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[Criptfeind]

Returning from the shops without buying anything because of lack of funds, Sarco hesitated for a moment before hefting his knights maul up. "What do you need it for? If you need a craftsmans hammer, no. But I have this."

[My Name is Immaterial]

"Will this work?"

[GiglameshDespair]

Kawtari gestured a smile at the boaster.
"+Ha! Master indeed, then. Humans don't know how to make good food, everything is too bland and in large portions. Ah... I haven't had pickled deer eyes in a long time.+"

((I'll post more tomorrow, been a little busy.))

[Dwarmin]

"Will this work?"

She nods.

"First, let me tell you the key you're seeking is actually inside this pendant-it's made of Mordukar. If your Elf had examined it closely, she would have seen this. It's construction is surprisingly fragile, though...once opened it will never work again...." Ona says.

"Do you know the properties of Mordukar, young human? It's a perfect conductor of divination magic. Which veils it from attempts to magically locate it. This key was placed in here purposefully, to hide it."

She taps the item with one neatly trimmed claw. "Let me tell you a story, young one...about the Progenitors.

As a people, they were fascinated with locks, keys, traps, doorways and adventure. They had tamed the world, so they had to make things more...exciting. Many of those things they made live on to this day, and plague our lives.

There was one game they played that has lasted until this day-they called it the 'Trial of Nineteen Emblems'. It was a simple game. They seeded a number of small emblem tokens throughout the world, offering to their citizens-or even certain primitives such as us-the ability to quest for them, where ever they were hidden. You had to collect nineteen emblems to 'win the game' If you got them all, you were rewarded with the final, true key-one that would, supposedly, lead you to the greatest Progenitor treasures of the era.

There is a catch. The Emblems were hidden in terribly dangerous places, made to test anyone who approached-with lethal results. Few can retrieve them without perishing. And, while you hold an Emblem, you sense the presence of other Emblems-and people who also have one, can tell that you have one. The more emblems you have, the brighter you are to those who are looking for them. They enjoyed...setting up conflict this way. Invariably, Emblem Holders were drawn to fight against one another, drawn to the areas where the Emblems were collected. The more you have, the greater the danger.

This game has not stopped, even after the Progenitors left, young Human.

It is fortunate that the shopkeeper who sold this did not tamper with the protective cover-there are beings and groups of people in this world that would burn Omlett to the ground just to obtain a single Emblem...that is how valuable they believed this treasure to be. Many forces in the world know this tale, and lust for the Progenitor Treasures rumored to be at the end...like I once did..."

She sighs, slowly.

"I was not blinded by an accident, young Human. I  was once also part of the game...I have my own Emblem, you see. Hidden away. I know what this is. It led to me tragedy, as you can guess...I lost my friends, and my family-and even my eyesight. You can say I lost everything...

What you must take from this is a choice.

If you choose to open the amulet, you will become part of the game. You will not be able to hide it any longer-merely taking possession marks you as a player. You will feel in your mind places to go, and the faces and locations of those people who hold the Emblems. And they will feel you. And they will come for you.

Of course, you can always choose to cast it away. Or never open it, keeping it for yourself...but not even that may keep you entirely safe. Those who possess a great deal of Emblems will not be deterred. Not even Mordukar can protect you forever, or the place you might choose to hide it.


Tell me, what do you decide, young human?

It is a key to great treasure...great risks...great opportunities...all the games the progenitors liked to play in the doldrums they had to have existed in. Of course, they could not die. It was more fun for them. If you choose to open the amulet, I can only wish you the best of luck...you can even have my own emblem. I certainly have no need for the risk it has brought on my people. It's always been weighing on my mind, all these years...but to remove it would be a greater risk for us."

Aldeth notices the Kenku have gotten quiet in a circle around her.

[My Name is Immaterial]

After a moment of thought "I can't make this choice alone, because I can't fufill it alone." She turns to her companions. "What do you say, my friends? Shall we compete for the emblems?"

[Criptfeind]

Sarco considers the question. For a moment. Before nodding. "Yes. We should. But we should not open this emblem. Not yet."

[GiglameshDespair]

"It'd be a way of repaying them for their kindness - to take away a dangerous thing such as that. I think we should."

[Dwarmin]

Kawtari gestured a smile at the boaster.
"+Ha! Master indeed, then. Humans don't know how to make good food, everything is too bland and in large portions. Ah... I haven't had pickled deer eyes in a long time.+"

((I'll post more tomorrow, been a little busy.))

+We were saving the eyes for dessert! You know how squeamish the unfeathered can be-we didn't want to alarm your friends...

And what's that animal you have with you? I admit, I didn't see him sleeping in your pack till now. It looks a dog-beast, but distinctly exotic...+ He signs, signalling curiosity.

Your small puppy has slept through most of the journey, but now it's awake and whining quietly from the top of your pack. You realize you never gave it a name, either...

[scriver]

After finally managing to get away from the "cute" little chicks. Tadhg finds himself joining up with the others and the merchants in time to hear the blind bird finish her story.

"I'm not opposed to danger, or to the promise of great treasure. I say we should take the risk."

[Dwarmin]

The party seems to be in agreement, but Ona insists that Aldeth, as the owner of the medallion, should make the final decision-the items determine the players of the game in this way.

...

