The New Years Festival, It begins...

[The_Vizir]

Max stared at his had for several moments, even after the rune itself had faded, the look on his face one of obvious surprise. The rune was nothing like the standard web which shone throughout his body whenever he accessed the power of his bloodline, nor of the single rune which glimmered over his right eye. How... this... this made no sense! His kind weren't even from this plane, they were refugees from another world, who arrived here long after the previous contact with these other alien races! How he came to bare such a rune, where this... curse, he supposed, came to enter into his bloodline... both were questions which he desperately wanted answering. Something he would have gladly returned to the ruined metropoli and vaunted libraries of his people's homeland to explore. But... well, Max was well versed in the traditional stories of his own people and the others of this world, and knew many of the standard devices and literary conventions present in them... and this was turning out to hold all the features of the heroic tales of yore. Max sighed. If he had wanted to be a hero, he would have decided to be something else in life besides a researcher of legends. But, he was Nuxcla, and more than that, he was of the bloodline of Tuz, and was descended from the great spirit Osset, and from her father the Harvest Moon. He was of the line of leaders and champions, great shamans and philosophers. Every syth desired to make a name for themselves, to prove the strength of their blood and ancestry... well, this was his chance. This was his chance to - wait, what?

Max looked up at the towering bard, nearly twice his height "No, really... what gave it off? The fur? Maybe the tail? The glowing rune over the eye? The pink blood? Oh, I know..." Max held up his hand and spread his fingers wide, revealing the webbing between them "The webbed fingers, right?" To say nothing of his pouch, two hearts, the fact that he hatched from an egg, had three biological parents, and whole host of other biological oddities which were the product of originating on another planet... Max just sighed and shook his head "Don't worry, I was born here on this planet, just like you were, just as my father was, and my mothers, and their parents, and their parents. So, I believe I've got as much riding on this world as you all do. Can't exactly pack up and move to another one, can I?" Well... he could personally find a way off this plane, but... his entire species? Unlikely, to say nothing of the three other sythen races. No, he had a vested interest in the outcome of this quest, just as all the others present did... just... he looked around him... he wished he didn't have the feeling he'd end up as the quirky animal sidekick in all this.

Max merely nodded in agreement about getting out of the open. Well the others might be able to blend in here, he didn't see many sythen around in the immediate area, so the bead did stand out somewhat. So... if the Deathsworn were around... yeah, would be best to find cover. Those guys could apparently awaken the tarrasque, which was very bad. Very, very, very, very, very bad. The beast wasn't knwon as the engine of destruction for nothing. Ironically enough, the dark-skinned female seemed to get the same idea. Max immediately took off after her brisk pace, his wings flapping slightly in an attempt to keep up with her brisk pace. This would get old fast, he quickly realized, but she was right. They were travelling companions now, and with the fate of the world on their shoulders some things one just has to put up with...

Max nodded at the white-haired human male... Connall Eyre... his mind immediately started placing his name, and the swarthy female's, Akana Mdjai, before he told it to stop. Now is not the time to start figuring out ethnicities and backgrounds, he reminded himself. But introductions... may be a decent idea. "Maximilian Grey of Clan Nuxcla, researcher of legends, seeker of esoteric knowledge, worm of books, and blood of shamans"he announced to the group, before shrugging his shoulders "At least, that's what I go by to make it easy on you tallfolk. The name given to me at my hatching is d'Xaq-chakw ke'ji'Vol'ae-na'kiir-na'cheqell'ze d'Wroz, Urisiq-dukhaancheq ji'Kiir'ae't d'Sathij't, na'Puqagh'vaaz ji'Kiir'ae d'Vaeden, oh d'Krysakw-seva-chakw na'Migarutauq'ae d'Seva Osset-Nuxcla-Tuz... a bit on the long side, I admit" he smirked. He wasn't expecting them to get any of his name at all, let alone understand it, but that was perfectly typical. "So... just stick to Max, and we should get along just fine. Just didn't want the big friendly giant here" Max looked up at the massive human with a grin"To get all disappointed thinking that all us aliens went by friendly human-like names"

[forgerofsouls]

After Black had left and the group had started to introduce themselves to each other, a very large magic mouth appeared in the sky above the city. Yet no one seamed to pay it much attention. "Attention all Martial Arts Tournament contenders. There has been a change in the reward. The reward will no longer be 10,000 Platinum. Instead, it shall be a very unique magical item of unknown origins. A very interesting piece it is, and obviously worth quite a bit to the right people! And a reminder to all the contenders, the Tournament offically begins in four hours, but you must be at the arena in two hours or else you forfeit not only your place in the tournament, but your pride and honor to! This is your arena announcer, the voice master himself, Blare Glariousdeath! See you all at the arena!" And than the mouth faded.

