Tales of Ancient Empires (D&D)

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 11:35 pm

As the double language argument continues, it is interrupted by a low, bass horn cry that is quickly picked up and repeated by a dozen similar sounds across the city. Long and low, it is a sound designed to carry far and wide over the dunes, a warning for all who can hear. Out into the desert, those who hear and understand pick up the cry with their own horns, spreading the news as quickly as possible.

Bannu shut up. Those in the markets all froze. For a second the entire city was still except for the sounding of the horns, before it exploded into activity as merchants frantically scrambled to close up shop and shoppers frantically scrambled to get away.

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:54 am

"Ah hell" Thoth spat in Dark elven. as his staff and guards scrambled to put sack-cloth coverings over the plants and stake them into the ground. There would be losses, but not everything.

"Unless you want to be sand blasted I suggest you come inside. You will find little shelter otherwise I am afraid" he said to the human before stepping to the side and motioning for him to head toward the recessed door.

"I have a semisubterranean stable for your horse and a kennel for your dogs as well, they will not be left to the sand, and will be watered and fed"

Charon · Post by **Charon** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:02 am

Jabir looked out, looking for the sandstorm himself. In a sea of commotion the human sat, unworried and unhurried. He closed his eyes, sniffing at the breeze and whispering to himself for several seconds before he looked to Thoth.

"It would appear that Naj Nadda wants me to hear your proposal."

Jabir turned Scorpion Stalker and trotted into Thoth's home, signaling for his dogs to follow him.

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 4:36 pm

The maid took the horse and the dogs to their respective places on the property where they would be safe, as Thoth led Jabir into the living areas. They were lit poorly, suitable for someone who could see in the Dark, but perhaps a bit dim for the comfort of a human.

"Make yourself comfortable" Thoth suggested. "Would you like something to eat or drink? We could be a while."

Charon · Post by **Charon** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:18 pm

Jabir was on full alert, even though he had Thoth's word that he was a guest. Frankly, he was a Dark Elf. Jabir would sooner trust a scorpion to watch a newborn than he would trust a Dark Elfs word.

The home was impressive however. Well built and lavishly decorated. It was too sedentary for Jabir's tastes but that was to be expected.

When Thoth offered food and drink Jabir shook his head. "No, thank you. I have eaten just recently." Jabir waited a few seconds before he continued. "So what is it you want me to do?"

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:16 pm

"Very well, as is your wish." Thoth was in the kitchen and because his Maid was elsewhere and he could not expect her to be in two places at once, he pulled a small chalice from a shelf and took the stopper from a decanter of wine, pouring himself some of it, he set it back down.

"I will be honest with you. Normally i might attempt to lie, but the situation I am in presently makes that untenable. Were I to lie and be discovered the consequences would probably be a catastrophic backlash. Earlier today I received a message informing me that someone knows something. Something I do not wish known among the other Dark Elves of this city, or anywhere for that matter. This will probably be followed up by demand for a payoff. I would prefer it not progress even that far. Given this, I plan on hiring a group, of which I hope you are the first, to track down the original sender and put him out of my misery. This will be difficult as he or she was smart enough not to give me any information and to use a discrete courier. It is however doable if I try to send a reply and you track the couriers. The sender probably used a proxy. Needless to say I must use my own intermediaries and cannot be seen tracking people myself.

In exchange I am willing to pay you directly, though compared to most nobles I have little in readily liquid assets. More valuable to you would be a trade agreement between me and your tribe, where I provide you with fresh citrus and other fruits at a significantly lower price than any of my competitors."

Haizu · Post by **Haizu** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:08 am

Once he saw the raiders loose their arrows at the human, Mee urged Ripper onward and made all best possible speed towards the human and goblin. When he had gotten there, he hopped off of Ripper, limbered up his bow. Before he had the chance to sight on them, the sound of horns blowing came to his sharp ears. Knowing that sound meant danger to the city, Mee listened hard to see if he could discern anything. Doing so, a great hissing sound came to his ears from behind. Turning around, his jaw dropped as he saw a towering wall of sand steadily approaching them. Judging by the storm's intensity and size, he judged that they only had a few more minutes before it hit. Realizing this, Mee put his bow back and hastily constructed an impromptu shelter using the materials he had at hand and the goblin cart.

Charon · Post by **Charon** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 12:26 am

Jabir listened to the job offer carefully, noting that this Dark Elf had screwed up and was now trying to cover his tracks. When Thoth got to his offer for Jabir to take the job, he merely snorted.

"You expect me to risk my neck, and perhaps what little name my tribe has here, for a couple pieces of fruit?" Jabir shook his head. "If you want me to stick my neck out for you I'm going to need more than that. You seem to have a bit of influence, seeing as you got that vulture on the defensive. If I do this for you I want something of value. I want a cut back on all the extortion that your kind does against my people here."

