Ambrosia Software Web Board: The Alraeican Tavern - part VII - Ambrosia Software Web Board

The air outside was bliss compared to the air inside the tavern which smelled of meat, beer and vomit. There were a few people who only just made it outside of the tavern before falling down and not getting up again. Although the moon wasn't out it was still brighter than usual. Medoc opened the tavern and got a blast of hot rotton air which would almost knock you off your feet, he walked over to where he was previously sitting and just sat there quietly again.

Soon, the tavern once again fell silent. Selax still stood by the wall, puzzled by the continual disappearance of Cytherans.

Selax was tired of waiting; it was time to go. Stepping outside, he soared into the sky.

Not long after Selax left Medoc decided to do the same, leaving for Odemia where the rest of the party had hopefully gathered.

~OOC~
This post goes before the one I posted in 'Shadow Games', makes that post make sence as Selax pointed out to me.
~BIC~

The frog was just settling down for a nap when the door swung open, and a figure walked in. He was about a fourth of the height of the regular customers, but his webbed feet spread over as wide an area as their sandals. The air behind him shimmered briefly and the door shut. When he was about half way to the counter wings seemingly materialized out of his back and he floated up onto the counter. Even as the wings vanished, a cup appeared in his hand.

Suddenly a drunk, who thought he was sleeping on a table, decided that he had seen too much for his mental state and ran out through the door, waking everyone else in the bar. They looked around groggily trying to find what had disturbed them. but all they saw was a new customer quietly asking the frog for a glass of milk.

ooc:
I thought I'd practice in the tavern before I get involved with the more active TS's. I'm working on my character sheet, it should be up soon.
bic:

OoC: Thanks! It would probably be good for me not to monopolize an empty tavern BiC:

The frog, having never heard of anyone quite like this newcomer, guessed that he might be unfamiliar with the cytheran coinage, and asked for advance payment. The newcomer reached into his pocket, and nearly fell off the countertop! "um...uh... sorry I seem to have misplaced my pocket..." he said in an embarrassed tone of voice, "Come to think of it I haven't had pockets for more than a year."

"Well, if you can fix that door," replied the frog, pointing at the door which the drunk had just run through, "I'll give you a glass of milk and one obol for your trouble. There are boards around back"

"Obol? Is that the money used around here?" the frog nodded his affirmation, "Thank you. I will gladly fix your door. By the way, I am called 'Silverfish' where I come from." His wings shimmered into being and he glided across to the door way.

The pieces of the door were actually in fairly good shape, so it didn't require much new hardware. The cup shimmered out and thin metallic filaments filled the doorway and went out to the pieces laying on the ground outside. The door pieces floated up and reassembled in the doorway.

Silverfish walked back to the counter and climbed up, "Is that good enough? It took a lot more metal than I expect it would have if I was more experienced."

Suddenly, the door to the Tavern opened.
A man stood in the doorway. He was dressed like a mage, but he wore a hood that made his face much harder to see. A chill breeze seemed to blow in the door behind him, an incident which was strange considering that the night was fairly warm.
He stepped in and looked around for a few minutes before he saw Silverfish.
He walked up behind Silverfish and said,"Excuse me, sir. But I don't believe I know you or your species. Would you care to enlighten me?"

Silverfish held out his hand toward the frog, a shot glass sized cup materialized in it. He then turned slightly toward the mysterious character and replied, "He's a frog, his species is bartender. Now would you return the favor and tell us your name and species? Knowing comes with time. I am called 'Silverfish'."

The mage stared at Silverfish for a few moments. Looking at him, Silverfish noticed that the man was trembling and there seemed to be a fire behind his eyes. There was something wrong about this mage...


Master mage Intharus was in a losing fight.
He had known it from the beginning when the presence first had seized him and forced him to head for Cademia.
Now, he was desperately trying to warn the Silverfish and the other occupants of the Tavern to run. . .before it was too late.
This grows tiresome. All this dealing with impudent, lesser races, the voice said in his head, I am putting an end to you now and them soon.
For one last time, the mage screamed in his mind and then he was no more.


