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The Durnhill Conscripts
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 7511943" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 27: TREATY KEEPERS</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Daleth Stormsea, elf wizard 7</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Galen Thorne, human paladin 9</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Kaspar Hardstrike, elf monk 9</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Orion Nightsky, halfling rogue 9</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Syngaard, human fighter 9</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 17 October 2018</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>"You call us all here for another mission?" Syngaard asked as he joined the others at the table in the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em>. Kaspar, anticipating his arrival, had already procured a mug of ale for the scarred fighter from Karen at the back of the bar.</p><p></p><p>"Indeed I did," affirmed Skevros. "You may take it as a given that if I summon you here, it is because the kingdom has need of your services."</p><p></p><p>"This a paying mission?" Syngaard asked, getting straight to the most important detail about whatever the king's adviser was going to say next.</p><p></p><p>Skevros sighed. "Yes, it is a paying mission. But to give you the appropriate context of your assignment, it's perhaps relevant to go over a brief history of the kingdom." Syngaard rolled his eyes but said nothing, granting his full attention to the mug of ale before him.</p><p></p><p>"As you are no doubt aware, the King of Ossirna died 126 years ago, leaving two sons. The younger son, <strong>Selvik</strong>, attempted to kill the rightful heir, <strong>Leornic the Fifth</strong>. Leornic and his loyal followers fled the destructive wrath of Selvik's forces. After the massive Battle of the Western Marshes, where thousands died on both sides, Leornic proposed a truce: he would abandon all claims to the throne of Ossirna and he and his followers would form a new kingdom based around Durnhill Keep. Leornic the Fifth of Ossirna thus became Leornic the First of Durnhill - the grandfather of our present king. Although Selvik wanted nothing less than his brother's death, his advisors convinced him to accept the truce.</p><p></p><p>"Ever since, on the anniversary of the signing of the truce, the kings of Durnhill and Ossirna meet at the Treaty Keep located between both kingdoms. That anniversary is tomorrow."</p><p></p><p>"And that's where we come in?" asked Orion.</p><p></p><p>"Indeed. Since the Treaty Keep lies abandoned during the entire rest of the year, it is customary for each kingdom to send a mercenary band to clear out the keep of any creatures that might be dwelling there."</p><p></p><p>"And I take it we are the mercenaries Durnhill will be sending?" asked Daleth.</p><p></p><p>"Quite so," replied Skevros, pulling a box from beneath the table and plopping it on the surface before him. "You'll be wearing these tabards to identify you as such." He pulled out the top one, green with gold trim and bearing the kingdom's crest on the front.</p><p></p><p>"We gotta wear these?" complained Syngaard as Skevros passed one to each of the five adventurers.</p><p></p><p>"Only if you wish to be paid," snapped Skevros. In the months of dealing with Syngaard, the king's adviser had learned how best to deal with him; the bald fighter picked up his tabard and slipped over his armor without another word. "I look ridiculous," Syngaard complained.</p><p></p><p>"It's good to hear you finally admit it," smirked Orion, earning her a glare from the fighter.</p><p></p><p>"You are to wear your tabards at all times during the duration of this mission," Skevros demanded. "They will serve to identify you as Durnhill's designated representatives."</p><p></p><p>"This has got to be the least 'secret' mission we've ever gone on," observed Galen.</p><p></p><p>"It is that way intentionally," Skevros replied. "There will be another team from Ossirna wearing their own colors: blue with gold trim. Under no conditions are you to attack them - to do so would be an act of war."</p><p></p><p>"No good ever came from people wearing blue," grumbled Galen, thinking about the Azure Guard in particular. "You said clear the place out of creatures, though - what are we likely to find living there?"</p><p></p><p>"It could be anything - or nothing at all," replied Skevros. "One year the teams encountered a beholder lairing there. Other years the keep was empty. But as the place lies in the stretch of neutral territory between our two kingdoms, it's only used once every year. That gives the local creatures plenty of time to decide to move in and make themselves comfortable."</p><p></p><p>"Couldn't you scry upon it?" asked Orion.</p><p></p><p>"That would certainly make things easier, wouldn't it?" asked Skevros wryly. "But no: the keep is protected from scrying, since the two rulers prefer not to have anyone eavesdropping upon their conversations there or observing their interactions."</p><p></p><p>Once everyone had their tabards in place over their armor, Skevros reached into the bottom of the box and pulled out some green-and-gold ribbons. He handed one to Orion and the other to Galen. "I assume you wish to take your riding dog," Skevros said to the halfling. "Please affix this ribbon to his saddle to identify him as part of the official delegation." He turned to Galen. "Likewise if you decide to bring along your dire lion."