[Game Thread] Adventure 1: The Mine of Asir

[Dieuoffire]

The Beginning
The river mouth port town of Desert Falls gets its name from the 30 foot waterfall where the river meets the Mirror Ocean. A dozen miles south the real desert begins, a few miles north start to bring better soil and the possibility of crops. But here is where almost everything in the area happens. Here is where the ships land and the stories and rumors fly.

Desert falls is a city not a big as Stormwall or Erindel but it is still sizable. Glassware from the south; stone and metalwork from the mountains are the major exports here. Imports include foods, woodcraft goods and travelers ‘just passing through’ who drop coin on everything.

Unfortunately there is another import that no ship wants to bring with it, storms. Like the one that is currently raging like Sear himself was out there trying to break the docks. No ship will be leaving this port, not for days. Most sailors say they can taste the storm on the wind like a foul demon; one they don’t want to meet…

However each of you has business to attend to that does not require a ship. after asking around for a while about what you are looking for, and getting rather wet while at it. Finally the right answer comes; the location of the Byla family residence where Miss Lillya Byla is in residence, current controller of the family mines in the little mountains.

(I am going to assume you all go looking for the Byla family residence. If you don’t want to please let me know.)
Finding the Byla residence is easy. When you knock and the door a servant answers. With one look at you he will say;

“Ahh, yes! I assume you are here for… the problem solving commission?" he looks at the sky, trying to judge the time. "Well Miss Byla and Mr. Wellis do like to meet those interested. They are actually both in at the moment; I will let them know you have arrived. In the mean time I will take you to a waiting room, I expect others will be arriving soon, I am told to ask you to please be respectful to the other applicants; we have no interest in violence in the house or on our property.” You have a feeling that some of her (applicants?) have not taken well to each other.

The room is spacious and speaks to a successful family. Refreshments are available; and a servant waits by the door. Some of the drinks are not on the light side as there is a dwarven ale and elvish wine along and there is some light cuisine from Nos-Anos there. On the table is a copy, or maybe the original considering, of a large public notice and several contracts. Although the wording on the contract is long it is not too complicated, you notice they are Contracts of Holokai. The contracts are well known as a lesser form of a magical binding geas. The summation of the contract and notice is simple.

"---PUBLIC NOTICE---“ House Byla is seeking qualified individuals to assist in the reclaiming of family mines from a incursion of goblins. Payment details and agreements will be discussed in person at the Byla residence on River Street. Applicants should arrive after the 5th evening hour and before the 7th hour.

”Contracts Summary” Lillya of House Byla will pay the balance of 2,000 gold standard coins, by weight if desired, upon completion of the service of clearing the House Byla mines in the Little Mountains of all hostile creatures and returning of these mines to the Byla family. Any amount paid up front to any individual or group must be returned to the Byla family if the party in question does not complete the task. Any and all other goods recovered by the party clearing the mines belongs to the party to do with as they please. Less any goods harvested from the mines....blah blah blah'

Additionally there are some loophole closing things such as she will not pay 2,000 per person if several individuals get together and each clear out a section of the mines and so on. Basically one person gets the reward and everybody else has to repay if they were given an advance. There is a lot more, it is in legal terms probably drafted by some priest of Holokai as it is especially long winded. But the general idea is solid and it does not seem there are any hidden loopholes or twists. It seems you are free to wander the room, enjoy the refreshments and so on until the Mistress of the house arrives.

OOC: I will pause here and let you make your own entrances to the room. Whoever comments first can be the first to arrive, and so on until the last; unless anyone says they are not coming. (I will work with that character) You can also converse with one another too.

[arkerpay]

The young warrior raps at the door three times loudly and waits. When he servant answers, he inhales deliberately and states plainly, "Kirk Bodnar, straight out of Nost-Anos, at your service."

He peeks to the left and right of the servant while he is speaking. "Yes, I am here to help solve problems. What do you go by...sir?"

While walking to the waiting room, Kirk looks about, "Nice place, yeah. I heard that Miss Byla needed some help, but who is Mr. Wallis? Wellis?"

Kirk looks down at his feet. "Stupid of me....guess I will find out."

When admonished in advance about respect, Kirk smirks and his eyes slightly roll back. "Hey, if you have been in some real scraps, you don't look for trouble that way. Now, I might be giving the wrong impression...."

