Meeting the Vavel Dragon

I'll add them to her Hoard page.

Vibria pretends not to notice the grumbling, but she does glance over to see who the malcontents are.

When she's done, she will take her place at the head of the troupe and give the order to head out, keeping an eagle eye and a...bat ear? out for anything out of the ordinary, and look for a good place to camp or rest come nightfall.

The main grumbler is the noble daughter. Maybe one or to others but to a minor extent.
The sun rises, you set up your Parma, and head on down the road. As the day goes on and you travel further, you notice damage to the surrounding countryside. Damage turns to devistation as you notice wide swaths of forest have been burned. The ground is torn up, a small pond has been boiled dry, and you pass a shattered tower (nothing interesting there and you need to keep moving).
Then you come upon a large village. A band of refuges from there are gathered just outside it, crying and wailing. First you hear it, then you see the cause of their grief. A trio of giants, gripped in berzerk fury, are smashing things up with their clubs.

Vibria swears under her breath in Catalan. [color=red]"Great. Just what we need...something else to delay our lunch," she says, just loud enough for the others to hear (and, hopefully, take heart in the fact that she appears confident that they can handle this).

[color=red]"Attack formation Achilles! I've got Alpha!" she yells to the turb, instructing them to circle and go after the giants from the rear(ish), going after the legs, trying to take out their feet from under them, while she attacks the largest from range. (I'm pretending that the training she had with Armando and the Andorran Guard actually taught her something).

Her Initiative is Qik 1 + die roll of 5 = 6. (Hopefully she gets a Surprise Round.)

She will cast Pilum of Fire on the largest one. Her CT is 39 + die roll of 3 = 42, vs a Spell Level of 20. Her Penetration is 22 + Penetration (Ignem) 2 = 24. Damage (assuming it gets past his Resistance) is 15 + die roll of 6 = 21.

I will grant you a surprise round. Starying next round the giants have an Initiative of 3. The grogs have 5.
The spell Penetrates. +21 Dmg minus a soak of 12 equals Dmg 9, a Light Wound.
The grogs circle around and attack the ankles of the others, but are unable to cause injury this rounds.

Second verse, same as the first (since Vibria doesn't seem to have any spells that would hurt the giant more.)

Casting total for Pilum of Fire is 39 + (die roll of 1, followed by a die roll of 9) 18 = 57.

Penetration is 37 + Penetration (Ignem) 2 = 39.

Damage is 15 + die roll of 4 = 19.

Agggg! If only that exploder was for the damage roll. Another Light Wound. I will thow you a bone since I am pressed for time here. The might Jaksic, Son of the Vavel Dragon, had grabbed an axe and manuvered behind the lead giant. With a mighty swing he hacks into the Achillies tendon and the savage ogre falls. Not ko'd, but effectively incapacitated.
The Custos tangle with the other two giants. They are on the ropes and are barely able to hold their own. Three of them are fine so far and uninjured. The fourth gets smashed into bean paste.

I know, right?

Vibria grins at Jaksic. [color=red]"Well done!" she says with a fleeting wink before she turns her attention to the others.

[color=red]"Nooooo! Gaston!" she yells, then barks orders. [color=red]"Trips left, hardcore, furnace!" to let them know that she wants all three to press the attack on the giant to the left while she lobs fire spells at the same one.

Eta: Oh,yeah. Rolls would be nice.

Casting roll against the second giant: 39 + die roll of 8 = 47.

Penetration is 27 + Penetration (Ignem) 2 = 29.

Damage is 15 + die roll of 5 = 20.

The giant on the left turns out to not be as tough skinned as his brothers, so a Medium burn wound is inflicted. The three grogs press the attack as a trained combat group, and they bring him down.
Meanwhile, mild mannered Jaksic has gone into a frenzy, his draconic nature taking hold of him. The giant he felled is now dead, for he continues to hack at its head and has cleved a hole in the skull. Brains and blood flow over and around him, yet he keeps going.
The third giant, the one that killed Gaston, is a bit bigger and tougher than the rest. He swings his club and knocks one of the grogs flying like a golf ball out of sight.

:open_mouth:
Vibria thinks for a second to try to remember if Jaksic is in danger of damaging anything valuable (monetary, that is) – Int 1 + Magic Lore 4 + die roll of 4 = 9. If the giant's head (as I suspect) is worthless, she will yell, [color=red]"Good job, Jaksic!"

