A Chronicle of Ice, Luck and Honour - updated 19th December
![Joker[ZW]](/data/avatars/m/9/9151.jpg?1565264842){kind=avatar}
Spider_Jerusalem
Explorer
First of all, a warm seasonal greeting of christmas pudding with spider stuffing. Secondly, I apologise for my disappearance. This, you understand, is just the thing that kills all the other story hours out there - however, I intend to pull my stockings up and the first installment of Stairway to Heaven will be arriving tomorrow.
The idea of a quick summary has given me severe writers block for some reason so I'll just make a quick empty post after this to fill in later. Who knows why I'm stumped, but I am. ANYWAY.
Okay guys. Update tomorrow (the introduction of Mellius's Tower - this is the chapter I've been waiting to throw on you guys since the very beginning of this! Can't wait to see what you think!)
Right then.
Same spider-time, same spider-IPaddress.
SJ
The idea of a quick summary has given me severe writers block for some reason so I'll just make a quick empty post after this to fill in later. Who knows why I'm stumped, but I am. ANYWAY.
Thankyou Palskane!Palskane said:
Welcome Joker! Great to have you on board... please let me know what you think of the SH so far!Joker[ZW said:
You are indeed the Quasit to my evil writer/wizard - keep prodding me!
Okay guys. Update tomorrow (the introduction of Mellius's Tower - this is the chapter I've been waiting to throw on you guys since the very beginning of this! Can't wait to see what you think!)
Right then.
Same spider-time, same spider-IPaddress.
SJ
Spider_Jerusalem
Explorer
A Quick summary of the Chronicle thus far. Hmph. Heroes are gifted a magical staff and lose it. (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
Funeris
First Post
Spider_Jerusalem said:
YUMMMMM...spider...stuffing....
Spider_Jerusalem said:
Apology accepted (and possibly not even needed).
Please...you should know we weren't going anywhere...as long as you don't turn into Sep...Destan...or even PKitty, now....I, at the least, am here for the entire ride. Even if we have to force it out of you
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
Spider_Jerusalem said:
YAY!!!!!!!!
~Fune
darthkilmor
First Post
Heya spider, I think i've poked my nose in here before but just wanted to post again and say i likeses your story hour, and the magic hidey-hole/dim door book is an especially cool magic item
Keep up the good work!
Keep up the good work!
Spider_Jerusalem
Explorer
A Chronicle of Ice, Luck and Honour
Chapter 13: Stairway to Heaven
“but then again, what if we did find an entrance to the Underdark?”
Milo wavered on the top step. His hand hovered over the door latch as his body twisted back so he could look at his companion's faces.
Thalin pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, “once again Milo, no.”
“but...”
“Milo,” interjected Torious, “it's an empty tower, leave it alone. We need to keep a fast pace if we're going to catch Robar.”
“He's right y'know,” chimed Mikka, “but then again, what if we did find an entrance to the Underdark? It might provide a handy shortcut! We'd be obliged to name it the Milo entrance you do realise...”
Mikka didn't need to say anymore. Milo plunged the ancient handle down and disappeared into the ruined tower.
Yulatt folded his arms, his face somewhere between a laugh and a snarl. Robar was sat on a flat gray rock at the base of his standard.
“Like I said in Ilinvur,” said Robar, a steaming bowl of Rothe soup clutched between his hands, “your gold will be handed over upon completion. We've already discussed this Yulatt, you've already signed the mercenary lists.”
“To hell with the lists,” growled Yulatt, his laugh suddenly submerged by the snarl, “you've ignored our agreement.”
Robar paused as he watched the sell-sword stood before him. Robar could feel the brilliant heat of the soup beginning to prickle his hands as he weighed his words.
“You're in no position to argue with me. The agreement has changed, you will receive your gold upon arrival and that is final.”
Yulatt fingered the pommel of his short sword. He was a step and a thrust away from ending this idiot's dream of razing of the North. But he didn't. Yulatt knew he wouldn't make it out of the camp. And Dalla was weak. Too weak to run.
“Don't push us Robar,” grimaced Yulatt as he marshaled his temper, “the men won't like this at all but I'll hold you to your word here and now. Fail us in this and there will be consequences.”
