I nopticed that the sneezing started shortly after the apples appeared maybe someone has planted a magic tree to make us all ill!!!!
That is why. You were the first to make any connection to the apples.
Sorry for not posting anything on this sooner. I came very close to not posting anything here for a long time, if ever again. I don't take well to being called a fool, and those who follow my RPs the foolish (yes, that means you). Not from a GM anyways. Anyways, back to what you came here to read.
The Un-common Cold: An open ended, unscripted, and all inclusive roleplay designed to bring players together to solve a great problem.
Many of you have wondered exactly where, and when this started. The roots of it actually started with the creation of Krook Betifale and his ‘lost book’ many months ago. I am sure some of you will remember the first time he spit at you, then demanded to know if you had seen his book. We will get back to that later.
The story truly started the instant Janeous Creene walked into the temple for the first time, somewhere in the middle of the Thieves vs. Vespers RP. Xillix had asked me to create a priest character to help give speeches and spread the word of Laanx. I was also to help in the RP… Little did they know at the time that I had already started the plotting of the downfall of the Vespers, and created my character to suit. Janeous Creene was, in fact, a priest of the Laanx religion on one of the other levels. But he was also a spy and assassin. He was a master of both herbology and alchemy. Poisons and drugs were his weapon of choice. That, and a rare and illegal Compulsion Glyph used for controlling people’s minds. He was sent by the lowers churches not to help, but to crush the upstart Xillix and her followers. The -first- plan failed, as you can read about in that RP, and he escaped into the Deathrealm and vanished…
Back to Krook. As some of you found out, he was the victim of a curse that would not allow any harm come to him, and so could not die. That would sound like a good curse to have, if not for the fact that it also cursed any friend he ever made to suffering and death. So, he had spent all his long years trying to find a way to ‘die’ without dying. He searched for a portal into the DR, so he could see his wife and child again. In the end, the curse was broken in The Shadow in the Hills RP, which was the -only- thing not scripted in that thing, despite my efforts. Back To the story, Krook finally found the portal, but old age found him as well, and he died…one week before the uncommon cold started. He left his book behind.
Now what happened next out in the hills of Krook’s home is uncertain…. Ok, it isn’t. I know exactly what happened. Janeous Creene had been on the prowl again. During his time in the DR, he had read many of the books there, and found a way to use his compulsion Glyph to control a common virus, and make it deadly. He also found a book that he could not read, as the words kept changing. He knew from mentions in other books that it was a book about an object called the Cloak of Shadows, and how to use it. But he had to be alive to be able to understand it. Janeous learned by talking to lost souls that a Klyros by the name of Jagk had come into the DR 15 years ago, and found the Cloak itself, but could see no words in the book. Jagk had come into the DR alive due to a terrible mistake with one of his potions. So, Janeous came out of death to find the cloak for part of his insidious plot to once and for all destroy the Vespers.
Eventually, Janeous met Jagk in his home in the Bronze Doors caves, where Jagk agreed to sell the Cloak to Janeous. He also told Jane about a dwarf who had been asking about how to get into the DR alive, about ten years ago. This being Krook. Janeous immediately went on a search for the Dwarf, but found that he had died just days before, and that only a few people knew where his home was hidden.
Enter my longtime character, Aeshion, the mute Diabolia, and friend to Krook. Janeous also knew her, and hated her for her part in foiling his last plan. While in the hills looking for Krook’s home, he spotted her, and followed, planning on ending her life. What he did not know is that she was on her way to visit Krook’s home to say goodbye, as she had just heard of his death. So that is how Jane was lead to Krook’s book that told of the portal. It was also how he captured Aeshion.
Janeous waited until all in the Temple had left, then dragged his prisoner into the pit to hide her in the depths for his new plan. He then went to the top of the tower, and laid out a circle of rubies. This opened an invisible portal to the DR. All he had to do is pick up one of the rubies to be transported there, where he convinced a lost soul to read him the book about the Cloak. Now that he had the information, he left the DR to find another victim….
That was all just to set this roleplay up. All of the above could have been found out (and was for the most part) through clues left with players, and asking the right questions. This next part is where I started to involve actual players. Some of you are going to be upset at how many of the clue drops one of your fellow players was at, yet never said anything. *evil grin*
Tria Mepalla was created several month ago for an event like this, if not for this one exactly. She is young and spunky. Just the type that will always end up in trouble. After selling apples, and endearing her to as many players as I could over a few weeks, she was ready for her first spotlight in an RP:
Fri 06-Oct-2006 20:04:27 Tria Mepalla *edited*
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Tria runs past (Jefecra, the guard outside the tavern) looking worried. She then rushes into the tavern and hides against the door.
Maulus eyes Tria, then says, “Excuse me, miss, are you alright?”
Tria peeks out the door, while breathing hard. she then turns to Maulus “I...who are you?”
Tria is offered a drink (despite her young age of 14) by a player that comes into play later. By then renamed Coneitic. Tria looks at the others in the tavern with relief in her eyes.
Maulus says, “You seem out of breath, been running?”
“I... I think someone...is... was...following me.”
"How do you figure?" Maulus asks with a raised eyebrow.
“I saw him whenever I turned around... but I never saw him walking. He was just always there...no matter how fast I walked. I just started to run. The last I saw him was by the library.”
Hovan scratches his chin thoughtfully with a question, "One of yours Maulus?" then looks to Tria as Maulus shrugs. "Did you get an idea of his race?"
“Aye, do you know what his race was?” Maulus repeated the question.
“I think he was a dermy (Elf), but I am not sure. I was scared! He...never looked at me...but it felt like he was watching....somehow. Like he -knew- me. I don't think I ever sold him any apples.”
And there folks, where the first two clues. The mystery elf, and the apples. It turns out she was wrong about Janeous’s race, him being a Nolthrir. In her defense, he is also a master of disguise. Tria never made it home that night. Not the -real- Tria, that is.
Enter another clue: Jefecra’s logbook in the forums. Posted for me by Weavers for my help with their guild.
The incident of the lost girl was quickly solved as well. Her mother had reported her missing after being just an hour or two late for dinner. It seems the girl had been outside the City walls by herself and had taken a tumble down a hill. She blamed the limp and dizziness for getting home late. I have told her it is not safe for fourteen year old girls to be outside the north of the City without guardians, as that is where many creature come from. She promised to never do it again. She never did say why she was out there. I do recall seeing her running into the tavern earlier today, though, looking rather frightful. She never mentioned the tavern, though, and seemed very happy, if still a bit dizzy. I will ask her and Mrs. Mepalla about it in the morning, and send one of the new recruits to retrieve her lost basket of apples.
More later...
