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
Piratecat's storyhour reborn! (updated July 4, 2006)
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="Piratecat" data-source="post: 2816095" data-attributes="member: 2"><p><strong><em>Part 2: The Prophet Rofan</em></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>“I still don’t remember any gnomes,” whispered Tao.</p><p></p><p>“They seem to remember you,” whispered back Valdek.</p><p></p><p>“... so glad you’re back!” effused Rofan. His shirt was covered with small twigs and drying mud. He brushed back his bright red hair with one hand. “You left suddenly, and I was worried I had somehow offended you. We’re old friends, and that’s the last thing I’d want to do.” He looked at the group fondly, eyes wide and guileless, and put his arm around Nolin’s shoulders. Rofan’s sleeve smoked slightly where it brushed the base of Nolin’s hair, but the fabric never caught fire.</p><p></p><p>Standing ankle deep in the moss beside the road, the tiny forest gnome named Pickett bowed in respect and fond recognition of the heroes’ return. Pickett seemed smaller and quieter than any rock gnome, and had carefully positioned himself three feet behind Rofan and to one side. He swept his conical hat back onto his nut-brown head and nodded his head in time with Rofan’s words, as if memorizing the speech for posterity. </p><p></p><p>“Rofan,” said Velendo cautiously, glancing sidelong at the gnome. “Is there somewhere we could talk by ourselves?” They walked slowly towards the small village of dingy wood huts. Ancient trees spread overhead like the rafters of a church.</p><p></p><p>“Why not right here?” Rofan stopped suddenly and spun, hands in the air. “It’s just us and Galanna. And the townsfolk. Galanna’s going to listen in anyways, of course.” His voice grew conspiratorial. “She’s in the leaves, in your horses, in the beetles, in my little friend Pickett here, in the birds, and in both the snapes and the squakes. She’s. . .” Rofan spun and stared at Velendo. His eyes bulged. His mouth fell open in astonishment.</p><p></p><p>“What?” asked Velendo, his voice rising. “What? What?” He jerked his head around to look behind himself, but saw nothing amiss.</p><p></p><p>“She’s <strong>HERE!</strong>” Rofan fell on his knees in front of Velendo, his voice rising with the ecstasy of religious fervor. Pickett the forest gnome leapt backwards to get out of the way, stumbling partially into a small hole. “That inchworm on your shoulder! Galanna favors you, Velendo! She rides with you, She is on you and in you, and we must all worship the inchworm!” Rofan grabbed Velendo around the waist in a huge hug, and then dropped to grovel in the dirt at his feet. </p><p></p><p>“Um, Rofan?” Velendo looked appalled.</p><p></p><p>“Worship the inchworm! <strong>Worship the Goddess!</strong>” Other members of the village, drawn to the rough road by the sight of strangers, likewise dropped to pray. Within seconds only the Defenders of Daybreak were standing. Everyone else, human and gnome alike, were abasing themselves in the muddy roadway. Velendo stood uncomfortably in front of them as his face grew flushed.</p><p></p><p>“Told you he was a nutcase,” hissed Nolin. </p><p></p><p>“You think?” Kiri hissed back.</p><p></p><p>“This is just wrong,” muttered Tao.</p><p></p><p>“What’s a snape?” asked Raevynn.</p><p></p><p>Velendo looked up to the heavens and sighed. “Well, this is awkward.” He glanced down at the groveling nature priest. “Rofan? Get up, Rofan.” Velendo finally had to yell. “<strong>ROFAN!</strong>” TomTom finally stepped forward to poke at the priest with the end of his small boot.</p><p></p><p>Rofan stopped in mid-obeisance and glanced up at TomTom with puzzlement. Velendo just looked pained. “Didn’t you promise yesterday to give this up?”</p><p></p><p>“What? No, of course not. Why would I do that? Deny my holy calling?” Rofan jumped back to his feet, apparently unconcerned that the divine essence of Galanna was now gone from the inchworm. The other townsfolk stood up as well and slowly began to disperse. “Absolutely not, Velendo. We reached an agreement about it.”</p><p></p><p>“We did?” asked Tao. Her hand had drifted ever so slightly onto the hilt of her favorite sword.</p><p></p><p>“You’ll have to forgive us, Rofan. With the warm sun yesterday, we ended up a little bit confused.” Nolin sounded totally relaxed. “Let’s go somewhere and talk. Remind me, where did we go yesterday?”</p><p></p><p>“Why, to the town square. You had wanted to address the crowd.” He pointed to Tao and Raevynn. “Both of you did. It was nice of you to let me talk, though. Galanna is good, and blesses us.” His smile was genuinely happy.</p><p></p><p>“Let’s go there now,” said Valdek. He hobbled his warhorse by a stream and quietly loosened his weapon in its sheath, then followed the others into Bearspittle.