09-29-2018, 03:12 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-07-2018, 08:55 PM by The-Pendragon.)
Basic changes. HP are now 32. Charisma is now 18 thus increasing modifier. New spells: Cantrip: Swapped BLADE WARD out for SWORD BURST, Added in CONTROL FLAMES & Since I miscounted cantrips PRESTIDIGITATION Level 2: AGANAZZAR'S SCORCHER.
Sitting back down in a shadowed corner of Inn after breaking the siege of the fort and polishing off several tankards of Ale and finishing a well appreciated meal, as well as several expressions of appreciation, of which, I surmised, were truly heartfelt. The locals seemed to be looking past their preconceived prejudice those of my nature, judging me for the man I am, not the feared and reviled creature many felt towards a Tiefling. Progress indeed.
Accross the way, the diminutive Hobbit bard was playing a catchy tune. Though a recent acquaintance, she was an accomplished performer, and charismatic in her own accord. I realized my tail was thumping along with the rhythm of her song absently, which made me chuckle. I looked at her and thought she was cute, but I had only few dealings with Halflings, and they all tended to be at least a little cute.
The shady human that seemed to be her close friend, was obvious to me, a rogue of some sort, as, though in a calm environment, kept his back to the wall, failing to be convincing to be at ease, my Shadow augmented vision could see his eyes darting about furtively.
A Loud bellow and call for yet another ale from across the room, drew his gaze to the other new arrival. With the firelight glinting off his bald pate, beard appearing to have shared a little of the libation he had consumed, the Dwarven cleric was banging his now empty tankard on the table, toppling the half dozen or so others that he had racked up. A well skilled combatant, despite his obvious divine trappings, the dwarf seemed to share his races love of ale and boisterous personality. He called himself Frost, he had proven himself, standing up, next to Hrafin, to counter the charge from the giant and his cohort at the gate, earning at least a modicum of trust. I felt pleased that company had support for the graceful elf lady Caelynn, in seeing to the well being of them all.
The thought of the Druidess, drew my gaze her direction, sitting at a nearby table shared by the elder Drow, Ryndaris, pipe set firmly in his mouth, framed by the unusual frilly beared he sported, the burning pipe weed filling the room with an oddly familiar aroma. Despite the music, the Drow was rambling on about something that I could not make out. Caelynn was nodding aimlessly, obvious not really paying attention to the Drow's words, as she watched the performance from the hearth. A smile came to my face again. At least he was not the only one who drew anxious, fearful looks when new folks came upon the company, but I knew the Drow, though still somewhat mysterious, was loyal to the rest of the group, but I knew that the "dotting elder" routine the Drow used to disarm most apprehensive reactions, was mostly for show, though the thought of the strange pipe weed smoke did bring some contemplation about the Wizard.
As for Lady Caelynn, her senses noting my gaze, turned toward me and raised her goblet of mead and smiled. A dazzling smile from the blond elf was quite something to see. Smiling back, I was of mixed thought. She was my savior at least once during the past few weeks, and all elves are beautious to most eyes, the women even more so, and she was pretty. I took another sip.
"So, I have a rival for your attentions, now?" a familiar female voice sounded. "I do not know if I should be hurt, or not?"
Taken aback momentarily, I nearly spilled my drink all over myself as I nearly fell off the rocked back chair I was sitting on. A lilting laughter filled my mind as I awkwardly recovered both the tankard and my balance. "What? I caught you by surprise?" the smile quite evident in the voice, "That is a first."
Gazing around the room to see if I could ascertain where the voice was coming from. Caelynn looked at him questioningly, aware something had disturbed her friend. I quickly waved her off with an awkward smile of embarrassment. She smiled and shook her finger admonishingly as if to chastise me for drinking too much. I shrugged, still looking about for the source of the voice. Thinking fast, I used my Thurmaturgic gift to cause the sound of loudly passing wind to erupt beneath our large warrior Barbarian friend Hrafin, drawing bouts of moans and hoots of laughter as those around him as his chair toppled over in his haste to try to determine the source.
