Heroica RPG - Quest#75: Falling Stars

[Rumble Strike]

OOC: Sandy, I mentioned before that Tarn should be level 24 after that battle and have 2 extra gold from the Noble Mask.

Tarn clapped an arm on Benji's shoulder. "I have not heard of such a thing before, but if it helps us in battle, then I am OK with it."

[Peppermint_M]

Tesni sat and cleaned her hammer after battle. There was still more distance to travel. "So, you ones I have never quested with before... I bet you have some interesting stories."

[CMP]

Atramor leaned back against the railing and listened quietly to the rest of the party, wishing for a rum.

"Aye. Can't say I've been followin' the endeavors of other heroes too closely. What do the rest of ya' get up to?"

[-obelix-]

"I suppose I'll go first. Hmmm, lets see... My first quest, after arriving to Eubric, was to help find a missing boy, who later turned out to be a zombie boy, but never mind... On the course of it master Benji, myself and the others found a temple of Azazot underneath Eubric." Thalion looks at Atramor, pointing at his weapon, "The rod you carry was from our encounter with a demon lord back there. Dreadful experience... I heard later that another group of heroes went there after some strange things happened at the Hall. Then, a group of heroes, myself included, was hired to locate and retrieve the Ji Pei automaton plans and prototype. As you heard from master Legonardo already, the ones we have with us now, are based on the one we retrieved. But let me tell you, it wasn't a simple find and retrieve; we ended up fighting the robot and it was one tough opponent. After that I was part of the group that landed a hand in signing a peace treaty between Charis and Croise. Then master Nagure, myself and others helped find the Ziegfried's boy who mysteriously turned into a frog; I have to say all of our search and rescue missions were successful! And finally, I was among the group of heroes that foiled assassination attempts in High Kingdoms and helped sign a peace treaty between Duplovia and Delfrin." Thalion thinks for a moment, "I suppose that is the gist of it..."

He looks around the party, "How about the rest of you?"

[Costy]

"I started off by saving a few children in a magical mansion, which is still the strangest place I have ever seen. After that I went to Charis and tried to ride a horse. That didn't go so well for me, but we still won. So I went to knock down a tower belonging to a big evil dude. Then went the Frog business as told by the Elf. Lastly I was part of the group which was responsible for the deaths of three of the Wolfgang Generals. I was part of the smaller party which killed Violetta the Cat Burglar and Donny Dozenhands. That's all I've done in Heroica."

[Flare]

Benji grunts before he starts to retell his own story. "My story is a bit dull, so I'll try to keep it short. I started my career at Heroica with starting a huge war between the elves and lion knights. Afterwards I took care of some other boring stuff which was sort of boring, but I remember that it was a bit chilly. Afterwards, me, Alexis my cousin, and Althior the Mage, went after Violetta the Cat Burglar. It w-w-was interesting to say the least. We captured her but... sort of let her go back. Yeah." Benji clears his throat nervously. "Afterwards I led a failed attempt at saving a princess from the cruel Fantom Croise. I'd-d-d rather not talk about it. After that I went on a short trip to the fields of glory, and then I helped out a girl from the Hovels to find her zombie spider-eating friend in the temple of zoot, and then I decided to take a longer vacation in the fields of glory. I led a party of five through a battle of honor and glory that ultimately ended in the destruction of a selfish dragon that took abode in the farm. Most recently, I was on the mysterious island of Nova Tertia with Tarn and others, fighting large lizards, quite similar to my bestial form. Since then I completed my beast rites and have learned how to control the power. I'm looking forward to tearing apart these opponents, that have defeated heroica's heroes, I will not let my friends be put to shame."

[Sandy]

Lee Long listens to the heroes' stories intently.

"Those are some impressive feats of heroism you've performed. My own act of heroism was when I saved a girl from being raped by an aoi general. Of course, I was sentenced to a death penalty for laying a hand on an aoi - for that is the law in Xu. It was Shanxian's kindness that saved me in the end, for she knew what the general was like. He had been promoted to the office when Shanxian's husband Yeong Ji Pei fell in combat, and she was always ashamed that such a man would walk on Yeong's footsteps. Nevertheless, I was banished from Xu for all eternity. I'm grateful that I get to see my beautiful homeland once again, but as you understand, I have to remain covert about it. I doubt we will run into the Blue Hand's officials in Baokun, but it is said that the council has eyes and ears everywhere, and not without a good reason. I firmly believe that I did not do anything wrong by saving that girl, but the law is the law. You are lucky that Eubric knows no such thing."

