With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

[Vaermina]

"No good. I don't speak your languages." I generate a radio broadcaster construct, a receiver construct and a giant orange sigil. "I'd be out of power before we arrived, and then I wouldn't be able to communicate with anyone."

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Hey! He remembered!

 

[Mr Zoat]

Oh, that is not what he was asking. I also find myself wondering if they have airships, or if flight is limited to riding flying creatures or simple personal magic.

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The Silver Cities levitate, and can teleport if you don't mind it powering it with your XP. Zehir was not happy to find out about that requirement, and I had to restart repeatedly until I got a version who forgot Summoning Magic.

Summoning Magic is rather bad in HoMM 5.

Although if she turned up amongst the demons, she'd probably be facing similar issues. Or she'd be in charge within days.

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In HoMM 6, the demons were fine with both demon-Kiril and his demon-angel girlfriend.

This is what I was able to find.

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Thank you. I'll have a rethink this evening.

 

[Duke Long]

I tether him with a filament and then fly is into the air.

"-is ohthat'swhatyoumeant!"

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'us'

"Essentially, my desire for us to fly causes my rings to draw emotional energy and apply it to that purpose. I'm lucky that this pocket universe supports it."

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Ah, so he believes that it is a pocket universe rather than a normal universe.

"Female humanoid with angel wings and red skin. Long straight black hair and horns-" I trace their shape from my forehead. "-from the top of her heads curing outwards."

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I was going to correct 'head' and 'curling', but I suppose it doesn't matter now.

"Technically, no. Her mother was, her father was a powerful wizard, and then I fed her fruit with realigned her morals and got a mad physician to attach angel wings to her back. The Host seems to have accepted her."

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'which'

Circuitry. Plastic. Something the locals wouldn't have but Angelica might.

Compliance. Searching. Not found.

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Huh, not even polyester. Though as Chojin Patriarch points out, pretty good chance she's just warded.

"Sandro's student Markal captured both artefacts in the Silver Cities during his alliance with Queen Isabelle. After his death and the chaos that followed, the artefacts appear to have been split up. Arantir supposedly gathered them before his attack on Flammschrein, but there are no reports of him having them during his attack on Stonehelm. It may be that he left them in his home in the city of Nar-Heresh, or they may be in Stonehelm, captured by one notable or other. Or they may have been stolen away by one of his subordinates after his death, or taken to a reliquary in the Holy Empire…"

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Mr Zoat, supporter of small YouTubers. I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to get out of the first video, are the items in his inventory? I couldn't tell.

I don't remember him using his emotional vision at all so far. Is that because it doesn't work, or because he doesn't want to risk using it on people who might have aggressive wards? Or has he used it and I forgot? It only occurred to me because I considered that he could look through the planet for the desires of his companions, though since he doesn't spend much time with them he might not recognise them.

 

[boo600]

"Less experienced Lanterns than me can end up going crazy if they experience emotions more intense than they can cope with. Rings can only carry finite charge, but we're all issued with a device which can restore their power. Unfortunately, I'm cut off from it here."

"Then, should you be using it like this? If you need an elevated location, there are mountains only a few weeks travel from here."

"No good. I don't speak your languages." I generate a radio broadcaster construct, a receiver construct and a giant orange sigil. "I'd be out of power before we arrived, and then I wouldn't be able to communicate with anyone."

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Hm. Is it that he's… cut off from the orange light? I just quoted him saying he basically doesn't need a lantern to recharge (though the lantern is probably faster). He should be able to meditate and get a charge, yes? It should be easier to cut off a specific subspace-vacuole than to cut off the Orange Light entirely, and it's clearly working in the universe… unless he's only got the light in his ring/soul, and his emphatic vision isn't working because there's no emotional spectrum in this reality?

Hmm.

As he's said, orange rings aren't picky with their power sources, and he's got FEED ME. Finding a new charge point shouldn't be too difficult, given that he's more experienced than his first day, and he apparently knows this universe too…

 

[Mr Zoat]

'us'
I was going to correct 'head' and 'curling', but I suppose it doesn't matter now.
'which'

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Thank you, corrected.

Ah, so he believes that it is a pocket universe rather than a normal universe.

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Sandro concluded as much.

Mr Zoat, supporter of small YouTubers.

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You don't become a big Youtuber by playing Heroes of Might and Magic V.

I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to get out of the first video, are the items in his inventory? I couldn't tell.

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They probably are, but I really just wanted a video of the battle of Flammschrein.

The AI general has the Empire equivalent, and passes every single leadership check if you don't debuff him.

