A Gathering Of Allies
Chapter 1 - The Whispering Cairn
Ti’ral looked at the money on the table, looked at her cards, and then cracked a grin. These guys were so bad at Three Dragon Ante that she didn’t have to cheat. She was playing an honest game and beating them soundly. Working at The Emporium had lots of advantages for the young rogue with good slight of hand skills. Her pay was based on a percentage of her table’s winnings, so she made sure her table won a lot. Another bonus of the job was the ability to listen and know the comings and goings of the town. Of all the places on the Vein to separate a miner from his money, The Emporium was by far the most upstanding and lavish, attracting the best and wealthiest clientele in town.
Ti’ral laid her cards on the table with a flourish, “Silver dragon flight boys, pay up!” Still grinning as she collected her winnings, she noticed three strangers enter the upstairs lobby. The first was a well muscled and handsome man, obviously a fighter of some sort by the number of weapon sheaths he had strapped to him. His weapons were most likely downstairs with the doorman as Zalamandra, the owner of The Emporium, maintained a strict no fighting policy. He had on a magnificent red belt that featured a haunted woman’s face for a buckle that stood out in contrast to his highly polished blue armor. Next up the stairs came a balding dark haired human with a high collared red cape over a green jerking and pants. If Ti’ral had to guess, this man was a magic user, noticing the pouches and scroll cases dangling from his belt. The third member of this trio was a female elf whose dark armor and hooded cloak spoke of somebody who liked the shadows.
“Ok, gentlemen, I believe you have had enough gambling for the evening,” suggested Ti’ral. She shooed them off to make room for the newcomers should they be in a gambling mood. Sure enough, once the table freed up the three walked over and sat down. “I’m Auric,” said the warrior, “and these are my companions Terra and Khellek. We’re looking for some information.” Ti’ral introduced herself and dealt him and Khellek a hand, Terra opting out of the game. “What can I do for you?” Ti’ral asked while surveying her hand. “We are looking for directions to the Stirgnest Cairn.” Ti’ral played a black dragon, “Its a few days ride from here. What are you looking for? It’s just a musty old tomb.” “We’re adventurers from the Free City and we’ve heard there was treasure in it,” said Auric while adding a white dragon to his flight. “What on earth makes you think there would be any treasure in it? Nobody is buried with treasure around here anymore,” Ti’ral said. “Khellek here is a member of the—“, Auric stopped suddenly as Khellek kicked him under the table. “Hrm—Khellek knows of a group of explorers that vanished in a Cairn near here seeking treasure some time ago, and we’re here to finish their work.” “Yea, good luck with that,” laughed Ti’ral while laying a final dragon card onto the table to win the hand, “no seriously, the best way to get directions would be to head to the west end of town toward the garrison. Dietrik Cicaeda is the cartographer there and he has maps of this area and well beyond. I’m sure he can get you what you need.” “Thanks for the game and the info,” Auric said with a bow and he and Khellek tossed their coins onto the table to cover their bets.
This was exciting news to Ti’ral. If they were looking for treasure, then there was still treasure to be found. She just happened to know that the adventuring party that perished didn’t do it in the Stirgnest Cairn like Auric believed, but in the much closer Whispering Cairn. The Whispering Cairn is a local haunt for all the younger people in Diamond Lake, because the wind blowing through the opening sounds very much like voices whispering on the wind. The kids use it as a test of bravery to cross the very threshold, and only the bravest few have ventured into the tomb at all. Ti’ral had noticed the ring Khellek wore, a golden shiny thing with an eight pointed star and a ruby gem in its center. At first she noted it only for its value, but the mention of the cairns dredged up a memory of something Sethrie had told her. A story of adventurers sponsored by the Seekers, tomb robbers who claimed to be archeologists, who perished deep in the Whispering Cairn that she had herd from her patron, the wizard Allustan. That eight pointed star was the Seeker symbol.
Ti’ral went looking for her companions that were also employed in The Emporium. She found Amethyst hanging over the side of her tank delivering a story full of morals to the youth of the town. Ti’ral didn’t really listen, but the tale had something to do with the consequences of disobeying ones parents. “Now go home little ones, and remember to mind your elders,” she said and she gracefully slipped below the surface of the water and disappeared with a flick of her tail, gently splashing those children sitting closest to the tank. Ti’ral smirked. Once the children had departed, Amethyst hopped out of the tank, her tail transforming into slender legs before she hit the ground. “Hiya Tira, toss me that towel.” “Guess what,” Ti’ral asked, tossing her the towel, “It’s time for an adventure…I know where there might be some treasure still hidden in one of the old cairns. Lets gather our friends and meet up at the old mine office off Elmshire Road. Go tell Damon when he’s done making rabbits pop out of hats or whatever it is he does in that pyrotechnic show of his and round up the dwarf. I’ll go drag my sis away from her book pile and find the others. Let’s meet up around sunset.” And with that she was out the door so quickly as to have vanished into the very air. “Ok”, Amethyst said to the empty doorway where her stealthy friend was standing seconds before, slightly bewildered.
Amethyst found Damon wrapping up his show with a finale full of explosions that earned him the stage name “The Combustible Mage” and after a brief discussion agreed that they could both use a good adventure. Convincing Gorin was a little more difficult, but that probably had something to do with the fact that they barged in on his daily devotions. Gorin did eventually agree to go and assigned a low level knight\acolyte named Dobrun to cover for him for a few days. They stopped by Commander Trask’s office to let him know that they would be stealing Gorin for a few days. Trask gave him a few days off and requested that he send a message should he need longer. “Hurry back though. We can’t afford to lose such a fine dwarf for too long,” Trask chuckled. “Bah, no amount of flattery is going to make me come back and help you with those performance evaluations my friend,” Gorin stated with a nod to the small mountain of paperwork on Trask’s desk.
