We were content it had not spotted us, but the four people were less fortunate. The monster flew straight to them, killing one instantly, and another before they had time to figure out what was going on. The last two escaped in panic, the monster pursuing one of them. By the muffled cry some instants later, it seemed clear that the escape had been brief.
The creature didn't return, but stayed hidden between houses. Given it had already shown it could glide through solid objects, it seemed likely that it would soon be in one.. or many.. of the houses.. and some there would not wake up the next day.
I raised an alarm, and together we hoisted Drai up from the crypt. Father Argyle came to us, and used his powers to bring Drai back to life - weak as a drenched kitten, but alive once more. We then headed for sanctuary at the temple to coordinate our next move while two living dead climbed up the ladder from the crypt. The second one stayed at the top of the ladder, blocking the path of the rest, and Father Argyle destroyed them all with a glance and a word. collapsing the chute that had taken so much effort to dig.
Then the good Father came to us. Alarm bells were ringing in several places already, people appearing in windows, asking whether the city was on fire or under attack. There was much noise and panic, but what was not as good were the several houses that remained peaceful, with no faces appearing in windows, no lights lit, no one roused to ask what the bracket was all about.
The anger and panic passed gradually as there was no fire, no invading army of orcs.
At dawn came another voice, more horrid still. It was a voice hurt, sorrow and loss as the people of the city began to realize just how many friends, relatives, co-workers, and owes-me-money people had died during the night.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
27 Curiosity and Cats
I suppose it was about at that moment when the team realized that it would have been infinitely better NOT to open the coffin. The room in the crypt became chillier.. not cold as in winter, but chilly as in freezing the soul into despair and numbness and fear. Leila, in an adventuring get-up now instead of stark naked, had time enough to reach the top of the ladder as a ghostly form resembling the dead night coalesced above the coffin, taking a moment to get his bearings. The only other way out was through the door, and moans and scraping sounds from there hinted that it was not the best possible route out.
And then the undead creature attacked. It glided through the air towards Valeria, perhaps because she had opened the coffin. She dodged and screamed as the creature glided through her and into the stone floor of the crypt. Valeria stared in shock at her arm, left shriveled and covered in small boils where the creature had passed through her. The sickly tingling feeling in her leg hinted that if she'd remove her garments and look, the leg would be in the same condition. She shouted to Leila for a healing potion, and Leila tossed her one, but Valeria was too shocked to catch it, and it fell on the floor, shattering there. Then Valeria had to leap onto the glass coffin and scatter dead roses all over the place as a ghostly arm rose from the floor and tried to grab her knee, and barely missed it. Sitting on the coffin she was closer to Leila, and the second healing potion reached her. Drai avoided a similar attack by flying, even though the room was small. The creature emerged from a wall, ready for a proper attack, and it was clear there was no avoiding it now.
"Run!", Drai shouted, and started another spell. Leila did not need any more encouragement, and scurried quickly up the ladder, while Drai's voice distracted the enemy. Drai cast a spell, making himself appear like stone artwork, but that did not fool the monster. With a sad grin it closed in and pushed its hand into Drai's chest, grabbing his heart while Valeria escaped up the ladder, deciding that drinking the potion could wait. A few seconds, and Drai's heart beat no more.
Shocked Leila and Valeria tried to tell me about what they had encountered, and some moments later telling anything more was pointless as the creature glided up through the earth, not bothering to use the hole Leila and Valeria and Drai had spent so much effort digging. Under the stars it looked around, and noted a group of four people walking on the road next to the cemetery, singing loudly.
And then the undead creature attacked. It glided through the air towards Valeria, perhaps because she had opened the coffin. She dodged and screamed as the creature glided through her and into the stone floor of the crypt. Valeria stared in shock at her arm, left shriveled and covered in small boils where the creature had passed through her. The sickly tingling feeling in her leg hinted that if she'd remove her garments and look, the leg would be in the same condition. She shouted to Leila for a healing potion, and Leila tossed her one, but Valeria was too shocked to catch it, and it fell on the floor, shattering there. Then Valeria had to leap onto the glass coffin and scatter dead roses all over the place as a ghostly arm rose from the floor and tried to grab her knee, and barely missed it. Sitting on the coffin she was closer to Leila, and the second healing potion reached her. Drai avoided a similar attack by flying, even though the room was small. The creature emerged from a wall, ready for a proper attack, and it was clear there was no avoiding it now.
"Run!", Drai shouted, and started another spell. Leila did not need any more encouragement, and scurried quickly up the ladder, while Drai's voice distracted the enemy. Drai cast a spell, making himself appear like stone artwork, but that did not fool the monster. With a sad grin it closed in and pushed its hand into Drai's chest, grabbing his heart while Valeria escaped up the ladder, deciding that drinking the potion could wait. A few seconds, and Drai's heart beat no more.
Shocked Leila and Valeria tried to tell me about what they had encountered, and some moments later telling anything more was pointless as the creature glided up through the earth, not bothering to use the hole Leila and Valeria and Drai had spent so much effort digging. Under the stars it looked around, and noted a group of four people walking on the road next to the cemetery, singing loudly.
26 Sword in Glass
Sadly, the new watchman didn't like the idea of dragons blasting fire in the graveyard, and tried to raise alarm, so I knocked him out. I did my best to be gentle about it. It's bad enough to be unconscious on unholy land, worse still to be dying there.
As Valeria entered the underground room, she found it to be a burial place for just one man - wearing a suit of armor, with a two-handed sword resting on his chest. A knight in repose, perhaps, in a casket of glass set on a small pedestal at the center of the room. The inscription at the edge of the glass coffin named him Ser Anthuang Ravenloft. His features were sunken, both by age.. he had been in his sixties when he died.. and by death, and more. He seemed hollow and drained, possibly as a result of some illness that might have been the cause of death, or drying up after death.
The room, now that Valeria and Drai were in it, was cold but well lit, with magical flames at each corner. There was a pleasant fragrance of roses in the room, rather than a pallor of death and decay, and a bouquet of dried, white roses on the glass coffin. Other than that, the room was unmarked, except for one closed door, leading in the direction of the guarded Ravenloft mausoleum, suggesting that the team had built a rear entrance to the place that the city watch was trying to guard.
