Flipz

Hey, am I the only one who thinks Chalvo seems a lot like Isaac Shawe? EDIT: Whoa! You managed to build ALL of the Heroes, Sandy! Quest 50 is going to be VERY interesting visually.

I think part of it has to do with the colors he's using not appearing in the text color menu, meaning he'd have to input it manually--or, as I do, I write out everything BUT my dialogue, then paste in a word that's already in the right color and use that as a "seed" for the color formatting.

Arthur nods as he processes this information. "Just three," he said. "First, do you have any idea why the Bonapartes despise your House so much? If there's some specific event or person that started this rivalry, I'd hate to accidentally remind them of it, even subconsciously. Second, can you give us a more specific time window for the ship's departure and expected arrival date? If the Bonapartes' records are as extensive as you say, specific information could save us much time of searching. Third, once we uncover the information, how can we contact you? Should we seek you out at the Palace, or...?"

Never giving Haldor Nostrum. Ever! You know, between undead and poison, Shaman just seems to be less and less appealing as a class. It doesn't have to be given a specific situation in order to be at a disadvantage--two of the most common elements in the game make it not just ineffective, but an actual liability to the party. *Begins running calculations to try and find if the Shaman has any positives that outweigh the negatives.* On the plus side, though, you know Wren will have a field day with this.

Arthur chuckles. "A bit of advice, friend: if ever you need to learn of a rumor, send someone to spend ten minutes in Heroica Hall. Rumors there travel faster than a Sharkling running from a dentist." Turning his attention to the task at hand, he asks, "Pirates, eh? You don't suppose they might complicate matters for us, do you?"

OOC: I apologize for the weird phrasing of what I am about to say, I can't seem to find the right words to describe what Arthur is doing. Hopefully you'll recognize it from personal experience, I'm sure most of us have done this at one time or another. Arthur smiles, seemingly dismissing his own concern. "Worry not. It is simply my own personal, irrational fears coming to light. The last time I led a party...well, things were very different, and I was operating with a distinct lack of information. This is not Dastan; hopefully this time, our employer's affairs will not intersect with those of other Heroes." Though I would not put it past the higher powers; the universe has seemed to favor those sort of occurences lately. "Still, it's best if we remain vigilant, just in case." Arthur nodded understandingly at the mention of Nerwen. "Nerwen is an acquaintance from the time I mentioned--in fact, I believe she Quested alongside De'kra here at that time as well." Arthur chuckled, masking his regrets well. "I saw her briefly in the Hall before we departed, and thought she might have been the one to recruit you to the ranks of our organization, or perhaps that the two of you were kin. Forgive me for prying, I was merely indulging my own pointless curiosity. You'll find I have a tendency toward the acquisition of knowledge, almost obsessively so at times." Arthur stroked his stubble, completing one slow nod as Thalion filled in some of the gaps in the tale of Quest 44. His head jerked up suddenly as the elf mentioned Azazot. "Azazot? The demon this woman summoned was bound to the service of Zoot?" Arthur's brow creased thoughtfully. "I wonder...where exactly did you say you found this demon?" The Sorcerer shakes his head dismissively. "That's not particularly important--I assume you demolished the place just to be safe? Yes, I can see by your face that you did. Very well. Sycamore, you said? If I recall the records of the Library correctly, she was the late wife of the late Zed Zeigfried. One of Heroica's earliest Quests involved a team of Heroes entering Zeigfried Manor and discovering that Zed Zeigfried had summoned a different demon: Abraxas, archdemon of pride." Arthur bowed his head for a moment. "I wonder if Abraxas, too, bows to Zoot, or if husband and wife found themselves on opposite sides of a demonic dispute. Did you uncover any records that might indicate Abraxas' allegiance?" Arthur turns to Chalvo. "But I'm sure you find our ramblings on old war stories quite dull. Do you have any tales of your own? I'm sure working for the Ji Pei is a most fascinating experience, especially given the enigmatic rumors of your House's mechanical constructs..."

Lined up? Check my equipped items!

OOC: I understand. "So wait, you were involved with the riots in the Hovels? Even after I returned to the Hall, there were rumors of a great massacre there. So many poor fools lost...it is a pity Heroica had to be involved at all, but it seems we are the only beings on this planet capable of accomplishing anything at all these days..." Arthur decides not to bring up the debate on the House structure, seeing that their employer was standing nearby--best not to risk someone saying something that might upset him. "I must admit, though, I'm somewhat confused--did you say a Zeigfried had summoned an archdemon? I thought Zed Zeigfried was killed some time before I joined Heroica, by the archdemon Abraxas? Or did you have to face Abraxas to rescue the Zeigfrieds? How did your group come into contact with the Zeigfrieds, anyway, was your employer a friend of theirs?" A look of concern crossed Arthur's face--normally he and De'kra communicated much more clearly, more clearly than most Heroes, in fact. The sudden change, the lack of clarity, both worried Arthur. I hope this is not an ill omen of things to come, he thought. I must keep the party united. Troubled by his thoughts, Arthur turned to Thalion. "Forgive my rudeness, master elf, I have allowed my personal concerns to usurp my manners. I don't recall seeing your face around the Hall, have you joined Heroica recently? Are you, by chance, an acquaintance of the Cleric Nerwen Calmcacil?" Arthur remembers his mistreatment of the Elf back in Dastan. He hopes she doesn't, or that if she does she had accepted his apology and would no longer hold it against him. Many, many mistakes...care must be taken not to make more.

Stop copying Order of the Stick Quest 31. Anyway, those aren't quite Arthur's style. An artifact that allows Scrolls to affect multiple enemies, maybe. But not if they're headwear. That spot is reserved.

Rumble Strike, please make an artifact that generates one Ether Core for the owner (and ONLY the owner) at the end of each battle. Then maybe Sorrow will equip it.

