Tavern Rumors of Peltarch
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After much rest, and more than a few jugs of wine. Cormac Randolph tells his account of the siege. The saga begins with himself, a lone rider approaching from the south.
"..and as I looked across the sorry battlefield I couldn't believe my eyes. The Ogres' siege weapons had caused panic and scattering among the ranks of those heroes who had sallied out to meet them. All appeared confusing.. chaotic. Grrrhhh... what else was I to do? I drew my sword and blasted my horn to signal my arrival; and charged heedlessly into battle with the first beast I saw. One fell easy, the next I charged and was rushed from the side by an ally! He smashed my horse's skull and I was thrown, vulnerable and injured from the fall. I pushed myself up, and with sword and shield in hand, I rejoined the fight..."
His tale continues with an account of much blood and gore. He spares no detail in the savagery of his longsword and his axe; a great deal of self praise is given to himself and his battle prowess.
"...All at once, from the North I watched as a flaming boulder fell from on high; black smoke streaking from behind like the tail of some malicious beast. When I saw it land upon the great bear I knew as my good friend Uljas's wife, my heart became as stone. I raged with an uncommon bloodlust and charged the two Ogres nearest the smoldering ruin of my friend's woodland bride; and I stole their lives away..."
He gives an account of his journey to the higher ridge further to the northwest along the treeline, and of his daring and rage-fuelled thunderous approach to where the enemy siege weapons were positioned. He told the tale of his command over the battlefield and his great fury in this now very personal one man war. Embellishing greatly; but such is the life of a bard.
"...when I saw their ranks thinning and when they were the ones who had been thrown into chaos, I slung back my shield and brought forth my axe. T'was then that they knew death and doom was upon them. I issued many challenges on the field of war and all who faced me fell. When I finally lead the charge into their siege lines all Hell seemed to actually break loose! As each catapult operator fell a team worked at my back; when I finally reached the end of the line a great roaring explosion ripped through the line of catapults and destroyed them all! I leaped forth with the fiery blast and was carried far..."
His tale continues with obscene and gratuitous violence and bloodshed. The description of guts strewn upon the ground and skulls split with pouring brains is repeated often to delight the patrons of the various taverns he visits. He always ends his visit with a vigorous and celebratory song of victory. It goes something like this...
Victory! We fought hard and prevailed
Brutally! We were fightingStormy seas! Rolling thunder, piercing hail
Battlefield! lit by lightningEagerly! We filled the waves with enemies
Hungrily! Ravens cawingHome shore calls!
We return on bloody seasTwilight falls!
Darkness crawling...So pour the beer for thirsty men
A drink that they have earned!And pour a beer for those who fell
For those who did not return!Raise your horns raise them up to the sky!
We will drink to glory tonight!
Raise your horns for brave fallen friends!
We will meet where the beer never ends!No regrets! We went out to war and strife
To protect! King and countryVictory! Honor those who gave their life
Willingly! We will not grieveSo pour the beer for thirsty men
A drink that they have earned!And pour a beer for those who fell
For those who did not return!Raise your horns raise them up to the sky!
We will drink to glory tonight!
Raise your horns for brave fallen friends!
We will drink tonight!By the time the chorus is sung for the third time, the hall usually is joining in with patriotic and battle-savage cheer. Especially in Norwick where Cormac's fame is perhaps greater...
Raise your horns raise them up to the sky!
We will drink to glory tonight!
Raise your horns raise them up to the sky!
We will drink tonight!Raise your horns raise them up to the sky!
We will drink to glory tonight!
Raise your horns for brave fallen friends!
We will meet in Valhalla again!...He earns his keep with tale and song, where the ale and wine are offered freely he stays longer -- but such is the way of Cormac that he keeps few friends, and travels often. Bleak and cheerless and without taking much personal merriment; and traditionally with no more warmth beyond what a jug of wine and a cheap woman can provide...
((Raise Your Horns - Amon Amarth
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Chaos ensued as guards arrested two elves for disturbing the peace and resisting arrest. Rumors abounded of a possible elven terrorist threat, and additional guards were deployed throughout the city.
Mere days later, an ogre marauding force laid siege to the city with catapults and over a hundred warriors. The city walls were damaged and some civilians killed. A stalwart group of adventurers rushed out of the besieged city and killed the attacking force, though the battle took literal days.
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Word goes around town that the merchants are unhappy, and who is to blame? Why, that gnome Filifred, who was seen attempting to murder a bystander in broad daylight! Despite his protestations that it was an innocent mistake, the shopkeepers of Peltarch are united in their distrust of the chaotic caster, who not a tenday ago managed to make a bunch of paying adventurers disappear in another "mistake" from the commons
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Supposedly, an impromptu "Inquisition" was held by the massive Inquisitor, Cecil, in the Tourney Grounds recently, about a matter from months ago. Bystanders were almost completely silent with the obvious exception of a certain Bardess while a sentence was meted out, some say due to the Inquisitor's trademark stare, which seemed to touch everyone in attendance at some point.
Some days after, the same inquisitor came crawling out of the sewers with, of all things, an Illithid corpse, for those that can identify such. To the rest, he had a handful of squid impossibly tied to some poor dead humanoid from the looks of it, and it's super gross.
Either way, he handed the mess to a guard, and some healing was done in the Commons before the group dispersed, looking filthy and worse for wear, but alive.
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Rumours soon spread of a vicious stand-off outside the Lighthouse temple. By moonlight they fought, blade and flail clashing, to the sound of battlehymns and warcries: Nate Wingates, Cerulean Knight and master bard, against a fierce, barrel-chested fighter known to some in the city as Galen. From midnight to the cusp of dawn, they fought, 'til finally the Knight staggered back against the Moonmaiden's shrine, ragged and bloodied. Sunrise saw a sudden retreat from Galen, still poised and primed for the fight - for vampires, they say, cannot stand the light of day...