Outwardly, the man groaned and shook violently for a moment. Then, he straightened. The trembling stopped and he seemed to grow stronger.
In a voice that made everyone shiver, he spoke again.
"Fascinating, I am sure. Perhaps, human for the species. As for my name..." he chuckled unpleasantly. "That is a long tale in itself for it is ever growing. I have lived for long time. But this grows tiresome. I must go now. However, rest assured we will meet again...if you still are alive by that time."
Then, the mage laughed.
It was a loud, uncanny laugh. Some of the less stout-hearted in the Tavern actually covered their ears and threw themselves to floor—victims of some terror that came to them from that hideous sound. It seemed to grow in volume, until the walls actually began to crack.
Then, the mage stopped laughing. However, he wasn't through yet. He raised his hand and the Tavern began to creak ominously. The ceiling was blasted into the sky, falling to one side of the Tavern.
The mage smiled, waved, and then disappeared in a flash of light.
However, where he had stood, a daemon and about ten undead now stood.
The daemon opened its mouth and said, "Know that death incarnate has come to your land. You and all your kinds from all worlds are doomed."
Then, they charged.

This post has been edited by Selax: 10 April 2005 - 08:14 PM

Silverfish hurled himself toward the daemon, releasing a powerful bolt of lightning straight at its head. The air exploded away from the searing bolt, shoving the undead back, but the daemon appeared unaffected and clawed at him, knocking him into the crumbling wall. A strange light shone from the walls, filling him. I am the Tavern, I will fight through you. Silverfish jumped up and charged the nearest undead.

The undead swung a longsword at him, but Silverfish sent out some filaments and absorbed the blade. Having regained his normal balance of metal, Silverfish sprang up on wings -a dagger in each hand- and made short work of the undead vainly swinging the hilt. The daemon was getting close, so he swooped to the other side of the demolished tavern and attacked the undead on that side.

Silverfish, not wanting to overweight himself with metal, didn't absorb any metal from this undead's weapon. Instead he turned his daggers into whips that would cut through steel and set to work carving the undead together with its weapon into little bits. That accomplished, he attacked a third and a fourth, destroying both in the same manner.

Then, absorbing all the scrap metal, he bound the remaining undead with it, and sent the remainder of his stored electricity through them, reducing them to ash. Well done small one, that attack was your own.

Luckily the daemon had been occupying its self with a few tenacious drunks, but now they fled, leaving Silverfish alone to face the dread foe. It could sense that his lightning was not magically produced, so instead of trying to fry him with lightning, it cast mystic arrow at him. Silverfish was grazed, but not seriously hurt, and responded by weaving a net around the daemon out of all the scrap metal that had not been vaporized by his attacks. But before it was immobilized the daemon muttered a few words and motioned toward Silverfish. He struggled a moment, but his mind was not strong enough to resist the spell. He fled in terror.

OoC:
Fifth post! I hope this is an OK fight scene.
BiC:

Edit: Slightly improved some parts

This post has been edited by Jehezekel: 22 April 2005 - 02:42 PM

*OoC*
Looked good to me.
*BiC*


The daemon advanced, intending to catch and kill Silverfish before he could recover from its spell. However, before he could advance very far, some of the local guards and one or two other heroes engaged the monster and halted it, for a few moments anyway.


Far to the north, in the mountains near Land King Hall, a lone figure pushed its way up the slope of a high mountain. The mountain was a strange place—a place of legends and strange tales to the inhabitants of Cythera. It was said that the sun had never shone there (no matter what the season) and that anyone who actually tried to climb the mountain had never returned. All of this was known to the man who was making the ascent. Unlike many others, he knew the truth about this mountain and its shadowed past. He smiled to himself as he pushed through the snow that seemed to perpetually cover the looming peak. Yes, he knew quite a lot about the mountain.

A few moments were all that the Tavern needed to rally Silverfish.

Do you see where the floor is brick instead of stone? It is weak from that daemon's stomping. A hole is beneath them... The daemon, in fighting the guards, was now directly in front of the bricks.

Silverfish quickly crept around the daemon and slammed the bricks, cracking them. The daemon spun around at the sound and stepped forward, the floor gave way, and it fell down the hole. Silverfish quickly re-covered the hole, weaving the metal into the floor so that nobody would trip on it.

The fight was over. Thank-you for allowing yourself to be used to defeat my enemies... The strange light left him, and Silverfish sat down, exhausted.

After sitting for half an hour Silverfish was mostly recovered and went out to explore the city.

While wandering around the city Silverfish came upon Anisa's hut. He went in and asked what she was selling. When he learned that she was actually an historian, he asked her to tell him the history of Cythera. Anisa was glad to tell what she knew of Cytheran history, and expecting that he would get involved with the more recent heros, she made a special point to inform Silverfish of their doings.

It was some time later when Silverfish left Anisa's place. He had much information to process before he could do anything with it. He walked back to the Tavern.