</p><p></p><p>-- o --</p><p></p><p>TomTom looked about himself as they wandered through town. He had a memory of the village as a clean, nicely kept refuge. The truth was far less impressive. The huts were ramshackle and mostly insulated with mud, although two or three of them looked to be slightly better constructed. It was a town for people who had no firm grip on reality. Deep down, TomTom had the sneaking suspicion that the residents had their gaze so firmly fixed on the afterlife that they weren’t bothering much with their here-and-now life.</p><p></p><p>“Keep a sharp eye out,” he instructed. The group had paused for a moment for Rofan to worship the Goddess in the form of a very confused blue jay. “If something was done to us, it probably happened in the town square when Rofan was speaking. And it clearly caught us by surprise last time. We can’t let that happen again.”</p><p></p><p>“Absolutely right,” said Kiri. “We’ll be ready. Of course, we probably said that yesterday too. . ." She trailed off. "You know, I’m not so sure that Rofan’s responsible for whatever’s going on.”</p><p></p><p>“I tend to agree.” Valdek was standing beside Kiri, their shoulders barely touching. “He may just be a tool.”</p><p></p><p>“Watch me not make the obvious joke,” said Nolin.</p><p></p><p>“Seriously,” said Valdek. “I’m more likely to think he’s being manipulated by someone or something.”</p><p></p><p>Kiri blinked. “Speaking of which, Rofan is still there, but where’s Pickett?” She craned her head around to try and spot Rofan’s assistant. The forest gnome seemed to have quietly slipped away.</p><p></p><p>“Damn it!” said TomTom. “Okay, I’m going to split off and try to find Pickett. Never trust a gnome, especially one that servile. Raevynn, maybe see if you can spot him from the air? The rest of you should go with Rofan, but be ready for trouble.” Standing between two shacks, no one saw Raevynn slip her skin and take on feathers. By the time she did so, TomTom had already slipped into shadows. Rofan was so entranced by preaching to Tao that he never even realized that they were gone.</p><p></p><p>-- o --</p><p></p><p>“The mist will probably be rolling in soon,” remarked Rofan. </p><p></p><p>“What mist?” They were standing at the edge of the town square. It was nicer than the rest of Bearspittle; people had clearly taken the trouble to level and pave it. Poorly carved statues of animals ringed the space. </p><p></p><p>“We’re in a foggy spot. It’s not unusual to get morning or afternoon mists in here. That’s a holy sign, and I know that’s when it’s time to preach. Sometimes the Goddess takes me, then, and I don’t even remember what I say.” Rofan looked beatific. “I’m very lucky.” A forest gnome appeared by his leg, and Rofan reached down automatically to pat the little fellow’s hat. </p><p></p><p>“That’s not Pickett, is it?” Nolin tried to tell. </p><p></p><p>“Nope, that’s Tunkitt,” said Rofan. “Pickett is the only one who really speaks our tongue. His whole family is here, a real clan. They live in tunnels under the village. They’re just like in the stories; leave them a bit of milk by the doorstep, and they build huts, polish shoes, mend clothing. You name it.”</p><p></p><p>Shara eyed Rofan’s torn and filthy jerkin with a critical eye. “Really.” Shara raised one eyebrow. </p><p></p><p>“Uh huh. All they want is to be able to worship the Goddess, too. They’re very insistent on regular services.”</p><p></p><p>The gnome tugged on Rofan’s pants, and the young priest bent down to listen. Meanwhile, the Defenders took a few steps away and whispered to one another.</p><p></p><p>“I so don’t trust those gnomes,” said Nolin.</p><p></p><p>“I might be able to guess at what happened to us, though,” said Shara. “There’s a powerful spell called <em>mindfog.</em> It dulls the mind and makes people easy to manipulate. If someone used that spell under the cover of a mist rolling in, we might have been ensnared. That still doesn’t explain how our memories were changed, though.” Privately, Shara vowed to remember this trick in case she might use it herself some day.</p><p></p><p>“That would do it,” agreed Velendo. He looked around for any sign of fog.</p><p></p><p>“It’s worse than that,” said Tao. “This space isn’t holy to Galanna. I know what Rofan believes, and there’s <em>some</em> power being worshipped here, but it sure as heck isn’t the Goddess. He kept going on and on about how Galanna loves every creature, even the slimes and abominations. That’s heretical, and simply wrong.” She twisted around to look at the poorly carved stone animals, and at a second glance they looked less poorly carved and more like they had been deliberately twisted into a mockery of their normal shape.</p><p></p><p>“Something that Rofan said before,” said Valdek in a worried tone.</p><p></p><p>“Right,” said Kiri. “What exactly <em>is</em> a snape or a squake?”