Asphalt

As Muradin moves towards the Portal he hears the Magus call out. Dwarf, it will do you and your Cadre well to know that in the Parlor, the altar FACES SOUTH. As the dwarf falls through the opening in the gateway the flames start to swirl. The flames form a vacuum, sucking the air from the room and drawing loose objects, including Rethinal towards and into it. The were-eagle attempts to fight the pull at first, but then realizes he needs to follow his companions and gives in to the vortex. He is drawn through, and the gateways closes behind him. I do so hate Chaos magic. When the proverbial dust clears the party finds themselves stumbling into a queerly familiar room. The Room is lit with strange glass orbs affixed to the walls. In the center of the room stands an empty Portal Altar, and in each of the four walls stands an identical steel door. It would seem that the quest has now begun in earnest, and the party has a decision to make. QM NOTE: in each image you will see three doors, there is also a fourth door behind the heroes point of View.

She isn't there to see it, but the Red and Orange flames flash venously green for the briefest of moments as Calamity passes through the portal.

His team watches as Keliim leaps headlong into the flaming doorway. One moment he is there screaming defiantly into the voice, the next moment he is not. His scream cut off as abruptly, as if sliced from his throat by a vorpal blade.

Fair Well, I look forward to your bringing a conclusion to this delay. If you would follow me. ​The magus bows deeply before the Caliph and leads the party from the Throne Room. They travel down several corridors and finally enter a square stone room, empty except for an altar of some kind. The Magus Moves to the altar and picks up a Golden staff Topped with a Yellow Crystal. Aside from the color of the crystal it matches four other staves already mounted on the altarpiece. Welcome to the portal room. Learn it well for it is an identical copy to the original room in The Parlor. Once you arrive in the Parlor you will only be able to exit through ITS Altar room and ONLY after you have secured all five Portal Keys. After Each use the magic within the keys spirits them to various rooms within the Parlor. Each key is defended by a different challenge. Alas, I cannot tell you what form those challenges will have taken after the last reset. A great deal of Chaos magic was used in the creation of the Keys and the Portal itself. All I can tell you is that the Challenges vary with the strengths of the Parlor. Your Daliances in the Throne room have made time short. I too wish you luck Heroes. May the Sun shine on your endeavor. Without giving the party any time to ask questions of bicker amongst themselves the Magus places the final stave in the Altar. Immediately a fiery door opens before them. Quickly now, all of you step through the portal. The party is shown the most powerful display of magic any of them have ever imagined. What will they do?

Thanks, I really lucked out with the color matching on those Chima Bodies.

That's IT, when I read the post I wrote in Comic Sans on my iPad it is swirly script. One my Desktop or Laptop it is Comic Sans. CURSE YOU GREMLINS!!! And before anyone starts to complain about them getting loot before they start, I plan on doing my best to kill all of them so I am giving them a fighting chance. Ok Not really, but they are going to need a few more consumables than they bought before leaving.

The Magus leans into the Caliph's ear and whispers something non of the heroes can make out. Yes indeed. The Ruler then makes a complicated set of gesture with his fingers. A moment later the door two his right opens, and two Falcon Brothers enter the throne room carrying a chest between them. You come here armed, but it would appear poorly provisioned. Make no mistake, The Parlor was built to train, but the desert is a harsh place. Those who are not strong have little chance of living in our world. Kelim, take these and distribute them among your Cadre with my blessing. They will serve you well in the trials ahead. LOOT Potion X3 Tonic X2 Remedy X2 Phoenix Essence X1 Party Leader Divide the Loot

That which was last shall be first. You will be PAID as was stated in the contract. Upon returning to me with an explanation as to why my Training grounds have gone silent your Cadre will receive 500 Golden Talons I will also permit each of you to select one item from our extensive armory. If you had not deemed this fair compensation for your time I assume you would not have agreed to accompany the Magus here. As to your first question I have already told you much more than is customary. The Parlor is stocked with the most potent specimens of the creatures of my father's Desert kingdom. Expect to see that which any Caravan leader must face upon his travels. It is in your favor that no foreign lands have requested our might to aid them. If that had been the case you might expect to find exotic beasts from the homeland of their enemy. Much less predictable. Be aware that not all of the challenges you will face are physical. A brute makes a poor soldier. A member of the Brotherhood must be a leader, a tactician, and an honorable man to succeed. These traits also will be tested. The Caliph looks out a window at the far side of his throne room. The time of departure approaches, the portal can only be opened from this side at the precise moment the sun strikes the altar cap. If you are to fulfill your obligations to this court you would be on your way.

