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Post by Andre on Apr 21, 2011 12:20:16 GMT -5
Aintak gives Zane a long, speculative look, arms - wings ? - folded in front of him... " First why don't you tell me why you're so interested in these dragons? "
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Post by blahness98 on Apr 22, 2011 10:17:05 GMT -5
"Really, it is just to satisfy my curiosity about the dragons,"Zane smiled as he lied to the birdman's face. When he could tell the lie didn't work, he shrugged his shoulders. "I have been told that where there are dragons, that is where my father would be. He tracks down rumors like this, I don't know why, but I think this is the kind of rumor he would be very interested in. And I really don't know why he like dragons as well. It is just something he does."
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Post by Andre on Apr 22, 2011 12:21:47 GMT -5
The bird-man leans against a nearby rocky outcropping, silent for a long time as he looks off into the distance.... " I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell my wife - or my son for that matter - about this... they know of the dragons the way most people do ... as fairy tales, myths, nothing more... but both you and I know better.... I get the feeling you're not telling me the entire story... fine, you're protecting yourself, I understand that... but having an "interest" in dragons is EXTREMELY unhealthy...
" The old children's tales talk about the old gods... and Takhisis, Queen of Darkness, mistress of the Gods of Darkness... there are some races out there that still believe in her, still worship her..." Shame creeps into the bird-man's voice as he continues to gaze into the distance unable to meet Zane's eyes.. it's obvious the bird-man is referring to his own people.. and the fact that they do is something that the bird-man obviously isn't proud of.. perhaps Aintak isn't a "true believer" in Takhisis himself?
" The dragons were supposed to be her most prized ... ' ambassadors ' I guess you could call them... ' instruments ' might be a better word.. the red dragons are supposed to be among the most vicious and powerful of them all...
" I don't know much... but seeing one - and I've only seen one once - flying .. all sixty feet of it .. well just once is enough... there's a FEAR that strikes deep into the very marrow of your bones, something uncontrollable ... I turned and ran - but really that would have been the only sane thing to do , right ?
" If I were you I would drop this all too unhealthy interest in dragons and just leave the whole thing alone... My son likes you, my wife.... well I promise I won't let her murder you in your sleep " A note of humor enters Aintak's voice... " I think it would be a good thing for my child to get to know outsiders... humans like yourself for example... want to stay the night? "
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Post by blahness98 on Apr 22, 2011 23:33:20 GMT -5
Zane just nodded as the birdman was speaking about the dragon. Parts of the information he knew already, but the sense of fear given off by one of them he has never felt. That wasn't strange given his past but.. "I will promise I won't tell any of what you said to your family, but do you remember what direction it was flying? Maybe I could get a closer look. Tomorrow.." Zane pauses and looking concerned, "I don't know if I should be more scared of a dragon or your wife. If I do stay, I will be sleeping out here. I do feel more comfortable outside."
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Post by darkalloy on Apr 23, 2011 0:31:02 GMT -5
Rin come bursting out of the cottage holding a small bottle and giggling. Turning his head back to see if his mother is chasing him, and sure enough she is.
"Rin bring that bottle back this instant!!!"
Velasun runs out of the house chasing after Rin swinging a ladle as if it were a weapon in front of herself.
"I swear if you don't give that bottle back I'm putting you in the cook pot!!"
Rin stops and giggles before he uncorks the bottle and starts to drink the contents. His mother screaming at him.
"NO RIN THAT IS NOT FOR CHICKS IT'S ONLY FOR ADULTS!!! PUT IT DOWN!!!! "
Rin has already managed to drank half of the bottle by the time Velasun was able to get it from him. Storming over to her husband she smacks him on the back of the head. Presumably because it's all his fault.
"YOUR son just drank half of our special reserve! You know how much that was don't you? I swear his bad habits are from YOUR side of the family! You can deal with YOUR drunk little demon! If I have to anymore today I'm going to molt early."
Velasun storms off with out so much as even giving Zane any kind of look as Rin runs up to his father. Rin starts to climb up his father falling off once or twice before he manages to sit on top if his head.
'"Drunk little demon!"'
Rin repeats his mother and giggles almost falling of his father head.
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Post by blahness98 on Apr 23, 2011 11:13:36 GMT -5
Zane just watched the exchange in amusement. The little guy seems to have a way with people, either to annoy them horribly or to make them laugh. "I have a feeling that he will have a pretty good hangover tomorrow. I don't think that alcohol and children mix too well.."
