Category:Clipped Wings: Difference between revisions

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===Children Forcibly Removed from Greth's Custody 01/12/2020)===
===Children Forcibly Removed from Greth's Custody (Story Log) (01/12/2020)===


{{#lst:Clipped Wings/2020-01-12 Children Forcibly Removed from Greth's Custody (log)|summary}}
{{#lst:Clipped Wings/2020-01-12 Children Forcibly Removed from Greth's Custody (log)|summary}}
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Selbi was livid, and someone was going to pay, the guard thought. A shiver ran down his back at the thought, and he wrenched his gaze away, hoping someone else would relieve him before she returned.
Selbi was livid, and someone was going to pay, the guard thought. A shiver ran down his back at the thought, and he wrenched his gaze away, hoping someone else would relieve him before she returned.

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|OOC Note:
OOC Note:


OK! So, there's a lot going on, and in the interest of determining what's meant to be "common knowledge", here you go. For clarity, these are all things that are widely known enough that every resident of the Isle would be talking about it basically nonstop. These are THE topics of discussion:
OK! So, there's a lot going on, and in the interest of determining what's meant to be "common knowledge", here you go. For clarity, these are all things that are widely known enough that every resident of the Isle would be talking about it basically nonstop. These are THE topics of discussion:
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===Clipped Wings - Finit - Things Known and Unknown (01/29/2020)===

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| ''Originally posted on the [http://forums.play.net/forums/GemStone%20IV/Cities,%20Towns,%20and%20Outposts/Mist%20Harbor/view/2198 official forums by GS4-QUILIC] on 01/29/2020 10:16 AM CST.''
|-
|Greth polished the bar, though he was fully aware that all he was accomplishing was staying busy. He couldn't wrap his head around it all, but that wasn't an unfamiliar sensation for him. He wasn't a smart man, and he was comfortable with that fact. But this time... he just wasn't sure what to make of it all.

Selbi... The Flock... that 'Essit' girl... and Socius. Greth felt a quiver of fear run through him at the thought of the man. He'd gotten used to Socius always being around, always nearby. Greth heard more whispers than most, and he'd heard what the man had been doing while Selbi's game had played out. Food and coins being distributed in the dead of night, beatings diverted... and turned on the attackers tenfold. Socius had been tireless, and the townsfolk had known it, and it had given them a sense of hope.

It had done the same for Greth. There was no denying Socius had been a lunatic, Greth thought. The man had committed cold-blooded atrocities time and again, and Greth wasn't sure the man was even capable of "feeling" the same way as everyone else. But he'd been the town's lunatic. It's always easier to appreciate a furious grizzly bear when you're the one she's protecting, after all.

And now he was gone... and the town was... Greth couldn't finish the thought. There was just too much uncertainty, in his mind. Selbi gone, Socius dead, Ilsola back in control... He supposed things would just die down to their previous levels of comfort, before all the craziness has started up. But that's not what his gut told him.

He stuck the rag in a pocket and made his way to the small door behind the bar. He knocked once in forewarning, then let himself in. The kitchen was cramped, but not nearly as much as it had been just a few days prior. More of the cots were empty, he noted, and it was mainly the littler ones who were left. Except for the mama hen, he noted with a slight grin.

The giantman girl put her hands on her hips and growled at Greth.

"What's so funny?!" she demanded.

Greth put his hands up in a placating manner before he replied.

"Just checkin' to make sure everything's OK. Penre will be back in a day or two, I'm told, an' I wanna make sure ye lot are in good shape afore he gets here."

The girl's expression didn't decrease in intensity the slightest bit, but her voice came out several degrees warmer than it had been initially.

"We're fine. Thank you for the food this morning."

Greth nodded amiably, then noted, as casually as he could, "Looks like a few more left?"

The girl turned her intense gaze away from him to note the empty cots, then she nodded slowly.

"Left in the night, like the others. I've seen a couple of them around, and they say they're staying safe... they just don't take well to charity."

Greth grunted, then replied, "I kin appreciate that, I s'pose. They know they always got a place here, right?"

The girl's gaze was full of derision now as she regarded the man.

"You've only said it twelve times. In the last two days. I think we got the message."

Greth lifted his hands once more, then backed through the door slowly, his tone calm and even.

"Jus' checkin'. If y'all need anything, ye just let me know."

As he softly closed the door, he couldn't stop the grin from sliding across his face.

