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A Journey to the Sea (Greyhawk) UPDATED 7 February 2008
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<blockquote data-quote="sniffles" data-source="post: 3553198" data-attributes="member: 30035"><p><strong>Letter #39</strong></p><p></p><p>Patchwall 1</p><p>Zier-i-Zief</p><p></p><p>Dearest brother;</p><p></p><p>Well, as usual adventure finds us whether we're actively seeking it or not. </p><p></p><p>We had only a few hours to dress appropriately for a feast at the palace. I think Thor would rather have stayed at the inn with Beaker. The rest of us would probably have agreed to that. It would likely have been less disruptive than his presence at the feast.</p><p></p><p>We met the halfling, Norp, again at the palace, as well as his young charge, Princess Luminia. We weren't seated with the princess, however, so we didn't speak with her until later. Norp was supposed to act as our interpreter. He didn't know the twins speak Baklunish.</p><p></p><p>The dinner was long and tedious and served far too much food for comfort, all of it overcooked and over-seasoned. After the desert was served a curious dancer entertained us: she appeared to have snakes for hands. According to one of the other guests she came from a strange race of very rare beings. </p><p></p><p>Then a heavily armored centaur came in to speak with the Sultan, which was odd not so much because he was a centaur as because he was allowed to bear arms in the Sultan's presence. Evidently he's of the same rank as Norp. One he'd left we had a few words with the princess, who offered to arrange a meeting with the Sultan. I'm not quite sure why a child has such importance, but if it works in our favor then so be it.</p><p></p><p>Our discussion eventually led to our quest for the items in Varian's prophecy, since my companions are incapable of keeping anything to themselves. Norp remarked that yet another of his brothers had told him of a tale about a crystal oasis that we thought might be the place of ice mentioned in the prophecy. But neither Norp nor his brother have ever seen this place. </p><p></p><p>When the interminable affair finally ended the Sultan sent guards back to the inn with us to escort the 10 chests of gold coins we were given as reward for slaying the minotaur. Unfortunately they didn't stay to look after the gold. We have to do that ourselves. We could put it in our magic sacks, but since we want to offer it to the Sultan in return for releasing the couatl, we don't want to put the coins away.</p><p></p><p>It was after we returned to the inn that Thor realized Pheretima's bottle was missing. He still had a bottle that looked very like hers in his possession, but closer examination proved it was a copy. Somehow someone must have stolen the djinni's bottle and replaced it with this replica. When we told the innkeeper, Kouroush, about the theft, he realized what had probably happened.</p><p></p><p>It seems that Xymos, the man who directed us to visit this inn if we came to Zief, belongs to an organization that claims to free imprisoned djinn. He must have hidden Pheretima in our gear after he met us. We'd always assumed she was a gift from Liselle's parents, even though Liselle wasn't aware of her family owning any such thing. But Kouroush had heard that a djinn had been stolen from the Archmage Shopar sometime not long before we met Xymos. He suspected Pheretima was that djinn, and that Xymos had hidden her in our gear so he could avoid being found with her while still getting her back to Zief. Now that we'd arrived, he'd somehow snuck into our rooms and stolen the bottle back. </p><p></p><p>Kouroush told us he knew where Xymos' organization takes the djinn they release. He took us to a room in his inn and opened the door - onto a room full of clouds. A gust of wind blew out of the doorway. We suspect it's a portal to the Plane of Air. Kouroush says it's been that way since an 'accident' in the room several years ago. </p><p></p><p>As we were staring at this amazing sight, we sensed something small and invisible was blown back by the wind and hit the railing opposite the doorway. Shishir reached out and caught hold of whatever it was. A fairy appeared in his hand, wearing about her neck a pendant on a chain big enough to be worn by one of us. She struggled mightily but of course she couldn't escape. She was horrified when Shishir unwound the pendant from around her neck, explaining that it was something rare called "show glass" that allowed another person to see whatever was visible around the bearer of the pendant, like a scrying device. </p><p></p><p>The fairy, Delna, was evidently sent by the fey queen Morgaine to spy on us - but not on Shishir. She was supposed to follow Erasyne, though the queen didn't tell her why. She's terrified the Queen will kill her now that she's been exposed and the pendant taken. Ninad immediately offered her the safety of our company. She seemed to have trouble deciding what to do, but ultimately concluded she'd be safer with us than on her own.</p><p></p><p>In the meantime Thor transformed into a bird and flew through the portal for a few moments. He was eager to search there for Pheretima, assuming that Xymos must have released her. Erasyne was equally eager to enter, thinking that perhaps the lost egg might have floated away to the Plane of Air, though I'm not quite sure how she came to that conclusion.</p><p></p><p>As we couldn't find any way for all of us to fly like Thor, we decided to see if we could get more information from Xymos about Pheretima. Kouroush knew of a sea cave where the organization might hide. But before we went there we decided to go to the carpet shop we'd visited previously and talk to the djinn who worked there to see if he knew about this organization or Pheretima. I'm not sure how we came to that decision, either. Sometimes my friends' thought processes leave me bewildered.