NikinkCityOfGoldcampaign/CoG769ResWood

Ascending Wood, 769

City of Gold

• 1st - 25th ::
  • Scar, MettanAKorren, Yari and Jocelyn travel to Nexus and gamble with Plentimon.
  • The Solars eventually manage to not lose, unfortunately, they didn't win either.
  • They are then stuck with looking for Marthesine.

• 26th::
  • [Wee hours of the morning, the Solars have just left Plentimon's House of Gambling]
  • Play-By-e-Mail Game commences! Yay! Cover Note concerning Game.
  • GM - Mettan, Scar, Jocelyn & Yari - 10/5/04 - Nexus - Getting Started

Following the high-stakes game with Plentimon, you all are left with a feeling of relief mixed with frustration. You've kept those things precious to you, but haven't come much closer to discovering Naz'shiar's whereabouts. Adding to that, Yari realises that the coming of the next full moon is near, when he agreed to meet with Emotional Scars of Unfounded Pain (Scars) and travel to meet his mistress, Lover Clad in the Raiment of Tears.

At the end of the game you head back to your accommodation; individual if you have or want it, at Acturius' townhouse if you choose that. [Pretty sure we were staying at the townhouse, so unless anyone has a reason not to or can remember otherwise, that's where we are headed. - nik]

Mettan, as the observant little monkey you are, you notice on your way home that you are being followed by an unknown individual. He appears to be wearing black and knows a little of stealth but does not seem to be expert.

• • • GM - Mettan - 10/5/04 - Nexus - The Spy

Mettan : The stranger follows you. He (you can tell he is a male) wears rags over what appear to be finely cut clothes. He carries a short sword under his rags, adjusted in such a way to allow easy access should he need it. The faint clinking of his purse tells you he has some cash, and he mutters to himself as he watches, saying "Barbarian with a bow, Man with Eye patch, golden skin girl, golden monk".

Those of you not with Mettan notice the same. Jocelyn, your tiger growls softly, alerting you to the presence of possible danger and confirming your own perceptions. Scar, your years of survival have honed your instincts and send the hairs on the back of your neck standing on edge. Yari, the soft, golden voice in the back of your mind alerts you to possible danger in the threads of your existence. Either way you know someone is watching.

Mettan whispers to his companions "We're being followed! Keep walking". He then sprints through the crowd (it's Nexus, there's *always* a crowd) and ducks into an Alley, then Monkey-Leaps to the rooftops. He ignores the strange stenches wafting from the street below and the other nightlife criminals he can spot with ease who are also slinking upon the roof tiles of Nexus, runs to the decaying guttering and prepares to launch a pair of fowling arrows at the stranger.

Meanwhile, Yari and Jocelyn carefully note the stranger and act as if they haven't seen him, trying to casually draw more information.

After walking for a bit longer, Scar turns to the stranger and asks him in a gruff tone, "Is there something you need?". All the while, Scar is prepared for any signs of treachery.

At Scar's abruptness, the stranger appears startled. He instantly turns and runs into a narrow alley, one of the many of the confusing Nexus streets.

Yari can only hang his head in disbelief. With that, Yari turns and says "Perhaps a little more tact wouldn't go astray once in a while Scar" as he shoots of into the crowd in pursuit.

Scar runs after Yari, saying, "He didn't seem dangerous to me, just a guy muttering in rags, what's got you so jumpy??"

"Maybe not dangerous, but if he gets away we can't find out why he was following us." Yari called over his shoulder to the one-eyed warrior.

It's assumed Jocelyn also runs after Scar.

Mettan mutters quietly to himself as he catches the merest hint of the stranger sprinting down the alley and gives chase, springing from his decaying gutter onto a patch of slippery tiles. His eyesight was enhanced by the grace of the Unconquered Sun and the stranger's use of shadows did little to throw the young barbarian off the scent. Even so, the stranger had the advantage of area knowledge, whereas Mettan was quickie [Yay! More sex! B-)- nikink] [Quickly, I presume... ;-)] becoming disoriented by the ever-shifting streets.

