Hidden Beneath The Canopy

[SirArtemis]

“What is it, Judicis?” Artemis asked aloud.

“What is a Judicis?” the Ghaede responded, but Artemis just waved him off.

“Hard to explain. Sentient weapon of mine. Give me a moment.”

’If his claims are true, and some magical relic has changed him into this creature, we may be able to purge him. In fact, the sinister field of magic I feel around him reinforces my belief that he is telling the truth.’

“Okay, and how do we do that?”

’Channel your desire to aid him – to cure him. Put every ounce of your virtue into a shot, and my magic will synchronize with your own. We will strike him with an arrow of the purest magic and if it works, the relic will be either destroyed or removed from his being.’

“And if it doesn’t work the way we plan?” Artemis asked with a sigh, leaning against the wall and looking at the stone floor.

’If the magic fails, we may be forced to kill him, or perhaps the projectile will kill him in the process. I cannot be certain how linked the two of them are. This is simply speculation.’

Artemis took a deep breath and turned to the Ghaede, shifting Judicis from his form as a bracer into the full shape of the bow. “Okay then. You wanted help, right? Well, I may be able to help you. Just pray to whatever thayne you believe in that this goes well.”

The creature looked out at Artemis confused. As he watched the young man draw back on his bow, he saw a white mist pulling together into a tight form of a magical arrow. He realized then what the human planned to do, and he steeled himself in preparation. He set his arms by his sides and clenched all four fists, pulling in his wings tight, as though tensing his entire body.

“Thank you.” It was all the creature managed to say before a powerful bolt of magic struck him in the chest with the force of lightning, sending him flying through the air and striking the walls of the ruins with a crackling thud.

Artemis ran over to the body to see the result.

What lay before him was no longer the Ghaede, but a fae. It was an elf, who held a small scepter tightly within his grasp. Artemis reached down, checking for a sign of life.

“Hey, are you alright?” Artemis asked, shaking the man gently. “Hey, come on, wake up. It worked! You’re back to your normal self!” He shook the man some more, but nothing happened.

’Artemis, his life is forfeit. We have done what we can. Perhaps we can at least return the body so that he may receive the proper death rights.’

“But it worked, Judicis! Look! He’s back to normal! Come on, you can’t tell me that after that he’s dead. You just can’t…”

Artemis’ heart fell into the pit of his stomach as he continued to gently shake the man, though he knew it was pointless. He knelt beside the man for a few quiet minutes, letting the sorrow of yet another life lost before his eyes seep in, and absorbing another failure into the core of his being.

’It is not your fault Artemis. You have done more for him than anyone else could have done. He told you himself of the countless warriors that threw themselves at the chance to slay him. You were the only one to stay your blade. Take pride in that. Without you, no one would ever know his story. Honor him, and forgive yourself.’

With a heavy sigh of resignation, Artemis carefully placed the scepter into the satchel that Daros had given him. He made sure not to touch it with his flesh, afraid of whether there was still some sinister magic within it. After doing so, he took the body of the dead fae and used his new-found vision to bring the man back to the surface. When he arrived above ground, no one was there. He shifted his vision back to the normal spectrum of light, then continued on to the grove where the ent surely remained.

[SirArtemis]

Part Six

A Life Change

The journey through the forest felt longer now, and not due to the weight of the fae. Rather, the weight of his decision and the life wasted caused the man to drag his steps.

Night had set and the stars of Luthmor were out again, as bright as ever. When Artemis had finally made it to the grove, the movements of the ent still creaked heavily while the pool surrounding him glowed a dim violet.

“You… have returned…”

“Yes, and I have destroyed the Ghaede. However, it was not as I had expected.” Artemis set the body of the fae down before the ent.

“What… is this…?”

“This is the Ghaede. A fae. A man cursed by a relic of the ruins.”

“A fae…?”

“Yes. A man lost his life and became a target hunted by his own kind. Did you not know?”

“No…” the ent said, and there was a sadness to his deep voice. “I only felt… the tainted magic… I could not know…the source…”

“Well, perhaps now you can tell his story.”

“Artemis, what are you doing here?” It was Vulence, arriving at the grove. “What’s that?” Artemis turned to the man, sorrow etched upon his face. Vulence recognized the tenseness in the air and his smile instantly fell away.

“This is the body of the Ghaede. It was a fae who had been cursed. I managed to purge the evil magic from him and felt that he deserved a proper ceremony for his passing.”

“I see,” Vulence said, approaching Artemis and the body. “Yes, I will be sure to…” Vulence paused, looking down upon the deceased with a face of utter surprise.

“What is it?” Artemis asked, noting Vulence’s reaction.

“That’s… That’s my father…”

This time Artemis’ face showed the surprise as he reeled back a bit. “Your father?”

“Yes… I… We thought he died in the ruins… They told us that there was some accident… I didn’t know that…” Vulence turned away from the body, taking a moment to gather himself.

“He told me what happened that day, if you’d like to know.”

“Yes, please tell me,” Vulence said, turning to Artemis and placing his hands upon the human’s shoulder. He recounted the conversation for the grieving fae and the ent, so that both knew the events of that day, and surely Vulence would not forget.