"Silly boy." the voice continued mirthfully, "You think I am in the room with you?" Another chuckle, "You know me better than that, my dear shadow." I noticed a movement of the shadow at the back entrance of the Inn. "Very good! There may indeed be hope for you yet."
Smirking mischievously, I got to my feet, drew the cloak over my shoulders, and with a wave off to Caelynn, made my way outside. Gazing into the gloom about him, I saw a silhouette of a lithe figure in the shadow across the man square of the town. My eyes soon made out the pale form draped in pure darkness, Raven feathers woven into her long sable hair, a smile gleaming in her shadowed face.
"My lady," I began with a mock admonishing tone, "do you enjoy causing your agents misfortune?" I strode calmly across the square. It had begun to rain lightly, though the sparse droplets failed to reach me.
I looked about, before returning at her smiling face, "Yes, my doing." She said her eyes sparkling, "better to keep our congress from being interrupted." She paused, looking at my face, "And, as for the misfortune. If I think it appropriate," she looked again at mr before laughing again, "Or deserving."
I gave her an impish grin. She stopped laughing for the moment, "Oh dear. Did I err?: Seeing my grin grow broader, "Should I be afraid?" she said, before chuckling again.
I drew myself up and gave her a stern look, "That remains to be seen." My tail betrayed me however, swishing slightly under the hem of my cloak, betraying my deception.
She laughed harder. "Oh no...the Ravenqueen, Mistress of Shadows, is going to pay for teasing one of her shadows." She smiled, "The world will come to an end." Her arms came out and wrapped around my shoulders." She looked into my eyes, seeing the depths within their jet blackness, "And I am sure you have a price in mind." she teased.
I enfolded her in an embrace, "I am sure I can come up with a few." Drawing her in. I nuzzled her hair. "I have missed you."
"Indeed," she replied, "as have I you."
The sense of her form pressed into mine was enticing. "And to answer your initial question, though Caelynn is a fair one, and she is a friend and companion, she is not your rival." I paused as she hugged him a little tighter, "You know better than that." Pondering for a moment, savoring the closeness. "So, what has you so bothered?"
She pulled back, and I noted they both were shrouded in writhing tendrils of pure shadow. "I don't know...I just...I was...." She stuttered, "I felt some sort of distress emanating from you, and I raced over here to see the last moments of battle at the gate." She paused to draw a long breath, "I was ready to whisk you away should you be seriously hurt, but you and your friends seemed to be dealing with it." Another pause, "I tried to discern the motivating force, as that Giant was some sort of aberration, but whom ever it was, had concealed him or her self to thwart a cursory examination. I was about to go in more thoroughly, but your group had dispatched all of the creatures that were under the compunction." She eyes lost focus, "I am trying to find them, but it does not matter for the moment."
She raised her arms out to her sides, "What does matter, my dearest one, is you have reached yet another plateau. Your experiences and your perseverance have outpaced what I had expected, so I am here to assist in your progression."
I smiled a little sheepishly, "While your presence and aid are always a plus, my lady." He paused, "I think I may have achieved some of that already on my own."
She eyed me curiously, "Is that so?" Looking me up and down, "I see the shadows have grown within you, but I see something else." She paused, "Flames?" she asked.
"I can not tell you, my Queen." I answered, "My perceptions of the power are not as precise as yours, but yes, I believe my heritage has asserted a little influence, as I can do this now." I looked about for a suitable target, drew upon my power and focused, A jet of Darkness shrouded flames erupted from my hands, blazing across the courtyard before striking the errant pile of debris I had targeted. The flames quickly grew brighter as the debris caught fire, despite the dampness. I looked at her puzzled expression. "It came to me the previous evening, though this is only the second time I have done it, as I had a hard time getting it to work the first time."
