Ancient Scroll/ActII SceneIII
| Roleplay from Aldo Unti | |
| Message sent to everyone in the region Wudenkin | |
| Standing before the vault door with a smile on his face, Aldo pushes one of the mangled minesweepers to the side with his foot, "Excellent work, you managed to make it here on time despite setbacks."
Inclining his head the scribe can't help but beam at the surrounding soldiers and workers, though the sullen looks of the few remaining volunteers caused him to falter. Knocking on the stone door Aldo nods, "Good work, heavy granite, would probably take us a week with steel picks," Looking over his shoulder he waves forward the pair of priests. Dragging forward a great barrel the two busy themselves with attaching the two man pump while the rest of those present pull well back. Eventually nodding they were ready everyone save Aldo, having already moved back outside, shields their eyes for the first few jarring seconds as the wash of violet flame spills out of the nozzle. It still took many hours for the Incindia to burn through the stone, and the sweaty, ash stained priests often pulled out for a rest, but eventually the way forward was open. When news reaches the camp of the vault's opening, Aldo quickly marches down the maze of passages, the workers still on site peering over each other's shoulders to gaze into the dim room that had not seen another visitor in two ages. Approaching the chamber Aldo waves them all to the side and bends to inspect the passage, just to be safe, but finding nothing of worry he steps into the room beyond Incindia torch in hand. In the shadowy light the assembled team gasp at the sight before them. Mountains of gold and jewels glittered faintly, finly woven tapestries and rugs hung proudly on the walls depicting famous battles long since forgotten. The mosaic tile floor stretched out into the darkness, with great shelves of vases and urns scattered about. Scooping up a handful of coins and running them through his fingers Aldo frowns, "This is a little larger then expected, the exterior survey indicated it was only about the size of the palace barracks, this is more like the small hall...." Tossing down the last coin he turns, "We're looking for a great stone table, it's probably the only thing in here that's not gold so spread out and see what you can find. Oh and try to refrain from pocketing the gold for just a little while longer." As the mob disperses, some to even do what they were asked, Aldo absently wanders through the junk, noting in his mind what wasn't worth the effort to transport. Eventually a rather heavily ladened digger comes scampering over wearing enough gold that her back was bent. Leading the Consul towards one side of the chamber she chatters excitedly, "We were just digging though a pile, can't leave a stone unturned you know, and there was a table underneath, but it wasn't like the other three, it was huge! So we made sure to clear that table right off, not a coin left I swear." Amused Aldo stops to consider the monolith before him. It was certainly large, stone, and a table, but most important of all, he could see Children script. Grinning he leans in close to study the find, muttering under his breath through the translation, eventually leaning back he claps the woman on the back, sending her loot gangling and jingling, "This is it, the Stone Table of Ibnanzil, I knew they scooped it up during the war, well done. You can keep what you're trying to take as your reward. Call over the rest of the workers, we have to get this packed up. Also make sure we collect any books and I want to look at anything not made of gold that is found. And you, send word to the other patricians that we've found it." | |
| Aldo Unti (Consul of Melhed) | |
| Roleplay from Silvianna Pathfinder | |
| Message sent to everyone in the region Wudenkin | |
| Henri comes running up the path to where Lady Silvianna is resting.
