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
Steel Dragon's "Tales of Orea"
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="steeldragons" data-source="post: 5556262" data-attributes="member: 92511"><p>Erevan and Fen moved with trained, and somewhat natural, ease through the darkening trees and undergrowth. Duor had his hand crossbow nocked and held his enchanted dagger in his other hand. The blade glowed the eerie green light they’d not seen since their battle beneath the mountain on Dragonbone Isle. Alaria pondered the idea that the blade might possess some sort of detection magic on it. She sincerely hoped, she were incorrect. Coerraine and Braddok, similarly, had weapons out and at the ready. If it were true that a goblin army had moved through these woods just the day before, stragglers and looters could easily still be afoot.</p><p> </p><p> Not far into the woods, the group came to a break in the trees. It was a small glade with a few elegantly formed buildings along the bases of the trees. Burned and broken stairways wove their way up around the treetrunks of the great silverleaf and bronzewood giants to similar arched and sharp peaked constructions among the trees’ large boughs.</p><p> </p><p> All around them, destruction was evident. Smoldering mounds of wood, cloth, weapons and….bodies littered the serene glade that was bathed, most ironically, in the peaceful silver light of the rising greater moon. Among the constructions in the treetops, most had obvious damage and trails of smoke rose from unseen smoldering fires. Several goblin bodies and a few bugbears were scatter among the battle site. Several of them wearing tabbards or holding shields painted with the red claw symbol they had seen, now twice in their travels.</p><p> </p><p> In the center of the glade was the most disturbing scene as a dozen of so elvish heads sat atop pikes driven into the piled bodies of elves. Their faces were a mixture, some frozen in abject horror some showing a defiant peacefulness in their eternal repose. At the center of the ring of spears, higher than any of the spears, a banner emblazoned with the red talon symbol.</p><p> </p><p> Alaria raised a hand to her mouth. The sight and odor of the atrocity churned her stomach. </p><p> </p><p> Tears welled up in Haelan’s eyes as they did in Fen’s. </p><p> </p><p> Erevan approached the horrific site with slow purpose. His face, still, not showing any emotion. </p><p> </p><p> Coerraine followed the elf and laid a gauntlet-sheathed hand on his shoulder. The Redstar Knight spoke with soft reverence for the deceased, “My friend, the monsters will pay with this atrocity. I swear to you.”</p><p> </p><p> Erevan placed a hand atop the paladin’s and simply said, “Yes, Coerraine. They shall.”</p><p></p><p></p><p>Erevan reached into the mass of spears and carnage and ripped the fluttering tattered banner from its pole. He looked at the square sheet of rough fabric a moment before letting it slip from his hands into the blood dampened ground beneath his feet. </p><p> </p><p> “We should,” Braddok began. The dark-haired warrior stopped a moment, at a loss. Then, forcefully, “We should explore the village. See if there are any left alive or any goblins lurking about in the wreckage.”</p><p> </p><p> Duor nodded his agreement and moved off, silently, into the shadows of the evening.</p><p> </p><p> “Erevan,” offered Alaria, “should we not put your people to rest?”</p><p> </p><p> Erevan responded coldly. “Better we should follow Braddok’s lead to insure our own safety and see if there is anything useful to salvage. I do not think we should linger here.”</p><p> </p><p> Alaria seemed shocked by the elf’s frigid response. </p><p> </p><p> Erevan turned to her as he pulled an arrow from his quiver and nocked it in the elegant elf-made longbow. “Then, we shall hunt down the culprits and raise a mountain of pikes for their heads.”</p><p></p><p></p><p>With that, the elf moved off in the direction of the nearest intact building with a stairway leading up into the trees.</p><p> </p><p> Coerraine knelt before the mass of spears, saying prayers to his deity for the repose of the innocent souls and vowing revenge upon the cruel killers. Haelan, similarly, stayed near the paladin and began chanting prayers of Faerantha for the unjustly slain.</p><p> </p><p> Fen was nowhere to be seen. Moved into the surrounding woods to scout, no doubt, thought the wizardess.</p><p> </p><p> Alaria left the religious types to their rites and followed Erevan, deep concern evident on her face. Braddok also headed in the direction Erevan had chosen and as they neared the dwelling, Duor appeared from some bushes to declare that he’d found nothing amiss around the glade’s periphery.</p><p> </p><p></p><p>“I might have stabbed a few goblin corpses, just to be safe.” He offered. Duor hoped the notion might be of some comfort to his elvin companion.</p><p> </p><p> The mage, the elf, the dwarf and the swordsman entered the archway, its delicately carved door shattered and hanging limply from a single remaining hinge.