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
Maissen: Shades of Grey [UPDATE 12/12, post 199]
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="Beale Knight" data-source="post: 1912065" data-attributes="member: 7033"><p><strong>03 - 02 Hilltopple House pt2: Stories Fantastic and Twisted</strong></p><p></p><p>Bessie and Ren looked at each other and then back at the strange warrior. “Lord Maissen?” they said in unplanned unison. </p><p></p><p>Aneirin furrowed his brow and frowned at them. “Indeed. Why do you seem surprised that I would be in his service?”</p><p></p><p>Bessie wringed her hands. “Um – just how long have you been here, Aneirin?”</p><p></p><p>The warrior took a breath and looked into space. “Five days now,” he said at last. “Five days since my party was betrayed and chained.”</p><p></p><p>“Your party?” Bessie asked.</p><p></p><p>At her question Aneirin began telling a fantastic tale. That he had been one of Lord Maissen’s soldiers, part of a team that had been sent out mere days ago to meet with the halfling that lived in this compound. He told of how a pleasant first day turned into betrayal by the halfing, who had his guests drugged, stripped of their gear, and chained at the back of the house. Almost every day since, the warrior he’d just slain would come and take away one of the prisoners. None had been seen since. Aneirin was the last survivor, the one who finally managed to free himself after days of work. </p><p></p><p>“And with him dead,” Aneirin said, “I want my sword and armor back, and Avarshan returned.”</p><p></p><p>“Who’s Avarshan?” Ren asked. “I thought all your companions had been taken.”</p><p></p><p>“My horse.”</p><p></p><p>“You have a horse?!” Ren and Bessie said as one.</p><p></p><p>Aneirin looked surprised at their reaction. “Of course,” he said.</p><p></p><p>Before the others could say anything, there was a loud scrape from behind them. They turned to see the archer pulling her bow to her. She’d apparently been conscious for several minutes, quietly trying to gather her weapons. The cobblestone path had betrayed her.</p><p></p><p>Bessie and Ren went for their weapons, and Aneirin took a step toward the woman, but in that moment a dagger flew into the archer’s neck. From his place by the still unconscious Madge, Killian was slowly getting to his feet. “Next time,” he said, “check ‘em t’ be SURE they’re dead.”</p><p></p><p>Aneirin led the others through the forth gate. It opened into a another square courtyard, one that featured a short two story house, a reflecting pool, and the strangest beast the Heroes from Vaunth-on-the-Lake had ever seen. Almost as tall as the house itself, the animal was simply massive. Four thick, stump-like legs supported its gigantic gray body, with a thin tail on one end offset by a head larger than Ren would be curled up in a ball. Strangest of all was the animal’s face; between two long tusks a hung long snake-like appendage that seemed to be prehensile! The beast didn’t seem threatening. He – an intimidating he – simply wandered the courtyard using his facial appendage to take leaves from the uppermost tree branches to eat. </p><p></p><p>Everyone but Aneirin came to a dead halt to stare at this bizarre animal. The warrior nudged them on. “The ellefant won’t bother you if you leave him alone. Now come – I want to get in that house. He must have my gear within.”</p><p></p><p>At that moment there came a shout from the house. “GO away! This is Mine. MINE!” From a brass slot in the door the tip of a wand protruded. The wand shook and the voice on the other end of it repeated his demand.</p><p></p><p>“I want my sword, Armis,” Aneirin shouted. “Return it and no harm will come to you.”</p><p></p><p>“It’s Not MY FAULT!” Armis cried from the other side of the door. “Now go away. There’s nothing I can DO about it.”</p><p></p><p>“Who’s Armis?” Bessie asked.</p><p></p><p>“The halfling lord of this House,” the warrior answered. </p><p></p><p>Ren looked around the courtyard and suddenly his heart sank. “He’s the lord of this place?” he asked.</p><p></p><p>“Yess,” Aneirin repeated as he pounded on the door. A bolt of light shot out from the wand, striking him and making Aneirin step back in pain. “Armis – you will let us in!”</p><p></p><p>“We have to get in there and deal with this Armis man,” Ren whispered to Bessie and Killian. He waved his arm around to direct their gaze around the walls of the courtyard. “There’s no gate. If we want to get back to the real world we’re going to have to deal with this Armis and get him to get us back.”