Heroica RPG - Quest #159: An Unexpected Return

[Palathadric]

Petaldan sheaths his sword, a few tears of gratitude steal from his eyes.

Pretzel drifts to the ground on his Flying Cross, sighing with relief, but too overcome with the tension that had been holding him to actually say or do anything.

Waldorf looks around him.

"**** man, is that it? Whoa. Freaky! I guess I'll just go and mourn Annie...or whatever."

[UsernameMDM]

Torc slowly turns towards the Founders and and takes flight, gliding silently through the air like an owl towards a mouse, and lands in the Harbor.  She took a few steps forward, eyes fixed on the Founders, ready to spring forward.  

Hoke felt the same.  He lowered Zoot's Order only a bit, the weapon still pulsing from the revelry of battle.  He watch the Founders carefully. 

[CMP]

14 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Heroes..." The Miracle Worker's shaking voice echos across the sand. "Please, I... I beseech you. Lower your weapons, there... there has been enough death today."

The ex-Bonaparte sailors watch the heroes, ready to follow suit.

Atramor turned and waved down at many heroes as he could get the attention of. Whether they saw him or not, they all seemed to notice the battle had halted. Then he approached the Founders, looking about as unsure as he felt. They had been prepared for a last stand. Not a parley.

But he wasn't exactly going to complain.

"More'n happy to stop the fightin', but Dyric's got the right of it." He crossed his arms. "We need everyone you've captured. I don't give a damn who you think they are or what they've done," explained the rogue shortly, waving a hand both flippantly and dismissively. "They're not threats right now and I think they'll be more concerned 'bout their families, aye?" He jerked his head back at Bellanotte. "You let them go, and we'll have a talk. There's a lot we gotta go over. A hell of a lot."

15 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Euflear honey, we're not sure how we got here, but clearly there is more to this than any of us expected."

"You've got no idea, Lady," mumbled Atramor, looking a whole lot less...dynamic now that peace talks had started.

[Palathadric]

"I think some things regarding how you got here we may be able to explain...at least a little bit. There have been a lot of...happenings leading up to your arrival. Too much to be a coincidence. I'm not sure that I'm the best one to explain it all though."

[Zepher]

Boomingham grips his sword and waits for the Founders to answer Atramor. Meanwhile he looks  at Lady Luck. “Couldn’t have done this earlier when you were handing our asses to us in the garden? I told you things weren’t what they seemed.”

[Kintobor]

Karie watches in awe as energy swirls around the battlefield, surging into the bodies of the dead. As the sailors come to and the Miracle Worker calls out for the fighting to stop, Karie looks at the ex-Bonaparte sailors positioned on the wall before her. She put her guitar away.

"Drop your weapons." Karie proclaims diplomatically to the sailors on the wall. "You heard the Miracle Worker. You drop your weapons and we'll follow suit. There's been enough violence for one day, and I think we all have a desire to go back home to our families and loved ones once this is over, wherever they might be."

[UsernameMDM]

21 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Euflear honey, we're not sure how we got here, but clearly there is more to this than any of us expected."

Hoke looks at Lady Luck in disbelief.

"Wait a minute. You're NOT SURE how you got here, yet you decided to march in like a conquering tyrant, stomping on the city with an iron-shod boot, imprisoning, torturing, killing, murdering, and executing anyone in your way?  Are you insane?  WHO SENT YOU?"

[Lind Whisperer]

7 hours ago, CMP said:

"More'n happy to stop the fightin', but Dyric's got the right of it." He crossed his arms. "We need everyone you've captured. I don't give a damn who you think they are or what they've done," explained the rogue shortly, waving a hand both flippantly and dismissively. "They're not threats right now and I think they'll be more concerned 'bout their families, aye?" He jerked his head back at Bellanotte. "You let them go, and we'll have a talk. There's a lot we gotta go over. A hell of a lot."

"You've got no idea, Lady," mumbled Atramor, looking a whole lot less...dynamic now that peace talks had started.

Lind spat dirt out of his mouth. Despite being close to death, he seemed to be in his element, though his wounds and bruises were forcing him to be quite curt.

"Golden Dragon...I don't suppose you've seen anything called a Nornalis, have you? We're missing one...

And I hear you have a package from the Dragon House. As the closest thing we have to a Crescent representative, I'm afraid, unless you can provide some proof of ownership, we may to need to confiscate that and return it to its proper owners..."

He rubbed his side and groaned.

"...If I don't die walking across the yard to get it, that is..."

OoC: Do I need to be revived? Or am I dead?

I can't log on tomorrow, so I'm trying to post before the conversation's already ended.

Edited September 18, 2018 by Lind Whisperer

[The Legonater]

35 minutes ago, Lind Whisperer said:

"Golden Dragon...I don't suppose you've seen anything called a Nornalis, have you? We're missing one...

And I hear you have a package from the Dragon House. As the closest thing we have to a Crescent representative, I'm afraid, unless you can provide some proof of ownership, we may to need to confiscate that and return it to its proper owners..."

