Heroica RPG - Quest#13: The Darkstar

[Rumble Strike]

"A fair point, Lady Elf. I know how Sorona must look to you, but by all accounts despite her power she would not have got this far on her own. In a way I am also indebted to you. All of you, including the schitzophrenic half-breed over there."

Haroka slowly and calmly walks back to his tomb and from deep inside pulls out some of the treasure he was buried with, as is Friaskalan custom. He brings out three Crowns and a Gold Chalice.

"These will be yours to split between the party, plus whatever Sorona and myself can do reagrds a power boost for your heroism.

Now what say you all?"

QM Note - Every member of the party should weigh in about this decision, this one is not just up to Nerwen as party leader.

[Scubacarrot]

With a discerning eye, Guts said: "I say one could get around a thousand gold for this treasure, it seems to be in good condition, although golden items are not my speciality..."

Looking at Nerwen, Guts spoke:

If we do this the democratic way, I say we let them walk away. I value the general's word that he will leave Uland."

Whispering, so only the party could hear him, Guts added:

"I am going to go with them, to keep an eye on them. If they show any sign of corruption, Ill slit their throats in their sleep."

Thoughtful, the rogue finally said:

"Granted that they do sleep, that is. If not, I will have to improvise."

[Chromeknight]

With a discerning eye, Guts said: "I say one could get around a thousand gold for this treasure, it seems to be in good condition, although golden items are not my speciality..."

Looking at Nerwen, Guts spoke:

If we do this the democratic way, I say we let them walk away. I value the general's word that he will leave Uland."

Nerwen nods, agreeing it should be decided by the group and waits for the others to speak

[Xarrzan]

Sarick quit his usual and constant swaying to straighten his spine. He glared angrily at the general.

"You're dark magic, that keeps you alive, has made the people of this town sick. But what is worse, you corrupted a green snake, a red snake, a giant Crocodile..and the most evil of all, a baby dragon. My vote, you aren't walking out of here 'alive'."

[Chromeknight]

Sarick quit his usual and constant swaying to straighten his spine. He glared angrily at the general.

"You're dark magic, that keeps you alive, has made the people of this town sick. But what is worse, you corrupted a green snake, a red snake, a giant Crocodile..and the most evil of all, a baby dragon. My vote, you aren't walking out of here 'alive'."

Nerwen wondered if it was the dark power emanating from the large figure before them that was fracturing the party.

Sarick was keen to end the General, Guts equally keen to elope with them. The orcs had been struck dumb, simply standing there, saying and doing nothing. And reflecting the division within the party, the other rogue was divided against himself, seemingly possessed by the darkness that was swirling in the minds of them all.

Surely this power could not be permitted to walk out into the world... But equally, was this not the true goal of their quest? To reunite Haroka and Sonora?

The dark. It made it hard to think. hard to act. hard to see the right way, the path of civilisation and love. here, underground. far from the hum of the city and the light of people at work and play. far away from the world, anything could happen. here. in the dark. the dark...

With an effort, Nerwen stilled her mind. Readied her limbs.

She would bide her time a little longer, then act. She only needed to bear the darkness a little while.

Perhaps Dak, Gorg and Knifk would be able to shake it off and show they were ready also.

[Darth Nihilus]

Dak finally wins the fight inside his mind, and collapses against the wall.

"I....don't know....if I can take them in a fight right now. We....should probably let them go. Although...I feel awful, what with Guts leaving and all."

[Rumble Strike]

OOC: Love your reasoning, Xarrzan. Very much a decision taken in character, I like that.

Look guys, I don't want to rush anyone but the offer has been made. If everyone walks away nice and easy, you will still get pretty much all of the rewards you would have from the start of the Quest when you signed up.

If you reject it, well, I think you can work out there would be one more battle. Whether you guys would want that to happen over the holiday season, I don't know. I try not to let external factors interfere with the Quest but we are so close to the end that if I don't hear from the others soon I will have to make the decision without your opinions. If there's a fight, will people be around to post? I don't know. It's a tricky one. I had always planned this to finish just before Xmas.

Those for letting them go:

Guts (who would go with them)

Dak

Those against letting them go:

Sarick

Those who have not decided:

Nerwen

Knifk

Gorg

Edited December 19, 2011 by Rumble Strike

[Chromeknight]

Look guys, I don't want to rush anyone but the offer has been made. If everyone walks away nice and easy, you will still get pretty much all of the rewards you would have from the start of the Quest when you signed up.

