The Sorcerer-King's Quarries

More at home in the open air of the wilds, Cielo has been drawn to the Sorceror-King's abode by the mysterious letter. The denizens of the woods and rivers had spoken to him of strange and unrecognizable beasts prowling in the wilderness. Generally preferring his own company, Cielo thought in this case that perhaps he could find a common purpose with others in ridding this world of the unnatural beasts that sometimes haunt it. Besides, the additional rewards were intriguing. It is possible he might acquire something of use for his own purposes.

Cielo stood before the huge black gates of the city and watches a moment. He knew that his presence would draw some attention, but he had long grown used to that. A certain fascination coursed through him and he found he was looking forward to experiencing the sights and sounds of this place. He meandered through the streets, avoiding physical contact with the locals. There were many stares and he ignored them. Some hawkers even braved an approach but he pretended not to speak the common tongue, replying to their queries in his native language which no doubt sounded to them like gibberish and they soon lost interest.

Great Sol was beginning its descent and he did not want to arrive too late to the dwarven hold. He paused in the street and looked up into the sky. His form grew translucent as points of light appeared at each and every joint of his tall body. Soon his body disappeared and all that was left were the lights which coalesced and then spread outward into a new form that looked like the outline of a large bird with outstretched wings. Then the new shape grew opaque and pristine white feathers formed along the body. Moments after the transformation had begun, it ended and a beautiful white swan stood where once the man had been. The swan gave one great flap of its wings and lifted into the air as the people on the street stared. The swan flew straight to the hall of the Sorceror-King.

Clickclack counted the guards he could see and observed their behaviors before approaching the gate. Then he scanned the other people for potential threats. Clickclack never liked being surrounded by so many people, but today the risk was worth the potential reward. Nothing raises alarms in his mind, so he proceeded through the gates.

Many softskin eyes turned to him as he entered the city, as they usually did. As long as they weren't threatening, it mattered little. Clickclack moved with a singular purpose towards the palace.

The kobold that had been traveling with Clickclack was probably not far behind, though Clickclack had not waited for him. He always caught up, so waiting on him did not make sense.

There had been some confusion about the letter that had been handed to Thyssk B'Krr, mightiest of mighty kobold warriors. Mostly in that said champion of koboldkind had little idea on what a messenger was before the man hastily explained it to him whilst the kobold was demanding all his valuables. Then there was further confusion as Thyssk B'Krr, mightiest of of mighty kobold warriors, turned out to be illiterate and had very little ideas on what to do with the symbol-dotted parchment he was handed. A concession of sorts was made when the messenger read out the message to his would-be mugger and made his hasty escape whilst the kobold mulled over the promise of a great deal of shiny coins for simply showing up for a meeting with the Sorcerer-King.

Now, whilst illiterate, Thyssk was no fool. Many had sought to take his great wealth (by kobold standards) from him. Trickery and deception was an often-used tool, for none could best the little terror in battle or running to small hidey-holes. He knew of the Sorcerer-King's madness. But then again.... it was a great deal of coin that was promised, and the Sorcerer-King had little reason to rob Thyssk. Or kill him. At least, Thyssk could think of no reason. As far as he was aware, none of his recent victims had been related to the Lord of Khazat-Hal. Perhaps the mad dwarf did need a failed-experiment-hunter. And Thyssk was quite apt at battle (being the mightiest of mighty kobold warriors, as many knew). Maybe, just maybe, this message was real and Zharakh Daemonhammer did want Thyssk to do his dirty work. And Thyssk did like doing dirty work for mad tyrant-sorcerer-overlords. They paid really well when they weren't trying to kill you to avoid paying you.

Thus, he had set out. He first went to collect his partner in crime, the big lizard magicky-magick aptly named Clickclack, who demonstrated how dumb he was by picking a name so the big pink ones could speak it. Thyssk would never do such a thing. After all, if they couldn't speak his name, the pinkskins couldn't steal it! Forevermore kobolds would name their hatchlings in his honor, and no fat ugly pink baby would ever bring shame to it. Thyssk made sure he told Clickclack of this brilliant notion again as he did on every occasion the thought came to mind, which for regular bystanders was an unfortunately regular occurrence.

