The king actually waits for everyone to sit before seating himself.

((in case you are wondering, this is extremely unlikely behavior for a king))

He loads his plate with food as his eyes take in the spread as if he's already gorging himself. He fills his cup with wine and makes small talk, attempting to hold off on any business talk until everyone's had a chance to at least start eating.

"I can tell that some of you are a little unsure of the situation here. I know you did not travel all this way just to eat."

At about that moment, Sonny Lightheart is ushered in and presented. The king rises at his entrance and claps his hands happily.

((Intelligence roll to have heard of Sonny... he's somewhat a celebrity.))

"Welcome, master musician. Please join us." He makes the rounds of introduction to everyone, and bids you to join.

"Now as I was saying. There is a halfling named Searo DeCorwyn. He is a very powerful sorcerer in the employ of my western counterpart, king Solomon Vasgar. King Solomon is neck deep in one of the most glorious wars in the history of the realms... that noble cause of lifting the curse of the undead from one of its oldest bastions. That bastion, Nixmir City, is under the control of an ancient Necromancer... I'm sure you all know this story. In fact, the city, state, and country is named after him. Vardon Nixmir."

((Also an intelligence roll to know about Nixmir. the higher the roll, the more info you will get back. Bards may use Legend Lore.))

"Now, Searo, who is not only a great guy, but wise beyond his years, has hand picked each of you, and from what I understand, two more just like you. You represent," he pauses to quaff some wine, "you represent all of the different cultures who stand to lose something if Nixmir is not removed from power."

He pauses again, not just for wine, but to let his words sink in.

"Indeed, my good northlander. Let us not wait." He fills his plate mainly with vegetables and fruit, but emphatically suggests the various meats, carefully describing where they were procured, how they were prepared, and what spices went into their cooking. Very typical halfling dinner conversation.

After a decent amount of time eating, he begins to speak more seriously.

"As you are probably aware, I am a user of magic. The motion of pelz calls to me in a way that is difficult to resist. It comes naturally to me. I was bown in the citystate of Duncan, and I belong... or should I say, belonged, to a very prominent family." His eyes betray great sadness for a split second.

"When Duncan fell, I fled to Griffon's Mane and joined the Devlinsgrimm military. Shortly afterwards, I was very fortunate to be employed directly by the Lord Protector, king Solomon Vasgar. His quest... a personal one from my understanding, is to rid the world of the threat of the undead. The most immediate threat in this effort is the city of Nixmir, ruled by a very powerful Necromancer of the same name."

((Intelligence roll for info on Nixmir.))

"King Solomon's goals very closely mirror my own. My own family was victimized during this war, and believe me when I say, they will be avenged."

He pauses to reflect a moment, then continues.

"the King and I have a plan. This plan has been gone over and over several dozen times. This plan calls for something that you have in abundance. I will not say more yet, but I will tell you that you are not the only ones who have been chosen. There are seven of you in all. It is I who searched you out, found you, vetted you and overcame the cultural barriers to get you here. If you feel that you were chosen because your family wanted to get rid of you, I can only say that the opposite is most definitely true. The seven of you represent very powerful forces of your individual homelands. Without your experience to come, we will not be able to defeat Vardon Nixmir and rid the world of the threat of the Black."

((Intelligence roll again for info on the Black))

He pauses, waiting for the inevitable questions.

Anna watches as the bard that has sung so many of her adventures walks in. (I rolled an 18 plus I believe I get a plus 3 on int.) The bard was well known by Anna for she had been in many of the taverns in which this traveling bard traveled.
When the KIng mentioned the name of the necromancer Anna's eyes flashed with anger (Again I rolled an 18.) The Necromamcer had been in the groves of the elves many times and had destroyed many groves that had used to be theirs during his rampage. She knew that even if the rest of the party was out she would go alone to handle the monster herself.
"Please good bard for those of us that don't know of this monsterous necromancer please sing us a bards tale of his rampage." Anna asks the bard then she turns to the king " My lord if I co0uld please have a worde weith you in private."
When the elven king answers Anna heads into his majesties private chambers.
"My lord as I'm sure you already know Nixmir has conqered some of our land as well and scorged it with his unholy creatures. My grove was attacked a month ago but we managed to fight him and his undead army back to the nearby groves. With your permission I would like for this party to take over the land that was taken from us."
Anna waits for her words to sink in before continueing "My lord you know that I and my brothers are very much against the unholiness of this vile creatures. I will fight for you till the death to scorge the world of these vile creatures."
Anna accepts the kings thanks and then heads back into the war room and waits for the bard to start his Song

The Northlander helped himself to the food offered up, his long arms easily reaching for whatever he desired. And though Ansgar ate well, he did not gorge himself. The cultural value of taking only what one needed so deeply ingrained into his psyche that the thought never even crossed his mind.

