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<blockquote data-quote="TheBard" data-source="post: 49256" data-attributes="member: 2821"><p><strong>Episode 3: Treat with Lightning, or Three Arms, No Waiting</strong></p><p></p><p>Thanks, Blarg! It's great to be back....</p><p></p><p>And now...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Three Arms, No Waiting</p><p></p><p></p><p>After their triumph in the Shepard's Tournament, the characters elected to reward themselves with an evening of merrymaking and feasting at the Bad Pony, where they had (for the time being at least) taken up residence. </p><p></p><p>Summary </p><p></p><p>After their triumph in the Shepard's Tournament, the characters elected to reward themselves with an evening of merrymaking and feasting at the Bad Pony, where they had (for the time being at least) taken up residence. The next day, all decided to attend services at the Cathedral in celebration of the Feast of Saint Petronella. Martaine was elected to represent the group in the service and discharged his duties well. The group enjoyed watching the procession of human nobles into the Cathedral, and everyone was a bit taken aback at the presence of two Rolgulkan nobles, both ogres, who interestingly entered in the presence of the former Earl of Tavia, Iustus.</p><p></p><p>After the homily, a young human girl entered leading a (presumably tamed) lion on a lead, representing Petronella's humble shepherdess origin as well as the details of her martyrdom. There was a bit of commotion during the offering, when the male ogre, Lord Vihar, presented the church with a rich tithe - several hundreds of gold pieces at a minimum. Things were further disrupted when he spoke before the entire assembly, offering to the Bishop a plot of land in the Valley of Thunder, which apparently is his family's ancestral home, on which to build an abbey or monastery where human and Rolgulkan alike could study the word and faith of Logos. No one was quite sure what to make of this offer, least of all the Bishop, or of the ogre's insistence on kissing the aged cleric's ring before resuming his seat. Finally, after a few frantic hand gestures between Ingolf and Martaine, the Bishop got the idea and things were more or less restored to normal. </p><p></p><p>Back at the Bad Pony later on, the Rolgulkan's offer was on everyone's mind and the conversation revolved around their true motives. The issue of Bodiciea's daughter came up once again, and Ingolf and Aoelif both elected to make the journey to the nearby Cimbri kingdom of Credi to discuss matters with the druid there in hopes that the remains could be laid to rest during the festival of Arleta's Well. Zaccara, Nicasia and Martaine offered to accompany the two Alfar on the journey, but Theodorus had pressing business in Tavia to deal to and so had to beg off the journey. </p><p></p><p>None of the humans in the group had made the journey into faerie before, and all were somewhat overwhelmed at first by the vibrant, lush landscape that greeted them on the second day of their ride. The feeling of being in a living and growing world grew every stronger as the group passed deeper into the faerie realm, and it was only the sudden and unexpected crash of a massive rock or boulder into the path in front of the lead horse the disrupted the tranquility of the journey. In moments, a huge three-armed giant had blocked the path before the five travelers, and in broken Gaelic it demanded tribute before allowing the group to pass on. Although the group were not adverse in principle to the idea of tribute, the tribute demanded - namely, the creature wanted to eat on of their number and his mount - was a bit more than they were willing to pay. A quick attempt to fool the Athach into thinking that a wagonload of fat human merchants was just behind the group failed, and negotiations at that point broke down rather suddenly, and battle was joined. </p><p></p><p>A battle of five against one is generally a short and lopsided affair, but not when the one stands a full 18 feet in height with the superhuman strength to match. The group held nothing back; Nicasia peppered the creature with her magic while Zaccara and Aoelif moved to engage. Aoelif hurled two javelins of lightning at the beast but neither found the mark. Zaccara engaged it boldly from the front with his shield held high, and suffered terrible blows from the thing's massive club in so doing. While Zaccara was being pummeled, Ingolf moved quickly into a flanking position where his natural affinity for finding an opponent's weakest spot could come into full play. Zaccara and Ingolf thus were able to wear down the Athach slowly, while Martaine and Aoelif did there best to add to the creature woes and distract it and Nicasia maintained the barrage of magic missiles. Zaccara was laid low after suffering numerous bruising blows from the Athach's club, and Aoelif was nearly overcome by the creature herself when it finally fell. </p><p></p><p>A short search uncovered the creature's crude lean-to and it's disgusting larder of other, less fortunate travelers, along with the treasures the beast had gathered to itself. The bodies of its previous victims were removed from the beast's lair and laid side-by-side for a funeral pyre by Martaine and Ingolf. The creature's treasure was stowed away and it's head removed as proof of the mighty deed before the pyre was fired and the group continued on the way towards the castle of king Arcois. </p><p></p><p>Several hours later, the group was met on the road by two of the king's warriors. The two cimbri were quite impressed with the slaying of the Athach, even more so when Ingolf, in proper bardic fashion, bragged of the group