Hands of Fate (Shiv)

[raptor]

"I do..." Cato looked at it. This 'deck of magical cards' was his ticket off the the streets. a chance to be something special. the words...he remembered them as best he could and held the paper sure he was the only one holding it

"Quarlok.." he half expected nothing to happen but for the 6 coins that would feed him for the next weeks or so Cato was willing to give it whirl..

[Game Master]

The piece of parchment paper gained a bit of weight and transformed before the boys eyes. He found himself holding a deck of cards. Inspecting them they were blank on the 'face' side, but the back of the cards had a matching picture of two dueling dragons. One red and the other Black. They fought in a tight circle almost blending with each other (ooc: think Yin-Yang design).

"Alright me boy. Do you want me to draw the first card and get my full payment out of the way or would you like to have the first go today and come back tomorrow to pay me?" There was a twinkle in the Alchemists eye. He looked more excited then Shiv did. "Either way you must shuffle the deck and hold them when the card is drawn. Only when drawn will the card reveal it's self."

[raptor]

He looked more than a bit surprised at the effect. He'd never seen real magic this close He carefully shuffled the deck with the ease of a pick pocket and held it out with a slight twist as he straightened his hold on them.

"You first..I'm certain your eager to finish this business up.." the young rogue stated plainly.

[Game Master]

"Ahh! Thank you me boy." The wise old man rubbed his palms together in anticipation, cracked his knuckles and drew a card.

The deck flashed in a reddish brown glow for an instant then returned to a normal looking deck of cards. The wizards left eye brow raised and he spoke the words "Oh my." before flipping the card around so Shiv could see. The card looked like a swirling spiral of clouds with a black center. The card had a distinct black boarder around it. Just then two things happened in an eye blink. The wizard disappeared in a black cloud of smoke and next to it an odd looking creature appeared in a reddish brown cloud of smoke. The creature was humanoid with reddish brown skin, yellow eyes, small horns and leathery bat wings. He smoked a rolled tobacco leaf and wore clothing, though a bit odd. He was also only 3 feet tall.



In a voice that sounded like he was talking while eating small rocks the creature said: "Whoa! Hey there! You must be my new Master. Pleased to meet you. I'm Clayophyss or Clay for short. So who drew the void card? Not a friend I hope."

[raptor]

"he was of some sort, but not one sure I'll miss. and he was bit more shady than I like. What sort of creature are you? ahhh Clay.." Cato asked with a startled look. the fear faded and became more a curiosity. The small beast clearly was intelligent, but was not humanoid in nature.

He looked as if he could be a faerie of some type. but lacked any knowledge of the faerie of "Wee" folk and could no guess. He was small beast...rather humanoid so he could been a a small demon of some type..

[Game Master]

"Me? Why I'm an Imp! I didn't always used to be an Imp though. Once, many years ago I was a prince. Second in line to the Throne of a kingdom in Dyval. Unfortunatley I wasn't as treacherous as my big brother. He cast a spell on me, reducing me to a mere Imp. I was bound to this deck of magic as it's keeper and guide to whomever possesses it. Lucky for you eh? Enough about little old Clay. How do we get out of here?" The little imp looked around. "Say...master, did you know that just about everything in here is magic? Wow!" He hovered over to a crystal ball and peered into it's cloudy interior.

[raptor]

The Boy unsure of the story had taken it for face value. He was young, perhaps even naive. the problem was his new acquaintance's tale could not be readily proven or disproved and so there was no need to argue. Among thieves many secrets remained hidden; Not unlike a schoolyard children one had to trust others boasts.

"Magical? and Call me 'Shiv' or Cato" then they are valuable" he thought out loud, Looking over the contents but touching nothing. until he could devise a means to deal with that troll. Perhaps enticing to draw a card.."Right this only works on a day.."


"There is a troll out there..Can you get us past him If I can't get him to follow us. His current employer and master is now gone." Cato don't want him left here alone. He knew the pain of being cold and alone. Until his gang and the guild came along he knew only fear..in time he learned strength in skills and numbers. The troll likely had few skills..

Even though the Wizard in some void he dreaded to touch anything.for fear he would rise and curse him or worse. He looked about the room in awe at the items. Only when his unyielding curiosity overwhelmed his street honed instinct did he look at what the Imp was looking at.

[Game Master]

Clay was hovering while looking into a crystal ball intentely. "You think your wizard fellow would mind if I barrowed this? He may be gone for a while...or he may be back in a few minutes. Never know with the void card."

Shiv peered into the ball, but saw only a white mist.

[raptor]

"I suppose he might..should he return. I thought it was dangerous to steal from a wizard? He could be back...? we should leave soon. as long as we return it when were done with it..or leave something of equal value...." he nodded.

"Suppose I asked if the troll if he wanted to come with he would?" Cato asked looking toward Clay. once more fighting the urge to grab something and run..

[Game Master]

"Hmm?" The little imp was totally engrossed with the orb, but was able to focus on Shiv once it was safe in his pouch. "A troll you say? Don't they eat children? I'd say best to avoid him. So what's the best way out of here? Through that window? Ooh, look! A volcano! Reminds me of home! So where to Master Shiv?"

[raptor]

"Thats what the wizard said....Lets get going then. Window sounds goods too me." Cato nodded. It seemed the troll might not be happy with Clay borrowing something.

"What is with that crystal ball anyway?" he asked rather curious about the Imp's attention to it.

[Game Master]

"Oh, I don't know. I never had one before is all. I like to acquire new things. Don't you?" The imp had flapped his wings and now hovered at the window. "Help get this open will you?"

[raptor]

"Right." he looked for a lock or mechanism to get it open. Breaking it would be loud unless he could somehow use tar or keep the glass shards from making noise. He'd heard other guild members speak of glass cutters like those used by the older craftsmen and experienced thieves. Not having one..he had to rely one old fashioned methods..

[Game Master]

The window lock didn't look challenging. Using his tools he had it opened in seconds.

"Hey! Nice trick. You've got skills!" Clay exclaimed happily. "Lets go Shiv!"

The two companions stepped out of the window onto an arid land. The air was hot, but not wet like Garrotten. It was a dry heat like a brick oven thought Shiv. The air smelled bad too, sort of a rotten egg oder, but faint. The sky was clear, but the sun was hidden by a great plume of smoke rising from the volcano in the distance. Every other direction was dotted with rocky rolling hills as far as the eye could see.

"Wow! This really is like home only cooler." Clay mentioned. "We're still in your world though. I can feel it. So where to Shiv?"

ooc: Hands of Fate ends here. Your new Adventure starts in the adventure section under the title "An Unlikely Hero". XP will be awarded shortly.