The Lost Tale Of Eymreil

[Kor]

"Do you think he is under some outside control and not just someone who wants more power, has grown more power hungry, a despot, grew corrupt over time or something similar?" Chaka asked, not sure if any of that was true or if Apep was just evil and grew corrupt over time.  

----

Walker relaxed, looking around, not sure if they could trust these people or not.  So though relaxed he remained as ready as he could.

[StarfallRaptor]

The robed man nodded.
"It is the only explanation for how drastically he changed.  And as to your involvement, it is a simple fact that you have seen far more of the areas around here than my forces have, not to mention that you are a force that can rally the people."
He said wearily...

[Nick22]

Rally the People? with all due respect, sir i think you have us confused with some other group." Dru essa replied " lets see, there's 13 of us. one of us is an escapee from the kings prison, i'm a bartender, nicula's a refugee from Brugash, dar maa and her mother are merchants, qamaret and kyo are ministrels, jae's trying to form a harem, walker and chaka are travelers, eric is an adventurer, felis forced to travel with jae, and ashnii is a mystic. among all those descriptions, i dont see anything like ' mercenary, defender of liberty, or hero of the empire.' you cant realistically expect us to go up against Apep and his armies in our current condition and level of strength, do you?'
- calm down dru essa' nicula replied, and dru essa took a seat in a chair sending up a cloud of dust. ' yes, none of us here are professionals by any stretch of the imagination. but we've endured this long, haven't we? we've managed to avoid capture despite having enough gold on our heads to make the effort worth anyones time. none of us asked for this, but it has been thrust upon us all the same, and we must deal with it.  hiowever,' nicula now turned to the hooded old man. 'she does have a point. we will need a safe haven, training, gold,  weapons, and allies. suppose you help us, and the tol does too. lets say you have 15-20 supporters and the tol has another 15. between us all thats around 43-48 against a powerful, deranged, bloodthristy heathen, who has armies at his command. if we want this to become a more even fight, we will need something to make us a credible threat to Apep. some magical power that can sway his armies and bring the people to our side. you know of anything with that kind of power? Nicula asked.

[Chiletrek]

"Training and equipment would be very good, maybe our host here can hope our group can manage to get extra allies... like he is doing, so basically to pool all efforts." - Qa'Meret commented. - "however, it would be impossible to make a direct confrontation against Apep, so I think we need a more subtle approach, because there is no way we will manage to get close to someone like him in the open."

In the mean time, Kyo was listening to the conversation, he then sighed as there was nothing for him to do there and he was starting to get bored. He then looked at his dragon. - "Maybe I can try something..." - he said and made his dragon to breathe a little fire: the dragon complied and then the Rabbit managed to catch the fire using some of his magic energy, his eyes glowing a little but covered by the hood. He then mimicked what he did last time with Qa'Meret and started manipulating the fire and started making some shapes with it. the dragon waved it's tail as it tried to bite on the shapes.

[Kor]

"Rally the people?  I do not see how we can since we are not national heroes nor popular types well known to the populace." Chaka said.

"Perhaps we can start becoming popular by robbing from the evil rich and giving some or most to the poor, since as a group we do have some expenses that have to be made." Walker said.  "Over time that may increase our being liked among the poor, but poor people are seldom trained and are rather poor fighters in most cases."

[StarfallRaptor]

The man chuckled.  
"Ah, well.  For one, you drastically underestimate my family's forces.  We have close on a thousand strong under our command, however, you are correct that we will need to find a way to break his thrall over his soldiers.  There are rumors circulating about such an artifact that may exist.  As to how you can help us rally the people, it's simple.  Among other things, you are living proof that Apep's power is not absolute.  He has sent out hunters after you, and yet you have escaped time and time again.  You are, in a sense, a living sign that he is fallible, and that we can win."
He said calmly...

[Nick22]

ah, so you have a decent sized force then. i thoughtyou were just a small group..' Dru Essa replied . " my mistake."
-
we will need more than a few fish slipping his net, we will need to be a realistic threat, where theres an actual choice involved Dar Maa said. ' right now, only those who are either very brave or foolish would ally thelmselves withj us openly.. we need to change that..

[Chiletrek]

"So there is the possibility for a fighting scenario on this conflict. But we will need to keep that plan in reserve only, to prevent unnecessary bloodshed on your family and allies". - Qa'Meret told the old man.

