Isaac Abriani

Kai · Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 8:18 pm Post subject: Isaac Abriani

Name: Isaac Abriani, among others

Species: Elf

Gender: Male

Evil/Good: Good

Age: 127

Mature Adult at Age: 70

Appearance: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/38418809/

Isaac is a wood elf, and somewhat tall for his kind at 5'7". He wears an ankle-length blue coat everywhere he goes, and has shoulder-length sandy blond hair.

Personality:

He makes his living as a wandering musician, playing the flute and violin. As a hobby he also had a friend teach him to juggle, and takes great pride in tossing around random objects like beer steins and fruit for the amusement of his audience. He loves to tell stories, and occasionally wanders off with strangers until he's certain he's heard everything they have to tell him. He then passes these stories on, not wishing for the daring deeds and amusing anecdotes of his friends to go to waste. It takes a lot to get under Isaac's skin, as he much prefers to laugh, buy rounds of drinks, and in general make sure his audience, whoever they may be, is having a good time.

Isaac doesn't generally like air in a conversation. A brief moment of silence is a tacit request for a story. The only way to shut him up is generally to give him something more interesting to listen to than the sound of his own voice. Thankfully, he loves to hear other people talk at least as much as he loves to hear himself, so anyone with interesting stories or anecdotes will find a willing audience in Isaac.

He's tolerant of others, provided they keep themselves interesting. There's nothing worse than a creature wasting its life by being boring. His interest in the wellbeing of others is limited largely to his desire to hear his audience laugh.

His capricious attitude toward his time even extends to his treatment of others. He doesn't actually invest anything in most of the people he meets, and often won't help strangers without some indication that to do so is more interesting than his current plans. However, like any truly bored wandering minstrel, Isaac is easy to convince to do just about anything. He prefers to negotiate rather than fight, but talking gets boring after a while like anything else.

Abilities:

Plays the flute and the violin. Juggles like a madman, and often does it as a nervous habit. Carries a rapier, and prefers fighting with it to his magic, which is limited to conjuration and a few basic blessings to aid his allies should the need arise. His conjuration magic could probably be more useful if Isaac really wanted it to be. As it is, he uses it to pull random objects from the aether for the purposes of juggling them. Food, occasionally a knife or a few objects to juggle. They're always small, hand-held objects, so he wouldn't even try to pull, say... a stand of trees out of nowhere.

Disadvantages:

He talks too much and shows off his performing abilities too much. His mouth gets him in trouble at least as often as it gets him out of it. Often seems totally apathetic to the fates of others, particularly if Isaac hasn't decided they entertain him. His tendency to switch names also occasionally annoys new friends, particularly new lady friends. Meeting another woman calling Isaac by a strange name is... often a cause of stress.

Family:

One daughter named Holly, along with a large but sadly uninteresting extended family in his native country.

History:

Isaac is originally from an Elven nation called Kalshana. It is not uncommon in Kalshana to look down upon members of lesser races, and certainly they aren't prime candidates for political office. As a result, while there are non-Elven races in Kalshana, they hold little power and are considered irrelevant minorities. Boring. So many different kinds of people, and Isaac is only supposed to pay attention to one? He left at the first opportunity. His family was baffled by his choice, except for a few elderly and dying relatives who regretted having never left the bounds of their home nation.

So... he wandered. He enjoyed his life immensely, finding every opportunity for entertainment in taverns, festivals, and performances... with criminals, heroes and when possible, a lovely lady or two. What could be better?

Sixteen years ago he was travelling along a coastal area near the island of Barius, a country often torn by political upheavals and forced into isolation by oppressive leaders. Boring, right? He was shopping for a friend in a preposterously upscale clothing boutique. Most of his fellow patrons didn't bother him. However, one couple irritated him a bit. Surprised by his own reaction, he watched them picking out tiny white leather shoes for a little girl with the brightest blue eyes he'd ever seen on a human child. He watched as they yelled at her for not sitting still, and watched as they pulled her away from everything her curious hands reached for in the store. He watched and his annoyance grew. He watched as they set her down to haggle over prices, walking further and further away from the child.

Isaac picked her up and walked away. They were in Kalshana before two weeks had passed. Isaac, by obtaining the services of a seer, found out the girl's birthday and named her Holly. They stayed in the Elven nation for another couple of months until he was certain no one was looking for them. After that, he simply set out from a border town and kept going, wherever he wanted, wherever seemed interesting. He showed his daughter secret ruins he'd discovered in his travels and heard about from friends. They visited temples both beautiful and terrifying, with the lesson that each was no less important than any other. Isaac himself has a fancy for Farlanghn, a mostly-forgotten god of roads.

He raised Holly to speak Elvish in addition to Common, and taught her that despite being human, she shouldn't live a life of perpetual vexation as humans tend to do. Whether her lifespan will be the same as an elf is irrelevant. Elves don't want to spend centuries in misery, worrying about everything. For a human like her it's even more important. Be happy, and make sure your loved ones are happy. Help strangers if you want, or let them take care of themselves. Take care of your loved ones before you tackle the big problems.

When Holly was fifteen, it occurred to Isaac that she might be needing to take her own path out into the world. She had picked up his wanderlust, and how could he be anything but proud? After some discussion of where she might be interested in going, Isaac bought her anything she might need and sent her on her way with promises to keep in touch.

Isaac and Holly leave each other notes everywhere they go, each with a story from their current travels and a guess as to where they're headed next.

