Lotheryn, Anca, and I found our way to a nearby city. I told Lotheryn that before we began our crusade, I had a little shopping to do. Having lost my flail some months ago, my skill with a bow had increased substantially. However, if you are someone who can feel comfortable without a large spiky ball on a chain nestled at your side, well, you are a better half-elf than I. I needed that cold, heavy steel.
So I found a good blacksmith and talked to him about obtaining a new flail. Luckily, he had just made one for a half-orc who was not going to be able to use it (according to the blacksmith's story, it is advisable not to cheat at card games with mountain trolls; apparently you wind up with two less hands than when you started). I asked him if he could modify the weapon for me, and the smith agreed. He could get it to me by later in the afternoon.
In the meantime, we sat in a nice grassy area in the middle of city, munching on some local fare and really letting our minds wander for the first time in months. I was just about to doze off when I saw someone approaching purposefully. It was a tall slender woman with pale blonde hair. She was similar in appearance to an elf, although she had pointier ears and a longer face. She wore bright-colored robes, light clothing and had a mirthful smile on her face, but I was still rather wary, seeing the large sword strapped to her back.
It turned out that my caution was unnecessary. There was no sense of malice or deception in her voice as she spoke. We had dealt with so many shady characters over the last few years, that it was refreshing to converse someone so openly friendly.
"Hello, travellers! I am Sariel. I was told I could find you here. We have many adventures before us," she said, still smiling genuinely.
I looked at Lotheryn with confusion. She looked just as surprised by the introduction as I was. The only thing that kept me from becoming suspicious again was the calmness of Anca. Anca could sense danger better than any of us, and the shifter was as relaxed as I'd seen him. So I turned back to the woman and made the obvious reply, "Huh?"
She laughed and sat down next to us on the grass. "My god, Garl Glittergold, gave me a vision while I was entranced. I saw representations of the three of you, and felt called to join you on your journey, whatever that may be."
That name sounded familiar. I said, "Wait, Gary Glitter? Isn't that the guy who..."
Sariel rolled her eyes as she cut me off. "No, there is no relation. Garl is the patron god of the gnomes, the god of laughter and jokes, the god of community, and a lover of justice."
This was getting more confusing as we went along. "But you're not..."
"A gnome? I know," she said, as if she expected the question. "I will explain it to you as we wait for our fifth companion."
This time Lotheryn was the one who spoke up. "Our fifth companion?" she inquired.
"Yes, we must wait for her here. Garl revealed a fifth to me, and, unless I am mistaken in my vision, this is where she will meet us. This is where our quest will also be revealed." A quest now, too? Sariel spoke with such confidence that I didn't feel it was my place to question her. Ehlonna had never given me those kinds of visions, that's for certain. Maybe she was crazy (the woman, not Ehlonna; although with the things I'd been through...). But she seemed nice enough, and we had to wait here anyway. Lotheryn didn't seem to mind, so I saw no harm in letting this play its course.
As we lounged, Sariel told us her story. It was a bit odd to hear the entire life story of someone I had known for mere minutes, but she was convinced that joining us on a quest was the will of her god. It was clear from the beginning that her somewhat checkered past and passion for justice would fit in well with Lotheryn and I. Here's her tale, as I recall it.
She was actually a princess of a very wealthy and powerful Eladrin household. Lotheryn was somewhat familiar with Eladrin, being related through ancestral blood (Eladrin represent the modern day manifestation of the Fey creatures that elves evolved from). I, however, had no clue about the people. Sariel explained to me that Eladrin lived in a place called the Feywild, a realm where faerie creatures and creatures descended from faerie still thrive. This realm "floated" on a separate plane of existence that was loosely connected to our world, allowing Eladrin to travel back and forth. The city that her family ruled straddled the very edge of the Feywild and would appear and disappear in this world at various times. None of that made a bit of sense to me, but I went along with it.
The reason for her family's close ties with the "real" world was because a lot of the wealth and power her family had earned had come from their provision of military aid and resources to other good races (notably Elves, Humans, and Halflings) in their struggles against orcs and whatnot. Sariel explained that this wasn't exactly typical of an Eladrin society, but that despite their involvement with other races, they still maintained a sense of superiority and detachment from this world.
She had grown up in the palace, living a life of comfort. She was kind of spoiled throughout much of her childhood, although she never took herself or her family as seriously as her formal training in grace and manners seemed to suggest she should.
One day, a group of gnomes showed up while her city was present in the non-Feywild world (this was getting confusing, and also reminding me of Cat Stevens songs). The gnomes asked for assistance in dealing with an encroachment of giants and ogres onto the lands adjacent to theirs. The Eladrin were generally friendly with gnomes, having shared a descendancy from creatures in the Feywild. However, Sariel's father, the magistrate, was becoming increasingly wary of involvement outside of the Feywild. The last venture he had taken had turned out poorly for the Eladrin, and he wanted to be more cautious. He told the gnomes that he needed time to consult with his council. He would send word in a week.
Meanwhile, Sariel had been given the task of making sure the gnomes were taken care of properly during their stay at her palace. This gave her the opportunity to get to know them, having never seen gnomes before. Sariel found she liked their sense of humor and quirkiness, and appreciated their love of beautiful objects. She quickly took a liking to one of the clerics who was with the gnomes, fascinated by his stories of exploits in the service of his god, Garl Glittergold.
Sariel began to ruminate on how unsatisfied she was with her current lifestyle. Her parents were pressuring her to train in wizardry, claiming that the arcane arts were suitable for someone of her upbringing. Sariel was much more interested in close combat and swordplay, even taking secret lessons from a schoolfriend who had joined the palace guard. It seemed that even her god, Corellon, wasn't nearly as much fun as this god the gnomes spoke of. Sariel, being trusting and open with her thoughts, shared her unhappiness with the cleric.
The morning that the gnomes were set to leave, disappointed in not yet getting an answer from the magistrate, the cleric approached Sariel in secret and asked her to leave with them and join his order. He recognized that her sense of humor and lightheartedness would mesh well in their community. He offered to take her to his monastery and train her in the martial arts, while also showing her the ways of Garl, who would appreciate her personality and bless her for her devotion. Being a tad naïve as to what this all would entail, she eagerly accepted and snuck away with the gnomes when they left.
Sariel was unaware of the backlash this would cause. Her parents were greatly angered and sent guards to bring her back, but she refused. The gnomes were supportive of her position and encouraged her to remain with them, even though the eladrin had decided not to lend support to their cause against the invaders. Sariel's parents soon cut off all contact with her. In the meantime, her training commenced and she was subjected to the most rigorous discipline she had ever experienced; it was not quite what she had expected and certainly presented a harder lifestyle than she had previously endured. But the gnomes were fun people, and Sariel enjoyed their sense of community and curiosity. Despite her homesickness and exhaustion, she stuck with it. After several years, she was initiated as an avenger of Garl Glittergold, the first ever member of another race to earn that distinction.
Unfortunately, shortly after that joyous occasion, the gnome settlement near Sariel's monastery was attacked by a large band of ogres. The ogres were eventually repelled, but there were heavy losses on the gnomes' side. Sariel fought bravely in the battle, but despite her prowess, the cleric who had recruited her (and who had since become high priest of the monastery) was killed in battle. In short order, a new high priest was chosen by the local leadership, but this priest was mistrustful of her. Sariel was an outsider, he claimed, and her family had rejected their plea for help. She would no longer be welcome in their community. Many gnomes that trained beside her at the monastery were angered by this decision, and stood by her side. Their support was to no avail. Ultimately, the new high priest’s edict was set down, and she was exiled.
While this hurt Sariel deeply, she maintained a deep kinship with the gnomish race and their ways, understanding that it wasn’t the entire people that had forced her out, but one paranoid individual. She also still had the favor of Garl Glittergold and felt her work as an avenger in his service had just begun. Still, not knowing where to turn, Sariel looked first to her old eladrin family. She hoped that there was some way she could use her training for the service of her own people. Upon arriving at the city, she was not even allowed through the gate. Apparently her family had felt too betrayed by her defection to forgive her.
So Sariel wandered. It was tough to make a living, as Sariel's only formal training had been in religion and swordsmanship. Fortunately for her survival, the gnomes had also taught her to be quick with her hands and lithe on her feet. She moved from city to city, finding work when she could, but often stealing when there was no other choice (but, she emphasized at this part of the story, only from wicked, wealthy lords who used their power to support injustice). This went on for several years.
Finally, Sariel found a somewhat honest living by offering her services as a swordsman to a large troupe of travelling comedians and circus-folk. Not glamorous, to be sure, and many of the troupe were morally questionable individuals with checkered pasts. In general, though, they were fun people who liked to laugh. Plus, this position had the added bonus of decent pay, eliminating the need for thieving - an activity Sariel was skilled at, but not something she enjoyed.
She travelled with this group for some time, keeping them safe from bandits and wandering monsters. Sariel related to us the first time she encountered trouble, when two local bandits tried to strong arm the troupe into paying them for passage through the area. When Sariel refused to pay, the bandits simply laughed at her and tried to take the cash box by force. Twenty seconds later, when both were lying dead on the ground, Sariel fully understood just how much power Garl Glittergold had bestowed on her.
After a year, she began to realize that Garl had something more for her than simply scaring petty thieves away from a minstrel troupe. It was fine that she was protecting these people in the name of humor and laughter, but Sariel knew that there was a greater good that her god wanted her to fight for. She wasn’t yet sure what that was, but her soul felt a distinct calling. Sariel resolved that she would leave the group at the next decent-sized town they entered in order to seek the new purpose that Garl had for her life.
After sneaking away from the company and finding a quiet place to enter into a trance, Sariel was led to us. And here we were. Waiting for some other mysterious adventurer. This day had gotten strange in a hurry.
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A New Beginning
It was over. Well, almost over. The journey we had started was coming to a finish. I guess it was never really my journey to begin with, but I couldn’t help but feel some sort of connection to it, having been involved for so long.
I glanced over at Lotheryn, who was picking her way determinedly through the forest, clearly wrapped up in her own thoughts. Anca trotted along beside her. Having had no real home for such a long time, I couldn’t imagine the emotions that she must be feeling. Returning to her kin and her Grove (the source of her being, really) after being away for so long, having completed the task she set out to accomplish, bringing her people the power they needed to restore their environment. That power was in the form of a simple flower, the terellor, still embedded in a clump of dirt and nestled carefully in Lotheryn’s pack.
Yeah, we found it. It took almost a year after our fellowship split up, but we finally found it. These things are always in the last place you look.
I couldn’t keep my thoughts from drifting back over the occurrences of the last year.
After I caught up with Lotheryn and Anca following our little "mining expedition," we made our way north to a decent sized city called Urgor. Lotheryn knew of a plant expert (by the odd name of Ratlab) who might be able to help her on her quest. We found the guy rather easily. Unfortunately, the reason it was so easy is because the man had apparently just gone completely mad, began casting lightning bolts at anyone wearing a dark cloak, screamed about something called the “Cult of Stone,” and then changed himself into a large alder tree and planted himself in the middle of the marketplace.
The halfling merchant we were conversing with pointed to the left, noticing the skeptical expression on my face. “It’s right there if you want to see it. Happened just two days ago. Quite a lovely tree, I might add. Wouldn’t mind a tree like that in my garden back home. While you’re here, could I interest you in any asparagus?”
“Ugh. No thanks.” I muttered. I flipped the man a couple coppers for his troubles and turned to Lotheryn. “Well, that certainly puts a damper on the start of our mission. Any other leads you know of?”
The elf looked like she was about to cry. “No. Everywhere I’ve gone I’ve met with nothing but dead ends. I keep having this vision of a flower embedded at the top of a mountain of rock, with sheer cliffs on each side, no way to reach it. It looks like that is my destiny. I thank you for your willingness to aid me, but I feel I must return to my Grove. They will need to know of my failure.” She began sobbing in the middle of the street, oblivious to the glances we were getting from the passersby.
What was I supposed to do? I’m pretty bad at the whole “empathy” thing. I was more uncomfortable in that situation than I had been when we fought that red dragon. At least then I could let my bow do the communicating. It spoke much more clearly and authoritatively than I did, that’s for sure. Then I had an idea.
I patted her shoulder gently, as a rather poor means of calming her down. “Well, this guy had to have journals, logs, or a library of some sort. I’m no rogue, but I can sneak around with the best of them. We’ll find his house and I’ll try to get us in to do some research.”
Thankfully, that seemed to take the edge off of Lotheryn’s despair. Our halfling merchant was able to tell us where we could find the man’s home, although he couldn’t do it without another sales pitch. Lotheryn bought some broccoli from him, just to make him happy. We spent the rest of the day in a dark corner of a tavern, the druid sitting quietly munching on nasty green vegetables, while I thought about how were going to get into the herbalist’s home.
We waited an hour after nightfall and were about to leave our table when three well-armed, angry looking dwarves barged into the tavern. I immediately recognized them from Odo’s clan. Something told me that it was probably not a good idea to say hello at the moment. It turned out to be a good instinct.
One of the dwarves stepped forward and shouted, “If any of you has seen or heard tell of a gnome called ‘Moonglum,’ step forward and provide any information you possess. Any credible information we receive will be paid for, while anyone caught concealing information will be held duly accountable.”
The bartender made a feeble attempt at trying to get the dwarves to leave, mumbling that they were going to be bad for business, but he was quickly silenced by a glare from the bearded man who had spoken. When no one stepped forward to offer up intelligence, the dwarves began making their way around the tavern, harshly questioning individuals.
I looked at Lotheryn. “I think that was our cue to leave.” She nodded silently as we slipped out of our booth and made our way to the back door, hoping that we had escaped unseen. Thankfully, we had left Anca outside at the rear of the tavern, otherwise we would have been given away for sure.
I seethed as we snuck out. Hearing the gnome’s name made me angry all over again at what he had done back in the depths of Odo’s mine. And apparently he had done something else, as well, to tick off the dwarves that badly. I had no intention of finding out what it was. I was perfectly happy to be as far away from that wizard as possible. As it turned out, that was the last time we heard any mention of our previous companions.
We breathed a sigh of relief as we collected Anca and made our way out of sight of the tavern. It was a quick walk from there, down a few back alleys, to Ratlab’s house. As we arrived I felt confident that we remained incognito.
“What now?” Lotheryn whispered, as we crouched down beside a rear window. “How do we get in?”
I took one last look around the alleyway to make sure no one was spying on our activities, and then I calmly broke the window with the haft of my flail. The elf looked appalled.
“What? I told you I’m no rogue. This is how I do things. Besides, the guy’s a tree. He’s not going to miss his back window. Let’s just get in there and do our business, shall we?” I said. Even in the near blackness, I could see Lotheryn roll her eyes.
The three of us hopped in, lit a couple of candles and began our search. The place was a disaster. It looked as if a typhoon had gone around the place a few times and then called a tornado in to finish the job. We gathered up all the tomes and notebooks we could find and began perusing them for any hint of the terellor.
I was halfway through a riveting classic about the germination of fir trees, when, without warning, a brilliant orb of light lit the room. Completely startled, I dropped the tome I was reading. Anca crouched down, growling and ready to leap. I turned and slowly opened my eyes, letting them adjust to the new brightness.
Standing there, holding a staff tipped with a crystal that was the source of the light was a very tall man of medium build. The man looked to be past middle age, with jet black hair and beard, streaked with white in various places. His face was stern, but I could see some amusement in his eyes as he regarded our state of shock.
“Well?” He started in a booming voice. “You have approximately 17 and a half seconds to convince me not to turn each of you into smoking piles of ash.”
I was still trying to figure out where I might be able to obtain a clean set of undergarments at this hour when Lotheryn spoke up. As freaked out as I was, she spoke without a quaver in her voice.
“Sir, we did not intend any harm. I am searching for information that Ratlab was said to possess. This information would lead me to a flower that holds the ability to save my home. I was hoping to speak with Ratlab myself, but he has passed, as you know. This was my last option, and I took it out of desperation, not malice. Please forgive our intrusion.”
I was impressed by her composure, and apparently the sorcerer was impressed as well. His face softened considerably. “My name is Suiag. Lab was a good friend of mine for many, many years. I know of the information that you seek. I tried to pry it from him myself, but he never gave it to me. Every time I asked, he would look at me with a mischievous grin and tell me ‘Only my true friend can know that.’ I never fully understood what he meant by that. And now I never will.”
The big man sighed as he seated himself on a stool in the corner of the room. He gave a quick whistle and to our astonishment, Anca trotted over and seated himself beside Suiag, even allowing him to scratch his ears. “That information would have been quite useful, as you well know. I take it that you heard mention of the Cult of Stone?” Lotheryn and I both nodded. “They are most likely the ones responsible for the decay of your Grove. This is a group of evil men, some of whom have become wraiths, twisted by their ill-advised dabbling in necromancy. The short of it is that the power they possess is limited by growing things, and so they seek to destroy especially those who would nurture the flora of the world. There are some powers that druids and shamans wield that can combat the spread of the disease they have inflicted upon fields and forests, but only the terellor has the power to actually cure it.”
This story was getting bleaker and bleaker. Hopefully the sorcerer would give us at least some good news. He continued, “Lab obviously guarded this information closely, knowing that it would be abused in the wrong hands. Unfortunately for you, by the time it became obvious that the information needed to be shared with someone who could use it for good, his brain had been addled by a confrontation with a rather powerful mind flayer. As you can see from the curious collection of random objects, he became rather eccentric in the last couple years, hoarding pieces of junk that he thought were significant in some way.”
I glanced around the room, really seeing it for the first time. Among the myriad items, there was a strange carving of a man’s distorted face, a small statuette of a scantily clad woman who appeared to be wearing a skirt made of grass, and a multi-colored cube. I asked about this last item.
“That?” the sorcerer grunted as he picked it up. “This is some sort of puzzle. Apparently the pieces can be moved around so that each side consists of only one unique color. He was constantly fiddling with this thing, claiming that it held the key to his destiny. You may have it, if you wish. As far as I know, no one has ever solved it.” He tossed it to me. Hey, I like a good puzzle every now and then.
Lotheryn interrupted us, urgency in her voice “So is there no clue here as to where we can find the terellor?”
Suiag shook his head. “Certainly none that I know of. Members of the Cult were here looking, and they couldn’t find anything either. They obviously didn't pick up after themselves. You are welcome to look around if you’d like, but I’ll tell you that I have read every word on every piece of paper in this place, and nothing will lead you to your answer. I am sorry.”
We gave one last look around the room. I was ready to turn and head back out the window when Lotheryn spoke up. “I find it strange that a lover of plants such as this would not have a dwelling full of green life. The only growing thing I see is that small tree in the pot over there.” She pointed at a tiny tree on the window sill. Something was funny about that tree, other than the fact that it was the smallest tree I had ever seen. It couldn’t have been more than 12 inches tall. I looked closer, and then I realized it.
“Hey, that tree looks exactly like the one Ratlab turned into in the marketplace. It seems to be withering and dying, but the color and shape of the tree is the exact same.”
The large spellcaster looked over. “Well, I suppose you’re right. I don’t see what significance that poses, other than that he liked this particular plant.”
Lotheryn said, “You are probably correct, but still, I have some ability to talk to plants and trees. Before we go, I would like to see if it has anything it can share.”
Lotheryn gently placed her hands on the small, frail branches. I could see that she was vocalizing something, but her voice was inaudible. This had gone on for some time when I heard a loud snap and saw that the tree had collapsed. Lotheryn had a tear in her eye, as she turned to us, but her words reflected respect and admiration rather than sadness.
“This tree has spent the last of its life energy to communicate with me. What I heard was, ‘The life of the star flower is held by Elanor the Grower.’ That was all.” She looked at the sorcerer expectantly. Suiag, who had an air about him that indicated his ability to handle just about anything, suddenly seemed unsure of himself.
