Fall from Grace - Evil Campaign

[Boss Frost]

Even as the town criers celebrate the beginning of a new age in Lutan, you duck for cover in the alley as the new town guard stomps past. It has been less than a week since the God-King won the throne, and though most of the subjects cheer this paladin-king, you are less fortunate.

The town criers' words reopen your wounds. The God-King appeared as a peasant legend foretold, and overthrew the rightful government of Lutan even as he exiled its foreign invaders. Soon, he turned his accursed eyes to his native foes, and many of your friends are imprisoned, dead, exiled, or - like you - on the run from his newly reorganized guardsmen.

The guards pass without noticing you. You have escaped the paladin-king's wrath once more. You wait a moment, then open the hidden door in the abandoned building at the end of the alley. Though it is risky to have so many of the new king's enemies gathering in one place, few of you have the resources to leave the cities safely on your own. Inside sit an unkempt bunch of criminals, deposed royalty, and invaders... all trapped within Lutan's cities. Though only barely tolerant of each other's company, they remain quiet as you enter and take your spot on the crowded floor. The others - like you - are hot, sweaty, tired, and bristling with weapons.

After a few more enter the safehouse, a man in filthy silk finery stands up in the center of the room, rapping his walking staff on the support beam. Baron Richford was apparently one of the few foreign governers who escaped the God-King's slaughter.

"My friends," he says over the din. "My friends, we have been dealt a grave injustice. This... upstart... this so-called 'God-King'... this rabble, has uprooted us all. He has sealed the cities from our passing, and soon none of us will be left. It galls me, surely as it does all of you, to be undone by such a man. Without rank, station, or even a name, he has ruined us all... and so we have fled. We cannot flee any longer. We must strike back at him now - Abbot Brewl will explain."

Richford gestured to a small, elderly man whose eyes have been stitched shut. After several creaks of his bones, the cultist Brewl stands. "Those of you of humble stock may already know this story. Let the others hear. We've no time for any nonsense."

"Back when Lutan was a free kingdom, one of the lesser powers of light took a particular shine to the place. Hairn was the patron of Lutan, and his servants guarded it from such as we."

"In the long run, it didn't matter. Money and power prevailed, and all of Hairn's men were done in by our predecessors. Before the head of Hairn's church fell, he spoke of Hairn's champion. Eventually, he said, some man would strike a bargain with Hairn the same way some of us have struck bargains with other patrons. This man would take on a part of Hairn's power, and free Lutan first of outside forces, then it's own ills. Then this man would lead Lutan to a new glory, and the God-King's rule would last for centuries. My allies have confirmed this tale. This creature claiming to be God-King may well be the man himself. Grinny?"

From the filth in the corner turns a small, misshapen thing - as if some small beast of a man finally shrugged off his pretension and admitted he was a rat. He smiles a wide, toothy grin, "Hyeh. We've seen him, yes. Some guards are still loyal to us still. The God-King's temple is guarded by our friends, it is. I know where the God-King sleeps. His belly is open to us now. Strike it soon, and we will be free."

Richford touches Grinny the Rat on the shoulder, then looks at his hand and wipes it on his coat before speaking again. "We, as your leaders, have come to a decision. Thirty thousand gold pieces to the men responsible for killing, unseating, or otherwise neutralizing the God-King. Those of you who wish to take us up on this offer, speak to Grinny. His men will tell you what we ourselves know, and will aid you in entering the God-King's temple when you feel you are ready. We caution you to remember that though the God-King is just one man, his servants still wander the land where he is not, but if we allow him to remain, he will destroy us all."

With that, most of the room departs immediately. Unhappy as they were, most of your kindred spirits would rather take chances with the king's guard than the man himself. A handful of others, some capable, most foolhardy, speak briefly to Grinny before one of his thieves escort them down the alleys.

-------------------------------------------------

Odwari glanced down at the proceeding from a rafter, along with several others who preferred this height to the ground floor below. The dark red of his fur made him an easy sight, refusing to remain humanoid as soon as he no longer needed to. His multiple tails flicked and twitched as he thought about the proposition... even split among the successors - those that survived - it would be a lovely bit of money.