[DM's Notes]
Not much actually to tell you guys whats happening, after all, at this moment its more about your characters doing things than NPCs, monsters, suns going nova, or anything else. And no, the sun is not going nova.

So, introduce your characters to each other, as has been started, and discuss the plan of action. Also, please note that I never did say where the pieces that fell went. And other than "they scattered in the sky" I shall not say anything else. But if you read things I post, you will find clues and hints...sometimes rather obvious, and maybe at other times, not so obvious.

So, if you have any questions, send a PM, and I'll give you the answer...if I can give you the answer that is...

[colosusjokers]

Colo after listening to the wierd pair of lips said "Hey, the arena guy has a piece."

[SmiterOfFoes]

"It does seem to be quite a coincidence that the prize was changed to a unknown magical item moments after the keys split. We might want to enter into the competition, just to be safe." Quellurian stated. He looked down once more at the rune on his hand. "If the Deathsworn know anything about what the Whiteruby is doing, then they will be on the lookout for these runes. We should try to suppress them." Quellurian closed his eyes and focused his mind of suppressing the magic rune. He felt a tingling on the back of his hand and opened his eyes. The rune slowly started to fade and and then disappeared. "If you cant suppress it, then you might want to at least cover it up."

Quellurian started to follow Akana as well. "I am Quellurian Hrafn, but you may call me Quell."

[Players Note]
I confirmed with forger that the runes had not disappeared. He told me that they could be suppressed with a will save, DC15. You can also roll as much as you want until you get the hang of controlling the rune. After you make a save, you can make it appear or disappear at will.

[Seera]

She listened to the others noting their names and anything else of importance they said. "Yes, it does seem like a coincidence," Jolinar agreed with Quell, "The runes do need to be covered in some form." Jolinar concentrated on the rune disappearing and after a few moments, the rune faded. She began to follow Akana and said, "I'm Jolinar Lakewind. I wish we had met under different conditions."

[Luxon Cobrat]

Suppressing the runes did seem like a smart idea. After seeing Quellurian and Jolinar do it, Akana began to concentrate on it as well. Control of the rune almost seemed to come to her immediately, but just before she could suppress it, it slipped away. However, redoubling her effort, she tried again, and this time the rune faded from view.

"It is a rather dire circumstance for making each others' acquaintances," she agreed with Jolinar. "But there's only so much we can do about the hand of fate, eh?"

Next, she looked at the now-identified "alien."

"A pleasure, nonetheless," she said. "I'll admit, that isn't a language I'm familiar with, so I won't risk butchering it."

She then switched to Draconic.

"<But if hidden knowledge is your pursuit, then we have a common interest.>"

Then, on to the subject of the tournament...

"I agree as well, that announcement was rather suspiciously timed," she said, speaking in Common again. "But the question is, could any of us enter? From the way he talked, it sounded like the contenders were already decided. Though, given how this night has gone so far, it wouldn't surprise me if one of us is, in fact, signed up..."

[Gaius]

At the sythen's understandable outburst, defense of his people's loyalty, and name, Connall gave a smile; he liked the gutsy little guy. He might have even laughed aloud if he'd known of the 'quirky animal sidekick' concern... 'And a researcher...' That probably meant the Bead could expect a question at some point about the curse. Though, for a few reasons, the monk would probably be keeping that little secret to himself for as long as he could. 'Should tell 'em something, though... ... Maybe, "If something weird happens pour hot water on me?" ... Nah, the way this day is going, that doesn't narrow it down...'

Connall gave polite nods of greeting at the continued introductions, and then another to Quell. "Sound advice." Aware that most of the group were doing the same, he gave the runed hand his focus. Ridding it hand of the glow proved simple enough; there was likely nobody among them with greater ki experience than he. Sure, it wasn't the same thing, and he was hardly an expert, anyway, but he picked up on the similarities. It faded quickly, and the possibly imagined tingling followed.

And then there was the message conveyed via Magic Mouth to consider. The young man couldn't help but grin at the discussion it generated. 'So much for worrying about participating.' Besides, the empathic part of him was glad to hear the bard speak up; he'd been worried about the poor man's intellect, and so was cheered to hear him connect the dots. The priestess then went a step further with her half-serious hunch, earning a chuckle from Connall. "And congratulations on calling it. You're looking at my monastery's representative, and I didn't even need another reason to win."