QM Note: I can only apologize for a further delay, but my camera's battery ran out just as I was taking new shots for the quest, and I've got an early wake-up tomorrow so no update today either.

[Peppermint_M]

"Two by two, hands of blue..." Tesni muttered, a phrase she had heard once on her travels from the tribe mouintains to the island of Eubric. "We are lucky that there is little law in the free town. Though the rule of strength holds more value up in the moutains I hail from." Tesni looked to the warrior. "We also value trinkets and weapons, you must surely be every bit as strong as you seem to go without weapons."

[CMP]

"Sometimes I wonder whether a broken law is better than no law at all. Eubric's a pretty damn good example," mumbled Atramor. "We'll make sure none of the blue bastards find ya'."

He turned his attention to Thalion and Nagure.

"Stole some Shadeaux cargo for the Hinckwells, saved an alchemist kid and stopped a plague, went through a storm to kill a pair of pirates, cleaned the streets of scum for some amulet for the Town Guard, helped save Dastan, nearly got the amulet into Strivvi, helped kill an insane mage, killed another insane mage, killed an old insane mage and her army of rats," he explained bluntly, counting out the Quests on his fingers. He'd nearly lost track of how many he'd been on over the past two years.

[Rumble Strike]

Tarn spoke in a low voice. "I have been on six Quests before this one, been to different lands and seen many strange things. I do not wish to tell about my exploits, save that I have Quested before with Tesni, Atramor and Benji and know their quality. I tend to dwell on failures past and that is no help when we are on another important Quest."

As no-one wanted the Horned Hat, he offered it to Lee for him to wear, although he did remember Jun not accepting consumables and wondered if the bodyguard was similarly pig-headed.

[Peppermint_M]

Tesni sat back a little. "I fought direwolves at the farm well before the land was opened to all. I cleared a cave of the walking dead, there I found my truest weapon." Tesni gave the pommel a tap. "Fought chaos at Haddon, ventured to the fields... Trawled through a sewer and plaid courier for a rich man. Met the past in a misty valley then ventured forth to destroy the 108 bandits. That ended in failure but I moved on to kill a curse."

[Sandy]

As no-one wanted the Horned Hat, he offered it to Lee for him to wear, although he did remember Jun not accepting consumables and wondered if the bodyguard was similarly pig-headed.

QM Note: Jun was immune to all effects, not just being pig-headed.

"Thank you for the offer, but I cannot use that. It's only suitable for barbarians and beast warriors, and I'm neither."

So the remaining days rolled by, and their destination was suddenly in sight. They could hear the roaring of the mighty Chaochao Falls long before they could even see them. And when the cascades finally came to view, the sight was breathtaking.

As the airship descended, the party saw a picturesque village at the foot of the mountains, bathing in the auburn light of the setting sun.

At the entrance of the village, they were greeted by four formally dressed werepanthers. Looking around, there was no other races even present.

"Welcome to Baokun, weary travellers!" said a white-furred werepanther, who was standing tall and proud despite his obviously high age. "We are the village elders. Loremaster Baihu is my name, and these are Mistress Zhuque..."

"The village tailor, at your service."

"...Master Qinglong..."

"Head of the fishermen, at your service."

"...and Master Xuanwu."

"The blacksmith of the village, at your service."

"It is to our knowledge that you are here to eradicate the remains of the bandit clan that is hiding in the Chaochao, am I correct?"