“Fine,” smiled Robar as he savored the burn of the bowl, “but if you threaten me again Yulatt, I'll parade your head all the way to the keep. Now leave.”
Yulatt shook his head in exasperation and backed away, Robar holding his gaze till the sell-sword turned away and trudged over towards Dalla.
Milo blew a frustrated whistle through his teeth. Mikka shrugged. The tower was empty. Behind him, Torious had poked his head in, seen the moldy mess of the tower, which was an elaborate mix of dust, cobwebs and a scattering of dead crows, and backed out to find what provisions were left in his pack.
Torious kicked a wedge of rock across the road, “we're losing time Thalin, we need to keep moving”
“yes we do, but we also need to rest occasionally.”
Torious tightened his jaw and sat down. The journey from Ilinvur had been bleak and tiring. What little conversation there was had been dominated by the fate of Rellin. Torious had said nothing of Vaerana and Thalin didn't want to work himself into a frenzy so he just dropped it.
“The tower is full of dust and cobwebs,” coughed Torious as he unwrapped a lump of hard cheese.
Thalin's interest spiked suddenly, “anything else?”
“some dead crows, oh, and Milo and Mikka.”
“skeletons?”
“no, no undead I'm afraid.”
“no, I mean were the crows skeletons or were they fresh?” pressed Thalin
“Thalin, what the hell are you on about?” said Torious through a mouthful of cheese.
“Just tell me.”
“They were fresh. Sort of burnt I suppose. Maybe Robar stopped by to feed some birds to the forge of Kossuth.”
Thalin was intrigued by his companion's new found humour, but his mind had spun back to his father's history lessons of the great mages of Faerun. Niall Vorspen had kept himself secure in his desolate castle, but he did have a vast knowledge of the Art and its users. One particular lesson now thundered in Thalin's head like a war drum.
“Torious, I'll be back in two minutes.”
Thalin threw the unfinished crust of bread into his backpack, slung it over his shoulder and climbed the steep skee slope to the base of the tower. He passed Mikka on the way up who patted his belly and winked. Thalin reminded himself to check the rations. As he reached the door, Milo sulked out.
“Milo, turn yourself around, I think this might be just the thing for you,” said Thalin in a tone of absolute conspiracy.
Milo twitched his eyebrows, spun on his heel and turned back into the tower. Thalin stopped outside the doorway and smiled slowly at the small crest which was stamped into the stone arch. A delicate “M” caught his eye. Looking down at the ring that Errilinth had entrusted to him, Thalin felt a tingle of excitement. They matched.
“Mellius's Tower,” whispered Thalin under his breath.
“Whose tower?” chimed Milo from the shadows.
“Mellius. An Archmage.”
“Oh. Well he could have spent a bit more money on decoration.”
“Milo, he did.”
Thalin stepped into the cylinder of the tower. In absolute silence the cobwebs folded away into the corners, the dust sunk into the creases of the flagstones and the debris melted into the walls. Milo's mouth swung open. They stood in the middle of a magnificent tower, a beautiful staircase ran on the inside of the tower, heading upwards to a doorway placed in the tower wall. The staircase met the floor and where it did, it descended into a foreboding darkness. A series of portraits were hung on the walls, each seeming older than the next.
Milo stood on the spot and vibrated with joy. The halfling saw Thalin smile broadly for the first time since they had met.
“Torious!” yelled Thalin over his shoulder, though his eyes were trained elsewhere.
Yulatt summoned the strength to greet his lover with a smile. Dalla looked up and returned his greeting. Her face was pale and her lips almost white. Yulatt felt a jump of anger in his stomach but quenched it at once.
“Do you need anything?” asked Yulatt as he stroked an errant hair away from Dalla's face.
“Only you my love,” came her weak reply.
Yulatt drew his cloak from his shoulders and wrapped it carefully about her.
“I have to speak to the men,” said Yulatt.
“Then go,” said Dalla with a pained smile, “they need your support.”
Yulatt was stuck between two worlds, but backed away from Dalla none the less and picked his way through the makeshift camp towards the mercenaries.
Torious kept one hand on Milo's shirt as the companion's discussed what they should do. Mikka had been left outside to guard the bags. Thalin had given the run down on what he could remember of the tower. It was a resting place for wanderers and scholars. A permanent resting place. Mellius was long dead but his life's work continued within the walls of this tower.
