Mini-Scene: Won't you sit down?

[zipp]

You ran through the same door as the others, but you don't find yourself amongst them now. Instead you find yourself in a dining room... it takes you a moment, but you suddenly realize you are back at the Mason house. Outside the large windows of the dining room, you see a heavy rain falling. The table is set as lavishly as before, though now an older man sits at one end of the table, looking at you sternly.

Next to you, you hear a gasp, and you realize Sherri, at least, is still with you. But she's not near as relieved as you are to see that you're not alone. She can't stop gaping at the man at the end of the table.

"That's him!" she whimpers. "Mr. Mason!"

"Welcome," the old man says. "Won't you have a seat." It doesn't sound like an offer so much as it sounds like a command.

[Gregor]

"Mason!" Gregor holds out his spear, threatening. "What have you done with the others?" Looking around the mage tries to sense out around him. He and Sherri are back at Masons house for sure but... Something isnt right. The mage stands in front of Sherri, his weapon still levelled at the seated man. "Well? An answer is usually custom!"

[zipp]

"The others?" Mason raises an eyebrow. "Ah, yes, your 'trust-worthy' companions. They are outside my consideration, I haven't done anything with them. It's you who has my book, after all. Won't you sit down? The fish is directly from Toran, it should be delicious."

[Gregor]

"Your book huh? And what makes you think I will return it to you?!"

Gregor stood firm still. He could feel Sherri clinging to his back, hiding as best she could. She did not want to look upon her former master.

[zipp]

Speaking of which, did we ever finish your potion/book/compass check for last scene?

"What does it mean to you, exactly? Forget the fact that you stole it from my quarters. It holds no power for you. It is a mere trifle. I'm even willing to trade for it."

Suddenly he peers past you.

"Ah is that Sherri? So she did survive, then."

Sherri seems too terrified to reply. After a moment, Mason turns back to you.

"What will it be? What will you take for the book?"

[Gregor]

no i dont think we did, kinda put them aside while dealing with the mob!

Gregor hesitates for a moment. Slowly he reaches into his pack and takes out the book. The weight of the thing seemed unbearable, even given its size.

"I am looking for something quite specific in Oasis, along with the cause for this madness. You help me aquire what I am after, grant myself and my companions safe passaage through Oaisis, then you get your book back."

Gregor stared at Mason as he glanced at Sherri.

"I promised to get this girl home safe, and I shall do so. Now, do we have an accord?"

[zipp]

Mason smiles at you. It's not a wholly unpleasant smile... but there is a sense of knowing behind it that makes you nervous, as if you're dealing in something over your head. Still, you know where your priorities lie, and that is with the mission the Brotherhood has given you. If Mason wants his book back, then good riddance to the thing.

"Of course we have a deal," Mason said. "However, even my powers have their limits. I can put you on the right path, but you have to walk it. And, unfortunately, I can't clear that path of obstacles, only make you aware of the more salient ones. If this sounds amicable to you, then give me the book, and I'll help you as I can."

[Gregor]

Gregor ponders for a moment, then places the book at his end of the table, on top of the fish.

"There it is. You can collect it when you return myself and Sherri to our companions."

[zipp]

"I cannot send you to where your companions are now," Mason says. "There is a force there keeping me from interfering directly. I can open a path there, but as I said earlier, only you can walk it. Either that, or I can put you somewhere else in the city. You'll be alone, but you may be closer to your goal. Of course, alone you might not survive to achieve it, but maybe that's a risk you're willing to take?"

Mason awaits your response.

[Gregor]

"I promised Sherri I would see her home safe. That still stands."

Gregor reaches behind him and puts an arm around Sherri. The girl has still not moved, not dared to look over in Masons direction.

"Put me in the city where you can, we will find our way from there."

[zipp]

"Very well," Mason says. "Open the book."

You do so to a random page. Again you see just black. But you think you can hear voices coming out of that darkness. Also, you think see shapes in the blackness of the page. You lean in for a closer look and suddenly the room spins around you and you are engulfed in the darkness.

Behind you, Sherri gives a brief cry of alarm, but then all is silent. You look around. The world is no longer spinning, but everything is dark. There is no sign of Mason, or of Sherri.

In a few moments, another post is coming.

[zipp]

While the four companions tried to figure out the riddle that had been posed to them, elsewhere in the darkness, Gregor was just as lost. He wandered aimlessly, afraid to move too far, afraid to stay still too long. He wasn't sure how long he travelled in this manner, but eventually the sound of music met his ears.