Party:

Atramor Gibbin (CallMePie)

30 year old male human Witch

Level 28 1/3

*Poisoned Hits*

*Counterstriking*

*Immune to

Water

,

Lightning

, and

Wood

*

*Negative Effects Last One Round*

*Aura*

*e

ncouraged*

*

transcended*

*

lucky*

*

inspired*

*

hastened*

*

reinforced*

*

blessed*

Power:

48

(28+20)

Defense:

8

4

Health:

192/192

48/48

(7+27+8+6)

Ether:

26/26

(1+28-3

)

Gold:

82

Equipment:

Pheles Rod

(WP: 20, user generates an Aura, doubling the user's maximum health but drawing all attacks to them,

fire

,

ice

,

earth

,

wind

,

light

,

darkness

elemental staff),

Amulet of the Court

(Suitable for anyone, negative effects last only one round on the wearer, immune to

water

,

lightning

, and

wood

, accessory),

Counterstrike Gloves

(When hit by a Free Hit, immediately deals damage equal to level, handwear),

Rat's Hide

(Suitable for anyone, SP:4, backwear)

Inventory:

Conspirator (WP: 15, deals the

Blinded

effect,

darkness

elemental, longsword), General's Dagger (WP: 7, pierces SP, cannot be upgraded, dagger), Ratsbane (WP: 10, absorbs 2 health on successful strike, dagger), Robust Shield (SP: 8, shield), Sylvania's Cowl (Suitable for anyone, grants

Animal Talk

, headwear),

Amethyst

,

Diamond

,

Potion,

2 Grand Potions,

3 Health Cores,

2 Grand Tonics,

Ether Core,

Elixir, 2

Phoenix Essences, 3 Smelling Salts, 3 Mulled Wines

,

Deadly Venom,

Bomb XX (Deals 30 damage to all enemies and 10 damage to all heroes, all damage ignoring SP/row),

Shovel, Pickaxe,

Toolbox (Repairs one automaton back to perfect condition once)

Benji Carvenhall

, the Dragonslayer

(Flare)

28 years old male half-elven Beast Warrior

Level 33 2/4

*Natural Respite*

*Gains Triple XP*

*Immune to

Asleep

,

Blinded

,

Confused

,

Fragile

, and

Weakened

Effects

and

Wood

Element*

*e

ncouraged*

*

transcended*

*

lucky*

*

inspired*

*

hastened*

*

reinforced*

*

blessed*

Power:

51

(33+15+3)

Defense:

20

10

(4+6)

Health:

108/108

54/54

(6+31+15+1)

Gold:

1335

(owes 500 to Alexis Fenral)

Equipment:

Crossbow of the Pongcanis (WP:15;

darkness-

,

ice-

,

fire-

,

wind

-,

earth-

elemental

),

Medal of Glory

(accessory, mark of true talent that allows the wearer to gain triple experience from battles, immunity to

asleep, blinded, confused, frail, and weakened effects)

,

Emerald Hood (SP:4, Immunity to Fragile),

Brown Dragon Girdle (bodywear, power +3; immunity to wood; suitable to rangers, rogues, alchemists and beast warriors)

, Scaly Skin of the Allanoid (SP:6, backwear, suitable for Ranger and Barbarian Oriented Classes and Beast Warriors)

Inventory:

Grogmas Handcannon (WP:12 + the number of the round of battle), Ratmancer's Cowl

(headgear, the wearer's physical attacks deal double damage against vermin),

Tricorne (headwear, SP:3),

Topaz (

Lightning

), Diamond (

Light

),

Potion (2),

Grand Potion (12),

Health Core (8),

Remedy (7), Phoenix Essence (4),

Phoenix Incense (2), Dragon Scales (3),

Nostrum (3), Smelling Salts (6), Mead (6), Mulled Wine (3), Venom, Smoke Bomb (2),

Lightning Bomb, Fire Bomb 2x, Water Bomb,

Magic Compass, Pickaxe, Bedroll, Shovel,

Skeleton Decoy, Bone

,

Toolbox (Repairs one automaton back to perfect condition once)

Nagure (Costy)

34 year old Male Yeti Berserker.