He rose the skull of his deceased sister, whispering to it. He rose the 'teeth' to his ear, listening for his sisters response. With a nose, his ears perked, gazing and waiting for others to attach himself to - a few can get a lot more done than a single person.

 

[Sir Basil]

Cassander sat at a roughly hewn table, idly scratching him initials into the wood with a fork he had gotten a hold of. He had propped his legs up on the table, looking incredibly disinterested in the scene around him, clearly in his own little world. He glanced over languidly when Baron Richford began to speak, and his mouth widened into a smirk, "Kill the God-King?" He said, before laughing uproariously, "A tattered noble -really, dearie, you ought to consider taking better care of your clothes- a tattered noble wants to kill the God-King?" He stood up, stretching to his full height, a rather unimpressive sum, and he ran a hand through his hair, laughing still. "Then again.... you said 'neutralize' not kill. 'Neutralize' is a much friendlier word. It implies less...pain." He shook his hair out, his grin dissipating into a more serious expression. He considered everything he knew about the God-King, and Gods and Kings in general. Cassander chewed on his lip, something he always did when he was thinking.

The knight eventually nodded his head, the combination of cloth and armor around his neck creaking as he did. He felt some confidence, welling up inside him, but that could just be some combination of ale and fear, "I accept. But I'm not going to do this alone. I'd rather slice off my own head than do this alone." He glanced around the room, looking at the remaining people, wondering who he could trust. Cassander knew that knowing who he could trust was something he was exceptionally bad at, though once in awhile, he managed to make a quasi-intelligent choice. He then thought it wise to note to the surrounding populace, "I'm not a 'chosen one', by the way. So, if this goes badly, it probably won't turn out 'happily ever after'."

 

[Neko Archy]

Thatari stayed in the farthest, darkest corner of the cramped room she could find, keeping her hood up to cover her face. Today, like many days, she decided to engage in the ever-entertaining exercise of figuring out what she had, what she wanted, and all the myriad ways to gain the latter with the former.

She was on about her fourth plan involving killing her entire cult when the room emptied. Clearly the criminal element here was less than confident in their skills when faced with a paladin demigod.

Ayarani opened up a telepathic conversation with Thatari once the room had started to empty out.
What would you have me do, mistress?
Go talk to the cultist, and express interest in the offer to kill the king. If anyone asks, I'm you're slave.

Of the two, Ayarani was by far the more sociable; instead being a cloaked figure brooding in the background, she wore fairly normal street clothes, her chainmail, and the form of a pretty elf woman. She had been on the opposite side of the room from her master on the upper deck, but the way down was pretty easy now that almost everyone had left.

She leaned up against the wall just next to the stairs.
"I'm interested, as well. Besides, how can I say no when such a lovely man is going to be involved?"
She nodded to Thatari, who quietly walked to stand next to the elven woman.

The two talked mentally again, the only sign being a brief glance Ayarani made towards the shoter, hooded woman now next to her.
Is all this deception really necesscery, Mistress?
Yes.

 

[Vay]

His sword across his lap the fallen noble remained as the weak and cowardly left when their opportunism was tested. He ran his hand over the intricately detailed handle, by far the most valuable item he had managed to escape with, but with luck and a little treachery he stood to gain much much more than he had ever dreamed of.

The half-elf hopped off of the crate he had called a seat, scabbard in hand the form-fitting enchanted armor creaking slightly as he straitened up and proceeded to the front of the room. "But what is a little pain for the man who would have us all dead or in irons? And how can a ruler truly be disposed of without a little blood? He ruined all of our lives after all. While humiliating him with his helplessness might be fun I for one have no patience to risk him rising again. He claimed to be favored by the gods and the peasants near worship him as one, what better way to prove them all wrong and show it is us and not the people or some paladin that holds the real power. Now I public execution, that would be worth sparing his for...."

He bowed to those so far assembled. "I will stand by any attempt to dethrone this god-king, though I would like the privilege of killing him myself."

