Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Lazybones's Keep on the Shadowfell/Thunderspire Labyrinth
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 4913722" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Thanks Tamlyn. These characters did come alive for me toward the end, I was trying not to have them fall back into standard archetypes. </p><p></p><p>The last chapter will be posted Monday.</p><p></p><p>* * * * * </p><p></p><p>Chapter 79</p><p></p><p></p><p>The dream, like most of the ones he traveled, was full of blood, and violence, and dark emotions. He walked through landscapes that would have paralyzed the minds of most men, and felt only a surging exultation that caused him to writhe in pleasure even in the grip of sleep. </p><p></p><p>When he woke, it was suddenly, yanked from dream to full consciousness in a jarring transition. He immediately gauged that something was wrong, even before his mind actively registered the absence of light. </p><p></p><p>He rose into a wary crouch upon his pallet, uttering an invocation that should have filled the confined space of his personal quarters with bright magical illumination. His right hand traveled of its own accord under his pillow. His fingertips touched the hilt of the dagger he’d kept there ever since he’d been a child, a precaution that had saved his life more than once in those tender years. Now, of course, it was unnecessary; he had his magic. He could <em>feel</em> it, his skin tingling as arcane power flowed toward him at his call. </p><p></p><p>Nothing happened. The power just <em>stopped</em>, as though it had hit a brick wall. </p><p></p><p>“Let there be light,” someone said, a voice so familiar and hated that the wizard would have known it from a single syllable. </p><p></p><p>A globe of light appeared, on the far side of the room, floating above the hand of a robed, cowled figure. He was not the one who had spoken, but the light illuminated the speaker as well, standing in front of the wizard’s bunk. The glow from the globe cast him in silhouette, a tall, dark form, his face unconcealed but limned deeply in shadows. The wizard couldn’t see the man’s eyes in those shadows, but he didn’t have to in order to gauge the sentiment there. </p><p></p><p>“Hasifir,” he said, addressing the man standing before him. “What an unexpected surprise.”</p><p></p><p>“No doubt,” the dark wizard replied. “You are not an easy man to find, Paldemar.”</p><p></p><p>Paldemar chuckled, but inside his mind was racing. His mind was sharp, and he quickly drew conclusions from what he saw before him. Unfortunately for him, the results of his analysis did not speak well in his favor. </p><p></p><p>He shifted to sit on the edge of his pallet. The motion concealed his right hand, which closed around the hilt of his dagger. “A man is entitled to his privacy. What right do you have to break in here, and shield me within my own sanctum?”</p><p></p><p>“We have been lax with you, Paldemar, and thus have allowed your plans to develop more than they should have been allowed to progress. From what we have seen in this place, this was a mistake. A mistake that will be corrected.”</p><p></p><p>Paldemar glanced at the other wizard, the one maintaining the <em>light</em> spell. “What of you, Samazar? You’ve thrown your lot in with this one? I’d thought more of you.”</p><p></p><p>The robed mage did not shift, and Paldemar could not see into the depths of his cowl, but he could feel the impression of the other man’s stare. Samazar was a man of few words, but in this case, his silence was answer enough. </p><p></p><p>Paldemar turned his attention back to Hasifir. “You presume much, coming here. I am not without resources.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, Niame is dealing with the last of your… <em>allies</em> as we speak,” Hasifir replied. “As soon as he rejoins us, we will return to the Hall, where we—”</p><p></p><p>He was cut off as Paldemar leapt at him, his dagger coming up in a blur as he lunged at the nearby mage. Within the antimagic aura that Hasifir had erected, the vast arcane arsenals of the two men were useless, the pair reduced to mere men. But Hasifir was not only strong in magic; he’d been a warrior in a past life. He caught Paldemar’s wrist in one big hand, cuffed it hard with the other. The knife went flying. Paldemar tried to kick him, but Hasifir caught him across the face with a backhanded slap that knocked him sprawling in the other direction. </p><p></p><p>Paldemar lay on the floor, dazed. He tasted blood; he rubbed a hand over his split lip. His teeth showed as his lips drew back in a snarl. “You will pay for that! I’ll make you all pay!” </p><p></p><p>Hasifir merely shook his head, not bothering to hide his contempt. Paldemar suddenly sprang up and ran toward the nearest door. Hasifir turned but didn’t bother to chase after him. Ahead of him, the door opened, and Paldemar let out a hiss of triumph that died as he recognized the short, fat outline of Niame, the mage’s doughy flesh tinged with the rough texture of a <em>stoneskin</em> spell. Niame was the sort of man who always had a jovial smile on his face, quick to turn into a laugh. But he wasn’t laughing now. “Going somewhere?” the Mage asked. </p><p></p><p>Paldemar felt the exact moment that he left the radius of the aura of antimagic that Hasifir was projecting. But before he could so much as mutter a cantrip, he heard a cacophonous roar, felt a massive invisible fist smash into his chest, knocking him backwards off his feet. Samazar was never one for subtlety; battle mages rarely were. </p><p></p><p>Barely conscious, he was dimly aware of the other three Mages clustering around him. The anti-magic was gone; he could feel the flow of power around him, but when he reached for it, it may as well have been a thousand miles away. </p><p></p><p>“Bind him,” he heard Hasifir say. He tried to scream, but the darkness closed in around him, and this time, the horrors of his dreams followed him down into oblivion.