Level 19

*Natural Respite*

*Immune to

Ice

,

Fire

,

Fragile and Blindness*

*Counterstriking*

*e

ncouraged*

*

transcended*

*

lucky*

*

inspired*

*

hastened*

*

reinforced*

*

blessed*

Power:

29

(19+10)

Defense:

44

22

( 12+10)

Health:

72/72

36/36

(8+14+10)

Gold:

4

Equipment:

Axe of the Croise (WP: 10,

Light

-elemental axe)

,

Shield

(SP:10),

Yeti Fur Coat

(Artefact,

bodywear,

SP:12, immunity to

Ice,

Fire,

Fragile and Blindness

; suitable for yetis only),

C

ounterstrike Gloves

(Artefact,

handwear;

After the wearer is struck by a Free Hit, he counters with strength equal to his Level)

Inventory:

Stone Hammer (WP: 15,

Earth

&

Darknes

s-elemental, hammer)

, Helmet (SP:1), Potion x2, Grand Potion x8, Remedy,

Tiger Balm,

2

Phoenix Essences x2,

Mead x2, Smelling Salts, Deadly Venom x2,

Smoke Bomb x2,

Chaotic Bomb (Causes 100 random elemental damage to all opponents), Pickaxe

,

Toolbox (Repairs one automaton back to perfect condition once)

Tarn Valco

(Rumble Strike)

*Party Leader*

22 year old human male Raider

Level 24

*Natural Respite*

*Immune to

Weakened

*

*Counterstriking*

*e

ncouraged*

*

transcended*

*

lucky*

*

inspired*

*

hastened*

*

reinforced*

*

blessed*

Power:

34

(24+10)

Defense

: 12

6

Health

: 80/80

40/40

(7+23+7+3)

Gold

: 6

Equipment

:

Helbaerend

(WP: 10;

water

-,

ice

- and

lightning

-elemental, Hollow Blade; axe, Grand Potion equipped),

Darksteel Armor (SP:6, Max. Health +3, Immunity to

Weakened

; bodywear), Noble Mask (Wearer gains gold equal to the number of enemies after each victorious battle; headwear), Counterstrike Gloves

(handwear, after the wearer is struck by a Free Hit they counter with strength equal to their level)

Inventory

:

Lion’s Heart

(WP: 13,

darkness

-elemental,

stun

-effect; greatsword),

Bagpipes (WP:8,

wind

-elemental instrument), Fauxthril Spear (WP: 6, spear),

Amulet of U'Kin Nobility (Grants Diplomacy to wearer when addressing a U'Kin),

Horned Hat (SP +1, Power +1, suitable for barbarians and beast warriors; headwear),

Potion,

Grand Potion 3x,

Health Core,

Grand Tonic,

Phoenix Essence 3x,

Mead 5x, Nostrum 5x, Smelling Salts 5x,

Venom 2x,

Shovel, Pickaxe, Bucket, Bone 2x

,

Toolbox (Repairs one automaton back to perfect condition once)

Tesni Hightribe (Peppermint_M)

Level 31

*Natural Respite*

*Immune to Afraid*

*e

ncouraged*

*

transcended*

*

lucky*

*

inspired*

*

hastened*

*

reinforced*

*

blessed*

Power

: 48

(31+10+3+4)

Defense

: 28

14

(8+2+4)

Health

: 100/100

50/50

(8+29+10+2)

Gold

: 1090

Equipment

:

Mellt (WP:10,

ice

- and

lightning

-elemental; hammer)

, Sir Roderick’s Shield (SP:8, Immunity to afraid), Bone Claws (WP:3, SP:2; handwear), Dragon Bone Armor (SP:4, Max. Health +2; bodywear)

Inventory

:

Fàelàn (Fiery Sawblade (

Fire

)(WP:20, 8x damage to enemies weak to fire, longsword))

, Cryfder (WP:6), Dryw ar Zoot (WP:14, light-elemental; longsword), Cysgodion (WP:11, darkness-elemental; greatsword), Party Maracas (WP:4, user is hastened, instrument),

Rebel's Dagger (WP: 5), 2

Shackles of War (prevents all fleeing, accessory), Magic Mirror (The user reflects all ether-based attacks back to the caster without getting damaged by them; accessory),

King's Crown (Headwear, protects against Doom and Petrified, Suitable for all classes),

Ruby (

Fire

), Scroll of Sleep, Remedy, Neutralizer, 2 Phoenix Essences, 5 Venoms, 2 Deadly Venoms, 2 Meads, 2 Smelling Salts, Nostrum, Soma, 2x Grating Stone, Bright Polish, Red Dragon Plume (artifact, accessory, immunity to Weakened and Fire, suitable to Barbarians, Knights, Skirmishers, Winged Warriors), Samurai Helmet (WP:4, suitable to knights, dragoons, regulators, winged warriors), Cannon Parts, Aquamarine Lamp of Summoning, Minimizing Dust