</p><p></p><p>“We. . .” Velendo swallowed dryly. “We may be about to find out. I think TomTom and Raevynn tracked down the source of the problem.” He pointed with his free hand across the town, and everyone heard the sounding of splintering wood and grinding stone. A shadow fell upon them as something rose from the ramshackle huts and eclipsed the sun.</p><p></p><p>Rofan looked up from his conversation with the gnome. “Oh no,” he said plaintively. “Not <em>again.</em>”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Piratecat, post: 2816095, member: 2"] [b][i]Part 2: The Prophet Rofan[/i][/b][i][/i] “I still don’t remember any gnomes,” whispered Tao. “They seem to remember you,” whispered back Valdek. “... so glad you’re back!” effused Rofan. His shirt was covered with small twigs and drying mud. He brushed back his bright red hair with one hand. “You left suddenly, and I was worried I had somehow offended you. We’re old friends, and that’s the last thing I’d want to do.” He looked at the group fondly, eyes wide and guileless, and put his arm around Nolin’s shoulders. Rofan’s sleeve smoked slightly where it brushed the base of Nolin’s hair, but the fabric never caught fire. Standing ankle deep in the moss beside the road, the tiny forest gnome named Pickett bowed in respect and fond recognition of the heroes’ return. Pickett seemed smaller and quieter than any rock gnome, and had carefully positioned himself three feet behind Rofan and to one side. He swept his conical hat back onto his nut-brown head and nodded his head in time with Rofan’s words, as if memorizing the speech for posterity. “Rofan,” said Velendo cautiously, glancing sidelong at the gnome. “Is there somewhere we could talk by ourselves?” They walked slowly towards the small village of dingy wood huts. Ancient trees spread overhead like the rafters of a church. “Why not right here?” Rofan stopped suddenly and spun, hands in the air. “It’s just us and Galanna. And the townsfolk. Galanna’s going to listen in anyways, of course.” His voice grew conspiratorial. “She’s in the leaves, in your horses, in the beetles, in my little friend Pickett here, in the birds, and in both the snapes and the squakes. She’s. . .” Rofan spun and stared at Velendo. His eyes bulged. His mouth fell open in astonishment. “What?” asked Velendo, his voice rising. “What? What?” He jerked his head around to look behind himself, but saw nothing amiss. “She’s [b]HERE![/b]” Rofan fell on his knees in front of Velendo, his voice rising with the ecstasy of religious fervor. Pickett the forest gnome leapt backwards to get out of the way, stumbling partially into a small hole. “That inchworm on your shoulder! Galanna favors you, Velendo! She rides with you, She is on you and in you, and we must all worship the inchworm!” Rofan grabbed Velendo around the waist in a huge hug, and then dropped to grovel in the dirt at his feet. “Um, Rofan?” Velendo looked appalled. “Worship the inchworm! [b]Worship the Goddess![/b]” Other members of the village, drawn to the rough road by the sight of strangers, likewise dropped to pray. Within seconds only the Defenders of Daybreak were standing. Everyone else, human and gnome alike, were abasing themselves in the muddy roadway. Velendo stood uncomfortably in front of them as his face grew flushed. “Told you he was a nutcase,” hissed Nolin. “You think?” Kiri hissed back. “This is just wrong,” muttered Tao. “What’s a snape?” asked Raevynn. Velendo looked up to the heavens and sighed. “Well, this is awkward.” He glanced down at the groveling nature priest. “Rofan? Get up, Rofan.” Velendo finally had to yell. “[b]ROFAN![/b]” TomTom finally stepped forward to poke at the priest with the end of his small boot. Rofan stopped in mid-obeisance and glanced up at TomTom with puzzlement. Velendo just looked pained. “Didn’t you promise yesterday to give this up?” “What? No, of course not. Why would I do that? Deny my holy calling?” Rofan jumped back to his feet, apparently unconcerned that the divine essence of Galanna was now gone from the inchworm. The other townsfolk stood up as well and slowly began to disperse. “Absolutely not, Velendo. We reached an agreement about it.” “We did?” asked Tao. Her hand had drifted ever so slightly onto the hilt of her favorite sword. “You’ll have to forgive us, Rofan. With the warm sun yesterday, we ended up a little bit confused.” Nolin sounded totally relaxed. “Let’s go somewhere and talk. Remind me, where did we go yesterday?” “Why, to the town square. You had wanted to address the crowd.” He pointed to Tao and Raevynn. “Both of you did. It was nice of you to let me talk, though. Galanna is good, and blesses us.” His smile was genuinely happy. “Let’s go there now,” said Valdek. He hobbled his warhorse by a stream and quietly loosened his weapon in its sheath, then followed the others into Bearspittle. -- o -- TomTom looked about himself as they wandered through town. He had a memory of the village as a clean, nicely kept refuge. The truth was far less impressive. The huts were