<font color=white>Terrakis</font>

<font color=gray>The sound of the messenger’s approach rouses him from his thoughts. Standing, he turns in the direction of the approaching footsteps. The news he had been expecting has come at last, it would seem.

“We have found it, Terrakis, just as you said.” The enthusiasm produced by promises kept following upon victory achieved fills the giant’s voice. “Just a short while ago, the slaves pierced the final layer of that curious stone. There is a chamber beneath it, spacious and lit with patches of a glowing yellow moss that lines its walls.” His eyes flash in excitement. “And I myself have glimpsed the doors and have seen the yellow sign.”

“Excellent, my brother! Tell me, what is now being done?”

“None of been allowed to enter once I left the place. The chamber is secured and the slaves have been ordered to work on the opening. The rest await your command.”

“Very well,” he says, “Return ahead of me and tell the others that I come. We will risk no errors now that the prize is so close at hand and I would see this fabled mark of yellow for myself.”

“Yes, mighty Terrakis.” The giant nods his obedience and turns, walking swiftly to the site of the digging.</font>

<font color="99ff00"> Morguerat 87/105

As the Elder stopped speaking Morguerat was visibly shaken, with all the allies their foe apparently had at his disposal, great generals, legions of troops, and a well armed, and relatively well supplied army, this was going to be more of a challenge than he had thought, the darkness around was amplified by the resurging spiritual pain that had plagued him since before their descent, a darkness within as it were, his wounds were only marginally better than they had been before, it was truly times such as these that he missed some of his granted powers that had been stripped, the spells, the ability to heal others as well as himself would have been of immeasurable worth now.

He hid it well but the pain of his wounds was great, and the bandages he had wrapped himself in were old, and in need of changing, but such things he would not speak of, he would sooner die than seek pity. His pain was his alone to endure, whether mental, spiritual, or physical he would not bow under the strain, and his limited experience as a field medic in the Order's campaigns gave him a useful knowledge base for treating his own wounds, the scars would likely not be a pretty site, but he had been cut far worse in his time, and likely would again before his days were done.

Turning his attention back to the assembled gnomes, Morguerat smiled, and pushed his prisoner towards one of the chieftains, "Perhaps this prisoner will be able to provide some information, I know low level patrols will not likely have any news of value, but you can never tell." He then thought for a moment "I fear we will need to seek counsel with our campanions, an immediate strike would be my preference, but we have many things to do that would require us to spend some time here, for instance healing, and I would like to be present while the dragons claws are worked, as well as offering any aid to the smith that I may."

ruby nods to the newcomer, "even if he is a bit impulsive he can be captivating. morgueratit hink is int he town hall or something similar. i'm thinking tho maybe we should stay out here. i'm not real fond of buildings, being enclosed and all," 'or being in one with sir morguerat at all," she thought to herself.

looking to syrathic she asks, "how much do i owe youf or our things, and what kind of rodents did you acquire?"

ooc: I'm here and ready to go on.

<font color=lightgreen>With a smile at Ruby, Syrathic told her the cost of the items, only adding in a slight delivery charge. "I was lucky I had some coins with me. I would've hated to part with one of the few gems I have left for such mundane items. You don't have to worry about repayment yet, but if you have it, I'll take it."

"Looks like the Gnome won't come out too badly from this exchange," he thought to himself. "Once I give him back the money pouch, of course."</font>

<font color=silver>ooc: Wow! It's been too long and it's great to be back.

Time to wake up the monsters .....</font>

<font color=gold>The Chamber of the Yellow Sign</font>

<font color=white>Terrakis</font>

<font color=gray>Mighty is the seal upon the entrance to the strange yellow land, that place older than the blue boards themselves. It is made of an unusual stone unlike any found elsewhere in these dark tunnels – unlike any, perhaps, found elsewhere in these forums. A single massive block fully half again as tall as the shadow giants and etched with the symbols of a language long unspoken, the great seal catches and reflects the glow of the yellow sign scribed upon the floor before it. The yellow sign is itself a curious thing, vivid and distinct with three hooked curls that shed a bright yellow colored light, and yet difficult for the eye to fully grasp as if there were dimensions to its form beyond the usual three. Standing before the seal and within the strangely dense light of the sign Terrakis is silent. He stands alone, having dismissed the others into the upper passage. He is daunted and even apprehensive for he has felt upon his dreams the disturbing touch of the slumbering nightmares sealed within that forgotten kingdom of yellow, things more ancient and perhaps more terrible than even the Modding Mage whose dark might was the source of the great strength he and his brothers now possess.