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 12:42 am

Outside, the frantic activity begins to die out, hidden away behind sturdy walls and shutters, only a few individuals scurrying between buildings in the streets, trying to get home or to some other appropriate shelter. Within a crowded inn a wild looking man from beyond the cataracts finds himself sitting next to a bowman.

Out in the desert, a trio of goblinoids, all unknown to each other, cower beneath a makeshift bit of shelter made out of some blankets and a cart and hope that it will all hold. If the storm is not particularly bad they might be able to ride it through, if not, they may be in for a slow, choking death.

And down, beneath the ground in the villa, the final shutters are closed, leaving only the illumination of candles and lamps to light the room.

Like a great red wall tall enough to dwarf the pyramid at the heart of the city, the edge of the storm barrels across the desert. First it crashes over the city, then the villa, and finally it consumes the travellers in the desert. The makeshift shelter just barely holds together, but to those who have travelled the deserts, this is a 'mild' sandstorm, not the sort of nightmare legends speak of, and they should be able to ride it out safely, if not comfortably.

In the darkness of night brought hours early by the sands, much can be said by those waiting for the storm to expend itself.

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 5:34 pm

Charon wrote:Jabir listened to the job offer carefully, noting that this Dark Elf had screwed up and was now trying to cover his tracks. When Thoth got to his offer for Jabir to take the job, he merely snorted.

"You expect me to risk my neck, and perhaps what little name my tribe has here, for a couple pieces of fruit?" Jabir shook his head. "If you want me to stick my neck out for you I'm going to need more than that. You seem to have a bit of influence, seeing as you got that vulture on the defensive. If I do this for you I want something of value. I want a cut back on all the extortion that your kind does against my people here."

The man was clever. Very clever.

"A few pieces of fruit is an understatement, but I see your point. I am a minor public official, an Inspector. I managed to put the other one on the defensive because if he were to call an Inspector and make you prove you did not trample his garden, I could have volunteered and then fined him for wasting my time. He then threatened to have his guards beat you. At that point I threatened to burn down his house with spells and then enslave him to pay for the collateral damage. Bannu is a coward, it worked well." Thoth thought for a moment. This human drove a hard bargain. Admittedly, he had low-balled the human initially as well, hoping he was not especially bright. The trade agreement was a good provision of a larger deal he was prepared to make.

"I cannot stop all of the graft. Indeed, it is actually a large part of our economy here. What I can do is protect you and yours from it. If you help me track down and destroy my blackmailer, I will negotiate a trade deal with your tribe as I mentioned above. As a part of this agreement, I will give you two documents. One is a seal of protection for a messenger. As your caravans approach, send a runner in advance to my villa. He will inform me of the time of your arrival. I will meet you at the city gates, and adjudicate all disputes you and yours may have at the city gates in your favor. Unless one of your guards kills someone or something. The second document will protect you in cases I am not present, and someone makes an accusation against you. It is essentially holding me on retainer, specifically giving you leave to request me as adjudicator. Does this suit you?"

Charon · Post by **Charon** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:28 am

Jabir considered the deal for several seconds after Thoth began to speak before nodding slowly. "Alright. That deal is acceptable."

Haizu · Post by **Haizu** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:11 pm

With a grin that neither of them could see, Mee shouted over the wind "Everybody comfy?" With a whine Ripper settled his head into Mee's lap, obviously unhappy about their current situation. Scratching him between the ears and adjusting the sand mask the wolf was wearing, Mee said comfortingly "It's alright boy, we've been through worse. We'll be fine."

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 3:11 pm

Charon wrote:Jabir considered the deal for several seconds after Thoth began to speak before nodding slowly. "Alright. That deal is acceptable."

Thoth smiled somewhat

"Good. Then I will draw up the documents. In my language for my legal purposes, and your own tongue. I will put my seal to both. If for legal purposes you would to have a translator make sure the translation is accurate, I will front the cost to you for the hiring to avoid conflicts of interest"

Thoth had no intention of this being anything but good faith. Normally he would not care, but this individual could indeed hurt him if something went wrong or if he felt cheated in any way. As a result, all precaution was being taken.

Charon · Post by **Charon** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 7:55 pm

Jabir chuckled to himself as the faint growl of the storm outside filtered into the room they were in. "A translator will have to wait until Naj Nadda is finished outside. But I will take you up on that."

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 3:38 pm

The relative peace of the basement dwelling of the villa during the storm was interrupted by a loud clatter of what sounded like heavy pebbles slamming into the walls outside, followed by bellows of fear as a trio of the servants above cried out in surprise.

---

Out in the howling desert where the trio of goblinoids were bunkered down with the animals next to the cart against the wind, the oxen began to bellow fearfully as something screamed nearby, a hollow moan as if the desert itself was howling in time with the storm.

