Author: Albrecht Krieger, Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2017 11:38 PM, Post Subject: Delusions of Grandeur (P, R)
"Me?" Albrecht asked, not sure how to answer. He knew next to nothing about magical artifacts and even less about the golems that Izzey and the dwarves seemed so interested in. To hear them tell it, there was nothing else of value in this rain soaked territory.
A drunk stumbled toward them, coming to lean heavily on the fighter's arm. A shrug sent him into a heep on the floor. By now the melee was dying down, the instigators unconscious, along with more than a dozen other patrons. The only ones still aware were those who were still too sober to have taken a punch (or chair) to the face. Actually, that was not quite true; one thoroughly skunked fellow sat under a table and saluted the observant mercenary with his mug before taking a few shaky gulps.
Turning back to his party, he thought a moment before finally answering.
"All I'm interested in is money. Not these golems or their extremities." Seeing as he no longer needed his gear out of the way, Albrecht took his weapon belt and strapped it around his waist.
"In fact, I was under the impression that there would be some sort of non-magical treasure where we were going. Was I misinformed?" This question was directed toward Izzey, though if the dwarves were knowledgable, they might be more suited to giving staight answers.
Author: Izzey Ius, Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 7:47 AM, Post Subject: Delusions of Grandeur (P, R)
As Izzey's mercenary companion reappeared next to her, and made his inquiry, a pleased and enthusiastic smile would provide her nonverbal answer. The smile across her face only enlarged, as the man offered to acquire their next possible set of hired muscle. Holding the man's cloak with both hands, and slugging his pack and belt over her shoulder, she watched with great suspense as the mercenary made his attempted efforts of 'negotiation'. The dwarf was indeed confused by the mercenary's actions, as he continued to hold the struggling man in a pin, while continuing to stare at the mercenary oddly, even after his proposal. "Ya hit a little harder and move a little fancier than these lightweights," The dwarf admitted, "But i'm still finished with ya humans and ya shady dealings all the same! Scatter off!" A little time after this statement, the rain soaked mage had managed to squeeze her way in through the fighting crowds, and onto the scene. "Great dwarf, mightiest wielder of the hammer, greatest welder of armor! Your strength and influence are greatly esteemed throughout the lands, far past your homelands, especially in this land! Shall you not lend your mighty aid to the the legends of stories and bard songs, and to the rulers of the kingdoms?!" She introduced.
The unusually odd introduction had managed to grab the attention of a second dwarf, who, upon knocking his opponent unconscious, joined alongside the pin holding dwarf. The two stared at the mercenary and mage, a confused expression upon their faces as they attempted to read and understand the two characters, while the other human caught in a pin was now falling deeper and deeper into unconsciousness. "Who the hell are yous supposed to be?" The standing dwarf finally spoke.
"Have you not heard the stories, great dwarf? The ones of the greatest scholar of the lands, the mightiest practicer of the magic arts?! Have you not heard the glorious tales of the Izzey Ius the Great?!" The mage proudly exclaimed through the tumult of the brawling crowd.
"Never heard of ya's." The standing dwarf bluntly replied, causing a noticeably disappointed expression upon the mage's face.
"Shady humans we are not!" The mage continued, working past her disappointment. "For we offer that which you deserve. Behold, that which you desire is rightfully yours! Legs, arms, feet; All for your taking! Leave only the core!"
"The core?!" The pinning dwarf exclaimed as he now began to stand up, now that his opponent had been rendered completely unconscious through the pin. "No one takes that useless wad of junk anyways! What ya be wantin that for!? Seems a little too good to be true!"
"The greatest achievements in all of history!" The mage confidently replied.
"Good joke, lass! You think I be blind?!" The same dwarf continued to refute, seeming the be the angrier and more aggressive of the bunch. "I see ya other hired hand standin right there next to ya's! Ya don't think I don't know ya also be offering him a big cut?! No weapon swings for free!" He spoke whilst staring aggressively at the mercenary, who stood taller than both negotiators. "If we be offered the legs and feet, then what ya be offerin this fancy muscle, here?"
