The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby MasterGryph » Sat Aug 03, 2019 5:16 pm

Actually, it looked like they were about done with dinner... Or was it breakfast? Brunch?

"Wait, what time is it?" Bianca asked, looking around for anything that might give a hint. In this hall, the chance of that seemed slim.

"A tour sounds nice," Brie spoke up to try to smooth things over.
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby Whitebrand » Wed Aug 07, 2019 3:45 am

“Oh, a bit after noon,” Brand said as he polished off his meal. “Plenty of time to get yourself familiar with your new home before bed tonight.”

He stood and stretched with a sigh.

“The main level holds all the entertainment, libraries, alchemy lab, kitchen, dining area, and other common areas, plus my treasure hall and museum. The upper floor is residential, where you ladies will choose your own rooms. The top level is the open air garden, and the very bottom level is storage and bath..”

He repeated the description for the kitsune as he tugged on the leash.
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby MasterGryph » Wed Aug 07, 2019 8:12 pm

All of them listened attentively, though the former priestess did her best to pretend the leash wasn't there.

"Four floors... And from the sound of it, more homely than I expected a dragon's mountain lair to be," Maurice admitted.

Indeed, all of them looked interested in at least one of the areas Whitebrand mentioned, and it seemed unlikely that they'd be disappointed with what they saw.

Brie the rabbit was drawn to the library, kitchen, and garden.
Maurice the noblewoman was interested in the Library, alchemy lab, and museum.
Bianca the wolf mercenary would probably be needed to be kept away from the alchemy lab and treasure hall. Fortunately the library and museum seemed reasonable alternatives...
Mayu the kitsune seemed interested in the Museum, library, alchemy lab, kitchen, garden, and bath, though in many cases less strongly than the others.
Grimmwald tried to conceal her interest in the Alchemy lab, treasure hall, and museum, and felt no need to do the same around the library, garden, and kitchen. All of them were possible sources of useful things for schemes...
And the chicken-harpy could be expected to hang around the garden and kitchen.
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby Whitebrand » Thu Aug 08, 2019 5:14 am

“The alchemy lab can only be entered by someone accompanied by me,” the dragon said as he led the group down the halls in his lair. “There are a lot of volatile chemicals and compounds in there and I don’t want anyone getting hurt. Now the library...”

He escorted the ladies through the main floor, showing off his music room, art room, three crafting rooms dedicated to different arts, and rooms dedicated to other hobbies. It would be difficult to get bored in this place. The alchemy lab was behind a solid metal door that opened when he touched it, to show a fairly sizable working laboratory with many shelves and work spaces. Formulas were on scrolls or chalkboards, glass jars, vials, and tubes were everywhere and there were etching tools and mixing tools on the workbenches.

He didn’t let them linger, though. Instead he happily showed off his library, a place with plenty of full and half-full books. The subjects ranged from law to magic to romance and adventure tales.

Grandest of all was his treasure room. A great cavern full of display cases, only half of which were filled with gemstones, jewelry, and ornate weapons and other objects. There were a few paintings and tapestries on the walls, but there was plenty of room for more.
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby MasterGryph » Sat Aug 10, 2019 2:16 pm

While most of the group was looking at some exhibit or other, Mayu approached Whitebrand.

"...It looks like you plan to collect a lot more exhibits," she commented.
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby Whitebrand » Sat Aug 10, 2019 3:55 pm

"Of course," Brand said. "My adventuring days aren't over. Not yet. When I retire this place will be filled with relics and trophies. One day."

There was a pair of locked doors at the far end of the museum, which Brand unlocked. Within was his treasury...again, fairly well organized. The coins were not piled in heaps but sorted into chests and rarer coins piled neatly on shelves. As dragons went it was a modest hoard, but for humans it was a small king's fortune. There was plenty of space for expansion here too.

The dragon went over to a shelf and almost unconsciously reached towards it. On that particular shelf were five coins of platinum that looked like they had been custom-minted. He touched them briefly with a kind of wistful air before turning back around to face the ladies.

