<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=304844.msg14869989#msg14869989">Quote from: Zaer Darkwail on 16-05-2019, 19:47:26</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Oh, and not to forget I have to give titles as well. First one to go is Aramis; however I saw no where what his guild rank was (what metal/color is his adventurer tag?).<br/></blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>I wasn't sure just how far he could climb with the adventures he took on in his early days. But I can flesh that out quickly with how I perceive it.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Porcelain</div><div class="spoiler_body">Aramis was urged to form new ties and was taught that experience was the ultimate teacher by his mentor. It was through his mentors connections as a retried adventurer that Aramis entered the guild as a complete novice in the humble Silverlake County branch of the Adventuer's Guild. This was how he first came to know the overseer Lucien Black. Tall, grizzled and missing an eye, Lucien was a stern man and noted how timid the young mage looked. The man was also quite forward saying that the young Silverfish was as green as they get. Despite this dressing down of his character and training Aramis showed a determined mindset. With his mentor vouching for him, Lucien relented... but rules were rules and thus his first assignment was also his initiation. <br/><br/>Recently within the area there was a magical phenomena that was causing nearby woodlands to shed their leaves as though it was autumn during the early summer of Silverlake. Needless to say it was bizarre and he was sent along with several other rookie adventurers to scout and discover the cause and then report back. Aramis alongside the other hopefuls ventured into the woodlands discovering that something was indeed quite wrong. Several monsters had started calling the suffering woodlands as their home. They managed to stumble upon the remnants of crude tools of stone and sharpened sticks and the grisly mark of a butchered stag. Aramis' knowledge came in handy as his studies involved the more dangerous monsters. In this case, the signs of a goblin hunting party. <br/><br/>Carefully, they advanced onwards their ranger following the trail until they had a view of a potential problem. A goblin nest within the woods. They had to return immediately to report this lest they be ambushed. This proved to be the wiser course of action as upon their trek back towards civilization still within the woods, they came across the a small pack of them. The ambush might have gone unnoticed were it not for the ranger catching the signs of being stalked. Aramis' first real battle. The fighter was holding her own but she was being overwhelmed by numbers. The mentors words were coming into focus. Do not hesitate. Weaving magic from within the safety of the more durable heroes, Aramis made sure to take out the most vulnerable or injured of the goblins with a sleep spell followed by a magic missile on the remaining ones still awake. This turned the tide of battle and made the young mage breathe a sigh of relief knowing the rest of his team were alive.<br/><br/>Thus they reported their findings in the forest and Overseer Black weighed in on it. The caution and wisdom to stick to the task was applauded and as such Aramis passed the initiation.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Bronze/Iron</div><div class="spoiler_body">However the guild were to follow up on this whilst stronger adventurers took care of the goblins. Whilst distressing, this was merely a symptom of the problem and not the source, and thus they would have to be at the ready to go back in and investigate further within a few days. Thanks to the stronger adventurers of the Silverlake Guild being deployed to handle the goblins, the younger team had an easier time making their way onwards. Save for an owl bear that needed to be driven off but their prior experience helped to make them stronger and thus the heroes managed to press on thanks to the priestess in their team.<br/><br/>Soon enough, they came across the heart of the forest where they heard a woman sobbing against a tree. By appearances alone she looked to be a hag. The heroes were prepared to retreat. However something was concerning Aramis because the signs did not add up. The fact she wasn't in any form to hide herself or the fact that she was crying raised suspicions in the mage. Thus Aramis took to using a small cantrip's worth of magic before they left to gather information and then deduce what was wrong. There was some kind of transmutation along with an unusual mixture of entropy surrounding both her and the tree. Aramis looked to his party members and spoke quietly that his suspicions was this was actually a Dryad, albeit suffering from a curse. He suspected this because his studies made him familiar with various curses, including an aging curse that in turn make the forest age, and possibly die along with the dryad. <br/><br/>The party were trusting Aramis' assertions but they wisely figured that it was best to err on the side of caution. Adventurers need to be brave, not suicidal. If this was a hag, they