I don't remember him using his emotional vision at all so far. Is that because it doesn't work, or because he doesn't want to risk using it on people who might have aggressive wards? Or has he used it and I forgot? It only occurred to me because I considered that he could look through the planet for the desires of his companions, though since he doesn't spend much time with them he might not recognise them.

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Without any idea how it will interact with local magic and honestly not knowing either of the people he's looking for that well. Plus, both routinely shield themselves from exotic effects.

 

[WereDragon]

"Are you afraid of heights?"

"I admit that I spend most of my time underground, but few elves suffer from agoraphobia. A little fresh air-"

I tether him with a filament and then fly us into the air.

"-is ohthat'swhatyoumeant!"

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It turned out that when Miss Level had asked Tiffany if she was scared of heights, it had been the wrong question. Tiffany was not afraid of heights at all. She could walk past tall trees without batting an eyelid. Looking up at huge towering mountains didn't bother her a bit.
What she was afraid of, although she hadn't realized it up until this point, was depths. She was afraid of dropping such a long way out of the sky that she'd have time to run out of breath screaming before hitting the rocks so hard that she'd turn to a sort of jelly and all her bones would break into dust. She was, in fact, afraid of the ground. – Hat Full of Sky, Terry Pratchett

 

[Thundersmight94]

"What colour ring did the other fellow have?"

"Orange."

"Huh. Surprised that he couldn't work something out. Orange rings are usually fairly forgiving about adapting other fuel sources." Isolate Justice League frequency and transmit. "Orange Lantern to Angelica Blaze. Angelica, please respond."

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Shouldn't he be worried about the fact an Orange Power Ring is out in the wild. If someone gets their hands on it and figure out how to power it, the ring could cause some problems. As Illustres of the Orange Lanterns after finding the others, he should probably find it.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Shouldn't he be worried about the fact an Orange Power Ring is out in the wild. If someone gets their hands on it and figure out how to power it, the ring could cause some problems. As Illustres of the Orange Lanterns after finding the others, he should probably find it.

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Finding Mazikeen and Angelica is taking absolute priority.

 

[CrazyNoVa]

So, does this world have an afterlife? If so, then maybe the other Paul ended up there? I'm not familiar with this world, and I know it's a long shot, but as we've seen in previous episodes, it's perfectly possible for someone to get killed and then sent against their will to an afterlife they don't worship.

Or maybe his ghost is still lingering about à la Deadman, and we just can't see him?

 

[Duke Long]

So, does this world have an afterlife? If so, then maybe the other Paul ended up there? I'm not familiar with this world, and I know it's a long shot, but as we've seen in previous episodes, it's perfectly possible for someone to get killed and then sent against their will to an afterlife they don't worship.

Or maybe his ghost is still lingering about à la Deadman, and we just can't see him?

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Unless those things work in pretty unusual ways here, I'd expect the lack of soul to be an insurmountable barrier.

 

[Jankl]

So, does this world have an afterlife? If so, then maybe the other Paul ended up there? I'm not familiar with this world, and I know it's a long shot, but as we've seen in previous episodes, it's perfectly possible for someone to get killed and then sent against their will to an afterlife they don't worship.

Or maybe his ghost is still lingering about à la Deadman, and we just can't see him?

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Paul usually starts out without a soul. So this version is most likely "dead" dead. The Lazarus pit should be able to ressurect someone without a soul, But I doubt OL will bother.

 

[Ardy]

Without any idea how it will interact with local magic and honestly not knowing either of the people he's looking for that well. Plus, both routinely shield themselves from exotic effects.

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He has stated multiple times that he can't turn it off, just down, so he should know how it interacts with at least the guy next to him by now since he looked at said elf at least once

 

[Mr Zoat]

He has stated multiple times that he can't turn it off, just down, so he should know how it interacts with at least the guy next to him by now since he looked at said elf at least once

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That's correct. But using it at a level that would meaningfully help find someone somewhere on an unfamiliar planet can be a lot more disruptive to everything.

 

[Vaermina]

That's correct. But using it at a level that would meaningfully help find someone somewhere on an unfamiliar planet can be a lot more disruptive to everything.

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And when sitting on a world created by a sleeping godlike dragon the last thing you want to do is be disruptive.

 

[Silverias]

Finding Mazikeen and Angelica is taking absolute priority.

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Can't he just...call the ring? From basically anywhere on the planet?

 

[Ngamer11]

Can't he just...call the ring? From basically anywhere on the planet?

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Not if it's out of power.

 

[Mr Zoat]

18th August 2013
10:07 GMT -5

I shake my head as we leave the Griffin Empire behind us, heading into Heresh proper.