"My Lady! The vault, it has been opened!" With those words, Lady Silvianna's blood begins to quicken. How long she has waited for the opportunity to find the one item that will satisfy her. Quickly she navigates the maze-like passages towards the entrance to the vault. A quick stop to glance at the Incindia burned door, she whistles with appreciation. Once inside the vault she is quickly awestruck by the shear amount of gold and random items. "It's going to take me forever to search through all this junk" she whispers to herself. "Best get started." Over in one corner she sees Aldo hunched over a stone table. "Ah good good. He must have found what he was looking for. If only I can be that fortunate." Silvianna notices that the walls of the vault are lined with book shelves. Nodding she heads over to the closest one. Perusing through the archives of the vault she notices several interesting tomes. "Humm... there seems to be several books about Daimons. Those will definitely come in handy." After a few hours of looking, Silvianna still had not found the one book that she came on this expedition for. Beginning to get frustrated, she finds a less cluttered spot on the ground to sit and think. Going over the last several days in her head hoping to find a clue that she missed, she realizes that the way here has been frought with traps and secret passages. "Eureka!" she yells. "We are only looking in the open, what's to say that, just like the passages, this vault does not have secret passages." Quickly Silvianna begins to wonder around the perimeter of the vault, looking for something out of place. "Ah ha!" in the corner opposite the stone table where Aldo still stood, there was a small brick that looked somewhat out of place. Approaching, Silvianna noticed that the brick was jutting out of the wall by only a few millimeters. Cautiosly, she studies the brick. "Well, here goes nothing." Silvianna gingerly presses the brick. Off in the distance a faint clicking noise is heard. Several seconds later, the portion of the wall that contained the brick begins to slide out and to the side. "Aldo! Look here!" Silvianna screams excitedly. "You! worker, go in there and check for traps." Timidly, a worker approaches the entrance slowly, having seen many of his comrades burn today, he does not want to suffer the same death. Several minutes pass without a sound. The workers head pears out of the chamber, "it's all clear". Once inside the room, Silvianna lights a small lamp that she carries with her. The room is small, only about 10 feet deep and 8 feet wide. It is furnished with a small wooden table and the walls are lined with shelves. Most of these shelves lay empty. However, there are a few that contains some old tomes and scrolls. Browsing through the tomes, Silvianna sees what she came here for. A nondescript book with black bindings and silver writing. Silviannas pulse quickens as she reaches for the book. Slowly removing it from the shelf, she carefully opens it. "Ah, just as I expected, it's going to take me some time to decipher this language." Putting the book into her bag, Silvianna wanders over to the corner where Aldo stands. "Aldo, is this the stone table that you were talking about?" | |
| Silvianna Pathfinder (Senator of Bil Havil) | |
| Roleplay from Aldo Unti | |
| Message sent to everyone in the region Wudenkin | |
| Peering around the hidden room with interest, Aldo muses to himself, "Silantins who read? My that is unexpected....." turns back at the question he nods and heads back over to the table where workers were busy setting up cranes and carts, "Yes this is what I came for, the Stone Table of Ibnanzil."
Smiling faintly he wanders around the table, dodging the flurry of activity from the workers, "It isn't that old really, predates the first invasion by about half a year. The inscriptions taken from the carries of Qual spoke of the first blessing of the Gods on their children to test the would be usurpers." Waving his hand absently, "The exact nature of that initial blessing should be well known to you given your diligent study, so I'll not waste time. Strangely enough the tablets uncovered from the same burial mounds spoke of the great difficulties the monsters had in learning the Dark Mistress' gift. Hard to say for certain exactly what the problem was, the tablet was cracked along one side, but either way Ibnanzil decided to take action. What action he took required tracking down writings collected from the Zettermain and Haffemet tribes, but apparently the great shaman created this table to assist in the efforts. From what I read in those findings and on the table itself, it seems to ask the spirits of the air and the earth to rewrite that which is written." Stepping forward Aldo taps the table surface, "You see how this half is smooth and polished while the other has embossed writing? You merely have to place the written text on the rough side, and apparently, it will be rewritten on the smooth." Leaning back Aldo adds, "Well in monster of course, no point in translating it to something else they didn't know how to read. Still shouldn't be too much of a problem. The real issue is what will a book do? Monsters prefer to write on single sheets at a time, not a bound volume." Pausing to look around the vault he nods, "I do wonder what it is they so desperately needed to translate however, from what I learned Ibnanzil had to sacrifice a great deal to make this table..." Shrugging Aldo turns back to Silvianna, "Either way it was kept in the Zisswii cave network until human encroachment drove the monsters out. The Silantins acquired it when they owned the region and they decided to take it home as a trophy of their exploits, it was used as a desk for sorting things in the vault since it was so big. I myself hope to put it in the main library in Agyr, should speed up translations immensely." | |
| Aldo Unti (Consul of Melhed) | |
| Letter from Purple Recluse | |
| Message sent to Aldo | |
| I am curious about the research your scholars are doing in Valhus. I'm also perturbed by the anger and threats resulting from this.
