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Memoirs of a Lawyer turned Dungeoncrawler (Updated May 13, 2008)
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<blockquote data-quote="Altalazar" data-source="post: 3680298" data-attributes="member: 939"><p>Anon - thanks. And as to why he wants noble titles and lands, that has sort of evolved over time. Cordozo realizes rather cynically that in the end, truth and justice don't matter as much as one's personal connections and power, so he's striving to attain both, perhaps because he thinks that's the only path to justice. Or perhaps he's just reflecting his own pretensions - he's always been interested in the noble - when he started out, all of his starting money was spent on nice clothing (and a briefcase and paper). </p><p></p><p>The past few sessions have had some wonderful meta-game moments - I keep forgetting to share them, though perhaps they are evident in the prose...</p><p></p><p>And speaking of prose, here's last night's write-up...</p><p></p><p></p><p>Book XVIII</p><p></p><p> Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Eight – Nimue – no that’s Nim-You-Ay</p><p></p><p> I’m not sure how I missed it, but apparently since the cradle experience, I noticed that the ever-secretive Morwen had a companion similar in disposition, but slightly smaller and more arcane, named Nimue (that’s Nim-You-Ay). She was about 5’3” tall, young, and cute. And about as forthcoming with information as Morwen. They seemed to have a lot in common. They even both had pet rats that seemed somehow familiar. Morwen’s was named Brie and Nimue’s was named Wensleydale. I bit back a few dozen puns when I heard those names. </p><p> Nimue would only tell me that her profession was cleaning the garbage off of the street. Given how clean her hands looked, I figured she meant it figuratively. Higgins told me she had some arcane magic in her, as did Morwen now. Probing Nimue’s mind, I found her even more closed off than Morwen. I would hate to see what would happen if either of them figured out that Posiedon knows a lot of their secrets. </p><p> In my two month absence, Ee’s baby came due. But Maxine was no longer in town. My information network informed me that she had been spotted returning to Thomasville, the seat of the traitorous Baron. Then she vanished from sight altogether. I guess that would satisy Ee, but I think she deserves better. I guess Ee is too stubborn to deal with her. Maybe he’ll change his mind when he sees his new child. And maybe that new child will get more than a vowel for a name if Ee isn’t shot in the neck with an arrow when naming him or her. </p><p> </p><p> Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Nine – Planar Cartography </p><p></p><p> I was strolling down the street, keeping my mind on the pulse of the city, when I was accosted by a man named Flanders. He claimed to be part of some organization that did Planar Cartography. He offered me membership, but said I had to keep it secret. Apparently they focus on exploring places no one has ever been to before (probably defining ‘no one’ as no humanoid, since I assume there are all sorts of horrendous creatures in such far-off places). The benefits of memebership included information, salvage rights to what we found in a new place, a stipend of at least 9,000 gp for each new mission (at least for me), and the opportunity for special training to be a cosmic descryer, whatever the heck that was. </p><p> Flanders then warned, “All information for my organization is proprietary. So don’t share it with anyone. And you need to pass a test to join.” </p><p> There seemed to be a lot of that testing going around. I thought ahead to the upcoming combat with the King’s Champion. </p><p> “You know that upcoming combat with the King’s Champion,” Flanders said. </p><p> “Uh, yes,” I said.</p><p> “If you win at that, you will have passed our test of membership.” </p><p> I was momentarily dumbfounded. What a lazy organization. They don’t even bother to come up with their own test, they just piggyback on the King’s test. I wondered what the King would have to say about this likely unauthorized wager on his business. But diplomatically, I told him, “Lazy bum, come up with your own test.” Only it was more like, “do you not have the resources to come up with your own contest?” </p><p> He did not really have an answer. So I kept it secret, as promised. And I’m sure Morwen, Nin, and Ee kept it secret as well when they were likely approached by this man, because none of them said anything to me. </p><p> </p><p> Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty – The Nosy Bard</p><p></p><p> Construction had been completed on four new taverns while I was gone. The first one completed was in my original home of Desbury. There I had sent one of my more colorful (and musical) followers, a young bard of great skill. Given my