Team D Meeting

[Roland]

His dreams had been awful for the last four days, ever since that new “champions call”. Roland had done his best not to worry Aveline as he woke up each night in a cold sweat, but he could tell she knew. For the first time as Roland stood out by the North Gate waiting for the group he would be undertaking this adventure with, he found himself worried about whether or not he’d survive the mission.



In truth married life and being a father had taken a lot of getting used to, but the piece that had taken him by surprise the most was how differently he viewed death. Before it had always been a piece of the job, and honestly it had not really worried him that much, he’d always known he’d eventually die to a stray arrow or some thug who got lucky, it hadn’t bothered him. Now though…well he found himself concerned about what would happen to Aveline and Jeon, he knew his brother would take them in, but…



Roland smirked as he realized that he’d gained a reason to live just in time to go on a suicide mission. “Isn’t that just how it always goes?” He mused as he planted his white oak staff into the ground. Roland had brought all his equipment with him. He’d even been tempted to bring the stone lion, but decided against it maintaining the breath for that long might mean using too much magic on the journey. Instead he simply adjusted his hat so that it obscured his glowing amethyst eyes and waited.

[Ruby Lidenbrooke]

Ruby tripped. Right in front of the whole nation. Or so it seemed. Embarrassed, the not-even-3-foot-tall girl stood herself up and brushed herself off. There was quite the gathering outside where her dream had indicated, presumably these were the brave souls setting off on this thrill ride journey. Most of them seem to be looking elsewhere than where the armed halfling ate dirt. Of course, some saw, that she was sure of. Hopefully no one she would be adventuring with.

It's not often that she would bumble like that. What made it worse was she stumbled doing something she was *really* good at. Never again would she mock Jared the Fourth for failing to perform his signature song. Not that she'd ever see him again. As she drew closer to the individuals who seemed most prepared for the adventure ahead, she picked out one of the spellcaster-types to buddy up to. She slipped out of the straps of her backpack and dropped the bag onto the ground at her feet while looking up at the gentleman with the cane and ominous glowing eyes. "Some dream, huh?" She mused, digging the toe of her boot into the dirt.

She came prepared. Not only was she dressed in her normal "armor" that consisted of a dark brown leather vest with Stealthchain™ sewn inside, she also wore leather bracers. She had a black quarter cloak around her shoulders that hung just past her waist, the hood currently pushed back. Her normal satchel was strapped to her waist/thigh per-usual with it's normal contents. The bag at her feet had 50feet of rope coiled and attached to the side, one end had a spring-loaded collapsible grappling hook tied to it. Ruby hasn't been in this world long, so she had to work overtime picking pockets and stealing to scrap together this gear.

(For posterity sake:
Gear she is bringing:
5x Candle
1x Crowbar (halfling sized, and not a real crowbar, just a piece of metal roughly shaped)
2x Torch (Cut down to size for a halfling)
1x Flint/Steel
1x Hammer
10x Pitons (small metal spikes W/ a loop, for climbing)
3 days Trail Rations
1x Change of clothes.
1x Waterskin
1x Glass cutter
1x Chalk piece
Assorted tools for thieving shit.)

[Deleted]

The dream had bothered Ísenwulfa less than it had the rest of Nova, it would seem. Or, perhaps, she allowed it to bother her less than the rest of Nova did. She knew the moment and location of her death, and it was neither here nor now, so she clung desperately to that belief. Otherwise, if she believed she could or would die here, then she would have no hope in redeeming her sins. But, nonetheless, Ísenwulfa had come. After all, if the child Ruby was coming, then how could she stay behind?

Besides, she unconsciously rubbed the engraved dragon head on her sword's crossguard, there would be fame and honour in defeating a rogue goddess. Great danger too - Ísenwulfa fully expected to come out of this even more cursed than she already was - but the rewards might be worth it too. And it had been over two centuries since Èawyn had used Fýrwylm to kill a dragon. Her sword might be needed if things went poorly.

