Griznuq Gaming

D&D Campaigns => Forest Keep => In Character Discussions => Topic started by: Griznuq on July 16, 2009, 10:40:47 AM

Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Griznuq on July 16, 2009, 10:40:47 AM
Belwar scowled as he wiped the fresh blood from his Axe using a scrap of cloth he'd torn from a fallen giant's shirt. He wondered to himself if this was going to be something that he'd have to contend with if and when they were successful in relocating the Gracchi.

He knew that there'd always be adversaries, and there'd inevitably be conflict at some point. Belwar sighed admitting only to himself that he wouldn't mind a break from the bloodshed. Grinning, he said to himself, Ach, yer soundin like an old man!

Satisfied that his Axe was as clean as this not-so-clean rag would make it, Belwar turned his attentions to the rest of the group. Having given chase to the fleeing foes, they were down field. They'd caught the giant and finished the job, but a couple of Gnolls seemed to have gotten away. Just as well, Belwar thought. Perhaps they'll teach their families to think twice before planning against a Dwarven temple!

The thought struck Belwar like a bolt from the skies. He'd heard Zurn talk about events that Belwar had always dismissed as coincidence before. uncomfortably, Belwar turned his eyes to the sky and wondered if Moradin had sent the formidable group from the Keep to this spot to help rid a threat? Could it be more than coincidence that the group came upon a mound of stones?

The thought sent shivers down Belwar's spine. A strange feeling washed over him that he couldn't readily identify. It was a feeling that someone was watching. Not merely watching him, but watching over him. It was slightly creepy a feeling, and yet comforting. The thought brought a strange calm over Belwar, regardless of the rush that was present during and after a heated battle.

He wondered what Zurn would say.

Belwar turned his attentions to the rest of the group, and walked out to rejoin them.


Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Griznuq on November 27, 2011, 09:16:20 PM
Belwar approached Zurn. "You uh... ok? Take any hits?" The concern in his voice sounded very forced.
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Wildfire on November 28, 2011, 06:14:58 AM
OOC: Any particular Game Log I need to review for this thread? The giants mentioned is familiar to me I just don't recall specific details...and I would like to.

I seem to remember Zurns heat metal spell fizzle-popped and didn't do anything...LOL
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Griznuq on November 28, 2011, 08:42:53 AM
I THINK it's http://griznuq.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?8413, but the gist is that we arrived just before a gang of gargan, and thwarted their siege on the temple, and now Belwar is beginning to find his faith. (Setting up to take a level in Paladin).
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Wildfire on November 28, 2011, 07:08:30 PM
Zurn came through the battle with more hits than he wanted but not as many as he could have suffered. So for him, he was fine. He wasn't one to complain of pain or injury as his focus was on his comrades pain and injury and mitigating it as much as possible.

Battle with giants and their cousins was never easy, especially when they had lackeys that did their dirty work while they hurled rocks. If some of the common ones ever became smart, Zurn suspected that giants would be able to accomplish nearly anything.

"I got me some bruises but not a one I canna deal with" said the priest. "Looking over Belwar, Zurn asked, "And yerself, how ye be doing? Anything that needs some o' me attention?"
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Griznuq on November 28, 2011, 07:27:17 PM
"Ah, no, no. I'm fine." Belwar scratched uneasily at his jaw.

"So ah... I was thinkin about how you priests are always sayin tha the gods are watchin and there are no coincidences, and such..."

Belwar's tone clearly betrayed his unease. For the first time in his life he was beginning to realize that maybe he was not really alone, maybe there was someone looking over him. Not only was he thinking about his purpose in life now, but also admitting to himself that he may have been wrong for all these years.
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Wildfire on November 29, 2011, 06:31:58 AM
Zurn's eyebrow twitched with curiosity at the uneasy dwarf's lead. He was a priest but not one that used his faith as a battering ram on other people. He felt that if anything, that manner of approach was the counterweight to actually achieving the intended goal. People of all races had to come to discover their faith for themselves instead of being forced into it. Zurn's heart lightened at seeing that perhaps Belwar had come to this discovery.

"Aye...tha' be right, friend. No such thing as a coincidence." Zurn stated as he dressed a minor wound on his leg. "What ye be thinking on tha' then? If'n ye dunna mind o' me asking" Zurn was not a dwarf to force faith on anyone, but he certainly didn't mind talking with folks on it if they asked. He found himself to be joyous in speaking of it. Much had happened in their journeys to test his faith and also bolster it; the wayward priest Dannobar chief among them. To talk of faith served as an unexpected release from the weight of his own thoughts.
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Griznuq on November 29, 2011, 09:12:19 AM
"Ah. I um. Wull..." Belwar stuttered. He paused a moment, and sighed.

"Um wonderin if perhaps I'm bein nudged," he said finally. "I never was devout, exactly, and shortly before arrivin at the keep, what little faith I might have had was stretched."

Belwar's voice thickened a bit with remorse. "Then when I killed Dannobar, and saw the sorrow on the faces of his friends, I figured I'd sealed my fate." He let the thought hang in the air for a moment.

