It was hardly a task that would tax a dragon of Jadawaral’s age, but it required a certain amount of investigation that he himself couldn’t bother to muster…so as grandson, he was expecting a cursory glance around from you to make sure he wasn’t needed to repel armies any time soon. Your absence at his doorstep would be proof enough of that, it seemed.

The second reason was related to the first. It’s the last place you know your sister to have been. Nehmeska.

Emerging to sit on top of the cloud, you start to polymorph a basic form more suited to travel amongst the people below- a human, you think- dark brown complexion, black hair, solid build…you can’t seem to resist adding blue eyes though. Must be a family thing.

It wasn’t a big thing really; not hearing from her. She always was willful and independent, so no word for even the 35 years it’s been is hardly surprising. Even your parents who’ve known her for 70 more years than you simply expect her to show up when she’s ready to show off her treasures, which sounds about right. Still, while you’re out and about it might be something to look into- It’d be nice to surprise her with your own dazzling hoard.

Finishing up, you give your new body a flex and peer over the edge to the settlement far below, stroking your goatee. Hmm, there actually isn’t much you know over the towns this far west…perhaps less time should have been spent reading books on conjuration and more on continental history. Ah well, a town’s a town. Aim for the taverns.

Leaping off with a cheer you plummet toward the collection of mud and stone, not being able to resist a good sky-diving opportunity. Thank Bahumut for being a silver with a slow fall; other dragons must find it such a chore having to glide in normally or waste energy on spells. Now, which flat-topped building is the-

---

---


Wow.

Oh wow.

The pain is amazing. And everywhere.

Opening your eyes, you notice three things. Your belongings that were gifted to you are gone from your person- the ring mildly protecting you against fire and the bag of holding with 500 gold nowhere to be found. The second thing noticed is that you’re in quite a nice bed. The third, that it was even nicer…for being in a prison.

The fourth thing you notice is the Gnome sat at a desk pulled up next to you, idly going over some paperwork. Much to your concern, he doesn’t seem fussed with your current living arrangements. A moment later he reveals why.

“Hello stranger,” He greets cordially, saluting you with his pipe but not looking up, “Welcome to Umbaya’s Mage Detention Centre, home to every fool wizard or sorcerer who thinks he could get away with getting in without getting through me first. Name’s Domburas Welskin, and I have to say it’s been a while since someone tried an aerial insertion…surprised you survived, quite frankly! Then again what good is a spy if he just goes splat as soon as he runs into a magical ward or ten, hmm?”

He pauses for a second and smiles over at you, oddly friendly for what he’s accusing you of being.

“Or maybe you’re some master thief instead. Or just an assassin. All I know is most people who drop out of the sky aren’t sight-seeing, and most people who do it polymorphed aren’t here for anything legal,” He reasons, smoke drifting serenely out of his nose, “Infact, they’re usually some mage-lord’s lackey looking to get a piece of the pie for his boss.”

“However…” He taps a finger against his glasses, “Blue eyes? With that skin? Not really great for a disguise. And I’m pretty sure all the mage-lords know we got the churches to throw up some wards too, so what I’m thinking is that there’s more to this here case than my idiot underlings would have me believe. So! Here’s how this is going to work: You tell us things like who you are and what you’re doing here, and we see where we go from there…maybe get you some healing.”

His head bows to peer at your over the top rim of his spectacles, smiling widely in the reddish glow of his pipe.

“Unless you’d prefer I *make* you talk. But I really wouldn’t want to go through the trouble.”


******

*******

To cut a long story short, Writer-Dude has handed this quest on, knowing he sadly didn’t have the time to end it himself and frustrated with certain aspects of it. As such, he gave me his blessing to carry on, and go ahead in the same universe in a different place: East of Mza past the mountain range, into the land of Urgash- a place of deserts and arid, rocky scrubland, ruled over by powerful city-states and warring Orc Tribes.

Other than that, it’s a direct continuation (complete with timeskip), and the quest runs the same as it did before…so if you will forgive me for picking up where a great man left off, I shall do my level best for y’all. On with the quest!

******

How unfortunate. It's a shame we ended up like this. Presumably we will have to be more careful in the future.

Attempt to convince him we're a traveler from afar, and didn't know the local rules. And, of course, completely harmless.

Dragons are good, though. More quests should involve dragons.

Are we going to be seeing (or playing) more of Azaladon?