"In my country, we'd make a rude comment about their central keeps."

Lushun tears his eyes away from scenery to look at me quizzically. "Are yours bigger?"

"Hahhahhaha!"

"Ah..?"

"Maybe not, but I don't need to pretend!"

He shakes his head. "I… Don't understand."

"Long running cultural joke about insecure people needing to build big monuments. Also, about insecure men being insecure because they have small penises."

"Oh, I… Heh." He smiles awkwardly. "I suppose that the tower is a good deal taller than the other buildings."

There were towns that were in ruin, and swaths of farmland that looking like they'd been put to torch. But there were plenty of places that appeared to be in good condition, and most of the places that weren't were in the process of getting put back together. Saw a… Few angels around the place, but they were all wearing the blue, white and gold of the 'standard' angels rather than the white and red of seraphs and fallen angels.

I don't imagine that those are particularly popular at the moment.

Anyway, the regular kind didn't pay us any attention, so I suppose that whatever brought me here isn't so heinously unnatural that Elrath notified his agents. I could try talking to one, but given how they acted in Heroes of Might and Magic VI… Maybe not.

Alright, land… Noticeably less cultivated, Jade Ocean west and east, mountains to the south west… I hadn't realised that Heresh was a salt marsh, but I suppose that it fits…

Scan…

Ah, there we go. An obvious sign that the one in charge has been killed: armies on the march. And being undead, there's not much of what you'd call good order. Zombies just barrel through the swamp foliage, skeletons trudge with whatever weapon was close at hand when they were raised… I'm not seeing many of the stronger types of undead… Which is probably because these are led by less powerful necromancers who aren't yet able to command them. More powerful keeps… Yes, I can detect them well enough from here, and it looks like they're keeping their troops at home for now…

Ugh, I've got no idea who's in contention. My 'main' was Deirdre, but from what I remember of her description she was a crazed banshee dedicated to killing everyone. Kaspar seemed like a decent guy in VI but I don't remember what happened to him in V. Anastasya? Ugh, no, this can't just be a 'who would it be interesting to meet' thing. Even if I could alter her body to make her look older, something that no one else can do, her being a main character doesn't suddenly mean that she'd be willing to help me.

"How long ago did Duke Anton Griffin marry the then-empress?"

"A little over four centuries, during the Second Eclipse."

Then she could be anywhere anyway.

Alright, further south… I wonder what sieges are like when you can't starve the enemy out because they don't need food? And I wonder if the vampires are like the ones in V where they drink blood, or in VI where they just use it to thin down the poison in their veins?

"There!"

I see… Yes, that's a necropolis, the area around it littered with mine works and lumber yards just like I remember from the game. Quite a lot more built up than a maximum level city… And I think that's what the Necropolis Tears of Asha building looks like. None of the others had that.

And there are a lot of troops in the surrounding… County. Different banners, and I can't tell who is hostile to who… Here there are more advanced undead-. That's a Death Knight! That's a Death Knight! Red armoured knights, the creatures that should have been the level six creature instead of those useless wraiths-.

"As far as you know, do they have any anti-air weapons?"

"Undead dragons can fly, as can ghosts and some vampires. I saw references to lamasu in the older texts, but I've not seen them myself."

"Any citywide shielding against aerial attack?"

"The liches in the towers are quite good shots, but… No. You intend to go down?"

"It's our only lead." I dimly recognise the Capitol structure. I'm going to assume that whoever is in charge is there… Or at least someone who can tell me what's going on should be.

"That seems a little bold…"

"The alternative is asking someone on the outside. I have no idea who is who and they'll have their army right next to them. An external foe might rally a fractured land but I don't particularly want to be the one they're rallying against."

"No, I… I suppose not."

Right. Fabricate new armour for me… And for my companion.

"Oh! Ah, thank you?"

"You're welcome. In the event of a fight, keep yourself out of the way. There's nothing here that worries me, but I can't resurrect people."

"That's a highly fortified city."

I smile condescendingly. "No it's not."

I transition us down, level with the Capitol roof.

The armour-clad vampire who is standing on the roof stares at us.

"Hello there. You seem to be having a spot of bother." He reaches for his green-glowing sword. "I wouldn't, but I respect your autonomy."

"Who are you?"

"I'm the fellow who can solve all your problems. For a fee."

"Hsch. I doubt that." He looks Lushun over for a moment and then appears to dismiss him. Ah, he doesn't have the green colouration of the Heroes IV version, which… Does rather raise the question as to how he keeps himself in blood in an isolated place like this. "How did you get here?"

