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Post by raventhefree on Dec 4, 2019 16:29:19 GMT
Rasalas considered Huvorlig's comment. While it was true that she might not see him dealing with a rabble-rouser, he had little faith that his actions would be missed by the Azorius's close watch. With that in mind, he steeled his nerves and continued to scan the room. It looked like Nugrok had informally agreed to keep his distance, which was some consolation, at least.
When the Selesnya approached and placed its hand to its chest, Rasalas imitated the gesture dutifully. It seemed like the treant-like creature was not one for many words, but Rasalas could respect it nonetheless. Though he hadn't been focused on the exchange, that didn't mean Rasalas hadn't noticed that the Selesnya saved the bird the Rakdos was trying to turn into a pile of ashes. While he didn't have the same love of nature as many of the Guilds, he was glad that someone stopped the bird from suffering. Anyone who was unkind to animals was a danger to others in general, Rasalas figured.
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Post by Joltz on Dec 4, 2019 17:31:15 GMT
Ghot ponders "Perhaps . . . Maybe?. . . Hmmm no. Calamity makes hard to gather remnants. Can't get best parts. Can't congregate. Need organization" ---------------------------------------------- Helga nods. She has no idea what their processes look like in order to … congregate, but she is gaining quite some insights into the Golgari mindset, from her conversation with Ghot. Even though she has different beliefs and values, Helga has learned that in order to achieve something together, it helps a lot if you at least understand their point of view. "What do you hope to achieve by joining this meeting here today then?"
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Feb 19, 2021 15:10:54 GMT
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Post by spikehed on Dec 5, 2019 16:10:19 GMT
After receiving the salute in return, Romil finally spoke. His voice was a low rumble that might denote a lack of intelligence, but the words were clear and well constructed.
"I am Romil. You are different than the others present."
The glowing eyes were focused on Huvorlig. The head tilted slightly as he seemed to study her. The bird sitting atop his branches flapped and chirped in slight annoyance at the shifting of it's perch.
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Feb 15, 2022 22:22:17 GMT
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Post by drallore on Dec 6, 2019 1:56:24 GMT
As the congregation of guildmembers, the room is silenced by the horns of artifact golems, drawing attention to the center of the guildhall, where Art Fernard approaches his pedestal. The gnome, despite his small stature, always manages to make a significant presence wherever he goes. His prowess in control magic and divination is well known all across the various Guilds, and he is renowned by his tales of literally annoying live dragons so much with his tricks and magic that they voluntarily forced themselves into prison realms to avoid his tyranny. As Art Fernard looked upon the crowd, he cleared his throat, and began. "Dear guildmembers. I thank you for your patience, and apologize for my delay. This is no small feet, gathering so many high ranking guildmembers and planeswalkers to commune peacefully, so I am certain most, if not all of you, must be aware that what we will be discussing today will be of the most utmost severity. I can confirm that those presumptions to be correct. I originally called you here in regards to a divination by one of our oracles, calling for a tragedy of great magnitude that would affect all of our guilds, and the various planes we covet. While the diviner's vision was hazy, she could at least affirm us that the coming destruction would be committed by one lone planeswalker, whose power would stand far above any that we have seen in all of time. I will admit that we were all a little skeptical of her vision. It wouldn't be the first time that a diviner would misinterpret the true meaning of a vision, however, as of 7 hours ago, our scouts happened to find this" A flying metallic dragonfly like mechanical creature flies from the gnome's sleeve, and presents a hologram that immediately shakes every planeswalker to the core. A perfectly still dragon corpse, wasting away at the center of a grand crater, inspires overwhelming dread and horror into each and every one of you. No particular guild is unsuaded by the context of what it means to see this dragon's corpse. "My friends . . . Nicol Bolas has been killed . . . and no one knows who did it"Each of you would know Nicol Bolas to be a true horror. An elder Dragon almost as old as time itself, and who has been party to numerous atrocities since his arrival to the realm of Ravnica. Many attempts have been made to kill him by entire armies of noble warriors. Few survived any contact with him. Less have managed to hinder him. Entire realms needed to band together to kill him, and their efforts normally were shortly lived, as he would always manage to find a way to return, but when he did die, there wasn't a creature that wasn't aware. So for this to happen, for the dragon to be conquered without any notification, proves to be one of the greatest wonders of your time. Firstly, how could none have known that the dragon would be in combat? More importantly, what killed him, and are they an ally? "We cannot confirm what slayed the dreaded dragon. This could have been an army, or perhaps another realm. However, since this came so shortly after our diviner's revelation, we have reason to believe that Nicol Bolas was killed by a single person, and unfortunately, should the prophecy prove to be accurate, they will likely destroy us all next. I have gathered you all here as a call to action. We must identify who this person is, and provide safety and security to Ravnica. Are there any questions?"