What's our age category and how badly do we seem to be hurt?

See if there's enough room to transform. We shouldn't do it yet, but we should make sure we have the option without crushing ourselves inside the building.

>>17889618

1. Depends on what you do.
2. Young Adult
3. Rather badly. Multiple fractures at least.

Agenda
Item one: Get out of jail.
Item two: Kill annoying gnome.

In the near term, we need to tell him a name, and tell him some things that, while technically true, don't give too much away. Saying that we're looking for our sister could be a start.

We need a name.
Maybe something frost related.

Aren't we supposed to be a good-guy in this one?

Do we know any healing spells? Is there anything we can feel that would suggest our magic is being impeded?

Next time, no blue eyes. Disguises shouldn't have features that stand out.

>>17889780

Well he already knows we're a polymorph and didn't have weapons on us so there's probably something magic-negating in the room, or he just thinks he's a badass and can take us.

Considering we can't even seem to sit up I think that might be an accurate statement.

Or go for a Viking appearance. It would fit in better in the climates we would prefer anyway.

>>17889817

He also said 'wizard or sorcerer', who both tend to lack healing magic.

Let's attempt to talk our way out. The best revenge would be to completely elude his little sting network.

Also, if possible, figure out just why this city is so paranoid, or well defended, or whatever.

>>17889835

I don't think dragons have self-healing spells. He seems to be giving us a chance though, so maybe if we're reasonable we can reason with him using our reason.

Tell him that we're Victor Fries, we're a sorcerer, and that we came here looking for our sister, and that if we can make our fortune along the way, so much the better.

DRAGON QUEST!

Fuck, WD is gone.

Well, if your introduction is anything to go by, you'll do a fantastic job. While an alternate viewpoint is great, I hope we don't keep away from our mainstay. Discovering more about the Binder was always my main draw. And Scinnari :3

Is there any reason for us to not reveal ourself as a dragon? I mean, we've got a peaceful agreement with the rulers of the place, so our entry would probably be forgiven and our things returned.

The other result is that we're captured for study and harvested for valuable dragon-bits. Not good.

We're an aspiring wizard trying to make our name in the world, and sought out the local ruler to see if we could do anything to make our name known. Let's roll merc-style.

>>17889905

Heh, I like the name, but maybe we could D-nah. We'll need something more unique.

Maybe look up ice and frost and stuff in different languages or something?

For a name, "Argentium". You know you want to.

>>17890006
It's just an alias for now. We can always just make up a new one.

>>17890026
Or how bout not?
We can think up our actual name later. For now we just need a throwaway pseudonym to give this gnome.

>>17890006
Isaz is the runic letter for ice and Ansuz is the rune for god.

Isaz Ansuz for ice god? Are we that prideful or no?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runic_script#Runic_alphabets

Thought it could be a good source for magic-y words.

>>17889719

"Victor Frygias, at your humble service... I must admit my landing was... unorthodox... but I intended no harm. I'm looking for my sister. She's been missing for a few years, and I hear this was the last place she had been. I'm trying to make my way in the world after my late father, Wurhel Frygias (Pelor rest his soul) passed away. I come bearing this news for my sister... And do I REALLY look like an assassin to you?"

>>17890075

How the hell do you pronounce that?

>>17890075

Work it a little, and maybe that can be our actual name.

Though it's 4th-wally, the Victor one might suffice for now.

>>17890157
> 4th-wally

As Azaladon two of our aliases were "Mr. Smaug" and "Lord Prestor."

It's par for the course.

played with some more runes, I think Isazothalan would be a good true name. Means "ice-owner" or "ice-bearer."

I think Victor Fries is a fine name. No need to worry about 4-th walling it if we're just using the name and nothing else.

>>17890090
This is good. Toss in a little of >>17889926 We're fresh out of mage-college with maybe a year or two of adventuring under our belt, and we're hoping our experience would be useful in finding our sister. Totally had no bad intentions, didn't even know this place would be warded.

It wouldn't hurt to encourage him to use any truth discerning magic he might have and indicate that we REALLY don't have any ulterior motives to coming here.

>>17890432
He's probably already got a few things going on, considering he's the chief of dealing with infiltrating wizards.

Let's not make this any hard on ourselves though. As a dragon, we should be able to ignore some of the spells he's undoubtedly got here.