desire to set up each tavern and inn establishment as a place to gather information and keep the pulse of its locale, it was only appropriate that this tavern be named “The Nosy Bard.” My bard was a featured performer there. He kept his name secret, in fact, just to further play up the name of the tavern as his namesake. “Who are you,” some would ask, “Why, I’m the Nosy Bard himself,” he would reply, before then acting up to his name. To encourage participation, he would weave whatever new things he was told into his songs, though one could pay a price for his silence. Sometimes that price was money, but usually it was an offer of exchange of information. I have a feeling this new venture will bring me great dividends. </p><p> I also had three other tarvern/inns open in three other locales. One in Cauldron, one in the Capitol, and one in Twin Oaks, but I will leave those details for another time. </p><p> </p><p> Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-One – Late Night Geezer Call</p><p></p><p> One night, just before midnight, I was settling in with a good book from my rather large library, trying to relax in my tub full of hot water (and with Crystal) when I heard over my everpresent Dragonslayer Minklink Morwen’s “voice.” </p><p> “There’s someone here who wishes to hire us, we are almost at your location,” she said. </p><p> “Ok, bring him on up, I’ll get the others.” I then contacted Nin. Nin, despite being further away, managed to arrive first. Apparently our would-be employer was a very very slow walker. </p><p> I saw Nin at my front desk after he arrived. For some strange reason he ended up waiting there exactly 10 minutes before I got down there. Nin seemed perturbed by the wait. I tried to explain to him that the wait was apparently a Fundamental Law of the Universe, but he was not in the mood to discuss philosophy. </p><p> Morwen still had not arrived, though with a 600 foot jump from her dimension door armbands, she arrived relatively soon. On her arm was Chin Lee, a very old man, 86 years old, who looked like he had seen better days. I offered him some food. </p><p> Ten minutes later, we were in my luxurious dining hall, and Lee was shoveling in food by the plateful. Either he really liked my remarkable chef’s cooking, or he was just hungry. In between mouthfuls, he told us his quest. He sought water from the fabled Fountain of Youth. Apparently he had sent a group of six adventurers known as the Sunblades to get it already, but none of them had returned. </p><p> Given his appetite, I wondered if he was what he appeared to be, so I shifted my vision to true and looked him over, and he looked just as old and wrinkled, if somewhat plumper from all of the good food he’d binged upon from my kitchen. </p><p> Once he was satisfied we would take on his task, he showed us a map and he showed us our payment. He brought out a huge gem that he could barely hold in his hands. I quickly summoned my chief librarian to appraise its worth as well all looked it over. The final consensus was that it was worth between 100,000 and 120,000 pieces of gold. And all we needed to do to get it was to bring him a drink from the Fountain of Youth that actually makes him younger. </p><p> His map was of an area some 6,000 miles away, though conveniently, Posiedon’s regular portals take people there for trade, or at least to an area near there, a city named Xie-Nin. From there, with any luck, we can find someone who can describe for us a portion of Xie-Tin, a city that is only six shorts weeks travel, across nasty desert and mountains, to the location on the map marked Chin-Wan, the Fountain of Youth. As luck would have it, today was the day of the outgoing teleportation circle to Xie-Nin, so we need not have waited two days for it. Without too much fanfare, we headed for the circle and then stepped in. </p><p></p><p> Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Two – Langauge Barriers</p><p></p><p> The distance of our travel was made clear when it went from midnight outside to early afternoon. We stepped out into a bustling market area, where there were lots of people of ethnicity similar to Lee’s going about their business. One of them grabbed us and moved us out of the teleportation circle to allow others to come through behind us. </p><p> None of us spoke the local language, save Higgins, who speaks and understands all languages due to one of his many aiding enchantments. He aided me as well, casting a temporary form of it on myself so I could try and locate someone who had been to Xie-Tin. </p><p> After a few hours, I was successful. I found myself walking toward the home of a family who apparently had a cousin who had been to Xie-Tin. I still marveled at the different attire worn by those of this town. The only armor I saw was of a flimsy, wooden variety. But then the only weapons I saw were short, slashing swords that