Info ganked from...here!

Anything else we need to know about you:

Other names include Jack, Horatio, Aramis, Robin Goodfellow, and whatever else comes to mind. His friends may call him any of the above, though his daughter calls him Isaac, the only truly Elvish name in the lot, or just Dad.

A few lines IC (In Character) of your character entering the Forest:

Isaac stepped out of the town gates with an irrepressible grin. He had heard a wonderful rumor. Not far from here, in a temple to his very own deity, was a potential means for interdimensional travel.

Now, such things aren't unheard of by any means. If the bard were truly interested in finding a way off his current plane of existence, he could do so with little difficulty. Find a mage who specialized in such things, visit an academy for the arcane arts, or even creep through a few of the bizarrely-hazardous and unpredictable fortresses of a wizard gone mad.

What was really tantalizing was that it was in a temple to Farlanghn. The god of roads and all who walk them, whether they travel with purpose or wander without aim. Isaac himself always seemed to find himself somewhere between those two extremes, but always solidly within the influence of his patron deity. Interesting things tended to simply... drop into his path. A clear sign of divine blessing, or so he liked to think.

He hitched a ride with a farmer headed in that direction. Climbing up into the man's cart, he crouched on a bale of hay and settled in for the ride. After about twenty minutes, Isaac found himself agonizingly bored. He pulled from his back the cases bearing those two precious things he carried everywhere he went: his violin, and his flute.

Assembling his flute, he played a tuneless meandering song only half for the benefit of his chauffeur. Evening came. The stars came out, and for once Isaac opted for silence. The only sound was the hoofbeats of the horses on the dry and dusty road. Isaac wiped down his instrument, taking great care to ensure that it was clean and polished. It and the violin were family heirlooms, a gift from his old mad uncle to the nephew who'd never questioned the veracity of his outrageous claims and stories. If all went according to plan, Isaac would pass them on to his daughter when his travelling days were done.

The farmer stopped at his house, and offered Isaac dinner in exchange for the free flute performance the elf had given. Isaac declined, claiming that he had only a little further to go and was quite simply too excited to stop and have a proper visit. By way of a compromise, Isaac borrowed a few eggs for the road, stuffing them into the pockets of his long blue overcoat.

Hard-boiled eggs, Isaac thought. What a miracle. Dinner waiting for me right inside my coat.

With his instruments securely on his back, and his dinner stacked in his pockets, Isaac made the final leg of his journey. The temple was a modest affair, little more than a lean-to with cots inside for weary travellers. But Isaac knew where to look. He pulled the altar away from the wall a bit, a process that took the elf several minutes. Isaac did not consider physical strength to be his greatest asset, and shoving around blocks of granite was seldom a useful passtime.

Underneath the altar was a stairway down into the basement. He grinned again. Everything was exactly as he'd hoped. He pulled out a scroll and some ink from his pockets and found that... he'd forgotten a pen. He conjured himself a quill, twirling it with a flourish before starting his note.

"My dearest Holly, or whoever may follow in my footsteps,

I had heard two days ago that there was an active portal in the basement of this shrine. I have no information on where it leads, or if the destination is even static. It may well lead to a random collection of foreign worlds, at which point attempting to follow me would be completely useless!

If this note is still here when you come, oh reader of mine, then I have not as yet found a way to return. Such things are rarely practical, and complications will hopefully not result from problems with whatever native creatures I find. rest assured, I shall return.

I ask that, if another traveller finds this note, that you leave it here for the benefit of any who may follow us. I have no guarantee that their information will be any better than mine, and at the very least my note will be a novel and curious item for strangers to happen upon.

After this, Holly... I cannot say. I can tell you that I will return here, and should you find your way to this temple as well, bring that young fellow you insist you aren't interested in. I'd like to meet him nonetheless.

Love,
Horatio."

That settled, Isaac headed down the steps, peeling an egg and leaving the shell behind. Taking a bite, he turned and peeked around the corner. He chuckled through his mouthful of egg yolk and finished off the first bit of his dinner. For the first time it occurred to him that he might have some difficulty with his new hosts. Never could tell, after all. Some were friendly and told lovely stories, while some were downright barbaric. In case he found himself face to face with the latter, he pulled his rapier from its sheath and stepped through the shimmering gateway.

The difference was jarring. First of all, sunlight.

Oh, well. He thought. This is going to be a murderous adjustment at first. Perhaps it's best that I didn't stop to sleep after all. I'll have to wait until it's nighttime here.

The second, and possibly more vexing change, was that it was absurdly hot. Too hot for an overcoat at the very least. Pausing and laying his instruments on the parched ground, Isaac removed his coat and conjured himself a dark blue wide-brimmed hat.

If Isaac had known more about his destination, he might have forgone the headcover, as it hid the most obvious sign of his race: his ears. However, to Isaac his ancestry would have been glaringly obvious. The bone structure of his face and his slight build would have been the only clue a human traveller needed to tell the difference.

Unfortunately for Isaac, there were no human travellers here.

Oblivious to the potential diplomatic problems he was causing himself, Isaac stood and adjusted his hat until he was certain the sun would cause him fewer problems. Unable to decide which direction was most promising, he took a coin from his pocket, and flipped it twice. Left it was, and quickly if possible. Best to be decisive, even if the decision itself was left to chance.