As he ate, the barbarian listened politely to the ramblings of the halfling witch. He was still somewhat amused and surprised that such a short creature should command such power and wealth.

When Searo moved the conversation towards more serious matters, Ansgar respectfully stopped eating to listen more carefully to the witch. The master halfling spoke of a plan; that Ansgar was chosen, handpicked for the mission, not simply discarded by the elders; that the plan was to work against the undead, which even Ansgar had met in battle; that the little Searo, powerful as he might be, could not defeat the source of the undead without him… and a few others.

“Hmmm!” Ansgar broke the moment of silence. “May I ask, what is it, Searo, that we have in abundance that you yourself do not? I am not certain what powerful force you believe I represent that could outshine this...” He gestured to the room around him.

((insert Halfling reply here… continuing on to keep moving))

“Hmmm…” came the barbarian’s reply. “And, what then it is, Searo, that you would have us do? Tell us plainly of this plan you and your master have devised to rid us of this Black plague?”


((not sure if I can make that cultural assumption about the Northlander {take only what you need}. If that's not a cultural value for them, let me know and I shall delete it! Glad to have you back! ))

After a brief awkward moment while Doogan and the King each waited for the other to sit, Doogan took his chair. Somehow he had always thought that Kings always sat first. Either he was wrong, or this was a fairly unusual monarch. Somehow he suspected the latter. Unusual, but well fed, he thought as he worked his way through the various foodstuffs on the table.

“Chosen to represent your cultures . . ."

Representing his culture? Gnomish culture? Well, he was certain that the necromancer didn't have the best wishes of gnomes in mind when making his undead. But why him? In what was was he a good representative of his culture - wither because he was representative or because he was somehow powerful? Yet, somehow he had been chosen. And to defeat Vardon Nixmir?! The undead? He knew that name! Every child in Sanctuary knew that name!

“Your highness, defeating the evil of Nixmir is indeed a, how did you put it, “Glorious war.” The world would be well served to see that evil removed from it. I am honored that you and this Searo DeCorwyn believe that I, and through me, Sanctuary, can be of aid in this battle. But surely you must realize that we are left with many questions. You seem to be waiting for a reply, but I don't even know what I am replying to at this point other than the "honor" of my selection.”

With the questions out in the open, Doogan grabbed a couple of sweets and leaned back to hear what the King had to say. “I was told I was coming here as a diplomat, which also seemed like an odd job for me. Still, it seems to be less surprising than the situation I find myself in now.”

Kilton began digging into the spread before him. The food was very good even if in Kilton's opinion a little too well done. He began eating what he knew but purposefully didn't gorge himself on the veal and instead left room for a second plate of what he did not know. As he ate a bard came into the room. The king greeted the bard warmly as did the elven druid. Kilton having lived the last seven years in isolation in his tower had no idea who this Sonny Lightheart was. He also didn't really care. Music was powerful medium of communication and as a wizard Kilton recognized its potential to be a tool of magic, it was used in some of the more obscure rituals, but music had no appeal to Kilton. He thought music was a way for the poor to learn their history, and he would rather read of that history.

"Now as I was saying. There is a halfling named Searo DeCorwyn. He is a very powerful sorcerer in the employ of my western counterpart, king Soloman Vasgar. King Soloman is neck deep in one of the most glorious wars in the history of the realms... That noble cause of lifting the curse of the undead from one of its oldest bastions. That bastion Nixmir City, is under the control of an ancient necromancer... I'm sure you all know this story. In fact, the city, state, and country is named after him, Vardon Nixmir." The King went into the real reason this party was assembled.
(rolled a natural 20 and instead of an int check i'm making a knowledge arcana check. To which I believe I get a +8 to. Also making a knowledge arcana check to see if I know of Searo rolled a 15)

Kilton listened to the king watching the rest of his compatriots. He had read a few tales of Nixmir. Not a very nice character, unless you happened to come from the school of necromancy; in that case Nixmir was a genius, a hero, an idol, and to some a god. Nixmir had made undead better at necromancy than some the Necromancer's Tower's masters. Magically speaking Nixmir was amazing and so held Kilton's respect. Morally speaking Kilton was horrified at what Nixmir had both rumored to have done and written almost braggingly in books that he had done.

