Did you play Pathfinder or traditional 3.5? It is good to see a strait monk coming in 2nd! Was this by good play, the others ignoring the monk or just the awesome power of a furry of blows? Can't wait for another update of Kingmaker. It is inspiring me to steer my guys to start ruling the country they so awesomely let fall into anarchy after they disposed of the strawmen that where ruling the country at the behest of the Aboleth. Up till now they are more interested in going after the big slimies down below and they can't decide between democracy or mafia trade cartel rule as ways to control the country. In practice it seems kind of hard to start a democracy in a country full of magic using monsters and god that try to influence different factions. I'll tell you how that turns out. For now I'm interested how you traditional iron fist rule of law works out. Will Mox the 1st rule Kardashia like a King Arthur or more like Julius Caesar?
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JollyDoc's Kingmaker-Updated 7/4/2011
- Thread starter JollyDoc
- Start date
JollyDoc
Explorer
The monk was a grappler build. He was pretty awesome in the things he could do. Round 1, the barbarian won initiative and charged him with a greatsword. The monk promptly disarmed him, tossed his sword away, and proceeded to grapple the stink out of him. His ultimate schtick was to grapple, pin, then tie up opponents, but he was never able to complete step 3 with his enemies.
What campaign are you guys playing? Home brew?
Grapple is always a pain if your not prepared. Good on him that there wasn't a rogue around to give a full sneak attack cause that always ends up bad for grapplers. With my barbarians I always take close quarter fighting to avoid those things but disarming and then grappling... good on him!
We play a very long and drawn out version of "The Night Below". Its a second edition game that had to be converted to third and then to 3.5. I think we are in our sixth year now and my guys are all level 19-20 by now. I think we only need 5 more combat sessions to finish of the BBEG aboleth mother at the end, but things like nation building keep getting up. After the long investment it seems hard to finally make it stop for real. Of course nothing is certain with the challenges I'm still lining up for them but I can't seem to really stop them. I hope my end battle will be as epic as the ones I read over the years on you story hours.
On a side note I have to report my version of Tower Cleaver (Minotaur war hulk barbarian) just died our last session. A golem made of the bones of sacrificed mages and clerics got him in the end. While his master mind flayer was being grappled by his brother Alhoon, the golem grabbed (It's always the grapple isn't it) the Minotaur and incorporated him into his body. The bloody mind flayer survived despite being paralyzed and grappled by four tentacles because I rolled a 1 on my grapple check and we play by the rule that a 1 is a -10. Even with str 0 my players could beat that!
We play a very long and drawn out version of "The Night Below". Its a second edition game that had to be converted to third and then to 3.5. I think we are in our sixth year now and my guys are all level 19-20 by now. I think we only need 5 more combat sessions to finish of the BBEG aboleth mother at the end, but things like nation building keep getting up. After the long investment it seems hard to finally make it stop for real. Of course nothing is certain with the challenges I'm still lining up for them but I can't seem to really stop them. I hope my end battle will be as epic as the ones I read over the years on you story hours.
On a side note I have to report my version of Tower Cleaver (Minotaur war hulk barbarian) just died our last session. A golem made of the bones of sacrificed mages and clerics got him in the end. While his master mind flayer was being grappled by his brother Alhoon, the golem grabbed (It's always the grapple isn't it) the Minotaur and incorporated him into his body. The bloody mind flayer survived despite being paralyzed and grappled by four tentacles because I rolled a 1 on my grapple check and we play by the rule that a 1 is a -10. Even with str 0 my players could beat that!
JollyDoc
Explorer
Ah, Towercleaver. How we do miss him. He participated in our Iron Man two years ago, and acquitted himself well, putting down a halfling sorcerer in the first round. Alas, the mages were too much for him in the end.
How often does your group play? With our weekly sessions, we usually make it through an AP in about a year of real time. With the release of the APG at GenCon, you may be seeing some changes in our heroes over the next few weeks.
How often does your group play? With our weekly sessions, we usually make it through an AP in about a year of real time. With the release of the APG at GenCon, you may be seeing some changes in our heroes over the next few weeks.
JollyDoc
Explorer
WOLVES IN SHEEPS’ CLOTHING
Upon returning to Veritas, the companions were quick to seek out Jhod Kavken, and so did not see the frightened, furtive looks on the faces of their subjects. The priest examined Velox in silence, and then spoke his prayers over the oracle. The strained and drawn look quickly faded from the young man, and his breathing eased. After the better part of an hour, Jhod sighed and stood back.
“He needs rest for now,” the priest said, “and while he’s getting it, I need to speak to the rest of you about what’s been happening since you’ve been gone.”
Jhod let out another sigh as he lowered himself into a chair.
“There’ve been two murders,” he began without preamble.
“What??” Mox exclaimed. “Who? When? How?”
“I’m getting to it,” Jhod raised his hands. “A few days back, some livestock were slaughtered in their pens out at the Blackfeather farm. Thought it was just wolves or maybe firepelts at first, but then two nights ago, Saki, the girl who’s been serving down at the makeshift pub in the town hall, never made it home after her shift. Found her body in a berry patch just outside town. Last night, that little shepherd boy, Beven, turned up dead, along with a half-dozen or so of his flock. Tragic, both of them. They looked like they’d been…eaten on.”
“Where are the bodies?” Mox asked tonelessly.
“I put them in the larder up at the castle,” the priest said.
“Then let’s go take a look,” the baroness said.
___________________________________________________________
The condition of the boy and the young woman was…sobering. They were both mutilated, with much of their bodies missing…consumed. Tungdill looked them over closely, the taciturn dwarf’s jaw clenched tightly.
“Wolf,” he said in a clipped voice, “or somethin’ damn close. Big one too, like a worg, or a…,”
His voice trailed off and he looked up towards the ceiling.
“What time of the month is it?” he asked no one in particular.
“Middle,” Jhod answered. “Why?”
“The moon,” the druid said. “How’s the moon?”
“Full,” the priest said. “Tonight’s the last night of it.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” Tungdill sighed.
__________________________________________________________
An investigation of the attack sites confirmed Tungdill’s suspicions of a wolf perpetrator. Tracks of a large canine were in evidence all around the areas. Stevhan followed them to a nearby copse of trees, but they didn’t emerge again. Instead, he found a set of bare human footprints leading out of the trees and back towards town. The ranger bowed his head as he noted the tracks.
“The cure took, boy,” Tungdill growled. “’Sides, we weren’t anywhere near here the night of the attacks.”
“I…know that in my head,” Stevhan said, “but there’s a part of me that still has the dreams.”
The sun was setting as they made their way back to town, and Mox quickly spread the word that a curfew would be in effect until the following morning. No one would be allowed out of their homes after nightfall. After that, she had her friends set up a schedule of patrols for the night.
__________________________________________________________
Tungdill crept near the mouth of the alley just in time to see the shadowy figure dart across the town square. It ran on all fours, but at one point, stood up on two and sniffed the night air.
“There he is, lad!” he hissed to Stevhan. “See! I told ya ya weren’t no killer!”
The ranger didn’t reply. He pulled his bowstring back to his ear and loosed. His shaft flew straight, but when it struck the creature’s flank, it bounced off as if it had struck a stone wall. It growled low in its throat as it turned slowly, the moonlight shining in its yellow eyes. With a feral howl, the werewolf charged, revealing the greataxe that it gripped in one hand as if it were a hatchet. Stevhan braced himself, but before the monster reached him, Leaf stepped abruptly from the shadows directly in front of him. The elf threw himself to one side as the werewolf swung for his neck, but managed only to graze his back. He rolled to his feet behind the beast just as Stevhan drew his blade and rushed in from the front. It was only then that the ranger saw that the elf’s blade was made of pure silver. The pair struck in unison, and the shapeshifter howled in pain. It threw itself at Stevhan, slashing and biting. Stevhan fell back under the brutal assault. His back struck the cobblestones and his breath was driven from his lungs. The werewolf loomed over him, blood and saliva dripping from its jaws. It raised its axe over him, but before it could strike, a large shape barreled into it. By reflex, Stevhan rolled away and came to his feet, just in time to see Adam and the werewolf locked in mortal combat. The lycanthrope, blood pouring from multiple wounds, flipped the giant ant onto its back and locked its jaws around Adam’s head. Suddenly, the alley filled with several flashes of bright light as Mox stepped from the shadows and flung arcane bolts through the air. With a soft grunt, the werewolf collapsed onto its side, and immediately began to transform.
The man that lay on the ground before them looked almost as savage as his alter ego. War paint streaked his face, and feathers were braided into his hair.
