Long Game 1: In the Wake of the Koloss

[dyring]

Dyring glares at the guests with added suspicion before he walks over and locks the door to the cellar wich holds what is to his mind the towns most valuable treasure, the inns liquorstore.

Edited January 4, 2014 by dyring

[Aether]

While the innkeeper is locking the door to the cellar, Aether skips over to the bar and snatches a half full bottle of scotch. He takes a few mouthfuls and sits down at the table in the middle of the inn.

       "I have checked and double-checked with our ledgers. The bricklayer have used the same batch of mortar all over town, and only at the wall did it fail. There was no water damage. Nothing to indicate any natural reason of why the wall fell. But there are marks in the mud around it, looking like heavy instruments have been set on the ground, and the wall itself look like it has been hammered at.

       "But no one has heard anything! And the few signs I found was hard to find, almost as if someone tried to hide it. No, I tell you, this was done deliberately, and made look like an accident! And with the approaching Koloss..." Aether shuddered and downed another mouthful. "It is starting to look like someone is trying to let them in!"

[Edgedancer]

Hearing the screams from the Inn Edgar quickly locks up all weapons and other dangerous tools in his Smithy, so they can´t be easily stolen, and then heads to the group gathering.

 

"So friend if that is true we have a problem. Do you have noticed anything else?" As he says so the smith sits down next to Aether and gives him a comforting clasps on the shoulder.

Edited January 4, 2014 by Edgedancer

[PorridgeBrick]

Porridge slipped into the inn through the back, unnoticed. He wasn't much for company, especially with the way these townspeople had mangled his name. Still, they paid good money. With all these walls and repairs being set up, he was making a fortune. He worried, though, that he might not be able to escape this town of southern savages before the Koloss closed in. It would be such a waste to die after earning so much.

[Kurkistan]

Kukri heard the commotion and walked into the inn, picking a table near the wall and keeping an eye on the door as he trimmed his nails.

[Grayv]

Grayv takes a sip from his flask, not happy with the conclusion his mind came up with for the recent events. Realizing his flask is near empty, he heads to the inn, feelings of suspicion rising up within him.

Entering the inn, Grayv walks up to the bar and asks Dyring to fill up the flask with bourbon. After getting his flask back, He turns around to make sure as much of the room is in his view as possible. Taking a sip, he proceeds to listen to the talk in the room.

[Aether]

       Noticing Edgar sitting down next to him, and many of the townspeople entering and sitting down around him, Aether speaks up to let everybody hear.

       "Well, I came over hear as soon as I realised what had happened. I only just managed to poke my head in through one of the small  armour sheds next to the outer wall on my way over hear. The leather straps on most of the breastplates have been tampered with, and some of our wooden shields were laid out in a pool of water in one of the corners. They were rotten all the way through."

       Aether leans back in his, and raises yet again the bottle to down another gulp. "The damages to our wall is only the most recent effort of sabotage, it seems. Wood doesn't rot overnight. I haven't checked yet, but we need to go through all of our weapon and armour stockades around the city and check for damages. And if the fire too proves to be deliberately started..." Aether looks again at the flask, but changes his mind and hands it over to the smith. "I have only now realised what has been going on, but this is extensive sabotage. We need to take major action!"

[Edgedancer]

Edgar slumps back and cups his face in his hands. "I see. Seems like locking up everything dangerous in my shop was the right decision. Still this is bad. As you said we have to do something, but I don´t think we have anything to go by at this point, so vigilance is our first virtue at this point. That and getting the news to everyone, where is Quinn, just hope he´s still sobber."

 

Edgar tries to locate Quinn in the Inn

 

I know that this is completly unrelated but am I the only one that gets weird out by having a Catquisitor in a game where someone is spiked?

Edited January 4, 2014 by Edgedancer

[Mailliw73]

Maill had slipped into the bar mostly unnoticed and stood near the back of the crowd against a wall. When he heard about the armor, he made his own announcement, "The shoes I made for some of the soldiers have also gone into disrepair. I only just finished them last week, yet last night the men I sold them to came to me angry for all their shoes have holes and are falling apart after only a few days of light use."

[Kurkistan]

Kukri slept with his knives in hand, so wasn't concerned about them being sabotaged.

I know that this is completly unrelated but am I the only one that gets weird out by having a Catquisitor in a game where someone is spiked?

Don't worry, my character is a human. Edited January 4, 2014 by Kurkistan

[Quiver]

Sabotage?

