Heritage of Dragonsreach (UPDATED September 4, 2007)
sniffles
First Post
The Saga of the Ice Fangs
After our months of other activity it was strange yet comfortable to return to militia duties. The Silver Claws were not given any immediate orders, but we were told that we should shortly be sent on a mission of some importance. Drow had been observed on the surface in the mountains near Milvarune.. There is an unspoken agreement that so long as they remain in the Underdark, the Lady has no quarrel with them.
On this journey it wouldn't be only the Silver Claws, however. The Ice Fangs, as the newcomers from Narfell have been dubbed, would be joining us. As Hedrin had been training them during our leave, this seemed like a wise choice. They had benefited from their training for those few months. There are six members of the Ice Fangs; Grond is nominally the leader by virtue of his great strength, but it's Helga who does the decision-making. Left to his own devices Grond would just try to overpower everything with brute force. Grond's brother, Gorm, also helps to keep him in line. And Tarsus the priest adds some much-needed wisdom to their unit.I can't say much about Hilda and Jarl beyond that they're strong warriors and not quite as reckless as Grond.
We were making our way toward the mountains near Milvarune when Hedrin and Gorm stumbled on some unusual tracks. They were so surprised by the size that they didn't recognize what type of tracks they were seeing until Roland exclaimed that they were dragon tracks! We made a thorough search of the area for any other evidence, and all of us nearly banged heads when we spotted the scale embedded in a tree. It was a black scale.
We hadn't any messenger birds to send back to Dragonsreach, nor any spells that would do the trick. We considered sending someone from our party back, and Hedrin offered to go, but Roland decided we ought to get more information first. He concluded that the best way to do that would be for our two units to split up and search separately. The Ice Fangs were ordered to follow the dragon tracks and see if they could find out what it was up to - but they were strictly told not to engage it or attract its attention. Easier said than done, as it transpired.
What follows is what I learned when they returned. (Player's note - this adventure hasn't concluded yet - hopefully at least one Ice Fang will live to tell the tale!) Gorm led his companions after the dragon, being the best at tracking in their group. But even he couldn't follow tracks onto rocky ground. Then Helga and Hilda noticed something among the rocks and climbed up to investigate.
It was the remains of a deer or elk, but so little was left that it was hard to identify. They were about to move on when Helga noticed something large causing some nearby trees to thrash about. Deciding that caution is the better part of valor, she shouted for her companions to run for the shelter of another copse of trees. As they ran they heard a mighty roar.
Within the trees they discovered a crevice in the rocks. Needing cover from their pursuer, they all scrambled into the crevice. There was no doubt it was the dragon chasing them when it began roaring and clawing at the entrance of their bolthole. Luckily Gorm had learned a little of the draconic tongue during his time in Dragonsreach and understood it to be bellowing something about how no one could know of its presence. He also managed to catch its name: Bramahthranaxian. Evidently it's not a very intelligent dragon, though by its size it is fully grown.
The Ice Fangs kept moving through the crack in the rock, trying to get as far away from the dragon as they could in case it breathed on them. Helga is a druidess and summoned a light to guide them. It was as dark as the Underdark in that crevice. They kept moving, hoping the narrow passage would eventually emerge somewhere on the slopes away from the dragon.
After a good while they came upon a sheer drop, rimmed by a narrow ledge. Gorm thought the ledge had been made by intelligent creatures rather than the forces of nature. Since their only other choice was to go back the way they had come, they decided to risk the ledge. Hilda and Tarsus had to remove their armor for fear of overbalancing, and everyone strapped their shields to their backs.
To their disappointment the ledge led down rather than up as they'd hoped. They heard some odd scrabbling noises as they began to shuffle along the ledge. Then a huge limbless creature emerged from a tunnel overhead and snatched up Hilda!
Helga cast a spell on herself to enable her to climb the wall like a spider and ran up to engage the monster. Grond ran at it and struck it a might blow with his sword. Then a second monster emerged! Fortunately Hilda managed to wrench herself free of the first creature's jaws. It snapped at Grond then but he dodged it and lopped of its head. His companions got rather short shrift in the telling of the story, I'm afraid.
The second creature grabbed Jarl. Grond then made a mighty leap right over the monster and again struck such a mighty blow that it died at once - but it began to fall into the abyss with Jarl still in its jaws! Only a joint effort by Hilda, Helga and Gorm snatched Jarl back from the brink of the cliff. He on the other hand, was rather put out that he lost his sword.
As the Ice Fangs were meant to meet us in a few hours' time and the ledge continued downward, they decided to risk going back to the entrance of the cave, hoping that Bramahthranaxian would have given up and departed by the time they reached the outside.
The rest of their tale will have to wait until I have time to transcribe it.
Quips & Quotes:
Hedrin: "Grond had to go on the special bus." (Grond has a 6 Int)
sniffles: "He missed the special bus."
Hedrin: "No he didn't - it hit him every day."
Jubilee: "I have to eat a live spider to cast spider climb?!"
Zora: "It's Eschew Materials, not Chew Materials."
After our months of other activity it was strange yet comfortable to return to militia duties. The Silver Claws were not given any immediate orders, but we were told that we should shortly be sent on a mission of some importance. Drow had been observed on the surface in the mountains near Milvarune.. There is an unspoken agreement that so long as they remain in the Underdark, the Lady has no quarrel with them.
On this journey it wouldn't be only the Silver Claws, however. The Ice Fangs, as the newcomers from Narfell have been dubbed, would be joining us. As Hedrin had been training them during our leave, this seemed like a wise choice. They had benefited from their training for those few months. There are six members of the Ice Fangs; Grond is nominally the leader by virtue of his great strength, but it's Helga who does the decision-making. Left to his own devices Grond would just try to overpower everything with brute force. Grond's brother, Gorm, also helps to keep him in line. And Tarsus the priest adds some much-needed wisdom to their unit.I can't say much about Hilda and Jarl beyond that they're strong warriors and not quite as reckless as Grond.
We were making our way toward the mountains near Milvarune when Hedrin and Gorm stumbled on some unusual tracks. They were so surprised by the size that they didn't recognize what type of tracks they were seeing until Roland exclaimed that they were dragon tracks! We made a thorough search of the area for any other evidence, and all of us nearly banged heads when we spotted the scale embedded in a tree. It was a black scale.
We hadn't any messenger birds to send back to Dragonsreach, nor any spells that would do the trick. We considered sending someone from our party back, and Hedrin offered to go, but Roland decided we ought to get more information first. He concluded that the best way to do that would be for our two units to split up and search separately. The Ice Fangs were ordered to follow the dragon tracks and see if they could find out what it was up to - but they were strictly told not to engage it or attract its attention. Easier said than done, as it transpired.
