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
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Milo Windby's Collected Story Hour
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="Milo Windby" data-source="post: 1684" data-attributes="member: 202"><p><strong>Keep of the Borderlands -part nine (session three)</strong></p><p></p><p>The party made it to the Keep, hauling some of the treasurethey found in the back rooms of the hobgoblin's lair. Brigit had stumbled across two suits of full plate armor, onedwarven size and one human size. Theonly things that gave off magic after Milo and Mazi cast a couple of cantripsat the hill were the wand and their rings, as well as Milo's dagger. As soon as they made it past the gate sheheaded off to the smithy to get the suit modified to her dimensions. She mumbled something about"impenetrable" and "tank" as she stumped off. Milo and the rest took their gear to thepriest, hoping he could identify the wand and the potion they had found. The priest seemed distraught at the factthat they had not found the cups. Heunderstood their plight as he caught sight of the two men-at-arms. Though Milo had healed them to the best of hisability he could not bring them to full health that morning. The priest welcomed them in and usheredMaruf and Thorgrim off with an acolyte to receive healing. He took the potion and wand Milo offered tohim and promised to find out their nature by the next day. Mazi and Jeremiah excused themselves, theyboth wanted to spend some time meditating in their own way, Mazi in her innroom and Jer at the bar in the tavern. Milo decided to stay at the chapel until evening, spending more time inthe library. He learned from theirscribe how to commit his incantations to parchment for later use. After spending his hard earned coin on somewriting utensils and supplies Milo found that he could produce his spells onpaper, in effect storing them for later use. He had heard Mazi mention the technique but didn't realize that it wasuseful for divine spells as well as arcane. It turned out that Jeremiah and Brigit spent some time comparing notesbefore the night was through. Shelearned his peculiar technique of slicing through enemies and he learned somegeneral strategies to use in close quarters. Mazi had taken care of the party’s other loot. She sold the gem and belt for a hefty amount, doing Miloproud. Mazi also changed the group’ssmaller coin for higher denominations, easy to carry. The four split the coin evenly but left some set aside for groupexpenses.</p><p></p><p>The next morning the four met at the chapel. Maruf and Thorgrim were completely healedand carrying a short bow and longbow that they had found in the caverns. The priest saw them in his office. He handed the wand to Milo, stating that itheld multiple charges of a healing spell, though he couldn't tell how many wereleft. He had discovered the keyword forthe wand in its glyph's. Milo wouldhave to utter the word "Abernathy" in order to discharge thewand. Milo looked at the priest with anodd look in his eye. He could havesworn he'd heard that name before. Hewas certain some of the more weathered sailors told tall tales about anotherland and a powerful wizard by a name not unlike that. Odd, he thought, oh well, no matter. Milo shrugged off the thought. The priest further related that the potion they found was no potion atall. It was poison, a deadly varietythat usually resulted in death. Miloand the others asked the priest to dispose of the foul brew rather than takingit back. The priest was glad to helpthem in that manner. He also gave eachof them a healing potion if they had already used theirs. The old man excused himself for not handingout more, but the people of the Keep came first. They found that even healed by the priest's divine magic andprayers the people would fall sick shortly after. Milo also noticed the ever-present crows and vultures circlingthe Keep. They seemed to be circlingcloser than the night before. With afarewell and the promise to return with word of the destroyed cups, Milo andhis friends headed out of the chapel and through the front gate of the Keep.