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[JDigital]

Soldiers in chainmail armour and red tabard march from the cathedral and across the gravelled courtyard as their commanding officers bark orders. Outside the castle walls, the cheers and music of the city's harvest festival beckon you back for more revelry, but today, there's money to be made.

Two of the Catharsian soldiers march toward the group of you. One of the soldiers looks to be a senior paladin, judging by his age and elaborate plate armour, and he looks you over carefully.

"Acolyte," he says to the other soldier, "is this really the best you could do? A tiefling girl, a travelling storyteller, a shifty-looking dark elf, an orc-blooded tribeswoman, a gravedigger, and an old mystic with a camel?"

The acolyte frowns. "Your Grace, this was the best we could do at such short notice. I have been assured that each is godsfavoured of a major deity, and has some sort of combat experience. As you requested for this mission, none are dwarves or followers of Catharsus."

"Very well!" snaps the old paladin. "Time is of the essence. Each of you, explain to me just who you are and why the Church of Catharsus the Avenger should trust you with a weight of gold and an important mission?"

[Doom]

For easy reference:

Character Sheet

Face, eyes and blue skin like this.
Horns and long black hair like this

Vivi looks like she has spent her entire life in the nearest forest, her vivid blue face looking palid beneath the layer of dirt. A few fresh scratches in obvious three-line claw patterns shine through on her left cheek and her matted black hair has leaves and the occasional branch poking out on it's way down to her waist. Her patched together overcoat has a pleasant odor to it, but this is probably owed to the stems of mint stuffed into every pocket and pouch rather than any attempts at hygiene. She holds some leaves up to her nose and inhales deeply, then plucks two individual leaves and impales them on the tips of her horns.

One hand drops to her side and the other is held up to her face, with three fingers held together in front of her mouth as though stifling a laugh.

"Isn't it obvious? I think if we crossed somebody named the Avenger, we'd be in a load of trouble..."

She bats her eyelashes about a dozen times at the old man.

"You can call me Vivi, and although my titles and qualifications are too numerous to list, I'm the very best mushroom gatherer and void-aligned artificimancer in the entire <City> area! You can trust me because liars are eaten by Red Caps and I'm too beautiful to die young."

Vivi does a curtsy with her old overcoat, the bowing allowing the garish antlers she wears on a dinged-up brass headband to cast a cavalcade of shadows from the nearest torch.

[Stush]

Francisca [Fixed it, accidentally wrote vanessa.] stands tall beside Vivi, her chainmail gleaming in the sun, a colourful tabard over the top of many different colours.

She has a heavy looking backpack, which seems to be nearly entirely full of books of various colours and sizes, and on her hip, a longsword in a gleaming green sheath.

She smiles at the paladin, a black eyepatch covering one of her eyes, she reaches up to grasp the monocle that covers her other, cleaning it on her overcoat.

"As i've explained to the young man here, you'll be hard pressed to find a more capable soul for your task, any task, in fact!" She bows "Francisca B. Winterbottom, yes, THE Francisca B. Winterbottom, at your service, writer AND protagonist of "The curse of the red tomb", "The gilded eye" and "The riddle of the box".

She stands back up and pops her monocle back on. "I am well experienced in all forms of dungeon work, problem solving, and of course, combat."

She waves her arm to the side at her companions, "And doesn't this look like a fine group? It definitely has variety, of skills and experience, and that is always what you need to overcome any obstacle, So when you ask if this is the "Best you could do", truly, this group, with me included, are truly the "Best you can do"!"

[Lottel]

Dog shifts a bit and frowns. He sets his bag on the floor, causing his various tools clatter about and glasses to lightly tink. He adjusts the mask under his chin and leans against the wall crossing his arms.

"Well, it's easy to tell how I'm the best there is at what I do. I'm still alive, aren't I? And that get's to be a more astounding feat with each passing day. You need me."