[The_Vizir]

Max looked up at the magic mouth, slipped off his glasses, and with a sigh of resignation, laid his face in his free hand. Of course... if the world was in jeopardy, why wouldn't it succumb to the rules of stories and legends? "Ya think?" he asked the bard, while slipping his glasses back onto his face, before grumbling to himself "Let's just toss all logic, statistical probability, and causality out the window, we've got a world to save!" He just hoped these humanoids' stories matched up with sythen myths... would make his job easier, it would.

When Quell mentioned the runes, Max looked down at his own. Ahh, right, yes... getting rid of it would be the best idea. He stared at the glowing sigil on the back of his hand, focusing on the familiar sensation of quenching his runes, but nothing happened. So he tried again... not even a flicker "Gapan..." he sighed... maybe he was going about it the wrong way... not like his regular runes, instead something different. He looked up at the humanoids around him, all of whom seemed to be able to control their runes... ironically, they weren't the ones with the ability to cover their body in a web of glowing runes yet they seemed to be handling this better than they guy who normally could. "Oh come on, for the love of my ancestors..." he growled viciously the rune on his hand... maybe he was going about it the wrong way... maybe this one wasn't related to etherium discharge, so trying to store it's energy won't work. Something different then? He glared at the offending sigil, and thought very firmly about making it go away...

Will Save to suppress rune glow: DC 15

And, lo and behold, it did. Max sighed in thanks, and looked up at Akana, who had been addressing him "Right, yes, of course. No need to worry... virtually all of my people speak the common tongue anyways, so no need to tie your tongue on ours" he nodded smiled somewhat distractedly at the priest, his attention still on the strange rune. That'll require more... wait. He looked back up at the cleric, and realized she was speaking draconic "<Indeed>" he grinned back "<nice to see we've got another scholar in our ranks>"

The cleric returned her attention to the matter at hand, and Max followed her train of thought. He was about to speak up about potentially bluffing their way in, but, nope, no need for that. Connall to the rescue, he supposed "Well... this is just fantastic" the bead smirked ironically and shook his head. "So, we know where to find the first piece, we know how we're going to get it... now, the question is..." he walked over to the monk, and looked strait up at him, a fanged grin on his face "You good enough to win this strait up, nitha, or would some odds-tipping in your favour help out?

[forgerofsouls]

As the group wondered on their way to the Boneyard Smithery getting to know each other, a convsersation was taking place in another place of the world...

"Hm, so they have met up with him?"

"Yes, they have met Black."

"Then everything is going according to plan I hope?"

"Not necessarily. There appears to be an extra someone in the group. Our diviners had only indicated that the group was going to have only five members in it, and yet while we have discovered that there is six physical people, we have deected a total of seven members of the group. We don't know why the information was so off. We had used the most powerful divination ritual availabe to us."

"Hm, I think it is rather obvious as to what happened, don't you?"

"Uh...no sir...I don't know?

"A god has interefered. That is what happened. And I think that someone in the group may be possessed and thats why the seventh unseen memeber.

"Ah, I see my lord. So, than how do you propose that we proceed?"

"The additional members are of no real concern, in fact, I think its rather helpful. This will improve their chances of getting enough keys to open the door to the weapon. Thus in turn increaseing our own chances of success. So, for now, proceed as planned."

"Yes my lord, as you wish."

And with that the conversation ends.

[DM's Notes]
You guys can take the conversation how ever you want it. Since I left out names and what not, I think I know how everyone is going to think...for now, continue on to the BS...er....Boneyard Smithery...BYS?...

Also, Akana would know that from their current position in the city and with the festives going on, that it will take about 30 minutes to get to the BYS. And from there another 30 minutes to where they typically hold the martial arts tourny. In other words, she would know that the group has plenty of time to make it to the tourny.

[colosusjokers]

Colo follows the rest of the group to the Boneyard Smithery while contemplating what gear he should try to get other than typical armor. Looking once more at his hand he decides to go ahead and suppress it as well and focused on his hand. He found it difficult at first but finally suppressed it on the fourth try by using symbolic imagery picturing it as a fire that he is dousing.

With that accomplished Colo began writing off a mental list of things that could potentially be usefull that he should get. Preferably without the groups knowledge. hm...perhaps after visiting this smithery I better sneak off to do a bit of performing and pickpocketing to get some gold for a bit of extra equipment.