Belwar's tone switched to one of curiosity. "But a temple to Moradin... A thing seldom found out here on the surface, suddenly shows up, and we just happen ta be here at the right time ta protect it from danger? I'm the only follower of Moradin I know of around here, and when it needed protectin, I was able to help."

Curiousity changed to hope. "Um thinkin I owe a debt fer turnin me back on him, and he's given me the chance right here." He pointed at the temple.

"Am I makin any sense?" he asked Zyrn as much as himself.

Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Wildfire on November 29, 2011, 07:42:43 PM
The words made perfect sense to Zurn. The mere fact that Belwar was considering this could very well have meant that Moradin did indeed have his hand on dwarven warriors shoulder.

Zurn stopped dressing his wound for a moment and looked at his friend. "Ye ever be considerin' that Moradin kept his faith in ye..." and Zurn pointed at Belwar to emphasize the word, "...even if'n ye may not have seen yer faith in him?" Before Belwar had a chance to answer, Zurn continued, "So often we be stickin' to tha' direction of our moral weathervane and tha' act o' that be enough to please tha' deity we're akin ta even if we dunna know it."

The cleric considered his own words as he finished dressing his wound. "If'n ye believe tha' Moradin be guiding ye on yer trail...then he is. If'n ye believe tha' Moradin sent ye here ta reclaim his lost temple...then he be doin' tha' too." Zurn stood up on his sore but bandaged leg and looked Belwar in the eyes. He offered him a smile and stated, "If'n ye believe, in yer Moradin forged heart an soul, that ye be doin' tha' right thing then the All-Father be seeing that as yer honor ta him."

Zurn shifted his weight on his wounded leg to test its strength for traveling. He bent his knee, moving him up and down, for further examination.  It twinged some but was certainly good enough for travel. He looked up at Belwar and gave him a nodding smile and a satisfied grunt. "Not too bad methinks." Zurn surmised.
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Griznuq on November 29, 2011, 09:04:02 PM
Belwar frowned in confusion. It was very clear to anyone looking at him, that his mind was just blown.

"...Sooo, yer sayin' he was. ...aye?"
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Wildfire on November 30, 2011, 05:39:15 AM
Zurn smirked. It wasn't a smug or smarmy smirk, it was a smirk of watching someone wrestle with faith and absolutes and appreciating the journey that his fellow dwarf had unwittingly begun.

"I canna be knowin' fer any certainty. Just as ye canna be. I believe he be. The bigger question is do YE BELIEVE the Dwarf-Father be watchin' and nudgin' ye? Doubt be tha' eternal sister o' faith...tha' be why faith is so powerful."
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Griznuq on December 02, 2011, 01:40:10 PM
Belwar struggled to wrap his mind around what his friend was saying. He was trying very hard not to dismiss it as cryptic double talk the way he always had.

"So... Iffin I believe he's pushin, then he is... But, if I believe that, and then say, you believed he wasn't, then what??"
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Wildfire on December 04, 2011, 07:58:33 AM
"Then ye be needin' to measure what me opinion be sayin' against what yer heart be sayin' and decide which be the mor'n'portant to ye." Zurn offered. He wanted desperately to help bolster Belwar's faith in Moradin. It was not Zurn's journey, it was Belwar's. So Zurn felt obligated to give Belwar the opportunity to find his own way. Doing such would strengthen Belwar's resolve in his belief.

Zurn didn't at all feel as though he was betraying his faith to Ehlonna in answering questions about faith to Moradin. Zurn had seen Moradin as his patron deity and Ehlonna as his matron. He believed that they were his deity parents. It was Zurn's tempering through experience and his heart that had led him to Ehlonna's realm of influence. He was a dwarf though and had a kinship with Moradin. He was glad to see, hoped to see, that the All-Father could have a champion in Belwar.
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Griznuq on December 04, 2011, 01:51:26 PM
Belwar's irritation with riddles was beginning to show on his face. "Ach, never a straight answer from you holy folk! The gods are so powarful, an so smart, but they can't just come down an say 'Oi! Belwar! Smite some Ogres fer me, thanks laddie!' An ye wonder why I picked me ax an shield instead o' the cloth!"

Belwar shook his head. "Wull, I dunno what's what, or what Moradin wants with me, but seems to me, the right thing ta be doin sorta lines up with what everyone says he'd want anyway."

He examined his axe head, and pulled out his sharpening stone. "I'm one ta do what's right, and I guess if that's what Moradin wants, then I'm doin his work. I think it's time I made up fer some lost time. I think I need to do a little more. There'r those who do battle in the names of their Gods, aye?"
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Wildfire on December 04, 2011, 06:51:00 PM
The priest of Ehlonna truly did understand his friends irritation. Deities were such mercurial entities and the ways in which they spoke to their "children" left them with mystery and doubt. Zurn thought that it would be easier if they came down and spoke their will. There was much to be lost by that he thought to himself.