Quinn shook his head over his drink at the words. The tankard was only half-full, but he still felt clear. Clear headed enough to be shocked at the reactions of the town at least.

"The entire world is falling apart," he said; it wasn't clear if he meant to speak loud enough for the others to hear. " Haven't you heard me before? Everything is falling to pieces. What made you think the town wouldn't?"

He shook his head, and rose to his feet, nearly knocking the table over in the process. "If you ask me, we should be grateful it's just been shoes and walls that are broken. It could have been something important, like me."

[Aether]

       "You clearly have quite high thoughts of yourself, Quinn." Aether had never been too fond of the town crier. " But he is right, fellow citizens. We have not been as alert as we should."

       Reaching for the bottle he had forgotten he had given away, the scholar paused and looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "I do not think it is too late, though. But we need to come together to turn this around. Maill, try to find out who could have sabotaged your work. Edgar, find out if any of your equipment and stored weapons have been damaged. I shall go through my ledges to find out how long it's been since anyone has checked on our storages around the town.

       "Dyring, if it pleases you, try to organize an effort to gather our remaining food and put it in a safe and guarded place. I shall come back later and tell you all what I've been able to find out." And with that, Aether stood up and walked out of the inn.

[Mailliw73]

Maill ordered a tankard of brandy and slumped at the counter. "My reputation is ruined. No one will ever buy shoes from me again." Maill began to drink his worries away and soon enough, he was swaying and mumbling to himself.

[Grayv]

Grayv stares at Maill's back and quietly grumbles "Koloss are at our doors and you're worried about your reputation? There's something wrong with your mind lad."

[Claincy]

Clancy opened the tavern door and hobbled into the room beyond, taking a seat and a tankard before speaking into the relative quiet that had followed Grayv's words. His words were carefully measured and rose and fell as he talked, drawing his audience in with the skill of an expert storyteller."

 

"I have heard of a similar tale before. In a small village, not unlike this one, far to the north in the shadow of the ashmount Torinost." The taverns patrons turned to listen to the wisened storyteller as he began his story. "It was a peaceful farming village, much like our own, with men enough to fend off bandits and discourage recruiters. When word came to them of an approaching Koloss hoard they did not give in to their fear, but reviewed their defenses, hoping that they might survive the assault."

 

"As they prepared they discovered problems that hadn't been there before. Strange things, gaps in the wall, ruined and missing weapons, food supplies spoiled." Clancy's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, "It soon became clear that there was a traitor within the village. Someone was sabotaging their defense!" the tempo of his voice changed as he described the hunt that followed, "The once united town began to fracture. Neighbours accused eachother, friends fought and all kept weapons close to hand. By the time the koloss arrived many were dead already, a few were slain by the traitors, but most were killed in anger and fear by other ordinary skaa who let their terror for their lives overcome their reason. When the koloss came the towns defenses barely offered any resistance and the koloss swept through the town, slaughtering everyone."

 

"We cannot allow the same to happen here. We must not let chaos rule us. We must work together to seek out these saboteurs and end this threat before the koloss end us all!"

 

Edit: Now we have an in-story reason for voting

(And the whole "Chaos rule us" thing was totally accidental )

Edited January 5, 2014 by lord Claincy Ffnord

[Peng the Just]

the beggar sits outside the window, quietly listening.

[bartbug]

Beetle carefully scuttles into the inn. Last time he was caught in here, Dyring had whipped him so hard his back had bled for a week. Course, Beetle doesn't care, and he cares less about the frights the villagers are discussin'. Koloss can't scare Beetle, they can't hurt Beetle.

He swipes a drink from a distracted villager and chugs it down.

[Oudeis]

When the koloss came the towns defenses barely offered any resistance and the koloss swept through the town, slaughtering everyone."

 

Darnam sits quietly in the corner with a small cup of port.

 

"If everyone died... who spread the story? In such detail?"

[Claincy]

Clancy sighed internally There's always one.

 

"Not everyone stayed around to wait for the koloss to come. With the threat of the koloss and with skaa murdering eachother out of suspicion people left the town. Some went back later to see if there was anything left they could salvage."

 

I figured someone would mention that

[loganmathewjohnson]

Mat stands up, drawing obvious attention to himself. 

 

"Regardless," He says, flourishing his cloak slightly. This was a man who wanted people to know he was there, before he faded back to the shadows. "You suggest we search amongst ourselves for these saboteurs? And what if there are none to be found? A possibility not discussed since our friend Aether introduced the idea. Are we to destroy ourselves before the Koloss do?

