Armorial of Ashbarex: Chapter the First: First Impressions

[nijineko]

The dragon thinks some more. Then the corners of the dragon's mouth seem to curve up a bit. "I have a proposition. It occurs to me that you might be uniquely suited to assist me in a little side project that I have been dabbling in. Your debt to me provides an ideal opportunity to test to see wether this is in fact so... or no, as the case may be." The dragon sits up cat-style, even to curling the tail around the foreclaws. The dragon raised one arm and points mostly eastward. "A number of leagues over, there is the fortified range of the Horntusks, a family of shepards, who feed and water their flocks in these parts hereabout."

The dragon's tongue flashes in and out of the dragon's mouth. "Being a civilized being, of course, it would not do to hunt among them, as temptingly delicious as that prospect may be. Nor is it my mind to reveal my presence, even indirectly, to them lest they react out of fear. Using only the native resources you can call your own, bargin me a goodly meal from them, without ever revealing for whom it is you bargin. Revealing me in any way will be accounted as failure. The degree of your success will be determined by how many you successfully bargain for. More is generally better, but mind the quality."

The dragon pauses, thinking for a bit. "Do this, and not only shall your debt be utterly absolved, but I shall be most favorably inclined towards having you assist me with the minor matter I mentioned afore. Do you acceed?"

[Dax Thura]

Wishing I'd put more points into diplomacy at this point.

I’ll take a moment to compose myself and clear my throat before answering, “Even if I had a real choice in the matter, I'd do it anyway. A few questions though, Great One. You said fortified range. For some inexplicable reason that makes it sound as if these Horntusks are not a very” I pause for dramatic effect “welcoming family. If that is so, then my appearance may cause them some concern.” At this point my smirk returns and while using prestidigitation to groom myself, I say, “I mean it would be a sad father indeed who would not want to protect his daughters from a man as well dressed and witty as myself.”
“And speaking of how I look,” adjusting into a more regal pose and gesturing to showcase myself, “would not my appearance, which so very vehemently marks me as having such an imperious lineage, indirectly reveal your presence? At the very least it would hint that someone else is in the area.”
Then I’ll go back to a more eager look, “That brings me then to wondering how many sheep does it take for it to be a ‘goodly meal’?”

Just in case

* diplomacy *

* gather info *

[nijineko]

The grin is unmistakable now. "Sheep... Sheep? No little one, there are no sheep." He shifts back to the sitting position. You get an odd impression of an old professor about to give a lecture. "A few years ago, two families were in great dispute over the lands in which they pastured their respective flocks. Although they have forgotten the root origin of the dispute, it was actually over a most unusual circumstance. Unbeknownst to either family, a mother of one herd with her babies got lost. They wandered into the territory of a mother of the other herd, and ran from the confrontation. The first mother fell and died. Then a most unusual thing happened."

The dragon pauses to stretch out long, and then assumes a meatloaf position. "The mother of the second herd adopted the children of the first herd as her own, and raised them, defending them against all dangers. Each family thinking that the other had stolen the missing mothers, began to feud. For years they fueded. During this time the missing mother raised each set of babies. When they came of age, the mother allowed them to mate, and then drove away the others. In this fashion the mixed herd grew and increased and continued through the years. The children, and their children became somewhat feral, not being around either of the families."

The dragon sighs. "Eventually this mixed herd was discovered by both families, namely because the herd defended itself against the first family that found it, who then accused the other family of some magical influence or some such. After some heated discussion, mediated by a wandering sage, they actually went to observe the herd, and discovered that no one could approach them safely. After consulting with the sage, it was decided that this was a sign from the Gods, and they joined forces to re-tame this mixed herd, introducing all the young from both herds into the mixed one. They also began intermarrying until today there is only one mixed family, one mixed name, and one mixed herd."

The dragon pauses and returns it's regard to you. "You do carry yourself well, and seem to have confidence. Your wit will hopefully serve you well in your dealings with the Horntusks. Fear not, your appearance will not reveal me, only what you may say may do that."

The dragon rises and shakes off the clinging dirt and flips the wings a couple of times. "As for the fortifications, do not worry overly much, they are not to keep you out... they are to keep the herds from getting visitors.... such as you."

As the dragon turns away and starts to move off, he tosses over his shoulder, "I offer you two pieces of advice! When you find the river, cross it. And, if you value your freedom, under no circumstances, share a meal with any of the Horntusks."

He leaps into the air, his powerful wings coming down in the all-important first downthrust, catapulting him into the air. In an astonishingly few moments, the dragon is but a large speck in the sky.