1

Dyric gives the Whisperer a swift, but light, kick.

These people shut down the Hall because it split into factions, I somehow doubt waving that badge is going to earn you a lot of points in their eyes. We're here for people, not whatever package you feel entitled to. And don't give out all our cards before we get a chance to find out some of theirs. 

[Waterbrick Down]

21 hours ago, The Legonater said:

Rone descends from the dragon, drinking a Mead, Smelling Salt and two Grand Potions. The scene was a mess of blood. He had barely collected himself before the sight of the five Founders nearly blew him off his feet again. In his mind, he knew most of them weren't real, and yet the scene looked as if straight out of the history books. Catching his breath, he made the final few steps, locking eyes with the Miracleworker. Dyric has met all sort of figures in his travels as a Hero, yet none had caught him off-guard quite like the old Veteran. He cleared his head, deciding to make introductions again. It was important that everyone get this right.

Dyric Rone, he said, extending a hand. The most recent Duplovian Hero of Heroica. 

The Miracleworker is right, no one else needs to die today. That starts with the innocents you have readied for execution. If you truly believe you are trying to save Eubric, you'll do it by letting them off the block. That's first priority. Once that's done, we can enter into civil discussion. 

9 hours ago, CMP said:

Atramor turned and waved down at many heroes as he could get the attention of. Whether they saw him or not, they all seemed to notice the battle had halted. Then he approached the Founders, looking about as unsure as he felt. They had been prepared for a last stand. Not a parley.

But he wasn't exactly going to complain.

"More'n happy to stop the fightin', but Dyric's got the right of it." He crossed his arms. "We need everyone you've captured. I don't give a damn who you think they are or what they've done," explained the rogue shortly, waving a hand both flippantly and dismissively. "They're not threats right now and I think they'll be more concerned 'bout their families, aye?" He jerked his head back at Bellanotte. "You let them go, and we'll have a talk. There's a lot we gotta go over. A hell of a lot."

"Yuliana?"

The Golden Dragon looks back and gives a signal to the town watch forces waiting at the fortress gates. A few minutes pass before a half dozen or so prisoners start walking toward the group.


"They try anything funny and you both know how this'll end."

7 hours ago, Zepher said:

Boomingham grips his sword and waits for the Founders to answer Atramor. Meanwhile he looks  at Lady Luck. “Couldn’t have done this earlier when you were handing our asses to us in the garden? I told you things weren’t what they seemed.”

"Things were a bit more unclear right after your group's tussle with patrols in the area, we couldn't take any chances I'm afraid."

7 hours ago, Palathadric said:

"I think some things regarding how you got here we may be able to explain...at least a little bit. There have been a lot of...happenings leading up to your arrival. Too much to be a coincidence. I'm not sure that I'm the best one to explain it all though."

3 hours ago, UsernameMDM said:

Hoke looks at Lady Luck in disbelief.

"Wait a minute. You're NOT SURE how you got here, yet you decided to march in like a conquering tyrant, stomping on the city with an iron-shod boot, imprisoning, torturing, killing, murdering, and executing anyone in your way?  Are you insane?  WHO SENT YOU?"

The golden dragon growls to Torc.

<Is your companion always this impertinent?>


"No one sent us dragoon, and I can't say I like your tone, if you'd rather settle this in another manner..."


"Which won't be needed." Mycroft glances between the two dragoons. "The truth is that none of us remember anything short of a few months ago. We remember the hall and then we all awoke in Dastan. We couldn't find Euflear, we didn't know what year it was or where we even were at the time."


"If we didn't have Luxidious we may have never escaped that forest. We returned to Eubric as quickly as we could..."


"And that's when we found out that things had gone so very wrong. Our home, our hall, our city had changed almost to a point where we didn't recognize it."


"So we watched and we waited trying to figure what had happened. Eventually we learned about the houses and everything they were doing to undermine the city. We thought they had managed to corrupt all of you."


"We were strong, but six is no match against the whole of Heroica and the forces of the Houses."


"Yeah, so we started digging up dirt on the houses and leaking it to the press. The people of the city took care of the rest."


"The town watch and paladin temple have been institutions since we began the hall, we were able to gain their support along with others in the city who had tired of the Houses influence."


"You know the rest from there."

6 hours ago, Kintobor said:

Karie watches in awe as energy swirls around the battlefield, surging into the bodies of the dead. As the sailors come to and the Miracle Worker calls out for the fighting to stop, Karie looks at the ex-Bonaparte sailors positioned on the wall before her. She put her guitar away.

"Drop your weapons." Karie proclaims diplomatically to the sailors on the wall. "You heard the Miracle Worker. You drop your weapons and we'll follow suit. There's been enough violence for one day, and I think we all have a desire to go back home to our families and loved ones once this is over, wherever they might be."

The sailors look to the Founders and slowly sheath their weapons.


"What about 'em?" The sailor points to the Bonapartes ships slowly approaching the island.

