Geoffrey Cartwright, Walk this Way

[Blue41]

From my personal notes:

Geoffrey Cartwright is a CG priest of Oghma hailing from Deepingdale. He was a retired adventurer and Harper agent prior to the rise of the Night Maiden, where he was forced to leave his home and sought out the closest, last-known base of operations for the Harpers. After an arduous journey, he arrived at the meeting place to find the building in a smoldering wreck, and any inhabitants dead or dying. One of fallen called out to him- a High Harper, who gave Cartwright curious artifacts with the instructions to protect it at all costs.

The items were undamaged by the wreckage of the fall, but reacted strangely to the magicks of the safety portal that Cartwright would discover weeks later. They were scattered by the energies of the portal, and the priest was only able to retain one of them- a golden key.

[hide=A key for you and me][/hide]

[tface=FELL]As a retired Harper agent and a scholar, Geoffrey's foremost concerns upon arriving in Sanctuary was to gain the lay of the land. It was refreshing playing a fairly 'new' PC trying to learn all he could about the events leading up to the Darkening, as well as the history of the Machine and Sanctuary. This was accomplished by asking a lot of PC's a lot of questions- as many as he could think of about different topics. This would be one of the primary goals that would persist until the day of his death.

[hide=Chatting]









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Of course, asking the wrong kinds of questions could be dangerous in Upper Sanctuary, and as time went on, Geoffrey would grow dissatisfied with the secrecy that seemed to be required to find anything worthwhile. Eventually his questions would draw attention to himself, from a young Withered woman who he came to view as a fellow Harper in spirit- Ssambra Eveningtide. He would be welcomed into a brotherhood who would seek the collection and distribution of free knowledge in the twilight of mankind- the Hidden Library. The culmination of their work would eventually be published long after the death or disappearance of the founding members, here.
[hide=The Hidden Library][/hide]

Eventually, his road would lead to him to Lower Sanctuary; more specifically, the Cathedral of the Ascension. It had been Ssambra who had introduced him to Sigvar Fjordmund, and Sigvar who had introduced him to the tenets of the Ascended One- and Geoffrey was intrigued. Oghma was a god of Knowledge, but by all accounts, the Ascended One seemed to be a god of Harpers, of freedom and the right to life shared by all mortals. It helped that the night he chose to visit Gwyneth DeVries ended up being rather chaotic, all in all. It also introduced him to the conflicting factions of Lower- elves, rebels, cultists and so forth.

[hide=No violence here]





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The Ascensionists would be the closest Geoffrey would feel with any group of people since the Darkening- they reminded him of his days as an Agent, of his youth. Together, they explored a great many places, faced terrible odds, laughed and cried and bled together.

[hide=Adventures]





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It would be through these outings that he would come to learn of the Substance, through a series of bizarre incidents that occurred in Lower Sanctuary, all involving strange, nameless woman and hapless folk who had ingested far too much of the substance. Things came to a head when the Ascensionists were asked to find the missing daughter of Mary Madigan, who had been kidnapped by a man who smelled of roses. This man claimed that he would bring her to the surface, into the sun.

The group of Lowersmen entered the overgrown sewer section where the Substance flowed out from and discovered a lost orphan girl within- not quite human, not quite fey. She, or it, revealed that Mary's daughter was with them, and she would stay in the sewers and ingest the Substance for as long as they liked...unless we were willing to make a trade. If Geoffrey stayed with the fey for a time, Mary's daughter would be returned. After some debate and offers from the others to take his place, Geoffrey agreed.

[hide=A trade]





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Then things got very strange...

[hide=Substance trip]







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Geoffrey did not recall the walk back to the Crone. In a greenish haze, he drew his blade and attacked Gwyneth DeVries, but was prevented from doing any harm by those who had walked with him. With time and patience, he would come to realize how close he had come to the unthinkable.

Unfortunately, the visions were far from over.

[hide=The Death of Oghma?]





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When the thirst grew too strong too resist, he would lose consciousness, and dream of things he would have been happier not to know. The death of Oghma could not be dismissed as a twist of fate or some fey-game- it was truth. He could no longer hear Oghma's voice, and so Geoffrey knew that the Substance was more than what anyone had suspected. But though he knew the truth of his visions, others were more skeptical.

The true nightmare had yet to begin.

[hide=A vision...]












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The visions had brought him nothing but torment- and when Gwyneth lay dead at his feet, Geoffrey thought he had found some measure of peace- no matter how loathsome it was. But the Seeker was something else- something he had yet to see in his dreams. Someone else, someone who needed him, a way for some good to come of his choice. So it was that Geoffrey rallied those who he knew as brother and sister, and led them- in spite of their doubts- into the Machine, chasing a vision. The Way was difficult and narrow...but at the end of their path, they would be rewarded.

[hide=The Seeker]





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Wouldn't they?