All this was why Ísenwulfa was striding through the city crowds, helmet swinging from her axe and cloak wrapped bundle over one shoulder, looking for the girl. A sudden motion caught her eye and she saw Ruby faceplant in the dirt, then get up, brush herself off and continue on. It was difficult for Ísenwulfa to keep track of the small girl, but she managed to spot her enough times to end up near a tall, grim faced man with unnatural eyes. She looked at him warily, though her face never changed its grim expression, but Ruby seemed to have settled on him as a partner, so Ísenwulfa walked up to him regardless of reservations and gave him a slight bow. She also nodded to Ruby, but did not speak to either, not seeing any need. And, while Ruby had divested herself of her pack, Ísenwulfa kept hold of the rope that ran over her shoulder to her bundle so she could be ready to move in an instant.

The bundle contained, in addition to all her worldly possessions, all that the meagre amount of coin Ísenwulfa had had on her would buy: enough biscuit, hard cheese, salted meat and dried beans to feed her for five days, along with a flask of good, strong liquor to mix with uncertain water. A ceramic flask in a thickly woven hemp pocket was tied to the bundle and could hold half a gallon of water, enough for a day, but no more. She would not have carried more in any case. They would have to move quickly, and could affors to carry only the bare necessities into this battle.

[Roland]

Roland watched as the new pair approached him. Honestly he’d expected to see at least once familiar face, but this was probably better, it made it less complicated. After watching the short girl trip he tilted his head a bit and watched her nervous fidgeting before letting out a sigh. “Yes, I suppose it was.” He admitted in a tired tone. “The divine often like to their theater.” He admits as he reaches down and picks up a pack with his provisions and a few magical trinkets.

After picking up the bag he looks up at the newcomer. A lot of swagger in this one. He thought, thought not in a negative way, most experienced warriors had a pride they carried which was as much a shield as any armor. Caster only knows he had.

“Well, it looks like our group will be one of the smaller ones, my name is Roland Walker. As my appearance probably denotes I am something of a mage.” He explains, if they knew who he was then they’d already be aware of what he could do, and if they didn’t there was no point putting on airs unless necessary.

[Deleted]

Eterna stayed at the barracks while the dream showed up. Though this was probably one of the rarer things she had seen happen throughout her lives it was something Eterna did not lose too much sleep over. Thinking to herself maybe this would be a way for me to make myself fairly known, though fighting a dragon was out of her abilities she was positive she could at least fight anything else.

Explaining to Diamond her leave for a few days to join the fight against Helen she then went to prepare for the journey. Some days has passed and the time had come. The major event of this world that Eterna would have to be a part of. Though she never really understood the religion or gods she knew at least this would be difficult. Leaving her instrument at the barracks room, she only took her sword.

Finding her way to the outer northern wall she looked for people and noticed three others close together as she walked towards them “Hello well looks like we’ll be together for a few days, my name is Eterna, nice to meet you guys” Eterna said as she walked over.

[Ruby Lidenbrooke]

(I don't know why, but Isen, your mention of Ruby tripping made me laugh pretty hard)


Ruby reached up and was rubbing her face and dusting her hair a bit, playing with her dreads that she had pulled back into a ponytail as Ísenwulfa walked up and just kinda stand there like an armored construct devoid of emotions. Roland introduced himself, and Ruby waited to introduce her and the giant beside her. "I'm Ruby. A world reknown acrobat. The world just doesn't know it yet. And this tree with an axe is Ísenwulfa. My personal," her words were interrupted by a brief chuckle, "my personal bodyguard." Ruby had a huge, shit eating grin on her face as she looked up at her and she ended up shaking her head while giggling. "Not really. I don't know much about her because she's quiet. Sometimes i wonder if she only tolerates me." She mused in a manner that most would possibly be able to detect as bad jokes.

[Deleted]

Ísenwulfa regarded the big man with a slight tilt to her head and an almost imperceptible frown. She wasn't really as blank faced as most people thought, her facial expressions were just impossible for anyone but the experienced observer to pick up on. So, this man was a mage. She had only heard that word on coming to this world and was still unsure what it meant exactly. It sounded like some kind of wizard, only more direct and powerful. Almost a step between wizard and god. She would be interested to see just how powerful a mage truly was.

Another woman joined their group, entirely unarmoured and wearing an indecently short pink skirt, a black shirt and some kind of tapering pink ribbon around her neck. She also carried an odd sword, with a blade shorter and hilt longer than Kail's "bastard sword". The blade was also curved, which Ísenwulfa had never seen before. It would be a fast sword, she decided, but not so fast that giving up a shield or armour would be worth it. Maybe the woman was a berserker? She seemed too friendly and sober to be one, but why else would she eschew armour?

