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
The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
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="Cafu" data-source="post: 5985357" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>The next day dawned as we were getting ready. We had a brief discussion about what we remembered a regards travelling through the swamp and everyone recalled that we needed boats. John’s research indicated that the dragons used to live in the Southwestern part of the swamp, not too far away from the city.</p><p></p><p>We remembered our friend, the ragged half orc who was doing a roaring trade in boats from the refugees that continued to cross the swamp endlessly from the North. Along with that, John, Felix and I put our heads together and carefully chose spells which were likely to aid us in this environment and thus bolstered, we set out. </p><p></p><p>We also re-iterated to ourselves that the whole idea was to talk to the dragon; to ask it to borrow this instrument or lyre or whatever it was; or come to some sort of deal with it; and we were going to be very polite. Longhelim fixed me with a gimlet eye: </p><p></p><p>“And Faden, I do the talking. No blurting out of questions about obscure pieces of lore that you feel are of the utmost importance.”</p><p></p><p>I was a little offended. I thought I had been doing well recently. After all, I had only blurted out one question in the War Council; and that one was really important. I opened my mouth to protest at Longhelim but he just cocked his head and looked at me, so I kept quiet. </p><p></p><p>We purchased our two boats for an exorbitant price; I suddenly began to feel far less concerned about the well being of a certain half orc and suspected that if we followed him one evening, he would lead us to one of the newly built mansions around South Harbour. So once my brief rumination was over, I began to theorise about a spell that would freeze undead in place and next thing I know we had reached the edge of the swamp; there we boarded the craft and set out. </p><p></p><p>From my point of view, it certainly wasn’t the case of absence making the heart grow fonder for the swamp. The place was still as nasty, smelly, creepy and generally unpleasant as I remembered. The only thing that was missing were the groups of goblins that could sometimes be glimpsed in the distance. Those seemed to have disappeared; but the crocodiles, the flying things, the other lizards and even odder animals were still all there; and I was sure they were ready to pounce. </p><p></p><p>To make things even better, we knew that there was a strong possibility we would have to stay for the night as the strange cries that we had heard only became audible at dusk. Before then, our best chance was to row in the general direction towards the abode of the dragons that we had deduced from the books; thankfully, Drudge proved quite expert at guiding us through the swamp without running into angry crocodiles and other equally unpleasant beasts. When we finally reached our general destination, we hoped that once the cries began, we would be quite close to their source. </p><p></p><p>However, before that, we were pre-empted. </p><p></p><p>As our boats rounded one of the large islands, we glimpsed a much larger body of water in the distance. We looked closely, and indeed, it was a beautiful, clear, large lake in the middle of the swamp. The water was fresh and must have been fed from underground springs because it looked very different from the fetid swamp. Even more unusually, around the open shores of the lake, we saw a collection of stone buildings. These were of a variety of styles, from quite plain stone or wooden boxes to elaborately decorated mansions; many of them looked as if they had been subjected to enormous blows. </p><p></p><p>As we stared at them, John breathed softly: “Oh my, so this magical lyre does actually exist.”</p><p></p><p>We backtracked quietly and then Drudge said: </p><p></p><p>“I am going to have a look around. Wait here.”</p><p></p><p>Before he did so, Felix pulled all of us around him and blessed us all quietly, saying: </p><p></p><p>“There! Now, by the power of Farlanghn, we can walk on water.”</p><p></p><p>That was a very nifty trick. Taking the opportunity, I also cast a few defensive spells on myself. </p><p></p><p>Drudge moved softly away and we lost sight of him, until we suddenly saw him walk onto the lake. Felix’s spell worked impressively.</p><p></p><p>After watching him for a little time, we saw Drudge stop, turn towards us and begin jabbing frantically downwards into the water next to him. Then, using his hands and he began to sign to us something that had huge jaws. It did not take a genius to work out that he had found our dragon or at least a dragon. </p><p></p><p>Carefully, he moved back to us. </p><p></p><p>“Well, there is something down there. It’s enormous and if it’s not a dragon, it may as well be. Anyone have any ideas as to what to do next?”</p><p></p><p>“Well, we could try to wake it up?” this from John, sounding dubious.</p><p></p><p>Drudge shook his head. </p><p></p><p>“Let’s not. I have a better idea.”</p><p></p><p>With that he disappeared into the swamp. </p><p></p><p>A little puzzled, we waited for him. </p><p></p><p>It took him a while, but he returned, laden with a variety of various denizens of the swamp: lizards, fish, the odd rodent of some type. Rapidly, he began to make a fire and soon, most of his catch was being roasted on a spit. Suddenly, we realised what he was doing. </p><p></p><p>When the dragon woke up, it would be greeted with the smell of its dinner; that would hopefully put it in a better mood; or at least a talkative mood and one where it didn’t decide that we were going to be its dinner. </p><p></p><p>So, thus prepared, we waited until dusk. Suddenly, as the sun set and we dozed in one of the buildings, we heard a huge splash of water and saw a magnificent creature burst into the air. Its scales glistened emerald in the waning light as it bellowed in rage and power. It most certainly was a dragon!