The Ventures of Armskling

An Operation Successful

In silence San waited on results about his father and lord – though he was not alone, he waited with his favorite servant Osyar, a skeletal pseudodragon.  After what felt like an eternity, the sensation of his father's teleportation magic could be felt from the isolation chamber.  With almost a dash San got up from his resting position and made his way into the chamber.  Upon entry Osyar flew from his shoulder to that of Yris's, to which the now healed necromancer petted the creature with a smile.

Looking over the revitalized Yris, San asked, “So they were actually successful?  Just the two of them?”

With a nod, Yris spoke, “They were.  Corrien, the witch girl, she drew the divine energy out of the shards while Azar removed them as a surgeon.  His imp used the staff he wielded to surge my body with negative energy every so often to enhance my healing I believe.  Their plan worked well and for it they will be rewarded.”

“Rewarded how?  What did they ask for?” Asked a curious San.

With an extended finger he rubbed Osyar's chin a moment, considerably cat like pseudodragons are that a purr could be heard, before responding to his son, “San, they asked for nothing specific.  They left it to me to decide.  Though when offered to take part in my venture, they agreed though not as my servants.  I assured them they would not be my servants in this. -he nods a bit to himself- I will grant them the right to be one of my new kingdom's lords.  On equal footing as to yourself, my son.  I hope this does not bother you?” Asked a curious Yris.

San blinked a few times at his father but shook his head ultimately no, “No father, I am not jealous though I do find your generosity oddly great.  It is because they saved your life or do you sense something else I do not?”

“Both.  But I will leave it at that for now.  I have decided their reward,” smiled a pleased Yris.

San nodded before speaking, “What is that my father?”

With a clap of his hands and a laugh, Yris tells his son, “I shall teach them the ritual of Transference so they can actively aid our troops when the time comes and by proxy allow them some better usage out of their own household undead servants.  This sounds good don't you think, son?”

San replies, “Sounds generous of you father.  Shall I deliver this news in person or summon them here?”

With a shake of his head, the old necromancer answers, “No neither San, send the envoy and we will do this formally.”

“At once father,” San answers with a quick nod and leaves Yris in the isolation chamber once again alone as Osyar flies to rejoin his master.


Some time later...

The Envoy of Lord Armskling is a tall slender undead Gold Elf who goes by the name Acul.  Dressed in what appears to be akin to a black business suit, his golden hair down to his shoulders kept straight and clean, and his skin is flawless yet pale – this Elf could possibly pass for living if need be.

Teleportating in just shy of the desert based keep of Corrien and Azar, Acul dusts off some of the sand,  that blows up from his arrive, off his jacket.  Carrying a black suitcase with silver fixtures, Acul enters the keep and is quickly lead by the servants within to the entrance foyer to await entry to see Azar and Corrien.

“I am Acul, Envoy of Lord Yris Armskling.  He has sent me to render his reward to your masters, Azar and Corrien, for services well performed.  Please inform them of my presence and desire to meet with them.  Thank you,” said with clear clean accentless words.

Corrien observed as the risen servants worked tirelessly at cleaning the walls and floors of what would soon be her and Azar's laboratories. Boxes were piled up in the far corner, filled with all of the tools and workstations that the two mages would need to conduct their work. But first the workspace had to be spotless; the mages demanded perfection.

Valka sauntered into the laboratory, gliding a hand along Corrien's midsection and offering a coy smile. "There is a visitor at the gates for you and your husband, Mistress Corrien."

Corrien smirked as the seductress delivered her message. "And who might that be?"

"A High Elf by the name of Acul. He says he is an Envoy of your latest friend, Lord Armkling. He comes in regards to rewarding you for your service to his master." The erinyes wagged her eyebrows once at the notion of a reward.

Corrien couldn't help but wrinkle her nose slightly at the mention of an Elf; her disdain for their kind had become involuntary, even despite the visitor bearing gifts. "Very well, let him in and show him to a seat in the livingroom. Offer him a drink. I'll fetch my husband."

Valka bowed her head at once and sauntered back the way she came.

Azar stood in Vanar's workshop, adorned in a gleaming golden suit of armor. The polished mithril of his breastplate had been engraved with dwarven runes which radiated with magical power. The dwarf was making final adjustments to Azar's armor, ensuring it was perfectly fitted when Corrien glided into the room. She looked her husband over with a grin.