Given what we knew, that would have been a very good moment to stop, but our brave members were undaunted. Drai started by trying to lift the sword of the late Ser with the use of his mind and might, but it would not rise. A rock proved easier to lift so he tried that, moved it above the coffin and dropped it. Valeria however caught it in the air, not being inclined to destroy the coffin.. but she too was determined to get to the sword within. The coffin proved to be unlocked, so she raised the lid.
25 Into Darkness
With Drai keeping the guard out of the way it was time to decide what to do next. Valeria consulted the gods, and learned that indeed, the area with dead grass and trees was unholy ground. The center of the effect seemed to be about 30 feet behind the Ravenloft mausoleum, and 20 feet underground. As the mausoleum nicely blocked the line of sight of the guard, Valerie got busy digging a hole near that spot. Leila stripped naked.. which was a shock to a family paying their respects to a dead grandma, so the father in the family kept an eye on Leila and covered the eyes of his son, until the mother took the entire family away. With her clothes safe from dirt, Leila joined in, and the two half-elves started making quicker progress. I kept watch on both the digging and the guard who was still playing chess, not hearing the sounds of the excavation or not caring.
Eventually the guard's shift ended. Another guard arrived, and the first one, whose name was Geoff, left the cemetery with Drai. The new guard, Burt, did inspect what was going on, but didn't seem to mind that much, especially after a small bribe. After all, he had been ordered to make sure no one opens the crypt, and to raise an alarm with either of the two nearby bells if someone tries to - not to keep people from digging new holes in an area already filled with filled holes. He was curious though, and as saying that the team would be half-elven gravediggers would not fly, I spun another lie; that we were there to follow up on rumors that the infamous Dulltone thieves had buried a casket of coins between Alphonsus and Barrytone graves, which was where the team was digging. After being promised 20% of any coins found, if any, the guard left us be and just guarded the Ravenloft mausoleum.
The night passed, and eventually Geoff passed out. Drai left after Geoff had lost five games in a row but before Geoff would lose the contents of his stomach, and both were happy for it. Drai returned to the cemetery just in time to see that further digging was futile. Fifteen feet of earth and hard digging, and at the bottom of the hole solid stone awaited. That stopped a shovel.. but it was not dragon proof. I got us a ladder from the temple, Leila and Valeria climbed up from the hole they had dug for themselves - and it was Drai's turn. He inhaled, deeply.. then exhaled, and blasted a sharp jet of flames into the pit. Stone shrieked and blasted, mortar melted.. and the stone layer turned brittle. A couple of hits with a shovel, and it gave way. Darkness awaited underneath, and our keen senses revealed that it was a room, about eight feet tall.. so the source of the evil emanations would be in it.
We returned the ladder into the hole, and the bravest and noblest of us would go first. That proved to be Valeria, followed closely by Drai. It made sense... Leila and I would rather stay alive, Drai and Valeria would rather served the causes of the noble, good dragons, so everyone got to do what they were suited for.
Eventually the guard's shift ended. Another guard arrived, and the first one, whose name was Geoff, left the cemetery with Drai. The new guard, Burt, did inspect what was going on, but didn't seem to mind that much, especially after a small bribe. After all, he had been ordered to make sure no one opens the crypt, and to raise an alarm with either of the two nearby bells if someone tries to - not to keep people from digging new holes in an area already filled with filled holes. He was curious though, and as saying that the team would be half-elven gravediggers would not fly, I spun another lie; that we were there to follow up on rumors that the infamous Dulltone thieves had buried a casket of coins between Alphonsus and Barrytone graves, which was where the team was digging. After being promised 20% of any coins found, if any, the guard left us be and just guarded the Ravenloft mausoleum.The night passed, and eventually Geoff passed out. Drai left after Geoff had lost five games in a row but before Geoff would lose the contents of his stomach, and both were happy for it. Drai returned to the cemetery just in time to see that further digging was futile. Fifteen feet of earth and hard digging, and at the bottom of the hole solid stone awaited. That stopped a shovel.. but it was not dragon proof. I got us a ladder from the temple, Leila and Valeria climbed up from the hole they had dug for themselves - and it was Drai's turn. He inhaled, deeply.. then exhaled, and blasted a sharp jet of flames into the pit. Stone shrieked and blasted, mortar melted.. and the stone layer turned brittle. A couple of hits with a shovel, and it gave way. Darkness awaited underneath, and our keen senses revealed that it was a room, about eight feet tall.. so the source of the evil emanations would be in it.We returned the ladder into the hole, and the bravest and noblest of us would go first. That proved to be Valeria, followed closely by Drai. It made sense... Leila and I would rather stay alive, Drai and Valeria would rather served the causes of the noble, good dragons, so everyone got to do what they were suited for.
24 Checkmate
The guard looked sullen and tired, and even drew steel as we approached. That was unusual - but in the dead area of the cemetery no one else walked, and the guard clearly expected trouble."Halt there," he called, his voice weary. "State your business here."
We stopped, showing we meant no harm, and he looked relieved, the point of his sword lowering towards the ground. Drai decided that this was something he could take care of, and we happily let him. Apparently men with swords and beings with scales and wings have a lot of history in common, so it was time for bonding.
Drai moved forth slightly, his clawed hands moving a bit, and mumbled arcane words, the scales of his body taking on a charming glint. The full brunt of the effect hit the weary guard, and he looked, most of all, relieved. He put his sword away and smiled, watching Drai with affection. The two started talking, and the rest of us let them, and listened.
What we learned was that a member of the Ravenloft merchant family, Ser Anthuang Ravenloft, had perished some months back, and been buried at the family mausoleum. Soon after rumors had began to circulate that a significant part of the family fortune was unaccounted for. The Ravenloft heirs had hired adventurers and detectives to find what they considered rightfully theirs, but nothing was found in the family estate or the book keeping, nor by investigating those who had searched the estate and the books. As the amount of wealth missing was in five or six figures, leaving the family temporarily in debt, they were highly motivated to find it.Soon there were others as well who aspired to find it for themselves-
One of these aspirants was a group of thieves who thought it a possibility that Ser Anthuang had taken the treasure to the grave with him. Since the mausoleum was largely unguarded.. and small.. four of them took on themselves to search it. They remained in the grave for some weeks, and later reappeared in the town sewers where they had made themselves a nest. From that place, with the knowledge they had had of the town architecture, they launched nocturnal raids against unsuspecting people, carting them away to be devoured or converted into more of their kind. Dozens died before with considerable effort the city watch, the temple, and adventurers managed to root them out and stop the epidemic.It is still not known if the city watch was completely successful in removing all of the living dead as there is no census of the population of the poorer parts of the city. Deaths and disappearances still take place as they have before, but no longer on grand scale. To prevent that from happening again, the city watch has kept a watch on the Ravenloft crypt to make sure no one else causes the trouble to start all over again. The new head of the Ravenloft family, Lady Hebkya Ravenloft, has used her influence to keep the city from violating the grave further, obviously to keep the Ravenloft fortune from falling into others' hands, should it happen to be there.