She looked at me, stilled puzzled, "The hint of fire in your aura seems to have spread to your power." She paused, then continued, her expression showing a revelation. "A Tiefling!" she exclaimed, "Of all my Shadows, you are the only Tiefling!"
I thought about it too. The curse of my noble bloodline had marked all who descended with an Infernal mark. I knew I could call upon some of my bloodline for the gift of Thurmaturgy and could cause a foe to be caught alight after he has harmed me, though I had not used that yet, I knew I was resistant to flames having caught things alight with my experimentation with using my fire bolts and barely felt the flames as I snuffed them out, but I never thought about focusing the flames into a blazing gout of flames like I just demonstrated.
The Ravenqueen smiled, "Amazing, my dear one. Your heritage has merged with your power, obvious as your flames were so dark red as to be nearly black." She looked expectantly, "You do know how to surprise me sometimes."
I knew my fire bolt was also very dark, but had not put two and two together. It made sense, somehow, but not entirely so,
She looked expectantly, "Anything else?"
Smiling I again gestured at the flames while calling on my power. The flames wavered and changed color. The light given off by them flared bright and then dimmed considerably. The fires grew in intensity and volume before being snuffed out completely without a trace. I turned to look at her for a response. her face was almost aglow with delight.
"Amazing, once again!" she beamed, "I would have never guessed." she grabbed up my hands and wheeled about in a dancing celebration. "My dearest one, you are very unique."
"I feared you might be displeased in some way." I said cautiously, "That you would be angry that I did not await your teachings"
"Angry?" she asked incredulously, "Far from it!" She stopped whirling us around and drew me back into a fierce hug. "I am delighted! You are a unique man, my dear one!" she smiled, "I love it!" She pulled back with a beaming smile. "You are even more than I hoped you would be when I chose you." She laughed again. "You are far above your fellow shadows, and I was right to have made you one."
"My fellow shadows?" I asked, a small twinge of jealousy laced my words.
She kissed me. "I do have to have other shadows, in all the realms my power extends." she smiled, "I cannot do it all myself, but you need not be jealous, dearest. You are my favorite by far. Always have been." She looked at my expression, then reached out and ruffled my hair vigorously. "You goof. I adore you like no other!" She kissed me again, "Whom else can make me laugh so easily? Can take my mind off my concerns, if even for only a moment, with his antics?" She kissed me again..this time for several moments. That familiar lava and ice sensation returned with a passion. It was almost too much. "And," she said breathlessly, "Whom else makes me feel wanted for me..and not my power?" She met my eyes. "You are that person! No one else has ever done that to me before. Not since I took on this mantle of the Ravenqueen."
I looked into her eyes, "I knew you were someone before being the Ravenqueen, but had no ideas how you felt, my lady."
"Moirahe." she said quietly. "My name..or it was...before.:
"Moirahe." I repeated softly, "Mystery..Mysterious.." I smiled, "An old tongue...very old." I looked at her closely, "You do not look to be over 2000 years old.: I said with a smile.
She looked abit shocked. "You know the older tongues?" She paused, "And I am not over two thousand years old...you cad!"
"That tongue had infernal origins...so yes I understand it...though I could not read it." I smiled, "And I said you did not look to be over 2000 years old." I chuckled, "there is a difference."
She paused, then laughed. "You see!" he poked me in the chest with a finger, "Who else could do that?"
I just stood and gazed at her for a moment.
"What?" she asked.
"Just taking you all in." I replied, "I know you have to leave me soon."
She looked sad, "I know," she lamented, "If only I could stay..."
"But you will be back.: I quipped, "That is a plus."
She cheered, "Yes, but next time I will strive to spend a while with you." She pecked me on my cheek. "You can count on that."
My pantomime exaggerated leer made her laugh harder. "You Imp!" She drew in her cloak, "Farewell, my dearest. You have my love..always." And with that she was gone.