having felled the creature with no losses themselves. The two cimbri offered to herald the group's arrival and assured them that King Arcois would offer a rich bounty for the slaying of such a troublesome pest. The group met briefly with the druid Deune, and related the tale of Bodicea's daughter to him. He assured them that her bones could be properly laid to rest during the festival and encouraged them to relate this tale to the King, as Bodicea was his ancestor and anything regarding her and her daughters would be of interest to him. The King himself met with the group and presented each of them with a gift of jewelry in accordance with their character and participation in the battle. After all had agreed that he was generous and wise, they retired to his hall for a feast in celebration of the Athach's death. During the feasting, Ingolf explained to the king the events surrounding Svear's shade, Bodicea's daughter and the party's need to secure the tresses of three faerie noblewomen in order to break the curse that held Svear imprisoned and so fulfill the terms of their bargain with him. Despite Ingolf's initial misgiving, King Arcois seemed to understand the situation well and offered to speak with his daughter on their behalf. He did so, and she also spoke with the party, agreeing to help them if one of them could bring her a draft of water from Arleta's Well - which was the traditional reward for anyone wining one of the three contests held be the druids in connection with the festival. The contests - a bucket race open to women only, a spear throwing contest, and a greased pig catching event - all seemed within the scope of the group's abilities, and Ingolf avowed that they would do their very best to come first in at least one of the challenges. </p><p></p><p>With that, the tired but hopeful group dispensed for the moment with the weighty matter of shades, ghosts and ancient curses, and got down to the present matters of wine, beer and venison, and the promise of warm beds and the king's hospitality. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>NPCs Encountered </p><p></p><p>Arcois -- King of the Credi. A barrel- chested cimbri with two lighting bolts tattooed on his chest, giving him the power to cast lightning bolts. </p><p></p><p>Nectu -- The king's independent, golden-haired daughter.</p><p></p><p>Deune -- Arcois' druid. </p><p></p><p>Lord Vihar -- a Rolgulkan warlord. He's 10' tall with tusks, horns -- 700-odd lbs. of incarnate menace. Surprisingly, Vihar is an eloquent creature. He controls the Vale of Thunder, the pass through which trade passes between Rolgulka and Tavia. </p><p></p><p>Lady Zlata -- Vihar's wife? A Rolgulkan noblewoman, strangely dressed in the height of Iconian fashion (XXXXLT sized.)</p><p></p><p>Earl Iustus Avouris Pleustes -- the one-time ruler of Tavia. The Earl has a lot of holdings in the area, still very much a force to be reckoned with. </p><p></p><p>Various members of the imperial bureaucracy in Tavia- the kritai (judges) and the secretariat (the accountants)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TheBard, post: 49256, member: 2821"] [b]Episode 3: Treat with Lightning, or Three Arms, No Waiting[/b] Thanks, Blarg! It's great to be back.... And now... Three Arms, No Waiting After their triumph in the Shepard's Tournament, the characters elected to reward themselves with an evening of merrymaking and feasting at the Bad Pony, where they had (for the time being at least) taken up residence. Summary After their triumph in the Shepard's Tournament, the characters elected to reward themselves with an evening of merrymaking and feasting at the Bad Pony, where they had (for the time being at least) taken up residence. The next day, all decided to attend services at the Cathedral in celebration of the Feast of Saint Petronella. Martaine was elected to represent the group in the service and discharged his duties well. The group enjoyed watching the procession of human nobles into the Cathedral, and everyone was a bit taken aback at the presence of two Rolgulkan nobles, both ogres, who interestingly entered in the presence of the former Earl of Tavia, Iustus. After the homily, a young human girl entered leading a (presumably tamed) lion on a lead, representing Petronella's humble shepherdess origin as well as the details of her martyrdom. There was a bit of commotion during the offering, when the male ogre, Lord Vihar, presented the church with a rich tithe - several hundreds of gold pieces at a minimum. Things were further disrupted when he spoke before the entire assembly, offering to the Bishop a plot of land in the Valley of Thunder, which apparently is his family's ancestral home, on which to build an abbey or monastery where human and Rolgulkan alike could study the word and faith of Logos. No one was quite sure what to make of this offer, least of all the Bishop, or of the ogre's insistence on kissing the aged cleric's ring before resuming his seat. Finally, after a few frantic hand gestures between Ingolf and Martaine, the Bishop got the idea and things were more or less restored to normal. Back at the Bad Pony later on, the Rolgulkan's offer was on everyone's mind and the conversation revolved around their true motives. The issue of Bodiciea's daughter came up once again, and Ingolf and Aoelif both elected to make the journey to the nearby Cimbri kingdom of Credi to discuss matters with the druid there in hopes that the remains could be laid to rest during the festival of Arleta's Well. Zaccara, Nicasia and Martaine offered to accompany the two Alfar on the journey, but Theodorus had pressing business in Tavia to deal to and so had to beg off the journey. None of the humans in the group