[Game Thread] Prologue

[irishking7777]

*Diplomacy check*
"Henry Killmoore, Cormyrian Iron Clad. I'm just here on behalf of the PDK and my King. Our colors are similar. It's easy for outsiders to get us mixed up." Henry appologized.

"Captain, I wish I had better news.", Henry said in his best Turmic accent. "Please accept my Kings appologies, but untill we can figure out what exactly is going on we can't openly declare war on Thay. My Liege has left it up to the Purple Dragons themselves to aid against Thay.", Henry said with sincerity. "The Zhentarium will attack if they see Cormyr weakened."

"I'll need to talk to someone about securing a docks, barracks, and stables for the PDK when they arrive in a weeks time. The PDK are use to acting with autonomy and they expect the same here." Henry mentioned with a hint of importance.

"The Good news I saved for last," Henry pulled out some parchment from his mule's bags, "We were attacked on our way here, while skirting the Pirate Isles. We were attacked by this man." Henry showed his sketch of the pirates flag. "At the time it didn't seem odd, but do you know this Pirate? Does he usually attack people transports?"

[Headstone]

Tale'x looks at the chain as Winston has pulled it taught across the door. He feels its strength and looks at his meager gear. Hearing the sounds of the gibberlings coming back for round three he sees the rest of his group closing on his position. "Who has something big and heavy to smash this chain? Winston, hold it tight!" He hopes one of the group will be able to break it. He thought that half-orc looked well muscled.

He sees the half-orc swinging around wildly with his battle axe, obviously blinded. "Half-breed!" Tale'x yells as loud as he can, hoping to be heard over the gibberlings. "Run towards my voice, I'll tell you when to start swinging again!" Waiting to see if the half-orc actually heard and understood the instruction made the moments tick by endlessly.

[Sporatik]

Telflamm, The Galloping Gargoyle The would-be slave laughs, returning Atali's cheers and takes a deep drink of his ale. "I'll take your advice to heart, Atali." He says, turning from his cup and back to his new companion, "I'm glad to have a reliable sword-arm like yourself at my side, especially when my amazing intimidation skills don't do the trick." He takes a moment to ponder the barbarian's notion of a name. Searching his mind for it, he once again comes up empty-handed. Shaking his head, every time the warrior tried to remember his name only one word came to mind. "Tell me, Atali." He says, "In your language, what is the word for revenge?" *** After his conversation with the barbarian, the would-be slave stands up, and slides the handful of tankards away from him across the bar. "Whatever we decide to do, we'll need all the help we can get. That tiefling seemed to be a capable enough fighter - while you two deliberate on our next move, I'm going to see if she is willing to join with us." Excusing himself from the group at the bar, the warrior pushes his way out of the tavern and sits down next to Zin on the steps. "What brings someone like you to this place?" He asks, not exactly knowing how to breach the subject of joining, "You look more at home in the forest, no?"

[Miles]

"You would be correct in your assumption," Zin says, watching the man closely from the corner of her eyes, "I originally came here to request aid, seeing as how my forest is, more or less, over run by... living dead monstrosities. I have to admit, I had seen a few here and there in my life, but as to why an entire horde would ravish through my forest is beyond me." Zin looked deep in thought, it had been a question that had eluded her, though an answer wasn't exactly her biggest concern, she just wanted them out.
"In any case," she continued,"It would appear as though I came at possibly the worst time, nobody seems to know much if anything and their is no aid to be found among armies and politics, though I attempt to steer myself clear or either by preference. Just look at how foul a mood people can be by the sheer sight of me." Zin nods towards the pub, looking bitter at both her situation, most of all how ignorant people seemed to be.

