Part 6>>>The Shadow of Love (an LoF adventure)

[RoSs_bg2_rox]

Silt 29/80

A look of disbelief could be seen by any perceptive enough to look. Silt found himself behind bars. Behind bars when he should have been helping Larry. What did this elf think he was doing? Storming in and leaving Silt with no chance to hunt the Drow and no chance to find Larry. Anger built. The aggravation, he found, was heavily augmented by the fact that he was after this pair, rather than for any personal warrant. Calm, sooth yourself; he heard the message coming from his mind. It was true. He was by default friendly, and after all, it could be worse. At least an offensive spell hadn’t been cast. Yet. Silt turned to the elf, and his apparent minions and stared him in the eye, a look first of inquisition, slowly turning to a vague accusation. He spoke. “I am sorry if I crossed an unforeseeable line, but there is no reason to keep me in a cage. I am not a pet. I don’t know what you are planning; all I know is that I need to find Larry, as I set out, and the Drow Kynnen is probably escaping the castle at this very moment, has he not already. Still, if you wish to waste time holding me for how ever long you see fit, I cannot stop you. Know this though.” He paused, leaving a moment for things to settle. “You are putting many lives in danger, quite the contradiction to what you probably think. I am no Drow, but in fact an elf of ages passed and ages present. I seek to help the one named Larry, and rid these lands of the evil Shadow Mage. What is your goal?”

He waited.

edit:missed a word!

[ 04-09-2005, 02:17 PM: Message edited by: RoSs_bg2_rox ]

[mistral4543]

Rong Er

Papa... Papa... Her fists clenched as she struggled to walk on, fighting against the waves of remorse, wounded pride and resignation. He does love me, despite his eccentric ways... he does...

But wait! Could it be? It had to be... that song! Her eyebrows arched in recognition at the lilting tune, and her eyes widened; she spun around, lips parted in disbelieving excitement.

"Papa!" The words erupted, shrill and clear. She cupped her hands to her mouth and called again.

"PAPA!! I'm here! Rong Er's here!"

Silence. That was what she received from the surroundings. A rude silence... a yawning silence... no... wait... a brush of the leaves... a stirring in the bushes...

"Papa!"

Yes, he was here! The dimples appeared on her cheeks and a rapturous smile broke out in her glistening brown eyes as she spotted him at last, severe-looking as usual but with an uncommonly tenderness radiating from his own black eyes.

"Rong Er, you've made me hunt all over the world - literally - for you!"

She sprinted up towards him, flung her arms around his waist and nestled against his chest, murmuring incoherently.

"Just look at you." He pulled away from her and inspected her, his steady gaze moving from top to bottom. "You've thinned by half, you wilful little goose!" But she knew from his tone that the rebuke arose from pity more than anger - how could he ever be angry with her for long?

"I'm sorry, Papa." Seeing his beard and hair filled her with contrition, for they had surely turned a shade fairer since last they met? "I've never go to Mama's crypt again, not without your permission."

Momentarily, Huang Yao Shi's face darkened, but the shade passed quickly enough; he nodded tolerantly and cleared his throat. "Come back with me to Peach Blossom Island, Rong Er."

What words could be sweeter at a time like this? It was nectar to parched lips, and she drank it lustily.

"Yes, Papa. Let's go back to Peach Blossom Island."

The two figures linked arms and continued on their way, back to the paradise that no one would be allowed to see, without their permission...

Post-script: With the above, Rong Er and Huang Yao Shi are removed from the LOF plot.

[ 04-09-2005, 11:25 PM: Message edited by: mistral4543 ]

[Legolas]

Inquisitor Marcos of Snowdale - 98/98

There was only one path to take, as always. As the dame who'd raised him requested no payment or service for her efforts, yet, and finding his own pouch gone he was in no position to offer a monetary reward himself.

He bowed.

"I thank you, sister Culurian of Evermeet, for the gifts you have granted so freely. Truely the goddess Ahurani Fairhand is a deity worthy of praise and devotion.
"I may only pray that I shall one day be able to repay you, and through you your deity, what I owe to you both. We shall hurry, and see to your guardian's well-being. I understand that for the duration of your stay, the remaining garrison and servants will see to your every need."

The inquisitor rose, turned, narrowed his eyes and strode off after Vincent, catching up almost before he'd left the room.