Thankfully for his large lizard companion, Thyssk currently was preoccupied with exploring what the stronghold city had on offer. Beggars left him alone, knowing full well that reaching out a hand for alms might lead to a loss of fingers from sudden biting. Thyssk did like impromptu snacks. That left three meat pie vendors in a good mood, for Thyssk had a certain addiction for the savory dish. Especially the ones in the further back alleys who Thyssk was sure added such delicious prime ingredients such as rat or cat.

Thus, near the gate of the fortress, Thyssk caught up with Clickclack, trying to wolf down the third pie and finding that his stomach would accept no further additives. Wondering what to do with the pie that could not be eaten, the kobold looked up at his rather poorly named companion, and offered up the partly chewed treat.

When Thyssk came trotting up, Clickclack nodded to him. Clickclack usually spoke to the creature only when necessary, which seemed to work well as Thyssk rarely seemed to stop speaking to him. In this instance, however, Thyssk was somewhat more quiet due to the fact that he was devouring meat pies. The pies did not smell quite like typical softskin food; something about them suggested unusual and perhaps partially spoiled meats. However, when it came to food, Clickclack was always practical. When Thyssk offered him a partially chewed pie, Clickclack took it without hesitation and put the whole thing in his mouth. He knew his stomach was strong enough to handle it, and it never paid to be hungry when dealing with softskin.

"Acceptable pie," Clickclack said.

Sabrina holds tight her hooded cape hiding her pointed ears and her red hair appearing like flaming tongues around her beautiful face. Entering the city notices the villagers around and tries to walk unnoticed. In one point, she looks the two green lizards eating a pie with a rat tail appearing inside the stuffing... that is disgusting. Then trying to look away, she observes the swan flying above entering the palace and follows it.

The great white swan lands and its body becomes translucent leaving only points of light along the edge of the wings, the feet, and running up the neck to the two points where its eyes were. Then the lights coalesce and spin, flying outwards and settling into the skeletal figure of a humanoid that gains solidity, becoming a tall, lithe, blue-skinned humanoid where once the giant swan stood. His head is adorned with long silvery hair that seems to glitter in the light and moves about as if constantly being blown by an unseen breeze. He wears the light studded leather of a woodsman while in his hand he holds an ashen wood staff covered in intricate carvings of various scenes of nature.

He looks about and notices the odd assortment. He doesn't speak, preferring to remain silent in case he wants to pretend not to understand these strange folk.

Cielo gazes skyward and attempts to divine the portents for the coming meeting..
Seeing the gathering dark clouds on the horizon he furrows his brow.

Thyssk looked at the odd gathering of folk entering and leaving the palace as his companion devoured the pie. The palace itself unsettled him. Too big, too many big wide spaces. Too few hidey-holes. Who would want to live in such a horrible place? Dragons of course. Thyssk had never seen a dragon, only heard the stories. They collected many valuable things and trinkets, and were so mighty all other beings feared them. They were enormous, like the mountains; big, fat and mighty. Perhaps the sorcerer-king was a dragon. Who really knew? Plenty of beings came to pay it tribute it seemed.

Of particular note was a big white bird which changed into a blue softskin. That was disappointing. Even in his filled state the white bird looked quite appetizing to Thyssk whilst the softskin was as ugly and unappetising as any of its kind, blue or not. In fact, there were very few skaleskins about. Mostly just big ugly softskins. But that was fine. The Sorcerer-King called the strongest and the mightiest, and only the skaleskins would meet such stern demands.

Done with the pie, Clickclack headed inside without a word. He was a lizard of few words and that was fine. Thyssk just walked along. It was good to have something big and stupid to hide behind if there was fighting after all..