The darkness pressed in on Nerwen again. The readiness that she held wavered, fractured and melted away. Seeing Haroka standing there, outlined by a faint nimbus of purple light, she could not raise her weapon against him. Even though she knew that he was dangerous, that he had done evil to others and should not be permitted to leave his tomb. Even though...

Nerwen winced. She could not think straight. Her mind wandered, unfocused, a dull ache spread from one side of her head. The dark, it made it hard to see...

Go she sighed. Go far from here are forswear the darkness. Live a life in the sun and die a peaceful death.

Her head bowed. She did not dare look at Sarick, fearing the reproach that no doubt was in his eyes.

Currently the vote is 2-1 for letting them go. If Nerwen votes to let them go it's 3-1 and even if the orcs vote against, it'd be my call to break the tie. If we had a few more days or keen people I would have fought, but I know I'll be out of contact for a while over christmas. This seems the simpler way. Plus it's something to build on character-wise, regret over letting the evil go. Sorry Xarrzan!

[Rumble Strike]

OOC: Thank you for waiting for hours and then voting Chromeknight. I like the way you played it, too. We gave people a good chance to roleplay that one final decision. I am a little sad that this ending section has had such scant participation and I don't know if that's just because people don't like it, feel it lost momentum with the puzzles after the Croc fight, or simply because the holidays are coming up. I will wrap up the Quest tomorrow and have you all back in the Hall on Wednesday (except Guts, who will be going with Haroka and Sorona. I'll see if I can create his figure with my minifig parts bin, could be nice to do to give him a different sendoff).

[Chromeknight]

OOC: Thank you for waiting for hours and then voting Chromeknight. I like the way you played it, too. We gave people a good chance to roleplay that one final decision. I am a little sad that this ending section has had such scant participation and I don't know if that's just because people don't like it, feel it lost momentum with the puzzles after the Croc fight, or simply because the holidays are coming up. I will wrap up the Quest tomorrow and have you all back in the Hall on Wednesday (except Guts, who will be going with Haroka and Sorona. I'll see if I can create his figure with my minifig parts bin, could be nice to do to give him a different sendoff).

I've just been told that Bioniclover has sudden family illness to deal with. I could have controlled Knifk also and we may possibly have been able to finish this before Friday, but likely not. Not sure where LordofDragons has gone, I do know he's posted in the LoTR thread, perhaps he simply lost interest. Shame. In respect to Guts I think the key peice is the black hood, which if you have the CMF1 Ninja or any old ninjas, you should be sorted. No one would mind if he's had a change of clothes. Thanks for your patience and hard work too! And well done on splitting the party, be nice to Scubacarrot!

And so this isn't an entirely OOC post (which is something I object to)

Nerwen walked across to the two orcs, checking that they were still alive. Clearly the darkness had overcome them and they stood in some kind of waking trance. Perhaps this was a clue to the battles the orcs had faced against an unknown enemy in the land of Ennon. The reports of madness overtaking orcs, of a hunter that made others disappear. Maybe there was a dark-magic user at work. A problem for another day. For now there was the smug Sorrow, no, Sorona now, to speak to.

[Xarrzan]

Sarick did not turn his head but kept his glare locked onto the general. He did clench his jaw at Nerwen's vote. His team had made its decision and he would not turn against them. Sarick let out a long angry hiss before speaking.

"Although we part ways today, tomorrow holdsss a different story. Wherever you go general, your evil will spread. It will leave a trail of taint for me to follow. Watch your back as well Sorrow. When you see a lizard bathing in the sunlight, you will wonder if he spysss for me. When a cold breeze chills your bones, you will wonder if I am near. When you hear the beat of wings, you will wonder if I have sent the dragons to claim you lives. The reptiles shall have their revenge and I will lead them to freeze your soulsss."

Sarick slithered away from the left statue and through the group. He took up a spot next to the entrance and waited.

OOC: No worries Nerwen, vote what you feel like your character would vote. I had fun Rumble Strike and I hope Bioniclover's family gets better soon.

[Rumble Strike]

Haroka nodded at the Elven Cleric's decision.

"You are doing the right thing, believe me. This is a new start, with Sorona at my side. I am encouraged that we did not have to come to blows. I expect your party would have taxed my regeneration to its limits. I would have hated to have killed so many people straight away..." he added devilishly, before handing Nerwen the 3 Crowns and 1 Golden Chalice he had fished out from his tomb earlier.

QM Note - For Quest purposes Nerwen can either hand these out to people or just split their worth, which Scubacarrot correctly identified as 1000 gold, which between the 5 of you is 200 each (what you each would have got from the Quest reward money). I will give Guts something else later.