Edit: lengthened post, improved story (I think)

This post has been edited by Jehezekel: 22 April 2005 - 03:25 PM

The man reached the peak of the mountain. If someone had been there to see him, they might have recognized him as the mage from the Tavern. However, that man was dead and another now occupied his body.
He stopped. Here, at the very summit of the mountain was, was a large, desolate valley. Perpetually covered in snow, the valley had only one noticeable feature—a large hill surrounded by a wide chasm in the center. There was no bridge over the chasm and never had been. One could only enter if allowed. Even those who could fly would fall if they attempted to cross the chasm without being permitted or wielding a greater power than the he who had first cast the spell.
The man broke off his musings as the snow before him began to rise. Curious, he waited—these would be the guardians empowered by the elementals to watch this place and ensure no one entered. The snow fell away from the creatures rising from the ground. They resembled golems except each seemed to be made one of the elements. The man yawned. There were only four; he had thought that they would have been wise enough to put more here.
The creatures spoke in unison, None shall enter here.
The man laughed and raised his hand. He smiled at the creatures before speaking.
"I believe that I shall."
Then die as all have who tried to enter here.
The creatures charged as one. Long talons extended from their hands, and a blast of energy came from them. The blast struck the man right in the chest. The blinding flash of light and smoke obscured him, and the golems waited for it to clear, confident that they had once again fulfilled their purpose. Unfortunately, the smoke cleared to reveal the man still standing their with a bemused expression on his face. He laughed and held out his hand.
"My turn," he said coldly.
The golems charged again, intending to kill him with their talons. Abruptly, they stopped, began to tremble, and blew up.
The man lowered his hand and continued into the valley, laughing quietly to himself. He stopped before the chasm. Calmly, he stepped out into the empty space; he stood over nothing for a moment. The spell was still working. Very good. He finished walking over the chasm and stepped onto the foot of the hill. The man walked slowly up the hill, until he stood at last at the summit—the highest point of the mountain.
He looked around once, before stooping and flattening his palms on the top of the hill. Then, he began to chant, quietly at first and then louder and louder until the valley rang with the sound.
Suddenly, the hill began to shake; then the top burst apart as a massive structure began to push its way through the hill. The man still stood on top of the structure, still chanting and seeming not to notice his rapid ascent. The strange building continued to rise until a huge fortress stood on top of the hill. Still, the man did not stop chanting.
The reason became clear as mounds of snow began to rise all over the valley. As the valley continued to ring with the man's voice, the mounds began to change. The change accelerated, until the mounds of snow were no longer mounds of snow. Instead, a vast army of undead, daemons, and other terrible creatures stood—a huge force that covered the top of the mountain.
The man stopped chanting and looked over his army. He stood straight up on the top of the fortress. Then, red light flashed from him. When the light faded, another individual stood where the man had stood.
The Death King looked out over the army that he had raised. Soon, all would be ready, and all would again tremble before the might of his legions. He began to laugh.
Soon, he vowed, I will have my revenge.


Back in Cademia, an old man observed the goings on. He and the others had been too late. Now, they could only wait and hope.

*OoC*
This last character requires no character info because he is not my character but is one of the games original characters.
*BiC*

On his way back to the tavern Silverfish noticed an old man observing distant events, he stopped and asked, "What do you see, sir? You look concerned."

OoC:
Are there any heros anymore that aren't occupied with Shadow Games?
The Tavern feels empty.
BiC:

This post has been edited by Jehezekel: 19 April 2005 - 08:45 PM

*OoC*
Jehezekel, I think there are several reasons that you might need to edit your post.
First, I am not starting the next TS until Shadow Games is done, and it won't be directly concerned with hunting the Death King.
Second, the old man would probably not respond in such a direct manner. He is unfamiliar with Silverfish and most of the other heroes. (Actually, the only characters that he would probably know would be Selax and the Wizard.) He probably wouldn't have such a direct knowledge of the actions of being that powerful.
Third, although some heroes aren't involved in Shadow Games, most of the members who come around often are, and some of the members in Shadow Games control some of the heroes not in that TS.
I will post in response to Silverfish's question to the man.
*BiC*


The old man looked at Silverfish for a moment. In that moment, Silverfish had an impression of power, age, and a piercing intelligence. He also caught a hint of sadness.
The man turned toward the Tavern.
"Yes, for there is much to be concerned about. Come, perhaps you could tell me exactly what happened here."

OOC: I have about two to three chars at the tavern, but i got some home work to do. Ill post in this and shadow games later. Tej will have his revenge. BIC:

The tavern fixed itself, as usual.

OoC: Bummer, much too hasty of me. I should consider more before posting. Thanks Selax BiC:

Silverfish was astounded to see that the Tavern was already repaired, and began to wonder whether the frog had let him fix the door as a test rather than out of necessity.