With that the toddler fell off of his father's head and landed on the ground with a soft thud. Aintak just looked at his son, who by now was stumbling, falling and giggling in the same sort of way a drunkard would. "This might help build his tolerance at least."
Fumbling in his pocket for a second, Zane removes several gold pieces and hands them to Aintak. "Here," says Zane, "this is for the information you gave me as well as allowing me to stay out here for the night. Maybe it will be enough to purchase a new bottle your special reserve."
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Post by Andre on Apr 23, 2011 12:03:55 GMT -5
(In Krynn they use steel pieces instead of gold pieces but yep I get your meaning - check one of the many many e-mails I sent you before mentioning it I can't remember which one ) Aintak rubs the back of his head wincing " I"m sure she left a bruise - you're right to fear her as much as the dragon - actually I'd say you should fear her MORE " ... He waves the steel pieces aside " No need but the thought is appreciated " Picking his son up again he dusted him off... it was difficult to read the bird-man's... beak.... but Zane was certain he was smiling down at his little boy - there was certainly adoration in Aintak's beady black eyes if Zane was reading the expression right... " You're going to grow up to be quite the troublemaker aren't you little one ? " Aintak's facial features seem to scrunch together - a frown possibly ? - before he points a claw in a direction... " I think it was flying.. THAT way "... he looks up as the two moons, white and scarlet, begin to appear in the sky even as the sun makes it's final descent towards the horizon " But I DEFINITELY wouldn't recommend hunting for the thing at night ... feel free to sleep outside if you like but by all means stay close to us " The bird-man seems to frown at Zane " Don't your kind feel more comfortable sleeping in beds? "
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Post by blahness98 on Apr 24, 2011 1:17:26 GMT -5
"I have been out in the wilds for a while now and am used to sleeping outdoors." With a smile, Zane adds, "That some of the beds I have slept on in the past seemed to just snap in half when I sit down on them. And I have a feeling your wife would really end up killing me if I broke one of your beds. If you insist, I could take the risk."
Pulling out a few more herbs from his pouch, he hands them to Aintak. "These might help Rin with the effects of the alcohol. My grandmother gave this blend of herbs to my grandfather when he had far too much to drink. They seemed to sober him up a little, and he never woke up with a hangover." Zane pauses for a moment before adding, "I doubt there is anything that could cause harm to a bird, but I will let you decide if you want to give him as I don't want him to get sick and have you both try to kill me."
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Post by darkalloy on Apr 24, 2011 1:28:31 GMT -5
"Trouble, Trouble!"
Rin seems as hyper as ever despite having drank as much as he did. When his father picks him he scrambles around to his fathers back and hangs upside down crossing his legs over his fathers neck. Hanging there giggling he swings left and right like a child on a rope swing.
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Post by Andre on Apr 24, 2011 15:07:27 GMT -5
" If anyone ever got drunk at the age of two it would be my boy " sighs Aintak... he regards Zane for a long moment then pours the herbs down Rin's beak " Open up son ." " If he IS trying to poison our child I WILL kill him " comes Vesalun's ominous voice from inside the cottage... Aintak rolls his eyes towards the sky and suggests " I doubt you'd break our beds , we're lightweight to begin with but I don't think you're THAT heavy .. still, I think it would be safer for you to sleep outside anyways" (assuming baby Rin lets his father give him the herbs ) Aintak brings a pillow and blanket - both stuffed with feathers of course though it's not clear if the feathers are cast-off's from his hosts or if they belonged to some other bird - to Zane as night falls... Inside the cottage he can hear the sounds of Aintak playing with his child and both parents pleading for baby Rin to fall asleep , which he finally does after MUCH coaxing... (DM's note - baby Rin of course might very well wake up in the middle of the night - or not, I'll let dark alloy decide ) Aintak brings a bottle of brandy out and offers Zane a cup... sipping from a cup himself he stares out into the mountains. " You may run into more of our kind here so I feel obligated to give you a heads up..... the kenku are an ... interesting.. race. Not sure how well you know your history? About three and a half centuries ago there was a power-crazed madman, called himself the kingpriest.. they started out with good enough intentions, governing the land in the name of the gods of Light... but ultimately they became more interested in power for power's sake than staying true to said ideals... there was the edict of