“He’s a Kellid,” Tungdill grunted, naming a local tribe of hunters.
The next day, after asking about town, they discovered that the man had recently arrived in town, and had been seen drinking heavily at the town hall before disappearing into the hills each night. He had never spoken to anyone, and no one had ever seen him prior to his arrival. The townsfolk hailed their leaders as heroes once more for delivering them from the murderer, but from the south, rumors of even greater evils continued to grow.
___________________________________________________________
There were still two weeks until the next council meeting, and Mox felt that time would best be spent investigating the land to the south of their fledgling country to see if there was any truth to the disturbing rumors. She and her companions set out once more, continuing their trek along the eastern shore of the Tuskwater, fording the Gurdin River at the point where it emptied into the great lake. Two days out of Veritas, they came upon a strange discovery. A large pool of bubbling mud sat in a narrow defile between several hills. The noxious vapor the pool gave off was foul-smelling in the extreme, and large mounds of fungi and peculiar mushrooms grew around its banks. Several of them grew to a height of over ten feet or more. Cautiously, the group wound their way down the hillside to the pool.
Halfway down the slope, the fumes became too much for Velox, and the oracle began retching and gagging. Stevhan was turning towards his friend when a quick flicker of movement caught his attention from the corner of his eye. As he turned back, his mind couldn’t quite grasp what his eyes were seeing. One particularly large mound of fungus seemed to be rising into the air until it stood more than twenty-feet tall. Snake-like tendrils began to unfold from its bole, and a huge, tooth-lined maw opened in its center.
“Ware!” the ranger shouted as he knocked and loosed an arrow, which caught fire as if flew from his bow.
Mox began to turn, a spell on her lips, but the nauseating vapors filled her nose and lungs. She gagged and became violently ill, falling to her knees beside Velox.
“It’s a tendriculos!” Tungdill roared as he began conjuring. “It’s carnivorous!”
“Obviously!” Stevhan growled.
A moment later that point was driven home as the plant seized Stevhan in one of its tendrils and lifted him into the air. When Adam abruptly answered Tungdill’s call, the ant was unceremoniously swatted away like a fly. Tungdill didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy with his next spell. A flaming sphere appeared, and rolled quickly down the hill and into the base of the plant creature. An inhuman wail bubbled up from its throat. Adam circled back around and landed squarely atop the tendriculos, sinking his mandibles into its spongy mass. The thing shrieked again, but as its maw gaped wide, it abruptly dropped Stevhan into its gullet.
“No, lad!” Tungdill screamed, and he hurled handful after handful of fire at the giant plant.
Leaf never hesitated. The elf sprang into the boiling mud and darted through the flames that were rapidly engulfing the tendriculos. He drove his twin blades into its flesh again and again. With a final groan, the great plant toppled like a falling tree. Leaf leaped upon it as it fell and plunged his swords deep into it, ripping open a wide seam. With a great, gulping gasp, Stevhan erupted out of the goo, flesh and ichor coating him, but alive nonetheless, thanks to the former brigand.
__________________________________________________________
South of the Tuskwater lay a second lake…Candlemere. The lake had a notorious reputation for being haunted. Stories from fishermen, explorers, bandits and traders alike spoke of eerie lights that danced upon its waters, and blood-curdling cries from what were said to be lost souls, as well as mysterious sightings of shapes rippling in the dark waters. A small island in the lake’s center held a lonely tower upon its summit. The companions wisely skirted the vast water and continued towards the south and west.
They made a wide circuit around Candlemere and began travelling north again, this time along the western shore of the Tuskwater. Still they’d found no sign of the missing Tannerson boy, nor had they encountered any evidence of troll activity. They came upon a small swamp, and upon a small hummock in the midst of the fetid marsh, they saw a dilapidated mud-brick hut. A thin trickle of bluish smoke trickled through a gaping hole in its moss-covered roof. A wooden fence surrounded the perimeter of the mound, festooned with crude fetishes crafted from sticks, feathers, and animal bones. A lone crow cawed noisily from the top of a nearby cypress tree. A single gate hung askew in the waist-high fence, and a fist-sized, rusted iron bell hung from a hairy length of rope tied to a crooked post. A pumpkin-headed scarecrow stood midway between the gate and the hut.
“I know this place,” Selena said quietly.
“You’ve been here before?” Mox asked. “When?”
“I didn’t say I’d been here,” Selena replied. “I just said I know it. This is the home of the Old Beldame, as some call her. Others call her the Swamp Witch. Some say she’s a true hag, while others believe she’s sold her soul to a demon. When children go missing, she’s often suspected of being to blame.”
“Do you think she took the boy?” Davrim growled, his hand going to his sword.
“I’m a witch,” Selena smiled thinly. “Do you think I eat children? Don’t believe everything you hear…half-breed. My kind value our privacy, and often we cultivate tales such as these to keep away unwanted visitors. Still, this is her domain, and she undoubtedly knows much about what transpires here. There’s only one way to find out.”
Selena reached out and tugged on the old rope, ringing the bell with a dull clang. Several moments passed before a wizened face appeared in the hut’s window. The old crone had skin of a sickly greenish hue, and her gray hair hung lank over a pair of pointed ears.
“Who are you?” she barked in a phlegmy voice. “What do you want?”
“We come in peace, Old Mother,” Selena replied. “A new nation is being birthed on your border, and we are its representatives. We beg a few moments of your time.”
The old witch chewed her lips for a few moments.
“Come ahead then,” she snapped finally.
The companions pushed through the gate and started up the path. As they passed the lonely scarecrow, its pumpkin-head turned slowly to watch them pass. Davrim gripped his sword hilt more tightly. Selena only smiled. The door to the hut swung open as they approached, and cautiously, they filed inside. The interior was a simple, one-room affair, with a dirt floor and thatched roof. The rafters were hung with dried herbs and swamp-reeds, and a bubbling cauldron hung over a firepit in the center of the room. The Old Beldame stirred the pot absently while her piercing black eyes stared unblinking at her guests.
“You’re a bold one, Little Sister,” she said to Selena, ignoring the others. “You trespass were you’re not invited.”
“Your pardon, Mother,” Selena bowed, “but we come only seeking wisdom. Your legend precedes you, and if we are to tame this land, we will need knowledge only you possess.”
“Ha!” the witch laughed. “Tame the Stolen Lands, will you? You are even more brazen than I thought! I have seen would-be conquerors come and go through the years. Why should you be any different? Still, I’ve never seen one of the Sisterhood in this role. You intrigue me. What would you ask of me?”
“We seek a boy,” Selena replied. “A human lad, no more than ten summers. He’s been missing for over a week now.”
“Then he’s probably dead,” the Old Beldame shrugged. “Still, the lizardfolk occasionally have a taste for man-flesh, and they don’t always kill their prey right off. They live in the swamps deep inside the Narlmarches.”
“Thank you for your time, Mother,” Selena bowed again. “We will take our leave now.”
“I have a few more questions,” Mox interrupted.
The Old Beldame’s eyes narrowed, and Selena held her breath.
“I’ve never seen so few women speak for so many men,” the old witch said. “I like it. Ask.”
“What can you tell us of the rumors of Candlemere? Is it truly haunted?” Mox asked
“If by haunted you mean ghosts, then the answer is no,” the Beldame said, “but it is the abode of many will-o-the-wisps, and they feed off of fear and death. What else would you know?”
“Have you heard any news of trolls?” Mox asked.
The Old Beldame shrugged. “They’re around, but no more or no less than usual. They get a wild hair every now and again, but it doesn’t usually amount to much.”
“Thank you,” Mox nodded. “We’ll take up no more of your time.”
“There’s still the matter of my fee,” the witch smiled mirthlessly.
“Fee?” Mox asked. She glanced at Selena who nodded slightly.
“You don’t think I just give out information for free, do you?” the witch asked. “No, I have given you something of value, and I ask for something in return. A day or so’s ride from here, there is a mud bog. An abundance of fungi species grow around it. I’m interested in a particular kind known as Black Rattlecaps.”
“Do they look like this?” Leaf asked as he upended his belt pouch, revealing a dozen or more black-topped mushrooms. The Old Beldame’s eyes went wide.
“How did you get those?” she asked.
It was Leaf’s turn to shrug. “I’m a collector. You never know when something trivial might actually have value.”
“You are indeed a resourceful lot!” the witch cackled. “I like you! I suppose you’ve got as good a chance as any of making something of this land. If you’re ever in this vicinity again, you may feel free to visit me.”
