Comrade Commander

Darksten briskly joins the group after his quick stop at the market. As he joins the gathered heroes he catches the words from the Bonaparte Captain. "It is good to see you again as well, I hope those slavers were given due justice..." Since the Captain already introduced the assassin to the party, Darksten simply nods to the group, happy that he recognizes at least one face. Seeing the offered items being passed around, the assassin shakes his head. "Thanks, but as long as luck is on my side I prefer to keep my distance in a fight." ooc: A number of updates, with additional health (48), more power (3), as well as less defense (2) and gold (1637). I also purchased a magic compass from the market, added my Grogmas gift and cornucopia I bought ahead of time because I thought ahead. ;) As a result of the new equipment I am no longer immune to being afraid.

On his way to the docks, Darksten stops by the market to buy a new magic compass to replace the one he had given away previously. 1687-50 = 1637

Darksten sees the notice go up on the board, and quickly makes his way over. At first the assassin doesn't think he is going to make the cut, but then sees his name listed last on the parchment. With a bit of a smirk, Darksten gathers his belongings for a quick trip to the market before reporting to the dock. (ooc: I just need to make some purchases and format a few things after work, and will be right in!)

Upon returning from his walk around town, Darksten approaches the board of quests and signs up for quest #156 ooc: sorry for delay, been changing things up in life so have been with intermittent Internet. Should be settled now

Upon arriving at the villa, Darksten cashes in on his earned reputation to join the organization. For a few minutes he wanders around, buying a cornucopia from the faction store before mingling with the gaggle of heroes discussing the upcoming vote. After hearing the two arguments, the assassin weighs in. "I believe that option two is just a band-aid, a solution that will only help a few while transplanting the problems elsewhere while also multiplying the burden on the city. So what if we build new homes and hire a few new workers? Where will the others who grow up in poverty go? At least now they are welcome in the hovels, but if they get out classed there they will only settle somewhere else. And if word spreads the city is giving housing away, would not more beggars and outcasts come looking for their cut?" "No, option one helps everyone, giving all an equal chance to learn their skills and buy their way out of poverty. I admit I shiver at the thought of arming some of those folks, but there are plenty of jobs which could be filled by these bale bodied hands which do not require a weapon to be held. Plus, the slackers and scammers from afar will not come racing here for their free handout if there is a service commitment. Then we can focus our efforts on helping those here first." "For those reasons, I, Darksten, cast my vote for option one" (If still within deadline, if not, please ignore. I wasn't sure if midnight meant 0001 or 2359 EST. thanks!)

As the festive atmosphere grows, Darksten reminisces about the people he has previously quested with and drafts a list of possible gifts Althior Emorith (K-Nut): Money Pouch (+1SP for every 1000 Gold pieces stored in it) Bobby "Young" Bucks Jr. (Zepher): Goggles of Awesome (Protects player from being blinded, Accessory) Deus Spiranius (Lego Spy):Dwarven Bow (WP:5, +5WP against elves, Bow) Grimwald Gjinko (LordoftheNoobs): Scroll of Growth (Enables caster to grow target, increasing their power, max. health and max. ether by double their normal value (rounded up) for 3 rounds. Each casting has a 50/50 chance of success and costs 10 ether) Hoang Anh (hoanganhbeo): Spider Web Shield (SP: 5, +2SP against vermin) Karie Alderflask-Cour (Kintober):Music Box (At the start of a quest, a user may target the music box and record one song at normal ether cost [music box counts as either 1 ally or 1 enemy; min cost is 2 ether]. Once recorded, the music box can then be used to play the song by any character who holds it) Leofwein Twynam (Capt.JohnPaul): Mr. Prickles (WP: 10, Causes bleeding effect, mace) Lind Whisperer (Lind Whisperer): Journal (Carrier gains(+) 1WP but loses(-) 1SP per quest the journal is carried in; Accessory) Lord Cedric (wiz): Power Tie (Wearer receives 10% more (rounded down) gold from contracts, and 10% discount (rounded down) at the market; Accessory) Matthias (StickFig): Payload Adapter x10 (Allows user to fire two bomb types from a hand cannon at once, depleted after each shot) Purpearl Berthadhiell (Purpearljellyblob): Mystic Tiara (+5 Ether; Immunity to Darkness) Skrall (Waterbrick Down): Squirrel Pelt Armor (SP: 3, Grants Nimble effect) Throlar Wineghilm (Lord Duvors): Seal of the Titaanese (At the discretion of the QM, NPCs will seek out the ambassador to provide random loot/tips/etc; suitable only to Throlar) Looking around he also spots a new face who could use some holiday care Olivia Valeriya Lorraine (Fox Womb): Veil of Beginner's Luck (Grants wearer power equal to the difference between wearer's level and the next highest player's level; only suitable for basic job classes; Headwear:)