“Tragic…” the ent said, sorrow clear in his voice.

Vulence wiped a tear from his eye and embraced Artemis in a deep hug. “Thank you, Artemis. Thank you for finding the truth.” He held the embrace for a few seconds before stepping back. “I will be sure my father receives the proper ceremony of passing, and my family will want to know the story of what happened. Perhaps even the council of Donnalaich will be more cautious from now on when excavating for artifacts.”

Artemis smiled, though slightly forced, as he still contemplated whether he could have done more.

“I must go,” Vulence said, lifting the body up. “Thank you again. I will inform Ietia that the Ghaede is no more.” Artemis nodded to the fae, and then he was off, leaving just the human and the ent in the grove.

“Your courage… has changed… his life…”

“Yeah… and my courage cost another his.”

The ent looked puzzled – as puzzled as an ent could. But before he could respond, Artemis popped the cork of the bottle Daros had given him and poured it at his feet. Within a moment, the magic took hold of him, sending him spiraling back across Althanas to land within the front yard of the wizard’s home. The young man was so distraught that he didn’t even remember that Daros had given him the wrong pills.

[SirArtemis]

Epilogue

A week had passed since Artemis' return to the comforts of Salvar. He sat upon his bed now wearing nothing but a pair of linen pants, hunched over and staring out the window. His elbows rested upon his knees and between his fingers was a cup of tea, loosely dangling in the air. The room was small, though it had become his home now. It was tucked into a corner of the second floor of the Bearded Gnome inn - a dwarven run establishment in Knife's Edge. It had the necessities: a bed, a nightstand, a trunk for his belongings, and a small desk across from the bed.

Artemis watched through the window as heavy snowflakes slowly fluttered through the sky, making their journey gracefully as they danced on the early winter winds. The sun managed to peek through the clouds occasionally and the snowflakes would twinkle, reminding the young man of the stars of Luthmor. He realized then that the snowflakes were the stars of Salvar.

He sat there in contemplation, looking back on his short trip to Luthmor and what it had done to him. It seemed life was such a frail thing. He had nearly lost his own to the N'Jalian spider magi, and the fae had lost his life to the evil magic of a relic. Even those who hunted the Ghaede had lost their lives as well. It seemed endless - these pointless deaths.

His mind drifted to the Battle of Vardta where he had watched so many good people die in a pointless war they never wanted. He could still see Tanya's eyes looking at him with a fiery passion when she stepped up to save his life, costing her own. So many faces raced through his mind as he remembered those he had known who had fallen, and he had not even lived a quarter century.

Suddenly a knock came on the door, drawing Artemis out of his contemplation. "Come in," he said, turning to look at the door.

"Artie, this letter came for ye." It was Harki, the dwarven barkeep. His black beard was so thick that one could imagine it was the beard talking rather than the dwarf.

"Thanks Harki. You can just put it on the desk there."

With a flick of the wrist, the dwarf sent the letter flying as it bounced against the wall and landed upon the desk. "Dinner'll be ready in five, lad."

With a nod, Artemis turned back to the window, staring. Seconds passed, but they dragged on slowly as the young man's mind latched onto the pain of accepting loss as a commonality of life.

He stood up and set the cup of tea upon the nightstand before opening the window. He closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths of the crisp and cold air before shutting the window again. He walked over to the letter, breaking the wax seal and unfolding the pale paper.

Dear Artemis,

Though you were not able to bring me the requested item, the relic you brought turned out to be more valuable anyway, so thank you. Using the magical properties of the scepter I have been able to devise a way to synthesize a more advanced form of what I expect the creature's hide was made from.

When you get the chance, please stop by. I have a reward for you that I think you will appreciate. I'm sorry for the trouble, but hopefully this will make it up to you. I look forward to seeing your reaction.

Best,
Daros

With a sigh, the young man placed the letter into his desk, gently closing the drawer of oak, and donned a pair of boots and a shirt before heading down for dinner. He would deal with Daros later.

[SirArtemis]

Spoils:

Bounty Reward: I implemented and was approved of taking on the Ghaede, which constitutes a reward of ((600 GP, 2 Wound be Gone! Potions, 1 Ice Bomb)). I'd like to substitute the potions and the bomb for more GP if possible. Otherwise, just let them fade into nothingness.

Gold Bonus: As a reward for slaying the N'Jalian spider magi, Vulence provided Artemis a coinpurse full of gold to compensate him for the spider silk, which is of extreme rarity and high worth. I am hoping to add this to my spoils in the form of gold in order to increase my coffers and pay for my spoils.

Darkvision: Artemis now has the ability to shift his vision into a form that allows him to see the world as he would with sufficient light, but sacrifices his ability to see traditional colors. Everything appears as different shades of indigo, but remains clear and crisp.

Gade Undersuit: Daros has crafted a gade cloth full-body suit for Artemis that has a detatchable head and gloves (think superhero spiderman) that is worn as the initial layer of his armor. He normally keeps the head and gloves off, but when worn, they do not impede him in any way (he can still see, smell, talk, hear, and grip just fine - though he needs to take it off to eat and drink).