Torious took charge of the exploration. Thalin was quite happy with this because of the risk of glyphs and wardings in a mage tower such as this. Torious decided on the descent first. Torious freed a torch from entrance hall of the tower and the companions descended into the darkness.
After a good minute of descent the stairs stopped abruptly. A tiny room was dominated by a wide metal ladder which was attached to the roof with heavy bolts and shot straight down a hole into an even thicker darkness.
“Maybe it is the Underdark?” hissed Milo, his curiosity now equally balanced with fear.
“Not likely Milo,” said Thalin, “we're a good deal above even the highest chambers. Well, at least the ones that I know of.”
Milo felt a little reassured. Torious optioned himself to go down the ladder, which both Milo and Thalin were quite happy to accommodate. Each had voiced concerns that perhaps they should head back to the surface. Torious shook his head and swung himself onto the ladder.
The Aasimar's face bolted from confident to alarmed then to shock. Without a sound, Torious spasmed from the arc of electricity which surged through his body. A moment later, he relaxed his grip and dropped neatly through the hole in the floor. A few seconds later a splintering crunch echoed up to Milo and Thalin.
Chapter 13: Stairway to Heaven
“but then again, what if we did find an entrance to the Underdark?”
Milo wavered on the top step. His hand hovered over the door latch as his body twisted back so he could look at his companion's faces.
Thalin pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, “once again Milo, no.”
“but...”
“Milo,” interjected Torious, “it's an empty tower, leave it alone. We need to keep a fast pace if we're going to catch Robar.”
“He's right y'know,” chimed Mikka, “but then again, what if we did find an entrance to the Underdark? It might provide a handy shortcut! We'd be obliged to name it the Milo entrance you do realise...”
Mikka didn't need to say anymore. Milo plunged the ancient handle down and disappeared into the ruined tower.
- - - - - - - - - -
Yulatt folded his arms, his face somewhere between a laugh and a snarl. Robar was sat on a flat gray rock at the base of his standard.
“Like I said in Ilinvur,” said Robar, a steaming bowl of Rothe soup clutched between his hands, “your gold will be handed over upon completion. We've already discussed this Yulatt, you've already signed the mercenary lists.”
“To hell with the lists,” growled Yulatt, his laugh suddenly submerged by the snarl, “you've ignored our agreement.”
Robar paused as he watched the sell-sword stood before him. Robar could feel the brilliant heat of the soup beginning to prickle his hands as he weighed his words.
“You're in no position to argue with me. The agreement has changed, you will receive your gold upon arrival and that is final.”
Yulatt fingered the pommel of his short sword. He was a step and a thrust away from ending this idiot's dream of razing of the North. But he didn't. Yulatt knew he wouldn't make it out of the camp. And Dalla was weak. Too weak to run.
“Don't push us Robar,” grimaced Yulatt as he marshaled his temper, “the men won't like this at all but I'll hold you to your word here and now. Fail us in this and there will be consequences.”
“Fine,” smiled Robar as he savored the burn of the bowl, “but if you threaten me again Yulatt, I'll parade your head all the way to the keep. Now leave.”
Yulatt shook his head in exasperation and backed away, Robar holding his gaze till the sell-sword turned away and trudged over towards Dalla.
- - - - - - - - - -
Milo blew a frustrated whistle through his teeth. Mikka shrugged. The tower was empty. Behind him, Torious had poked his head in, seen the moldy mess of the tower, which was an elaborate mix of dust, cobwebs and a scattering of dead crows, and backed out to find what provisions were left in his pack.
Torious kicked a wedge of rock across the road, “we're losing time Thalin, we need to keep moving”
“yes we do, but we also need to rest occasionally.”
Torious tightened his jaw and sat down. The journey from Ilinvur had been bleak and tiring. What little conversation there was had been dominated by the fate of Rellin. Torious had said nothing of Vaerana and Thalin didn't want to work himself into a frenzy so he just dropped it.
“The tower is full of dust and cobwebs,” coughed Torious as he unwrapped a lump of hard cheese.
Thalin's interest spiked suddenly, “anything else?”
“some dead crows, oh, and Milo and Mikka.”
“skeletons?”
“no, no undead I'm afraid.”