All hail! I am glad the game is still going on. i look forward to seeing what the future holds!

Ok, now that I am back at my computer, I thought I would put down some thoughts on Quest #153. Summary: Overall I enjoyed this quest, even if I felt some of the die were working against us! Pacing: I think the game flowed fairly well, with battles running at a smooth pace. There didn't seem like any times we were rushed and/or any times things went stagnant (even when a few of us had RL events) Plot: I think that overall the scenario played out well. There were a few instances where I felt I just needed to "go with the flow" rather than ask too many questions, but I think those were minimal. I think players with more experience with the Court of Demons would have perhaps benefited more, but that was spelled out from the start and I don't feel I was at any disadvantage having not interacted with them before. Battles: They were ok. We won them so I cannot complain, but man were those dice roles brutal at times. I am a bit of a hoarder, so I don't like using my consumables but it certainly felt like I needed too. A lot of potential team KOs, but that brought out strategy and I definitely think our team worked fairly well together. Character feedback: This was a bit of a quiet group (of which I know I am plenty guilty), and our characters didn't really mesh at times (which is ok). Had we talked/roleplayed more we might have gotten more out of it, but overall I enjoyed the interactions. My really only specific feedback would be directed at Wiz/Lord Cedric. In that regards I would just say try and flush out your character more. You can be quiet and moody if you want, but at least give descriptions so that the others have something to work with. At times you gave a one/few word answer which left little to imagine. But none the less, you stayed engaged throughout and helped the party even with the level handicap. Thanks again for hosting Zepher!

For one second Darksten had hope that one of the leading families was organizing an army to support them, but was slightly disappointed to learn that it was nothing but simple thievery. None the less, the assassin filed away the information for a later date, thinking it could be useful...leverage...at some point. Bidding adue due to the Orc, he traveled back to the hall. ooc: Thanks for a good quest!

Darksten accepts the offered consumables while pondering which reward to take. "Thank you for your offer, it is very generous. I would be interested in having my fortitude (health) increased" As the conversation moves towards the hogwash about the Fountain of Youth, Darksten's focus wanders. His only thought was that if this so called immortality was true, and word got out, his job was going to get a lot harder. Turning to the lady who seemed to have some level of social class, even for a monster like herself, Darksten asked. "If you don't mind we asking, whose house were you visiting?"

Darksten tenses at the newcomers, and only starts to react when his party lead recognizes the newcomers. Still, the assassin keeps his distance from the new creatures and prefers to let the others due the talking.

"I would appreciate your words of recommendation Sir" Darksten says to the Bonapartes Captain "and we appreciate your service." "May you have smooth winds, a following sea" the assassin offers, while passing Captain Lane his magic compass "and may you always know where your destination lays" edit: ooc: I am ok with loot distribution

Darksten finishes circling the room, pocketing a few rations before joining the circle around the human impersonator. "My vote is that we send this thing to the Bonapartes. If we were in the land of these Orcs I would say otherwise, but we are here and this is not their territory. There might not be a central authority outside of Heroica in this city, but I say let the Bonapartes deal with this mess as the sea trade is their realm. Besides, it is about time someone starts consolidating power, and start giving some structure to this place"