</p><p></p><p>"That decision's already been made," answered the young paladin, accepting the ribbon from the king's adviser. "If there's a possibility of us meeting a beholder at the keep, I'll definitely be bringing Bert along."</p><p></p><p>"Very well then," said Skevros. "If everyone's ready, I will teleport us all to the border." With the utterance of an arcane syllable, the group appeared across the kingdom to the southeastern border. The keep could be seen ahead in the distance. Skevros then busied himself casting <em>mount</em> spells for Daleth, Kaspar, and Syngaard. The magical steeds that appeared were already groomed with green-and-gold streamers attached to the pommels of their saddles and woven into their manes.</p><p></p><p>"It's best to keep up appearances when officially representing the kingdom," remarked Skevros. He handed the <em>ring of return</em> to Galen, who tucked it along the inside of his shield. "Clear out the keep, but do not attack the representatives from Ossirna. Syngaard: is this last point absolutely clear?"</p><p></p><p>"What? Yeah, don't kill the Ossirnians - I got it," the fighter replied. Then he pulled himself awkwardly up into the saddle of his mount; fortunately, as a magical construct, it was much easier to control than would be a real, living animal - Syngaard had no experience riding horses.</p><p></p><p>"Then the best of luck to you all," said Skevros. "You may use the <em>ring</em> when the mission is complete." Galen summoned Bert from the Beastlands, affixed the ribbon to his mane, climbed up upon the dire lion, and the led the delegation south to the Treaty Keep.</p><p></p><p>The ride was uneventful; upon their arrival, Galen led the mounts in a full circle around the keep while Orion had Carl climb up into the sky and check out the structure from above. It had seen better days, that was for sure - the stone building's upper level had come tumbling down some years back, and although the ground level was still mostly intact (part of one of the front towers had partially collapsed, granting open access to the building from the side), the paladin wondered just how much longer the structure could be used in its annual fashion. There were two doors, one in the front between the two largest towers, and another along the side of one of the smaller towers in the back, both closed and secured. But from the air, Orion and Carl saw what the others couldn't: the central part of the keep was an open courtyard, accessible by two sets of doors at the north and south ends, and inside the open-air structure was a meeting table and two chairs - and, incongruously, a hill giant in a green tunic sitting along one wall, his face pressed into a silver plate.</p><p></p><p>"Guys!" Orion called down to the others in a low voice, trying not to be overheard by the giant - who, fortunately, paid her no heed. "There's a giant down there!"</p><p></p><p>Rather than go through either of the doors, Galen rode Bert to the crumbled northeastern tower and ducked as the dire lion entered the building. As there were window slits all along the 20-foot ceiling, the interior of the building was sufficiently lit for the human to see inside with no trouble. There, in the front hall, was a white spider the size of a large pony, apparently dead upon the floor.</p><p></p><p>The other men followed Galen into the building, dismounting from their magical mounts before doing so. Daleth's keen eyes focused on the arachnid lying dead on its back, its legs tucked into its body in death. "That looks to be a phase spider," he observed.</p><p></p><p>"What's that?" asked Galen.</p><p></p><p>"It's capable of transitioning between the material plane and the ethereal plane at will - and in the mere blink of an eye! One moment there's nothing there, the next -- it appears and attacks!"</p><p></p><p>"So, it teleports?" asked Syngaard.</p><p></p><p>"If you like - but between dimensions." Galen dismounted from Bert and the two approached the dead spider, Kaspar and Daleth in tow. Syngaard, just to be sure, threw his <em>returning javelin</em> down the adjoining hall to the south, just in case any of those strange phase spiders were there waiting to jump into the material plane. Of course, the fighter's grasp of the concept of interplanar travel was incorrect, and the javelin hit nothing - nor would it have if there had been dozens of phase spiders in the ethereal spaces corresponding to the hallway. But Syngaard announced, "This way's clear!" when his javelin returned to his hand, and he turned to catch up to the others.</p><p></p><p>In a flash, two phase spiders materialized in the front hallway, flanking Bert. They bit at the dire lion, mandibles pumping venom. Kaspar immediately dashed up to the closest and struck forward with his right hand, his <em>tenryutsume</em> imbuing the strike with both fire and electricity as well as the monk's own inherent power. The elf's fist punched through the spider's abdomen, causing thick ichor to squirt out of the wound. Galen, Bert, and Syngaard finished off the spider with a combination of sword strikes, morningstar slams, and slashing claws, while Daleth fired a <em>magic missile</em> spell at the other phase spider, striking it without error.