Everyone but herself and Ruby had introduced themselves, so it would only be polite to say her name, but the child took the matter out of Ísenwulfa's hands. The foolish girl also very nearly got herself backhanded, because Ísenwulfa had been almost about to slap the silly out of her before she clarified that she had been joking about Ísenwulfa being her bodyguard. With the poor joke made clear, Ísenwulfa just fixed Ruby with a dead eyed stare that very much suggested bare tolerance. Still, the child was a child and some allowances could be made.

Looking back to Roland, Ísenwulfa asked a question in her usual monotone.

"You have a plan, I assume?"

[Deleted]

Looking at the group Eterna and smiled wondering if this group would be okay, besides from the other two the guy didn’t seem to talk too much. “Well we should probably head out soon, the longer we stay here the worse it may get over at the Morgg.” Eterna said while tapping her sword. “And well it’ll be fun to fight every once in awhile. Wouldn’t want to get too rusty.”

Eterna said as she waited for the other three’s opinion on what they should do. “Does anyone have any horses or a carriage? If not looks like we would have to walk”

[Roland]

As the final member of their group wandered over Roland blinked a few times, it looked like he had a group of warriors, well that would probably be fine, it given some of Helena's abilities a group of mages attacking would probably have been a disaster. As he watched the dynamic that seemed to unfold between Ruby and Isenwulfa he couldn't help but worry a little that this whole thing was going to get complicated.

"It's good to meet you Eterna, my name is Roland Walker. I look forward to having a chance to get to know all of you better on the road." He greets tilting his hat down and giving a stiff bow.

After the gesture he looks back up at Isenwulfa his softly glowing eyes looking directly into hers. "Well a plan might be a bit too grand, unfortunately we do not have enough information to really understand what Helena is doing, but it seems to me that our best bet will be to get in, figure out what is going on, and then try to interfere." He admits with a shrug as he walks over behind a nearby rock and unrolls a large carpet.

"Please set onto this with all of your belongings." He requests, once they either all get on or refuse Roland steps onto the carpet and kneels down exhaling a long breath into the carpet. Following this he raises his hands and the glow of his eyes brightens dramatically as the carpet rises about two feet off the ground. "We'll mostly be traveling by carpet with some travel on foot once the spells wears off and the final approach mostly being on foot. Is that okay with everyone?"

[Ruby Lidenbrooke]

"I don't have a plan because I don't really know much about where we are going. But, despite what you've heard or saw, I'm really good at what I do." She said, trying to counter her face-plant that someone may or may not have witnessed. "And what I do, is i get into places people don't want me. So I can scale a wall to secure an anchor for a rope for you giants, or i can get in and unlock a door from inside. Whatever the case may be." She explained, one hand on her hip with the other gripping her spear being used as a walking stick.

Roland spoke and then unrolled a carpet requests everyone gets on. Ruby was one of the first to blindly follow his request. She picked up her pack, slung it over her shoulder, and climbed on at the front. She stood at the front and began to wobble as it raised from the sudden movement. She knelt down on it, gripping the cart with her hands to keep herself on.

"Woah....It's like a whole new world on this flying carpet." she said, adopting a sort of musical tone of voice. "Isn't this cool, Isen!?" She shouts.

[Deleted]

The young woman in the indecently short skirt - Eterna, was it? - expressed a desire to hurry into combat. Ísenwulfa eyed her thoughtfully, wondering just how much combat she had seen. The eagerness for battle wasn't entirely unusual, the young often wanted to rush into danger, but the lack of armour bothered Ísenwulfa. Surely anyone who had been in battle even once would recognise the value of armour? Yet, Eterna did move as though she was familiar with her sword. The clues were subtle; the way the scabbarded sword never got in her way, the resting stance Eterna took, the way her eyes looked. Those who had seen death, who had killed, almost always bore subtle signs of their deeds on their face, and Eterna had them. Perhaps she was a duelist? That would explain the lack of armour and the evidence of skill.