----

She twitched slightly and groaned, the movement sending waves of agony up her side. Her shackled hands remained locked to the blackened iron ring overhead, and her toes barely grazed the stone floor below as she twitched. One eye was swollen completely shut, but the other's eyelid had been cut away so she could still see.

They wanted her to see, after all. That was part of it.

She was to be a warning, they had said. They wanted tales of her punishment to border on the legendary... to prevent any from choosing the same path. And so they kept her alive, but only barely. There wasn't a whole lot left to her, she knew. They'd taken pieces, and done their utmost to make sure it had hurt as much as possible.

Despite the lack of teeth... she grinned.

The tremors were constant now, and she could feel them throughout her shattered body. The sickness was coming for her, and would release her long before they wished her to depart. They were powerless, in other words, and so she grinned as they came for her once more.

Hours later, as best she could guess, the tremors redoubled, and she felt them disrupting the thready beating of her heart. The sensation made her gasp, and her breathing became suddenly ragged. None of her tormentors were in evidence to witness it, and she breathed a shaky sigh of relief as numbness spread through her limbs.

As Selbi's eyes began to roll back in her head, her final thought was a lament for the terrible cost of her soul, and her final whisper was one of heartfelt thanks.

----

The terrain was unfamiliar, but then they all were. Instinct was all that remained, and in this, the figure was nothing more than a wild thing. It slept, it hunted, it ate, and it hid. What more was there, after all? It watched as a small herd of roltons was driven by, a shepherd hot on their hooves, and the figure tensed. It was time to hunt once more.

----

So familiar... and yet completely unfamiliar at the same time. She walked the corridors of Hale Hall, and she visited the shops, and her feet remembered every step. This was her home, but so much had transpired that it felt... alien somehow. The air had changed, though the mist remained, as always. The tropical breezes were just as sweet as they had always been, and she still took the same simple pleasures in dipping her toes into the water and listening to the cry of the birds. But there was no mistaking it... things were changed, now and forever.

She'd listened to Selbi closely, and taken many notes, but it was still hard to digest. Selbi had been, somehow, working on behalf of the town the whole time. She'd double-crossed the Flock, ruthless and cold in her machinations in a way that was just... wrong. And Socius... the enigmatic man had been a party to it all. It seemed too much to take in, but the evidence of her own eyes had confirmed the story. The Flock members were wandering around the town, nasty scars in clear evidence, and though their gazes weren't exactly pleasant... there had been no mischief from them either.

The guard had been restored, such as it was. She sighed a little at the thought of that imbecile in charge, but Selbi had assured her... things would be dying back down now, and the idiot at least had experience enough. And if greater threats should arise, there was the Militia. She shifted uncomfortably at the thought, but Selbi had assured her that the Militia members... and the former "Defenders"... were as stalwart as could be desired, and had proven time and again their ability to stand fast and defend the Isle when there was a need.

Her feet carried her to the cemetery while her mind drifted, and she blinked in surprise to find herself standing before the obelisk. She read the words again, and carefully gathered up the flowers that had been left into a small bouquet that she laid atop the nearby pedestal. She stared at the cliff face, her gaze distant, and then she began to speak.

"You terrified me, you know. You had a savagery of purpose that I could never hope to understand... but none could doubt your heart. You will be missed, dearly."

Lady Ilsola turned and left the cemetery, heading back to Hale Hall and the mountain of paperwork that awaited her. She would adjust to the changes in time, she knew. She just hoped she would be up to the next challenge, whenever it came.

----

OOC note:

Another storyline come and gone, and once again, I simply don't have the words to thank you all properly for bringing this story to life. Your commitment and enthusiasm made it magical, as always, and I couldn't be more grateful for you all. As always, I won't name names, out of a certainty that I would overlook someone, and that would be a travesty.

There are two mysteries in the above post. One blatant, one subtle. I'll leave you to play with them as you like. When we get rolling again... they may take on a certain relevance.

Thank you again,
Q
|}
==See also==
==See also==


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[[Category:Clipped Wings]]
[[Category:Clipped Wings]]
[[Category:Isle of the Four Winds Storylines]]
[[Category:Isle of the Four Winds storylines]]
[[Category:Mist Harbor]]
[[Category:Mist Harbor]]
[[Category:2020 Storylines]]
[[Category:2020 storylines]]
[[Category:Storylines]]
[[Category:Storylines]]

Latest revision as of 12:45, 18 May 2023

Clipped Wings is a Mist Harbor storyline by GameMaster Quilic that began on January 5, 2020. Characters from this story previously showed up in The Nazhor Chronicles and Surcease.

