whole lot to do.. Sad. Just check on my fellow questrians [emoji106][emoji123]

Wolf

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raining . . . in texas . . . 

 

well I don't know what to believe in anymore, clearly we in the UK have been misled as to your climate

[Wild Wolf]

Dude, no kidding! We've had enough rain in May to supply everyone in the world one 8oz glass a day for 10, 000 days!!

I think the floods have subsided though... *crossing fingers*

Wolf

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[DarK_RaideR]

As the following day breaks, the group leaves the relative safety of the metropolis to venture outside its walls, to the edge of the marsh. Here, a small collection of huts houses the swampers, the poorest of people who somehow live off their murky surroundings. "Jekil? Aye, he be the fellow down there on the waterline mending his boat. Little messed up in the head, if you know what I mean, but he knows the waters like the back of his hand!"

 

Jekil is a gnarled, balding man with uneven teeth, unusually white in a way that creates a contrast with the rest of his appearance. "Well, hello there!" he muses as the group comes closer. "Looking for a boat trip to see the wonders of the marsh? Only 2 Schillings a day, that's just expenses for using the boat".  Lanric nods and Sahar'a'Saif elaborates on their destination, a ruined temple in the swamp that Jekil had once taken a Witch Hunter. "Sure I remember it, just a three day journey up north-west. Great time of the year to head out to those parts. Every season actually, day and night, there are wonders to be seen in the swamp! So if you’re fearful of missing something, it would be a treat to take you out again whenever you please! Also" Jekil digs into his clothes to produce a cheaply printed pamphlet "feel free to invest a meager sixpence on buying this treatise on the delightful and various plants and beasts that make the marsh their home! Quite the fascinating read to keep you entertained during the voyage, not to mention the wealth of information contained within!". Yussie steps forward to pay the man, both for the trip and pamphlet, then everyone embarks on the boat.

 

 

The trip itself is slow and the moisture of the swamp, combined with a heavy fungal smell doesn't help. Everything feels slow and heavy, even Jekil's rowing has something hypnotic about its pace. His ramblings however provide an entertaining break, at least for a while. Jekil is obsessed with the plants and wildlife of the swamp. He seems to know a great deal of things about them, even if some of his reasoning is faulty. His remark that "you can tell that the waters of the swamp accelerate healing because of all the things living in 'em" has Kalomikai throwing a sarcastic grin. Meanwhile, Ziegel is silent in his corner, spending most of his time taking care of Dusty. Lanric observes Yussie as she reads the pamphlet. It is labeled "Delights of the Cursed Marsh" and discusses in excruciatingly glowing praise the horrible things that lurk here, but even so the woman is delighted to be reading something, anything, once more.

 

At night, a storm breaks out, sending everyone for cover. Everyone except Jekil, who keeps rowing unaffected. "The great thing about rain is that a man doesn't have to worry about being thirsty" he exclaims and opens his mouth, sticking his tongue out to drink some of the raindrops. Everyone shakes their heads but is glad that the boatman is unstoppable in his task On the second day, as the boat rows through the thick fog that settled after the rain, a low black shape is seen slipping soundlessly by. Out of the mist drifts a rowboat being pulled along by a line, tied at the bow, that disappears into the brackish water. Nets, a lantern, and fresh supplies lie undisturbed at the bottom of the boat. The eerie sight makes everyone's hair stand up on the back of their necks, but eventually Lanric is the one to pull the line. For a split second, he senses something offering brief resistance, then the line goes slack. Once it comes up, it reveals a well-gnawed arm, picked clean at the shoulder joint, knotted in the tangles of the sodden rope. There is no sign of what was chewing on it.

 

Optional mini quest: Do some rowing (on a rowing machine or an actual boat) to try and make the trip shorter

 

Feel free to post any RP about interactions during the voyage. You have the option of approaching the temple by night or waiting a bit further away to visit it during the day. Let me know what's your pick

[Balthazar]

fantastic post dude

[shaar]

Yussie turned the pamphlet over in her hands a few times, wondering where it came from and who wrote it.  She surreptitiously stole a few glances at Jekil - not to think ill of anyone, but he sure didn't seem like the type that would have any type of scribe knowledge.  Still, it was something of a comfort to have a guide, and she enjoyed reading the descriptions of local fauna and being able to view them in the wild as they passed.  She enjoyed her own self-guided tour.

 

That is, until the arm came up.