</p><p></p><p>The journey to the hilltop campground was uneventful, if notdismal. The sky remained graythroughout the morning and afternoon. Dark fell early that night. Bythe time camp was prepared it had been an hour after nightfall. Their watch was also uneventful. All six of them were on edge from the denseatmosphere that seemed to pervade the surrounding countryside. The next morning Mazi and Milo preparedtheir spells for the coming day and inevitable battles. Not far from the camp up the winding trailto the gorge they heard a thumping sound. The party stopped and listened, straining to make out the sound. It was definitely drums, their deep rhythmicpounding only deepening the ominous feelings that were shared by thegroup. It was decided that Milo shouldsneak up the path and scout out the source of the drums while the rest of theadventurers hid themselves among the trees and brush. Milo took a deep breath and worked his way quietly towards thegorge, careful to stay off the trail. He arrived at the upper parameter of the small valley after a littlehike through the wooded area. Peeringdown into the cauldron of the gorge he could make out little lizard men liningthe sides of the hills, beating on taught skins stretched across primitiveframes. Well there was the source ofthe pounding, he thought. At the end ofthe narrow valley he spied a robed figure, holding up a cup and shouting incoherently. Milo sensed that the being near the top ofthe gorge was a powerful enemy. Withthe knowledge he had gleaned Milo made his way back to the concealed party.</p><p></p><p>They discussed possible approaches and decided to use Milo'spath. Remarkably enough the six of themmade it to his vantage point without calling down an alarm. Perhaps it wasn't so remarkable, they couldsee that the lizard men were in a frenzy. They were oblivious to everything as they pounded away at theirmakeshift drums, the man in robes whipping them up into a religious fervor ofsome kind. The group watched as the manraised up a cup, all six of them recognized it from the description the priestgave them. That was one in the set thatmust be destroyed, thought Milo, if only we could get to him. They started to discuss the best way to takeon the man in robes, not too worried about the small lizard men along the hillsof the gorge. As they talked the tempoof the drums increased and the man's shouting became harder to hear. Then a deep rumbling emanated from theground of the gorge, felt all the way up where the group was hiding. Milo watched in horror as the groundchurned, clumps of dirt rising like molehills. As they looked on fingers clawed their way out of the mounds of raisedearth. Skeletal and partiallydecomposed hands, arms, and then heads followed the fingers, as a mass ofundead broke the surface. Milo hatedundead, really. He shuddered as theunholy figures shambled from their shallow graves. The group recognized many of the walking corpses as the enemiesof the past few days, goblins and hobgoblins made up a large portion of theundead army. Two giant skeletal figuresappeared from the rear of the undead. The huge skeletons had a moving mass suspended in their breastcages. Straining his vision, Milo madeout the forms of the two disciples of Bordamere inside. He couldn't tell if they were controllingthe giant mass of bones or if they were merely hosts powering the unholyconstructs. Milo shuddered again, wrenchinghis eyes from the massive force of undead. He looked up to the man in robes to see the figure motion with the cup,towards the mouth of the gorge. Thedrums stopped and the undead army began to shamble out of the clearing, towardsthe Keep. Just as Milo was about tosuggest that he down the potion of invisibility and sneak up on the robed manhe noticed movement on the top of the hill. The shrouded man then turned towards the group. He can see us, thought Milo. Before they could do anything else a hugepillar of blinding light struck the earth near them, miraculously missingall. </p><p></p><p>By the time they made it to their feet and cleared theringing from their heads the man had fled. They could see the lizard men filing back into the caverns. Milo, Mazi, and Brigit conferredquickly. They couldn't let the undeadarmy march on the Keep without warning. Milo asked Maruf and Thorgrim if they would brave the journey back tothe Keep to warn their fellows. Thatwas all the men-at-arms needed to hear. They turned to rush out of their concealment after a brief warningto stay off the trail and roads and to make it to the Keep as fast as humanlypossible. As the two men made their wayback down the hills the group spotted a huge shape detach itself from the wallof the gorge. Wings unfurled and agiant vulture clawed its way to the sky, intent on following the soldiers. All four adventurers drew their bows andcrossbow and took aim. After oneunsuccessful volley all four hit the grotesque bird. Each missile finding the bird in the air as it seemed to sprout afew more feathers. With a wounded crythe vulture wheeled in the sky and headed the opposite way. The bird was too far away for any morepotshots, but the group felt that they had accomplished something.</p><p></p><p>The four of them conferred briefly on the best course ofaction. They decided they had done allthey could for the people of the Keep in sending Maruf and Thorgrim to warnthem. Milo suggested that if they foundand destroyed the cups first that the army might never reach the Keep. Mazi agreed and they decided they'd headinto the caverns that they had seen the lizard men file through. After preparing themselves as much as theycould the four intrepid friends ventured into the caverns once again.