After a moment spent deep in thought, the man spoke, “Ratlab must have shared his secret only with the tree, his ‘true friend.’ And he probably didn’t keep other plants around because he knew that the tree would communicate with them in its own way, and his secret would be in danger. As to the message, the ‘star flower’ refers to the terellor, its shape being very unique, as its petals and leaves form seven-pointed stars. Elanor the Grower is the name of the second oldest living creature around. At least, I assume she’s still living. She is, or was, an elf, a daughter of one of the original elves that were formed out of faerie. It would make sense that she would know the location of the terellor but I had no idea she was still alive or that should would possess this information.”
“Well,” I started, impatient to get the show on the road now that we had our lead, “Where do we find this lady?”
“That is the problem,” Suiag said. “As far as I know, the only one who’s been in contact with her over the last few centuries is the oldest living creature in the world. The green dragon known as Emraung. Last I heard, he was living amidst an old forest in the Northern Reaches.”
“Emraung!” I was incredulous. “That dragon is just a fairy tale. Even if such a dragon existed, it must be long dead by now. This is the same dragon that supposedly gave advice to the gods when they were creating plants and animals. Surely you don’t expect us to go looking for a myth.”
“You are not as smart as you think you are, ranger,” Suiag snapped sharply. “This world is full of strange things, and a several hundred thousand year old dragon is one of them. Do you want my help, or are you going to question me further?”
I looked at Lotheryn. She looked back at me with hope in her eyes, the first I’d seen of that in awhile. I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, still skeptical of the whole thing. “Yes, we want your help. What can you do for us?”
The sorcerer told us of a wizard he was acquainted with on the edge of the Northern Reaches. He told us he could teleport us to the wizard, who would be able to give us information on how to find Emraung. Suiag told us to meet him at his quarters when we were ready to leave. Then he was gone in a flash of light. I looked at Lotheryn, “Here we go, I guess.”
We had the sorcerer teleport us the next morning. I could spend several novels telling you of the various encounters we had on our journey, but I’m not sure I remember them all, and I’m not sure I could accurately relate the ones I do remember. We traveled for some time with an old cleric, who was in the area as part of a mission from his god to chronicle the history of the Norther Reaches. His piety got on my nerves sometimes, but he did teach me a neat trick which would allow me to channel energy (which he claimed was granted to me by my god, Ehlonna) in a ray of light that would burn my enemies and grant favor to my allies. I don’t know how that all works, but hey, it is dang useful when I run out of arrows.
After we parted ways with the cleric, we walked for months until we found signs of the dragon. Even using all my tracking skills, it was blind luck that allowed us to stumble into the cave where Emraung made his home, deep in the heart of the largest forest I’d ever seen or heard of.
Of all the details that I've forgotten about that journey, the encounter with the dragon was something I will never forget.
As soon as we entered, we heard the gravelly, commanding voice of the dragon, “Come in, travelers. Come and look upon my glory before you perish in my jaws.”
Well, this was off to a promising start. Every impulse in my body told me to turn and run; my brain convinced me that my training would allow me to hide from this creature until it was safe to get out of the forest. But I steeled myself and led the way inside the dragon’s lair.
Emraung was the most massive living thing I had ever seen. All of a sudden the claim that this beast was eons old didn’t seem quite so preposterous. At that point, I was willing to believe anything anyone told me as long as it meant I could leave that place alive.
The dragon addressed each of us by name. How it knew us, I have no idea.
“Well, Taran the Witless, Lotheryn the Lost, and Anca the Blindly Loyal. You have come a long way to see me. I smell the blood of one of my red grandchildren on your persons. Fortunately for your existence, I never liked the red ones all that much. More trouble than they were worth. But that is neither here nor there."
The dragon fixed an eye on each of us, seeming to stare into our hearts and minds. It was disconcerting to say the least. He said, "Your quest is to find Elanor, my good friend of many millennia. I am not in the habit of granting information to random visitors, preferring simply to consume them. However, since I am not particularly hungry for food at the moment, I will make you a deal. You have one hour to satisfy my main hunger – something to occupy my mind. You see, I have encountered everything this world has to offer, and some that it hasn’t. It has taken quite a long time, but after so many years my life has lost its vigor. If you can provide me with a diversion from my disinterest, you will have your answer. If you cannot, I will have my supper.” The dragon laughed mirthlessly at this last witticism.
Lotheryn and I were at a loss. After about 45 minutes, we started throwing random ideas at the dragon, all of which were rejected without a second thought. A sudden dread swept over me as I realized that this was the end of our journey. Our blood, sweat, and tears spent on this quest had been in vain, all because a dragon was bored out of his mind. Oh how I love injustice.
I looked at Anca and then at my pack, wondering if I could somehow create a diversion long enough for the wolf to take my journal and sprint away. At least our story would survive. Maybe some bard would make a song out of us some day. All of a sudden, the answer came to me.
“Oh wise Emraung, mightiest of all dragons, wisest living creature,” I started with a flourish. He probably knew I was kissing his giant, scaly green ass, but I didn’t care. “As powerful a mind as you possess, I know one riddle that you have never solved. In fact, this riddle remains unanswered by any living being. This riddle is so profound that its originator went mad when he could not solve his own creation.” I completely made this last part up, but I thought it sounded good.
The dragon’s interest was piqued. I reached into my bag and tossed him the multi-colored cube I had taken from Ratlab’s house. The dragon turned it over and began moving pieces around. There was silence as the giant beast put his full concentration on the puzzle. After a minute that seemed like eternity, the dragon began to laugh.
“Wonderful! This should keep me busy for some time. Although I warn you, if I cannot solve it in several years, I may become frustrated and decide to eat a village or two. For your sakes, I would make sure you are well out of the region by then,” Emraung said. We breathed a collective sigh of relief. We would live. And we would get our answer.
Emraung spoke again, “You will find Elanor in a deep valley that can only be entered through a secret door in a mountain due north of here. The door is revealed every sunrise by a shaft of light that shines on a green rock embedded at the base of the mountain. The rock is perfectly round. While the sun is shining on the rock, the druid must speak ‘Open’ in the language of the plants. You must hurry as the light only lasts for several seconds. The door will open to the valley and there you will find your elf, tending to the last remnants of ancient life that exist in the world. Now begone from here. I have a puzzle to solve.”
We couldn’t have left any faster. We sprinted out the entrance to the cave, took our bearings, and began to make our way north. It took another month, but we finally found the door to the valley and opened it. Once inside, we were amazed at the life we saw. Things that only existed in stories flourished in this place. We found Elanor, who led us to the flower that Lotheryn sought. She carefully removed it from the ground, complete with fertile soil from the earth, and handed to Lotheryn. She never spoke, seeming to know our intent, and we both seemed to understand that there was no need for words in that place. Afterward, though, as we left the hallowed valley, Lotheryn told me that she heard words in her mind.
“It seemed that she said ‘Your work has yet to begin.’ After all this time, I feel like my mission is almost complete, and yet it seems I have much left to do. What could she mean?” Lotheryn asked, half rhetorically.
I just shrugged. Ancient elves are certainly not my area of expertise.
We took several more months to find our way back to the wizard that had guided us to the dragon’s lair. An unfortunate incident with some gnolls along the way resulted in the loss of my flail, Narqualme, but I was happy to be back in civilization. The wizard ported us to a location near Lotheryn’s Grove. We began the several day walk to her homeland, which is where we currently found ourselves.
We walked on, getting closer to the Grove. Lotheryn looked at me with a frown, “Something is not right. Look at the trees! Look at the undergrowth! Listen…”
I looked and listened. The plantlife seemed to be dying, and there were more fallen trees then elsewhere in the forest. It seemed like there was more rock strewn about than one would normally find in a forest so far from a mountain range. I also heard nothing – no sound of bird or other animal. Lotheryn and Anca, sensing a need for urgency, began to jog and then broke into a full run. I could go pretty fast when I wanted to, but I couldn’t keep up with those two.
They had just gotten out of sight when I heard a wild scream. It was Lotheryn. I sprinted toward the sound, praying that nothing bad had happened. I made for a ring of broken trees that stood directly before me. As I burst through, I saw the reason for the druid’s scream.
What I had thought were trees had been turned to stone and broken off, lying in pieces on the ground, which had also become mostly rock. Bodies of elves were strewn about, some frozen into rock as well. But of more concern was the dark-robed necromancer still standing in the middle of the clearing.
Lotheryn was summoning a ball of fire as I joined the battle. Anca was circling the evil wizard, biting and clawing when he could get past the lightning bolts it was casting and trying to turn it away from his master. Lotheryn finally released the fireball, causing the necromancer to shriek in pain and turn suddenly on the druid. He began to gather a lightning bolt in his hand. I unslung my bow and drew an arrow, but it was too late. Anca jumped and bit the necromancer’s hand just as the bolt was about to be released. Its violent energy discharged into Anca and threw the wolf against one of the stone trees, where he lay motionless.
In a blind rage I loosed my arrow, striking the thing square in the chest. As I nocked another arrow, I turned to Lotheryn. She had her eyes closed tightly as her chest heaved in fury. Before I could fire another round, she began to transform in front of my eyes, changing from the beautiful elf that I had come to know and love into a large wolf, alike in almost every way to the one lying motionless behind us. She charged the necromancer, catching it off guard as she mangled one of its arms. Regaining my composure, I looked for another shot, but I couldn’t risk firing with Lotheryn darting in and out of the way. Just as I thought she had the fight won, the necromancer released a burst of energy, throwing Lotheryn to the ground and knocking her unconscious.
The wizard was bent in pain from the wounds we had inflicted, bleeding whatever passed for blood in that warped body that may once have been human. It turned to look at me as I moved closer for a point blank shot.
“You are too late…” It hissed through pointed teeth. “Your world will be stone. You cannot stop…”
“Enough," I interrupted, glaring at the necromancer. "Tell me where we can find the rest of your Cult so so I can make sure they suffer as much as you have.”
The thing hissed at me again, seeming to laugh, “You cannot stop us…Stone cannot be made to suffer…”
“Wrong answer.” I sent my arrow into its eye, silencing it for good. The body crumbled into small pebbles as it hit the ground, leaving only its black robes as evidence that it had ever existed. I quickly turned and looked for Lotheryn, who had returned to the shape of an elf, and was picking herself up off the ground. I went to help her, but she brushed me aside and ran to Anca.
The wolf was barely breathing. I could see the pain in his yellow eyes as Lotheryn reached down to stroke his fur. Silently weeping, she picked up the large wolf in a feat of strength that could only have been accomplished with the raw anguish that was coursing through her.
She took Anca to the center of the clearing and laid him down. I followed closely behind, not wanting to interrupt her last moments with her dearest friend and companion. Finally she seemed to notice me.
“I am sorry. I must speak the words that will grant Anca a peaceful death. I want him to be at rest here in the Grove where I first met him so many years ago,” Lotheryn’s voice was shaking, barely above a whisper. But as she leaned over to send Anca to his final destination, we heard a groan behind us.
“Lotheryn…wait.” The voice said, louder now. We both turned. One of the elves that we had assumed dead was feebly motioning us over. “Bring…the wolf.”
It was obvious that the elf could not rise, as his lower half had been turned to stone and merged with the ground. The sight made me sick to stomach, but I went beside Lotheryn as she gently placed Anca on the ground beside the man and knelt next to him.
“Master Rillin,” she began. “What happened here? I…I have finally returned. And I have brought…I have brought the terellor.” Her voice cracked with emotion.
“You have done well…child. Too late…for this…Grove.” The druid master seemed to gather his strength. “Cult of Stone…is dangerous. You have…seen…touched…the beast within. You know…your capabilities now. You…are a druid.” His breath was coming in ragged gasps. Lotheryn lowered her head as the tears streamed down her face.
“Need a…guardian on…your quest to…preserve life. There…is some strength left…deep…in this Grove. Anca…bestowed with power…Wolf…Elf…Nature…your Warden.”
With the last of his strength, Rillin put his hand on Anca’s barely moving chest and closed his eyes. What occurred next is almost beyond description, but I’ll do my best. Not 10 minutes ago, I saw a normal elf turn into a wolf without warning, but this was even crazier than that. I saw what remained of the green vitality in the Grove drained to brown and gray as power seemed to flow into the wolf. Gradually, Anca grew and stood slightly crouched on his two hind legs, becoming a kind of half elf, half wolf. His wounds were healed as he stood before us, looking at us with the same knowing, wise yellow eyes that he had when he was Lotheryn’s animal companion. There was a sadness in those eyes, but it was not the sadness of Anca the wolf or even the sadness of the elven community that had lived in the Grove. Rather it was the sadness of the trees and flowers that had given the last of their essence to live inside this new body. They grieved as they realized that they would never again feel the flow of water through their veins or take in the rich nutrients of the soil through roots buried in good earth. It was that pain that showed on Anca’s face as the natural power within him gradually understood that nothing remained of the beauty that once surrounded them in the Grove. He looked to the sky and howled in agony, releasing all the frustration and despair that was roiling inside him.
There was something therapeutic in that cry, as the sadness soon passed. The three beings, newly joined in one body, came to recognize and accept each other’s existence. There was harmony in their co-habitation, and I saw resolve and fierce loyalty as the former wolf-turned-shapeshifter looked at Lotheryn. I knew that Anca would be a better, stronger guardian now than ever before, infused with the power of Nature itself as he protected us wherever we would go.
Lotheryn looked at me with intense, indescribable emotion.
“We must go. I cannot be in this place any more. We will start a new journey from this moment on. And wherever that journey leads us, we will heal the earth.”
I nodded silently. We turned and walked from the former druid haven, never to return there.
Here we go again.
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I glanced over at Lotheryn, who was picking her way determinedly through the forest, clearly wrapped up in her own thoughts. Anca trotted along beside her. Having had no real home for such a long time, I couldn’t imagine the emotions that she must be feeling. Returning to her kin and her Grove (the source of her being, really) after being away for so long, having completed the task she set out to accomplish, bringing her people the power they needed to restore their environment. That power was in the form of a simple flower, the terellor, still embedded in a clump of dirt and nestled carefully in Lotheryn’s pack.
Yeah, we found it. It took almost a year after our fellowship split up, but we finally found it. These things are always in the last place you look.
I couldn’t keep my thoughts from drifting back over the occurrences of the last year.
After I caught up with Lotheryn and Anca following our little "mining expedition," we made our way north to a decent sized city called Urgor. Lotheryn knew of a plant expert (by the odd name of Ratlab) who might be able to help her on her quest. We found the guy rather easily. Unfortunately, the reason it was so easy is because the man had apparently just gone completely mad, began casting lightning bolts at anyone wearing a dark cloak, screamed about something called the “Cult of Stone,” and then changed himself into a large alder tree and planted himself in the middle of the marketplace.
The halfling merchant we were conversing with pointed to the left, noticing the skeptical expression on my face. “It’s right there if you want to see it. Happened just two days ago. Quite a lovely tree, I might add. Wouldn’t mind a tree like that in my garden back home. While you’re here, could I interest you in any asparagus?”
“Ugh. No thanks.” I muttered. I flipped the man a couple coppers for his troubles and turned to Lotheryn. “Well, that certainly puts a damper on the start of our mission. Any other leads you know of?”
The elf looked like she was about to cry. “No. Everywhere I’ve gone I’ve met with nothing but dead ends. I keep having this vision of a flower embedded at the top of a mountain of rock, with sheer cliffs on each side, no way to reach it. It looks like that is my destiny. I thank you for your willingness to aid me, but I feel I must return to my Grove. They will need to know of my failure.” She began sobbing in the middle of the street, oblivious to the glances we were getting from the passersby.
What was I supposed to do? I’m pretty bad at the whole “empathy” thing. I was more uncomfortable in that situation than I had been when we fought that red dragon. At least then I could let my bow do the communicating. It spoke much more clearly and authoritatively than I did, that’s for sure. Then I had an idea.
I patted her shoulder gently, as a rather poor means of calming her down. “Well, this guy had to have journals, logs, or a library of some sort. I’m no rogue, but I can sneak around with the best of them. We’ll find his house and I’ll try to get us in to do some research.”
Thankfully, that seemed to take the edge off of Lotheryn’s despair. Our halfling merchant was able to tell us where we could find the man’s home, although he couldn’t do it without another sales pitch. Lotheryn bought some broccoli from him, just to make him happy. We spent the rest of the day in a dark corner of a tavern, the druid sitting quietly munching on nasty green vegetables, while I thought about how were going to get into the herbalist’s home.
We waited an hour after nightfall and were about to leave our table when three well-armed, angry looking dwarves barged into the tavern. I immediately recognized them from Odo’s clan. Something told me that it was probably not a good idea to say hello at the moment. It turned out to be a good instinct.
One of the dwarves stepped forward and shouted, “If any of you has seen or heard tell of a gnome called ‘Moonglum,’ step forward and provide any information you possess. Any credible information we receive will be paid for, while anyone caught concealing information will be held duly accountable.”
The bartender made a feeble attempt at trying to get the dwarves to leave, mumbling that they were going to be bad for business, but he was quickly silenced by a glare from the bearded man who had spoken. When no one stepped forward to offer up intelligence, the dwarves began making their way around the tavern, harshly questioning individuals.
I looked at Lotheryn. “I think that was our cue to leave.” She nodded silently as we slipped out of our booth and made our way to the back door, hoping that we had escaped unseen. Thankfully, we had left Anca outside at the rear of the tavern, otherwise we would have been given away for sure.
I seethed as we snuck out. Hearing the gnome’s name made me angry all over again at what he had done back in the depths of Odo’s mine. And apparently he had done something else, as well, to tick off the dwarves that badly. I had no intention of finding out what it was. I was perfectly happy to be as far away from that wizard as possible. As it turned out, that was the last time we heard any mention of our previous companions.
We breathed a sigh of relief as we collected Anca and made our way out of sight of the tavern. It was a quick walk from there, down a few back alleys, to Ratlab’s house. As we arrived I felt confident that we remained incognito.
“What now?” Lotheryn whispered, as we crouched down beside a rear window. “How do we get in?”
I took one last look around the alleyway to make sure no one was spying on our activities, and then I calmly broke the window with the haft of my flail. The elf looked appalled.
“What? I told you I’m no rogue. This is how I do things. Besides, the guy’s a tree. He’s not going to miss his back window. Let’s just get in there and do our business, shall we?” I said. Even in the near blackness, I could see Lotheryn roll her eyes.
The three of us hopped in, lit a couple of candles and began our search. The place was a disaster. It looked as if a typhoon had gone around the place a few times and then called a tornado in to finish the job. We gathered up all the tomes and notebooks we could find and began perusing them for any hint of the terellor.
I was halfway through a riveting classic about the germination of fir trees, when, without warning, a brilliant orb of light lit the room. Completely startled, I dropped the tome I was reading. Anca crouched down, growling and ready to leap. I turned and slowly opened my eyes, letting them adjust to the new brightness.
Standing there, holding a staff tipped with a crystal that was the source of the light was a very tall man of medium build. The man looked to be past middle age, with jet black hair and beard, streaked with white in various places. His face was stern, but I could see some amusement in his eyes as he regarded our state of shock.
“Well?” He started in a booming voice. “You have approximately 17 and a half seconds to convince me not to turn each of you into smoking piles of ash.”
I was still trying to figure out where I might be able to obtain a clean set of undergarments at this hour when Lotheryn spoke up. As freaked out as I was, she spoke without a quaver in her voice.
“Sir, we did not intend any harm. I am searching for information that Ratlab was said to possess. This information would lead me to a flower that holds the ability to save my home. I was hoping to speak with Ratlab myself, but he has passed, as you know. This was my last option, and I took it out of desperation, not malice. Please forgive our intrusion.”
I was impressed by her composure, and apparently the sorcerer was impressed as well. His face softened considerably. “My name is Suiag. Lab was a good friend of mine for many, many years. I know of the information that you seek. I tried to pry it from him myself, but he never gave it to me. Every time I asked, he would look at me with a mischievous grin and tell me ‘Only my true friend can know that.’ I never fully understood what he meant by that. And now I never will.”