</p><p></p><p>“We’ll break the door in then,” Killian said. “It looks delicate enough.” He went up to join Aneirin. </p><p></p><p>Bessie took a step that way and suddenly stopped. “I wonder,” she muttered to herself. Then she wheeled and walked to the ellefant. </p><p></p><p>“Well maybe she can, she’s the druid,” Ren said to himself. He was thinking of a quieter way in. As Killian and Aneirin began pounding on the door and Bessie worked to convince the ellefant it should become a battering ram, Ren ran around the corner of the house. On the long side he noticed a row of upper story windows – real glass ones – and that there was plenty of little hand and foot holds on the rough stone walls. A few seconds later he was breaking open the foremost window. </p><p></p><p>He stumbled on a bed unexpectedly shoved all the way against the wall under the window, and remarked on its small size. It would fit a child of eight comfortably, but never an adult. Ren felt a twinge of excitement hit him. In moments he would likely be laying eyes on a real, living halfling! He opened the bedroom’s door, a sliding one, and found him self in a long room that ran the length of the house – and which was filled with bookshelves! </p><p></p><p>From below, the pounding on the door continue. Armis’ whiny voice was clearer now. </p><p></p><p>“It wasn’t my fault, none of it!” Armis shouted. “I didn’t want her killed! I didn’t want ANY of this!”</p><p></p><p>Suddenly there was a loud CRASH from downstairs. “NO!” Armis shouted. “GET OUT! THIS HOUSE IS MINE! MINE!!” There was another whoosh sound of a magical bolt followed by sound of something breaking. Then another one, slightly different in tone.</p><p></p><p>Another exchange of demands from Aneirin and protests by Armis followed that, but upstairs Ren was ignoring it. He look around the room and saw an expensive looking box displayed on a table. Without hesitating he walked over and took it, then began walking to the stairs on the far side of the room. En route he pulled a random book from the shelves. </p><p></p><p>By now Armis had back his way to the bottom of the stairs Ren was at the top of. When the former stopped his delirious tirade to take a breath, the latter loudly cleared his throat. </p><p></p><p>Eyes wide, the halfling turned up to see Ren holding the book in one hand and his sickle in the other. “NO!” Armis shouted. “THAT’S MINE! GET OUT! IT’S MY HOUSE! MINE”</p><p></p><p>Ren shook his head. He could hear Aneirin and Killian rushing across the lower floor. “We’re going to destroy this house of yours and all in it if this keeps up,” Ren said. “What about if you calm down and we all actually have a sit down kind of talk.”</p><p></p><p>Armis looked from Ren at the top of the stairs to Aneiring and Killian – now just a few feet from him – and back again. He blinked a thousand times in five seconds, trying to decide what to do, confronted on both ends. Stuck, he finally relented – a little bit. </p><p></p><p>“Him,” he said, pointing to Killian. “The sorcerer can stay. I’ll talk with him. The rest of you – out. OUT!” </p><p></p><p>Ren, Killian, and Aneirin exchanged glances, and finally nodded. Aneirin wasn’t happy, but satisfied for the moment that he was closer to getting what he wanted he left the house. Ren retreated from sight, dropped the book loudly atop a shelf, and then waited just out of sight, ready to eavesdrop on the conversation between the sorcerer and the halfling.</p><p></p><p>What he and Killian (and Bessie and Aneirin, who were listening just outside the broken remains of the house’s front door) was a twisted tale of ancient tradition, desperate survival, and general cowardliness. This was indeed a halfling, despite the fact Maissen history reported them all long dead, and his name was Armis. His father had died just days ago, by his reckoning, and per tradition his wife was to be placed on the funeral pyre. She made a dubious claim of pregnancy, which would have spared her from the flames, but the human warrior, Belzle, and archer - hirelings of the late lord - didn’t believe her. They staked her to the pyre and set it alight, over Armis’ objections (as he emphasized again and again and again). This scene was the truth behind the vision the Heroes from Vaunth-on-the-Lake had all repeatedly seen in our nightmares over the past several days.