[Sporatik]

EXP Everyone in the Galloping Gargoyle gains 250 exp for avoiding a full scale bar fight, making a valuable contact, and recieving a mission. Zin gains 75 exp for knocking out the bouncer Atali gains 75 exp for knocking out the bouncer Evelyn gains 75 exp for talking down the bartender

[Nightbanegod]

"Opening the door promptly would well advised..." Dahalamar said with a solid edge in his voice. Drawing his longbow while waiting for the door to be opened, he took aim and shot down another Gibbering in an effort to deter them from rushing on them while making their entrance.

attack:18, Damage:3

[Sporatik]

Zin The warrior listens intently to your story, seemingly genuine in his care for your plight. "You can't allow a few ignorant fools to spoil your view of the world and the people in it - surely if these people were not so troubled by the Red Wizards, they would be more than willing to come up with a solution for your problem." He allows a moment of silence to crawl by, knowing his words would be of little solace to her. "You should join with us - help us deal with the Shadowmasters and stop the Thayan invasion." He says, turning back to her, "The way I see it, opposing Thay may be your only chance to save your forest."

[Miles]

Zin allows another quick glance at the warrior and considers for a moment, "You think opposing the these Thayans is the only way to halt the devastation threatening my forest?" she asks genuinely. True, she'd been considering looking for help to fight the horde, but it never dawned on her that the undead may have been just a small part of a larger problem, caused by something larger.

Zin wrings her hands together for a moment. A group of adventurers against this ominous force. A force she had been completely ignorant to apparently until now. She felt ashamed at her close-mindedness, but that passed. Zin looks at the warrior again "I don't suppose you have a name?" She asks, eyes seeming to pierce through him.

[Sporatik]

Aramil, The Zhent Tower, Telflamm The Zhent wizard had a few things in his possession, but not the spoils of riches you were lead to believe members of the Zhentarim possessed. A Handful of gold coin (50 gp), two small green gemstones, and a scroll written in Draconic, obviously some sort of spell or incantation. Around his waist he kept a metal flask containing a liquid of a strange colour - your guess would be a cure wounds potion, but without knowledge of alchemy or actually trying it, you can't know for sure. The most interesting item in his possession is a small, finely crafted wooden rod, carved with several arcane symbols. Besides looking valuable, you can't tell much about what it does without a knowledge check, or bringing it to someone who knows more about arcana. Before Faelar gets suspicious, you let the Zhent's body go and begin searching for the vault. After a few moments, you notice a series of almost invisible tripline wires that run horizontally across the back corner of the room. Behind these wires, you notice a section of bookcase that doesn't look natural and is obviously some sort of decoy meant to hide something behind it. In order to get back to where it is, however, you'll need to make a disable device check to disarm whatever trap is set off by the wires. Alternatively, you could ask Faelar to help you - he seems a little better equip to deal with traps than you currently are. If you could pull it off on your own though, it would certainly impress your new partner.

[Sporatik]

Zin The warrior shakes his head, grinning almost self-consciously. "No, I remember little of my past; my name being amongst the memories lost." He tells you, looking off into the distance at the city before you, "But I too know what it's like to feel as if you've been forsaken - as if you're lost adrift at sea, with no land in sight..." His words trail off, but eventually his eyes make it back to yours. "But you will find solace in a group of friends, as I have." He says, his voice sincere, "Once the trouble with Thay has calmed, we will retake your forest. On this, you have my word." His lifts his hand, hoping to clasp your forearm in agreement.

[Sporatik]

Kairon Among the bodies of the Yuan-ti and the tribals, you find very little of use. Primitive weapons, such as stone spears and knives litter the floor, and the weapons used by the Yuan-ti are either too large to too poorly maintained to be of any use. The various pieces of armor laying around would probably amount to a suit of platemail, but you doubt you have the time to collect and assemble them. The only other thing worth noting would be the amulets they all wear which you guessed were the source of the anti-magic field earlier. The tribal closest to you has the only one that seems to be undamaged or not covered in venom and still wearable. The slight nausea of teleportation sweeps over you as you step through the portal, dragging Juron with you. Once you're sight and constitution fully return to you, you finally get the chance to look around. You find yourself in a rather large chamber, lit with torchlight which barely sheds enough light for you to see a hand in front of your face. The only notable features in the chamber are three pedestals, each depicting a different symbol. Flames, a leaf, and a wave. On top of each pedestal there seems to be a section of raised stone, almost like a button. Besides these, the room's only other feature is a large, semi-circular portcullis. A thick, ancient-looking gate seals the entrance closed. If you got closer, you could look through the bars of the gate and see what lies beyond. Juron sputters and coughs at your feet - you know he has less than an hour at the most. You'd better hurry.