Colo had always thrived by getting people to underestimate him. The more clumsy and idiotic people think of him the less they expect from him and the less attention they pay to him. Making it that much easier to gain the upper hand. If we are being watched by any of these purported "enemies" then it would be wise to fool my new associates. If they think I am stupid and useless then anyone spying on us will likely pick up on that vibe and focus less on me. With that in mind it may be prudent of me to find something to wear that I can easily conceal any extra equipment under...like perhaps a trench coat. I could put a few useless items in as a distraction so that if anyone asks me what I have in it I can keep the deception up by pulling out something stupid.

"I'm colo by the way. What was the name of the place we are going to?"

[SmiterOfFoes]

"Perhaps they will allow for additional participants if those who have registered have not shown up. I for one would like to try my hand at some actual combat. My uncle was more about theory than he was on actual execution. Would be nice if my first real fight was in a ring, rather than for my life and the fate of the world." Quell stated.

"By the way, if we are going to be relying on each other, it might be nice to know what each of us can do. I'm pretty simple, a soulknife. I make halberds with my mind."

[Seera]

"Most definitely dire circumstances," Jolinar agreed with Akana. She listened to Akana and Connall speak in Draconic and added in Draconic as well, "<Nice to find others who at least appear to enjoy learning languages.>"

Switching back to common, Jolinar stated, "While I hadn't come here to partake in the competition, if there are openings in the competition due to missing people, I'm willing to join in, increase our odds of one of us winning. Personally, I think all who feel comfortable with fighting should join in if possible just to increase our odds. We don't need the one that landed in our laps to get away easily. I doubt we have the money to buy it off of the winner."

She heard Quell mention his specialty and stated, "I'm a rogue and I use a spiked chain."

[Luxon Cobrat]

"I am a cleric of Sarenrae," Akana answered Quell. "Fire and Sun are my domains, and of course I can cast spells of healing or use various other divine magics."

Then, on the tournament again...

"I suppose filling up spots would help our chances," she conceded. But then she looked at Connall "But this is your part of the show, isn't it? If you'd prefer that the rest of us not butt in, I would say that we should respect that. It won't do to start any bad blood over one key when there are still so many more to find."

And finally, to answer Colo.

"Boneyard Smithery," she repeated, doing her best not to sound irritated.

[Gaius]

Connall looked down at the bespectacled sythen addressing him. "Well, you're direct, aren't ya." A smirk crept over his face. "Good to see. Anyway, 'ppreciated, but nah."

He decided to combine his explanation with describing his combat portfolio: "I was chosen for this martial arts tournament because I'm the best student at my monastery." The smirk grew. "In Urthnez." Connall had observed that this usually quirked a few eyebrows, and wondered if his new allies were going to think him mad for living in hobgoblin country. Regardless, everyone he'd told agreed that kind of status meant he was tough as nails ('And they don't know the half of my training...'), so he thought it a decisive answer to the Bead.

"'sides, they keep a real eye out for that. If it was spells you had in mind, they'd just be a good way to get me kicked out." He paused a moment, as one glaring exception to the 'no magic' policy came to mind. "But they're fine with magical healing between fights. I figured I'd just plow through, but no sense going in at less than my best, if anyone could help with that." This last bit he delivered to the group, though focused mainly on the lady Cleric.

Akana had already answered the loopy Bard, and Connall saw no reason to elaborate or give the guy a second thought. More or less as Colo planned, apparently.

He was about to answer Quell and Jolinar's talk of entering the tournament when their de facto leader made another suggestion. "Considerate, thank you," he said, giving her a smile and a slight bow of his head, "but not necessary. If anyone of you can find a space, more power to ya. Just make a promise I think'll take care of any issues: if you go up against me, we treat it like any other match. No hard feelings."

Connall's smile waned a bit. "That said, good luck finding a spot. I've been my monastery's pick for months, and becoming replacements would be tricky: they're only allowed if someone can't fight and picks a substitute." He shrugged. "Double-check when we get there, but, unless you know someone who's willing to get injured and back down -- I'm not, by the way -- find a good seat and watch me win it myself."

[The_Vizir]

Max smirked at the human monk's accusation, and shrugged his shoulders slightly. Never had much reason to beat around the bush... life was short enough as it was without wasting time on trying to approach things in the right direction. He did, however, have to nod his head in respect when the human announced he was from Urthnez... no wonder he was having difficulty placing his accent "Ahh, we've found ourself a right skilled artist then, haven't we?" he smirked slightly, before patting his hand on the massive tome than hung from a strap at his hip "But one such as yourself should know that knowledge can be just as effective as magic when it comes to making a difference in a battle."