And he who kills the king gets his crown.....

 

[xmelesiox]

Thirty thousand gold. The thought made Emrys nearly drool as he rubbed his hand together thinking of all the non-necessities he could purchase with thirty thousand gold. All that had to be done was the slitting of a throat of someone who proclaimed themselves a god-king. Pixies are generally non greedy folk. However Emrys isn't your normal pixie and greed was his biggest motivator. Besides the self righteous leader had put a bump in his road to fame. He had just thrown his lot in with a gang of thieve and was quickly proving himself superior. It had only been two weeks before there hide out had been raided by the guards and only a few of the poor rogues had survived the encounters.


He had spent the meeting invisible purely out of habit. As the room cleared out he watched to see who was going to take the job. Emrys was greedy but not fool hardy. He waited to pick out which lot he'd throw his hat in with. As the knight claimed he would not go alone Emrys fluttered forward, slipping out of invisibility, placing his hand on the knights right shoulder, "And you shall not go alone good sir. I'll accompany a strong lookin' feller like yourself." It was good to have friends bigger than yourself and this one looked like a great meat shield, "Your sword arm, my bow and that ones" He nodded towards the half-elf, "Stabby intuition this would be a lot easier than any of us attempted it alone."

 

[Sir Basil]

Cassander glanced to the sprite at his right, giving him a sharp look with his eyes, it could maybe be even considered a glare. He wasn't angry, per say, he just wanted to inspect this spritely creature. He blinked then, and glanced to the small band that had accumulated around the Baron. He shook the sprite off gently, and looked to half-elf next to him. "Hopefully we won't have to fight The God-king. As much as I'd like to lop the head off of the man, I'm under the impression that he could kill us in a heartbeat. And I, personally, cling to life like a castaway to his raft." He inspected the half-elf again; "Don't worry, dear sir, you'll have his head in time, and hopefully, I'll still have mine."
Cassander grinned, and sank back into one of the safe house's chairs. He rested his head on his hands, watching the small band with cautious blue eyes. They all might betray him. he realized, but if they were united against a common enemy, they could potentially complete this quest with minimal casualties. He stuck his snatched fork into the wood, and smirked towards the group, "I suggest we make a pact against The God-King. No killing of one another until we have his head. No betraying, no behind the back affairs. True friends stab you in the front, after all. Not that I'm suggesting that, of course," He looked sheepish, "Let's work together to get his head or abdicate. Then, we can squabble over who gets the place."
He ran his hand through his hair, "I certainly don't want it."
He was being honest. He DIDN'T want it. The only kingdom he wanted was his own. And this place, this damaged, torn up land was not the one he craved. His own land, with its lakes and snows.... It made him sad, really, and his grin changed into a tight line at the memory of his childhood, his homeland, and the land that should have rightfully been his.

 

[Boss Frost]

"I find this pact buisiness to my liking," the binder states from one of the rafters. Hopping down to show his full, monstrous form - the red fox with two pairs of glowing green eyes. "Interesting that you used that word - pact." He tapped the horns gracing his head, before turning to glance towards the others - particuarly the elf woman in the chainmail. He shrugged it off.

"I, as well, have no desire for the throne... I wish to test my own ability against the man who slew entire battalions by himself... I'll admit the gold is a nice bonus, too..." He spends a moment to glance towards the fox-skull now tied to his belt... A moment later, he seems to consider something. "My sister makes a good point - there are a few ways to do this..." He strokes his fuzzed chin. "We both agree that a full-on assult is just throwing our lives away, though..."

"...It might be easier to plan if we knew each other's capabilites, actually. That way, we can contribute what we're best at." With a smile and a twitch of each tail, he continues, "Odwari Fivetail. Pact-maker with beings untouched by profane or divine. Capable of altering my own abilities as needed..." With a glance at the pixie, who had recently exited invisibility, "My current abilities might be redundant with you around. Malpas has given mr the powers of invisibility, seeing through the eyes of birds, skill with poisons, and some assassination abilities. If you desire, I will alter this as needed."