He goes across to the gem-encrusted door that protected his tomb and removes one. Dak looks on, realising that the gems must've been magically sealed into the door by Haroka himself. Haroka also goes to each statue and pulls out the sabres from each statue, again seemingly with no effort.

Tfel Blade - WP:5, suitable for knights and rogues

Thgir Blade - WP:5, suitable for knights and rogues

Topaz (Lightning Elemental)

Party Leader, please distribute (but not to Guts, as mentioned above, I will get him something else). I would like Sarick to have the gem for his hard work on the Quest.

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

"Now for your power boost. Come here Sorona, merge your beautiful power with mine."

Haroka and Sorona joined hands and the tomb echoed with a low thrum of power. A swirling cascade of energy shot from the Dark General and his lover, enveloping the heroes. All 6 heroes gain a level of experience:

Party:

Guts Holla

(played by Scubacarrot)

Level 7 Rogue

Power

: 11

Health

: 8/13

Gold

: 80

Inventory

: Mockthril Cutlass (WP:4) equipped, Rusty Shortsword (WP:3)

Poisoned

, Potion, Bedroll, Gold Ore, Shovel

Sarick Lanse

(played by Xarrzan)

Level 7 Mage

Power

: 12

Health

: 8/11

Ether

: 8/11

Gold

: 10

Inventory

: Healing Staff (WP:5, healing effect) equipped, Mockthril Staff (WP: 4), Shark Fang Dagger (WP: 3), Opal Gem (Ice), Potion, Phoenix Essence

Dak Shadeaux

(played by darthnihilus)

Level 7 Rogue

Power

: 11

Health

: 8/13

Gold

: 34

Inventory

: Mockthril Knife (Equipped)(WP:4), Twin Longswords (WP:3), Mockthril Whip (WP:4), 2 Venoms, Potion, Bedroll

Nerwen Calmcacil

(played by Chromeknight) ** Party Leader **

Level 6 Cleric

Power

: 10

Health

: 14/14

Ether

: 5/10

Gold

: 0

Inventory

: Mockthril Hammer (WP:4), Wooden Staff (WP:3), Potion, Remedy, Fire Bomb, Note (Quest Item), Elixir, Grand Tonic

Gorg

(played by Lordofdragonss)

Level 6 Barbarian

Power

: 10

Health

: 13/13

Gold

: 5

Inventory

: Mockthril Spear (WP:4), Bone club (WP:3), a bottle of Mead, Potion, Pickaxe, Venom, Giant Crocodile Tongue, Grand Potion

Knifk

(played by Bioniclover)

Level 7 Knight

Power

: 11

Health

: 10/16

Gold

: 5

Inventory

: Mockthril Katana (Greatsword, WP:4) Equipped, Mockthril Shield (SP: 4), Morning Star (WP:3), Wyrm Shield (SP:2), Potion, Venom

As the last remnants of the vortex of power fades, Haroka takes Sorrow's small hand in his, and leads her out of his crypt. With one last look at his fellow heroes, Guts goes with them, head held high.

(This is the music in my head as they walk off together...)

The rest of the party watch him go, not quite understanding why he has chosen to go with the Dark General. Only Nerwen, who saw the "Watch" hand-signal, perhaps has an idea why, but even then, she cannot be sure about the gruff Rogue or his motivations.

With their enemies gone, they spend some time searching the tomb, but do not find anything of value, except another torch. They head back, making their way slowly past the carcass of the giant crocodile, through the rubble of the cave-in, until they reach the mine entrance, and proper daylight. It feels good on their faces after so long underground.

There is no sign of Haroka, Sorona or Guts. Nerwen sighes once more, a regretful noise in the silent air.

Somewhat dispirited, they leave Ve'er, heading back to Eubric. Their journey is uneventful.

Without their patron, they decide to head to the outskirts of Ziegfried Manor rather than go back to the Hall, knowing that the Ziegrieds were their sponsors for the Quest. Before the Manor there is a gatehouse. A fiery-looking chap in wizards's robes comes out to greet them.

"Hail, weary travellers! Please state your business!"

[Chromeknight]

QM Note - For Quest purposes Nerwen can either hand these out to people or just split their worth, which Scubacarrot correctly identified as 1000 gold, which between the 5 of you is 200 each (what you each would have got from the Quest reward money). I will give Guts something else later.