I turned around and walked back to the Inn. The sounds of shouting and crockery being broken met me at the door. chuckling I asked aloud, "Who started this one, lady Caelynn?" She was standing in the shadows nearby. "I have no clue." she smiled. "alcohol and boisterous personalities." A roar in Dwarvish made me laugh. "I think I will stay out here."
Sitting back down in a shadowed corner of Inn after breaking the siege of the fort and polishing off several tankards of Ale and finishing a well appreciated meal, as well as several expressions of appreciation, of which, I surmised, were truly heartfelt. The locals seemed to be looking past their preconceived prejudice those of my nature, judging me for the man I am, not the feared and reviled creature many felt towards a Tiefling. Progress indeed.
Accross the way, the diminutive Hobbit bard was playing a catchy tune. Though a recent acquaintance, she was an accomplished performer, and charismatic in her own accord. I realized my tail was thumping along with the rhythm of her song absently, which made me chuckle. I looked at her and thought she was cute, but I had only few dealings with Halflings, and they all tended to be at least a little cute.
The shady human that seemed to be her close friend, was obvious to me, a rogue of some sort, as, though in a calm environment, kept his back to the wall, failing to be convincing to be at ease, my Shadow augmented vision could see his eyes darting about furtively.
A Loud bellow and call for yet another ale from across the room, drew his gaze to the other new arrival. With the firelight glinting off his bald pate, beard appearing to have shared a little of the libation he had consumed, the Dwarven cleric was banging his now empty tankard on the table, toppling the half dozen or so others that he had racked up. A well skilled combatant, despite his obvious divine trappings, the dwarf seemed to share his races love of ale and boisterous personality. He called himself Frost, he had proven himself, standing up, next to Hrafin, to counter the charge from the giant and his cohort at the gate, earning at least a modicum of trust. I felt pleased that company had support for the graceful elf lady Caelynn, in seeing to the well being of them all.
The thought of the Druidess, drew my gaze her direction, sitting at a nearby table shared by the elder Drow, Ryndaris, pipe set firmly in his mouth, framed by the unusual frilly beared he sported, the burning pipe weed filling the room with an oddly familiar aroma. Despite the music, the Drow was rambling on about something that I could not make out. Caelynn was nodding aimlessly, obvious not really paying attention to the Drow's words, as she watched the performance from the hearth. A smile came to my face again. At least he was not the only one who drew anxious, fearful looks when new folks came upon the company, but I knew the Drow, though still somewhat mysterious, was loyal to the rest of the group, but I knew that the "dotting elder" routine the Drow used to disarm most apprehensive reactions, was mostly for show, though the thought of the strange pipe weed smoke did bring some contemplation about the Wizard.
As for Lady Caelynn, her senses noting my gaze, turned toward me and raised her goblet of mead and smiled. A dazzling smile from the blond elf was quite something to see. Smiling back, I was of mixed thought. She was my savior at least once during the past few weeks, and all elves are beautious to most eyes, the women even more so, and she was pretty. I took another sip.
"So, I have a rival for your attentions, now?" a familiar female voice sounded. "I do not know if I should be hurt, or not?"
Taken aback momentarily, I nearly spilled my drink all over myself as I nearly fell off the rocked back chair I was sitting on. A lilting laughter filled my mind as I awkwardly recovered both the tankard and my balance. "What? I caught you by surprise?" the smile quite evident in the voice, "That is a first."
Gazing around the room to see if I could ascertain where the voice was coming from. Caelynn looked at him questioningly, aware something had disturbed her friend. I quickly waved her off with an awkward smile of embarrassment. She smiled and shook her finger admonishingly as if to chastise me for drinking too much. I shrugged, still looking about for the source of the voice. Thinking fast, I used my Thurmaturgic gift to cause the sound of loudly passing wind to erupt beneath our large warrior Barbarian friend Hrafin, drawing bouts of moans and hoots of laughter as those around him as his chair toppled over in his haste to try to determine the source.
