Flipz

After a lengthy search, Arthur finds the unfamiliar Mage once more, a pair of glasses in his hands an a barrel the length of his arm strapped over his shoulder. Plonking the oaken container to the cobble next to Siercon, he offers the Mage both glasses as well. "Here" he says, "hold this." Arthur pops the lid off the barrel, and begins muttering a series of enchantments, adding a few of the herbs and spices Shezerade had so grudgingly allowed him to take from her supply. "Mint, Menthol, Madjrethia..." As Arthur worked, his Opal fell into the brew; the Sorcerer paused a moment, then shrugged. "Easy enough to get back once we're done." His work complete, Arthur reclaims the glasses, filling one and offering the other to Siercon. "An old drink from my homeland. Care for a taste...I'm sorry, what was your name?"

Arthur does some quick mental math, then nods. "Works for me," he mumbles, and he gives Siercon the Robe of Magi. "The name's Arthur. Arthur Justus Regulus, the Seventh. Don't think Ive seen you 'round here before, but I've spent all summer in Dastan, there are plenty of unfamiliar faces around here." Arthur glances toward the Marketplace. "Tell you what, I'm expecting my Quest to leave any time now, and I don't want to be caught unprepared. What do you say I grab something good to drink on my way back from the Marketplace?" Without waiting for Siercon's reply, Arthur dashes off.

Arthur sees Skrall, Atramor, and the others depart the Hall for Quest 40...and Zoot's Plaything with them. He sighs. Well, at least that decision's been made for me. He edges toward the Marketplace, his offer for his Robe of Magi seeming less and less likely to be recieved... Arthur sees an unfamiliar Mage nearby and makes one final bid to sell the artifact. "Anyone want this? It's a Robe of Magi, offers a little protection from attacks, only 20 Gold."

Sure, his gold, THAT'S that you were looking at.

Not to mention, it's got the same typing as the Chaos Beast of Dastan...

Seeing that no one wanted his Robe of the Magi, Arthur drops it off at Fabian's, grudgingly accepting a mere 15 Gold for it. His mood lightens somewhat when he sees he has just enough Gold for a Nostrum at Portia's, and he greedily swipes from the woman's shelves, leaving 35 gold in its place. He pauses, seeing that he has enough Gold for a pair of Venoms, but decides to wait this time. He returns to the hall with only 13 Gold. (33 + 15 = 48 - 35 = 13 Gold) OOC: Scratch that, I just got a PM. With 44 Gold jangling in his pocket, Arthur rushes up to Portia, taking a Nostrum from her supply. The 9 gold he had left was enough for a Venom, but he decided to let it go. Arthur returned to the Hall, making a slight detour along the way... (44 - 35 = 9 Gold)

Question: Artifacts with a set price may be sold for half that value without having to haggle, correct?

Wasn't Zeph supposed to turn Barkington over to Cronk for rehabilitation or something?

Me, too! I now know what Doc feels like, trying to improv a set off the top of his head in Quest 31.

OOC: For clarity, the section in between the *** groups was a different character, the bearded guy who looks a little like Boris. I'll edit in his pic so there's less confusion. Arthur grimaces. "No, Caroline...it...put it this way, this was a bit more than a mere break-up." Arthur thought back, to simpler times... OOC: You caught me off-guard, I still haven't finalized Caroline's "adult" minifig, so I have to go photograph a different scene now.