</p><p></p><p>The djinn at the carpet merchant's knew about the organization Xymos operates, but little else. He did tell us that Pheretima's father is someone important in the heirarchy of the djinni, though he wouldn't tell us more. He also told us to seek the king of the air whales if we wanted to travel through that plane, and to be prepared to repay the whale king with some service in exchange for his aid.</p><p></p><p>Kouroush told us he'd tried to contact Xymos on our behalf but had been rebuffed. We decided then to visit the sea cave. It was an unpleasant place, surrounded by the remains of dead plants and animals. The water in the area seems to have some deleterious effect, though it isn't poisonous. </p><p></p><p>Thor went ahead as a bird to scout the cave and reported that he heard odd voices, though he couldn't understand what they said. We crept cautiously into the cave and headed down the passage, moving slowly in the darkness. Eventually we could all hear what sounded like two voices singing in some strange tongue. Erasyne and Ninad crept forward to peer toward the sound and spotted two odd-looking giants tending a fire. </p><p></p><p>Unfortunately the giants also spotted them. We backed out into the cave and prepared to defend ouselves. When the two giants entered the cave Ninad called out to them that we just wanted to talk, but they didn't heed him. They came rushing out wielding the biggest hammers I have ever seen. </p><p></p><p>I set my spear against the first giant to exit the tunnel and fairly ran him through, but that didn't stop him smashing his hammer into Ninad. Thor scooped up a handful of pebbles and murmured over them before hurling them at the giant. They transformed mid-flight into boulders and slammed into the creature. The second giant came barreling out of the tunnel after Thor. </p><p></p><p>Shishir swallowed a potion and grew to greater stature, then rushed the second giant. He began pummeling it with his enlarged fists, which were also coated with corrosive slime courtesy of a spell. Ninad tried to set fire to the first giant, managing to burn him badly. I jabbed him several more times with my spear. Behind us Thor and Shishir made quick work of the other giant, while Erasyne danced around the first slashing him with her blades until he collapsed.</p><p></p><p>Then three men emerged into the cave.</p><p>______________________</p><p></p><p>Quips & Quotes:</p><p></p><p>patv: "You see a djinn and an efreet behind the sultan. There are two distinctive gold lamps on the table."</p><p>Jubilee: "Dibs!"</p><p></p><p>Hedrin: "Bring out the hookahs!"</p><p>Zora: "Hookahs for everyone!"</p><p></p><p>patv: "The sultan claps his hands."</p><p>sniffles: "And all the lights go out."</p><p>Jubilee: "Sometimes I'm not sure the lights were ever on."</p><p></p><p>patv (to Zora): "You sense something small and invisible hits the opposite wall."</p><p>Devo: "You know, so small you can barely see it, your wife comments on it a lot..."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="sniffles, post: 3553198, member: 30035"] [b]Letter #39[/b] Patchwall 1 Zier-i-Zief Dearest brother; Well, as usual adventure finds us whether we're actively seeking it or not. We had only a few hours to dress appropriately for a feast at the palace. I think Thor would rather have stayed at the inn with Beaker. The rest of us would probably have agreed to that. It would likely have been less disruptive than his presence at the feast. We met the halfling, Norp, again at the palace, as well as his young charge, Princess Luminia. We weren't seated with the princess, however, so we didn't speak with her until later. Norp was supposed to act as our interpreter. He didn't know the twins speak Baklunish. The dinner was long and tedious and served far too much food for comfort, all of it overcooked and over-seasoned. After the desert was served a curious dancer entertained us: she appeared to have snakes for hands. According to one of the other guests she came from a strange race of very rare beings. Then a heavily armored centaur came in to speak with the Sultan, which was odd not so much because he was a centaur as because he was allowed to bear arms in the Sultan's presence. Evidently he's of the same rank as Norp. One he'd left we had a few words with the princess, who offered to arrange a meeting with the Sultan. I'm not quite sure why a child has such importance, but if it works in our favor then so be it. Our discussion eventually led to our quest for the items in Varian's prophecy, since my companions are incapable of keeping anything to themselves. Norp remarked that yet another of his brothers had told him of a tale about a crystal oasis that we thought might be the place of ice mentioned in the prophecy. But neither Norp nor his brother have ever seen this place. When the interminable affair finally ended the Sultan sent guards back to the inn with us to escort the 10 chests of gold coins we were given as reward for slaying the minotaur. Unfortunately they didn't stay to look after the gold. We have to do that ourselves. We could put it in our magic sacks, but since we want to offer it to the Sultan in return for releasing the couatl, we don't want to put the coins away. It was after we returned to the inn that Thor realized Pheretima's bottle was missing. He still had a bottle that looked very like hers in his possession, but closer examination proved it was a copy. Somehow someone must have stolen the djinni's bottle and replaced it with this replica. When we told the innkeeper, Kouroush, about the theft, he realized what had probably