There was a pause after the inquiry, as both of the dwarves now turned their undivided attention towards the mercenary. Also turning her towards her companion, the red haired mage inquired similarly, with widely curious eyes, "I don't know…" She admitted, "Which part 'do' you want, King Albrecht?" All eyes were on him, awaiting his answer, whether he had a clear idea what he was answering for or not.
Author: Albrecht Krieger, Posted: Mon Oct 9, 2017 11:42 PM, Post Subject: Delusions of Grandeur (P, R)
As Albrecht approached the tavern, he heard the fight before he saw it. Of course the fighting soon spilled outside as two men, both human, came tumbling out the door. Both men were clearly inebriated as they wrestled ineffectually. A kick across the head knocked one man cold. Pushing him aside, the rival rose and turned on the swordsman. "I 'ad 'im," he slured. He telegraphed a wide haymaker. The hilt of a dagger slipped from the folds of a simple wool cloak. Two quick blows with the pommel sent the man down with little fuss and Albrecht slipped his dagger into its scabbard once more.
The mercenary decided to take a cautious glance inside and quickly found the mane of red hair he had been looking for, though it seemed a bit soggier than he remembered. Slipping inside, he wound his way around the various brawlers, most of whom seemed to lack even rudimentary skills. One drunk rushed in, only to end up against a wall upside-down. They were not even paying attention to who they were fighting at this point.
Though it took some doing, Albrecht finally found himself standing beside his companion. Following her gaze, he spotted the targets of her attention.
"Are those the dwarves you're looking for?" he shouted over the cacophony. Stripping off his cloak, belt and pack, he passed these to Izzey.
"Watch these for me, please. I'll see if I can't get you your dwarves."Diving into the fray, Albrecht spotted a man winding up with a stool to strike one of the short men who grappled with a man caught in a pin. The fencer took hold of the improvised weapon and wrenched it from the man's grasp.
"That is extremely rude." An open palm to the jaw dazed the other man long enough for Albrecht to catch him behind the neck and wheel him over his hip. By this point, the dwarf had turned around and was giving the new human fighter an odd look. In answer to the unspoken question, Albrecht said,
"My associate and I would like to discuss business, if you have the time." After all, he had not heard the reasoning behind the fight.
Author: Izzey Ius, Posted: Sun Oct 8, 2017 12:39 PM, Post Subject: Delusions of Grandeur (P, R)
While the mercenary had been out purchasing his necessary items, Izzey, wet haired and wet clothed, immediately had made her way to her most frequent destination in every city; the tavern. Upon entrance, even though it was a single story, the extension of tavern was extraordinarily large. There was a large fireplace in the middle to keep everyone warm, and a large array of tables and chairs scattered throughout the room. The crowds ranged from exhausted researchers to daring adventures, to ruthless mercenaries. The large accumulation of various races, backgrounds, and occupations, allowed Izzey to simply walk right in without standing out much from the other residents of the tavern, aside from being completely soaked from top to bottom, as the water from her clothes and hair dripped across the tavern floor as she walked. She ventured throughout the tavern floor, looking around around intently, until she found exactly what she had entered the establishment to find. There, in the far corner of the tavern, counting at five total, were a group of dwarves, fully clad in dwarven crafted chainmail armor, each equipped with various weapons of high quality, and heavy in weight.
Unfortunately, it appeared as if the mage was not the only one who had a mind to do business with group, for there were already two other human males standing next their table, already attempting to win the groups favor.
"I'll give you two arms!" Spoke one human male,
"Two arms? Ya think i'd be dumb enough to let ya be robbin me in bleedin daylight?! Get out of here!" One drawf heavily rejected.
"I've already promised the legs for the other two!" Petitioned the man.
"Then have those bloody unqualified lightweights do the job for ya! I'll not be working for beggars wages!" The dwarf exclaimed.