Cielo watched the lizard and the kobold enter with interest, his keen eye looking for clues as to their profession. Surely, even in this city. the pair was unusual. He guessed from his equipment that the smaller of the two was some sort of martialist, but the larger one was a mystery. Lizardfolk as a rule did not wear much armor, even when going to war, and their motivations were mostly impenetrable, but the two seemed to be together and one should never underestimate a member of the kobold race. While not physically strong, nor mentally either, if the truth be told, kobolds were nothing if not cunning. Almost always they were found in groups, working together to overcome larger foes. A solitary one was quite unusual and therefore this kobold must also be unusual. He would have to keep his eye on him.

"Better to be behind that one, rather than he behind me.." Cielo thinks, as he follows the scaley duo into the hall.

Thyssk, mightiest of mighty kobold warriors, glared angrily at the dwarves from between Clickclack's legs. Part of it was a little jealousy. The big metal plates almost seemed to make a mockery of his own mighty armor. Sure, his was scrapped together and used some unconventional components (he was especially proud of the shovel blade that is his codpiece) but that was no reason to flaunt it! Stupid show-offs, and then pretending not to know what he was here for. As if many mighty kobold warriors came here. They must be dumb not to realize it. He was rather pleased at seeing the polearms. It was exactly the kind of weapon that was practically useless when someone would fight him. He would get right inside the reach of the clumsy blades and that would be that. Stupid fat pinkskins. But he was not here to fight these big dumb hair-things. He was here for shinies! Thus he called out from his position of relative cover..

"AAA! Big dumb beard-things! We collect shiny coins! Sorcerer-king tells us to come, and he gives us many gold, yes? Now move aside nasty hair-things! Move! Move! Mighty Thyssk B'Krr has come for his shinies!"

Clickclack reaches into a pouch and produces the letter of summons, which had been folded to fit in the pouch. "I was summoned. Here." He unfolds the letter as he speaks, and then holds it out for the guards to see. Then he motions to Thyssk. "This one was also summoned. I do not know these others."

Sabrina moves forward and speaks up with a firm voice : "My name is Sabrina Duchannes.We are invited by your king. If you can please take us to him".

Sabrina takes out the letter and hands it over to the guard with a grind "Yes, of course"

It was a good thing that Thyssk was not asked for his letter. After all, it had been of little use to him, and it tasted awful, so he had mostly been using it for wiping his rear after his inevitable parting of ways with his meat pies. In its current state it would likely not be well received.

Peering into the courtyard he became a little worried again. That was a lot of beardy pinkskins in metal armor.
"Trap?" He queried upwards to his scaly companion.

Cielo hands over his letter silently as he follows the scaley contingent into the courtyard. Luckily, the pair commanded most of the attention from the others, leaving Cielo thankfully unharassed. Like others, he had been distracted by the kobold and lizardman and had failed to notice the red-haired woman approaching from behind. He wondered about her origins but tried not to stare.

This was promising to be a day full of surprises.

Sabrina asks the guard: "Are you preparing for a ceremony? Or is it a welcome festive for us?"

"Excuse me, but why we need to be safe in his palace? I dont understand..." replied a little bit annoyed, because they did not care to throw her a welcome party.

Cielo, having though the very same thing turns to Sabrina and speaks for the first time.
"That is odd isn't it?"
Ever more concerned about the bad portents he had seen earlier.

Sabrina notices more carefully the blue creature. She was amazed how he looked like and that he transformed into swan. Is it half human half monster or a magical creature ? She wondered....What is he? She also felt a little bit compassion, because herself was also half breed, even though she had a loyal familyname , sometimes some naive people did not respect her enough. She says to him. "Indeed, and you are...?"

Clickclack listens to the softskin talk. So much jabber. He looks at the dwarf called Tharizek. Then he takes a few steps closer to him. "Lead on," he says. Nothing else needs to be said.

"I am Cielo." he says simply with a slight bow.

Sabrina grins and then she noticed the lizard passing by. What an ugly creature and it can talk common, so wierd.

Sabrina bows too with a firm face "I am Sabrina Dutchaness. I have no other questions, you can lead us to your king" trying to hide her thoughts... Torturers... She knew that many kings where using this method, but for her diplomacy was always more important then doing things in barbaric ways.