Co-operative, submissive - a clear follower, easy to manipulate. Or at least, this was how he intended to come off as. Why not? He could always use a few more "friends".

 

[Vay]

The half-elf tilted his head listening to the proposals put forwards. "We fight an king in his own kingdom, division would mean death, incarceration or preferably exile, I'm in favor of an agreement." he smiled to the others, "A pact on the other hand is a different thing altogether, I'd like to know what this pact would entail. A binding contract sealed by the arcane?" He looked at Cassander as he spoke.

"I am not altogether unfamiliar with arcane magic but my talent are not what you would expect from a wizard." this he said to the group at large "If any of you need anything moved discreetly, need someone to have a run of bad luck or need someone watched I'm be all to happy to help so long as I have a reason to."

With a flutter of black wings a raven descended from the rafters and landed on his shoulder leaning close to his ear it's beak moving. "The back of the room, someone is reluctant to come forwards master." he whispered in the language of elves and turned it's beak towards Thatari. Zeradus didn't look but trusted Thatari was with them or would be dead withing the night. It was hardly a secret elements plotted against the king and he had not mentioned his name so if the was a spy he was safe for the moment. He reached up and stroked the bird lightly his soft fingers running down it's silky plumage. "I'd also like to know if there is a plan or if you know of a weakness we can exploit before any pact is made."

 

[Neko Archy]

Interesting...it's nice that they brought up the idea of a truce so quickly.
Does this mean that we'll trust the-
No. Now, do exactly as I say...

Ayarani tried her best to hide her displeasure at the knight ignoring her, but there was still a slight glare towards him. Maybe she just needed to try harder...

"Ranesiha Chantseeker, myself. I'm skilled in a little bit of everything. My slave over here can blow stuff up, and I've got a decent-sized gang working for me. As for plans, step one should be to disrupt his informational networks and create our own-assasinate any seers he has, find anyone who's revealing our plans, and fill his guards to the brim with moles. Once that is done we can take him on at our leisure, at the time and place of our choosing."

The elf woman sat down at a chair directly across a table from Cassander, smiling as she leaned forward over the table at him. "I've got a nice enough place we can stay at while we plot all this out..." suddenly she turned around, yelling out to anyone who could hear:
"Oi! What sort of divination protection does this place have!"

She turned back to Cassander, just as Thatari took her position just a little bit behind her.
"Sorry about that. But yeah, it's nice to meet you here..."
Idly, the elf started twirling some of her hair.

Thatari, on the other hand, tried to think of as many ways to kill everyone in the room as she could. It pays to be prepared, after all.

 

[Sir Basil]

Cassander ogled the elf woman in front of him, and then let out a slightly uninterested sigh. He could tell that she was interested in him. Interested in a romantic way. It wasn't that the knight was particularly perceptive, it was just that he had many a girl in his homeland, and was quite used to women, and occasionally, men, trying to seduce him. Cassander pondered for a moment. He might take this elf up on her proposition. It had been some time, after all, and if there was a time when they weren't likely in immediate danger, the possibility of a romantic union was positively appetizing. Cassander refused to be overly charmed though. It had gotten him into trouble before.

Looking back towards the half elf and the fox-like monstrosity. The half elf seemed earnest enough and bright as well. The knight felt like he could trust him enough to brave this venture with him. As for the fox-like creature, he was unsure how to feel. He was an interesting specimen, he knew people in his homeland who would love to dissect such a creature. He, of course, was not one of those people. Still, the creature made the fine black hair on the back of his neck stand up. He hid his fear from his face though.

"My friends," he said, gesturing to the half elf and the fox, "Come and sit with us. Let's get better acquainted, shall we?" He looked back at the elf and her peculiar slave, "Let's not do anything rash or stupid or both until I introduce myself properly. My name is Cassander Soren, the rightful heir of --- well, i suppose it doesn't really matter anymore. The rightful heir of a lost kingdom. Not this lost kingdom, a different one." Cassander grinned, and looked up at the half-elf from his seated position, "As for you, my magically inclined friend, I wasn't thinking a magical pact. I was thinking more along the lines of a blood oath." He leaned back in his seat, "Something along the lines of; 'We swear to not try to kill each other or deliberately sabotage one another until the God-King is dead or abdicates', blah blah blah."