</p><p></p><p>The pyre exploded, killing all the witnesses except the three we had met and some guests, including Aneirin, that were in the house at the time. The widowed halfling had become some sort of demon that returned every night, apparently demanding live sacrifice to keep her placated. To Belzle and the archer, the human guests at Hilltopple House were perfect for that purpose, as were the people who came through the front gate every night. </p><p></p><p>The villains that drugged and imprisoned Aneirin and his comrades had discovered there was no getting out of Hilltopple house, but so long as they could offer victims to the demon spirit, they would live. To their delight, fresh victims entered the compound almost every night – apparently driven to do so by the same nightmares that haunted the four Heroes from Vaunth-on-the-Lake. Armis had discovered that he was safe so long as he stayed in his house, and had simply refused to come out ever since. </p><p></p><p>When the tale was told, Armis collapsed in his overstuffed chair. Killian left to confer with the others. </p><p></p><p>“So it will return tonight?” Bessie asked. </p><p></p><p>Killian nodded. “I haf’ta presume there’s no reason it won’t.</p><p></p><p>“And you don’t know what it might be?” asked Aneirin. </p><p></p><p>The sorcerer shook his head.</p><p></p><p>“He’s got a pretty grand library upstairs,” Ren said, “do you think that might help?”</p><p></p><p>Killian stroked his beardless chin, and then nodded. “Couldn’t hurt. Probably take awhile.”</p><p></p><p>“We can’t go anywhere anyway,” Bessie said. </p><p></p><p>While Killian went to conduct his research, the others investigated the courtyards that made up Hilltopple House. They discovered the outermost courtyard, where the widow had been burned to death and returned every night, was a sort of guest house for servants. The two little buildings were much like little inns, and the halflings that had addressed Madge were not people at all. They were manifestations of magic based off statuettes that sat on the mantle – manifestations that would prepare meals of soup or fowl several times a day. </p><p></p><p>The second courtyard was where Aneirin was reunited with his horse. Avarshan and two other horses were well kept in the stables there, which were also home to a mother dogs and her two pups. Those animals had the curious ability to be someplace other than where they appeared. The other building in that courtyard was some sort of blacksmith shop, wherein a man of iron was being constructed! A stockpile of weapons was discovered here, as was Aneirin’s weapons and armor. From the books recovered in that place, it was learned that the trench around the building held monsters that rusted and ate metal. </p><p>The third courtyard was simply a drilling area, equipped with an archery range, tilting targets for ride-by attacks, and cleared spaces for fighter practice. </p><p></p><p>The group was making their way back to Armis’ house when Killian shouted from the top window. </p><p></p><p>”I have it! But we’ve got t’ hurry!”</p><p></p><p>[story continues on post #52]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Beale Knight, post: 1912065, member: 7033"] [b]03 - 02 Hilltopple House pt2: Stories Fantastic and Twisted[/b] Bessie and Ren looked at each other and then back at the strange warrior. “Lord Maissen?” they said in unplanned unison. Aneirin furrowed his brow and frowned at them. “Indeed. Why do you seem surprised that I would be in his service?” Bessie wringed her hands. “Um – just how long have you been here, Aneirin?” The warrior took a breath and looked into space. “Five days now,” he said at last. “Five days since my party was betrayed and chained.” “Your party?” Bessie asked. At her question Aneirin began telling a fantastic tale. That he had been one of Lord Maissen’s soldiers, part of a team that had been sent out mere days ago to meet with the halfling that lived in this compound. He told of how a pleasant first day turned into betrayal by the halfing, who had his guests drugged, stripped of their gear, and chained at the back of the house. Almost every day since, the warrior he’d just slain would come and take away one of the prisoners. None had been seen since. Aneirin was the last survivor, the one who finally managed to free himself after days of work. “And with him dead,” Aneirin said, “I want my sword and armor back, and Avarshan returned.” “Who’s Avarshan?” Ren asked. “I thought all your companions had been taken.” “My horse.” “You have a horse?!” Ren and Bessie said as one. Aneirin looked surprised at their reaction. “Of course,” he said. Before the others could say anything, there was a loud scrape from behind them. They turned to see the archer pulling her bow to her. She’d apparently been conscious for several minutes, quietly trying to gather her weapons. The cobblestone path had betrayed her. Bessie and Ren went for their weapons, and Aneirin took a step toward the woman, but in that moment a dagger flew into the archer’s neck. From his place by the still