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Post by Joltz on Dec 6, 2019 8:16:13 GMT
Even though her lovely conversation with her Golgari counterpart gets interrupted, Helga is amazed by the gnome's theatrics.
So many thoughts are going through her head right now. For starters, Orzhov and Azorius don't go well together. Free market against regulator, those who wish to let chaos reign and then reign in the chaos versus those who wish to contain the chaos while ruling by law. So her first instinct is to be very sceptical about everything Art says. The hologram could be fabricated, he could be having an entirely different agenda.
Although the other side of the coin is that this is a golden opportunity. Helga could very well become the first Orzhov to weasel her way into brokering a deal with the Art Fernard … So she chooses to support him in getting buy-in from her peers, and claims the moment to speak loudly. "Sir Fernand, my name is Helga from the Orzhov Guild." She pauses to let her name be more rememberable. "It is an honor to be here amongst these heroes. This truly sounds like a terrible situation and I commend you for taking the initiative. I pledge you that I will do everything in my power to get to the bottom of this." She looks left and right with piercing eyes. Helga doesn't bow or kneel or does anything that would make her communicate that she's beneath Art. She goes on: "I hope everyone here feels the same way, so we can prevent this looming danger together!"
Charm roll to make her speech as inspiring as can be E_eL8osb6d6 6d6
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Post by drallore on Dec 6, 2019 13:34:25 GMT
Many were inspired by helgas speech and demeanor . . . Except art Fernard, who just rubbed his brow in irritation
"Questions orzhvian. I asked if anyone had a QUESTION"
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Post by Joltz on Dec 6, 2019 18:57:44 GMT
Helga chuckles while making eye contact with those around her that she did manage to inspire. "I'm sure that you meant no disrespect master gnome. If we're to succeed in the mission that you're asking us kindly to take part, mutual respect will be the foundation for our success. Now, I'm sure that my colleagues might have questions?" She looks left and right to give the floor to people with more inquisitive minds, to do what they're good at.
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Post by raventhefree on Dec 7, 2019 17:31:27 GMT
Rasalas stared blankly at the image of the dead dragon that appeared before them. A cold feeling crept up towards his heart from his hands and his feet; his fear was not immediate, but in apprehension of whatever looming threat could cause such destruction. He glanced at Huvorlig to gauge her reaction as well. Though the wounds from his news were fresh, it was the Legion's responsibility to prepare to defend others. He could only assume that she was already preparing what to say to their superiors when they returned.
When the Orzhov spoke, Rasalas let out a rolling, quiet "hmmph" from deep within his chest. Huvorlig certainly heard it, and the room was quiet enough and Romil was close enough that it was likely the guardian heard it as well. It was not a noise of contempt, but rather a noise of bittersweet amusement. How anyone could muster the will to cheerfully brown-nose at a time like this was beyond him. Rasalas was not prone to helplessness or hopelessness, but he could still acknowledge that this was a monumental--or even impossible--task that the gnome had just put before them.
"You must have some variety of plan," Rasalas reasoned. "What are our duties--as an individual, as a guild, and collectively?" Even if he didn't have an idea how to approach this himself, Rasalas could follow orders. That said, he had the sinking suspicion that even as a guild, the Boros would struggle to track down this threat. Fight it, maybe, but find it? He couldn't imagine the proud Boros leadership would be willing to ask the help of others. Going at this alone, Rasalas thought, would be a monumental mistake, even if he wouldn't dare breathe it aloud.
