Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Lucus Casius]

: "Ah, yes, I was hoping you'd decide to mention something once we drew nearer."

: "So?  What have you brought us to find?  A sword crafted by the gods?  An ancient tome, filled with forbidden lore powerful enough to save the Empire?"

: "I may have some complaints to make, if so."

: "Oh, I know!  It's a perfectly ordinary family heirloom of some sort, and this entire expedition has been entirely-"

William paused, as the others began to speak over him.  One of his eyebrows began to rise.

: "Ah, now, that is interesting.  The Mask of Kings, you say?"

: "Most interesting."

: "You know the history of the mask, I assume?  Would you care to speak on it?"

[Sirus]

: "I believe I can. I suppose you are familiar with pre-Empire history? The war between humans and the Dwarves and the circumstances in which that war ended?"

[Lucus Casius]

: "Naturally."

[Gaterhyme]

"Wait, so what?"

"We're going to go get this mask, and then you're going to go fight some guys. Or are you saying we're not done once we bring it back?"

[Sirus]

: "Well, one of my ancestors was involved in the capture of the first Mountainhome to fall. He found the mask in the King's vault and took it as a spoil of victory. As the peace agreements stipulated only the return of the Mountainhome itself and not any property taken from it, he kept it.

Unfortunately, an artifact of such value breeds conflict. Everyone in the Cipio line wanted it for themselves, and for most of the next century you would have thought that we were a Toulousian house for all of the plotting, backstabbing, and murder that took place. Entire branch families were destroyed. Eventually, the head of the house decreed that it would be placed out of reach of all but the main Cipio line, and even for them it should be kept well out of the way.

It was transferred to our vault at the Dwarven Bank here in Diodormant, and every key save for the master copy was destroyed. In addition, the Dwarves who run the bank were paid quite handsomely to bar access to anyone who did not possess the Cipio bloodline. Not even the Empress herself or the Dwarven High King can enter without a Cipio escorting them."

: "Your only job is to get the Mask of Kings back to the General. We'll handle the reconquest of Castle Eastland. The General was quite clear on that."

[Lucus Casius]

: "Hm."

: "You'll excuse me for being cynical, but you said every key except the master key was destroyed?"

: "What is to happen if we get there and find nothing?"

: "And what of the bank's copy?  Surely they have their own way of opening their own vaults."

: "Stereotypes of the gruff, honest, bearded fellow aside, surely some amongst the dwarves might be interested in reclaiming their property."

[Chevaleresse]

"I also wonder why it is that you need, in essence, suicide troops for this task." The very idea of suicide troops disgusted her, though she tried not to let it show on her face. She also left a followup question unasked - and how were they to know that they would be spared the headsman at that? Perhaps she was being paranoid, but there was nothing in the last year that had happened to make her into a more trusting person.

"Surely you have trusted soldiers that could have accompanied you, instead of collecting individuals that you believe to be the scum of the empire."

[Sirus]

: "That is a fair question. As I mentioned, we paid the bankers quite well for their services and on the whole, Dwarves are quite good at keeping their business deals straight. This is especially true when bloodlines are involved; whoever currently runs the bank will be a direct descendant of the manager who made the original deal with my ancestor, and according to tradition he will treat me accordingly. We were told that only one copy of the key remains in existence, and we believed it. That said, you are correct in that some dwarves are far from happy with humanity and would seek to reclaim what was once theirs. I'm afraid that we will simply have to hope for the best."

: "Like I said, Gawen, the General is currently trying to build up his forces enough to simply have a chance at taking Castle Eastland back. Trust me, I wish he had assigned a squad of trained, loyal soldiers to this task myself. Unfortunately he needs every man he can get for the battles he faces."

[Taricus]

: "...Quite frankly, you aren't taking that castle back barring an absurd amount of luck. We trounced over what armies you had on the defensive soundly, and your defences had little effect on us. Now apply that level of skill and ferocity to the defenders, and throw in unshakable morale barring the death of the leader.

: "It'd be simpler and less costly to just bring the fortification down on them and build a new castle."

[Lucus Casius]

: "Well, you never know.  This general's certainly been doing stuff longer than we have.  Or at least, at a higher level than we have."

: He's also clearly plotting something more than what we've been told, but...

: No matter.  I'll learn whatever they intend soon enough for this 'Mask of Kings.'

[Taricus]

: "Not that hard, simply put I'd say he's ensuring we are trained up and then using us as a headhunter unit. Would be fitting too; we cut off the head, and die to a horde of angry wastelanders before they turn upon themselves in trying to determine a new leader. Then the general comes in and just mops up what's left."

[Chevaleresse]

"There are worse ends. Though I'd prefer mine not come before I can return to my home, at least."

[Lucus Casius]

Gawen - Concoction
Miranda - Lockpick
Hell with it, Zelda can be mildly useful and keep the Torch

=V


: "Well, I'm flattered that he thought a humble research professor was capable of joining a band of headhunters."

: "Personally, I would have gone for something more thick, militant, and brutish.  Like..."

: "Porkins, over there.  Or..."

: "Hm.  Actually,  you may be right.  All said, this is probably a good group for something like that."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"It is true the vastelanders fought hard to take that castle. It vill be interesting, this battle to take it back."

[Sirus]

: "Actually Sir William, you just put your finger on one of the reasons for your offered pardon. While it's true that my dearest does need the troops he already has under his command, the fact that so many of you have...unusual skills and mindsets may make the difference between success or failure in our mission. Ordinary soldiers may have listened to the good Captain's initial orders and left Briarpatch on its own. On the one hand this would leave their equipment in better shape. On the other hand, that would have meant that they wouldn't have the extra gear we do now...and they would have a bandit group active somewhere to their rear. Who knows what sort of difference that might make in the long run?"