[Dax Thura]

I’ll watch him fly away then turn and begin mumbling to myself as I walk,” No sheep? He said shepherds. Shepherds herd sheep. That’s why they are called shepherds. Goat-herders herd goats, cow herders herd cows, and sheep herders, shepherds, herd sheep. No sheep. If not sheep, then what are they herding? Horses maybe?”
“Whatever it is they’re herding, it was able to fend off the Horntusks when it went feral. And that sounds like the name of a tough group of people. I wonder what kind of people? Horntusk doesn’t sound very human or dwarf or elf. More orc or hobgoblin really.”
“Of course, they did put together a fortified range for these animals. I suppose it was just his choice of words. I mean isn’t a fence a type of fortification? It’s not like it’s walled with ballista implacements and murder holes, is it? “

[nijineko]

You begin walking, and as you crest the first hill you immediately experience something odd. A warmth unfolds in your chest and a portion of it flows down your arm, involuntarily causing your arm to rise and point. The motion brings you around slighlty, as the direction being pointed to is not the direction the dragon indicated for you to head. After a moment, your arm drops back to your side, tingling slightly, and you get the sense that you will be able to find this direction again at need.

Your walk continues, becoming a series of climbing and descending of hills, each different in some way. There are occasional groupings of trees, various scurryings through the tall grasses, and many, many insects. Some of which start buzzing irritatingly around your ears and nose. There is the sound of an animal in the distance, some kind of squealing trumpet of a sound, followed by a booming blat, but you are not able to see what it was. After some more walking you spot a line of darker green in the near distance, with the gleaming flash of water betraying a winding river from between the clumps of green.

[Dax Thura]

You begin walking, and as you crest the first hill you immediately experience something odd. A warmth unfolds in your chest and a portion of it flows down your arm, involuntarily causing your arm to rise and point. The motion brings you around slighlty, as the direction being pointed to is not the direction the dragon indicated for you to head. After a moment, your arm drops back to your side, tingling slightly, and you get the sense that you will be able to find this direction again at need.

Ok. That was weird. I wonder what other magical compulsions I've been infected with. It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you might be swept off to. And when did I start talking to myself?! <Exasperated sigh>

Your walk continues, becoming a series of climbing and descending of hills, each different in some way. There are occasional groupings of trees, various scurryings through the tall grasses, and many, many insects. Some of which start buzzing irritatingly around your ears and nose. There is the sound of an animal in the distance, some kind of squealing trumpet of a sound, followed by a booming blat, but you are not able to see what it was. After some more walking you spot a line of darker green in the near distance, with the gleaming flash of water betraying a winding river from between the clumps of green.

Being mindful not to talk out loud, but only to think, "What kind of creature makes that noise? I just know that I am so going to regret ever waking up today."

[nijineko]

You set out for the river, climbing up and down the last few hills and vales. There seems to be some sort of game trail or path here, making the travel a bit easier. However, it turns slightly and ascends some steeper areas to the right. The rough terrain would probably be more difficult than the path, despite it following the heights.

At the top of a particularly high point, you see that the land flattens somewhat off to the left, becoming more rolling and less broken up. And you also catch a glimpse of something that looks unnatural, a winding line of rock, cutting across the land perpindicular to the river, and on the same side of the river as yourself. The hills tend to block view of it. Looking around, you notice behind you a fallen slab of rock that makes almost a perfectly level area. On one side of the slab there appears to be some scratches in the rock.

[Dax Thura]

I'll take a closer look at the rock.

* search *

That's a terrible roll.

[nijineko]

You stare at the scratches for a while. It comes to you that they sorta look like characters, but if they are supposed to be writing, then it is rough enough that you are having trouble distinguishing which characters they are supposed to be. Some more staring at various angles and you are pretty certain that the middle character is the one for love, which would make the ones above and below likely to be names, initials, or nicknames... but you can't make them out for certain.

[Dax Thura]

I'll shrug and continue on.

[nijineko]

After some more time scrambling down the hilly inclines you finally are within sound of the river. The game path you have been following curves to follow the riverbank for a short distance before plunging out of sight down the embankment. You head that singular sound a few more times, but each time were unable to spot what made it. There are numerous trees lining the banks of the river, and quite a lot of plant growth taking advantage of the easy access to water. The river is not visible, but you can hear it clearly.

[Dax Thura]

I'll continue on.

[nijineko]

You follow the path until you reach the river. It chatters merrily over and around some rocks forming a swath of shallow rapids. there is much growth of plants, broken only by the game path, which leads down to the bank. There is a corresponding break on the other bank. Insects drone heavily and small fish occasionally leap for low flying bait.

[Dax Thura]

I'll look to see if there's a bridge so that I may cross. If no bridge is immediatly visible and the river isn't too swift, I'll try to cross here. Otherwise I'll follow the river for a while looking for a bridge.

[nijineko]

Looking around, you do not see a bridge visible in either direction. The water does not seem too swift and there are enough rocks that you think you could make it across. the river while noisy, does not seem all that deep here. It is maybe 30 or 40 feet across, but there is a wide swatch of shallow rapids and many rocks offering stepping surfaces. While you are examining the possible path across, some fish leap out of the water, swimming upstream through the rapids.