could easily be wiped out. Thus they figured if Aramis wished to test this hypothesis, that he should be the one to make the risk. He gave a sobered nod and the group leaves the area with the young mage left behind for the moment. They would wait for only a few minutes so Aramis had not much time to confirm. In his youth, Aramis was told plenty of times the tales of the Emerald Witch, a dryad that was ancient and lived within the northern forests of Silverlake County and kept a vigil over her woods. Those that sought only what they needed and took no more were welcomed. Those whom disrespected her woods or worse were dealt with harshly. The tales painted her as a guardian as benevolent and merciless just as nature itself was. <br/><br/>As he approached he uttered her name in the stories. "Gwendolyn". The distressed crone turned fast with her hands out before her, cracking with powerful magic. Vines and grass wrapped around his shins and legs, rooting him to the spot he stood. Aramis was no master mage, nor keen in observations but even he could see the cornered look in her eyes. He feels his hair stand on end from the dangerous magic and wisely he keeps still and his hands lowered with his palms open. He had no silver tongue to reason with her but he had knowledge. That itself is what saved him. Quickly he figured it best to mimic the story of the hunter and father whom sought her out to find a cure for his sickened daughter. He took a knee and bowed his head speaking in Fey the words that both honor her woods and honor the guardian of them. Finally he felt the vines and thickened grass that held his lower body rooted to the spot release him. <br/><br/>He inquired about how the Emerald Witch had aged so much, why the forest was withering into nothing. The cursed dryad explained that her tree has been wounded with a curse as the young mage asserted. She guided him around to the other side of her tree, ancient.... and injured. Some kind of massive black talon, carved into a spike had been stabbed into it making it bleed with amber sap. She explained that she cannot remove it herself as the curse makes it impossible for her, and unless it is removed and soon, the tree and herself would die. The next question came on who the culprit was and what came next was another concern of his. She mentioned the Flesh Queen Helina, a rather twisted necromancer who was also part of the childhood tales he was told of when he was younger. She was the one that put the curse upon the Emerald Witch's ancient tree.<br/><br/>Thus with his information gathered and a firm grip on how to proceed, he rejoined the party whom had waited just a bit longer than five minutes. Aramis was out of breath but with a childish grin to him as they made their way onwards to more hospitable ground. A safer place to rest was required. Thus he recounted to them what he now knew and expressed the story of the Flesh Queen Helina. The only issue was how to go about breaking the curse. Finding the Flesh Queen herself might take took long and theres probably numerous enchantments too strong for the likes of Aramis to break. The young wizard was resourceful in his knowledge and figured it best to counter the curse or at the very least weaken it. The fables spoke of a ritual used to renew the year in accordance to the Emerald Witch. This ritual also was meant to remove afflictions of aging as well. Apple seeds, blessed in summers waters, covered in snow and swallowed whole during the leaves fall. <br/><br/>The young mage of course couldn't bless the waters but other members of the party could. The priestess set to that task easily enough with a flask of water then purified and blessed it, but the crux of the matter was finding an apple tree within the woods and being able to salvage seeds. The ranger earned his keep in this regard knowing the wilds well enough to know what to look for. Ironically Aramis was able to create a small amount of snow by means of the prestidigitation cantrip but also being careful not to waste it. It would have to be created right when the ritual was to be performed. So the intrepid adventures sought out the items needed, a leaf from the dying tree of the Dryad, the appleseeds to represent spring. Blessed holy water from the season of summer, and finally snow to represent winter. <br/><br/>They bring this to the stricken Emerald Queen and help her consume it in a small bitter pill. What happened next was remarkable. With a sharp gasp the woman withered skin became supple and her flesh firm once more. Atrophied muscles form with vitality and her breaths were silent. Her eyes lit up with renewed vigor and her lips became pink and full. Once her body was restored, her magic came swiftly back in turn and with a swift incantation she had the fighter protected by her magic to extract the black spike harming her tree. Once removed her tree began to heal swiftly. Whilst the damage was not undone, the curse was and in time the Emerald Witch would be able to recover from the blight her forest had suffered. The other adventurers would have to come through and slay the goblins that had taken root in the woods lest they become a major threat to the kingdoms. Returning to the guild and reporting their successes and ordeals yielded fantastic results. The precautions against the goblins were well and truly merited as the other party came back roughed up but still victorious. With the threat removed the Silverlake County breathed a sigh of relief. Overseer Lucien Black was quite pleased by their success and a long rest was long overdue.