He that sees, he that eats, the final test
Subject He that sees
Allistair joins the rest of the group in the large room. He gladly accepts the offer of food and drink, and has some questions for Lothnar if he has the time. "So where exactly is this place? Are we in an outer plane, or perhaps some pocket dimension of your god's making? How and when are the various creatures put into the different rooms? And why are we constantly put into a position where we have to slay creatures that normally wouldn't harm us if they weren't trapped in an unknown place?"
From: Porter
Subject He that sees
Mund nods at his brother's last questions, looking for all the world as though he's testing Lothnar, and not the other way around.
From: Karl
Subject He that sees
Salix stands quietly, waiting for Harp to speak. He is surprised when Mund boldly strides forward and speaks. Salix has to suppress a smile. He would have used more diplomatic language, perhaps, but essentially that was the information Salix himself wanted. You couldn't really fault Mund for being direct.
From: Karl
Subject He that sees
Salix remains quiet, but also nods in agreement at this last part.
From: Mark
Subject He that eats
"Questions, questions. Always they have questions. Well I suppose it is natural for them to be inquisitive." The old man seems to be speaking to himself. He then turns his attention back to the party. "Yes, yes, your questions will be answered, but please, lets do it in a civilized manner, and I will answer what I can. Remember, I am an old man and do not get many visitors." He smiles at this last statement and then speaks to himself again. "Not many at all. What 5 groups in the last 3000 years. Gets awfully lonely." He stops. "Was I speaking out loud again? Sorry about that. I'll try to keep down. Now if you would so kindly step back a bit from the center of the room I will take care of dinner." As the party opens a space in the middle of the room, Lothnar speaks a few words and gestures.
In the middle of the room appears a table, some 10 feet across, filled with food. Suddenly the room is filled with the aromas of fresh baked bread, roast meats and fresh fruit. He gestures at the table. "Sit, sit before it gets cold." The old man takes one of the chairs and sits down. He starts eating with gusto, suggesting different types of food to anyone who joins him.
OODM: I have to go to a dentist appointment and will write more later.
From: Kevin
Subject He that eats
Harp motions to the rest of the group to take seats at the table. Before he starts to eat, Harp sits quietly and says a small prayer of thanksgiving to Heironious for having given him the strength and grace to have completed the challenges they had faced and for protecting him and his companions along the way.
He will then devour a number of small fowl, 1/2 a cow, and a good portion of a roast pig.
From: Ashley
Subject He that eats
Surin will wait to see if Harp chokes or falls down dead after five bites of the stuff.
Afterwards he will grab a few loaves of bread, a wheel of cheese, and the other half of Harp's cow and start munching.
From: Karl
Subject He that eats
Salix takes a seat at the table near a bowl of delicious looking fruits and berries, but also less than an arm's reach away from a tempting roast fowl. He selects a strange piece of fruit and takes a tentative bite before devouring it. It is the most delicious fruit he has ever tasted and he wonders what tree it is from. He grabs another similar fruit and devours it, too, barely pausing to wipe the juice from his chin.
From: Mark
Subject He that eats
As the party sits down to eat the man continues talking.
"Yes my young 1/2 orc friend. We will talk about what you are looking for when we are done eating. In the mean time I will try and answer some of the questions your friends have." He turns to Allistair. "This "place" is no where to be precise. It is what you might call a pocket dimension. It was created by me, with the power supplied by people who I will not name, but you can probably guess. The creatures were put into the rooms by me, as I saw fit. See?" he points to the globe on the throne with the piece of metal in his hand. He pushes a button on the thing and an image appears in the globe. It is the main room of the testing grounds. The old man presses another button and the image changes to the elemental room. "That was very smart of you, getting the key out of the fire room."
"So you think you were put into a position to slay creatures that normally would not harm you? You think? So a group of 5 trolls would just wander by if they saw the party? The same with a dragon? Oh the bettles may have left you alone, and maybe not, depends if they were hungry. Of course no one said that you had to kill them. You might have used a hold monster spell. You might have snuck in and taken the items. You might have paralyzed them. There were any number of ways to defeat the challanges."
The old man looks at Salix but addresses the entire party, his voice turning very serious. "Do you feel any remorse at the loss of all those hippogriffs you summoned to your aid? Are they any less dead? When you have seen what I have seen, endured what I have endured, you can judge me." The man's tone changes, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "Have you tried this?" He hands a plate of some type of chocolate desert around. "It is called "Death by Chocolate"." Seeing several eyes raise at that name he quickly eases their fears. "No, no it is not really death, but I found it on another plane of the multiverse and it is exquisit. Please have some." He takes a large piece for himself and moans in pleasure as he takes the first bite.
OODM: More later. Feel free to chime in with any comments or questions.
From: Kevin
Subject He that eats
Harp is a little bit taken aback at the man's words. True, there were many types of grace he could have asked for from the Battle Lord, but Harp had usually been focusing on what would have helped him most in a fight, not how he could have used that grace to overcome the creatures with out harming them. Maybe Ran and Salix were right, maybe they had failed the test. He decides to find out the answer to that question.
