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Story Hour
The Fall of Civilization
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 4861833" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p><u><strong>What Has Gone Before</strong></u></p><p>The Six-Fingered Hand, an alliance of evil humanoids banded together under the death knight Arawn, has rampaged throughout the Empire and driven it to its knees. Our heroes fled one doomed city, Chebonnay, and traveled under the mountains to the city of Fandelose. After freeing General Argos from unjust imprisonment set up by Millbury, an aide to the corrupt daVoi family, the party helped prepare the city for the oncoming onslaught and siege- and siege that lasted for nearly six years. Finally, our heroes snuck out of the city and arranged a distraction to draw off the guards of the enemy command tent, and then made a savage assault on Heshwat the Eviscerator, local general of the Hand, and his subordinates. One, Morl, King of the Goblins, fled; and now, with the siege broken, the party has tracked him to the Warrens of Baphomet, a dungeon created by minotaurs to enable the worship of their savage demonic patron. After some hard work and a few minor setbacks, the party managed to capture Morl and lock him in a box, but before returning to Fandelose with their prize, they have determined to continue exploring the Warrens of Baphomet....</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Though they are nervous about the possibility of the minotaur mummy dropping in on the party nonetheless sets out to take a well-earned extended rest. They have been exploring and fighting for hours; constantly on edge, with enemies potentially coming from anywhere. Now they have retreated to the store room where the Goblin King Morl remains trapped in a box.</p><p></p><p>“You okay in there?” Torinn raps his knuckles on the box holding the goblin ruler.</p><p></p><p>“It’s awfully cramped,” is the response. </p><p></p><p>“I bet you’d fit better if we cut you up,” snaps Vann-La.</p><p></p><p>“Well, wait a second. He has a point, honestly,” says Hkatha. “And we want to get information out of him- I’m sure he has some, even if he doesn’t know it.”</p><p></p><p>“What are you suggesting?” asks the Kree warrior, scowling.</p><p></p><p>“We could put him in a bigger box.”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Morl is grateful enough and makes no attempt to escape when they pull him out of one box and into another. “This is better,” his muffled voice announces, once he is sealed up again.</p><p></p><p>“All right,” sighs Hkatha, “I’m spent. It’s time to rest.”</p><p></p><p>“Well,” Iggy responds, “maybe we should get him back to the city first.”</p><p></p><p>Everyone looks at him.</p><p></p><p>”There <em>is</em> a mummy minotaur out there somewhere,” he points out. “Best to meet it on our terms, not its.”</p><p></p><p>“True,” nods Vann-La. Everyone else gradually gives their assent as well, and the party hoists the boxed goblin king and moves towards the exit. However, once they reach the ladder up to the first level of the dungeon, it becomes apparent that they will have to release the goblin king from his box to get him out of the place. After a stern warning, they release him again, and, keeping some of them before and some behind him, they escort him up the ladder.</p><p></p><p>The rest of the trip back to Fandelose is easy and uneventful. The party interrogates King Morl more as they walk, and the goblin proves to be fairly forthcoming about the refuge that he had sought. Regretfully, he just doesn’t know much. “After you attacked Heshwat’s tent,” he explains, “I fled with a few of my followers. We met the minotaurs, and they agreed to help us. They led us to their warrens, and their leader- the mummy- but we weren’t allowed to go anywhere we wanted, just where they wanted us to. Tensions were rising between us, anyway.”</p><p></p><p>“Where is all your treasure?” asks Torinn.</p><p></p><p>“I had to give most of it to my followers, to keep them loyal.”</p><p></p><p>Ligir thinks, <em>Ahh, that explains the winter wolf cloak that one goblin was wearing. I knew that I saw it on Morl when we attacked!</em></p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Back in Fandelose, Colonel Jaxe takes great pleasure in relieving the party of their prisoner. “Put him in the Black Tower,” he orders the guards that take Morl away. Then he turns to the party and beams proudly at them. “Well done!” he exclaims. “You took out most of the leadership and brought us the rest! But,” he cocks an eyebrow, “aren’t you all supposed to be on leave?”</p><p></p><p>“We’re working off the clock,” answers Hkatha. “I know, it’s terrible.”</p><p></p><p>“What are you talking about?” Vann-La snorts. “Hunting goblins <em>is</em> a vacation.”