Sethrie was quite thoroughly enjoying herself, curled up by the fireplace as she was, enjoying a good book. At least she thought it was a good book. Most people would probably have said that the 1500 page Chronicles of the Choinese Empire would make a better doorstop than an afternoon read, but to Sethrie, it was a good book. Sethrie noticed her sister enter, but ignored her until she had finished her page. “So, you want me to become some tomb robbing adventurer,” she asked cynically when Ti’ral had finished her story. “I still have a lot of studying to do,” she continued, cutting Ti’ral’s reply short, “I’m not ready for an adventure”
“Yes you are,” spoke a deep friendly voice from the back office. This voice belonged to the Master Wizard to whom she was apprenticed, Allustan. “You should go on an adventure, though I do have a few tricks I can provide to help you feel more comfortable with the idea. Go get your spell book and join me in the garden please.” Ti’ral decided to stay for the show and followed Sethrie and Allustan out to his peaceful herb garden.
“I know how much you enjoy blowing stuff up, but for this lesson a simple Light spell will do. I happen to like this garden and don’t need any more of it burned, frozen, or blasted apart,” he quipped with a grin. “Oh for crying out loud, how many times do I need to apologize for that? The tree was dying anyway,” complained the teased apprentice. “Ok, go ahead and cast a light spell on something,” Allustan instructed. Sethrie gave her sister a sideways glance, dug some phosphorescent moss out of her spell component pouch, and clearly spoke the words of magic to the spell, “Won Thgil.” She spoke the words perfectly and her sister’s blouse began to glow brightly, causing her to yelp in surprise. “Nicely done Sethrie,” said Allustan while taking the moss from her hand, “now dismiss it and do it again.” “The spell requires moss, or a firefly of which I have none. How can I cast the spell without the components?” Sethrie questioned.
“Who governs? You or the magic? What would happen if you were in a dungeon and an enemy managed to take or destroy your spell component pouch? Would you simply lie down and die? It is possible to cast spells that require minor components without using them. The materials act only as a focus for your mind. I’m quite sure that your mind can focus well enough without it. Now try it again.” Allustan stood and waited. Sethrie gathered her hair and twisted it into a quick knot to keep it out of her face while she concentrated. “Won Thgil,” she intoned again, this time with a look of concentration on her face. Ti’ral’s blouse once again began to glow brightly. “Would you stop that?” glared Ti’ral. “This trick is only useful for mundane components. If a spell requires something special or costly, it will still be required as the magic itself must pass through the object, and not simply your thoughts,” said Allustan with an approving smile. “Come see me before you go. I have a book that I think you might find useful. Where are you meeting your friends?” Ti’ral spoke up with the answer, “We told the others that we would meet them at the old Fant Mine office around sunset.”
“Oh really,” mused Allustan. “Then perhaps you can do me a favor while your there Tira. Ulgo Fant was actually a fellow scholar and friend of mine. I was greatly saddened by his disappearance, which as you know, means untimely death in this town. Such is the nature of being an honest man in a dishonest industry. He found a relic of the Chaos War in his mine once. He promised to safeguard the item lest it fall into evil hands. After his death I searched both his home and his office for the item, but found neither hide nor hair of it. Your chosen profession has undoubtedly made much better at finding and acquiring things than I would ever be. Just keep an eye out for anything unusual while your there. If you do find the relic, be careful with it. Ulgo had some training in common with you, so the item or its surroundings will undoubtedly be trapped.”
Ti’ral and Sethrie found the rest of their companions enjoying a late lunch at the Spinning Giant. Gwendolyn and Janie were engaged with a conversation over the use of herbs and plants as a supplement to the healing magic. Crunch was engaged in a fierce battle with what appeared to be the remains of a ham sandwich. It looked like Crunch was winning, but barely. Ti’ral vaulted across the table to land gracefully next to Crunch, while Sethrie slid into a seat next to the diminutive healers. Crunch and Janie were immediately up for the idea of a tomb exploration adventure, but Gwendolyn needed some more convincing. “While the thought of an adventure does sound fun, why does it have to be some stuffy old tomb?” Gwendolyn asked. “Because it’s a tomb filled with treasure, that’s why. It’s also the best place to find some poor soul that needs to be returned to their final slumber,” said Ti’ral, knowing full well what that she had won the point with her last statement. “Your right, the dead deserve to stay dead. I’m in. Any adventure that lets me vanquish undead is a good adventure.”
After some quick supply gathering stops, they headed toward the mine office to meet the rest of their companions. Tira burst through the door with a flourish, causing it to slam into the wall with a bang. A quick glance around the room confirmed two things. First, that Amethyst had been successful in recruiting the rest of their friends for this adventure, and second, that this mine office was in dire need of some repairs. “Shall we begin the journey to fame and fortune? First though, Allustan asked me to help him try to find something that might be hidden here, but it should only take a few minutes. Then we can go adventuring.” After Tira explained the situation, they split up to quickly search the house. None of them wanted to delay too long with thoughts of adventure calling to them like whispers on the wind that blew through the roofless husk of a building.
[DM Note: This ends the story intro. The tale now follows the whims and desires of the PCs.]
