Mrs. Mattfire

10-17-2020: Game Thirty-Six: Mrs. Mattfire
 
There was magic in this world once, but they stole it all away.
 
In search of a fabled blade, the Pope of Swords was creeping through the forest.
 
Five Feet Six inches tall, a man with a fantastically large hat crept through the woods. His fully armoured form tinkled with each step. His armour appeared to be made from links of finely crafted tiny swords linked together in an endless dance of blades.
 
“ My faithful companion, as you well know, Fighter single-handedly cut through the heart of magic in this world: causing all of it to bleed out from everyone. This strange place may have been a wound from this cut. This forest in the middle of the desert makes little sense“
 
He found a candle with a rolled message, making a mental note to light the candle at Sunset in order to engage in communications with the folks mentioning the Ring Gate business opportunity.
 
That very night as he made camp he lit the candle, rubbing his hands with anticipation for the riches he would surely gain. As the flame burned, he spoke forth:
 
“Hello is anyone there? I am interested in helping construct the gate network. It will surely help me in my search for the Cathedral of Blades - Citadel of Mighty Lord Fighter. ”
 
“The only one who should be lighting this candle is an Alpha Brother, and you don’t sound like a Brother at all. . “
 
 
“I am surely a brother to our mighty lord Fighter - Slayer of Magic.”
 
The Bravo brothers blew out their candle, knowing that some fiend had stolen the crux of their plan to resume contact with their brothers.
 
The Pope of Swords was whittling wooden swords to teach children the right way in life as he yelled at the candle. Suddenly the Alpha brothers returned to the realm, granted eternal rest to the awaiting wife and noticing a strange man yelling at a candle.
 
The brothers read the note mentioning the Bravo brothers’ plans to generate income and the urgent need for Tage to contact his Vampiric friend. Having been brought back up to speed on current events they were offered the services of the Pope of Swords, who was not content without a duel as an initiation of sorts: Thy’lek offered him one.
 
Wooden Blades at dusk.
 
He was curious about tales from Yuttosks presence at the Death of magic but did not pry further for now. He did mention he had been setting up orphanages to train the children in need about the Path of the Sword, and the word of Fighter.
 
The Pope struck a pair of vicious Greatsword strikes on Thy’lek, who retaliated with a handful of prods and pokes with the wooden rapier. Another series of vicious strikes from the Pope, followed with a powerful poke by Thy’lek. He gouged the muscles of one of the Pope’s calves: his cry of anguish was rather surprised.
 
He lashed out with the hilt of his sword, knocking Thy’lek on the forehead. He fell to a knee, insisting that he had been bested. The birds dancing around his head would go away on their own in time. He had passed the first round of the gauntlet.
 
He offered a sword to anyone else asking: Tage took this as an offer of a second duel, so he faded into darkness after grunting: “Done.”
 
From the darkness Tage’s shadow blade knocked into the side of the Sword pope: His hat tilted, and was sent careening thirty feet into the darkness elsewhere. The vicious counterstrike the pope levelled at his after-image burst it into a thousand sparks of illusion.
 
Annoyed at the potential danger, Tage began throwing stars from the darkness at the Pope. Despite his best efforts the Pope was eventually knocked into the dust: but he propped himself up with his sword.
 
Tage crept up to the Deacon of the Pope and whispered in his ear to give him the book. Then he took it. Thumbing through the pages, he saw it was full of swords and written in the blood of the Popes fallen foes. John began administering a potent elixir to the mouth of the Sword Pope, returning him to consciousness.
 
Tage took the candle back from the dazed Pope, and John offered him a bandolier. “Consider yourself a brother, Pope.” John patted him on an already bruised shoulder, offering reassurance in this tumultuous time. The Pope thumbed through his Precious Sword Catalogue, and saw that the blade of Korric was present: “Rive” was less than pleased.
 
The brothers would begin their trek overland to the nearest town where their landboat was hopefully docked. Unfortunately their mounts seemed to have disappeared, but that was hardly unexpected. The next evening at sunset. .
 
Tage spoke through the candle, and Lyle was shocked to hear his creepy voice threatening violence and terrible pain unless support was offered to get him out of this blasted desert. Information was exchanged between the bands of brothers, about the Gate network and things which should have been occurring. Pyotr was safely relocated in the Trolloch federation, free from the threats of the Bishop. The gate network was in the process of construction and connection with the Barlizzar gate almost completed.
 