Seems that we're not going to be using Azaladon, and maybe that's for the best. We can still "see" his story progress perhaps through intermittent meetups, and maybe even work against the return of the Binder ourselves. I'm imagining an alliance of free dragons vs. the Binder and slaves.

********

Giving him a pained expression that has nothing to do with the pain you feel, you roll your head back to the centre of the pillow, deciding to look up at the ceiling. He didn’t seem to be joking over his surprise to see you alive- you fancy you can feel which organs they’d had to stabilize just to keep you going. Options so limited, you decide to go with the more subtle of truths. No need to start swinging your grandfather’s name about just yet.

“My name’s Victor Frygias. I’m a sorcerer (obviously) and I’m here for a bit of adventure and clean profit. It hasn’t gotten off to the best of starts I’ll warrant you, but I’m not here to kill anyone…well, unless I see some ‘Wanted’ posters around.”

The Gnome leans back in his chair, mimicking your posture as best an able-bodied man can as he puffs lazy clouds of smoke into the air. There doesn’t seem to be much thought behind the action though, more like he’s waiting for something. Or listening. Irritating little thing.

“Come now, I admit my landing was... unorthodox... but I intended no harm. I'm looking for my sister. She's been missing for a few years, and I hear this was the last place she had been. I'm trying to make my way in the world after my late father, Wurhel Frygias (Pelor rest his soul) passed away. I come bearing this news for my sister... And do I REALLY look like an assassin to you?"

The Gnome shrugs, tapping the soot from his pipe into a small tray by the side, an amused glint in his eye.

“Well, Victor, I’ve seen plenty enough assassins in my time to know they can look like pretty much anything they want, and they all had their own excuses,” He snorted a little chuckle of smoke out his nose, as if remembering some particularly amusing cover-story that hopefully wasn’t yours, “But generally they aren’t the most interesting mix of truth and lie like yours. Lucky for you-”

>>17890556

He brings his arm over his head and knocks on the wall once, a human cleric entering with ointments...and your possessions.

“-The bits that mattered weren’t the lies. You’re an interesting man, Mr. ‘Frygias’...once Sahhi’s done with you, feel free to leave. Go spend a night around the town, maybe buy a few baubles or bits of equipment...then if you’ve not gotten yourself killed or mixed up in some tavern-posted adventure of your own or the cults, maybe you could drop by here and I’ll tell you what the council thinks of your talents, eh?”

Giving you a wink that you’re not sure you deserve he plops off his chair and makes his way out, swatting the clerics ass on the way with a laugh she doesn’t feel inclined to share.

Red-faced and grumbling, you coolly watch her work while you consider your too-easily won stint of freedom. Perhaps he’d ‘truthed’ the room or something. Well in any case, you wanted attention and it appears you’ve got it...and it’s good to know there were actual taverns to aim for. Still...it also seems you’ve fallen right in the middle of something complicated, and you’ve been awake for all of five minutes of it before being incorporated into the conspiracy. What a bother. Perhaps too much of one. Treasure hunting could be done outside of this, just waiting in the desert for you.

Arms finally mobile, you decide to look busy and idly begin counting your coins (not that you don’t trust such a ‘fine institution’ as this) as you mull over what to do.

Victor Frygias, eh...well, even the old man had to start somewhere...

*********

Man, we seem in it deep already.

Well, if we're free to move around, the least we can do is go about the markets and stuff if they're not closed and see what we want to buy for ourselves. What kind of guy we want to come off as? Multi-class, maybe pick up some armour and a weapon? We could check the taverns or the churches out too. It seems people have noted their own problems down in 'em or the market guys might be bitching about something themselves.

Mercenary work it is. Though this city does seem a bit too rude to be deserving of our assistance unless they pay very well.

Let's find someone who does pay. Taverns are the usual way.

Involving ourselves with the council will probably result in us getting sent on a cloak-and-dagger affair to infiltrate another city, or something.

Hitting up a tavern might yield a more traditional adventure. Less pay, but less douchebaggery as well.

Since we're a silver, our anti-douchebaggery beats our greed. Let's go check out a tavern and see if there's any well-paying jobs about.

And OP, your writing style is just like WD's. Perfect way to maintain the quest.

So... we need a place to stay, and a place to keep our future gains.

Can we get an inventory of what we have going for us so far? Did we get kicked out of the house with nothing?

Fuck yeah, Dragon Quest! Sort of...

>>17890807
From the sounds of it we left home with 500 gold and a ring of fire resistance.