2 hours ago, Lind Whisperer said:

Lind spat dirt out of his mouth. Despite being close to death, he seemed to be in his element, though his wounds and bruises were forcing him to be quite curt.

"Golden Dragon...I don't suppose you've seen anything called a Nornalis, have you? We're missing one...

And I hear you have a package from the Dragon House. As the closest thing we have to a Crescent representative, I'm afraid, unless you can provide some proof of ownership, we may to need to confiscate that and return it to its proper owners..."

He rubbed his side and groaned.

"...If I don't die walking across the yard to get it, that is..."

OoC: Do I need to be revived? Or am I dead?

I can't log on tomorrow, so I'm trying to post before the conversation's already ended.

QM Note: You actually died, the Miracle Worker revived you though.

The Golden Dragon turns with an icy glare towards Lind.

"Ah, the witch's stone? Untergang placed a seal upon it within the hall before he left to acquire the eggs you mentioned. I assume he ran into some of your party so you can forgive me for not turning over something for which he sacrificed his own life."

[Kintobor]

5 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

The sailors look to the Founders and slowly sheath their weapons.


"What about 'em?" The sailor points to the Bonapartes ships slowly approaching the island.

Karie sighed in relief as the sailors put their weapons away. As the sailor pointed to the approaching ships, Karie groaned. "Great, more complications!" She turned to the sailors, hoping they'd have an answer to help her. "Do you have some kind of means of telling the ships not to attack? You guys typically use flags or something for communication, right? They'll probably come in and storm the beaches since they don't know what's going on." Karie moved to the other side of the walls, questioning whether or not to inform the others immediately. She looked at the negotiations and back out to sea, knowing that what was about to happen could end all of this.

[MysticModulus]

 

20 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

 

"Things were a bit more unclear right after your group's tussle with patrols in the area, we couldn't take any chances I'm afraid."

 

Ezeran interrupts his channeling and crosses his arms at his chest. He does not look happy.

"Are you serious? We've been telling you about the demonic forces at play here for this entire duration and you show the cunning and resilience of a wet paper swan?" 

Edited September 18, 2018 by MysticModulus

[Flipz]

1 hour ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Things were a bit more unclear right after your group's tussle with patrols in the area, we couldn't take any chances I'm afraid."

<...>


"The town watch and paladin temple have been institutions since we began the hall, we were able to gain their support along with others in the city who had tired of the Houses influence."


"You know the rest from there."

Arthur sighs tiredly, but maintains his Diplomacy.  "And you never considered that maybe the Watch and the Paladins are just as screwed-up as you thought Heroica was?  Take it from a former Watchman--the Watch isn't nearly as devoted to honor and justice as it makes itself out to be.  Not sayin' Heroica isn't without its own fair share of problems, mind, but the Watch has a definite throwing-stones-from-glass-houses issue in that regard."

1 hour ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Yeah, so we started digging up dirt on the houses and leaking it to the press. The people of the city took care of the rest."

"Oh, yes, thank you so much for that lovely bit of yellow journalism," Arthur snarks, Diplomacy dropping in the process.  "My family and I definitely appreciated having our names dragged through the mud for mistakes we've literally risked our lives trying to correct.  I get it, we Ziegfrieds haven't exactly been pulling our weight in helping the city, but my branch of the family has been working for years to change the family priorities, and just as we finally started making headway this whole mess happened.  Couldn't you have...I don't know, maybe talked to us first?"  Though his tone is upset and sarcastic, overall the Skirmisher seems genuinely hurt by Lady Luck's casual flippancy about trying to destroy his family over--quite literally--nothing.

4 hours ago, Lind Whisperer said:

Lind spat dirt out of his mouth. Despite being close to death, he seemed to be in his element, though his wounds and bruises were forcing him to be quite curt.

"Golden Dragon...I don't suppose you've seen anything called a Nornalis, have you? We're missing one...

And I hear you have a package from the Dragon House. As the closest thing we have to a Crescent representative, I'm afraid, unless you can provide some proof of ownership, we may to need to confiscate that and return it to its proper owners..."

He rubbed his side and groaned.

"...If I don't die walking across the yard to get it, that is..."
 

3 hours ago, The Legonater said:

Dyric gives the Whisperer a swift, but light, kick.

These people shut down the Hall because it split into factions, I somehow doubt waving that badge is going to earn you a lot of points in their eyes. We're here for people, not whatever package you feel entitled to. And don't give out all our cards before we get a chance to find out some of theirs. 

Arthur rolls his eyes at the mention of the Crescent Union.  "No offense to anyone who signed up, but I've thought from day one that Sungold and Crescent were some of the stupidest ideas to come out of this city in ages--and that's coming from a Ziegfried who's friends with both Lady Shanxian and the Shadeaux family.  Neither of those alliances should have ever come to be, and hopefully the one good thing that comes out of today's nonsense will be their mutually-agreed dissolution."

1 hour ago, Waterbrick Down said:

The Golden Dragon turns with an icy glare towards Lind.