A few moments later, an even stranger sight met his eyes.

Coming towards him out of the dark where four people. Since there were no landmarks in this strange world, it was hard to gage their distance from him, but soon enough, they were close enough for him to make out details of their features.

The one in front was a young maiden. She carried a candle that flared with a blue flame. Her clothes were that of royalty, and she had a pretty, round face. Next to her strode a knight in blue armour, his helmet under one arm, revealing a heavily bearded face. A little distance away from the group a man walked bent over, a bow and arrow in his hands. It looked like he was following some kind of tracks, though Gregor could see none. The last member of the group was a bard holding a stringed instrument. The beautiful music came from him: it sounded like he was playing several instruments at once.

Gregor waited, stunned, while the group approached him. He detected no malice in them, and anyway, it was either wait for them or run away... and where would he run to in this foreboding hole?

It might've taken several seconds or several minutes for the group to reach him, he couldn't be sure. When they did, the bard stopped singing (though he kept idly strumming chords), and they all hailed him.

"It's easy enough to tell that you are lost," the princess said. "We can bring you to where you want to go. But nothing here comes easy. Now that you've met us, you have two options: wander with us forever, or fight your way free of our group."

"Life is full of choices," the bard says with a giggle. "Your choice now is the manner of your fight. If you believe in your toughness of body, then you should follow me and we will walk the long path back to the world."

"If you feel," the knight said. "More confident in your combative abilities, then take up arms against me. I guard a gate back to the world."

"Move fast enough," the tracker/archer began. "And you can end up anywhere. If you think you have the skill to match my arrows, they will point you in the right direction."

"Of course, the real test is always one of will," the princess said with a smile. "If you trust in your mental facilities, then you should ignore the others and listen to what I have to say. Be warned, words can drive home a sharper sword than any trained arm."

To clarify, this will be a prolonged test of one of your stats, mixed in with a bit of test of your roleplaying skills. The test could end up being VERY painful if you fail, so consider this as dangerous as any combat. Rest assured, survive this scene, and you'll have some experience coming your way.

[Gregor]

Gregor stood gawping at the 4 figures in front of him. Looking around he could see nothing, even Sherri had gone. There was nothing for it. He had to make a choice.

"I will come with you, lady", he said to the princess.

[zipp]

The princess smiles. The others bow and disappear, leaving you two alone.

The princess approaches you with a disarming smile on her face, her lips slightly parted. There is something sensual about the way she approaches you, and it makes you uncomfortable, as if something lurks beneath the facade that is wholly different... maybe even dangerous.

"I am the keeper of the gate back to the light," the princess says. "Only those who pass my test can pass through the gate that I guard. By activating your mind, you can steer yourself free of this prison of darkness. But you must focus. Three riddles I shall pose to you. If you can answer them correctly, the fourth riddle should be made clear. Fail to answer them, and your life will begin to drain away. Thinking can get you through this, but it can also send you further into darkness. Be wary."

The princess closes her mind seems to think for a moment. Then she smiles again and says:

"If you break me
I do not stop working,
If you touch me
I may be snared,
If you lose me
Nothing will matter
What am I?"

"Three brothers share a family sport:
A non-stop marathon.
The oldest one is fat and short
And trudges slowly on.
The middle brother's tall and slim
And keeps a steady pace.
The youngest runs just like the wind,
A-speeding through the race.
"He's young in years, we let him run,"
The other brothers say
"'Cause though he's surely number one,
He's second, in a way."

"My weight is light,
My head it is white,
With a cord I am laced around;
I am beaten and licked,
Yet not for bad tricks,
But to animate, when I sound,
The feet and the mind,
This is funny, I find,
For I give them soul,
when my own body is hollow."

"For each of the answers that you do give,
each one in common a single thing has.
Something you do, something you eat,
and something that all of these three things can own."

"Hmmm... that last line really should rhyme, shouldn't it?" the princess says with a wink.

Okay, see if you can solve these. Rolling mental can give you a single hint for every two successes you make (DC 14). But rolling a 5 or less deals you one damage. Every time you roll, you have to make a guess at one of the riddles. Guessing wrong also deals you one damage. Of course, this is the situation I've suggested. You may be able to barter me (or the princess) into t a better one, but if you go this route, you'd better be clever. The princess is a being of the mind, after all. It will be difficult to impress her.

Good luck, whatever you choose.

[Gregor]

right....thanks for those lol! I have an inkling as to what they may be. How long have I got to think about and work stuff out, in real world time[/color]