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Sakhrabout's Postal Service
Posted: 14 Jun 2006 11:20 AM |
The black panther who was not a panther stalked the Buckshire swamp, leaping from tree to tree above the leaches and trolls. Just a shadow, a whisper in the leaves, Sakhrabout could be many things. Unseen was his favorite. In time his quarry came into sight. The orcish woman in her red dress and crimson wrap upon her forehead. Ophelia.
Sakhrabout made an un-catlike appearance. Shaking a branch as Ophelia passed beneath to get her attention. He showed her the leather pouch that hung about his neck, tossing it down to her. "From M to Lady O" clearly inked upon it.
In the pouch is a potion of clarity, a parchment, a piece of vellum, and a small stick of graphite wrapped in a little rag.
The parchment reads:
"Dearest Lady O,
We must speak in private soon. This potion will enable you to ease and protect your mind for a short while without affecting your health. I am researching the ring given you by the dark stranger. Please do not wear it. If you must, please drink this potion first.
There is an engraving on the ring. Please take a rubbing of it for me with the piece of vellum and the stick of graphite. Place the rubbing back in the bag and give it to Sakhrabout. He will bring it to me.
If there is anything you need to communicate to me, please put it in the satchel as well.
Your friend,
Mopoatha" |
Famous last words:
Mykal> it's my new wireless router.
* > Mykal has quit (Ping timeout)
Vulpina> Hey!! IRC didn't boot m.....
* > Vulpina has quit (Exit: DarkMyst WebChat) |
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Re: Sakhrabout's Postal Service
Posted: 14 Jun 2006 11:54 AM |
Ophelia looks up at the panther and draws her sword and shield.
"Well I am getting hungry."
She notices the panther offer a leather pouch around his neck.
"What is this?" as she eyes the panther.
She places her shield on the ground and carefully catches the pouch as it falls. Opening it she looks at the objects in confusion and reads the parchment.
"How did she know I had a ring?? And how does she know it has a engraving on it?" She says to herself. "I did not speak of it," she says looking around as if Gabriel's eyes where peering at her somewhere in the shadows. She takes the potion out of the bag and downs it in one gulp. In a short moment of clarity, she thinks..
"Was she spying on my conversation with Gabriel!?"
And as that brief moment of clarity ended, she smiled a little thinking she might not have to do this on her own. She looks around hoping knowone is looking and makes the rubbing as she was instructed to. Places the rubbing back into the pouch. On back of the parchment she writes.
My dear friend Mopoatha,
I done as you want. I not know how you know about my meeting. But you do and I hope that don't mean you in trouble. Please be careful and show this to no one. If you find anything please tell me.
Ophelia
She crams the parchment back into the pouch and tosses it back up to the panther. |
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Re: Sakhrabout's Postal Service
Posted: 14 Jun 2006 01:50 PM |
Sakrabout slinks off above the swamp, tree to tree, waiting for the return of his other half. The longer he waits the colder he feels. A day passes in waiting. "If this keeps up, I am soon to be a mere panther again." He laughs - in the manner of cats - at his own melodrama, and cleans himself. The wind shifts. He smells a troll nearby.
Prudently he make his way out to Tanglewood and the Buckshire Trail. The cougars pace about their territories. He lurks in the trees watching them. After hours of this, finally, he feels the return of his master.
Zubeida emerges from a very tight space on a ledge above the Buckshire Trail. She seems uncharacteristically frantic, and wearied. With little thought to consequences she slides down from the perch. Sakrabout senses her fear, now with minds linked recalls what she has seen.
"Sneaking around those dragons again?" it is a rhetorical question he sends to her as he pads to her side.
"I was waiting for you, and decided to explore more of the cave in the meantime."
Sakhrabout tosses her the pouch. She takes it and thanks him, gently opening it. She peruses the contents, happily rewarded with the graphite rubbing. "The second. Now I can compare them," she thinks. Delicately she places it between two clean sheets of vellum and neatly presses it between the pages of her spellbook.
"I need to rest," she tells Sakhrabout. "in town." He nods noticing her magical energies are depleted.
"I will hunt in the woods with Kalila nearby," he assures her. Then adds, "You need more help in this, Zubeida." An image of the elephants of the Kobai Plains is shared between them.
"I need more than elephants," she thinks and walks into Buckshire. "But for now, rest, and then more research. In time I will find a light to guide me through this darkness." Despite this, her mind does not quiet. Unless meditating it never ceases working. She lets her thoughts flow as they will.
Ophelia and Kalannar raise their heads in her minds eye as she walks. She sees the signs of the Devoured. She had vowed upon leaving home that she would never wash the flesh of another of their kind again. The image of the Valley of Lost Souls returns to her, and she shudders. "I will find a way to help you, my friends." Her eyes are moist with tears.
In the basement of Doc's, she thinks of Ferein, and their fear of the taint. And then her thoughts turn to the Sunbringer she had met in Mirghul. "Lights in the darkness," she thinks staring into the fire, "That is what we are." She nestles onto the couch curled like a cat and sleeps. |
Famous last words:
Mykal> it's my new wireless router.