 

Her eyes widened and her body tensed with a quick intake of breath - what did this?  Was it under their boat right now?  Yussie's interest in the swamp and all of its delightful inhabitants morphed into a little ball of dread in the pit of her stomach, and she glanced furtively over the side of the boat, almost afraid at what she might see... mutated creatures with rows of teeth circling their location? The bloated remains of the owner of that arm, decomposed and smiling up at her? Only there was nothing, but that didn't make her feel any better about their situation.  Or the situation of the victim.. were they still alive somewhere?  Or was this just the leftovers?

 

She glared at Jekil with a mixture of concern and contempt, hoping for some sort of explanation, but realistically not really expecting much.  Travel at your own risk, truly.

 

( I vote temple at night, spooky )

[Wild Wolf]

Hey DR, can I get a sub on the rows.. They tend to hurt my back, sir. Can I swim instead?

Anyways, I vote swamp at night too, why not. DR has a handle on this so I'm curious to see where it sails [emoji106]ðŸ»[emoji123]ðŸ»

Wolf

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[DarK_RaideR]

It's an optional quest anyway, so don't sweat it

[Wild Wolf]

Good call, DR. I wouldn't wanna have to make Lanric swim in that swamp water anywho

Wolf

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[Wild Wolf]

Not many things made Lanric uncomfortable.. But something amidst in the murky waters of the swamp.. That was a different story.

How many arms had he lopped off in the Pits? Too many. It was a great strategy when fighting a skilled warrior- dismembering his sword hand always ended things pretty quick. But this solo arm that was pulled from the swamps gave way to a whole slew of nightmarish things that could be lurking in the water.

This newfound fear was alarming to Lanric and he immediately became angry. Whatever was out here.. Whatever had the body attached to the rogue arm.. He was ready for it.

"Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun."

[cn3wton]

While everyone seemed to recoil from the severed limb, Ziegel took quite a fancy to it. Making it wave and resting it on the shoulders of those unfortonute enough to be seated nearest him. Always roaring with a deep bellied laugh. His simple mind did not hold the fear the other where now gripped with. He had seen far worse, in cities no less. Decaying and rotting corpses held little sway over him. Though he did take care not to let Dusty tarry near the edge of the boat.

 

After pleas to toss the foul thing aside became incessant Ziegel obliged, tossing it end over end until it landed into the swamp. As it sank the hand remained in the air, the last to submerge. To the man it looked as if it was saying its final goodbye, he chuckled and waved back. 

 

For a time Ziegel would stare off the side of the boat into the murky waters, as if daring something to reach for him. Once he thought he saw movement. He reached into his sack and grabbed one of the rats stored there by the tail. He dipped it slowly into the water. Suddenly a quick pull and the rat way gone, Ziegel left with only a tail in his hand. He grinned his toothy grin, then dropped the tail into the water as well. 

 

He would take his turns rowing, though they where short lived as he was easily distracted. Leading the craft off course more often than on. Though he could not help but smile the whole time.

[DarK_RaideR]

Thanks for the assist, shaarawy and cn3wton. Here's a little extra event, for flavour

 

Recoiling in horror at Ziegel's toying with the hand, Yussie turns her gaze back to the murky waters around the boat. Jekil's merry whistling isn't helping the situation as the thick, almost solid waters split to let the boat pass, then converge again behind it to re-form the solid crust of rotting vegetation that covers the surface. The sun is going down and as the darkness swallows the area to reduce visibility even more than the mist would allow. The scribe's attention is drawn to a faint glow under the surface, slowly approaching. As the glow comes nearer, it is revealed to belong to a softly glowing fish that's swimming up to the surface of the water. As the fish reaches the surface, Yussie can clearly see that at the head of the luminescent body are two tiny, childlike faces side by side with imbecilic, unblinking eyes. The faces stare at her, lifting their mouths clear of the water and working their lips soundlessly, like they are trying to whisper something to her. Almost as if hypnotized, she holds onto the boat's side and slowly leans closer to listen. Just as she feels that she's close enough to make sense, a pike swims out of the depths and gobbles up the glowing fish whole before swimming away

 

2 votes for night, waiting for cn3wton's vote along with ItsDaniel and kzacher's vote and RP posts

[Balthazar]

Sahra'A'Saif pulled with practiced ease at the oars, propelling the ship through the water. Normally annoyingly talkative the arab became stoic and silent whenever at the oars, his usually fresh and alert eyes drifting off to another place, another time.

 

Once as he reached forwards with the oars, one sleeve rode up his arm and Yussie though she could just see a shape branded on to the arabs wrist but decided not to ask him about it, he probably wouldn't have given an honest answer anyway, talking with the arab was like walking on quicksand.