[Morgeruat]

Morguerat

“Very well,” the warrior said, nodding slightly, then turned on his heel and started walking back in the direction he had come from, his stride carrying him quickly away. A bit startled by the abruptness of his departure, Senora quickly caught up and as the two walked, conversed, Morguerat elaborated on the nature of duty, and his cold eyes seemed to lighten a bit as he talked, there was no life light in them still, but the warmth that lit them when he talked of Helm and his search for repentance and redemption showed that perhaps his fate was not sealed as tightly as it might have been. He never spoke of what had happened to cause him to lose Helm’s favor, nor did he speak much of his companions. When the priestess spoke he listened, asking questions, discussing the nature of diety. He was careful to avoid her gaze, as he knew that it disturbed most people who fall under it, nor did he want to be seen to be staring at her, as he had earlier. It took a surprisingly short time to return to the clearing he’d left his friends at, and determined that they had moved northward, and so at a faster pace they set out after his friend and the newcomer following the trail northward.

ooc: this should bring us close to regrouping. Salinye hope you don't mind the way I moved things forward, if so PM me and I can rewrite it.

[ 04-11-2005, 02:20 PM: Message edited by: Morgeruat ]

[Morgeruat]

Yevaud

While the elf talked Yevaud cocked one eyebrow, and listened, eventually he lowered his blade, and then put it away. The accent was odd, from a reclusive grouping of elves that lived far from Evermeet. He'd heard the accent numerous times before when he was assigned as an honor guard to passing dignitaries, mostly from speaking to their footmen and servants. The accent was clean, no hint of the harshness of the drowish language, and while it was possible that he had trained at length as a linguist, it was unlikely. Drow were seldom subtle if rumor was to be believed, and would like as not learn elven in a haphazard manor that would let them spy, but not interact as an elf. "You are on probation, I don't know who this "Kynnen" is, perhaps a drow as you claim, but it's not something I'd bet my life on, or that of these men. There are some left for dead below that may be able to identify you and prove the truth of your words." He nodded to the guards, who then surrounded Silt, and the cage slowly grew translucent, and then disappeared altogether. Yevaud then led the way downstairs meeting the other guards on their way up, and informed them to secure the room against anyone else coming through if they weren't personally known to the guards.

[dplax]

Andrion Wilgor 22/22

Although owls are mostly nocturnal creatures the fatigue and exhaustion finally caught up with Andrion around nightfall, and thinking that who he had heard was not Larry he settled in the higher branches of a tree and quickly fell to sleep.

[Larry_OHF]

Those that are cleaning the debris outside the castle.


Not knowing what was going on inside the castle and not caring, for they knew the place had been properly secured, the team who were working on the debris outside continued to move heavy stone and wood from the site, intent on locating the bodies of at least three personages. A were-tiger, a man called Silverfall, and Silverfall's large friend. Those were the three that had been seen ascending the stairs. They already knew that the duchess was at the top...for there was no physical way to even get her down. She had stayed up there so long that she outgrew the ability to leave.

There should have been four bodies from the top of the tower...and if they had tried to decend the stairs as the tower toppled, there would have been no possible way to get down from the very top in time to survive the fall.

There should have been four bodies, but none were to be found. Not a one. No blood. Nothing. The men began to murmer of evil sorcery that had saved them all. Others that were not so sure that the were-tiger was in alliance with the Silverfall guy now were confirmed of the truth...for they had all left by some dark method, and had taken the duchess with them somehow.

News had already been sent to these men that Marcos had been brought back to life by the elf lady, and so when the workers had completed their task...they sent a runner into the castle to report on the missing four from the fall.

Meanwhile, as the men wondered and speculated about what had occurred here, they missed the opportunity to spy the drow escaping.


After the errand boy ran into the castle to look for Sir Marcos, there was a shout from the location of where the tower had crashed in the ground. The workers all gathered around the newfound spectacle.

It had long been debated and pondered upon as to how the castle Lesismoore stood upon marshy ground. The ground was so saturated that one would leave wet imprints as he walked. The real marshes surrounded the castle, but it had been rumored that even the land on which the castle had been built had also been marsh-land. Some said that the land had bene drained and bedrock had been discovered so as to create the base of the castle. Some of the older gentlemen passed down stories to their children that the castle had been built upon a secret, so as to keep people from finding it.