>>17890807
>>17890888
I'm a retard and completely missed that somehow. Sorry.

Probably started this at a bad time. I don't think you have all the regulars, then there's also something like 5 quest threads up right now.

>>17890577

>To the cleric

"So... the old man always go around slapping people's... uh... Dignity? And if I may ask, is there anything I should really watch after a fall like that? I... uh... can't really feel a lot of things right now... And that's usually not a good sign."

>>17890792
Agreed. Though that may have to take place after we've sorted out the preliminary issues. We can scouts around for some mountain caves, or something. Unless we want to have a legitimate home, in which case we'll need a lot of money.

>>17890956
True. Still coming along adequately, though.

>>17890956
>>17890978
It's also a revival of a dead quest, so many people weren't expecting it.

If you put up a notice a few hours beforehand, it really helps with the attendance.

>>17890792
Second, and
>>17890959
second.

Obviously, five hundred gold won't last an individual of our refined tastes too long. We should look for work, too, ideally with people less insulting than that gnome.

Suddenly it's DQ!

All of my yes!

Also - I vote we start at the bottom and work up, rather than the top and work down.

>>17890992

Hmm, I kinda like the guy. And he's obviously kind of a lecherous badass. He also seems interested in getting us involved with the Council and his peeps. He'd make a fun 'benefactor' in my honest opinion.

>>17890577

>Saaaaaaaahhhhhhiiiiiii...
>How YOU doin'?

In terms of personallity, framing our new protagonist against Azaladon: I daresay it would be entertaining to be a magnificent bastard to our enemies, and to quote "bro-eriffic" to our friends.

>>17891192

I wasn't fortunate enough to see the pre-existing threads, but I'm okay with this idea.

>>17891152
I really dislike him. The fact that he's involved with people who throw around magical wards that nearly killed us just for flying marks him as an irresponsible ass in my book.

>>17891212
Don't worry, this seems to be a reboot.

I vote for more impulsive than Azaladon. Just 'cause something is risky is no reason not to do it, if it's fun or personal. Being the same always-logical, emotionless computer would be less than entertaining.

>>17891224

To be fair, things that skydive into your town are usually fairly hostile or AT LEAST disruptive. I do agree that the wards were a bit overkill, especially for such a mild mannered, regal creature as ourselves.

>>17891249

>it’s a direct continuation (complete with timeskip), and the quest runs the same as it did before

Pretty sure this is some sort of nicely figured sequel.

>>17891272
Improper wording on my part. The character is a reboot, and until we run into artifacts of Azaladon's activities and plots from the last 'quest', this one is almost entirely independent.

'Sequel' seems pretty adequate, to be honest.

>>17891249
Azaladon wasn't that logical, and was pretty impulsive. Especially toward the end. It just manifested in extremely spiteful and vindictive ways.

Anyway - to the task at hand:

Get released, ask the priest about the local stuff, and then hit the bar.

I daresay finding allies is important too. Let's scout out the political and physical landscape.

>>17890959

This. I think it best we figure out a bit about the Gnome and a little bit of the town while we're all at it. Not to mention perhaps get to know a bit about the cleric who likely had to stabilize all of our internal organs.

>>17891388
Always good to be polite to people who have to do that for you.

Sadface for dead thread.

>>17891626
Hardly dead. New OP is just as slow as WD was.

>>17891662

Hah. Good to know. As long as the writing is quality and the thread doesn't drop off of page 15, I'm okay with it.

****

Counting it up to your satisfaction, you turn your attention back to the cleric treating you, who seems to have run out of personal healing from all your injuries and is relying on scrolls now...which is a pity, as you rather enjoyed the ‘personal touch’. Speaking of...

"So... the old man always go around slapping people's... uh... Dignity? And if I may ask, is there anything I should really watch after a fall like that? I... uh... can't really feel a lot of things right now... And that's usually not a good sign."

Her face twists between one of personal amusement and professional candour, blinking closed her almond eyes for a second before looking up at you warmly.

“I watch that you don’t do that again,” She murmurs lowly, obviously not used to talking through her thick nomad accent, “I was the one that saved you, you know. Is why I have to rely on these. Most of my powers...poof! Gone on keeping your heart working. As for my boss...”

She frowned, shrugged, and idly began to re-read her scroll.