 

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he barely even registered the drifting tow boat or Ziegels macabre antics.

 

*  *  * 

 

As they reached closer towards their destination and talk inevitably turned towards the exploration of the area the arab counselled exploration in daylight.

 

Whilst the elf and dwarf could most likely see clearly in the gloom he most certainly could not, and he was rather certain that any foul beasts that dwelt at their destination could see as well at night time as in daylight, if not better in the darkness

 

And, looking at the party, it seemed unlikely that the darkness would make the dwarf or fighter any more stealthy than usual

[Balthazar]

also, I did the challenge and went on the rowing machine - it was bullshit

[cn3wton]

also, I did the challenge and went on the rowing machine - it was bullshit

Lol

Ziegel doesn't care when we visit, night or day.

[DarK_RaideR]

Next thing you know, kzacher's gonna vote for day approach and it'll be a 2-2 draw xD

 

Wonder if I should let Jekil make the call in such a case....

[Buff Brogan]

*oh lookit! an arm*

"yes but to whom does it belong?"

*does it matter?*

"well, it could matter..."

*shut it. doesn't matter.*

Kalomikai conversed with himself about the limb. he found it to be more fascinating than disturbing. "a daylight approach would likely benefit our party more than anything." he said to his comrades. 

though, he was in no hurry. he kinda liked it out here in the swampland. after all, nature was nature to the elf. 
he stared out into the distance at nothing in particular and began to day dream. the scent of perfume sticking to his memory. his fingers traced along the water as he thought about sharing his conversation with the widow with the group... 

*that can wait till later. some of them may not even make it outta here tonight*

"i'm sure they'll be fine. we're a resourceful group, afterall"

*hurph*

 

my vote is for day

[DarK_RaideR]

I'm gonna count Daniel's vote as double, since he apparently was the only one who did the rowing quest (sorry Wolf)

 

The sun is still up when the boat hits a point where rowing is no longer possible. A thick fog obscures everything but for glimpses of some towers rising above the clinging mists. "I can take you to the ruins if ya want" Jekil cuts in with his usual merry tone. "Bout a half-mile walk, an' y' know the swamp ground has a texture that does wonders for sore feet. Boots cut it off tho, might wanna go barefoot to get the full effect of its miraculous powers."

 

The ruin stands on a slight rise, where the dampness of the swamp gives way to sandy black soil. Nothing grows on the mound except grotesquely swollen puffball mushrooms, uninviting and potentially poisonous. At the highest point of the mound, the sagging remnants of three round towers sit equidistant from each other. Badly damaged stone walls connect the three towers, forming a triangle with the point facing south. Crude repairs appear to have been made since the initial collapse. The first two floors of the northwest tower, and the first floor of the northeast tower, are intact. However, only a portion of the southern tower’s base still stands, leaving the foundation open to the sky. There are large fallen sections of the curtain wall on all three sides, and the southern tower can be entered without difficulty, especially since heaps of fallen masonry form uneven ramps along the outside of the towers. The wrecked southern tower is the obvious entrance, although with a little effort, one could climb up to either of the other two towers as well.

 

Before they have a chance to discuss their approach, the group hears a roar coming from the ruins. It is deep and gutteral, sounding unlike man or beast. Seconds later, a hulking figure comes in small leaps over the ruined south tower, dragging its arms behind it like an ape. It is vaguely man like, the simian appearance made more intense by a pronounced bone ridge above its eyes and a stooped forehead. A dirty yellowish fur covers its body, matted by dried excrement. The creature wears a dirty mail armor on its torso and a bronze collar around its neck, covered mostly by greenish filth. It approaches with little subtlety and even less intelligence, bringing forth its arms to attack. Its fingers extend to form black talons which it will definately use to attack, as they are too large to allow any weapon to be wielded properly

 

Mandatory Quest: Let me channel my inner crossfitter and try a new approach here. For this fight, complete the following workout:

Udo

4 rounds

17 Squats

85 Situps

Unbroken a.k.a. non stop. Every time you pause (between reps, exercises or rounds) do 9 burpees before taking a break

[Wild Wolf]

You are evil my friend.. Ohhh so very evil! It's gonna be those sit-ups that get me.. But I guess I'll just juice up the ole six pack and hope for the best [emoji106]ðŸ»[emoji123]ðŸ»

And no worries on the rows DR, I swam anyways- 50m sprints using different strokes for 550m . I guess Lanric coulda got in the swamp and pulled the boat that way..

Wolf

"Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun."