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DM Brainiac's Prison of the Firebringer (Updated 12/21/05)
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<blockquote data-quote="ltclnlbrain" data-source="post: 1486463" data-attributes="member: 12882"><p><strong>Chapter 2</strong></p><p></p><p>Chapter 2</p><p></p><p>The sun was high in the sky as the brown-robed mage reached the top of a small rise in the road, but something was out of the ordinary. The smell of smoke lingered in the air.</p><p></p><p>At the bottom of the forested hillside lay four charred, black hulks--the remains of large, burned wagons. The burnt corpses of oxen still lay in their harnesses. Lying amid the goods and gear littering the scene were several bodies, some blackened and charred.</p><p></p><p><em>Looks like a fireball might have done this,</em> he thought. <em>Or perhaps a fiery breath weapon of some sort.</em> The weather had preserved most of the evidence. It was a solid find, and the mage hoped that it would garner a prize.</p><p></p><p>Before he could start his investigation, however, a small group of people started down the hill behind him. He recognized them as the other adventurers from the merchant’s office. He stood patiently as they came closer. Allanon gasped slightly as he saw the carnage before him, guarding himself with an invisible force field in case things turned dangerous. “I knew there had to be more to this than what we had been told,” Gillian commented to nobody in particular. A few moments of tense silence followed. Finally, Grundar spoke up.</p><p></p><p>“Need any help?” the elf asked the mage. “You were in such a hurry back at Merik's office I didn't even get your name. My name is Grundar, and I hope we can work together on this."</p><p></p><p>The mage squinted his eyes as he looked up at Grundar. "Yes, of course, I'm all about solving this problem." The mage shot out his hand and offered it to Grundar. "Terenon."</p><p></p><p>Terenon looked around the wreckage a bit more. "I've noticed two things that pokes holes in a common bandit theory,” he said. “Goods left to rot. The overkill used in destroying it. Very interesting."</p><p></p><p>The adventurers began their investigation, and, after a few minutes, the results seemed to agree with Terenon's assumptions. It seemed that the wagons had not been emptied of their contents before being set ablaze, and most of the cargo had been destroyed. The destruction of the wagons, as well as a large circular burn mark along the cart track, seemed to confirm Terenon's suspicions of a fireball being used.</p><p></p><p>The bodies' loot and equipment had been thoroughly picked through, though Grundar was able to find a strange looking staff amid the burned goods and gear. The staff was made of oak and bound with iron, and it bore a crossed-loop mage's sigil emblazoned near the staff's head, along with several splatters of blood.</p><p></p><p>The corpses of four humans in hauberks of melted mail lay near two of the wagons. They were apparently burnt to death. A female human wearing the sky-blue robes of a cleric of Mystra lay near the third wagon. The trauma to her body, as well as her crumpled shield, indicated she was killed by a crushing blow. A male dwarf lay half-crumpled over the side of the fourth wagon, several arrows protruding from his body. The last corpse was that of a halfling with a broken crossbow nearby, apparently killed by a swordcut to the belly.</p><p></p><p>Gillian immediately hurried over to the side of the fallen halfling, tears welling in her eyes. Kneeling down beside him, she began to pray that his departed spirit might find peace in Yondalla’s arms.</p><p></p><p>Terenon plucked the staff from its resting place and began to examine it. It would seem odd that anyone would leave such a find, but it might not be magical. The mage began a small incantation, and his eyes flickered with a blue light. His eyes washed over the staff and the rest of the caravan. Though the mage could not detect any magical emanations besides those of his companions’ equipment, he recognized the staff as a staff of fire. Its charges utterly expended, it was little more than a hunk of wood now. Coming up beside Terenon, Allanon agreed with his assessment.</p><p></p><p>Grundar turned from the scene of devastation and started looking around the road for tracks. He found the tracks of the caravan coming from the west, as well as those of another group coming from the northern embankment. The attackers probably charged down the hill from that direction. Their trail then led to the northwest, along a game trail through the woods.</p><p></p><p>Rhys had been rather quiet since the group had arrived. Now, he softly spoke up. “If you'd like and it wouldn't offend anyone, I could see if I can still reach the spirits of these departed people and see what they have to say about what happened. If you consent, that staff the priestess’ holy symbol would be a great help with the spell.”</p><p></p><p>"I don't find such magic offensive,” said Terenon. “I 'm sure the spirits of the departed would be happy to bring their slayers to justice. Do what you can to glean information for the investigation.”</p><p></p><p>Grundar merely shrugged at Rhys statement and said, "Hopefully, we can finish this up soon and return to enjoy our reward."