Description
Most of this arial's feathers are a bright yellow, though the large feathers
at the tips of his wings are a motley array of brilliant hues: deep crimson,
light green, sky blue, electric orange, vibrant indigo, and more. His
wardrobe seems no less striking and varied; though each article of clothing,
taken individually, is of fine fabrics and befits a noble gentlemen, they
don't go together at all. Additionally, some items are a tight fit, while
others wear baggy and loose. Many viewers would get the impression of a man
who gets dressed in the dark without examining the clothes he chose, or maybe
one who dressed by stealing items almost at random. Light armor worn beneath
the clothes and a few weapons at his waist give him the look of an
adventurer.
Role
A Glossary of Rynald's Cant, Part 1
Added Thu Nov 13 23:23:37 2008 at level 26:
finger-wiggler or wiggler - a mage
chant - word, news, knowledge, or message
true chant - the truth
graverobber - a necromancer
chainer - a Tribunal
moldy - one beset by insanity-inducing molds, or any insane person
Knight of the Crossroads or Knight of the Post - a thief, with other profession
titles constructed similarly, such as a Knight of the Harp being a bard
Great East - Eastern Road
sharp - a person of esteem, usually possessing smarts or combat acumen
lift - steal, sometimes used more generally to refer to any rogueish work
lift the life's blood - kill
give the laugh - to evade the influence of or make seem foolish; to give the
laugh to the law would be to commit a crime and get away with it, or to be
made wanted but survive the Tribunal's justice for a long time
hung from the leafless tree - literally, hung from the gallows, but can mean
killing in general
write in the dead book - kill
clubber - one who bludgeons their victims into unconsciousness, such as many
thieves do
oather - an Imperial citizen
moo - a minotaur
peeper - a mage possessing scrying magic, usually a conjurer
The Guild
Added Thu Nov 13 23:22:34 2008 at level 26:
A flurry of murmurs and whispers echoed off the simple wooden walls of the
thieves guild of Blackclaw Village. An oddly-dressed arial had just flown into
the guild and petitioned for membership. Torsym, the guildmaster, seemed
amused by this.
"Why our humble guild?", the felar inquired. He paused. "You do know you're
not a felar, yes?"
At this Rynald chortled. "By the Imp's sack of marbles, sharp, I'm not moldy."
"You've come, then, to learn the art of trapmaking?", Torsym asked.
The arial shook his head.
"Why, then?"
"Well, your meowness, I'm a right proper Knight of the Crossroads, and my fief
is the Great East. A clubber like me needs a home close to the prowl, if you
catch my chant. I'm not a popular fellow in the Sultan's house, and Galtown's
too bloody full of chainers and wigglers for a sharp to lift."
Torsym mulled this over, his whiskers twitching, a skeptical look in his eyes.
"And I should accept you, why?"
In response, Rynald tossed a heavy pouch of gold to the felar in a smooth
underhand motion. Catching it, Torsym admitted, "That's a good answer.
Welcome to Blackclaw."
The Highwayman
Added Fri Oct 24 22:43:12 2008 at level 3:
Unable to provide for his family honestly, Rynald had no choice but to attempt
to provide for them dishonestly. He started by stealing bread in the market,
knowing well that the Sultan would have one of his hands if he were caught.
Next he moved to snatching purses, then to rolling drunks on the Street of
Dahab. He found, much to his surprise, that he seemed to have a real gift for
these illicit activities. Still, these times were very stressful for Rynald.
This is not the way a philosopher should make his living, and he and his wife
often fought about the turn their lives had taken. Worse, in order to survive,
he was becoming many of the things the wizards and their proxies had claimed.
In time the heat in Hamsah Mu'tazz grew too great or Rynald to continue to
operate there. He did not belong to the Bandit King's guild, and so he began
to be hunted by both sides of the law. He began to ply the great Eastern Road
as a highwayman, robbing merchant and traveler alike coming to or from Galadon.
This was a very lonely life, for his wife and son remained in Hamsah Mu'tazz.
Each month he would sneak back into the city to give them his ill-gotten copper.
One such day, they were nowhere to be found. Had they left him, or was this a
further act of revenge? As a wanted man and a pariah, he could find no answers.
This, at last, was too much. The last shred of sanity and self within Rynald
finally gave way. "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is
loosed upon the world."
He haunts the roads, now, taking valuables and coin that he has no plan for,
preying upon all, but especially sorcerers, who he hates but cannot remember
why. He answers now only to Rynald, his highwayman alias. He speaks in the
colorful cant of the basest thieves, fearful that the mages are ever listening
with their spells of scrying, terrified they will know his plans should he
speak plainly, although he has no plan at all.
The Results
Added Fri Oct 24 22:41:32 2008 at level 3:
Rynald's study, entitled "High Tower, High Stakes: A Catastrophe Waiting To
Happen" was a scathing criticism of the High Tower's policies. It talked
about the dangerous servitors conjured and left unbound, the portals to
elemental planes left untended, the many cases of necromancy practiced upon
unwilling victims, and numerous tales of shapeshifting gone terribly wrong.
