Heroica RPG - Quest #159: An Unexpected Return

[K-Nut]

Althior takes another ether core. “Let’s go,” he nods.

[UsernameMDM]

On 3/15/2018 at 3:10 PM, CMP said:

"...Hoke, this that lil' one we were runnin' 'round the Fields with a while back? Holy hell they grow up fast! We appreciate the ride, miss," he thanked, tilting his hat.

"One in the same," Hoke says as he pats her on the neck,"Funny to think she used to do the same thing to me: climb around me neck and enjoy the ride."

As the rest of the party climbs onto Torc, Hoke fishes around his pouch once more and procures a vial filled with a villainous looking liquid and holds it up for the group to see.

"I figure someone should use this, whoever can make the most out of it."

Hoke offers a vial of Crimson Haze to the party.

 

 

[Waterbrick Down]

Shrieks and the sounds of at least a dozen more sets of wings can be heard through the evening fog. Torc look expectantly at Hoke, waiting for his direction.

[UsernameMDM]

"To the Ziegfrieds!" Hoke commands as he hears the flapping wings closing in.

[Waterbrick Down]

13 hours ago, UsernameMDM said:

"To the Ziegfrieds!" Hoke commands as he hears the flapping wings closing in.

QM Note: Sorry folks, I'm still trying to find the Sandy's photo of the Ziegfried Manor.

Torc takes off into the night and soon the party is swallowed up by the mist. It doesn't take long before they land in Triad Park, Torc hiding her form below the tree line. At the other end of the block Ziegfried manor sits quiet and undisturbed, though upon closer inspection the party notes crude graffiti and messages have been scrawled across the front of the house, mostly insults and references to the recent accusations of child endangerment. The windows are dark and the gate hangs open, slightly bent inwards.

[UsernameMDM]

Hoke walks closer to the manor and checks the door.

[K-Nut]

Althior looks at the graffiti. “Well, they’re not wrong,” he makes his way to the front door, inspecting the windows around him.

[Waterbrick Down]

14 hours ago, UsernameMDM said:

Hoke walks closer to the manor and checks the door.

The door is unlocked and unguarded.

1 hour ago, K-Nut said:

Althior looks at the graffiti. “Well, they’re not wrong,” he makes his way to the front door, inspecting the windows around him.

The windows all have heavy curtains drawn in front of them, a faint candle glow peeks out between the crack in the curtains though.

[CMP]

"Well, I'm not likin' the looks of this, mates, but this is where we are."

Atramor opens the door and sidles inside with confidence, adrenaline and lots of rum coursing through his veins.

[K-Nut]

“Hold up, Atramor. The Ziegfrieds trust me- let me take the lead on this one. Assuming they’re here, they’re definitely paranoid and probably prone to attack anyone who comes wandering in. Hopefully they wouldn’t do that to a friendly face,”

[CMP]

"Sure thing, mate. All yours."

[UsernameMDM]

Hoke follows the two in, keep a wary eye on the sky above and the yard they were leaving behind.  The dark metallic orb pulsed gently in his glove.

[StickFig]

Matthias recovers from his dragonflight-induced seasickness in the park and follows the others, a little unsteadily, into the house.

[Waterbrick Down]

15 hours ago, K-Nut said:

“Hold up, Atramor. The Ziegfrieds trust me- let me take the lead on this one. Assuming they’re here, they’re definitely paranoid and probably prone to attack anyone who comes wandering in. Hopefully they wouldn’t do that to a friendly face,”

10 hours ago, CMP said:

"Sure thing, mate. All yours."

9 hours ago, UsernameMDM said:

Hoke follows the two in, keep a wary eye on the sky above and the yard they were leaving behind.  The dark metallic orb pulsed gently in his glove.

49 minutes ago, StickFig said:

Matthias recovers from his dragonflight-induced seasickness in the park and follows the others, a little unsteadily, into the house.

As each hero crosses the threshold they vanish instantly!

Bellanote glances at Dyric,

"Umm... do you think we should knock?"

QM Note: PM's forthcoming

 

[The Legonater]

Sorry for the inactivity. Papers season. 