Penelope broke into the call, amused at the rough, primitive quality of their communications. “You’re actually talking with a candle. How quaint.” A ‘window’ was suggested to expedite the reuniting of the brothers. Shortly after being asked to explain how the window would work, a glimmering doorway appeared. Korric shoved the Pope through, and the rest of the Alpha brothers followed.
 
It turned out, three months had passed since the Alpha brothers had gone off in search of fortune.
 
John spotted the duck, and lifted him up with glee: “Dinner is served!” “I am not dinner” “”We’ll see about that.”
 
Bastard walked up to the pope: That’s big.
 
Introductions went on. They indicated that both trials and tribulations had happened in the absence of the brothers.
 
The brothers thanked Penelope for her assistance. She was happy to explain that the Gate network was well underway. Tage offered his service as a ‘Collection Agent’ - A thug at heart. Penelope assured them that her Praetorian guard did all the collecting she needed. The Pope offered his engineering expertise, and Penelope found that to be beyond hilarious.
 
As it turned out, the Alpha brothers did not come back with fantastic riches to fuel the growth of the brothers. They offered their services for the time being since they would be delighted to explore further reaches than previously quickly possible. Perhaps some other city state or small country to knock over. Maybe they’d investigate the tower of Damus. Penelope offered to transport them wherever seemed interesting. Then they learned that their mine had been taken over.
 
Penelope literally stopped time as she came up with nick-names for the Alpha brothers:
 
 
Fancy-Pants (Thy’lek), Jolly Green Giant (Korric), Major Armstrong (John^3), Ninja Gaiden (Tage), The Pope (the Pope), and the help (Yuttosk).
 
They were mildly amused, then angry about the loss of their mine. They decided to immediately retake it. (Next adventure: retaking the mine!)
 
John mentioned to the newest members of the Brotherhood that if they wished they could become an intelligent undead. The brothers now had ‘a guy that does that’. The duck perked up: “If I become undead you can’t eat me!” “Duck jerky is just as good. Cured meat.”
 
John insisted the brothers take an evening to relax and regain their balance after their most recent adventure. So they set out for a night that none of them would soon forget in Humus.
 
Bastard and Gentleman Jack made a ‘gentleman’s wager’ to see who could have the most ladies, and they had to squeal.
 
Average Party Level: 11
Experience Gained: 0,000 XP
10-17-2020: Game Thirty-Six: Mrs. Mattfire
 
There was magic in this world once, but they stole it all away.
 
In search of a fabled blade, the Pope of Swords was creeping through the forest.
 
Five Feet Six inches tall, a man with a fantastically large hat crept through the woods. His fully armoured form tinkled with each step. His armour appeared to be made from links of finely crafted tiny swords linked together in an endless dance of blades.
 
“ My faithful companion, as you well know, Fighter single-handedly cut through the heart of magic in this world: causing all of it to bleed out from everyone. This strange place may have been a wound from this cut. This forest in the middle of the desert makes little sense“
 
He found a candle with a rolled message, making a mental note to light the candle at Sunset in order to engage in communications with the folks mentioning the Ring Gate business opportunity.
 
That very night as he made camp he lit the candle, rubbing his hands with anticipation for the riches he would surely gain. As the flame burned, he spoke forth:
 
“Hello is anyone there? I am interested in helping construct the gate network. It will surely help me in my search for the Cathedral of Blades - Citadel of Mighty Lord Fighter. ”
 
“The only one who should be lighting this candle is an Alpha Brother, and you don’t sound like a Brother at all. . “
 
 
“I am surely a brother to our mighty lord Fighter - Slayer of Magic.”
 
The Bravo brothers blew out their candle, knowing that some fiend had stolen the crux of their plan to resume contact with their brothers.
 
The Pope of Swords was whittling wooden swords to teach children the right way in life as he yelled at the candle. Suddenly the Alpha brothers returned to the realm, granted eternal rest to the awaiting wife and noticing a strange man yelling at a candle.
 
The brothers read the note mentioning the Bravo brothers’ plans to generate income and the urgent need for Tage to contact his Vampiric friend. Having been brought back up to speed on current events they were offered the services of the Pope of Swords, who was not content without a duel as an initiation of sorts: Thy’lek offered him one.
 
Wooden Blades at dusk.
 
He was curious about tales from Yuttosks presence at the Death of magic but did not pry further for now. He did mention he had been setting up orphanages to train the children in need about the Path of the Sword, and the word of Fighter.
 