When Ísenwulfa asked about plans, she had been addressing the mage, Roland, but Ruby had, with her typical precociousness, answered first. Full of bravado, the child claimed that, while she didn't have a plan, she was very good at getting into places people didn't want her to go. So far as Ísenwulfa had seen, this was actually fairly reasonable. Oh, she had seen the child be clumsy, but every now and then there had been clues to a grace and stealth to the girl. And Ruby's equipment was well suited to the roll she claimed. Still, it was not a plan, just a piece of information that Ísenwulfa hoped Roland would factor into his own plans, and so she did nothing to acknowledge Ruby's statement beyond an almost imperceptible nod of her head.

Unfortunately, the mage's plan was...less than ideal. In fact, it smacked of what little Ísenwulfa knew of Ruby's usual plans. "Get in, figure out what is going on, and then try to interfere" was not her idea of a legitimate battle plan. Had no one scouted the...Morgg, was it? prior to this? A barely visible frown creased her forehead and she stared straight back into those glowing eyes, not particularly confident about their chances of victory. Still, she would not die here, so why did it bother her? The frown disappeared.

Their mode of transport was another unusual part of the quest. Ísenwulfa had been prepared to ride for once, maybe with two or three remounts so they could cover a hundred miles or so per day, but the carpet was something she had never expected or heard about. Though she managed to avoid showing any emotion this time, she was uncomfortable with the idea of traveling on the magic carpet. But the child seemed to be happy enough, and ruby did seem to have a better handle on this sort of thing than Ísenwulfa did, so she made no complaint and prepared to sit on the carpet.

Her helmet would be in the way, so Ísenwulfa donned it and laced it tight despite the discomfort she knew she would feel by the end of the journey. Then she sat down behind Ruby, legs crossed and her bundle of food and water bottle in her lap. Her axe - she currently regretted not getting the haft shortened to three feet - she rested head down, a leg between the rear of the blade and the socket so that it couldn't slip. The haft continued over her shoulder, but at least no one behind her would be at risk of injury from the blade.

As the carpet floated up a couple of feet, Ísenwulfa focused on keeping herself calm and not panicking at being so close to the magic. She wasn't against magic as such, people believed she had some of her own, after all, but that didn't mean she was comfortable with such obvious and blatant displays of it. Ruby, though, seemed to be enjoying herself immensely. Ísenwulfa had never really been around people who didn't regard her with either utter contempt or a mixture of fear and awe, and she had found Ruby's presence to be...odd. Though she barely knew the girl, she had already caught herself almost smiling along with the little bundle of energy twice. Twice. There was just something infectious about Ruby's love of life.

"Yes," She replied to Ruby's question with the barest hint of a smile to her voice. Behind her helmet, her lips twitched as though she was about to smile. And, really, what was there not to smile about? They were headed into death and danger, but she would not die here and now. The slight smile reappeared, hidden behind the mail mask of her helmet, but it was there.

[Trésor de Lys]

The trip would be smooth until they came within a mile of the castle Morgg. The smell of ash and sulfur would be thick in the air upon entering the clearing that surrounded Morgg's castle. The surrounding trees were dead and struck black from becoming chard, with little to no vegetation around for about a mile.

From afar, nearing the castle grounds, a fireball would appear in the sky lighting up the skies before the group. As quickly as it appeared, it would strike the magic flying carpet, setting it aflame. The fireball was composed of bedrock that was set aflame, which broke apart when it struck the carpet. All those on the carpet would be affected by the impact of the fireball, taking some damage.

If the characters held hands at this time, they would not be separated, and would continue forward as a group - only being pushed a few feet from one another. However, if even one member wasn't holding on, the impact would separate the group members, and the force of the winds from the impact would separate all of the members, pushing them into other nearby groups that were also in the midst of combat with the charred undead that surrounded them, lying lifeless.

[Deleted]

Eterna looked around as they flew around the carpet “Hm pretty similar to the other ones it seems” She whispered quietly as she stared at the land looking for where she would go to adventure at. Though most of the trip was fairly nice she was able to decide at least a few places she’d visit once this was over but once they got closer to Morgg she squinted as the smell of ash filled her nose. “Note to self never come here.” Eterna shook as she felt a bad vibe from the area, not too long after that she saw a fireball head towards them.



“Crap crap crap crap! Incoming!” Eterna said before the fireball hit and exploded. Being pushed from the group she would reach for both ruby and Isenwulfa with each hand hoping she’ll be able to at least grab onto one of them before crashing.