The guard told all that to Drai willingly, and invited him to share drinks with him at the Fattened Pig, a high-price pub favored by the city watch, after the end of his watch. Drai happily accepted, and offered to play chess with the guard to pass the time until then. Soon the two had pieces out and started playing, Drai winning most games and the guard not minding at all, while the rest of us started exploring.
23 The Daily Bread
It's all fine and good to keep earning one's daily bread at the taverns. Elven poetry is always a big hit in human towns, even though people don't understand a word of it.. just like bawdy human drinking songs make an elf almost smile.
Obviously a good bard mixes many kinds of material, light and serious, prose and rhyme, classic and local. At times I even play the role of a dwarf curmudgeon in song or play. Usually with no actual dwarves in audience, as their kind fails to see the humor in that. For them there are other songs, of oak and malt and steel and gem - but it was time to get some new material, and the best place for that is the adventurers' guild, an exotic place of plentiful opportunities for wealth and glory, and...
...well, lots of empty space today. Both on the notice board and in the halls. Apparently an orcish menace against the farmlands has coincided with pirates preying on the coastal seas and an earthquake opening a new entrance to monstrous depths. Or maybe it was a policy call from the powers that be, but the halls of glory were empty and the notice board clean. Or something, it was not something we could do anything about nor something that would affect us at the moment. What did, however, was the vacancy at the halls of the brave. The only signs of life were a mouse, which scurried away, and a clerk, who scurried to us.-800x800.jpg)
The clerk told us of a confidential mission, to be handled with utmost discretion. Why someone would trust strangers with such was unusual.. especially strangers from out of town, one of them very obviously a professional gossiper and entertainer.. but like all good gamblers we go with the cards we get, and this hand looked interesting, so we run with it and see where the chips will land. The only instructions we got was to head for the temple.. that was obvious enough, while "a temple" could refer to many places, The Temple could only be the one devoted to the Grandfather God of Dragons, Bahamut. A very impressive building, that.. and for obvious reasons, the only place in town where Drai truly felt at home. No one there looked at his golden scales and wings with anything but reverence. So there we went, in search of someone called Father Argyle.
The good father proved to be easy to find, and our divine team member Valeria was actually already in his company, drawing meditative patterns in the temple sand garden. To the rest of us the acolytes told us to be careful as Argyle was very old, hard of hearing, and - though they said it with utmost respect, senile. They were happy and surprised that young people like us would come to delight his day, and guided us towards the sand gardens. Father Argyle informed us that the sun was making him feel dizzy and asked for a cup of mint tea, as well as escort to his quarters inside the temple. Apparently the rumors of his venerable frailty were accurate.Behind closed doors, though, Father Argyle shed the appearance of being daft. He straightened his back and power radiated from him, making it very clear that being the Venerable High Arch-Priest of the Platinum Dragon was, despite the thoughts of many in town, much more than an empty honorific. He informed us that there was an inconvenience taking place at the cemetery around the temple, and asked us look into it. We of course promised to do so. Having a somewhat-dragon and a dragon priestess in our group made it a holy mission for some of us, whereas I was there to look for a good tale and Leila probably a way to make a name for herself. Presumably a very wealthy name.
An inconvenience sounded innocuous enough and in a manner most innocent we took a stroll in the peaceful cemetery without proper preparations.. something to keep in touch next time. It was clear where the trouble was coming from as a full fifth of the cemetery looked rather.. well, dead, even more than was appropriate for a final resting place of the deceased. The grass that was green elsewhere was brown closer to that area, and brittle and grey near the middle of it. Not even the bushes and trees had been spared, and in the middle of it all, among tombstones and lesser graves, were mausoleums and crypts of the once-wealthy and powerful, now just as dead as the poor around them. One of the mausoleums had a guard in front of it, so that's where we started our search. It's always better to ask someone about the horrors of the area than just walk into it and experience the horrors personally. Tales and songs can of course claim otherwise later on.Monday, May 18, 2015
22 New Batch
The world has turned. Some things stay as they have been.. others have altered. The sun still rises and sets, most people are still around, just older and usually wiser. Most laws of the nature stand as they have been.. even the walls of the town are still there.
But the adventurers are all new, as are the challenges. This time the group is concise, and I'll tell more about each of us as time goes on as each of our entourage of beautiful people merits a proper introduction. For now I'll just say that we are a proud mix of elven and human background, mixing the best of two fine races - save one of us, Drai the Drake, who as the name implies, is part dragon. I won't venture to make many guesses about how that happened, but I hope shape changing was involved. Drai looks rather daunting, six feet of muscle and scale and wings, and has some trouble getting accepted on face value in most towns.. fortunately this one has a dragon temple, which helps. Drai as I understand is especially arcane for his scaly kind, and it can well be that someday he will rain both fire and acid and cold and magic from high above, becoming the scourge of all things dark.
That will be quite a tale, and that explains why I'm here. My name is Petfur Pendragon. I have long been fascinated by the dragonkind, and have written quite a few songs and ditties of them, hence the last name. I am a spinner of tales, creator legend, farmer of fame.. hm, that last one doesn't sound right. But it's what I do. Stories and songs. Participate in them, record them, and turn the mundane into awesome and memorable. For those with flat minds and short imagination - in a word, I'm a bard.
And then we have Leila. and Valeria. They are both female, charming and lovely, and half-elven, perhaps even more than I am as feminine wiles and grace augment their already astounding allure. I'm sure we'll have beautiful children at some point. Given we are both half-elves, would that mean our children would be anything from humans to full elves? Leila has chosen a shadowy path of discretion, but that does not make her easy - just a person not prone to using brawn to get her way, finding charm and finesse a better way to get the prize intact.