____________________________________________________________
The companions were hacking through another trackless section of forest when the old man appeared out of nowhere. Behind them, a large puma stalked out of the trees.
“They told me you’d come!” the old man giggled. “Said you’d be right here! Now that you’re here, and I’m here, and they’re here, it’s killing time!”
He drew a shortsword from its scabbard and uncoiled a whip that hung at his side. The big cat began to growl low in its throat. Tungdill sighed and snapped his fingers. A green ball of flame appeared and bounced towards the crazed old man, and he shrieked as it set his trousers ablaze. As he stumbled backwards, Leaf leaped towards him and plunged his rapier clean-through the man’s shoulder.
“Cat! Help me!” the codger shrieked.
With a hissing growl, the puma leaped on Davrim’s back, tearing into the half-orc with all four feet. Stevhan turned and gave a high-pitched whistle. A black and tan blur suddenly launched out of a nearby tree as a cheetah landed atop the puma, and the pair of them went tumbling and spitting away into the underbrush.
“I see ya found a new friend!” Tungdill laughed.
Davrim swept his falchion from its back sheath and chopped down with both hands as the old man tried to rise from the ground. A few moments later the cheetah reemerged from the bushes, licking blood from its chops.
“So what was that all about?” Davrim asked as he cleaned his blade on the dead man’s clothes. “Some random mad man hiding in the woods with his pet cat?”
“Take a look at this,” Tungdill said. He held up a tarnished silver locket that he’d taken off the old man’s neck. When he opened it, there was a faded portrait of a beautiful, young woman cradling two toddlers in her arms. “Do you remember what Bokken told us? He said he’d come here looking for his brother…who’d killed their mother. Said he’d gone insane and was living somewhere in a hollow tree. I think we just might’ve engineered a little family reunion.”
Upon returning to Veritas, the companions were quick to seek out Jhod Kavken, and so did not see the frightened, furtive looks on the faces of their subjects. The priest examined Velox in silence, and then spoke his prayers over the oracle. The strained and drawn look quickly faded from the young man, and his breathing eased. After the better part of an hour, Jhod sighed and stood back.
“He needs rest for now,” the priest said, “and while he’s getting it, I need to speak to the rest of you about what’s been happening since you’ve been gone.”
Jhod let out another sigh as he lowered himself into a chair.
“There’ve been two murders,” he began without preamble.
“What??” Mox exclaimed. “Who? When? How?”
“I’m getting to it,” Jhod raised his hands. “A few days back, some livestock were slaughtered in their pens out at the Blackfeather farm. Thought it was just wolves or maybe firepelts at first, but then two nights ago, Saki, the girl who’s been serving down at the makeshift pub in the town hall, never made it home after her shift. Found her body in a berry patch just outside town. Last night, that little shepherd boy, Beven, turned up dead, along with a half-dozen or so of his flock. Tragic, both of them. They looked like they’d been…eaten on.”
“Where are the bodies?” Mox asked tonelessly.
“I put them in the larder up at the castle,” the priest said.
“Then let’s go take a look,” the baroness said.
___________________________________________________________
The condition of the boy and the young woman was…sobering. They were both mutilated, with much of their bodies missing…consumed. Tungdill looked them over closely, the taciturn dwarf’s jaw clenched tightly.
“Wolf,” he said in a clipped voice, “or somethin’ damn close. Big one too, like a worg, or a…,”
His voice trailed off and he looked up towards the ceiling.
“What time of the month is it?” he asked no one in particular.
“Middle,” Jhod answered. “Why?”
“The moon,” the druid said. “How’s the moon?”
“Full,” the priest said. “Tonight’s the last night of it.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” Tungdill sighed.
__________________________________________________________
An investigation of the attack sites confirmed Tungdill’s suspicions of a wolf perpetrator. Tracks of a large canine were in evidence all around the areas. Stevhan followed them to a nearby copse of trees, but they didn’t emerge again. Instead, he found a set of bare human footprints leading out of the trees and back towards town. The ranger bowed his head as he noted the tracks.
“The cure took, boy,” Tungdill growled. “’Sides, we weren’t anywhere near here the night of the attacks.”
“I…know that in my head,” Stevhan said, “but there’s a part of me that still has the dreams.”
The sun was setting as they made their way back to town, and Mox quickly spread the word that a curfew would be in effect until the following morning. No one would be allowed out of their homes after nightfall. After that, she had her friends set up a schedule of patrols for the night.
__________________________________________________________
Tungdill crept near the mouth of the alley just in time to see the shadowy figure dart across the town square. It ran on all fours, but at one point, stood up on two and sniffed the night air.
“There he is, lad!” he hissed to Stevhan. “See! I told ya ya weren’t no killer!”
The ranger didn’t reply. He pulled his bowstring back to his ear and loosed. His shaft flew straight, but when it struck the creature’s flank, it bounced off as if it had struck a stone wall. It growled low in its throat as it turned slowly, the moonlight shining in its yellow eyes. With a feral howl, the werewolf charged, revealing the greataxe that it gripped in one hand as if it were a hatchet. Stevhan braced himself, but before the monster reached him, Leaf stepped abruptly from the shadows directly in front of him. The elf threw himself to one side as the werewolf swung for his neck, but managed only to graze his back. He rolled to his feet behind the beast just as Stevhan drew his blade and rushed in from the front. It was only then that the ranger saw that the elf’s blade was made of pure silver. The pair struck in unison, and the shapeshifter howled in pain. It threw itself at Stevhan, slashing and biting. Stevhan fell back under the brutal assault. His back struck the cobblestones and his breath was driven from his lungs. The werewolf loomed over him, blood and saliva dripping from its jaws. It raised its axe over him, but before it could strike, a large shape barreled into it. By reflex, Stevhan rolled away and came to his feet, just in time to see Adam and the werewolf locked in mortal combat. The lycanthrope, blood pouring from multiple wounds, flipped the giant ant onto its back and locked its jaws around Adam’s head. Suddenly, the alley filled with several flashes of bright light as Mox stepped from the shadows and flung arcane bolts through the air. With a soft grunt, the werewolf collapsed onto its side, and immediately began to transform.
The man that lay on the ground before them looked almost as savage as his alter ego. War paint streaked his face, and feathers were braided into his hair.
“He’s a Kellid,” Tungdill grunted, naming a local tribe of hunters.
The next day, after asking about town, they discovered that the man had recently arrived in town, and had been seen drinking heavily at the town hall before disappearing into the hills each night. He had never spoken to anyone, and no one had ever seen him prior to his arrival. The townsfolk hailed their leaders as heroes once more for delivering them from the murderer, but from the south, rumors of even greater evils continued to grow.
___________________________________________________________
There were still two weeks until the next council meeting, and Mox felt that time would best be spent investigating the land to the south of their fledgling country to see if there was any truth to the disturbing rumors. She and her companions set out once more, continuing their trek along the eastern shore of the Tuskwater, fording the Gurdin River at the point where it emptied into the great lake. Two days out of Veritas, they came upon a strange discovery. A large pool of bubbling mud sat in a narrow defile between several hills. The noxious vapor the pool gave off was foul-smelling in the extreme, and large mounds of fungi and peculiar mushrooms grew around its banks. Several of them grew to a height of over ten feet or more. Cautiously, the group wound their way down the hillside to the pool.
Halfway down the slope, the fumes became too much for Velox, and the oracle began retching and gagging. Stevhan was turning towards his friend when a quick flicker of movement caught his attention from the corner of his eye. As he turned back, his mind couldn’t quite grasp what his eyes were seeing. One particularly large mound of fungus seemed to be rising into the air until it stood more than twenty-feet tall. Snake-like tendrils began to unfold from its bole, and a huge, tooth-lined maw opened in its center.
“Ware!” the ranger shouted as he knocked and loosed an arrow, which caught fire as if flew from his bow.
Mox began to turn, a spell on her lips, but the nauseating vapors filled her nose and lungs. She gagged and became violently ill, falling to her knees beside Velox.
“It’s a tendriculos!” Tungdill roared as he began conjuring. “It’s carnivorous!”
“Obviously!” Stevhan growled.
A moment later that point was driven home as the plant seized Stevhan in one of its tendrils and lifted him into the air. When Adam abruptly answered Tungdill’s call, the ant was unceremoniously swatted away like a fly. Tungdill didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy with his next spell. A flaming sphere appeared, and rolled quickly down the hill and into the base of the plant creature. An inhuman wail bubbled up from its throat. Adam circled back around and landed squarely atop the tendriculos, sinking his mandibles into its spongy mass. The thing shrieked again, but as its maw gaped wide, it abruptly dropped Stevhan into its gullet.