Sure enough, his luck seemed to save him again. Trees. Trees meant shade, and possibly an opportunity to sit down. He hadn't had any water since before he'd left his own plane, and had conjured none thus far. Conjuring water was useless without a cup, which would take more energy, and then he'd have gotten hungry.... best to leave the whole business alone until he got himself oriented.

Isaac approached the stand of trees and slipped his belongings off his back. He laid them in the grass next to his coat, and sat down on the violin case. Shade was enough of a relief that Isaac was in quite a fine mood when he looked around for any signs of native life. Hopefully he'd meet someone who spoke a familiar language.

Actually, I almost hope that I meet one person who doesn't. It will certainly give me more incentive to learn native tongues. Sounds like as fine a way to occupy myself as any other!

(OOC: Apologies for the absurd length of the post. I'm really no better than Isaac, and love to hear myself type.)
_________________
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In the end it is worse to suppress dissent than to run the risk of heresy. --Hon. Billings Learned Hand

Silvertone Bluenote · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 8:10 pm Post subject:

He watched on, viewing a person coming from the wastelands. Interesting He thought, his mind echoing with darkened thoughts. He had not met a newcomer for some time now. Not for quite a while indeed. His form was well hidden and apart of the shadows surrounding the trees within the beginnings of the forest. A pair of luminous white eyes flashed for bare milliseconds before they once more went out.

Silently did he move, without a sound or whisper as the newcomer entered the forest. There was a deep throated chuckle as the new creature entered under the shade of the trees, a cold cruel laugh that was coldest then the early morning of winter. Rishcath had yet to even take form, and already he was close enough to the man to slide his blade between his ribs, in fact if he wanted, he could get closer.

"Welcome to Deep Forest. Who may you be whom enters these woods?" His voice spoke out without a body, without a mouth and it seemed to come from each and every shadow surrounding the elf-creature whom had entered. Rishcath stayed within the shadow surrounding the man out of principle. He always got to know, to understand the one he was speaking to before he made his move. In many ways, if Rishcath was still speaking you knew you were safe... if one knew that about him that is.

Once more he moved until a pair of eyes flashed out of the deepest shadow, but this one seemed darker then the rest, holding a certain foreboding about its form. Once more the laugh crawled forth from all around, like a chill in the air it reached for the newcomer.

"Tell me... what is your name?"
_________________

~*Follow the example of the wolf. Even when he is surprised and runs for his life, he will pause to take one more look at you before he enters his final retreat. So, you must take a second look at everything you see.*~
~*Da Smurf of UV!*~
My Chars:
Siltharyn Rishcath Samuel
The Black Forest
(Lair of Barbannis' Plot Profiles and Blue's Charecter Profiles.)

Kai

Isaac could only sit still for so long. His body was telling him it was time to sleep, but unfortunately, his body was not capable of acknowledging Isaac's drastic change in location. He stood, placing a hand on the back of his head and cracking his neck noisily. If he didn't get up and walk around, the elf would surely fall asleep.

He turned to glance over his shoulder as he heard voices. No... just one. But an oddly omnipresent voice, one that didn't seem entirely pleased with Isaac's presence in the forest.

"Mae govannen!" He exclaimed. "Im Isaac Abriani. I... oh, of course. Elvish would be different here. At any rate, we seem to speak the same tongue. Or rather, a similiar tongue, common to the both of us, though not my first. Unexpected, but certainly a welcome surprise."

Isaac's stream of chatter was only partly from excitement at finally meeting an inhabitant of the region. He himself would freely admit that his mysterious host brought more than a little anxiety to the edges of the elf's mind.

This is no good. No way to start, Isaac thought. With a sigh and a great deal of effort, he summoned the conversational bravado he'd always relied on to keep his mouth going and his blood under his skin where it belonged.

"Sorry about the linguistic lapse. I'm prone to them, but much relieved that you and I seem to be able to communicate." He turned to face what seemed most likely to be the direction of his shadowy new acquaintance. "I'm a traveller from a distant land, come to explore what promises to be a ...unique cultural experience. I have to ask, while I'm bending your... hm. Well, to use a figure of speech in total ignorance of your anatomy, while I'm bending your ear with my introductions, I have a question or two."

If there was one thing Isaac had learned about potentially-hostile natives, or really people of uncertain temperament, it was that it was best to let them know they had the upper hand, at least in the conversation. It was a tactful way of alerting anyone to the fact that Isaac meant no harm and, in fact, could benefit from the wisdom of another.

This had one of two results: Either Isaac made a new friend through the magic of actual honesty, or he bought himself time to assess a potential opponent.

In either case, Isaac had the potential to acquire useful information about his new surroundings. A learning experience was a learning experience, and always more interesting than sitting and watching grass grow on the forest floor.
_________________
RPGWW Forum
In the end it is worse to suppress dissent than to run the risk of heresy. --Hon. Billings Learned Hand

Silvertone Bluenote · Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 3:21 pm Post subject:

(Sorry this too so long and warning, crap post alert)

Rishcath looked onto the man as he stayed within the shadows, not answering him as he asked his pitiful questions. The Zunhal was not one to seek information from, not on a bad day to say the least. For a creature without emotions, Rishcath often did a rather interesting impression of one with emotions.