</p><p></p><p>I felt a primordial, unreasoning fear of this being. It was something primitive, as if running away from this creature was something my ancestors had been doing for thousands of years; somehow, I managed to control myself and I steeled myself to keep looking at it; and it was magnificent as it flew around the lake; magnificent, majestic and enormous. </p><p></p><p>Looking around, I could see that everyone else around me was pale and trembling as well with the exception of Victor and Felix, who had curled into a foetal position on the floor, unable to do anything. This primitive feeling of terror had completely incapacitated them. </p><p></p><p>After a few moments watching this extraordinary sight, Longhelim stepped forward onto the shore: </p><p></p><p>He shouted: “Your mightiness, your mightiness, we seek a parley and a bargain.”</p><p></p><p>The dragon swooped down and breathed a cloud of acid onto a neighbouring building, destroying most of it.</p><p></p><p>A thunderous voice, deep, loud and……female boomed: “Return the egg that was stolen”.</p><p></p><p>At that, I couldn’t resist and crept out of the building, followed by everyone else except Victor and Longhelim who were still incapacitated.</p><p></p><p>Longhelim shouted: “If we return the egg, we would like to borrow your magical instrument for a time.”</p><p></p><p>“Return the egg and bring the thief and I shall consider it.”</p><p></p><p>I whispered to Longhelim: “Fantastic! We have her talking; and she’s not trying to eat us; but having her consider it means nothing. We could do what she wants and then she could come back, telling us that after due consideration she has decided against it and then eat us on general principle.”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim shouted back: “We bring the thief and your egg; you lend us the instrument. Can we call that a bargain?”</p><p></p><p>She swooped down again, looking at all of us: “We can call that a bargain.”</p><p></p><p>I sighed with relief and then whispered to Longhelim: “Can you ask her what happened and get a detailed description of the egg?”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim shouted again: “Please Your Mightiness, what may I call you; what is your name?”</p><p></p><p>“I like Your Mightiness”, was the reply. </p><p></p><p>“Well Your Mightiness, can you tell us what happened and also tell us what the egg looks like, in as much detail as you can.”</p><p></p><p>“Ten days ago, some disgusting thief snuck in here while I was away and took the egg. It is so big. I saw his tracks as they led in the direction of Seaquen where I cannot go; but I will have my revenge. Especially now you are here. Remember, I want the thief as well. He is a child kidnapper. The egg may be newly laid and many months away from hatching but it is still of my brood. And I want it back! And I want him as well! Oh, how I want him!”</p><p></p><p>Then she gave us a very detailed description of the egg itself. </p><p></p><p>“Enough! Now go! Get my egg back! It is in Seaquen and it lies that way.”</p><p></p><p>I looked into the dark swamp with a certain amount of trepidation but then looked at the green dragon kicking us out of its lake; choosing the lesser of the two evils, we picked up Felix and Victor and made our way back the way we came. Drudge made an aborted attempt to find a trail for the thief but after that amount of time and so much rain, it was beyond someone of even his skills. </p><p></p><p>Amazingly, we managed to return to Seaquen and the Lyceum before the night was out without mishap. There, we talked a little further about how to find the thief. Felix had powerful magic which could find the egg, providing that the thief was not aware of that kind of magic; or aware that someone with those sorts of skills was looking for it. Unfortunately, bearing in mind that this thief was brave enough to defy a dragon, it was likely that he would be very aware of this type of divination. </p><p></p><p>Another approach was to ask Simeon if someone had offered the Lyceum something as exotic as a dragon’s egg. The problem with that was that it may have been done but on a private basis and if questions were asked, it could tip off the thief. </p><p></p><p>Finally, John said: “We have been here for a few days now. It’s about time I began to get to know the lay of the land so to speak. Let me work on a few things in the morning. I may be able to dig something up. Drudge, you want to come as well?”</p><p></p><p>The latter nodded.</p><p></p><p>So, the next morning, John and Drudge disappeared. Everyone else was busy with their own things. </p><p></p><p>Personally, I began to delve into Toma’s books on elemental lore. The elf may have been mad but some of what he recorded in his books was astonishing and incredibly interesting knowledge. </p><p></p><p>The two did not return until the late afternoon, but when they did, John looked immensely pleased with himself. Quickly, we all convened. </p><p></p><p>John stood up: “Right, well I managed to convince several people that I was looking for a dragon’s egg; that I was willing to pay good money for it; that the thief was someone who killed my brother. In the process, I managed to set up a meeting with someone this evening in the ruins. Apparently, he has access to a dragon’s egg……”</p><p></p><p>We all burst into spontaneous applause.</p><p></p><p>“Of course he won’t have it with him but it is an initial meeting and we take things from there. Oh, I also managed to meet someone who is a representative of a group here in Seaquen; a group that specializes in……lost and found is probably the best way to put it”.