</p><p></p><p>Hearing the sounds of combat from inside the building - and as the hill giant seemed content sitting there eating whatever food he had balanced on the silver plate - Orion had Carl maneuver back down to ground level and run inside the Treaty Keep through the opening in the side of the northeastern tower. She threw a dagger from her <em>bag of blades</em> at the remaining spider, burying it to the hilt before it disappeared back to the extradimensional space of the magical bag. The spider snapped at Syngaard, before phasing back to the ethereal plane and out of view.</p><p></p><p>But the spider hadn't counted on Carl's ghostly nature - the riding dog dashed forward, jaws snapping at apparently nothing, although on the ethereal plane it was obvious the dog had caught one of the spider's legs in its jaws and was clamping down hard. Guessing what was going on, Syngaard, Kaspar, and Orion stayed to deal with the phase spider when it would likely return to this plane of existence; Syngaard prepared for the eventuality by backing up against the exterior wall of the keep, so the spider couldn't sneak up behind him. His morningstar was out and ready to strike if and when it showed.</p><p></p><p>Daleth and Galen, however - followed by Bert - moved to the door to check out the inner courtyard. The paladin saw the hill giant at once, and noted he wasn't just wearing a green tunic - it was an actual flag of the kingdom of Durnhill!</p><p></p><p>Looking up at the intruders, the hill giant squinted at a leathery sheepskin and did his best to pronounce the phonetic sounds depicted therein. "Furiends?" it asked.</p><p></p><p>"Friends?" deciphered Galen. "Are you asking to be friends?" But the giant had apparently used up the extent of its vocabulary and returned its attention to its plate of food. Daleth used his <em>azurewood staff of divination</em> to cast a <em>tongues</em> spell upon himself, allowing him to speak and understand the Giant language. Galen, in the meantime, had focused his attention on the hill giant's aura and was surprised to see no glint of evil therein.</p><p></p><p>"What's your name?" asked Daleth.</p><p></p><p>"<strong>Gumruk</strong>," replied the giant.</p><p></p><p>"My name's Daleth," offered the elven mage. "That's an interesting plate you have there. Is it magical?"</p><p></p><p>"Yup," replied Gumruk.</p><p></p><p>"And what does it do?"</p><p></p><p>"Makes food appear!" announced Gumruk with a wide grin, exposing the ground-up contents of his current mouthful. "Gumruk thinks of food, and it shows up!"</p><p></p><p>"That's really handy!" agreed Daleth. "Where did you get it?"</p><p></p><p>"Gumruk hired by little person, like you. He give me plate, and all I have to do is wear green flag and help other green guys fight blue guys." He finally gave the elf a good look, and announced, "Hey! You a green guy!"</p><p></p><p>"I am indeed," agreed the elf. "That means we should be friends!" He quickly gave Galen a rundown of their conversation.</p><p></p><p>Out in the hallway, though, the phase spider reappeared - one leg still clamped in Carl's mouth - and made an attempt at biting Syngaard, but the fighter bashed his morningstar down upon its head. On either side of him, Kaspar punched the spider with a flurry of one-two strikes while Orion stabbed at the thing with her <em>flaming short sword</em>. It didn't stand a chance, dying on the spot. Carl released the thing's leg and looked in all directions; his lack of concern was a good indicator to the others that there weren't any more phase spiders hanging around on the ethereal plane in this general vicinity. They headed over to the central courtyard to find Daleth and Galen in conversation with a seated hill giant, while Bert sat on his haunches, looking bored.</p><p></p><p>Galen caught the others up on what was going on. "We need to keep Gumruk from attacking the Ossirnians," said Kaspar, "or we'll be looking at an international incident."</p><p></p><p>"And that's likely what the Ossirnians want," guessed Daleth. "Odds are it was one of them who put Gumruk up to attacking their forces when they appear."</p><p></p><p>"We need to get him out of here," suggested Orion. "How are we going to do that?"</p><p></p><p>"Hey, buddy," Galen said to the giant and Daleth translated for him. "How would you like a magical jug to go with your magical plate? It'll give you anything you want to drink!"</p><p></p><p>"Yeah!" agreed Gumruk. He hadn't been thirsty until the paladin had mentioned it, but now he wanted something to drink more than anything else in life.</p><p></p><p>"The giant like jugs," observed Syngaard. "Smart guy." Orion just glared at the fighter, her gaze letting him know she caught his reference and didn't think this was the time for such nonsense.</p><p></p><p>"But you need to do something for us," Daleth said to the hill giant. "We need you to leave the blue men alone. We don't want to hurt them."</p><p></p><p>"But the plate!" argued Gumruk. "Supposed to help fight the blue guys, that's why I got this plate."</p><p></p><p>"They changed their minds," Daleth countered. "It was just a mistake. Now we're going to be nice to the blue guys, and you can still keep the plate."</p><p></p><p>"Okay," Gumruk agreed. "Where's the jug?" He was now really thirsty.