"I would like to know how are that man's dreams and also his mind." - Kyo commented, mostly to himself. - "that way we can go in there and see what's wrong and fix it." - he then kept playing with his dragon while trying to mantain the shapes he is making with the fire.

[StarfallRaptor]

The man in the mask nodded.
"Indeed.  That would be a rational start to begin with, just to see if we can discover what induced this drastic change."
He said softly.

[Kor]

"It could be some artifact, some daedra, spirit, a spell maybe." Chaka said, thinking out loud some possibilities that occurred to her.

[Nick22]

whatever it is, i'd wager jit wont be easy to find' Sed nues said. " but if theres nothing more to discuss, we have a few things to do today.. we wont say anything about your group.. and if you have tasks for us, we'll consider them..

[StarfallRaptor]

The man in the robe nodded.
"Of course.  I won't keep you from your other duties and wishes.  Though I have a request of you, if it wouldn't be too great of a bother."
He said calmly, a small grin on his face...

[Nick22]

what request is it? Nicula asked getting up from her seat.. ' as long as it is reasonable, we'll accept it..'
-
 tell us what it is' Dar maa said.

[StarfallRaptor]

The man in the robe chuckled.
"Would you mind taking my sons with you when you go?  I fear they have been spending far too much time of late cramped up in here with their old father.  I feel that some fresh air would do them a world of good."
He said, a rare smile on his face...

[Chiletrek]

"Even though our group will be safer, specially for the two youngsters, if your sons join us, do you think it is safe for them due to the reward on my travel partners?" - Qa'Meret said with much curiosity at the sudden request by the elder human.

Kyo was interested since the old man listened to his idea about Apep, but he decided to remain silent about the request the old man asked the group. He would not mind more people in the group though.

[Nick22]

what are their names, and for that matter, what is yours? dru essa asked.
- we'll take them along with us. how old are they? sed nues asked. "if you dont mind me asking."

[StarfallRaptor]

The robed man laughed a little.
"Oh, that's right.  I have yet to introduce myself.  Sima Yi.  Leader and Patriarch of the Jin clan.  You've met my older son, Sima Shi."
He said, indicating the masked man, then looked around the room and shook his head.  
"And as to my second son... Zhao!  Zhao!  Get down here!"
He yelled up the stairs.  Shortly after, a soft thump could be heard, and a younger man, dressed in a loose, billowing shirt and pants, with a small capelet on his back came down the stairs, ruffling his brown hair as he did.
"Yes, father? Oh, we have guests?  Eheh...It's nice to meet you, I suppose.  I'm Sima Zhao."
He chuckled...

[Nick22]

well simo' it is nice to meet you ' nicula said ' have you eaten yet today. we could grab some lunch as a group..
-
 i could go for a snack ' jae said ' as long as i'm not the money guy paying for everything..

[LoyfeCycleProtector]

The Orc went from stall to stall, but he couldn't find anyone who was willing to trade anything for non perishable food. He conceded he'd just need to go hunting and foraging again. He found little joy in hunting: he found a pathetic exercise to exert his strength over vastly weaker creatures. Even the bears didn't put much of a fight.
One of the stalls did, however, catch his eye: it was an antique book stall, tucked away in a lonely corner of the bazaar where it went by unnoticed, and run by a man who looked well into his eighties. The Orc approached the man, and the man looked up. An old, slightly giddy grin appeared on his face. It was an insiders grin-- a brotherly grin. "A child of the pariahed lord comes to my stall! It's been a long time since I've seen one of your kind."
The Orc gave a respectful bow back. "I have no money, but I would be be willing to trade the furs and materials I have for some books."
The old man agreed, and was most generous in his fare. For one deer pelt and one bear pear fur, the Orc received a historical guide to ancient warfare and a book on topography. More to his personal delight, however, he received a serries of written debates by Susan Sontag, a collection of nature poems by Walt Witman, a tome of ghost stories by Algernon Blackwood, and a well known reflective essay about a pond by Henry David Thoreau.
The Orc was so greatful, he gave the man something he normally would have never given away: one of his few orcish daggers. The man took it with a quiet smile, and gave a nod that the Orc returned. Neither saying goodbye to one another-- an orcish tradition-- he went into a corner of the bazaar, away from all the ruckus of trading and selling, and gingerly opened the pages of one of his books. His blood-red eyes slowly moved across the pages.

[Kor]

"If they are going to be traveling with us I think it's better if we all get to know each other a bit better so we're not all total strangers." Chaka said.  She spent part of the time watching what Kyo was doing.