 

"It reminds me of a village I saw not long ago, to the North, near Tathingdwen. By the time the Koloss arrived,  half of the village was dead, and I myself had been chased out, my very life threatened. We simply cannot have ourselves killing innocents."

 

Wherever I go, Mat thinks, sitting down, Excitement tends to follow. I thought I had found a place in the Final Empire that would be peaceful.

 

I'm glad I was wrong.

[little wilson]

Wilson hurried down the road toward the inn, a letter for the innkeeper in her pocket. The inn looked crowded tonight, and she wondered what she'd missed. Nothing's supposed to be going on tonight. As she wandered inside, she heard talk of saboteurs, and she paused, listening. Someone's sabotaging the walls and soldier's shoes? Who? She sneaked up to the bar, thinking about all the deliveries she'd made the past two weeks. Maybe there would be a clue who the traitor was in one of those.

 

"Letter, Mr. Dyring," she said, slipping the note out of her pocket and sliding it across the bar toward the man, careful to keep her expression innocent. Wouldn't do to have him know she'd looked inside. No one would use her services then...

Edited January 5, 2014 by little wilson

[Edgedancer]

As Aether suggested Edgar returns to his smihy and makes a proper stocktaking. What he found was more puziling than missing couple of swords woud have been. He returned to the Inn to let the others know what he found.

 "Well friends I suppose there was a thief at work but he didn´t steal anything important. A couple of nails mostly and the tip of hoe i was working on, broke of and has a edge on on side, so it coud be used as a weapon but it certainly isn´t made for that. Also I found no traces on any of my equipment that indicates it was moved outside, for safety purposes I still locked it up."

 

After giving his account Edgar slumps down in a chair. Let´s just hope the chairs don´t start falling appart.

"So do we have somekind of plan to not be killed by whatever wants to kill us or do we simply wait till we lose our heads. Figurativly I hope. Otherwise our beloved towncriers concerns may be rather immediate. And Lord Ruler knows that woud be sad."

[Mailliw73]

"K-k-k-" Maill stammered. "Koloss. Dead. No shoes. No precious shoes." Maill muttered in his drunk stupor. He wasn't one to drink much, but tonight washed away all his reservations.

[Gamma Fiend]

Gambles had sat by himself most of the night, sipping his beer quietly. He, like most other people he observed, were subtlety trying to listen in on everyone elses conversations. Which tended to cause long spans of awkward silence fairly often.
 

Koloss? Sabotage and betrayals? By the Lord Ruler, what is going on here?

Gambles still wasn't entirely sure what to make of the whole situation. And there sure were a lot more unfamiliar faces around here.
He had earlier lined his cheer up to keep an eye on the story-teller from earlier. He still didn't entirely trust him, there was something off about his story.

 

Gambles shifted and reached into his coat pocket and grabbed out his two most precious items - his pair of dice and his coin purse.

He grabbed a large handful and stood up, "Well if it seems that we're going to be destroyed from outside or within, I say we at least go down having fun!" He yelled, grabbing everyone's attention, "Next round's on me!"

 

He was greeted by a hurrah of cheers and he set his dice down on the table. "Now let's play some dice!"
You see, it's simple logic, Gambles thought, taking a few practice rolls, when people gamble they like the talk. And the drunker they are, the more they say.
Gambles didn't know what was going on here, but he was going to find out the best way he knew how.
And maybe fatten his purse in the process.


 

Edited January 5, 2014 by Gamma Fiend

[Claincy]

Some time later after the taverns patrons had time to become suitably inebriated Clancy found himself seated next to Gambles, responding to a question regarding the validity of his story. Clancy was not drunk, he did not particularly enjoy the feeling or the aftereffects. He had however partaken of a couple of drinks and was, as ever, willing to talk.

 

"The truth is that I am a storyteller, not a truthteller. Are all my stories strictly true? Of course not my friend, that is not the purpose of a story. A good story" he continued passionately, "serves a dual purpose. Firstly it should entertain and enthrall the audience. And secondly, " he took a swig from his tankard, "a story should give the audience cause to think, to present them with a question and encourage them to seek answers and most also impart a moral or lesson."

 

"So did such a village as I described exist? Undoubtedly, in my travels before settling here I heard many such tails. In some of them there was certainly dissension as tempers and terror rose. That dissension would have lead to chaos and death, we must not allow that to happen here. That, Gambles, was the purpose of my story. Does it truly matter if it was not entirely fact?"

Edited January 5, 2014 by lord Claincy Ffnord