Clickclack listens carefully to Tharizek's words. He knows that often the softskins lie, but even their lies often contain useful information. Probably the palace is a dangerous place for outsiders - especially those like Clickclack that obvious don't belong. Clickclack can't think of any questions that would yield reliable, useful information, so he stays quiet. And observes.

Cielo looks about, wary of any "potential misunderstandings" that might be brewing, but he says nothing.
He considers that any questions he might have will be answered soon enough as he follows the others, staying closer to Sabrina than the less inviting scaled members.

Thyssk squinted at Tharizek, suspicion brewing in his mind and posture. It was a very healthy suspicion, it had saved his hide on several occasions. But warring with healthy suspicion was greed. Simple greed. He relished obtaining riches. And it won out for the moment..
"Where is coin? There would be coin!" he screeched out, still in the partial cover of Clickclack..

Cielo puts a little more distance between himself and the screeching kobold, worried that his cries will result in some bloodshed.

Clickclack spares a look at Thyssk. The kobold has asked a question that could raise the ire of the dwarf, but it is a question Clickclack is interested in. Once again, the kobold proves useful - possibly getting useful information while taking the risk instead of Clickclack taking the risk.

He did not trust the hair-men. Thyssk looked up to see if his large scaly companion agreed, then shifted about a bit and looked at the dwarven guards in their heavy armor with heavy suspicion. Eventually he managed to conquer his nature and began following the tall ones. Gold and better rewards were on his mind. But such promises sounded more and more like a trap..

Clickclack takes the coin purse, opens it, and looks inside. Satisfied that it is as promised, he ties the purse to his belt. Then he looks at the Sorcerer-King and examines his strange contraption. Either the Sorcerer-King must gain great power in exchange for the sacrifice of his bodily function, or he is not very wise. Perhaps both. Yet as long as there is wealth to be gained, Clickclack is prepared to listen. Even foolish people can offer good opportunities.

Clickclack bows to the Sorcerer-King - not because he respects him, but because he knows these kinds of people expect it. He has no doubt of the Sorcerer-King's power, so it is best to keep him mollified. "I will listen to your offer," he says.

Sabrina bows and takes the coin purse : " Thank you Sorcerer-King of Khazat-Hal and I will be happy to help you"

Thyssk stared for the longest time at the Sorcerer-King. A giant of metal! He wielded great power and was very strong! Thyssk had no idea how he would even fight such a mighty one. His legs were made of metal, and he could reach no higher. Very powerful indeed..

The musings were interrupted with the arrival of the shiny coins. He grabbed the bag as soon as it was in reach and seeing Clickclack open his, Thyssk did the same. Not that he could count such a sum, but he wanted to make sure there were no pebbles underneath the coins. A few coins spilled and clinked on the ground and Thyssk immediately went to his knees to snatch them up, hissing at anyone nearby to warn them away..

Cielo had not completely foresaw how strange and enclosed this place would seem, but now that he was here there was little to do but see this through. He accepts the coin purse with a simple nod and puts it away without looking at it. He is less concerned with the contents of the purse than he is with the offer that is about to be laid out.
He makes a quick glance towards Sabrina to see how she is taking all this, having decided that she may be the closest thing to an ally in this dark place.

Thyssk returned the last coin to his bulging pouch and skittishly closed it, then put it in his carrying sack. He looked around nervously before landing back on the giant king. He had heard the great one's words. He understood perhaps half of them, but it was enough. Hunt a slave. Kill it. Bring back head and.. stuff.. Easy. Understandable. Could have been said with fewer words.

"Kill slave. Bring back head and things. Yes! Yes! I can do this hnn hnnnn hssssss!" His eyes darted to the others who were called. Each of them would get the same reward. So there was no betrayal among them. Good. Giant lord was smart.
"They can help yes! W... we do this together and we earn reward from great giant king! Yes!" He looked about, thinking of anything troublesome for this task.
"Slave is... magic? Made of metal? Has legs of metal like mighty king?"
Metal legs were definitely a problem..