Arthur picks up the stones and stores them in his pack. Who knows? These might come in handy later.

I agree. Perhaps Darkdragon PM'd Sandy about it during the riot battle? I looked at the pictures when I was looking for the identity of The Falconer, and Bluto was indeed among them in the background... Ditto!

"Ah, perfect!" Arthur puts away his Telescope but then pulls out his shovel and digs up the loose cobblestones while he talks. "We traveled to Ennon, and learned the full history of Wren. It was...surprisingly close to my own. It seemed as if the gods themselves were stunned by the similarities." Arthur pauses to wipe the sweat from his brow, then continues. "Several years ago, she departed to Ennon with a full party of Heroes, seeking after the Amulet of Gods, a powerful device that lets one summon a god to the mortal plane--though with terrible consequences. Anyway, Wren conspired with Roderick, the Knight of the party and a Hinckwell, to betray and destroy the rest of the party--this sword was his, actually. You see, on one of her first Quests as a Hero, Wren, Roderick, and a Cleric Hero who calls himself the Gray Wizard found a Temple of Zoot beneath the city of Eubric while exploring the sewers. The Gray Wizard refused to go in, but both Wren and roderick did, and both recieved visions from Zoot. As a result, they decided to take the Amulet of Gods for themselves, to summon Zoot and destroy him. Roderick was ruthless, wishing to kill the rest of the party, but Wren's compassion won out, and she was able to seal most of them away, though one was devoured by a foul undead apparation from the Splinter of Ennoc that had been summoned by the Amulet hundreds of years ago and one was attacked and nearly killed by a rudimentary Chaos Beast that Roderick forced Wren to summon. But that's besides the point. When Roderick and Wren reached the Eye of Ennoc, she turned on him, as she wanted to summon Zoot but not destroy him, because she wanted to experience the beauty of Chaos forever. After she took Roderick down, she found that the Last General of Ennoc, who had tried to use the amulet to summon Ennoc to destroy the Orcish armies in the valley hundreds of years ago, had been posessed by the mere Splinter of Ennoc he had summoned, a Splinter that had gone insane during that time. While the General regained control of his body for a moment, Wren left Roderick to him and fled. Anyhow, once we got back to the Valley, we fought a bunch of the Splinter of Ennoc's foul abominations, freed Wren's old party, and eventually beat down Roderick and the Last General, who were both posessed by the Splinter. Once we beat down the Splinter, Sasha, one of the party members, sacrificed herself to remove the Amulet, resulting in the death of her, Roderick, and the Last General. That's when Wren swooped in and took the Amulet." Arthur's lips pursed; the Lady's words to him still rankled. "And then we came back to Eubric, and I blew a bunch of Gold on all this fancy gear you see." Arthur indicates his new Scrolls, as well as the Lens he kept safely of a padded inner pocket. "So how about you? I ran into this really grumpy Raider in the Library, who brought--" Arthur stopped himself suddenly, but recovered quickly. "...who brought word that some of the Veterans fought alongside the Heroes on a Quest. Was that your Quest, by any chance? What were they like? And what was your Quest about, anyway? Byblos has been--sorry, hasn't been keeping up the Quest records like he normally does." Arthur's thoughts drift momentarily to the Metasimian, but he tries not to let it show.

Fiendish, Obi-Wan! [/irregularWebcomic!joke] Let that be a lesson to us all: always equip your artifacts as soon as you get them! *thinks about something* ...on second thought, perhaps not...

"If you'd like, I could keep an eye out while we wait for Barur." Arthur pulls out his Telescope and looks carefully around to see if he can spot any Bonaparte Spies and/or patches of loose earth.

Alexis is over Level 20, so she should be able to equip the Ring of Sight along with her other Artifacts.

EDIT: Darn it, wrong topic!

Arthur steps forward briskly. "Apologies, I ran into Barur again on the way here, we discussed making one final purchase before we set off. He should be along in just a moment. Arthur Justus Regulus VII, Sorcerer of Heroica," he says by way of introduction. Arthur looks around, at his fellow Heroes; they all seemed reasonably well-equipped, that was good. He was determined that his first full party leadership would go better than his short stint in Dastan. His eye falls on Thalion's rather dull dagger, and he frowns. "De'kra, would you mind lending Thalion here your Shadeaux Dagger for a while? I'd prefer we be at as full strength as possible." Allowing his gaze to continue on to his employer, Arthur notes Erith's nervousness. "Is something wrong, sir?"

You know, now that I think of it, a Killer Chef could concievably act sort of like a reverse Witch--it would be immune to poisoning of any kind, and its attacks would be weak but would restore health to itself. The Shield would inflict the Wither-effect on the enemy (basically Deadly Poisoned for 3-5 Rounds, but the health lost is drained to the Killer Chef). I like the Wild Mushrooms idea, Doc, though it'd naturally be tweaked to better suit a self-oriented class (i.e. not one that performs actions on allies). Special Damage would need an action to complete the mirroring, though... Tentative Job Traits: Gluttony - This character's extreme gluttony renders them immune to all poisons. Instant Items (see Alchemist), ???

I want a killer chef class. Now.

To quote GLaDOS, "That was a joke. Ha ha. Fat chance."

If anyone does not want the 1 gold from the reward, just give it to Arthur in the hall.

Arthur'd join, but...well...you know.

I debated whether or not Arthur should know about the book, but then I figured his reading of the Tome of Chaos would let him make an educated guess, at least. Sensing the Zoot-affiliated weapons might have been too much, though--there's so much going on at once, and not enough time to react properly to it all!. Also, for those keeping track, Arthur lent Byblos his Journal, and is borrowing De'kra's so as to maintain Byblos' secret.