"You will have to seek your answers else-where." He said, his voice hissing out, cold and cruel. His eyes flashing once more, then with only a bare breath of the wind it was almost as if he were gone, until his body formed right behind the newcomer, a dagger digging into his back, though not yet breaking the skin. Rishcath stood at 6'4" and though his robes and cloak covered it, was powerful in body. If one were to look into his hood, nothing was to be seen, not a face, not anything, not even those glowing eyes that flashed to life from time to time.

"You've not come at a good time I'm afraid." His voice spoke, more quiet and deeper this time, holding an inner malice. "There is something coming." He chuckled to himself, a hollow and dead sound that chilled the bones. He placed one hand on the stranger's shoulder and pulled him in order to face him.

"Tell me what you want, and why I shouldn't kill you?"
_________________

~*Follow the example of the wolf. Even when he is surprised and runs for his life, he will pause to take one more look at you before he enters his final retreat. So, you must take a second look at everything you see.*~
~*Da Smurf of UV!*~
My Chars:
Siltharyn Rishcath Samuel
The Black Forest
(Lair of Barbannis' Plot Profiles and Blue's Charecter Profiles.)

Kai · Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 4:40 pm Post subject:

Isaac, easily a full head shorter than his shifty shadowy shapeless and otherwise alliterative assailant, looked up with an expression of intense confusion. His eyebrows were nearly up to his scalp. He glanced down at Rishcath's hand on his shoulder. He looked back up into where he could reasonably assume the creature's face would be located.

When Isaac spoke, his voice was soft, gentle... almost bizarrely sympathetic.

"Glaur o chuil, angelair lach, balan lín thio ned cam nín."

Abruptly the elf snapped his fingers, creating a flash of blinding light. It only lasted a moment, but it was a trick he commonly needed to use when opponents were getting a little too close for comfort.

He stepped back several paces, and was already shouting angrily at Rishcath. "You know what I want? I want to know why the first person I find here is little more than a bored sociopath! If you run about killing everybody, the world becomes boring, and the only thing you can apparently think to do when you're bored is run around killing everybody!"

He called out to no one in particular. "Anyone in these woods who can manage to control their violent antisocial behavior should please step forward now! Or!" He paused and smirked, pulling his rapier from his belt. "If all I'm to find here are more bored sociopaths, you're in no danger of running out and one of you ought to come get rid of this one. More to the point, I'd like to know how a culture full of bored sociopaths survives for any length of time, and further! What the hell your problem is!"

((OOC: A note about potential combat:

Isaac is basically your garden variety conjurer of cheap tricks, meaning yes he is a mage, can survive combat and even use his magic to good effect in that situation. While a skilled mage in many senses he does not specialize in highly-destructive magic. He is also a mortal. This means that, while armed and not totally helpless, he stands little chance in a fight against the following assailants:

Gods, demigods, demon lords or angelic hosts, giant robots, thirty-foot-tall winged squirrels, Mothra, The Genie from Aladdin, a balor or balrog (take your pick), armies of animated flan from the deepest depths of the Last Hell, the Sultry Super Savvy Sentai Sultanas from beyond Dimension X, or Chuck Norris.

This has been your standard disclaimer. Now back to our regularly-scheduled hostility.))

Griatch · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 5:56 am Post subject:

"Me! Me!" a voice called out. "Pick me! My violence is perfectly under control, I promise!"

Perched on a tree branch was a small woman. She sat a few steps off and above the two. She must have just arrived, for whereas Rishcath was dark and hard to detect, this woman surely was not making any attempts at being stealthy. She was dressed in bright red and purple and kept her balance on the branch without trouble. On top of her head was a ridiculously large jester's cap. The cap had three long appendices, each ending with a brass bell that chimed when she moved her head. The cap and the bright colours made the small woman look like some sort of bizarre mushroom.

The jester-clad woman tilted her head and looked at Isaac. The bells in her hat jingled. "What a pretty light you did there!" she said. "My eyes are still full with small blinking shapes after it, I wish I could do lights like that too."

She put her hands on her brightly-dressed knees and trummed with her fingers -- all twenty of them. She had four hands, her arms split an extra time at her elbows giving her a most excentric look. She pouted her red-painted mouth at the shadow. "This fellow just came here" she said to Rishcath.."That's no way to greet anyone you know. Killing people generally just tends to make them on edge anyway."

-----------
OOC: Nice background and character Kai. Smile

This is how the Jester looks.

Silvertone Bluenote · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 5:24 pm Post subject:

Rishcath didn't flinch he didn't budge as the flash of light hit him, but it had an odder effect on him. Once more he became transparent, easily seen through. He also stood there for a moment as the elf spoke to him. Luckily for Rishcath he didn't see as human type creatures must have, for his eyes weren't damaged... much.

Yet as the Jester came, he was truly tired with the fools of this forest. As far as he was concerned the whole place could burn down, and he wouldn't lift a finger to help. Save for with the plague, he had a hand in helping with that, only because it endangered himself and his goal. He paid no mind, and simply vanished, off to his search once more, these two would not provide him with information, he already knew that.

As the shadow left however, a small black mouse that stood on a pair of legs was trying to blink away the lighted dots from his eyes and was teetering on a branch dangerously, until he lost his footing completely. The small black mouse fell fromt he branch, right onto the Jester's large hat .

"Sorry about that" He said politely, looking around for a way to get down, but as far as he could tell there wasn't any. "Didn't mean to drop in on you two like that. My name is Samuel Brooks, It's a pleasure to meet you both."