The material that Daros devised is known as Gade Cloth. It is as light and comfortable as silk, but has the ability to stretch quite well, almost like stockings. However, the advantage of this cloth is that it can be worn underneath all armor and will barely be felt, if at all. Another huge advantage of this cloth is that it retains a regenerative property so that if it is ever damaged, it will mend over a relatively short period of time (within a few hours). The final and most important attribute is that this cloth is infused with magic that allows the cloth to regulate the temperature of the person wearing it so as to protect them from extreme external elements, such as the cold of Berevar or the heat of Fallien - in both cases, the wearer would still feel comfortable. The material cannot be disenchanted, as its very substance is magical. Though the cloth protects the wearer 100% from natural instances of temperature shifts, from Berevar to Fallien, it has significantly less influence on magic. It will only mitigate approximately 25% of magical instances of something like fire or ice, and other elemental magic. Direct hits will also damage the cloth, making it less useful in the short run, though it will regenerate later.

Both the suit and the vision are important to canon for my character, which is why I am hoping the extra mission and gold reward and high score (hopefully) will be sufficient to acquire all of these items. I also plan to submit Gade Cloth as a new item in the bazaar. If the gold reward from both the bounty board, the selling of the other rewards, and the gold reward of the thread are not sufficient for all of the rewards, then please inform me and I will go negative until I can pay the difference. As I said, these are key to my character.

[Paladin]

Plot 20/30

Story 7/10 This was solid. The pacing issues mentioned below hurt you a bit but for the most part this was good. The twist with Ghaede at the end, while not the most original twist ever, was pulled off well enough that I was legitimately surprised. You had no plot holes that I could find. My only real issue was that some details such as how Vulence knew Daros or what exactly it was that Daros was looking for were left vague and never answered in any sort of context.

Setting 8/10 You did an excellent job here bringing the jungle to life. I only have a couple of complaints. The biggest one being that compared to all the extravagant details you gave the jungle you seemed to only give the other environments the barest of description needed. The other being that while you nailed sight and sound you neglected smell which I figured would have come into play considering all the exotic plan life you described and the fact that a large mammal took a dump on you. Still this complaint is extremely minor but one you should take into consideration if you want to boost this score up to a 10.

Pacing 5/10 This was one of the low points of the thread because for awhile it seemed to have “Avatar Syndrome” After a good introduction you spend the next several posts doing nothing but have your character wonder semi aimlessly through the jungle. While it provided a good opportunity for you to describe the jungle and milk some points in the setting category I could help but find myself wondering what was the point. Once you encountered the spider magi things picked up and you actually got into the meat of the story at which point it moved at a good speed though at times they seemed somewhat rushed.

Character 21/30

Communication 6/10 – This wasn't bad. The dialogue at times felt a bit stilted and forced and times but for the most part it was easily believable and even enjoyable at times. However what's spoken isn't the only aspect of communication and that wasn't what hurt you in this category. What hurt you here was that you very rarely described anything in regards to body language or tone of voice two things that can easily had layers and layers of meaning to even simple conversation. Start paying more attention that in your future endeavors and I can see you getting more points here

Action 8/10 – You did really well here. Every character acted in a way that made sense based on who they were, and what kind of situation they were in and that's a good thing. This score was helped by the way you and the characters in your story used the environment and how you reacted to each situation. While nothing you did blew me away everything you did was exceptionally solid.

Persona 7/10 I got a good feel for who Artimis was and he acted appropriately in all situations and circumstances. Where the quality of the quest in this area seemed to tapper off was in regards to the NPC's. While they didn't do or say anything that rose any major red flags at times they felt more like convenient plot devices than actual characters. You can easily boost your score here by making sure all the characters in the tale, not the just hero, feel like actual characters.

Prose 26/30

Mechanics 10/10 No issues here whatsoever. Great job.

Clarity 9/10 For the most part I had no problems understanding what was going on at any point in the story. The reason your getting a nine instead of a ten here is because of the battle with the spider. While it was well written for the most part I had to read few lines again to get all the details. However as far as a bigger picture view the battle went you were clear as day and I was easily able to follow all the major details.

Technique 7/10 – For the most part your technique was good. You've got the basics down well and your writing flows relatively smoothly even if it is a bit choppy here and there. The reason I can't give you a higher score here is because you still seem a bit rough around the edges at times. You don't take full advantage of literary techniques available to you. I'm not saying to over saturate your writing with silly metaphors or anythign but using things like foreshadowing to build tension or some basic metaphor or symbolism to enhance your descriptions would likely help you.

Wildcard: 8/10: This was a great thread. Though not without its flaws you helped bring an oft neglected region to life while providing a fun to read and interesting story in the process.

Total 75/100

All spoils except the extra gold approved. However as per your request instead of the potions I am granting you an additional 150 gp. This as well as the gold you receive from the mission will be reflected in your total down below. The ability is subject to RoG approval.

Sir Artemis receives 2316 exp and 966 gp

[Letho]

EXP/GP added.