Vibria cusses, a bit louder than before, before she yells out [color=red]"Avalanche!" – everybody dogpile on the one remaining foe.

Her contribution to the cause: Pilum of Fire, CT of 39 + die roll of 9 = 48.

Penetration is (48-20) 28 + Penetration (Ignem) 2 = 30.

Damage is 15 + (die roll of 1, followed by a die roll of 8) 16 = 31.

Bam!
Heavy Wound! Jaksic joins the fray on this one, after stopping to slit the throat of the left giant. They qucky bring him down and the gant falls.

Victorious, yet you have suffered heavy losses.

Vibria sidles over to Jaksic immediately after the battle, looking over the carnage. [color=red]"Is this your first battle?" she quietly asks in Catalan, looking him dead on with a ghost of a smile on her face.

Vibria asks for a moment of silence in memory of her fallen comrades, then has them (including herself) set out to recover the bodies. Hopefully they can find them before any critters (or worse) do, and she will tell her men that they deserve a proper burial. (What she won't tell them is that it's not because she's particularly religious...but she has heard what wizards can do with spirits that haven't been laid to rest.)

He looks embarrased. [color=green]Um, well, my first real fight I guess. My cousin the king had his people teach me to try to be a knight. Said it wasn't proper the way I was living. Was pretty good at the fighting part. Not so much the courtly part. They say I creeped them out and no one much cared for me around until I met you. Anyway, king Henry gave up on trying to make a noble out of me and I went back to my old habbits. See, I like to read a lot and keep to myself.

[/quote]
The villagers do the same, and you both meet with only partial success. Some villagers may have fled, others are recovered and buried dead, but of a few nothing can be said. (yes I rhymed spontaneously on purpose)
Of your camp...
Gaston was crushed and is buried with honor. One of the dogs got killed in the fray. Golfbaldo was knocked flying and his body is yet unrecovered. He was the one with the tent.
All the scholars are intact. The princess is too shocked to complain. The two Redcap trainees are helping the villagers. Tiberius the apprentice has a morbid fascination observing the dead, and is pointing out those he thinks that should be buried with garlic in their mouth just to be safe.
Dragor suggests it is probably best to stay here at the village. The Kedzo Valasz magi you are supposed to meet up with should be close by now. He will take to wolf form at night and try to find them.

[color=red]"You're cousin to the king?" Vibria asks, looking impressed. [color=red]"Looks like I've found a keeper," she mutters under her breath as she coyly smiles at Jaksic.

[color=red]"People like us tend to....wait." She looks at Jaksic intently for a moment, pursing her lips thoughtfully. [color=red]Could he be...? she wonders. [color=red]Too bad my Intellego and Vim aren't stronger.

[color=red]"I want you to do me a favour. I want to see you at sundown. I have a theory I want to try out. But meanwhile, don't worry about liking to read and keeping to your self. As far as I'm concerned, those are virtues. I like well-read men."

[color=red]Damn...that was a nice tent. And Gaston was a good man, too.

[color=red]"Good idea, and I appreciate your going ahead. Be careful."

The villagers are grateful and helpful. Vibria,? naturally, interfaces through intermediaries such as the Redcap apprentices and Jaksic. You hear the story of what happened. The giants were chased from their home after it was destroyed by dragons (not deliberate, but as collateral damage). So in their rage, they took it out on the town and were stealing all the food stores.

At sundown Dragor takes wolf form and departs. Jaksic comes to meet Vibria. [color=green]You said you wanted to see me at dusk?

Vibria will ask them how their stores are looking, and if they have enough to last.

If they don't, if they need help, she'll...she'll...[color=red]"I can't say it...Men, do what you think is best. sigh"

[color=red]"Thank you for coming, Jaksic," Vibria says. She's made it a point not to have performed her Parma ritual yet, and motions him to a seat near her. (The magic tent, I think, is gone, and I'm not sure if she has a tent of her own or if she's sleeping in the open air near the others. I was assuming the latter).

She will sit across from him and look at him for a moment, trying to gauge her reaction to him. Something he said earlier, about creeping the other out, made her wonder if Jaksic has the Gift (or, barring that, Magical Air...not that Vibria can tell the difference without a spell that's beyond her capability).