What follows is what I learned when they returned. (Player's note - this adventure hasn't concluded yet - hopefully at least one Ice Fang will live to tell the tale!) Gorm led his companions after the dragon, being the best at tracking in their group. But even he couldn't follow tracks onto rocky ground. Then Helga and Hilda noticed something among the rocks and climbed up to investigate.
It was the remains of a deer or elk, but so little was left that it was hard to identify. They were about to move on when Helga noticed something large causing some nearby trees to thrash about. Deciding that caution is the better part of valor, she shouted for her companions to run for the shelter of another copse of trees. As they ran they heard a mighty roar.
Within the trees they discovered a crevice in the rocks. Needing cover from their pursuer, they all scrambled into the crevice. There was no doubt it was the dragon chasing them when it began roaring and clawing at the entrance of their bolthole. Luckily Gorm had learned a little of the draconic tongue during his time in Dragonsreach and understood it to be bellowing something about how no one could know of its presence. He also managed to catch its name: Bramahthranaxian. Evidently it's not a very intelligent dragon, though by its size it is fully grown.
The Ice Fangs kept moving through the crack in the rock, trying to get as far away from the dragon as they could in case it breathed on them. Helga is a druidess and summoned a light to guide them. It was as dark as the Underdark in that crevice. They kept moving, hoping the narrow passage would eventually emerge somewhere on the slopes away from the dragon.
After a good while they came upon a sheer drop, rimmed by a narrow ledge. Gorm thought the ledge had been made by intelligent creatures rather than the forces of nature. Since their only other choice was to go back the way they had come, they decided to risk the ledge. Hilda and Tarsus had to remove their armor for fear of overbalancing, and everyone strapped their shields to their backs.
To their disappointment the ledge led down rather than up as they'd hoped. They heard some odd scrabbling noises as they began to shuffle along the ledge. Then a huge limbless creature emerged from a tunnel overhead and snatched up Hilda!
Helga cast a spell on herself to enable her to climb the wall like a spider and ran up to engage the monster. Grond ran at it and struck it a might blow with his sword. Then a second monster emerged! Fortunately Hilda managed to wrench herself free of the first creature's jaws. It snapped at Grond then but he dodged it and lopped of its head. His companions got rather short shrift in the telling of the story, I'm afraid.
The second creature grabbed Jarl. Grond then made a mighty leap right over the monster and again struck such a mighty blow that it died at once - but it began to fall into the abyss with Jarl still in its jaws! Only a joint effort by Hilda, Helga and Gorm snatched Jarl back from the brink of the cliff. He on the other hand, was rather put out that he lost his sword.
As the Ice Fangs were meant to meet us in a few hours' time and the ledge continued downward, they decided to risk going back to the entrance of the cave, hoping that Bramahthranaxian would have given up and departed by the time they reached the outside.
The rest of their tale will have to wait until I have time to transcribe it.
Quips & Quotes:
Hedrin: "Grond had to go on the special bus." (Grond has a 6 Int)
sniffles: "He missed the special bus."
Hedrin: "No he didn't - it hit him every day."
Jubilee: "I have to eat a live spider to cast spider climb?!"
Zora: "It's Eschew Materials, not Chew Materials."
Last edited:
sniffles
First Post
Face to Face With a Black Dragon
As the Ice Fangs were making their way back to the cave entrance, we of the Silver Claws had returned to the appointed meeting place to find that the Ice Fangs hadn't arrived. We waited a short while, then began searching for them.
Hedrin was soon able to determine that the dragon had definitely gone in the same direction that the Ice Fangs had taken. Of course that worried us. It worried us even more when Hedrin and Latan noticed animals apparently fleeing something that lay ahead of us. Hedrin went ahead to scout. He soon reappeared to warn us that the dragon was attacking something, probably the Ice Fangs by the sound of it - though he couldn't actually see what was happening as the dragon had surrounded himself with a globe of darkness.
We rushed out to help our companions, though I wasn't certain how as we couldn't see well in the dim lighting. There was a good deal of shouting coming from within the shadowy illumination. Poor Roland and Percy were left behind - they just aren't as quick as the rest of us, particularly when Latan lifted off into the air, raised by a pair of insubstantial silvery wings! But Roland began chanting an inspiring story of the Lady's deeds to encourage us. When I drew nearer to the dragon I had a thought and started reciting the same story in time with him so the Ice Fangs could better hear it.
Hedrin fired off a blast of his eldritch energy, which turned silver as it spread from him to strike the dragon - a sign of the Lady's favor, no doubt. He bellowed at the dragon to leave or face the Lady's wrath. I drew my bow and began firing at it, but it's armor was too tough and I couldn't aim well when I couldn't properly see it. Latan drew out a wand and sent several arcane missiles hurtling at it, which seemed to strike their target surely.
From within the darkness near the dragon's head - we could see its' tail protruding from the shadow so we knew which way it faced - the dragon spat a stream of acid at Hedrin. Then we heard Helga shout out its' name. Roland called out to it by name and warned it that other dragons were on the way to enforce the Lady's will.
Bramathranaxian didn't appear inclined to listen at first, but Roland's words must have given him pause, as he ceased attacking the Ice Fangs. Latan was able to help them get out of immediate reach of his fangs. Gorm and Hilda were badly hurt and Grond was in a red-faced fury. Latan did what she could to heal their wounds. I would have gone to help but I was on the opposite side of the dragon and didn't want to cross him.
Roland kept talking in a reasonable, measured manner, and this convinced Bramathranaxian to stand down. His shadowy 'cloak' vanished. Roland correctly surmised that the only cause for a young black dragon to be in the Lady's territory was that he had no home and had somehow been coerced. Roland's honeyed words convinced him that it would be wiser to depart and seek some other dwelling place, and that the Lady would deal with whomever had threatened him. It didn't hurt that he was obviously aware of the embarrassing fate of the red dragon who tried to directly threaten Dragonsreach a year ago.
He might have been a rather rash young dragon, but he was not a stupid one. He made a few threatening swoops at us, particularly at Latan as her missiles had hurt him, and then flew off, leaving us to attend to the Ice Fangs.
I learned later that Bramathranaxian had rather cleverly positioned himself at the mouth of the cave and encircled himself in darkness so the Ice Fangs would be unable to tell when they reached the egress. Gorm had all but walked into the dragon's mouth. He would have had Bramathranaxian been older and larger.
At least we've dealt with that threat, thank the Lady. But now we still must seek the drow and try to at the least confirm their presence. I hope we'll have less trouble with that task.
Quips & Quotes:
Zora: "Do a Perform (Nature)."
Hedrin: "Okay." (pretends to unzip his fly)
Zora: "You sense that there is a disturbance..."
Jubilee: "... in the Forest."
Hedrin: "I broke my Hide."
Devo: "I tanned mine."
Zora: "Bite the tongue that eats you."
Zora (to the tune of 'Hooked on a Feeling'): "Hooked on a molar..."
