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Story Hour
The Fall of Civilization
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 4992008" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>With their newfound friend Shakgar (who eats quite a lot, Cook notices) moving restlessly with them, the party spends the next four days hiking towards the ruined city of Varelose before it finally hoves into view near the top end of the valley that their mountain trail spills out into. Once a thriving metropolis, the skeleton of the city shows signs of having been largely put to the torch. Long-dead bodies, undisturbed for years, lie about; clearly, the city’s people were put to the sword. The encamped armies of the Hand must have devoted time to rapine and pillage, from the looks of things. </p><p></p><p>But three years have passed since the sack of Varelose, and even from a distance our heroes can see that a few brave and hardy souls have returned and rebuilt a life. They have to live somewhere, after all. Vann-La watches for a time; she reports that the people she has spotted have been isolated or living in small clusters of a few dozen people at most; the party surmises that larger groups might draw unwanted attention.</p><p></p><p>“I would guess that there are about 200 people living here now,” Vann-La says as she surveys the ruin. </p><p></p><p>Hkatha informs the party, “In its heyday, Varelose had a population of somewhat over 10,000.”</p><p></p><p>“Look at that,” Vann-La says, pointing. “A ruined cathedral. And that’s the remains of the city’s keep, over there. And check out that tower- it’s got some kind of dark haze surrounding it.”</p><p></p><p>“Well, we probably want to stay away from that,” opines Torinn. </p><p></p><p>The party moves into the city, making at least passing efforts to do so unseen. They notice the sign of the Six-Fingered Hand carved or crudely painted in a number of locations. At least one of the crude paintings is far more recent than the others, left within the last few months, and Vann-La suggests that even the smaller groups of survivors are subject to periodic Hand marauders.</p><p></p><p>“Should we just approach some of the survivors?” wonders Iggy. “Maybe some of them know where this gnomish garden was.”</p><p></p><p>Heimall nods. “We should let them know we’re out there as an outpost of the Empire that still stands against the Hand. We should get as many of them as possible to go back to Fandelose. They’ll be safer, and they will be able to contribute to the defense.”</p><p></p><p>“I wonder if there are any gnomes left here.”</p><p></p><p>“Now <em>that</em> is a very good question,” replies Hkatha. “If there are, they would certainly be able to help us.”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Before they entered the city, Vann-La had marked a route to one of the small groups of survivors that they saw. Now they approach those folk, quickly showing that they are not Hand agents and, in fact, are here to help. They direct the survivors to journey to Fandelose, but they also question them.</p><p></p><p>“Do you know about the gnomish Garden of Delights that was in your city before the Hand came?” asks Heimall.</p><p></p><p>“Sure,” the peasant replies. “It was at the keep. A long time ago, this city was the capitol of its own kingdom. The god-king established the garden in his back yard, full of wondrous plants and trees. It was said that he even had a Tree of Heaven for a while.”</p><p></p><p>“Wait a minute,” objects Torinn. “I thought this was a <em>gnomish</em> garden.”</p><p></p><p>“Yep. The ol’ god-king was a gnome.”</p><p></p><p>“Do you know anything about that tower with the black haze around it?” Heimall inquires.</p><p></p><p>“I know enough to stay away from it. It is inhabited by a terrible necromancer named Krezjarl.”</p><p></p><p>“That probably explains the weird black haze,” comments Iggy. </p><p></p><p>Shakgar grumbles, “When are we killing something?”</p><p></p><p>“Oi, let’s go to the ruined keep,” says Cook. </p><p></p><p>But it doesn’t even take that long for Shakgar to get his wish. Midway to the hill upon which the keep perches, an ambush comes from alleys to both sides of the party! Ogres, brownscale lizardfolk, a hobgoblin, a kobold- obviously, these villains are agents of the Six-Fingered Hand! </p><p></p><p>The ogres rush in, only to find Vann-La and a roaring Shakgar in their way. The brownscales hang back, firing bows and using their excellent mobility to stay away from the front line. Then Heimall crashes forward with an <em>inspiring war cry</em> and engages the hobgoblin. The kobold, whose body seems strangely warped, hangs in the very back and attempts to use strange arcane powers against the party, but keeps missing with them. </p><p></p><p>Our heroes begin to advance relentlessly, pushing the