[Bongo Bill]

"Know thou that I am called Pitamaha, esteemed Grace," said the old whitebeard with a deep stiff-backed bow. He wore a high-necked blue military coat and a blue turban, and a scimitar hung at his waist. "My God, whose domain is all that is mysterious, did see fit to reveal to me some portion of my destiny. I am to aid thee in thy holy mission, whatever it be, and though my bones do creak and my sword hath not drawn blood in many a year, to refuse the call of Destiny would be inconceivable.

"Ah, but perhaps thou believest the doctrine that one must make his own Destiny. My words would then be empty to you, so I shall allay your concerns. Despite my aged appearance, I am strong of sinew and steady of arm, and having traversed this continent I know many secrets of mettle. Knowest thou that to refuse the counsel of elders invites folly? It behooves thee to accept my service, for thereby thou acceptest the will and the wisdom of two Gods."


(I went ahead and stickied this thread and made the signup thread unsticky)

[Büge]

Briar stood at ease and watched in silence as the paladin pace back and forth in his inspection of the group. She wore a worn, but well-maintained corselet of burnished steel scales. Both hands rested on the head of a greataxe that had seen its fair share of use. Briar straightened up when the paladin approached her.

"Call me Briar, sir," she said simply. "And your church can trust me for two reasons. First is 'cause I can hit things. Hard." She tapped the huge axe for emphasis.

"More important is 'cause you're paying me. Black Claw Comp'ny don't accept every contract, but when we do, we stick with 'em."

[Beat Bandit]

The drow in the back of the group had been slinking off slowly, hovering between the backs of his new companions and generally trying to avoid the paladin's attention. Talking had a habit of getting ampersand into trouble as often as it got him out, and seeing as he didn't seem to currently be in it the odds were against him for the time being. Still, everyone else in the group had seemed to have said their piece and old eyes were staring him down from just over the cover of plate.

Thinking back to what he had actually been asked, the dead air continued until the paladin seemed ready to berate him for the silence, Ampersand starting loudly to silence the paladin before he could even start. "You probably shouldn't, really. Sounds as if someone under your command called me out here though, so can you trust them?"

[JDigital]

The paladin casts a discerning gaze as he listens to your introductions.

"Very well. Follow me." He marches into the cathedral and through a large arched doorway into the main chamber. It is a huge, cavernous room with an arched ceiling painted with scenes of holy conquest, and a cold stone floor lined with wooden pews that are scuffed and worn from years of wear by men in armour. At the far end, a brass brazier rests atop a stone altar, and burns with a fire which, at least according to legends the church tells, never goes out. The room is currently unoccupied except for two guards.

"My name is Tyrin, paladin of Catharsus. What I am about to show you is something most outsiders do not see and live to tell the tale. Watch very carefully."

He unsheaths the sword from his belt. It is a straight longsword, impeccably clean and in perfect condition. The hilt is of bright silver engraved with an intricate pattern, and the blade is etched with three runes. He lifts it into the air above his head.

"By the Avenger!"

As his command, the runes spark and the blade bursts into flame. You can feel the heat from ten feet away. He shouts a second command: "It is done!", and the flame disappears. He resheaths the blade.

"This is the Blade of Fire, one of several crafted in holy ritual by our sacred blacksmiths and issued only to our paladins. We forged a new blade yesterday, with the assistance of a hired group of trusted dwarven blacksmiths. This morning, the blacksmiths were gone with the weapon. The blacksmiths were last seen this morning carrying the blade in the direction of the dwarven quarter of the city."

"We will pay you eighty gold pieces each to recover the blade. It is due to be presented to a paladin tomorrow at noon, and it is vital that you recover it with haste. Do you accept this mission?"

[Doom]

Vivi balled her hands up into fists and held them in front of her chin, loving every second of the light show.

"Of course!"

[Brentai]

"My name is Tyrin, paladin of Catharsus. What I am about to show you is something most outsiders do not see and live to tell the tale. Watch very carefully."