“No, lad!” Tungdill screamed, and he hurled handful after handful of fire at the giant plant.
Leaf never hesitated. The elf sprang into the boiling mud and darted through the flames that were rapidly engulfing the tendriculos. He drove his twin blades into its flesh again and again. With a final groan, the great plant toppled like a falling tree. Leaf leaped upon it as it fell and plunged his swords deep into it, ripping open a wide seam. With a great, gulping gasp, Stevhan erupted out of the goo, flesh and ichor coating him, but alive nonetheless, thanks to the former brigand.
__________________________________________________________
South of the Tuskwater lay a second lake…Candlemere. The lake had a notorious reputation for being haunted. Stories from fishermen, explorers, bandits and traders alike spoke of eerie lights that danced upon its waters, and blood-curdling cries from what were said to be lost souls, as well as mysterious sightings of shapes rippling in the dark waters. A small island in the lake’s center held a lonely tower upon its summit. The companions wisely skirted the vast water and continued towards the south and west.
They made a wide circuit around Candlemere and began travelling north again, this time along the western shore of the Tuskwater. Still they’d found no sign of the missing Tannerson boy, nor had they encountered any evidence of troll activity. They came upon a small swamp, and upon a small hummock in the midst of the fetid marsh, they saw a dilapidated mud-brick hut. A thin trickle of bluish smoke trickled through a gaping hole in its moss-covered roof. A wooden fence surrounded the perimeter of the mound, festooned with crude fetishes crafted from sticks, feathers, and animal bones. A lone crow cawed noisily from the top of a nearby cypress tree. A single gate hung askew in the waist-high fence, and a fist-sized, rusted iron bell hung from a hairy length of rope tied to a crooked post. A pumpkin-headed scarecrow stood midway between the gate and the hut.
“I know this place,” Selena said quietly.
“You’ve been here before?” Mox asked. “When?”
“I didn’t say I’d been here,” Selena replied. “I just said I know it. This is the home of the Old Beldame, as some call her. Others call her the Swamp Witch. Some say she’s a true hag, while others believe she’s sold her soul to a demon. When children go missing, she’s often suspected of being to blame.”
“Do you think she took the boy?” Davrim growled, his hand going to his sword.
“I’m a witch,” Selena smiled thinly. “Do you think I eat children? Don’t believe everything you hear…half-breed. My kind value our privacy, and often we cultivate tales such as these to keep away unwanted visitors. Still, this is her domain, and she undoubtedly knows much about what transpires here. There’s only one way to find out.”
Selena reached out and tugged on the old rope, ringing the bell with a dull clang. Several moments passed before a wizened face appeared in the hut’s window. The old crone had skin of a sickly greenish hue, and her gray hair hung lank over a pair of pointed ears.
“Who are you?” she barked in a phlegmy voice. “What do you want?”
“We come in peace, Old Mother,” Selena replied. “A new nation is being birthed on your border, and we are its representatives. We beg a few moments of your time.”
The old witch chewed her lips for a few moments.
“Come ahead then,” she snapped finally.
The companions pushed through the gate and started up the path. As they passed the lonely scarecrow, its pumpkin-head turned slowly to watch them pass. Davrim gripped his sword hilt more tightly. Selena only smiled. The door to the hut swung open as they approached, and cautiously, they filed inside. The interior was a simple, one-room affair, with a dirt floor and thatched roof. The rafters were hung with dried herbs and swamp-reeds, and a bubbling cauldron hung over a firepit in the center of the room. The Old Beldame stirred the pot absently while her piercing black eyes stared unblinking at her guests.
“You’re a bold one, Little Sister,” she said to Selena, ignoring the others. “You trespass were you’re not invited.”
“Your pardon, Mother,” Selena bowed, “but we come only seeking wisdom. Your legend precedes you, and if we are to tame this land, we will need knowledge only you possess.”
“Ha!” the witch laughed. “Tame the Stolen Lands, will you? You are even more brazen than I thought! I have seen would-be conquerors come and go through the years. Why should you be any different? Still, I’ve never seen one of the Sisterhood in this role. You intrigue me. What would you ask of me?”
“We seek a boy,” Selena replied. “A human lad, no more than ten summers. He’s been missing for over a week now.”
“Then he’s probably dead,” the Old Beldame shrugged. “Still, the lizardfolk occasionally have a taste for man-flesh, and they don’t always kill their prey right off. They live in the swamps deep inside the Narlmarches.”
“Thank you for your time, Mother,” Selena bowed again. “We will take our leave now.”
“I have a few more questions,” Mox interrupted.
The Old Beldame’s eyes narrowed, and Selena held her breath.
“I’ve never seen so few women speak for so many men,” the old witch said. “I like it. Ask.”
“What can you tell us of the rumors of Candlemere? Is it truly haunted?” Mox asked
“If by haunted you mean ghosts, then the answer is no,” the Beldame said, “but it is the abode of many will-o-the-wisps, and they feed off of fear and death. What else would you know?”
“Have you heard any news of trolls?” Mox asked.
The Old Beldame shrugged. “They’re around, but no more or no less than usual. They get a wild hair every now and again, but it doesn’t usually amount to much.”
“Thank you,” Mox nodded. “We’ll take up no more of your time.”
“There’s still the matter of my fee,” the witch smiled mirthlessly.
“Fee?” Mox asked. She glanced at Selena who nodded slightly.
“You don’t think I just give out information for free, do you?” the witch asked. “No, I have given you something of value, and I ask for something in return. A day or so’s ride from here, there is a mud bog. An abundance of fungi species grow around it. I’m interested in a particular kind known as Black Rattlecaps.”
“Do they look like this?” Leaf asked as he upended his belt pouch, revealing a dozen or more black-topped mushrooms. The Old Beldame’s eyes went wide.
“How did you get those?” she asked.
It was Leaf’s turn to shrug. “I’m a collector. You never know when something trivial might actually have value.”
“You are indeed a resourceful lot!” the witch cackled. “I like you! I suppose you’ve got as good a chance as any of making something of this land. If you’re ever in this vicinity again, you may feel free to visit me.”
____________________________________________________________
The companions were hacking through another trackless section of forest when the old man appeared out of nowhere. Behind them, a large puma stalked out of the trees.
“They told me you’d come!” the old man giggled. “Said you’d be right here! Now that you’re here, and I’m here, and they’re here, it’s killing time!”
He drew a shortsword from its scabbard and uncoiled a whip that hung at his side. The big cat began to growl low in its throat. Tungdill sighed and snapped his fingers. A green ball of flame appeared and bounced towards the crazed old man, and he shrieked as it set his trousers ablaze. As he stumbled backwards, Leaf leaped towards him and plunged his rapier clean-through the man’s shoulder.
“Cat! Help me!” the codger shrieked.
With a hissing growl, the puma leaped on Davrim’s back, tearing into the half-orc with all four feet. Stevhan turned and gave a high-pitched whistle. A black and tan blur suddenly launched out of a nearby tree as a cheetah landed atop the puma, and the pair of them went tumbling and spitting away into the underbrush.
“I see ya found a new friend!” Tungdill laughed.
Davrim swept his falchion from its back sheath and chopped down with both hands as the old man tried to rise from the ground. A few moments later the cheetah reemerged from the bushes, licking blood from its chops.
“So what was that all about?” Davrim asked as he cleaned his blade on the dead man’s clothes. “Some random mad man hiding in the woods with his pet cat?”
“Take a look at this,” Tungdill said. He held up a tarnished silver locket that he’d taken off the old man’s neck. When he opened it, there was a faded portrait of a beautiful, young woman cradling two toddlers in her arms. “Do you remember what Bokken told us? He said he’d come here looking for his brother…who’d killed their mother. Said he’d gone insane and was living somewhere in a hollow tree. I think we just might’ve engineered a little family reunion.”
JollyDoc
Explorer
SUNDAY NIGHT TEASER
1) Kardashia declares war on the lizardfolk as the heroes storm the swampy abode of the creatures to rescue Tig Tannerson
2) Mox and Selena show just how invading a fortress should be done
3) As we switch to Pathfinder's new Hero Point system, Leaf is the first winner of a Hero Point!
4) Upon returning to Veritas, the heroes discover more domestic trouble afoot in the form of a rabblerouser preaching against them to the masses
5) After Velox becomes a voice for the people, Mox make her first executive decision...one that divides the new government.
