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Post by Wids on Mar 23, 2011 0:46:31 GMT -5
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Post by Wids on Apr 8, 2011 2:19:11 GMT -5
((Sorry, no pretty picture this time....))
[Translated from Chondathan:]
"To the office of Wavelord Otsello and Wavemistress Arimand
Deacons of the Fourth Grotto, the Queenspire, Waterdeep
Hail, O Masters of Storms,
Blessings upon this endeavor, for I have discovered a sunken temple to Lathander, gone from light and sky to settle in Great Umberlee's dominion! This temple is nicely furnished and ready for reconsecration; the altar is undamaged, and even the priest's quarters are, for the most part, intact. I am gathering materials and sacred offerings through which to drive Lathander's influence away and sculpt the temple into service to the Queen of the Tides. I only need now for someone to show me the way and to give me the Church of Umberlee's blessing.
I therefore beseech ye, great lords and ladies in our faith, to send one or more ranking priests of our Church here to Prespur, that this fallen temple may be appraised and so that we may decide what will be needed to sanctify the temple into Great Umberlee's service.
The temple is submerged in the sea southeast from the Cormyrian port city Palaggar, and I am willing to provide whatever water-breathing magicks are needed for my guests. I shall also spare no expense for the priests' food and billeting while they are my guests here on Prespur. I must only ask for a modicum of discretion during the visit; the people of Palaggar continue to think me a priestess of Istishia, and for now I must keep this illusion preserved, that I may continue to work here without impediment.
The arrangements of the voyage I must leave to ye, great masters. Please deliver a reply with notice of these arrangements to me as soon as would please ye. I am most often found at the Marvelous Mermaid inn in Palaggar, and I wait with boundless anticipation for your reply.
Under Tide and Gale,
Undertow Thallys
Adept of the Fourth Grotto"
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Post by Admin on Apr 18, 2011 1:38:36 GMT -5
*a scroll wrapped in seaweed is delivered to the Marvelous Mermaid Inn, via a ship's captain and Max quickly fetches her before the seaweed can stain his suit*
//Pm sent
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Post by Wids on Apr 28, 2011 19:14:48 GMT -5
Over a bottle of dwindling Berduskan Dark, Serrica lifts her quill from a new sheet of parchment for the last time. With the prompting message stripped of its kelp and tucked safely into her eelskin vest, she rolls her reply tightly and slips it into a spare scroll case, its wood scented with almost enough lavender oil to mask the faint reek of the dead man's hand from which it was wrested.
"It shall be done," Serrica nods with a renewed spark in her eye, sealing the scroll case with its corkwood stopper. With coinpurse in hand she returns to the Screaming Gull, offering Maxwell a hasty word of thanks as she leaves.
// Isn't it sad that I tend to remember where I found certain treasures? "Scroll of Inflict Light Wounds: Skeletal corpse, entrance to the Palaggar Cemetery crypts" and all that....
//Anyway, PM sent. Sorry it took so long.