----------

((Murrr Rishy is giving me a headache at the moment, and Sam is a nicer guy to meet, so I pulled him in and took Rishy out. Sorry couldn't be helped.))
_________________

~*Follow the example of the wolf. Even when he is surprised and runs for his life, he will pause to take one more look at you before he enters his final retreat. So, you must take a second look at everything you see.*~
~*Da Smurf of UV!*~
My Chars:
Siltharyn Rishcath Samuel
The Black Forest
(Lair of Barbannis' Plot Profiles and Blue's Charecter Profiles.)

Griatch · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 5:58 pm Post subject:

OOC: Not really my turn, but since the mouse fell on top of the Jester's hat I figure she should at least respond to that.
------------

The woman blinked when the shadow that was RIshcatch faded away. She shrugged at the elf below. "I wonder if it was something I said?" she suggested. Shadows sure behaved strangely in this forest. Not long ago she had met the very independent shadow of the shimmer Anani. Anani's shadow had been much nicer than this one though.

She jolted when something fell on her hat from above. She couldn't see what it was, but it sure was polite. "Hello, Samuel" she said and tried in vain to angle her eyes upwards and backwards to see through her skull and hat at the one talking. It maddened her not to know what it was sitting at her hat. She held up her hand to allow whatever it was to climb onto it. "I know my hat is confortable, but I'm just too curious to let you sit up there unseen, master Brooks. Jump on so I can take a look at you! But please don't scratch me. I don't like scratches very much."

Kai · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 10:11 pm Post subject: Triangle man hates person man?

Isaac glanced to his apparent new ally and back to Rishcath. When the mysterious cloaked figure vanished he sighed with a brief little hffing noise.

His heart was pounding and he couldn't help but be rather angry at the specter. He could handle many things for the sake of exploration, but what a pointlessly aggravating meeting that was! What a pointlessly-aggravating man that was!

Isaac was surprised at himself, at the fact that his hand was still shaking from more than anger. He'd been anticipating a fight. The sensation of his fingers aching for a sword was infrequent enough to be of note to the elf, and a source of mild amusement at his purely-masculine desire for a battle to the death.

Putting his rapier back into its sheath on his belt and flipped his hat off his head. Isaac pulled a hand through his hair, sweeping it out of his face and swept his coat back behind him in a rather theatrical bow to his new acquaintance.

"My cautious gratitude to you, and my relief that you seem to have much better taste in attire than our departed friend." He looked up with a mischievous grin. "Lucignolo is the name for today, but for such a gracious and sensible lady, Lucio or even Luke would be a welcome sobriquet."

He stood up properly and addressed his audience directly. "I apologize if I blinded anyone briefly with the light spell. It was not my intention. Well, it was, but only in the most limited of applications dealing with Mr. Mystery. Despite regrettable mistaken effects on innocent bystanders, I must express intense pleasure that my lady enjoyed its execution. As for you, my small friend, it is a distinct honor to meet you as well."

Isaac's anger was beginning to wane in the face of a potentially-interesting --and certainly less hostile-- audience. With one last sigh, he shoved the emotion to the side, resolving not to let one maladjusted shadow ruin his day.

"So, in light of potential alliances, acquaintances, friendships, fellowship, or at the very least company... would either of you like to come join me down on the ground?"

Silvertone Bluenote · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 5:15 am Post subject:

No matter what Sam did, he couldn't get footing on the Jester's hat, he stood up and fell over and stood up and fell over. He wasn't exactly a cluts indeed, he was actually a trained spy. Yet as the Jester spoke he actually laughed out loud rather quietly as the Jester put one of her hands up next to him.

"Thank you, and I didn't mean to fall atop your hat I'm afraid, but I was rather startled by that light." Sam wasn't normally very willing to jump into another person's hand, because that often put him at a large disadvantage, but he slowly complied making sure his claws didn't scratch the Jester and he carefully sat down in her hand, his tail looping around her thumb.

"Thank you for understanding though." He laughed as the elf spoke, a soft sound that held no malice of any sort in it. "My friend, I would have made a flash equal to the intensity of the sun if it meant getting that shadow-thing away from me! And no permanent harm done, just a tad of bruising for my dignity." His voice wasn't very serious and there was a playful glint behind his eyes as he listened, and then he laughed once more. "Well, I'd be more then willing to come down to chat with you, but it seems it is up to this beautiful young lady at the moment." He looked up at the Jester and bowed his head softly in greeting. "If it so pleases the lady, may we join our guest on the ground? Or would you perhaps wish to stay up here?"
_________________

~*Follow the example of the wolf. Even when he is surprised and runs for his life, he will pause to take one more look at you before he enters his final retreat. So, you must take a second look at everything you see.*~
~*Da Smurf of UV!*~
My Chars:
Siltharyn Rishcath Samuel
The Black Forest
(Lair of Barbannis' Plot Profiles and Blue's Charecter Profiles.)

Griatch · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 7:50 am Post subject:

The woman squinted at the strange creature now sitting in one of her four hands. A small mouse creature it was, upright and with the cutest little ears! The Jester smiled brightly, looking between the elf and the mouse as they spoke to each other. She tilted her head when it turned back at her, severely distracted by its not-quite-mouse-like eyes.