He unsheaths the sword from his belt.

It is a straight longsword, impeccably clean and in perfect condition.

The hilt is of bright silver engraved with an intricate pattern, and the blade is etched with three runes.

Uhhhh... aww fuck it.

He lifts it into the air above his head.

[Bongo Bill]

"It shall be accomplished without fail, your Grace," said Pitamaha. "Dwarves, hoo hoo!" he laughed, turning to the others. "Perhaps one of my newfound companions will braid my whiskers. Then I, stopping beneath a cloak to conceal my stature, shall steal into their settlement, where the thieves, beholding the arrival of their kin, will with pride display the sword, that I might snatch it from their very hands and bear it hither."

[Stush]

Francisca laughs, "I like it!", She looks Pitamha over, "Yes, yes.. I can see it working.. can you speak dwarven? I'm fluent in the language, I learned it because I wanted to open up a whole new market, dwarves love stories of battle and adventure.", she puts her hand on her chin and looks upwards, thinking "Should I go with him, maybe posing as a guide, showing our new dwarven friend around a new land? I could help make the introduction smoother, distract them with a story or two?"

[Bongo Bill]

"I was joking, my dear," said the old man, "though I am flattered thou appraisest my thespian potential so highly. I speak no Dwarven, nor count myself a skilled liar. I should prefer discreet negotiation."

[Stush]

"I still like the idea! It's very crafty. Do you mind if I use it in a story?", she turns around, tapping her index finger against the side of her head, thinking. "I still think I could distract them with a story or two, I could tell them that I am writing a book about a..."

She thinks for a few seconds, turning around and clapping her hands together. "I could say i'm writing a book about a clever dwarf who uses his wits and charm to steal away a valuable artefact from some foolish humans.", She looks over at the paladin "Please don't take offence, M'lord, it's fiction"

Turning back to the group "Perhaps they'll be so proud of their achievement that they'll show me their prize? If we can find out where it is, perhaps one of the more discrete among us can retrieve the item later that day while I have them distracted with some fantastic tales of dwarfkind!"

[Lottel]

"You know, I actually like that plan," Dog said with a slight chuckle. "You get 'em full of ale and those prideful buggers'll show you all sorts of things."

His face returned to it's normal scowl. "Would have to split the group up though. A few with you and a few to retrieve the sword. I'm fluent in Dwarven and can handle a few of 'em in case things get rowdy so it's best if I'm heading in with diversion."

"Unless anyone has a better idea?" He raises an eyebrow and scans the room.

[Beat Bandit]

One way or another that sword was 'gun 'git got, and Ampersand didn't see any reason not to be part of the group that seemed to be about to get the job done. Mostly ignoring the conversation going on, he started moving towards the opening of the cathedral. If the sword was in town no doubt someone who knows about it is still close by.

[Doom]

Drifting over to Franny and Pita, Vivi wore a coy grin. "I think it's obvious that the most charming among us should toast with the stone-folk. We can share in their fine ales while our sneaky-feet operate." She looked at Ampersand for a moment, then back to Franny and Pita. "I volunteer for the meeting, of course."

[Stush]

"Yes, exactly, we'll need to be very careful, though! We can't have them finding out it was our fault... I mean, they might be sore losers, and it's never good to cut out a potential audience!" Francisca thinks a bit, then turns to the paladin. "Could you possibly get the town guard to put out a notice that a master thief has been spotted in town lately? That way we can cover our tracks."

[Bongo Bill]

[I think it would be smart for everyone to share their scores in the relevant skills, to determine who'd be best to send to do what, if we are in fact splitting up. Say, Bluff (0), Diplomacy (0), Insight (9), Intimidate (0), Perception (4), Stealth (-1), Streetwise (0), and Thievery (-1).]

[Beat Bandit]

[For the time being the ones that seem to matter the most are streetwise of 8 and perception of 5. Most likely only outclassed in sw by Stush.]