“He is very crude, yes. No ladies in security like him much I say for fact, but...compared to old chief? He’s not so bad. I mean...” She airs her arm around, trying to grab the proper phrasing, “For Gnome, he’s pretty straightforward, and...good at heart. Uh, or, at least he looks out for town as well as himself. And this is independent town, so...everyone has to look out for themselves, yes?”

Shrugging a lack of knowledge at her, you let Sahhi carry on her work, and after another half an hour she finally seems satisfied, helping you up out of the bed and leaving you to morph some new clothes for yourself. Sadly, it seems she has left to do more clerical work (hoho) and couldn’t be sweet-talked into a romp about town.

>>17891815

Stepping out onto the streets and into what must count for a marketplace, you can’t say you believe her about the Gnome doing a very good job on the whole ‘looking out for town’ thing. It’s as disappointing up close as it was from the sky; the crowds were just a little too thin and the stores a little too short on goods to call it thriving. Strolling through though and looking at what’s on offer, you get a slightly clearer idea of why this is- a lot of the stalls, the ones that seem bigger or more well-furnished, aren’t open. And it doesn’t strike you that they’ve been abandoned just because this town is a stain on the landscape.

It wouldn’t surprise you if they had, though.

Another intriguing feature of the town opens up toward the end of the main street which leads onto the churches: a few of them seem to be selling their own wares. More than that, some seem to be selling better quality items for a cut-down price. Not all were open for selling at the moment though; The church of the Red Lord, with its gold-chokered (and hot) priestesses, seem to have closed up early for some evangelising. No church you’d ever heard of, but then they were one of several lesser establishments on this stretch alone clamouring for the souls of a community on the edge of decline. There was blood in the water here, alright...

>>17891833

After a few hours of navigating the mobs you wisely decide to look for a job before buying the equipment you might need for it, backtracking a little after having fancied to spy a decent-sized tavern earlier called ‘Jinn Charaba’. And as would fit, it seemed THIS was the establishment which was propping up the town’s spirits with spirits of its own. Inside it was humans mostly, but with smattering groups of other races dotted about, Half-Orc, Gnome, Halfling...hmm. A notable absence of Dwarves...unusual for a pub in a trading town.

Waving for the barman (who’s been eyeing you strangely since you walked in, you note) you order a pint for yourself, leaning back on the bar to appraise the place. A bulletin board of odd-jobs was at the far end and there were others eyeing around at the papers being passed back and forth and the under-table dealings, but it seemed almost sombre, as if you’d stepped into one of those churches on the street. This town seemed gripped in something worrisome alright...it was hard to know where to start your own fretting first.

Hmm, seems like a lot of avenues to pick up here. We could just ask around about the locale, like why it's so desolate, what all the churches are doing here, etc. We could go into a church ourselves, or maybe ask the market guys what's up or get a bit of information about who's actually running this place. Check the board for jobs too, or ask the guys who're currently dealing for a cut in.

Check out the bulletins, see what we can overhear or oversee in the tavern, and decide whether this is a classy enough establishment to grace with our presence for the evening/night.

>>17891858
Azaladon's been busy.

So, would trolling him be worth it, or a rapid-suicide option?

>>17891858

>To the bartender

"Hey, I'm a little new in town... Mind if I ask what's up with all the closed stalls? I'm pretty sure I saw some empty pickins' by the marketplace. I can say with honesty that where I come from, there's always an... opportunity to help, if you follow me."

>>17892102

It would be suicide at our current level

We need to hook ourselves up with some hot priestesses. And maybe get some info while we're at it. Bonus points if it's on the pew.

>>17892229

Dude you know what evangelists are like, those priestessess be nothing but trouble.

>>17892242
Maybe we can evangelize a particularly exquisite specimen away from the cult. If it's a one-time thing, it probably wouldn't be significant enough to catch real flak for it, and it would feel delightfully trolly.

Or we can look after more normal methods of entertainment/info-gathering.

>>17892242

Maybe we LIKE a little bit of trouble.

>"Hey miss. Evangelize THIS! (And un-polymorph)

>>And for the love of god don't take this post seriously. I don't want to derail the awesome thread.

(A minor update for y'all)

********

Figuring to start somewhere, you jostle past the people sat around (to a few more stares as they notice you) and toward the board, looking to see what jobs were on offer.