"Silly boy." the voice continued mirthfully, "You think I am in the room with you?" Another chuckle, "You know me better than that, my dear shadow." I noticed a movement of the shadow at the back entrance of the Inn. "Very good! There may indeed be hope for you yet."
Smirking mischievously, I got to my feet, drew the cloak over my shoulders, and with a wave off to Caelynn, made my way outside. Gazing into the gloom about him, I saw a silhouette of a lithe figure in the shadow across the man square of the town. My eyes soon made out the pale form draped in pure darkness, Raven feathers woven into her long sable hair, a smile gleaming in her shadowed face.
"My lady," I began with a mock admonishing tone, "do you enjoy causing your agents misfortune?" I strode calmly across the square. It had begun to rain lightly, though the sparse droplets failed to reach me.
I looked about, before returning at her smiling face, "Yes, my doing." She said her eyes sparkling, "better to keep our congress from being interrupted." She paused, looking at my face, "And, as for the misfortune. If I think it appropriate," she looked again at mr before laughing again, "Or deserving."
I gave her an impish grin. She stopped laughing for the moment, "Oh dear. Did I err?: Seeing my grin grow broader, "Should I be afraid?" she said, before chuckling again.
I drew myself up and gave her a stern look, "That remains to be seen." My tail betrayed me however, swishing slightly under the hem of my cloak, betraying my deception.
She laughed harder. "Oh no...the Ravenqueen, Mistress of Shadows, is going to pay for teasing one of her shadows." She smiled, "The world will come to an end." Her arms came out and wrapped around my shoulders." She looked into my eyes, seeing the depths within their jet blackness, "And I am sure you have a price in mind." she teased.
I enfolded her in an embrace, "I am sure I can come up with a few." Drawing her in. I nuzzled her hair. "I have missed you."
"Indeed," she replied, "as have I you."
The sense of her form pressed into mine was enticing. "And to answer your initial question, though Caelynn is a fair one, and she is a friend and companion, she is not your rival." I paused as she hugged him a little tighter, "You know better than that." Pondering for a moment, savoring the closeness. "So, what has you so bothered?"
She pulled back, and I noted they both were shrouded in writhing tendrils of pure shadow. "I don't know...I just...I was...." She stuttered, "I felt some sort of distress emanating from you, and I raced over here to see the last moments of battle at the gate." She paused to draw a long breath, "I was ready to whisk you away should you be seriously hurt, but you and your friends seemed to be dealing with it." Another pause, "I tried to discern the motivating force, as that Giant was some sort of aberration, but whom ever it was, had concealed him or her self to thwart a cursory examination. I was about to go in more thoroughly, but your group had dispatched all of the creatures that were under the compunction." She eyes lost focus, "I am trying to find them, but it does not matter for the moment."
She raised her arms out to her sides, "What does matter, my dearest one, is you have reached yet another plateau. Your experiences and your perseverance have outpaced what I had expected, so I am here to assist in your progression."
I smiled a little sheepishly, "While your presence and aid are always a plus, my lady." He paused, "I think I may have achieved some of that already on my own."
She eyed me curiously, "Is that so?" Looking me up and down, "I see the shadows have grown within you, but I see something else." She paused, "Flames?" she asked.
"I can not tell you, my Queen." I answered, "My perceptions of the power are not as precise as yours, but yes, I believe my heritage has asserted a little influence, as I can do this now." I looked about for a suitable target, drew upon my power and focused, A jet of Darkness shrouded flames erupted from my hands, blazing across the courtyard before striking the errant pile of debris I had targeted. The flames quickly grew brighter as the debris caught fire, despite the dampness. I looked at her puzzled expression. "It came to me the previous evening, though this is only the second time I have done it, as I had a hard time getting it to work the first time."
She looked at me, stilled puzzled, "The hint of fire in your aura seems to have spread to your power." She paused, then continued, her expression showing a revelation. "A Tiefling!" she exclaimed, "Of all my Shadows, you are the only Tiefling!"