Can you tell me, please, what your researchers are hoping to discover? I have quite an interest in what the alchemists and astrologers of Mesh are doing, but your project seems to be of far greater importance. More than that, there is the practical aspect of diplomacy. I have never found reason for admiration of Valhalla, yet Heen seems to hold him in some honour. When it comes to explaining things to the Council of Mesh I cannot simply rely on personal feelings. | |
| Purple Recluse (Chancellor of Mesh) | |
| Letter from Aldo Unti | |
| Message sent to Purple | |
| Greetings Chancellor Purple,
It is a small enough matter what we seek. Combing through various ancient sites, a few stone tablets and scrolls I found mention of an interesting piece of furniture which, I decided to investigate further. It took a fair amount of effort to track down exactly where it had gone, but in the end the Journal of Andro the Assassin, held mention. As I've said in a slightly less polite tone to Valhalla, I'd rather not commit to paper precisely what it is we seek until the security of the situation is assured. I will say however that it will be made available to any and all who wish to use it without prejudice. Really? I have not heard of the alchemical and astrological studies of Mesh, you must forgive me, we live so far removed from each other and a raven can only fly so far. Might I ask what it is your people are working on? The decoding of the ancient calendar perhaps, or do yo work towards improved metallurgy? My apologies, it is so rare to find others who show an interest, though I assure you our efforts are no less or more important then your own. Still let me return to the matter at hand. The honour of Valhalla by Heen is of little surprise if one looks to the history of the matter. Valhalla was once the ruler of Vlaanderen during the first days of the invasion, another nation he named after himself. It was decided that his people would safeguard the 5 artifacts which could be used to seal the daimons away before they could fully break into our world. However the undead and monsters sought the items as well and to save his people Valhalla gave some of the artifacts to the monsters of the Island, and entered into an alliance with them. Heen and Sint did likewise, while the rest of the nations sided with the undead of the Abyss Kingdom. Sadly every nation that sided with monsters eventually ended up with the daimons, but the result is that they know they must stand united least they be destroyed by the nations who are angered by their actions. Valhalla himself is a smooth talker, as you can see, but can't be trusted to hold his word, and will change his mind the moment it becomes more convenient for him. He also assumes everyone is like him, which is why the idea that I really am just digging for scholarly purposes is impossible for him to believe no matter how many times I explain it. As for the anger over this matter. Valhalla and the senate have exchanged heated debate once before. During the discussion to see where to store the 5 items, the choices were Reeds and Agyr. Valhalla was quick to champion the virtues of his people, their dedication, courage, honour, justice, etc. and quick to hurl insults on the suitability of Agyr and the senate. For some reason it stuck in their minds being called corrupted feeble old men, unable to stand toe to toe with the inhumans, or properly govern their nation, by one who led Vlaanderen of all places. There have been recent insults as well to various members, though given their nature it was assumed to be unintentional. I myself have little patience for the man after having delt with him for years now and when he decided to once again change his mind on an agreement I decided to act. As an aside I am curious, how do the people of Mesh organize their government, if you'd be willing to share of course. | |
| Aldo Unti (Consul of Melhed) | |
| Request from Valhalla Valentine | |
| Message sent to the Rulers of this world | |
| Consul Aldo, Rumour has it that you are making leeway with your research? Care to update us all given that you are still in my city. | |
| Valhalla Valentine (Emperor and High Merchant of Valhus, Duke of Wudenkin) | |
| Request from Valhalla Valentine | |
| Message sent to Aldo, Handkor, Marche | |
| In fact, I see no reason why I should be polite enough to negotiate peace when an ally of Avalon are not listening to me. Negotiations will not begin until Consul Aldo and every single member of his realm are out of Valhus lands - until that happens, the war will never be over. | |
| Valhalla Valentine (Emperor and High Merchant of Valhus, Duke of Wudenkin) | |