"Ah, the witch's stone? Untergang placed a seal upon it within the hall before he left to acquire the eggs you mentioned. I assume he ran into some of your party so you can forgive me for not turning over something for which he sacrificed his own life."

Arthur shoots the false Golden Dragon a look of utter disbelief, though he pushes his diplomatic training to the very limit to try and keep his outrage in check*.  "There are so many things wrong with what you just said...okay, first off, the Nornalis was put in place specifically because the Dark Angel Lucifuge swore revenge against Heroica after the real Morduin sealed Lucifuge away, most likely at the cost of his own life!  Second off, the eggs wouldn't need protection if you hadn't murdered your own descendant--Cain Tiamateus, a good man and my friend--and his faithful Dragon companion Smaragdea.  And third...when we found the false Doomsayer, he was preparing to desecrate the corpse of the true Golden Dragon, and wouldn't listen to a word we said.  I tried diplomacy, but he was so wrapped up in his own agenda that it ended up coming down to his 'life' or ours.  You'll have to forgive me for choosing the lives of my family--by blood and by choice--over someone I strongly suspected to be a pawn of the Dark Angel who'd already tried to destroy Heroica and conquer Eubric once before."

*OOC: Please treat this final statement as a Diplomacy attempt that failed on the maker's end due to uncontrollable emotion--i.e., something that would ping to other characters with the Diplomacy skill.

Edited September 18, 2018 by Flipz

[Palathadric]

"Forgive me if I missed it in our former conversation, but is the Golden Dragon's corpse still there, or has it disappeared? I'm sure our friends would be interested in seeing it."

[UsernameMDM]

7 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

The golden dragon growls to Torc.

<Is your companion always this impertinent?>

Torc rumbles, a roar growing in the pit of her gut.

<Murders deserve no respect or have you forgotten about the Dragonlord and my brood mother?>

Hoke sits straightly on Torc, eyes set at the Golden Dragon, not having much of a mind to calm her down.

7 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"No one sent us dragoon, and I can't say I like your tone, if you'd rather settle this in another manner..."

"I can't say I like anything that you've done.  My tone should be the least of your worries."

7 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Which won't be needed." Mycroft glances between the two dragoons. "The truth is that none of us remember anything short of a few months ago. We remember the hall and then we all awoke in Dastan. We couldn't find Euflear, we didn't know what year it was or where we even were at the time."


"If we didn't have Luxidious we may have never escaped that forest. We returned to Eubric as quickly as we could..."


"And that's when we found out that things had gone so very wrong. Our home, our hall, our city had changed almost to a point where we didn't recognize it."


"So we watched and we waited trying to figure what had happened. Eventually we learned about the houses and everything they were doing to undermine the city. We thought they had managed to corrupt all of you."


"We were strong, but six is no match against the whole of Heroica and the forces of the Houses."


"Yeah, so we started digging up dirt on the houses and leaking it to the press. The people of the city took care of the rest."


"The town watch and paladin temple have been institutions since we began the hall, we were able to gain their support along with others in the city who had tired of the Houses influence."

"Pathetic and cowardly, the lot of you.  You've undermined yourselves!  You should be ashamed, skulking about the shadows, employing gossip and subterfuge.  ALL of this could have been avoided with simple conversation.  Tell me, how long did it take after you woke up to decide that you wouldn't live up to your own ideals that you hold others up against?  How long did it take for you to decide to become tyrants?"

Hoke edges towards boiling over, getting sick to his stomach looking at each Founder in their eyes.

He lets out a long, steadying breath to assume a more diplomatic air.

"I have an idea what may be going on," he says, looking towards a couple of his companions,"There is another place we were going to investigate before we came here.  It may need to be looked at now, and we may need the help."

[The Legonater]

11 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

The Golden Dragon looks back and gives a signal to the town watch forces waiting at the fortress gates. A few minutes pass before a half dozen or so prisoners start walking toward the group.

 

Dyric smiles as he sees the former prisoners crossing the harbour. He leans over to Bellanotte. Go say hi to your family. You've earned this.

8 hours ago, Palathadric said:

"Forgive me if I missed it in our former conversation, but is the Golden Dragon's corpse still there, or has it disappeared? I'm sure our friends would be interested in seeing it."

It should be, though I'm not sure if we would be able to broker a second conversation. Of course, the Miracleworker might be able to do something about that.

11 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"And that's when we found out that things had gone so very wrong. Our home, our hall, our city had changed almost to a point where we didn't recognize it."

 

Because time changes things. That's not some grave mistake, that's just life. I'm sure if the 'me' from ten years ago had spotted the 'me' of now, he would be insulted. And I'm fine with that, because those changes were all for the better, no matter how dramatic. Like Hoke said, you didn't even try to understand the present. You made a judgment call off of base appearances and took down half the city because of it. Can you not see how mistaken that it?

Nevertheless, we do have bigger fish to fry than the likes of you. Tell me, what do you four know about the archdemon Rosier? 

[samurai-turtle]

20 hours ago, Lind Whisperer said:

And I hear you have a package from the Dragon House. As the closest thing we have to a Crescent representative, I'm afraid, unless you can provide some proof of ownership, we may to need to confiscate that and return it to its proper owners..."