</p><p></p><p></p><p>The interior was a shambles, an office of sorts judging by the smashed and overturned furniture. There was a desk, nearly split in two, deep cuts in it led all to assume a very large axe had been used on the previously beautiful piece of golden wood furniture. Papers and other desk top implements were scattered about and trampled. There were a few chairs splintered and scattered among the room.</p><p> </p><p> There were two goblin bodies. One was filled with arrows. The other bore obvious burns and scorching that Alaria surmised were magical in origin. The remnants of some energy spell as best she could tell.</p><p> </p><p> Finding nothing of use or interest in the rubble and carnage, the group moved with purpose to the stairway that began in the dwelling and sloped up along the nature bark wall up through an opening, similarly chopped and splintered, out the roof of the office and along the bronzewood tree.</p><p> </p><p> They passed another few goblin bodies and a fallen elf warrior, multiple goblin-made arrows imbedded in his chest.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Alaria looked long at the elf’s peaceful face. He seemed young to her eyes, certainly no older than Erevan, himself, appeared. But then, she reminded herself, the elves of the Miralostae nation are very long-lived, if not immortal…no human could be sure, so there was no telling the elf’s actual age. Shreds of his chain link armor shone beneath the forest green tabbard, a shattered blade still clenched in his hand. </p><p> </p><p> At the top of the stairway, where a platform surrounded the tree trunk and multiple rope and plank bridges led off to other trees, they found another elf. This one appeared to be in blue robes. He lay sprawled and bloody beneath the body of a very dead bugbear. The beast’s large spiked club lay near where this brawl came to an obvious end.</p><p> </p><p> Erevan knelt beside the crushed elf. “Here is one of your elvish sorcerers, milady.” He said plainly.</p><p> </p><p> When Erevan spoke, the fallen elf’s eyes shot open in panic. Duor nearly jumped off of the platform in alarm. The bearded thief looked on in shock to see Erevan himself leap up in surprise.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Never in all of my dwarven days, thought Duor, would I ever see an elf taken by surprise.</p><p> </p><p> “HAELAN!” Alaria shouted down from the platform. She completely ignored any possible threat this might open to her group, “Get up here! We’ve found one alive!”</p><p> </p><p> Haelan, deep in reciting his people’s funerary blessings, jumped at the shockingly loud command. “One what?” called up the startled halfling.</p><p> </p><p> “Haelan!?” Alaria scowled. Her dark look seemed to snap the priest from his confusion. Haelan sprinted with all speed into the building at the base of the tree.</p><p> </p><p> Braddok heaved the massive hairy goblinoid off the now awake and very weakly breathing elf.</p><p> </p><p> “<em>Leivar ne. Ria ne tohm. Aiu preis.”</em> <elvin: “Do not be alarmed. Be still. Help is coming.”> Alaria said quickly, kneeling beside the elf. </p><p> </p><p> The elf sorceror looked from the mage to the warrior to the elf and finally the dwarf. His eyes betrayed pain and shock. He attempted to inhale to say something but only coughed out blood. He looked, pleadingly at Alaria.</p><p> </p><p> “It will be alright.” Alaria responded, forgetting to speak in elvin. “Haelan!” she shouted again.</p><p> </p><p> Weakly, with the arm that had not been crushed beneath the bugbear, the elf tried to reach to a satchel on his belt. He had not the strength to grasp anything but weakly nodded his head towards the satchel and looked at Alaria.</p><p> </p><p> The magess took the hint and gently reached into the pouch.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Perhaps he has a healing potion, Alaria thought.</p><p></p><p></p><p>What her hands found was not a vial, but a small leather bound book. She looked at it confused then looked to the elf. He nodded slightly before looking beyond her...serenity passing over his ever-young face.</p><p></p><p></p><p>The companions turned to see the elf was staring at the great silver moon, now rising into view above the treetops.</p><p> </p><p> Alaria turned back to the fallen mage to see his previously vibrant green eyes were now clouded over with an empty greyish tint. His stare empty. His spirit gone.</p><p> </p><p> “No.” whispered Alaria.</p><p> </p><p> Haelan arrived, panting, to the platform to find Alaria sobbing over the elf’s body. Erevan looked out at the rising moon. Braddok and Duor’s faces downcast in silent respect.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Duor looked up at the halfling’s arrival and simply shook his head silently. “Too late, hairfoot.”</p><p> </p><p> “Oh no. No, I’m sorry Erevan. I ran as fast as…”Haelan began.</p><p> </p><p> “I know, <em>vaaria</em>.<elvish for daelvar/halflings, literally “one who is of the hills”> Do not let it cause you sorrow. There is nothing you could have done. His wounds were too severe.” </p><p> </p><p> “Alaria, we really must continue with all speed.” Braddok prodded gently.