apparently had no points and no particular impact. Against these “katanas” apparently such armor was worthwhile. Against the many bows I saw, it probably was not, but then, not even full plate can stop a skilled longbowman from piercing one’s heart, so perhaps the lighter weight and mobility is worth it in the end. </p><p> It turned out that the cousin who had been to Xie-Tin was in fact still IN Xie-Tin, so that was a dead end. I suppose I could have gone back to Cauldron and scryed him and then teleported to his location, but I decided to try a different approach. I soon found myself in a nice tavern with a huge tapestry on the wall depicting a well-known temple in Xie-Tin. I studied the illustration carefully. Then I noticed that in a cosmic coincidence, Nin and Morwen (and Larch and Nimue) were already there, making preparations to eat and sleep. </p><p> Since we were teleportation circle-lagged, I decided we should stay there for the night, so we ordered some delicious noodles (for the whole place, in fact, I’ve never seen bowls disappear so quickly) and then retired for the night. Morwen was particularly paranoid, and asked about magical options for shelter within the room for the night, but in the end, we just kept watches and nothing remarkable happened. I did catch from Morwen’s mind “I . . . need . . . more . . . cover” as she looked at the paper thin walls that were, in fact, made of paper, and simply slid open to allow us to sleep on the matted floor. Given the horrors we usually face, I didn’t think there would be much difference between paper walls and those of enchanted stone. </p><p> In the morning we had something called “sushi” which really was nothing more than raw fish. It was not half bad, though Higgins said we might need some healing magic later if they did not prepare it properly. I make a mental note to bring back some of the recipies for my cook. </p><p> Morwen and Nimue looked a bit off. Apparently they don’t even like the sight of fish, so they waited outside. When I joined them, I took their hands and then we all found ourselves standing next to the temple in Xie-Tin. </p><p> As luck would again have it, were were in a market by the temple, so we did some idle shopping for the afternoon, sampling the strange wares of the city. We asked around and determined that the scale of the map indicated a six week journey north, of about 1,000 miles or so, to reach our destination. The locals thought it was bad luck to even attempt to cross the desert. No one in town would admit that they had even ever tried. </p><p> Higgins told me we could windwalk it in about 17 hours, which would be a bit of a marchless march. Then Larch volunteered that he could cut that time almost in half to 9 hours with a bit of extra wind at our backs. And so we turned into a bunch of clouds and blew our way north. </p><p> </p><p> Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Three – Snakes and Ogre Magi, Oh my</p><p></p><p> After nine hours of travel, we were indeed just at the base of the mountains, not too far from our destination. We decided to stop because a few of us were tired and because it would be best to eat and rest before venturing further. Larch managed to find a poisonous snake to eat, which he did not share (and which he was immune to in any case – I think that’s why he did not share). We found the paw-prints of a rather large cat. Were we not the Dragonslayers, we probably would have been worried about being that cat’s meal. As it was, the cat was probably lucky it did not stumble into our midst. </p><p> Higgins made a hut for us and we slept for the night. The next morning, we resumed our journey on foot. </p><p> As we were walking, Larch saw something in the reflection on a rock face just before the path narrowed between high rocks. I don’t know how he saw it, but he gave us enough warning that we all became invisible through various means and then Higgins helped us all fly up to our would-be ambushers. Two Ogre Magi sitting on an outcropping above the path with several piles of boulders at their side. </p><p> I changed my vision to true and watched as my companions surrounded the two Magi and then, before they could even act, quickly struck them both down. They had only a handful of gold coins between them, and we could not see any lair, despite Morwen searching for hours. I decided that their spot would be a good one for the night, so we set up another hut there and slept. </p><p> Higgins and Nimue told me in the morning that they saw two more Ogre Magi fly out and check the location in the morning. Finding nothing but dust (I took care of the bodies) they quickly turned around and went invisible and flew away. Apparently we had not seen the last of the Ogre Magi. </p><p></p><p> Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Four – Green Valley of Lush Slavery </p><p></p><p> After two more days of walking