"So as you can see I have enough to take care of you for quite a while."
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby MasterGryph » Sun Aug 11, 2019 9:41 am

"Well, we didn't doubt that. Much," Bianca responded. The question, she thought, was whether he would.

When she had an opportunity, Brie would ask about the five platinum coins...

The priestess was impressed by the treasure horde, but she knew it couldn't be her priority.
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby Whitebrand » Mon Aug 12, 2019 7:53 am

“The coins were my payment for my first solo job,” Brand said. “I had them reminted with custom images to remind me of the human family that raised me. This one...” he said, showing a coin that showed a field of wheat and a barn against a hillly backdrop, “...was for Roland. The patriarch of the family. He worked hard, always out in the fields no matter the weather. Always working to support his family. If I wanted him I always had to go out into the fields to find him myself...quite a task for me at the time.

“The other four were his wife and three children,” he said, replacing the coin on the shelf. Brie could make out that one of the coins was clearly a country kitchen with food piled on every available surface. “Muriel and her kids. She was a traditional woman of her day, content with her role in the house. I learned my love of cooking from her. She expressed her feelings towards her family...and me...by baking and making the best dishes she could create.”

He caressed the coins again.

“Obviously I...you know...miss them very much. I try to do them proud...doing things to help where I can. Taking care especially of those close to me. Corny, maybe, but I’m kind of all that’s left of their legacy.”
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby MasterGryph » Sat Aug 17, 2019 5:57 pm

"...They have no other descendants?" Maurice asked, trying to work out the full implications of that explanation, "No, I shouldn't have asked that. My apologies."
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby Whitebrand » Sat Aug 17, 2019 11:55 pm

Brand’s face seemed to crumble a bit.

“It’s all right,” he said, staring at the coins. “I was...testing my wings. Exploring. I was gone for just one day. As it turned out it was the only day that mattered.

“Bandits,” he explained. “I don’t know why they did what they did. Never found out. All of a sudden I was alone for the first time. I tried to take care of the farm but I couldn’t do it myself. Ended up selling it off. It’s in good hands now.

“The bandits weren’t so lucky. It took me a year but I hunted them down and...did bad things. I just lost it when I found them. I’m pretty sure my family wouldn’t have been very proud of me then. I can’t...I won’t bring myself to do stuff like that again.

“I can never quite come back from that,” he said. “Sometimes it feels like no matter what I do...”

He drifted into silence for a few moments.

“Okay, that takes care of the main level,” Brand said with a bit more cheer. “Who wants to pick out their personal quarters?”
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby MasterGryph » Sun Aug 18, 2019 7:44 pm

The group would let the matter rest, though thoughts along the lines of 'Did he mean to imply that he gave them a head start escaping by taking up farmwork first?' and 'Might have been a good idea to ask questions before killing everyone,' passed through several heads. Whitebrand was surely much younger at the time, and must have thought back on his mistakes on his own many times since then.

"Well, I could pick first if no one minds," the harpie spoke up to help break the tension.

"No problem here," Bianca responded, "We'll just see what they look like first." They couldn't be too different from each other, right?
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby Whitebrand » Tue Aug 20, 2019 6:30 am

“Most have the same design,” Brand said, obviously glad by the change of subject. “But everyone is free to decorate as they wish. Yours,” he added, pointing to the harpy. “I have in a specific location. So I can take out a wall and replace it with openable panels. Your folk tend to need to fly fairly frequently as I recall. Okay...follow me.”

They found there were several well placed staircases leading up to the residential floor. They noticed that there were numerous visible wards on the steps...all defensive in nature. The more magically sensitcould sense more powerful ones that the eye couldn’t see. Intruders would be on a world of hurt.