The big man sighed as he seated himself on a stool in the corner of the room. He gave a quick whistle and to our astonishment, Anca trotted over and seated himself beside Suiag, even allowing him to scratch his ears. “That information would have been quite useful, as you well know. I take it that you heard mention of the Cult of Stone?” Lotheryn and I both nodded. “They are most likely the ones responsible for the decay of your Grove. This is a group of evil men, some of whom have become wraiths, twisted by their ill-advised dabbling in necromancy. The short of it is that the power they possess is limited by growing things, and so they seek to destroy especially those who would nurture the flora of the world. There are some powers that druids and shamans wield that can combat the spread of the disease they have inflicted upon fields and forests, but only the terellor has the power to actually cure it.”
This story was getting bleaker and bleaker. Hopefully the sorcerer would give us at least some good news. He continued, “Lab obviously guarded this information closely, knowing that it would be abused in the wrong hands. Unfortunately for you, by the time it became obvious that the information needed to be shared with someone who could use it for good, his brain had been addled by a confrontation with a rather powerful mind flayer. As you can see from the curious collection of random objects, he became rather eccentric in the last couple years, hoarding pieces of junk that he thought were significant in some way.”
I glanced around the room, really seeing it for the first time. Among the myriad items, there was a strange carving of a man’s distorted face, a small statuette of a scantily clad woman who appeared to be wearing a skirt made of grass, and a multi-colored cube. I asked about this last item.
“That?” the sorcerer grunted as he picked it up. “This is some sort of puzzle. Apparently the pieces can be moved around so that each side consists of only one unique color. He was constantly fiddling with this thing, claiming that it held the key to his destiny. You may have it, if you wish. As far as I know, no one has ever solved it.” He tossed it to me. Hey, I like a good puzzle every now and then.
Lotheryn interrupted us, urgency in her voice “So is there no clue here as to where we can find the terellor?”
Suiag shook his head. “Certainly none that I know of. Members of the Cult were here looking, and they couldn’t find anything either. They obviously didn't pick up after themselves. You are welcome to look around if you’d like, but I’ll tell you that I have read every word on every piece of paper in this place, and nothing will lead you to your answer. I am sorry.”
We gave one last look around the room. I was ready to turn and head back out the window when Lotheryn spoke up. “I find it strange that a lover of plants such as this would not have a dwelling full of green life. The only growing thing I see is that small tree in the pot over there.” She pointed at a tiny tree on the window sill. Something was funny about that tree, other than the fact that it was the smallest tree I had ever seen. It couldn’t have been more than 12 inches tall. I looked closer, and then I realized it.
“Hey, that tree looks exactly like the one Ratlab turned into in the marketplace. It seems to be withering and dying, but the color and shape of the tree is the exact same.”
The large spellcaster looked over. “Well, I suppose you’re right. I don’t see what significance that poses, other than that he liked this particular plant.”
Lotheryn said, “You are probably correct, but still, I have some ability to talk to plants and trees. Before we go, I would like to see if it has anything it can share.”
Lotheryn gently placed her hands on the small, frail branches. I could see that she was vocalizing something, but her voice was inaudible. This had gone on for some time when I heard a loud snap and saw that the tree had collapsed. Lotheryn had a tear in her eye, as she turned to us, but her words reflected respect and admiration rather than sadness.
“This tree has spent the last of its life energy to communicate with me. What I heard was, ‘The life of the star flower is held by Elanor the Grower.’ That was all.” She looked at the sorcerer expectantly. Suiag, who had an air about him that indicated his ability to handle just about anything, suddenly seemed unsure of himself.
After a moment spent deep in thought, the man spoke, “Ratlab must have shared his secret only with the tree, his ‘true friend.’ And he probably didn’t keep other plants around because he knew that the tree would communicate with them in its own way, and his secret would be in danger. As to the message, the ‘star flower’ refers to the terellor, its shape being very unique, as its petals and leaves form seven-pointed stars. Elanor the Grower is the name of the second oldest living creature around. At least, I assume she’s still living. She is, or was, an elf, a daughter of one of the original elves that were formed out of faerie. It would make sense that she would know the location of the terellor but I had no idea she was still alive or that should would possess this information.”
“Well,” I started, impatient to get the show on the road now that we had our lead, “Where do we find this lady?”
“That is the problem,” Suiag said. “As far as I know, the only one who’s been in contact with her over the last few centuries is the oldest living creature in the world. The green dragon known as Emraung. Last I heard, he was living amidst an old forest in the Northern Reaches.”
“Emraung!” I was incredulous. “That dragon is just a fairy tale. Even if such a dragon existed, it must be long dead by now. This is the same dragon that supposedly gave advice to the gods when they were creating plants and animals. Surely you don’t expect us to go looking for a myth.”
“You are not as smart as you think you are, ranger,” Suiag snapped sharply. “This world is full of strange things, and a several hundred thousand year old dragon is one of them. Do you want my help, or are you going to question me further?”
I looked at Lotheryn. She looked back at me with hope in her eyes, the first I’d seen of that in awhile. I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, still skeptical of the whole thing. “Yes, we want your help. What can you do for us?”
The sorcerer told us of a wizard he was acquainted with on the edge of the Northern Reaches. He told us he could teleport us to the wizard, who would be able to give us information on how to find Emraung. Suiag told us to meet him at his quarters when we were ready to leave. Then he was gone in a flash of light. I looked at Lotheryn, “Here we go, I guess.”
We had the sorcerer teleport us the next morning. I could spend several novels telling you of the various encounters we had on our journey, but I’m not sure I remember them all, and I’m not sure I could accurately relate the ones I do remember. We traveled for some time with an old cleric, who was in the area as part of a mission from his god to chronicle the history of the Norther Reaches. His piety got on my nerves sometimes, but he did teach me a neat trick which would allow me to channel energy (which he claimed was granted to me by my god, Ehlonna) in a ray of light that would burn my enemies and grant favor to my allies. I don’t know how that all works, but hey, it is dang useful when I run out of arrows.
After we parted ways with the cleric, we walked for months until we found signs of the dragon. Even using all my tracking skills, it was blind luck that allowed us to stumble into the cave where Emraung made his home, deep in the heart of the largest forest I’d ever seen or heard of.
Of all the details that I've forgotten about that journey, the encounter with the dragon was something I will never forget.
As soon as we entered, we heard the gravelly, commanding voice of the dragon, “Come in, travelers. Come and look upon my glory before you perish in my jaws.”
Well, this was off to a promising start. Every impulse in my body told me to turn and run; my brain convinced me that my training would allow me to hide from this creature until it was safe to get out of the forest. But I steeled myself and led the way inside the dragon’s lair.
Emraung was the most massive living thing I had ever seen. All of a sudden the claim that this beast was eons old didn’t seem quite so preposterous. At that point, I was willing to believe anything anyone told me as long as it meant I could leave that place alive.
The dragon addressed each of us by name. How it knew us, I have no idea.
“Well, Taran the Witless, Lotheryn the Lost, and Anca the Blindly Loyal. You have come a long way to see me. I smell the blood of one of my red grandchildren on your persons. Fortunately for your existence, I never liked the red ones all that much. More trouble than they were worth. But that is neither here nor there."
The dragon fixed an eye on each of us, seeming to stare into our hearts and minds. It was disconcerting to say the least. He said, "Your quest is to find Elanor, my good friend of many millennia. I am not in the habit of granting information to random visitors, preferring simply to consume them. However, since I am not particularly hungry for food at the moment, I will make you a deal. You have one hour to satisfy my main hunger – something to occupy my mind. You see, I have encountered everything this world has to offer, and some that it hasn’t. It has taken quite a long time, but after so many years my life has lost its vigor. If you can provide me with a diversion from my disinterest, you will have your answer. If you cannot, I will have my supper.” The dragon laughed mirthlessly at this last witticism.
Lotheryn and I were at a loss. After about 45 minutes, we started throwing random ideas at the dragon, all of which were rejected without a second thought. A sudden dread swept over me as I realized that this was the end of our journey. Our blood, sweat, and tears spent on this quest had been in vain, all because a dragon was bored out of his mind. Oh how I love injustice.
I looked at Anca and then at my pack, wondering if I could somehow create a diversion long enough for the wolf to take my journal and sprint away. At least our story would survive. Maybe some bard would make a song out of us some day. All of a sudden, the answer came to me.
“Oh wise Emraung, mightiest of all dragons, wisest living creature,” I started with a flourish. He probably knew I was kissing his giant, scaly green ass, but I didn’t care. “As powerful a mind as you possess, I know one riddle that you have never solved. In fact, this riddle remains unanswered by any living being. This riddle is so profound that its originator went mad when he could not solve his own creation.” I completely made this last part up, but I thought it sounded good.
The dragon’s interest was piqued. I reached into my bag and tossed him the multi-colored cube I had taken from Ratlab’s house. The dragon turned it over and began moving pieces around. There was silence as the giant beast put his full concentration on the puzzle. After a minute that seemed like eternity, the dragon began to laugh.
“Wonderful! This should keep me busy for some time. Although I warn you, if I cannot solve it in several years, I may become frustrated and decide to eat a village or two. For your sakes, I would make sure you are well out of the region by then,” Emraung said. We breathed a collective sigh of relief. We would live. And we would get our answer.
Emraung spoke again, “You will find Elanor in a deep valley that can only be entered through a secret door in a mountain due north of here. The door is revealed every sunrise by a shaft of light that shines on a green rock embedded at the base of the mountain. The rock is perfectly round. While the sun is shining on the rock, the druid must speak ‘Open’ in the language of the plants. You must hurry as the light only lasts for several seconds. The door will open to the valley and there you will find your elf, tending to the last remnants of ancient life that exist in the world. Now begone from here. I have a puzzle to solve.”
We couldn’t have left any faster. We sprinted out the entrance to the cave, took our bearings, and began to make our way north. It took another month, but we finally found the door to the valley and opened it. Once inside, we were amazed at the life we saw. Things that only existed in stories flourished in this place. We found Elanor, who led us to the flower that Lotheryn sought. She carefully removed it from the ground, complete with fertile soil from the earth, and handed to Lotheryn. She never spoke, seeming to know our intent, and we both seemed to understand that there was no need for words in that place. Afterward, though, as we left the hallowed valley, Lotheryn told me that she heard words in her mind.
“It seemed that she said ‘Your work has yet to begin.’ After all this time, I feel like my mission is almost complete, and yet it seems I have much left to do. What could she mean?” Lotheryn asked, half rhetorically.
I just shrugged. Ancient elves are certainly not my area of expertise.
We took several more months to find our way back to the wizard that had guided us to the dragon’s lair. An unfortunate incident with some gnolls along the way resulted in the loss of my flail, Narqualme, but I was happy to be back in civilization. The wizard ported us to a location near Lotheryn’s Grove. We began the several day walk to her homeland, which is where we currently found ourselves.
We walked on, getting closer to the Grove. Lotheryn looked at me with a frown, “Something is not right. Look at the trees! Look at the undergrowth! Listen…”
I looked and listened. The plantlife seemed to be dying, and there were more fallen trees then elsewhere in the forest. It seemed like there was more rock strewn about than one would normally find in a forest so far from a mountain range. I also heard nothing – no sound of bird or other animal. Lotheryn and Anca, sensing a need for urgency, began to jog and then broke into a full run. I could go pretty fast when I wanted to, but I couldn’t keep up with those two.
They had just gotten out of sight when I heard a wild scream. It was Lotheryn. I sprinted toward the sound, praying that nothing bad had happened. I made for a ring of broken trees that stood directly before me. As I burst through, I saw the reason for the druid’s scream.
What I had thought were trees had been turned to stone and broken off, lying in pieces on the ground, which had also become mostly rock. Bodies of elves were strewn about, some frozen into rock as well. But of more concern was the dark-robed necromancer still standing in the middle of the clearing.
Lotheryn was summoning a ball of fire as I joined the battle. Anca was circling the evil wizard, biting and clawing when he could get past the lightning bolts it was casting and trying to turn it away from his master. Lotheryn finally released the fireball, causing the necromancer to shriek in pain and turn suddenly on the druid. He began to gather a lightning bolt in his hand. I unslung my bow and drew an arrow, but it was too late. Anca jumped and bit the necromancer’s hand just as the bolt was about to be released. Its violent energy discharged into Anca and threw the wolf against one of the stone trees, where he lay motionless.
In a blind rage I loosed my arrow, striking the thing square in the chest. As I nocked another arrow, I turned to Lotheryn. She had her eyes closed tightly as her chest heaved in fury. Before I could fire another round, she began to transform in front of my eyes, changing from the beautiful elf that I had come to know and love into a large wolf, alike in almost every way to the one lying motionless behind us. She charged the necromancer, catching it off guard as she mangled one of its arms. Regaining my composure, I looked for another shot, but I couldn’t risk firing with Lotheryn darting in and out of the way. Just as I thought she had the fight won, the necromancer released a burst of energy, throwing Lotheryn to the ground and knocking her unconscious.
The wizard was bent in pain from the wounds we had inflicted, bleeding whatever passed for blood in that warped body that may once have been human. It turned to look at me as I moved closer for a point blank shot.
“You are too late…” It hissed through pointed teeth. “Your world will be stone. You cannot stop…”
“Enough," I interrupted, glaring at the necromancer. "Tell me where we can find the rest of your Cult so so I can make sure they suffer as much as you have.”
The thing hissed at me again, seeming to laugh, “You cannot stop us…Stone cannot be made to suffer…”
“Wrong answer.” I sent my arrow into its eye, silencing it for good. The body crumbled into small pebbles as it hit the ground, leaving only its black robes as evidence that it had ever existed. I quickly turned and looked for Lotheryn, who had returned to the shape of an elf, and was picking herself up off the ground. I went to help her, but she brushed me aside and ran to Anca.
The wolf was barely breathing. I could see the pain in his yellow eyes as Lotheryn reached down to stroke his fur. Silently weeping, she picked up the large wolf in a feat of strength that could only have been accomplished with the raw anguish that was coursing through her.
She took Anca to the center of the clearing and laid him down. I followed closely behind, not wanting to interrupt her last moments with her dearest friend and companion. Finally she seemed to notice me.
“I am sorry. I must speak the words that will grant Anca a peaceful death. I want him to be at rest here in the Grove where I first met him so many years ago,” Lotheryn’s voice was shaking, barely above a whisper. But as she leaned over to send Anca to his final destination, we heard a groan behind us.
“Lotheryn…wait.” The voice said, louder now. We both turned. One of the elves that we had assumed dead was feebly motioning us over. “Bring…the wolf.”
It was obvious that the elf could not rise, as his lower half had been turned to stone and merged with the ground. The sight made me sick to stomach, but I went beside Lotheryn as she gently placed Anca on the ground beside the man and knelt next to him.
“Master Rillin,” she began. “What happened here? I…I have finally returned. And I have brought…I have brought the terellor.” Her voice cracked with emotion.
“You have done well…child. Too late…for this…Grove.” The druid master seemed to gather his strength. “Cult of Stone…is dangerous. You have…seen…touched…the beast within. You know…your capabilities now. You…are a druid.” His breath was coming in ragged gasps. Lotheryn lowered her head as the tears streamed down her face.
“Need a…guardian on…your quest to…preserve life. There…is some strength left…deep…in this Grove. Anca…bestowed with power…Wolf…Elf…Nature…your Warden.”
With the last of his strength, Rillin put his hand on Anca’s barely moving chest and closed his eyes. What occurred next is almost beyond description, but I’ll do my best. Not 10 minutes ago, I saw a normal elf turn into a wolf without warning, but this was even crazier than that. I saw what remained of the green vitality in the Grove drained to brown and gray as power seemed to flow into the wolf. Gradually, Anca grew and stood slightly crouched on his two hind legs, becoming a kind of half elf, half wolf. His wounds were healed as he stood before us, looking at us with the same knowing, wise yellow eyes that he had when he was Lotheryn’s animal companion. There was a sadness in those eyes, but it was not the sadness of Anca the wolf or even the sadness of the elven community that had lived in the Grove. Rather it was the sadness of the trees and flowers that had given the last of their essence to live inside this new body. They grieved as they realized that they would never again feel the flow of water through their veins or take in the rich nutrients of the soil through roots buried in good earth. It was that pain that showed on Anca’s face as the natural power within him gradually understood that nothing remained of the beauty that once surrounded them in the Grove. He looked to the sky and howled in agony, releasing all the frustration and despair that was roiling inside him.
There was something therapeutic in that cry, as the sadness soon passed. The three beings, newly joined in one body, came to recognize and accept each other’s existence. There was harmony in their co-habitation, and I saw resolve and fierce loyalty as the former wolf-turned-shapeshifter looked at Lotheryn. I knew that Anca would be a better, stronger guardian now than ever before, infused with the power of Nature itself as he protected us wherever we would go.
Lotheryn looked at me with intense, indescribable emotion.
“We must go. I cannot be in this place any more. We will start a new journey from this moment on. And wherever that journey leads us, we will heal the earth.”
I nodded silently. We turned and walked from the former druid haven, never to return there.
Here we go again.
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Thursday?
Ducks playoff game and rolling of the characters this Thursday? I'm hyped. Saturday the 25th can't come fast enough. What are you thinking of rolling Bethany? Hopefully, between you and Angela, we'll have a leader and a striker but feel free to weigh your options. You seem like you would enjoy a leader though, especially since they do lots of super cool things in 4e rather than just heal dudes like in 3.5. Shaman? Warlord? The return of the Bard?!?!
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Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The reflexes of a cat, the speed of a mongoose
No time has been wasted! I recycled, I cashed in all the change I've been hording, I even DEed all my healing gear and sold the shards (wait, wrong game, sorry) and ended up with a surprising amount of cash. So I checked some prices at a few bookstores, quickly realized that amazon.com might be my dearest friend and now, after 3 days of shipping, arriving at my house will be the full gamut of 4e gear. I'll have the three core books, the player's handbook 2, the first module (Keep on the Shadowfel) and I even had enough money left over to spring for the Dungeon Master's Screen. That's right, I have a giant cardboard screen to block your prying eyes, and it even gives me super useful states on the back. I am a role-playing master!!!!!
Anyway, I'll be ready to go when we have our inaugural gathering on April 25th. It really might be nice if we had more than one copy of some of these books, but we can make it work no matter what. The player's handbook (1 and 2) each cost about $23 on amazon. If you guys want to split the cost of 1 or both of those, that might be really handy so we can have multiple copies of the rules, skills, feats, class features, etc. I have the full version of the character creator on my laptop now too so that should make figuring out our characters super easy.
Anyway, let's get hyped! It's D&D time again! (But I'm not really a nerd, I swear)
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Anyway, I'll be ready to go when we have our inaugural gathering on April 25th. It really might be nice if we had more than one copy of some of these books, but we can make it work no matter what. The player's handbook (1 and 2) each cost about $23 on amazon. If you guys want to split the cost of 1 or both of those, that might be really handy so we can have multiple copies of the rules, skills, feats, class features, etc. I have the full version of the character creator on my laptop now too so that should make figuring out our characters super easy.
Anyway, let's get hyped! It's D&D time again! (But I'm not really a nerd, I swear)
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Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Um...
It's March. It's getting dangerously close to April, actually. Where is the new player's handbook? Is anyone in possession of this yet? I have yet to find an official release date via Googleing all this... I've just found "March 2009."
Let's do this!
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Let's do this!
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Monday, January 19, 2009
'Cause it's D'n'D... it's dyno-mite!
We should resume, in some form, our D&D adventures. Perhaps next time we won't play for three hours at a time, but I'm not ready to give up on this game.
I haven't even bought and painted my own elven sorceror! And that IS high on my list of things to do.
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I haven't even bought and painted my own elven sorceror! And that IS high on my list of things to do.
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Adventure 6 (addendum): Gnome More Please
The gnome muttered to himself as he rifled through the chest. “Eccentric, they say. Strange, they say. Oversized lawn ornament, he calls me. If I was twice HIS size, he wouldn’t say such things. I’ll show him though. Before long HE will be begging ME for help, and we’ll see who’s bigger then. Ain’t that right?” Moonglum looked over at Odo, standing motionless, a look of anger frozen on the dwarf’s face. The hold person spell Moonglum had cast was still working like a charm.
