Kingdoms of Iliest (Dungeon World) - IC

[WlfSamurai]

Chapter 1

The humidity of the council chamber blankets the room and sticks to your skin. Dim light flickers from torches on the walls and candles on the council dais. The uneven stone floor is as old as the carved marble statues inset in the room’s columns.

You all stand together in the center of the chamber facing the council dais. Made from carved oak, the dais stands seven feet tall. Seated behind it are the five High Council members. Behind them, atop his ornate throne, King Jorund sits with his hands steepled. He’s a severe man, driven, rash, but often fair.

Next to you, Lord Garren bows and gestures to you. “King Jorund, High Council members, I bring you the survivors of Gashak, as requested.”

King Jorund stands and wraps his velvet cape around his broad shoulders. “The survivors,” he says, repeating Lord Garren. “I have many questions for you all. I’m anxious, as we all are, for answers. So, let’s start simple. Tell me. Plainly. How did Gashak fall?”

What do you do?


Thread links:
OOC Thread
Character Thread
Chapter 1

( glowworms , Mazzie , Lord Potato , S Skrakes , Cthulhu_Wakes , Tardy Grade , Teh Frixz )

 

[Teh Frixz]

Panelophi of the Bitterwoods

The Oaken dais was pure travesty. The strong, noble and forthright tree had most likely been a kind soul, providing shade and beauty to the humans living beneath his mighty branches. Until one day the ancestors of this fleeting group of mammals who call themselves a 'court' saw fit to end the life of those that protected them and to mutilate his corpse rather than let the oaken spirit return to the soil.

She was quite nearly crying, the vivid green eyes wide as she stared in sorrow at the dias. Panelophi had been staring at it since she entered the grand chamber with her party and by now there would be no doubt amongst them what she was staring at.

The urge to be hasty and bring up words of pain and anguish arose in her bark but sensibility suppressed it as she instead chose to wait and see what would occur. Instead of speaking plainly about the destruction of Gashak and how the grand tower exactly toppled over, the Dryad takes on a spite filled grimace and meanders over towards a potted plant and steps next to it with her arms crossed and a bare foot touching the soil within the pot.

 

[Skrakes]

Lorne

The Battlemage brushes past weeping Panelophi. Whatever the tree-girl's woes, the handful spared death in a bustling matropolis. Before Jorund he drops to , eyes on the ground. Not that he has any particular loyalty to a king in the backwater western king, but they were escorted at speartip.... "I do not know." He doubts anyone does. "All I know is... I felt a terrible scream in the magic around the city." Then? Screaming, terror, chaos. None knew what had happened, only that the Grand Tower of the College of the Magi toppled, spewing visible plumes of magic... Panic had been one thing. As the dustcloud from the collapse choked the streets... "After that, something happened. It tore the firmament of reality. They appeared. They gave quarter to none."

Only dumb luck had saved them. Well... luck and some talent.

 

[Tardy Grade]

Dorian​

"So, let’s start simple..."​

Heh. Of course they'd ask for the simple answer. Large words would probably be better spent on deaf ears than those of these men. They wanted to hear answers to their liking. Pass the blame for their lack of information on others. Ineptitude brought out by the fact their biggest source of information was the hearsay of spell shocked victims and soldiers. Or in their case simply unfortunate travelers.

"...Tell me. Plainly. How did Gashak fall?” finished the man king.​

​

The damp state of the dwelling along with the heat from the torches made him wonder if this wasn't all a juvenile ploy to make the inquired-upon uncomfortable and unsettled. Well it was a horrid state of things. Without his staff he felt oddly naked despite his thick and all encompassing robes.

"Fall? You make it sound as if there was a siege, my liege. Nothing could be farther from the truth. While I make no claims at greater truths and answers ... I know certain things. It was over within the time it takes a candle to dwindle to half it's height."

"You may ask me how I can know this?" he lifted his hooded face slightly so the shadows eased enough to show his ash grey skin and mouth.

"Simple ... I noted when the screams began ...and when they quelled." his hands drumming on the sides of his robes as he felt a physical longer for his weapon.

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Achamian

"Listen well to the elf, men of Dunland." The dwarf rubbed his aching shoulders. Still sore from the flight out of the city. "The collapse of the scrivener's and the fire that engulfed the rest of the Bowery covered our escape." He nods to Dorian. "I'd say a quarter of that candle's wick saw dust cover the streets. Tower was older than most of the cities here. Carried the glow of fire same way an opal can. They herded souls into the river for killing, I remember seeing that when the fire broke out." He ran a hand over his shorn pate. He felt oddly younger and considerably more vulnerable without his gear.

 

[WlfSamurai]

The five High Council members whisper and chatter amongst themselves while stealing glances at you all.

The King rubs his sinuses with a sigh. "You all speak in riddles. The accounts I've had are confusing at best. This seems no different." He stands and begins pacing. A long moment of silence draws out. "Lorne, is it? You mentioned a...tear...in reality? And 'they' appeared. Who're 'they'?"