As the two human men persisted in their various persuasions, refusing to leave, one dwarf finally decided he had enough. Getting up from his stool, he began his proclamation. "I'm sick of ya's humans, thinkin ya can just come round her anytime ya please, interrupt me and ma friends's drinkin, and harass me daily with ya shady dealings!" With that, he grabbed his stool, and swung it at one man's side, knocking him to the ground. The man groaned in pain as he rolled over, holding his side. The other man, upon observing the suddenly aggressive act with great shock, responded by swinging a fist downward at the dwarf. The dwarf grabbed the man's fist with both of his short hands, and displaying his great dwarven strength, despite his smaller size, twisted the man's wrist. A greatly disturbing crack could be heard from the twist, which caused quite few onlookers to cringe, before the man could be seen screaming in great agony as he stepped back and held his wrist in extreme pain.
"Hah!" The dwarven assailant taunted, "Ya weak sacks of meat are tryna bargain me for golems, when you throw a softer punch than ma grandma?! You call ya selves golem hunters?!"
Upon witnessing the event, three more human mercenaries stood up from their table, cracking their knuckles. They were not please with what had just happened to their employers. It would only take seconds, before the other four dwarves also got up from their chairs, and things would become out of control. In a matter of moments, tables and chairs were being thrown throughout the establishment, glasses and plates were being hit across people's heads, and various residents within the tavern were screaming and running. The ruffians had managed to disturb and even injure neighboring tables throughout their fighting, which caused even more of the tavern's residents to join into the fight. The length of the fight continued to increase, as well as the amount of participants, before someone suddenly screamed aloud "Tavern brawl!" And immediately the gigantic establishment became complete chaos, as almost the entire tavern turned into a brawling room in an instant. In the midst of this lethal and deadly brawling, the mage simply stood and continued to observe her targets from her position, as if completely intangible to all the dangers and threats around her, a pleased smile on her face. She'd found exactly what she needed.
Author: Albrecht Krieger, Posted: Mon Oct 2, 2017 5:23 PM, Post Subject: Delusions of Grandeur (P, R)
The first thing Albrecht needed was a cloak. Likely something of hide or wool. So he stopped at a tailor. Over the door was a gaudy sign with a needle and thread. Though an eyesore, it was clear what the shop was selling. Wordlessly, the mercenary slung a long wool cloak over his shoulders: it was dyed a dark green, a color to match his jack. Adding some more socks to his purchase, he approached the clerk.
The woman, apparently a halfling woman smiled as she looked over the items.
"Wise choices all, though late." So, she had noticed his stat of saturation. The man could only shrug in response.
"I suppose that can't be helped now. That will be thirty crescents." After a brief exchange, Albrecht was able to cut the price in half, a compromise that left both parties feigning indignation.
Next came the weaponsmith, a pair of stocky men with an automated hammer in the back. The fencer picked up a lightweight flanged mace. A few test swings gave him a quick sense of the weapons balance. Decent. Another bout of bargaining saw the fighter leave the forge with a long handled footman's mace propped against his shoulder.
Now it was time to find Izzey. Hopefully, she had found their dwarf. Now maybe she could explain what they specifically needed a dwarf for…
Author: Izzey Ius, Posted: Mon Oct 2, 2017 1:52 AM, Post Subject: Delusions of Grandeur (P, R)
As the two began to make their approach closer towards the city, it's great lights could be seen illuminating the morbid darkness of the land, like a beacon of hope in a land only filled with gloom. The was a city far ahead of it's time, sporting conveniences unimaginable by the people in this current era. Various magical conduits towered the skies, both harnessing the power of the violent thunders, and also protecting it's residents from it's wrath. Odd machinery sped throughout the city, transporting large crowds from one destination to another, while great multitudes roamed throughout the streets of the city. It was as if everything that still managed to breathe within Railoch's deadly environment, were all gathered to this one place. Large buildings that stood strong against the violent thunderstorms and beating rain, seeming completely impervious to erosion, greatly illuminated the skies with their bright beauty, each light consisting of various colors. The city was truly something to marvel. Outside the city's outskirts, could be seen various research tents and canopies, protecting ambitious researchers and archaeologist from the never-ending onslaught rain. Men dug and mined the grounds, carefully examining their various findings. Various meetings and discussions within the tents and canopies could be seen and heard, as men pointed at various map locations across the table, and gave directions.