She waved to the mouse, laughing at his courteous manners. It was a strange thing to see, since she waved with the other hand on the same arm. "You call me beautiful?" she giggled with a pleased expression. "Careful there -- it's not nice to tease a lady into blushing you know." Of note was that she said this without event the slightest hint of red on her pale cheeks. She continued: "But right back at ya -- you honestly have the prettiest little eyes there, master Brooks! I bet the mouse ladies are piling up to those eyes! Hells, you almost sweep me of my feet here."

Putting one hand to her brow in a dramatic pose as if she was about to faint from emotion, the woman winked at at the mouse before turning to nod at the elf.
"And by coincidence, it does so please this 'beautiful lady' to get out of this tree!"

The woman more seemed to pour off the branch than jumping off it, smoothly landing on the ground a few steps away from Isaac, still with the mouse next to her face.

On the ground, it was clear the woman was more than a head shorter than Isaac , but her huge hat almost compensated for that. With the jingle of bells, she bowed back at him, mimicking his court bow with great seriousness. "Lucignolo, Lucio or Luke? I pick Luke, for it reminds me of a glass of luke-warm millk. I like milk, and I like you, so it all fits perfectly."

She straightened her back and shrugged. "As for myself, names tend to fall off me all the time. They just don't want to stay for long you see. Nasty buggers, names are, don't know what I ever did to them ... So call me what you will! Maybe it'll stick for a while."

Kai · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 10:16 pm Post subject:

"Phenomenal!" Isaac exclaimed. "A young lady wanting a name meets a man with a flair for nomenclature. Let's see. Something elegant, something ostentatious. Alessandra. Can be shortened to Alex, Sandra, Liz, or any number of options."

He looked down at the colorful little lady. She was around the same height as his daughter, and only slightly more colorfully-dressed. This was a good omen in his mind. "You seem like an Alessandra to me. Perhaps tomorrow we'll find we've tired with our names from today and we'll rehash the whole issue again, eh?"

The elf pulled his hat back on top of his head and picked up his bags, reslinging them over his back. "You know. I had considered that such a place as this would have hordes of interesting people in it, as places tend to do. I seem to have found them, or more precisely, found you and am quite happy to have done so. It would be my distinct pleasure to enjoy your company a while longer, time enough to hear what tales you have to tell of life in this forest. Or, if you have other amusements in mind, I'm always ready to lend a story, a song, or a conjured odd item or two."

He turned and took a step as if to set out into the trees on his new grand adventure, but turned on his heel to face them again. "So, my new friend Samuel and my good lady Alessandra... do either of you make music? You, for instance Alessandra, would be a prodigious talent in percussion or possibly one of the more elaborate reed instruments while I wager our Samuel could be given anything of suitable size."

Griatch · Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 2:55 pm Post subject:

I think Blue is tied up in a lot of RL stuff. In the interest of keeping this going, I suggest we move on. She'll soon catch up I'm sure.
---------------

The woman clapped her hands, making a small spin on the spot. "Allessandra!" she exclaimed, "I like it. Do I really look like an Allessandra to you? How woderful. Then that is what I am. You're good with names, mister." She repeated the name for herself. "I better not shorten it though" she said thoughtfully. "Then the name might get mad and slip away from me again."

Alessandra let off Samuel on her shoulder and walked after the elf. "Oh, you look like you can play far better than ever little me" she smiled up at him. "I could dance though, if you like. Dancing is fun. And I love to tell stories just as much as I love hearing them!" She continued brightly: "How about you play and tell a story at the same time? I'm sure you have wonderful stories to tell! If you do and your music is fair, I'll try to dance it for you."

Silvertone Bluenote · Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 8:41 pm Post subject:

School is killing me >.>; and my inspiration

Sam laughed softly once more, a light springing to his eyes as the Jester spoke to him. He couldn't help but see that wink she sent at him. He chuckled softly, but then grabbed ahold of her thumb as she suddenly flowed off of the branch, grinning practically from ear to ear.

As the Jester moved him from her hand to her shoulder, he gently, and carefully rested one of his hands on her neck for balance, he wasn't entirely use to sitting atop of another's shoulders. When the Jester asked for a name, Sam was quite glad when Isaac came up with one, Sam had been at a loss, he was even more at a loss when Isaac brought up the idea of music... Sam had a small flute with him, hidden in a special place within the straps over his chest, but he wasn't sure if he should play. He only dabbled after all.

"Well as far as music, I'm not a very fair hand at much." He said, though he made no mention of his flute. "But as Lady Allessandra said, I believe you would be a rather well tuned Player Master Isaac."
_________________

~*Follow the example of the wolf. Even when he is surprised and runs for his life, he will pause to take one more look at you before he enters his final retreat. So, you must take a second look at everything you see.*~
~*Da Smurf of UV!*~
My Chars:
Siltharyn Rishcath Samuel
The Black Forest
(Lair of Barbannis' Plot Profiles and Blue's Charecter Profiles.)

Kai · Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:19 pm Post subject:

He laughed in delight at her suggestion. "My dearest Alessandra, as much credit as I give myself, I don't believe myself capable of simultaneous oration and musical performance, particularly as one of my instruments requires the use of my mouth, making it sadly unavailable for use in verbal expression."

A story, she says. A story. Which one, which one... Oh, well. Something will come.

"Of course, I am not unfamiliar with collaborating with other performers, even to the extent of working with dancers, painters, and textile workers. You really never know where you'll find talent. My daughter for example, has a lovely singing voice. In the early days of our travels, she and I would improvise on the flute and violin. She didn't take to the violin as quickly as she did wind instruments, but she's a far better singer than I."