And finally Valeria, who nicely compliments our elf dragon coterie, being a half-elven priestess well in touch with the divine world - most especially the good dragon gods. Far as I can tell anyhow. She seems well at home at the dragon temple, but has so far kept the preaching to herself. Maybe I do plenty enough of that myself, though my religion is beauty and charm, not the otherworldly powers that some genuflect to.
In a world of human and elf and halfling and dwarf, we stand out, a group that fits everywhere and nowhere. Makers and shapers of events and stories, with magic and blade to inspire, lute and and rhyme to enshrine.
But the adventurers are all new, as are the challenges. This time the group is concise, and I'll tell more about each of us as time goes on as each of our entourage of beautiful people merits a proper introduction. For now I'll just say that we are a proud mix of elven and human background, mixing the best of two fine races - save one of us, Drai the Drake, who as the name implies, is part dragon. I won't venture to make many guesses about how that happened, but I hope shape changing was involved. Drai looks rather daunting, six feet of muscle and scale and wings, and has some trouble getting accepted on face value in most towns.. fortunately this one has a dragon temple, which helps. Drai as I understand is especially arcane for his scaly kind, and it can well be that someday he will rain both fire and acid and cold and magic from high above, becoming the scourge of all things dark.
That will be quite a tale, and that explains why I'm here. My name is Petfur Pendragon. I have long been fascinated by the dragonkind, and have written quite a few songs and ditties of them, hence the last name. I am a spinner of tales, creator legend, farmer of fame.. hm, that last one doesn't sound right. But it's what I do. Stories and songs. Participate in them, record them, and turn the mundane into awesome and memorable. For those with flat minds and short imagination - in a word, I'm a bard.
And then we have Leila. and Valeria. They are both female, charming and lovely, and half-elven, perhaps even more than I am as feminine wiles and grace augment their already astounding allure. I'm sure we'll have beautiful children at some point. Given we are both half-elves, would that mean our children would be anything from humans to full elves? Leila has chosen a shadowy path of discretion, but that does not make her easy - just a person not prone to using brawn to get her way, finding charm and finesse a better way to get the prize intact.
And finally Valeria, who nicely compliments our elf dragon coterie, being a half-elven priestess well in touch with the divine world - most especially the good dragon gods. Far as I can tell anyhow. She seems well at home at the dragon temple, but has so far kept the preaching to herself. Maybe I do plenty enough of that myself, though my religion is beauty and charm, not the otherworldly powers that some genuflect to.
In a world of human and elf and halfling and dwarf, we stand out, a group that fits everywhere and nowhere. Makers and shapers of events and stories, with magic and blade to inspire, lute and and rhyme to enshrine.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
21 Schemes and Ponders
Ponders. Is that somehow related to people who like to make small lakes? Hm.
We are now heroes of the day, that's for sure. I have heaps of new little friends, being unexpectedly a hero of the halflingkind. It is a reason for me to study their language enough to get by. I'm also practicing my makeup skills.. those came handy with the orc nest infiltration, and trying to come in terms with how to ride Neigh without needing to bribe him with apples all the time. He's a good horse, strong and skilled with how to carry a rider... only polite that I also learn to do my part. But there are things that have left me puzzled, so more on those in a moment. There is something very rotten going on.
Emma... she's a darling. Very pretty but that's just a part of it. She's strong, can hold her own in a fight, has a nice smile and good manners, a fine personality. Smells good too, like females tend to. Isn't that all that one would need in a companion? Having her around would be good.. she's somewhere now, last I heard working with the town watch when not hanging around at the adventurer guild house or using the treasure.
Rivyre has been busy teaching the dog new tricks, but more so, with the halflings and laughing at my accent. We'll see if they will return to the village or stay in the walled town for now. It could be that there are more orcs out there.
And Drai.. his exploits have gotten me worried. Decimating the orcish force has made him and Emma famous.. but they also make him a target. Killing folks is dangerous as everyone who dies tends to have friends, relatives, and people whom he or she owes money to. He also annoyed the dragon by leading the orcs to its nest, so I hope the big lizard is more understanding than motherly. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, especially if the said woman is protecting her offspring, big as a house, and has a breath that can set places on fire.
And then... the palace. The prince asking us in person to save his fiancee. Actually paying us money. Letting me pat him on the back. Not protecting a village right outside the town walls.. and his daddy is gone to place unknown. A surprisingly heavy fiancee with an affinity for the dragonkind, and the absence of dead orcs, and the presence of swords, near the broken carriage. And then the over-confident orcish horde that outnumbered us ten to one, and that's counting Neigh, but was slaughtered with only one of us so much as taking a scratch. Well, two scratches.. with an actual treasure chest of jewelry, gems, and coins.
My guess? The orcs never touched the fiancee, who is herself a dragon, either half or fully. She was being escorted, and the mommy dragon rescued one of her own from human captors. The mystery box we carried enabled the prince to extort her to come to the town anyhow. There is intrigue afoot, involving the palace at least and the city watch, and enough money to bride 50 orcs to loiter in the vicinity perhaps as excuse for something. They hit the halfling village because they were bored, and had no reason to expect anyone to intervene. Well. It was not a bad plan, I guess, except that when we intervened, things went awry for the schemers.
And now they are scurrying, making secondary plans. They are probably also very annoyed at us.
And we have no idea who they are.
We are now heroes of the day, that's for sure. I have heaps of new little friends, being unexpectedly a hero of the halflingkind. It is a reason for me to study their language enough to get by. I'm also practicing my makeup skills.. those came handy with the orc nest infiltration, and trying to come in terms with how to ride Neigh without needing to bribe him with apples all the time. He's a good horse, strong and skilled with how to carry a rider... only polite that I also learn to do my part. But there are things that have left me puzzled, so more on those in a moment. There is something very rotten going on.Emma... she's a darling. Very pretty but that's just a part of it. She's strong, can hold her own in a fight, has a nice smile and good manners, a fine personality. Smells good too, like females tend to. Isn't that all that one would need in a companion? Having her around would be good.. she's somewhere now, last I heard working with the town watch when not hanging around at the adventurer guild house or using the treasure.
Rivyre has been busy teaching the dog new tricks, but more so, with the halflings and laughing at my accent. We'll see if they will return to the village or stay in the walled town for now. It could be that there are more orcs out there.