"Belwar, I unnerstand yer frustrations. If there were clear cut answers to faith, ifn' Moradin himself came down to lay his will at yer feet...that wunna be faith. Doubt be the darker twin to faith an ne'er the two be apart. The strenght o' our faith to overcome doubt be the very thing that brings us closer to our gods. Much o' what I be sayin' may not be to makin' much sense now. But when yer mind is quiet...when ye feel that tingle in yer limbs, an I dunna be meaning spells...an' when yer soul be floatin' an peaceful...thatta be when ye know Moradin has his hand on yer shoulder." Zurn explained. He hoped that eventually the words would resonate with his friend. He hoped that he would embrace his path and blaze a trail for Moradin.

Zurn then considered Belwar's question. "Aye, there  be many tha' do battle in the name of their gods. But I be thinkin' yer thinkin' o' something else. Yer speakin' o' holy warriors. The sons an' daughters o' Moradin that have an axe o' honor in one hand and a shield o' faith in tha' other." Belwar's intent of inquiry suddenly washed over Zurn. He thought himself obtuse for not seeing it earlier. "Ye thinkin' tha' path is fer ye?"
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Griznuq on December 04, 2011, 07:08:24 PM
"Aye, I'm thinkin tha may be the case," Belwar said, his head bobbing. "I think that'd be the way to go fer me. It's the one thing I do really well" He said with a grin.

"So ah, how's it work, be there a spell I need cast on me?"
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Wildfire on December 04, 2011, 07:37:41 PM
OOC: Johan, do I need to make a religion check for this? Is there anything Zurn needs to know (if he would know) about some sort of rite of passage for Paladins of Moradin in your campaign?
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Johan on December 04, 2011, 08:42:37 PM
For the love of Pete, you two friggin' knuckleheads.

*I'm* going to need to make a religion check. Let me sleep on it.
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Wildfire on December 04, 2011, 09:13:18 PM
Sleep well then! ;)
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Griznuq on December 08, 2011, 04:44:35 PM
Sooo....
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Johan on December 10, 2011, 01:23:46 PM
Nice mud-clear advice for Zurn:

The question at hand seems to be on the path to divine favor. How does one achieve such a thing? One can't "learn" from another how to get there, though one might be able to pattern one's life and experiences upon those of another person who has already been successful in attaining such favor.

One might also argue that if, indeed, Moradin had manipulated Belwar into being here at this particular time, that Belwar must already be on Moradin's radar, eh? If such were the case, then Belwar must have already demonstrated a glimmer of worthiness; it may only remain to be seen *how* worthy.

As dwarves do, so does Moradin (actually, the other way 'round). How does one gain the favor of a dwarf? How does one build honor with a dwarf? Would not a dwarf then build honor with Moradin in much the same manner?

What seems reasonable? Why would Moradin have brought Belwar there at that time? What would Moradin want to happen next? What could his motive(s) be?

In most cases, when a Patron Deity is happy with you, he or she will let you know.

That give you enough material Wildie?
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Wildfire on December 10, 2011, 04:26:59 PM
OOC: Not really...sorry to say. The question before us is, "How does Belwar officially become a Paladin". Does Zurn know if there is some rite of passage, divine appointment via cleric, quest given by Lord Farquad, or smacks on the ass "thank you may I have another style" that Belwar must perform / endure to begin his career as a Paladin?
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Griznuq on December 10, 2011, 04:29:44 PM
I think he's saying "No." Seems to be less "Go train in paladin" and more "Go do the right thing, and it'll just happen". I think you have some creative license here. but it's ultimately going to be up to Moradin.
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Wildfire on December 10, 2011, 05:43:45 PM
Ah...fair enough...

Rereading what he wrote...I get that now.
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Wildfire on December 18, 2011, 05:57:50 AM
OOC: Meanwhile, back in reality...

Zurn reflected on his past studies upon hearing the question. It suddently opened up a flood gate of other memories that were too numerous for him to savor individually. He pushed those back to be enjoyed later and concentrated on the question at hand.

"Nay...there dunna need to be any spell on ye to channel Moradins power. It's one o' those things that's gonna happen by the All-Fathers will through yer righteous actions." Zurn explained. "I'm bettin' that Moradin'll let ye know when it does."

As a priest, Zurn enjoyed these questions. As a dwarf, he shared Belwar's frustrations in that there was nothing solid to lay answers on. Not even faith was physically solid. Ironically, it could offer someone more protection than the broadest of shields or the thickest ramparts. It was a sort of love and love could never be explained.
Title: Well timed arrival, or planned intervention?
Post by: Griznuq on December 27, 2011, 05:34:55 PM
More confused than ever, Belwar let the discussion hang in silence, until both he and Zurn were lost in thought. Now, the only thing that was clear to Belwar was that nothing was clear, except for what he thought he should do. If Moradin wanted Belwar to do his holy work, Belwar reckoned there'd be no real way to avoid it from happening anyway.

Belwar decided he'd just stick to doing what he thought was right, and let the pieces fall where they may. One thing was certain, that temple wasn't meant to be jammed with bugs. Belwar would restore it to it's former glory, because that's what he thought was the right thing to do.