Devo (to the tune of 'Thanks for the Memories'): "Fangs for the memories..."
Zora: "It's pitch black."
Devo: "Is Riddick in there?"
Devo: "So are you using your magic missiles to attack the darkness?"
Zora: "Jarl heals 11 points to Gorm."
Devo: "So you can stand up and provoke an attack of opportunity!"
As the Ice Fangs were making their way back to the cave entrance, we of the Silver Claws had returned to the appointed meeting place to find that the Ice Fangs hadn't arrived. We waited a short while, then began searching for them.
Hedrin was soon able to determine that the dragon had definitely gone in the same direction that the Ice Fangs had taken. Of course that worried us. It worried us even more when Hedrin and Latan noticed animals apparently fleeing something that lay ahead of us. Hedrin went ahead to scout. He soon reappeared to warn us that the dragon was attacking something, probably the Ice Fangs by the sound of it - though he couldn't actually see what was happening as the dragon had surrounded himself with a globe of darkness.
We rushed out to help our companions, though I wasn't certain how as we couldn't see well in the dim lighting. There was a good deal of shouting coming from within the shadowy illumination. Poor Roland and Percy were left behind - they just aren't as quick as the rest of us, particularly when Latan lifted off into the air, raised by a pair of insubstantial silvery wings! But Roland began chanting an inspiring story of the Lady's deeds to encourage us. When I drew nearer to the dragon I had a thought and started reciting the same story in time with him so the Ice Fangs could better hear it.
Hedrin fired off a blast of his eldritch energy, which turned silver as it spread from him to strike the dragon - a sign of the Lady's favor, no doubt. He bellowed at the dragon to leave or face the Lady's wrath. I drew my bow and began firing at it, but it's armor was too tough and I couldn't aim well when I couldn't properly see it. Latan drew out a wand and sent several arcane missiles hurtling at it, which seemed to strike their target surely.
From within the darkness near the dragon's head - we could see its' tail protruding from the shadow so we knew which way it faced - the dragon spat a stream of acid at Hedrin. Then we heard Helga shout out its' name. Roland called out to it by name and warned it that other dragons were on the way to enforce the Lady's will.
Bramathranaxian didn't appear inclined to listen at first, but Roland's words must have given him pause, as he ceased attacking the Ice Fangs. Latan was able to help them get out of immediate reach of his fangs. Gorm and Hilda were badly hurt and Grond was in a red-faced fury. Latan did what she could to heal their wounds. I would have gone to help but I was on the opposite side of the dragon and didn't want to cross him.
Roland kept talking in a reasonable, measured manner, and this convinced Bramathranaxian to stand down. His shadowy 'cloak' vanished. Roland correctly surmised that the only cause for a young black dragon to be in the Lady's territory was that he had no home and had somehow been coerced. Roland's honeyed words convinced him that it would be wiser to depart and seek some other dwelling place, and that the Lady would deal with whomever had threatened him. It didn't hurt that he was obviously aware of the embarrassing fate of the red dragon who tried to directly threaten Dragonsreach a year ago.
He might have been a rather rash young dragon, but he was not a stupid one. He made a few threatening swoops at us, particularly at Latan as her missiles had hurt him, and then flew off, leaving us to attend to the Ice Fangs.
I learned later that Bramathranaxian had rather cleverly positioned himself at the mouth of the cave and encircled himself in darkness so the Ice Fangs would be unable to tell when they reached the egress. Gorm had all but walked into the dragon's mouth. He would have had Bramathranaxian been older and larger.
At least we've dealt with that threat, thank the Lady. But now we still must seek the drow and try to at the least confirm their presence. I hope we'll have less trouble with that task.
Quips & Quotes:
Zora: "Do a Perform (Nature)."
Hedrin: "Okay." (pretends to unzip his fly)
Zora: "You sense that there is a disturbance..."
Jubilee: "... in the Forest."
Hedrin: "I broke my Hide."
Devo: "I tanned mine."
Zora: "Bite the tongue that eats you."
Zora (to the tune of 'Hooked on a Feeling'): "Hooked on a molar..."
Devo (to the tune of 'Thanks for the Memories'): "Fangs for the memories..."
Zora: "It's pitch black."
Devo: "Is Riddick in there?"
Devo: "So are you using your magic missiles to attack the darkness?"
Zora: "Jarl heals 11 points to Gorm."
Devo: "So you can stand up and provoke an attack of opportunity!"
sniffles
First Post
Sorrows and Blessings
Finding the drow now seems the least of my concerns. These past three days have been bitter ones for we of the Silver Claws.
We had to expend much healing magic on behalf of the Ice Fangs, who were all badly hurt. Gorm had very nearly died and was too weak to travel on his own, though he kept insisting he was well enough. I cast a spell of healthful rest during the first night to aid everyone's recovery.
The following morning Latan and Helga summoned birds to carry messages back to Dragonsreach. We continued recovering our strength under their care and with the aid of Tarsus of the Ice Fangs, who will become a priest of the Lady soon I anticipate. Percy helped by preparing all sorts of dishes, far more exotic than one would ordinarily expect to dine on in the wilderness.
But before that interlude began we had decided to move our camp a bit for safety. We had only just completed that relocation when I and the other Silver Claws felt a familiar sinking sensation in our abdomens and realized that another of the Blessed must have been slain! I felt all my strength drain away like water from a leaky cup. Poor Percy fell on his face and gave himself a bloody nose.
We took the remainder of the day to recover from this event. And we were not spared further trouble. As evening neared we felt the same sensation yet again! Once more I was weakened and Percy toppled to the ground. But Latan and Hedrin were affected worse than ever before - both of them seemed for a short while to forget entirely who they were!
I had to attend to calming Latan, as she no longer recalled how to speak any tongue other than her native sylvan language. Isaura was beside herself with confusion and I had to pacify the little elemental as well. She kept playing with Latan's hair, which Latan found bewildering as she didn't recall having an elemental companion. In the meanwhile Roland had to prevent Hedrin from panicking when he noticed his own claws and fangs.
After a short while their memories came back to them, but it was a distressing time for all of us and left the Ice Fangs quite lost, I'm sure. They loyally watched over us as best they could, for which I am very grateful.
Hedrin complained that something seemed odd to him during the night, but he could find nothing to account for his disturbance. The following day began quietly enough, but was interrupted by yet another Blessed's demise! Oh, my Lady, I wish I knew what could be done to stop Lerner's depredations. He must be mad. How else could he think this is right?
Once again I fell to the ground, all my strength drained away. But this time I found myself in another place, a broad plain filled with silvery shapes. I knew somehow that they were all Blessed like myself, though I could not determine if they were living or dead or merely potential Blessings waiting to be bestowed.
As I stood staring toward the Lady's mountain, one of these silvery forms entered into me. I knew at once that it was a woman from Calimshan, a healer, who had been slain by Lerner's foul ritual. I felt such sorrow for her death, yet somehow it seemed right to me that I should receive her Blessing rather than Lerner or one of his companions.