And Drai.. his exploits have gotten me worried. Decimating the orcish force has made him and Emma famous.. but they also make him a target. Killing folks is dangerous as everyone who dies tends to have friends, relatives, and people whom he or she owes money to. He also annoyed the dragon by leading the orcs to its nest, so I hope the big lizard is more understanding than motherly. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, especially if the said woman is protecting her offspring, big as a house, and has a breath that can set places on fire.
And then... the palace. The prince asking us in person to save his fiancee. Actually paying us money. Letting me pat him on the back. Not protecting a village right outside the town walls.. and his daddy is gone to place unknown. A surprisingly heavy fiancee with an affinity for the dragonkind, and the absence of dead orcs, and the presence of swords, near the broken carriage. And then the over-confident orcish horde that outnumbered us ten to one, and that's counting Neigh, but was slaughtered with only one of us so much as taking a scratch. Well, two scratches.. with an actual treasure chest of jewelry, gems, and coins.
My guess? The orcs never touched the fiancee, who is herself a dragon, either half or fully. She was being escorted, and the mommy dragon rescued one of her own from human captors. The mystery box we carried enabled the prince to extort her to come to the town anyhow. There is intrigue afoot, involving the palace at least and the city watch, and enough money to bride 50 orcs to loiter in the vicinity perhaps as excuse for something. They hit the halfling village because they were bored, and had no reason to expect anyone to intervene. Well. It was not a bad plan, I guess, except that when we intervened, things went awry for the schemers.
And now they are scurrying, making secondary plans. They are probably also very annoyed at us.
And we have no idea who they are.
20 Drai's Side Quest
I was having a chat with Drai about the strengths and weaknesses of various professions, in this case the close-quarters prowess of fighters versus rogues. Drai however, being a hands-on kind of guy, wanted to test the theory in practice, and volunteered to serve as a member of the town watch for a few days. As a single action, I applaud that, but it also sets a dangerous precedent to the thieves' guild if the constabulary starts hiring adventurers as vigilantes even as experiment. Something good came out of this; now Drai summarises his findings as "the role of a fighter when there are rogues around is to be a sitting duck waiting to be killed." I wonder what Emma thinks of that... the rogues I spoke of that with had a raucous laugh over Drai's words, and agreed. As they put it, "fighting fair is for show and for idiots." They too were worried about an experienced battle priest joining the town watch, and for good reason.
The guardsmen had gotten something right. They had traced the Dulltone gang to a derelict building that had once been a mansion. The Dulltones are not guild members anymore so don't enjoy the protection thereof, which means they find their safehouses where they can - if they can. To be a maverick rogue ... a rogue rogue? ... one needs to be very discreet or very good, or have friends in high and low places. Far as I know, none of that applies to the Dulltones, so they are just a disruptive presence.. causing suffering and damage to the general populace, excuses to the powers-that-be, and harm to the guild. As such, I wouldn't be surprised if that the location of their hideout was leaked to the town watch by the guild.
The watch sent a dozen to catch four, with Drai there to keep them alive. Drai's magics blasted the door to pieces along with the staircase beyond it, and impressed the watchmen who promptly approached. One of the Dulltones had been hiding under the stairs and had to flee. An eager would-be hero charged after him, but Drai stopped him with a verbal command, Heel!, humiliating the guardsman, teaching him a lesson, and saving his life. After that the team moved on more slowly and cautiously.. but entering the house caused one of them to take a crossbow bolt straight to the forehead, instant damage so extensive that not even a priest could heal such. After that the guards closed ranks with shields high, but scattered to all directions when a glass bottle was tossed among them from a window above. Two of them charged into the building, fearing fire or poison gas.. and there was silence. The Dulltones brought one of them to the door, with a leash on his neck, pleading that the guards back off so that he would not be killed.
That stopped the guards, but it didn't stop Drai. He surprised the guards by stripping off his armor before heading in to capture the Dulltones single-handedly. The guards protested, stating such was a suicidal move, but Drai had a reason for it. He didn't want his armor to slow him down or jingle, and then filled the whole lower level of the building with fog before entering. Unseen and safe he started preaching in the mist and ignored the crossbow bolt that missed him so close he could feel the draft. His voice carried well, and even though the Dulltones couldn't see him, they heard him and soon two of them could do nothing but listen to his words - the two that had kept the guard on a leash, and been ready to slay him. The other two used a pre-planned escape route and left the building.
When Drai had had enough with the sermon he took a triangle, and chimed it.. causing a discordant noise to blast through the building, hoping to catch the remaining two Dulltones with it. The captive guard was hit with it too, but Drai's healing skills saved his life, and the guards captured the two Dulltones that had been listening to Drai's sermon, and were now stunned and bleeding from the ears.
With one guard killed and two wounded in addition to all earlier crimes, it seemed unlikely that the two captive Dulltones would find clemency. A thorough search of the house found that the Dulltones had been hiding there for a long while, and even some of their loot was reclaimed when Drai led the guards to search the upper floor. However, the remaining Dulltones, Bill and Jake, were not apprehended, so only Joseph and Avery were taken into custody.
The guardsmen had gotten something right. They had traced the Dulltone gang to a derelict building that had once been a mansion. The Dulltones are not guild members anymore so don't enjoy the protection thereof, which means they find their safehouses where they can - if they can. To be a maverick rogue ... a rogue rogue? ... one needs to be very discreet or very good, or have friends in high and low places. Far as I know, none of that applies to the Dulltones, so they are just a disruptive presence.. causing suffering and damage to the general populace, excuses to the powers-that-be, and harm to the guild. As such, I wouldn't be surprised if that the location of their hideout was leaked to the town watch by the guild.
The watch sent a dozen to catch four, with Drai there to keep them alive. Drai's magics blasted the door to pieces along with the staircase beyond it, and impressed the watchmen who promptly approached. One of the Dulltones had been hiding under the stairs and had to flee. An eager would-be hero charged after him, but Drai stopped him with a verbal command, Heel!, humiliating the guardsman, teaching him a lesson, and saving his life. After that the team moved on more slowly and cautiously.. but entering the house caused one of them to take a crossbow bolt straight to the forehead, instant damage so extensive that not even a priest could heal such. After that the guards closed ranks with shields high, but scattered to all directions when a glass bottle was tossed among them from a window above. Two of them charged into the building, fearing fire or poison gas.. and there was silence. The Dulltones brought one of them to the door, with a leash on his neck, pleading that the guards back off so that he would not be killed.
