Sapphire:Sessions:20150718
Capturing Mages
The group leaves the ruins and arrives in Eimoor just before dawn. During the ride to Eimoor, Shawna has become more and more distance and pre-occupied. The group reclaims their rooms at the Elk Horn. Chalker, Ahn-Lee and Shawna retire to their rooms. Yasser has a few drinks in the tavern before heading to bed. Soon after Chalker falls asleep, he get a dream visit from Jacks. Jacks: Hey, Chalker get ready to ride the whirlwind again. More, so than the trouble you are already riding toward. Chalker: What did you do? Jacks: Not I, Rue has been busy. Then Jacks leaves the dream. Chalker shrugs and continues sleeping. Branamin reflects on the incident at the Mage’s Guild in Gateway ten years ago that put him on his current path. He is on constant lookout for his enemies, but they should not be close now. He snaps back to the present and his involved in a poker-like card game on a usually heavily armed merchant ship. In a Bicarn port. The players beside himself consist of wealthy merchants and pirates (what could go wrong). During the course of the game, the ship’s captain pull out a powerful magic ring as collateral. The stone in the ring looks like a 15 carat sapphire. The ring is a power stone. The ring pulls at Branamin. The ring invites him to cast spell. Branamin concentrates on breaking the Captain to induce him to bet the ring. The game started late afternoon and two hours into the game the Captain is losing badly and everybody is taking his money. Branamin notices Captain is not displaying the nervous traits of man who is losing is ass. Branamin looks around and sees other player, probably a court wizard, has noticed the Captain’s attitude. The court wizard does not seem very powerful in relation to Branamin. The court wizard dismisses the Captain’s attitude, but he tries to off-handily keep tabs on Branamin and the ring. He had determined that Branamin is a powerful mage. The game continues and Captain is finally forced to put the ring in the pot. The pot has risen to a very large amount. It’s about 8 o’clock when the Captain goes all in. By this time, the players have thinned down to six serious player with a lot of spectators. The cards are played and Branamin win the whole pot. As Branamin is raking in the pot, he realizes a spell has been casted on him. He tries to counter the spell but his lack of recent combat slows his reaction and he succumbs to the spell.
Branamin awakes bound and in total darkness. Branamin assumes it a darkness spell (instead of lack of light) keep him in the dark and tries to counter the spell, but fails so badly that he retches and forget the counter spell for a while. After he recovers from throwing up and his head clears, Branamin realizes there are two spell on him. One spell, the one he thought was the darkness spell, is a spell that drains him and keeps him disoriented. The other spell is a teleport shield. Branamin takes inventory of himself and finds all his jewelry, money and all of his pouches have been taken (remember what could go wrong). They (whoever they were) also took the magic ring that he managed to wrap his fingers around before they took him down. After several days of captivity, Branamin realizes that off and on the ring has been calling him. He realizes that he wants the ring very badly (my precious). He owns the ring and the ring is his, but he also know that he is the ring’s object of desire. Branamin know is on a ship at sea in a regular sized cell (10 x 10). His captors feed sporadically with bread and water and sometimes a little wine. He has lost track of time and is not sure how long is has been captive. Over the next several days, Branamin hears scrapping on one the wall of his cell. He makes the mental leap that anyone strong enough to overcome the draining spell is probably a mage. So assuming there is another mage next door, to keep the two containing spells in place, Branamin thinks there must be at least five to seven mages to maintain the spells.
Ahn-Lee awakes around noon. He goes downstairs to have lunch. Ahn-Lee approaches two of the locals and inquires about a weapons master that specializes in dual weapons. Local (1): One of the Baron’s men carries two swords, but I don’t know if he has ever trained anybody. Ahn-lee: What about crossbow training? Local (1): There are a couple of people in the mercenary guild, but it is a very small guild, only five or six people. Ahn-Lee: How much do they charge? Local (1): I don’t know what the charge if you are not a member of the guild. Ahn-Lee thanks the local and then he sees Shawna walk into the tavern. Ahn-Lee: Shawna, how are you doing? Shawna: I am doing well, but I have to leave on other business. I will return, quickly I hope. Ahn-Lee: Well. Do what you have to do. Shawna nods and turns and leaves. After lunch, Ahn-Lee goes to the Baron’s place. After a conversation with the gate guard, Ahn-lee waits for Eli Burlen the Baron’s guard who is proficient in dual weapons. Ahn-Lee writes a message of his whereabouts in his journey book while waiting for Eli. Ahn-Lee convinces Eli to training him dual weapons, and for the next two hours Eli trains Ahn-Lee who picks up the techniques surprisingly fast.
Around two o’clock, Chalker get up and gets ready for the day. He checks on Ahn-Lee and Yasser and he find both have left their rooms. Chalker has a habit of touch the journey book periodically, because he discovered that the book feels warm when there is a message (he hopes Aliana might write) and Ahn-Lee has left a message that he is at the Baron’s place. Chalker finds Yasser in tavern. Chalker relays his Jacks invaded dream to Yasser and Yasser says “sounds like fun. I should get another drink. Chalker: have you seen Shawna? Yasser: No. Chalker: Well, she’s around here somewhere. Yasser: She probably somewhere talking to trees. Chalker: You know the trees talk back to her. After their lunch, Chalker and Yasser head over to the Baron’s palace, hoping he has not killed anyone, yet.
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