Summary

This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!

Persons of Interest

Timeline of events

Clipped Wings (GM Announcement) (01/03/2020)

Originally posted on the official forums by GS4-Quilic on 01/03/2020 at 1:30 PM CST.

Darting out of Greth's (Story Log) (01/05/2020)

Mistress Selbi addressed the group of adventurers gathered at Greth's. With her normal diplomacy, she informed them all that it was time to move forward, and to get past the horrible things that had happened previously. She chastised the group at large, but then said she would be taking suggestions from the Flock (who she terms "the birdbrains"), as they had shown themselves to be united in purpose, and had been instrumental in protecting the Isle as of late. There was general outrage at this.

Socius showed up and the two of them argued over this decision. Greth asked them, politely, to take it outside and they agreed. When they were outside, Selbi was felled by an attacker from the shadows who used an enruned dart. She fell quickly unconscious, and the attacker teleported away before they could be clearly seen. Socius rallied quickly and carried Selbi in to be cared for by Penre (in Greth's backroom). He then said he was going hunting for the attacker, and Greth said that he would inform Socius if there was a change in Selbi's status.

The adventurers examined the dart, which began to act oddly. It began to pulse with a crimson light, then move on its own. It disappeared in a flash of crimson, accompanied by a slight shockwave. The adventurers went back into Greth's to check on Selbi, and the dart reappeared in there, flying at Greth, who dodged it at the last moment. The dart once again pulsed, then vanished. Throughout this whole time, various adventurers got odd sensations, and in some cases visions, all seeming to pertain to the dart.

The adventurers went to the local alchemist, who informed them that the poison that might have been used was actually water-soluble, and suggested that they wash the wound out. They brought (clean) water to Greth, who passed it to Penre, and Selbi awoke soon after. She was very weak, but stated that she wished suggestions from the Flock... and from the Militia... in three days' time. Then she went to bed.

  • Adventurers saw varying visions. A list is compiled below on the page of the log.

GM Cast: Greth, Penre Selbi, Socius, "Threatening Elf"

Adventurers: Akenna, Aleid, Ceciliah, Darcena, Dayzed, Dhairn, Lord Faerinn, Mistress Khobra, Juspera, Lady in Waiting Lynaera, Madalayne, Mellny, Defender of Mist Harbor Naamit, Flockmaster Nehor, Opalina, Relic Hunter Ordim, Raelee, Rinori, High Lord Sarmoya, Steenk, Talinvor, Tatria, Wodsong, Wolfloner, Xanthium, Defender of Mist Harbor Xilona

Player-submitted Log

A Night in with the Pets (Player Vignette) (01/06/2020)

Dealing with the Devil (Player Vignette) (01/09/2020)

Selbi Spreads Her Wings (01/09/2020)

Selbi asked the players to come to her office, where she felt safer, for a talk about what the Flock had come up with. She utilized SIGNAL for the first time, tipping off the non-Flock who are still members of the Council to her allegiance. She then listened to, and agreed with, everything the Flock proposed, which included a police force of sorts, to protect the Isle from internal threats, and an orphanage/finishing school. Headed up by Lynaera and Talinvor, in sequence. Selbi remarked that she had diverted funds from the Mist Harbor Militia Project in order to fund the Flock's goals. People were mildly annoyed.

Socius showed up and the two of them argued. Selbi let drop that Socius's "sister" was alive, but under an enchantment which stipulated that if Socius were to strike at her, the sister would perish. Socius was taken very much aback by this news, but managed to rally somewhat when Selbi strode away in a huff. He asked the remaining folk to side with him, and stated that he was going to fight to win, not just for the sake of fighting. A number of individuals agreed to stand with him against the Flock, to protect the townsfolk.

The enruned crimson dart appeared suddenly, taking down Naamit and poisoning her. The discharge of a teleporter was heard just after a comment about keeping promises. Water was procured, the wound irrigated, and Naamit recovered quickly. An assassin took a potshot at Socius, and he went rabbiting off into the night after the shooter.