</p><p></p><p>"Um," stalled Galen, not having thought this far ahead.</p><p></p><p>"It's not here," piped up Orion. "But we can take you to it. Why don't you come this way, and we'll go get it!" After Daleth translated for her, she started leading Gumruk over to the front doors of the keep. But then the back door to the courtyard opened up and in stepped three Ossirnian mercenaries, dressed in tabards of blue with gold trim. One was a female fighter named <strong>Sienna</strong> wielding a massive <em>vicious greatsword</em>. Beside her was a male rogue named <strong>Averos</strong>, and stepping up behind them was a male wizard named <strong>Neumien</strong>. All three were human; Syngaard had to fight the urge to pull his <em>human bane scimitar</em> from the scabbard at his hip. Galen's dark scowl spoke volumes about the contents of their auras.</p><p></p><p>"What's going on here?" demanded Neumien.</p><p></p><p>"Shouldn't the giant be attacking us by now?" asked Sienna in an insufficiently quiet whisper; both elves were able to make out her words perfectly well. Neumien didn't answer her, instead using his voice to cast a <em>charm monster</em> spell upon Gumruk. However, the hill giant - perhaps because his entire concentration was focused upon getting a magical jug that poured whatever drink he wanted from it - was able to overcome the spell's intended effects.</p><p></p><p>"Friends with blue guys?" he asked Daleth for confirmation. Things were starting to get muddled in his head.</p><p></p><p>"That's right, we're all friends here," Daleth said in the Common tongue so everyone could hear his words; the <em>tongues</em> spell still in effect automatically translated it to Giant for Gumruk's benefit.</p><p></p><p>"Looks like you guys are late to the party," observed Syngaard, his morningstar still in his hand. "We already did all the work for you. Killed a bunch of phase spiders. Why don't you make yourselves useful and give us a hand dragging them out of here?" There was little the Ossirnians could do; their attempt to start a war with Durnhill and get their enemies blamed for the instigation was apparently not going to work after all. Neumien received a pair of dark looks from his companions at the failure of his <em>charm monster</em> spell, but he realized there wasn't much to be done about it - not now, in any case.</p><p></p><p>"We'd love to be of assistance," he said through gritted teeth.</p><p></p><p>Once the Treaty Keep had been cleared and cleaned, both groups went their separate ways. The magical <em>mounts</em> were still in place outside, so the three men saddled up and rode away just for appearance's sake, only activating the <em>ring of return</em> (with Gumruk among them) once the three Ossirnians were out of view - no point in letting them know of their abilities.</p><p></p><p>Back in Durnhill, Skevros explained the Ossirnians had been trying to goad Durnhill into starting a war for several years now. "They know that if they instigated a war themselves, Ashfall and even the Azure Glade would join forces with Durnhill to stop them."</p><p></p><p>"Where's my jug?" asked Gumruk, as single-minded as Syngaard.</p><p></p><p>"What's this now?" asked Skevros.</p><p></p><p>"Galen promised the giant a magical jug," answered Syngaard.</p><p></p><p>"Did he now?" asked Skevros, looking sternly at the young paladin.</p><p></p><p>"Surely you have something like that around," hoped Galen. "I mean, you being a wizard and all...."</p><p></p><p>"You mean a <em>decanter of endless water</em>?" asked the king's adviser.</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, like that," Galen agreed. "Only...I promised it would give him whatever drink he wanted."</p><p></p><p>"I suppose I could craft something along those lines. But do you know how much something like that would cost?" demanded Skevros. Galen looked uncomfortable under the glare of their leader - he had just blurted out the first thing to come to mind to get Gumruk out of the Treaty Keep intact; now, faced with the consequences of his rash promise, he was obligated by his honor to see it through.</p><p></p><p>"It's not coming out of my share," interjected Syngaard quickly. "I didn't promise no giant no magic jug."</p><p></p><p>Skevros sighed heavily. "Let's bring him to the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em> for the time being," he suggested. "We can get him plenty to drink while I figure out how best to proceed." The fellow seemed tame enough; perhaps His Majesty could use a hill giant in some capacity in the kingdom?</p><p></p><p>"We could always just kill him," suggested Syngaard, secure in the knowledge that <em>his</em> words weren't being translated into the Giant tongue, only Daleth's.</p><p></p><p>"Syngaard!" chided Orion.</p><p></p><p>"I think we can find a better solution than that," rebuked Skevros.</p><p></p><p>"Whatever," remarked Syngaard, who was already thinking ahead about how he was going to spend his share of the reward. As they walked back to their headquarters, he pulled off the stupid green-and-gold tabard and tossed it back to Skevros. "Here's your silly shirt back."