Rone scarcely had time to take in the familiar sights of Triad Park. Probably for the best - time was short. He couldn't stop to reminisce on every tiny detail. Still, the memories of his first meeting with Guts echoed fondly in the back of his mind. 

Lingering at the back of the group, Dyric can only watch as his friends disappear one by one in front of him. 

14 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

Bellanote glances at Dyric,

"Umm... do you think we should knock?"

 

Not the worst plan. Here, let me try something first. 

Rone pulls back on his Mockthrill Longbow, aiming to fire a bolt just beyond the threshold. He releases and feels the twang of the bow in his hands. 

[Waterbrick Down]

2 hours ago, The Legonater said:

Sorry for the inactivity. Papers season. 

Rone scarcely had time to take in the familiar sights of Triad Park. Probably for the best - time was short. He couldn't stop to reminisce on every tiny detail. Still, the memories of his first meeting with Guts echoed fondly in the back of his mind. 

Lingering at the back of the group, Dyric can only watch as his friends disappear one by one in front of him. 

Not the worst plan. Here, let me try something first. 

Rone pulls back on his Mockthrill Longbow, aiming to fire a bolt just beyond the threshold. He releases and feels the twang of the bow in his hands. 

*Fffffzzzpp!* As the arrow crosses the threshold a small puff of smoke, similar to a z-mail, and the arrow vanishes.


"Magic?"

[The Legonater]

10 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

*Fffffzzzpp!* As the arrow crosses the threshold a small puff of smoke, similar to a z-mail, and the arrow vanishes.


"Magic?"

Magic. Just as I suspected, they've been teleported. The question is where, and are they together? I reckon it's a defense measure, which could mean they're all taken together, or they may be scattered somewhere. I'm not interested in risking the choice. I wish Althior were still here to investigate this, magic isn't really my forte. 

Rone looks over the door, trying to judge the next step.

Yeah, knocking might be the best step. Here goes nothing. 

Dyric gives a hefty knock on the door without crossing the threshold, assuming such a thing is possible? Otherwise, he knocks on the wall, or yells or something. 

[Waterbrick Down]

On 3/24/2018 at 5:20 PM, The Legonater said:

Magic. Just as I suspected, they've been teleported. The question is where, and are they together? I reckon it's a defense measure, which could mean they're all taken together, or they may be scattered somewhere. I'm not interested in risking the choice. I wish Althior were still here to investigate this, magic isn't really my forte. 

Rone looks over the door, trying to judge the next step.

Yeah, knocking might be the best step. Here goes nothing. 

Dyric gives a hefty knock on the door without crossing the threshold, assuming such a thing is possible? Otherwise, he knocks on the wall, or yells or something. 

Dyric knocks on the door, a few minutes pass before the door opens to a familiar face.


"Yes?"

[The Legonater]

Surprise washes over Dyric as he falls back, catching himself on the frame of the doorway. He might as well have seen a ghost. 

Arthur? But- I never- I thought you'd left. I thought I would never see you again. Where have you been?  

[Flipz]

1 hour ago, The Legonater said:

Surprise washes over Dyric as he falls back, catching himself on the frame of the doorway. He might as well have seen a ghost. 

Arthur? But- I never- I thought you'd left. I thought I would never see you again. Where have you been?  

"Surviving.  Protecting my family.  Watching in despair as a city handed itself willingly over to tyranny.  Take your pick, brother."  Dark bags hang beneath the Arthur's eyes, eyes grown glassy and dull since their last meeting.  Despite his finely-tailored garb and magically-immaculate hair the ex-Hero seems somehow ragged and thin, like a lone orphanage blanket spread across too many children, a futile, insufficient ward against the dark and the cold.  His eyes flicker to the Shadeaux sibling standing behind Dyric.  "Lady Bellanotte.  I was sorry to hear of your mother's death.  Are your siblings well?  Perhaps safe with other Heroes?"  A brief blink later, and Arthur abruptly stands a little straighter.  "Where are my manners.  I presume the two of you are in need of help?  What exactly do you need from us?"