[Ruby Lidenbrooke]

Ruby sat at the front, scrunching her face as the scent of the general Morgg hit her. Sulfur was not her favorite scent. Aside from Ogres with talking donkeys, there's not really many who do like that scent. As the group got into the area, she began to take note of the environment. Not much could be done from the sky, but she was getting a general feel for where she would be operating. Formulating a few ideas to help her do her sneaky little job.

In the distance a small spark that quickly grew in size flew towards her. Or rather, them. It probably wasn't aimed directly at Ruby, after all. She's too small of a target even at close range. Her first reaction was to stand up and spin around, diving on top of Isen with the intention of using her tiny little body to protect her much larger friend. With her arms wrapped around Isen's neck, Ruby felt a second pair of hands wrap around them.

That's when the flaming rock hit and fragmented underneath the carpet. The heat was sudden, but it passed as soon as it came. She felt fragments hit her in the back, complete with a grunt of pain. That'd probably leave a bruise. It hurt like the dickens.

[Deleted]

Ísenwulfa did not like the way they were approaching the castle. She would have preferred to set down outside of visual range and walk the remaining miles on foot. She could see from the mile wide swath of burned rock that they would still have been seen by the castle before reaching it but, on foot, they would be closer and there would be less time for any surprises to be prepared. At least, that was how she saw things. Perhaps the mage had cast some kind of invisibility spell or maybe the enemy would have used some kind of far-seeing spell to find them anyway.

As they closed on the Morgg, things began to happen very quickly. Firstly, they passed abruptly from clean air into air tainted with a foul, sulfurous stench. Next, Ísenwulfa became aware of a rapidly approaching incendiary projectile, which caused Ruby to suddenly stand up and spin towards her. She just barely had time to move her axe out of the way before the child wrapped her arms around Ísenwulfa's neck. Oddly, despite the fact that Ruby should be terrified by this, the child almost seemed protective. Ísenwulfa didn't have time to think about that, because the projectile hit them.

It seemed that the mage had pulled the carpet up slightly at the last second, because the projectile impacted right where Ruby had been sitting and exploded into fiery fragments. From the force she felt on her legs and backside, it was a good thing too, or else the projectile would have broken both her legs. Red hot debris sprayed around them, bouncing off Ruby's back and Ísenwulfa's helmet, arms and legs, but they only left bruises on her limbs, the mail and good woolen clothing being inflammable.

It was just then, as the blast began to lift them off the carpet, that Ísenwulfa felt another hand reach out to grab at her left arm, which she had been using to shield Ruby's head. She knew it must be Eterna, but did not want to release her hold on Ruby, just in case. Fortunately, the swordswoman seemed to have a firm grip and soon held onto them with her other arm too.

As they tumbled off the carpet and towards the ground, buffeted by strong winds that seemed to want to push them apart, Ísenwulfa struggled to think about what to do next. They were high up, but not so high that Ísenwulfa had time for conscious thought or even to do more than orient her feet towards the ground. Perhaps the strong winds from the explosion slowed them enough to survive the fall, because when they hit the ground they all survived. She didn't know if Eterna had managed to get her feet under her before landing but, by some miracle, Ísenwulfa's ankles didn't end up in her knees when she hit the ground and, as she had learned long ago jumping out of trees, rolled. She couldn't roll forwards on account of Eterna but, automatically dropping her axe, Ísenwulfa was able to throw herself into a side roll before she could break an ankle from the shock of impact.

They rolled once, twice, three times, and then came to a stop in a tangle of limbs, weapons and armour. Ísenwulfa's bundle, which Ruby had trapped between them, lay back near the axe, ceramic water bottle shattered on the stone, her shield had snapped one of its guige fittings and lay just behind them, a bruise already forming on her shoulder, and she could feel pain in her right ankle. None of that, however, did she notice at this moment in time. All her concern was for the child.

Slowly disentangling herself from the pile and adjusting her helmet so she could see properly out of the spectacle guard - the helmet had been pushed out of true during the tumble - she looked Ruby over critically, looking for any injuries. Though none could see it behind her helmet's mail, Ísenwulfa looked mildly concerned, and her voice carried a bare hint of worry in it as she spoke.

"Ruby? Are you whole?"