I can't believe this fool, he acts like he is still in some sort of school. Then Germ said something out loud. Crescent Pride my "Ohio-Art". Then Dyric done this...

19 hours ago, The Legonater said:

Dyric gives the Whisperer a swift, but light, kick. 

Kick him harder next time. Then Germ look at his "badge" and wondered why he didn't just throw it away. 

 

17 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

The golden dragon growls to Torc.

<Is your companion always this impertinent?> 


"If we didn't have Luxidious we may have never escaped that forest. We returned to Eubric as quickly as we could..." 

Some how Germ was still able to hear Luxidious' thoughts, he must of not turn it off or he didn't care who heard him...

More reason not to like that dragon. Basically said to himself. 

16 hours ago, Flipz said:

Arthur rolls his eyes at the mention of the Crescent Union.  "No offense to anyone who signed up, but I've thought from day one that Sungold and Crescent were some of the stupidest ideas to come out of this city in ages--and that's coming from a Ziegfried who's friends with both Lady Shanxian and the Shadeaux family.  Neither of those alliances should have ever come to be, and hopefully the one good thing that comes out of today's nonsense will be their mutually-agreed dissolution."

But yet Germ felt like he was insulting anyone who would willing joining up with any of these groups. The only thing Germ did was give him a quick death look. 

9 hours ago, UsernameMDM said:

"I have an idea what may be going on," he says, looking towards a couple of his companions,"There is another place we were going to investigate before we came here.  It may need to be looked at now, and we may need the help."

I can't believe you Hoke, a second ago you and your Dragon was ready re-start the fight, and now you want their help. Personally I rather have an army of angels ready to kick my "Ohio-Art" backing me up than these "people"... 

6 hours ago, The Legonater said:

Nevertheless, we do have bigger fish to fry than the likes of you. Tell me, what do you four know about the archdemon Rosier? 

Yes, are we ever going to get around to kicking her "Ohio-Art", even tho I think she might like it...What a pervert. 

Edited September 18, 2018 by samurai-turtle
Spelling

[Duvors]

On 9/16/2018 at 11:55 PM, Waterbrick Down said:

"You shall all die. How dare you make a mockery of my companions."


"Be still Euflear, we thought you were dead."


"Dead? It is you who should be dead, I watched each and every one of you pass from this life and now you would stand before and dishonor their memory?"

With a sigh of relief that it was all more or less over Throlar sheathed his weapons and strode across the battlefield towards the Founders, healing everyone he could until his ether ran out. (Through Ludeus and in order of least to most health remaining.) Finally reaching his destination he addressed Euflear diplomatically.

"Look," he said, "I honestly don't know what you're feeling right now, but I can make an educated guess. You feel as if these people are mockeries of your friends and you feel angry that they're walking around alive while your friends are dead. I'll admit- look, I know this doesn't compare to your situation but when I learned that these people weren't the real founders I was angry that there was (what I thought was) a soulless facsimile of the Doomsayer, one of Titaan's greatest heroes, wandering around pretending to be him, using his name and wearing his face. I was even glad when I heard that he'd been killed, I'm ashamed to say. But look, from personal experience I can say that holding onto emotions like that and letting them rule your mind and actions does not do wonders for your mental health, nor does attacking the object of your anger make you feel better. And besides, I no longer think these are mindless imitations of the founders, but rather real beings. Albeit not the ones they think they are. Please try to treat them that way. Not that I'm saying you shouldn't get angry at them for their irresponsible behavior or poor decision making, but that's a different matter. Oh, and while I'm at it," he said, turning his attention to the 'Founders', "sorry to break it to you like this, but you aren't the people you think you are, or even human in a technical sense. The explanation is... rather complicated. Basically, some time back the Faerie was invaded by the archdemon Rosier. Successfully. They conquered the realm and proceeded to feed off the fairy dust that comprises the place and it's inhabitants. Essentially committing mass murder on an immense scale. Euflear here was bound in the dungeons of Rosier's fortress and, weakened by having the life drained from them, fell into a deep sleep. Now, one of the properties of fairy dust is that it reacts to the desires of the fairies in contact with it, essentially allowing them to create anything at a whim. And while Euflear slept they dreamed, dreamed of their companions now long dead and of how much they wished for them to be alive agin. From what we understand the last of the fairy dust untouched by Rosier reacted to that and gave birth to you lot. So in short you're copies of the people you think you are formed from the wistful dreams and time-decayed memories of their last surviving friend due to a unique set of circumstances that involved the painful deaths of a lot of people. I'm sorry."

[Waterbrick Down]

"If the Bonapartes are charging it's because they're looking to recapture the fort. The only way they won't be attacking is if we raise a white flag and there ain't no way we're surrendering."

23 hours ago, MysticModulus said:

 

Ezeran interrupts his channeling and crosses his arms at his chest. He does not look happy.