The wizard shut the chest in frustration. “Where is it, dwarf? Where is my ‘precious’?” As Moonglum looked at the chieftain, he noticed a small bulge on one side of his tunic.
“Aha!” he cried as he lifted the red pendant from Odo’s clothing. “Well well, now I have MY reward,” Moonglum said, putting the pendant in a pouch at his hip and picking up his quarterstaff. “I do not envy you the headache you will have when you wake up, but sleep well, and dream of bearded women.” The gnome struck Odo over the head with his staff just as the spell wore off. He swiftly gathered his gear, quietly slipped out of the chamber, and began to make his way to the mine’s main gates.
Moonglum traveled unmolested through the dwarf city. He got a few suspicious glances, as he did everywhere he went (he was a GNOME, after all), but no one showed any indication that they knew what he had done. A smirk came across his face as he contemplated his own cunning. He had purposefully waited to make his move until the rest of his party left, suspecting that there was a good chance he would incur their wrath if he showed his face around them again. He didn’t think they were entirely justified in their anger, considering he was the one who almost singlehandedly killed that beast. But he couldn’t get too frustrated; after all, none of them possessed anywhere near the intelligence necessary to understand why he did the things he did.
That’s the way it’s always been, he thought, sighing to himself. Which of them could have hatched this plan? He had waited until Odo was alone in his room, snuck in, cast the spell before the dwarf could say Mibbifoodle, and took the jewel. His grin grew wider as he looked down at the pouch containing the glowing pendant. Moonglum began to imagine the price it would fetch from certain buyers he knew; he dreamed about the power he could wield if he decided to keep the gem for himself and tweak the magic just a little. The gnome was so engrossed in his own fantasy that he jumped five feet in the air when he felt a soft touch on his arm.
“It wasn’t me, it was the one-armed man!” Moonglum shouted as he turned around. There was Amaryllis, looking at him with an eyebrow raised in confusion. “Oh, it’s you. Why are you still here? Didn’t you leave with the others?”
“No, I decided to stay,” she told him. “You see, before my town was destroyed and I joined a traveling acrobatic troupe to earn my keep, I was a teacher in my community. I noticed there are a lot of children here with not many people to teach them. I may not be a dwarf, but Odo saw how well the children liked me and asked me to stay. I like the community here and I knew some of the others were going back to their own homes, so I agreed.”
She paused and looked him over, noticing that he had all his gear. “Where are you going?” she asked.
Moonglum thought for a minute. An idea formed in his head. He liked Amaryllis. The halfling had apparently already forgiven him for the fireball incident while the others had been either angry or dismissive toward him. She was a good companion and her skills as a rogue would be extremely useful on his journeys. Plus, he thought, she is pretty cute. He decided to tell her the truth – a slightly modified version of it, anyway.
“I am escaping,” he told Amaryllis, dropping his voice to a whisper. “I happened to overhear Odo talking to one of his clerics about that pendant he found. He was plotting use it to conquer Lord Bolt’s kingdom. He wanted the cleric to gather a council of magic users to study the pendant and see if it could be twisted to use for such a purpose. This horrified me, naturally, so when the cleric left, I snuck in and liberated the pendant by knocking Odo unconscious. It doesn’t appear the dwarves have discovered this yet, but they will soon. When they do, we will BOTH be in grave danger.” Moonglum paused to let this sink in. Amaryllis played right into his lie.
“Oh no! We will have to leave at once! But I can’t go without my things – I don’t have any of my gear!” the rogue exclaimed frantically, looking like she was about to burst into tears.
Moonglum looked around for potential eavesdroppers. Seeing none, he whispered, “We don’t have much time. They may sound the alarm at any second. You have the ability to sneak out of here whenever you want, but I need to be long gone when they find Odo. You go get your things – I will wait for you near the fork in the road two miles north of here. Meet me there at dusk.”
The frightened halfling nodded and hurried off to her quarters. Moonglum walked calmly but briskly on to the gates. He nodded at the stationed guards as he strolled confidently through the large arch carved in stone that represented the main entrance to the city. As he did so, he became aware of a commotion arising somewhere behind him. They had found him.
He headed south a short distance, summoned a giant centipede in the middle of the path, and hid himself in the foliage on the side of the road. Not a moment too soon, either, he thought as the guards arrived mere seconds after the gnome had moved out of sight. The wizard knew that the centipede would keep them busy for awhile. He also knew that the giant bug would confuse any tracks he may have left. Combined with most dwarves’ poor tracking skills and the rocky terrain, Moonglum was certain that he would be almost impossible to follow. That ranger may have been a boorish pain in the keister, but he did teach me a few valuable things. If only Taran could see me now! he thought triumphantly.
The gnome stayed off the path during his northward trek until he arrived without incident just as dusk fell at the prescribed meeting place. Moonglum was diligently surveying the road when he felt another tap on his shoulder. Once again, the wizard nearly soiled his robes in surprise.
“You’re good at that,” Moonglum said to Amaryllis after his heart rate had slowed to a manageable level.
“Thank you!” Amaryllis said cheerfully. “We halflings are all gifted that way, although I have always been especially good at it. I could sneak up on my friends whenever we played Find-The-Hobbit. I remember one time when I scared my friend Berys so badly…”
“Yes, yes. Wonderful.” Moonglum interrupted. He liked the rogue, but he was starting to wonder what exactly he’d gotten himself into. He had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last time he wondered that. “Did they follow you?”
Amaryllis scoffed at the gnome, “Of course not. But they were organizing search parties as I left. They will probably be setting out within the half hour.” She became melancholy all of a sudden. “I was sure that these dwarves had good hearts. Why would they want to attack Lord Bolt? It doesn’t make sense to me…” She trailed off as she looked at the gnome, hoping for an answer.
“I’m sure I don’t know!” Moonglum said, trying desperately to keep the nervousness that was wracking his brain from creeping into his voice. The confidence in his own brilliance he’d enjoyed just an hour earlier was fading fast. Now there was a hoard of dwarves preparing to hunt him down. It was time to move on. He put on his pack and gestured north to Amaryllis. The halfling nodded silently and followed the wizard as he picked his way through the undergrowth west of the path.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building,” Moonglum muttered under his breath as they vacated their hiding spot.
“What was that?” asked Amaryllis from behind him.
“Nothing…” Moonglum rolled his eyes. No one ever understands me, the wizard thought dejectedly for the second time that day. But then a realization came to him. Here he was, a powerful magic item in his pocket, traveling with a skilled rogue who was so pure and innocent that she would never question his motives. And she was a babe.
The gnome brightened considerably. At the very least, this was going to get interesting. Very interesting. And that was just fine with Moonglum.
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The wizard shut the chest in frustration. “Where is it, dwarf? Where is my ‘precious’?” As Moonglum looked at the chieftain, he noticed a small bulge on one side of his tunic.
“Aha!” he cried as he lifted the red pendant from Odo’s clothing. “Well well, now I have MY reward,” Moonglum said, putting the pendant in a pouch at his hip and picking up his quarterstaff. “I do not envy you the headache you will have when you wake up, but sleep well, and dream of bearded women.” The gnome struck Odo over the head with his staff just as the spell wore off. He swiftly gathered his gear, quietly slipped out of the chamber, and began to make his way to the mine’s main gates.
Moonglum traveled unmolested through the dwarf city. He got a few suspicious glances, as he did everywhere he went (he was a GNOME, after all), but no one showed any indication that they knew what he had done. A smirk came across his face as he contemplated his own cunning. He had purposefully waited to make his move until the rest of his party left, suspecting that there was a good chance he would incur their wrath if he showed his face around them again. He didn’t think they were entirely justified in their anger, considering he was the one who almost singlehandedly killed that beast. But he couldn’t get too frustrated; after all, none of them possessed anywhere near the intelligence necessary to understand why he did the things he did.
That’s the way it’s always been, he thought, sighing to himself. Which of them could have hatched this plan? He had waited until Odo was alone in his room, snuck in, cast the spell before the dwarf could say Mibbifoodle, and took the jewel. His grin grew wider as he looked down at the pouch containing the glowing pendant. Moonglum began to imagine the price it would fetch from certain buyers he knew; he dreamed about the power he could wield if he decided to keep the gem for himself and tweak the magic just a little. The gnome was so engrossed in his own fantasy that he jumped five feet in the air when he felt a soft touch on his arm.
“It wasn’t me, it was the one-armed man!” Moonglum shouted as he turned around. There was Amaryllis, looking at him with an eyebrow raised in confusion. “Oh, it’s you. Why are you still here? Didn’t you leave with the others?”
“No, I decided to stay,” she told him. “You see, before my town was destroyed and I joined a traveling acrobatic troupe to earn my keep, I was a teacher in my community. I noticed there are a lot of children here with not many people to teach them. I may not be a dwarf, but Odo saw how well the children liked me and asked me to stay. I like the community here and I knew some of the others were going back to their own homes, so I agreed.”
She paused and looked him over, noticing that he had all his gear. “Where are you going?” she asked.
Moonglum thought for a minute. An idea formed in his head. He liked Amaryllis. The halfling had apparently already forgiven him for the fireball incident while the others had been either angry or dismissive toward him. She was a good companion and her skills as a rogue would be extremely useful on his journeys. Plus, he thought, she is pretty cute. He decided to tell her the truth – a slightly modified version of it, anyway.
“I am escaping,” he told Amaryllis, dropping his voice to a whisper. “I happened to overhear Odo talking to one of his clerics about that pendant he found. He was plotting use it to conquer Lord Bolt’s kingdom. He wanted the cleric to gather a council of magic users to study the pendant and see if it could be twisted to use for such a purpose. This horrified me, naturally, so when the cleric left, I snuck in and liberated the pendant by knocking Odo unconscious. It doesn’t appear the dwarves have discovered this yet, but they will soon. When they do, we will BOTH be in grave danger.” Moonglum paused to let this sink in. Amaryllis played right into his lie.
“Oh no! We will have to leave at once! But I can’t go without my things – I don’t have any of my gear!” the rogue exclaimed frantically, looking like she was about to burst into tears.
Moonglum looked around for potential eavesdroppers. Seeing none, he whispered, “We don’t have much time. They may sound the alarm at any second. You have the ability to sneak out of here whenever you want, but I need to be long gone when they find Odo. You go get your things – I will wait for you near the fork in the road two miles north of here. Meet me there at dusk.”
The frightened halfling nodded and hurried off to her quarters. Moonglum walked calmly but briskly on to the gates. He nodded at the stationed guards as he strolled confidently through the large arch carved in stone that represented the main entrance to the city. As he did so, he became aware of a commotion arising somewhere behind him. They had found him.
He headed south a short distance, summoned a giant centipede in the middle of the path, and hid himself in the foliage on the side of the road. Not a moment too soon, either, he thought as the guards arrived mere seconds after the gnome had moved out of sight. The wizard knew that the centipede would keep them busy for awhile. He also knew that the giant bug would confuse any tracks he may have left. Combined with most dwarves’ poor tracking skills and the rocky terrain, Moonglum was certain that he would be almost impossible to follow. That ranger may have been a boorish pain in the keister, but he did teach me a few valuable things. If only Taran could see me now! he thought triumphantly.
The gnome stayed off the path during his northward trek until he arrived without incident just as dusk fell at the prescribed meeting place. Moonglum was diligently surveying the road when he felt another tap on his shoulder. Once again, the wizard nearly soiled his robes in surprise.
“You’re good at that,” Moonglum said to Amaryllis after his heart rate had slowed to a manageable level.
“Thank you!” Amaryllis said cheerfully. “We halflings are all gifted that way, although I have always been especially good at it. I could sneak up on my friends whenever we played Find-The-Hobbit. I remember one time when I scared my friend Berys so badly…”
“Yes, yes. Wonderful.” Moonglum interrupted. He liked the rogue, but he was starting to wonder what exactly he’d gotten himself into. He had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last time he wondered that. “Did they follow you?”
Amaryllis scoffed at the gnome, “Of course not. But they were organizing search parties as I left. They will probably be setting out within the half hour.” She became melancholy all of a sudden. “I was sure that these dwarves had good hearts. Why would they want to attack Lord Bolt? It doesn’t make sense to me…” She trailed off as she looked at the gnome, hoping for an answer.
“I’m sure I don’t know!” Moonglum said, trying desperately to keep the nervousness that was wracking his brain from creeping into his voice. The confidence in his own brilliance he’d enjoyed just an hour earlier was fading fast. Now there was a hoard of dwarves preparing to hunt him down. It was time to move on. He put on his pack and gestured north to Amaryllis. The halfling nodded silently and followed the wizard as he picked his way through the undergrowth west of the path.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building,” Moonglum muttered under his breath as they vacated their hiding spot.
“What was that?” asked Amaryllis from behind him.
“Nothing…” Moonglum rolled his eyes. No one ever understands me, the wizard thought dejectedly for the second time that day. But then a realization came to him. Here he was, a powerful magic item in his pocket, traveling with a skilled rogue who was so pure and innocent that she would never question his motives. And she was a babe.
The gnome brightened considerably. At the very least, this was going to get interesting. Very interesting. And that was just fine with Moonglum.
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Friday, December 12, 2008
Adventure 6: The end of the road
Odo had his warhammer back, and now he had his home back as well. After we had finished off the necromancer and his cronies, Odo asked us all to stay with him and celebrate.
“Uhh, Odo, I hate to interrupt your dance of joy, but this place is a dump. It’s uninhabitable,” I said, gesturing to the piles of bones and rubble around me.
Odo shook his bearded head. “That’s just not true…”
“You’re right, actually, I admit I was quite happy to interrupt your dance of joy,” which I thought looked like it could have passed as a mating ritual for a blind gnoll, had that blind gnoll been trying to mate with a rhinocerous. “The point remains, though, that it’s going to be awhile before this place smells like anything other than barbecued evil.”
Odo, clearly in a good mood, just laughed. “You have not seen what dwarves can do in only a small amount of time. You see, I was so confident in your abilities that I told my clan to follow several days behind me. They should be arriving shortly. This will be home again in no time. Besides, you are all heroes now to my people. They will want to honor you with lavish gifts. Further back I noticed the door to a secret hoard of our finest treasures that was sealed by dwarven runes and was not touched by the necromancer. You will all be rewarded generously as I promised.”
None of us could really argue with that, so we decided to stay, and even Lotheryn and Ieuan lightened somewhat in their attitude toward our dwarven friend.
Odo was as good as his word. His clan showed up two days later and had the place fit for a king in slightly less than a month. We grew to like the dwarf – it seems that dwarves are gruff only to outsiders, and then only because dwarves have little respect for those who do not share their work ethic. Once you have earned their respect and trust, they become a different people entirely. We spent most days working alongside Odo’s people and most nights feasting in the main hall, which was the first area to be restored to its former glory.
The only interruption to our mirth was an unfortunate incident with our simple-minded barbarian. Malak, it seems, had become quite smitten with Odo’s oldest daughter, Grunda. Dinner soon became an awkward affair as Malak, in all his subtlety, insisted on sitting next to Grunda and wooing her with all his might. Mostly this consisted of spilling his food on her lap, but she seemed to enjoy the advances. Odo was still so content with having his kingdom restored that he either didn’t notice or passed it off as innocent flirting.
I will never forget, however, the night Odo found Malak, umm, “demonstrating his skill with a broadsword” while “sparring” with Grunda (those unskilled in the euphemistic arts will be slightly confused, but I do not wish this narrative to become inappropriate). As I mentioned previously, I have seen dwarves in battle, filled with fury at their enemies, bellowing war-cries as they fought passionately. I realized, as I was awoken by what I thought was an earthquake, that I had never seen dwarves REALLY mad. I have now. It took me, Bolt, and four dwarven men to restrain Odo from destroying Malak on the spot. When we finally got Malak away from the enraged dwarf, the barbarian seemed confused.
“Why is the dwarf angry? I didn’t do anything bad.”
“Uhh Malak,” Bolt tried to explain, “As much as Odo is happy that we helped him get his home back, I don’t think his daughter was included in the reward. I’m going to go out on a limb and say he wasn’t planning on having a human as a son-in-law, or grandson for that matter. I would leave now, before he tries to fight you again.”
I agreed. “Odo’s not going to let this go. You need to get out of here. NOW,” I said emphatically.
Malak may not be the sharpest sword on the rack, but he is certainly proud, and he knew when his honor was being questioned. He looked at both of us with a mixture of anger and sadness. Without a word, he turned and left.
Right then, Moonglum appeared from around the corner, sleepily rubbing his eyes.
“What’s going on, amigos?”
We explained to him that Malak had been caught with Odo’s daughter.
The gnome looked confused. “Daughter? Odo doesn’t have a daught…” And then it dawned on him. “That was a woman?!? Holy bearded dwarves, Batman!” I wasn’t familiar with the expression, but I caught the basic gist, and shushed him before he got the rest of us in trouble.
When Malak didn’t return, we went to his quarters and observed that all of his gear was gone. The barbarian had simply left. No goodbye, no forwarding address, nothing. Our fellowship had lost its biggest member, and arguably its best fighter. The six of us who remained were gloomy at having lost our companion, but we didn’t have any time to dwell on it. Before we could discuss whether or not we wanted to go after him, we felt a rumble in the earth.
What is Odo pissed about now, I thought. Just then two dwarves came rushing into the room, summoning us to the dwarf chieftain’s chambers. Something was up.
When we got there, Odo was clearly still angry, but now something else had earned his wrath.
“I have a new mission for you adventurers,” he began in a voice that barely held back his rage. “Since your friend has decided to disregard the laws of my house and the basic principles of honor, I will give you the chance to earn your pardon.”
Bolt began to object, but Odo silenced him with a look that could have melted stone. “He was YOUR COMPANION. You may not have committed the act, but he was partly your responsibility. Here is your opportunity to atone for that.
“I have suspected for several weeks that there is still some evil lurking in the depths of this mine. It has now been confirmed. The evil still inhabits the lower tunnels and there is only one way to rid ourselves of it. A matriarch of our people was entombed long ago with a sacred jewel that has the power to ward off this evil for good. Apparently my forebears were unable to get to the tomb when this evil first appeared. We must go down and recover this jewel. We leave immediately – I would send you alone, but I am the only one who knows the proper words to activate the stone’s power.”
As Odo donned his armor, Lotheryn pulled me aside. “We don’t have to answer to this dwarf. What Malak did was unfortunate, but he is asking too much. We should just go; it’s obvious our welcome is worn out, and it’s a welcome I didn’t really desire in the first place.”
Iuean nodded in agreement. “I thought maybe these dwarves would be different, but clearly they are not. I’m with Lotheryn. Leave Odo to get his own jewel.”
I sighed. “I happen to agree with you, but we can’t leave. If we tried to leave now, we’d have to fight our way out of this place, and I will not kill innocent dwarves because of a questionable decision made by their leader. If we help him do this, we can leave without issue. I don’t like the situation any more than you, but our hands are tied.”
Both of the elven women gave me an icy stare and turned away, but they followed when we began to make our way down to the lower mines. We took a long passageway down only to find ourselves at a dead end. Odo touched a place in the stone and a section of the wall rolled back. We walked through the opening to the smell of death and decay. I smelled something else.
“Orcs.” I muttered under my breath as I took Narqualme in my hands. There was going to be killing before we got out of this place.
As we walked forward, we heard the distinct grunting of orcs to both sides of us. Five shapes materialized out of the darkness.
“Let’s buck these fools,” Bolt said as he unsheathed his sword and charged into battle. Not wanting to be outdone, I charged in next to him, swinging my flail at any orc that moved. I felt almost detached from my body as I dropped one foul beast after another. We moved steadily through the mines; more and more orcs came at us. I vaguely recall seeing Amaryllis moving in and out of the shadows while the wizard and the sorcerer lit the cave with their magic missiles. But I was alone in my own personal mission of death. Nothing phased me as I slew orc after orc. My grim determination to eliminate every single one was the only thing that mattered.