1) Kardashia declares war on the lizardfolk as the heroes storm the swampy abode of the creatures to rescue Tig Tannerson
2) Mox and Selena show just how invading a fortress should be done
3) As we switch to Pathfinder's new Hero Point system, Leaf is the first winner of a Hero Point!
4) Upon returning to Veritas, the heroes discover more domestic trouble afoot in the form of a rabblerouser preaching against them to the masses
5) After Velox becomes a voice for the people, Mox make her first executive decision...one that divides the new government.
R-Hero
Explorer
O.K. Been a way for a while and have to catch up......Done!
...I thought saw a 'Bouldersholder' reference lurking about in the first read but it took me a full minute to figure out who the heck Adam was when I first saw the name.
(I remembered J.D.s perchant for singing '80s crap-rock at the game table and it made perfect sense.)
...For the record, anything that doesn't die when you stick a sword in it IS INVINCIBLE. (Funny line though!)
...Kardashia...Uhg!
(I threw up in my mouth a little. Why not go for Jersey Shore and really turn the thumbscrews, J.D.??)
...Capital City, Veritas...
(Well crap-spackle. I reckon that has to makes up for the Kardashia thing.)
...I thought saw a 'Bouldersholder' reference lurking about in the first read but it took me a full minute to figure out who the heck Adam was when I first saw the name.
(I remembered J.D.s perchant for singing '80s crap-rock at the game table and it made perfect sense.)
...For the record, anything that doesn't die when you stick a sword in it IS INVINCIBLE. (Funny line though!)
...Kardashia...Uhg!
(I threw up in my mouth a little. Why not go for Jersey Shore and really turn the thumbscrews, J.D.??)
...Capital City, Veritas...
(Well crap-spackle. I reckon that has to makes up for the Kardashia thing.)
JollyDoc
Explorer
O.K. Been a way for a while and have to catch up......Done!
...I thought saw a 'Bouldersholder' reference lurking about in the first read but it took me a full minute to figure out who the heck Adam was when I first saw the name.
(I remembered J.D.s perchant for singing '80s crap-rock at the game table and it made perfect sense.)
...For the record, anything that doesn't die when you stick a sword in it IS INVINCIBLE. (Funny line though!)
...Kardashia...Uhg!
(I threw up in my mouth a little. Why not go for Jersey Shore and really turn the thumbscrews, J.D.??)
...Capital City, Veritas...
(Well crap-spackle. I reckon that has to makes up for the Kardashia thing.)
I was waiting for you to chime in!! Don't blame me for Kardashia...that's the fault of your boys...it was either that or Kanada...
Thought you'd like Veritas. It was a total homage to a fondly remembered hero!
If you liked Adam Ant, wait until you see the name of Stevhan's pet cheetah!!
JollyDoc
Explorer
WAR OF THE LIZARD KING
A low, muddy hummock protruded from the middle of the widening Murque River, surrounded by a palisade of outward-facing sharpened wooden stakes. Inside, tendrils of smoke rose from a handful of mounds clustered around a single, larger mound. A simple wooden gate on the eastern side of the hummock seemed to be the only entrance to the fortified island. As the seven companions stood on the south bank of the river, gazing across the fifty-feet of sluggish water at the island, the sound of terrified screams suddenly split the air…the screams of a child.
“We’re going,” Mox said. “Selena, give me a lift?”
The witch nodded as she closed her eyes, forked her fingers and slowly levitated into the air.
“Wait!” Stevhan said. “What’s our plan?”
Mox turned to him, her eyes cold.
“The plan is to cross this river, kill any lizards that get in our way, and get the boy.”
She reached her hand up and took Selena’s. The witch rose higher and flew out over the water, Mox in tow.
Stevhan turned to the others, his eyes wide.
“This is a plan?”
Davrim shrugged. “Works for me.”
The half-orc began wading into the water.
“Wait!” Stevhan said for the second time in as many minutes. “You can’t swim in your armor!”
“Who said anything about swimming?” Davrim asked. He took a deep breath and continued walking until he was completely submerged and hidden from view.
Velox started to follow, but he paused on the bank and looked back at the ranger.
“Don’t worry, my friend,” he said. “What could go wrong?”
Stevhan watched the oracle vanish beneath the slow-flowing waters, and shook his head in disbelief.
“What about you?” he asked Tungdill. “Don’t tell me that you plan on walking across as well!”
“ ‘Course not!” the dwarf barked. “I ain’t no savage!”
Suddenly, his body began to melt and shift into that of a large eagle. With a screech that sounded suspiciously like a curse, it took wing after Selena and Mox.
“Looks like it’s just you and me, slim,” Leaf said as he patted Stevhan on the shoulder. “I don’t intend to walk either. I can actually swim. You coming?”
“Looks like I don’t have any choice,” the ranger sighed. “Come on, Chester.”
The cheetah mewled mournfully, eyeing the water suspiciously.
Mox and Selena reached the palisade and flew quickly over the top. Too late, they saw the two reptilian guards standing atop a low palisade above the gate. The lizardmen began an ululating wail, and then hurled a pair of javelins towards the women, narrowly missing. Selena quickly dropped down behind the nearest hut and let go of Mox’s hand. The sorceress hit the ground with a spell on her lips, and promptly vanished from view. Just then, a golden eagle swept over the gates, screeching loudly. As it did so, a sphere of flame appeared out of thin air and dropped atop one of the guards, turning it into a living torch. It pinwheeled its arms as it tumbled to the ground. Selena risked poker her head around the corner of the hut and quickly forked a hex at the remaining lizardman. Its eyes rolled up into its head as it collapsed, asleep, atop the palisade. Mox quickly moved, unseen, for the gate. She lifted the bar from its brackets and shoved the doors open just as her companions emerged dripping from the river.
Selena could still hear the child’s screams coming from the large central hut. She flew over the top and landed in front of the entrance, peering inside. What she saw froze her in her tracks. A large, muscular lizardman stood in the center of the hut, a trident clutched in one hand, and a pair of leashes in the other, which were attached to two huge crocodiles. Around the lizardman stood four more lizardfolk, females if Selena were to guess, judging solely by the amount of crude jewelry they wore. Behind them all, a young boy was bound hand-and-foot. Tears streaked his filthy face, and as one of the crocs turned and snapped at him, he began to scream again. Selena steeled herself and met the gaze of the lizard king squarely, channeling her spirit through her eyes. The lizardman’s three eyelids drooped and then closed as he collapsed into a deep slumber.
“I have slain your king!” she shouted in the hissing, reptilian language of the lizardfolk. “Surrender now, and you will be spared!”
A strange glow formed in the air above the sleeping lizard king as a grinning, disembodied reptilian skull suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
“Fools!” it hissed. “Heed not the witch’s words! Your king merely sleeps! Destroy her and the other infidels!”
Outside, lizardfolk began to swarm from the other huts, alerted by the cries of the guards and the sounds of combat. Selena broke free of her shock long enough to rejoin her companions, who had massed themselves in the center of the village. As the lizardfolk broke over them like a wave across rocks, the group fought like the heroes they were. Their skill and raw power somewhat compensated for the sheer numbers of their opponents…but only just. Several of the lizardfolk were already down by the time the king emerged from his hut, roused from his slumber by one of his consorts. His pets came before him, and one of them seized Stevhan in its jaws, and then shaking him as if he were a rag doll. In that same instant, the glowing skull appeared once more, this time right beside Selena.
“Now, you will die little witch!” it chuckled as it gently caressed her skin, sending a jolt of electricity like living fire through her flesh.
“Not today, wisp!” Mox cried as she loosed a volley of flashing blue bolts at the skull, causing it to drift away from Selena. “You may have fooled these primitives, but I know you for what you are!”
“A pity you’ll never have the opportunity to prove your theory!” the skull sneered. It shot through the air towards Mox, but before it could reach her, Davrim shouldered her bodily aside as he brought his falchion crashing down upon the apparition. The skull cracked, and its light flickered and faded. Cursing, it sped away into the gathering gloom.
Stevhan managed to free his arms enough to drive his sword into the crocodile’s side. The animal loosened its grip and the ranger rolled free and to his feet, trying to ignore the pain from ribs he knew must be broken. Around him, the battle continued to rage. The lizard king was skirting the bulk of the fighting, moving around behind one of the huts to flank the companions. Meanwhile, three new lizardmen had emerged from another hut. They were bigger than the other warriors, though not as large as the king. Tattoos covered their skin in odd patterns, and one of them drove a pair of large, frilled lizards before him.
“Tungdill!” Stevhan called up to the circling eagle. “We’re in trouble here! Little help?”