The most lucrative seems to be a rather bemusing one; a Storm Giant wants to hire help to tend its garden over by the mountains. Regular labour for a large group and comfortable surroundings...but not for you.
Second on the list calls for an adventuring party to both track the Aswad‘Akrab, a colossal scorpion that seems to be causing trouble for both this town and the city of Rasimr to the north, where the bounty has been issued from. It seems intriguing that the local authorities seem to want to deal with it themselves...perhaps they believe a party like could be found here couldn’t kill it. But why put the notice up here and issue the bounty collection somewhere else?
Third was work to go to get revenge on a small Orc settlement that was apparently been hampering the messagebird network of the town to its horse outposts; simple culling of evil creatures for a tidy packet.
Fourth and last before it went into advertisements was some under-town patrol work to be undertaken in shifts of two. Details were vague, there.

Stepping back you take a final swig whilst committing them to memory before heading back to the bar to get another. Something about them (except the kind of cheery giant one) carries an uneasy quality you don’t like. Not enough background info, perhaps...asking around might be wise afterall.

*******

Which is the quickest?

>>17892384

Good to know. Going under-town (which I presume is sewer/slums) would be awesome if we can find a partner to split 50/50 (ehh, make it 70/30) with.

We're not going to make any money if we play entirely by the rules. Especially in THIS kind of local economy.

>>17892433

Besides, we're a goddamn dragon. We really don't need to be getting DRAGON-class treasure by helping some giant plant tulips.

I'm pretty sure that we have a decent magical arsenal at our disposal. Maybe we can find a use for some of it. I'm thinking particularly disposition affecting spells.

>>17892384
Killing a camp of orcs and killing a giant scorpion both seem entirely doable for one of our skills. Should investigate. Let's see what we can hear or find out about the oddities of these arrangements. I'm tempted to venture into the undercity too, if only for the mystery.

Find out what's going on, as best we can; check out the under city patrol, commit if it looks interesting, and then either patrol or go hunting giant scorpions/orcs.

If we just strafe with our breath weapon, the scorpion ought to be both easy and safe, though we might want to worry in case anyone else is watching for dragons (or other dragons) in the region.

>>17892384

Giant one is kind of sweet. Seems that the market is down here...maybe when he or her sets up properly we could talk trade with the town.

Scorpion one seems like it could be done relatively fast, but is kind of baffling.

Orcs we could go along with quite easily. The under-town seems interesting too.

I'd like to hea more of what the woes of the people are first though.

>>17892384
Question, though. I know we're a Silver dragon, so we're technically on the good scale. However, what motivates us? Do we like knowledge? Do we like spreading "good"? At what cost? Do we have a thing for Bahamut or Io? Maybe we're still young and searching for what makes us tick?

I'm asking these now so I know, as a player, what would be the appropriate actions. Anyone have any recommendations?

>>17892807
Don't try to fit your actions to a mould. A mould will fit the actions of our character. =]

>>17892854
Molds also help keep order. God forbide the quests gets slow for a moment, then everyone comes back to find that we went on a murderous rampage of all our servants. However, if that's the case, Bahamut all the way, baby. He's a cool guy; made of platinum and doesn't afraid of anything.

>>17892807

At a guess, we're busy exploring and being out on our own in the world for the first time, being kicked out of our parent's lair. At a guess, that means we're a bit interested in the lower pleasures- Flesh, gold, excitement.

I'm down for being at least a semi-faithful worshiper.

I also think we should at least get some weapon to have on hand, and make us look like a slightly worse target for any unfriendly intentions.

I do agree that attempting to confine ourselves to a mold is bad, but attempting to build off of one doesn't seem so.

>>17892915
I like your idea.

Find some easy gold and company, get a weapon, and smite some unholy spawn of Tiamat while being a beacon of good.

Orcs first, scorpion second. Orc killing is nice and straightforward. The scorpion quest looks like it has something else going on.

>>17892964
Seconded, but look into scrying or locating or something the scorpion while we go after orcs. Orc camps ought to be easier to find, and a single scorpion might be trouble to locate.

Do look into the 'undercity patrol' thing, though.

****

Tempted by a few of the bulletins but currently settling on none to be done for the day, you turn back to the barman who’s been serving (and staring at) you for the past while now, intent on some information.

"Hey, I'm a little new in town... Mind if I ask what's up with all the closed stalls? I'm pretty sure I saw some empty pickins' by the marketplace. I can say with honesty that where I come from, there's always an... opportunity to help, if you follow me."