</p><p> </p><p></p><p>The magess pulled herself together. Sniffing and wiping her eyes. She nodded and rose, looking blankly at the small book in her hand. She stuffed it into one of her belt pouches and wiped her eyes again.</p><p> </p><p> “Alaria, are you…I’m sorry…” Haelan began.</p><p> </p><p> “I will be fine, Haelan. Braddok is right.” She turned to the warrior, jutting out her chin in resolution. “Lead on, swordsman.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="steeldragons, post: 5556262, member: 92511"] Erevan and Fen moved with trained, and somewhat natural, ease through the darkening trees and undergrowth. Duor had his hand crossbow nocked and held his enchanted dagger in his other hand. The blade glowed the eerie green light they’d not seen since their battle beneath the mountain on Dragonbone Isle. Alaria pondered the idea that the blade might possess some sort of detection magic on it. She sincerely hoped, she were incorrect. Coerraine and Braddok, similarly, had weapons out and at the ready. If it were true that a goblin army had moved through these woods just the day before, stragglers and looters could easily still be afoot. Not far into the woods, the group came to a break in the trees. It was a small glade with a few elegantly formed buildings along the bases of the trees. Burned and broken stairways wove their way up around the treetrunks of the great silverleaf and bronzewood giants to similar arched and sharp peaked constructions among the trees’ large boughs. All around them, destruction was evident. Smoldering mounds of wood, cloth, weapons and….bodies littered the serene glade that was bathed, most ironically, in the peaceful silver light of the rising greater moon. Among the constructions in the treetops, most had obvious damage and trails of smoke rose from unseen smoldering fires. Several goblin bodies and a few bugbears were scatter among the battle site. Several of them wearing tabbards or holding shields painted with the red claw symbol they had seen, now twice in their travels. In the center of the glade was the most disturbing scene as a dozen of so elvish heads sat atop pikes driven into the piled bodies of elves. Their faces were a mixture, some frozen in abject horror some showing a defiant peacefulness in their eternal repose. At the center of the ring of spears, higher than any of the spears, a banner emblazoned with the red talon symbol. Alaria raised a hand to her mouth. The sight and odor of the atrocity churned her stomach. Tears welled up in Haelan’s eyes as they did in Fen’s. Erevan approached the horrific site with slow purpose. His face, still, not showing any emotion. Coerraine followed the elf and laid a gauntlet-sheathed hand on his shoulder. The Redstar Knight spoke with soft reverence for the deceased, “My friend, the monsters will pay with this atrocity. I swear to you.” Erevan placed a hand atop the paladin’s and simply said, “Yes, Coerraine. They shall.” Erevan reached into the mass of spears and carnage and ripped the fluttering tattered banner from its pole. He looked at the square sheet of rough fabric a moment before letting it slip from his hands into the blood dampened ground beneath his feet. “We should,” Braddok began. The dark-haired warrior stopped a moment, at a loss. Then, forcefully, “We should explore the village. See if there are any left alive or any goblins lurking about in the wreckage.” Duor nodded his agreement and moved off, silently, into the shadows of the evening. “Erevan,” offered Alaria, “should we not put your people to rest?” Erevan responded coldly. “Better we should follow Braddok’s lead to insure our own safety and see if there is anything useful to salvage. I do not think we should linger here.” Alaria seemed shocked by the elf’s frigid response. Erevan turned to her as he pulled an arrow from his quiver and nocked it in the elegant elf-made longbow. “Then, we shall hunt down the culprits and raise a mountain of pikes for their heads.” With that, the elf moved off in the direction of the nearest intact building with a stairway leading up into the trees. Coerraine knelt before the mass of spears, saying prayers to his deity for the repose of the innocent souls and vowing revenge upon the cruel killers. Haelan, similarly, stayed near the paladin and began chanting prayers of Faerantha for the unjustly slain. Fen was nowhere to be seen. Moved into the surrounding woods to scout, no doubt, thought the wizardess. Alaria left the religious types to their rites and followed Erevan, deep concern evident on her face. Braddok also headed in the direction Erevan had chosen and as they neared the dwelling, Duor appeared from some bushes to declare that he’d found nothing amiss around the glade’s periphery. “I might have stabbed a few goblin corpses, just to be safe.” He offered. Duor hoped the notion might be of some comfort to his elvin companion. The mage, the elf, the dwarf and the swordsman entered the archway, its delicately carved door shattered and hanging limply