He smirked, "As for the strategy, may I suggest that we attempt not to kill anybody right off the bat? Let's just try to get ourselves situated first." He flicked his hand in a surprisingly limp wristed gesture, "Besides, killing seers is a terrible idea. They'll see you coming." He yawned, "Besides, if I was the God-King, Levistus forbid, I'd keep my seers close. So where there are seers, there's also God-King. And confronting him head on is an even worse idea than killing the seers."

 

[xmelesiox]

He listened to the others talk back and forth a little put off with the look the knight had given him. It had seemed like a cross between agitation and curiosity. Agitated glares he was very used too. Without really meaning too his semi-paranoid nature took over as he mentally activated detect thoughts to pick up on any surface thoughts that might raise a flag to someone's purposeful betrayal plans. As he did this he inspected the fox like creature, truth be told, he had never seen anything like it. He'd seen a lot of fairy and forest folk in his days but nothing quite like that. From its statement it sounded like some form of shape changer, "I don't know." He stated to Odwari, "Two beings with the ability to incapacitate targets without revealing themselves is quite useful.

Fluttering forward he landed standing up on one of the chairs in the room, "My name is Emrys Rhisiart." He stated with a slight bow, "Like our other friend here," tilts his head towards the half-elf, "I have some natural talents with the arcane. Though I am handy with a bow I would say some of my greatest talents are the ability to remain unseen and talk my way through most situations. Plus I haven't encountered a lock I couldn't pick." He said the last part with a please grin, "I agree with the elven beauty here that we would need to gather more information. If he does have seers that could assist him in preventing any our plans they would be a top priority. But we also need to know who he keeps close to him and who he trusts. One of these people we might be able to persuade to assist us in our cause."

Like a source of energy purely contained he suddenly fluttered back up into the air, "However, I am not too sure about your blood oath or pact suggestion. It's all a swell and good idea, but really, what might mean something to you has no meaning with someone else. We'll either just have to take a leap of faith that, until this is done, no one in our little troupe feels the need to start back stabbing allies in a common cause."

 

[Vay]

"For now we have a vested interest in keeping eachother alive. Fewer co-conspirators means fewer targets for the King's forces, I would submit to a blood bond but I don't see its necisary since those who would kill their partners would not let breaking their word stop them so whichever gets us to doing something against the man who has taken everything from us and now wants out lives and freedom please go right ahead I'll be standing right here."

He held out his finger and the raven hopped onto it and he continued to stroke it's plumage. "And I agree with Cassander, he should not kill until all the pieces are in place, much like in chess, the winner is the second last person who makes a mistake, lets try to minimize ours." He sighed knowing he could not delay his introduction. "I am Zeradus Galuiman, a self-taught wielder of the arcane. I have no claim to fame other than what I bought and was not happy to see my investments taken away from me and will not rest until I have made back those investments a hunderfold at the cost of the man who was the architect of my fall." he smiled at the pixie who had just introduced himself, never having seen one up close he was surprised at how graceful they looked. "Though I admit I'm better with a sword than I am with a spell I'm sure anyone who faces us will find thier luck running out fast."

 

[Sir Basil]

Cassander yawned again, resting his feet onto the top of the table. He was quite bored with the squabbling of these blokes, and ladies, yet he felt the need to organize them. He startled himself with that thought. Being in a leadership position was the very thing that had gotten him into this mess in the first place, and this time, his older brothers wouldn't push him out of the way when they realized what harm he was doing. A slight smile played on his thin lips for a moment. Maybe this would work in his favour. Maybe this would prove to be the opportunity he needed to go home. Not only to go home, but to go home as a King. Wouldn't that be a sight for his brothers to see!