The eagle shrieked once, in a decidedly irritated tone, but a moment later, Adam appeared in a flash of light. The ant launched itself at the oncoming lizards, and the battle spiraled to new levels of violence and chaos.
Stevhan wasn’t the only one who had spotted the lizard king’s flanking maneuver. Leaf, concealed among the shadows at the fringe of the melee, saw the big lizardman closing in behind an unsuspecting Velox. The elf stalked forward to intercept, but just as he stepped from the darkness, the lizard king spun suddenly and rammed his trident home. Leaf blinked, too stunned to feel the pain immediately. He looked down at the three tines buried in his abdomen. Still, he did not cry out. Velox heard the scuffle behind him and turned just in time to see the elf slash with both blades at the throat of the giant lizardman. The king drew back at the last second, suffering two deep but nonlethal wounds, and then he wrenched his weapon from Leaf’s limp form. Velox’s eyes went blank as the Spirit took him. He began babbling in the celestial tongue of the angels as he rushed towards the lizard king. The brute blocked his first swing, but when the oracle swung back, his reverse cut opened the reptile’s belly from rib to rib. The king seemed to barely notice. He slammed his trident straight down and through Velox’s foot. The oracle did not cry out, but only chanted more loudly as he drove his sword up through the wound he’d already opened and into the lizardman’s heart. The king staggered back, fell to one knee, and then toppled onto his side.
Velox’s battle fury left him as his companions mopped up what was left of the lizardfolk tribe. He knelt next to Leaf and breathed a silent prayer of gratitude when he saw that the elf still lived. Within the large hut, Selena hurried to the terrified red-haired boy bound in the corner.
“Are…are you a witch?” he stammered.
“Yes,” Selena replied. “But not the kind that eats young boys, nor turns them into toads. What’s your name, boy?”
“Tig,” he said, “Tig Tannerson.”
“Your father sent us,” Selena said. “He said you’re due for a hide-tanning when he gets hold of you.”
The boy didn’t flinch. “Begging your pardon Miss Witch, but I’d beg my da’ for a beatin’ compared to what these lizard monsters did. They hung me over up and let their pets try and bite me, and they left me up to my neck in the swamp! Please, will you take me home now?”
“Don’t worry,” Selena said, an uncustomary softness in her tone. “You’re safe now.”
Davrim followed Selena into the hut, and nodded in approval as she took the boy out. It was then that his gaze caught on the large, leathery egg that sat in a nest against one wall. A lizardfolk egg. Looking to make sure he wasn’t observed, the inquisitor wrapped his cloak around the egg and tucked it into his pack.
____________________________________________________________
When the rulers of Kardashia returned to Veritas with young Tig in tow, their people greeted them as heroes once more. Tig’s parents were overjoyed beyond words, with all thought of punishment banished at the sight of the child they’d believed dead. Yet not all of the townsfolk turned out for the homecoming, and Mox took note of this immediately. Her eyes found Oleg’s among the crowd of onlookers, and the Royal Treasurer communicated much with that look. She nodded her head towards the castle, and Oleg nodded in return.
Later, the seven companions gathered in the great hall of the keep with their council.
“We’ve got trouble,” Oleg said without preamble.
“Don’t we always,” Mox sighed as she rubbed her temples. “What is it this time?”
“An agitator,” the old trader growled. “He came into town not a day after you left. Ever since then, he’s been holding court outside the town hall, stirring up all sorts of trouble. At first, no one paid him much mind, but the rumors of troll doings are still out there, and the longer you were gone, the more the crowd grew. Now, I’m afraid there’s a fair number of the folk who are listening a lot closer to what he’s saying.”
“It’s true,” Svetlana agreed. “The man’s name is Grigori, and he’s a silver-tongue if I’ve ever heard one. The people are growing restless and scared. Perhaps if they were to see their leaders in person, and hear your voices reassure them?”
“We’ll handle it,” Mox said with finality.
_____________________________________________________________
The crowd gathered before the town hall numbered close to one-hundred. Standing before them, literally upon a soapbox, was a rotund fellow, well-dressed, with a thin beard and goatee. When he saw the rulers approach, his eyes lit up like beacons.
“There they are!” he shouted, his voice carrying above the din of the crowd. “Your so-called leaders! They rode into town today as though they were conquering heroes, returning that poor, lost waif to his grief-stricken parents! But wait! The boy went missing weeks ago! The Heavens only know what horrors he was forced to endure at the hands of his savage captors while those tasked with saving him went glory-seeking and treasure hunting instead! Is this what you expect from your leadership?”
“No!” the crowd roared, even as they parted to let the companions pass.
“I want him silenced!” Mox hissed quietly into Davrim’s ear.
“Good people!” Velox called as he stepped to the front of the crowd. “I know not this man, yet I do not deny his right to speak! Yet are his words so honeyed that you have forgotten what it is we have accomplished here? We’re building this nation from nothing with our bare hands, all of us together! We sought near and far for the boy Tig Tannerson, and in our travels, indeed, we did encounter threats to our nation, and discovered riches to fill our kingdoms coffers! These we dealt with, and returned the boy alive as soon as his whereabouts were revealed!”
The crowd murmured, some nodding their heads in agreement, while others still frowned and grumbled.
“And where did they come by this information?” Grigori bellowed. “Ah yes, the swam witch known as the Old Beldame, a creature known to feast on the blood of infants, and to steal the souls of brave men! Not only have your rulers consorted with one so foul, but they also count another witch as one of their own!”
His finger stabbed towards Selena.
“The Magister’s words and actions speak for themselves!” Velox replied. “I owe her my own life on more than one occasion, and many of your witnessed her actions against the walking dead that fell upon our citizens when we first broke ground here! As for the Old Beldame, her reputation if falsely earned! She holds no ill will towards our country! Indeed, she seeks only to be left in peace, but offers her services to our nation should we need it! It was, in fact, she who gave us the crucial information not only to rescue Tig Tannerson, but also to end the looming threat of hostile lizardfolk upon our border!”
More of the townsfolk nodded in agreement, and Grigori licked his lips nervously.
“What of she who has been named Baroness then?” he asked. “What do you truly know of her? She counts herself among Brevoy’s elite! Why, she’s nothing more than a pawn of Restov, sent here to expand their interests!”
“Again, I entreat you,” Velox retorted, “judge Lady Mox on what your own eyes have seen, and your own ears have heard! Everything that Mox has done, she has done for you! Her skill and experience among the courts of Brevoy are needed if we are to grow and contend with our more powerful neighbors to the north! We are a free nation, and we shall show the world the power of a truly free people!”
This time many among the crowd began to cheer.
“Do not listen to this man!” Grigori cried. “He and the so-called Royal Executioner are followers of Iomedae, a Power foreign to these lands! They seek to impose a state religion upon you, and rob you of your freedom of choice!”
Velox rolled his eyes. “Davrim and I honor our Lady of Justice, this is true, but we ask none to follow us against their will! If our words and our deeds convince some among you to seek knowledge of our Lady, then we are pleased to give it, but we seek to coerce no one, and we honor all religious paths that serve the good of our country! Kardashia!”
Now the entire crowd took up the cry, roaring their approval. Several of them picked up stones and fruit and began to hurl them at Grigori. The instigator cowered and leaped from his perch, running at a full sprint towards the edge of town.
“Follow him,” Mox told Stevhan.
______________________________________________________________
Grigori sat by his fire, poking at it with a stick in irritation. When he saw the shadows detach themselves from the surrounding forest, he gave a small cry, but then quickly composed himself. He’d been expecting this.
“So now you’ve come to kill me, have you?” he asked, raising his chin. “Typical. Do your worst then!”
“Nonsense,” Mox said calmly, a smile playing over her full lips. “We come in peace, and only wish to talk. You believe that we are your friends, don’t you?”
Her hands worked subtle gestures, and the magic flowed through her words. Grigori’s eyes glazed over and he nodded enthusiastically.
“Of course, my Lady,” he nodded. “You’re welcome to share my fire.”
“Some other time, perhaps,” Mox said. “I was merely wondering, why did you speak such ill words against me back in town?”
Grigori cast his eyes down. “My apologies, my Lady. I…I was merely following orders.”
“What orders, exactly?” Mox asked.
“I was sent to sow dissent among your people,” Grigori mumbled, “to spread distrust with the hope of having your overthrown.”
“And whose orders were these?” Mox cajoled.
“I…I cannot say,” Grigori replied. “My life would be forfeit were I to reveal it!”