Arthur nodded. "I will." I was born of Chaos...don't think anyone can be more prepared than that... Nonetheless, Arthur decided he would give the Nord a fair shot, in spite of the air of distrust that seemed to hang between him and De'kra...and the look of suspicion that had been aimed toward him. Perhaps it is merely his way, he reminded himself. Then Arthur felt it again. Stronger this time. The dark orb...Zoot's Plaything...it was calling again. Stronger. Arthur felt himself compelled to take a step closer, but he checked his advance before he culd take another. The fingers on his right hand twitched, though, and he wondered why this particular orb called so strongly. Perhaps because I had a part in prising it from the Chaos Beast from whence it came? Arthur did not know, and he used the uncertainty to drown out the artifact's pull. *** The bearded figure drew back sharply. Too close. Too many of us, within too short a range. The man wondered if she was here...but no, that was impossible. Her child...their child...was barely old enough to travel. Surely she wouldn't come here...right? Uncertain, and unwilling to risk Regulus divining his presence, the man withdrew to the shadows once more, satisfied, at least, that the sorcerer was already heading down his destined path... *** The Plaything's cry diminished as Arthur forced his attention away from it, and it was then that he realized the twofold cause of its distress. "It knows...it knows I go to a mission of Chaos. And..." Arthur glanced warily over his shoulder, but the shaman did not appear to have noticed anything amiss. And it knows my leader. It warned me to be wary. Looking into Skrall's eyes, Arthur debated fiercely with himself. Should I request it? Zoot knows it would be useful. And it wants me, too... "And yet," he murmured almost silently, unaware that Skrall could still hear him, "And yet I've no right to ask..."

Um...self-contradiction, much? Keep in mind, this IS the creator of the Theatre you're talking to.

Speaking of which, why is that side-quest the only one that's not shown at the end of Quest 30?

For the record: Yes, the Language of the Frogs bit is a set-up for a hilarious roleplaying gag later on down the line.

Arthur nodded, his face pale. "The Ritual. Fear not, Cronk and I will try our damndest to sour it." Arthur took note of Tarn's notable exclusion. "Though you might recall that Atramor helped, too. His Deadly Poison went a long way towards taking the Beasts down." He pauses, then continues in a gentler tone. "I still do not fully understand the hatred so many of you hold toward our resident Witch, but I will say this: he does what he must, because he can. He follow his instincts, and deals with the consequences later. Not unlike other Heroes this Hall has known." OOC: I.E. "not unlike Felton," except Arthur couldn't know to say that. Arthur looked to Skrall once more, entering the hall with more gear from the Marketplace. He knew he would not have long to speak to his former Party Leader, so he decided to make the most of what time he had. "Skrall," he said, approaching the great ogre, "I need your assistance once more. We are going after Wren once more, and I am sure we shall encounter Sir Poletad once again. Do you think you could teach me a few basic words in the Language of the Frogs?"

"Still, you've had adventures beyond any of us, and for that you deserve our respect. Um, I don't wish to unduly take up your time, but...perhaps you could spare a few moments to tell me the tale of Quest 0?" Arthur looks at the Battle Mage hopefully, with the glint in his eyes of an enthused scholar. "Change is the one universal fear, reaching across all lands, across all races. It's only natural that people would want to control it. We Heroes attmept to control Chaos each time we step outside this Hall, as we try to alter peoples' destinies." "I see." Arthur thinks for a moment about the possible ramifications. He hopes that one of the other Quest 30 Heroes might fill in the extra details, or that his new Quest might let him speak with Vipera or one of the other Wren Hunters who was present after the final battle. Hearing Atramor's comment about Party Leaders, Arthur interjected, "Well, Althior was both." Arthur laughs, somewhat evilly.

That...that was great. That needs to be enshrined for posterity. Yeah, I love reading her past work, too. Though I have to wonder, how does that tie in with: I wonder?

"I believe the power of Chaos interferes with the books' reception. The spell was designed by one of Zoot's Rebels, after all, perhaps my father intended to discourage m--erm, users of the Journals from seeking the knowledge of Chaos." Of course, it didn't work--not in the slightest--but I guess I can't fault Dad for trying. "Caroline told me she had discovered a way, but I'll never know...our paths diverged." And yet, ironically, they now run closer than ever. Arthur pondered Atramor's words, then started suddenly as a new piece clicked into the puzzle. "Atramor...are you sure Wren sacrificed Sphinx? Are you sure she did not simply Dominate him? And what exact purpose did she have for Ella? Can you possibly recall her exact words?" *** Just outside, a bearded figure peeks in the window, watching Arthur and the others intently...