"You look amazing." The witch licked her lips.

Azar turned his head and grinned over his shoulder at his wife. "I thought you would approve. Is the cleanup going well?"

"Very. The servants are moving along quickly. But it seems we have a visitor awaiting us upstairs." Corrien proceeded to relay the details shared with her by Valka, once more scowling ever so slightly as she mentions the elf.

Azar smirked at her look of disdain. "Don't look so troubled, my love. The sooner we see to our guest, and our reward, the sooner he can be on his way." He turned his gaze toward the dwarf who was now finished making his final adjustments to the suit of armor. "Thank you for your excellent work, Vanar. Please excuse us to see to our guest. I'm certain they'll be impressed by your craftsmanship as well." He grinned and stepped beside Corrien, offering his arm to her.

Corrien leaned up to kiss Azar softly as she took his arm, and at that the two mages moved towards the stairwell to join their guest.

Sitting upon a chair, holding his briefcase upon his lap, the undead Elf waited patiently on his hosts.  A half-drunken glass of wine rested on a nearby stand where Acul placed it after being granted it by the servant Valka.  Soon Acul could hear the footsteps of his hosts as they came by stairs nearby, he clutched his briefcase as he readied to stand.

As Corrien and Azul entered the room, Acul stood respectfully until they were ready to sit and soon joined them in that manner.  He smiled at the two and introduced himself, “I am Acul, I am a envoy of Lord Armskling.  Lord Yris is still recovering but he wished you to be properly rewarded for your efforts thus far.  Lord San wished to had joined us but Lord Yris had other plans for him.”

The Elf opened and closed his hands each a few times before opening his briefcase and pulling out of it several documents on bright white milled paper.  With a flat smile he shuffled the papers about into some sort of order while within his grip.  With a clear, clean accentless voice he began to read from the documentation.

“Oh if I may, please save questions till the end.  

For the operation in which you both saved his great Lordship's life, you are both named friend and family in accordance to the Armskling name.  This extends into the titles of Marquess and Marchioness when the territory of Byzenia is conquered in the coming months by his Lordship's forces.  You will have full control of a territory referred to as a March or Mark, however you wish to incorporate the name is up to you, and it will be autonomous from the rest of the kingdom.  As in: you will not be required to pay taxes or tributes, you will not have to marshal troops upon command, you will not have to quarter troops either – your territory is considered independent, a citystate if you will with only caveat.  That you are loyal to Yris Armskling and will not make attempts to cause any sort of civil distress and/or coups within any state of the kingdom this also includes assassinations, corruptions of officials, and numerous other ways of causing any of the above.”

The Elf takes a moments to allow this to be processed before continuing with a second document.

“As a direct reward, without any waiting and what-ifs, will be granted as well due to your agreement in taking part in the actual conquering of Byzenia.  Lord Yris has decided you both will be given the knowledge of the Ritual of Transference.  This ritual will allow you to astral project yourself into another vessel to take control of it completely until the vessel is destroyed or you deem time to return to your body.  Specifically this ritual works with undead and constructs.

I will now list a few rules of thumb to keep in mind.  The more intelligence the vessel has means more ego and that makes it far more difficult to take command of, so don't try to possess a lich and expect no problems.  If a vessel is destroyed while you are in it you will be temporarily unable to jump into a new vessel till you recover from the psyche shock and this takes only a few hours at most – so release before destruction to avoid this.  You can make use of your own abilities such as spellcasting if the vessel you are currently possessing has similar functionality or access to resources required i.e. mana, otherwise you will have full knowledge and capability to make use of their own abilities.”

Acul shifts a bit, placing the papers down on the stand as he takes up his wine glass.  He takes a small sip and nods, “I am sure you both have some questions, please ask them.”

"A very interesting reward." Azar mused to himself as he sipped a glass of wine, his other hand resting on Corrien's thigh as he considered the possibilities of this new power. "I suspect the Bonelord does not offer this without a motive in mind, though. How does he envision us utilizing this ability?"