from a single remaining hinge. The interior was a shambles, an office of sorts judging by the smashed and overturned furniture. There was a desk, nearly split in two, deep cuts in it led all to assume a very large axe had been used on the previously beautiful piece of golden wood furniture. Papers and other desk top implements were scattered about and trampled. There were a few chairs splintered and scattered among the room. There were two goblin bodies. One was filled with arrows. The other bore obvious burns and scorching that Alaria surmised were magical in origin. The remnants of some energy spell as best she could tell. Finding nothing of use or interest in the rubble and carnage, the group moved with purpose to the stairway that began in the dwelling and sloped up along the nature bark wall up through an opening, similarly chopped and splintered, out the roof of the office and along the bronzewood tree. They passed another few goblin bodies and a fallen elf warrior, multiple goblin-made arrows imbedded in his chest. Alaria looked long at the elf’s peaceful face. He seemed young to her eyes, certainly no older than Erevan, himself, appeared. But then, she reminded herself, the elves of the Miralostae nation are very long-lived, if not immortal…no human could be sure, so there was no telling the elf’s actual age. Shreds of his chain link armor shone beneath the forest green tabbard, a shattered blade still clenched in his hand. At the top of the stairway, where a platform surrounded the tree trunk and multiple rope and plank bridges led off to other trees, they found another elf. This one appeared to be in blue robes. He lay sprawled and bloody beneath the body of a very dead bugbear. The beast’s large spiked club lay near where this brawl came to an obvious end. Erevan knelt beside the crushed elf. “Here is one of your elvish sorcerers, milady.” He said plainly. When Erevan spoke, the fallen elf’s eyes shot open in panic. Duor nearly jumped off of the platform in alarm. The bearded thief looked on in shock to see Erevan himself leap up in surprise. Never in all of my dwarven days, thought Duor, would I ever see an elf taken by surprise. “HAELAN!” Alaria shouted down from the platform. She completely ignored any possible threat this might open to her group, “Get up here! We’ve found one alive!” Haelan, deep in reciting his people’s funerary blessings, jumped at the shockingly loud command. “One what?” called up the startled halfling. “Haelan!?” Alaria scowled. Her dark look seemed to snap the priest from his confusion. Haelan sprinted with all speed into the building at the base of the tree. Braddok heaved the massive hairy goblinoid off the now awake and very weakly breathing elf. “[I]Leivar ne. Ria ne tohm. Aiu preis.”[/I] <elvin: “Do not be alarmed. Be still. Help is coming.”> Alaria said quickly, kneeling beside the elf. The elf sorceror looked from the mage to the warrior to the elf and finally the dwarf. His eyes betrayed pain and shock. He attempted to inhale to say something but only coughed out blood. He looked, pleadingly at Alaria. “It will be alright.” Alaria responded, forgetting to speak in elvin. “Haelan!” she shouted again. Weakly, with the arm that had not been crushed beneath the bugbear, the elf tried to reach to a satchel on his belt. He had not the strength to grasp anything but weakly nodded his head towards the satchel and looked at Alaria. The magess took the hint and gently reached into the pouch. Perhaps he has a healing potion, Alaria thought. What her hands found was not a vial, but a small leather bound book. She looked at it confused then looked to the elf. He nodded slightly before looking beyond her...serenity passing over his ever-young face. The companions turned to see the elf was staring at the great silver moon, now rising into view above the treetops. Alaria turned back to the fallen mage to see his previously vibrant green eyes were now clouded over with an empty greyish tint. His stare empty. His spirit gone. “No.” whispered Alaria. Haelan arrived, panting, to the platform to find Alaria sobbing over the elf’s body. Erevan looked out at the rising moon. Braddok and Duor’s faces downcast in silent respect. Duor looked up at the halfling’s arrival and simply shook his head silently. “Too late, hairfoot.” “Oh no. No, I’m sorry Erevan. I ran as fast as…”Haelan began. “I know, [I]vaaria[/I].<elvish for daelvar/halflings, literally “one who is of the hills”> Do not let it cause you sorrow. There is nothing you could have done. His wounds were too severe.” “Alaria, we really must continue with all speed.” Braddok prodded gently. The magess pulled herself together. Sniffing and wiping her eyes. She nodded and rose, looking blankly at the small book in her hand. She stuffed it into one of her belt pouches and wiped her eyes again. “Alaria, are you…I’m sorry…” Haelan began. “I will be fine, Haelan. Braddok is right.” She turned to the warrior, jutting out her chin in resolution. “Lead on, swordsman.” [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Steel Dragon's "Tales of Orea"
Top