When I found myself back in my body again I could not speak for a long while. I wept long for the poor woman who had died. Latan understands. She has already experienced this on one occasion, and very nearly a second time when Tybo died in Milvarune.
After I had recovered my composure I told my friends what happened to me and we contemplated that Lerner must be in Calimshan, finding every Blessed he can lay hands on. The thought of all those poor people dying at his hands horrifies me. I can't help wondering why the Lady cannot intervene personally. But I must not doubt her. Perhaps she has plans too vast for me to comprehend.
Our torture wasn't over yet. During the night it happened again. This time it was Roland who visited the Lady's divine realm. When he recovered he told us that he, too, had absorbed another Blessing - this time that of a man who was wed to the woman I had encountered! Worse yet, Roland knew that the man's wife had been with child, and that child had also been Blessed. It horrifies me to think that the Blessing of an unborn child has now been stolen by Lerner Provol.
(Several small round stains spot the page here, blurring the ink)
We could hardly continue our journey after these experiences, so we remained another day, letting Hedrin and the Ice Fangs watch over us. In the evening the same doom befell us once more. Percy was the victim on this occasion. He would say little afterward, as is his way, but disturbingly it appears that the person whose Blessing came to him had the same ability to disregard pain as Lerner's companion Diceros, the murderous wrestler.
Player notes:
For anyone who might be reading along, I'll give a slightly more detailed explanation of what's going on. Each of the PCs has, in addition to a larger number of feats than allowed by the RAW, a Heroic Path selected from the Midnight setting. We each randomly chose a Heroic Path at character creation. Periodically, the GM (Zora) rolls randomly to see if another Blessed dies and if their Blessing passes to one of the PCs. The percentage chance for this to happen is low, but we all kept rolling extremely low last session. We then rolled randomly to determine which Heroic Path a character received. There are a couple of paths Zora has chosen not to use, leaving 32 of them to choose from. We rolled 1d30 + (1d3 -1) to determine which one to use.
Quips & Quotes: (not many this session, as you can see it was fairly serious)
Hedrin: "Does my size make my butt look Large?"
Devo: "Roland's all touchy-feely."
Jubilee: "Roland watches chick flicks."
Devo: "No, he writes them."
Finding the drow now seems the least of my concerns. These past three days have been bitter ones for we of the Silver Claws.
We had to expend much healing magic on behalf of the Ice Fangs, who were all badly hurt. Gorm had very nearly died and was too weak to travel on his own, though he kept insisting he was well enough. I cast a spell of healthful rest during the first night to aid everyone's recovery.
The following morning Latan and Helga summoned birds to carry messages back to Dragonsreach. We continued recovering our strength under their care and with the aid of Tarsus of the Ice Fangs, who will become a priest of the Lady soon I anticipate. Percy helped by preparing all sorts of dishes, far more exotic than one would ordinarily expect to dine on in the wilderness.
But before that interlude began we had decided to move our camp a bit for safety. We had only just completed that relocation when I and the other Silver Claws felt a familiar sinking sensation in our abdomens and realized that another of the Blessed must have been slain! I felt all my strength drain away like water from a leaky cup. Poor Percy fell on his face and gave himself a bloody nose.
We took the remainder of the day to recover from this event. And we were not spared further trouble. As evening neared we felt the same sensation yet again! Once more I was weakened and Percy toppled to the ground. But Latan and Hedrin were affected worse than ever before - both of them seemed for a short while to forget entirely who they were!
I had to attend to calming Latan, as she no longer recalled how to speak any tongue other than her native sylvan language. Isaura was beside herself with confusion and I had to pacify the little elemental as well. She kept playing with Latan's hair, which Latan found bewildering as she didn't recall having an elemental companion. In the meanwhile Roland had to prevent Hedrin from panicking when he noticed his own claws and fangs.
After a short while their memories came back to them, but it was a distressing time for all of us and left the Ice Fangs quite lost, I'm sure. They loyally watched over us as best they could, for which I am very grateful.
Hedrin complained that something seemed odd to him during the night, but he could find nothing to account for his disturbance. The following day began quietly enough, but was interrupted by yet another Blessed's demise! Oh, my Lady, I wish I knew what could be done to stop Lerner's depredations. He must be mad. How else could he think this is right?
Once again I fell to the ground, all my strength drained away. But this time I found myself in another place, a broad plain filled with silvery shapes. I knew somehow that they were all Blessed like myself, though I could not determine if they were living or dead or merely potential Blessings waiting to be bestowed.
As I stood staring toward the Lady's mountain, one of these silvery forms entered into me. I knew at once that it was a woman from Calimshan, a healer, who had been slain by Lerner's foul ritual. I felt such sorrow for her death, yet somehow it seemed right to me that I should receive her Blessing rather than Lerner or one of his companions.
When I found myself back in my body again I could not speak for a long while. I wept long for the poor woman who had died. Latan understands. She has already experienced this on one occasion, and very nearly a second time when Tybo died in Milvarune.
After I had recovered my composure I told my friends what happened to me and we contemplated that Lerner must be in Calimshan, finding every Blessed he can lay hands on. The thought of all those poor people dying at his hands horrifies me. I can't help wondering why the Lady cannot intervene personally. But I must not doubt her. Perhaps she has plans too vast for me to comprehend.
Our torture wasn't over yet. During the night it happened again. This time it was Roland who visited the Lady's divine realm. When he recovered he told us that he, too, had absorbed another Blessing - this time that of a man who was wed to the woman I had encountered! Worse yet, Roland knew that the man's wife had been with child, and that child had also been Blessed. It horrifies me to think that the Blessing of an unborn child has now been stolen by Lerner Provol.
(Several small round stains spot the page here, blurring the ink)
We could hardly continue our journey after these experiences, so we remained another day, letting Hedrin and the Ice Fangs watch over us. In the evening the same doom befell us once more. Percy was the victim on this occasion. He would say little afterward, as is his way, but disturbingly it appears that the person whose Blessing came to him had the same ability to disregard pain as Lerner's companion Diceros, the murderous wrestler.
Player notes:
For anyone who might be reading along, I'll give a slightly more detailed explanation of what's going on. Each of the PCs has, in addition to a larger number of feats than allowed by the RAW, a Heroic Path selected from the Midnight setting. We each randomly chose a Heroic Path at character creation. Periodically, the GM (Zora) rolls randomly to see if another Blessed dies and if their Blessing passes to one of the PCs. The percentage chance for this to happen is low, but we all kept rolling extremely low last session. We then rolled randomly to determine which Heroic Path a character received. There are a couple of paths Zora has chosen not to use, leaving 32 of them to choose from. We rolled 1d30 + (1d3 -1) to determine which one to use.