in the mountains, we came to the top edge of a lush valley. From our vantage, we could tell that it was actually cultivated, though we knew not by who (and were too far away to see). I dimension-doored us down to the valley floor and then we crept up closer in the uncultivated brush outside of the fields. We eventually saw over a 100 young men and women working the fields. At first, I wondered if this was some sort of idealized commune of people living in harmony with nature, ever young from the Fountain of Youth. Then I saw the dozen Ogre Magi spread out amongst them, overseeing them, and my vision of harmony was shattered. </p><p> I decided to creep up closer to one of the men and entered his mind. Unfortunately, there was plenty of room in there. </p><p> “Don’t say anything, don’t look up, but tell me, are the Ogre Magi your friends or foes?” </p><p> The man then looked up and said out loud, “Who’s there?” </p><p> I sighed. “I SAID don’t look up and don’t say anything aloud.” </p><p> “Who’s there? Where are you?” he said aloud. </p><p> “I’m a friend. And don’t talk out loud. I’m in your mind. Are the Ogre Magi your friends or foes?”</p><p> “Where are you? Who’s there?”</p><p> I could see this was going to be a long day. </p><p> “Do you like the Ogre Magi,” I asked again. And again. Finally, he responded.</p><p> “Me no like him.” </p><p> Ok, now we were getting somewhere. I tried to get more information out of him, but he refused to answer and refused to shut up, finally, I gave up. Just as the Ogre Magi nearest was starting to wonder why this crazy person was shouting and looking around, I told him, “Go back to work or the Ogre Magi will get you!” He then immediately bent over and went back to his crops, a fearful look in his face. The Ogre Magi stopped and then went back to his duties, looking only slightly bored. I gave one last glance to the man, and decided that perhaps Ee would have had a better conversation with him. </p><p> I explored further, hidden by Higgins’s magic, and found that there was a keep nearby, built into the side of a mountain. Ogre Magi could be seen manning the rapports. I saw at least two to three dozen of them at any one time. This could be trouble. I returned to my companions. </p><p></p><p> Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Five – Ogre Magi Humor</p><p></p><p> I briefly considered what the odds were that I could quietly disintegrate all of the Ogre Magi in the fields without an alarm being raised, then abandonded the idea. Then I had another idea. </p><p> I slid close to one of the further Ogre Magi and grabbed on to his large, but not particularly strong, mind and made it my own. Then I slipped my mind into his and had a bit of a conversation. Apparently he wasn’t dumb enough to talk out loud. </p><p> “How many of you are there?”</p><p> “There are about forty or fifty of us,” he said. </p><p> “How many of your… underlings… are there?” </p><p> “My what?” </p><p> I gestered mentally to the people in the fields. </p><p> “Oh, about a hundred of them.” </p><p> “Why are they all so young?” </p><p> “They die when we make them drink from our ‘Fountain of Youth,’” he said as he chuckled to himself. </p><p> “Wait, the fountain kills them? Why do you call it a ‘Fountain of Youth’ then?” </p><p> “We make the old ones drink from there to get rid of them, so that’s why there are only young ones left.”</p><p> I somehow thought that they wouldn’t appreciate the joke. And apparently the Ogre Magi considered them “old” when they were over 30. I didn’t ask why they didn’t revolt. My conversation with the one already convinced me that they were not too bright. </p><p> The Ogre Magi certainly have a sick sense of humor. Stll, it seemed unlikely that someone would build a keep on the side of a mountain, right where there is a spring, in the middle of nowhere, unless there was something special about it. I sure hoped at this point that the joke was not on us. When I explained to Nin that the fountain just kills, he said that this “even if it is poison we can still get paid.” Even Morwen, normally such a stickler for fairness, seemed to like that idea. I wondered what else the cradle had changed in her. In any case, all was not lost yet. We could get a sample and see. </p><p> “Can you get me water from the fountain tonight?” I asked the Ogre Mage. </p><p> “Yes, I can do that,” he said. </p><p> I gave him one of Nin’s water flasks, and then we retired for the night, far from the valley. In fact, we slept in Cauldron, in our own beds. Ah, the wonders of teleportation. </p><p> The next morning, we returned, and the Ogre Mage was back in the fields. He gave me the flask. Examining, there was definitely something off about the water. It was tainted. Perhaps this could be fixed. Higgins and Larch tried to purify it, but that did not work. I had a feeling if it could be fixed, it could only be fixed at the source. Still, the sample deserved further analysis, so we took it back to Cauldron. </p><p> I had a feeling we would have to fight those Ogre Magi after all. Morwen wondered if we could sneak inside. The Ogre Mage indicated that the fountain is locked up at night. I somehow suspected there was more than just your average Ogre Magi inside. We would soon find out.