unconscious Madge, Killian was slowly getting to his feet. “Next time,” he said, “check ‘em t’ be SURE they’re dead.” Aneirin led the others through the forth gate. It opened into a another square courtyard, one that featured a short two story house, a reflecting pool, and the strangest beast the Heroes from Vaunth-on-the-Lake had ever seen. Almost as tall as the house itself, the animal was simply massive. Four thick, stump-like legs supported its gigantic gray body, with a thin tail on one end offset by a head larger than Ren would be curled up in a ball. Strangest of all was the animal’s face; between two long tusks a hung long snake-like appendage that seemed to be prehensile! The beast didn’t seem threatening. He – an intimidating he – simply wandered the courtyard using his facial appendage to take leaves from the uppermost tree branches to eat. Everyone but Aneirin came to a dead halt to stare at this bizarre animal. The warrior nudged them on. “The ellefant won’t bother you if you leave him alone. Now come – I want to get in that house. He must have my gear within.” At that moment there came a shout from the house. “GO away! This is Mine. MINE!” From a brass slot in the door the tip of a wand protruded. The wand shook and the voice on the other end of it repeated his demand. “I want my sword, Armis,” Aneirin shouted. “Return it and no harm will come to you.” “It’s Not MY FAULT!” Armis cried from the other side of the door. “Now go away. There’s nothing I can DO about it.” “Who’s Armis?” Bessie asked. “The halfling lord of this House,” the warrior answered. Ren looked around the courtyard and suddenly his heart sank. “He’s the lord of this place?” he asked. “Yess,” Aneirin repeated as he pounded on the door. A bolt of light shot out from the wand, striking him and making Aneirin step back in pain. “Armis – you will let us in!” “We have to get in there and deal with this Armis man,” Ren whispered to Bessie and Killian. He waved his arm around to direct their gaze around the walls of the courtyard. “There’s no gate. If we want to get back to the real world we’re going to have to deal with this Armis and get him to get us back.” “We’ll break the door in then,” Killian said. “It looks delicate enough.” He went up to join Aneirin. Bessie took a step that way and suddenly stopped. “I wonder,” she muttered to herself. Then she wheeled and walked to the ellefant. “Well maybe she can, she’s the druid,” Ren said to himself. He was thinking of a quieter way in. As Killian and Aneirin began pounding on the door and Bessie worked to convince the ellefant it should become a battering ram, Ren ran around the corner of the house. On the long side he noticed a row of upper story windows – real glass ones – and that there was plenty of little hand and foot holds on the rough stone walls. A few seconds later he was breaking open the foremost window. He stumbled on a bed unexpectedly shoved all the way against the wall under the window, and remarked on its small size. It would fit a child of eight comfortably, but never an adult. Ren felt a twinge of excitement hit him. In moments he would likely be laying eyes on a real, living halfling! He opened the bedroom’s door, a sliding one, and found him self in a long room that ran the length of the house – and which was filled with bookshelves! From below, the pounding on the door continue. Armis’ whiny voice was clearer now. “It wasn’t my fault, none of it!” Armis shouted. “I didn’t want her killed! I didn’t want ANY of this!” Suddenly there was a loud CRASH from downstairs. “NO!” Armis shouted. “GET OUT! THIS HOUSE IS MINE! MINE!!” There was another whoosh sound of a magical bolt followed by sound of something breaking. Then another one, slightly different in tone. Another exchange of demands from Aneirin and protests by Armis followed that, but upstairs Ren was ignoring it. He look around the room and saw an expensive looking box displayed on a table. Without hesitating he walked over and took it, then began walking to the stairs on the far side of the room. En route he pulled a random book from the shelves. By now Armis had back his way to the bottom of the stairs Ren was at the top of. When the former stopped his delirious tirade to take a breath, the latter loudly cleared his throat. Eyes wide, the halfling turned up to see Ren holding the book in one hand and his sickle in the other. “NO!” Armis shouted. “THAT’S MINE! GET OUT! IT’S MY HOUSE! MINE” Ren shook his head. He could hear Aneirin and Killian rushing across the lower floor. “We’re going to destroy this house of yours and all in it if this keeps up,” Ren said. “What about if you calm down and we