I was half expecting a pair of Chaos Beasts to join the party for the Chimaera fight after all that talk Wren gave about how the Chimaera had to be stopped, and I was a little sad when they didn't show. No, Arthur did, when I went to Cars Land and gave you control of him during the Q31 Chaos Beast fight. That's why I gave you roleplaying control of Arthur to you when I was on the road; I was hoping for more juicy tidbits like that. Awesome. Hopefully there will be a couple of Playthings in Quest 38, then, I want to activate Arthur's (if he gets one) while Wren is watching.

"Ah, but you've put your finger right on it; what is more chaotic than the human spirit? And let us not forget that our actions, no matter how meticulously planned, may have unforseen consequences. Was not our entire journey in Dastan a lesson in this? Chaos is a matter of control over change, not foreknowledge of it. Indeed, foreknowledge is the bane of Chaos, for it robs it of its surprise, its sting. A plentiful source of Chaos IS when people do the wrong thing while thinking it is right, after all; how differently might Quests 7 and 19 have turned out had the truth of the matter been known beforehand! Dear Ella of Dastan is the antithesis of Chaos; had the Lady Wren taken her, she would have removed a dangerous obstacle, in addition to whatever other purpose she had in mind for the girl." OOC: C'mon, Atramor, tell Arthur about that last conversation with Wren, after we all split up!

Allied party NPC? I'm pleased, though; I'm trying hard to picture what Chaos would look like as a philosophy held by a population of people (rather than just Wren alone), and certain fundamental things keep popping up. I do find it VERY interesting that, despite the "go with the flow" nature of Chaos, one of the major traits of a good masterful Chaos user is decisiveness; you have to work actively with it in order to use it properly. It's a small phrase, but it's really, REALLY shaped my perspective on both Arthur and on Chaos in general. EDIT: And now for a rules question: since the weapons created by Zoot's Playthings are soulbound (useable only by a specific character), would they be useable by any Expert Class the character chooses, even if they would otherwise be unsuitable? (In my mind, I'm picturing them altering themselves to suit whatever new weapon abilities the user chooses.) It doesn't particularly matter for Arthur, since I have a fairly unique form in mind for when Arthur gets his own Plaything, but I'd still like to know.

Maybe you should have asked Ella to look into the future and decide which Advanced Class Tarn should choose. Hmm... *scribble scribble* I think that Tarn just works better as Bezerker, sure, he's a gentle, caring type, but he really seems to be more of a fighter than a healer. I also just can't seem to picture Tarn using Ether, he seems too down-to-earth for that.

See what I mean? Zeph, I would LOVE your thoughts on the perspective Arthur's offering in his little speech, it's what I understand of Chaos so far and really fits who Arthur is, where he came from (*cough*secretbackstory*cough*), and what he learned in Dastan. Also: Quest 38 party = WIN. This is going to be SO fun.

"Chaos is not merely about dismay and destruction. It's more...subtle than that." Arthur looks to the Plaything. "You see that Plaything? It's a tool of creation, not destruction, as are Zoot's Cookies. Chaos Beasts are equal parts creation and destruction. Mastering the art of Chaos is about taking the unrestrained turmoil all around you and harnessing it, to change the world around you as you see fit. The goal isn't to tear the world down, nor to build it...the power of Chaos is the power to alter. That's why it is so feared; for what is more fearsome than change, unfamiliarity the unknown? That, too is the lure of Chaos, for in its power you may determine the change of the world, and so know you are prepared for it. And that is, indeed, why fighting Chaos itself is, ultimately futile. One cannot change change itself, and in the attempt, Change changes you." Arthur looks straight into Skrall's eyes, to emphasize his point. "Remember: you can never stop Chaos; you can only choose who controls it."