"Now Searo, who is not only a great guy, but wise beyond his years, has hand picked each of you, and from what I understand two more like you. You represent," The king rebegins his tale. "you represent all the different cultures
who stand to lose something if Nixmir is not removed from power." The King pauses again and drinks a little more wine.
Kilton wondered which culture he represented. The culture of wizards or the culture of the eastern kingdom. Not that it mattered. Kilton watched the others as they absorbed the information. The elf seemed agitated at the mention of Nixmir. Perhaps with good reason, while the party may represent the cultures that would have something to lose they also represented the cultures that Nixmir had in sometime offended. Nixmir had many enemies.

"Please good bard for those of us that don't know of this monsterous necromancer please sing us a bard's tale of his rampages." The elf rose and took his highness to the side. Kilton watched with a little interest but he really didn't want to hear a bard's tale he really wanted to hear what it was this party could do that no other could. He would have said so but his masters had always told him that if he was the last to make his bets then maybe he would know better how to bet. it was their way of saying to let a scene play out as far as possible before making a move. It was also something that Kilton was quite good at, the gods it seemed had blessed Kilton with amazing patience' and so he waited and bade his time watching as the scene played out. Watching as the dance entered yet a new stage.

Anyroth sank in one of the chairs around the table and after taking a moment to peruse the offer, the decided on an assortment of small fruits. His appetite got severed by the stench of the city.

The half-elf was by no means a delicate person. Yet the mix of Duncan's ethnic and social soup could be hard to bear when strolling without the immediate opportunity for profit.

And now a Northlander, one of those people of few words but with a heavy blade ... or at least that's what his instincts told him.

His ears perked, he listened to Searo's words about their purpose there. It wasn't much but in a way they served to quench a bit Anyroth's fears about him being there. His mind skipped the facy talk about being hand-picked for a mission against the undead.

Upon hearing of Nixmir, his appetite dimmed even more. He remembered words of mouth and tales about the necromancer Vardon and his unholy minions. There was no love of undead in Anyroth, in fact the mere mention of such abominations stirred feelings of near hate. His elven side reminded him of that life and dead were antagonists and nature's course did not include the outcome of necromancy.

He merely glanced at Searo and voiced the most obvious of two questions that rose in his mind:

- What is expected of us ? he said

Sonny was gratified he had no idea he was such a prominent musician for all he knew he was a travelling bard not a famous performer. What Sonny couldn't understand was what part he had to play in this saga was he to write the story of this travel, he had little skill with a bow or sword and was not a fighter by heart.

"So my lord, which part do i play in this theatric story i am guessing it is my ability with a Sword that impresses you most?" Sonny said this with a cheeky smile on his face letting the king know he was joking.

"As for the song here we go" (Through the fire and flames) (Dragonforce)

"Nothing is expected of you save what you are going to do... and believe me... I know what you are going to do."

He sets his drink down and stares meaningfully at the two of you.

"There are beings in this realm... beings with the power to see the fate of the world as you would seeing your own familiar mother's face. These beings, while not easy to find, and much more difficult to sway, can tell one anything about the future. I visited one of these beings, and to tell you the truth, I must not reveal much about what the future holds, only that you... Ansgar, and you, Anyroth, play such an important role that I needed to meet with you first, before the prescribed time for the rest of your team to meet. However, there are forces at work who seek to detain us further, no matter their good intentions. What you are going to do is this... you are going to unite the world against the most terrible threat to us all... but neither can I tell you what that is can I tell you how. All I know is that if I reveal all I know now, I will directly endanger the outcome. So for now, eat your fill, and when you finish, I will take you to where you must go to stop the gravest danger to this task ahead first."

He lifts his cup and formally salutes the two of you. Then he finishes the whole drink in two swallows.

((I am trying to put these into a meaningful order just for continuity purposes... I am by no means attempting to minimize anyone by changing the order of the posts..))