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...Narry a tenday past the alleged slaying of a black dragon, Cormac Randolph tells tale of a green dragon that had nested in the wilderness nearby the Scar. Naturally, the tale told is full of personal glorification and mostly without embellishment...
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"Less than a fortnight ago, in this very Commons, Tirreth told tales from the Narfell of his adventuring youth. 'Mimics', he said with a shudder. 'Mimics!', I exclaimed with elation, for having thought them too wonderously peculiar to truly be real. An adventurer's worst nightmare, the treasure that eats YOU, so deliciously ironic! So tonight, as we entered the very last chamber of the kobold warrens and saw the rows of tempting chests lining the walls... of course I thought of mimics! I said it out loud, about to laugh when mirth grew chill in my chest. There were dead kobolds strewn around the room - chewed upon, gnashed and savaged! ...wait, mimics, for ~real~?"
Isolde pauses, elegant brow raised in suspense as she stuffs another forkful of jam-laden pancakes past her red lips, munching and waving a finger in the air as though to bid her audience wait.
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Some long time after the metallic smell faded from the air in the commons, and things once again started seeming safe ... another dazzling flash of light, lightning and sound overwhelming the senses, ceased to reveal a pack of adventurers out of nowhere.
They landed from various heights and positions, several of which were predictably ... atop the sundial.
A cry of rage and despair was heard on the air, "Damned adventurers!!!!"
Or at least, that's what they say...
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The commons rocks and shudders and light flares brighter then the day. Screams are heard and citizens run ans power flares out of control in the middle of the jewel. When things settle there is a hot burning smell in the air and over a dozen individuals are missing, who were there but moments before. Was it an attack? Who knows...I am sure another ale would probably help though.....
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While rumours of vampires may at this point have become commonplace in Peltarch, the most recent story ends with the reassuring staking and baking of a fanged culprit, deep within the old city Barrows. The most curious details of the tale are the vampire's sect of scantily clad female acolytes, along with the denouncement of the divine in calling for 'Clarity' through undeath.
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The city is abuzz with rumors of a sighting of the rare and majestic albino elephant seal! Apparently a magnificent specimen was spotted swimming north from the scar into the Icelace lake, before resting upon a dock in Peltarch's harbor.
Others, however, claim that the "seal" was little more than a profoundly large (and loud) orc who had somehow wound up floating down the scar after being badly injured. Rumors go on to state that an orc of similar description is currently recovering from said grievous injuries at the Lighthouse Temple.
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Rumor has it, some gnome is speaking of a great expedition to Anauroch.
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Suddenly doors that were often left open become closed all through town.
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*A team of a dozen dwarves and gnomes parades into the commons of the Commerce District. They each carry something heavy covered in a burlap sack. Placing their cargo by the commons walls, they take to clearing the center of the commons and make quick work of the task. Immediately after each reclaims their cargo and places it strategically around the area, finally removing their burlap covers to reveal...
Sundials.*
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Calamity strikes once more as a great many armed men bearing masks and robes teleport into the Mermaid inn, clashing with several adventurers of note. Panicked customers could be witnessed pouring out of the establishment as battle broke out all around.
In close proximity to these rumours, tongues wag about an explosion at the Lighthouse temple, and indeed parts of the upper floor bear a very distinct lack of brick and mortar, a jagged hole into the building gaping at the onlookers below. At least one member of the temple's staff was seriously injured in the incident, which some attribute to the same nebulous group of robed assailants as those striking the inn.
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A few days ago, a scribe approached the Inquisitor Cecil in the commons, apparently with a parchment of some sort.
Soon after, he was seen leaving the city with adventurers in tow, to "deal with some attempted kiddie-killers."
He and his party returned a good while later, with a quick and efficient division of spoils in the commons, and a few comments about their final foe, something about a tough woman and her entire band of mercenaries.
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As though stepping out of the shadows of history, the Blue Bard has made his return to Peltarch! Yes, the one and only Zyphlin is back in town and rumour has it he even performed the legendary song of Rath Ashald, unheard for a great many years. One can but wonder if the ghost of the former Senator stirs in his grave, flattered to the point of rising...
Bardic masters, Eowiel Senella, Nate Wingates and Lycka Zomasdottir all graced the Commons with their presence for a heartfelt reunion with their old friend and collegue.
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_*Rumour has it, that a foul stink engulfed the Mermaid in Peltarch. A half orc and one of the Knights Requitum left the inn and were seen going down into the sewers.
They both returned shortly after, covered head to toe in sewerage and excremeent.
The stink seemed to disappear from the inn but was now amongst the Knight and the adventurer. The knight was seen running from the city covered in a cloud of flies, returning shortly after jumping into the river and scrubbing himself down.
The Half-orc then proceeded to chase the Knight around the commons, his own cloud of flies in tow before chasing the Knight out of the city southwards, screams of "GET AWAY YOU SMELLY ORC!" were heard!*_
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Hedia and Z are seen wandering the Mermaid looking for a Gnome and going on about a "found memory."
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flyers go up around town
To help foster better communication in town, Unen Alow of the Bardic College will from here forward offer classes in reading, writing and speaking the following languages.
Common,
Elven,
Dwarven,
Halfling,
GnomishRegardless of any factors these are made available to any and all who ask it.
class times as follows((this is what Unen spends part of his time doing whilst im offline, if you have the points in learn language and wish to have an RP path to learn it, if you want to RP any of it get in touch))