“Come now,” Mox said reassuringly. “Surely you know that I would never allow you to come to harm. You can trust me.”
Grigori met her eyes, and he did indeed trust what he saw there.
“I was sent by agents of Fort Drelev to the west,” he said quietly.
“You’ve done well,” Mox said, touching him on the shoulder. “You shall be rewarded for your faith.”
Mox and the others stood at the edge of Grigori’s fire, speaking in hushed whispers.
“My decision if final!” Mox said harshly. “This man has committed treason against our country, and even in Brevoy the punishment for such an offense is death!”
“Then let us take him back to Veritas and give him a proper trial!” Stevhan pleaded.
“The outcome would be the same!” Mox snapped. “It will waste time and resources!”
“So is this your idea of justice, boy?” Tungdill growled, turning to Davrim.
“Justice will be served,” the inquisitor replied tonelessly, “one way or another.”
“Then proceed dispensing it!” Mox commanded.
Davrim nodded and turned back towards the campfire, his hand on the pommel of his sword.
“Yah haven’t heard the end of this, girlie,” Tungdill snarled. “Not by a long shot!”
A low, muddy hummock protruded from the middle of the widening Murque River, surrounded by a palisade of outward-facing sharpened wooden stakes. Inside, tendrils of smoke rose from a handful of mounds clustered around a single, larger mound. A simple wooden gate on the eastern side of the hummock seemed to be the only entrance to the fortified island. As the seven companions stood on the south bank of the river, gazing across the fifty-feet of sluggish water at the island, the sound of terrified screams suddenly split the air…the screams of a child.
“We’re going,” Mox said. “Selena, give me a lift?”
The witch nodded as she closed her eyes, forked her fingers and slowly levitated into the air.
“Wait!” Stevhan said. “What’s our plan?”
Mox turned to him, her eyes cold.
“The plan is to cross this river, kill any lizards that get in our way, and get the boy.”
She reached her hand up and took Selena’s. The witch rose higher and flew out over the water, Mox in tow.
Stevhan turned to the others, his eyes wide.
“This is a plan?”
Davrim shrugged. “Works for me.”
The half-orc began wading into the water.
“Wait!” Stevhan said for the second time in as many minutes. “You can’t swim in your armor!”
“Who said anything about swimming?” Davrim asked. He took a deep breath and continued walking until he was completely submerged and hidden from view.
Velox started to follow, but he paused on the bank and looked back at the ranger.
“Don’t worry, my friend,” he said. “What could go wrong?”
Stevhan watched the oracle vanish beneath the slow-flowing waters, and shook his head in disbelief.
“What about you?” he asked Tungdill. “Don’t tell me that you plan on walking across as well!”
“ ‘Course not!” the dwarf barked. “I ain’t no savage!”
Suddenly, his body began to melt and shift into that of a large eagle. With a screech that sounded suspiciously like a curse, it took wing after Selena and Mox.
“Looks like it’s just you and me, slim,” Leaf said as he patted Stevhan on the shoulder. “I don’t intend to walk either. I can actually swim. You coming?”
“Looks like I don’t have any choice,” the ranger sighed. “Come on, Chester.”
The cheetah mewled mournfully, eyeing the water suspiciously.
Mox and Selena reached the palisade and flew quickly over the top. Too late, they saw the two reptilian guards standing atop a low palisade above the gate. The lizardmen began an ululating wail, and then hurled a pair of javelins towards the women, narrowly missing. Selena quickly dropped down behind the nearest hut and let go of Mox’s hand. The sorceress hit the ground with a spell on her lips, and promptly vanished from view. Just then, a golden eagle swept over the gates, screeching loudly. As it did so, a sphere of flame appeared out of thin air and dropped atop one of the guards, turning it into a living torch. It pinwheeled its arms as it tumbled to the ground. Selena risked poker her head around the corner of the hut and quickly forked a hex at the remaining lizardman. Its eyes rolled up into its head as it collapsed, asleep, atop the palisade. Mox quickly moved, unseen, for the gate. She lifted the bar from its brackets and shoved the doors open just as her companions emerged dripping from the river.
Selena could still hear the child’s screams coming from the large central hut. She flew over the top and landed in front of the entrance, peering inside. What she saw froze her in her tracks. A large, muscular lizardman stood in the center of the hut, a trident clutched in one hand, and a pair of leashes in the other, which were attached to two huge crocodiles. Around the lizardman stood four more lizardfolk, females if Selena were to guess, judging solely by the amount of crude jewelry they wore. Behind them all, a young boy was bound hand-and-foot. Tears streaked his filthy face, and as one of the crocs turned and snapped at him, he began to scream again. Selena steeled herself and met the gaze of the lizard king squarely, channeling her spirit through her eyes. The lizardman’s three eyelids drooped and then closed as he collapsed into a deep slumber.
“I have slain your king!” she shouted in the hissing, reptilian language of the lizardfolk. “Surrender now, and you will be spared!”
A strange glow formed in the air above the sleeping lizard king as a grinning, disembodied reptilian skull suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
“Fools!” it hissed. “Heed not the witch’s words! Your king merely sleeps! Destroy her and the other infidels!”
Outside, lizardfolk began to swarm from the other huts, alerted by the cries of the guards and the sounds of combat. Selena broke free of her shock long enough to rejoin her companions, who had massed themselves in the center of the village. As the lizardfolk broke over them like a wave across rocks, the group fought like the heroes they were. Their skill and raw power somewhat compensated for the sheer numbers of their opponents…but only just. Several of the lizardfolk were already down by the time the king emerged from his hut, roused from his slumber by one of his consorts. His pets came before him, and one of them seized Stevhan in its jaws, and then shaking him as if he were a rag doll. In that same instant, the glowing skull appeared once more, this time right beside Selena.
“Now, you will die little witch!” it chuckled as it gently caressed her skin, sending a jolt of electricity like living fire through her flesh.
“Not today, wisp!” Mox cried as she loosed a volley of flashing blue bolts at the skull, causing it to drift away from Selena. “You may have fooled these primitives, but I know you for what you are!”
“A pity you’ll never have the opportunity to prove your theory!” the skull sneered. It shot through the air towards Mox, but before it could reach her, Davrim shouldered her bodily aside as he brought his falchion crashing down upon the apparition. The skull cracked, and its light flickered and faded. Cursing, it sped away into the gathering gloom.
Stevhan managed to free his arms enough to drive his sword into the crocodile’s side. The animal loosened its grip and the ranger rolled free and to his feet, trying to ignore the pain from ribs he knew must be broken. Around him, the battle continued to rage. The lizard king was skirting the bulk of the fighting, moving around behind one of the huts to flank the companions. Meanwhile, three new lizardmen had emerged from another hut. They were bigger than the other warriors, though not as large as the king. Tattoos covered their skin in odd patterns, and one of them drove a pair of large, frilled lizards before him.
“Tungdill!” Stevhan called up to the circling eagle. “We’re in trouble here! Little help?”
The eagle shrieked once, in a decidedly irritated tone, but a moment later, Adam appeared in a flash of light. The ant launched itself at the oncoming lizards, and the battle spiraled to new levels of violence and chaos.
Stevhan wasn’t the only one who had spotted the lizard king’s flanking maneuver. Leaf, concealed among the shadows at the fringe of the melee, saw the big lizardman closing in behind an unsuspecting Velox. The elf stalked forward to intercept, but just as he stepped from the darkness, the lizard king spun suddenly and rammed his trident home. Leaf blinked, too stunned to feel the pain immediately. He looked down at the three tines buried in his abdomen. Still, he did not cry out. Velox heard the scuffle behind him and turned just in time to see the elf slash with both blades at the throat of the giant lizardman. The king drew back at the last second, suffering two deep but nonlethal wounds, and then he wrenched his weapon from Leaf’s limp form. Velox’s eyes went blank as the Spirit took him. He began babbling in the celestial tongue of the angels as he rushed towards the lizard king. The brute blocked his first swing, but when the oracle swung back, his reverse cut opened the reptile’s belly from rib to rib. The king seemed to barely notice. He slammed his trident straight down and through Velox’s foot. The oracle did not cry out, but only chanted more loudly as he drove his sword up through the wound he’d already opened and into the lizardman’s heart. The king staggered back, fell to one knee, and then toppled onto his side.
Velox’s battle fury left him as his companions mopped up what was left of the lizardfolk tribe. He knelt next to Leaf and breathed a silent prayer of gratitude when he saw that the elf still lived. Within the large hut, Selena hurried to the terrified red-haired boy bound in the corner.
“Are…are you a witch?” he stammered.