I thought about it too. The curse of my noble bloodline had marked all who descended with an Infernal mark. I knew I could call upon some of my bloodline for the gift of Thurmaturgy and could cause a foe to be caught alight after he has harmed me, though I had not used that yet, I knew I was resistant to flames having caught things alight with my experimentation with using my fire bolts and barely felt the flames as I snuffed them out, but I never thought about focusing the flames into a blazing gout of flames like I just demonstrated.
The Ravenqueen smiled, "Amazing, my dear one. Your heritage has merged with your power, obvious as your flames were so dark red as to be nearly black." She looked expectantly, "You do know how to surprise me sometimes."
I knew my fire bolt was also very dark, but had not put two and two together. It made sense, somehow, but not entirely so,
She looked expectantly, "Anything else?"
Smiling I again gestured at the flames while calling on my power. The flames wavered and changed color. The light given off by them flared bright and then dimmed considerably. The fires grew in intensity and volume before being snuffed out completely without a trace. I turned to look at her for a response. her face was almost aglow with delight.
"Amazing, once again!" she beamed, "I would have never guessed." she grabbed up my hands and wheeled about in a dancing celebration. "My dearest one, you are very unique."
"I feared you might be displeased in some way." I said cautiously, "That you would be angry that I did not await your teachings"
"Angry?" she asked incredulously, "Far from it!" She stopped whirling us around and drew me back into a fierce hug. "I am delighted! You are a unique man, my dear one!" she smiled, "I love it!" She pulled back with a beaming smile. "You are even more than I hoped you would be when I chose you." She laughed again. "You are far above your fellow shadows, and I was right to have made you one."
"My fellow shadows?" I asked, a small twinge of jealousy laced my words.
She kissed me. "I do have to have other shadows, in all the realms my power extends." she smiled, "I cannot do it all myself, but you need not be jealous, dearest. You are my favorite by far. Always have been." She looked at my expression, then reached out and ruffled my hair vigorously. "You goof. I adore you like no other!" She kissed me again, "Whom else can make me laugh so easily? Can take my mind off my concerns, if even for only a moment, with his antics?" She kissed me again..this time for several moments. That familiar lava and ice sensation returned with a passion. It was almost too much. "And," she said breathlessly, "Whom else makes me feel wanted for me..and not my power?" She met my eyes. "You are that person! No one else has ever done that to me before. Not since I took on this mantle of the Ravenqueen."
I looked into her eyes, "I knew you were someone before being the Ravenqueen, but had no ideas how you felt, my lady."
"Moirahe." she said quietly. "My name..or it was...before.:
"Moirahe." I repeated softly, "Mystery..Mysterious.." I smiled, "An old tongue...very old." I looked at her closely, "You do not look to be over 2000 years old.: I said with a smile.
She looked abit shocked. "You know the older tongues?" She paused, "And I am not over two thousand years old...you cad!"
"That tongue had infernal origins...so yes I understand it...though I could not read it." I smiled, "And I said you did not look to be over 2000 years old." I chuckled, "there is a difference."
She paused, then laughed. "You see!" he poked me in the chest with a finger, "Who else could do that?"
I just stood and gazed at her for a moment.
"What?" she asked.
"Just taking you all in." I replied, "I know you have to leave me soon."
She looked sad, "I know," she lamented, "If only I could stay..."
"But you will be back.: I quipped, "That is a plus."
She cheered, "Yes, but next time I will strive to spend a while with you." She pecked me on my cheek. "You can count on that."
My pantomime exaggerated leer made her laugh harder. "You Imp!" She drew in her cloak, "Farewell, my dearest. You have my love..always." And with that she was gone.
I turned around and walked back to the Inn. The sounds of shouting and crockery being broken met me at the door. chuckling I asked aloud, "Who started this one, lady Caelynn?" She was standing in the shadows nearby. "I have no clue." she smiled. "alcohol and boisterous personalities." A roar in Dwarvish made me laugh. "I think I will stay out here."