Cielo considered the information. Certainly, a 12-foot tall orc could do much damage by himself, but with a horde of orcs in tow, the devastation he could wreak would be massive. Cielo had serious concerns about how well a little kobold could stand up against a foe of that size, but that was not his first concern. They would have to figure out how to track this beast, although with its huge size it shouldn't be that hard. They knew he had gone east towards the mountains so that was where they would start. While not a tracker himself, surely the stars would guide him in the right direction.
For the moment, Cielo could think of nothing more he needed to know, but he thought they should leave as soon as possible to try to catch up to their quarry before he gained any allies. He would make his thoughts known when the time seemed right.
Cielo glanced again in Sabrina's direction, wondering if she had any questions.

Clickclack listens to the sorcerer-king's request. He considers the opponent that is described, then surveys the group that he would be a part of if they all agree to take on this task. The risk seems acceptable if all present join the hunt, and the proffered reward seems adequate. "I will be part of this hunt, if enough of the others join as well," he says.

Sabrina was not pleased about the job, that the king was offering, but she was ordered to make an alliance with him. Go to the mountains and kill an orc, it was a failed experiment... she wonders what was this king motive, why he was doing experiments and what if his attention was evil. Then she says to the king: "Agreed sorcerer king, but would it be possible to give us someone to guide us to the orc?"

Leans over to whisper to Sabrina.
"If only there were fewer of us. I might have a solution. Do you have some means of rapid transport?"

Clickclack had been waiting to hear if the sorcerer-king would offer up a guide before offering up his own skills in the outdoors. Getting some random "guide" from another town, however, seemed ill-advised for several reasons.

"If we can get close to where the creature is, I can track it. A twelve-foot tall orc is likely to leave an obvious trail."

The information was plain enough. Giant orc, magicky-things on him. Week head start, probably headed to its old tribe. Mountain Cleavers. Mountain Cleavers. Mountain Cleavers. He had to remember that. He imagined a mountain with an axe cutting it in two. Yes! Simple. No more reason to wait.
"We go!" He looked at the others, Clickclack especially. "We... hnnnjjj.... kill big orc! Bring head and things, yes yes! Come!"

Sabrina whispers back to Cielo : "No, I don't..."

Cielo notices the bigger lizard's skills of communication seem vastly superior to the smaller one. Perhaps he can will be able to act as a translator of sorts. In an effort to open communications with the lizardmen, Cielo nods in agreement and says to the larger one:
"Agreed. He shouldn't be too hard to trace."

Sabrina follows Tharizek

Cielo stays close to Sabrina and follows Tharizek.

With nervous jitters Thyssk sticks close to Clickclack, hugging his bag of coin closely while trying to look in every direction at once for those who might steal his prize. First he had to get out of this place, then he would think on what to do next..

Sabrina turns to Cielo and says : " Well, I can put the orc with a spell to sleep... but I do not how else we can control him mentally"

Cielo replies to Sabrina:
"Any mental control will no doubt be temporary. In the end, I suspect we will have to kill him or subdue him physically. However, I feel confident the four of us can best him, but I worry about how many allies or servants he may have gathered by the time we find him."
It is at this point that Cielo recognizes that there is a fifth member among them. He had thought the other man was part of Tharizek's retinue until now. A somewhat ordinary-looking fellow in comparison to the rest of the group.
Cielo turns to Erimeade:
"Are you a tracker?"

Sabrina looks around to see any trail, road or where they need to go

"A creature of this size will not go unnoticed. We should travel toward the Ice-Crowned peaks quickly. If there are locals in that area, they will likely have seen this beast, or seen signs of its passing. If not, perhaps we can pick up a trail there."

All these schemes and plans went mostly over Thyssk's head, literally and figuratively. He had instead lost focus a bit, thinking on what he might do with all the coins he was now holding. There were going to be a lot of meat pies in his future, that much was certain. Only when his looming companion spoke did he take notice, and he quickly agreed.
"Yes yes! We go. First go! Go, yes. Then see! Then fight. Yes!"