</p><p></p><p>From her place beside the halfling, Gil looked up solemnly. “This one’s soul is at peace,” she said. “Please do not disturb him from his rest. If you wish to question one of the other departed spirits, I suggest you do so now. The cleric of Mystra might be a good choice”, she advised Rhys.</p><p>“Otherwise I suggest we had best take up following their trail before it gets too cold”,</p><p></p><p>Rhys laid the body of the cleric out reverentially, whispering a soft prayer to Torm before beginning the spellcasting. Allanon’s ears perked up at Rhy’s spellcasting. "I don't believe I've seen that done before, but we don't get many clerics out at Longsaddle. I hear most religions consider us deranged, and a danger to society, though that is nonsense of course. I'd really love to see some divine magic at work.” He watched closely as Rhys performed the spell, interest lighting his face.</p><p></p><p>After a few minutes, Rhys completed his spell. "Spirit of Mystra's servant,” the aasimar intoned. “Pardon the interruption of your journey. There are some questions as to the circumstances of your death I seek answers to. First, who attacked the caravan you were with?”</p><p></p><p>Though the cleric's corpse lay still, a ghostly female voice on the wind answered Rhys' question.</p><p></p><p>"The attacking party consisted of a half-dozen humans in chainmail and red hoods, a malformed giant, and a red-robed cleric with numerous fire spells."</p><p></p><p>“How was the caravan attacked?”</p><p></p><p>"The caravan was proceeding along the road when a fireball shot out of the forest, followed by a hail of arrows and boulders. Then the humans and giant engaged us in melee."</p><p></p><p>“When was that caravan attacked?</p><p></p><p>"The caravan was attacked about four days ago."</p><p></p><p>“Why was the caravan attacked?”</p><p></p><p>"I don't know why the caravan was attacked. They did subdue our party's wizard, though."</p><p></p><p>“What direction did they attack from?”</p><p></p><p>"They attacked from the northwest." With that, the voice fell silent.</p><p></p><p>Rhys opened his eyes and inhaled deeply, slowly letting it out. He shook his head a bit to clear the disorientation of communicating with the spirit, then said, "It appears that the bandits knew a caravan was coming, and the fire spells does fit in with the red-hooded cleric. A cleric of Kossuth, perhaps? Since the cargo is untouched, they were looking for something else. Perhaps they were after people?”</p><p></p><p>"The attack occurred four days ago,” mused Grundar. “It would seem we have a lot of catching up to do. The tracks are consistent with the cleric's account. We should follow the trail northwest as soon as possible."</p><p></p><p>"We probably won't meet up with them for a few days,” said Allanon. “That should give us some time to prepare. Let's try to follow their tracks, or we might lose it."</p><p></p><p>Saying a prayer for the dead and leaving those that had passed at rest, the adventurers started to follow the game trail that the killers took when they left.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ltclnlbrain, post: 1486463, member: 12882"] [b]Chapter 2[/b] Chapter 2 The sun was high in the sky as the brown-robed mage reached the top of a small rise in the road, but something was out of the ordinary. The smell of smoke lingered in the air. At the bottom of the forested hillside lay four charred, black hulks--the remains of large, burned wagons. The burnt corpses of oxen still lay in their harnesses. Lying amid the goods and gear littering the scene were several bodies, some blackened and charred. [I]Looks like a fireball might have done this,[/I] he thought. [I]Or perhaps a fiery breath weapon of some sort.[/I] The weather had preserved most of the evidence. It was a solid find, and the mage hoped that it would garner a prize. Before he could start his investigation, however, a small group of people started down the hill behind him. He recognized them as the other adventurers from the merchant’s office. He stood patiently as they came closer. Allanon gasped slightly as he saw the carnage before him, guarding himself with an invisible force field in case things turned dangerous. “I knew there had to be more to this than what we had been told,” Gillian commented to nobody in particular. A few moments of tense silence followed. Finally, Grundar spoke up. “Need any help?” the elf asked the mage. “You were in such a hurry back at Merik's office I didn't even get your name. My name is Grundar, and I hope we can work together on this." The mage squinted his eyes as he looked up at Grundar. "Yes, of course, I'm all about solving this problem." The mage shot out his hand and offered it to Grundar. "Terenon." Terenon looked around the wreckage a bit more. "I've noticed two things that pokes holes in a common bandit theory,” he said. “Goods left to rot. The overkill used in destroying it. Very interesting." The adventurers began their investigation, and, after a few minutes, the results seemed to agree with Terenon's assumptions. It seemed that the wagons had not been emptied of their contents before being set ablaze, and most of the cargo had been destroyed. The destruction of the wagons, as well as a large circular burn mark along the cart track, seemed to confirm Terenon's suspicions of a fireball being used. The bodies' loot and equipment had been thoroughly picked through, though Grundar was able to find a strange looking staff amid the burned