That stopped the guards, but it didn't stop Drai. He surprised the guards by stripping off his armor before heading in to capture the Dulltones single-handedly. The guards protested, stating such was a suicidal move, but Drai had a reason for it. He didn't want his armor to slow him down or jingle, and then filled the whole lower level of the building with fog before entering. Unseen and safe he started preaching in the mist and ignored the crossbow bolt that missed him so close he could feel the draft. His voice carried well, and even though the Dulltones couldn't see him, they heard him and soon two of them could do nothing but listen to his words - the two that had kept the guard on a leash, and been ready to slay him. The other two used a pre-planned escape route and left the building.
When Drai had had enough with the sermon he took a triangle, and chimed it.. causing a discordant noise to blast through the building, hoping to catch the remaining two Dulltones with it. The captive guard was hit with it too, but Drai's healing skills saved his life, and the guards captured the two Dulltones that had been listening to Drai's sermon, and were now stunned and bleeding from the ears.With one guard killed and two wounded in addition to all earlier crimes, it seemed unlikely that the two captive Dulltones would find clemency. A thorough search of the house found that the Dulltones had been hiding there for a long while, and even some of their loot was reclaimed when Drai led the guards to search the upper floor. However, the remaining Dulltones, Bill and Jake, were not apprehended, so only Joseph and Avery were taken into custody.
19 Decimation
Orcs filed into the clearing, two-score of them or more, frustrated at not seeing the only one they had to blame for fights and arson and lost captives and hurt pride, the human in armor too heavy to flee in, and they knew they had him, he could hide for a moment and die scared, or flee for a moment and die tired, but with 40 or more orcs to chase him, the one thing they knew was that they had him. And in that moment of imminent orcish victory the sound they heard was that of an indignant, alarmed wyrmling crying for mommy. The orcs spread out in the clearing, searching Drai's trail and drai and the source of the sound...
...and then a dark, angry shadow covered them all, and the dragon's breath, a gas that rendered them unconscious, roiled over them. A few near the edge of the woods had time to turn to flee before they fell, a few had time to wet their pants.. but most just fell. The dragon landed, and fire and claw and fang brought death where gas had brought oblivion. Emma rode from the forest and joined in the slaughter,
With the orcs in the clearing slain, Emma and Drai chased the few that had escaped, and a few more of the remnants of the force met their end. Drai got his vengeance on the orc that had tossed two javelins at him, and the leader of the orcs died by Emma's sword. The best estimate we had was that no more than a half a dozen orcs managed to escape.
Emma and Drai found some valuables in the orcish camp - a crown, some bracelets, coins and gems.. all of which sounds atypical of what one would expect. If the orcs had simply been here to raid, their hoard would've consisted of the kind of things farmhouses might have.. smaller denomination coinage, an occasional piece of silverware, furniture, clothes, arms, maybe an occasional weapon. A chest of coins and gems was for me a giveaway about what the real story was, together with the other clues, such as how they felt safe despite being near the town, the relatively bloodless attack on the halfling village, the lack of town guard involvement in all this, the way the prince had spoken with us in person. I wonder if my team members figured it out too.. but I'll definitely be speaking about it with my new friends in the shady alleys and hidden pathways.
...and then a dark, angry shadow covered them all, and the dragon's breath, a gas that rendered them unconscious, roiled over them. A few near the edge of the woods had time to turn to flee before they fell, a few had time to wet their pants.. but most just fell. The dragon landed, and fire and claw and fang brought death where gas had brought oblivion. Emma rode from the forest and joined in the slaughter,
With the orcs in the clearing slain, Emma and Drai chased the few that had escaped, and a few more of the remnants of the force met their end. Drai got his vengeance on the orc that had tossed two javelins at him, and the leader of the orcs died by Emma's sword. The best estimate we had was that no more than a half a dozen orcs managed to escape.
Emma and Drai found some valuables in the orcish camp - a crown, some bracelets, coins and gems.. all of which sounds atypical of what one would expect. If the orcs had simply been here to raid, their hoard would've consisted of the kind of things farmhouses might have.. smaller denomination coinage, an occasional piece of silverware, furniture, clothes, arms, maybe an occasional weapon. A chest of coins and gems was for me a giveaway about what the real story was, together with the other clues, such as how they felt safe despite being near the town, the relatively bloodless attack on the halfling village, the lack of town guard involvement in all this, the way the prince had spoken with us in person. I wonder if my team members figured it out too.. but I'll definitely be speaking about it with my new friends in the shady alleys and hidden pathways.
Monday, May 4, 2015
18 Disguised Rescue
So we set out again, this time to rescue the halflings.
The one thing I didn't expect to put my theatrical skills to use as was to disguise myself as an orc, but that's what I did, with Emma's gracious help, when we were outside the town. We then rode to the reservoir lake and found the camp of the orcs there. There were lots of them.. close to 50.. and several halfling captives. It seemed that the orcs had decided to have their own gladiator games, halfling versus halfling, with betting going on to general merriment. Most halflings were kept in a cage at the side of the camp with a cageful of turkey as an alarm system.
Fortunately for us, the orcs didn't seem to care much about security. Oddly little, in fact, considering they had just raided a village and were a few hours from a major town. Either they knew something we did not or.. just thought that people usually try to get away from orcs, rather than seek them out, especially when they are in great numbers. It seemed more likely they knew something, a reason why they would not be attacked.. which ties back to the weirdness at the palace. Even the prisoners' cage was without guards.
We made a quick plan. Drai wanted an Orcish word he could use to cause fights, a single word. Fortunately, Orcish has plenty of words like that, being a language fond of both descriptive violence and very short phrases, so I gave him one, then took Rivyre with me as 'captive' and rode into the camp. No one minded much.. which was odd, as even if my disguise would've been flawless, in a group of 50 it should've raised suspicion that no one knew who I was. But no one cared, so I tossed Rivyre to the halfling cage to free the captives.. being a trained monk, sticks set in fairly loose waterline sand were no problem to her. I then cut the turkey cage so the birds could escape into the forest, building an escape route for the halflings, and wandered back. Drai's tricks had caused a brutal fight to start between two orcs, and I added to the confusion by setting fire to their betting agency and the orc chief's tent before leaving the area with the halflings. It all worked far more smoothly than I had expected.
After that, we split into two groups.