* > Mykal has quit (Ping timeout)
Vulpina> Hey!! IRC didn't boot m.....
* > Vulpina has quit (Exit: DarkMyst WebChat) |
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Research in Ka'azim
Posted: 16 Jun 2006 01:17 PM |
Back in Ka'azim, Zubeida searches the library for scraps of information. She identifies dozens of books, many on the top shelves which are well beyond her reach. A mage can construct an extradimensional tower out of thin air, but can not ensorcel the energies of that same air merely to act as a simple servant. Someday I will develop the spell, she vows. Perhaps it would be best to have an unseen servant.? She shakes her head, and focuses on another solution.
Just so happening to have a charm readily prepared she approaches one of the apprentices of the master librarian. With a flick of the wrist, a batting of eyelashes, and a touch of jasmine, she casts her spell. She cast it well, but the librarian's apprentice miraculously resists the magic and is furious.
"Just who do you think you are?" He pulls out a wand in a fit of pique, waves it at her inffectually. Blusters. "You can not just go about casting spells upon whoever you like. There are rules, you know!?"
Zubeida tries to get in a word of appology. "I am sorry, I..."
"Just wanted to what? Put me to sleep? So that you can have your way with me? Watch me collapse in laughter? I could lose my job! I could be back out there pruning the hedge!" He starts huffing and puffing.
"I just wanted to ask you for some help," she says. "Could you help me get that book down?"
Used to taking orders he obediently pulls down the book. It is black leather with silver title, "Elements of Neromancy". His eyes go wide as he reads the title. "Necromancy. I am going to report this. I know your kind ..." blah blah blah all the way back to the Master Librarian.
Zubeida shrugs. Once the section is clear she decides to do things the other way. She summons the bear from her heart into her flesh, reaches to the top shelf with one long claw and proceeds to pull the books she needs down to the floor. I am getting good at this, she thinks Didn't even knock over the shelf. Before anyone notices she returns to her normal form, leaving just a hint of bear musk in the stale air.
Hours later, she comes across a reference to a ring very similar to Ophelia's and Kalannar's. In "Basic Artifacing and Enchanting, Grade 3" she finds a description of "The Necron Ring", a silver ring with a pearl of polished obsidian. It has powers of mind control, typically over the undead. Of course, she thinks, That was not a pearl at all, but refined obsidian. Later this leads her to the obscure work of a necromancer to bind the wills of the living as they control undead. She finds nothing further and the librarians are not particularly helpful today.
Once she returns to Port Royale, Zubeida sends Sakrabout with a message to speak with Kalannar right away. She speaks in the silent language of cats. "Sakrabout, I need you to speak with Kalannar, the sick man you met in the garden of the Sisters. Find him. There are two things he must know. One, he must not put on that ring. It will enslave his will. Two, there is hope for him. Since his pact with the Ghoul was made under questionable circumstances, the magic connection between he and the ghoul should be weak. That is probably why he has not fully succumbed. He must seek a means to break the spell." Due to their empathic connection she knows that the cat clearly understands her. Sakrabout leaves in search of Kalannar.
Now for my other friend, she thinks, and walks off in search of her. |
Famous last words:
Mykal> it's my new wireless router.
* > Mykal has quit (Ping timeout)
Vulpina> Hey!! IRC didn't boot m.....
* > Vulpina has quit (Exit: DarkMyst WebChat) |
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Sakhrabout's Postal Service
Posted: 23 Jul 2006 03:36 PM |
((Edited Pouch Message to correct my misunderstanding of events))
Sakhrabout waits in a tree near the entry to the Four Winds. As Ophelia emerges from the door, he shakes a branch to get her attention. Dew drops fall and strike her. When she looks up, he allows himself to be seen. He has a leather pouch around his neck as usual and shakes it free to fall at her feet. Upon the pouch is painted "Lady O". Sakrhabout watches her, gesturing to the pouch periodically with a look and a nod. When she realizes it is for her and opens it, he fades from view like a vapor. For a moment a breeze whispers through the branch upon which he had perched, and then is quiet. He is gone, perhaps to deliver another message.
Within the pouch, Ophelia finds a note:
Lady O,
I watched some of your conversation with Jessup and was surprised that you still seem interested in going to Maldovia to retrieve the Glyph. I thought since the weight has been lifted that you would no longer feel compelled to help Desthedes. Please do not go to Maldovia. Please Ophelia. I beg you not to do this.
Step one is complete! You are on the way to being cured. I believe the next step is to cancel your debt. We can find a way to lift your debt to Desthedes and Gabriel without going to Maldovia. Do not let them convince you otherwise. They can be intimidating, but we have already begun to loosen their grip upon you.
I wish you well,
M |
Famous last words:
Mykal> it's my new wireless router.
* > Mykal has quit (Ping timeout)
Vulpina> Hey!! IRC didn't boot m.....
* > Vulpina has quit (Exit: DarkMyst WebChat) |
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Sakhrabout's Postal Service
Posted: 23 Jul 2006 04:19 PM |
((Edited Message to correct my misunderstanding of events))
Sakhrabout wanders far and wide in search of Kalannar. Finally the cat finds his quarry. Kal still has the taint upon him, and Sakhrabout approaches cautiously. From a moderate distance he lets out a low short growl alerting Kalannar to his presence. He is surprised by the dimming of the half-elf's senses. Normally the hunter would have seen him.