,

Toolbox (Repairs one automaton back to perfect condition once)

Thalion Dwinlas (-obelix-)

213 years old male elf Sorcerer

Level 18 1/2

*Dual Strike* *

Immune to

Magic

,

Sealed,

Healing

*

*e

ncouraged*

*

transcended*

*

lucky*

*

inspired*

*

hastened*

*

reinforced*

*

blessed*

Power:

28

(18+10)

Defense

: 10

5

(3+2)

Health:

52/52

26/26

(5+17+4)

Ether:

28/28

(5+17+1+5)

Gold

: 0

Equipment:

Veritas/Equitas (WP:10, Dual Strike, twin sais

)

, Robe of the Archmagi (SP:3, Max. Ether +5, protects from

Se

aled

-effect), Duplovian Helmet of the Guard (SP:2, Immune to

Magic

and

Healing

)

,

Inventory:

Sleeper (WP:5, melee/throwing weapon, deals

Asleep

to enemies it hits, Hollow [

Potion

]),

Cloak of Espionage (

allows the wearer to examine enemy stats before a battle; backwear)

,

Snake Eye Charm

(Protects from

Petrified

-effect),

Amethyst (

Darkness

), Diamond (

Light

), Topaz (

Lightning

), Garnet (

Earth

), Ruby (

Fire

), Opal (

Ice

),

Emerald (

Wood

), Aquamarine (

Water

),

Scroll of Sealing, Scroll of Frailty

, Scroll of Weakening

,

Potion, Grand Potion (4)

,

Health Core, Grand Tonic, Remedy (2)

, Phoenix Essence, Nostrum,

Bedroll

, Bone

,

Toolbox (Repairs one automaton back to perfect condition once)

Lee Long (NPC, controlled by Rumble Strike)

42 years old male human Chi Monk

Level 50 1/5

*Natural Respite*

*Immune to Blinded, Sealed, Confused, Asleep & Weakened*

*Dragons cause halved damage*

*e

ncouraged*

*

transcended*

*

lucky*

*

inspired*

*

hastened*

*

reinforced*

*

blessed*

Power

: 52

(50+2)

Defense

: 20

10

Health

: 124/124

62/62

(12+50)

Ether

: 53/53

(3+50)

Gold

: 0

Equipment

: Chi Facepaint (protects from blinded-, sealed-, confused- & asleep-effect; suitable for Lee only; accessory) Long Changbao (SP:10, halves damage done by enemies named "dragon"; suitable for Lee only; bodywear), Pugilist's Gloves (Power +2, protects from weakened-effect; handwear)

Inventory

: Diamond (

Light

), Amethyst (

Darkness

), Phoenix Essence

Rubio (NPC, controlled by Rumble Strike)

Ruby G.E.M. Automaton

Level 29 1/3

*Immune to all effects and

Fire

* *Automatic

encouraged

-effect to allies*

Power: 29

Element:

Fire

Condition: 100/100

Defense: 10

Opalix (NPC, controlled by Rumble Strike)

Opal G.E.M. Automaton

Level 28 1/3

*Immune to all effects and

Ice

* *Automatic

transcended

-effect to allies*

Power: 28

Element:

Ice

Condition: 100/100

Defense: 10

Topazor (NPC, controlled by Rumble Strike)

Topaz G.E.M. Automaton

Level 27

*Immune to all effects and

Lightning

* *Automatic

lucky

-effect to allies*

Power: 27

Element:

Lightning

Condition: 100/100

Defense: 10

Emeray (NPC, controlled by Rumble Strike)

Emerald G.E.M. Automaton

Level 26 1/3

*Immune to all effects and

Wood

* *Automatic

inspired

-effect to allies*

Power: 26

Element:

Wood

Condition: 100/100

Defense: 10

Sapphiraz (NPC, controlled by Rumble Strike)

Sapphire G.E.M. Automaton

Level 25 1/3

*Immune to all effects and

Wind

* *Automatic

hastened

-effect to allies*

Power: 25

Element:

Wind

Condition: 100/100

Defense: 10

Garnetic (NPC, controlled by Rumble Strike)

Garnet G.E.M. Automaton

Level 24 1/3

*Immune to all effects and

Earth

* *Automatic

reinforced

-effect to allies*

Power: 24

Element:

Earth

Condition: 100/100

Defense: 10

Aquamarq (NPC, controlled by Rumble Strike)

Aquamarine G.E.M. Automaton

Level 23 1/3

*Immune to all effects and

Water

* *Automatic

blessed

-effect to allies*

Power: 23

Element:

Water

Condition: 100/100

Defense: 10

[CMP]

"Aye," nodded Atramor. McCafferey's eyes flicked from one man....well, panther, to the other. "Assume you're Shanxian's informants' informants?"