"Are you serious? We've been telling you about the demonic forces at play here for this entire duration and you show the cunning and resilience of a wet paper swan?" 

"Granted that was coming from a group of heroes who had just slaughtered a patrol of watchmen and paladins, so..."

22 hours ago, Flipz said:

Arthur sighs tiredly, but maintains his Diplomacy.  "And you never considered that maybe the Watch and the Paladins are just as screwed-up as you thought Heroica was?  Take it from a former Watchman--the Watch isn't nearly as devoted to honor and justice as it makes itself out to be.  Not sayin' Heroica isn't without its own fair share of problems, mind, but the Watch has a definite throwing-stones-from-glass-houses issue in that regard."

"Perhaps... but being free from the houses ensured they would not be influenced by their corruption."

23 hours ago, Flipz said:

"Oh, yes, thank you so much for that lovely bit of yellow journalism," Arthur snarks, Diplomacy dropping in the process.  "My family and I definitely appreciated having our names dragged through the mud for mistakes we've literally risked our lives trying to correct.  I get it, we Ziegfrieds haven't exactly been pulling our weight in helping the city, but my branch of the family has been working for years to change the family priorities, and just as we finally started making headway this whole mess happened.  Couldn't you have...I don't know, maybe talked to us first?"  Though his tone is upset and sarcastic, overall the Skirmisher seems genuinely hurt by Lady Luck's casual flippancy about trying to destroy his family over--quite literally--nothing.

"Do you think I relished at seeing how far my own family had fallen? To what lows of war-profiteering they had stooped? Did that stay my hand? No, because the people of this city deserved better than that and for that tough choices had to be made."

23 hours ago, Flipz said:

Arthur shoots the false Golden Dragon a look of utter disbelief, though he pushes his diplomatic training to the very limit to try and keep his outrage in check*.  "There are so many things wrong with what you just said...okay, first off, the Nornalis was put in place specifically because the Dark Angel Lucifuge swore revenge against Heroica after the real Morduin sealed Lucifuge away, most likely at the cost of his own life!  Second off, the eggs wouldn't need protection if you hadn't murdered your own descendant--Cain Tiamateus, a good man and my friend--and his faithful Dragon companion Smaragdea.  And third...when we found the false Doomsayer, he was preparing to desecrate the corpse of the true Golden Dragon, and wouldn't listen to a word we said.  I tried diplomacy, but he was so wrapped up in his own agenda that it ended up coming down to his 'life' or ours.  You'll have to forgive me for choosing the lives of my family--by blood and by choice--over someone I strongly suspected to be a pawn of the Dark Angel who'd already tried to destroy Heroica and conquer Eubric once before."

*OOC: Please treat this final statement as a Diplomacy attempt that failed on the maker's end due to uncontrollable emotion--i.e., something that would ping to other characters with the Diplomacy skill.

"Untergang was the most distressed about our return, to him it was puzzle he couldn't unravel. I cannot speak to his intentions other than he went to retrieve the eggs and his understanding of arcane phenomenon has been sorely missed. As for Cain..." The Golden Dragon pauses taking in a deep breath, "As Helene said tough choices had to be made... for all of us."

15 hours ago, UsernameMDM said:

Torc rumbles, a roar growing in the pit of her gut.

<Murders deserve no respect or have you forgotten about the Dragonlord and my brood mother?>

Hoke sits straightly on Torc, eyes set at the Golden Dragon, not having much of a mind to calm her down.

<Perhaps they should not have defended one then.>

15 hours ago, UsernameMDM said:

"I can't say I like anything that you've done.  My tone should be the least of your worries."

"It's a good thing I don't care about your approval."

15 hours ago, UsernameMDM said:

"Pathetic and cowardly, the lot of you.  You've undermined yourselves!  You should be ashamed, skulking about the shadows, employing gossip and subterfuge.  ALL of this could have been avoided with simple conversation.  Tell me, how long did it take after you woke up to decide that you wouldn't live up to your own ideals that you hold others up against?  How long did it take for you to decide to become tyrants?"

Hoke edges towards boiling over, getting sick to his stomach looking at each Founder in their eyes.

12 hours ago, The Legonater said:

Because time changes things. That's not some grave mistake, that's just life. I'm sure if the 'me' from ten years ago had spotted the 'me' of now, he would be insulted. And I'm fine with that, because those changes were all for the better, no matter how dramatic. Like Hoke said, you didn't even try to understand the present. You made a judgment call off of base appearances and took down half the city because of it. Can you not see how mistaken that it?

"Do you think we were blind? We walked the streets of Eubric for weeks, we spoke with the fishermen, the cleaning maids, the blacksmiths, the common everyday men. Those who were neither part of a House or had business dealings with them suffered as their power rose. Our hope relied upon the people of Eubric judging them and yourselves rightly."

12 hours ago, The Legonater said:

Dyric smiles as he sees the former prisoners crossing the harbour. He leans over to Bellanotte. Go say hi to your family. You've earned this.

Bellanotte wipes a tear from her eye before rushing over to her family.

"Thank you."