The night wears on. The Kenku drink more and more of their Ghanama, which is not exactly alchoholic, but seems to make them more hyperactive and full of energy-even Kawtari is feeling a sweet buzz. The frivolity gets more...inventive. Pockets are picked at a distressing frequency, though the items are always replaced-sometimes in the pockets of your other teammates. Tadhg opens his gold pouch to find it full of dried corn. The ballads about Samara get much more corny-apparently, her 'ears are sharp as her tongue.'. Sarco finds his tail being plucked relentlessly by invisible foes-and when he turns to confront them, no one is there. Then someone plucks his tail from the side he turned away from. Aldeth, of course, is left alone. Like always.

You all eventually learn the the Kenku merchants and the majority of the people will be settling in Omlett for a few days before they make the longer journey South following Great Beak, stocking up non-perishable, light goods. They all inform you slyly that their offers will still be available...thus, when the Kenku 'Priests' (who don't seem to take the ceremony very seriously) bless the bundles of giant feathers (they are taller than Tadhg) by dancing around them and drinking Ghanama to give them to your party, you can't help but think they have a ulterior movie...

Wataklano gives the final invocation. No one is sure if his also a priest, or if he's had too much Ghanama.

"...Bless Great Beak, and his holy plumage, and all his other holy parts! May his powers generally cure the onery and boring people of Omlett from this most odious of Mad Wizard curses of which they are, alas, so afflicted upon! And, may our most resourceful friends-and Samara (insert kenku laughter here)-be properly awarded with a solely monetary reward of a large sum of gold for all their hard work, and remember all the things we've got for sale in their hour of greatest tempation!"

[GiglameshDespair]

Kawtari placed the pup on her lap and scratched under it's chin, feeding it scraps from her plate.
"+This little beast? I've decided on Aegis - when he grows, we shall hunt together, and he shall be a shield to me.
as for where we found him... we were ambushed by a small force of wood elves in the forest. We crushed them and set the survivors running... when we investigated the camp they'd left behind, we found him - a pup of one the strange dogs they'd set upon us.+"

[Dwarmin]

One by one, the party takes their leave for a night of rest. Kenku sleep standing up, though, so the only rooms are not exactly designed for comfort. Still, a roof over your heads is welcome...and with the goal of your journey in hand, you rest...less easily than you should.

The strange dreams you all felt the night before return, more vivid than before...

Tadhg
You're standing on a stone bridge, over a roaring sea. The waves of a fierce storm pound below you, cold, biting winds trying to drive you over the edge...it's strange, because looking back or looking forward (you seem to 'know' which way is forward and backward...don't ask)-the bridge doesn't end. It's just one long, endless expanse of dull grey stone. You seem to be yourself, though you're not wearing any clothes. All you're doing now is standing here and shivering.

Bah.

What now?
------
Sarco
You're back home, in the Fortress City of Dous.

The city is dying. The terror you felt before becomes real. These are your people, lying dead in the street-they look like something...sucked the water out of them...the sound of burning bricks are from your buildings. Your home! You draw your maul, shouting a war cry, looking for an enemy...but where are they? You can't see the attackers...everything is sinking into the swamp-you have always known Dous was raised an older City, which was raised on an even older City before that-Dous is finally joining the cycle...

Yet, you feel the enemy is so close...yet, do you seek this enemy? Or perhaps look for survivors?

What now?
------
Kawtari
You hold a brilliant spark of light in the palm of your hands. You feel it's important. Very important.

All else is darkness around you-endless darkness...worse than darkness. It's the nothingness for which there is no name. Soon, you know, the spark will go out. And then you will be gone.

You sense there is something important you must do. Something vital. But what was it?

What now?
------
Samara
You don't dream. Not really. Unlike those mortal fools, your Elvish nature allows you to construct a mental plane of a sorts whenever you trance-you control what happens here, consciously. It is, perhaps, a world where you are Goddess-you usually use it to run magical experiments in your own, safe reality-or to see how your perceptions of people will react to certain things before you do them, or just for your own amusements. The fact all Elves do this really goes about to explain about the arrogance of their race, as a whole...and yet, when you awake, it will still be as a dream. Nothing you do here really matters...

You're currently in your crystal palace, resting on your throne of a thousand different gemstones-an amusing diversion, but you could probably do something a bit less cliched.

What now?

((note, Aldeth has things to do while awake.))

[Flying Dice]

'Gods and spirits, how long has it been since I've redecorated?'

Break down and reconstruct my mindscape into something less gauche. Lots of dark wood, high ribbed ceilings with... sandstone, perhaps? Yes, orange-yellow sandstone blocks and tiles, that and polished mahogany. Long, columned, open bridges and walkways between sections, a lightly tinted green glass for the windows. Magical lights, of course, a natural sun-yellow.

[GiglameshDespair]

Kawtari closed her fist around the spark, knowing it wouldn't go out. It wasn't cold, though it almost seemed like it should be. Ah! She held the spark to a torch, hoping it would light, gain strength against the motionless, seething oblivion.

[My Name is Immaterial]

After thanking Ona for her help, Aldeth has just sat and started quietly at the necklace, even as everyone else went to sleep.
She thought of what it would mean to crack this open, how her simple life with her companions would be so changed by just one little destructive act, and whether it would be best to just throw it far away and forget it ever existed.
She pondered these questions, because it was an opportunity to cast off her fears, her hesitations, and so those fears and hesitations were fighting her with all their strength.
She tried to stay away, but as the night dragged on, her eyes began to grow heavy and she slipped into a fitful sleep where she sat.