[Peppermint_M]

"Yeah, heard you had a bandit problem. We'll get them routed out good and proper." Tesni said, cracking her knuckles.

[Rumble Strike]

"Thank you for the warm welcome to your village, Loremaster. It is indeed our mission to rid this region of the bandits." Tarn said politely.

[Flare]

Benji cooly gets down from the ship and lets the others do the talking.

[-obelix-]

Thalion bowed, "A pleasure to meet you, and thank you for the kind welcome." After a short pause he continued, "Is there something you can tell us about the bandits?"

[Costy]

Thalion bowed, "A pleasure to meet you, and thank you for the kind welcome." After a short pause he continued, "Is there something you can tell us about the bandits?"

"Instead of something, could you please tell us everything? I feel we're going to need all the information we can get."

[Flare]

"Instead of something, could you please tell us everything? I feel we're going to need all the information we can get."

Benji elbows the yeti discreetly and whispers to him, "Better not be too hasty, they haven't mentioned yet on whose side they're on. We don't know if they are friends or allies of the Stars of Destiny."

He then takes a pace towards Tarn and also quietly whispers to him so that no one else can hear. "Do you want me to do some scouting around the village? As a beast it is easier to sneak around, even if I am a meter and a half tall reptile."

Edited July 18, 2013 by Flare

[Rumble Strike]

Tarn shook his head and said in a very low voice, "Not yet, we can't just assume they are hostile. Lee doesn't seem to have any problem. I'd rather not start snooping around and annoying them."

[Sandy]

"Yes, a few months back, the notorious clan of outlaws calling themselves the Stars of Destiny were seen moving into the caverns behind the Chaochao Falls. It was a great insult to our customs, for we hold that place sacred. Our tradition has been to go up there to listen to our ancestors as they whisper through the curtain of the water. Whoever would banish the bandits would do us a great service."

"Yes, a traveller that came to our village soon after the event told us about these Stars and their horrendous actions, and we spread the word further."

"Luckily someone listened and sent help. We don't get many visitors from the capital here, and the army is still waging that endless war on the Nagashan border, I hear."

"We will do anything in our power to help you face the bandits, but unfortunately we are not much of fighters ourselves. Just common farmers, fishermen and artisans."

"The least we can do is to guide you to the entrance of the caves behind the waterfalls."

"Oh, and the traveller I mentioned is still staying with us. Would you like to meet him?"

[CMP]

"I s'pose. Can ya' offer us anythin' in the way of supplies?"

[Flare]

Benji speaks in a low rumbling tone of voice. "Do not worry, masters, we will decimate tbese desecrators and restore respect to your holy site. I will take great honor in doing so. However, it would probably be prudent to meet this traveller before we take action."

OoC: I am guessing that this traveller may be that seller guy that was freed from the tower (his name was Sham I think?). It doesn't really matter but its fun to guess

Edited July 19, 2013 by Flare

[CMP]

OoC: I am guessing that this traveller may be that seller guy that was freed from the tower (his name was Sham I think?). It doesn't really matter but its fun to guess

Oh, that'd be cool. I was almost sure it was Jun, but that's a good possibility.

[Flare]

Oh, that'd be cool. I was almost sure it was Jun, but that's a good possibility.

I doubt its Jun because: 1. I'm pretty he was captured and put with other Aoi masters that the stars must've captured. 2. If Jun had been freed he probably wouldn't just stay at one place to wait for help to come. He would either try to return to Shanxian himself or try to attack the new stars base behind the falls by himself.

Either scenario, he wouldn't be sitting around on his tuchus waiting for heroes to come

Edited July 19, 2013 by Flare