Quips & Quotes: (not many this session, as you can see it was fairly serious)
Hedrin: "Does my size make my butt look Large?"
Devo: "Roland's all touchy-feely."
Jubilee: "Roland watches chick flicks."
Devo: "No, he writes them."
sniffles
First Post
A Long Voyage Ahead?
I should have trusted that the Lady wouldn't let us suffer.
The morning following Percy's horrible experience, I woke to a feeling of such joy that I can scarecely describe it. Colors seemed brighter, scents more intense, sound clearer. It was as though a veil had been drawn away from my senses that I hadn't known I wore. I realized at once that I was feeling some small measure of the divine pleasure the Lady must be experiencing at that moment, though I didn't then know why.
The Ice Fangs didn't feel what we Silver Claws experienced, but even they were more cheerful and boisterous that morning. Suffused with good feeling, we packed up our sad little camp and set off for Milvarune to make our report to Dragonsreach. Our steps were light as we strolled along the path. Even learning of Hedrin's strange experience in the forest with a halfling woman named Rose couldn't dampen our elevated mood.
This Rose, it seems, is some associate of Lerner's, though she may be cooperating with him under duress. She offered Hedrin some information regarding Lerner's activities, and gave him a token to find and meet her in Milvarune. We hoped whatever she told us would aid us in opposing his activities.
As we made our way along the path to the town, we came upon a caravan. Not wanting to startle them by coming upon them from behind, I went forward to warn them and assure them of our friendly intentions. Roland endowed me with the longstrider ability so that I could catch them up quickly.
The caravan turned out to made up of halflings. Though their wagons were gaily colored, the halflings themselves seemed rather too regimented to be simply a wandering troup of entertainers or traders. As soon as I spoke with them they halted. They insisted that we must meet with someone they referred to as Mother. When the rest of our party caught up, the Silver Claws were invited into the largest wagon.
It was the largest wagon, but by that token it shouldn't have been as large as it was within. By some enchantment the interior was larger than the exterior! It was one of the most colorful and exotic places I've ever seen. Hedrin kept looking around him and sniffing the air like a dog who's scented hidden squirrels.
We were guided to an impressively large chamber and introduced to a wizened old halfling woman. She demanded a token, but none of us knew what she meant. At last Hedrin searched his pockets and discovered that apparently Rose had secreted the token on his person, much to Mother's mingled amusement and annoyance.
Mother invited us to continue our journey in company with the caravan. Rose is her daughter and she was concerned about Rose's activities with Lerner, though she didn't know any more than we did at that time. But Mother did seem to fear that some danger threatened on the road, and she believed that we would be safer in company with her family.
I spent the remainder of our journey chatting with the halflings, learning as many stories and as much of their lore as I could, as well as picking up a few words and phrases of their native tongue. I can't think why I haven't learned Halfling before now. Oddly, I discovered that they refer to their patron goddess as the Lady, although by that they don't mean the Lady I revere. They give their allegiance to a halfling goddess of good fortune.
We arrived in Milvarune at mid-evening, far sooner than we'd expected. As we parted ways with Mother's caravan she asked one of her sons, Windsor, to accompany us so that he could make contact with Rose and report back to Mother on her condition. Windsor seems to have the same sort of arcane power as Hedrin, although his ability is of course not influenced by the Lady.
We made our way first to the Lady's temple to notify the priests of our arrival and arrange to use the scrying bowl to contact Dragonsreach. The priests hadn't expected us so soon, and the spell could not be cast until the following morning. So we turned our attention to contacting the mysterious Rose.
Rose was found at the Green Spoon, a quality inn and gambling house. After taking rooms we sought her out in the gambling rooms at the back of the establishment. Roland and Hedrin spent most of the night at cards with her. I chose not to get involved in that activity; games of chance have never seemed very appealing to me. I'm afraid that I missed out on most of their discussion. It was all carried out in a very roundabout manner, with many innuendoes and implications that I couldn't catch when distracted by all the other activity in the room. I had to wait until the following morning at the temple to learn what they'd uncovered.
When we contacted Father Merrick and Father Borabyl at home, I learned that the Blessing Percy had absorbed from the child had left him. That was the source of the good feeling we'd experienced all during the previous day - the infant's spirit had returned to the Lady. Poor Percy now knew just a little of what Father Merrick's brother had experienced with the loss of the Lady's Blessing*, but he was also relieved not to have a Blessing with such unpleasant associations.
We explained to the fathers all that we had learned - or should I say, all that Roland had learned - of Lerner's activities in Calimshan. Rose had also advised him that Lerner's people meant to travel next to Chult, as they'd learned of an entire village of Blessed there. They are sadly getting much more efficient at stealing Blessings - it was quite unlikely that three of us would have absorbed the Blessings they intended for themselves. The Lady must have had some hand in that.
Now the priests must decide if we should continue our mission to seek the drow, or prepare to travel to distant Chult. While I must confess it would be exciting to visit that far-away land, my fear of Lerner outweighs any pleasure I have from the thought of the journey.
I doubt that we have sufficient skills to stand up to that horrid man and his misguided companions at present. I can only hope that we have an ally in Rose. And I trust to the Lady to aid us in our time of need.
*Father Merrick's brother is a sage at Candlekeep. He was once one of the Blessed but somehow lost his Blessing during an experiment to find a way to transfer such abilities. He was responsible for creating the ritual that Lerner Provol is using to steal Blessings, though it wasn't his intention to use his ritual that way.
Sadly that portion of our adventures is one of the missing areas that I haven't yet been able to restore.
Quips & Quotes:
sniffles: "Who uses a stool?"
Devo: "Depends."
Zora: "They're magebred. Mage raisin bread."
Zora: "The halfling wagon is made for halflings, but it's strong enough for a human."
I should have trusted that the Lady wouldn't let us suffer.
The morning following Percy's horrible experience, I woke to a feeling of such joy that I can scarecely describe it. Colors seemed brighter, scents more intense, sound clearer. It was as though a veil had been drawn away from my senses that I hadn't known I wore. I realized at once that I was feeling some small measure of the divine pleasure the Lady must be experiencing at that moment, though I didn't then know why.
The Ice Fangs didn't feel what we Silver Claws experienced, but even they were more cheerful and boisterous that morning. Suffused with good feeling, we packed up our sad little camp and set off for Milvarune to make our report to Dragonsreach. Our steps were light as we strolled along the path. Even learning of Hedrin's strange experience in the forest with a halfling woman named Rose couldn't dampen our elevated mood.
This Rose, it seems, is some associate of Lerner's, though she may be cooperating with him under duress. She offered Hedrin some information regarding Lerner's activities, and gave him a token to find and meet her in Milvarune. We hoped whatever she told us would aid us in opposing his activities.
As we made our way along the path to the town, we came upon a caravan. Not wanting to startle them by coming upon them from behind, I went forward to warn them and assure them of our friendly intentions. Roland endowed me with the longstrider ability so that I could catch them up quickly.