</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>This adventure did not go anything like Logan had planned; he'd been sure we would end up starting a war with Ossirna. But we've always rolled our dice in the open, and Gumruk made an awesome Will save just when it was needed. We also were sure to give Dan a bunch of flak about his "magic jug" solution, when there were so many other ways we could have diverted Gumruk away from the keep without promising a 10,000 gp expenditure. I suggested we just give the giant a normal jug along with a ten-syllable "command word" that he'd never be able to remember (or pronounce), and thus weasel out of the debt that way. But paladins are paladins and above such trickery, it seems. Dan seems willing to have Galen forgo his 2,000 gp payment for this adventure and then pay off the cost of the magic jug from future rewards, but Logan says he's going to take pity on him. Skevros will undoubtedly find a way to put Gumruk to good use in the kingdom, and eliminate the debt in that way.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 7511943, member: 508"] [b]ADVENTURE 27: TREATY KEEPERS[/b] PC Roster: [INDENT]Daleth Stormsea, elf wizard 7 Galen Thorne, human paladin 9 Kaspar Hardstrike, elf monk 9 Orion Nightsky, halfling rogue 9 Syngaard, human fighter 9[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 17 October 2018 - - - "You call us all here for another mission?" Syngaard asked as he joined the others at the table in the [i]Enchanted Flagon[/i]. Kaspar, anticipating his arrival, had already procured a mug of ale for the scarred fighter from Karen at the back of the bar. "Indeed I did," affirmed Skevros. "You may take it as a given that if I summon you here, it is because the kingdom has need of your services." "This a paying mission?" Syngaard asked, getting straight to the most important detail about whatever the king's adviser was going to say next. Skevros sighed. "Yes, it is a paying mission. But to give you the appropriate context of your assignment, it's perhaps relevant to go over a brief history of the kingdom." Syngaard rolled his eyes but said nothing, granting his full attention to the mug of ale before him. "As you are no doubt aware, the King of Ossirna died 126 years ago, leaving two sons. The younger son, [b]Selvik[/b], attempted to kill the rightful heir, [b]Leornic the Fifth[/b]. Leornic and his loyal followers fled the destructive wrath of Selvik's forces. After the massive Battle of the Western Marshes, where thousands died on both sides, Leornic proposed a truce: he would abandon all claims to the throne of Ossirna and he and his followers would form a new kingdom based around Durnhill Keep. Leornic the Fifth of Ossirna thus became Leornic the First of Durnhill - the grandfather of our present king. Although Selvik wanted nothing less than his brother's death, his advisors convinced him to accept the truce. "Ever since, on the anniversary of the signing of the truce, the kings of Durnhill and Ossirna meet at the Treaty Keep located between both kingdoms. That anniversary is tomorrow." "And that's where we come in?" asked Orion. "Indeed. Since the Treaty Keep lies abandoned during the entire rest of the year, it is customary for each kingdom to send a mercenary band to clear out the keep of any creatures that might be dwelling there." "And I take it we are the mercenaries Durnhill will be sending?" asked Daleth. "Quite so," replied Skevros, pulling a box from beneath the table and plopping it on the surface before him. "You'll be wearing these tabards to identify you as such." He pulled out the top one, green with gold trim and bearing the kingdom's crest on the front. "We gotta wear these?" complained Syngaard as Skevros passed one to each of the five adventurers. "Only if you wish to be paid," snapped Skevros. In the months of dealing with Syngaard, the king's adviser had learned how best to deal with him; the bald fighter picked up his tabard and slipped over his armor without another word. "I look ridiculous," Syngaard complained. "It's good to hear you finally admit it," smirked Orion, earning her a glare from the fighter. "You are to wear your tabards at all times during the duration of this mission," Skevros demanded. "They will serve to identify you as Durnhill's designated representatives." "This has got to be the least 'secret' mission we've ever gone on," observed Galen. "It is that way intentionally," Skevros replied. "There will be another team from Ossirna wearing their own colors: blue with gold trim. Under no conditions are you to attack them - to do so would be an act of war." "No good ever came from people wearing blue," grumbled Galen, thinking about the Azure Guard in particular. "You said clear the place out of creatures, though - what are we likely to find living there?" "It could be anything - or nothing at all," replied Skevros. "One year the teams encountered a beholder lairing there. Other years the keep was empty. But as the place lies in the stretch of neutral territory between our two kingdoms, it's only used once every year. That gives the local creatures plenty of time to decide to move in and make themselves comfortable." "Couldn't you scry upon it?" asked Orion. "That would certainly make things easier, wouldn't it?" asked Skevros wryly. "But no: the keep is protected from scrying, since the two rulers prefer not to have anyone eavesdropping upon their conversations there or observing their interactions." Once everyone had their tabards in place over their armor, Skevros reached into the bottom