The bead scholar turned his attention to the rest of the party, and was about to chime in with his two cents, before Akana said exactly what he was going to. "Right, yes, indeed..." Max nodded softly "This is Connall's task to complete, as best he can. I'm certain we'll all get our own chances for heroics as we continue our adventures. How it works in all the stories anyways..." the small sythen shrugged his shoulders slightly "And even if I felt we all should join in, I really don't see what good I'd do for the party aside from getting beat up real good. My people... arn't exactly known for their martial prowess, in case you didn't know. There's a reason the kithkin have an unfortunate stereotype for being overly... enterprising merchants and thieves, as untrue as that is in reality Besides..." Max smirked slightly "I'm a mage and an archivist. I'm best when I have the time to stick my nose in a book and dig out the spells I need. Getting a flying kick to the head in a one on one duel isn't exactly conductive to my strategies."

"So then..." Max looked up at the sign of the Boneyard Smithy "Let's get you front line fellows here behind some good old fashioned armour and magical protection, so when it comes down to that, I don't have to deal with getting a bruised muzzle, shall we? I can prep up some protection to help you tomorrow, but unfortunately, I chose to ignore abjuration in my wizardly training, and so my selection of protective magics is somewhat... lacking, though I do have some skill with protection via my training in the divine. Nothing near the skills of our good priestess of the sun goddess, though. Ergo, the more you bulk up here, the better. In return... I'll make certain that anyone we face... gets dealt with rather efficiently" the sythen magi grinned darkly at his own little joke as he waited for his fellows to lead on into the smithy

[forgerofsouls]

As the group continued walking to their destination of the Boneyard Smithery. Else where in the city a clocked hooded figure was making his way towards the group. He grumbled as he looked around and at the scroll tooked in his belt. A hawk of sorts, black with white-tipped wings and red plumage, landed on his shoulder. He looked over at the bird and petted it on the head before feeding it a live mouse. "Who knew that finding someone in the city would be hard? I swear, we tracked our target successfuly many times before, but know, why can't we do it?" He said in a deep voice with a tinge of a goblin accent. He sighed a little more. "Screw it, lets just go to the place he most likely will be. After all, our master, my brother, wants this done quickly, and painfuly. Though why painfully, I will never know. After all, it would be just as effective to do it quietly and painlessly. Less blood you know?" He said as he shook his head and headed off into the crowds.

Meanwhile, just on the other side of the street, the party, who had just met under strange circumstances, walked on chatting without much care in the world.

"I must find that monk, I must find...Connall." The figure said, going in the complete opposite direction of the party.

[DM's Note]
Ok, so, my next post will have you guys arriving at the smithery, so, if you guys want to say that you arrived there yourselves, go ahead.

And no, I will not spill the beans on who or what that guy is.

And also, a thank you should go out to Smiter, for he is typically the first one to read my new posts, and thus typically finds a few grammar errors in them, and thus corrects them.

[colosusjokers]

Colo sticks to the back of the group as they arrive at the Boneyard Smithery. On the way there he had been looking around with a look on his face similar to that of a lost tourist trying to figure out where something is as everyone else spoke. In truth he was looking around for signs of them being watched or shadowed.

perception(to see if anyone is watching/shadowing him and his associates): 9 = 9 on roll (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2389774/) +0(skill)
bluff(to fool the party and anyone that might be watching us): 27 = 15 on roll (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2389777/) + 12(skill)

Before walking into the smithery he asks "So....what exactly is everybody going to ask for?"

[SmiterOfFoes]

Quell pondered for a moment on the bards question. He had not been in a situation where he needed to wear armor before. "I suppose I will go for something light. A chain shirt maybe."

[Seera]

Jolinar listened to the replies of the others and mentally kicked herself when Connall brought up the fact that the tournament contestants are already chosen and by now they won't let others in. And she didn't feel it was right to ask someone to take an injury to sit this tournament out when they worked so hard for it. At least not without explaining the situation and something told Jolinar that the fewer people who knew about the situation the better. "I'll probably just sit this tournament out," Jolinar said, "I did not bring my weapon with me due to tournament rules and I would prefer not to go into battle without having gotten a good feel for the new one."

She then answered the bard's question, "I'll be getting a chain shirt and a spiked chain."

[Luxon Cobrat]

"Perhaps I should just stick to healing duty," Akana decided. "My ability to fight unarmed without magic is limited, and I only have so many spells for the day. It would be best if I don't split the healing between too many people."

She then gave some thought to what she would be getting from the smithery.

"A breastplate, for one thing,” she said. “Other than that, it will depend on how much I can get out of them. I have a few different weapons on my wish list. Just have to hope they really want the world to get saved.”