The caravan turned out to made up of halflings. Though their wagons were gaily colored, the halflings themselves seemed rather too regimented to be simply a wandering troup of entertainers or traders. As soon as I spoke with them they halted. They insisted that we must meet with someone they referred to as Mother. When the rest of our party caught up, the Silver Claws were invited into the largest wagon.
It was the largest wagon, but by that token it shouldn't have been as large as it was within. By some enchantment the interior was larger than the exterior! It was one of the most colorful and exotic places I've ever seen. Hedrin kept looking around him and sniffing the air like a dog who's scented hidden squirrels.
We were guided to an impressively large chamber and introduced to a wizened old halfling woman. She demanded a token, but none of us knew what she meant. At last Hedrin searched his pockets and discovered that apparently Rose had secreted the token on his person, much to Mother's mingled amusement and annoyance.
Mother invited us to continue our journey in company with the caravan. Rose is her daughter and she was concerned about Rose's activities with Lerner, though she didn't know any more than we did at that time. But Mother did seem to fear that some danger threatened on the road, and she believed that we would be safer in company with her family.
I spent the remainder of our journey chatting with the halflings, learning as many stories and as much of their lore as I could, as well as picking up a few words and phrases of their native tongue. I can't think why I haven't learned Halfling before now. Oddly, I discovered that they refer to their patron goddess as the Lady, although by that they don't mean the Lady I revere. They give their allegiance to a halfling goddess of good fortune.
We arrived in Milvarune at mid-evening, far sooner than we'd expected. As we parted ways with Mother's caravan she asked one of her sons, Windsor, to accompany us so that he could make contact with Rose and report back to Mother on her condition. Windsor seems to have the same sort of arcane power as Hedrin, although his ability is of course not influenced by the Lady.
We made our way first to the Lady's temple to notify the priests of our arrival and arrange to use the scrying bowl to contact Dragonsreach. The priests hadn't expected us so soon, and the spell could not be cast until the following morning. So we turned our attention to contacting the mysterious Rose.
Rose was found at the Green Spoon, a quality inn and gambling house. After taking rooms we sought her out in the gambling rooms at the back of the establishment. Roland and Hedrin spent most of the night at cards with her. I chose not to get involved in that activity; games of chance have never seemed very appealing to me. I'm afraid that I missed out on most of their discussion. It was all carried out in a very roundabout manner, with many innuendoes and implications that I couldn't catch when distracted by all the other activity in the room. I had to wait until the following morning at the temple to learn what they'd uncovered.
When we contacted Father Merrick and Father Borabyl at home, I learned that the Blessing Percy had absorbed from the child had left him. That was the source of the good feeling we'd experienced all during the previous day - the infant's spirit had returned to the Lady. Poor Percy now knew just a little of what Father Merrick's brother had experienced with the loss of the Lady's Blessing*, but he was also relieved not to have a Blessing with such unpleasant associations.
We explained to the fathers all that we had learned - or should I say, all that Roland had learned - of Lerner's activities in Calimshan. Rose had also advised him that Lerner's people meant to travel next to Chult, as they'd learned of an entire village of Blessed there. They are sadly getting much more efficient at stealing Blessings - it was quite unlikely that three of us would have absorbed the Blessings they intended for themselves. The Lady must have had some hand in that.
Now the priests must decide if we should continue our mission to seek the drow, or prepare to travel to distant Chult. While I must confess it would be exciting to visit that far-away land, my fear of Lerner outweighs any pleasure I have from the thought of the journey.
I doubt that we have sufficient skills to stand up to that horrid man and his misguided companions at present. I can only hope that we have an ally in Rose. And I trust to the Lady to aid us in our time of need.
*Father Merrick's brother is a sage at Candlekeep. He was once one of the Blessed but somehow lost his Blessing during an experiment to find a way to transfer such abilities. He was responsible for creating the ritual that Lerner Provol is using to steal Blessings, though it wasn't his intention to use his ritual that way.
Sadly that portion of our adventures is one of the missing areas that I haven't yet been able to restore.
Quips & Quotes:
sniffles: "Who uses a stool?"
Devo: "Depends."
Zora: "They're magebred. Mage raisin bread."
Zora: "The halfling wagon is made for halflings, but it's strong enough for a human."
Last edited:
Zora
First Post
As the GM...
I don't normally correct someone's journal entry/diary/letter home, but I wanted to clarify one thing: Father Merrick did not say exactly how he lost his blessing. Just that up 'til this point he's been the only one to lose one. He created the ritual to try to figure out how to transfer one upon the death of one of the blessed.
I don't normally correct someone's journal entry/diary/letter home, but I wanted to clarify one thing: Father Merrick did not say exactly how he lost his blessing. Just that up 'til this point he's been the only one to lose one. He created the ritual to try to figure out how to transfer one upon the death of one of the blessed.
sniffles
First Post
Trouble in Milvarune
I neglected to mention that in our conversation with Fathers Merrick and Borabyl, we learned that Percy has somehow been able to voluntarily reject the Blessing he had received from the slain child. Such an occurrence has never happened before to their knowledge - just as no one else has ever been known to 'lose' a Blessing the way Brother Breonne did, even though we still don't know quite how he lost it.
We still continue to feel that sense of elation that came from the Lady when Percy's Blessing returned to her. Having been told that it would take three days to assemble the Council and determine our next course of action, we were given the run of Silver Cottage again and left to our own devices until called for.
I was in the garden practicing swordsmanship with Latan when she noticed that Percy was behaving oddly. He'd gone out without telling us. She decided to follow him to make certain he was all right. She'd seen that peculiar green flash in his eyes that he gets when he seems to be channelling the Seeress. I decided to follow along too.
He wended his way very purposefully through a market to a shop quaintly called the Artifactory. I would have liked to look around had the opportunity presented itself. But Percy strode right up to the counter and seized the proprietor by the collar of his robe! He was muttering something under his breath that I couldn't catch, nor could Latan make out the words. Whatever it was it terrified the wizard.
Latan managed to calm Percy and persuade him to let go of the wizard, while I tried to soothe the man's ire. I'm afraid I wasn't as succesful as I would have liked. We had to hustle a bewildered Percy out of the shop and back to the cottage. He didn't recall leaving for the wizard's shop, nor why he'd wanted to go there to begin with.
On the way back to the cottage Latan said she thought she saw someone familiar following us, a man she recognized as one of my admirers from the Dragon Days festival. She seemed to think he had less than honorable intentions by his behavior, as he apparently fled when she turned to face him. How odd.
After Roland and Hedrin rejoined us at the cottage we told them what had happened with Percy and the wizard. Roland was able to aid Percy in recovering his memory of what had provoked him. It transpired that Hedrin had taken a ring there to have it enchanted, and Percy had received a vision that the wizard meant to do something untoward with it.