Doogan speaks up first. “Your highness, defeating the evil of Nixmir is indeed a, how did you put it, 'Glorious war.' The world would be well served to see that evil removed from it. I am honored that you and this Searo DeCorwyn believe that I, and through me, Sanctuary, can be of aid in this battle. But surely you must realize that we are left with many questions. You seem to be waiting for a reply, but I don't even know what I am replying to at this point other than the 'honor' of my selection. I was told I was coming here as a diplomat, which also seemed like an odd job for me. Still, it seems to be less surprising than the situation I find myself in now.”

Sarrius smiles at Doogan and says "the honor, as I understand it, is more on the rest of the world than yourself. Searo would not reveal too much to me, but what he did say was that you seven are like the next Deadly Six ((int rolls or knowledge rolls for that))." He makes to say more but the Wood Elf can contain herself no longer.

"Please good bard for those of us that don't know of this monstrous necromancer please sing us a bard's tale of his rampage?" Anna asks the bard. Then she turns to the king "My lord, if I could please have a word with you in private."

Sonny catches the moment with a joke. "So my lord, which part do i play in this theatric story i am guessing it is my ability with a Sword that impresses you most?" Sonny says this with a cheeky smile on his face letting the king know he was joking.

Sarrius looks at Anna with a graceful smile and moves to get up. As Anna passes behind him (and with care to ensure she does not see him do it) he glances at the gnome Doogan and makes a wolfish grin. He says something under his breath and rises, following her into his chambers.

"My lord as I'm sure you already know Nixmir has conquered some of our land as well and scorged it with his unholy creatures. My grove was attacked a month ago but we managed to fight him and his undead army back to the nearby groves. With your permission I would like for this party to take over the land that was taken from us."
Anna waits for her words to sink in. Sarrius steps up to her close and whispers "I had no knowledge of this. You are certain that these attacks in your groves are due to Vardon Nixmir? Not to disagree with you, my lady," he touches your arm and smiles in an extremely suggestive way ((Charisma roll: 24))

He lets you finish. "My lord you know that I and my brothers are very much against the unholiness of this vile creatures. I will fight for you till the death to scourge the world of these vile creatures."

He replies. "I know you are, my dear. As are we, committed to the end of the threat. Of a permanent alliance between our two peoples... our three peoples." ((A little half-elf humor there-heh. I do not want to go into any great R rated detail here, but it is clear that King Sarrius is trying to put the moves on you, Anna.))

Meanwhile...



"As for the song here we go!" (Through the fire and flames, Dragonforce)

He chooses to sing about the dark times ahead. Almost serendipitous, he strikes a chord with your future selves that can only be known through the hindsight of someone who's reading the book a second time. He sings of sacrifice and prevailing over darkness.

"
On a cold winter morning in a time before the light
In flames of death's eternal reign we ride towards the fight
When the darkness has fallen down and the times are tough alright
The sound of evil laughter falls around the world tonight

Fighting hard fighting on for the steel through the wastelands evermore
The scattered souls will feel the hell bodies wasted on the shores
On the blackest plains in hell's domain we watch them as they go
In fire and pain now once again we know

So now we fly ever free, we're free before the thunderstorm
On towards the wilderness our quest carries on
Far beyond the sundown, far beyond the moonlight
Deep inside our hearts and all our souls

So far away we wait for the day
For the light source so wasted and gone
We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days
Through the fire and the flames we carry on ...
"

Anna was not at all pleased that the king was hitting on her. She had a clue before that the king had other intentions but she was caught off guard that he would be so bold to show his intentions now. " My lord please excuse me but we have more important things to worry about then you and me. If I live though this journey then we will see what our future is together."
Anna turns toward the door with a flash of sorrow in her eye.
"Anna what’s wrong?” Siannode asks mentally sensing that Anna was upset.
“My Friend it really is nothing for you to worry about I just am getting into a situation that may or may not happen.” Anna replies.
Anna listens to the rest of the bard’s song.
“ Thank you sonny that was beautiful.”
“Now for those of you that don’t know Nixmir has forces that apparently not even the King knew about have traveled to the lands of my people and still controls land that was not originally part of Nixmar city. Some of us have already said that we will scourge the world of the evils of this monster so for those of you that are still deciding think of your homes and what you would do to defend it.”
Anna lets her words sink in then leaves the room to gather her emotions and let the king finish.

