(Ophelia) Journey to Navahlah

[Ophelia Harrington]

Into the great Unknown
Part one

ascending aria: Ophelia Harrington was a thief and she no longer wanted to be. She wanted to go off, to become an adventurer and to find fame and fortune. Unfortunately, once you swore the oath there was no getting out, unless you died - even then,

ascending aria: your family, if you had one, had to hold up to it. Fortunately her mother and father had enough protection from the Council of Wands to escape that fate. Tonight was the night, she was going to leave Shrine and head to Drakkus.

ascending aria: Ophelia was sat on her bed, wrapping some beef jerky in a piece of linen she'd torn off her sheet; a large black cat, blind in one eye, sat staring at her through the good one. " I know what you're thinking, Sage. You're thinking 

ascending aria: I'm not going to go. You're thinking, I'll just unpack everything and then stay.. but nope, not this time. This time, we're leaving! " Oh, she was taking her cat with her. There were just some treasures that she couldn't leave 

ascending aria: behind. In the end, her small backpack consisted of a bed roll, some flint and tinder, her flute, its case, the jerky she'd wrapped and some parchment, music paper, an old empty ink pot and some quills. Her clothing, what little 

ascending aria: there was, was shoved in too and all the coin she'd managed to save over the course of the past year. Sliding off the bed, she slid her feet into her sandals and put her backpack on; her clothing was light and airy, it touched 

ascending aria: against her skin and felt like silk blushing against it. It was perfect for the climate. " Come on. " She said to the cat, who jumped off the chair she'd been sat on and stretched out. " We've got a long walk ahead of us.. and we 

ascending aria: have to get out before the theives find out! " The cat didn't look amused but she padded out of the room silently. Ophelia attempted to do the same. There was a soft creak of the door as she slid through it, but fortunately, no one 

ascending aria: awoke: it was dead of night and she hoped, even though the thieves guild was at work, she would slip by unnoticed. So far, she'd managed to get past her parents - to whom she'd left a note - so she was off to a good start. It was 

ascending aria: hard to imagine that the city that boasted the College of

Magic had a criminal element but it did, just like any city. In the sewer

system rest their lair, where the big boss dished out his orders for the

evening. Ophelia was 

ascending aria: quite capable of managing to avoid their main target areas

and after around thirty minutes of dipping, up and under bridges, she could

see the main gates. " Look.. " She whispered, to the single green eye that

stood next to 

ascending aria: her. " We're almost there! " The excitement in her voice was

undeniable.

ascending aria: [npc] 'ey 'fe! Where ya' off?" The man and his cronie that

came out from under one of the bridge-walkways didn't have an accent of the

Kingdom, it leaned much more towards the Sark language. " looks like our bard

be hikin'. After 

ascending aria: 'er cap, n' all." He had turned to look at the boy stood

next to him when he said that and a grin rose on both their faces.

ascending aria: Ophelia stopped in her tracks, which she realized was a

mistake. It gave them time to move around her. Sage had slunk off somewhere,

leaving her to deal with it alone: some pet. In her mind, she was cycling

through her tricks of

ascending aria: her trade, to see if there was any way out of this without

anyone getting hurt - mainly her! Unfortunately, she imagined that they would

know all her tricks. " Your not going to let me past, are you? " She finally

said, resolved. 

ascending aria: her flute was in her backpack, so all she was left with was

her wit and guile. She dare not take backpack off, so she ran into the two

boys and swang her fist for the largest one.

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 19

ascending aria: [Hit!]

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 24-sided dice: 12 17

ascending aria: [ 1 damage ]

ascending aria: [NPC] A little split occurred in his lip and he looked on,

both in shock and anger. Blood was spat on the ground next to her and he

said: " Take the bitch out! We'll take 'er head back! "

ascending aria: [ Mission Brawl: Crystal Cadet Ophelia Harrington, 2d24 /

16HP / DC 10 ]

ascending aria: [ Thug 1 : 2d24 / 12 HP / DC 10 ]

ascending aria: [ Thug 2 : 2d20 / 10HP / DC 10 ]

ascending aria: [ Ophelia /16HP - Thug 1 1/12HP - Thug 2 /10HP ]

ascending aria: [Thug1] Grabbing Ophelia by the hair, she was pulled up and

a knee was sent sailing into her stomach. He held her there, so his friend

could take his turn too.