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Post by Wids on May 5, 2011 9:59:58 GMT -5
The halflight of the early morning spills freely through the doorway into the Marvelous Mermaid as the door thunders open, casting a long shadow across the barroom. The familiar sight of Priestess Serrica limps inside, her torn squidskin armor and her bloodied flesh raked with three-toed claws not unlike those of a scavenger bird, but much larger. "Truth to my words! It is done!" she hisses through a haze of agony and a dreadful leer. Of the large brown feathers in her wooden box--some fouled with filth and gore, and all brutally torn from their dermal moorings--she takes one, sharpening the reeking quill's tip to a fine point with her bared dagger as she waits for Maxwell to return with her room key...a key for one of the inn's nobler rooms, at that. Surely she would congratulate herself for some great triumph or conquest wrested and claimed over the passing night. By evening she emerges from her room and storms downstairs, rolling a freshly inked message in her hands. She wastes no time with farewells as she throws the door aside and marches out into Palaggar's open air, cradling her coin purse in one hand as she marches towards the farthest docks, spurred with no small measure of purpose. // PM sent. Serrica owes you the usual messenger fee. |
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Post by Wids on Jun 27, 2011 22:03:09 GMT -5
[Translated from Chondathan:] "To the office of Wavelord Otsello and Wavemistress Arimand Deacons of the Fourth Grotto, the Queenspire, Waterdeep Hail, Sublime Scions of the Endless Waters, Though I await your envoy's imminent arrival with boundless anticipation, I have not kept myself idle, nay. I continue to gather materials and offerings for our holy work of moving our lost shrine to Umberlee's Shoal and consecrating it anew. The harpies continue to weather my scourge for their sins against our mighty Queen, and like blood in the water I begin to smell desperation from their ranks. It would seem that Ardat the Unavowed herself has sent stronger harpies against me in retaliation. I have drawn their queen's blood before. I shall draw it yet again. I would also make note of a matter of great interest to our Church: from the black pit of Triton's Throat, in the depths not far south from Palaggar, a stronghold rises. Its spires and its pinnacles suggest that it was--or may yet be--some manner of temple. What wonders await us inside? The Goddess of the Tides would surely covet such a magnificent house of worship for her own, if she has not yet claimed it already. I shall continue my strides toward gaining entrance to this dark fortification and looking within. And I confess to experiencing a rather disturbing vision regarding our peerless Mother of the Krakens, a most lucid and blasphemous vision which I would rather not commit to paper. But it spoke most gravely of the fate of Great Umberlee and the Pirate Isles, and I will speak of it in private conference with Puissant Undertow Fargoss after he arrives. All considered, it would seem that my once-lamentable expulsion from Waterdeep is steadily becoming a boon for the Church of Umberlee and for the Deep Queen herself. Truly does Great Umberlee work in unfathomable ways. Perhaps I may write a book about these events once our dominion in Prespur is as solid and unyielding as the great ice shelves of the North. By the Dark and Hungry Seas, Undertow Thallys Adept of the Fourth Grotto |
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Post by Wids on Jul 15, 2011 16:19:55 GMT -5
 [Translated from Chondathan:] "To the office of Wavelord Otsello and Wavemistress Arimand Deacons of the Fourth Grotto, the Queenspire, Waterdeep It is done. Another levee impeding my holy quest has broken. Podarge, the queen of the harpy covey who desecrated our Eternal Matron's shrine in the name of their hag demon, has been struck dead by my hand. When I found the defiled shrine, I swore before the endless waters that Great Umberlee would have her vengeance. And now that has come to pass. By wit, by thews and by vestments of our dark lady's godly power did I conquer, crushing the singing defilers with divine wrath and summoning a pirate captain among the Drowned to fight at my side. Podarge the Harpy Queen sent her defenders to fell me, gigantic rats and furious harpies alike, but they availed naught. To her merit, Podarge was steeped in mystic powers, lending her a magnitude which none of her lackeys could hope to match. And hence the clash between Podarge and me became a duel of rites and spells and invocations, a duel betwixt a hand of mighty Umberlee and a hand of the craven Ardat the Unavowed. In the end, a fateful blast of dark energy sapped the remnants of life from Podarge's flesh and humors, leaving the victory to me. And in avenging our goddess I avenged myself as well, for it was not so long ago that Podarge herself blighted me with spellfire and struck me unto the pangs of defeat. Great Umberlee was with me in that telling hour, as surely as the sea is deep and bitter. With that impediment hurled aside, my work to restore the defiled shrine