He continues to stare at you, along with the woman he’s pulling a pint for, until the ale froths well over the top. You figured it might’ve been because you were a stranger, but now it’s just getting a little weir-

“-Are you a Suli?”

“An excuse me?” You ask, before thinking about it a little.

Suli...ah. A human with some genie blood in them. Otherwise normal looking (if handsome and chiselled) except for flashes of elemental colour in their...

“Oh, oh the eyes. No, just a birth thing.”

“Hmm. Ah well, I wouldn’t have minded,” He shrugged, wiping the spillage up as the lady walked on, “Just know they like to keep informed of each other, and was wondering if you’d’ve known where one of my regulars went.”

“No,” You squint, sensing opportunity, “But I might be able to help anyway. Was he an adventurer? Is there a community looking for him, or a last place he was known to be?”

“Well I wouldn’t know much other than he was being hired t’do guardwork for the caravans. Almost drank himself under the table the first time he came back, nothing on his back because of...“

He looks past you and sighs a wearily before moving off to other customers, trusting in the meaty arm now wrapped around your shoulder to finish the tale for him.

>>17893211

“-THE SODDIN’ RUST-MONSTERS!!” Your new drunken half-orc friend bellows with a laugh, “All over those trails! An’ that plate- gone in an instant!! Hahahahaaaaaah but don’ worry ‘bout ‘im, ya won’t find ‘im, e’s gone t’way of the Dwarves asn’t ‘e? Saw the ruddy shambles the town was turnin’ into an’ packed up iz things jus’ like ‘em...’course the Dwarves din’ pack up there’s...must be a conspur-conspe-...some plot by the leeda’s and the Dwarves to leave goods as a payment fer sumphin! I know they know sumphin, y’don’ make alla dose’ investi-...investi-teams jus’ fer no right good reason. Prolly innit wiv th’Orks, sellin’ us owt...”

Unsure of what to do with the now near sobbing man, you tenderly pat his head and shoot beams of desperation at table nearest to you, a haggard looking fighter stepping up to take over the burden of being an armrest, delivering much needed ‘Ey cheer up’s to the barbarian.

So. The Dwarves which ran some of the goods stores had taken their trade out of town...but left their back-deposits here? And the security forces were expanding; presumably under that irritating little Gnome, or whoever his superior was in this council you knew nothing about. Actually, may as well ask over that.

“The people who run this town...what are they doing?” You ask over your shoulder, still watching the Half-Orc wail about how the pretty dwarf who baked him stuff had gone.

“Ah who knows,” The tender sighed, “No-one even knows who they are. Five geezers picked out of the populace to govern it, choosing their own successors...lesse, finance, inner security, military, religion an’ culture. Best bet for more info on alla that is to talk to department heads or something. Or, uh...sneak into their meetings.”

You turn to look at him smiling.

“We tend to get the job of finding who hired the corpses who try it, if you’d like t’do us some charity.”

****

Well now I'm definitely interested in the council, but I still think we need some xp first, both in game and in using our skills.

Could we get some crunch? What's our level, stats, known spells, etc?

>>17893232
We can either help investigate the dwarven caravan the drunken barbarian was talking about or help figure out what the rulers of this city is doing. Personally, I'm down for some adventuring before we burden ourselves with political intrigue. I vote we try and investigate the caravan. They seem shady enough, so stealing- I mean, liberating their material wealth won't be an object.

Sounds good. Ask about the three jobs we were interested, and then we can go orc-hunting.

Captcha, just let me post already.

So wait, we Orc-hunting first, or looking into this Dwarven caravan thing? What we do?

>>17893332
Orc hunting might give us the greatest immediate benefit. I'll change my vote at >>17893316 to Orc hunting.

Minor thing: We should fix our eyes. They're giving us away.

>>17893413
Nah. They just think we're genie-blooded or something. Plus it's a little character quirk. They're fine.

Did I hear that it's Orc season? I think I did.

>>17893436
Let's be more competent than Elmer Fudd, but yeah, orc season.

****

You smile back at him and down the rest of your drink. The offer almost sounds tempting in a way, but there are more immediate matters of money and accommodation to tend to, and though the night is young you have a feeling its best to get these events out of the way before festivities take their toll.

“I’m a bit poor for that kind of charity I’m afraid. But I’ll do you a favour and take care of these Orcs for you. Whereabouts do I sign up?”