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Altalazar, post: 3680298, member: 939"] Anon - thanks. And as to why he wants noble titles and lands, that has sort of evolved over time. Cordozo realizes rather cynically that in the end, truth and justice don't matter as much as one's personal connections and power, so he's striving to attain both, perhaps because he thinks that's the only path to justice. Or perhaps he's just reflecting his own pretensions - he's always been interested in the noble - when he started out, all of his starting money was spent on nice clothing (and a briefcase and paper). The past few sessions have had some wonderful meta-game moments - I keep forgetting to share them, though perhaps they are evident in the prose... And speaking of prose, here's last night's write-up... Book XVIII Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Eight – Nimue – no that’s Nim-You-Ay I’m not sure how I missed it, but apparently since the cradle experience, I noticed that the ever-secretive Morwen had a companion similar in disposition, but slightly smaller and more arcane, named Nimue (that’s Nim-You-Ay). She was about 5’3” tall, young, and cute. And about as forthcoming with information as Morwen. They seemed to have a lot in common. They even both had pet rats that seemed somehow familiar. Morwen’s was named Brie and Nimue’s was named Wensleydale. I bit back a few dozen puns when I heard those names. Nimue would only tell me that her profession was cleaning the garbage off of the street. Given how clean her hands looked, I figured she meant it figuratively. Higgins told me she had some arcane magic in her, as did Morwen now. Probing Nimue’s mind, I found her even more closed off than Morwen. I would hate to see what would happen if either of them figured out that Posiedon knows a lot of their secrets. In my two month absence, Ee’s baby came due. But Maxine was no longer in town. My information network informed me that she had been spotted returning to Thomasville, the seat of the traitorous Baron. Then she vanished from sight altogether. I guess that would satisy Ee, but I think she deserves better. I guess Ee is too stubborn to deal with her. Maybe he’ll change his mind when he sees his new child. And maybe that new child will get more than a vowel for a name if Ee isn’t shot in the neck with an arrow when naming him or her. Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Nine – Planar Cartography I was strolling down the street, keeping my mind on the pulse of the city, when I was accosted by a man named Flanders. He claimed to be part of some organization that did Planar Cartography. He offered me membership, but said I had to keep it secret. Apparently they focus on exploring places no one has ever been to before (probably defining ‘no one’ as no humanoid, since I assume there are all sorts of horrendous creatures in such far-off places). The benefits of memebership included information, salvage rights to what we found in a new place, a stipend of at least 9,000 gp for each new mission (at least for me), and the opportunity for special training to be a cosmic descryer, whatever the heck that was. Flanders then warned, “All information for my organization is proprietary. So don’t share it with anyone. And you need to pass a test to join.” There seemed to be a lot of that testing going around. I thought ahead to the upcoming combat with the King’s Champion. “You know that upcoming combat with the King’s Champion,” Flanders said. “Uh, yes,” I said. “If you win at that, you will have passed our test of membership.” I was momentarily dumbfounded. What a lazy organization. They don’t even bother to come up with their own test, they just piggyback on the King’s test. I wondered what the King would have to say about this likely unauthorized wager on his business. But diplomatically, I told him, “Lazy bum, come up with your own test.” Only it was more like, “do you not have the resources to come up with your own contest?” He did not really have an answer. So I kept it secret, as promised. And I’m sure Morwen, Nin, and Ee kept it secret as well when they were likely approached by this man, because none of them said anything to me. Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty – The Nosy Bard Construction had been completed on four new taverns while I was gone. The first one completed was in my original home of Desbury. There I had sent one of my more colorful (and musical) followers, a young bard of great skill. Given my desire to set up each tavern and inn establishment as a place to gather information and keep the pulse of its locale, it was only appropriate that this tavern be named “The Nosy Bard.” My bard was a featured performer there. He kept his name secret, in fact, just to further play up the name of the tavern as his namesake. “Who are you,” some would ask, “Why, I’m the Nosy Bard himself,” he would reply, before then acting up to his name. To encourage participation, he would weave whatever new things he was told into his songs, though one could pay a price for his silence. Sometimes that price was money, but usually it was an offer of exchange of information. I have a feeling this new venture will bring me great dividends. I also had three other tarvern/inns open in three other locales. One in Cauldron, one in the Capitol, and one in Twin Oaks, but I will leave those details for another time. Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-One – Late Night Geezer Call One night, just before midnight, I was settling in with a good book from my rather large library, trying to relax in my tub full of hot water (and with Crystal) when I heard over my everpresent Dragonslayer Minklink Morwen’s “voice.” “There’s someone here who wishes to hire us, we are almost at your location,” she said. “Ok, bring him on up, I’ll get the others.” I then contacted Nin. Nin, despite being further away, managed to arrive first. Apparently our would-be employer was a very very slow walker. I saw Nin at my front desk after he arrived. For some strange reason he ended up waiting there exactly 10 minutes before I got down there. Nin seemed perturbed by the wait. I tried to explain to him that the wait was apparently a Fundamental Law of the Universe, but he was not in the mood to discuss philosophy. Morwen still had not arrived, though with a 600 foot jump from her dimension door armbands, she arrived relatively soon. On her arm was Chin Lee, a very old man, 86 years old, who looked like he had seen better days. I offered him some food. Ten minutes later, we were in my luxurious dining hall, and Lee was shoveling in food by the plateful. Either he really liked my remarkable chef’s cooking, or he was just hungry. In between mouthfuls, he told us his quest. He sought water from the fabled Fountain of Youth. Apparently he had sent a group of six adventurers known as the Sunblades to get it already, but none of them had returned. Given his appetite, I wondered if he was what he appeared to be, so I shifted my vision to true and looked him over, and he looked just as old and wrinkled, if somewhat plumper from all of the good food he’d binged upon from my kitchen. Once he was satisfied we would take on his task, he showed us a map and he showed us our payment. He brought out a huge gem that he could barely hold in his hands. I quickly summoned my chief librarian to appraise its worth as well all looked it over. The final consensus was that it was worth between 100,000 and 120,000 pieces of gold. And all we needed to do to get it was to bring him a drink from the Fountain of Youth that actually makes him younger. His map was of an area some 6,000 miles away, though conveniently, Posiedon’s regular portals take people there for trade, or at least to an area near there, a city named Xie-Nin. From there, with any luck, we can find someone who can describe for us a portion of Xie-Tin, a city that is only six shorts weeks travel, across nasty desert and mountains, to the location on the map marked Chin-Wan, the Fountain of Youth. As luck would have it, today was the day of the outgoing teleportation circle to Xie-Nin, so we need not have waited two days for it. Without too much fanfare, we headed for the circle and then stepped in. Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Two – Langauge Barriers The distance of our travel was made clear when it went from midnight outside to early afternoon. We stepped out into a bustling market area, where there were lots of people of ethnicity similar to Lee’s going about their business. One of them grabbed us and moved us out of the teleportation circle to allow others to come through behind us. None of us spoke the local language, save Higgins, who speaks and understands all languages due to one of his many aiding enchantments. He aided me as well, casting a temporary form of it on myself so I could try and locate someone who had been to Xie-Tin. After a few hours, I was successful. I found myself walking toward the home of a family who apparently had a cousin who had been to Xie-Tin. I still marveled at the different attire worn by those of this town. The only armor I saw was of a flimsy, wooden variety. But then the only weapons I saw were short, slashing swords that apparently had no points and no particular impact. Against these “katanas” apparently such armor was worthwhile. Against the many bows I saw, it probably was not, but