We were all immediately on high alert, fearing that somehow Lerner Provol or one of his associates had got to the wizard. And the others insisted on putting the Ice Fangs on guard to watch the cottage in the event that my 'admirer' returned. I don't know why they are so concerned about him. Much more concerning is Roland's discovery that the Whisper Knives have a presence here in Milvarune.
In the evening we all accompanied Hedrin to the shop again to retrieve his ring. The ring wasn't for himself; he meant if as a gift for Semi, the wolf-woman who travels with Lerner. He is truly in love with her. This would make a fine story of star-crossed love, but I must wait to see how it plays out - and it would be inappropriate to tell such a story now when Hedrin is so near and dear a friend.
Rose the halfling had brought Hedrin a gift from Semi in secret, and Hedrin meant to respond in kind. He'd asked the wizard to enchant the ring so that it would resize itself to suit the wearer, nothing more. But the wizard had been offended when Hedrin tried to dicker over the price, and had intended to add an enchantment that would make a loud announcement impugning the buyer when the ring was first worn. He had no way to know that such a thing might have endangered the intended recipient's life. Thank the Lady all our fears about Lerner's involvement with the wizard proved false.
With that affair settled, our second plan for the evening was to return to the Green Spoon to visit Rose again at the gambling tables. She had contrived to get Semi's gift to Hedrin by 'losing' it at cards, and now Hedrin meant to use the same ruse to get the ring to her, aided by her brother Windsor.
I had no interest in watching their gambling this evening, having had my fill of it the previous night. I decided to see if the proprietor of the inn would let me perform in the common room. Having made arrangements to do so, I settled down to give my audience a taste of my version of 'Jaedrig's Tale'. I'll need to find a better title for it in future.
______________________________________________________________
Quips & Quotes:
Jubilee: "He's probably afraid of my ray of enfeeblement. It unmanned him."
Hedrin: "So now Hedrin can see invisible things. Can he see Percy's unseen servant? Teach the servant sign language so it can give him messages."
Devo: "It could give him the unseen finger."
Hedrin: "Hedrin's fine with sleeping in the woods."
Devo: "I'm fine with Hedrin sleeping in the woods."
sniffles: "Oh, great, I've got a stalker."
Hedrin: "At least it's not an invisible stalker."
sniffles: "With my Spot rolls it might as well be."
Jubilee (to Devo): "Didn't you have some Shadow Knives in your game?"
Devo: "Whisper Knives, Shadow Knives..."
Zora: (singing to the tune of 'Silent Night') "Silent knives, holy knives..."
Hedrin: (also singing): "All is calm, as per the spell..."
Zora (to Jubilee): "So you're going as Aspect of the Blond?"
I neglected to mention that in our conversation with Fathers Merrick and Borabyl, we learned that Percy has somehow been able to voluntarily reject the Blessing he had received from the slain child. Such an occurrence has never happened before to their knowledge - just as no one else has ever been known to 'lose' a Blessing the way Brother Breonne did, even though we still don't know quite how he lost it.
We still continue to feel that sense of elation that came from the Lady when Percy's Blessing returned to her. Having been told that it would take three days to assemble the Council and determine our next course of action, we were given the run of Silver Cottage again and left to our own devices until called for.
I was in the garden practicing swordsmanship with Latan when she noticed that Percy was behaving oddly. He'd gone out without telling us. She decided to follow him to make certain he was all right. She'd seen that peculiar green flash in his eyes that he gets when he seems to be channelling the Seeress. I decided to follow along too.
He wended his way very purposefully through a market to a shop quaintly called the Artifactory. I would have liked to look around had the opportunity presented itself. But Percy strode right up to the counter and seized the proprietor by the collar of his robe! He was muttering something under his breath that I couldn't catch, nor could Latan make out the words. Whatever it was it terrified the wizard.
Latan managed to calm Percy and persuade him to let go of the wizard, while I tried to soothe the man's ire. I'm afraid I wasn't as succesful as I would have liked. We had to hustle a bewildered Percy out of the shop and back to the cottage. He didn't recall leaving for the wizard's shop, nor why he'd wanted to go there to begin with.
On the way back to the cottage Latan said she thought she saw someone familiar following us, a man she recognized as one of my admirers from the Dragon Days festival. She seemed to think he had less than honorable intentions by his behavior, as he apparently fled when she turned to face him. How odd.
After Roland and Hedrin rejoined us at the cottage we told them what had happened with Percy and the wizard. Roland was able to aid Percy in recovering his memory of what had provoked him. It transpired that Hedrin had taken a ring there to have it enchanted, and Percy had received a vision that the wizard meant to do something untoward with it.
We were all immediately on high alert, fearing that somehow Lerner Provol or one of his associates had got to the wizard. And the others insisted on putting the Ice Fangs on guard to watch the cottage in the event that my 'admirer' returned. I don't know why they are so concerned about him. Much more concerning is Roland's discovery that the Whisper Knives have a presence here in Milvarune.
In the evening we all accompanied Hedrin to the shop again to retrieve his ring. The ring wasn't for himself; he meant if as a gift for Semi, the wolf-woman who travels with Lerner. He is truly in love with her. This would make a fine story of star-crossed love, but I must wait to see how it plays out - and it would be inappropriate to tell such a story now when Hedrin is so near and dear a friend.
Rose the halfling had brought Hedrin a gift from Semi in secret, and Hedrin meant to respond in kind. He'd asked the wizard to enchant the ring so that it would resize itself to suit the wearer, nothing more. But the wizard had been offended when Hedrin tried to dicker over the price, and had intended to add an enchantment that would make a loud announcement impugning the buyer when the ring was first worn. He had no way to know that such a thing might have endangered the intended recipient's life. Thank the Lady all our fears about Lerner's involvement with the wizard proved false.
With that affair settled, our second plan for the evening was to return to the Green Spoon to visit Rose again at the gambling tables. She had contrived to get Semi's gift to Hedrin by 'losing' it at cards, and now Hedrin meant to use the same ruse to get the ring to her, aided by her brother Windsor.
I had no interest in watching their gambling this evening, having had my fill of it the previous night. I decided to see if the proprietor of the inn would let me perform in the common room. Having made arrangements to do so, I settled down to give my audience a taste of my version of 'Jaedrig's Tale'. I'll need to find a better title for it in future.
______________________________________________________________
Quips & Quotes:
Jubilee: "He's probably afraid of my ray of enfeeblement. It unmanned him."
Hedrin: "So now Hedrin can see invisible things. Can he see Percy's unseen servant? Teach the servant sign language so it can give him messages."
Devo: "It could give him the unseen finger."
Hedrin: "Hedrin's fine with sleeping in the woods."
Devo: "I'm fine with Hedrin sleeping in the woods."
sniffles: "Oh, great, I've got a stalker."