Further, it contained a bold new theory, complete with logical proof, showing
that magic itself was dangerous in previously unknown ways. Even the
philosophers of ancient Ostalagiah had known that entropy was the way of
the world, that things must inevitably decay, break down, or die. The use
of magic frequently violated this basic principle. Processes based in magic
could run forever, and wizards deep enough into its depths could live eternal.
Unchecked, the primal cycles of life and energy would break down, with
possible results ranging from a worldwide stasis to the destruction of Thera.
The leadership of the High Tower was not pleased with the results. Needless to
say they had no interest in addressing any of the concerns raised in the report.
The necromancers wanted to kill Rynald immediately, but wiser mages pointed out
that they didn't know who had seen the report so far and couldn't be sure how
many copies existed. Instead, they used the full influence of the Tower to
ruin and discredit Rynald while hunting down and destroying copies of his paper.
Within weeks, Rynald was unemployed and unemployable. He was seen as an erratic
crackpot in academic circles, under suspicion for numerous lewd and illegal
acts, and had lost his home. His son was turned away from every school, and
common folk tried to beat or stone his wife any time she went to the market.
Family and longtime friends alike turned against him in the wake of the wide
array of accusations and misfortunes that befell him. His whole life crumbled
to bitter ash.
The Report
Added Fri Oct 24 22:38:45 2008 at level 3:
Rynald was a scholar attached to the Library of Hamsah Mu'tazz. He gained some
notoriety in academic circles when he published a paper on the dangers of
careless conjuration said to have been a favorite of the Sultan himself. The
life he was able to provide for his wife and son wasn't a wealthy one, but they
never lacked for the basic necessities either.
For political reasons both convoluted and uninteresting, some of the wizards of
the High Tower of Sorcery began to feel that they needed to demonstrate the
safety and good nature of the magic they practiced to outsiders in both magical
and mundane communities. One of them decided that they would hire a learned
man to do a study and show that there was nothing to be concerned about. In
order to be as persuasive as possible, they would hire a researcher who was not
himself a wizard and who had written critical portrayals of the sorcerous
community in the past. Rynald was their choice to perform this study, a job
for which he was well compensated.
For a full year he lived in the Tower, observing and recording their methods.
The Preface
Added Fri Oct 24 22:37:44 2008 at level 3:
This is Rynald's story, as he believes it to have happened. Perhaps it is true
in its entirety, perhaps in moments of madness parts of it were embellished from
his delusions, or perhaps he hallucinated the whole thing. Certainly few who
hear his tale give it credence. Whatever the case, he believes it to be real,
and so it does shape his reality and behavior.
Rynald was not always his name, but we will refer to him as such for clarity.
PK Wins
Oct 29, 2008|Lv 14|The Galadon Sewers|Treznor vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 1, 2008 |Lv 14|Shepherd's Row|Drazdan vs 2: Rynald (58%,KB), Rehquin (41%)
Nov 1, 2008 |Lv 15|Darsylon|Nacazhe vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 2, 2008 |Lv 17|The Bandit Stronghold|Ceedizi vs 2: Rynald (58%,KB), Rehquin (41%)
Nov 2, 2008 |Lv 17|Galadon|Kilton vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 3, 2008 |Lv 21|Moudrilar's Monastery|Xazier vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 8, 2008 |Lv 25|Silverwood|Rhen vs 2: Gdig (18%), Rynald (81%, KB)
Nov 8, 2008 |Lv 25|The Eastern Road|Kilton vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 9, 2008 |Lv 25|Graveyard|Achatoch vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 10, 2008|Lv 25|Hidden Forest|Brathuhn vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 13, 2008|Lv 26|Khardrath's Planar Sanctum|Salmelainen vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 13, 2008|Lv 26|The Eastern Road|Taldash vs 2: Rynald (84%), Rehquin (15%, KB)
Nov 14, 2008|Lv 26|The Drogran Hills|Rago vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 14, 2008|Lv 26|The Plains of Arendyl|Brathuhn vs 2: Rynald (66%), Iobi (33%, KB)
Nov 14, 2008|Lv 26|The Plains of Arendyl|Sigium vs 2: Rynald (47%), Iobi (52%, KB)
Nov 14, 2008|Lv 26|Western Aryth Ocean|Marztia vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 15, 2008|Lv 26|Silverwood|Rhen vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 15, 2008|Lv 27|The Drogran Hills|Ismaer vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 16, 2008|Lv 27|Ruins of the Deep|Salmelainen vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 16, 2008|Lv 27|The Eastern Road|Taldash vs 2: Rynald (11%), Iobi (88%, KB)