He turned and briefly examined Alessandra. "You remind me a bit of her, in several ways. You're... manually-gifted in a way that she is not, but I think she would greatly admire your style of dress. I couldn't bring her with me, unfortunately. She's off travelling with her drow friend. Do you have drow here? I'd imagine if we can communicate verbally that we must have still more in common, possibly including similar racial compositions."

That gave him a moment's pause. If they spoke the same language, then some variety of Common must translate over to this plane. The linguistic implications of it were intriguing, but for another man of a more scholarly bent to evaluate. Isaac simply found it a curiosity.

"At any rate, he's an interesting fellow. I haven't met him personally, but Holly tells me a great deal about him. I think that he and our shadowy friend would either get along famously or murder each other on sight. Just the same, he takes good care of her, looks out for her. And then there's Ardam. He's a holy warrior of our god of freedom back home, and from what I've seen of him and heard along the grapevine, he's quite the upstanding fellow. Classic knight-in-shining armor type, but with a good healthy flair for drama." With a mischievous smile he noted, "She also insists that he's just a friend, but I think she's beginning to reach that age and simply hasn't realized it yet."

"I really wish I could have brought her along, though I must admit I had reservations about this place before you came along, my good friends. However, I find the company much more reassuring than I did previously. Particularly as you seemed interested in hearing a story. If you're interested in hearing me ramble on for a while, I think I could offer something worthwhile," Isaac said, oblivious to the amount of rambling he was already doing. "I know an odd one about a necromancer back home. Shall I?"

Griatch · Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2006 5:05 am Post subject:

Above them the trees were swaying in a gentle breeze, leaving some relief from the warmth of the late summer's day. The trees were not as large here as they would be further in, but they were large enough to create a canopy of green above, filtering light down to the ground. It caused the group to bathe in ever-shifting shades of green shadows. Samuel was shaded by the jester's enormous hat where he sat on her shoulder; two of its appendages hung above and beyond both her shoulders after all.

"I'd like to meet your daughter, Luke." Alessandra said, looking at a butterfly as it flickered by her. "With a father that can refer to a woman with four arms as "manually gifted" she must be a nice lady indeed."

She ticked off these unknown men on her fingers. "So one of your daughter's friends is a drow. I've seen drow, but I don't know if there are any here. And the other is a knight?" Alessandra grinned with a glint in her eyes. "The dark mysterious guy or the knight in shining armour?" She chuckled, slid up and nudged Isaak friendlily in the side with an elbow. She was very quick about it. "What a dilemma your daughter is in with such choices to make ... ! "

Alessandra looked distant for a moment, as if she thought about some memory of her own. It lasted only a second. Then she put her hands together and nodded fervently. "I will want to hear more about your daughter and the men around her you know. But now I want to hear 'the odd one' about that necro-person. I love odd ones!

... I only wish you could play at the same time, so I could dance ... but you don't have two mouths as far as I can see." She pondered. It was clear the thought of being a passive listener didn't appeal to her. Infact very little about Alessandra seemed particularily "passive". Then she shone up. " I know! I'll act your story then, as you tell it! Samuel will help me out! Right, Samuel?"

Silvertone Bluenote · Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2006 12:50 pm Post subject:

Sam tilted his head slightly, he could never really understand elves, and this one, perplexed him a great deal. For all Isaac knew, truthfully knew of he and the Lady Alessandra they could truly be evil at heart, and simply not appear to be so. Sam had run into people like that, many times on a mission, and he had paid. The scar over his eye was the evidence. Along with another that was hidden. Our poor friend Isaac may learn a sad lesson yet.

Samuel was very much glad for the shade however, the sun didn't always feel so good on his pitch black fur, and under the shade of the trees along with Alessandra's hat, he nearly blended in with the double shadow, or at least he had started to. When Alessandra spoke at one point, Sam was caught off guard, though he found it rather interesting that he didn't have a hard time keeping balanced on Alessandra's shoulder when she moved up and nudged Isaac.

Yet, when they went onto telling the story and how Isaac didn't have two mouths, Sam didn't really throw himself out to suggest he could play. He wasn't so sure about his skills at the moment. Yet when Alessandra spoke to him, asking him to help act out a play, he found that a rather interesting idea.

"Well, I've never been that great of an actor M'Lady Alessandra, but I would be willing to help you, of course. And please, my friends call me Sam. 'Tis easier to remember I think." He stood up on Alessandra's shoulder, his feet very careful of where he placed his claws, and his tail out to help balance. "So, what it is Lady Alessandra that you need me to, er... preform?"
_________________

~*Follow the example of the wolf. Even when he is surprised and runs for his life, he will pause to take one more look at you before he enters his final retreat. So, you must take a second look at everything you see.*~
~*Da Smurf of UV!*~
My Chars:
Siltharyn Rishcath Samuel
The Black Forest
(Lair of Barbannis' Plot Profiles and Blue's Charecter Profiles.)

Kai · Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2006 1:50 pm Post subject:

Isaac laughed, throwing his head back and clapping his hands at Alessandra's comment about his daughter's gentleman friends. "I think that, while I certainly am a bit charmed by her little friend Ardam, I might begin to wonder about her should she become.... romantically involved with her guardian Xevan. As I said, he's a rather shady type when left to his own devices."