Destiny.
It was a powerful word amongst Ansgar's tribesmen... the idea of what one's future might hold. Many a man had tried in the past, begging the shaman to consort with the spirit, desperately hoping for just a glimpse of the future. What had this godless halfling seen?
"Bah!" said the Northman out loud, frustrated with such thoughts. "Your veiled words shall have no hold on me, Searo! You shall not rule me with hopes and desires to know glimpses of my future!"

He paused, subduing his passion before speaking again. "I shall join you, Searo. Not because of some foreseen future, but because of the known past. This black witch and his wretched, shambling army are a disease on the land. And our people have suffered it long enough."

With that, the barbarian went back to his food.

((OOC: Ansgar is ready to move on. I think he is provisioned for well enough.))

((Oh! And, yay! for not being a dead game!!))

It was an odd situation Doogan found himself confronted with. Clearly the necromancer was a dangerous threat to the world. Clearly some sorceror thought he and the others in this room were capable of doing great things. And yet, clearly, the King seemed to be as concerned with the wiles of the young elf maiden as he was with the dark armies of Nixmir. Somehow such flirtations seemed out of place in this environment. Either that or the King did not believe this situation to be as grave as his words, but not his behaviour, indicated.

The elf maiden's comments certainly added to the sense of threat, yet it was clearly the King who would have ability to enlighten everyone on the purpose of their presence.

"Please, sir. Other than an interesting comparison to the Six, not much has yet been disclosed. What is it you expect of us?"

Doogan reached for another tart as he spoke and started eating when his question was done. He made no move to follow the elf out of the room. He hoped it was obvious that he was waiting for answers.

After Anna took a couple of deep breaths she got her nerves calmed. She hadn't noticed that her being upset had shown so much but when she walked back into the room it seemed that everyones eyes where on her.
She decided to answer Doogans question before the king did "We have gathered here to protect that in which we hold dear. Apparently the king has looked at the skills that we each process and has decided that we are a good match to compete with this monsterous necromancer. Now what he see's in all four of us little own the other two that are not currently in our company I don't know. I don't see what my brothers couldn't do that I can do. Yes I have seen this army in action but other then a few tangle spells and the help of my owl friend here, I was just there to help mend the wounded. As you have stated Doogan this army is well equiped and it will require some more training to handle the king of the scourge."
Anna takes a seat at the end of the table and hopes that she answered Doogan's question to the best of her and the kings knowledge.

The king watched her rush out of the room and then returned to the group, a wry smile on his face. He lifts his cup and toasts.

"Don't worry lads, she won't get far. Unless she can fly." He laughs at his joke and then his smile fades slightly. He finishes his drink before Anna returns, but is not fast enough to reply before she does. Refilling his cup, he listens while she answers for him.

"We have gathered here to protect that in which we hold dear. Apparently the king has looked at the skills that we each process and has decided that we are a good match to compete with this monsterous necromancer. Now what he see's in all four of us little own the other two that are not currently in our company I don't know. I don't see what my brothers couldn't do that I can do. Yes I have seen this army in action but other then a few tangle spells and the help of my owl friend here, I was just there to help mend the wounded. As you have stated Doogan this army is well equiped and it will require some more training to handle the king of the scourge."

King Sarrius holds up an index finger.

"Actually, that is not entirely true. I did not look into your skills. A very powerful and very influential noble from Duncan has convinced the Royal Court, which happens to also be the largest country in the realms, that you five... er, seven... " he takes a deep drink, "...are somehow linked to the future of good civilized peoples everywhere. He has convinced the court... my wife... that you are some kind of prophesied arrivals. The very earth shakes in the presence of you very folk. Or something. To be honest, I've taken your measure, and I think that Searo and Solomon will be disappointed. How ever that may be, your compatriot, Anna of the tender face and the stinging rebuke, tells me something in passing that my own strategists and best advisors would never predict. So What's happening is the Illumorous is under way. At first we were merely going to escort you to Solomon, but..."

He looks meaningfully at Anastianna.

"... the Illumorous can be in Sylestria in only six days."

((The distance between Sylestria and the Eastern Kingdom is about 870 miles, half of which is very dense virgin forest.))