Assault on Aldera Campaign

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smartalec
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Re: Assault on Aldera Campaign

Post by smartalec » Thu Nov 29, 2018 6:33 pm

Zau'lann sat in a corner, slightly away from the group, with his back to a wall. He nodded at any glances his way, smiling and trying to maintain the image that all was well... but he didn't feel it. Whenever he thought he could get away with it, he looked at the woman by his side, and mopped her brow, or tried to give her water, or spoke to her mumbling as if they were holding a conversation. She seemed in the grip of some fever, and he had no medicine. inwardly, he fretted.

Not now, he thought, silently pleading. Not now. Now is not the time to show weakness...

***

He'd set up the board carefully, as he had twice before. She hadn't come for the last two meetings, though... and he was beginning to wonder if something had happened at all, if this whole thing was done, which would have been a sad waste of his time and thought. But on this, the third time he'd arrived with a sava board, he finally heard her stomp up the stairs. Angry about something, he thought. Inevitably.

He pretended to ponder the board as she pushed the door aside, and as usual, she threw her cloak into the corner of the room and sat down, pouting. He didn't look up.

A moment of silence. She cracked first. "Well?" she asked, indignant . He gave a curious grunt, looking up from the board as if only just now noticing she was there.

And then, the moment he'd hoped for. Annoyed that he was both ignoring her and showing no haste to deliver his messages, but taken in by his performance enough to be curious. "What are you doing?"

Sava was an old game, but a popular one still, among children and adults alike, for it had a flavour of relevance... it was a battle game, a competition. Upon tts concentric web of linked circles stood pieces representing servants, soldiers, wizards, all the way up to a matron mother. Only one House of the two on the board could stand... and through moving a piece at a time, in turn, only the mind of the player could guide them to victory.

It was all the more appropriate to their situation, of course. But more to the point, he knew she thought of herself as a soldier - and this was the only common link he could think of between his world and a more military one. He'd heard something... something about her losing command of her men...? Then perhaps this was an angle to get her to open up a bit. And perhaps, perhaps, that's what the Spymistress of his House wanted.

"I'm playing a game," he said neutrally, "Of soldiers." Keep it simple.

She scoffed at that. "Sava?"

"Yes. Been playing a game with a fellow mage. Just pondering the state of the board. His strategy. He appears strong... yet there is hidden weakness in his -"

"I know it. It's a child's game," she insisted, cutting him off. Aaahhhhh...

He looked at her then, and gave her the best challenging eyebrow he could, feigning just the right element of indignation to suggest she'd got to him. "Indeed? Then perhaps you'd like to show me..."

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Vanya Mia
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Re: Assault on Aldera Campaign

Post by Vanya Mia » Fri Nov 30, 2018 12:30 am

"Drink, mrimm. You must." Tian'ith felt the coolness of water at her lips and drank, swallowing. She tried to open her eyes. How could such an act be so difficult? The world swam before her, out of focus and lacking colour. The sounds of voices no more than echoes on the cusp of hearing but for his voice. The feel of a spoon in her hand directed to her mouth with an impetus not her own. The taste of something warm at her lips. "Eat a little. It will help."

"You always believe you know best," she replied after swallowing a mouthful. A half-hearted attempt at flippancy at best, insufficient. Had she spoken it, done more than thought it? Perhaps not, as he didn't counter. An unlikely response as he always had, however politely it would have been phrased. Behavior that had ever frustrated her as the subject, but fascinated too. Especially on the times on the few occasions she saw it used on others.

Goad, chide, contradict, challenge, undermine, and on occasion insult. Yet ever couched in such a way to make you doubt your own interpretation of it as such and and to suspect taking offense would be an over reaction. Manipulated if not persuaded and by the time you realised it was too late. If you even noticed at all. Or wanted things to be different if you did. On reflection she should have put him in his place more directly, but it had been - was - intriguingly clever, and rebellious... and attractive. She remembered when ...