He waits for the servant to notice he is carrying a half dozen weapons. "I don't have a place to stay here yet, so this is my little arsenal and I need to carry it with me. Not planning on any trouble, sir."

When he arrives at the empty waiting room, he carefully arranges his backpack, shield, and missile weapons near an armchair. Scanning the buffet, he says out loud, "Nice spread," then investigates if there are any pickled, fermented vegetables, or hard cider from the Nost-Anos House of Bodnar.

[Dieuoffire]

"I am Mr. Dras, sir..."

...."Mr. Wellis is a business associate, he has a contract to buy the ore from the mine." he pauses for a moment and looks at you. Their relationship is a little strained at the moment and he has spoken of seeking redress if the contract is left unfulfilled, so Miss Byla allows him to attend the meetings to pacify his worry about what she is doing to reclaim the property. I would recommend some, tact, if you speak with him...

I mean no disrespect." he glaces at your weapons "I am aware of what miss Byla is asking and for the need of your profession. I have no doubt about the intentions of, well, several entities. I just prefer not to be there when the talking stops and the other 'final negotiations' start..."

"...If a place to stay is a problem the Byla family is always well connected. You could ask miss Byla, I am sure she would be willing to set you up with a place, she would probably just deduct the expenses from you final pay."

[smeowlin]

Arandiel Arandiel saw someone else entering the Byla residence from afar as she trudged towards the building. She had already stabled her horse and was eager enough to get out of the pouring rain. She knocks heavily on the door when she reaches it and waits patiently until the servant answers the door for her. She stepped in during the middle of his sentence to get out of the rain as soon as possible while still listening to his words before responding abruptly. "Yes, I am here in regards to the goblin infested mines. I have no quarrel with those I do not yet know, and I also have no interest in unnecessary violence at the moment." She took off her soaked cloak and left it hanging by the door to dry, giving the servant and anyone else full view of her unsightly facial scarring. Though she preferred to avoid dealing with peoples' reactions to it, there was no avoiding it if they were going to discuss important matters in detail. After she stepped in the waiting room, she took note that the man who arrived here first already seemed to have set his belongings down and she decided to do the same. Arandiel took a seat right next to the young warrior with no regards to his personal space as she looked up at him with no clear expression on her face, though her gaze seemed intense. She was silent for few moments as she seemed to study him before speaking. "You are here for the goblins." She states simply rather than phrasing it as a question before continuing. "I have never worked directly with someone before. You can rely on my skills being competent enough to handle them. There is more I will say about this undertaking we will soon engage in, but I will wait. I assume for such a contract there will be more coming, and I do not wish to repeat myself more than I have to."

[Dieuoffire]

Mr. Dras smiles and lifts an eyebrow in surprise [b]"Very well then." He escorts you to the room.

[Ermine]

Caelynn It didn't have the same smell here as at home. Caelynn sniffed the air. No, not even the rain smelled the same. It was the first major change she'd noticed when she left. It was expected, but a disappointment nonetheless. She walked through the rain to find the home she had been asked to find. She couldn't read the letter she'd been sent, but one of her sisters had been there to read it for her. She took her time walking, but seemed to still end up there on time, as someone else showed up right before her. She knocked on the door and waited. These cities always made her uncomfortable compared to the woods, but at least they still had rain to comfort her. She hoped she wouldn't have to say much, as she was "dressed" for battle in her favorite array of combat soulmelds. When the servant arrived and started talking, she did the same as she'd seen the previous person do and walked in before he finished talking. She doubted he'd make a big deal out of it, given how intimidating her appearance was at the moment. When she was escorted to the room with the others, she saw the food. It wouldn't be as good as the food from home, so she chose not to eat it. After all, she had that choice, now that her father's gift to her worked. She sat next to the elven woman, who was speaking still as she sat.

[Crimson]

As the ageing hill dwarf approaches the door, he politely doffs his red beret and holds it over his chest. Knocking firmly four times, he takes a respectful step back and waits patiently, despite the rain. As the servant opens the door, the dwarf smiles the phony smile of someone trying a little too hard to make a good impression. "Greetings friend. My name is Ilod Dolbin." After this, a slight bow at the waist. "I'm hoping to speak with Lillya Bayla, if she is free at this time?"