ogres and hobgoblin back towards the archers and the kobold. Iggy, at the back of the party, starts hurling arcane blasts into the enemy, then gestures and a pair of magical hands erupt from the floor, grasping two of the brownscales and smashing them together. </p><p></p><p>The ogres roar and smash their clubs, but armor, shields and skill turn bone-shattering blows into just bruising ones. Soon the first ogre falls, then the next. The archers keep shooting Vann-La desperately, but Heimall and Torinn heal her. The kobold keeps doing weird stuff that seems to empower his allies, so Heimall grants Shakgar a <em>knight’s move</em> to get him into position and then grants him a <em>commander’s strike</em> that finishes it off. </p><p></p><p>Then Heimall rushes up on the lizardfolk archers and runs the first one through. The party continues their relentless advance, and only one of the doomed brownscales manages to escape.</p><p></p><p>The party stops to catch their breath. “Are we worried about the escapee?” asks Hkatha. </p><p></p><p>“Let him bring more,” Shakgar says, his dark face breaking out into a broad smile.</p><p></p><p>“Oi, there could be a lot of them,” Cook points out.</p><p></p><p>“Not really,” Vann-La declares. “We would have seen any large groups of troops when we surveyed the city. They were probably just a small scouting or raiding group, detached from a larger force somewhere else.”</p><p></p><p>Shakgar looks disappointed. </p><p></p><p>“Oi, well, let’s keep going towards that garden. Maybe there will be some herbs that I can take to cook with. Or perhaps some good bugs or grubs.”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>The ruined keep is atop a large hill, probably artificial. It was once magnificent, with three sprawling wings enclosing an open courtyard with stables and a jousting range. Now the walls have large holes in them, and some sections of the main building have completely collapsed. </p><p></p><p>Behind the ruin is the Garden of Delight. Huge, wildly-overgrown hedges and a riot of different plant types grow within, and at the back is a large rose garden within the larger garden.</p><p></p><p>“There,” the Kree says. </p><p></p><p>The party makes their way towards the rose garden, but then Vann-La raises a hand. “Hold it,” she advises her friends. “See those there?” She points out three large red plants. Each has a central mass with several large, thick stalks coming up from it; and the top of each of the stalks has a multitude of dewdrop-like blobs extruding from it.</p><p></p><p>“What are those?” asks Cook. “Are they good to eat?”</p><p></p><p>“No,” says Vann-La. “But they might eat us.”</p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> The Garden of Delights!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 4992008, member: 1210"] With their newfound friend Shakgar (who eats quite a lot, Cook notices) moving restlessly with them, the party spends the next four days hiking towards the ruined city of Varelose before it finally hoves into view near the top end of the valley that their mountain trail spills out into. Once a thriving metropolis, the skeleton of the city shows signs of having been largely put to the torch. Long-dead bodies, undisturbed for years, lie about; clearly, the city’s people were put to the sword. The encamped armies of the Hand must have devoted time to rapine and pillage, from the looks of things. But three years have passed since the sack of Varelose, and even from a distance our heroes can see that a few brave and hardy souls have returned and rebuilt a life. They have to live somewhere, after all. Vann-La watches for a time; she reports that the people she has spotted have been isolated or living in small clusters of a few dozen people at most; the party surmises that larger groups might draw unwanted attention. “I would guess that there are about 200 people living here now,” Vann-La says as she surveys the ruin. Hkatha informs the party, “In its heyday, Varelose had a population of somewhat over 10,000.” “Look at that,” Vann-La says, pointing. “A ruined cathedral. And that’s the remains of the city’s keep, over there. And check out that tower- it’s got some kind of dark haze surrounding it.” “Well, we probably want to stay away from that,” opines Torinn. The party moves into the city, making at least passing efforts to do so unseen. They notice the sign of the Six-Fingered Hand carved or crudely painted in a number of locations. At least one of the crude paintings is far more recent than the others, left within the last few months, and Vann-La suggests that even the smaller groups of survivors are subject to periodic Hand marauders. “Should we just approach some of the survivors?” wonders Iggy. “Maybe some of them know where this gnomish garden was.” Heimall nods. “We should let them know we’re out