Rivyre and I took the halflings quickly to their village and gathered the children from there, then evacuated to the walled town. As I had half-expected, the prince had not managed to send any guards to defend the halfling children.. how could he have, as he was unable to mount a rescue mission of guards to save his own fiancee? The children took turns riding Neigh and had a good time on the way to the safety of the walls, and as they needed a place to stay I took the halflings to the ailing stables where I had bought Neigh, leaving the horse there too to be cared for. The stable master promised to take care of temporary lodging issues, so that too worked without mishap.
Drai and Emma though didn't have it quite as easy. Drai fought with an orc with his crossbow, and mainly succeeded in taking two hits from javelins before using a fog spell to disengage so he could flee. Emma found her horse so evading the orcs was easier for her. In armor, Drai was slow and left a wide track which the orcs followed. Enraged at having lost their captives, their fun, and their leader's tent, they were out for blood in great numbers.
Drai fled to the only possible place where he could survive - the dragon's clearing and the magical stone tower in the middle of it. He hid the entrance, climbed all the way to the princess's room, and waited.
The one thing I didn't expect to put my theatrical skills to use as was to disguise myself as an orc, but that's what I did, with Emma's gracious help, when we were outside the town. We then rode to the reservoir lake and found the camp of the orcs there. There were lots of them.. close to 50.. and several halfling captives. It seemed that the orcs had decided to have their own gladiator games, halfling versus halfling, with betting going on to general merriment. Most halflings were kept in a cage at the side of the camp with a cageful of turkey as an alarm system.
We made a quick plan. Drai wanted an Orcish word he could use to cause fights, a single word. Fortunately, Orcish has plenty of words like that, being a language fond of both descriptive violence and very short phrases, so I gave him one, then took Rivyre with me as 'captive' and rode into the camp. No one minded much.. which was odd, as even if my disguise would've been flawless, in a group of 50 it should've raised suspicion that no one knew who I was. But no one cared, so I tossed Rivyre to the halfling cage to free the captives.. being a trained monk, sticks set in fairly loose waterline sand were no problem to her. I then cut the turkey cage so the birds could escape into the forest, building an escape route for the halflings, and wandered back. Drai's tricks had caused a brutal fight to start between two orcs, and I added to the confusion by setting fire to their betting agency and the orc chief's tent before leaving the area with the halflings. It all worked far more smoothly than I had expected.
After that, we split into two groups.
Rivyre and I took the halflings quickly to their village and gathered the children from there, then evacuated to the walled town. As I had half-expected, the prince had not managed to send any guards to defend the halfling children.. how could he have, as he was unable to mount a rescue mission of guards to save his own fiancee? The children took turns riding Neigh and had a good time on the way to the safety of the walls, and as they needed a place to stay I took the halflings to the ailing stables where I had bought Neigh, leaving the horse there too to be cared for. The stable master promised to take care of temporary lodging issues, so that too worked without mishap.
Drai and Emma though didn't have it quite as easy. Drai fought with an orc with his crossbow, and mainly succeeded in taking two hits from javelins before using a fog spell to disengage so he could flee. Emma found her horse so evading the orcs was easier for her. In armor, Drai was slow and left a wide track which the orcs followed. Enraged at having lost their captives, their fun, and their leader's tent, they were out for blood in great numbers.
Drai fled to the only possible place where he could survive - the dragon's clearing and the magical stone tower in the middle of it. He hid the entrance, climbed all the way to the princess's room, and waited.
17 Shallow Pit Trap
Next we followed a trail north, and it led to a clearing with a tall stone tower in it. A new clearing, a new tower.. but no cat ladies in this one, and the entry was easier. I stayed to the side, watching, as Drai explored the tower from bottom to the top, finding the princess at the top chamber. My sling stone to the skylight of the tower had also located her there. She was reluctant to be rescued, however - and stated she felt happy and protected at the clearing. A depression filled with huge eggs and a brass dragon wyrmling gave some idea of what that protection might be.
Drai speaks Draconic, which proved highly useful here. The wyrmling said we were intruding, and that the princess should stay, which gave us a few options.. to go with or without the princess, leaving the wyrmling alive or not, taking the eggs or not. As we have a dragon priest among us, it was clear we would not be stealing eggs or killing dragon cubs, which narrowed opportunities. Good thing too, as a huge shadow covered us all when an adult brass dragon joined us from the sky.
We didn't insist to take anyone anywhere, with a creature the size of a medium-sized castle disagreeing with us, so instead, we headed to the palace empty-handed, save for an I am safe letter from the princess to the prince and the dragon cub, which made no sense to me as the dragon insisted on staying hidden. The prince bawled again, and sent us back with a token of his affection.. or something.. but whatever it was, it convinced the princess that her place was with the prince. Again we returned to the castle, this time with a sad princess along for the ride, and traded her for a bucketful of honor tokens and a thousand gold pieces' worth of gems for each of us.
Not bad for a day's work.. but there was still the matter of halflings and orcs to settle. The adventurer guild has a bank, so we stored gems there, and set out to have a look at the nest of orcs.
Drai speaks Draconic, which proved highly useful here. The wyrmling said we were intruding, and that the princess should stay, which gave us a few options.. to go with or without the princess, leaving the wyrmling alive or not, taking the eggs or not. As we have a dragon priest among us, it was clear we would not be stealing eggs or killing dragon cubs, which narrowed opportunities. Good thing too, as a huge shadow covered us all when an adult brass dragon joined us from the sky.
We didn't insist to take anyone anywhere, with a creature the size of a medium-sized castle disagreeing with us, so instead, we headed to the palace empty-handed, save for an I am safe letter from the princess to the prince and the dragon cub, which made no sense to me as the dragon insisted on staying hidden. The prince bawled again, and sent us back with a token of his affection.. or something.. but whatever it was, it convinced the princess that her place was with the prince. Again we returned to the castle, this time with a sad princess along for the ride, and traded her for a bucketful of honor tokens and a thousand gold pieces' worth of gems for each of us.
Not bad for a day's work.. but there was still the matter of halflings and orcs to settle. The adventurer guild has a bank, so we stored gems there, and set out to have a look at the nest of orcs.
16 Chariot Massacre
It was easy to find the lady's chariot. It awaited by the road, surrounded by dead guards and servants. The ground was marked with prints, and signs of combat, but there were no corpses from the attackers, and the defenders' swords were on the ground. That suggested to me that the attackers had not been orcs, as if they had been, they would've left their dead, and scavenged from the corpses.. possibly eaten them. What else could it have been, then..? Something or someone shifting the blame to the orcs? Wouldn't be the first time.. everybody always blames the orcs.