goods and gear. The staff was made of oak and bound with iron, and it bore a crossed-loop mage's sigil emblazoned near the staff's head, along with several splatters of blood. The corpses of four humans in hauberks of melted mail lay near two of the wagons. They were apparently burnt to death. A female human wearing the sky-blue robes of a cleric of Mystra lay near the third wagon. The trauma to her body, as well as her crumpled shield, indicated she was killed by a crushing blow. A male dwarf lay half-crumpled over the side of the fourth wagon, several arrows protruding from his body. The last corpse was that of a halfling with a broken crossbow nearby, apparently killed by a swordcut to the belly. Gillian immediately hurried over to the side of the fallen halfling, tears welling in her eyes. Kneeling down beside him, she began to pray that his departed spirit might find peace in Yondalla’s arms. Terenon plucked the staff from its resting place and began to examine it. It would seem odd that anyone would leave such a find, but it might not be magical. The mage began a small incantation, and his eyes flickered with a blue light. His eyes washed over the staff and the rest of the caravan. Though the mage could not detect any magical emanations besides those of his companions’ equipment, he recognized the staff as a staff of fire. Its charges utterly expended, it was little more than a hunk of wood now. Coming up beside Terenon, Allanon agreed with his assessment. Grundar turned from the scene of devastation and started looking around the road for tracks. He found the tracks of the caravan coming from the west, as well as those of another group coming from the northern embankment. The attackers probably charged down the hill from that direction. Their trail then led to the northwest, along a game trail through the woods. Rhys had been rather quiet since the group had arrived. Now, he softly spoke up. “If you'd like and it wouldn't offend anyone, I could see if I can still reach the spirits of these departed people and see what they have to say about what happened. If you consent, that staff the priestess’ holy symbol would be a great help with the spell.” "I don't find such magic offensive,” said Terenon. “I 'm sure the spirits of the departed would be happy to bring their slayers to justice. Do what you can to glean information for the investigation.” Grundar merely shrugged at Rhys statement and said, "Hopefully, we can finish this up soon and return to enjoy our reward." From her place beside the halfling, Gil looked up solemnly. “This one’s soul is at peace,” she said. “Please do not disturb him from his rest. If you wish to question one of the other departed spirits, I suggest you do so now. The cleric of Mystra might be a good choice”, she advised Rhys. “Otherwise I suggest we had best take up following their trail before it gets too cold”, Rhys laid the body of the cleric out reverentially, whispering a soft prayer to Torm before beginning the spellcasting. Allanon’s ears perked up at Rhy’s spellcasting. "I don't believe I've seen that done before, but we don't get many clerics out at Longsaddle. I hear most religions consider us deranged, and a danger to society, though that is nonsense of course. I'd really love to see some divine magic at work.” He watched closely as Rhys performed the spell, interest lighting his face. After a few minutes, Rhys completed his spell. "Spirit of Mystra's servant,” the aasimar intoned. “Pardon the interruption of your journey. There are some questions as to the circumstances of your death I seek answers to. First, who attacked the caravan you were with?” Though the cleric's corpse lay still, a ghostly female voice on the wind answered Rhys' question. "The attacking party consisted of a half-dozen humans in chainmail and red hoods, a malformed giant, and a red-robed cleric with numerous fire spells." “How was the caravan attacked?” "The caravan was proceeding along the road when a fireball shot out of the forest, followed by a hail of arrows and boulders. Then the humans and giant engaged us in melee." “When was that caravan attacked? "The caravan was attacked about four days ago." “Why was the caravan attacked?” "I don't know why the caravan was attacked. They did subdue our party's wizard, though." “What direction did they attack from?” "They attacked from the northwest." With that, the voice fell silent. Rhys opened his eyes and inhaled deeply, slowly letting it out. He shook his head a bit to clear the disorientation of communicating with the spirit, then said, "It appears that the bandits knew a caravan was coming, and the fire spells does fit in with the red-hooded cleric. A cleric of Kossuth, perhaps? Since the cargo is untouched, they were looking for something else. Perhaps they were after people?” "The attack occurred four days ago,” mused Grundar. “It would seem we have a lot of catching up to do. The tracks are consistent with the cleric's account. We should follow the trail northwest as soon as possible." "We probably won't meet up with them for a few days,” said Allanon. “That should give us some time to prepare. Let's try to follow their tracks, or we might lose it." Saying a prayer for the dead and leaving those that had passed at rest, the adventurers started to follow the game trail that the killers took when they left. [/QUOTE]
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