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 24-sided dice: 23 23

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 11

ascending aria: [Hit]

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 24-sided dice: 4 12

ascending aria: [0]

ascending aria: [Thug2] Thug 2 tried to get in on the action too, even

though the girl seemed to be weaving around to avoid punches. His fist was

curled and he sent one towards her stomach too.

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 15

ascending aria: [Hit]

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 20-sided dice: 7 16

ascending aria: [1 damage]

ascending aria: [ Ophelia 1/16HP - Thug 1 1/12HP - Thug 2 /10HP ]

ascending aria: Ophelia wasn't going to go down that easily! She started to

wriggle as hard as she could, even though it hurt like hell with his grip. So

she attempted to wriggle out of that, kick him in the shin and move out of

the way of the pair

ascending aria: of them. [Thug1]

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 11

ascending aria: [Hit]

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 24-sided dice: 15 20

ascending aria: [3 damage]

ascending aria: [Thug1] She was fiesty, that was for sure but she didn't get

far enough away that he'd give up. He ran after her, and swung punches for

her shoulders to slow her down.

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 10

ascending aria: [ Hit ]

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 24-sided dice: 14 16

ascending aria: [1 damage]

ascending aria: [Thug2] He wasn't far behind his friend - always the

follower, never the leader - and soon, he had speared himself towards her

legs to bring her down./

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 19

ascending aria: [Hit]

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 20-sided dice: 5 17

ascending aria: [1 damage]

ascending aria: [ Ophelia 3/16HP - Thug 1 4/12HP - Thug 2 /10HP ]

ascending aria: Ophelia had to bite her lip to stop herself from screaming

as they came up behind her; the last thing she needed was the attention of

the mages! So she went down and turned, mid-fall, to send her elbow up into

Thug 1's face.

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 1

ascending aria: [Miss]

ascending aria: [Thug1] He moved his face quickly, out of the way and sent

his own elbow down into her nose.. hoping to hear the sweet crunch of the

break.

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 6

ascending aria: [Miss]

ascending aria: [Thug2] Scrambling onto his feet, he watched the other two

dodge and weave each others hits. Instead of throwing punches, he decided to

kick her in the side in hopes of knocking the wind out of her.

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 17

ascending aria: [Hit]

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 20-sided dice: 8 12

ascending aria: [0]

ascending aria: [ Ophelia 3/16HP - Thug 1 4/12HP - Thug 2 /10HP ]

ascending aria: Ophelia steeled herself against the hit, making sure to

stiffen so it didn't hurt so much and it worked. Tired of being pushed

around, she jumped up onto her feet and ran into Thug 1, in an attempt to

bring him down.

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 11

ascending aria: [Hit]

OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 24-sided dice: 14 20

ascending aria: [2]

ascending aria: [Thug1] "Argh, 'fe! Aight, enuff! " He pulled himself away

from her and back onto his feet. " 'e'll be 'earing about this tho. Ain't

gonna be safe nowhere, got it?" Thug 1 pulled on Thug 2, leaving Ophelia

stood there. Disheveled 

ascending aria: and a little bloody.

ascending aria: [Thug1 and 2 flee the brawl.]

ascending aria: Ophelia wasn't much of a fighter, so when they ran off to

tell on her she didn't move immediately. In fact, it wasn't until Sage

reappeared that she actually made any sort of movement. " Fat lot of good you

were. " She sniffed, 

ascending aria: wiping her nose on her sleeve. " Come on, lets go before

they come back! " Sage ran herself along Ophelia's leg and the two moved off,

towards the gate and towards the next leg of their adventure. The young Bard

wasn't sure what was

ascending aria: going to happen next, but she was sure that it hadn't

started off well at all. She also considered how they were going to find her,

when she didn't even know where she was going either! These were all the

thoughts that filled her 

ascending aria: mind, as she disappeared into the darkness of the

countryside.