thought-control... basically renegade mages reading your mind and arresting you for "evil" thoughts... and his other edict where he decided certain races were inherently "evil" and needed to be destroyed outright.. now I'll admit that the majority of ogres will probably try to eat you... but what if there's one single ogre among the masses who's a "softie"? Is it worth destroying an entire race if that one single person worthy of redemption dies along with them? " There's unconscious passion in Aintak's voice.. this topic is of personal importance to him... " In any case pre-Cataclysm... that would be over 351 years ago ... the kenku fell victim to a wasting disease... our talents tend to lie in the.. less than legal areas... most kenku tend to make their profit at burglary .. assassination.. and still worse things" Again that note of shame in Aintak's voice... " So it wasn't surprising the kingpriest called for the wholesale slaughter of our race rather than letting the disease run unchecked... legend says the kenku turned to Tiamat.. Dark Queen, mistress of the Gods of Darkness.. and begged her favor... she responded.. overnight the kenku were cured of their ailments, each and every one of them.. and the kingpriest's soldiers fell victim to the same malady... " The kenku tend to not to be very long lived however.. it didn't take long before Tiamat was regarded as nothing more than a fairy tale over the centuries... some believe these legends are true.. and some do not" ... Aintak shrugs (DM note - Zane already knew about the kingpriest and his excesses - Zane's father often spoke of the kingpriest with a fair amount of disgust - but how the kenku tied into the whole thing is new to Zane). " In any case one thing still remains the case.. the kenku are.. less than honorable.. I'm considerably more... social... than others of my race.. if you run into a group of us beware my friend.... " Aintak rises to his feet squeezing Zane's shoulder, preparing to head into his cottage for the night (does Zane have anything to say to Aintak by way of reply ?)
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Post by darkalloy on Apr 24, 2011 16:20:14 GMT -5
((Oh Rin will be awake presently.))
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Post by blahness98 on Apr 25, 2011 0:41:57 GMT -5
"Thank you for the pillows and blanket. And thank you for the warning. Hopefully I will be able to avoid any complications. And thank you for the history. There were several things that I did not know."
Zane then picks a nice area close to the house but far enough away to allow the bird people their privacy. "Have a good night. And let your wife know, I will be gone in the morning."
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Post by Andre on Apr 25, 2011 10:06:48 GMT -5
" Well come back and visit us afterwards - assuming you survive this dragon hunt of yours ! I'm telling you it's certain death ... but if your mind is set and I can't sway you from your course may whatever true gods are out there guide and protect you - though if you're smart you'll listen to my warning." Shaking his head in dismay Aintak retires inside his cottage... a bit later Zane hears all sorts of shrieking and cawing... for a moment there's a bit of confusion - are Aintak and his wife under attack? Upon further reflection it occurs to Zane that the sounds are remarkably similar to the.. mating...calls.. of birds... one might very well be tempted NOT to go investigate what's going on inside Aintak's house right now. Having spent many a night outdoors Zane is used to waking up at the slightest sound... upon hearing a twig snap Zane quietly shifted his head to see Aintak wincing at the sound he'd made before the bird-man turned his feathered head back towards the cottage... seeing that his wife and son were apparently still asleep (Vesalun, his wife, WILL continue to be asleep for most of this thread by the way - unless something odd happens like Zane trying to wake her up and make poor Aintak suffer her wrath or what not ) ... Aintak continued to creep away slowly from the cottage trying to move as quietly as possible... Zane wasn't sure if bird-men were normally early risers.. it had to be 2 or 3 in the early " morning", the white and scarlet moons still high in the sky and the sun yet to show it's face.... but the way Aintak was trying his best to sneak away certainly seemed to indicate that SOMETHING strange was going on ... Aintak was close to vanishing from sight.. what to do ? Follow him quietly? Hail him openly? Aintak had talked about the other members of his race being less than wholesome and seemed ashamed of it - was he off to conduct some sort of nefarious business he disliked but nonetheless felt obligated to? Or was there something else going on entirely?
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Post by blahness98 on Apr 25, 2011 23:58:52 GMT -5
Zane cautiously and quietly gets up and begins to follow the birdman, curious to know what he is doing. Why is he sneaking away from his family at this hour of the morning.