The Council members quiet to hear you answer.

 

[Teh Frixz]

Panelophi

"At the very least they are still alive to enjoy the pleasure of speaking!" The Dryad finally speaks out, her tone cross and brimming with anger. She withdraws her foot from the potted plant to stomp over and address the council.

She was truly alien here, in this building of stone and metal her body was bristling in discomfort. The time she'd spent in this city was causing her to grow unwanted defenses. Her bark was turning rougher, her hands more like claws and her feet were becoming cloven. Cities, it seemed, were not the best place for Panelophi's being.

"You sit here in your caves and demand of survivors some sort of an explanation! I'll give you one! This is punishment for your destruction of the Gates of Nature. Your tower of college lay upon land where a Great Oak stood. Struck down years ago, you removed your protections and these others are slipping through! You animals have brought this upon yourself! Penance for your crimes against the Oaks!"

She speaks with a painful vitriol, from a position of arrogance and limited scope of the world and with wild abandon for a species not on the official registry of sentience.

 

[Skrakes]

Lorne

He glances at the Dryad. Such nature spirits rant about the mortal races tampering with the natural world often enough, yet they seemingly lacked the strength to keep their "gates" from being cut and put to work. Legend did indeed speak of a gigantic tree... but he looks back to the council. "I cannot describe them. Even in my training I never heard of such a creature. They were beings made out of writhing light... lightning sparked from their bodies. Flesh scorched at the touch. Stone melted. It sounds mad to say it, but such were the creatures I saw..." His Archeblade could harm them, somewhat, but of course they had stripped that from him...

 

[Tardy Grade]

Dorian​

"And 'they' appeared. Who're 'they'?"

More inane nonsense in the form of inquiry. Simple enough to ask those that they can coerce or reason with, far less so for them to deal with forces beyond their mortal kin.

"If I had to make them out to be anything I'd say I was reminded of the Elementes. Beings that represented the very forces of nature they comprised of. Only ... they were more 'driven'. Intent in all actions as if they were like those of mortal mind.” he said in an all too raspy voice that did little to make him more approachable given his dark attire. Thinking he wasn't too clear he reiterated.

"The Elementes do not share out sense of time and so lack an urgency. My companion Panelophi can vouch for that as even the nature folk are but mere passing thoughts to such beings. They are disasters if they happen across you, my Liege, but not evil nor vindictive. They simply exist like the cold that accompanies a misty morning." he shrugged and then stepped back, once again hiding his mouth beneath the comforting shade of the hood.

"Hence I know not what they are ... only what they can do. Disasters with malicious intent, my Lord. That is what you face." his eyes firmly on his feet as he tried to sense for the whereabouts of the mana in his staff.

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Achamian

"Fucking horrid chaps, that help? They did burn a city to the ground just by saying 'hi.'"

 

[Skrakes]

Lorne

He couldn't help but smirk. "But you gave them a proper Dwarven hello in return... didn't you, Akka?"

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Achamian

"It is unwise to brag, Lorne, but... Well, if it could have children, it cannae no more. It's an amazing piece of dwarven martial pride, my lords. Take out the knee is a solid maxim for any foe."

 

[WlfSamurai]

King Jorund slumps back into his throne. He sighs. "And so, you're saying..." he says, trailing off in thought. "You are saying that these...creatures appeared and destroyed the College of the Magi. And you think they're...potentially related to elemental beings.”

The King rubs his chin a long while, staring off into the middle distance. What feels like long moments pass. Finally, he waves a hand. “Lord Garren, see these men and women to the antechamber. I wish to have a private word with the Council.”

“Yes, Sire,” says Lord Garren. He looks to you each and outstretches an arm toward the doors out. “If you’ll please,” he says.

Outside the council chamber, the air is considerably cooler. There are far more torches giving the space an open inviting feel, despite the two heavily armed and armored guards at the door. It’s clear the contrast between the two chambers is deliberate.

As you wait, Lord Garren clears his throat. “Is it true? Creatures? Destroyed the Tower of the Magi College?”

 

[Skrakes]

Lorne

"The College of Gashak has fallen. The great tower collapsed and fell on the town." Straight onto homes, villas, apartments, shops. That might have claimed more lives than the elementals. He glances around. "Are we prisoners? I would like my weapon returned to me. I have some attachment to it."

 

[Tardy Grade]

Dorian​

“If you’ll please,” he says.

The three of them head towards the door without the need for the guards to corral them like some mindless animals.

"What do you two think?" Dorian asks the Pan-Ach duo. "They seem like they're hiding something more from us and intentionally playing the fool? Or do they really think we're responsible for that clusterfuck?"

Once they'd stepped away from the searching eyes of the men in that room Dorian eased up slightly and let his language grow coarser.

 

[Teh Frixz]

Panelophi

"If my memories of this region are correct, and let us be brutally honest, my memories are coming from contact with the Birch groves outside the city so my information may be decidedly wrong. But if it is true, then the humans here are just ignorant, if at fault for cutting down the oak gate here."