there as an outpost of the Empire that still stands against the Hand. We should get as many of them as possible to go back to Fandelose. They’ll be safer, and they will be able to contribute to the defense.” “I wonder if there are any gnomes left here.” “Now [i]that[/i] is a very good question,” replies Hkatha. “If there are, they would certainly be able to help us.” *** Before they entered the city, Vann-La had marked a route to one of the small groups of survivors that they saw. Now they approach those folk, quickly showing that they are not Hand agents and, in fact, are here to help. They direct the survivors to journey to Fandelose, but they also question them. “Do you know about the gnomish Garden of Delights that was in your city before the Hand came?” asks Heimall. “Sure,” the peasant replies. “It was at the keep. A long time ago, this city was the capitol of its own kingdom. The god-king established the garden in his back yard, full of wondrous plants and trees. It was said that he even had a Tree of Heaven for a while.” “Wait a minute,” objects Torinn. “I thought this was a [i]gnomish[/i] garden.” “Yep. The ol’ god-king was a gnome.” “Do you know anything about that tower with the black haze around it?” Heimall inquires. “I know enough to stay away from it. It is inhabited by a terrible necromancer named Krezjarl.” “That probably explains the weird black haze,” comments Iggy. Shakgar grumbles, “When are we killing something?” “Oi, let’s go to the ruined keep,” says Cook. But it doesn’t even take that long for Shakgar to get his wish. Midway to the hill upon which the keep perches, an ambush comes from alleys to both sides of the party! Ogres, brownscale lizardfolk, a hobgoblin, a kobold- obviously, these villains are agents of the Six-Fingered Hand! The ogres rush in, only to find Vann-La and a roaring Shakgar in their way. The brownscales hang back, firing bows and using their excellent mobility to stay away from the front line. Then Heimall crashes forward with an [i]inspiring war cry[/i] and engages the hobgoblin. The kobold, whose body seems strangely warped, hangs in the very back and attempts to use strange arcane powers against the party, but keeps missing with them. Our heroes begin to advance relentlessly, pushing the ogres and hobgoblin back towards the archers and the kobold. Iggy, at the back of the party, starts hurling arcane blasts into the enemy, then gestures and a pair of magical hands erupt from the floor, grasping two of the brownscales and smashing them together. The ogres roar and smash their clubs, but armor, shields and skill turn bone-shattering blows into just bruising ones. Soon the first ogre falls, then the next. The archers keep shooting Vann-La desperately, but Heimall and Torinn heal her. The kobold keeps doing weird stuff that seems to empower his allies, so Heimall grants Shakgar a [i]knight’s move[/i] to get him into position and then grants him a [i]commander’s strike[/i] that finishes it off. Then Heimall rushes up on the lizardfolk archers and runs the first one through. The party continues their relentless advance, and only one of the doomed brownscales manages to escape. The party stops to catch their breath. “Are we worried about the escapee?” asks Hkatha. “Let him bring more,” Shakgar says, his dark face breaking out into a broad smile. “Oi, there could be a lot of them,” Cook points out. “Not really,” Vann-La declares. “We would have seen any large groups of troops when we surveyed the city. They were probably just a small scouting or raiding group, detached from a larger force somewhere else.” Shakgar looks disappointed. “Oi, well, let’s keep going towards that garden. Maybe there will be some herbs that I can take to cook with. Or perhaps some good bugs or grubs.” *** The ruined keep is atop a large hill, probably artificial. It was once magnificent, with three sprawling wings enclosing an open courtyard with stables and a jousting range. Now the walls have large holes in them, and some sections of the main building have completely collapsed. Behind the ruin is the Garden of Delight. Huge, wildly-overgrown hedges and a riot of different plant types grow within, and at the back is a large rose garden within the larger garden. “There,” the Kree says. The party makes their way towards the rose garden, but then Vann-La raises a hand. “Hold it,” she advises her friends. “See those there?” She points out three large red plants. Each has a central mass with several large, thick stalks coming up from it; and the top of each of the stalks has a multitude of dewdrop-like blobs extruding from it. “What are those?” asks Cook. “Are they good to eat?” “No,” says Vann-La. “But they might eat us.” [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] The Garden of Delights! [/QUOTE]
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