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Post by Andre on Apr 26, 2011 11:43:32 GMT -5
Aintak is so distracted he doesn't even try to look behind him for followers... the bird-man continues up the rocky outcroppings until a voice calls out " That's far enough " ... it has the same bird-like inflection as Aintak's voice but hoarse, more gutteral... oddly enough it's speaking in Common. Aintak's voice grows suspicious " Why the need for the outsider tongue Ack-Chak?" Aintak asks.. albeit also in Common. " Oh you'll find out soon enough" the other voice cackles... a taller, more muscular bird-man appears from behind a rock regarding Aintak... " You sawwww him... ohhh yes you did, ADMIT IT ! " Ack-Chak's voice rises in glee... with more than a hint of madness tainting it. " Saw what ? " Aintak asks cautiously. " The DRAGON! Tiamat has returned to us ! The all mighty, the Dragon Queen - she sends her messengers to us again after all these centuries past ! She has blessed us both Aintak, She has She has ! Together you and I will spread Her dark glory across Krynn ! She will conquer this world and we shall prostrate ourselves at Her feet ! " " All right look the only person I prostrate myself at right now is my wife's feet and that's only when I'm going " down under " - an activity you're obviously not getting enough of if this is what you need to do to occupy your time Ack-Chak... we've been hearing the same thing from you for years now " All praise the Dark Queen" , " All Hail Takhisis " ... I'll tell you what everyone else is afraid to say to your face Ack-Chak - we don't BELIEVE in her ! Even if I did see a dragon that doesn't mean ancient gods out of the fairy tales are suddenly going to return to the world... and even if they did I'm sure as hell not serving Takhisis ! Branchala maybe " muses Aintak (Zane knows who Branchala is - one of the gods of Light, god of music, merriment, mischief , chaos .. He is especially favored by the kender and loves the kender in return) " BLASPHEMY " shouts Ack-Chak his beady black eyes seeming to grow larger. " Yep that's me, I always try to fit in at least two to three blasphemous acts in every day.. well night " Aintak corrects himself looking up at the scarlet and white moons... " And if you're done wasting my time with these ridiculous ravings... " " I'm not the one done.. " hisses Ack-Chak... " You are.. oh yes you are ! " (sorry for being so heavy handed with the plot here at this point Zane.. we've already established as part of ongoing existing history in the campaign what happens next so Zane basically wouldn't have an opportunity to prevent it from happening ... normally I don't dictate a PC's reactions like this but in this case I'm forced to make an exception, forgive me ! ) Zane had been creeping up slowly on this Ack-Chak fellow... didn't take a genius to figure out he was up to no good... when the earth started to tremble and shake around him... a rockslide ! But if this was a rockslide why was that rock suddenly flying BACKWARDS, uphill instead of downhill - right towards him ! Zane tried to dodge to one side.. the gigantic stone clipped him on the temple rather than crushing his skull as a result.. the pain was enormous, the world started to turn gray... he could hear Aintak's anguished sudden cry amidst the roaring thunder that seemed to fill the mountain... then silence... fighting to stay conscious Zane saw Ack-Chak standing over him, gloating... " And shall I kill the spy ? I know you heard us, that's why I spoke in your tongue oh yes I did... " The bird-man seemed to consider it.. then started to cackle insanely... " No, I shall not kill you... you shall be our herald oh yes you will ! You will tell everyone ... tell them all that Takhisis is returning ! " Ack-Chak's mad laughter filled the air... there was a sigh as another person.. a woman .. slowly faded into view... Zane's rapidly fading conscious registered surprise .. DROW ? The last Drow had been seen above ground... gods over a thousand years ago according to Zane's father? " Be a good little bird and stop spoiling our surprise" the drow said in a bored tone.. " Besides it's not like anyone's going to believe him anyways" (DM note - sure enough , no one believes Zane later on when he tries to warn them of dark elves or dragons - basically from their point of view Zane is asking them to believe in fairy tales come true.. obviously when the dragonarmies invade the people Zane tried to warn realize he was right all along but until then... ) " I am yours Isorn .. as long as you serve the will of our Dark Queen" ... Ack-Chak bows his head towards the bored looking woman. Isorn.. wonder if she had... anything to do with.. that drow bitch Sha'sensa.... his father had... told him about... Zane lost his battle to stay conscious... when he woke up the bleeding from his temple had clotted seemingly by itself.. and both Ack-Chak and Isorn were long gone, the morning sun peeking over the mountain ridge... judging from all the rocks rearranged below him Zane was pretty sure he knew exactly what had happened to Aintak.
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