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Post by drallore on Dec 8, 2019 1:44:07 GMT
Art sighs at Helga's ability to gather influence, but does manage to notice Rasalas. "Finally, a rational thinking person. Yes, we have already developed some sense of a plan. We have 3 avenues to pursue here. The first is the outskirts of Salec"Art changes the visual from his device to a city with large ornate stone buildings spread across a barren desert landscape, which some may know as the city of Salec. Salec has lived far outside the realm of Ravnica, which has had little to no influence upon Ravnica, and little is known of it other than by tribes that routinely travel outside of Ravnica such as the Gruul or Golgari. "Here Nicol Bolas was slain, and we haven't had opportunity to investigate the area or speak with locals who may know what have happened. Thus far, the few contacts we have had have absolutely refused to speak to us regarding the incident. We need a group to volunteer to travel to Salec and actually obtain the information we need. Next we should discuss the disappearance of Domri" "Art's trinket once again shifts to the planeswalker Domri. Most, if not all are familiar with Domri's antics with the gruul clans for the endless source of destruction across Ravnica. Some believe that the teen rebel happened to be fighting for the sake of nature, or a similar noble purposes, but others theorize that he genuinely just enjoys the act of destruction. His communication and affinity with large creatures have certainly made him a terrifying tyrant amongst Ravnica. "Following the discovery of Nicor Bolas's corpse, we simultaneously seemed to have lost all contact with Domri. He hasn't so much as tossed a stone through my window as of late, and while I do enjoy the momentary peace, I worry what the correlation may be between these two happenstances. If for no other reason, we must find the anarchist for the sake of the fact that we have no idea what he's planning on doing right now, and I would prefer to be prepared if he chooses to interrupt our mission.
Lastly, there's this." Art shifts the image once more to a vague looking artifact, which none would find familiar "We've already managed a raid of a remotely hidden group of cultists that worshipped Nicor Bolas, and found them all dead, bodies circled around this object, as if they were crawling towards it. We have opted not to begin messing with the object as we presume that it is the source of their demise, and are not certain what it is capable of. For now, we need a select few to head to the site, and attempt to decipher just what the object is, and its potential relationship to Nicor Bolas"
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Post by Joltz on Dec 8, 2019 8:56:09 GMT
As the gnome kept dismissing her, Helga did not take it personal. She got so used to being this charismatic extravert version of herself, using every angle to attempt to gain superior footing with someone. Some people are better at countering it, especially those with ample experience, and she could imagine that wrestling Azorius snakes day in day out could definitely make an old geezer like him pretentious. She sees it as a consequence of time and environment, not a reflection on her. She accepts that, and respects Art's achievements in the time that he has been alive. Although that wouldn't mean she'd stop trying. Eventually she'll find enough leverage, or not, and move her energy on to a better prospect instead.
When Art presents his 3 quests, she immediately eliminates going after Domri. Everyone knows he cannot be reasoned with. And Helga doesn't have a great track record of dealing with people who cannot be reasoned with ... No no, going after Domri is out of the question.
The artifact quest shows most potential. If it turns out to be a weapon or something that holds valuable knowledge, it could be something to aid her pay off her debt to the guild. But the risk would also be very high, she wouldn't want to get caught in its macabre death-floating mechanism. Besides those annoying Izzet nerds would probably wanna get their greasy hands all over it. And we all know the Izzet are a pain to deal with, too chaotic to rely on.
That leaves Salec ... Helga has never ventured outside of Ravnica. So a road trip sounds equally exciting and frightening. She can't imagine there would be much of value over there, nothing to help her achieve her goals. But then again, it's probably the safest option. The more she thinks about it, the more she's curious as to how these Salecians (or whatever they may be called) behave, how they live and how they developed spiritually.
She smiles and turns over to Ghot. "I'm curious, have you ever been to Salec?"
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Post by spikehed on Dec 8, 2019 20:05:27 GMT
There was another deep groan in the being that was Romil. The images shown left no visible effect on the hardened wooden exterior of the elemental. Nor did they have any significant meaning to him individually. He turned to watch the others ask their questions in turn and the responses in kind.
There seemed to be little that the Conclave would specifically be called to do, at least in these first three missions. With that said, Romil was already leaning toward travel to Salec. He enjoyed the traveling to other realms, seeing how their natural world had evolved to survive the circumstances of existing in such a location. He stepped forward.
"I will go. To Salec."
