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Post by Admin on Dec 19, 2023 5:26:17 GMT
Brian is told that there is no order to detain him in Arden.
On the trail he sees a greater number of patrols than during his last ride through the forest.
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Post by Brian on Dec 19, 2023 5:44:28 GMT
I sort of grunt and nod as I depart. I start to make my journey out of Arden. As I ride I feel the rain falling upon me. I started to make the changes slowly. The trees and forests begin to be stripped away. The road begins to cut through a landscape marked by basalt rock structures. As the road bends and twists the smell of salt water begins to come in from the west. I can taste it in the air. It mixes with the smell of wet grass, soil, and decaying plants. The clouds part revealing a golden orb. It sinks low and bathes the rocky landscape with a dull golden hue. I am not quite far enough just yet.....I will need to pause before I continue to make my journey. I began to add road signs for a town. The signs read "Ballylaoghaire" The Town of the Sea. A town that has a lighthouse made to keep ships from crashing upon its rocky shores and sholes. It has a cluster of fishermen. It has an inn. In the town, there are churches representing each of the divided factions of the Church of the Unicorn as well as the Church of the Sea Horse. The town also has a Manor Home run by a local governor....the Manor Home is where the folks of the town go when storms from the Sea become troublesome......It's also the sort of place where Scholars, Explorers, and Tradesmen find themselves pausing in the middle of their journey. I find some local currency washed up along the edge of the road near the shoreline and I make my way towards an Inn. I make my way towards the Old Thatch Tavern.....to get something warm to eat, someplace warm and somewhat dry for me and my horse to sleep....and possibly to hear some tale of what going on here.....and to see what is being reflected in this shadow. I have to make my way home to Ayalos first.....but.....I am not going to make that jump in one go just yet."Marlon Anis Mannan" The barkeep says as he introduces himself to me. "Brian Kane." I point to Hal "And this is my companion Hal. A prince of a Corvid." Hal bows to the bartender. A Jaunty tune is being played evocative of a song from Shadow Earth: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XxYwWg7F8I
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Post by Admin on Dec 19, 2023 6:00:16 GMT
[OOC: Aw, man, Jacob was right there at the edge of Arden ready to meet you. And maybe Vincent too.]
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Post by Brian on Dec 19, 2023 6:17:51 GMT
Ooc: they could end up in the same bar lol
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Post by Admin on Dec 29, 2023 4:00:20 GMT
Even with the help of the lighthouse, ships still run aground from the near constant foul weather. The inn is filled the the reek of sweat and saltwater from those lucky few who made it to shore after being recked on the shoals. The locals don't smell much better - also a mix of sweat, salt and fish guts.
"Brian and Hal," a wrecked old man says in an ague-fed delirium. "There's tales across the seas of a saint Brian and his demon familiar Hal."
"Aye, that and dozens of others, you old fool," the bartender says. "What else is there for drunken sailors to do 'cept spin tall tales. Besides, he rode up on a horse not in a ghost ship.
"What can we do for you, mister?"
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Post by Brian on Dec 29, 2023 4:03:05 GMT
"I need to take a rest. My Horse and I could ride a lot better if it wasn't so wet." I look at Hal "So you got promoted to a demonic familiar" I look at the old man who pointed to this story "He will be riding with a big head for days." I look to the bartender " A place to rest my head till I complete my journey. Anything else of interest that's washed up on the shore?"
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Post by Admin on Jan 2, 2024 1:56:34 GMT
"Plenty of empty houses now that so many people have been washed out to sea," the bartender says with a nod toward the western shore. "And everything washes back onto shore with time. What interests you? Coin? Jewels? Amphorea?"
He brings up a barnacle encrusted jar from below the bar, breaks the wax seal, pours a glass of Amber liquid, then slides it to Brian.
"Take a shot. On the house."
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Post by Brian on Jan 2, 2024 2:12:10 GMT
I take a sniff of the drink. I don't take it just yet " The druids back home have an old axiom 'As above so below.' When there is a mystery above you can see the waves of it below. I'm just a traveling man here today. I have a journey to start in earnest. "
OOC: What does the drink smell like?
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Post by Admin on Jan 3, 2024 5:16:49 GMT
The fluid smells like a mix olive oil and black licorice (to use the North American spelling).
"You're a brawny fellow; better that you give it a shot rather than us storm-wrecked sailors," the bartender says while making a down-the-hatch gesture with his hand.