</p><p></p><p>“Sir,” Ligir asks hesitantly, “is there any word on the army’s pay?”</p><p></p><p>Jaxe’s face smooths into a mask. “We have made some small initial dispensations wherever possible,” he replies. “We will pay everyone’s back wages as soon as we are able to. Between you and me, one way we are doing this is by gathering the loot and plunder from Hand depots wherever we find them, as well as from destroyed towns and cities. It is distasteful, but necessary, because otherwise, we won’t have the money to pay you folks.”</p><p></p><p>“I see.”</p><p></p><p>Vann-La speaks up again. “What about a return to civilian rule of Fandelose?”</p><p></p><p>“You would have to speak to General Argos about that, but I am sure that as soon as it is safe to do so, he will return the reins of power to the Bronze Council.”</p><p></p><p>“Do you know when he plans to do that?”</p><p></p><p>“As soon as it is safe,” Jaxe repeats, “I am sure.”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>When the party returns to Morl’s Retreat, as they are calling it, Ligir has a new toy. The party waited in town long enough for him to enchant his magical pistol into a <em>lightning pistol.</em> “Now it’s even cooler than before!” he exclaims. He practices quick-drawing it from the holster at his hip, and is becoming quite good at it. His studies of the properties of the sunpowder itself are progressing.* He is becoming a crack shot.</p><p></p><p>It makes him so confident that he takes the lead as the party returns to the chamber where they met the pitiful, cringing goblin that warned them about the ‘mean lord’ of the minotaurs.</p><p></p><p>He’s back in the room, slouching around. Immediately, Ligir pulls his pistol and takes aim. “Don’t move,” he warns. </p><p></p><p>The goblin throws his hands up, surrendering.</p><p></p><p>Vann-La squints. <em>Something’s wrong, but what?</em> she thinks. Then: <em>Who cares?</em></p><p></p><p>With one swift motion, she draws and hurls her magical javelin at it. It lances through the air- only to stick momentarily in the air near the goblin. It grunts, and then, in a deep, growling voice, it snarls, “You’re going to regret that.” The javelin returns magically to Vann-La, who is staring aghast at the oni as its face begins to melt. It seems to grow in size, gaining mass, as it reveals its true form: a 10’ tall, blue-skinned humanoid with a demonic, skull-like face. </p><p></p><p>“It’s an oni!” gasps Iggy.</p><p></p><p>And then it attempts to harvest their souls, and a snapping, tugging chain of necrotic energy dances across Vann-La, Cook and Torinn. The dwarf and the elf resist, but Torinn gives a great groan as he feels his essence flow towards the oni to be consumed.</p><p></p><p>Then it turns and darts out the (open) double doors and around the corner, bellowing, “Intruders!”</p><p></p><p>“I think it is a ruse!” Cook cries. “We should not follow!” He falls back and takes to the shadows.</p><p></p><p>Loridell invokes a <em>sacred circle</em> on the group and says, “Maybe we should just advance with a touch of caution.”</p><p></p><p>At that, Hkatha casts <em>invisibility</em> on himself. Cook, meanwhile, slides forward through the shadows until he can peek around the corner. <em>There is something waiting there, as I suspected,</em> he thinks, and then leaps out and hurls a dagger at it. </p><p></p><p>It bounces from the bandaged arms of the form. </p><p></p><p>“Here is the mummy!” Cook wails.</p><p></p><p>Iggy hurries to gain a good enough vantage point that he can see the mummy. The room beyond the double doors, he notes, has four large sets of horns protruding from the wall. <em>It would really hurt to get pushed onto one of those, I bet,</em> the wizard thinks. <em>Too bad this guy isn’t in a position where I can do that...</em></p><p></p><p>The room has a single exit, a hall leading to a set of downward stairs. At the top of the stairs is an undead minotaur, its fur patchy and rotten, tattered bloodstained bandages wrapping its body. With a few passes through the air and a collection of magic words, Iggy casts a <em>spectral ram</em>- but the mummy braces itself and catches the spell on its own horns, standing firm against it. </p><p></p><p>Loridell rushes past him, but as she gets close to the mummy, she feels despair wash over her. “We can’t beat this thing,” she groans. She swings her axe with lackluster force, and it just bounces off the mummy. </p><p></p><p>The oni, meanwhile, moves down the stairs. At the top, the mummy begins falling back as well. The party starts to press forward, but at the bottom of the stairs, the oni cackles to itself. It squeezes the wound that Vann-La’s javelin caused to it. Several drops of blood hit the floor. </p><p></p><p>And suddenly, everything changes. The floor of the chamber that the oni is in turns into a mass of raw, bleeding flesh. The mummy jumps the last few steps and cries, “BAPHOMET!!”