then, not even full plate can stop a skilled longbowman from piercing one’s heart, so perhaps the lighter weight and mobility is worth it in the end. It turned out that the cousin who had been to Xie-Tin was in fact still IN Xie-Tin, so that was a dead end. I suppose I could have gone back to Cauldron and scryed him and then teleported to his location, but I decided to try a different approach. I soon found myself in a nice tavern with a huge tapestry on the wall depicting a well-known temple in Xie-Tin. I studied the illustration carefully. Then I noticed that in a cosmic coincidence, Nin and Morwen (and Larch and Nimue) were already there, making preparations to eat and sleep. Since we were teleportation circle-lagged, I decided we should stay there for the night, so we ordered some delicious noodles (for the whole place, in fact, I’ve never seen bowls disappear so quickly) and then retired for the night. Morwen was particularly paranoid, and asked about magical options for shelter within the room for the night, but in the end, we just kept watches and nothing remarkable happened. I did catch from Morwen’s mind “I . . . need . . . more . . . cover” as she looked at the paper thin walls that were, in fact, made of paper, and simply slid open to allow us to sleep on the matted floor. Given the horrors we usually face, I didn’t think there would be much difference between paper walls and those of enchanted stone. In the morning we had something called “sushi” which really was nothing more than raw fish. It was not half bad, though Higgins said we might need some healing magic later if they did not prepare it properly. I make a mental note to bring back some of the recipies for my cook. Morwen and Nimue looked a bit off. Apparently they don’t even like the sight of fish, so they waited outside. When I joined them, I took their hands and then we all found ourselves standing next to the temple in Xie-Tin. As luck would again have it, were were in a market by the temple, so we did some idle shopping for the afternoon, sampling the strange wares of the city. We asked around and determined that the scale of the map indicated a six week journey north, of about 1,000 miles or so, to reach our destination. The locals thought it was bad luck to even attempt to cross the desert. No one in town would admit that they had even ever tried. Higgins told me we could windwalk it in about 17 hours, which would be a bit of a marchless march. Then Larch volunteered that he could cut that time almost in half to 9 hours with a bit of extra wind at our backs. And so we turned into a bunch of clouds and blew our way north. Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Three – Snakes and Ogre Magi, Oh my After nine hours of travel, we were indeed just at the base of the mountains, not too far from our destination. We decided to stop because a few of us were tired and because it would be best to eat and rest before venturing further. Larch managed to find a poisonous snake to eat, which he did not share (and which he was immune to in any case – I think that’s why he did not share). We found the paw-prints of a rather large cat. Were we not the Dragonslayers, we probably would have been worried about being that cat’s meal. As it was, the cat was probably lucky it did not stumble into our midst. Higgins made a hut for us and we slept for the night. The next morning, we resumed our journey on foot. As we were walking, Larch saw something in the reflection on a rock face just before the path narrowed between high rocks. I don’t know how he saw it, but he gave us enough warning that we all became invisible through various means and then Higgins helped us all fly up to our would-be ambushers. Two Ogre Magi sitting on an outcropping above the path with several piles of boulders at their side. I changed my vision to true and watched as my companions surrounded the two Magi and then, before they could even act, quickly struck them both down. They had only a handful of gold coins between them, and we could not see any lair, despite Morwen searching for hours. I decided that their spot would be a good one for the night, so we set up another hut there and slept. Higgins and Nimue told me in the morning that they saw two more Ogre Magi fly out and check the location in the morning. Finding nothing but dust (I took care of the bodies) they quickly turned around and went invisible and flew away. Apparently we had not seen the last of the Ogre Magi. Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Four – Green Valley of Lush Slavery After two more days of walking in the mountains, we came to the top edge of a lush valley. From our vantage, we could tell that it was actually cultivated, though we knew not by who (and were too far away to see). I dimension-doored us down to the valley floor and then we crept up closer in the uncultivated brush outside of the fields. We eventually saw over a 100 young men and women working the fields. At first, I wondered if this was some sort of idealized commune of people living in harmony with nature, ever young from the Fountain of Youth. Then I saw the dozen Ogre Magi spread out amongst them, overseeing them, and my vision of harmony was shattered. I decided to creep up closer to one of the men and entered his mind. Unfortunately, there was plenty of room in there. “Don’t say anything, don’t look up, but tell me, are the Ogre Magi your friends or foes?” The man then looked up and said out loud, “Who’s there?” I sighed. “I SAID don’t look up and don’t say anything aloud.” “Who’s there? Where are you?” he said aloud. “I’m a friend. And don’t talk out loud. I’m in your mind. Are the Ogre Magi your friends or foes?” “Where are you? Who’s there?” I could see this was going to be a long day. “Do you like the Ogre Magi,” I asked again. And again. Finally, he responded. “Me no like him.” Ok, now we were getting somewhere. I tried to get more information out of him, but he refused to answer and refused to shut up, finally, I gave up. Just as the Ogre Magi nearest was starting to wonder why this crazy person was shouting and looking around, I told him, “Go back to work or the Ogre Magi will get you!” He then immediately bent over and went back to his crops, a fearful look in his face. The Ogre Magi stopped and then went back to his duties, looking only slightly bored. I gave one last glance to the man, and decided that perhaps Ee would have had a better conversation with him. I explored further, hidden by Higgins’s magic, and found that there was a keep nearby, built into the side of a mountain. Ogre Magi could be seen manning the rapports. I saw at least two to three dozen of them at any one time. This could be trouble. I returned to my companions. Sir Cordozo – Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Five – Ogre Magi Humor I briefly considered what the odds were that I could quietly disintegrate all of the Ogre Magi in the fields without an alarm being raised, then abandonded the idea. Then I had another idea. I slid close to one of the further Ogre Magi and grabbed on to his large, but not particularly strong, mind and made it my own. Then I slipped my mind into his and had a bit of a conversation. Apparently he wasn’t dumb enough to talk out loud. “How many of you are there?” “There are about forty or fifty of us,” he said. “How many of your… underlings… are there?” “My what?” I gestered mentally to the people in the fields. “Oh, about a hundred of them.” “Why are they all so young?” “They die when we make them drink from our ‘Fountain of Youth,’” he said as he chuckled to himself. “Wait, the fountain kills them? Why do you call it a ‘Fountain of Youth’ then?” “We make the old ones drink from there to get rid of them, so that’s why there are only young ones left.” I somehow thought that they wouldn’t appreciate the joke. And apparently the Ogre Magi considered them “old” when they were over 30. I didn’t ask why they didn’t revolt. My conversation with the one already convinced me that they were not too bright. The Ogre Magi certainly have a sick sense of humor. Stll, it seemed unlikely that someone would build a keep on the side of a mountain, right where there is a spring, in the middle of nowhere, unless there was something special about it. I sure hoped at this point that the joke was not on us. When I explained to Nin that the fountain just kills, he said that this “even if it is poison we can still get paid.” Even Morwen, normally such a stickler for fairness, seemed to like that idea. I wondered what else the cradle had changed in her. In any case, all was not lost yet. We could get a sample and see. “Can you get me water from the fountain tonight?” I asked the Ogre Mage. “Yes, I can do that,” he said. I gave him one of Nin’s water flasks, and then we retired for the night, far from the valley. In fact, we slept in Cauldron, in our own beds. Ah, the wonders of teleportation. The next morning, we returned, and the Ogre Mage was back in the fields. He gave me the flask. Examining, there was definitely something off about the water. It was tainted. Perhaps this could be fixed. Higgins and Larch tried to purify it, but that did not work. I had a feeling if it could be fixed, it could only be fixed at the source. Still, the sample deserved further analysis, so we took it back to Cauldron. I had a feeling we would have to fight those Ogre Magi after all. Morwen wondered if we could sneak inside. The Ogre Mage indicated that the fountain is locked up at night. I somehow suspected there was more than just your average Ogre Magi inside. We would soon find out. [/QUOTE]
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Memoirs of a Lawyer turned Dungeoncrawler (Updated May 13, 2008)
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