may continue. Among the marks of Podarge's dominion, she kept with her a single incredible alexandrite, perfect of cut and ample of size, the likes of which I've never seen ere the moment I took it from her person. The alexandrite is the most valuable gemstone among my gatherings, I have found, and it is yet sympathetic with its newly slain keeper, the harpy queen, foremost among the harpies who sought our goddess as an enemy. And so the alexandrite will be an ideal sacrifice for when the shrine is rebuilt and consecrated anew. May all who oppose Great Umberlee meet as bleak and merciless a fate as Podarge the Harpy Queen did. But even through Podarge's death, I found myself nay closer to unravelling the riddle of Ardat the Unavowed. I know that she is a ranking demon and stewardess to the harpies, but as to what power she holds in Prespur, what lies at the root of her contention with the Queen of the Depths and whether she has the power to return Podarge from death eventually...these are mysteries to me. Perhaps in time shall all be made clear. In this, I have faith. Though Ardat is but a flea before Great Umberlee's wrath, even a flea can nettle us enough to hinder our works. If I am to push back Ardat's hand entirely, I would do well to learn more about this demon. But for now, let Ardat's ambitions against the peerless Queen of Krakens be undone. My work to move and restore the shrine continues. May our Queen see Puissant Undertow Fargoss safely to Palaggar, where I shall remain at hand for him. By Slarkrethel's Never-Blinking Eye, Undertow Thallys Adept of the Fourth Grotto /// Yay, proof!    // That's one dead harpy queen. So if Podarge was (or is) indeed a priestess of Ardat the Unavowed, and if she was indeed the harpy leader who led her flock down to the beach to kill whatever Umberlee cleric was keeping the shrine, trash the shrine itself and kill whatever other Umberlee clerics showed up to see what was going on...man, Podarge really had that whoopin' coming, huh? ;D |
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Post by DM Scurvy on Jul 15, 2011 23:46:14 GMT -5
// That sketch is awesome.  |
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Post by Wids on Jul 16, 2011 0:11:00 GMT -5
// Thank you kindly. ;D Too bad I couldn't think of a good place to squeeze the Pirate Captain in....  I need to fix Serrica's right hand, too. The rapier's not quite fitting it just right. Where are my pencils....? |
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Post by Admin on Jul 21, 2011 3:34:37 GMT -5
Now I know who I will get if I ever need a metal album cover drawn.
That's truly inspiring!
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Post by Wids on Jul 21, 2011 3:44:11 GMT -5
(Quick! Where's this forum's "Dance" emoticon? I need one. O.O )
Also, thank ya very much. ;D
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Post by DM Scurvy on Jul 22, 2011 18:18:09 GMT -5
(Quick! Where's this forum's "Dance" emoticon? I need one. O.O ) /*  */ |
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Post by iamsobadatplaynwn on Jul 25, 2011 21:43:58 GMT -5
(Quick! Where's this forum's "Dance" emoticon? I need one. O.O ) /* */ Hahaha |
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Post by Wids on Jul 26, 2011 19:55:15 GMT -5
 // And so, with last night's victory by a telling thrust from Serrica's rapier, Podarge and her lackeys have killed Serrica twice, and Serrica has killed Podarge twice. The score is thus tied, 2-2. I look forward to the tiebreaker. // Okay, okay...back on topic. Next post a-coming. |
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Post by Wids on Aug 8, 2011 1:04:52 GMT -5
[Translated from Chondathan:] "To the office of Wavelord Otsello and Wavemistress Arimand Deacons of the Fourth Grotto, the Queenspire, Waterdeep Hail, Speakers of the Thundering Swells, I give my truest praise to Puissant Undertow Fargoss for making the arrangements in sending the Church's envoy to Prespur. As our Dread Eternal Lady willed, Sam Sampson arrived safely in Palaggar to oversee this holy endeavor, and I was there to meet him. Some time was spent acquainting Master Sampson with Palaggar and her surroundings while informing him of our situation here. We then visited the Crafty Crafters workshop, where I introduced him to a dwarven craftsman who will aid us in building the reclaimed shrine into greater glory. The dwarf too was appraised of my progress in finding yet more artificers to join us in this lofty task. Parting with the dwarf, I then led Master Sampson into the Creekwood Forest which stands between Palaggar and Great Umberlee's shrine. As Sampson's safety is foremost of my cares, I called forth another doomed soul among the Drowned to fill the bones of a lost wanderer and defend him from attack. And the attacks were many, from dire beasts to owlbears to the reclusive Nightsinger wizards. In felling this lot did Master Sampson prove himself an even mightier and more favored Umberlant than myself, and I was swooned in knowing then how much import this shrine holds with our Church. And for that, I do thank ye, esteemed lords and mistresses, for your peerless and farseeing