Hedrin: "At least it's not an invisible stalker."
sniffles: "With my Spot rolls it might as well be."
Jubilee (to Devo): "Didn't you have some Shadow Knives in your game?"
Devo: "Whisper Knives, Shadow Knives..."
Zora: (singing to the tune of 'Silent Night') "Silent knives, holy knives..."
Hedrin: (also singing): "All is calm, as per the spell..."
Zora (to Jubilee): "So you're going as Aspect of the Blond?"
sniffles
First Post
A Very Unusual Book
Dearest Naneth;
I have some exciting news. There have been developments in my studies. I must thank you again for the spellbook you prepared for me. I hope you'll be pleased that I can now actually use some of the lesser spells it contains. And I'm eager to try out the remainder once my facility with wizardry improves.
But the most exciting news is that I now have a familiar! A most unusual one, too. I'm certain I've never heard of a familiar such as this previously, nor have Roland or Latan. I had gone out to a library to seek information about Chult when Latan came looking for me. She brought me a book I hadn't seen before, though she told me Isaura had found it in my room at Silver Cottage. When she delivered the tome to me, a pair of tiny feet suddenly extruded from its spine and it opened itself and script began to appear on the pages! To my amazement the words were all in the ancient draconic vocabulary I've been studying of late. I was so delighted with this wonderful book I scarcely noticed when Latan took her leave. Very quickly I had an audience of librarians and other researchers, all of them gazing in awe at my charming book. Latan keeps insisting that it was rather rude and sarcastic to her when she discovered it, but I've seen no such behavior. I have given the book the name Istanil, which I think you'll agree is appropriate.
Istanil has been providing me with great quantities of information about Chult, far more than I could discover without returning to Heritage or traveling to Candlekeep. This book will be invaluable. I sense your hand in it somehow, although Istanil claims not to know where she comes from. I cannot express enough gratitude to you and Ada.
In the meantime we are waiting for the Council to decide where we should go next. That is why I'm researching Chult, as I'm sure you are aware. Evidently I've also acquired an overly friendly admirer since my last visit to Milvarune. Both Latan and Hedrin caught some fellow hanging about outside the cottage, whom they recognized as one of my admirers from our last visit. He fled when they approached him.
Percy has also managed to increase his spellcasting ability, although that got him into trouble when he saw my admirer outside and wanted to let Hedrin know. Hedrin was busy drilling with the Ice Fangs when he suddenly found himself outside the front of the cottage, while Percy replaced him in the garden. Unfortunately Hedrin had been trading blows with Grond, who is much too strong for poor Percy. Percy is fortunate he wasn't more badly hurt, as this all occurred while I was away from the house. It's strange how natural it feels to have this ability to heal others, when I've only had such ability for a few days.
For days now we've all felt a sense of great comfort and pleasure. All the colors seem brighter and the scents sweeter. This sensation came with our knowledge that though several of the Blessed have been slain, at least one has returned to the Lady's embrace. I'm sure Father Merrick has told you about this. But today I realized that the sensation has passed. I suppose I couldn't expect it to last indefinitely.
I'll close now with love and the hope that it won't be long before I see you again. Give Ada my love also. I intend to take Istanil out to do some further study. Her abilities will be invaluable to me. And of course her little feet are so amusing!
With love, your daughter, Thilme'.
_____________________________________
Quips & Quotes:
Zora: "The book slams shut."
Devo: "'My spine!'"
Jubilee: "Are you a boy book or a girl book?"
Devo: "Look under the cover."
Zora: "He's a stalker. Maybe I should give him Improved Grab."
Jubilee: "Shouldn't he have Skill Focus (Spot)?"
Zora: "The captain's just a good old boy."
Devo: "Never meanin' no harm..."
Dearest Naneth;
I have some exciting news. There have been developments in my studies. I must thank you again for the spellbook you prepared for me. I hope you'll be pleased that I can now actually use some of the lesser spells it contains. And I'm eager to try out the remainder once my facility with wizardry improves.
But the most exciting news is that I now have a familiar! A most unusual one, too. I'm certain I've never heard of a familiar such as this previously, nor have Roland or Latan. I had gone out to a library to seek information about Chult when Latan came looking for me. She brought me a book I hadn't seen before, though she told me Isaura had found it in my room at Silver Cottage. When she delivered the tome to me, a pair of tiny feet suddenly extruded from its spine and it opened itself and script began to appear on the pages! To my amazement the words were all in the ancient draconic vocabulary I've been studying of late. I was so delighted with this wonderful book I scarcely noticed when Latan took her leave. Very quickly I had an audience of librarians and other researchers, all of them gazing in awe at my charming book. Latan keeps insisting that it was rather rude and sarcastic to her when she discovered it, but I've seen no such behavior. I have given the book the name Istanil, which I think you'll agree is appropriate.
Istanil has been providing me with great quantities of information about Chult, far more than I could discover without returning to Heritage or traveling to Candlekeep. This book will be invaluable. I sense your hand in it somehow, although Istanil claims not to know where she comes from. I cannot express enough gratitude to you and Ada.
In the meantime we are waiting for the Council to decide where we should go next. That is why I'm researching Chult, as I'm sure you are aware. Evidently I've also acquired an overly friendly admirer since my last visit to Milvarune. Both Latan and Hedrin caught some fellow hanging about outside the cottage, whom they recognized as one of my admirers from our last visit. He fled when they approached him.
Percy has also managed to increase his spellcasting ability, although that got him into trouble when he saw my admirer outside and wanted to let Hedrin know. Hedrin was busy drilling with the Ice Fangs when he suddenly found himself outside the front of the cottage, while Percy replaced him in the garden. Unfortunately Hedrin had been trading blows with Grond, who is much too strong for poor Percy. Percy is fortunate he wasn't more badly hurt, as this all occurred while I was away from the house. It's strange how natural it feels to have this ability to heal others, when I've only had such ability for a few days.
For days now we've all felt a sense of great comfort and pleasure. All the colors seem brighter and the scents sweeter. This sensation came with our knowledge that though several of the Blessed have been slain, at least one has returned to the Lady's embrace. I'm sure Father Merrick has told you about this. But today I realized that the sensation has passed. I suppose I couldn't expect it to last indefinitely.
I'll close now with love and the hope that it won't be long before I see you again. Give Ada my love also. I intend to take Istanil out to do some further study. Her abilities will be invaluable to me. And of course her little feet are so amusing!
With love, your daughter, Thilme'.
_____________________________________
Quips & Quotes:
Zora: "The book slams shut."
Devo: "'My spine!'"
Jubilee: "Are you a boy book or a girl book?"
Devo: "Look under the cover."
Zora: "He's a stalker. Maybe I should give him Improved Grab."
Jubilee: "Shouldn't he have Skill Focus (Spot)?"
Zora: "The captain's just a good old boy."
Devo: "Never meanin' no harm..."
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