Sabrina looks at the small kobold getting exited and she thinks: "Aw... it can be gross, but it is also so tiny and cute " and grins "Yes, let's go"

"Well.. I could travel faster alone, but that is not much help to us I think. Even if I could catch up to our quarry what could I do then? I suppose we will just have to travel as fast as we can."

Sabrina sees the corses and says: ''So....someone or something was killing a lot of people, on its way...'' and looks closely

The journey was nothing uncommon for Thyssk, a wanderer by nature around his homelands and the many caves and warrens of koboldkind. He had planned for it and his rations would last him quite a while. Even so he had taken along a few of his beloved meat pies, but they had long since run out. Thus, when seeing the mound of corpses, he exclaimed "Food!" and mostly worried whether they were still fresh rather than the potential for any ambush as he scampered forwards.

Cielo begins to issue a word of warning to the kobold, but can see will already be too late.
Ever the cautious one, he approaches the scene more slowly than the others, alert for any lingering danger.

"It looks like we might be on the right track at least." he says matter-of-factly.

Disaster! The food was spoiled. Thyssk's enthusiasm deflated so instead he began to wonder the next important thing: Were the corpses carrying any food on them? A small part of him registered the trauma and the ripped ears. But that just meant that orc they were chasing probably did this. Unimportant. Besides, he didn't have such useless skin flaps to steal anyhow.

He began his search and he was practical while he did so; anything worth salvaging would also be considered!

Sabrina nods to Cielo and then she turns to the serious not talkative lizard : ''What do you think? Follow the corpses?''

"Well something big was definitely here. It seems logical. I just wish we could catch up to him before he gains too many allies. But from the looks of this it seems like he is more interested in making corpses than friends."

Cielo gazes at the sky for a moment, seeking Guidance, and then looks to the ground to see what tracks lead away from the site.

Thyssk begins wolfing down rations.

Sabrina follows the ranger and others to the path of dead corpses.

Cielo turns to Sabrina.
"Over a dozen combatants. Let us hope they were poorly skilled seeing that they were all killed by a single enemy. Their equipment looks relatively poor so I suspect none of them were seasoned veterans. That is perhaps the only bright spot I see in this massacre. It is not right to leave them to rot in the road."

When Erimeade is done with his inspection and the group has moved past the scene of carnage, Cielo turns and kneels down. Speaking a few words of power and thrusting his hands into the dirt he appears to pull a humanoid form from the earth. In just a few moments the creature is fully formed and Cielo speaks to the earthen figure.

"Bury these bodies and then you are dismissed." he says somberly and then turns to follow the others

Sabrina nods to Ganesh : ''Yes, you have a good point''

Clickclack walks around the site of the battle, observing the scene and studying any tracks. He looks to see if any of the tracks look like they could have come from an extremely large, heavy orc. He also looks for any tracks that might indicate if there were additional combatants beyond the orc (if present) and the fallen.

"My servant will return these poor souls to the earth from which they came, but in the meantime, we had best be moving. This creature has far too much of a head start for my liking."

After studying the scene, Clickclack turns to his companions. "This was done by the orc we week, alone. It may be we can catch it before it acquires followers. I agree that we should keep moving."

Thyssk notices the orcs and takes the logical steps. First he hisses at his distant enemies and then begins looking for places to hide..

"Perhaps we can avoid a confrontation. I could conceal us. On the other hand. They might have information about our quarry, but I doubt they will be cooperative."

"My magics could conceal us, but I agree we lack information and perhaps these Orcs have some."

Sabrina just follows her company in silence.

The kobold had scurried off, having found a hiding place to his liking..

"Well.. I will hide us if you wish to get closer without being seen. You must still be cautious and you must stay within a stone's throw of me. "
Cielo speaks to the earth and the sky and weaves a magic of camouflage and quiet, then sneaks carefully towards the orcs, waiting to make sure the others are moving with him if they wish and moving to get within about fifty feet without being seen.

Sabrina whispers: ''Lets burn them all, but we can keep one alive to interrogate later, if you want" and grins

As Cielo moves forward and prepares to do battle.