At the mercenary's advising, the orange haired mage suddenly walked ahead of the man. She had patiently been following behind his lead, without causing too much trouble or rukas throughout their journey across Railoch, yet now she seemed to have gained another sudden impulse to carry out yet another one of her ambitious endevours. "Dwarves!" She exclaimed in her now hurried walk towards the entrance of the city. "We need a dwarf!" She continued, causing various researches and archaeologist on the cities outskirts to momentarily stop their work, in order to observe the woman's spontaneous antics, as well as the mercenary closely behind her. "Buy quickly King Albrecht!" She requested. "We need a dwarf!"
Author: Albrecht Krieger, Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2017 8:20 PM, Post Subject: Delusions of Grandeur (P, R)
Albrecht's eyes had been looked on mage's finger the entire time she was communicating. Clearly, swords would not work against a golem. From his best guess, the synthetic creatures were crafted from something hard and unyielding. Blades would do little if anything at all.
Then came the spell weaving. He had no expectation of danger as he saw the sommoned light fashion itself into the crude form of a mallet.
"Hammers then. Good; maybe I can pick up something in town." Sadly, the mercenary regretted not bringing his poleaxe but there was no way to retrieve such a weapon now.
Having gained all the information he needed for the time being, he continued on. As the city came into view, Albrecht began to compile a list of things they needed to buy: cloaks for the rain, hammer or mace for himself, perhaps a change of clothes and food…There were quite a few things that had to be sorted quickly before heading out.
"If there is anything else you think we might need, let me know," he advised.
Author: Izzey Ius, Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2017 7:32 PM, Post Subject: Delusions of Grandeur (P, R)
Providing a military salute to the mercenary, the mage showed her nonverbal approval of his statement.
As the mercenary began to gather his things, Izzey intuitively did the same, folding the maps and gathering her wet belongings back into her satchel. In the midst of his inquiry, she delayed answering until she had completely gathered all of her belongings. Afterwards, she turned to face the man, before performing the odd gesture of suddenly raising her index finger in front of his face while staring at him. The gesture seemed as if the woman had a mind to show him something of interest, or some form of abnormality on her finger, yet there was nothing there of interest that could be seen or found.
The index finger would eventually move downward, towards the pommel of the man's sword. Placed her fingernail against the pommel, she tapped against it a few times, causing the metal to sound off against lightly against her fingernail. "Not with this.." She eventually spoke with a nonchalant expression, before raising her hand back in front of the the mercenary's face again, this time displaying a palm, opened upwards. Above her palm, began to emit an unusual, glowing white aura of some sort, gradually extending and becoming brighter. A crackling sound could be heard as it slowly extended and grew brighter, similar to the sound of fire molding something in a furnace.
From first impressions, it could have easily seemed as though the mage's madness had finally reached its peaked, and she had a mind to cast an offensive spell of some sort on her very own companion. However, eventually, the mage would prove to still have a form of sanity left within herself, after the glowing white object finished constructing itself together, revealing itself to be a rather large, glowing hammer, constructed of shining silver material of some sort. The quality silver was so perfect, and without the slightest blemish, that one could even see their very own reflection against it, as clear as like looking in a mirror. "With this.." She continued, holding the unnatural weapon's form in midair for a few seconds.
The display of it's awesome glory would be short seen, however, as she closed her palm, immediately causing the weapon and all traces of it to completely disappear from sight, as if it had never even existed in the first place. Through this action, she was implying to the mercenary, in her own way, that normal swords were useless and would break, and therefore golem armor needed to be cracked and broken with a hammer first.
Author: Albrecht Krieger, Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 6:42 PM, Post Subject: Delusions of Grandeur (P, R)
Albrecht pinched his nose. The girl's flamboyant speech and mannerisms were starting to grate on his nerves. He could not let that bother him now, though. She had promised him a king's ransom. Or at least, he assumed that is what she promised; it was starting to get difficult to tell.
Looking at the map once more, he fit the pieces of their route together.
"So, first we make our way to the city, Goebethio?" Glancing up, he looked toward the direction of the city before saying,
"From there we will have to head toward out prize, where we will have to contend with…'big giants'?" After a seconds pause, Albrecht ventured a suggestion:
"Golems?"After getting his bearings, the mercenary took up his pack once more.