of the box and pulled out some green-and-gold ribbons. He handed one to Orion and the other to Galen. "I assume you wish to take your riding dog," Skevros said to the halfling. "Please affix this ribbon to his saddle to identify him as part of the official delegation." He turned to Galen. "Likewise if you decide to bring along your dire lion." "That decision's already been made," answered the young paladin, accepting the ribbon from the king's adviser. "If there's a possibility of us meeting a beholder at the keep, I'll definitely be bringing Bert along." "Very well then," said Skevros. "If everyone's ready, I will teleport us all to the border." With the utterance of an arcane syllable, the group appeared across the kingdom to the southeastern border. The keep could be seen ahead in the distance. Skevros then busied himself casting [i]mount[/i] spells for Daleth, Kaspar, and Syngaard. The magical steeds that appeared were already groomed with green-and-gold streamers attached to the pommels of their saddles and woven into their manes. "It's best to keep up appearances when officially representing the kingdom," remarked Skevros. He handed the [i]ring of return[/i] to Galen, who tucked it along the inside of his shield. "Clear out the keep, but do not attack the representatives from Ossirna. Syngaard: is this last point absolutely clear?" "What? Yeah, don't kill the Ossirnians - I got it," the fighter replied. Then he pulled himself awkwardly up into the saddle of his mount; fortunately, as a magical construct, it was much easier to control than would be a real, living animal - Syngaard had no experience riding horses. "Then the best of luck to you all," said Skevros. "You may use the [i]ring[/i] when the mission is complete." Galen summoned Bert from the Beastlands, affixed the ribbon to his mane, climbed up upon the dire lion, and the led the delegation south to the Treaty Keep. The ride was uneventful; upon their arrival, Galen led the mounts in a full circle around the keep while Orion had Carl climb up into the sky and check out the structure from above. It had seen better days, that was for sure - the stone building's upper level had come tumbling down some years back, and although the ground level was still mostly intact (part of one of the front towers had partially collapsed, granting open access to the building from the side), the paladin wondered just how much longer the structure could be used in its annual fashion. There were two doors, one in the front between the two largest towers, and another along the side of one of the smaller towers in the back, both closed and secured. But from the air, Orion and Carl saw what the others couldn't: the central part of the keep was an open courtyard, accessible by two sets of doors at the north and south ends, and inside the open-air structure was a meeting table and two chairs - and, incongruously, a hill giant in a green tunic sitting along one wall, his face pressed into a silver plate. "Guys!" Orion called down to the others in a low voice, trying not to be overheard by the giant - who, fortunately, paid her no heed. "There's a giant down there!" Rather than go through either of the doors, Galen rode Bert to the crumbled northeastern tower and ducked as the dire lion entered the building. As there were window slits all along the 20-foot ceiling, the interior of the building was sufficiently lit for the human to see inside with no trouble. There, in the front hall, was a white spider the size of a large pony, apparently dead upon the floor. The other men followed Galen into the building, dismounting from their magical mounts before doing so. Daleth's keen eyes focused on the arachnid lying dead on its back, its legs tucked into its body in death. "That looks to be a phase spider," he observed. "What's that?" asked Galen. "It's capable of transitioning between the material plane and the ethereal plane at will - and in the mere blink of an eye! One moment there's nothing there, the next -- it appears and attacks!" "So, it teleports?" asked Syngaard. "If you like - but between dimensions." Galen dismounted from Bert and the two approached the dead spider, Kaspar and Daleth in tow. Syngaard, just to be sure, threw his [i]returning javelin[/i] down the adjoining hall to the south, just in case any of those strange phase spiders were there waiting to jump into the material plane. Of course, the fighter's grasp of the concept of interplanar travel was incorrect, and the javelin hit nothing - nor would it have if there had been dozens of phase spiders in the ethereal spaces corresponding to the hallway. But Syngaard announced, "This way's clear!" when his javelin returned to his hand, and he turned to catch up to the others. In a flash, two phase spiders materialized in the front hallway, flanking Bert. They bit at the dire lion, mandibles pumping venom. Kaspar immediately dashed up to the closest and struck forward with his right hand, his [i]tenryutsume[/i] imbuing the strike with both fire and electricity as well as the monk's own inherent power. The elf's fist punched through the spider's abdomen, causing thick ichor to squirt out of the wound. Galen, Bert, and Syngaard finished off the spider with a combination of sword strikes, morningstar slams, and slashing claws, while Daleth fired a [i]magic missile[/i] spell at the other phase spider, striking