After the servant asks about the "problem solving commission", Ilod stammers "Well no, not exactly... though I suppose I may be solving a problem for her in a roundabout way. It's a bit involved. May I come in to explain myself? If the rain out here picks up any more, I shall be forced to swim!"

Stepping inside with the servant, the dwarf smiles again (more sincerely this time) upon hearing the excellent news that the lady of house is in, and expecting company no less. When warned against instigating any violence, Ilod dismisses the servant's words with a wave of his hand. "No need to worry; I've never been the kind to cause any trouble, in this fine house or elsewhere."

Ilod hangs his sopping wet beret and cloak beside one other as he enters the audience room. Initially refusing the offered refreshments, citing the old adage of "business before pleasure", he quickly changes his mind upon seeing authentic dwarven ale on offer. "Well, there are certainly exceptions to every rule," he quickly backpedals.

Nodding a polite greeting to the menagerie of characters already seated, the dwarf steps over to the table bearing the documents. After pulling off wet cloth gloves and jamming them in a pocket, he carefully reads the public notice. And the contract. And the fine print. And flips the contract over to view the backside of it. Having examined the papers to his satisfaction, he walks a respectful distance from the "problem solving commission" to take up a seat near the door. Pulling a well-worn spellbook from his satchel, Ilod looks over the arcane text as he awaits his host.

As time slips by, the dwarf exhibits the slightly tedious habit of occasionally muttering to himself. "No, no... that won't do... perhaps if... but then the... well, then we could take..." He is clearly completely absorbed in his reading, oblivious to his surroundings.

[arkerpay]

Originally Posted by smeowlin

Kirk stands at the table, sipping a glass of Elven wine, while scanning the notice and contracts. He glances at Arandiel at her entrance. Once she divests herself of gear, he directs his attention to her.

"Good evening, miss. Kirk Bodnar, former enlisted leader, and possible future teammate at your service!" He says in slightly accented, but grammatically correct Elvish. He uses the the Elven term for Sergeant, "enlisted leader", rather than the cognate in Common.

Gesturing at the table, he continues in Common. "The contract you seek is here on the table. Goblins, mines, gold."

[smeowlin]

Arandiel She gave Kirk a slightly puzzled look as he refers to himself as an enlisted leader in the Elvish tongue. "Did you serve under Elves? Ah, yes, introductions." She took note as two others entered the waiting room before continuing. "I am Arandiel, Ranger of the Order of the Shooting Star in service of Amarilyss." She rose from her seat and and stood in front of the two newcomers, staring with her intense eyes for a few moments before suddenly speaking as she turns her focus soley to Caelynn first. "Impressive claws. I have never seen anyone quite like you. I look forward to seeing what you are capable of." Her attention shifted to Ilod immediately after, momentarily glancing down at his spell book. "A Dwarven Wizard, from the Broken Lands no less. I have heard your tattoo makes it easier for you to lie. I find it fascinating that the witch's magic could still be so potent to linger long after her death."

[arkerpay]

Originally Posted by smeowlin

[fieldset=Arandiel]
She gave Kirk a slightly puzzled look as he refers to himself as an enlisted leader in the Elvish tongue. "Did you serve under Elves? Ah, yes, introductions." She took note as two others entered the waiting room before continuing. "I am Arandiel, Ranger of the Order of the Shooting Star in service of Amarilyss."

The young warrior eyebrows raise as Arandiel's remark. He rubs his chin, which has the whisker stubble of a few day's growth. "A ranger, then! Ha, I am just a grunt."

Gesturing with his hand at the table, he continues, "A lot of this food here comes from Nost-Anos, where I am from. I fought in a war that just wrapped up last summer. We were allied with the Elves of Bador en-Cânë against the greedy Kingdom of Azure Shield and their goblin mercenaries of Bloodcrown."

He notes newcomers and quickly adds, "After the Elves saved our ass at the Battle of Zephyr Lake, my battalion was embedded with Elven forces in the Havenwoods. Served alongside, not under, so many fine Elves and the rangers were some of the best."

[Dieuoffire]

@Ilod: The receptions is much the same at the door for you, except slightly more withdrawn. You can tell Mr. Dras is a very good servant; you almost miss his disdain of the broken lands.