"Since this rain has no intention of letting up any time soon, we should get going." Thinking of leading the pair, Albrecht recognised how little he knew of the ancient servants he had heard inhabitted this area.
"Izzey, how would one fight a golem if one were attacked? What are their strengths and weaknesses?" While there was no guarantee she would know, it was a better chance than going in blind. He wondered if the his weapons even had a chance against a golem…
Author: Izzey Ius, Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 12:37 AM, Post Subject: Delusions of Grandeur (P, R)
At the first statement from the mercenary, Izzey's face shifted into a pleased smirk "Indeed, in Railoch, we are! The greatest treasure trove of hidden secrets, magic, and riches! They await ever so patiently for our unraveling, we are their highly esteemed guest!" She replied rather enthusiastically, looking back at the mercenary, with widened and sparkling eyes of excitement.
At the mercenary's second gesture and statement, Izzey turned her attention back towards the map, rubbing her chin again, as she examined the indicated area, seeming to be in deep thought. She remained silent for quite some time, a rather serious expression on her face, before she eventually provided another reply. "Long ago, even the simple minded understood the concept of reverence. Yet, the foolish and haughty hearts of this generation have become completely oblivious to such concepts. Observe, for example, how they encamp our prize with great haughtiness! But lo, the irony of it all, is they encamp that which is not even theirs! For the place was long in existence before they even set foot in this world, even long before their great great grandmother left the wound of their mother!" She spoke rather zealously and impassioned. "Greedy and haughty souls they are, greedy and haughty souls, hindering the claim of our prize; the inheritance of your Kingship, the renown of my legend! Our ancestors mourn at such tragedy!" All the while, during this impassioned speech, she had been gesturing to the city of Gobethio, within Railoch. Sliding her finger from Gobethio, to another circled location on the map in Railoch, she would indicate another area. Next to the area, was a description, which, written in less than noble handwriting, read, 'Big Giants'. The handwriting looked somewhat child look, making it difficult to take seriously. "To here we go." She continued rather with her rather serious tone, as if she were making battle strategy for war. "For the greedy and haughty simpletons are the gatekeepers, requiring bargains, and we are victims them."
Author: Albrecht Krieger, Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2017 12:05 AM, Post Subject: Delusions of Grandeur (P, R)
It did not take much urging for Albrecht to take cover with the daft mage. The overhang not only shielded them from lightning but also the furiously pelting rain. Slinging his pack down, he sat as he slipped off his overly damp shoes. His socks were soaked through as well and they found themselves removed and stuffed back into his bag. He elected not to waste another pair as he slipped his shoes back on.
He gave a scan of the area around them: given the amount of rain, he would have expected this place to be a lush garden. Instead, all around he saw death and barrenness. It took Albrecht some time to place where they were, as he had never been here before but he had heard stories of the area. A land of only rain, where the sun never rose.
Turning back to his companion, the mercenary noticed the girl looking over her maps. Sidling close, he peered over Izzey's shoulder. Pointing to the map, he said,
"We're here, in Railoch, right?" Gesturing to some of the notations on the smaller map.
"We're looking for one of these places, right?" Truthfully, he could not make heads or tails of what he assumed was the mage's writing. Hopefully, she could…
Author: Izzey Ius, Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 4:27 PM, Post Subject: Delusions of Grandeur (P, R)
"In the filth circle, we are not Great King Albrecht!" The mage replied, "The greatest treasure trove mankind has ever 'not' known, is where we stand!" At the earth shattering sound of another lightening bolt nearby, Izzey anxiously flinched again, and this time opted to begin a quick dash for cover under a overhanging rock nearby. "To refuge we go!" She exclaimed in the midst of her run, not even checking to see if the mercenary was behind her or not, but seeming more concerned with her own immediate safety.
Upon reaching the destination, she pressed her back against the wall lying underneath the overhanging rock, in order to insure the utmost covering and protection. Her clothes and hair completely soaked and dripping water, she moved her right hand in order to wipe the water from her face, and then slicked her soaking hair back, in order to see more clearly. She then would begin digging through her satchel, pulling out various scrolls papers and scrolls. Holding up one scroll in particular, she stared at it for a few seconds, biting her bottom lip in obvious disappointment, as water dripped from it. Most of the papers and scrolls she'd pulled out the satchel were either wet or completely soaked. Continuing to dig through her satchel, she would eventually find what she was looking for; the map she'd displayed at the tavern. Remarkably, although wet in certain places, it was not completely soaked like the majority of her other items.