His head close to hers and the spoon once more at her lips brought her mind back from it's feverish wandering. Tian'ith focused on his face, the only aspect of her surroundings that seemed to hold colour and clarity. It was likely only she would recognise the concern in his expression. She swallowed again and reached weakly to touch his cheek with her fingers.

"Ussta faerbol," she murmured with difficulty. "We survive yet."


((I cannot guarantee to play this weekend as I have no idea if I will have time and be able to connect. I'll put the server up and join in if I can. If I'm present Tian'ith finds the soup a remarkable curative, if not then she can be left as the latest Princess Peach. :D ))

Shadani
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Re: Assault on Aldera Campaign

Post by Shadani » Fri Nov 30, 2018 4:54 am

Victory tasted so very, very sweet.

Miiq took quickly to the role of conqueror. With the white-hairs indisposed and the witch absent, there was barely anyone to question him as he surveyed his new holdings. It struck him that while duergar had not been the most diligent the wardens, their fortress certainly did not lack in potential. If only he could figure out these arcane contraptions the last of the Urgans had left behind, perhaps he could divine what her plans had been. Such revelations eluded him for now, however - much as he loathed to admit it, the power that flowed through his veins taught him very little regarding the inner workings of... more delicate artifacts such as these.

Meanwhile, the question of what was to be done when the Derro arrived also remained unanswered. Unfortunately, with their numbers somewhat diminished, Miiq feared that they might not have much choice but to give their hosts what they demanded - yet again. He had grown tired of this familiar cycle a while ago. Surely, he was not the only one who felt that way.

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Karvon
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Re: Assault on Aldera Campaign

Post by Karvon » Fri Nov 30, 2018 8:31 am

Darsin wasn't particularly impressed with the captured citadel. The furnishings were sparse and boring and he doubted its strength; after all, the group had taken it without too much trouble. Surely there were other factions who'd seek to fill the vacuum created by the slaughter of the Druegar. He certainly wasn't inclined to spill his blood trying to keep the place. Furthermore, with the news of the collapsed tunnels to the surface, he wasn't sure this place could serve as an access point; not without a lot of engineering work at least. At least they'd gotten some credible information about the cause of the poisoning of the Underdark. He wondered if some sort of cleanup of the toxic sludge dumped was even feasible. Perhaps with the right combination of magic, something could be done. Well, it wasn't his worry at the moment, so he settled down to meditate in front of a fire.

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Lazybones
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Re: Assault on Aldera Campaign

Post by Lazybones » Fri Nov 30, 2018 4:23 pm

Session 15

Full-posting bonus.

+600xp for Rogha, Zau'lann, Vot, and Tian'ith
+900xp for Darsin
+1200xp for Miiq

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Vanya Mia
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Re: Assault on Aldera Campaign

Post by Vanya Mia » Sat Dec 01, 2018 3:16 pm

((I will not make it :( See you next week.

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Lazybones
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Re: Assault on Aldera Campaign

Post by Lazybones » Sat Dec 01, 2018 4:06 pm

Looks like we'll play with 5 today.

EDIT: Assuming VM is able to get the module loaded! Her server is up, but there's no module loaded.

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Mirgalen
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Re: Assault on Aldera Campaign

Post by Mirgalen » Sat Dec 01, 2018 4:14 pm

LB is correct. No character list.

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Lazybones
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Re: Assault on Aldera Campaign

Post by Lazybones » Sat Dec 01, 2018 4:16 pm

I know that when VM is absent she sometimes gets family members to load the server, who may not be familiar with all the steps.

I'll hang out until game time, if it doesn't get up we'll bump a week. Was going to be something of a stealth mission anyway, which is challenging when your two stealthiest characters are absent. :)

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Lazybones
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Re: Assault on Aldera Campaign

Post by Lazybones » Sat Dec 01, 2018 4:27 pm

All right, looks like we're off until next week.

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