12 hours ago, The Legonater said:

Nevertheless, we do have bigger fish to fry than the likes of you. Tell me, what do you four know about the archdemon Rosier? 

"The seducer? A vile being of corruption and powerful temptations, dark texts describe how she would consume mortal souls through their dreams."

2 hours ago, Lord Duvors said:

With a sigh of relief that it was all more or less over Throlar sheathed his weapons and strode across the battlefield towards the Founders, healing everyone he could until his ether ran out. (Through Ludeus and in order of least to most health remaining.) Finally reaching his destination he addressed Euflear diplomatically.

"Look," he said, "I honestly don't know what you're feeling right now, but I can make an educated guess. You feel as if these people are mockeries of your friends and you feel angry that they're walking around alive while your friends are dead. I'll admit- look, I know this doesn't compare to your situation but when I learned that these people weren't the real founders I was angry that there was (what I thought was) a soulless facsimile of the Doomsayer, one of Titaan's greatest heroes, wandering around pretending to be him, using his name and wearing his face. I was even glad when I heard that he'd been killed, I'm ashamed to say. But look, from personal experience I can say that holding onto emotions like that and letting them rule your mind and actions does not do wonders for your mental health, nor does attacking the object of your anger make you feel better. And besides, I no longer think these are mindless imitations of the founders, but rather real beings. Albeit not the ones they think they are. Please try to treat them that way. Not that I'm saying you shouldn't get angry at them for their irresponsible behavior or poor decision making, but that's a different matter. Oh, and while I'm at it," he said, turning his attention to the 'Founders', "sorry to break it to you like this, but you aren't the people you think you are, or even human in a technical sense. The explanation is... rather complicated. Basically, some time back the Faerie was invaded by the archdemon Rosier. Successfully. They conquered the realm and proceeded to feed off the fairy dust that comprises the place and it's inhabitants. Essentially committing mass murder on an immense scale. Euflear here was bound in the dungeons of Rosier's fortress and, weakened by having the life drained from them, fell into a deep sleep. Now, one of the properties of fairy dust is that it reacts to the desires of the fairies in contact with it, essentially allowing them to create anything at a whim. And while Euflear slept they dreamed, dreamed of their companions now long dead and of how much they wished for them to be alive agin. From what we understand the last of the fairy dust untouched by Rosier reacted to that and gave birth to you lot. So in short you're copies of the people you think you are formed from the wistful dreams and time-decayed memories of their last surviving friend due to a unique set of circumstances that involved the painful deaths of a lot of people. I'm sorry."

All the Founders stare at Throlar as he succinctly sums up the situation, the following silence is almost deafening.


"But that can't be right? I remember everything like it was yesterday, I... I...." the rogue drops to her knees rocking back and forth.

"Twould certainly explain a great deal, the time skip, the teleportation..."


"Euflear."

The Fey One begins to cry, her emotions wavering between rage and sorrow.


"I can't."


"Far traveler."


"It's my fault."


"You cannot blame..."


"Don't you understand?!? All of this, it's because of me. I brought you here, I thought I was strong, I thought I had made peace..."


"Can there ever truly be lasting peace when we are separated from those we love?" Yuliana walks over to Euflear laying a hand upon the fairy's shoulder, the group voice softening. "Do not bear this burden... I still do not grasp what my or our companions' nature is or if I may even claim my own identity, but I know that it has been forged and shaped by you. That is enough for me dear friend."

Mycroft turns to the heroes,

"Heroes, what happened to Untergang, The Doomsayer?"

[Kintobor]

19 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"If the Bonapartes are charging it's because they're looking to recapture the fort. The only way they won't be attacking is if we raise a white flag and there ain't no way we're surrendering."

Karie lowered her brow and stubbornly squinted her eyes at the sailor. "Fine." Karie cursed under her breath as she left the sailors on the outer wall and descended to the Harbour via the stairs. She'd seen enough people leaping from the ramparts to come to the conclusion that a potential sprained ankle wasn't worth it. She considered talking to Dyric or Arthur, but the two seemed busy. Reluctantly, she approached Lawrence, coughing to get his attention. She spoke to him in a quieter tone, trying to not grab the attention of anyone else.

"Look, Lawrence, I'm happy this whole negotiation thing's going smoothly, but we've got a problem. The Bonaparte fleet's on their way here, and they're not going to receive the negotiations in a positive manner. We need to get the Bonapartes to stand down. Do we still need the Magpie? I can take a small group to go and tell the Bonaparte's to hold position."

Karie turned around to examine the condition of the Magpie and ensure it was still seaworthy.

[The Legonater]

26 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Do you think we were blind? We walked the streets of Eubric for weeks, we spoke with the fishermen, the cleaning maids, the blacksmiths, the common everyday men. Those who were neither part of a House or had business dealings with them suffered as their power rose. Our hope relied upon the people of Eubric judging them and yourselves rightly."