I lift myself off the roof for a moment, let him take it in, and then land again.

"Is it gold that you want?"

"No. The Staff of the Netherworld and the Ring of the Unrepentant. In exchange, I-."

"Hah!" His laugh is bitter. "If we still had those we wouldn't be in this position. Some… Crazy knight snuck in through High Lord Arantir's portal and looted his chambers. He could be anywhere in Heresh by now!"

"Any distinguishing features?"

"Perhaps. But I want passage away from here before I say any more."

"Done. Start talking."

 

[Darko]

"It's our only lead." I dimly recognise the Capitol structure. I'm going to assume that whoever is in charge is there… Or at least someone who can tell me what's going on should be."

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' structure. "I'm going to'

 

[Cool10007]

Always fun when Paul starts doing stuff away from earth - he shows so much less restraint! No checking in with others, no backtracking to update things, no second-guessing - just pure, efficient "what's the fastest way to get what I want to happen, right this second?"

 

[Bigking321]

Is he inadvertently forming a adventuring party?

 

[Mr Zoat]

' structure. "I'm going to'

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Ngamer11]

Is he inadvertently forming a adventuring party?

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More like an entourage who can inform him of things he's ignorant of while he achieves his objective.

 

[King of Frost]

I know nothing about this setting, so my first thought was the "knight" was the local version of OL who tried doing what this version briefly thought about doing to Alan, just going in there and stealing what he wanted.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

18th August 2013
10:07 GMT -5

I shake my head as we leave the Griffin Empire behind us, heading into Heresh proper.

"In my country, we'd make a rude comment about their central keeps."

Click to shrink...

Bit of a tower-measuring contest involved, eh? At least they didn't suffer any noteworthy interruptions on the flight over. Given his speed, I don't think anything local could keep up if he was suitably motivated to outpace them.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

Lushun tears his eyes away from the scenery to look at me quizzically. "Are yours bigger?"

"Hahhahhaha!"

Click to shrink...

Modern Earth structures can be far taller, not that Lushun would know that.

"Ah..?"

"Maybe not, but I don't need to pretend!"

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It's not the size of the tower, it's how it's used, anyway.

He shakes his head. "I… Don't understand."

"Long running cultural joke about insecure people needing to build big monuments. Also, about insecure men being insecure because they have small penises."

"Oh, I… Heh." He smiles awkwardly. "I suppose that the tower is a good deal taller than the other buildings."

Click to shrink...

Certain kinds of ego do tend to focus on building bigger spires.

There were towns that were in ruin, and swaths of farmland that looking like they'd been put to torch. But there were plenty of places that appeared to be in good condition, and most of the places that weren't were in the process of getting put back together. Saw a… Few angels around the place, but they were all wearing the blue, white and gold of the 'standard' angels rather than the white and red of seraphs and fallen angels.

Click to shrink...

Surprised none of them paid attention to him. Though he probably just left them in the wind.

I don't imagine that those are particularly popular at the moment.

Anyway, the regular kind didn't pay us any attention, so I suppose that whatever brought me here isn't so heinously unnatural that Elrath notified his agents. I could try talking to one, but given how they acted in Heroes of Might and Magic VI… Maybe not.

Click to shrink...

I'm guessing 'viciously intolerant' puts it mildly. 'Burn the befouled' might be more likely?

Alright, land… Noticeably less cultivated, Jade Ocean west and east, mountains to the south west… I hadn't realised that Heresh was a salt marsh, but I suppose that it fits…

Scan…

Click to shrink...

Kind of fitting for an empire of undeath, though

Ah, there we go. An obvious sign that the one in charge has been killed: armies on the march. And being undead, there's not much of what you'd call good order. Zombies just barrel through the swamp foliage, skeletons trudge with whatever weapon was close at hand when they were raised… I'm not seeing many of the stronger types of undead… Which is probably because these are led by less powerful necromancers who aren't yet able to command them. More powerful keeps… Yes, I can detect them well enough from here, and it looks like they're keeping their troops at home for now…

Click to shrink...

So these folks' wards aren't up to stopping his Ring scans. If he knew what to look for, he could just scry-and-fly what he needs.

Ugh, I've got no idea who's in contention. My 'main' was Deirdre, but from what I remember of her description she was a crazed banshee dedicated to killing everyone. Kaspar seemed like a decent guy in VI but I don't remember what happened to him in V. Anastasya? Ugh, no, this can't just be a 'who would it be interesting to meet' thing. Even if I could alter her body to make her look older, something that no one else can do, her being a main character doesn't suddenly mean that she'd be willing to help me.