[Ophelia Harrington]

The Bear Nessecities

Part Two

ascending aria: Ophelia was miserable; she had been walking for half a day
when it had started to rain. The young bard had been forced to find shelter
for the rest of the night and had only been able to find a deep,
ascending aria: dark cave. Of course, most normal people would have avoided
such a place but not Ophelia. She was curious what was at the back of it but
those thoughts been waylaid by the drenching she'd received
ascending aria: from the downpour. The first thing she did was collect what
little firewood she could, stuff that wasn't too wet; it still took her
longer than she would have liked to build and light it. Happily, she
ascending aria: got quite a nice flame burning and was able to strip herself
of her clothing to warm against a rock. She prayed to all the gods that no
one came by at that moment in time; her reasoning was that it was
ascending aria: the middle of the night and she was not on a popular road.
Some of her supply of salted beef was taken from her backpack and she started
to chew slowly. Meanwhile, Sage had curled up next to her and
ascending aria: was already sleeping. It wasn't long until Ophelia was
dozing too.

ascending aria: [Timelapse - 2 hours] The hoot of an owl was what awoke
Ophelia but it was the strange sniffing sound that gave her a start. It was
close, too close for comfort, and the girl dare not open her eyes.
ascending aria: As the sniffing grew closer, she peeked open to find that
Sage had once more left her alone. "Stupid cat." The words had been spoken
out loud, even though she had only meant to think them. The sniffing
ascending aria: stopped immediately and was replaced by a rumble of a growl.
Ophelia immediately opened her eyes and came face to face with a huge, black
bear. The girl froze, then, like something out of the matrix,
ascending aria: she reached out for her clothing and backpack and fled the
cave. Unfortunately, the sudden movement startled the bear and he roared in
anger and followed, shaking the immediate ground with his gait.
ascending aria: As soon as he was outside, he rose onto his pack paws and
roared in anger once more. Ophelia, shaken by the sound, tripped on an
upturned route and soon the bear was upon her. With a swipe of his huge
ascending aria: paw he attempted to knock her out.

ascending aria: [ Black Bear / 2d30 - 15HP - DC10. STR[3] END[2] ]
ascending aria: [ Ophelia Harrington, Crystal Journeyman - 2d28 / 18HP -
DC10. ]
ascending aria: [ Bear /15 - Ophelia /18 ]
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 18
ascending aria: [ Hit ]
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 30-sided dice: 2 1
ascending aria: [ 0 DMG ]
ascending aria: [ Bear /15 - Ophelia /18 ]

ascending aria: Ophelia managed to roll out of the way before the bear came
down onto her. Her small stature, for once, aiding in her escape. She didn't
have much in the way of weapons, so she was going to have to be quicker than
the bear. Running
ascending aria: around him, while he was still dazed, she scooped up a bunch
of stones and started to pelt them at him, in quick succession.
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 5
ascending aria: [ Miss ]
ascending aria: [ Bear /15 - Ophelia /18 ]

ascending aria: The bear wasn't bothered by the stones, it was thick fured.
The throwing showed him where she was and he headed in her direction and once
more tried to bat her down, with his huge paw.
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 12
ascending aria: [ Hit ]
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 30-sided dice: 29 29
ascending aria: [ +3 STR ]
ascending aria: [ 9 ]


ascending aria: Ophelia couldn't feel her body as it crumped to the ground,
something was broken, she was sure. With a whimper, she grabbed a handful of
dirt and threw it at the bears eyes in an attempt to blind it. [ Dirty
Trickster ]
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 10
ascending aria: [ Hit ]
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 28-sided dice: 23 13
ascending aria: [ 2 - Blind for one round ]
ascending aria: [ Bear 2/15 - Ophelia 9/18 ]
ascending aria: Bear - Blinded.