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 5:50 pm

"Those were too large for a sandstorm" Thoth said as he spoke the word that activated his bracers and allowed a shimmering field of energy to take shape around him.

"Something is going on outside, and I am not taking chances" he thought for a moment before going to the door from his Den, to the reception area, from which he could get to the servant quarters

"I would request you join me. If something is going on outside, two are better than one." He opened the door to the reception area where his archers were stationed.

"You two, come with me" he said. As he made the turn to go to the servant quarters.

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 6:10 pm

One of the guards had already moved to the top of the stairs and had frozen there, colour draining out of his bronzed skin. As Thoth reached the top of the stairs, the source of the fear became apparent. Larger bits of debris were pattering off the walls of the villa in an almost rythmic pattern, while a keening noise cut through to the nether reaches of the mind, the part that caused the hairs on the back of the neck to rise in terror at the realization that the growling noise behind you was a panther about to pounce. There was an intelligence out there in the storm.

Thoth swatted aside the feeling, but that needling fear was replaced by a more concrete sort of dread when the roar of the storm multiplied and a high pitched feminine scream erupted from the kitchen. From the sound of things someone had opened up the small servant's door there.

Charon · Post by **Charon** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 6:23 pm

Jabir needed to hear nothing the Dark Elf said. It must have been speaking out of fear, why else would it try to explain a sandstorm to a desert dwelling nomad?

Jabir cursed that he wasn't wearing his normal desert attire as he followed Thoth up the stairs and got a look around as well. His blood froze at the noise, and though he tried to call upon his knowledge, it failed him.

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 6:27 pm

"Ah shit." Thoth said, turning to his still sane guard "Restrain him" he ordered, then stepped aside and bolted toward the kitchen, words of power springing to his lips and ready to be released as soon as he got there.

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 6:47 pm

The maid stood by the opened door to the kitchen in the dark, all of the lights having been blown out by the roaring wind, the heavy wooden beam that braced it against being smashed open cast to the side, screaming out, "He went outside! Silas went outside!"

Meanwhile Jabir's dogs began to howl and bay for release in the stables and the sounds of a scuffle could be heard in the gate room. The struggle between the entranced archer and his not so impaired comrade did not go well, as despite trembling in ecstatic fear, the guard just brushed aside the attempt to grab him and went for the kitchen at a walking pace.

Charon · Post by **Charon** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 6:59 pm

Jabir could feel whatever it was trying to get into his head, with an effort Jabir fought it off. But he was still slightly shaken from the experience. He looked around, cursing both that he did not have his weapons and that he was wearing his finer clothing.

"Cover your ears! Now!"

Jabir looked around, noticing a strip of fine silk that hung on the wall and flowed down to the ground. It wasn't perfect but it would do. Looking back to the guard that was avoiding the grapple, Jabir yelled out a prayer to Naj Nadda, and the effect on both his mind and the guard's fell away.

Jabir took the silk streamer and began wrapping it around his head as he followed after Thoth. He would still need a weapon though.

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:09 pm

As the guard shook out of it and shuddered with revulsion at what had happened to his mind, the tone of the noise shifted. While still like something out of a nightmare, the buzzing, horrid fascination of it magnified a dozen times as it transformed into a terrible yet beautiful and joyous symphony of flutes, strings, and wordless voices in chorus.

Thoth saw it. He saw Silas stumbling away into the wind, howling something that's meaning was immediately snatched away by the storm. Like a denser patch of the storm, it descended upon, a whirling vortex of reddish sand. Whatever he was crying out about immediately turned to shrieks of pain as the swirling sands descended upon him, engulfing him and tossing him to the ground as the winds picked him up off his feet. He also seemed to disintegrate slightly as bits of his clothing and skin were flayed away by whatever it was that struck him.

Somewhat fortunately, and yet unfortunately, Elienes did not what happened so instead she screamed desperately to Thoth "Where is he? Can you see him?"

Comrade Tortoise · Post by **Comrade Tortoise** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:23 pm

Thoth did not hesitate, he stretched his hand forth and uttered words of power, tapping into his reserves of arcane energy he called forth fire to his hand and sent it racing off just to the side of the creature attacking his servant. It would explode upon reaching its target, but Silas would be outside the blast radius.

Charon · Post by **Charon** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:26 pm

Jabir heard the change in tone and froze. "By Naj Nadda..."

He shouted at the top of his lungs, running for the open door. "Stay inside! Do not go outside! We're safe as long as we're inside!"

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:35 pm

The blast of fire flared across the side of the vortex, causing it to shimmer and glow with as much of the energy reflected off the sandy surface. The horrid song took on a screeching, discordant tone as the vortex shifted and reared up off the ground, leaving the still form of Silas to lie on the desert sands, his condition unknown.

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Tales of Ancient Empires (D&D)

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