</p><p></p><p>Demons erupt from the floor. </p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> The fight gets serious!</p><p></p><p></p><p>*At this point in the story hour, Iggy is 10th level; at 11th, he plans to take a custom paragon path, the Pistol Mage.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 4861833, member: 1210"] [u][b]What Has Gone Before[/b][/u] The Six-Fingered Hand, an alliance of evil humanoids banded together under the death knight Arawn, has rampaged throughout the Empire and driven it to its knees. Our heroes fled one doomed city, Chebonnay, and traveled under the mountains to the city of Fandelose. After freeing General Argos from unjust imprisonment set up by Millbury, an aide to the corrupt daVoi family, the party helped prepare the city for the oncoming onslaught and siege- and siege that lasted for nearly six years. Finally, our heroes snuck out of the city and arranged a distraction to draw off the guards of the enemy command tent, and then made a savage assault on Heshwat the Eviscerator, local general of the Hand, and his subordinates. One, Morl, King of the Goblins, fled; and now, with the siege broken, the party has tracked him to the Warrens of Baphomet, a dungeon created by minotaurs to enable the worship of their savage demonic patron. After some hard work and a few minor setbacks, the party managed to capture Morl and lock him in a box, but before returning to Fandelose with their prize, they have determined to continue exploring the Warrens of Baphomet.... *** Though they are nervous about the possibility of the minotaur mummy dropping in on the party nonetheless sets out to take a well-earned extended rest. They have been exploring and fighting for hours; constantly on edge, with enemies potentially coming from anywhere. Now they have retreated to the store room where the Goblin King Morl remains trapped in a box. “You okay in there?” Torinn raps his knuckles on the box holding the goblin ruler. “It’s awfully cramped,” is the response. “I bet you’d fit better if we cut you up,” snaps Vann-La. “Well, wait a second. He has a point, honestly,” says Hkatha. “And we want to get information out of him- I’m sure he has some, even if he doesn’t know it.” “What are you suggesting?” asks the Kree warrior, scowling. “We could put him in a bigger box.” *** Morl is grateful enough and makes no attempt to escape when they pull him out of one box and into another. “This is better,” his muffled voice announces, once he is sealed up again. “All right,” sighs Hkatha, “I’m spent. It’s time to rest.” “Well,” Iggy responds, “maybe we should get him back to the city first.” Everyone looks at him. ”There [i]is[/i] a mummy minotaur out there somewhere,” he points out. “Best to meet it on our terms, not its.” “True,” nods Vann-La. Everyone else gradually gives their assent as well, and the party hoists the boxed goblin king and moves towards the exit. However, once they reach the ladder up to the first level of the dungeon, it becomes apparent that they will have to release the goblin king from his box to get him out of the place. After a stern warning, they release him again, and, keeping some of them before and some behind him, they escort him up the ladder. The rest of the trip back to Fandelose is easy and uneventful. The party interrogates King Morl more as they walk, and the goblin proves to be fairly forthcoming about the refuge that he had sought. Regretfully, he just doesn’t know much. “After you attacked Heshwat’s tent,” he explains, “I fled with a few of my followers. We met the minotaurs, and they agreed to help us. They led us to their warrens, and their leader- the mummy- but we weren’t allowed to go anywhere we wanted, just where they wanted us to. Tensions were rising between us, anyway.” “Where is all your treasure?” asks Torinn. “I had to give most of it to my followers, to keep them loyal.” Ligir thinks, [i]Ahh, that explains the winter wolf cloak that one goblin was wearing. I knew that I saw it on Morl when we attacked![/i] *** Back in Fandelose, Colonel Jaxe takes great pleasure in relieving the party of their prisoner. “Put him in the Black Tower,” he orders the guards that take Morl away. Then he turns to the party and beams proudly at them. “Well done!” he exclaims. “You took out most of the leadership and brought us the rest! But,” he cocks an eyebrow, “aren’t you all supposed to be on leave?” “We’re working off the clock,” answers Hkatha. “I know, it’s terrible.” “What are you talking about?” Vann-La snorts. “Hunting goblins [i]is[/i] a vacation.” “Sir,” Ligir asks hesitantly, “is