had made the journey into faerie before, and all were somewhat overwhelmed at first by the vibrant, lush landscape that greeted them on the second day of their ride. The feeling of being in a living and growing world grew every stronger as the group passed deeper into the faerie realm, and it was only the sudden and unexpected crash of a massive rock or boulder into the path in front of the lead horse the disrupted the tranquility of the journey. In moments, a huge three-armed giant had blocked the path before the five travelers, and in broken Gaelic it demanded tribute before allowing the group to pass on. Although the group were not adverse in principle to the idea of tribute, the tribute demanded - namely, the creature wanted to eat on of their number and his mount - was a bit more than they were willing to pay. A quick attempt to fool the Athach into thinking that a wagonload of fat human merchants was just behind the group failed, and negotiations at that point broke down rather suddenly, and battle was joined. A battle of five against one is generally a short and lopsided affair, but not when the one stands a full 18 feet in height with the superhuman strength to match. The group held nothing back; Nicasia peppered the creature with her magic while Zaccara and Aoelif moved to engage. Aoelif hurled two javelins of lightning at the beast but neither found the mark. Zaccara engaged it boldly from the front with his shield held high, and suffered terrible blows from the thing's massive club in so doing. While Zaccara was being pummeled, Ingolf moved quickly into a flanking position where his natural affinity for finding an opponent's weakest spot could come into full play. Zaccara and Ingolf thus were able to wear down the Athach slowly, while Martaine and Aoelif did there best to add to the creature woes and distract it and Nicasia maintained the barrage of magic missiles. Zaccara was laid low after suffering numerous bruising blows from the Athach's club, and Aoelif was nearly overcome by the creature herself when it finally fell. A short search uncovered the creature's crude lean-to and it's disgusting larder of other, less fortunate travelers, along with the treasures the beast had gathered to itself. The bodies of its previous victims were removed from the beast's lair and laid side-by-side for a funeral pyre by Martaine and Ingolf. The creature's treasure was stowed away and it's head removed as proof of the mighty deed before the pyre was fired and the group continued on the way towards the castle of king Arcois. Several hours later, the group was met on the road by two of the king's warriors. The two cimbri were quite impressed with the slaying of the Athach, even more so when Ingolf, in proper bardic fashion, bragged of the group having felled the creature with no losses themselves. The two cimbri offered to herald the group's arrival and assured them that King Arcois would offer a rich bounty for the slaying of such a troublesome pest. The group met briefly with the druid Deune, and related the tale of Bodicea's daughter to him. He assured them that her bones could be properly laid to rest during the festival and encouraged them to relate this tale to the King, as Bodicea was his ancestor and anything regarding her and her daughters would be of interest to him. The King himself met with the group and presented each of them with a gift of jewelry in accordance with their character and participation in the battle. After all had agreed that he was generous and wise, they retired to his hall for a feast in celebration of the Athach's death. During the feasting, Ingolf explained to the king the events surrounding Svear's shade, Bodicea's daughter and the party's need to secure the tresses of three faerie noblewomen in order to break the curse that held Svear imprisoned and so fulfill the terms of their bargain with him. Despite Ingolf's initial misgiving, King Arcois seemed to understand the situation well and offered to speak with his daughter on their behalf. He did so, and she also spoke with the party, agreeing to help them if one of them could bring her a draft of water from Arleta's Well - which was the traditional reward for anyone wining one of the three contests held be the druids in connection with the festival. The contests - a bucket race open to women only, a spear throwing contest, and a greased pig catching event - all seemed within the scope of the group's abilities, and Ingolf avowed that they would do their very best to come first in at least one of the challenges. With that, the tired but hopeful group dispensed for the moment with the weighty matter of shades, ghosts and ancient curses, and got down to the present matters of wine, beer and venison, and the promise of warm beds and the king's hospitality. NPCs Encountered Arcois -- King of the Credi. A barrel- chested cimbri with two lighting bolts tattooed on his chest, giving him the power to cast lightning bolts. Nectu -- The king's independent, golden-haired daughter. Deune -- Arcois' druid. Lord Vihar -- a Rolgulkan warlord. He's 10' tall with tusks, horns -- 700-odd lbs. of incarnate menace. Surprisingly, Vihar is an eloquent creature. He controls the Vale of Thunder, the pass through which trade passes between Rolgulka and Tavia. Lady Zlata -- Vihar's wife? A Rolgulkan noblewoman, strangely dressed in the height of Iconian fashion (XXXXLT sized.) Earl Iustus Avouris Pleustes -- the one-time ruler of Tavia. The Earl has a lot of holdings in the area, still very much a force to be reckoned with. Various members of the imperial bureaucracy in Tavia- the kritai (judges) and the secretariat (the accountants) [/QUOTE]
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