wisdom. Our party emerged from the forest to find the defiling harpies swooping and ambling about, defending the shrine which they had taken from our Dark Sea Queen in the name of their cowardly demon princess. The harpies were on us shortly after, and Master Sampson, the Drowned pirate captain and I struck them down as they came at us over land and on the winds, denying them quarter, rewarding their fury with death and piling the corpses where we met them in battle. The harpies then fled, leaving their dead behind and leaving our party alone with the desecrated shrine. With his experienced eye, Master Sampson looked the shrine over from stem to stern, deciding what would be done to purify the shrine and restore it to Great Umberlee's service. And as we debated how the shrine might be moved along the beach to Umberlee's Shoal, he came to a most delightful and fitting solution: by our vested power and the power of our unyielding goddess, he and I would raise the slain harpies into undeath and bind them into serving us. Cackling at the delicious irony of harpies enslaved to that which they once defied, I joined him in prayer at the shrine, inviting Great Umberlee's will unto ourselves and marshalling our divine might for the task at hand. The defiled beach soon creaked and groaned with the macabre parade of undead harpies hefting our shrine from the sands and following me as I led Master Sampson and our lifeless throng east to Umberlee's Shoal. More harpies plunged from the heavens in a second wave, thinking to stop us, but they too came to perish and join the undead in moving the desecrated shrine. Soon after, the surviving harpies withdrew to their aerie, their zeal having borne no greater fruit than a field of carnage littered with their dead, and with hardly a drop of our own blood spilt to stain the earth with theirs. At long last we arrived at Umberlee's Shoal. I led our party around the ridge there to find the sandbar where our shrine would be laid, mended, purified and consecrated anew. Master Sampson was greatly pleased with the place I had chosen: secluded from further attacks, reaching from the shore into the sea and adjoining the smuggler's den there, a smuggler's den which will provide our shrine with many artisan goods and raw materials without Cormyr's troublesome Blue Dragons getting in our way. With the shrine's new site meeting Master Sampson's fullest approval, he mended the shrine's masonry and scoured away every last dram of taint laid by Ardat the Unavowed and her wretched brood. Sampson and I then began the reconsecration while our Drowned ally stood watch over us. To invite the mighty Sea Queen's favor and blessing, I hurled a great many sacrifices into the lapping surf: black pearls, white pearls, coral baubles and the flawless alexandrite taken from the dying grasp of Ardat's servant, Podarge the Harpy Queen. The gemstones were followed with offerings to Great Umberlee's endless glory: four measures of Valkur's Blessing seaweed and a holy icon of Valkur, defiled and broken with my ceremonial blade before being cast into the briny waters of her domain. The most crucial step has been taken. The shrine again stands, shimmering with radiance and magnificence to the undying glory of the Queen of the Deep. Vengeance has been claimed; the shrine's bygone home is now polluted not with the blood and bones of fallen Umberlants, but with the blood and bones of the harpies who dared to believe that they could strike at the Dark Mother of Storms and survive to a wizened old age. The sin of the past has been washed away with a new deluge of blood. And if the harpies are so foolish as to lunge at us again, the deluge will return. May Ardat the harpy demon forever weep bitter tears in lamentation for her crimes. Master Sampson remains here in Palaggar for the while, and I will be pleased to attend his every need while he is here as my guest. I have shown to him my many sketches for what I would see built to bring further glory and majesty to the shrine, and I have even presumed to show him my plans for eventually building the shrine into a great temple. Mayhaps our Church will come to agree with that ambition and support it, for one must only look to a nautical map to note that the Isle of Prespur rises at the center of the Sea of Fallen Stars. Were the Church of Umberlee to ever dominate Prespur and forge a great stronghold of power here, the entire Sea of Fallen Stars would become our playing field, where Mighty Umberlee's dominion would be absolute, and where even the staunchest faithful of Valkur and Selûne could not travel without pathetically throwing themselves at the mercy of the Kraken Queen and wailing for her forgiveness. If the Church would have any words or wishes for Master Sampson or me, we may be found at the Marvelous Mermaid in Palaggar. Fair winds and tides to all blessed by this enduring renewal. By the Storm's Boundless Hunger, Puissant Undertow Thallys Vicaress of the Isle of Prespur" // Kudos to whoever built this! It's gorgeous. And the big conch shell on top is a very nice touch. ;D // Serrica owes the usual delivery fee. |
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