all actually have a sit down kind of talk.” Armis looked from Ren at the top of the stairs to Aneiring and Killian – now just a few feet from him – and back again. He blinked a thousand times in five seconds, trying to decide what to do, confronted on both ends. Stuck, he finally relented – a little bit. “Him,” he said, pointing to Killian. “The sorcerer can stay. I’ll talk with him. The rest of you – out. OUT!” Ren, Killian, and Aneirin exchanged glances, and finally nodded. Aneirin wasn’t happy, but satisfied for the moment that he was closer to getting what he wanted he left the house. Ren retreated from sight, dropped the book loudly atop a shelf, and then waited just out of sight, ready to eavesdrop on the conversation between the sorcerer and the halfling. What he and Killian (and Bessie and Aneirin, who were listening just outside the broken remains of the house’s front door) was a twisted tale of ancient tradition, desperate survival, and general cowardliness. This was indeed a halfling, despite the fact Maissen history reported them all long dead, and his name was Armis. His father had died just days ago, by his reckoning, and per tradition his wife was to be placed on the funeral pyre. She made a dubious claim of pregnancy, which would have spared her from the flames, but the human warrior, Belzle, and archer - hirelings of the late lord - didn’t believe her. They staked her to the pyre and set it alight, over Armis’ objections (as he emphasized again and again and again). This scene was the truth behind the vision the Heroes from Vaunth-on-the-Lake had all repeatedly seen in our nightmares over the past several days. The pyre exploded, killing all the witnesses except the three we had met and some guests, including Aneirin, that were in the house at the time. The widowed halfling had become some sort of demon that returned every night, apparently demanding live sacrifice to keep her placated. To Belzle and the archer, the human guests at Hilltopple House were perfect for that purpose, as were the people who came through the front gate every night. The villains that drugged and imprisoned Aneirin and his comrades had discovered there was no getting out of Hilltopple house, but so long as they could offer victims to the demon spirit, they would live. To their delight, fresh victims entered the compound almost every night – apparently driven to do so by the same nightmares that haunted the four Heroes from Vaunth-on-the-Lake. Armis had discovered that he was safe so long as he stayed in his house, and had simply refused to come out ever since. When the tale was told, Armis collapsed in his overstuffed chair. Killian left to confer with the others. “So it will return tonight?” Bessie asked. Killian nodded. “I haf’ta presume there’s no reason it won’t. “And you don’t know what it might be?” asked Aneirin. The sorcerer shook his head. “He’s got a pretty grand library upstairs,” Ren said, “do you think that might help?” Killian stroked his beardless chin, and then nodded. “Couldn’t hurt. Probably take awhile.” “We can’t go anywhere anyway,” Bessie said. While Killian went to conduct his research, the others investigated the courtyards that made up Hilltopple House. They discovered the outermost courtyard, where the widow had been burned to death and returned every night, was a sort of guest house for servants. The two little buildings were much like little inns, and the halflings that had addressed Madge were not people at all. They were manifestations of magic based off statuettes that sat on the mantle – manifestations that would prepare meals of soup or fowl several times a day. The second courtyard was where Aneirin was reunited with his horse. Avarshan and two other horses were well kept in the stables there, which were also home to a mother dogs and her two pups. Those animals had the curious ability to be someplace other than where they appeared. The other building in that courtyard was some sort of blacksmith shop, wherein a man of iron was being constructed! A stockpile of weapons was discovered here, as was Aneirin’s weapons and armor. From the books recovered in that place, it was learned that the trench around the building held monsters that rusted and ate metal. The third courtyard was simply a drilling area, equipped with an archery range, tilting targets for ride-by attacks, and cleared spaces for fighter practice. The group was making their way back to Armis’ house when Killian shouted from the top window. ”I have it! But we’ve got t’ hurry!” [story continues on post #52] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Maissen: Shades of Grey [UPDATE 12/12, post 199]
Top