The Pope struck a pair of vicious Greatsword strikes on Thy’lek, who retaliated with a handful of prods and pokes with the wooden rapier. Another series of vicious strikes from the Pope, followed with a powerful poke by Thy’lek. He gouged the muscles of one of the Pope’s calves: his cry of anguish was rather surprised.
 
He lashed out with the hilt of his sword, knocking Thy’lek on the forehead. He fell to a knee, insisting that he had been bested. The birds dancing around his head would go away on their own in time. He had passed the first round of the gauntlet.
 
He offered a sword to anyone else asking: Tage took this as an offer of a second duel, so he faded into darkness after grunting: “Done.”
 
From the darkness Tage’s shadow blade knocked into the side of the Sword pope: His hat tilted, and was sent careening thirty feet into the darkness elsewhere. The vicious counterstrike the pope levelled at his after-image burst it into a thousand sparks of illusion.
 
Annoyed at the potential danger, Tage began throwing stars from the darkness at the Pope. Despite his best efforts the Pope was eventually knocked into the dust: but he propped himself up with his sword.
 
Tage crept up to the Deacon of the Pope and whispered in his ear to give him the book. Then he took it. Thumbing through the pages, he saw it was full of swords and written in the blood of the Popes fallen foes. John began administering a potent elixir to the mouth of the Sword Pope, returning him to consciousness.
 
Tage took the candle back from the dazed Pope, and John offered him a bandolier. “Consider yourself a brother, Pope.” John patted him on an already bruised shoulder, offering reassurance in this tumultuous time. The Pope thumbed through his Precious Sword Catalogue, and saw that the blade of Korric was present: “Rive” was less than pleased.
 
The brothers would begin their trek overland to the nearest town where their landboat was hopefully docked. Unfortunately their mounts seemed to have disappeared, but that was hardly unexpected. The next evening at sunset. .
 
Tage spoke through the candle, and Lyle was shocked to hear his creepy voice threatening violence and terrible pain unless support was offered to get him out of this blasted desert. Information was exchanged between the bands of brothers, about the Gate network and things which should have been occurring. Pyotr was safely relocated in the Trolloch federation, free from the threats of the Bishop. The gate network was in the process of construction and connection with the Barlizzar gate almost completed.
 
Penelope broke into the call, amused at the rough, primitive quality of their communications. “You’re actually talking with a candle. How quaint.” A ‘window’ was suggested to expedite the reuniting of the brothers. Shortly after being asked to explain how the window would work, a glimmering doorway appeared. Korric shoved the Pope through, and the rest of the Alpha brothers followed.
 
It turned out, three months had passed since the Alpha brothers had gone off in search of fortune.
 
John spotted the duck, and lifted him up with glee: “Dinner is served!” “I am not dinner” “”We’ll see about that.”
 
Bastard walked up to the pope: That’s big.
 
Introductions went on. They indicated that both trials and tribulations had happened in the absence of the brothers.
 
The brothers thanked Penelope for her assistance. She was happy to explain that the Gate network was well underway. Tage offered his service as a ‘Collection Agent’ - A thug at heart. Penelope assured them that her Praetorian guard did all the collecting she needed. The Pope offered his engineering expertise, and Penelope found that to be beyond hilarious.
 
As it turned out, the Alpha brothers did not come back with fantastic riches to fuel the growth of the brothers. They offered their services for the time being since they would be delighted to explore further reaches than previously quickly possible. Perhaps some other city state or small country to knock over. Maybe they’d investigate the tower of Damus. Penelope offered to transport them wherever seemed interesting. Then they learned that their mine had been taken over.
 
Penelope literally stopped time as she came up with nick-names for the Alpha brothers:
 
 
Fancy-Pants (Thy’lek), Jolly Green Giant (Korric), Major Armstrong (John^3), Ninja Gaiden (Tage), The Pope (the Pope), and the help (Yuttosk).
 
They were mildly amused, then angry about the loss of their mine. They decided to immediately retake it. (Next adventure: retaking the mine!)
 
John mentioned to the newest members of the Brotherhood that if they wished they could become an intelligent undead. The brothers now had ‘a guy that does that’. The duck perked up: “If I become undead you can’t eat me!” “Duck jerky is just as good. Cured meat.”
 
John insisted the brothers take an evening to relax and regain their balance after their most recent adventure. So they set out for a night that none of them would soon forget in Humus.
 
Bastard and Gentleman Jack made a ‘gentleman’s wager’ to see who could have the most ladies, and they had to squeal.