happened. It seems that Xymos, the man who directed us to visit this inn if we came to Zief, belongs to an organization that claims to free imprisoned djinn. He must have hidden Pheretima in our gear after he met us. We'd always assumed she was a gift from Liselle's parents, even though Liselle wasn't aware of her family owning any such thing. But Kouroush had heard that a djinn had been stolen from the Archmage Shopar sometime not long before we met Xymos. He suspected Pheretima was that djinn, and that Xymos had hidden her in our gear so he could avoid being found with her while still getting her back to Zief. Now that we'd arrived, he'd somehow snuck into our rooms and stolen the bottle back. Kouroush told us he knew where Xymos' organization takes the djinn they release. He took us to a room in his inn and opened the door - onto a room full of clouds. A gust of wind blew out of the doorway. We suspect it's a portal to the Plane of Air. Kouroush says it's been that way since an 'accident' in the room several years ago. As we were staring at this amazing sight, we sensed something small and invisible was blown back by the wind and hit the railing opposite the doorway. Shishir reached out and caught hold of whatever it was. A fairy appeared in his hand, wearing about her neck a pendant on a chain big enough to be worn by one of us. She struggled mightily but of course she couldn't escape. She was horrified when Shishir unwound the pendant from around her neck, explaining that it was something rare called "show glass" that allowed another person to see whatever was visible around the bearer of the pendant, like a scrying device. The fairy, Delna, was evidently sent by the fey queen Morgaine to spy on us - but not on Shishir. She was supposed to follow Erasyne, though the queen didn't tell her why. She's terrified the Queen will kill her now that she's been exposed and the pendant taken. Ninad immediately offered her the safety of our company. She seemed to have trouble deciding what to do, but ultimately concluded she'd be safer with us than on her own. In the meantime Thor transformed into a bird and flew through the portal for a few moments. He was eager to search there for Pheretima, assuming that Xymos must have released her. Erasyne was equally eager to enter, thinking that perhaps the lost egg might have floated away to the Plane of Air, though I'm not quite sure how she came to that conclusion. As we couldn't find any way for all of us to fly like Thor, we decided to see if we could get more information from Xymos about Pheretima. Kouroush knew of a sea cave where the organization might hide. But before we went there we decided to go to the carpet shop we'd visited previously and talk to the djinn who worked there to see if he knew about this organization or Pheretima. I'm not sure how we came to that decision, either. Sometimes my friends' thought processes leave me bewildered. The djinn at the carpet merchant's knew about the organization Xymos operates, but little else. He did tell us that Pheretima's father is someone important in the heirarchy of the djinni, though he wouldn't tell us more. He also told us to seek the king of the air whales if we wanted to travel through that plane, and to be prepared to repay the whale king with some service in exchange for his aid. Kouroush told us he'd tried to contact Xymos on our behalf but had been rebuffed. We decided then to visit the sea cave. It was an unpleasant place, surrounded by the remains of dead plants and animals. The water in the area seems to have some deleterious effect, though it isn't poisonous. Thor went ahead as a bird to scout the cave and reported that he heard odd voices, though he couldn't understand what they said. We crept cautiously into the cave and headed down the passage, moving slowly in the darkness. Eventually we could all hear what sounded like two voices singing in some strange tongue. Erasyne and Ninad crept forward to peer toward the sound and spotted two odd-looking giants tending a fire. Unfortunately the giants also spotted them. We backed out into the cave and prepared to defend ouselves. When the two giants entered the cave Ninad called out to them that we just wanted to talk, but they didn't heed him. They came rushing out wielding the biggest hammers I have ever seen. I set my spear against the first giant to exit the tunnel and fairly ran him through, but that didn't stop him smashing his hammer into Ninad. Thor scooped up a handful of pebbles and murmured over them before hurling them at the giant. They transformed mid-flight into boulders and slammed into the creature. The second giant came barreling out of the tunnel after Thor. Shishir swallowed a potion and grew to greater stature, then rushed the second giant. He began pummeling it with his enlarged fists, which were also coated with corrosive slime courtesy of a spell. Ninad tried to set fire to the first giant, managing to burn him badly. I jabbed him several more times with my spear. Behind us Thor and Shishir made quick work of the other giant, while Erasyne danced around the first slashing him with her blades until he collapsed. Then three men emerged into the cave. ______________________ Quips & Quotes: patv: "You see a djinn and an efreet behind the sultan. There are two distinctive gold lamps on the table." Jubilee: "Dibs!" Hedrin: "Bring out the hookahs!" Zora: "Hookahs for everyone!" patv: "The sultan claps his hands." sniffles: "And all the lights go out." Jubilee: "Sometimes I'm not sure the lights were ever on." patv (to Zora): "You sense something small and invisible hits the opposite wall." Devo: "You know, so small you can barely see it, your wife comments on it a lot..." [/QUOTE]
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