ascending aria: Ophelia was going to have to do something drastic. She was
panicked, in pain and couldn't really lift her leg properly. She wasn't sure
what it was that forced her to move towards the bear, who was trying to clear
his
ascending aria: eyes. " Shh... " she said and carefully, laid a hand on its
paw. Knowing full well how much trouble she was placing herself in, she tried
to soothe the bear and in turn, earn its trust. [ Animal Affinity - DC17 to
tame the bear ]
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 17
ascending aria: [ Wow.. ]

ascending aria: [NPC] At first, the bear growled defensively, especially
when she touched him but there was nothing he could do because he couldn't
see properly. It was only the soothing tone of her voice and her scent that
made him lower his head.
ascending aria: Ophelia was amazed that it actually worked, that the bear
was willing to let her close! Especially since he'd spent so long trying to
bash her around. Her leg was hurting, so she sat down on the ground and
motioned for the bear to
ascending aria: come closer. When he did, she gently started to pull the
stones out of his eyes, one by one. " I'm sorry I had to hurt you! " She
meant it, too. " I'm sorry I was in your cave and scared you. "

ascending aria: [NPC] The bear made a muffled snuffle sound and nestled his
head in against hers, almost knocking her over, no doubt. Without the stones
in his eyes, he was able to blink away the tiny bits of dirt. His eyes
started to water but
ascending aria: they weren't hurting anymore, at least. He didn't understand
what she was saying, so he snorted and pushed himself up onto all fours. He
was happy that his cave was empty now and had no intention of hurting her
anymore, so without
ascending aria: further-to-do, he headed back leaving Ophelia there.

ascending aria: Ophelia, now sat in the woods in the middle of the night by
herself in the rain, didn't know what to do. She didn't know if her leg was
broken, there was no one around to call for aid - not that she would trust a
stranger in the
ascending aria: dark anyway. Her only companion was an absent purret and
part of her really wanted to freak out. " It's okay, Ophela.. you need to get
used to these situations, it's a long way to the capital! " Exhaling, she
looked around until
ascending aria: she found a suitable fallen piece of wood for a splint. The
better part of the night was spent fixing it to her leg and getting herself
comfortable for some sleep, somehow she slept pretty well considering.
Somehow, she knew, that
ascending aria: she was being watched over by the bear - even if he wasn't
to be seen.

[Ophelia Harrington]

Agents of Death
Part Three

Ophelia had slept in the woods off and on for days, though she couldn’t really remember what happened... only the calming influence of her new friend, the bear. He had, despite his reservations, taken her into his cave to look after her. There was nothing he could do about her leg, though and so, she slipped into a feverous fit of sweats and her leg, grew more bloated and green. That was when the nightmares began, though there were no definitive figures that she knew, there was no mistaking the imposing stature of the dragon. It roared and it burnt its way through her dreams, both waking and sleeping. It was a trying time for the would-be adventurer and bard and to this day, she had no idea how she’d wound up at the doors of the Bastion of the Arcane… in a fit of delirium, screaming about a dragon.

Every so often Ophelia awoke to find a man hovering over her, generally holding her arm and tutting. Inside, she thought his face looked strange but in hindsight, she would realize that, that was not what he really looked like. Every time she attempted to speak, he’d cluck his tongue, shake his head and then release her. It wasn’t long afterwards that she was sleeping again. There was no way for Ophelia to understand how much time had passed between the first memory of her arrival and the time that she woke up, alone in one of the stone cells of the monastery. Her first reaction was to sit up and so, with what little upper body strength she had… she attempted to do just that and that was when the pain came, it shot right up her leg and into her chest, which is where the scream originated.