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Milo Windby, post: 1684, member: 202"] [b]Keep of the Borderlands -part nine (session three)[/b] The party made it to the Keep, hauling some of the treasurethey found in the back rooms of the hobgoblin's lair. Brigit had stumbled across two suits of full plate armor, onedwarven size and one human size. Theonly things that gave off magic after Milo and Mazi cast a couple of cantripsat the hill were the wand and their rings, as well as Milo's dagger. As soon as they made it past the gate sheheaded off to the smithy to get the suit modified to her dimensions. She mumbled something about"impenetrable" and "tank" as she stumped off. Milo and the rest took their gear to thepriest, hoping he could identify the wand and the potion they had found. The priest seemed distraught at the factthat they had not found the cups. Heunderstood their plight as he caught sight of the two men-at-arms. Though Milo had healed them to the best of hisability he could not bring them to full health that morning. The priest welcomed them in and usheredMaruf and Thorgrim off with an acolyte to receive healing. He took the potion and wand Milo offered tohim and promised to find out their nature by the next day. Mazi and Jeremiah excused themselves, theyboth wanted to spend some time meditating in their own way, Mazi in her innroom and Jer at the bar in the tavern. Milo decided to stay at the chapel until evening, spending more time inthe library. He learned from theirscribe how to commit his incantations to parchment for later use. After spending his hard earned coin on somewriting utensils and supplies Milo found that he could produce his spells onpaper, in effect storing them for later use. He had heard Mazi mention the technique but didn't realize that it wasuseful for divine spells as well as arcane. It turned out that Jeremiah and Brigit spent some time comparing notesbefore the night was through. Shelearned his peculiar technique of slicing through enemies and he learned somegeneral strategies to use in close quarters. Mazi had taken care of the party’s other loot. She sold the gem and belt for a hefty amount, doing Miloproud. Mazi also changed the group’ssmaller coin for higher denominations, easy to carry. The four split the coin evenly but left some set aside for groupexpenses. The next morning the four met at the chapel. Maruf and Thorgrim were completely healedand carrying a short bow and longbow that they had found in the caverns. The priest saw them in his office. He handed the wand to Milo, stating that itheld multiple charges of a healing spell, though he couldn't tell how many wereleft. He had discovered the keyword forthe wand in its glyph's. Milo wouldhave to utter the word "Abernathy" in order to discharge thewand. Milo looked at the priest with anodd look in his eye. He could havesworn he'd heard that name before. Hewas certain some of the more weathered sailors told tall tales about anotherland and a powerful wizard by a name not unlike that. Odd, he thought, oh well, no matter. Milo shrugged off the thought. The priest further related that the potion they found was no potion atall. It was poison, a deadly varietythat usually resulted in death. Miloand the others asked the priest to dispose of the foul brew rather than takingit back. The priest was glad to helpthem in that manner. He also gave eachof them a healing potion if they had already used theirs. The old man excused himself for not handingout more, but the people of the Keep came first. They found that even healed by the priest's divine magic andprayers the people would fall sick shortly after. Milo also noticed the ever-present crows and vultures circlingthe Keep. They seemed to be circlingcloser than the night before. With afarewell and the promise to return with word of the destroyed cups, Milo andhis friends headed out of the chapel and through the front gate of the Keep. The journey to the hilltop campground was uneventful, if notdismal. The sky remained graythroughout the morning and afternoon. Dark fell early that night. Bythe time camp was prepared it had been an hour after nightfall. Their watch was also uneventful. All six of them were on edge from the denseatmosphere that seemed to pervade the surrounding countryside. The next morning Mazi and Milo preparedtheir spells for the coming day and inevitable battles. Not far from the camp up the winding trailto the gorge they heard a thumping sound. The party stopped and listened, straining to make out the sound. It was definitely drums, their deep rhythmicpounding only deepening the ominous feelings that were shared by thegroup. It was decided that Milo shouldsneak up the path and scout out the source of the drums while the rest of theadventurers hid