He goes across to the gem-encrusted door that protected his tomb and removes one. Dak looks on, realising that the gems must've been magically sealed into the door by Haroka himself. Haroka also goes to each statue and pulls out the sabres from each statue, again seemingly with no effort.

Tfel Blade - WP:5, suitable for knights and rogues

Thgir Blade - WP:5, suitable for knights and rogues

Topaz (Lightning Elemental)

Party Leader, please distribute (but not to Guts, as mentioned above, I will get him something else). I would like Sarick to have the gem for his hard work on the Quest.

Dak and Knifk can each have a blade since they're the ones who can use them.

Sort out between you which blade is named which...

Sarick, as requested gets the gem.

Then, splitting up the gold, Sarick gets 135, Knifk 195, Dak 200, Nerwen 220 and Gorg 250.

This accounts for differences in loot distribution earlier. Everyone ends the quest with 330g worth of stuff (except Guts who is rewarded separately and Sarick who gets 5g more, which I'm sure no one will worry about)

There is no sign of Haroka, Sorona or Guts. Nerwen sighes once more, a regretful noise in the silent air.

Somewhat dispirited, they leave Ve'er, heading back to Eubric. Their journey is uneventful.

Without their patron, they decide to head to the outskirts of Ziegfried Manor rather than go back to the Hall, knowing that the Ziegrieds were their sponsors for the Quest. Before the Manor there is a gatehouse. A fiery-looking chap in wizards's robes comes out to greet them.

"Hail, weary travellers! Please state your business!"

Greetings. We were recently hired for a quest regarding a gem of power and have a tale to tell to the head of the family.

[Darth Nihilus]

"I'll take the Thgir Blade, since Knifk got the Tfel Blade before we opened the door, and he should be allowed to keep it."

Edited December 21, 2011 by Darth Nihilus

[Rumble Strike]

QM Note - Party updated after loot distribution, please make sure all the stats are OK as it is the last one:

Party:

Sarick Lanse

(played by Xarrzan)

Level 7 Mage

Power

: 12

Health

: 8/11

Ether

: 8/11

Gold

: 145

Inventory

: Healing Staff (WP:5, healing effect) equipped, Mockthril Staff (WP: 4), Shark Fang Dagger (WP: 3), Opal Gem (Ice), Topaz Gem (Lightning), Potion, Phoenix Essence

Dak Shadeaux

(played by darthnihilus)

Level 7 Rogue

Power

: 12

Health

: 8/13

Gold

: 234

Inventory

: Thgir Blade (WP:5, equipped), Mockthril Knife (WP:4), Twin Longswords (WP:3), Mockthril Whip (WP:4), 2 Venoms, Potion, Bedroll

Nerwen Calmcacil

(played by Chromeknight) ** Party Leader **

Level 6 Cleric

Power

: 10

Health

: 14/14

Ether

: 5/10

Gold

: 220

Inventory

: Mockthril Hammer (WP:4), Wooden Staff (WP:3), Potion, Remedy, Fire Bomb, Elixir, Grand Tonic

Gorg

(played by Lordofdragonss)

Level 6 Barbarian

Power

: 10

Health

: 13/13

Gold

: 255

Inventory

: Mockthril Spear (WP:4), Bone club (WP:3), a bottle of Mead, Potion, Pickaxe, Venom, Giant Crocodile Tongue, Grand Potion

Knifk

(played by Bioniclover)

Level 7 Knight

Power

: 12

Health

: 10/16

Gold

: 200

Inventory

: Tfel Blade (WP:5, equipped), Mockthril Katana (Greatsword, WP:4), Mockthril Shield (SP: 4), Morning Star (WP:3), Wyrm Shield (SP:2), Potion, Venom

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

"You must be the Questers who were looking for the Darkstar? I'm afraid you can't speak to any of the Ziegfrieds themselves at the moment as they are all busy with urgent family matters, but I will pass on any information you can give to me. Do you have the gem? Where is Sorrow?

QM Note - This is the wrap-up. If the party (you can all join in, it doesn't have to be Nerwen as party leader) can give a brief overview of what happened on the Quest, this guy will take it on board and the Ziegfieds will know. It's not a trap or anything, promise!

Edited December 21, 2011 by Rumble Strike

[Darth Nihilus]

Since Nerwen didn't seem to have an explanation forthcoming, Dak spoke for her and the rest.