[The Legonater]

9 hours ago, Flipz said:

"Surviving.  Protecting my family.  Watching in despair as a city handed itself willingly over to tyranny.  Take your pick, brother."  Dark bags hang beneath the Arthur's eyes, eyes grown glassy and dull since their last meeting.  Despite his finely-tailored garb and magically-immaculate hair the ex-Hero seems somehow ragged and thin, like a lone orphanage blanket spread across too many children, a futile, insufficient ward against the dark and the cold.  His eyes flicker to the Shadeaux sibling standing behind Dyric.  "Lady Bellanotte.  I was sorry to hear of your mother's death.  Are your siblings well?  Perhaps safe with other Heroes?"  A brief blink later, and Arthur abruptly stands a little straighter.  "Where are my manners.  I presume the two of you are in need of help?  What exactly do you need from us?"

Dyric looks in abject pity at his very old friend. What had happened to him? 

There were others who came with me. Atramor, Matthias, Hoke, Althior. They all vanished when they crossed that threshold, are they safe? Nothing better be happening to them.

After that, we need a necromancer. A powerful one. 

[Flipz]

5 hours ago, The Legonater said:

Dyric looks in abject pity at his very old friend. What had happened to him? 

There were others who came with me. Atramor, Matthias, Hoke, Althior. They all vanished when they crossed that threshold, are they safe? Nothing better be happening to them.

After that, we need a necromancer. A powerful one. 

Arthur raised an eyebrow, though the accompanying smirk never quite reached his eyes.  "They're fine, don't worry.  Well, probably, anyway.  Since Althior's with them.  But if you've got Althior, why would you need--?"  The smirk faded as the memory came to him.  "Right.  Prophet now.  Ethereth, it's been a while."  The former mage frowned.  "Have you tried Sorrow?  I know he hasn't been well, but he's still magically powerful, and it would be nice to see him again--haven't had the chance since Lieutenant Etenant warned me not to leave the house.  And speaking of Sorrow, how's Karie?  Did she manage to get out of the city before it was too late?"

Edited March 27, 2018 by Flipz

[The Legonater]

28 minutes ago, Flipz said:

Arthur raised an eyebrow, though the accompanying smirk never quite reached his eyes.  "They're fine, don't worry.  Well, probably, anyway.  Since Althior's with them.  But if you've got Althior, why would you need--?"  The smirk faded as the memory came to him.  "Right.  Prophet now.  Ethereth, it's been a while."  The former mage frowned.  "Have you tried Sorrow?  I know he hasn't been well, but he's still magically powerful, and it would be nice to see him again--haven't had the chance since Lieutenant Etenant warned me not to leave the house.  And speaking of Sorrow, how's Karie?  Did she manage to get out of the city before it was too late?"

Dyric clenches his jaw, trying in desperation to keep himself and his emotions in check. He can't stop the hollowness in his voice, however, which echoes in his every word.

Sorrow's gone, Arthur.

A-and as for Karie, she- she decided to stick around and do something about all of this mess. She decided that it was better to restore Heroica than abandon it. And for what it's worth, when the time came, so did I. She's off with a group now hitting up her old Wolfgang contacts, it's all-hands-on-deck for this one.

Arthur, you got to give me something here. With the power of a necromancer, we have a chance of setting right all this business. The Ziegfrieds must be able to do something.

[Waterbrick Down]

17 hours ago, Flipz said:

"Surviving.  Protecting my family.  Watching in despair as a city handed itself willingly over to tyranny.  Take your pick, brother."  Dark bags hang beneath the Arthur's eyes, eyes grown glassy and dull since their last meeting.  Despite his finely-tailored garb and magically-immaculate hair the ex-Hero seems somehow ragged and thin, like a lone orphanage blanket spread across too many children, a futile, insufficient ward against the dark and the cold.  His eyes flicker to the Shadeaux sibling standing behind Dyric.  "Lady Bellanotte.  I was sorry to hear of your mother's death.  Are your siblings well?  Perhaps safe with other Heroes?"  A brief blink later, and Arthur abruptly stands a little straighter.  "Where are my manners.  I presume the two of you are in need of help?  What exactly do you need from us?"