“Yes,” Selena replied. “But not the kind that eats young boys, nor turns them into toads. What’s your name, boy?”
“Tig,” he said, “Tig Tannerson.”
“Your father sent us,” Selena said. “He said you’re due for a hide-tanning when he gets hold of you.”
The boy didn’t flinch. “Begging your pardon Miss Witch, but I’d beg my da’ for a beatin’ compared to what these lizard monsters did. They hung me over up and let their pets try and bite me, and they left me up to my neck in the swamp! Please, will you take me home now?”
“Don’t worry,” Selena said, an uncustomary softness in her tone. “You’re safe now.”
Davrim followed Selena into the hut, and nodded in approval as she took the boy out. It was then that his gaze caught on the large, leathery egg that sat in a nest against one wall. A lizardfolk egg. Looking to make sure he wasn’t observed, the inquisitor wrapped his cloak around the egg and tucked it into his pack.
____________________________________________________________
When the rulers of Kardashia returned to Veritas with young Tig in tow, their people greeted them as heroes once more. Tig’s parents were overjoyed beyond words, with all thought of punishment banished at the sight of the child they’d believed dead. Yet not all of the townsfolk turned out for the homecoming, and Mox took note of this immediately. Her eyes found Oleg’s among the crowd of onlookers, and the Royal Treasurer communicated much with that look. She nodded her head towards the castle, and Oleg nodded in return.
Later, the seven companions gathered in the great hall of the keep with their council.
“We’ve got trouble,” Oleg said without preamble.
“Don’t we always,” Mox sighed as she rubbed her temples. “What is it this time?”
“An agitator,” the old trader growled. “He came into town not a day after you left. Ever since then, he’s been holding court outside the town hall, stirring up all sorts of trouble. At first, no one paid him much mind, but the rumors of troll doings are still out there, and the longer you were gone, the more the crowd grew. Now, I’m afraid there’s a fair number of the folk who are listening a lot closer to what he’s saying.”
“It’s true,” Svetlana agreed. “The man’s name is Grigori, and he’s a silver-tongue if I’ve ever heard one. The people are growing restless and scared. Perhaps if they were to see their leaders in person, and hear your voices reassure them?”
“We’ll handle it,” Mox said with finality.
_____________________________________________________________
The crowd gathered before the town hall numbered close to one-hundred. Standing before them, literally upon a soapbox, was a rotund fellow, well-dressed, with a thin beard and goatee. When he saw the rulers approach, his eyes lit up like beacons.
“There they are!” he shouted, his voice carrying above the din of the crowd. “Your so-called leaders! They rode into town today as though they were conquering heroes, returning that poor, lost waif to his grief-stricken parents! But wait! The boy went missing weeks ago! The Heavens only know what horrors he was forced to endure at the hands of his savage captors while those tasked with saving him went glory-seeking and treasure hunting instead! Is this what you expect from your leadership?”
“No!” the crowd roared, even as they parted to let the companions pass.
“I want him silenced!” Mox hissed quietly into Davrim’s ear.
“Good people!” Velox called as he stepped to the front of the crowd. “I know not this man, yet I do not deny his right to speak! Yet are his words so honeyed that you have forgotten what it is we have accomplished here? We’re building this nation from nothing with our bare hands, all of us together! We sought near and far for the boy Tig Tannerson, and in our travels, indeed, we did encounter threats to our nation, and discovered riches to fill our kingdoms coffers! These we dealt with, and returned the boy alive as soon as his whereabouts were revealed!”
The crowd murmured, some nodding their heads in agreement, while others still frowned and grumbled.
“And where did they come by this information?” Grigori bellowed. “Ah yes, the swam witch known as the Old Beldame, a creature known to feast on the blood of infants, and to steal the souls of brave men! Not only have your rulers consorted with one so foul, but they also count another witch as one of their own!”
His finger stabbed towards Selena.
“The Magister’s words and actions speak for themselves!” Velox replied. “I owe her my own life on more than one occasion, and many of your witnessed her actions against the walking dead that fell upon our citizens when we first broke ground here! As for the Old Beldame, her reputation if falsely earned! She holds no ill will towards our country! Indeed, she seeks only to be left in peace, but offers her services to our nation should we need it! It was, in fact, she who gave us the crucial information not only to rescue Tig Tannerson, but also to end the looming threat of hostile lizardfolk upon our border!”
More of the townsfolk nodded in agreement, and Grigori licked his lips nervously.
“What of she who has been named Baroness then?” he asked. “What do you truly know of her? She counts herself among Brevoy’s elite! Why, she’s nothing more than a pawn of Restov, sent here to expand their interests!”
“Again, I entreat you,” Velox retorted, “judge Lady Mox on what your own eyes have seen, and your own ears have heard! Everything that Mox has done, she has done for you! Her skill and experience among the courts of Brevoy are needed if we are to grow and contend with our more powerful neighbors to the north! We are a free nation, and we shall show the world the power of a truly free people!”
This time many among the crowd began to cheer.
“Do not listen to this man!” Grigori cried. “He and the so-called Royal Executioner are followers of Iomedae, a Power foreign to these lands! They seek to impose a state religion upon you, and rob you of your freedom of choice!”
Velox rolled his eyes. “Davrim and I honor our Lady of Justice, this is true, but we ask none to follow us against their will! If our words and our deeds convince some among you to seek knowledge of our Lady, then we are pleased to give it, but we seek to coerce no one, and we honor all religious paths that serve the good of our country! Kardashia!”
Now the entire crowd took up the cry, roaring their approval. Several of them picked up stones and fruit and began to hurl them at Grigori. The instigator cowered and leaped from his perch, running at a full sprint towards the edge of town.
“Follow him,” Mox told Stevhan.
______________________________________________________________
Grigori sat by his fire, poking at it with a stick in irritation. When he saw the shadows detach themselves from the surrounding forest, he gave a small cry, but then quickly composed himself. He’d been expecting this.
“So now you’ve come to kill me, have you?” he asked, raising his chin. “Typical. Do your worst then!”
“Nonsense,” Mox said calmly, a smile playing over her full lips. “We come in peace, and only wish to talk. You believe that we are your friends, don’t you?”
Her hands worked subtle gestures, and the magic flowed through her words. Grigori’s eyes glazed over and he nodded enthusiastically.
“Of course, my Lady,” he nodded. “You’re welcome to share my fire.”
“Some other time, perhaps,” Mox said. “I was merely wondering, why did you speak such ill words against me back in town?”
Grigori cast his eyes down. “My apologies, my Lady. I…I was merely following orders.”
“What orders, exactly?” Mox asked.
“I was sent to sow dissent among your people,” Grigori mumbled, “to spread distrust with the hope of having your overthrown.”
“And whose orders were these?” Mox cajoled.
“I…I cannot say,” Grigori replied. “My life would be forfeit were I to reveal it!”
“Come now,” Mox said reassuringly. “Surely you know that I would never allow you to come to harm. You can trust me.”
Grigori met her eyes, and he did indeed trust what he saw there.
“I was sent by agents of Fort Drelev to the west,” he said quietly.
“You’ve done well,” Mox said, touching him on the shoulder. “You shall be rewarded for your faith.”
Mox and the others stood at the edge of Grigori’s fire, speaking in hushed whispers.
“My decision if final!” Mox said harshly. “This man has committed treason against our country, and even in Brevoy the punishment for such an offense is death!”
“Then let us take him back to Veritas and give him a proper trial!” Stevhan pleaded.
“The outcome would be the same!” Mox snapped. “It will waste time and resources!”
“So is this your idea of justice, boy?” Tungdill growled, turning to Davrim.
“Justice will be served,” the inquisitor replied tonelessly, “one way or another.”
“Then proceed dispensing it!” Mox commanded.
Davrim nodded and turned back towards the campfire, his hand on the pommel of his sword.
“Yah haven’t heard the end of this, girlie,” Tungdill snarled. “Not by a long shot!”
JollyDoc
Explorer
SUNDAY NIGHT TEASER
Diplomacy is the rule as the companions contine exploring their new lands...
1) A dust-up between a nixie and some loggers leads to heated words between Tungdill and Mox.
2) Gnomes in distress lead to new mysteries
3) Who could refuse a crying dryad...especially when evil trees need killin'?
Diplomacy is the rule as the companions contine exploring their new lands...
1) A dust-up between a nixie and some loggers leads to heated words between Tungdill and Mox.
2) Gnomes in distress lead to new mysteries
3) Who could refuse a crying dryad...especially when evil trees need killin'?
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