"Speaking of shady fellows! The story I have to tell you is about a man named Elaith Thenswick. He was a brilliant young man, and as it turns out a very very distant direct descendent of our god of death. He was easily quite a handsome young fellow, being the epitome of tall, dark, and sophisticated. However, the unhealthy pallor of his skin and the.... unsettling intensity of his gaze made his appearance more alarming than alluring. He was human, but had been cursed with an aura of death that killed whatever he touched. Small animals like our poor Samuel would suffer its effects and die, and Elaith even left footprints of withered grass in his path."

"His father was on the administrative council of a prestigious magical academy, and the elder Thenswick was involved in all sorts of questionable activities. Finally, the academy had had enough of his pacts with demons, horrific experimentation and plots to overthrow the council, removing him from the administration."

"The boy Elaith stayed at the academy a while longer, eventually taking a fancy to a young lady by the name of Genevive. She was a fellow student there, and decidedly uninterested in him. You see, the girl herself was a necrophobe, and suffered a profound fear of death and all things related to it. This young man was a horrifying example of everything she despised. Not only did he kill everything he touched, and not only did he reanimate the bodies of the dead for his own purposes, but as his education continued so did his depravity."

"By the time Genevive met Elaith, he was an enthusiastic and open necrophiliac."

"You can imagine that his advances were not welcome. He did not understand the meaning of "no" and repeatedly harassed the girl, stalking her and trying to impress her with his self-described genius. Genevive would not be persuaded by bouquets of dead roses, the sight of his experimental undead, or his threats to kill any other lover she dared to take."

"Eventually he resorted to kidnapping her in order to show her how powerful he was, that no one else was worthy of her love but him. Of course..." Isaac paused to interject a sigh of annoyance. "As we can all predict, telling a young woman that you would be nearly as happy with her dead as alive is not the best way to win her affections."

"Eventually Elaith himself was expelled from the academy for attempting to overthrow the council. He retreated and was not seen for quite some time."

"That is not to say, my friends, that he was never seen again."

Griatch · Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2006 2:56 pm Post subject:

OOC: I'll leave it open on how Samuel acts his part here, I only assume he won't counteract Alessandra too much. No doubt he will have more depth to add as the story progresses.
-------------

"Just go with the flow, Sam" Alessandra smiled.

As Isaak began his story and told of the proud necromancer, Alessandra stretched her back in a regal arc, lifting her chin in an arrogant pose. Her face contorted, seemed to become longer and stricter. Her green eyes took on a steady stare, a dark gaze that her soft face didn't have moments before. Taking a few steps, she made an impression of her feet burning the ground under her that was more funny than serious, but still conveyed the meaning.

As Genevive came to be mentioned, Alessandra nodded at Samuel: "That's you!" she said. She placed the mouse on the ground and made a big show out of silently expressing her love for "Genevive", first by extravagant gestures, then by prancing in ever-tightening circles around Samuel, staring him down with hard eyes. There was still some sort of dance in her movements, but the steps themselves where threatening now, foreboding. And eventually she crawled on all four like a cat, until she curled in a bundle around him, leaving him softly surrounded by her curled body, like a make-shift prison, when the necromancer finally kidnapped his would-be lover.

The necromancer was expelled and Alessandra bounced up and hissed evilly, pulling an imaginary cape before her face before walking off proudly.

... and then she returned, bouncing with excitement. "What a good start! But what happened to Genevive?" she asked the elf, before he had time to continue. "Did he let her go when she rejected him? Or did he keep her captive still?"

Kai · Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2006 4:21 pm Post subject:

Isaac couldn't suppress a smile at Alessandra's interpretation of his story, and lent a sympathetic glance to Samuel. The poor mouse had to play the damsel in distress.

"What happened to Genevive? Well, as your humble Lucignolo continues his tale.... he abducted her more than once, but finally he had what seemed to him to be a much better plan. A perfect plan... in his mind."

"After a good deal of research, the man came across legends of the Orbs of Dragonkind. These could be used to command armies of dragons. 'Here,' he thought, 'is the answer.' So he tracked down the two most powerful orbs. With them he could command dragons so powerful they normally existed beyond the material plane. Surely then Genevive would see that he was worthy of her, that no one else was going to literally offer her the world."

"The dragons themselves were not pleased with this, so there was little they could do. He already had one orb, with an army of prismatic dragons and animated undead at his command. Someone had to step in."

"Hakaril Silvar, a military leader and powerful wizard in his own right, called in a group of mercenaries to check the situation out, see if anything could be done. He found a young ninja, a Myrnal (OOC: mer-NAHL) by name, a dark knight named Corrigan, a sorceror named Rildyn, and the very man we were discussing a moment ago: Ardam Elmine. Ardam had been sent on this mission not by the wizard who hired the rest, but by the god of freedom. This particular deity found enslavement of any kind disturbing, and Ardam agreed to assist."

"One by one, the heroes faced down Elaith's subordinates. They fought angels and dragons and even the undead Illithid who helped Elaith command his zombie forces. In the course of their travels, Ardam left them to pursue their foes on his own. In his absence, Corrigan turned on his allies, attacking them in the night. He nearly succeeded, but thanks to quick thinking from Myrnal was put down like the treacherous villain he turned out to be."

"Having lost an ally to treachery and unsure of the fate of their warrior-cleric friend, the others had no choice but to journey on, continuing their mission even when the enemy contacted them... mocking them with the alleged death of their friend Ardam."