I have no idea how long this lasted before I was jerked back to reality by Lotheryn’s hand on my shoulder. She looked frightened by what she saw in my face.
“You can stop – the orcs are all dead. We found the tomb.”
I looked around at the pile of bodies surrounding me. I hadn’t realized I had killed that many. A dead orc is a good orc, I always say, but I did not enjoy being so out of control of my own actions. It frightened me somewhat.
The inward contemplation was put aside as Odo removed the lid of the tomb and reached in. He produced a magnificent red pendant that gleamed with its own light in the inky blackness of the mine. He began chanting dwarven verse in a deep, guttural voice, concentrating on the pendant. Before he could finish his cantation, the mine rumbled and out of the gloom shambled the evil being that inhabited the place; a hideous, scaly beast with a snout like a beak and a powerful tail. It pounded the ground with its forelegs and knocked us all to floor, interrupting Odo’s spell.
He yelled in frustration, “A bulette! We must kill the beast so I can finish my spell of warding!” He shouted something else in dwarven and charged at the monster.
Bolt looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. “This don’t look like any burlesque I’ve ever seen, but whatever. I’ll just add this to my trophy case of butt ugly beasts I’ve bucked.” Bolt sprinted in to join. Amaryllis was already there, as she somersaulted past the beast’s head, brandishing her short sword. I started to follow.
Just then we saw several more orcs rush in from our flank, heading straight for Lotheryn. I quickly changed direction to intercept them.
“I can handle these guys,” I shouted to the druid. “Go make sure Bolt and Amaryllis are alright!”
She nodded and shouted back, “I’ll have Anca give you a hand.” The wolf pounced from behind me, grappling with the orc to my right, his large claws rending the orc's leather armor.
It was then I noticed that Ieuan and Moonglum hadn’t joined the fight. We could certainly use some of those handy magic missiles, I thought to myself, as I took a swing with Narqualme. After landing a solid blow that temporarily dazed my opponent, I hazarded a quick glance behind me to see what was going on.
Moonglum was yelling at Ieuan and gesturing wildly at the bulette. Ieuan was arguing with the gnome about something, but suddenly stopped and looked at the ground. When she looked up, she had her necklace in her hand and a tear streaming down her cheek. Moonglum had turned toward us and was moving his hands and muttering, preparing to cast a spell. Understanding dawned on me too late.
“NOOOOOOOOO!” I yelled, loud enough to make Bolt turn. The bulette saw its opportunity and hit him across the chest at the same time multiple fireballs exploded around us.
Having some forewarning of what was coming, I was able to avoid the greater part of the blast, but Bolt was not so lucky. As the smoke cleared, I saw him lying there, unconscious. The orcs had been blown away by the fire, so I rushed in to intercept the bulette before it could stomp on the paladin and crush him. At that moment Amaryllis landed a blow on its flank, distracting the creature enough to allow me time to get in the fight. Lotheryn rushed in and healed Bolt enough to get him on his feet. Bolt stepped back to drink a potion when I heard Moonglum cackle with glee.
“THAR SHE BLOWS!!!” he yelled as another fireball exploded around us. The gnome had gone insane. Bolt fell unconscious again, barely breathing. Ieuan had sunk to her knees, tears streaming down her face as she breathed the word “no” over and over again. As Lotheryn tended to Bolt, I turned back to the bulette in time to see it burrow underground, heavily wounded from the beating it had taken. It surfaced in front of Moonglum, who was paying no attention; he was too impressed with his own magical prowess to care. Odo reacted quickly for a man his size, charging over to give it one last blow from his hammer. The beast’s skull crunched as it sunk to the ground, dead before it could take a bite out of the gnome.
Ieuan was now sobbing uncontrollably, her head buried in her hands. Lotheryn was shouting Bolt’s name, trying to revive him. Odo had retrieved the jewel and begun chanting again. All I saw or heard was Moonglum - bouncing around like a child and laughing wildly.
I ran to him in a blind rage and grabbed the small man to lift him to my eye level, pinning him against the cavern wall. He still had a mirthful gleam in his eye, but the strength of my grip and ferocity of my voice seemed to bring him mostly back to his wits.
“I’ve put up with your eccentricities, gnome, but now I am done with you. You nearly killed us! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?” My heart was pounding in my chest. It took all my willpower to keep myself from pummeling this over-sized lawn decoration into oblivion.
“Taran.” I heard behind me. I turned around. Bolt was on his feet, but his face was burned so badly I could barely recognize him. “Put him down. The thing is dead. That’s all that matters. Let him go.”
I turned back and glared at the gnome one more time before I unceremoniously dumped him on the ground. Lotheryn was doing her best to comfort Ieuan, who had stopped crying but was now staring sullenly at the floor, unable to look anyone in the eye. Odo finally finished his chant and seemed satisfied with the results. He guided our weary group back to the upper levels of the mine.
I didn’t say another word to anyone as I left the group to wash the blood off of myself and to get some much needed sleep. I didn’t trust myself to speak, afraid I would unleash my fury on the gnome again. My last thought before sleep took me was that our fellowship was broken.
In the morning I woke and gathered my things to leave. I had no desire to remain in Odo’s caverns any longer. The vision of those fireballs exploding was playing continuously through my head. On my way out, I saw Odo, who informed me that all of us were fully pardoned and that I was welcome to a week’s worth of provisions. It was a nice gesture, but I heard no friendship or gratitude in his voice - it was apparent that we had indeed worn out our welcome. After gathering provisions, I made my way to the main gates. Just in front of them I saw Lotheryn and Bolt. Each had their gear packed and appeared ready to leave. Lotheryn had been crying.
As I approached she handed me a note. It read:
I gave him the half-hug, half-handshake that seemed to be the way his people embraced. “It was a pleasure fighting beside you, my friend. If you ever need a good ranger…”
“I won’t be sending for YOU! I’ll send for someone who can actually use a bow.” He said with a grin.
“Yeah, well, you’ll need someone to carry you around when you get knocked unconscious,” I threw right back. I didn’t always see eye to eye with the paladin, but he was a great ally and a great man. I would miss his companionship. “Go with Ehlonna.”
“Only if She can keep up with me,” he said, as he turned away. His long, quick strides soon took him over a hill and out of sight.
I turned back to Lotheryn. “What are your plans?”
Lotheryn looked uncomfortable. “I am not sure. I have not unearthed any sign of terellor or the druid who gave us the prophecy. Thus far I have been a failure to my Grove. I cannot go back to them empty-handed. I suppose I must resume my search. I know of a city north of here where there lives a renowned herbalist. That is as good a place to start as any.” She paused and looked at me. I could see the sadness in her eyes. “But it will certainly be different, traveling alone after so long. What about you?”
I thought about it for a moment. “I must resume my search as well. There are obviously orcs in this region, as we found out during our lovely spelunking expedition. I will find their clan’s settlement and see if I can find any information about my sister. If not, I will move on to another region. It has been thirty years since Aralee was taken, but I will not give up. Ehlonna will guide me to her. As much as it pains me, I must persist.” The words felt wrong, even as I said them, as if Ehlonna was letting me know that She did not appreciate my putting words in her mouth. I shook off the feeling, annoyed with myself for being reluctant to say goodbye.
Lotheryn just nodded slowly. We embraced, said farewell, and left in different directions without saying anything more. Within an hour, I came upon signs of a small orc raiding party climbing into the foothills. My instincts as a ranger kicked in without hesitation: I determined that four orcs had passed through roughly 3 days earlier, going southeast at a leisurely clip. One orc was injured and another looked to be larger than the others, possibly as a result of having some troll blood in his lineage. They were most likely armed to the teeth and undoubtedly knew the area much better than I. I grew uneasy looking at those tracks as I realized what I had to do.
I turned around and headed straight north, hoping I would be able to catch up with Lotheryn by nightfall. Ehlonna had made my path clear.
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“Uhh, Odo, I hate to interrupt your dance of joy, but this place is a dump. It’s uninhabitable,” I said, gesturing to the piles of bones and rubble around me.
Odo shook his bearded head. “That’s just not true…”
“You’re right, actually, I admit I was quite happy to interrupt your dance of joy,” which I thought looked like it could have passed as a mating ritual for a blind gnoll, had that blind gnoll been trying to mate with a rhinocerous. “The point remains, though, that it’s going to be awhile before this place smells like anything other than barbecued evil.”
Odo, clearly in a good mood, just laughed. “You have not seen what dwarves can do in only a small amount of time. You see, I was so confident in your abilities that I told my clan to follow several days behind me. They should be arriving shortly. This will be home again in no time. Besides, you are all heroes now to my people. They will want to honor you with lavish gifts. Further back I noticed the door to a secret hoard of our finest treasures that was sealed by dwarven runes and was not touched by the necromancer. You will all be rewarded generously as I promised.”
None of us could really argue with that, so we decided to stay, and even Lotheryn and Ieuan lightened somewhat in their attitude toward our dwarven friend.
Odo was as good as his word. His clan showed up two days later and had the place fit for a king in slightly less than a month. We grew to like the dwarf – it seems that dwarves are gruff only to outsiders, and then only because dwarves have little respect for those who do not share their work ethic. Once you have earned their respect and trust, they become a different people entirely. We spent most days working alongside Odo’s people and most nights feasting in the main hall, which was the first area to be restored to its former glory.
The only interruption to our mirth was an unfortunate incident with our simple-minded barbarian. Malak, it seems, had become quite smitten with Odo’s oldest daughter, Grunda. Dinner soon became an awkward affair as Malak, in all his subtlety, insisted on sitting next to Grunda and wooing her with all his might. Mostly this consisted of spilling his food on her lap, but she seemed to enjoy the advances. Odo was still so content with having his kingdom restored that he either didn’t notice or passed it off as innocent flirting.
I will never forget, however, the night Odo found Malak, umm, “demonstrating his skill with a broadsword” while “sparring” with Grunda (those unskilled in the euphemistic arts will be slightly confused, but I do not wish this narrative to become inappropriate). As I mentioned previously, I have seen dwarves in battle, filled with fury at their enemies, bellowing war-cries as they fought passionately. I realized, as I was awoken by what I thought was an earthquake, that I had never seen dwarves REALLY mad. I have now. It took me, Bolt, and four dwarven men to restrain Odo from destroying Malak on the spot. When we finally got Malak away from the enraged dwarf, the barbarian seemed confused.
“Why is the dwarf angry? I didn’t do anything bad.”
“Uhh Malak,” Bolt tried to explain, “As much as Odo is happy that we helped him get his home back, I don’t think his daughter was included in the reward. I’m going to go out on a limb and say he wasn’t planning on having a human as a son-in-law, or grandson for that matter. I would leave now, before he tries to fight you again.”
I agreed. “Odo’s not going to let this go. You need to get out of here. NOW,” I said emphatically.
Malak may not be the sharpest sword on the rack, but he is certainly proud, and he knew when his honor was being questioned. He looked at both of us with a mixture of anger and sadness. Without a word, he turned and left.
Right then, Moonglum appeared from around the corner, sleepily rubbing his eyes.
“What’s going on, amigos?”
We explained to him that Malak had been caught with Odo’s daughter.
The gnome looked confused. “Daughter? Odo doesn’t have a daught…” And then it dawned on him. “That was a woman?!? Holy bearded dwarves, Batman!” I wasn’t familiar with the expression, but I caught the basic gist, and shushed him before he got the rest of us in trouble.
When Malak didn’t return, we went to his quarters and observed that all of his gear was gone. The barbarian had simply left. No goodbye, no forwarding address, nothing. Our fellowship had lost its biggest member, and arguably its best fighter. The six of us who remained were gloomy at having lost our companion, but we didn’t have any time to dwell on it. Before we could discuss whether or not we wanted to go after him, we felt a rumble in the earth.
What is Odo pissed about now, I thought. Just then two dwarves came rushing into the room, summoning us to the dwarf chieftain’s chambers. Something was up.
When we got there, Odo was clearly still angry, but now something else had earned his wrath.
“I have a new mission for you adventurers,” he began in a voice that barely held back his rage. “Since your friend has decided to disregard the laws of my house and the basic principles of honor, I will give you the chance to earn your pardon.”
Bolt began to object, but Odo silenced him with a look that could have melted stone. “He was YOUR COMPANION. You may not have committed the act, but he was partly your responsibility. Here is your opportunity to atone for that.
“I have suspected for several weeks that there is still some evil lurking in the depths of this mine. It has now been confirmed. The evil still inhabits the lower tunnels and there is only one way to rid ourselves of it. A matriarch of our people was entombed long ago with a sacred jewel that has the power to ward off this evil for good. Apparently my forebears were unable to get to the tomb when this evil first appeared. We must go down and recover this jewel. We leave immediately – I would send you alone, but I am the only one who knows the proper words to activate the stone’s power.”
As Odo donned his armor, Lotheryn pulled me aside. “We don’t have to answer to this dwarf. What Malak did was unfortunate, but he is asking too much. We should just go; it’s obvious our welcome is worn out, and it’s a welcome I didn’t really desire in the first place.”
Iuean nodded in agreement. “I thought maybe these dwarves would be different, but clearly they are not. I’m with Lotheryn. Leave Odo to get his own jewel.”
I sighed. “I happen to agree with you, but we can’t leave. If we tried to leave now, we’d have to fight our way out of this place, and I will not kill innocent dwarves because of a questionable decision made by their leader. If we help him do this, we can leave without issue. I don’t like the situation any more than you, but our hands are tied.”
Both of the elven women gave me an icy stare and turned away, but they followed when we began to make our way down to the lower mines. We took a long passageway down only to find ourselves at a dead end. Odo touched a place in the stone and a section of the wall rolled back. We walked through the opening to the smell of death and decay. I smelled something else.
“Orcs.” I muttered under my breath as I took Narqualme in my hands. There was going to be killing before we got out of this place.
As we walked forward, we heard the distinct grunting of orcs to both sides of us. Five shapes materialized out of the darkness.
“Let’s buck these fools,” Bolt said as he unsheathed his sword and charged into battle. Not wanting to be outdone, I charged in next to him, swinging my flail at any orc that moved. I felt almost detached from my body as I dropped one foul beast after another. We moved steadily through the mines; more and more orcs came at us. I vaguely recall seeing Amaryllis moving in and out of the shadows while the wizard and the sorcerer lit the cave with their magic missiles. But I was alone in my own personal mission of death. Nothing phased me as I slew orc after orc. My grim determination to eliminate every single one was the only thing that mattered.
I have no idea how long this lasted before I was jerked back to reality by Lotheryn’s hand on my shoulder. She looked frightened by what she saw in my face.
“You can stop – the orcs are all dead. We found the tomb.”
I looked around at the pile of bodies surrounding me. I hadn’t realized I had killed that many. A dead orc is a good orc, I always say, but I did not enjoy being so out of control of my own actions. It frightened me somewhat.
The inward contemplation was put aside as Odo removed the lid of the tomb and reached in. He produced a magnificent red pendant that gleamed with its own light in the inky blackness of the mine. He began chanting dwarven verse in a deep, guttural voice, concentrating on the pendant. Before he could finish his cantation, the mine rumbled and out of the gloom shambled the evil being that inhabited the place; a hideous, scaly beast with a snout like a beak and a powerful tail. It pounded the ground with its forelegs and knocked us all to floor, interrupting Odo’s spell.
He yelled in frustration, “A bulette! We must kill the beast so I can finish my spell of warding!” He shouted something else in dwarven and charged at the monster.
Bolt looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. “This don’t look like any burlesque I’ve ever seen, but whatever. I’ll just add this to my trophy case of butt ugly beasts I’ve bucked.” Bolt sprinted in to join. Amaryllis was already there, as she somersaulted past the beast’s head, brandishing her short sword. I started to follow.
Just then we saw several more orcs rush in from our flank, heading straight for Lotheryn. I quickly changed direction to intercept them.
“I can handle these guys,” I shouted to the druid. “Go make sure Bolt and Amaryllis are alright!”
She nodded and shouted back, “I’ll have Anca give you a hand.” The wolf pounced from behind me, grappling with the orc to my right, his large claws rending the orc's leather armor.
It was then I noticed that Ieuan and Moonglum hadn’t joined the fight. We could certainly use some of those handy magic missiles, I thought to myself, as I took a swing with Narqualme. After landing a solid blow that temporarily dazed my opponent, I hazarded a quick glance behind me to see what was going on.
Moonglum was yelling at Ieuan and gesturing wildly at the bulette. Ieuan was arguing with the gnome about something, but suddenly stopped and looked at the ground. When she looked up, she had her necklace in her hand and a tear streaming down her cheek. Moonglum had turned toward us and was moving his hands and muttering, preparing to cast a spell. Understanding dawned on me too late.
“NOOOOOOOOO!” I yelled, loud enough to make Bolt turn. The bulette saw its opportunity and hit him across the chest at the same time multiple fireballs exploded around us.
Having some forewarning of what was coming, I was able to avoid the greater part of the blast, but Bolt was not so lucky. As the smoke cleared, I saw him lying there, unconscious. The orcs had been blown away by the fire, so I rushed in to intercept the bulette before it could stomp on the paladin and crush him. At that moment Amaryllis landed a blow on its flank, distracting the creature enough to allow me time to get in the fight. Lotheryn rushed in and healed Bolt enough to get him on his feet. Bolt stepped back to drink a potion when I heard Moonglum cackle with glee.
“THAR SHE BLOWS!!!” he yelled as another fireball exploded around us. The gnome had gone insane. Bolt fell unconscious again, barely breathing. Ieuan had sunk to her knees, tears streaming down her face as she breathed the word “no” over and over again. As Lotheryn tended to Bolt, I turned back to the bulette in time to see it burrow underground, heavily wounded from the beating it had taken. It surfaced in front of Moonglum, who was paying no attention; he was too impressed with his own magical prowess to care. Odo reacted quickly for a man his size, charging over to give it one last blow from his hammer. The beast’s skull crunched as it sunk to the ground, dead before it could take a bite out of the gnome.
Ieuan was now sobbing uncontrollably, her head buried in her hands. Lotheryn was shouting Bolt’s name, trying to revive him. Odo had retrieved the jewel and begun chanting again. All I saw or heard was Moonglum - bouncing around like a child and laughing wildly.
I ran to him in a blind rage and grabbed the small man to lift him to my eye level, pinning him against the cavern wall. He still had a mirthful gleam in his eye, but the strength of my grip and ferocity of my voice seemed to bring him mostly back to his wits.
“I’ve put up with your eccentricities, gnome, but now I am done with you. You nearly killed us! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?” My heart was pounding in my chest. It took all my willpower to keep myself from pummeling this over-sized lawn decoration into oblivion.
“Taran.” I heard behind me. I turned around. Bolt was on his feet, but his face was burned so badly I could barely recognize him. “Put him down. The thing is dead. That’s all that matters. Let him go.”
I turned back and glared at the gnome one more time before I unceremoniously dumped him on the ground. Lotheryn was doing her best to comfort Ieuan, who had stopped crying but was now staring sullenly at the floor, unable to look anyone in the eye. Odo finally finished his chant and seemed satisfied with the results. He guided our weary group back to the upper levels of the mine.
I didn’t say another word to anyone as I left the group to wash the blood off of myself and to get some much needed sleep. I didn’t trust myself to speak, afraid I would unleash my fury on the gnome again. My last thought before sleep took me was that our fellowship was broken.
In the morning I woke and gathered my things to leave. I had no desire to remain in Odo’s caverns any longer. The vision of those fireballs exploding was playing continuously through my head. On my way out, I saw Odo, who informed me that all of us were fully pardoned and that I was welcome to a week’s worth of provisions. It was a nice gesture, but I heard no friendship or gratitude in his voice - it was apparent that we had indeed worn out our welcome. After gathering provisions, I made my way to the main gates. Just in front of them I saw Lotheryn and Bolt. Each had their gear packed and appeared ready to leave. Lotheryn had been crying.
