Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

Over the course of the arcs since he had left his native Lysoria and the safety and comfort of his brother’s fortress in order to travel the world, Victor Amielle had had a fair number of adventures and met a fair number of strange and sometimes dangerous creatures. He had met undead pirates, undead cannibalistic grandmothers and Skinbanes, and even a changeling. In Scalvoris, he had fought a literal Mountain Induk. A Magma Beast was new though. When the Warlock who had come to the Eternal Empire in order to research magic heard of the sighting of strange lava creatures and that an especially large beast had damaged a local town, he thus decided that he would be involved.

The fact that the Imperial Army seemed to be very willing to let random adventures join one of their missions, without assessing their potential beforehand at that, like so many other organizations in the world of Idalos, baffled the Lysorian. When the call for assistance was put out, he immediately signed up nevertheless though. He was, he had to admit, looking forward to being in the field once more, and he did of course come prepared.

He was not sure if conventional weapons or protective gear would help against a Magma Beast, but there were often other foes to deal with. He carried two short swords, one of Adamantite and one of Grave Gold, at his belt, and he wore a set of masterfully made studded leather armor, and his Cavani’s Cloak over it. He doubted that it would prevent all of the negative effects of the Volcanic Mountain Range, but maybe, it would make things a little easier to bear. On one of his fingers was his Ring of Reversal.

He had also brought his domain bag that contained his magical map, writing supplies, his notebook, his pirate coin, three doses of a truth serum, water, emergency rations and a medical kit. He had little skill as a healer himself; he’d decided that it would be a good idea to bring a medical kit nevertheless though, just in case someone got hurt and no medical supplies happened to be nearby, for whatever reason. Chances were that one of the soldiers or adventurers involved in this mission would know how to treat moderate wounds, at the very least.

Victor was not particularly anxious as he was being ferried to the staging area in the Volcanic Mountain Range – he considered such a feeling to be largely counter-productive, especially when it occurred prematurely – but considered what he might be awaiting them all at their destination instead and observed his new surroundings with interest. The fact that that there were not only random adventurers present at the platform, but also a fair number of Mage Corpse members and other soldiers, made him breathe a sigh of relief, he had to admit.

And besides that, he was quite curious about three crystals at the center of the batallion.

When the woman in the Mage Corps combat uniform stepped onto the platform and called for attention, the Lysorian stood straight in order to show his respect, before he listened to her explain their objective and the purpose of those strange crystals and warned them not to stray too far from them. He would of course pay heed to her warning. Recklessness was a kind of behavior that rarely paid off in his opinion. Burning to death sounded like a rather unpleasant way to go to him, no matter if his ring would allow him to come back or not.

Alicia asked them if they had any questions. A Cadouri that looked like he was part of the Imperial Army spoke first. He wanted to know how the stones had been made, and what more, he suggested defending them which was a good idea in Victor’s opinion. A woman dressed in what the Lysorian had decided to dub “pirate chic” raised her voice next, wanting to know why they had only brought three crystals and what their range was.

When she asked about maps, Victor looked at her for a moment before he turned to Alicia. “I have a map that shows the surrounding area, no matter where in the world one is. If there are no maps of the area here, we can use it instead”, he offered, but he would only produce it if Alicia decided that they had need of it. Otherwise, it would stay in the safety of his domain bag.

Having said that, he posed two questions of his own, in a respectful tone of voice, as was appropriate when one was facing a senior officer, “You said that you have spotted signs of the Magma Beast’s movement and will begin pursuit shortly. May I inquire as to what those signs were like?”

“Furthermore, do you have any information on the nature of the Magma Beast? Is anything known about it, apart from the fact that it destroyed several buildings? How big exactly is it, for example?” he continued. Every little piece of information would help when it came to dealing with the beast and deciding whether it should be captured, killed or driven away in his opinion.

The briefing had been rather brief so far, almost a little too brief, to be honest, which made him wonder. Shouldn’t they at least be told more about the beast that they would be pursuing, and possible strengths and weaknesses?

And besides that, he was still confused as to why the Imperial Army had let a bunch of random adventurers into its midst, and without asking them if they had any useful skills to offer, or any combat experience, at that. Had Alicia considered how the civilians would be used?

He furrowed his brow for a moment as he thought about it before he continued, “I’m a Warlock of the Syns of Melrath. I’m a transmuter and researcher of some experience, in case there is a particular aspect of the mission that you would like to see me involved in”, he added in the same polite and respectful tone of voice as before.

Unlike Catalina, he had decided not to challenge Alicia. He did not tell her that it would be a good idea to get to know the volunteers before they began to pursue the creature. Her answer would hopefully tell him if she had thought about it – and how much planning had gone into the mission.

He also wanted to make it clear to her that he would submit to her authority, despite the fact that he had a relatively high military rank and had been in charge of other people himself once, back in Melrath.

If she wanted him to be in a particular place, that’s where he would be.