His eyes meet Kalannar's and he speaks in the language of cats, "Djinn has sent me to deliver this message. You can be cured. Speak with Ophelia. She is free of the ring's bond. Free to feel the sun and taste life again. Speak with her, and seek your freedom." Sakhrabout lets it sink in. Then he continues, "Djinn is warning you not to seek the Glyph. It will be your undoing. There is still hope for a cure. The Glyph is presently safe, but once the Glyph is removed from its safe place, all hope for you will wither and fade. As will all the hopes for the people of Vives. The Glyph brings unending darkness."
Sakhrabout upon saying his piece, looks on quietly. He listens to Kalannar's response, then slips away - a wind in the grass. |
Famous last words:
Mykal> it's my new wireless router.
* > Mykal has quit (Ping timeout)
Vulpina> Hey!! IRC didn't boot m.....
* > Vulpina has quit (Exit: DarkMyst WebChat) |
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Kalannar's message of boon.
Posted: 24 Jul 2006 04:47 PM |
Kalannar stands seemingly emotionless as the news slowly penetrates his numbing mind. Sakhrabout sees green eyes peering out from the shadow of some brush beneath a pine tree about 30 yards off. Cala allows her large head to enter the light so the panther can see her. A breeze stirs up and blows arond the brush where she had been hidden. It picks up an oak leaf and tumbles it across the forest floor. Dancing along, the leaf bounds and spins until stem of the leaf gets stuck under some pine needles and collapses like a dancer unable to support herself on tired legs after a long stint. The wind continues it's swirling path to the panther. Contrary to the jovial dance of the wind, Sakhrabout can smell fear and a growing hopelessness on the Wolf's musk. He hangs his black head in recognition of the wolf's trial, not letting Kalannar on to the fact that he is being watched. Cala slips back behind the brush.
The grey-skinned half-elf stands looking blankly at the Sakhrabout as the message sinks in. His breath rhasps as he inhales and sort of gurgles as he exhales. He begins breathing heavier as his dulled mind wraps itself around the reality of what was said. He is hunkered over as though he had aged a hundred years: A long time even for a half elf. Finally it sets in and he seems to show his excitement by standing up just a little bit straighter, and breathing more heavily. A cure? Could it be?
--Kalannar had been seen less lately as his condition seemed to be pulling him to more remote regions. He had tried crafting, but it hadn't brought much joy. But hunting... Killing had brought him more pleasure. Just a week ago he had indulged in slaying a tribe of ettins and later fought his urge to eat their living flesh. Just two days before he had seen Ophelia speaking to Nicodemus's floating eyeball friend. They had been speaking of sacrifices to be able to get into Maldovia. Apparently the Glyph is there... then Elvalia came and said perhaps the Elves could help... but what's this about a cure?--
"..... ... ... ... ....... . .... .... ... ....... ... .... ... .... . ....." ((in animal language)) [Thank you for the advice. I will seek out Ophelia and find out what I can.] He responds in catlike growls and purring yet his tone resembled less a panther, but rather a sick Malar cat with his harsh and damaged voice.
He bends down slowly, almost resembling an old human in their last years as he does so. then he opens his pack and reaches into a Lion bag, pulling out a bit of cooked and salted meat. "..... ..., ... ..... Djinn,,, .., ..... Zubeida, ... ...'. ....." [Thank you, and thank Djinn... No, thank Zubeida, for all she's done.] He presents the cat with a bit of meat before watching him leave.
As the cat stealths back into the forest, he smells a bit of relief and a renewing hope on the wind. And, not just in the musk of the Wolf. |
"Life is a short trip... travel light"
--
PC Descriptions with Journal Links |
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Sakhrabout's Postal Service
Posted: 18 Sep 2006 03:30 PM |
Sakhrabout lies in wait for Kalannar in the trees between Lantonei and Gladden. A gentle creek winds beneath him, forming something of a corridor through the otherwise choked woodland. He knows the hunter passes through this way.
Eventually his patience is rewarded and Kalannar comes into view. Sakhrabout leaps down from the tree to wait for the hunter by the water. He drinks as if oblivious to his approach.
When Kalannar is close enough, Sakhrabout turns to speak to him.
"Stag Warrior," he begins, locking his large yellow eyes upon Kalannar's. "My mistress wishes to speak with you about your debt to the lich."
He sits in complete stillness facing the half-elf with half lidded eyes. Kal has questions. Sakhrabout blinks enigmatically at them in silence, loving the mystery of it.
When Kal is finally quiet Sakhrabout finishes the message, "Go to Mirghul. Wait with the wooden men by the dark lake. My mistress will find you."
At that Sakhrabout turns to vapor and blows away. |
Famous last words:
Mykal> it's my new wireless router.
* > Mykal has quit (Ping timeout)
Vulpina> Hey!! IRC didn't boot m.....
* > Vulpina has quit (Exit: DarkMyst WebChat) |
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