As the knight cornered the slaver captain, Darksten could not help but smirk at the human hero's "unique" approach. "We may want to get a healer on the ship's captain who got back stabbed at the start too..." Seeing that the situation was secure, the assassin started to check the surrounding crates and boxes for "evidence" (and anything else of value) before anyone could object

Darksten grumbled to himself as once again his foe taunted him with a drink. It seems he required more practice in the woods as his arrows were lately failing him. Once again, notched an arrow hoping to actually hit his intended target. Darksten and Lane follow the plan OOC: I assume that should the Captain go down to Lane's bombard, you would have Medusa switch to Wermheim? My rolls have been pretty bad lately, so it might be good to have back up so we can get this fight over before the extra mob...

ooc: Well that stinks, but makes sense....

In the thick of battle, Darksten's world suddenly goes black, only to return just as quickly. Shocked and confused about what had just happened, he notices a majority of his enemies slumped around them. Unsure of himself, he notches another arrow and continues to attack. Darksten attacks Wermhiem x2, Capt Lane continues to target the Captain per the party lead OOC: It looks like my lucky, encouraged, and hastened fell off in the copy/paste, so just posting so they aren't forgotten

As the heroes return to the fray, Darksten launches an arrow again at the drunk, before quickly rearming and engaging the 3rd group of Slavers. Shouting over to Lane: "do you think you could add some fire power with that big bomb you have Sir?" Darksten and Lane follow the plan from the back row OOC: Do you know if my instant kill verses a mob takes out the entire group, or just one part of it?

Darksten comes out of the room, and quickly takes note of his deep wounds. He is grateful when the small magician begins to heal them, and uses the opportunity to down the offered nostrum. Feeling like a bit of a drunkard he also downs a mead and sniffs some smelling salts, before the assassin finally pours a small vial of venom over his quiver of arrows. His blood pumping and adrenaline coursing through his mind, he tosses a few lightning bombs to the Bonaparte Captain before simply stating: "Let's go get that Captain then" Darksten accepts the nostrum and uses it along with a mead, smelling salt, and a venom from his own inventory. He also passes 3x lightning bombs to Lance.

Darksten feels the arrow pierce through the thin armor he had on and dig into his chest. It seemed he was fortunate that is missed anything vital, but the pain was excruciating none the less. Looking around he sees his team endure similar blows, and the look of horror in the party lead's eyes tell the trained assassin that he was considering retreat. Darksten thinks hard of another option, hoping beyond hope a single arrow could take out everyone but knew there were limited options. Nodding to Matthias, Darksten edges towards the bound captive. Darksten follows the plan

Darksten watches as his target taunts him with a drink. He notches another arrow hoping to knock the mug from the sailor's hand... Darksten repeats his attack Lane tries to disentangle himself ooc: maybe we should have let him ignore those two roles in 20/20 hindsight... Hahaha

As the team rebounds from the surprise attack, Darksten looks for his opportunity to retaliate. Following the guide of his party leader, he takes aim at the drunkard who hadn't learned his mistake the first time. Pointing to the second mob of slavers first however, he asks Captain Lane: "If you could hold off that second group of slavers for a bit, it would be appreciated. When we get a moment to breath, I can maybe pass you one of my lighting bombs which might be more effective here" Darksten and Capt Lane follow the Team Leader's plan OOC: Once we get some people untied, if I give the Capt a lightning bomb, he should be able to do double his damage against these aquatic enemies correct? Just a strategy to keep in mind.

"You are correct, though we have information that provides further support that we are on the right path. None the less, I suspect we will still have to do some manual searching as the forces to be never seem to make it too easy" Darksten states simply. "Either way, aren't these compasses great? The problem just becomes remembering you have them..."

"Tell me Captain, how much does one pay to be a passenger on this fine ship of yours?"

"Indeed, let's go" Darksten says, while letting the compass guide them