it without error. Hearing the sounds of combat from inside the building - and as the hill giant seemed content sitting there eating whatever food he had balanced on the silver plate - Orion had Carl maneuver back down to ground level and run inside the Treaty Keep through the opening in the side of the northeastern tower. She threw a dagger from her [i]bag of blades[/i] at the remaining spider, burying it to the hilt before it disappeared back to the extradimensional space of the magical bag. The spider snapped at Syngaard, before phasing back to the ethereal plane and out of view. But the spider hadn't counted on Carl's ghostly nature - the riding dog dashed forward, jaws snapping at apparently nothing, although on the ethereal plane it was obvious the dog had caught one of the spider's legs in its jaws and was clamping down hard. Guessing what was going on, Syngaard, Kaspar, and Orion stayed to deal with the phase spider when it would likely return to this plane of existence; Syngaard prepared for the eventuality by backing up against the exterior wall of the keep, so the spider couldn't sneak up behind him. His morningstar was out and ready to strike if and when it showed. Daleth and Galen, however - followed by Bert - moved to the door to check out the inner courtyard. The paladin saw the hill giant at once, and noted he wasn't just wearing a green tunic - it was an actual flag of the kingdom of Durnhill! Looking up at the intruders, the hill giant squinted at a leathery sheepskin and did his best to pronounce the phonetic sounds depicted therein. "Furiends?" it asked. "Friends?" deciphered Galen. "Are you asking to be friends?" But the giant had apparently used up the extent of its vocabulary and returned its attention to its plate of food. Daleth used his [i]azurewood staff of divination[/i] to cast a [i]tongues[/i] spell upon himself, allowing him to speak and understand the Giant language. Galen, in the meantime, had focused his attention on the hill giant's aura and was surprised to see no glint of evil therein. "What's your name?" asked Daleth. "[b]Gumruk[/b]," replied the giant. "My name's Daleth," offered the elven mage. "That's an interesting plate you have there. Is it magical?" "Yup," replied Gumruk. "And what does it do?" "Makes food appear!" announced Gumruk with a wide grin, exposing the ground-up contents of his current mouthful. "Gumruk thinks of food, and it shows up!" "That's really handy!" agreed Daleth. "Where did you get it?" "Gumruk hired by little person, like you. He give me plate, and all I have to do is wear green flag and help other green guys fight blue guys." He finally gave the elf a good look, and announced, "Hey! You a green guy!" "I am indeed," agreed the elf. "That means we should be friends!" He quickly gave Galen a rundown of their conversation. Out in the hallway, though, the phase spider reappeared - one leg still clamped in Carl's mouth - and made an attempt at biting Syngaard, but the fighter bashed his morningstar down upon its head. On either side of him, Kaspar punched the spider with a flurry of one-two strikes while Orion stabbed at the thing with her [i]flaming short sword[/i]. It didn't stand a chance, dying on the spot. Carl released the thing's leg and looked in all directions; his lack of concern was a good indicator to the others that there weren't any more phase spiders hanging around on the ethereal plane in this general vicinity. They headed over to the central courtyard to find Daleth and Galen in conversation with a seated hill giant, while Bert sat on his haunches, looking bored. Galen caught the others up on what was going on. "We need to keep Gumruk from attacking the Ossirnians," said Kaspar, "or we'll be looking at an international incident." "And that's likely what the Ossirnians want," guessed Daleth. "Odds are it was one of them who put Gumruk up to attacking their forces when they appear." "We need to get him out of here," suggested Orion. "How are we going to do that?" "Hey, buddy," Galen said to the giant and Daleth translated for him. "How would you like a magical jug to go with your magical plate? It'll give you anything you want to drink!" "Yeah!" agreed Gumruk. He hadn't been thirsty until the paladin had mentioned it, but now he wanted something to drink more than anything else in life. "The giant like jugs," observed Syngaard. "Smart guy." Orion just glared at the fighter, her gaze letting him know she caught his reference and didn't think this was the time for such nonsense. "But you need to do something for us," Daleth said to the hill giant. "We need you to leave the blue men alone. We don't want to hurt them." "But the plate!" argued Gumruk. "Supposed to help fight the blue guys, that's why I got this plate." "They changed their minds," Daleth countered. "It was just a mistake. Now we're going to be nice to the blue guys, and you can still keep the plate." "Okay," Gumruk agreed. "Where's the jug?" He was now really thirsty. "Um," stalled Galen, not having thought this far ahead. "It's not here," piped up Orion. "But we can take you to it. Why don't you come this way, and we'll go get it!" After Daleth translated for her, she started leading Gumruk over to the front doors of the keep. But then the back door to the courtyard opened up and in stepped three Ossirnian mercenaries, dressed in tabards of blue with gold