As I approached she handed me a note. It read:
I have decided to leave. I cannot explain why I did what I did. The horror of my actions has not left my mind and I fear it will not for as long as I stay with you. It will haunt me. I am deeply sorry. Please know that you have been great friends. Goodbye.“So I guess this is it,” Bolt said after a lengthy silence. It wasn’t a question. “Amaryllis has decided to stay and help teach the dwarven children, which good ol’ Odo said was fine, as his clan could use such people to help them rebuild their kingdom. I have no idea where the gnome is; I haven’t seen him since we got back last night. As for myself, I need to be with my people. There may be other threats out there, and the Kingdom needs me. I am its rightful ruler.”
Ieuan
I gave him the half-hug, half-handshake that seemed to be the way his people embraced. “It was a pleasure fighting beside you, my friend. If you ever need a good ranger…”
“I won’t be sending for YOU! I’ll send for someone who can actually use a bow.” He said with a grin.
“Yeah, well, you’ll need someone to carry you around when you get knocked unconscious,” I threw right back. I didn’t always see eye to eye with the paladin, but he was a great ally and a great man. I would miss his companionship. “Go with Ehlonna.”
“Only if She can keep up with me,” he said, as he turned away. His long, quick strides soon took him over a hill and out of sight.
I turned back to Lotheryn. “What are your plans?”
Lotheryn looked uncomfortable. “I am not sure. I have not unearthed any sign of terellor or the druid who gave us the prophecy. Thus far I have been a failure to my Grove. I cannot go back to them empty-handed. I suppose I must resume my search. I know of a city north of here where there lives a renowned herbalist. That is as good a place to start as any.” She paused and looked at me. I could see the sadness in her eyes. “But it will certainly be different, traveling alone after so long. What about you?”
I thought about it for a moment. “I must resume my search as well. There are obviously orcs in this region, as we found out during our lovely spelunking expedition. I will find their clan’s settlement and see if I can find any information about my sister. If not, I will move on to another region. It has been thirty years since Aralee was taken, but I will not give up. Ehlonna will guide me to her. As much as it pains me, I must persist.” The words felt wrong, even as I said them, as if Ehlonna was letting me know that She did not appreciate my putting words in her mouth. I shook off the feeling, annoyed with myself for being reluctant to say goodbye.
Lotheryn just nodded slowly. We embraced, said farewell, and left in different directions without saying anything more. Within an hour, I came upon signs of a small orc raiding party climbing into the foothills. My instincts as a ranger kicked in without hesitation: I determined that four orcs had passed through roughly 3 days earlier, going southeast at a leisurely clip. One orc was injured and another looked to be larger than the others, possibly as a result of having some troll blood in his lineage. They were most likely armed to the teeth and undoubtedly knew the area much better than I. I grew uneasy looking at those tracks as I realized what I had to do.
I turned around and headed straight north, hoping I would be able to catch up with Lotheryn by nightfall. Ehlonna had made my path clear.
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Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Thursday wish list
What do you most want to see happen this Thursday for the final D&D game of 2008? Honestly, I wouldn't mind if TC killed all of us; or at least intentionally tried to kill us. That would sure be a final fight to remember. I would also like to see use of the forgery skill, an enemy spell caster counterspell either me or Bethany, an enemy spell caster turn John's skin white and/or tons of really sweet, high level rewards that cannot be used in combat. Like a magic carpet or something. What about everyone else? What would make a memorable final night?
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The Future of D&D
Here are some ideas/suggestions/options for us to think about as we move into Phase II of the Ultimate D&D Experience. We've mentioned a lot of these before, but never really come to a consensus as to what everyone wants.
We can keep playing 3.5 or we can move on to play version 4.0, which, according to Brian, is much easier to understand and seems like it would be more fun. The problem with that is that there are a couple of classes (druids, barbarians, and sorcerers) that don’t exist in 4.0 yet, so we would have to wait until March before we know how those classes work.
If we move on to 4.0, we can keep our current characters and just try to adapt them to the new rules or we can create entirely new ones. If we start before March, obviously we have to create new ones because OJ, Julia, and Bethany will all be without a 4.0 version of their character.
We need to decide what we want to do about our DM. It seems like it’s not going to work for TC to come out all the time because of the driving situation. However, I do not have softball again until the end of January and even then we’re looking to move it to Thursday nights instead of Friday, which would allow us to play D&D on Friday. That seems like it would make it easier on TC (provided he doesn't work or have class on Fridays) and whoever drives him home afterward. It would also make it easier on the few of us that have real jobs.
But I also know that Brian is interested in being a DM and some of us have expressed interest in playing a different style than TC may be comfortable with. What I would suggest is that whether or not we start playing 4.0, we can move on with Brian as our DM and ask TC if he would like to join our party as a player.
My personal preference would be to move our game to Friday nights and start playing version 4.0 when a couple more characters become available. I think we can experiment with some fun things like the skill challenge in version 3.5 until that happens.
What do you all think?
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We can keep playing 3.5 or we can move on to play version 4.0, which, according to Brian, is much easier to understand and seems like it would be more fun. The problem with that is that there are a couple of classes (druids, barbarians, and sorcerers) that don’t exist in 4.0 yet, so we would have to wait until March before we know how those classes work.
If we move on to 4.0, we can keep our current characters and just try to adapt them to the new rules or we can create entirely new ones. If we start before March, obviously we have to create new ones because OJ, Julia, and Bethany will all be without a 4.0 version of their character.
We need to decide what we want to do about our DM. It seems like it’s not going to work for TC to come out all the time because of the driving situation. However, I do not have softball again until the end of January and even then we’re looking to move it to Thursday nights instead of Friday, which would allow us to play D&D on Friday. That seems like it would make it easier on TC (provided he doesn't work or have class on Fridays) and whoever drives him home afterward. It would also make it easier on the few of us that have real jobs.
But I also know that Brian is interested in being a DM and some of us have expressed interest in playing a different style than TC may be comfortable with. What I would suggest is that whether or not we start playing 4.0, we can move on with Brian as our DM and ask TC if he would like to join our party as a player.
My personal preference would be to move our game to Friday nights and start playing version 4.0 when a couple more characters become available. I think we can experiment with some fun things like the skill challenge in version 3.5 until that happens.
What do you all think?
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Thursday Thursday Thursday!!!!
Be there for our last D&D episode before the holidays and weddings take over our lives.
8:30.
Our place.
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8:30.
Our place.
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Monday, November 17, 2008
Adventure 6: This is no mine...
There’s a joke that starts, “This dwarf walks into a bar full of black guys…” I’m not sure how it progresses from there, but the punch line involves me standing in a dank cave (excuse me… “mine”) filled with dead short people. If this joke is a favorite of yours, I would find some new material. It’s not funny.
So there we were, enjoying some of D’Brickashaw’s finest ale (they always break out the good stuff for the triumphant adventurers – it’s a hard life, but it has its rewards), when a weathered dwarf stumbled in, looking half-crazed and wholly disheveled. The entire place went silent as we all turned to look at the stranger. Dwarves are not common in any but the biggest cities (dwarves generally prefer the solitude offered by their clan-based mining lifestyles), so it was either a wrong turn at Albuquerque or a specific quest that brought the stout fellow to this particular establishment.
“Bring me ale!” He shouted loudly. “And someone point me to the adventurers who slayed the dragon of Dantalleen!”
The barkeep had a furious look in his eye as he got ready to toss the dwarf out onto his well-armored behind, but Bolt, never afraid to take credit for his accomplishments, spoke up first. “We slayed the dragon, dwarf. And we’ve slayed a lot of other stuff too. Quit your braying and tell us what you want.” Usain gave the barkeep a look that said, “I’ll handle this” as the dwarf stomped over to our table.
None of us were all too happy to be roused from our relaxation, especially by a dwarf. Malak, Moonglum, and Amaryllis had experienced little of dwarves in their previous lives, but Lotheryn and Ieuan, two of the kindest, gentlest souls in the seven kingdoms, had suddenly become tense as a couple of tigers waiting to pounce. Each had a look on her face that could have melted stone. Elves are not fond of dwarves as a rule, mostly stemming from inter-racial wars that took place many, many ages ago. Suffice to say, people who live as long as they do have trouble letting bygones be bygones. Lotheryn had a special distaste for dwarves, seeing as how they had little regard for the natural environment to which she had devoted her life. I had a number of dealings with the people, finding them to be rather hard to know. They shared with me a hatred of orcs, so I had joined them in raiding orc strongholds from time to time. But from my experience, the cliché is true: the only friendly dwarf is one beer away from passing out. (Boy do they brew some good beer, though.)
Bolt, however, had some experience in diplomacy with dwarven clans that had taken up mining just outside his kingdom’s borders. We let him do most of the talking.
“Well?” he started after the ale had been served and the dwarf had taken a long draught, “What brings you to us? What is your name and your business? I put my reputation on the line to keep you from getting shown the hard way out of this town. Now I want some answers.”
The dwarf drained the remainder of his ale – Malak and I exchanged a glance, impressed by his feats of alcoholic consumption – and seemed to take on a different demeanor as he began his tale. His name was Odo, and he came from an accomplished clan that had long been residents of the Trindane Mountains, living a prosperous life within a large mining community. His mood turned from gruff to enraged to despondent as he relayed the story of how an evil presence had awoken from the mines and destroyed most of his clan. His father, who had been away with a small group of his best warriors on a diplomatic mission, came back to find everyone slain. He went mad with grief and charged in recklessly with his warriors, only to be killed along with the rest of his kinsmen. Only two dwarves escaped, Odo, then an infant, and his nursemaid, who was able to sneak out before she was discovered. She told Odo the tale when he was old enough to hear it, and he’d been planning his revenge ever since. It had been 97 years from that fateful day, and Odo was ready to reclaim his birthright.
“We must venture there and find my father’s warhammer, Grond, which I can wield against my enemies. I will establish a new clan and we will build upon my father’s great works. But I need warriors to help me. Even having lost much, I am proud. I do not ask this lightly. If you help me, you will be rewarded with some of the finest weapons, jewels and armor you could imagine. You will also forever be a friend to my clan, even these elves. What say you?”
None of us knew what to say. I wanted to help this dwarf, but what chance did we stand against an evil that had been able to defeat a clan of dwarves? Amaryllis, however, seemed excited.
“Yes! Of course we’ll help you! My people have a long history of helping the dwarves reclaim their former greatness! My great great great great grandfather Bulbo helped some dwarves kill a dragon who had taken over their mountain. And then, his nephew, Fromo, helped another dwarf defeat an evil Bullfrog that had killed the dwarf community who lived in some mines. At least, I think that’s how the story went. It was made into a book, ummm, The Ruler of the Finger Adornments, I think it was called. Anyway, I could go down in hobbit…er, I mean, halfling history!”
(Two men in dark clothing immediately entered the bar and handed Amaryllis a piece of parchment with the title “LAWSUIT” and a lot of small words underneath. They left without a word. Amaryllis was confused, but quickly put the paper aside and continued to implore us to undertake the quest.)
The halfling was so excited that we could not deny her. We decided to help the dwarf.
So that’s how we found ourselves entering a dark mineshaft into the old home of Odo’s clan. The place was dimly lit and everything further than 20 feet away was obscured by a dense fog. The place also smelled worse than Malak’s undershirt.
Odo somehow looked happy to be there. "Welcome to my family's mine," he said. Lotheryn and Ieuan both ignored the dwarf's welcome, glaring at him openly.
Bolt used his sword to poke at the skeletons of dwarves lying about. "This is no mine..."
"It's a space station!" declared Moonglum. Everyone looked at him quizzically. "Never mind," the gnome said, mumbling something about no one understanding his jokes. Gnomes.
The dwarf spoke up, “First we have to find the warhammer. Once that is in my grasp, we can make sure that all of the evil has left this place. The warhammer has power in it that only a descendant of my father can wield. It should not be difficult to find…”
Moonglum interrupted, “Uhh, hey Odo, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the entire place is completely filled with piles of junk and old weaponry. Are you telling me we have to look through each one to find this hammer?”
Odo glared at the gnome, “This is for my family’s honor! We will find the hammer!”
Moonglum rolled his eyes. “I’ll show you where you can stick your hammer…” I heard the wizard mutter, still obviously upset that no one could comprehend gnome humor.
We worked our way in, searching as we went. I saw Malak looking at something closely.
“What is it you got there, Malak?” I asked him. He was staring intently at a silver necklace inlaid with several rubies. “Ooooh, that would bring out the color of your eyes quite nicely.”
Malak looked at me joyfully. “Really? You think…” Just that moment we heard a giant thud as a passageway collapsed in front of us to reveal a gigantic tentacled monster. Malak threw down the necklace as we charged in, hacking away at its limbs. One of them struck Anca and knocked the wolf aside as the thing lashed out in rage. After several minutes of bobbing and weaving, we sawed off enough limbs to get a shot at its head. I looked at Odo as the thing lay shuddering on the ground.
“I hope there aren’t many more of THOSE lurking about, dwarf. Or this is going to be an awfully short search.”
Odo just glanced at me darkly and looked even more determined as he continued to search through the piles of junk.
After several hours of this, and having dispatched several more enemies (most of them groups of undead dwarves), we came upon what looked like a throne room. Apparently this is where the head of the dwarven clan had sat before his people. Unfortunately, the only thing there now were several gobs of slime. To make matters worse, the gobs of slime tried to kill us.
Luckily, gobs of slime aren’t really that adept at killing people, so we took care of them without much trouble. Bolt looked disgusted as he wiped the goo from his sword. I was about to make a comment about oversized boogers, when Lotheryn held something up in the light.
“Is this what we’re looking for?” she asked. It was the most magnificently crafted weapon I’d ever seen. Perfectly balanced, wrought with gleaming sapphires and emeralds, dwarven runes running down the haft – I couldn’t help but catch my breath.
Odo’s eyes lit up like fireworks as he rushed over and took the warhammer from her. “Grond,” he breathed softly. “Finally, I can take the seat of my forefathers…”
“Not so fast, dwarf.” We heard a hissing voice say behind us. We turned around to see ourselves faced with a necromancer, his boneguard, and five other undead minions. “I will take that from you, just as I took it from your father years ago. And you will go to join him…”
The necromancer had barely finished his sentence when Ieuan decided she’d had enough small talk. A large ball of fire launched from her hand over the heads of the necromancer and his cronies, landing behind them and bursting outward. It immediately charred the lot of them, leaving the necromancer severely weakened, and the boneguard looking rather unsure of himself (or as unsure of itself as it’s possible for a skull to look).
It was a quick matter to dispatch of the necromancer and his guard. We all looked appreciatively at Ieuan, who just shrugged. “Well, I guess that necklace I bought back in town came in handy after all. I still don’t trust this dwarf.” She looked suspiciously at Odo, who was trying to make himself comfortable in his father’s throne.
“We’re done now,” I told her. “Odo has his hammer, his throne and his cave. We’ve finished what we came here to do, so you don’t have to put up with the dwarf any longer. In fact, if we leave now, we might be able to catch happy hour back at the bar. Who’s with me?”
To be continued…
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So there we were, enjoying some of D’Brickashaw’s finest ale (they always break out the good stuff for the triumphant adventurers – it’s a hard life, but it has its rewards), when a weathered dwarf stumbled in, looking half-crazed and wholly disheveled. The entire place went silent as we all turned to look at the stranger. Dwarves are not common in any but the biggest cities (dwarves generally prefer the solitude offered by their clan-based mining lifestyles), so it was either a wrong turn at Albuquerque or a specific quest that brought the stout fellow to this particular establishment.
“Bring me ale!” He shouted loudly. “And someone point me to the adventurers who slayed the dragon of Dantalleen!”
The barkeep had a furious look in his eye as he got ready to toss the dwarf out onto his well-armored behind, but Bolt, never afraid to take credit for his accomplishments, spoke up first. “We slayed the dragon, dwarf. And we’ve slayed a lot of other stuff too. Quit your braying and tell us what you want.” Usain gave the barkeep a look that said, “I’ll handle this” as the dwarf stomped over to our table.
None of us were all too happy to be roused from our relaxation, especially by a dwarf. Malak, Moonglum, and Amaryllis had experienced little of dwarves in their previous lives, but Lotheryn and Ieuan, two of the kindest, gentlest souls in the seven kingdoms, had suddenly become tense as a couple of tigers waiting to pounce. Each had a look on her face that could have melted stone. Elves are not fond of dwarves as a rule, mostly stemming from inter-racial wars that took place many, many ages ago. Suffice to say, people who live as long as they do have trouble letting bygones be bygones. Lotheryn had a special distaste for dwarves, seeing as how they had little regard for the natural environment to which she had devoted her life. I had a number of dealings with the people, finding them to be rather hard to know. They shared with me a hatred of orcs, so I had joined them in raiding orc strongholds from time to time. But from my experience, the cliché is true: the only friendly dwarf is one beer away from passing out. (Boy do they brew some good beer, though.)
Bolt, however, had some experience in diplomacy with dwarven clans that had taken up mining just outside his kingdom’s borders. We let him do most of the talking.
“Well?” he started after the ale had been served and the dwarf had taken a long draught, “What brings you to us? What is your name and your business? I put my reputation on the line to keep you from getting shown the hard way out of this town. Now I want some answers.”
The dwarf drained the remainder of his ale – Malak and I exchanged a glance, impressed by his feats of alcoholic consumption – and seemed to take on a different demeanor as he began his tale. His name was Odo, and he came from an accomplished clan that had long been residents of the Trindane Mountains, living a prosperous life within a large mining community. His mood turned from gruff to enraged to despondent as he relayed the story of how an evil presence had awoken from the mines and destroyed most of his clan. His father, who had been away with a small group of his best warriors on a diplomatic mission, came back to find everyone slain. He went mad with grief and charged in recklessly with his warriors, only to be killed along with the rest of his kinsmen. Only two dwarves escaped, Odo, then an infant, and his nursemaid, who was able to sneak out before she was discovered. She told Odo the tale when he was old enough to hear it, and he’d been planning his revenge ever since. It had been 97 years from that fateful day, and Odo was ready to reclaim his birthright.
“We must venture there and find my father’s warhammer, Grond, which I can wield against my enemies. I will establish a new clan and we will build upon my father’s great works. But I need warriors to help me. Even having lost much, I am proud. I do not ask this lightly. If you help me, you will be rewarded with some of the finest weapons, jewels and armor you could imagine. You will also forever be a friend to my clan, even these elves. What say you?”
None of us knew what to say. I wanted to help this dwarf, but what chance did we stand against an evil that had been able to defeat a clan of dwarves? Amaryllis, however, seemed excited.
“Yes! Of course we’ll help you! My people have a long history of helping the dwarves reclaim their former greatness! My great great great great grandfather Bulbo helped some dwarves kill a dragon who had taken over their mountain. And then, his nephew, Fromo, helped another dwarf defeat an evil Bullfrog that had killed the dwarf community who lived in some mines. At least, I think that’s how the story went. It was made into a book, ummm, The Ruler of the Finger Adornments, I think it was called. Anyway, I could go down in hobbit…er, I mean, halfling history!”
(Two men in dark clothing immediately entered the bar and handed Amaryllis a piece of parchment with the title “LAWSUIT” and a lot of small words underneath. They left without a word. Amaryllis was confused, but quickly put the paper aside and continued to implore us to undertake the quest.)
The halfling was so excited that we could not deny her. We decided to help the dwarf.
So that’s how we found ourselves entering a dark mineshaft into the old home of Odo’s clan. The place was dimly lit and everything further than 20 feet away was obscured by a dense fog. The place also smelled worse than Malak’s undershirt.
Odo somehow looked happy to be there. "Welcome to my family's mine," he said. Lotheryn and Ieuan both ignored the dwarf's welcome, glaring at him openly.
Bolt used his sword to poke at the skeletons of dwarves lying about. "This is no mine..."
"It's a space station!" declared Moonglum. Everyone looked at him quizzically. "Never mind," the gnome said, mumbling something about no one understanding his jokes. Gnomes.