"With all due respect, sir, the Quest seems to have failed. We began by meeting with Sorrow, who brought us to a small building where a man, Vres, was held against his will. When we demanded the release of the man -- he had done no wrong -- Sorrow obliged, and we went to Vres's hometown. There we bought some medicine for Vres's wife, who was very ill. We had a run-in with some vagrants, but we defeated them easily. We found out that the mines of the village had been closed because of some strange happenings, and investigated, finding a giant crocodile. We also defeated the monster lizard, but it took quite a bit of effort. In the back of the croc's cave there was a door, through which we crossed after solving its puzzle. Inside, there was a tomb, and Sorrow told us that it was of her old lover, General Haroka. Sorrow tricked us into opening the tomb, and then used magic to awaken the general. Then, she and the general disappeared, taking one of our party with them."

[Chromeknight]

Since Nerwen didn't seem to have an explanation forthcoming, Dak spoke for her and the rest.

The Darkstar is held by, as the rogue says, Haroka. He has been resurrected by the magics of the the mystic, Sorona, known to you as Sorrow. We do not know where they have gone, but you should be aware that the darkness of Haroka walks the world once more. We were unable to prevent them leaving.

Also, we have some observations on the way the power of the darkstar affected various party members. Whilst we are on the topic, unfortunately our rogue seems to be suffering possession of some sort, can you recommend a good exorcist?

My character stats are good! Thanks!

Edited December 21, 2011 by Chromeknight

[Rumble Strike]

"So Sorrow left with this General Haroka and the Darkstar gem? You're telling me you lost your guide, a member of your party and did not recover the Darkstar? Indeed, you have failed the Quest. However, the Ziegfrieds did have their suspicions when Sorrow came forward, saying she could find us the Darkstar. One does not simply bring back the Darkstar with no questions asked. So perhaps you were in a difficult situation to begin with. I'm sure on most Heroica Quests you can always trust your guide completely.

I apologise on behalf of the Ziegfried family for that, and as a consequence you will not lose any reputation with the House.

Now, I must inform them of what happened. Thank you for your hard work on the Quest, heroes, you may now return to Heroica Hall. We must all now be diligent and vigilent. Keep an eye out for this General and his mystic, if he has the Darkstar I am sure we will see him again, and it won't be good."

QM Note - That's it guys, thanks for playing! If you want to give me any feedback, you can do so via PM or on the Heroica discussion/Quest Masters Lounge threads - let me know what you liked, what you didn't, that kind of thing. I felt you all had pretty strong characters in mind when you started out and it has been great to see them grow as the story progressed.

THanks again and have a happy Christmas!

[Xarrzan]

While the other search the tomb and the mine, Sarick returns to the spot where they fought the vermin. He buries the baby dragon and says a few words. He freezes the burial spot of the dragon over with ice. Once he finishes he scratches himself in a few places and some scales fall off.

Sarick does not say much on their journey back. Once they reach the Ziegfrieds Sarick decides to let the others talk and tell their story. He does glance at Nerwen when she says "...the darkness of Haroka walks the world once more. We were unable to prevent them leaving." Sarick slithers his way back to the hall while still scratching a few itchy places.

[Rumble Strike]

Quest#13: The Darkstar: Epilogue

Without the corrupting influence of the Darkstar tainting its very soul, the town of Ve'er slowly got back to normal. Jurn, the Orcish potion seller, goes to see his good friend Vres and his fully-recovered wife, Jui:

"Me Jurn happy that friend Vres and friend Vres's wife Jui are OK!"

Haroka was true to his word. He took Sorona and Guts and travelled Southwards across the sea to a tourist resort just outside of Miranda.

After so long trapped in a state of perpetual darkness, Haroka took this opportunity to sun himself. Guts watched impatiently as he caught the rays close to the lapping waters of the beach.

"I thought we'd be doing cool stuff, not going on holiday! I didn't leave Nerwen and the others to rub oil on a big fat man!"

Sorrow regarded the Rogue cooly. She was just happy to be with Haroka again, but she could see that this wasn't what Guts had in mind.

"You know your infuriating trait of digging wherever you could in the mine? Try it over there," she said, indicating an area to her right. "Take what you find, and leave us. We will call on you again, in time. That is, if you don't take to the hero business," she added slyly.

Not needing any encouragement to break out his shovel, Guts decides to take the dark mystic's advice, and digs in the spot indicated.

Guts pulls out a special blade that was buried. It is a magical blade, Guts will have to temper his mistrust of the dark arts.

Lifestealer - WP:5, successful attacks restore 3 health to the wielder, suitable for rogues

Taking the blade, he nodded to Sorona and took his leave of the Dark General and the Mystic, making his way back to Eubric, and Heroica Hall...

Edited December 22, 2011 by Rumble Strike