Carefully unfolding and spreading the map's contents out across the ground, she'd then search through her pile of wet papers and scrolls she'd placed on the ground from her satchel; slightly opening a few of them, in order to briefly check their contents inside, before moving onto another paper or scroll to do the same. Eventually, after varies paper and scroll checkings, she would pause at one paper in particular upon opening it, and remove it from the wet pile, in order to completely unfold it's contents next to the map.
It was another map, yet of a different kind. Though much more wet than the previous map, it also seemed to be much less aged and worn. Upon it's unfolding, larger text at the top of the newer map would reveal the words, 'Parvpora'. The older map, appeared to be an entire world map, while the newer map seemed to be a continental map. The continent map also had various additionally drawn circlings and lists added to it, however, these drawings and circles were much less intricate and well detailed than the previous world map. In fact, they looked rather unorganized and aimless, creating a sort of drawn turmoil throughout the map's contents. This writing looked more like something the mage might've personally done herself, in comparison to the first map. With various "Hmm,"'s and chin rubs, the mage began to diligently examine both of the map's contents.
Author: Albrecht Krieger, Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2017 10:43 PM, Post Subject: Delusions of Grandeur (P, R)
Albrecht was suddenly not pleased with his situation. Wading out of a pond was not the sort of thing he wanted to be stuck doing straight out the other end of a magic sky sphincter. He shook his head, scattering his damp hair to clear his eyes.
"Couldn't you have put us somewhere other than the fifth circle of the underworld?" he vented before reigning in his temper.
Panning his view, the swordsman asked,
"Where to now?" Albrecht was not familiar with the area and had no idea where anything was. Hopefully, they could find a place to camp and dry off, at least a little. He did not relish the thought of tromping around in soggy shoes…
Another bolt came down and the man jerked.
"Gah…!" Turning around, he saw a scorched patch of ground barely twelve feet away.
"Yeah, can we get to cover sometime soon?"
Author: Izzey Ius, Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 5:48 PM, Post Subject: Delusions of Grandeur (P, R)
The black sky violently thundered and roared, as if it harbored a kind of severe hatred and bitterness towards all human kind. Lightening struck relentlessly, wherever, whenever, and whomever it pleased, without consequence. In this midst of this noisy chaos, an abnormal black dot would suddenly appear about fifteen feet above the ground. The black dot expanded into one, large, black ring revealing a reflection of a city on the inside; the city of Adeluna. Out of the portal, suddenly would fall out two figures. There came a startled, "Whoooe!!" as the mage fell out the air, whirling her arms about, upon immediately realizing how far the portal had throw her from the ground, followed by a loud splash. The splash caused an abundant amount of water to disperse across the area, as she was greeted by her large puddle on the ground. She lied there motionlessly for a few seconds, before moaning a bit as she slowly rolled over within the puddle, her hair and clothes now completely soaked in water and dirt immediately upon arrival.
It took her some time to get up, and she'd stumbled a bit upon making it to her feet. Yet, her enthusiasm and inner-fire had clearly not been ceased. "Behold!" The water soaked mage exclaimed, her words rather muffled by the great thundering and sound of beating rain around her, "Our victory is here!"
Almost immediately after the statement, a roaring bolt of lightening struck the ground about twenty feet away from the duo, causing a few pieces of rock to break and scatter, which caused the mage to anxiously flinch in momentary surprise. Indeed, Izzey had informed the mercenary of travelling to a land in search of magic, riches, and glory. Yet what she had not informed him of, was quite exactly where that land would be. For the agreeing mercenary, would not find himself not just only a few days away from the capital of Adeluna, neither only a few weeks; In fact, he would not even find himself on the same continent, but in fact on an entirely separate and foreign continent. Wherever he had made his previously made his abode in this realm, he was surely far from it now. The woman had brought him to a land of great danger, mystery, and as she had promised…reward.