He glanced around the room, grey-blue eyes flashing back to the half elf, Zeradus. "Somebody agrees with me?" He began to grin outright now, his smile tinged with the slightest hint of his lunacy, "Now there's a surprise. Alrighty then, none of this doom and gloom blood pact business. Just an agreement not to do horrid things to one another." He winked, perhaps vulgarly, to the elven maiden, "Well, not unless I want you to in your case, love."

He looked up at the pixie curiously. His previously harsh look had been one of curiosity, a curiosity that he still possessed. He inspected the little fey carefully, trying not to seem too off-putting to the tiny creature. "We don't have you in my country," he murmured, more to himself than anybody else. It was true. His country had been too cold for any fair folk to survive. It was populated entirely by barbarians and doddering nobles. It made him feel like there was a great deficit in his country for some reason. He shook his head, wondering why he was thinking such silliness.

He leaned back in his chair, his expression calm, laid-back even. He folded his hands, tapping the tips of his fingers together, "Now I know that I'm the chatty type, but really. We need to figure out what we're gonna do about this weirdness." He cocked his head to side, "I'm thinking that this God-King is the holy-paladin smite anything other than goody-little two shoes." He chewed his lip, "And I don't know about the rest of you, but goody-little two shoes I'm not." He slumped in his chair, pondering, "My plan goes something like this; we learn everything to know about the God-King. We need to know his favourite colour, poem, what jammies he sleeps in, everything." He glanced across the table, "How do we get this information? We ask." Cassander privately acknowledged that if they were nice and casual, this would work out beautifully. Or they'd suffer horrible, smiting death. Oh well. There were risks in every job.

 

[Neko Archy]

Mistress?
Agree to it, of course! It's not a bad deal.
"I'll agree to that. And of course, my men will similarly avoid killing you lot." She did smile slightly as she was singled out from the rest of the group, though. Success!

Cassander went on talking for a while, and while Ayarani paid rapt attention (though perhaps a bit too rapt...) Thatari let her mind wander. What would she do with a city...probably, not that much. It wasn't a huge upgrade from her current church of followers, and this city in particular was quite...bad. If she wanted to improve it, she'd have to crack down on all the gangs and sleazy merchants and such-and that would put in the same position that this God-king is finding himself in. Hm...

Ayarani was the first to speak after Cassander finished. "While that is a good guess, you shouldn't assume anything. Still, talking to the guy is a fine idea. I can probably do it, or get someone from my gang to if we want to foil divination attempts..." She trailed off slightly as a vague tingle formed in the back of her mind. It felt like-

Mistress, did you feel-
Yes. Tell the others.

In a blinding flash of speed Ayarani drew her sword and struck it into the table, point down.
"Also, there's a spellcaster targeting us as we speak."

 

[xmelesiox]

He was only halfway listening to the others as they talked. It wasn't that he didn't care about what they had to say. Just at that moment he was more concerned with who else was listening to what they had to say. At Ranesiha outburst he shook his head lightly. Those actions would require a slight adjustment to his plan. With a moment of thought he considered which of the group would be the fastest. Probably the fox critter. As he faded back into invisibility he decided to activate detect good. There wasn't any surprise when he didn't get a hit. It had been a long shot in the first place and more of a extra precaution. He made his way to the left side of the fox, silently hoping to not get swatted at, whispering into its ear, "If someone tries to leave grab them."




At that he flew in front of the slave that remained against the wall and became visible again, "Your master is somewhat of a fool." At that he flew backwards and turned around to face the rest of the group, "You speak of seers spying upon us magically. But I think of a greater risk which is a well placed pair of ears. Criminal organizations where not penetrated and brought down solely off the sight of seers. It was spies who would do anything for a bit of coin." He started shaking his head again, "Since the elf will righteously destroy the nearest piece of furniture at the slightest hint of magic - I feel oh so protected from seers. It's the seven pairs of ears that are listening to our conversation that concerns me. So - if you do have a more private place for our newly formed group I think it's time that we move on." With a little luck if one of the eaves droppers was listening in to sell the information to the guards being called out would make him nervous and hopefully a little flighty.