Planus stares at Devlin for a moment before recognition finally dawns. "Indeed it is I. It's great to see you! What haven't I been up to? Indeed I found much more adventure than that little trip, that's for sure. I accompanied a group lead by the bardess Katherine and we slew a dragon man and a band of kobolds who was harrassing the good town of Grenton.
"When I returned here, Mongrel, in his wisdom, sent me a vision of a darkness coming for the world. I followed Mongrel's leading to a lake full of foul demon sharks, water ogres and trolls and wizards. I met up with Iggy, the halfling at the bar and the smartest guy I've ever met, and Zack there, and some others who I expect shortly." As Planus begins to get into his story, those who have met him before begin to recognize the old Planus once more, "See Zack there? His brother Ducane was slain by a firey explosion cast by one of the wizards, but the merfolk were able to raise him from the dead!
"We slew a powerful ogre, the leader of the band, but not until after he had struck us all down with a wave of cold that chilled to the bone. We entered a room and there was not a trace of the creature, but then a BLAST of unearthly cold one hundred times colder than even the depths of winter. Were it not for the blessings of Mongrel and of the Searcher, Charlarn - a devotee of the searcher - was another with us, we never would have made it. I could feel Mongrel guiding my arrows home and I struck him with shafter after shaft, and Iggy hit it with fire, Opale the Master Illusionist sprayed it with fine dust so it could not turn invisible again, and the others all helped to slay it.
"That's when it really go started. We entered a portal that took us to a place that was completely devoid of, well, anything. You could fall in any direction you wanted, just by thinking that that way was down. Even still, it was the most boring place. We fought some creatures, Geth Unky, I think Iggy called them, and helped another Gith something. We took another portal to a place of volcanos and oppressive heat. Remember it was hot when we went after the hippogriff eggs? Well, this was ten times worse. Iggy used some kind of distance vision to lead us around some guys made of fire, but we still had to fight a giant column of flame. Charlarn, Zack, and Ducane stood up to it with nothing but courage and their weapons and somehow managed to subdue it.
"We escaped the heat through another portal to a beautiful forest full of lovely small lakes. The peace was a illusion though because soon the most horrific creature I had ever seen burst through a portal of its own." Planus's eyes lock stare through the table in front of him and his excitement again becomes dampened again. "It looked like a spider, but was thirty feet tall with legs that stretched out to almost surround all of us. Each leg ended in a horrific claw and its mouth was filled with giant fangs to tear and rend flesh. It fired beams of fire and lighting from its eyes and turned poor Opale to into a statue! It's tearing claws killed Zack, Charlarn, and Ducane, rending flesh and spilling blood. They were able to wound it enough that Iggy and I took it down from a distance with Iggy's powerful magic and more arrows guided by the Hound. A moment more and it would have been on us, too, and only Mongrel could have saved us then.
"The final portal took us to grove full of the most glorious apples. Somehow the apples were connected to defeating the darkness, but I don't know exactly what it all meant. Probably have to ask Iggy how it worked for sure. I'm sure he would know."
OOC: Note, Planus takes a bit of artistic license. I didn't reread any of his adventures so other player's from those games or who are familiar with the creatures/planes he mentions can feel free comment on what he says, or correct him, or whatever.