• • GM - Nexus - 8/6/04 - Mettan, Yari, Scar, Jocelyn

Mettan vaulted from the rooftop he stepped onto, twisting into a spiralled-somersault in order to watch the stranger turn down another alley, slowing as he believed his pursuers long gone. Mettan lightly landed on the side of an elderly brick chimney, running down the wall before springing horizontally at the stranger, knocking him against the opposite wall. Mettan tucked and rolled, using his momentum to stand easily on his feet.

The stranger gasped for air and scrambled at his short sword. Mettan's glittering gold-and-silver staff twisted elegantly until dragons appeared and a fine moonsilver string pulled taught across the ends. With a well-practiced motion, Mettan levelled an arrow at the stranger's face.

"I don't like being followed, Uncle. Who are you? And what do you want?" asked Mettan.

The stranger slowly lowered his ands and kept them wide, showing that he was no threat. "Please don't kill me. I was paid to follow a group who looked like you four. A man dressed in black wanted to know your movements. He didn't say who he was, but he had the scent of death about him, and was followed by two servants carrying a long, heavily wrapped object. I'm supposed to leave a message for him at the Anathema's Lament Inn tomorrow night. Please, I have children, I'm just trying to feed them, let me go?"

In a flash, Mettan has the man backed against the grimy alley wall and an arrow nocked and aiming directly between the man's eyes.

"Don't move, Uncle."

As the man quivers, he can see along the arrow-shaft directly into Mettan's grim, green, baleful eyes and the unwavering reflection of an arrow-shaft, gold-bow and his own terrified face. He can feel the silver-haired boy's gaze buring into his head and his soul laid bare as Mettan activates Ten-Magistrate Eyes and Judge's-Ear Technique.

"I do not wish to hurt you, Uncle. I just want some information." says Mettan. "Where is this Inn? Will you lead us to it?"

The man in rags shakes his head, knocking the last of the dizziness from his senses. "The Inn is in the Firewander district. It's not hard to find, but I'll take you there if you promise not to harm me and to let me go free."

"What did the man look like? Tell me everything you saw! And his Servants, too!"

"He was in black and kept to the shadows, I didn't see much. He had a smell of mustiness on him, like a tomb. I could hear a faint jingle of jewelry and saw some flashes of silver, but I couldn't tell you exactly what they looked like. He had a heavy burden, I saw him leave the inn later that night, something long, large and heavy wrapped in cloth. I didn't see anyone else with him, but I started feeling like I was being watched when I tried to follow him. Then this morning I found a note next to my bed telling me not to try following him again. I'll take you to the inn, but I won't try following him again."

"What message were you to leave for him? No lies, Uncle."

"I was to tell him where you were staying, how many of you there were and what you looked like. He wanted details of weapons and armour. He also wanted to particularly know if there was a man with either a golden eye or an eyepatch travelling with you."

"How much were you being paid?"

"100 silver pieces. Plus he promised more more if I performed well. I can kiss that bonus goodbye now."

If the man has not lied throughout this Mettan will ask:

"Would you like to earn double?"

"Of course I would, but I'm not risking my life around the one who smelled of death."

"Will you work for us?"

"Like I said, I will depending on the colour of your silver and exactly what you want from me. I'm just a humble thief, and try to avoid violence if I can avoid it."

Mettan's gaze narrows as he hears the lie within the man's words, but after a moment he forces a smile onto his young bearded face and says "That is excellent, Uncle, what is your name? Let us find my friends before they get lost!"

"My name is Morning Sunrise, but most people call me Sunny. Who are you?"

"You may call me Mettan. Most people do."

Mettan will lower his bow and with the man by his side walk out of the alley to look for the others.

[By a staggering coincidence, it's about this time that the other Circle members find you. - Leath]

Mettan's troubled face greets his companions as they come running up the dimly lit street, their footsteps splashing through puddles they fail to see until too late. Whores and beggars scramble to get out of the way of the grim faced Scar, those that would cause trouble melt quickly into the shadows upon seeing the crackle of Essence lightning play over Jocelyn's glorious armour, and those that would call for help reconsider upon seeing the awe-inspiring Yari, and feel a sudden desire for the day to arrive quickly.

Mettan fills them in with the information he has learned and introduces Sunny.

Scar is content with whatever information Mettan managed to get out Sunny. Although he will be quite keen to go to the inn and confront the Abyssal.