The dwarf spoke up, “First we have to find the warhammer. Once that is in my grasp, we can make sure that all of the evil has left this place. The warhammer has power in it that only a descendant of my father can wield. It should not be difficult to find…”
Moonglum interrupted, “Uhh, hey Odo, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the entire place is completely filled with piles of junk and old weaponry. Are you telling me we have to look through each one to find this hammer?”
Odo glared at the gnome, “This is for my family’s honor! We will find the hammer!”
Moonglum rolled his eyes. “I’ll show you where you can stick your hammer…” I heard the wizard mutter, still obviously upset that no one could comprehend gnome humor.
We worked our way in, searching as we went. I saw Malak looking at something closely.
“What is it you got there, Malak?” I asked him. He was staring intently at a silver necklace inlaid with several rubies. “Ooooh, that would bring out the color of your eyes quite nicely.”
Malak looked at me joyfully. “Really? You think…” Just that moment we heard a giant thud as a passageway collapsed in front of us to reveal a gigantic tentacled monster. Malak threw down the necklace as we charged in, hacking away at its limbs. One of them struck Anca and knocked the wolf aside as the thing lashed out in rage. After several minutes of bobbing and weaving, we sawed off enough limbs to get a shot at its head. I looked at Odo as the thing lay shuddering on the ground.
“I hope there aren’t many more of THOSE lurking about, dwarf. Or this is going to be an awfully short search.”
Odo just glanced at me darkly and looked even more determined as he continued to search through the piles of junk.
After several hours of this, and having dispatched several more enemies (most of them groups of undead dwarves), we came upon what looked like a throne room. Apparently this is where the head of the dwarven clan had sat before his people. Unfortunately, the only thing there now were several gobs of slime. To make matters worse, the gobs of slime tried to kill us.
Luckily, gobs of slime aren’t really that adept at killing people, so we took care of them without much trouble. Bolt looked disgusted as he wiped the goo from his sword. I was about to make a comment about oversized boogers, when Lotheryn held something up in the light.
“Is this what we’re looking for?” she asked. It was the most magnificently crafted weapon I’d ever seen. Perfectly balanced, wrought with gleaming sapphires and emeralds, dwarven runes running down the haft – I couldn’t help but catch my breath.
Odo’s eyes lit up like fireworks as he rushed over and took the warhammer from her. “Grond,” he breathed softly. “Finally, I can take the seat of my forefathers…”
“Not so fast, dwarf.” We heard a hissing voice say behind us. We turned around to see ourselves faced with a necromancer, his boneguard, and five other undead minions. “I will take that from you, just as I took it from your father years ago. And you will go to join him…”
The necromancer had barely finished his sentence when Ieuan decided she’d had enough small talk. A large ball of fire launched from her hand over the heads of the necromancer and his cronies, landing behind them and bursting outward. It immediately charred the lot of them, leaving the necromancer severely weakened, and the boneguard looking rather unsure of himself (or as unsure of itself as it’s possible for a skull to look).
It was a quick matter to dispatch of the necromancer and his guard. We all looked appreciatively at Ieuan, who just shrugged. “Well, I guess that necklace I bought back in town came in handy after all. I still don’t trust this dwarf.” She looked suspiciously at Odo, who was trying to make himself comfortable in his father’s throne.
“We’re done now,” I told her. “Odo has his hammer, his throne and his cave. We’ve finished what we came here to do, so you don’t have to put up with the dwarf any longer. In fact, if we leave now, we might be able to catch happy hour back at the bar. Who’s with me?”
To be continued…
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Adventure 5: Defending D'Brickashaw
We needed a break. After that fight with the evil paladin, we were spent. I think I slept 19 straight hours once we got back to the town’s inn. And I was better off than most. Bolt had once again taken the brunt of the damage (enemies just seem to be drawn to him for some reason – maybe it’s the ceaseless insults he hurls at them, but there's a good chance it's the Axe Body Spray) and needed a week of recovery. The rest of us recuperated in our own way while Lotheryn tended to his wounds (lucky bastard – I wish MY wounds needed tending). I got a chance to break in the new bow I hadn’t been able to use yet. Moonglum spent most of his time in Ye Olde Arcana Shoppe, browsing the merchandise. Ieuan and Lotheryn, when she wasn’t tending Bolt, spent a lot of time in deep elvish meditation. Amaryllis volunteered her time down at the local orphanage. Malak did…well, I didn’t ask and he didn’t tell, but I’m sure it was whatever barbarians do when they’re not killing stuff.
The only one who didn’t enjoy the break was Bolt, and not just because he had stitches covering most of his body. He seemed restless, anxious to be moving on. When asked about it, he was evasive, saying he just wanted to get back on his feet. Finally Bolt seemed well enough to resume our travelling. We decided to take one more day in town to re-supply ourselves and we’d depart the following day. That night I awoke late to the sound of someone moving down the hallway. I decided to follow.
When I got outside the inn, I made myself known.
“Bolt. Where do you think you’re off to?”
The paladin turned around, surprised. “How’d you hear me?”
“You’re wearing banded mail. A china shop doing a cartwheel would make less noise than you. Now what’s going on?”
At that moment, Lotheryn, Amaryllis, and Ieuan all emerged from the shadows. Bolt was even more incredulous. “Wha…?”
“See? THAT’S how you move silently. Now let’s have it. What’s the deal with the late night escape?”
Bolt sighed. “Look, it’s nothing against you guys, I just have this weird sense that something’s wrong back home. I can’t shake it. It’s been bothering me since we got back here. This isn’t your problem, so I’m going alone to find out what the deal is. It’s been interesting hanging around with the lot of you, but I gotta go take care of this.”
The rest of us looked at each other in unspoken agreement. Ieuan went over to Bolt and put her hand on his arm. “We’re coming with you. Whatever trouble there is, you’ll be better off with friends around. We know you think you can handle this on your own, but let us help you. You’ve saved our lives countless times – give us a chance to do the same for you.”
“Besides, Bolt,” I added with a wry grin, “Who’s going to shove a health potion down your throat when you get knocked unconscious? “
The tall paladin looked as uncomfortable as I’ve ever seen him (and I’ve seen him face to face with a giant red dragon breathing flame down his armor). He glanced at each of us and finally resigned himself to the situation. “You guys aren’t going away, are you?” We shook our heads. “Fine. Come with me then. But just know that I didn’t ask you to do this!” He tried to sound as annoyed as possible, but I caught a hint of relief in there as well.
We re-supplied the next morning and left as soon as we could. We traveled for several days before we finally came to the outskirts of Bolt’s ancestral lands. I could sense his growing excitement as he quickened the pace of his walk. We were headed for a village called D’Brickashaw, but Bolt wanted to make a stop first. He told us about a small outpost on the edge of the kingdom where he’d spent a lot of his time training for the Holy Knighthood. Bolt was hoping to reunite with the grizzled veteran, Pedidimus, who had commanded the outpost when he trained there. But as we crested a small rise, I saw Bolt’s face harden. I looked down into the vale and saw nothing but smoldering shells of buildings. Bolt took off faster than I’d ever seen him, running breakneck down the hill. We hurried after him.
The young lord was seething as he looked around at the razed outpost. “Who could have done this?!? What happened here? I swear vengeance on whoever perpetrated this crime!”
The rest of us began looking for clues as to what might have happened. The wreckage didn’t appear to be more than a day old. I smelled the stench of orcs as soon as I got close, but there was obviously another group involved. As I was examining an embedded arrow with some strange, uncouth runes, I heard Moonglum muttering to himself, “Sand people! But these arrow volleys, too accurate for sand people. Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise…”
I was confused. “What was that, gnome?”
Moonglum looked up suddenly, unaware that I had been standing there. “What? Oh, nothing…just, uhh, mumbling to myself.”
What a strange race, those gnomes. Through a quick search we determined that it wasn’t Imperial Stormtroopers, whatever the heck those are, but actually a large group of gnolls that had apparently allied themselves with the orcs to raid the outpost. Judging by the tracks they left as they marched out, they were headed straight for D’Brickashaw. But I was able to give Bolt some good news.
“Lord Bolt! Do not despair yet – there are other tracks here among the orcs and gnolls, made several hours before the raid. I do not believe your people were taken at unawares. It appears they retreated before the enemy, possibly to take up defenses at a better location.”
Bolt looked grim as he glanced at the setting sun, “Well, let’s get going and catch up to these fools before they do any more damage.”
We jogged at a brisk pace all evening and night. It took us 5 solid hours, but we made it. I carried Amaryllis and Malak carried Moonglum most of the way. What is it they say about short people? I don't remember, but I do know I've never felt more like I needed a horse. We were sucking wind by the time we got to town. Bolt shouted the greeting of the Knighthood to the stationed guard, and we were let in through the gates. It didn’t take us long to find out what had happened. Most of the men stationed at the outpost had retreated to D’Brickashaw and taken up defenses there. The orcs and gnolls had issued a challenge, but had not yet attacked. Some men had gone to warn other towns further into the kingdom and to find a garrison of men to provide reinforcements. Bolt found his old friend, Pedidimus, and set about planning the defense of the village. The rest of us swore our weapons and abilities to the cause. We went about the next day fortifying the town.
At nightfall, the attack came. The orcs came from the east, the gnolls from the west. I quickly saw what it was that had left the strange arrows – gnoll demonic archers, deadly in their accuracy and ruthlessness. Everyone fought valiantly, but there were tremendous losses on both sides. The next night brought much of the same. When we gathered at the dawn of the third morning, the sound of clanging weapons only minutes subsided, the only ones left hale were six of us adventurers (Amaryllis had been struck by a poisoned arrow from one of the demonic archers and was stable, but not in any condition to fight), and two men of the Knighthood. Pedidimus was at a loss. “We can’t hold them off and I have no idea where our reinforcements are at! The defenses of the town are destroyed! This is a dark day for the Knighthood indeed…”
I interjected. “Look, I know you all have your pride; I have mine as well. But I think it’s time to get the civilians out of here. Bolt and Malak – take Amaryllis and the healthy Knights and get your people out to safety. Gnolls and Orcs both hate the light. If you leave by early afternoon and stick to the open hills, you should be far enough away by nightfall that you’ll be out of danger. Ieuan, Lotheryn, Moonglum, and I will do what we can to delay these guys until you can get back, hopefully with reinforcements. I don’t think we’ll be able to save the entire town, but hopefully we can harry them enough to save most of it. It’s not the ideal plan, but it’s the one that stands the best chance of saving the most lives.”
Bolt looked furious. “Why should I go? I should stay and fight!”
“You and Malak are the strongest ones here!” I countered. “There are sick people that need to be carried on litters. Your strength and leadership are needed to keep people from panicking. As soon as you get the villagers to a safe place, get back here. I’m sure there will be fighting enough left for you. I promise I’ll save you a gnoll or two.”
We set the plan into action and got everyone out as planned. I clasped hands with Bolt as he left, hoping I would still be able to do so when he returned. It was like a ghost town as the four of us waited for nightfall. As the sun set, we heard snarling coming from both sides of town. I climbed up on a nearby roof and fired an arrow at the nearest orc. “That was a warning shot!” (Actually it was meant for the orc's head, but the orc didn’t need to know that.) “Come any closer and you’ll get another one of those in your eye. You are not wanted here. But if it is death you desire, I am open for business, as are my friends.” Well, it wasn’t the best battle speech, but I thought it sounded decent. I’d worked on it most of the day.
The orcs weren’t all that impressed. I heard their guttural laughter as they tossed torches onto the outbuildings. The fight was on. Ieuan and I ran up to the rooftops and hurried our way over to the burning buildings via wooden planks we had set up in preparation. We had also set buckets of water on each of the roofs for this very purpose. Moonglum summoned a centipede to help fight off the gnolls on the west side of town. Lotheryn did some strange druid-y spell to allow her and Anca to run up the walls, evading the gnolls and doing some damage of their own. I made a mental note to ask how she did that when this was over.
I, meanwhile, ran as fast as I could to get to the first fire. At this point, the fire had spread, and I had to jump in the midst of the flames to grab the bucket of water. Not thinking clearly, I grabbed the metal handle of the bucket, which by now was scalding. I managed to put out the flames, but my hands were wracked with searing pain from the white hot metal. I picked up my bow again and began firing arrows at the orcs, who were well lit by the firelight. It didn’t matter – the pain in my hands was excruciating and I couldn’t have hit an orc if my life depended on it (and it was looking more and more likely that it would). Thankfully, Ieuan was able to keep the orcs at bay with her magic missiles and various rays.
The orcs were now amongst the buildings and had found the ladder we used to climb up the building. I was too far away to save one of the buildings, so I kicked out the plank to keep the fire from spreading and ran to help Ieuan. We hadn’t downed any of the orcs, and only one of the gnolls was even bleeding. It didn’t look good.
At that moment I saw a large shape sprint out of the shadows and slam into an orc about to throw another torch.
“Malak!” I shouted. “Bout time you showed up! There’s killing to do!” Malak grunted in response as he hacked away at a couple of orcs.
I heard a shout of encouragement on the other end of town, as Bolt ran in to help Lotheryn and Moonglum with the gnolls. As I watched Malak do his business, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Ieuan, looking rather nervous. “I hate to interrupt your gruntfest over here, but there are several orcs and a gnoll looking at me rather inappropriately. And I don’t mean from a distance. They’re right there. Seeing as how you’re the one with the armor and the flail and whatnot, I just thought I’d let you know. I’m going to stand over here.”
Well, I couldn’t hit the broadside of a dragon with my bow anyway, so I pulled out Narqualme and charged in to do some real damage. I managed to hem the demon archer in the fire, but he just cackled with glee and tried to get himself into position for another shot. Ieuan nailed him with a magic missile and knocked him off the roof. We also managed to take down some of the orcs, and I put out the fire before it spread too much. Moonglum, Bolt and Lotheryn had almost finished off the gnolls. Malak, while looking somewhat worse for wear, was a sword stroke away from killing the orcs he was fighting. Not only had we managed to minimize damage to the town, but we were actually going to fight these guys off!
And then we saw the ettin. This thing was the ugliest beast I’d ever seen, made all the uglier since it had two hideous heads, instead of just one. He shambled into the torch light, gave a loud yell, and looked straight at Malak with rage in his eye.
“Oh shit,” was all the barbarian could muster as the ettin charged in and took a swing at him with his massive club. The sound was like the crunch of dry leaves as the club hit Malak squarely on the shoulder.
We managed to dispatch the remaining orcs and gnolls and raced toward Malak to help. As we ran, I shouted to Bolt, "Where are the reinforcements? They'll be here any minute, right?"
Bolt shook his head, "The messengers were waylaid by the gnolls just outside of town. It's all on us. Don't worry. We got this." I wish I shared his optimism.
Lotheryn used her crazy spider-climbing to get to Malak first. She was able to heal his shoulder without drawing attention from the ettin. Bolt ran in headlong and opened up a couple of wounds on the ettin, only to get knocked unconscious by the giant. I kept firing arrow after arrow at its tough hide as Moonglum and Ieuan launched their magic missiles. Anca bit its leg and Malak hacked at its torso. Finally it staggered when I hit it in the throat with a shot and Ieuan’s missile brought it down. Right then the first rays of sunlight crept over the eastern horizon. We had won. The town was safe, if a little singed.
As we nursed our wounds that day, the townspeople came in and thanked us for our help. Bolt was lauded as the finest Knight they’d seen, a title which seemed to suit him just fine. When we finally got a moment’s peace, I walked over to the paladin.
“Next time you invite us to your kingdom, show us a little hospitality, huh? Can’t you just bake some cookies or something?”
He grinned and shot right back, “Hey, this is how we do it here. Why do you think I’m such a pimp? Get your cookies somewhere else, we only serve justice in my country.”
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The only one who didn’t enjoy the break was Bolt, and not just because he had stitches covering most of his body. He seemed restless, anxious to be moving on. When asked about it, he was evasive, saying he just wanted to get back on his feet. Finally Bolt seemed well enough to resume our travelling. We decided to take one more day in town to re-supply ourselves and we’d depart the following day. That night I awoke late to the sound of someone moving down the hallway. I decided to follow.
When I got outside the inn, I made myself known.
“Bolt. Where do you think you’re off to?”
The paladin turned around, surprised. “How’d you hear me?”
“You’re wearing banded mail. A china shop doing a cartwheel would make less noise than you. Now what’s going on?”
At that moment, Lotheryn, Amaryllis, and Ieuan all emerged from the shadows. Bolt was even more incredulous. “Wha…?”
“See? THAT’S how you move silently. Now let’s have it. What’s the deal with the late night escape?”
Bolt sighed. “Look, it’s nothing against you guys, I just have this weird sense that something’s wrong back home. I can’t shake it. It’s been bothering me since we got back here. This isn’t your problem, so I’m going alone to find out what the deal is. It’s been interesting hanging around with the lot of you, but I gotta go take care of this.”
The rest of us looked at each other in unspoken agreement. Ieuan went over to Bolt and put her hand on his arm. “We’re coming with you. Whatever trouble there is, you’ll be better off with friends around. We know you think you can handle this on your own, but let us help you. You’ve saved our lives countless times – give us a chance to do the same for you.”
“Besides, Bolt,” I added with a wry grin, “Who’s going to shove a health potion down your throat when you get knocked unconscious? “
The tall paladin looked as uncomfortable as I’ve ever seen him (and I’ve seen him face to face with a giant red dragon breathing flame down his armor). He glanced at each of us and finally resigned himself to the situation. “You guys aren’t going away, are you?” We shook our heads. “Fine. Come with me then. But just know that I didn’t ask you to do this!” He tried to sound as annoyed as possible, but I caught a hint of relief in there as well.
We re-supplied the next morning and left as soon as we could. We traveled for several days before we finally came to the outskirts of Bolt’s ancestral lands. I could sense his growing excitement as he quickened the pace of his walk. We were headed for a village called D’Brickashaw, but Bolt wanted to make a stop first. He told us about a small outpost on the edge of the kingdom where he’d spent a lot of his time training for the Holy Knighthood. Bolt was hoping to reunite with the grizzled veteran, Pedidimus, who had commanded the outpost when he trained there. But as we crested a small rise, I saw Bolt’s face harden. I looked down into the vale and saw nothing but smoldering shells of buildings. Bolt took off faster than I’d ever seen him, running breakneck down the hill. We hurried after him.
The young lord was seething as he looked around at the razed outpost. “Who could have done this?!? What happened here? I swear vengeance on whoever perpetrated this crime!”
The rest of us began looking for clues as to what might have happened. The wreckage didn’t appear to be more than a day old. I smelled the stench of orcs as soon as I got close, but there was obviously another group involved. As I was examining an embedded arrow with some strange, uncouth runes, I heard Moonglum muttering to himself, “Sand people! But these arrow volleys, too accurate for sand people. Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise…”
I was confused. “What was that, gnome?”
Moonglum looked up suddenly, unaware that I had been standing there. “What? Oh, nothing…just, uhh, mumbling to myself.”
What a strange race, those gnomes. Through a quick search we determined that it wasn’t Imperial Stormtroopers, whatever the heck those are, but actually a large group of gnolls that had apparently allied themselves with the orcs to raid the outpost. Judging by the tracks they left as they marched out, they were headed straight for D’Brickashaw. But I was able to give Bolt some good news.
“Lord Bolt! Do not despair yet – there are other tracks here among the orcs and gnolls, made several hours before the raid. I do not believe your people were taken at unawares. It appears they retreated before the enemy, possibly to take up defenses at a better location.”
Bolt looked grim as he glanced at the setting sun, “Well, let’s get going and catch up to these fools before they do any more damage.”