"Have we failed the test then? Has all of our effort been wasted" he asks with a rising concern on his voice.
From: Mark
Subject He that eats
"Your effort has not been wasted. Challanges were put before you and you overcame them. The death of the creatures was not required, but not prohibited. The choice was yours."
From: Porter
Subject He that eats
OOC: I was going to wait until Derek posted, but now that we're moving on, I'll put this in.
Mund does not sit down or drop his shield. He takes up a guard stance behind his brother and keeps a sharp eye on their captor, ready to react at any moment.
From: Mark
Subject He that eats
The old man looks at Mund with disappointment. "Come young man. Surely the manners of the bear clan have not changed that much in 3000 years. When I fought along side members of the bear clan they would honor the peace of the table. I have invited you to eat at my table with me. That is my bond of your safety. Has this been forgotten in the northern tribes?"
From: Porter
Subject He that eats
"As long as I can't leave this place, I ain't your guest -- I'm your prisoner. You've been trying to kill us for weeks. You've been more an enemy than a friend."
From: Josh
Subject He that eats
"Stop acting like the fool you're not Mund. If he was trying to kill you'd be dead. Sit and enjoy the food."
From: Porter
Subject He that eats
"If this guy is as good and just as y'all think, he won't harm me just because I don't kiss his feet."
From: Josh
Subject He that eats
"No one's saying he's going to harm you but you. But ok, go hungry."
Kal goes back to eating.
From: Mark
Subject He that eats
The man looks pained. "You may not consider yourself my guest, but I consider you my guest, now. I did not force you to enter my testing grounds. I have not been trying to kill you. I have been testing you, to see if you have what it takes for what is coming. As your impetuous elf friend says, if I had wanted you dead, you would be dead. But enough of this talk of death. If you do not want to eat, I will not force you. But I think you would like this chocolate." The man winks at Mund.
From: Kevin
Subject He that eats
Harp is listening to this exchange while gorging himself. That piece of food Lothnar had called "death by chocolate" looked interesting, but how could something with such a terrible name taste good. When he gets a chance, he will stretch out his fork to try and snag a small piece to see how it tastes.
From: Porter
Subject He that eats
Mund thinks about snatching some food later when nobody's listening, but doesn't move.
From: Mark
Subject He that eats
When Lothnar hears Mund's statements, he breaks into a belly laugh. A few seconds later, his eyes almost in tears he turns back to Mund. "Good? Who ever said I was good? I am a follower of Cuthbert, the god of vengance. The ends sometimes do justify the means. Breezy and I grew up together and were best friends, but we did not see eye to eye on all things. But when the great evil came, I knew that his way was better then the other option."
"And you are right. I am not going to harm you just becuase you will not kiss my feet. I am not even going to ask you to kiss my feet. All I was asking is if you would join me for dinner."
From: Derek
Subject He that eats
Allistait shrugs in acknowledgement of Lothnar's explanation. He may not agree with Lothnar's methods, but... oh well, he was tired, and didn't feel like pursuing the argument any further when his best support was only his own indignation. He starts eating with everyone else. Allistair takes a drumstick and holds it behind his shoulder for his brother. "You might as well eat something, Mund. We'll remember that you're still ticked off."
Allistair gets Lothnar's attention and motions to the other two tables. "What's with the empty table and the treasure table? I get the idea that there will be some type of material reward for making it this far, but I also doubt that you're going to just say 'take all you can carry'."
From: Porter
Subject He that eats
Mund takes the food from his brother, but still doesn't sit down.
From: Mark
Subject He that eats
I have one of my RL games tonight so I will let some of the others who have not had a chance to respond write something up, if they wish, and then I will write more tomorrow.
From: Mark
Subject The final test
"Oh no. It is the final test. On the table over there" he points to the table against the west wall, " is gold and gems and magic items galore. You can each have a bag full of gold and one magic item. Or you can have what is on the other table. A gem from the Crown of Valorshield. As a party you can pick which table you choose from."
From: Derek
Subject The final test
Allistair curses under his breath. This wasn't going to be easy for everyone in the party, including his brother. "Ragnar, could you explain what this gem from the Crown is, and why we need it instead of wealth and magic items?"
From: Porter
Subject The final test
IC:
"What happens if we don't all agree?"
From: Mark
Subject The final test
"I don't really care. I've been here for 3000 years. Have you got that much time?"
From: Porter
Subject The final test
"Are you saying that you won't let us free until we all agree on a choice?"
From: Mark
Subject The final test
"I am saying that you can not leave until the party makes a choice. However, I will do something that might help some of you with that choice. I am going to let you see what really happened the last time this evil roamed the world."
OODM: There can be alot of conversation before this happens, however, the party is going to get a vision. I will write that tomorrow.