I wondered what that title meant.

So we are blaming the gremlins huh?

Ok somebody is just messin with me now. Every time I look at my comic sans post it is in a different script font.

ok #131 First off, I had fun. There were some laggy parts, but people live real lives and it is going to happen. A great deal has been said about it already so I will just add what is specific to me. Characters Glad to see everyone again. Annie, Miderun, and Vindsval are fast becomeing seasoned vets together. Warlen might need to start attending some of those meetings. He seems to be hittin the drink a little hard. And Bobby, good to see you again you spikey little street tough. Loot: Meh Vindsval came away with a great artefact and a good chunk of gold. He is a happy half giant. It did make me appreciate consumable drops more. Story: Son of a Gunrunner, I want to know what Cole was and why he had a physical and psychic connection to the earth. Why was he there, what did he need, what was the mine doing to him? If those questions had been answered somehow I think it would have put the Western quest in good standing storywise. The same with the Ancient, how did he come to be a mere highwayman. Battles: I liked them as well, they made sense and there was good variety. All in all, Lind you had some hickups, but it was a good solid first quest. Take Vindsval out again sometime.

"Clokit mekok trikikikik hahaha" (Members of the brotherhood, these outland Larvae presume much." Presume much they may, but they also seek to be forwarned. This one shows wisdom.

Sorry 133ers, I was typing while you all replied.

The magus listens to the bafoonery and bluster of Kelim's party. You will all be silent. Hold your tongues before the Caliph. You chose your Voice and he alone may speak in the presence of the Lord of the Red Court. The CAliph raises a hand to once again silence The Magus, who immediately obeys. I will tolerate their behavior as they are both new to our ways and suffereing the effects of their arrival. However my patience and tollerance have their limits. They would be wise to be silent for now and allow me to converse with their Voice, a man who it would seem prefers to strike strait to the heart of a matter. An admirable trait, yet an answer that must be prefaced with an elaboration. First to understand why you were brought here you must know where he is. Am I not Correct? You may have noticed that here it is mid-morning. You have been transported far to the east of the Glorious freeport to the far side of the Abra Dessert, within the Dune Kingdom of my Father. The Great Benin Abal-Me-Hirane, may the sun shine eternal upon his reign. "Kotik chico matik ruk" May the Sun shine eternal upon his Reign. I am his eldest sun and charged with the training of his elite guard, The Falcon Brotherhood. To this end I came here to the Winter Citadel to construct a new training facility. The Locustoid native to this area told us of a chamber deep within the bedrock of the desert. It was deemed that this chamber would be the central room of the complex that would become known as "The Parlor." As you may have concluded, The Magus and his Brethren as masters of teleportation magic. By harnessing the power of elements they crafted a permanent portal ancor which would allow instantaneous travel from the Red Court to the underground chamber. With this as the only point of ingress and egress we thought the facility secure. We called down dwarven Miners to carve the Parlor deeper into the bedrock, expanding the chamber into 25 identical rooms, forming a perfect square five rooms to a side. These rooms we populated with the denizens of the dessert, as well as creatures and challenges designed to test the mind, body, and spirit of our men. It is only by traversing the Parlor, defeating its inhabitants, and collecting the five portal keys, that a member of our armies may earn the right to call themselves members of the Falcon Brotherhood. The Parlor has been fully active for 3 lunar cycles. One cycle ago we sent in a Cadre of five potential brothers. They did not return. five Sunrises after they were to return a full Cadre of Falcon Brothers were sent in to determine their fate. Our contact with them has been lost as well. You reason for being here, in a scorpions eye, is to investigate the Parlor, defeat its challenges, and return to me with an answer as to what has befallen my men. Tell Me, Warrior of the Wilderness, are you and your fellows up to this task?