They sat at a fairly central table, and Silverfish started his tale. As he was telling it, the patrons kept ordering stronger and stronger drinks, in a vain attempt to forget the events which they were being reminded of. Silverfish finished, and the old man smiled within himself. This young one lacked much in the way of wisdom, but at least he was not evil.

OoC: Yeah! I've finished reading the WHOLE Tavern! BiC:

The old man leaned back in his chair and pondered the story that he had just heard. It had confirmed his fears and the fears of the those that had come here with him. They had gone now, leaving him to plan his next move alone. He sat silent for several minutes, deep in thought. Should he leave a message with this one? Or go to Catamarca now? Or should he wait for the group to return?
After several moments, he made his decision. For now, it would be best to wait. He turned back to Silverfish.
"Did any other interesting events happen here since your arrival?" he asked.

Silverfish pondered for a minute then replied, "Well, I first realized that I was no longer in my home world when a young sea monster attacked me, I think it was one of those scylla that Anisa mentioned in her tales."

He briefly simulated its general appearance, then continued, "When I had defeated it, I went up to the surface to see where I was in relation to the rest of the world. That being my aim, when I reached the surface I took an updraft to near cloud level, (it was storming quite respectably out there) and when the lightning flashed I could see a land -Cythera- to the west. I soared toward the land and when I reached it I saw a town to my left, -Catamarca I think- and people hurrying about on the ground and fighting, and two were dueling in the air, but something drew me on to this city." Silverfish looked troubled, "Somehow it reminds me of something that I have been trying vainly to forget..."

He continued his tale, "I entered this tavern and while I was talking to the barkeep a drunk ran out through the door. I don't know if that's what you were interested in, but it certainly was interesting to me."

Silverfish turned toward the counter, "Hey! Rana, where's my milk?"

OoC:
Silverfish's sensing something that reminds him of his past has to do with another character that I am developing, But you may take some liberties with it
BiC:

"Hm. An interesting tale," muttered the old man.
He had a good idea of what was going on in the vicinity of Catamarca, but it was not his business to deal with it. He leaned back in his chair.
Nothing to do but wait.

Upon seeing that the old man was done with the conversation, Silverfish bowed politely and slipped off his bench.

A few minutes later a prominent patron screamed and jumped back from his table, looking around to see what could have caused his drink to spontaneously combust.

a couple of normal looking citizens slipped their daggers back into their boots and unobtrusively headed for the door.

Silverfish smiled grimly to himself, prominent patrons should pay more attention to their surroundings.

OoC: Are you the prominent patron? (this board is slow, only a handful of people seem to be around) BiC:

Edit: New page! I feel special!

This post has been edited by Jehezekel: 05 May 2005 - 08:42 PM

OoC: I know that we don't approve of double-posting, but it's been ten days!!! I feel justified. BiC:

It was nighttime. After the few moments of excitement earlier, everything had settled down uncannily soon.

Silverfish slipped an ounce of clove oil into Ferazel's drink, and ran outside. He was hoping to hear a ruffian's opinion on Cytheran economy and politics.

--------------------
Clove oil is antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal, and antiseptic. It also stings like a salted papercut.

This post has been edited by Jehezekel: 15 May 2005 - 09:17 PM

The old man stood up and headed out into the night. It had occurred to him that there were better places to wait.

This post has been edited by Selax: 17 May 2005 - 09:50 PM

The door opened, slowly. He stopped at the doorstep, taking a good look around before he walked into the tavern. A slight chuckle escaped from his mouth as he realised that the tavern was almost completely deserted. He had to admit he was a bit disappointed. After all, he hadn't been in Cademia for almost a year.
He went over to the bar and looked at the menu. He noticed with disgust that the Nortshore red wine had gone up an oboloi, but nevertheless left the correct amount of money on the counter and helped himself to a bottle. He sat down at his regular table and poured himself a glass of the tasty wine. He drank it slowly, savoring every drop.
After emptying the glass he just sat there smoking his pipe, his eyes dwelling on a painting hanging on the wall. This place was filled with so many memories. Thoughts went to his old friends, friends he hadn't seen in a long time. To his surprise, he hadn't run into anybody yet. He figured they were probably out on an adventure of some kind, and that he had just come too late to find out what it was all about. A simple case of bad timing. He smiled. "Oh, well," he said to himself as he poured another glass of wine, "I can wait.. I can wait."

*OoC*
Hi, Rogan. It's good to see you around. I hope that you will be able to wait because the TS is moving slowly. Wizard and I hope to speed the TS up (and personally I hope to finish it up quickly) but without other people posting it might still be slow going.
*BiC*


Outside the tavern, the old man leaned against the wall. He too would wait.