[hide=A Seeker found]







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It was a hopeless battle. Worn down by their journey, their supplies exhausted, one by one, the Lowersmen began to fall...until Geoffrey remained, high on the Substance and filled with regret. His troubles were only just beginning however- as a 'reward' for her freedom, the false Seeker asked him to choose which of the fallen to eat. The rest of them could be restored, perhaps...but there was a price, always a price.

It had been Jimmy Smith- Jim of the Ragmen, Jim who knew him as 'General', who hadn't cared what kind of Substance he ate as long as he had supported Lower- Jim who he chose to die. The fact that out of the group, Jim alone would have gladly died for him, only made things worse.

[hide=Farewell, Jimmy]

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There wasn't even the smallest scrap of Jimmy left once their creature had finished her meal, and the sight of it unhinged Geoffrey ever so slightly. A man who had once valued truth and its importance was forced to lie to himself and his friends about what had really occurred that dark. They had rescued a Seeker, not released an unspeakable evil. Jimmy had 'sacrificed' himself for the good of the group, rather than been tossed to the wolves.

The fallen were force-fed the Substance, and through its powers, were restored anew, whole...alive.

[hide=A reward]

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It was the words of Michael Bresley that kept him in one piece, capable of putting one foot in front of the other. This couldn't be for nothing. He had walked further along the Way, after all.

[hide=JIMMY]





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Michael's words would prove to be prophetic. The group he was a part of, which was already mourning the loss of Jim Smith, further splintered at his refusal to stop imbibing the Substance. His brothers and sisters in faith began to slip away from him, refused to have anything to do with him. Some even took up arms against him. Geoffrey couldn't face them, couldn't stop. They were afraid, ignorant or both.

This wasn't his fault.

[hide=Chainbreaker][/hide]

Geoffrey had made sacrifices, compromises. He had lost friends, his God, his faith...but he still had Gwyneth DeVries, the Ascension, the hope of a second Awakening, tyrants to dethrone. He had not yet broken. Not yet.

Then the Seeker returned. A mission to defend the Pissrats from the Chosen went horribly wrong, and all those who had followed him into the tunnels had fallen. It was a familiar scene,and a familiar offer.

[hide=A familiar offer]





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Once upon a time, there had been two Seekers- a man and a woman. And the man cared for the woman very much. But they were trapped by the Chosen in a pocket plane, with no food and little water- and surely no escape. And as the darks passed,and they grew more and more desperate. And then one night, quite unexpectedly, the female Seeker turned on the fellow.

[hide=Substance is a helluva drug]





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Gwyneth may never love him- but Geoffrey loved her, and in that moment, he was blessed with a clear mind. To escape the fate of the two Seekers, to spare Gwyneth the fate of falling to the state he was in, to avoid losing any more innocents for the mistake of traveling with him- Geoffrey made a difficult decision. He would give up Gwyneth- and then die himself, as he had foreseen so long ago, with a dagger to his heart.

[hide=Another farewell]









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There would be no easy escape for him, on any level. It was never the Seeker's fault, but his own. He had damned Jimmy, damned Gwyneth, pushed his friends away, continued further and further along his self-destructive path...and the game, their game, would go on forever and ever. The Seeker would revive him when he fell, for its own amusement.

At long last, Geoffrey began to fall into true despair.

And then a slimmer of hope came from the most unlikely of places. One of the Pissrats offered Geoffrey a chance to say one more good-bye to Gwyneth, through the powers of the Substance- a way to reach across the very limits of the planes to find her essence. It was a chance that Geoffrey could not give up...nor could he walk it alone.

They faced the demons of her mind, given form through his thoughts. Rage, guilt, sorrow...and at last, hope.

[hide=The End, at last.]





















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Huge thanks to the Ascensionists, the Ragmen, and every Lowersmen I came across during my time there. Special thanks to Calc and BoM. See you on the next one, folks.

[Knight Of Pentacles]

rip jeffy

also #1 LOL

[Big Orc Man]

That's how you play an excellent character.

[Spiffy Has]

Always,  Blue41 delivers.

[Moonlighter]

Cartwright was a great friend and ally- up until near the end, anyway. He got a truly spectacular sendoff.

Well played, and thank you for the trip journey.

[Zango_Unchained]

Good work.

[Random_White_Guy]

YOU'RE MY BOY BLUE

[FromTheRooftop]

Gorbengolt, you will be remembered.

[MaimedGod]

Gorbengolt, you will be remembered.

[Ebok]

A story, from start to finish. Rare beyond measure, epic by all standards, a narrative of excellence. Well done.

[efuincarnate]

One of your best Blue!

[granny]

wordless

[ObsceneOoze]

No words can explain.. all I have is.. wow.. well done blue.. well done

[Vault Shrike]

Great work! I spent too little time interacting with him. :)

[tala_kai]

Nice man. That story was awesome and you played it beautifully until the end. Really glad I could take a small part in Geoffrey's journey.

Well done! :D