“Yes,” he says in a whisper filled with the strong honesty of fear, “I am afraid.” His eyes narrow at the words. “I am afraid!” his voice rises and the force of his words shatters the stillness that had persisted with unbroken constancy in this place since before the first discussion of the original BG game within the vanished blue forums. “I am afraid but I shall not be denied!” The echoes of his challenge ring in the chamber, filling the space with his defiance. Beneath the ringing echoes he speaks once more in lower but no less resolute key, “The Drow whose city was thought a sure barrier against any who would seek this place have been slaughtered and if that were not blood enough I have brought the death screams of the good to mingle here with the blood of the wicked.” He withdraws a carefully wrapped vessel from the pouch upon his belt and steps forward to stand upon the yellow sign. There is cold quality about the light over the seal that drains the tangibilty out of the very walls and floor of this place and everything around him takes on a dreamlike aspect as if nothing about him were real save the strange brilliance of the light cast by the sign upon which he stands. The dreamlike and shifting vagueness of the light grasps the edges of his mind and he knows that he must be swift if he is not to be lost within whatever mad realm is the source of such light as this. Holding the vessel in both hands, he breathes deeply and crushes it.

AAAAaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! !!!!

The death screams of Adalon sound once more through the Underneath of the forums and the agony of a noble life broken and destroyed fills the chamber.

For long minutes the screaming of the tortured dragon shriek within the cold embrace of the yellow light before falling suddenly and terribly silent. With the falling silent of the screams comes a fading of the light until the yellow sign itself is but a faints tracing upon the stone floor of the chamber. It takes a few moments to regain his bearings and as he does so relief is evident upon his face. Finding his voice, he calls up to his fellows, “It has been done! Quickly now - what we seek lies within our grasp!” Once again the stillness of this place is shattered as with heavy and rapid strides the giants of shadow enter the chamber.</font>

<font color=silver>ooc: I'll have some more posts up tomorrow.</font>

Dantes 76/76
After excusing himself from the counsel meeting Dantes wandered the tight streets of the tiny gnomish town. He couldn't help but think of the ominous fate set to await these poor villagers should the party fail in their mission. Down an alley Dantes spotted a gnomish mother and child clinging together, lying in a pile of rags. As Dantes approached the mother gnome gripped the child a little bit tighter and look at him suspiciously. Dantes asked what was wrong. It was explained to him that her husband was a guard that was taken prisoner by the drow months ago. Since then the family had come on hard times and was forced from their home onto the street. Dantes couldn't help but notice the fear and desperation in the eyes of the small child being held tight by her mother. Dantes knew that a fate much worse than that would await them should they be unable to stop the hunger, a fate worse than death. dantes reached into his pouch and grabbed his 3 largest gems. He quickly wrapped them in a rag and laid them before the downtrodden mother. He knew it wasn't much but hopefully it would enough to help them a little bit. With that done, and his resolve reaffirmed, he set about trying to find the rest of the party.

<font color=silver>ooc: OK - to get things up and running again, I’m going to assume the group will spend sufficient time in the settlement to be fully healed and rested as well as to take care of the miscellaneous business each party member would like to address. There’s no need to roleplay this in a play-by-play manner so let’s begin with following notes:

<font color=lime>Morguerat</font> - You can assume that you will be allowed to take the lead in interrogating the prisoner. Go ahead and set the stage for that and I’ll PM you the details. The smithwork you requested will be expedited given the importance of finding some way to stop Terrakis.

<font color=plum>Dantes</font> - You might want to take advantage of the time here to see if you can learn anything about the runestone you found near the silver dragon’s lair. You might also be able to trade for or purchase a number of earth-based spells.

<font color=lightgreen>Syrathic</font> - If your character has any skill with traps, you can take advantage of the time here to gather sufficient materials to construct a few that you can then take with you.

<font color=indianred>Brendon</font> - If I remember correctly you wanted to see about crafting some arrows that could enchanted – with some hunting you might be able to find a smith who can make some fine arrowheads. Let me know what you’re thinking and I’ll PM you some more details.

<font color=orchid>Anarrima</font> - Between healing the members of the group, getting to know them and preparing for the adventure, you should be pretty busy. You might want to think about scribing a few scrolls – assume that as a gift from the gnomes you have received an ivory scroll case marked with the symbol of your deity that will easily accommodate a number of spell scrolls.

<font color=turquoise>Ruby</font> - There’s no need to hang away from the settlement. Let me know what your character is interested in doing with these few days.</font>

OOC>>>It is gonna take me a bit to get back into my character personas...
let's see what I can make of it.

<font color=indianred>Brendon Grey 61/70

After having a long and interesting discussion with the group that had gathered with him, Brendon suddenly realized that he had put off finishing his tasks of preparing for this terrible war they were all about to commence on this evil that lurked in darkness. Receiving aid from Anarrima on where to go to find certain items he would need to acquire, Brendon excused himself from the present company and began to look for the shops that the elf had told him about.

First, he had to find some arrow-heads. This was easy enough, as there was a gnome that loved to build weapons that were projectile in sort, and were mostly bullets or bolts for a crossbow. Brendon discussed what he needed, and showed the gentlegnome what the specifics were. The gnome had several arrowheads that were just right. They were made of hardened steel that had been infused with the dust of crushed jems. They were the most beautiful arrowheads that Brendon had ever seen, and were certainly costly. Both of his golden nuggets and his one ruby were used to pay for 20 arrow-heads.