After hearing about the Abyssals location, Scar tenses, his fists clenched. "I owe him, this time he won't find me such an easy mark. Turning to Mettan and Yari, he asks, "So, when do you want to do this? You two are far better at planning things than me... and I know this one is slippery, but he is skilled and that bears caution, as much as I hate to say, I believe we will need to think this through...."

Mettan is aghast at that statement and collapses unconscious to the cobbled road. When he awakes he has fully converted to the Watcher's cause as any creature that can make Scar pause for thought is so obviously superior that resistance is plain old futile... B-)

[Just Kidding! - nikink]

• • GM - Karess & Acturius - 10/5/04 - Albin'shar - Getting Started

Meanwhile, in Albin'Shar... [Dawn]

Another shining day in Albin'shar. Karess has recently returned from his campaigns escorting allied diplomatic parties across the Hundred Kingdoms and Yari [Acturius, right? Or maybe Yari really is the Man! B-) - nik] tends to the smooth bureaucratic operations of the city. You have been advised by the others of their journeys and the quest to recover Naz'shiar. You have heard the tale of the Ancient, and the prophecy of the Deathlord Watcher and his plans to do something nasty to Creation. But what remains unknown.

You have received word that the campaign of Borova against the forces of Stromberg and the Realm continues, with both sides drawn to much of a stalemate. To the north word spreads of a "Bull of the North" conquering down into the Scavenger Lands.

Acturius' Guild contacts discuss the establishment of Albin'shar's Guild council and talk idly of trouble between the Great Houses of the Realm.

Karess helps the forces of Wood Dragon Redoubt train troops for Albin'shar's defence. All in all, things are progressing well for Albin'shar.

Then something happens that no one expected. A pile of polished human skulls is reported to have been left in the night outside the Fire Gate of the city. No one saw who left them or what they mean. When people investigate, they find the skulls are etched in marks of squiggly, flowing writing. Banyan promptly reviews the words and tells you both that the skulls are a declaration from Ma-Ha-Suchi, a powerful Lunar warlord to the South. The message reads that he wishes to meet with the Solar lords of Albin'shar, to discuss the future. The message tells how a guard of beastmen will be ready to escort the Solars in 5 days time. Banyan tells you that non-attendance will be seen as an affront to the Lunar's power and territory.

Road of Steam

• 1st - 5th :
  • Expedition very successful.
  • They travel back to Gem.

• 6th - 28th :
  • Terek Duhok, now fast friend of Ragara Nekuna, organises a party to celebrate.
  • [Night] The party
  • Ragara Nekuna, unfamiliar with the local customs, accepts dance with Terek Amiku.
    • He takes her to bed later that night.
  • Ragara Jinel, V'neef Aron and Ledaal Korvan are somewhat taken aback by her youth, and are alternately amused and sternly dissapproving of Ragara Nekuna's actions.
  • Ragara Nekuna is somewhat surprised to discover his lover for the night was only 12 years old, but handily justifies his actions with a variant of the common Realm phrase:
    • "Old enough to glow for the Dragons, old enough to grow for the Dragons."
    • Glow refers to her Exalted status (rare for a 12 year old);
    • Grow refers to the swelling belly of a pregnant woman;
  • Ragara Nekuna is quite shocked upon being told that the dance and subsequent bedding of Terek Amiku is a local wedding tradition, and thus they are now husband and wife.

• 8th :
  • Terek Duhok's household comes under attack by the mysterious Assassin known only as 'The Emerald Blade'.
  • Several members of the household are killed.
  • Later Terek Duhok's associates Khartok the Bereaved, Terekhan and Baskettan were discovered slain.
  • Only the skill and tenacity of the Dragon-Blood heroes saved Terek Duhok and his household from being utterly destroyed by the mysterious Assassin.
  • The Emerald Blade was a skilled ninja and the greatest Assassin in Gem, "City of a thousand Assassins".
  • During the attack, the Emerald Blade appeared to have the upper hand, by being phenomenally skilled at remaining unseen and throwing chakrams (all of which had an emerald in the centre).
  • In particular, the might of Ragara Jinel and the kung-fu of Ledaal Korvan proved decisive in driving the Emerald Blade off.
  • Ledaal Korvan engaged in a final stand off as the others cowered in the cellar and noticed the barest glimmer of a circle upon the Emerald Blade's brow during a last respectful salute from the Assassin.
  • This intrigued him, and after ascertaining the safety of everyone else he bade them a farewell and delved into the city to find this mysterious Anathema Assassin.