Click to shrink...

To be fair, none of them sound like great people, but that may just be the results of circumstances.

"How long ago did Duke Anton Griffin marry the then-empress?"

"A little over four centuries, during the Second Eclipse."

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Well, that gives you a rough timeframe based on metaknowledge.

Then she could be anywhere anyway.

Alright, further south… I wonder what sieges are like when you can't starve the enemy out because they don't need food? And I wonder if the vampires are like the ones in V where they drink blood, or in VI where they just use it to thin down the poison in their veins?

Click to shrink...

Amazing how things can change between games. As for sieges of undead, I suspect it comes down more to a slow grinding down of the walls...

"There!"

I see… Yes, that's a necropolis, the area around it littered with mine works and lumber yards just like I remember from the game. Quite a lot more built up than a maximum level city… And I think that's what the Necropolis Tears of Asha building looks like. None of the others had that.

Click to shrink...

Good to see the 'real' world isn't bound by the limits of a game engine.

And there are a lot of troops in the surrounding… County. Different banners, and I can't tell who is hostile to who… Here there are more advanced undead-. That's a Death Knight! That's a Death Knight! Red armoured knights, the creatures that should have been the level six creature instead of those useless wraiths-.

Click to shrink...

Ah, I see someone has opinions on developer choices...

"As far as you know, do they have any anti-air weapons?"

"Undead dragons can fly, as can ghosts and some vampires. I saw references to lamasu in the older texts, but I've not seen them myself."

Click to shrink...

Maybe a regional variation?

"Any citywide shielding against aerial attack?"

"The liches in the towers are quite good shots, but… No. You intend to go down?"

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Arrows or spells, they're not much threat to him.

"It's our only lead." I dimly recognise the Capitol structure. "I'm going to assume that whoever is in charge is there… Or at least someone who can tell me what's going on should be."

"That seems a little bold…"

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He doesn't really have the time for sneaky infiltration or patient diplomacy. If they don't want to play nice, this might turn into a smash and grab.

"The alternative is asking someone on the outside. I have no idea who is who and they'll have their army right next to them. An external foe might rally a fractured land but I don't particularly want to be the one they're rallying against."

"No, I… I suppose not."

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Especially if they turn their attention towards a human nation on the assumption he's some new manner of magic-user.

Right. Fabricate new armour for me… And for my companion.

"Oh! Ah, thank you?"

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Modern armour, so quite a bit more like leather, but with all the durability of plate, eh?

"You're welcome. In the event of a fight, keep yourself out of the way. There's nothing here that worries me, but I can't resurrect people."

"That's a highly fortified city."

I smile condescendingly. "No it's not."

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And that confidence says a lot about his estimation of his chances.

I transition us down, level with the Capitol roof.

The armour-clad vampire who is standing on the roof stares at us.

Click to shrink...

I'd make a crack about catching some rays, but I don't know if they're the 'disintegrate in sunlight' kind of vampire...

"Hello there. You seem to be having a spot of bother." He reaches for his green-glowing sword. "I wouldn't, but I respect your autonomy."

"Who are you?"

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At least he took the veiled warning to heart. I doubt OL wants to have to go looking for another handy bystander to question.

"I'm the fellow who can solve all your problems. For a fee."

"Hsch. I doubt that." He looks Lushun over for a moment and then appears to dismiss him. Ah, he doesn't have the green colouration of the Heroes IV version, which… Does rather raise the question as to how he keeps himself in blood in an isolated place like this. "How did you get here?"

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Raiding parties taking live slaves, I bet...

I lift myself off the roof for a moment, let him take it in, and then land again.

"Is it gold that you want?"

Click to shrink...

A fairly obvious assumption to make. He's clearly some manner of adventurer.

"No. The Staff of the Netherworld and the Ring of the Unrepentant. In exchange, I-."

"Hah!" His laugh is bitter. "If we still had those we wouldn't be in this position. Some… Crazy knight snuck in through High Lord Arantir's portal and looted his chambers. He could be anywhere in Heresh by now!"

Click to shrink...

Well, shit.

"Any distinguishing features?"

"Perhaps. But I want passage away from here before I say any more."

"Done. Start talking."

Click to shrink...

At this rate, he's going to form a whole heroic party around him in passing.

There's always some new complication popping up, isn't there? What's the bet every time he finds the place one of the things he's after should be, it's just been stolen by some wandering adventurer? Which might smack of a desperate DM or god of fate, trying to delay or divert him. I suppose we'll see if that's accurate soon enough.