Each of their rooms were easily larger than many homes, and had the new smell of luxurious apartments. They were clean and spacious, with a simple floor plan centered around the bedroom. Each bed was huge, surrounded by curtains both opaque and sheer with plenty of pillows. The color schemes varied, but all rooms had the same basic furniture. Bookshelves, wardrobes, desks, and comfortable chairs for themselves or guests. There was a makeup table and mirror and separated showers and big bathtubs.
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby MasterGryph » Sat Aug 24, 2019 3:16 pm

Everyone seemed impressed by the room layout. Maurice and the priestess both recognized it as high-class design sense - but a specific type they hadn't seen before. On the other hand The kitsune and priestess had both taken the opportunity to examine the wards, and figure out their exact capabilities... And Bianca noticed that they saw something she didn't.
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby Whitebrand » Sat Aug 24, 2019 4:14 pm

Some of the most powerful wards were specifically against spirits and incorporeal entities. The dragon didn’t want anything supernatural messing with his women, apparently. Other wards threw up walls of force or stone to block the stairwells, and there were specific enchantments that purified the air. Essentially the stairwells were “safe zones” in case of emergencies. There were also runes that could electrify unwanted intruders...some rather severely.

It must have taken the dragon years to weave this web of protection. And possibly hard experience too.

“I hope you ladies approve,” Brand said as he escorted them from one room to another. “I can fix things if need be. I want you comfortable, after all.”

The more sensitive among them realized that, probably because of his young age, he very much wanted their approval at least in regard to their quarters. Somehow his ego was on the line. These were places he had specifically created for other people, not himself, and seemed to feel that judgement of these places were a kind of judgement on him in a strange way.
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby MasterGryph » Sat Aug 24, 2019 7:22 pm

Mayu considered how the wards worked. By some definitions, she was a spirit - though apparently marked as not an intruder either way. Had the dragon thought to protect his harem against each other? Well, he must have, but to what extent?

Maurice responded to his unspoken question. "The rooms are very comfortable and well put together. I wonder what inspired the design."
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby Whitebrand » Sun Aug 25, 2019 1:23 am

Brand looked a little sheepish as he smiled.

“I kind of threw together a few elements I thought worked,” Brand said. “A lot of the design cane from a gray big hotel in Northern Cormyr. As for the layout of the level...this place used to be a dwarves outpost. Long abandoned. When I moved in I enlarged everything and customized it a bit. It’s as structurally sound as it is possible to be.”

He repeated the story in Sylvian for Maya’s sake.

“Any personal effects or design styles you like I can probably do. Or I can look them up.”
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby MasterGryph » Sun Aug 25, 2019 11:10 am

"I guess dwarven design is beyond my experience," Maurice responded with a slight smirk, "But it does work very well."

'Yeah yeah, it's a well-gilt cage,' Bianca thought to herself. "Probably too soon to worry about that. Except for our feathered friend here, I'm betting we'll be shifting them to fit us slowly."

The kitsune, meanwhile, had started looking at her reflection in a mirror. At first glance, one might assume it was just a matter of vanity - or getting a better look at how Whitebrand had dressed her up, but it was more complicated than that. She was also remembering the last time she'd been sitting in front of one - and how unhappy she'd been with her situation and herself.
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby Whitebrand » Mon Aug 26, 2019 1:16 am

”Are you all right?” Brand asked in a gentle voice as he noticed the mixed emotions crossing the kitsune ‘s face. ”Anything I can do?”

He was careful not to touch her...they weren’t that friendly yet and he didn’t want to seem too presumptuous. Not to mention that she was from a very different culture and time than the other girls.

“Why thank you,” Brand said to Maurice. “I want you all to feel at home.”
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby MasterGryph » Tue Aug 27, 2019 10:33 pm

Mayu snapped out of her reverie. "Ah, just remembering something. We can talk abut it later," She noticed his intention to be careful about her feelings, and found that it helped her mood a bit.
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Re: The Quality of Mercy (with Whitebrand)

Postby Whitebrand » Thu Aug 29, 2019 6:56 am

“Okay, lets get everyone settled in,” Brand said. “And after that I’ll leave you ladies to your own devices. I’m sure you’ll want to explore and get used to the place. So who wants to pick next?”

Brand walked them around through the rest of the apartments. He’d set aside an east-facing apartment for Maya so that she could have the rising sun in the morning. As he recalled the rising sun was important to her people’s traditions.
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