GM Cast: Selbi, Socius

Adventurers: Defender of Mist Harbor Akenna, Aleid, Apsaras, Avaia, Ceciliah, Darcena, Dhairn, Lord Faerinn, Juspera, Mistress Khobra, Lady in Waiting Lynaera, Mellny, Mnar, Mistress Naamit, Flockmaster Nehor, Opalina, Relic Hunter Ordim, High Lord Sarmoya, Steenk, High Lord Talinvor, Tatria, Lord Thrassus, Chatelaine Traiva, Xanthium

Player-submitted Log

Orchestrina (Player Vignette) (01/12/2020)

Mellny. No coffee required. (Player Vignette) (01/10/2020)

On Death and Taxes (Player Vignette) (01/10/2020)

There's a point to all this. (Player Vignette) (01/10/2020)

The Dawn (Player Vignette) (01/11/2020)

Another Dawn(Player Vignette) (01/11/2020)

In the Blue Hour (Player Vignette) (01/11/2020)

A Morning After Dawn (Player Vignette) (01/11/2020)

To the Defenders, Don't Open Until Feastday (Player Vignette) (01/11/2020)

What Nehor Heard (Player Vignette) (01/11/2020)

Hearts and Minds (Player Vignette) (01/12/2020)

On Death and Taxes (Player Vignette) (01/12/2020)

Children Forcibly Removed from Greth's Custody (Story Log) (01/12/2020)

Greth began the afternoon looking rather beat up (arm in a sling, and shiner under one eye), and in a rather surly mood. When everyone had gathered, he revealed that someone had barged in during the early morning hours, roughed him up, and severely injured Penre, en route to making off with the children that Greth had been harboring. He revealed that the interlopers were disguising their appearance, appearing to be friends of Greth's, but he revealed that each of them were wearing what was eventually determined to be a lily. He also disclosed that he had killed one of them, and that while they were talking amongst each other they used a language he had never heard before.

People were mildly annoyed at this revelation, and there was some calm discussion amongst the gathered parties. After some time, Selbi showed up and calmed everyone down with her levelheaded, logical explanations and assurances. Which is to say she was horribly biased toward the Flock and everyone was even more incensed when she announced that there would be new Government Posts established in the coming days, then flounced out the door.

The enruned dart made an appearance, burrowing through Nehor's neck. Before it could disappear, Socius slipped out of a shadow and grabbed it. He assured everyone that he had killed the remaining four kidnappers, in rather extreme fashion. He said it was justice, and then also said that none of them knew where the children had gone (else they'd have definitely said so). He said the dart was a Family artifact, and that his (adopted) sister must be the one using it. He said she died when they were 8 years old, and she had been an orphan that his father adopted, and they had been raised as brother and sister. Socius tasked the Defenders with finding where the children were being held, and they agreed. Socius said that he would do his best to track down his sister.

GM Cast: Greth, Penre, Selbi, Socius

Adventurers: Defender of Mist Harbor Akenna, Aleid, Darcena, Dhairn, Lord Faerinn, Juspera, Mistress Khobra, Lady Kioya, Lady in Waiting Lynaera, Mellny, Defender of Mist Harbor Naamit, Flockmaster Nehor, Opalina, Relic Hunter Ordim, Magister Raelee, Defender of Mist Harbor Rohese, Sreka, Steenk, High Lord Talinvor, Tatria, Chatelaine Traiva, Xanthium

Player-submitted Log

The Arrival of Children (Player Vignette) (01/12/2020)

Honesty and Duty (Player Vignette) (01/13/2020)

I Will Not Pay (Player Vignette) (01/13/2020)

Brimstone and Ink (Player Vignette) (01/14/2020)

Weighty Moments - A Clipped Wings Compilation (GM and Player Vignettes) (01/14/2020)

Agreements and Opportunities (Player Vignette) (01/14/2020)

Aftermath (Player Vignette) (01/14/2020)

Sreka's Search for Lost Children -- The Wilds (Player Vignette) (01/14/2020)

Fog Wrapped the Isle Like a Saephua (Player Vignette) (01/12/2020)

Velvet Glove, Iron First (Player Vignette) (01/15/2020)

The Crate (Player Vignette) (01/15/2020)

Tithes and Death (Player Vignette) (01/15/2020)

Clipped Wings - Quick Scenes and Common Knowledge (GM Forum Post (01/15/2020)

Clipped Wings - Finit - Things Known and Unknown (01/29/2020)

See also

Pages in category "Clipped Wings"

The following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total.