Next on his list was the wood needed for the shafts. Again, this gnome had some good wood, but wasn't ready to part with it. Using mostly metal to craft shafts for his bolts, he was reluctant to sell his prized wood...for it was a very hard item to come by in this place. Metal and gems were abundant. Still...he did understand the mission that this crew was on, and finally agreed on selling the wod suitable for Brendon under the condition that he trade his two diamonds and his +1 longsword. This time, it was Brendon that was reluctant...but gave in, because he really wanted that wood. It was the best wood he'd ever laid eyes on...very seasoned, strong.

Returning to the street, Brendon then began trying to follow the instructions of Anarrima and find the magic shop in town. He wanted some feathers for the fletching job, but wanted magical-based ones. If he was putting so much trouble into these arrows...they were darned suer gonna fly right. And fast. Locating the shop, Brendon tiptoed into the room and was greeted by another warm face of a gnome that loved to do business. By this time, the word had gotten around that rich outsiders were on a spending spree. Brendon explained what he was loing for, and asked for advice, for he knew little of magical beasts and their potentials with feathers and the sort. The gnome thought about it for a while, obviously never having considered the use of feathers for arrows before. Turning to his books and notes, he finally came across some useful information about fletching with magical feathers. Running back to the storage room of his, he quickly returned with the items he sought. Feathers of a hippogriff were contained in a leather satchel. They were costly, of course...and Brendon surveyed his inventory to see what he had that could be used to pay for the items. What he had left that he was willing to part with were only two sapphires. This was not enough. He looked at the skin of the shadow mastiff. The gnome would probably accept it as an even trade, but Brendon did not want to part with it. Yet, realizing that if he wanted this bag of feathers, he'd have to...he finally...reluctantly conceded and passed the skin across the table. The gnome's eyes lit up with excitement, because this skin was worth more to him in the underdark than those mangy feathers. He readily accepted them, and even gave one sapphire back to Brendon.

Now having all the items he needed to do his crafting...the only thing left would be to get them enchanted after they were built. </font>

[ 05-19-2003, 11:19 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

<font color=orchid>Anarrima 60/60

Returning to her home for a while, Anarrima began making ready for departure. She knew she had to get to work on some spell scrolls. She had not yet met with the one called Morgeraut, but assumed that since everyone else had accepted her into the party...he would as well.

Grabbing a quill and some ink, she sat down over her parchements and began transcribing syllables and phrases onto them. There came a knock at the door shortly after she began. The gnome that had entered was a dear friend of her's...the gnome that sold magic items at his home. Smiling as he saw what she was doing, he pardoned himself and offered her an item, wrapped in a cloth. Speaking in broken common, mixed with what elvish he had been taught, he said...

<font color=white>Turr'eth: "Lady-elf...I want have this you. It bring good fortune to you travel. Take! Remember gnomes when away."</font>

Anarrima's emotions got the best of her. With tears of mixed feelings, she stood and hugged the little gnome that had helped her so much. After he left, she opened the cloth to find a scroll case of Ivory. On it was scribed the name Ahurani Fairhand, her goddess. It was a most magnificent item, very strong and well-crafted.

For the longest time, Anarrima sat and scribed her scrolls, and when she had finished...she placed them into her new case. Being drowsy from so much concentration however overtook her, and she fell asleep on the table where she was working.

</font>

Spells scribed by Anarrima that have been approved by the DM.

• Heal x 2
• Dispel Magic x 2
• Light x 1
• Continual light x 1
• Sunburst x 1

[ 05-19-2003, 11:19 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

ooc: Glad to be back, I hope we don't have to take another break like that for a long time [img]smile.gif[/img]

<font color="99ff00">Morguerat 87/105
After recieving permission to interrogate the captive, Morguerat moved them into a solitary room, and asked for a comprehend languages spell for each of them as a boon.

The "interrogation" was a long and rather brutal affair, not knowing what information the captive had Morguerat poured all his hatred, despair, and lost sense of direction into making the grimlock talk. The spell allowed him to understand the garbled and often confused ramblings of the captive, the torture paused only long enough to bring the humanoid back to consciousness. Morguerat attempted to make the creature feel the tiniest fraction of what he had experienced in his own breaking. From the timbre of the screams his work was quite effective, in the end the poor creature was left a broken husk, its eyes burned out, tongue cut out slowly and painstakingly with an arrowhead, the stump then burned to prevent too much bloodloss. Fingers, toes, hands, wrists, feet and ankles all broken and then severed, the creature was freed finally by a quick twist of it's neck, killing it once all the information had been gleaned. (OOC: I'll leave it to Cerek what I learned, hopefully everything from the creatures family tree, to what room they dump garbage in their home)

IC: After the interrogation Morguerat asked for a reputable inn to clean himself up in, as well as to bed down for a few days to heal up. As he walked out of the council chambers a small part of him wept at what he had done, but it was silenced by the knowledge that the ends justified the means.</font>

[ 05-19-2003, 03:49 PM: Message edited by: Morgeruat ]