Today, the truth had been revealed. Where the tower had crashed into the soft ground, it created a hole into the muddy terrain. There was something there where the tower had hit and crumbled to dust. It appeared to the onlookers to be a large stone, but where the one side protruded out of the murk...they could see the side had been cut to an angle.

"What do ya make of it? Looks like maybe a box or something."

They assigned diggers. The diggers began to clear off the muddy land by trying to find the other side of the stone, clearing away the mud from the top. They cleared the top off all the way to the wall of Lesismoore, and could go no further.

Some began to say, "Ah! Look! The stories of the castle being built upon an underlying rock is true! That is what keeps the castle up!", but some were more interested in other possibilities. They are the ones that did not overlook the fact that the one side of the rock that was visible was a cut, angled at 90 degrees, going down into the murk.

They wanted to learn more of this stone, and so began to try and dig down into the swampy earth to discover how deep this phenomenon went down. However, the mud would not hold well and the swamp continued to keep her secret, as it continued to refill the excavation hole that was attempted.


OOC>>>Just setting up. Don't worry about this yet. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 04-12-2005, 03:14 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Larry_OHF]

The Mage of Shadow, still in contemplation


The Mage turned again to the now silent battle field where his giant had lost. If the mighty Terrakis had lost to such an opponent as Cyril, then what chance would he have at commanding an army of undead Grimlocks? Terrakis would have easily dispatched the whole army himself....yet he had lost to this one mere human.

The Mage began to doubt.

That was when he also realized that the font color that had been used on the commencement of the army of undead had been the same font color that Cyril himself used. Teal. What did it mean?

His doubt grew more.

And then there was that poem to consider. The Mage had heard it before. It had been used against him. Why now would it be used in a post about creatures he was to command?

The Mage looked to Cyril walking his way to confront the Mage as had been requested...and the Mage began to fear. Cyril had killed him once before. Could he do it again?

But then as quickly as it had entered in his dark mind, it was erased. No longer was the doubt present. No longer did he wonder at amazement at all of this information. He resolved not to let this distract him. Cyril could be manipulated, distracted, lied to...yes...he could be dealt with...for afterall...he was but a mere mortal, no matter what realm he hailed from...yet the Mage was a powerful godly force on this forum, and others.

Yes...this Cyril could be dealt with. The Mage had ways of dealing with his enemies, and if there was one thing on this game that had been learned it was that cunning and thought won over brute strength and blindly rushing into melee any day of the week.

He awaited Cyril with a renewed sense of power. A power he knew he held over him. Concentrating all of his will into this avatar, he stood there as the demi-godly being he really was...and waited.


OOC>>>All of the focus that had been put into worrying about Cyril, and the other mentioned articles...and then resolving to face Cyril with the true power he posseses has resulted in the consciousness of the Mage being placed fully on this meeting with his true enemy.

If Andrion was to try to speak to the Mage for example, Andrion would not feel any contact with his Master.

[Larry_OHF]

Larry Silverfall

Larry had sat there for a good while as he watched and listened for any sign that the big man was making his way through the forest in their direction. But how would he know how to find this campsite? He then looked at his own hands and clothes and wondered how Morg would even recognize him! He turned to his newfound friend.

"Joseph? How will he find us? He knew nothing of where we travelled, and he can't be that good of a tracker, can he?"

[Elif Godson]

Following the gaurds up the stairs he hadnt noticed Marcos was quickly at his side. With a smile at the paladin he quickened his pace to catch up to Yevaud and the other guards. Coming to the destination he heard You are on probation, I don't know who this "Kynnen" is, perhaps a drow as you claim, but it's not something I'd bet my life on, or that of these men. There are some left for dead below that may be able to identify you and prove the truth of your words." as he rounded the bend and almost ran into the elf and the gaurds. He noticed Silt was with them and was glad to see he had not passed on. He looked from Silt back to Yevau and then back to Silt and the guards. Silt was covered in what appeared to be a disappearing greenish cage and had a troubled look of anger on his face, hinting of frustration ” Yevaud, I see you have found Silt. ”

[ 04-25-2005, 11:40 AM: Message edited by: Elif Godson ]