 

I'm sorry, I'm not buying it. Grogan, Old Mack Donald, Benedict Greely, Clair, Ecatsue, Illdria, Guffington, Doc Daneeka - and those are just the ones I remember, the ones I personally helped with. Heroica's hurt people, absolutely, but it's helped, too. There are nations intact right now because of us, and that isn't an understatement. 

If you had problems with Heroica, fine - so did I. But you could've talked to us instead of seizing the city by force in a misguided sense of justice. Do you see the way we've banded together? Heroica still lives, and it lives to bring back this city.

49 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

Mycroft turns to the heroes,

"Heroes, what happened to Untergang, The Doomsayer?"

 

Dyric looks at his old hero, voice hesitant. He didn't want to upset the man, but he would not shy from the truth.

I was there. We went into the depths of the Dragon House with a necromancer to talk to the original Golden Dragon. We had to know where the truth laid. The Doomsayer prevented us from doing that. We tried to reason with him, but he made our options clear. It was kill or be killed, and we weren't about to let the city fall quietly. We were forced to strike him down. His body turned to faerie dust, further confirming what we already knew. 

[Lind Whisperer]

On 9/17/2018 at 10:50 PM, The Legonater said:

Dyric gives the Whisperer a swift, but light, kick.

These people shut down the Hall because it split into factions, I somehow doubt waving that badge is going to earn you a lot of points in their eyes. We're here for people, not whatever package you feel entitled to. And don't give out all our cards before we get a chance to find out some of theirs. 

"Kick a wounded man one more time, Assassin, and we will have words.

Entitled? The Jei Pei heir is gone, fled the city, Guts is no where to be found - I'm the third in line. Recovering any property stolen from members of the Union, former or no, falls on my shoulders - the harder, since you seem to have forgotten your past allegiances. Crescenteer."

He said the last word harder, even if futilely, to remind the Heroican that they once belonged to the same organization, and once held the same duties. It was certainly futile - the Assassin clearly looked down on the Black Knight, who had come relatively late to the city - but he wanted to make it very clear that although he regretted past mistakes, he did not intend to apologize for trying to honor the trusts of those he had sworn himself to serve.

On 9/18/2018 at 1:19 AM, Waterbrick Down said:

QM Note: You actually died, the Miracle Worker revived you though.

The Golden Dragon turns with an icy glare towards Lind.

"Ah, the witch's stone? Untergang placed a seal upon it within the hall before he left to acquire the eggs you mentioned. I assume he ran into some of your party so you can forgive me for not turning over something for which he sacrificed his own life."

OoC: Got it, thanks.

I assume the Dragon House package isn't important, then? Just trying to RP, but if it's not, I don't want to cause a scene.

"So it was in the hall all along...

Is the seal simple enough that some of our own will be able to handle it?"

5 hours ago, Lord Duvors said:

With a sigh of relief that it was all more or less over Throlar sheathed his weapons and strode across the battlefield towards the Founders, healing everyone he could until his ether ran out. (Through Ludeus and in order of least to most health remaining.) Finally reaching his destination he addressed Euflear diplomatically.

Lind accepted the healing, gratefully.

[UsernameMDM]

13 hours ago, samurai-turtle said:

I can't believe you Hoke, a second ago you and your Dragon was ready re-start the fight, and now you want their help. Personally I rather have an army of angels ready to kick my "Ohio-Art" backing me up than these "people"... 

"They have much to make up for."

6 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

<Perhaps they should not have defended one then.>

<We already know, from your group's admittance, that your judgement leaves much to be desired.>  

6 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"It's a good thing I don't care about your approval."

"The feeling is mutual."

[MysticModulus]

7 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

 

"Granted that was coming from a group of heroes who had just slaughtered a patrol of watchmen and paladins, so..."

 

"Yes, and what alternative did we have at that point? What would you have found out about the demonic infection if it wasn't for us? And why does trouble and general mayhem seem to follow in your wake?"

[samurai-turtle]

8 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Granted that was coming from a group of heroes who had just slaughtered a patrol of watchmen and paladins, so..."

That is funny I don't remember hurting anyone in that fight. I might not of stop it or anything, but I didn't hurt anyone during the whole thing. I am sure the others could back me up, assuming their memory is good enough.....The worse you could say is, I was being a (what are they called, Samaritan) a "Crayola" of a Samaritan. 

7 hours ago, Kintobor said:

"Look, Lawrence, I'm happy this whole negotiation thing's going smoothly, but we've got a problem. The Bonaparte fleet's on their way here, and they're not going to receive the negotiations in a positive manner. We need to get the Bonapartes to stand down. Do we still need the Magpie? I can take a small group to go and tell the Bonaparte's to hold position."

Thinking he heard more ships are coming Germ took out his Telescope to take a look...

6 hours ago, Lind Whisperer said:

Entitled? The Jei Pei heir is gone, fled the city, Guts is no where to be found - I'm the third in line. Recovering any property stolen from members of the Union, former or no, falls on my shoulders - the harder, since you seem to have forgotten your past allegiances. Crescenteer." 

That is not how it works, that is not how any of this works, you...The rest was in a language no one was able to understand.