I imagine him speaking in his native tongue that the members of the court would understand.

"Cckilk dok kitikick klock nic not not clitific" (We sent you for Heroes, seasoned warriors. And You,Magus arrive with hatchlings hardly older than Larvae.) "Do I need remind you that your chosen have failed to return Ambassador? The Caliph sent me to bring aid and I have done so. They were strong enough to make the journey with their dignity intact, we shall give them the opportunity to find the information we seek." "kotokick sik kotokok detic frik" (those were not MY men) SILENCE, you shame yourself in front of MY guests. You had your say Ambasador, and you know that my will is Law. I sent for these Heroes, who are you to question my judgement. You will hold your tongue or I will send you back to your HIVE. You are he who is the Voice of your Party? I Welcome you to my Court, and I thank you for your answering my call.

He left your Shroom in the Hall, so you will probably swap it with whomever is holding for you.

Vindsval lifts his tankard, this time a strange greenish brew tasting of pine and jasmine, taking a deep draft. "interesting madam, you never cease to intrigue your patrons with your variety of libations." He sits back and rests on his customary barrel. ​It would seem that many heroes have been called to their duties. I do not know if I have ever seen the hall so empty.

Well my characters are already starting out with luck on their side.

The Red Court's Agent looks at the mixture of shock, dismay, trepidation, and a small amount of hope. "is there a chance that this group of bickering neophytes could succeed....?" Be Prepared Heroes, This may be traumatic for you. Please, do your best to maintain your composure, you would do well to not embarrass yourself before the Caliph. In his court strength is rewarded, the weak can expect no handouts. With no other warning the wizard lifts his staff and strikes it sharply to the ground. The circle of light rises and flares brightly. There is a maelstrom of sounds, wind, and color. The Heroes are overcome with an intense sensation of movement though they can feel that their feet never left the ground. In the span of a heartbeat the sensations end and they find themselves blinded and deafened by the lack of stimulus. As their heads clear they can tell immediately that they are no longer at the inn, no longer even in the city. The first thing they notice is an intense dryness and clearness to the air. Terry takes a deep breath and imagines that he is somewhere that a man could pull a turnip from his fields a mile away and he would be able to smell it. The second thing they notice is clear bright sunlight glinting off of polished red marble. Not only are they in a different place, but they have travelled such a great distance that it is no longer even the same time of day. Wherever they are the burning morning sun has already begun to shine over the horizon. ​QM Note: Now comes the hard part. I will roll the die for each one of you. the result of 1-2 means the Hero is unaffected by the travel, 3-4 means the hero staggers and behaves as if drunk, and a 5-6 means the character becomes violently ill, wretching his last meal upon the beautiful tile of the floor. Roleplay your interactions to the rest of the post accordingly. The results are as follows. Kelim-2, Calamity-2, Rethinal-3, Terry-4, Muradin-1 The Magus looks on at the Heros with a slightly higher amount of respect as the majority of them come through the Portal Unscathed. It bodes well that none of them shamed themselves as other before them have done. He bows deeply before an ornate red throne and the man sitting upon it, and then takes his customary place at the Caliph's left. Your majesty may I present the heroes of Heroica. Heroes, I present to you Lord of the Red Court, High King of the Rising Sun, The Viper and Scorpion, Caliph Benin Abal-Basir. Present your Voice to his Lordship. How will the party present themselves?

Cant take credit for the jaw, that's how his lego momma made him.

Glad it looks right to the rest of you. Turns out Lego doesn't make any accessories for bigfigs. Go figure. It took 4 or 5 different materials and attempts to get one that looked right.

Vindsval moves through the Marketplace, still unsure whether to appreciate the looks he receives or if he should be ashamed of the looks of fear. He goes to Portia's Potions to replenish his stock of Consumables. He buys 3 Meads, 3 Smelling Salts, 4 Remedies (3X15, 3X25, 4X10 = 160, 562-160 = 402)

Which version go you guys like better? Shoulder Cape or no Shoulder Cape?