"Master Arthur, thank you for your sympathies. The revelation came as a shock to us all, father still hasn't been released from holding and my siblings... well they're keeping it together. I left them at the Dragon House, I hope they're still ok... What of your dragon? Father told us about how the young drake took to you so well."

At this point Noel joins Arthur and Dyric at the front door.

"Hey, sup losers. We got more visitors? Careful, there's some shifty insult lobbing ones I just took care of."

[Flipz]

2 hours ago, The Legonater said:

Dyric clenches his jaw, trying in desperation to keep himself and his emotions in check. He can't stop the hollowness in his voice, however, which echoes in his every word.

Sorrow's gone, Arthur.

A-and as for Karie, she- she decided to stick around and do something about all of this mess. She decided that it was better to restore Heroica than abandon it. And for what it's worth, when the time came, so did I. She's off with a group now hitting up her old Wolfgang contacts, it's all-hands-on-deck for this one.

Arthur, you got to give me something here. With the power of a necromancer, we have a chance of setting right all this business. The Ziegfrieds must be able to do something.

Arthur's fist clenches, so tightly that ink-black blood begins to ooze between the fingers.  He leans heavily against the door.

Gone.  Another life, another friend snatched away.  He'd known, intellectually, it would happen.  It was inevitable, given his immortality.

Doesn't make it any easier.

"The Wolfgang."  Arthur's thoughts on the organization were...complicated, if decidedly friendlier in recent times.  "Chesterine might be interested to hear that.  She's seemed sympathetic to them for a while, and only recently have Mom, Noel, and I started to see good in them.  Ulric handing over the Psycrown to help kill Baba certainly helped there."  He sighs.  "It's funny.  I think we have the same choice to make as Heroica does.  Most of the family has already left the city--vacationing in Eversummer until this whole mess is over.  Chesterine, Mabel, and Mabel's half-brother are the only ones who've stayed besides me, Mom, and Noel.  For the most part, all we want is to live our lives and be left alone--independence, not power.  But the city doesn't see that, and they keep smearing our good name, not to mention stealing our livelihood with their seizure of the Z-Mail system.  I've been arguing that we need to do something, actually open the doors and help people, but...I can't exactly begrudge the others for just leaving, not when a step outside is enough to get screamed at for being...what did they call us?  'Demon-worshippers'?  'Child-sacrificing cultists'?  'Dangerous, mute lunatics'?"  He shrugs helplessly.  "I want to do something.  But for all my power, I'm one person.  Even all together--if by some miracle we all managed to agree on something--there's only a handful of us.  Not enough to actually fix everything that's broken.  Hel, I even got Leonard to send in a squad of Lion Knight Skirmishers, just to try and get a little information--did you know our 'glorious' overlords locked them in the Embassy for their trouble?"  He shakes his head sadly.

"Well.  Anyway.  Of those of us still here, Chesterine and Mabel both have Necromancer training.  You'll have to ask them if they're willing to help."

1 hour ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Master Arthur, thank you for your sympathies. The revelation came as a shock to us all, father still hasn't been released from holding and my siblings... well they're keeping it together. I left them at the Dragon House, I hope they're still ok... What of your dragon? Father told us about how the young drake took to you so well."

Arthur's breath catches in his chest.  "I don't know.  I...honestly try not to think about it...I'd be too paralyzed with worry to function otherwise.  She...we had a falling out.  I tasked an angel with her safety, but I haven't heard from him since this whole mess began.  Knowing her, she'll probably try to help somehow, but I have no idea what she'd try, let alone how she'd fare without me by her side..."  The ex-Dragoon buries his face in his hands, just in time for Noel to make his entrance.

1 hour ago, Waterbrick Down said:

At this point Noel joins Arthur and Dyric at the front door.

"Hey, sup losers. We got more visitors? Careful, there's some shifty insult lobbing ones I just took care of."

Arthur freezes.

"Noel," he asks with a tone of exaggerated sweetness only an exasperated sibling can completely convey, "what exactly have you done to Dyric's friends?"