themselves among the trees and brush. Milo took a deep breath and worked his way quietly towards thegorge, careful to stay off the trail. He arrived at the upper parameter of the small valley after a littlehike through the wooded area. Peeringdown into the cauldron of the gorge he could make out little lizard men liningthe sides of the hills, beating on taught skins stretched across primitiveframes. Well there was the source ofthe pounding, he thought. At the end ofthe narrow valley he spied a robed figure, holding up a cup and shouting incoherently. Milo sensed that the being near the top ofthe gorge was a powerful enemy. Withthe knowledge he had gleaned Milo made his way back to the concealed party. They discussed possible approaches and decided to use Milo'spath. Remarkably enough the six of themmade it to his vantage point without calling down an alarm. Perhaps it wasn't so remarkable, they couldsee that the lizard men were in a frenzy. They were oblivious to everything as they pounded away at theirmakeshift drums, the man in robes whipping them up into a religious fervor ofsome kind. The group watched as the manraised up a cup, all six of them recognized it from the description the priestgave them. That was one in the set thatmust be destroyed, thought Milo, if only we could get to him. They started to discuss the best way to takeon the man in robes, not too worried about the small lizard men along the hillsof the gorge. As they talked the tempoof the drums increased and the man's shouting became harder to hear. Then a deep rumbling emanated from theground of the gorge, felt all the way up where the group was hiding. Milo watched in horror as the groundchurned, clumps of dirt rising like molehills. As they looked on fingers clawed their way out of the mounds of raisedearth. Skeletal and partiallydecomposed hands, arms, and then heads followed the fingers, as a mass ofundead broke the surface. Milo hatedundead, really. He shuddered as theunholy figures shambled from their shallow graves. The group recognized many of the walking corpses as the enemiesof the past few days, goblins and hobgoblins made up a large portion of theundead army. Two giant skeletal figuresappeared from the rear of the undead. The huge skeletons had a moving mass suspended in their breastcages. Straining his vision, Milo madeout the forms of the two disciples of Bordamere inside. He couldn't tell if they were controllingthe giant mass of bones or if they were merely hosts powering the unholyconstructs. Milo shuddered again, wrenchinghis eyes from the massive force of undead. He looked up to the man in robes to see the figure motion with the cup,towards the mouth of the gorge. Thedrums stopped and the undead army began to shamble out of the clearing, towardsthe Keep. Just as Milo was about tosuggest that he down the potion of invisibility and sneak up on the robed manhe noticed movement on the top of the hill. The shrouded man then turned towards the group. He can see us, thought Milo. Before they could do anything else a hugepillar of blinding light struck the earth near them, miraculously missingall. By the time they made it to their feet and cleared theringing from their heads the man had fled. They could see the lizard men filing back into the caverns. Milo, Mazi, and Brigit conferredquickly. They couldn't let the undeadarmy march on the Keep without warning. Milo asked Maruf and Thorgrim if they would brave the journey back tothe Keep to warn their fellows. Thatwas all the men-at-arms needed to hear. They turned to rush out of their concealment after a brief warningto stay off the trail and roads and to make it to the Keep as fast as humanlypossible. As the two men made their wayback down the hills the group spotted a huge shape detach itself from the wallof the gorge. Wings unfurled and agiant vulture clawed its way to the sky, intent on following the soldiers. All four adventurers drew their bows andcrossbow and took aim. After oneunsuccessful volley all four hit the grotesque bird. Each missile finding the bird in the air as it seemed to sprout afew more feathers. With a wounded crythe vulture wheeled in the sky and headed the opposite way. The bird was too far away for any morepotshots, but the group felt that they had accomplished something. The four of them conferred briefly on the best course ofaction. They decided they had done allthey could for the people of the Keep in sending Maruf and Thorgrim to warnthem. Milo suggested that if they foundand destroyed the cups first that the army might never reach the Keep. Mazi agreed and they decided they'd headinto the caverns that they had seen the lizard men file through. After preparing themselves as much as theycould the four intrepid friends ventured into the caverns once again. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Milo Windby's Collected Story Hour
Top