“Lie down, girl! You’ve been very sick. Here…” The soothing voice came from the monk that she’d seen hovering over her; a kindly looking thin man, with nice eyes. He helped Ophelia lie down, and then lifted her head for her to help her drink water from a cup. “We had to call the Healer from the city.” Now that Ophelia didn’t feel like her throat was being cut up by small razors, she was able to speak – all-be-it, a little croakily. “I don’t know how to thank you. How… how long have I been here?” The monk smiled sadly, resting her head back against the pillow. “Almost three weeks, child: we almost lost you. Now, go back to sleep and when you awake, I will introduce you to my brothers.” Ophelia nodded and closed her eyes; it wasn’t long afterwards that she was fast asleep again.

The young would-be adventurer woke later in the night, feeling much more alert and alive than she had for a while. The sound of chanting could be heard upon the air, like floating whispers of promises. Sitting up, she was able to assess her leg through the candle light: it was still in a cast, but when she moved it, it didn’t hurt half as much. Inhaling, then immediately exhaling it – she swung both legs down the side of the bed and tentatively stood. There was a wobble and she fell right back down again, but the second attempt was much more successful; Ophelia managed to walk, slowly, along the small thin cell to where her belongings sat, with her eternal guardian Sage. Ophelia didn’t know how long the Purret had been there but she couldn’t have been happier. “Oh Sage, I thought I’d lost you!” The poor Purret was pulled up into her arms and squeezed, tightly until beast was forced to meow, loudly. “Okay, fine.” Releasing the Purret, she put her back down to sit on her backpack and crept over to the door, to peek outside. There was no one in the corridor outside her room and the stone carved corridors floors were cold on her feet. It had probably – definitely – been a bad idea for her to take on so much all at once but she was curious about the monks. With no idea where to go or where the corridors lead, she moved along them, travelling down a winding corridor that lead to a large, oak black door. “I wonder what’s in here…” She said, out loud to no one in particular. That was when they came from behind her: two monks, dressed in black robes rather than the brown of the kindly monk who had been looking after her. Both made a grab for her arms…
ascending aria: [ Amber Marshal Ophelia Harrington, 2d56 - 34HP - 15 DEF DC.]
ascending aria: [ Sage, Animal Companion. 2d24, 48HP, DEF DC 12 ]
ascending aria: [ Hallowed Death Agent 1/2 - 2d44, 24HP, DEF DC 13,
Support/Monk ]
ascending aria: Devout*
ascending aria: [ Acrobatics Check ]
ascending aria: Ophelia was a quick little thing but she still had the cast
on her leg. Still, she attempted to get out of the way of the grabbing hands,
so she could face her would be attackers. [+10 Acrobatics. -5 To account for
the cast ]
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 16
ascending aria: ~*~ ascending aria scored 1 poynts damage ~*~
ascending aria: [ 21 - PASS ]
ascending aria: The girl turned on the monks and her eyebrows furrowed. "
You aren't supposed to be here! "
ascending aria: #Sage# The cat had felt her mistresses distress and done the
only thing she knew how; she had pulled her flute from her backpack, where it
had been stashed and with it in her mouth, dashed along the corridor to her.
There was a
ascending aria: flash of black as sage ran through their legs to Ophelia's
side.
ascending aria: [ Sage /48HP (12) - Agent1 /24HP (13) Ophelia /34HP (15) -
Agent2 /24 (13) ]
ascending aria: ~Agent 1~ had sneered at the girl when she pulled away but
the two monks stood side by side, blocking her escape. " Nistrum wants you
back, girl.. you think he'd give you up, just because you asked for it? " His
counterpart chuckled
ascending aria: before Agent 1 moved forward and roughly grabbed her arm,
attempting to bash her over the head to knock her out.
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 18
ascending aria: ~*~ ascending aria scored 1 poynts damage ~*~
ascending aria: [ 21 - Hit ]
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 44-sided dice: 32 14