(What she does next depends on this. Invisible Castle seems to be down atm, so I'm using the dice roller on my MetaCreator, assuming a roll is necessary. Com 0 + Folk Ken 0 + die roll of 0, with a botch check of 2 = 0. Good think I put that one point in Folk Ken :laughing: )

Forcing me to decide if there is a cat in the box or not, eh? ]hat has been determined by observation this far? Let me think...
He has Magic/Mythic Blood. He is technically a knight, is an excellent fighter, has the Gift of Tongues...
And now that you feel it you can tell he has some form of Magical Air

Vibria looks at Jaksic intently for a long moment, her head cocked to one side. She brushes her hair aside before she finally nods sagely.

[color=red]"Sorry, but something you said earlier made me realize something, and I had to be with you for a moment before I had donned my Parma Magica to be sure. If you will excuse me for a minute..." She doesn't send him away, but focuses all her mental, magical, and physical energy into her Ritual. When she finishes, she smiles as she reaches for him.

[color=red]"May I extend my protection over you?"

Assuming she does, she will send for dinner for the both of them and stay up talking to him, getting to know him a little better. She was rather surprised by his...ferocity in the battle earlier, and asks where he learned to fight so well.

She will also try to talk about Smok Wawelski, in a hopefully glib manner, with the intent of learning if they're related (as far as consanguinity is concerned), as well as finding out his likes and dislikes, and what all they have in common.

[color=green]Fighting? well, I guess I am pretty good at that naturally. Not really my favorite exercise though. Maybe it is natural to my dragon blood? Smok is my father, directly, and my mother was the last bride he abducted around twenty-five years ago. The king is descended from him too, but many generations back. I suppose I am technically his uncle, but no records prove that and he is older, so we call each other cousin.

I am guessing that Jaksic is either Unaffected by the Gift or has Mythic Forbearance (in that social penalties affect him only half as strong). I say this mainly because I now realize that I have been playing him as unbothered by Vibria's gift. A might score seems unlikely too, as he passed unhindered through the Aegis of Scholomance.
What do you want to do with the character? A companion would be a good idea. But if you are thinking Apprentice with Mythic Blood, I can say he is only 20 and Carmen could open his Gift for you (but only if you give her back the phoenix you stole).

Vibria makes a thoughtful noise as she tries to summon her flame breath, but is still unable to bring forth more than a few wisps of smoke from her mouth, which causes a coughing jag.

[color=red]"Grandfather never told me how he met my grandmother," she says when she's able to breathe again, [color=red]"and I haven't gotten around to asking. My mother never talked about it, and my grandmother died before I was old enough to understand."

She snuggles closer to Jaksic as they talk, and when it starts to cool off she casts (silently and without gestures) first Palm of Fire, then Tremulous Vault of the Torch's Flame* to light the fire.

She will stay up with him until an inappropriate hour chatting and cuddling (and giving him a kiss on the cheek goodnight), if we want to go on to the next scene.

Hasn't Lux been down in the Eternal Flame since whenever?

  • Not sure if this would require a "stressed spell casting" roll (some interpret any non-standard casting as being stressed), but if they are the rolls are 39 + die roll of (1,7) 14 – 15 = 38 for the Palm of Fire and 24 + die roll of 9 – 15 = 18 for Tremulous Vault of the Torch's Flame. Apparently, Invisible Castle is still down.

I like the narrative flavor of your spell use :smiley:
I have contemplated Jaksic some more. Magical Air leads to being Judged Unfairly, which leads to hom overlooking Vibria's Gift because she trats him nice.
So what I am thinking is...
21 years old, Polish, +1 in all stats except Presence 0;
Virtues: Arcane Lore, Book Learner, Educated, Gift of Tongues, Knight, Latant Magic), Magic Blood (Dragon), Tough, Reserves of Strength
Flaws: Magical Air, Poor; Generous (Minor), Heroic Personality, Humble, Judged Unfairly

For his Dragon Blood, I propose his special advantage is a +3 to Attack Rolls because of his draconic ferocity. Instead of a Physical unsetting trait, I propose a psychological one. See, Jack is a humble nice shy guy, saddled with Magical Air and most times he comes off as a stooge (Judged Unfairly). But there are those certain moments that he can scare people. Like when he goes savage nuts in a fight or when there is the look of murder in his eyes when he is irritated with someone. He is really innocent though. He fights to defend himself or others and is in calm control but is mistaken for a wrathful bezerker. He gets irritated as normal people do but usually just lets it go and is easygoing, but what to him is a mere eye roll or a sigh comes of like a death stare and an angry inhuman growl.