“How confident!” He shouts with no small amount of mirth, finally glad to see some new spark in his world, “Very nice! Y’can sign in right here.”

Reaching down, the barkeep brings up a roll of parchment and lays it out across the stone slab of the countertop. It seemed a simple enough roster, with some twenty adventurers already signed up to take on was is described as a ‘medium-sized’ tribe of Orcs, which could be anything from fifty to a few hundred by your reckoning. At the bottom, sealed and signed, was the mark and writing of the council of inner security. Looking after birds an important duty, you suppose.

“Those that’ve signed’ll be taking off tomorrow morning, looking to attack the next day at dawn. You get paid by the head- easiest way to keep tally- and get given it at the security services- it’s the bit you go through when you get into town, I’m sure you know it.”

“Mmm-hmm.” You grumble, signing your alias to the sheet, “I know. Despite the comfort of their beds, their not quite the most ‘welcoming’ of hosts.”

“Hey maybe not, but you wouldn’t believe how crazy things used to get when we let any old city state’s apprentice walk in. Half of the bazaar ended up in another dimension- took us years to anchor it back out.”

>>17893973

“What about those other jobs on there, the Scorpion and the under-town?”

The barkeep notably tightens up on mention of the latter, a sudden fidgetiness overtaking him. Not reluctance exactly, more one of warding and warning...and a little bit of anger.

“The Scorpion you can just do whenever, so long as you can provide the information of where it is when you claim the reward...something for magic users I guess, no brawn’s going to do it unless they drag it to the gates somehow. The underground job...that shouldn’t even be up there. Some idiot must’ve thought it’d be funny to just go blabbin’ on about...”

He runs a hand through short-cropped black hair, then stands back and folds his arms- judging you squarely.

“...Well...if it’s up there we might be blown anyway, and you don’t strike me as a bad guy...so I’ll level with you. Us and the other taverns are footing this bill ourselves, separate from the council. Sadiq, that Half-Orc over there? He’s right. Things’re going wrong here an’ we want to find out where and what. Best start for that is underground, near as we figure...considering how some of the people we’ve sent down just plain haven’t come back up. Payment for that job ain’t worth the risk of it for an outsider like you, friend. I’ll let you take it if you want, but don’t expect it to be worth your weight in gold.”

>>17894027

You pause, considering how best to proceed...now might not be the best time to sign yourself up to a midnight crusade. The day has been long and painful, so...

“How about I sleep on it, if you’ve got the bed?”

He raises his eyebrows a moment, then snorts a relieved smile on his face.

“Certainly. It’s 5 gold a night for a single...unless you’re expecting company,” He eyebrows you before extending his hand, “Latif. I hope you find me a more hospitable host than that old codger Welskin.”

“Victor,” You return back with a grin, “And so long as you don’t break my legs, I think that won’t be hard to manage.”

*****

That's all for tonight I think; got us set up with a lot of things to do; I hope I've given you a lot to think about, and above all that you've enjoyed it!

Next thread'll be starting a little bit earlier, at 2300GMT Friday...Or whatever time it is in England at 11PM on a Friday. Plan and plan and ask questions here! And on IRC, which is on...actually, I'll leave someone else to tell you that as IRC is sorcery to me.

Seeya next week, Dragonfanatics!

>>17894055
Ok. See you next week, OP.

IRC is IRCHighway; channel #dragonquest.

Pretty good quest, OP. I vote for heading out to go dragon on the orcs by ourselves. I bet we can take them by ourself. We are kind of huge and scaly after all.


Good job so far, OP. Slow start but original DQ had it too. I'm just glad DQ is back.

Archive?

>>17894116

Mmm. We can easily fly ahead and get it all for ourselves. Major prestige too.

>>17894174
Though that might betray us as a bit too competent.

Still, I'm all for it.

Thread archived. Don't forget to vote;
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html

>>17894180

How else we going to get the big bucks? And we ARE competent!

>>17894239
Sold. Objection withdrawn.

Holy shit when did this come back
Whatever this is awesome

>>17894239
>we ARE competent!

We free-fell into a dozen wards and got taken prisoner by a fucking gnome.

We're about as competent as a wet noodle.

>>17894543
so about average competence/intelligence for a silver dragon, no?

>>17894543
You seem riled, bro. We were incautious, and they got one over us, why throw a fit about it? It's not like we're old enough or have enough enemies we should have crippling paranoia at all times.