ramshackle and mostly insulated with mud, although two or three of them looked to be slightly better constructed. It was a town for people who had no firm grip on reality. Deep down, TomTom had the sneaking suspicion that the residents had their gaze so firmly fixed on the afterlife that they weren’t bothering much with their here-and-now life. “Keep a sharp eye out,” he instructed. The group had paused for a moment for Rofan to worship the Goddess in the form of a very confused blue jay. “If something was done to us, it probably happened in the town square when Rofan was speaking. And it clearly caught us by surprise last time. We can’t let that happen again.” “Absolutely right,” said Kiri. “We’ll be ready. Of course, we probably said that yesterday too. . ." She trailed off. "You know, I’m not so sure that Rofan’s responsible for whatever’s going on.” “I tend to agree.” Valdek was standing beside Kiri, their shoulders barely touching. “He may just be a tool.” “Watch me not make the obvious joke,” said Nolin. “Seriously,” said Valdek. “I’m more likely to think he’s being manipulated by someone or something.” Kiri blinked. “Speaking of which, Rofan is still there, but where’s Pickett?” She craned her head around to try and spot Rofan’s assistant. The forest gnome seemed to have quietly slipped away. “Damn it!” said TomTom. “Okay, I’m going to split off and try to find Pickett. Never trust a gnome, especially one that servile. Raevynn, maybe see if you can spot him from the air? The rest of you should go with Rofan, but be ready for trouble.” Standing between two shacks, no one saw Raevynn slip her skin and take on feathers. By the time she did so, TomTom had already slipped into shadows. Rofan was so entranced by preaching to Tao that he never even realized that they were gone. -- o -- “The mist will probably be rolling in soon,” remarked Rofan. “What mist?” They were standing at the edge of the town square. It was nicer than the rest of Bearspittle; people had clearly taken the trouble to level and pave it. Poorly carved statues of animals ringed the space. “We’re in a foggy spot. It’s not unusual to get morning or afternoon mists in here. That’s a holy sign, and I know that’s when it’s time to preach. Sometimes the Goddess takes me, then, and I don’t even remember what I say.” Rofan looked beatific. “I’m very lucky.” A forest gnome appeared by his leg, and Rofan reached down automatically to pat the little fellow’s hat. “That’s not Pickett, is it?” Nolin tried to tell. “Nope, that’s Tunkitt,” said Rofan. “Pickett is the only one who really speaks our tongue. His whole family is here, a real clan. They live in tunnels under the village. They’re just like in the stories; leave them a bit of milk by the doorstep, and they build huts, polish shoes, mend clothing. You name it.” Shara eyed Rofan’s torn and filthy jerkin with a critical eye. “Really.” Shara raised one eyebrow. “Uh huh. All they want is to be able to worship the Goddess, too. They’re very insistent on regular services.” The gnome tugged on Rofan’s pants, and the young priest bent down to listen. Meanwhile, the Defenders took a few steps away and whispered to one another. “I so don’t trust those gnomes,” said Nolin. “I might be able to guess at what happened to us, though,” said Shara. “There’s a powerful spell called [i]mindfog.[/i] It dulls the mind and makes people easy to manipulate. If someone used that spell under the cover of a mist rolling in, we might have been ensnared. That still doesn’t explain how our memories were changed, though.” Privately, Shara vowed to remember this trick in case she might use it herself some day. “That would do it,” agreed Velendo. He looked around for any sign of fog. “It’s worse than that,” said Tao. “This space isn’t holy to Galanna. I know what Rofan believes, and there’s [i]some[/i] power being worshipped here, but it sure as heck isn’t the Goddess. He kept going on and on about how Galanna loves every creature, even the slimes and abominations. That’s heretical, and simply wrong.” She twisted around to look at the poorly carved stone animals, and at a second glance they looked less poorly carved and more like they had been deliberately twisted into a mockery of their normal shape. “Something that Rofan said before,” said Valdek in a worried tone. “Right,” said Kiri. “What exactly [i]is[/i] a snape or a squake?” “We. . .” Velendo swallowed dryly. “We may be about to find out. I think TomTom and Raevynn tracked down the source of the problem.” He pointed with his free hand across the town, and everyone heard the sounding of splintering wood and grinding stone. A shadow fell upon them as something rose from the ramshackle huts and eclipsed the sun. Rofan looked up from his conversation with the gnome. “Oh no,” he said plaintively. “Not [i]again.[/i]” [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Piratecat's storyhour reborn! (updated July 4, 2006)
Top