Nov 16, 2008|Lv 27|Velkyn Oloth|Zinish vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 16, 2008|Lv 27|The Northern Mountains|Ismaer vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 16, 2008|Lv 28|Seantryn Modan|Fieguas vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 17, 2008|Lv 28|The Coral Head|Fehlre vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 19, 2008|Lv 28|The Oryx Steppes|Ghyc vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 20, 2008|Lv 28|Arial City|Barlaren vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 20, 2008|Lv 28|Arial City|Ralxarn vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 20, 2008|Lv 28|Bramblefield Road|Fehlre vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 21, 2008|Lv 28|Darsylon|Ismaer vs 2: Rynald (66%,KB), Iwuhki (33%)
Nov 21, 2008|Lv 28|Hillcrest|Ismaer vs 2: Taithirin (15%,KB), Rynald (84%)
Nov 21, 2008|Lv 28|Mausoleum|Keltosh vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 22, 2008|Lv 28|The Plains of Arendyl|Sigium vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 23, 2008|Lv 29|The Circle of Rites|Neztilin vs 3: Rynald (69%), Iobi (17%, KB), Rehquin (12%)
Nov 23, 2008|Lv 29|The Circle of Rites|Neztilin vs 3: Rynald (8%), Luggbok (55%), Rehquin (36%, KB)
Nov 23, 2008|Lv 29|The Circle of Rites|Rehquin vs 2: Friitjoff (90%,KB), Rynald (9%)
Nov 23, 2008|Lv 29|The Circle of Rites|Luggbok vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 24, 2008|Lv 29|V'Dramir's Cove|Siochaire vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Nov 24, 2008|Lv 29|A Foothills Path|Cabbeza vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 1, 2008 |Lv 29|The Battlefield|Brathuhn vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 1, 2008 |Lv 29|Hamsah Mu'tazz|Erasmus vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 2, 2008 |Lv 29|The Drogran Hills|Laredef vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 2, 2008 |Lv 29|Arkham|Baladizkal vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 3, 2008 |Lv 30|The Seaport of Hamsah Mu'tazz|Keltosh vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 3, 2008 |Lv 30|Voralian City|Keltosh vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 3, 2008 |Lv 30|Grinning Skull Village|Kassibaz vs 2: Bedekleae (39%,KB), Rynald (60%)
Dec 6, 2008 |Lv 30|The Galadon Sewers|Sklaj vs 2: Iobi (26%), Rynald (73%, KB)
Dec 8, 2008 |Lv 36|The Imperial Lands|Bleyetz vs 3: Iobi (22%), Rynald (51%, KB), Elleryne (25%)
Dec 9, 2008 |Lv 36|The High Pass|Zillah vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 9, 2008 |Lv 36|Loch Terradian|Dhamus vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 9, 2008 |Lv 36|Keep of the Righteous|Zhurn vs 3: Rynald (27%), Mreash (19%, KB), Korin (52%)
Dec 9, 2008 |Lv 36|Voralian City|Ashtar vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 12, 2008|Lv 36|Arkham|Korztek vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 12, 2008|Lv 36|Grinning Skull Village|Urgok vs 2: Iobi (77%,KB), Rynald (22%)
Dec 14, 2008|Lv 36|The Eastern Road|Traphe vs 2: Rynald (32%), Iobi (67%, KB)
Dec 17, 2008|Lv 36|Eaststride Road|Vhelamina vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 18, 2008|Lv 36|The Drogran Hills|Jern vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 18, 2008|Lv 36|Underdark|Bleyetz vs 2: Rynald (64%,KB), Iobi (35%)
Dec 18, 2008|Lv 36|Outside Hamsah Mu'tazz|Shilbor vs 3: Droundu (0%), Rynald (70%, KB), Bleyetz (29%)
Dec 20, 2008|Lv 36|Arial City|Falenan vs 2: Rynald (93%,KB), Arelthas (6%)
Dec 20, 2008|Lv 36|The Pass|Xux vs 2: Rynald (47%), Iobi (52%, KB)
Dec 20, 2008|Lv 36|The Inn of the Eternal Star|Geron vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 20, 2008|Lv 37|Arial City|Orontalr vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 22, 2008|Lv 37|Shepherd's Row|Bergh vs 2: Rynald (0%), Iobi (100%, KB)
Dec 24, 2008|Lv 37|Galadon|Vendras vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 24, 2008|Lv 37|Village of Mal'trakis|Armallyn vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Dec 30, 2008|Lv 37|Voralian City|Gryssil vs 2: Rynald (67%,KB), Teraxul (32%)
Dec 30, 2008|Lv 37|Outside Hamsah Mu'tazz|Gryssil vs 2: Rynald (0%), Teraxul (100%, KB)
Jan 1, 2009 |Lv 40|BattleRager Village|Delurian vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Jan 1, 2009 |Lv 40|Arkham|Wiknam vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Jan 2, 2009 |Lv 40|The Ruins of Ostalagiah|Jern vs 4: Rynald (18%,KB), Wiknam (6%), Grograra (0%), Quixhint (74%)
Jan 8, 2009 |Lv 41|The Eastern Road|Cahlarada vs 1: Rynald (100%,KB)
Jan 23, 2009|Lv 41|The Nexus Island|Cyrn vs 4: Neztilin (3%), Iegob (6%), Rynald (0%), Selene (90%, KB)