• 9th - 28th :
  • Mysteries wrapped in riddles covered in enigmas...
  • Ragara Nekuna moves out of the (now severely damaged) villa of Terek Duhok under the pretense of an argument and a falling out over the relocation of Ragara Nekuna and Terek Amiku to the Realm to have a proper House Ragara and Immaculate Order Realm wedding and setting up a household on the Blessed Isle.
  • Ragara Jinel and V'neef Aron begin investigations into the Emerald Blade. They discover that the name is associated with an entire clan of assassins, and that Gem is full of squabbling Assassin Guilds. The Emerald Blade is the most skilled and highest paid, however.
  • Ragara Nekuna discovers Terek Amiku is a quite skilled assassin also, having slain 17 people since she started at age 9.
    • It's about this time he falls in love and becomes quite noticably more caring...
  • Terek Amiku's most recent victim was one of the Despot's own grandchildren. He keeps that to himself.
  • Eventually Ragara Nekuna uncovers that Terek Amiku is the protege of the Emerald Blade.
    • He keeps this to himself also.
  • Ragara Nekuna begins setting himself up within Gem as a businessman and trader, and is surprisingly successful.
    • It's around now he begins dreaming of settling in Gem permanently.
  • The Ragaran Elite Marines are growing ever more corrupt, and addicted to pretty much everything.
    • Morale remains high, however, and they grow fond of Ragara Nekuna as a "Soldier's Commander".
    • V'neef Aron helps by giving daily readings from the Immaculate Texts.
    • Ragara Nekuna counters this by putting the men on fast rotation of duties and free time, including manoeuvres outside the city itself.
    • Several conscription posters also prove to be a hit with local youths who see joining the Ragaran Marines as a chance to leave Gem.
    • Among the conscripts are several God-Blooded, including Effervescent-Flame, Meri and Sogan.
  • The eponymous leader of the Emerald Blade Assassin Guild, meets and appraises Ragara Nekuna. She offers him a chance to become a student of hers, along with his wife, Terek Amiku.
    • This increases his desire to stay in Gem when the Caravan and the other Dragon-Bloods head north again.
  • Ragara Jinel grows more and more contemplative and introspective over the days.
  • V'neef Aron grows ever more suspicious of Ragara Nekuna and the Emerald Blade as avenues of investigation become mysteriously blocked.
  • Rumours and stories begin circulating around Gem about the mysterious blue clad Dragon-Blood (AKA Ledaal Korvan) who appears and disappears, seemingly at random as he attempts to track the green flashes that the people recognise as the work of the Emerald-Blade.
  • A large force of the strange, black-clad men last seen by Ragara Jinel, Ragara Nekuna and V'neef Aron in the western jungle almost a year ago arrive to besiege Gem. They are led by an unknown and ornate Anathema. The Anathema demands Gem's surrender, and upon the Despot's refusal, orders the army of black-clad men to attack.
    • Wave after wave of the strange men die hideously before the walls. Under the barrage from the Gem army, and the defenses of the city, they cannot get even within range of their mightiest 'Mishalaks'. Yet still the Anathema orders them forward to attack.
    • After a day of this the 6000 strong anathema army is whittled down to 1000 or so.
    • Sensing an easy victory, the Despot sends forth his army to mop up.
    • The Anathema single-handedly fights off and holds at bay the entire Gem army while it's troops flee. And then flees after them.
  • The Despot has the bodies of the slain looted, including the mysterious gems in their foreheads.

• 21st - 28th :
  • The Despot welcomes into the city a visitor in the form of the dark Anathema who fought the Dragon-Bloods many months earlier in Temple-Of-The-Four-Mystic-Blossoms and his retinue of fifty undead soldiers.
  • The Dragon-Bloods are alerted to the fact that one of the zombies disappeared during the visit, but decide there's nothing they can do about it even though they suspect it's one of the dark Anathema, and put it aside as not really any of their business, really...