Checking the chariot we found that it was empty, and the door was not only open, but missing. It lay on the ground at a considerable distance, clearly having been yanked off with senselessly strong strength. The inside of the chariot, however, was intact, and between the pillows we even found a hastily penned note about how scared the occupant.. the aristocratic fiancee.. was about others dying to keep her face.
Fortunately, we didn't find her corpse there. It would've made for a very quick mission.. so we moved on, and followed a road sign to Village. Whoever they may be, it made sense that an orcish force nearby would be a threat to them.. and indeed, at the village things were not well.
The only living thing we saw was a chicken.
Drai bound it for reasons only a platinum dragon can understand. Some searching.. and we found two Halfling children. Fortunately Rivyre was with us this time and could help with the translations. It seemed that orcs had attacked the village and captured the adults, whereas the children had hidden. The orcs had not set fire to the place.. why, I don't know.
As the children were terrified, I took my lute and starting singing children's songs. eventually they came close, and Rivyre translated an offer that I could play songs of their choice too. Halfling songs for children are not my specialty, but I can carry a tune and play a song I hear, and soon the mood in the village had changed for the better. We learned a bit more, of how a sizable orc force had taken their parents away from the main city, carrying them in cages... which is also a novelty.Mostly orcs make their captives walk. Perhaps they wanted to make sure they could move fast, suggesting they feared a force somewhere near. But what..? The city response to a missing princess had been lethargic to use a kind word.
As the children were terrified, I took my lute and starting singing children's songs. eventually they came close, and Rivyre translated an offer that I could play songs of their choice too. Halfling songs for children are not my specialty, but I can carry a tune and play a song I hear, and soon the mood in the village had changed for the better. We learned a bit more, of how a sizable orc force had taken their parents away from the main city, carrying them in cages... which is also a novelty.Mostly orcs make their captives walk. Perhaps they wanted to make sure they could move fast, suggesting they feared a force somewhere near. But what..? The city response to a missing princess had been lethargic to use a kind word.
15 Neigh
A new adventure! And two await us this time. There is the lighthouse that Drai mentioned, but also a damsel in distress, which is as heroic as it gets. Now all we need is a dragon. The bride of the prince we saved earlier... is there no end to royal woes?... was missing, and someone needed to go rescue her. It was a puzzling mission, and as things went onward, things got weirder still.
First of all, we were tasked to go to the palace.. which I suppose makes sense, they don't want any random adventurer to go "rescue", and want to know who is going. But a princess rescue mission from right outside town is a military job, not adventurer - so why hire us? This time we were promised actual payment, and when I asked about a badge of honor like last time, the response was, "hundreds of those if you want." Which.. well.. made the badge I have lose a lot of its value. It's pretty, though.
And the weirdest of all was that we were greeted by the prince, in person. He broke into tears before us and bawled on the breastplate of our fighter Emma, and I wasn't arrested when I placed my hand on his royal back and tapped a few times. So it seems.. the prince controls some funds but not the troops. What are all the guards doing then..? Someone else controls them - if so, who? It doesn't seem like they'd be needed to fight off a revolution as the town is quiet. The prince said something about his father being out of town.. perhaps that explains it.Some royal infighting, and a poor would-be princess pays the price by being left undefended.
Figures. When aristocrats are involved, someone else always gets hurt.
So with a promise of hundreds of badges of honor and a thousand gold each, we.. Kab.. that is, me.. Drai, Rivyre, and replacing Coill from the first adventure, Emma, a well-shaped and attractive human female warrior... set off to travel, with a a map and a description of the prince's fiancee in our possession. The fiancee was a pretty young thing. Very young. Like nine or so, far too young to bear a child, and if one can't do that, why wed? Aristoc rats and their ways again.
At the gate I got myself a horse. That was the next weird thing. It seems there is an orcish force nearby, and no one is buying horses. Should that not be high season? Anyway, I got myself the best horse there was, a beautiful black heavy warhorse, and got it for pittance, plus equipment for good measure, and some basic horse maintenance and riding tuition. I asked the horse what it's name was.. and the suggestion was excellent. Neigh it is, and Neigh likes carrots and apples.
Carrots were in short supply so we headed out to an orchard of apple trees along the way, resupplied and moved on to find the young aristocrat, with a very happy warhorse to ride.
First of all, we were tasked to go to the palace.. which I suppose makes sense, they don't want any random adventurer to go "rescue", and want to know who is going. But a princess rescue mission from right outside town is a military job, not adventurer - so why hire us? This time we were promised actual payment, and when I asked about a badge of honor like last time, the response was, "hundreds of those if you want." Which.. well.. made the badge I have lose a lot of its value. It's pretty, though.
And the weirdest of all was that we were greeted by the prince, in person. He broke into tears before us and bawled on the breastplate of our fighter Emma, and I wasn't arrested when I placed my hand on his royal back and tapped a few times. So it seems.. the prince controls some funds but not the troops. What are all the guards doing then..? Someone else controls them - if so, who? It doesn't seem like they'd be needed to fight off a revolution as the town is quiet. The prince said something about his father being out of town.. perhaps that explains it.Some royal infighting, and a poor would-be princess pays the price by being left undefended.
Figures. When aristocrats are involved, someone else always gets hurt.
So with a promise of hundreds of badges of honor and a thousand gold each, we.. Kab.. that is, me.. Drai, Rivyre, and replacing Coill from the first adventure, Emma, a well-shaped and attractive human female warrior... set off to travel, with a a map and a description of the prince's fiancee in our possession. The fiancee was a pretty young thing. Very young. Like nine or so, far too young to bear a child, and if one can't do that, why wed? Aristoc rats and their ways again.
At the gate I got myself a horse. That was the next weird thing. It seems there is an orcish force nearby, and no one is buying horses. Should that not be high season? Anyway, I got myself the best horse there was, a beautiful black heavy warhorse, and got it for pittance, plus equipment for good measure, and some basic horse maintenance and riding tuition. I asked the horse what it's name was.. and the suggestion was excellent. Neigh it is, and Neigh likes carrots and apples.
Carrots were in short supply so we headed out to an orchard of apple trees along the way, resupplied and moved on to find the young aristocrat, with a very happy warhorse to ride.
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