Prologue: The Mad Scientist

[MundayKnight]

"Thanks Akoragh but I don't see sleep in the near future. We need to completely redo our entire battle strategy and I figure the earlier we start the better."

Hurin begins replanning everything for the coming battle basedo n what he has been told of the region and what information the group have been given on the mission at hand.

 

question did we ever see the map/how much of it would Hurin remember if he did?

[jalroy]

Gnar scratched his head for a moment as he looked around the camp and then back to the others. "MacKenzie said the Orc's have been acting more organized and coordinated in recent days, something related to the North perhaps. Someone knew we were coming and that we'd have orders to steal. That thief may be taking those orders to the mastermind who is directing and leading the Orcs."

It was Dracknor who had whispered this to his host. He was a warrior of exceptional skill and prowess, well aware of the art of war. They had few clues but this attack itself lead to the theory just the same.

"We may have a greater foe then the Orc's themselves, but the one who directs them... in the shadows"

[Adamah]

The three spent the rest of the night wide awake, standing guard over the unconscious form of their sergeant and planning their next move. Around dawn MacKenzie stirred and sat up, groaning.

"The stabbing pain in my gut tells me that I wasn't dreaming last night, and that someone did indeed steal our orders, huh?" He looked around to the nods of the others. "Well then, looks like things just got interesting. I was going to give you and the rest of the men the opportunity to explore the city today, but that's not going to work anymore."

"C'mon," he said, standing up, "We need to catch a fast ship soon."

-------------------------------------------

Eranmas was a wondrous place. Surrounded by high walls, and filled with tall, red roofed buildings, it was populated by an eclectic mix of traders, sailors and merchants.

The second largest city in the country, Eranmas also housed Molthune's sizable navy.

The cadets tried to take in as much of the atmosphere as they could as they wound their way down the street. Of course, it was pretty hard to enjoy the sights when their tired eyes were wide open, looking for assassins.

As they reached the docks they were met by one of the platoon's commanders, who had ridden hard to the Andoran embassy to explain the need for the sizable letters of credit she now bore.

She indicated a large, sleek vessel to Mackenzie, and they approached it. A few minutes of conversation and the exchange of some of the notes saw the soldiers loading up in an impressive amount of time.



Returning to the cadets, Mackenzie said, "it will take at least an hour to gather the crew and embark, as long as you don't go far, I don't see any reason why you can't explore the docks a bit. Here, take these," he said, as he handed them each 1000 Gold worth of credit, "I probably shouldn't, but something tells me you're going to need some better equipment to get you through the coming days."

He made a shooing motion with his hands, "Go on, there's plenty of trading vessels nearby. Be back here within the hour!"

[MundayKnight]

Hurin took the gold and looked for the nearest bowyer, while his bow was of decent make with a thousand gold worth of credit notes in his pocket he was sure he could find better.

[Xbow]

Upon receiving the gold, Akoragh says, Ill be back, looks like we will need some better gear eh? may as well increase our survival odds. He hesitates for a moment, oh man, here we go.... lets see how they view me. He starts looking for an enchanter.

 

defiant armor against orcs, since thats what we are going to be facing. leaving me with my inital 66 gold again. So, on the boat ill craft 20 more doses and remove 2 gold.

[jalroy]

Cities were sometimes problematic places for Gnar, as an Oracle, one who could hear the dead who wandered the world, lost or seeking, they sometimes flocked to a person who could hear them and hopefully help them in the physical world. Even if that person just so happened to be a Half-Orc, it rarely mattered to the spirits who found him. And they always did eventually discover he could hear them. Sometimes that was due to Dracknor of course. The boastful, proud warrior Half-Dragon who was his constant companion regularly spoke to these spirits, empowering them to continue to plague Gnar with requests or plea for aid Gnar rarely could actually give. And sometimes the two of them even attracted aggressive and evil spirits, the type who enjoyed tormenting Gnar with ghostly sounds or chill winds.

Luckily their arrival to the city of Eranmas had gone unnoticed by most of the spirits who wandered the city, or followed is inhabitants. Gnar nearly had forgotten of his Oracle curse when Sgt. MacKenzie handed him the credits, as he sought after a weapons merchant first. He was glad to find a merchant who sold both fine weapons as well as having a few suits of armor for sale. The wife of the blacksmith who made the weapons, a human woman was pleasant and held appearances of dislike towards Gnar as some might. She attempted to bring his attention to her finest and most expensive wares, hoping to win him over with compliments on his warrior skill with these weapons on hand. Knowing he only had a certain amount of time, Gnar found a Masterwork sword and shield that suited his needs, and the two of them settled on a price. He then examined her few suits of armor, and the only one she had in his size was a suit of Splint mail. While it wasn’t as fine a quality as he might of liked, Gnar knew he didn’t have time for a suit to be made or customized to his body either. Once more he took the suit and requested it be delivered to the boat as he couldn’t carry it through the market.