Despite the now direct involvement of the group, Panelophi still had that air of detachment she couldn't seem to rid herself of. It was similar in style to the tone of a foreign prince or a prideful vizier, but with the added effect of coming from a living shrub.

"In any case, the Birches say the Oak gate was holding back some sort of disaster that threatened many Groves. This was before my time of course. I...am not that old so I don't know the details. Just that the college was built on something Treefolk specifically grew and didn't wish to be cut down. Unless the upper magi were somehow aware of all this, I don't see how this could all be intentional"

 

[WlfSamurai]

Lord Garren looks between you all as you discuss. "Lorne," he says, "you can't have your weapons back yet. It's the law that you may not have them in the presence of the King. We'll be back in there shortly."

To everyone, he says, "If the tower is gone, did the Magi go with it? The King had mentioned a need for the Magi. The northern marches report Orc raids in greater and greater numbers. We fear the worst. Did any survive?"

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Achamian

"I doubt we were the only survivors. Especially in a town so big. Daft luck more often than not can win out a few living souls." The dwarf yawns. "Terribly sorry, bit tired. But aside from us ending up here...couldn't tell you where a one of them, if they did survive, went."

 

[Tardy Grade]

Dorian

“ I...am not that old so I don't know the details..” Dorian chuckled and was about to entertain her with a response but thought better of it.

"It seems like there was more at work there than we previously guessed the-" he could hardly finish agreeing before the Lord made himself known again. He addressed them again and Ach made his thoughts on the matter quite clear despite it being subtle. They were tired and disgruntled. They had been shepherded all over the castle and had their equipment taken.

"Your Lord shouldn't give up hope. As Achamian has said, there is always a chance that others made it out like we did. Gods willing they last until further help can be sent there. A mobilized force to look for survivors or even just rations like fresh water and food." At least the King seemed concerned for the people whether selfish or not.

 

[Skrakes]

Lorne

He shrugs. "Not that I saw. I have no doubt that powerful Magi had Contingencies cast for just such an event, but only the Gods know where they are." Maybe even ambitious some took the chance to escape from the domination of the Headmaster and the King, leaving behind a fake corpse amid the ruin.

 

[WlfSamurai]

"I see," says Lord Garren. There's a fire in his eyes. He seems completely calm and relaxed, but something in his eye betrays other thoughts or feelings. "Gods save them or rest their souls," he says looking up. It's a lie.

Would anyone like to discern realities and read Lord Garren or the situation?

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Achamian

The dwarf fumbles around for his good smoking pipe. A bit of shag always helped clear the mind; a wary eye watched the nobleman from the periphery as a hummed a nonsense tune.

Spoiler: OOC

Roll(2d6)+1:
2,5,+1
Total:8

What here is not what it appears to be?

 

[WlfSamurai]

Akka, yeah, it's clear to you that Lord Garren is not what he appears to be. I mean, not just thoughts and feelings. He's in a position to support the King—and he does not. As in, he is actively working against the King. You don't know how, but he is working against the King's interests.

The doors open to the Council Chamber. A servant steps out and bows. "You have been summoned by the King," she says. Lord Garren ushers you back in to the Council Chamber.

You stand before the King and High Council. King Jorund nods to you all. “The High Council and I have discussed the situation.” The King is clearly frustrated. You can read it on his face and the way he’s rubbing his forehead. “Nothing has been decided yet and there is much to be discussed, still.” He stands up. “In light of that, you all are to stay in the castle tonight. I’m having a room prepared for you with everything you could need. Your weapons and belongings will be returned to you and should be there when you arrive. If you’ll honor me with your presence, there will be a formal meal prepared later this evening. While you’re here, you may wander the Castle as you see fit. The guards will let you know if you are somewhere you aren’t supposed to be.” He sighs. “Is there anything else you’d like to say before I have Lord Garren show you to your quarters?”

What do you say/do?

 

[Skrakes]

Lorne

"I mean no disrespect, your majesty, but I am a soldier of fortune. I stake everything on my blade and my reputation, and both suffer as long as I am out of the field. So I must ask... how much longer will we be detained here?"

 

[Tardy Grade]

Dorian

“Is there anything else you’d like to say before I have Lord Garren show you to your quarters?”

"Yes I do have something to add. Since we were brought here in the capacity of guests and not prisoners we should have been treated as such. From the moment we were stripped of our belongings you'd done us a severe slight. And before you say that we were perfectly safe even without them I should add that the people of Gashak were also perfectly safe..." he paused as he tried to convince the man in front of him. Raising a hand with a finger pointed and shaking for emphasis.

"...Until they were not." Then he went back in line with the others refraining from further talk while pulling his hood over his face. He could only hope his argument was compelling enough to grant them back some remunerations for their trouble.

Spoiler: OOC

Roll(2d6)-1:
4,3,-1
Total:6

Are the words enough to convince the man?