With a single nod, Acul answered his host, “My Lord Armskling had hoped such a power would allow you to assist in the conquering of Byzenia itself in a more “hands-on” fashion. By taking command of a suitable Undead or Construct, you could aid greatly in the various battles that would take place or perhaps serve as an assassin against commanders and other leaders or even as a “medic” or field commander. The many ways this power could assist in this effort is numerous and I am sure you thought of several personal usages as well. It is a grand reward.”

He places his glass down and places the paperwork before his two hosts, “Please give this a look over and if all looks satisfactory to you, sign it. There are no strange tricks to this, examine it all you wish to be sure. This will serve as a record to your agreement and that your rewards were issued. And once signed, I will grant you the spell's ritual documentation.”

Azar took the papers and held them between himself and Corrien, looking them over.

"And what happens to our true bodies during this. Are we defenseless? Or is our consciousness split?"

“Good question.  The ritual answers this.  You need to place your body into a state of stasis, this is done by placing specific runes under your body where you wish to enter this state.  You can do this even together in bed, if so desired, though I would chose something a little bit more hidden.  But yes, you don't have to do it singularly.  This ritual's stasis will guard your life functions – it will ensure your body is kept comfortable, fed, sated with fluids, and protected.  It is nearly impenetrable by weapon and magic.  Though we suggest never leave anything to chance and have your point of stasis somewhere hidden, sealed, and guarded.” The Elf answers as he places an ink-containing pen upon the papers ready for their usage.

With a small cough, Acul continues to explain, “To further answer your question.  Your consciousness is what you desire it to be in the moment.  It will be where you focus it to be in other words – if you wish just focused on your task it will be there, if you wish at your body, it will be there, but if you wish some data from both – again it will be there.”

“One further note.  This ritual is in its basic form.  It can be modified over time to better fit your needs.  My Lord's version is much different, he can use it at will from his throne and still hold court without need for stasis and his consciousness is split but I am sure you realize how powerful he normally is as well.” Says a smiling Acul.

Corrien carefully looks over the papers she was presented as she listens to the questions and answers that were asked and given.  After a moment she looks up and ask, "What if the body we are in is destroyed do we automatically return back to our natural bodies?"

Nodding some as he listens to Corrien's question before answering he sips his wine, “The destruction of a vessel whilst you are within it will cause a backlash of sorts. You will be reverted to your true body but you will be a bit muddled at first – a little blind, deafened, and situationally lost a few minutes. This is as your consciousness is processing the sudden link drop and any sort of emotional responses you are triggering. The effects are temporary and will leave no lasting harm. However, it is advisable to release to your true body or a secondary host before a vessel is destroyed to avoid any and all backlash.”

With a smile he continues, “This brings up another point. You can have a maximum of three vessels readied at any point for hosting. A specific crest-rune, unique to you as like your sigil, has to be placed upon their being in some place or manner – my Lord enjoys engraving bones for example with his crest. You can mark as many as you see fit, though only three are ever actively purposed at a time. So it is likely my Lord will have you come visit the ranks and select a few dozen potentials for your needs – lest you supply your own, which is of course your choice.”

Azar ponders for a moment before adding his signature to the papers. "Please have your lord send us a champion each. But I will work on our own as well. The one he sends to us shall be more of a ... backup."

Smiling he watches Azar sign and waits for Corrien to do the same, but whilst waiting he asks, "My Lord Azar, do you have a preference for your champion or shall I leave it to my Lord Armskling to decide?"

Once Azar is finished signing she does as well. Letting him answer since she really has no idea what would be best in the line of a champion. After signing she leans back in her chair listening to them.

Azar sat back for a moment to think before responding. "If your lord has two Doom Knights to spare, that is something not easily created by our means. And I suspect a fallen Celestial just might be able to."

With a nod and a flick of a finger, a purple spark is seen forming and vanishing near Acul's hand. With a smile, "I have made a note and sent an inquiry to Sans to acquire two of his father's Doom Knights. There shouldn't be any trouble acquiring them. A few days and they will arrive." With that he stood, taking his documents and the likes, filing them into his suitcase and nodding once he has it closed.

"It was a pleasure meeting you both and thank you for the wine, it was pleasant to have. Please expect a visit from one or both of the Lord Armskling soon and as I mentioned, your Doom Knights should show up soon as well. I will see myself out, good day my Lord and Lady." And the pale Elf simply left after and goodbyes and soon returned to his masters to report the meeting.