Gnar browsed through a few more merchant stalls till he found a scroll merchant, an Elven gentleman who did seem to have a sneer on his face when Gnar first approached, which Gnar ignored. As we spoke to the Elf, browsing through his divine scrolls, he could hear the voice of an Elderly woman throwing insults his war to his racial background and not to deal or trade which such vile Orc blood, a spirit, possible the merchants mother. This got the anger of Dracknor and soon the two spirits were trading insults as Gnar was trying his best to ignore the argument as he haggled with the merchant. Somehow the Elven crone found Dracknor’s insults to her amusement and started laughing, and then brought the attention or other spirits to the scene. Gnar was soon getting the attention of a small crew of spirits as he was trying to purchase scrolls that could be of use to him and the group, and Dracknor was more than happy to converse with them as well.
Grumpily, Gnar found a scroll of Comprehend Language, as well as two scrolls for use in combat, Bear’s Endurance as well as Bull’s Strength. He might have browsed longer or found a different set of scrolls, but he only had so much time and patience for the spirit chatter which now surrounded him. The elf sold him the scrolls as well as a scroll case, and Gnar found he’d ran out of the provided funds, perfectly.

Gnar rushed back to the boat, glad that his armor had arrived as requested. He waited at the boat as about seven or more spirits had followed him, three of which were begging for his help for various tasks or needs in the real world. He was doing his best to politely decline, all the while hearing the old crone and Dracknor gossip and laugh at the situation.

 

OOC:
315g MW Longsword, 159g MW Steel Shield, 200g Splint Mail, 25g Scroll Comprehend Languages, 150g Scroll of Bear's Endurance, 150g Scroll of Bull's Strength, 1g Scroll case.

[Adamah]

Each of the cadets finished up their purchases, and headed back towards the boat. Since they were all in the same general area and operating on the same timeframe, it was no real surprise that they ran into each other on the way back. Swapping stories of purchases and interesting characters met, they ambled slowly towards the ship and sampled a few treats and wares along the way, lulled into a sense of relaxation by the lack of sleep and the jovial atmosphere of the port.

As they turned the corner down the long causeway that would take them to the berth of their vessel, they noticed Professor Jericho ambling about with a quizzical expression on his face, apparently lost. He had not spoken to them much during the trip, caught up in his own inner universe, but from the few interactions that they had he seemed like a genuinely nice and brilliant individual, even if he was off his rocker. Akoragh and Gnar were particularly struck by the way he didn't seem to even realize that there was anything different about the two of them, as readily and genuinely interacting with them as much as he did anyone.

As they approached, he didn't seem to notice the three. He was shifting his expression from the notebook he always carried to the surrounding docks and back, confusion clouded his expression.

[MundayKnight]

"What seems to be the problem Professor?" Hurin spoke with concern in his voice for the man, though he had not had many classes with the old man he still worried over his health.

[Xbow]

Akoragh walks right in front of him, and waves his hand in front of his face in-between it and the book. Come with us or you will be late.

[Adamah]

"What?" He replies. "Hurin? Gnar? Akoragh? What are you three doing here? Where are we?"

[Xbow]

I believe you should come with me, said Akoragh. He then turns to his other group members and says, Perhaps we should form a triangle around him to ensure we don't lose him. This is something the sarge should be made aware of. Professor, please follow me.

[MundayKnight]

Hurin moved to the older mans right flank, his war scythe being used to make a barrier between the man and anyone who may cause him harm.

[Adamah]

The three escorted the befuddled alchemist back to the ship, which was just about ready to embark when they arrived.

"Ah, good," MacKenzie says, the bags under his eyes indicated his exhaustion as well, "I was worried that we'd have to send a search party after Iggy, good job."

They boarded the ship, the anchor was weighed, and their nautical voyage began.

The professor thanked the three, then amicably wandered off, humming happily to himself.

MacKenzie then answered the questioning looks (and perhaps vocalizations) of the cadets:

"Yea, I know he seems off. He's a brilliant mind, especially when it comes to alchemical and engineering matters. He also has a vast knowledge of the cosmos that I can't even begin to explain. I've known him for a very long time, and he's always been somewhat... off. But over the last few years it's gotten worse.

Sometimes I swear when he looks around what he sees isn't the same thing as what you and I see.

[jalroy]

Gnar was well aware of seeing a different side of the 'Universe' then everyone else around him could perceive. He was used to getting odd looks from people when he talked to the spirits no one else could hear or interact with. He often had to suppress or hold back his interactions with the spirits in his military service. So he felt some sympathy for the man, even if it wasn't the same.

"Should we be keeping a closer eye on the man?"

[MundayKnight]

"If I were a member of the medica I would almost guess he had Alzheimer or some other mental degenerative disorder. I hate to say this Sir but bringing such a valuable and unpredictable asset on a mission like this doesn't seem like a wise decision."