trim. One was a female fighter named [b]Sienna[/b] wielding a massive [i]vicious greatsword[/i]. Beside her was a male rogue named [b]Averos[/b], and stepping up behind them was a male wizard named [b]Neumien[/b]. All three were human; Syngaard had to fight the urge to pull his [i]human bane scimitar[/i] from the scabbard at his hip. Galen's dark scowl spoke volumes about the contents of their auras. "What's going on here?" demanded Neumien. "Shouldn't the giant be attacking us by now?" asked Sienna in an insufficiently quiet whisper; both elves were able to make out her words perfectly well. Neumien didn't answer her, instead using his voice to cast a [i]charm monster[/i] spell upon Gumruk. However, the hill giant - perhaps because his entire concentration was focused upon getting a magical jug that poured whatever drink he wanted from it - was able to overcome the spell's intended effects. "Friends with blue guys?" he asked Daleth for confirmation. Things were starting to get muddled in his head. "That's right, we're all friends here," Daleth said in the Common tongue so everyone could hear his words; the [i]tongues[/i] spell still in effect automatically translated it to Giant for Gumruk's benefit. "Looks like you guys are late to the party," observed Syngaard, his morningstar still in his hand. "We already did all the work for you. Killed a bunch of phase spiders. Why don't you make yourselves useful and give us a hand dragging them out of here?" There was little the Ossirnians could do; their attempt to start a war with Durnhill and get their enemies blamed for the instigation was apparently not going to work after all. Neumien received a pair of dark looks from his companions at the failure of his [i]charm monster[/i] spell, but he realized there wasn't much to be done about it - not now, in any case. "We'd love to be of assistance," he said through gritted teeth. Once the Treaty Keep had been cleared and cleaned, both groups went their separate ways. The magical [i]mounts[/i] were still in place outside, so the three men saddled up and rode away just for appearance's sake, only activating the [i]ring of return[/i] (with Gumruk among them) once the three Ossirnians were out of view - no point in letting them know of their abilities. Back in Durnhill, Skevros explained the Ossirnians had been trying to goad Durnhill into starting a war for several years now. "They know that if they instigated a war themselves, Ashfall and even the Azure Glade would join forces with Durnhill to stop them." "Where's my jug?" asked Gumruk, as single-minded as Syngaard. "What's this now?" asked Skevros. "Galen promised the giant a magical jug," answered Syngaard. "Did he now?" asked Skevros, looking sternly at the young paladin. "Surely you have something like that around," hoped Galen. "I mean, you being a wizard and all...." "You mean a [i]decanter of endless water[/i]?" asked the king's adviser. "Yeah, like that," Galen agreed. "Only...I promised it would give him whatever drink he wanted." "I suppose I could craft something along those lines. But do you know how much something like that would cost?" demanded Skevros. Galen looked uncomfortable under the glare of their leader - he had just blurted out the first thing to come to mind to get Gumruk out of the Treaty Keep intact; now, faced with the consequences of his rash promise, he was obligated by his honor to see it through. "It's not coming out of my share," interjected Syngaard quickly. "I didn't promise no giant no magic jug." Skevros sighed heavily. "Let's bring him to the [i]Enchanted Flagon[/i] for the time being," he suggested. "We can get him plenty to drink while I figure out how best to proceed." The fellow seemed tame enough; perhaps His Majesty could use a hill giant in some capacity in the kingdom? "We could always just kill him," suggested Syngaard, secure in the knowledge that [i]his[/i] words weren't being translated into the Giant tongue, only Daleth's. "Syngaard!" chided Orion. "I think we can find a better solution than that," rebuked Skevros. "Whatever," remarked Syngaard, who was already thinking ahead about how he was going to spend his share of the reward. As they walked back to their headquarters, he pulled off the stupid green-and-gold tabard and tossed it back to Skevros. "Here's your silly shirt back." - - - This adventure did not go anything like Logan had planned; he'd been sure we would end up starting a war with Ossirna. But we've always rolled our dice in the open, and Gumruk made an awesome Will save just when it was needed. We also were sure to give Dan a bunch of flak about his "magic jug" solution, when there were so many other ways we could have diverted Gumruk away from the keep without promising a 10,000 gp expenditure. I suggested we just give the giant a normal jug along with a ten-syllable "command word" that he'd never be able to remember (or pronounce), and thus weasel out of the debt that way. But paladins are paladins and above such trickery, it seems. Dan seems willing to have Galen forgo his 2,000 gp payment for this adventure and then pay off the cost of the magic jug from future rewards, but Logan says he's going to take pity on him. Skevros will undoubtedly find a way to put Gumruk to good use in the kingdom, and eliminate the debt in that way. [/QUOTE]
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