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 4913722, member: 143"] Thanks Tamlyn. These characters did come alive for me toward the end, I was trying not to have them fall back into standard archetypes. The last chapter will be posted Monday. * * * * * Chapter 79 The dream, like most of the ones he traveled, was full of blood, and violence, and dark emotions. He walked through landscapes that would have paralyzed the minds of most men, and felt only a surging exultation that caused him to writhe in pleasure even in the grip of sleep. When he woke, it was suddenly, yanked from dream to full consciousness in a jarring transition. He immediately gauged that something was wrong, even before his mind actively registered the absence of light. He rose into a wary crouch upon his pallet, uttering an invocation that should have filled the confined space of his personal quarters with bright magical illumination. His right hand traveled of its own accord under his pillow. His fingertips touched the hilt of the dagger he’d kept there ever since he’d been a child, a precaution that had saved his life more than once in those tender years. Now, of course, it was unnecessary; he had his magic. He could [i]feel[/i] it, his skin tingling as arcane power flowed toward him at his call. Nothing happened. The power just [i]stopped[/i], as though it had hit a brick wall. “Let there be light,” someone said, a voice so familiar and hated that the wizard would have known it from a single syllable. A globe of light appeared, on the far side of the room, floating above the hand of a robed, cowled figure. He was not the one who had spoken, but the light illuminated the speaker as well, standing in front of the wizard’s bunk. The glow from the globe cast him in silhouette, a tall, dark form, his face unconcealed but limned deeply in shadows. The wizard couldn’t see the man’s eyes in those shadows, but he didn’t have to in order to gauge the sentiment there. “Hasifir,” he said, addressing the man standing before him. “What an unexpected surprise.” “No doubt,” the dark wizard replied. “You are not an easy man to find, Paldemar.” Paldemar chuckled, but inside his mind was racing. His mind was sharp, and he quickly drew conclusions from what he saw before him. Unfortunately for him, the results of his analysis did not speak well in his favor. He shifted to sit on the edge of his pallet. The motion concealed his right hand, which closed around the hilt of his dagger. “A man is entitled to his privacy. What right do you have to break in here, and shield me within my own sanctum?” “We have been lax with you, Paldemar, and thus have allowed your plans to develop more than they should have been allowed to progress. From what we have seen in this place, this was a mistake. A mistake that will be corrected.” Paldemar glanced at the other wizard, the one maintaining the [i]light[/i] spell. “What of you, Samazar? You’ve thrown your lot in with this one? I’d thought more of you.” The robed mage did not shift, and Paldemar could not see into the depths of his cowl, but he could feel the impression of the other man’s stare. Samazar was a man of few words, but in this case, his silence was answer enough. Paldemar turned his attention back to Hasifir. “You presume much, coming here. I am not without resources.” “Yes, Niame is dealing with the last of your… [i]allies[/i] as we speak,” Hasifir replied. “As soon as he rejoins us, we will return to the Hall, where we—” He was cut off as Paldemar leapt at him, his dagger coming up in a blur as he lunged at the nearby mage. Within the antimagic aura that Hasifir had erected, the vast arcane arsenals of the two men were useless, the pair reduced to mere men. But Hasifir was not only strong in magic; he’d been a warrior in a past life. He caught Paldemar’s wrist in one big hand, cuffed it hard with the other. The knife went flying. Paldemar tried to kick him, but Hasifir caught him across the face with a backhanded slap that knocked him sprawling in the other direction. Paldemar lay on the floor, dazed. He tasted blood; he rubbed a hand over his split lip. His teeth showed as his lips drew back in a snarl. “You will pay for that! I’ll make you all pay!” Hasifir merely shook his head, not bothering to hide his contempt. Paldemar suddenly sprang up and ran toward the nearest door. Hasifir turned but didn’t bother to chase after him. Ahead of him, the door opened, and Paldemar let out a hiss of triumph that died as he recognized the short, fat outline of Niame, the mage’s doughy flesh tinged with the rough texture of a [i]stoneskin[/i] spell. Niame was the sort of man who always had a jovial smile on his face, quick to turn into a laugh. But he wasn’t laughing now. “Going somewhere?” the Mage asked. Paldemar felt the exact moment that he left the radius of the aura of antimagic that Hasifir was projecting. But before he could so much as mutter a cantrip, he heard a cacophonous roar, felt a massive invisible fist smash into his chest, knocking him backwards off his feet. Samazar was never one for subtlety; battle mages rarely were. Barely conscious, he was dimly aware of the other three Mages clustering around him. The anti-magic was gone; he could feel the flow of power around him, but when he reached for it, it may as well have been a thousand miles away. “Bind him,” he heard Hasifir say. He tried to scream, but the darkness closed in around him, and this time, the horrors of his dreams followed him down into oblivion. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Lazybones's Keep on the Shadowfell/Thunderspire Labyrinth
Top