[Sporatik]

Henry Captain Diero seems disturbed by your news, silently shaking his head as you inform him that Cormyr won't be sending formal reinforcements. When you make mention of the Purple Dragon Knights' accomodations, Diero nods and hands you a rolled up parchment from his satchel. "Here - this is a temporary lease on the naval barracks at the docks, please tell your commanding officer that we will be more than willing to allow the Knights to use this as a base of operations. There is an abandoned dry-dock nearby that is being repaired and fitted to serve as your stables." His voice picks up a hint of importance, "Your companions will be the most experienced soldiers we have by a long shot - I was hoping that if there is time before the assault, that some of your Knights could show our fresh recruits a thing or two. They would benefit greatly from your experience and training." Diero shakes his head again. "I am not surprised that Cormyr refused - they must know how desperate our situation is. Every moment we waste trying to pull together a respectable army, Thay gathers slaves and strength. The will of Tymora must be the only thing that has kept the Red Wizards from attacking already." The captain seems concerned when you show him the pirate's flag. "Yes, I know him well. Uthgarde Greymare is what he was going by when he operated out of Telflamm, but who knows what he calls himself now." Diero says, "Tried to raid our port a few times, I was just a lad then. I'll never forget that flag, though." He stops to ponder for a moment. "It's indeed strange and out of character for pirates to attack passenger vessels - unless they're being paid to do so. My guess is the wizards are paying the buccaneers to harass and sink as many non-thayan vessels as they can in the region's waters. Would explain what happened to our scouting ships." Diero pauses to tell something to one of his commanding officers before turning back to you. "Now then, I'm sure you're eager to get some rest and return to Cormyr." The captain says, motioning to one of his assistants, "This lad will show you to the nearest Inn, and we'll arrange some transport for you in the morning. Unless you'd like to sign on with the Legion - there's a lot someone like yourself can gain in times like these. And we could certainly use a hand."

[Miles]

Zin's eyes search the warriors, as if trying to see some reason to not believe the man. He looked sincere, and Zin couldn't find a reason not to join up with the group of adventurers, true, her forest would be saved later then she had preferred, but at this point what choice did she have?
"You realize I'm going to have to call you something," Zin says, taking his forearm in a handshake, "Perhaps I should call you Incognito until you can recall your actual name." Zin allowed herself a slight smile.

[Sporatik]

Gildenglade Battle Update Minigan's firework arrow won't land until everyone on the ground has made a post. Since this party seems to take a little longer than the others to post, I will only wait for one more person and then continue. It will be everyone in the Turmish Party's responsibility to keep up, otherwise you should ask to split from the group in order to avoid slowing everyone else down.

[irishking7777]

'Uthgarde Greymare, why does that name sound familiar ...', Henry thought to himself. *Knowledge: Nobility*

"Thank you, Captain, but that won't be necessary. My orders are to remain here and assess the situation. I will attach myself to the Legion if you would like, as an advisor, but my primary orders will take heed. I must find out of if Zhentil Keep and Thay are allied in this endeavour, and if so, to what extent."

Henry takes the lease, and stores it in his sleave.

"As for room and board, if there are quarters at the barracks I would prefer that. It would keep me closer to whats going on and I could work with your Sergeants to set up some Cormyrian trainning exercises."

"Also, I will need a proper horse at some point." *Diplomacy*