ascending aria: ~*~ ascending aria scored 4 poynts damage ~*~
ascending aria: [+5 STR]
ascending aria: [ 9 DMG ]
ascending aria: Ophelia wasn't really in the right frame of mind for a fight
but she had no choice, really. She didn't want to and wasn't going to go
back. Despite the mind splitting blow, she grabbed her flute from Sage's
mouth and slid her finger
ascending aria: down along the shaft. A small, hidden dagger slid down and
it was stabbed into the man’s side.
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 18
ascending aria: ~*~ ascending aria scored 1 poynts damage ~*~
ascending aria: [+5 = 23 - HIT ]
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 56-sided dice: 35 34
ascending aria: ~*~ ascending aria scored 9 poynts damage ~*~
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 4-sided die: 3
ascending aria: ~*~ ascending aria scored 0 poynts damage ~*~
ascending aria: [ 12 ]
ascending aria: {Agent 2}
ascending aria: The Purret couldn't be left to its own devices, obviously it
had some sort of intelligence. So while his comrade dealt with the little
girl, the Agent tried to grab the cat, knocking it roughly around the head.
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 2
ascending aria: ~*~ ascending aria scored 0 poynts damage ~*~
ascending aria: [ 2 + 3 = 5 - MISS ]
ascending aria: [ Sage /48HP (12) - Agent1 12/24HP (13) Ophelia 9/34HP (15)
- Agent2 /24 (13) ]
ascending aria: #Sage# Sage was faster than any ordinary man and she zipped
through his legs, and out of the way! Not to leave Ophelia alone of course,
instead she turned around and swiped her claws right across Agent 2's ankle.
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 3
ascending aria: ~*~ ascending aria scored 0 poynts damage ~*~
ascending aria: [5 - Miss! ]
ascending aria: ~Agent 1~ He felt the knife sink right through his skin and
anger welled inside of him. " You little bitch! " Grabbing her by the hair,
he slammed her face right down into his knee before throwing her back to tend
to his wound.
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 10
ascending aria: ~*~ ascending aria scored 0 poynts damage ~*~
ascending aria: [ 10+3 = 13 - MISS ]
ascending aria: Ophelia managed to throw her hands out to stop her face
hitting his knee, but she couldn't hold herself up long enough to stay on her
feet. Falling backwards, she landed on her ass.. then the leg with the cast
hit the man square in
ascending aria: the knee.
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 1 20-sided die: 12
ascending aria: ~*~ ascending aria scored 0 poynts damage ~*~
ascending aria: [ 12 + 5 = 17 - HIT ]
OnlineHost: ascending aria rolled 2 56-sided dice: 54 45
ascending aria: ~*~ ascending aria scored 15 poynts damage ~*~
ascending aria: [ 15 ]
ascending aria: {Agent 2} The man watched in horror as his friend crumpled
to the ground; he looked from the man, to Ophelia and screamed. " WHAT DID
YOU DO! " The scream had risen above the sound of the chanting, alerting the
months to the
ascending aria: commotion.
ascending aria: Ophelia was horror stricken, she had not meant to hit him so
hard. Tears filled her eyes and she shuffled over to the fallen agent and
shook him, to try and wake him up. Her eyes met his and she could tell that
the thread of life
ascending aria: had been severed. A sob escaped her, which soon developed
into a wail. She had never killed anyone before. Before she could react,
though, a bustle of brown robed monks gathered around them, subduing the
intruder. Ophelia, through
ascending aria: a tear stricken gaze looked up to the kindly monk who had
been her carer, and started to cry most profoundly. " I didn't know what to
do! He.. he.. "
ascending aria: *Monk* "Shhh, child.. let’s get you back to your room for
now. " He lifted her off the ground in his arms, and walked the corridor back
to her room. Settling her on the bed, he decided it would be best to stay
with her for the rest
ascending aria: of the night.
ascending aria: Ophelia didn't know what was happening, other than she was
now back in the cell. It was worse than the fear, the feeling that now pitted
itself in her stomach. Instead of face it, she closed her eyes tightly and
allowed a delirious
ascending aria: sleep take over.