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Post by Brian on Jan 3, 2024 5:22:30 GMT
"Absinthe?," I ask the bartender curiously."Never seen it this color before." I twist the shot a little "How did it come about the Amber color?" I watch the bartender while I examine it. Yes....not all Absinthe is green....Odd drink for this sort of place.
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Post by Brian on Jan 3, 2024 5:25:22 GMT
OOC: If the Bartender doesn't show any signs of looking suspicious Brian will take the drink
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Post by Admin on Jan 7, 2024 4:49:21 GMT
The fluid is as oily as it smelled. It coats his mouth and throat. He feels it gurgle and gloop in his stomach. He becomes light-headed and starts to hallucinate.
What happens then?
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Post by Brian on Jan 7, 2024 5:32:38 GMT
I sort of fade, the whole bar sort of fades. I find myself walking through a hall of Fomorians. Twisted men. I cut them down as I approached Uaithne. I close my eyes and strum the harp once. There is a deep resonant tone that echoes through the great tower of the Great Machine of Ayalos. The Rain parts. The golden sun rains light down on the land. I strum it again and the people fall to their knees weeping and laughing in joy. They are freed from the Rain. The fields recover and our ships move to Amber to start to supply food. "You think I will let you save them?" A strange alien voice speaks out. I see a Black Unicorn fighting the White One. I see a Unicorn whose fur is blood red leaving a trail of fire in its wake. "I will. There is nothing for you to let happen. It will happen."
I lead my army north beyond the lands of Ayalos under a great and resplendent Cherry Tree. I am fighting a woman with Ashen Blonde hair and one eye. She has in her hand a chain of silver that is wrapped around the neck of Dorian. I walk into the city where the woman with one eye stands. "Would you sell him out for your answers?" I see the Golden eye of Ghostwheel burning in the sky. It looks like a burning Japanese village but the fires burning here are purple. The woman extends her hand and a golden door is placed in front of me. "I can give you the truth." She says. Hal laughs "Thats not even a good con lady." "You don't owe them a damn thing." She says to me in response.
Then I head the words of Annie as Annie "Does she think so little of you?" I hear her speak in the commanding voice of Macha " He who bares the name of the O'Neils.....you are not a man who is given. You are a man who takes." The old war crow speaking as the Bean-Sidhe "How many men have died for her foolishness. How many men have you killed to get to her? She can't give you what's behind the door. You have it. You just need to awaken to it Brian of Ayalos." I turn away from the door and stab the woman with my spear. "I know what the truth is. I know it now. I am Brian of Ayalos, I have the Spear of Light." The Golden eye of Ghost Wheel burns with another Alien's eyes. The spear of light turns into a snake and wraps around my arm. "Lord of Amber.....Truth is what you want it to be. You fight....you survive....you overcome. You are running towards something in a hurry. Because you are afraid it will be lost to you." The snake changes into a Dragon. "There is power in that." I am at the foot of the mountain and a great beast is before me. I take a breath and I begin to run towards the beast.......I see a man bleeding and wounded at the base of a mountain pass. I know it well. I passed it when I left Ayalos by land before. It was two or three shadows over. There was a dragon there people were sacrificing things too. The Dragon was dead but still, the sacrifices remain. I see Shelly Chained to a stone like the sacrifices. "They don't know Brian....you were right....right before you met them. They are stagnant...stuck in their ways. They are in decline. All will burn if you leave it to them." I see Coy stab her with a spear and she is bleeding on the ground with Kat. " You know what's going on. How many will die while you sleepwalk? I'm playing the Villain so you can wake up." I see Kat in the dream vomiting mirrors that dissolve into worms....the worms melt and poison the land....the crops wither and die. I see my mentor old Kane on his deathbed. "You choose the tale of your life boy. Or someone will choose it for you." I hear my dear Annie's voice as the intense hallucination fades. "I'm not washing your clothes just yet grá mo chroí....survive this you may see the world I do not get to see....you may get to put the world of dooms right. As the wave ripples I hear a woman's voice I don't know. "Answers are paid for with blood and pain. You paid for the answers. Take them. You know where to go."
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Post by Admin on Jan 11, 2024 3:51:17 GMT
Brain regains consciousness sprawled across a rustic stone altar under a cloudy night sky. People stand in a ring around the altar and hold long torches high.
"You have the mark of doom upon you, Brian of Ayalos," the bartender says. "This is the Glen of Gwydion, hidden to those without the second sight."
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Post by Brian on Jan 11, 2024 5:08:54 GMT
I bow to them " I appreciate you bringing me to your sacred hearth. I appreciate you guiding me to this place for revelation then."
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