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Post by Trixander on Dec 12, 2019 13:22:01 GMT
Domri Rade was going to be a huge waste of time. Not because his disappearance was unrelated-- Morden had no doubt that it was. Rather, it was a waste of time because trying to find Domri Rade would be like trying to find a particular grain of sand on a beach. Frankly, Morden expected Domri to make a reappearance at the least convenient time possible; it was simply Domri’s nature.
Then there was the other plane to investigate. Salec could prove useful, but time consuming. It wouldn’t be a simple matter to scour the plane for useful information. That being said, a powerful planeswalker probably would stick out like a sore thumb. Someone must have seen something.
What Morden thought would be most useful was the artifact. While the artifact was of interest to the artificer, to no one’s surprise, Morden also wanted to investigate these cultists. Perhaps there is some information that can be gleaned from the cult itself. There may even be survivors somewhere that know more. If anyone would know who killed Nicol Bolas, it would be his cultists.
“I would like to investigate this artifact,” Morden said. “It seems far too dangerous to be left unattended to.”
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Post by drallore on Dec 14, 2019 15:26:05 GMT
Ghot shakes all his heads no
"Salec has no soil . . . Cannot form magic. Cannot grow"
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Art nods to the requests of morden and Romil, and looks over to rasalas
"Boros, it should be of no surprise that I intend for you to pursue Domri. However, you must treat him as a citizen, not a criminal, as this far, he has done nothing wrong. To make sure you are in check, we will be sending Nugrock with you. Any questions?"
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Post by Joltz on Dec 14, 2019 16:03:00 GMT
Helga smiles at Ghot, still a bit confused by their amount of heads. "I do hope you'll join me there though."
She turns to the gnome and speaks out. "I will join master Selesnya to Salec. Could you tell me though, Sir Fernand, do you know whether or not Salec has a dominant Pokemon species, and what it may be?"
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Post by drallore on Dec 14, 2019 18:15:20 GMT
"Salec has many creatures with affinity to rock, ground, steel, and Drake. The city itself should be free of such creatures. Just be wary when traveling outside it"
Ghot ponders a bit more
"Hmmmmmm . . . Ghot doesn't like deserts much. But ghot enjoys Helga, and should Helga transcend, ghot may take remnants back for assembly. Ghot shall join"
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Post by Joltz on Dec 14, 2019 19:37:42 GMT
Shivers run down her spine as she visualizes being "assembled" by Ghot. What ungodly things he would do to her body ... For just a moment she closes her eyes and thinks about the fact that that would be the last thing she'd want to happen. And then she retakes her composure. "I'm very pleased we'll be able to share this adventure together Ghot."
Helga takes out a little notepad and writes down Rock, Ground, Steel & Drake.
She goes on to ask: "Aside from monsters, what would you say are the biggest dangers and threats in and around Salec?"
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Post by raventhefree on Dec 17, 2019 23:31:48 GMT
Even after his assignment was passed down, Rasalas had little to say in front of the crowd. He gave a dutiful nod before looking over at Huvorlig. He could only assume that Art meant Boros plural, which meant that despite their history, Huvorlig and Nugrok would end up working together. Though he was not a Leonin for politics, he knew that this was definitely a shot at the two of them from the Azorius, and it made Rasalas admittedly a little uncomfortable. Keeping his face as indifferent as he could manage, he was primed to follow Huvorlig's lead on this one.
Deep down, Rasalas was hopeful that he would have ended up on one of the others. He was not an intellectual by any stretch of the word, but if it was up to him, investigating seemed like a more promising lead than Domri, who may not have been involved at all. He understood why they needed to go after Domri, of course, and he didn't doubt that the Boros and the Gruul were probably most apt for this sort of job. It didn't stop him from being more curious about the stones the others would end up turning over instead of his own.
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Post by drallore on Dec 23, 2019 0:08:01 GMT
Art looks upon the crowd, the various clammering and badgering for the various details of their individual quests, and held a hand, silencing them all.
"My apologies, but time is of the essence, and I'd prefer we settle these matters sooner rather than later. Take your individual portals, and please get to work, immediately."
Suddenly, 3 azorious portals appear at different sections of the hall, one leading to Salec, one leading to the artifact, and one leading to Domri's last location.
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