(OCC: Arkerpay poster just before Me, deleted this part of my post)

[Ermine]

Originally Posted by smeowlin

She rose from her seat and and stood in front of the two newcomers, staring with her intense eyes for a few moments before suddenly speaking as she turns her focus soley to Caelynn first. "Impressive claws. I have never seen anyone quite like you. I look forward to seeing what you are capable of." [/B]

Caelynn looks back with the same intensity, trying to mimic the elf's behavior and fit in. "I am Caelynn. Just Caelynn. From the Poison Woods. Impressive scar. I look forward to learning how you got it."

[orichulum]

Claudine, Paladin of Phoenix Claudine entered the room, still soaked to the bone with fresh rain dripping off of her enameled armor and forcing the black cloth underneath to cling more tightly to her skin than intended. Her brown hair was a mess, but too short to interfere with the piercing gaze of blue eyes. Red ribbons with prayers of Phoenix announce the divine house which she serves. There is an oppressive sensual and seductive presence that is suppressed by her armor like a shade over a lamp. Claudine speaks with a thick accent found in Stormwall (which I picture as sounding French) "Bonjour, the local temple of Phoenix asked me to come to assist with the goblins within the mine. My name is Claudine and it is a pleasure to meet you all" She offers through red lips turned up to a genuinely warm smile.

[Dieuoffire]

Almost as soon as Claudine finishes speaking another set of doors opens a crossed the room and (who you assume) Miss Lillya Byla and Mr. Wellis enter the room. It is a stark contrast between the two and the general chill between them is not unnoticeable.

Lillya is young, barely able to be called an adult. She has long dark hair and soft eyes. She is dressed in light blue silks with a gold belt around her waist and a light gold necklace with a star sapphire in it. She herself bears a warm smile and is attempting to project confidence. She has been well taught but she lacks real practice. She makes her way to the head of the table gesturing for you to all take seats around the table.

Mr. Wellis is a little past middle aged. He is dressed in dark colors and bears an ornamental dagger. He has a headdress wrapped around the top of his bald head. He wears a platinum armband with a symbol of a whip on a throne. His ears are pierced twice and platinum earrings are in all five piercings. A house symbol is on the left lapel of his vest. He simply walks to a place to the side of Lillya and takes a position there, it is not threatening, just dissatisfied.

As soon as you are all gathered round the table Miss Byla begins, still trying to project confidence
“I am sure that you have all had a chance to look at the contract, but for anyone who missed it, I will sum it up. I am willing to pay 2,000 gold for anyone who can clear out my families mines within a week. The mines are about 100 miles from here. Maps will be given to any who accept my offer on the way out. I don’t care if you do it together or if one of you manages it on their own; the pay is still the same. I will warn you that I have sent two other groups who have failed so please take that into consideration. Also remember that I have cleared it with the proper authorities so any treasure you find in the mines is yours to do with as you choose; except for ores from the mines and so on. Goblins are miners and if they have dug into my mine I want that ore.” she glances at Mr. Wellis and her moth tightens ”Lastly destroying the mines does not count as returning them. I need those mines to PRODUCE. I am not unkind and I know some damage may occur, Fine I get it; but extreme damage to the mines will be deducted up to the 2,000 gp maximum.

Mr. Wellis and I are in a bit of a rush so if you accept and do not want to sign a contract fine; if you want an advance or other benefits from my family I require a contract. Anyone is free to refuse and go their way, but if you take an advance or other aid I require a contract. Are there any questions?”

Mr. Wellis clears his throat ”Only those we can trust will receive any advance.’ He glances at the dwarf. You have a feeling he does not care for those who come from the broken lands.

[orichulum]

Claudine, Paladin of Phoenix Claudine's gaze locked with Miss Byla, instinctively drawing her in. "Bonjour. As I am here at the behest of the temple, I will be happy to aid you in this matter." Claudine's hands held firmly to the arms of the chair she sat in as if something was testing her patience, but there was no other outward indication of being provoked. In fact, she was exceedingly welcoming in her posture. "I am uninterested in gold, but perhaps we can discuss how any earnings can be donated to the locale temple of Phoenix or the town itself."