| Request from Aldo Unti | |
| Message sent to the Rulers of this world | |
| Given that it would mean disturbing people whom have no intrest in the matter, I would rather respect their wish to remain uninvolved and not bore them with details. Suffice to say the research continues as it always does, slowly, but our excivation has made great strides and we should soon be able to depart. | |
| Aldo Unti (Consul of Melhed) | |
| Request from Aldo Unti | |
| Message sent to Handkor, Marche, Valhalla | |
| It pleases me to inform you that the senate has double checked and discovered that we are in fact not allied with Avalon at this time. They further would like to add they are pleased at the prospect of negotiations taking place and would like to encourage you to not wait for them to begin. | |
| Aldo Unti (Consul of Melhed) | |
| Request from Valhalla Valentine | |
| Message sent to Aldo, Handkor, Marche | |
| Thank you for your update Consul Aldo but the fact remains that though you may not be in visible alliance with Avalon it is clear that you are friends enough with them to merit our attention and as such negotiations will not begin and the war will not end until my terms have been met. The cards are on the table and you yourself have the decision to aid in ending a war that directly involves your friends. I leave this down to you. | |
| Valhalla Valentine (Emperor and High Merchant of Valhus, Duke of Wudenkin) | |
| Request from Aldo Unti | |
| Message sent to Handkor, Marche, Valhalla | |
| The senate will be most pleased to hear of your clarity of vision, it never ceases to spark debate. Alas there is a slight imperfection in the perception of the situation that the senate would like me to address. The Avalonians are not in fact our friends, we are merely at peace with them. Individuals on both sides may have had pleasant conversations and their private feelings might be different, but as a whole, the senate does not view Avalon as a friend. If it did, we would be at war the moment they requested assistance. Melhed stands by its friends. So again please, do not let us stop you in your noble efforts for peace. | |
| Aldo Unti (Consul of Melhed) | |
| Request from Valhalla Valentine | |
| Message sent to Aldo, Benton, Fror, Handkor, Marche, Mordred | |
| Letter from Aldo Unti
Message sent to: Handkor, Marche, Valhalla The senate will be most pleased to hear of your clarity of vision, it never ceases to spark debate. Alas there is a slight imperfection in the perception of the situation that the senate would like me to address. The Avalonians are not in fact our friends, we are merely at peace with them. Individuals on both sides may have had pleasant conversations and their private feelings might be different, but as a whole, the senate does not view Avalon as a friend. If it did, we would be at war the moment they requested assistance. Melhed stands by its friends. So again please, do not let us stop you in your noble efforts for peace. Aldo Unti Consul of Melhed I will do so only under the promise that Melhed will not involve themselves or attempt to involve anyone else in this war. | |
| Valhalla Valentine (Emperor and High Merchant of Valhus, Duke of Wudenkin) | |
| Request from Aldo Unti | |
| Message sent to Benton, Fror, Handkor, Marche, Mordred, Valhalla | |
| The senate will confer on your request, and it will take time. In the mean time I'm sure the Valhus people would rather not wait on the slow progress of a foreign power, by all means do as you must. | |
| Aldo Unti (Consul of Melhed) | |
| Report from Ottokar Fiddler | |
| Message sent to everyone in message group "Forum Publicus -Those interested" | |
| Thank you for your update Consul Aldo but the fact remains that though you may not be in visible alliance with Avalon it is clear that you are friends enough with them to merit our attention and as such negotiations will not begin and the war will not end until my terms have been met.
This is hilarious. Really. "We assume that you are allies, and we do not care whether this is true or not. If you want to prove us that you are not allies, declare war on Avalon!". Perhaps we should indeed act as allies/friends and declare war on him? Not on Valhus, personally on Valhalla. Valhalla still does not know that RoF will leave the war, I suppose. OOC: Anthony, your replies are great! | |
| Ottokar Fiddler (Senator of Rengo) | |
| Roleplay from Aldo Unti | |
| Message sent to everyone in the region Wudenkin | |
| Taking one last look over the extensive baggage train Aldo nods, "Expidition, let's head home." | |
| Aldo Unti (Consul of Melhed) | |