We jogged at a brisk pace all evening and night. It took us 5 solid hours, but we made it. I carried Amaryllis and Malak carried Moonglum most of the way. What is it they say about short people? I don't remember, but I do know I've never felt more like I needed a horse. We were sucking wind by the time we got to town. Bolt shouted the greeting of the Knighthood to the stationed guard, and we were let in through the gates. It didn’t take us long to find out what had happened. Most of the men stationed at the outpost had retreated to D’Brickashaw and taken up defenses there. The orcs and gnolls had issued a challenge, but had not yet attacked. Some men had gone to warn other towns further into the kingdom and to find a garrison of men to provide reinforcements. Bolt found his old friend, Pedidimus, and set about planning the defense of the village. The rest of us swore our weapons and abilities to the cause. We went about the next day fortifying the town.
At nightfall, the attack came. The orcs came from the east, the gnolls from the west. I quickly saw what it was that had left the strange arrows – gnoll demonic archers, deadly in their accuracy and ruthlessness. Everyone fought valiantly, but there were tremendous losses on both sides. The next night brought much of the same. When we gathered at the dawn of the third morning, the sound of clanging weapons only minutes subsided, the only ones left hale were six of us adventurers (Amaryllis had been struck by a poisoned arrow from one of the demonic archers and was stable, but not in any condition to fight), and two men of the Knighthood. Pedidimus was at a loss. “We can’t hold them off and I have no idea where our reinforcements are at! The defenses of the town are destroyed! This is a dark day for the Knighthood indeed…”
I interjected. “Look, I know you all have your pride; I have mine as well. But I think it’s time to get the civilians out of here. Bolt and Malak – take Amaryllis and the healthy Knights and get your people out to safety. Gnolls and Orcs both hate the light. If you leave by early afternoon and stick to the open hills, you should be far enough away by nightfall that you’ll be out of danger. Ieuan, Lotheryn, Moonglum, and I will do what we can to delay these guys until you can get back, hopefully with reinforcements. I don’t think we’ll be able to save the entire town, but hopefully we can harry them enough to save most of it. It’s not the ideal plan, but it’s the one that stands the best chance of saving the most lives.”
Bolt looked furious. “Why should I go? I should stay and fight!”
“You and Malak are the strongest ones here!” I countered. “There are sick people that need to be carried on litters. Your strength and leadership are needed to keep people from panicking. As soon as you get the villagers to a safe place, get back here. I’m sure there will be fighting enough left for you. I promise I’ll save you a gnoll or two.”
We set the plan into action and got everyone out as planned. I clasped hands with Bolt as he left, hoping I would still be able to do so when he returned. It was like a ghost town as the four of us waited for nightfall. As the sun set, we heard snarling coming from both sides of town. I climbed up on a nearby roof and fired an arrow at the nearest orc. “That was a warning shot!” (Actually it was meant for the orc's head, but the orc didn’t need to know that.) “Come any closer and you’ll get another one of those in your eye. You are not wanted here. But if it is death you desire, I am open for business, as are my friends.” Well, it wasn’t the best battle speech, but I thought it sounded decent. I’d worked on it most of the day.
The orcs weren’t all that impressed. I heard their guttural laughter as they tossed torches onto the outbuildings. The fight was on. Ieuan and I ran up to the rooftops and hurried our way over to the burning buildings via wooden planks we had set up in preparation. We had also set buckets of water on each of the roofs for this very purpose. Moonglum summoned a centipede to help fight off the gnolls on the west side of town. Lotheryn did some strange druid-y spell to allow her and Anca to run up the walls, evading the gnolls and doing some damage of their own. I made a mental note to ask how she did that when this was over.
I, meanwhile, ran as fast as I could to get to the first fire. At this point, the fire had spread, and I had to jump in the midst of the flames to grab the bucket of water. Not thinking clearly, I grabbed the metal handle of the bucket, which by now was scalding. I managed to put out the flames, but my hands were wracked with searing pain from the white hot metal. I picked up my bow again and began firing arrows at the orcs, who were well lit by the firelight. It didn’t matter – the pain in my hands was excruciating and I couldn’t have hit an orc if my life depended on it (and it was looking more and more likely that it would). Thankfully, Ieuan was able to keep the orcs at bay with her magic missiles and various rays.
The orcs were now amongst the buildings and had found the ladder we used to climb up the building. I was too far away to save one of the buildings, so I kicked out the plank to keep the fire from spreading and ran to help Ieuan. We hadn’t downed any of the orcs, and only one of the gnolls was even bleeding. It didn’t look good.
At that moment I saw a large shape sprint out of the shadows and slam into an orc about to throw another torch.
“Malak!” I shouted. “Bout time you showed up! There’s killing to do!” Malak grunted in response as he hacked away at a couple of orcs.
I heard a shout of encouragement on the other end of town, as Bolt ran in to help Lotheryn and Moonglum with the gnolls. As I watched Malak do his business, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Ieuan, looking rather nervous. “I hate to interrupt your gruntfest over here, but there are several orcs and a gnoll looking at me rather inappropriately. And I don’t mean from a distance. They’re right there. Seeing as how you’re the one with the armor and the flail and whatnot, I just thought I’d let you know. I’m going to stand over here.”
Well, I couldn’t hit the broadside of a dragon with my bow anyway, so I pulled out Narqualme and charged in to do some real damage. I managed to hem the demon archer in the fire, but he just cackled with glee and tried to get himself into position for another shot. Ieuan nailed him with a magic missile and knocked him off the roof. We also managed to take down some of the orcs, and I put out the fire before it spread too much. Moonglum, Bolt and Lotheryn had almost finished off the gnolls. Malak, while looking somewhat worse for wear, was a sword stroke away from killing the orcs he was fighting. Not only had we managed to minimize damage to the town, but we were actually going to fight these guys off!
And then we saw the ettin. This thing was the ugliest beast I’d ever seen, made all the uglier since it had two hideous heads, instead of just one. He shambled into the torch light, gave a loud yell, and looked straight at Malak with rage in his eye.
“Oh shit,” was all the barbarian could muster as the ettin charged in and took a swing at him with his massive club. The sound was like the crunch of dry leaves as the club hit Malak squarely on the shoulder.
We managed to dispatch the remaining orcs and gnolls and raced toward Malak to help. As we ran, I shouted to Bolt, "Where are the reinforcements? They'll be here any minute, right?"
Bolt shook his head, "The messengers were waylaid by the gnolls just outside of town. It's all on us. Don't worry. We got this." I wish I shared his optimism.
Lotheryn used her crazy spider-climbing to get to Malak first. She was able to heal his shoulder without drawing attention from the ettin. Bolt ran in headlong and opened up a couple of wounds on the ettin, only to get knocked unconscious by the giant. I kept firing arrow after arrow at its tough hide as Moonglum and Ieuan launched their magic missiles. Anca bit its leg and Malak hacked at its torso. Finally it staggered when I hit it in the throat with a shot and Ieuan’s missile brought it down. Right then the first rays of sunlight crept over the eastern horizon. We had won. The town was safe, if a little singed.
As we nursed our wounds that day, the townspeople came in and thanked us for our help. Bolt was lauded as the finest Knight they’d seen, a title which seemed to suit him just fine. When we finally got a moment’s peace, I walked over to the paladin.
“Next time you invite us to your kingdom, show us a little hospitality, huh? Can’t you just bake some cookies or something?”
He grinned and shot right back, “Hey, this is how we do it here. Why do you think I’m such a pimp? Get your cookies somewhere else, we only serve justice in my country.”
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Monday, November 3, 2008
Some flaw suggestions
My favorites for each person from the list of flaws Bolt posted, with my suggestion afterwards. Most of them have the benefit of an extra feat, but if not, I listed the specific benefit:
Taran: Arachnophobia, drunkard, overconfident, perversion, pride
I think my favorite is the perversion one. Here’s the effect:
When a character takes this flaw they find themselves forced to say the most inappropriate things when around important officials, in battle, and especially in the bar. The character makes a will save (DC 15 + Charisma modifier) every 3 rounds of a battle or every 5 or so minutes when dealing with NPC's, if the character fails they say something sexual, inappropriate, or just plain disgusting. This provokes enemies into attacking the pervert. Any enemy within 20 feet of the perverted character must now have the urge to attack the pervert for his actions and because of how disgusted they are, they take -1 to attacks against the character. If the character is dealing with NPC's then they are allowed a will save to see if they can resist the characters inappropriateness (Will DC 10 + characters Cha mod). If the NPC fails the save and are indifferent, they are now unfriendly. If unfriendly it takes 2 failed checks (they don't have to be in a row, they can be anywhere between a hour apart) to make them hostile towards the pervert.
Lotheryn: Merciful, claustrophobia, metal allergy, overwhelming empathy
Of course Julia really is allergic to metal, but that one’s no fun, so we’ll pick overwhelming empathy for her. Here’s the effect:
When a character in your party within 50 ft.is damaged for 2 or more points you may take a Will save(DC17) with only half your modifier, if you fail or don't try, prevent 2 damage to that character and take 3 damage yourself. This damage does not trigger the Overwhelming Empathy of another character in the party, should they have the flaw.
When a character in your party within 50 ft.is Healed for 2 or more points you may take a Will save(DC17) with only half your modifier, if you fail or don't try, prevent 2 healing to that character and heal 1 damage to yourself.
Bolt: conceited, estranged, impatient, jerk, kleptomania, overconfident, prejudice
Oh so many good ones here. Impatient is good, but I like conceited:
When the character interacts with any intelligent creature of any race (including sub-races) other than their own; they take a −2 penalty to Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Perform, Intimidate, and Gather Information. A Will save (DC 20) supresses the characters conceitedness towards others. This only works on a target by target basis. If the character begins to interact with another NPC, then another saving throw is necessary.
Moonglum: curious, disorganized, kleptomania, magic addiction, overconfident, penguin fear, whimsical
I just added penguin fear because I thought it would be funny for him to have a fear of penguins. But I think disorganized is the right way to go here:
Detriment: When taking an object out to hold during combat (ex. Sword, potion, coin ect.) roll 1d20. On a roll resulting in a number above a 5, taking the desired item out is a normal standard action. However if lower than a 5, the character instead uses their standard action to pull out a randomly decided undesired item. On a critical 1 the character drops all items into his square, other than the clothing or armor equipped to his person (Backpacks and things held in pockets do not count as "equipped".)
Benefit: There are various benefits that can be given by taking this flaw. Chose one:
A bonus feat
A +5 to all diplomacy checks for random things you can offer them in exchange for their cooperation, that have no in game relevance (things that you never threw away out of neglect)
Characters are now allowed to make Sleght of Hand checks with Bluff skill (people think they are just rummaging around for something) but take a -10 penalty if it is a cross class skill. For this, make a bluff check against an opponent's Sense Motive check; if you succeed, you treat it as though you succeeded using Sleight of Hand.
Amaryllis: merciful, compulsive truth-teller, curious, forgetful, inattentive
I think merciful is a good one for Amaryllis, although this would suck in combat:
Whenever a character is in combat and has the opportunity to deliver a final blow, the character must make a Will Save (DC of 20) in order to successfully kill the opponent. If the character fails the Will Save, they must end their actions and not strike/kill the opponent. This may result in an Attack of Opportunity.
The character may also interrupt a fellow ally (if they fail a Will Save of DC 15) if they are no more than 5ft (in other words, standing next to them) when their ally has the chance to deliver the final blow. This may result in an Attack of Opportunity.
Ieuan: merciful, horrible luck, magic addiction, necrophilia, overwhelming empathy
We have to pick necrophilia, don’t we? Here’s the effect:
While in the presence of any dead or undead creature of a physiology similar to your own, you take a -2 penalty on concentration checks and all intelligence, charisma, and wisdom based skills. The character must also make a Will Save (DC of 10 + Creature Level) to avoid getting down and dirty with the corpse.
Malak: drunkard, estranged, heartless, impulsivity, incompetent, jerk, numeral obliviousness, short attention span, short temper
So many good ones. But I think “jerk” is probably the best:
Varies depending on alignment:
Good: You try to be polite and friendly in conversation, but you are tactless, and sometimes you just can't help throwing in an offensive "joke". "Certainly, Your Highness. It would be our pleasure to destroy the Orc encampment for you. It shouldn't be too much of a problem--after all, those Orcs couldn't possibly smell any worse than you! AAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
You receive a -4 penalty on all Diplomacy and Gather Information checks.
Evil: You are outright hostile and mean in conversation. "What's the matter, Your Stupidness? Too much of an impotent wank to take care of those puny Orcs yourself, so you have to send some "expendable" street urchins to do your dirty work for you? Is that it?"
You receive a -6 penalty on all Diplomacy and Gather Information checks. Furthermore, every time you fail a Diplomacy or Gather Information check, the NPCs that you were interacting with lower their attitudes toward you by one level.
Neutral: You may choose whether you want this flaw to affect you as though you were Good or as though you were Evil. However, once you make the choice, you must stick with it--you cannot switch unless your alignment changes.
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Taran: Arachnophobia, drunkard, overconfident, perversion, pride
I think my favorite is the perversion one. Here’s the effect:
When a character takes this flaw they find themselves forced to say the most inappropriate things when around important officials, in battle, and especially in the bar. The character makes a will save (DC 15 + Charisma modifier) every 3 rounds of a battle or every 5 or so minutes when dealing with NPC's, if the character fails they say something sexual, inappropriate, or just plain disgusting. This provokes enemies into attacking the pervert. Any enemy within 20 feet of the perverted character must now have the urge to attack the pervert for his actions and because of how disgusted they are, they take -1 to attacks against the character. If the character is dealing with NPC's then they are allowed a will save to see if they can resist the characters inappropriateness (Will DC 10 + characters Cha mod). If the NPC fails the save and are indifferent, they are now unfriendly. If unfriendly it takes 2 failed checks (they don't have to be in a row, they can be anywhere between a hour apart) to make them hostile towards the pervert.
Lotheryn: Merciful, claustrophobia, metal allergy, overwhelming empathy
Of course Julia really is allergic to metal, but that one’s no fun, so we’ll pick overwhelming empathy for her. Here’s the effect:
When a character in your party within 50 ft.is damaged for 2 or more points you may take a Will save(DC17) with only half your modifier, if you fail or don't try, prevent 2 damage to that character and take 3 damage yourself. This damage does not trigger the Overwhelming Empathy of another character in the party, should they have the flaw.
When a character in your party within 50 ft.is Healed for 2 or more points you may take a Will save(DC17) with only half your modifier, if you fail or don't try, prevent 2 healing to that character and heal 1 damage to yourself.
Bolt: conceited, estranged, impatient, jerk, kleptomania, overconfident, prejudice
Oh so many good ones here. Impatient is good, but I like conceited:
When the character interacts with any intelligent creature of any race (including sub-races) other than their own; they take a −2 penalty to Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Perform, Intimidate, and Gather Information. A Will save (DC 20) supresses the characters conceitedness towards others. This only works on a target by target basis. If the character begins to interact with another NPC, then another saving throw is necessary.
Moonglum: curious, disorganized, kleptomania, magic addiction, overconfident, penguin fear, whimsical
I just added penguin fear because I thought it would be funny for him to have a fear of penguins. But I think disorganized is the right way to go here:
Detriment: When taking an object out to hold during combat (ex. Sword, potion, coin ect.) roll 1d20. On a roll resulting in a number above a 5, taking the desired item out is a normal standard action. However if lower than a 5, the character instead uses their standard action to pull out a randomly decided undesired item. On a critical 1 the character drops all items into his square, other than the clothing or armor equipped to his person (Backpacks and things held in pockets do not count as "equipped".)
Benefit: There are various benefits that can be given by taking this flaw. Chose one:
A bonus feat
A +5 to all diplomacy checks for random things you can offer them in exchange for their cooperation, that have no in game relevance (things that you never threw away out of neglect)
Characters are now allowed to make Sleght of Hand checks with Bluff skill (people think they are just rummaging around for something) but take a -10 penalty if it is a cross class skill. For this, make a bluff check against an opponent's Sense Motive check; if you succeed, you treat it as though you succeeded using Sleight of Hand.
Amaryllis: merciful, compulsive truth-teller, curious, forgetful, inattentive
I think merciful is a good one for Amaryllis, although this would suck in combat:
Whenever a character is in combat and has the opportunity to deliver a final blow, the character must make a Will Save (DC of 20) in order to successfully kill the opponent. If the character fails the Will Save, they must end their actions and not strike/kill the opponent. This may result in an Attack of Opportunity.
The character may also interrupt a fellow ally (if they fail a Will Save of DC 15) if they are no more than 5ft (in other words, standing next to them) when their ally has the chance to deliver the final blow. This may result in an Attack of Opportunity.
Ieuan: merciful, horrible luck, magic addiction, necrophilia, overwhelming empathy
We have to pick necrophilia, don’t we? Here’s the effect:
While in the presence of any dead or undead creature of a physiology similar to your own, you take a -2 penalty on concentration checks and all intelligence, charisma, and wisdom based skills. The character must also make a Will Save (DC of 10 + Creature Level) to avoid getting down and dirty with the corpse.
Malak: drunkard, estranged, heartless, impulsivity, incompetent, jerk, numeral obliviousness, short attention span, short temper
So many good ones. But I think “jerk” is probably the best:
Varies depending on alignment:
Good: You try to be polite and friendly in conversation, but you are tactless, and sometimes you just can't help throwing in an offensive "joke". "Certainly, Your Highness. It would be our pleasure to destroy the Orc encampment for you. It shouldn't be too much of a problem--after all, those Orcs couldn't possibly smell any worse than you! AAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
You receive a -4 penalty on all Diplomacy and Gather Information checks.
Evil: You are outright hostile and mean in conversation. "What's the matter, Your Stupidness? Too much of an impotent wank to take care of those puny Orcs yourself, so you have to send some "expendable" street urchins to do your dirty work for you? Is that it?"
You receive a -6 penalty on all Diplomacy and Gather Information checks. Furthermore, every time you fail a Diplomacy or Gather Information check, the NPCs that you were interacting with lower their attitudes toward you by one level.
Neutral: You may choose whether you want this flaw to affect you as though you were Good or as though you were Evil. However, once you make the choice, you must stick with it--you cannot switch unless your alignment changes.
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Sunday, November 2, 2008
D&D Flaws
I came across this web site today and thought that it might make a pretty fun addition to our D&D experience... it's called "D&D Flaws" and it's from a web site called D&D Wiki. (yes, it's a Dungeons and Dragons version of the world's most accurate encyclopedia.) Anyway, it's a list of some character flaws that our particular characters might have, and the corresponding negative effects, but each flaw also includes some benefit... usually it's just a bonus feat, but some of them are more flaw specific. Anyway, since I'm supposed to be studying, I took a moment and looked up some flaws that would be appropriate for our classes/characters/play style:
Lord Bolt - Impatient
Taran - Quadrimurfractiphobia
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Lord Bolt - Impatient
Effect: You were born with the inability to wait, whether it be severe or minute, you are constantly at war with time. While others might seek to take something slow and carefully, you would much rather see the consequences quickly by rushing into the situation head on.
There are three choices you can take:
1. -2 to both Move Silent and Hide checks.
2. Entire party gains a -1 penalty on all Move Silent/Hide rolls.
3. (probably the one that would be most likely to happen) Every time a party member rolls a move silent check, you must roll a will save (DC 10), if you fail you abruptly stand and anyone in the room is alerted to your presence.
Benefits: bonus feat
Special: You must roleplay your character accordingly, while you may play it to any severity you wish, you must at least be slightly impatient, otherwise you are ineligible.
Taran - Quadrimurfractiphobia
You are terrified of the fourth wall being broken.
Prerequisite: None
Effect: Whenever you or anyone else say something not immediately related to the game you are playing, you must make a DC 15 Will save to avoid falling prone and cowering until somebody other than yourself finds a way for whatever is said to be incorporated into the game (no matter how ridiculous or arbitrary). You must cower for at least one full round.
Benefit: Bonus feat.
Example: You had just cast Magic Missile into the darkness, when someone in the other room asks where the Cheetos are. You fail your will save and therefore fall and cower until the DM says that it was a kobold whose snack you just blasted who said it, rather than someone in the other room.
There's more fun ones at the web site.. i have to get back to studying. But if you read the list of flaws with Malak in mind, it's high comedy.
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