there any word on the army’s pay?” Jaxe’s face smooths into a mask. “We have made some small initial dispensations wherever possible,” he replies. “We will pay everyone’s back wages as soon as we are able to. Between you and me, one way we are doing this is by gathering the loot and plunder from Hand depots wherever we find them, as well as from destroyed towns and cities. It is distasteful, but necessary, because otherwise, we won’t have the money to pay you folks.” “I see.” Vann-La speaks up again. “What about a return to civilian rule of Fandelose?” “You would have to speak to General Argos about that, but I am sure that as soon as it is safe to do so, he will return the reins of power to the Bronze Council.” “Do you know when he plans to do that?” “As soon as it is safe,” Jaxe repeats, “I am sure.” *** When the party returns to Morl’s Retreat, as they are calling it, Ligir has a new toy. The party waited in town long enough for him to enchant his magical pistol into a [i]lightning pistol.[/i] “Now it’s even cooler than before!” he exclaims. He practices quick-drawing it from the holster at his hip, and is becoming quite good at it. His studies of the properties of the sunpowder itself are progressing.* He is becoming a crack shot. It makes him so confident that he takes the lead as the party returns to the chamber where they met the pitiful, cringing goblin that warned them about the ‘mean lord’ of the minotaurs. He’s back in the room, slouching around. Immediately, Ligir pulls his pistol and takes aim. “Don’t move,” he warns. The goblin throws his hands up, surrendering. Vann-La squints. [i]Something’s wrong, but what?[/i] she thinks. Then: [i]Who cares?[/i] With one swift motion, she draws and hurls her magical javelin at it. It lances through the air- only to stick momentarily in the air near the goblin. It grunts, and then, in a deep, growling voice, it snarls, “You’re going to regret that.” The javelin returns magically to Vann-La, who is staring aghast at the oni as its face begins to melt. It seems to grow in size, gaining mass, as it reveals its true form: a 10’ tall, blue-skinned humanoid with a demonic, skull-like face. “It’s an oni!” gasps Iggy. And then it attempts to harvest their souls, and a snapping, tugging chain of necrotic energy dances across Vann-La, Cook and Torinn. The dwarf and the elf resist, but Torinn gives a great groan as he feels his essence flow towards the oni to be consumed. Then it turns and darts out the (open) double doors and around the corner, bellowing, “Intruders!” “I think it is a ruse!” Cook cries. “We should not follow!” He falls back and takes to the shadows. Loridell invokes a [i]sacred circle[/i] on the group and says, “Maybe we should just advance with a touch of caution.” At that, Hkatha casts [i]invisibility[/i] on himself. Cook, meanwhile, slides forward through the shadows until he can peek around the corner. [i]There is something waiting there, as I suspected,[/i] he thinks, and then leaps out and hurls a dagger at it. It bounces from the bandaged arms of the form. “Here is the mummy!” Cook wails. Iggy hurries to gain a good enough vantage point that he can see the mummy. The room beyond the double doors, he notes, has four large sets of horns protruding from the wall. [i]It would really hurt to get pushed onto one of those, I bet,[/i] the wizard thinks. [i]Too bad this guy isn’t in a position where I can do that...[/i] The room has a single exit, a hall leading to a set of downward stairs. At the top of the stairs is an undead minotaur, its fur patchy and rotten, tattered bloodstained bandages wrapping its body. With a few passes through the air and a collection of magic words, Iggy casts a [i]spectral ram[/i]- but the mummy braces itself and catches the spell on its own horns, standing firm against it. Loridell rushes past him, but as she gets close to the mummy, she feels despair wash over her. “We can’t beat this thing,” she groans. She swings her axe with lackluster force, and it just bounces off the mummy. The oni, meanwhile, moves down the stairs. At the top, the mummy begins falling back as well. The party starts to press forward, but at the bottom of the stairs, the oni cackles to itself. It squeezes the wound that Vann-La’s javelin caused to it. Several drops of blood hit the floor. And suddenly, everything changes. The floor of the chamber that the oni is in turns into a mass of raw, bleeding flesh. The mummy jumps the last few steps and cries, “BAPHOMET!!” Demons erupt from the floor. [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] The fight gets serious! *At this point in the story hour, Iggy is 10th level; at 11th, he plans to take a custom paragon path, the Pistol Mage. [/QUOTE]
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