“no, I mean were the crows skeletons or were they fresh?” pressed Thalin
“Thalin, what the hell are you on about?” said Torious through a mouthful of cheese.
“Just tell me.”
“They were fresh. Sort of burnt I suppose. Maybe Robar stopped by to feed some birds to the forge of Kossuth.”
Thalin was intrigued by his companion's new found humour, but his mind had spun back to his father's history lessons of the great mages of Faerun. Niall Vorspen had kept himself secure in his desolate castle, but he did have a vast knowledge of the Art and its users. One particular lesson now thundered in Thalin's head like a war drum.
“Torious, I'll be back in two minutes.”
Thalin threw the unfinished crust of bread into his backpack, slung it over his shoulder and climbed the steep skee slope to the base of the tower. He passed Mikka on the way up who patted his belly and winked. Thalin reminded himself to check the rations. As he reached the door, Milo sulked out.
“Milo, turn yourself around, I think this might be just the thing for you,” said Thalin in a tone of absolute conspiracy.
Milo twitched his eyebrows, spun on his heel and turned back into the tower. Thalin stopped outside the doorway and smiled slowly at the small crest which was stamped into the stone arch. A delicate “M” caught his eye. Looking down at the ring that Errilinth had entrusted to him, Thalin felt a tingle of excitement. They matched.
“Mellius's Tower,” whispered Thalin under his breath.
“Whose tower?” chimed Milo from the shadows.
“Mellius. An Archmage.”
“Oh. Well he could have spent a bit more money on decoration.”
“Milo, he did.”
Thalin stepped into the cylinder of the tower. In absolute silence the cobwebs folded away into the corners, the dust sunk into the creases of the flagstones and the debris melted into the walls. Milo's mouth swung open. They stood in the middle of a magnificent tower, a beautiful staircase ran on the inside of the tower, heading upwards to a doorway placed in the tower wall. The staircase met the floor and where it did, it descended into a foreboding darkness. A series of portraits were hung on the walls, each seeming older than the next.
Milo stood on the spot and vibrated with joy. The halfling saw Thalin smile broadly for the first time since they had met.
“Torious!” yelled Thalin over his shoulder, though his eyes were trained elsewhere.
- - - - - - - - - -
Yulatt summoned the strength to greet his lover with a smile. Dalla looked up and returned his greeting. Her face was pale and her lips almost white. Yulatt felt a jump of anger in his stomach but quenched it at once.
“Do you need anything?” asked Yulatt as he stroked an errant hair away from Dalla's face.
“Only you my love,” came her weak reply.
Yulatt drew his cloak from his shoulders and wrapped it carefully about her.
“I have to speak to the men,” said Yulatt.
“Then go,” said Dalla with a pained smile, “they need your support.”
Yulatt was stuck between two worlds, but backed away from Dalla none the less and picked his way through the makeshift camp towards the mercenaries.
- - - - - - - - - -
Torious kept one hand on Milo's shirt as the companion's discussed what they should do. Mikka had been left outside to guard the bags. Thalin had given the run down on what he could remember of the tower. It was a resting place for wanderers and scholars. A permanent resting place. Mellius was long dead but his life's work continued within the walls of this tower.
Torious took charge of the exploration. Thalin was quite happy with this because of the risk of glyphs and wardings in a mage tower such as this. Torious decided on the descent first. Torious freed a torch from entrance hall of the tower and the companions descended into the darkness.
After a good minute of descent the stairs stopped abruptly. A tiny room was dominated by a wide metal ladder which was attached to the roof with heavy bolts and shot straight down a hole into an even thicker darkness.
“Maybe it is the Underdark?” hissed Milo, his curiosity now equally balanced with fear.
“Not likely Milo,” said Thalin, “we're a good deal above even the highest chambers. Well, at least the ones that I know of.”
Milo felt a little reassured. Torious optioned himself to go down the ladder, which both Milo and Thalin were quite happy to accommodate. Each had voiced concerns that perhaps they should head back to the surface. Torious shook his head and swung himself onto the ladder.
The Aasimar's face bolted from confident to alarmed then to shock. Without a sound, Torious spasmed from the arc of electricity which surged through his body. A moment later, he relaxed his grip and dropped neatly through the hole in the floor. A few seconds later a splintering crunch echoed up to Milo and Thalin.
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