<br/></div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Silver</div><div class="spoiler_body">Aramis during a fantastic adventure into the undead Necropolis of Namel. His trek was one of research into the Incarnum within the region and how it had changed in light of the cataclysm that changed this nation into what it is, if anything changed at all. What he found out is that for some old habits of their nature die hard and thus he was targeted by a cult of undead that lure tourists and thrill seekers in via a decadent ballroom party. A private party that sought to indulge their natural hungers in a less controlled fashion. Ironically he became enveloped in the intrigue when he was accosted by a necromantic inspector seeking a way to expose the cult. It meant putting his neck on the line and attending the party whilst the inspector disguises herself and shadows him. <br/><br/>Aramis was brave but wasn't foolish and tenaciously accepted since he doubted he would be a match for whatever horrors were there without protection. To help, he was loaned a small necklace to protect him from life draining. What came next was only between himself and a few others but the cult went down on that last blood moon party. During the chaos of the party being crashed by the inspector and her posse, a young vampire engaged the mage and whilst the battle was fierce, Aramis' magic combined with the necromancers wards saved his life.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Gold</div><div class="spoiler_body">Aramis journey through Katmandu as told by him; "So I studied the culture and etiquette behind it as best as I could and brushed up on my Draconic. Unfortunately I don't speak orcish so that meant I would need help or to give up and find another path. If nothing else I felt that maybe the Ragmorra clan would ave been the best chance. Then, it became a matter of procuring the services of adventurers to help me gain a scale. The paperwork and permissions were a nightmare in of themselves and even then I had to go with a senior mage since it had to be handled with caution. As for the adventurers and the bargain I struck with them, I was to produce a magic item for them in compensation for the adventurers should they succeed in the task. The group however felt that it would be unwise to start with the Wirmath clans lest they face something truly dangerous or worse, the negotiations falter with the orc clans." <br/><br/>Taking off his hat he placed it on his lap. "Thus I was outvoted and we decided to head towards the Ragmorra clan. Silver lining was that we no longer needed to worry about speaking in Orchis tongues. A vast ocean of obsidian lace with the most fertile farmlands and vegetation you could imagine. Huge mountain ranges was what greeted us all upon our venture to seek an audience with the clan. It didn't take long for a bunch of foreigners with "bodyguards" in mismatched arms and armor to be taken notice of within the clan territories. Granted we had our passports and other arrangements made ahead of time but they weren't expecting a pair of mages with an armed escort. Good thing too considering that a few bandits did try and ambush us on our journey to the keep of one of the dragon deities. After an explanation we had a much larger escort of dwarves and kobolds leading us up to the keep. Soon enough we were greeted by the Emissary of Ragmorrazzah. At first things were going fine but when the time came to talk about what we were here for.." He gave a moment to pause and catch his voice and recall the events from his memory.<br/><br/>"Needless to say the negotiations at first became very very tense when we told them what we wanted." His eyes kept watching for any kind of interest or lack thereof in Doona. "However, when the Youngest of the Dragon Queens, and Flame of Inspiration had a look over what gifts we had for her. Well she saw that we hadn't come unprepared. I collaborated with the order to make a rather elaborate gift for her collection. A large tapestry that appeared to be completely empty but upon several commands could show and tell an animated tale of how the Dragonborn came to be in several romanticized chapters. Instead of a knight it was a Half Dragon samurai and the princess was a human whom fell in love with her rescuer from a creature I called the Orochimaru, a many headed serpent made of living shadows. I may have fabricated the story from the truth of things but Ragmorrazzah has a taste for art of any form, including storytelling. She loved it and found it to be of suitable payment for such a wonderfully sentimental and unique gift. Thus the quest succeeded albeit with some difficulty and a lot of preparation on our part." That was the end of his rather elaborate story on how they managed to get a dragon scale for his book.</div></div>