</p><p></p><p>I said: “You mean that they find lost things; by magic? How do they do it? Are they connected with the Lyceum? Do people lose lots of things in Seaquen?”</p><p></p><p>Victor just looked at John and said quietly: “Be very careful there John. We are in a strange place; and we have an important mission. Faden, a little quiet and I will explain later.”</p><p></p><p>Then we discussed how to handle the meeting. We decided that we would attempt to give the thief some coinage as an initial payment. One of these coins would be marked in such a way as to make it easy for Felix to find with his magic. Once we decided on that course of action, we all set out for the evening meeting in the ruins. </p><p></p><p>We decided to be close but out of sight of the meeting place while John slipped off. We waited for some time, and then to my relief, he returned. He looked a little different though; subtle changes but enough to mislead in terms of his appearance. </p><p></p><p>“We have a deal. Seven thousand, here in two days, for the egg. I gave him a deposit of five hundred including the coin. The messenger was unremarkable; human, good longbow, chain shirt, normal sword; looked handy in the woods. It could even have been him. I took the long way around to get back to you but it’s still worth trying to see if we can use the spell to follow that coin. It may not work but we won’t know until we try. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait for the two days.”</p><p></p><p>Felix made ready to cast his spell. Unfortunately, it showed nothing; this was not a great surprise. We had not been expecting a great deal. Still, mildly disappointed, we returned to the Lyceum, where we retired. </p><p></p><p>The next day, we convened in the library after breakfast and had a brief discussion. I emphasized to the others that I thought it unlikely that I would have such an opportunity as this again to do spell research. The facilities here were ideal and the sources were unrivalled. It would be unavoidable that we were going to be sent on other missions in the near future and I very much wanted to take advantage of my time here. So I proposed to the others that as much as possible, I wanted to stay in library and continue my research. </p><p></p><p>The others agreed. I believe that they realised that the more I studied, the more useful I would be to them in the future. With this in mind they decided that they would leave the Lyceum and visit the Ostaliner mercenaries. They would regale their leader, the former hippogriff rider, with an eye witness account of the battle above Gate Pass between the Wyvern Knights and the Red Dragon of Ragesia against the Griffin Riders of Gate Pass and their druidic allies. As the mercenaries worshipped the God of Battle, it had also been indicated that a formal sparring session to indicate the worth of the negotiator would be appropriate. If the latter won, his proposal would be given more consideration. </p><p></p><p>I spent the day scribing more spells, more research and more reference. It was never ending. The more I unraveled one mystery, the more I was tempted by other directions. This particular spell was a powerful divination which allowed me to observe specific areas, as if I was looking at them from above. It was like throwing my sight some distance ahead of me; as I wrote it though, I realised that with a few changes, I would make it even more interesting and make it go through doors, through walls and other barriers; all I had to do was visualize the space behind the barrier. I couldn’t wait to try it out. </p><p></p><p>Of course, scribing something like this took me most of day but I did manage it. Then, this line of research took me in another direction with another formula; this one was a spell that would allow me to see invisible opponents. Invisibility was a powerful ability and when I had seen John using it, I realised that we would need to find counters against it lest it be used against us. Unfortunately, at the moment, I could theorise a spell that could be used only by me, but it was early days. </p><p></p><p>John returned a little earlier than the others. He had been to the opening performance of The Wayfarer’s performance of the Trials of Toteth Topec. He was full of praise for a spectacular performance by the Theatre. He also spoke of the Wayfarer’s truly magical ship. By some magic, it had a huge auditorium below decks, much bigger than the actual ship. It contained a stage, space for hundreds of spectators and whatever other accessories a theatrical performance needed. Even music was provided; as were sound effects representing anything from the soothing sounds of waterfalls to the crashing thunder of storms. It all sounded most impressive.</p><p></p><p>John then went on the praise the acting of the leading man, Giorgio as the druid Toteth Topec. He also described the plot, a truly convoluted multi-generational adventure story full of deeds of derring do. To be absolutely honest, I lost track of the plot fairly quickly as I was trying to work out what the magic of the ship was; I did gain the impression that the play was very…….long. </p><p></p><p>The others returned late that evening; everyone looked very tired so I restrained myself from telling them about my day. Although I was sure that they would have been very interested in learning how my spell worked, I was beginning to learn and decided to let everyone else speak first. </p><p></p><p>Longhelim and Felix in particular looked as if they had been awake for a week or more, with hollow eyes, an unhealthy pallor and dark rings under their eyes. They had been cramming spells; I recognized the signs.</p><p></p><p>After dinner, we all retired to the library and sipped hot drinks while Longhelim lit up as usual. After several puffs, he began: </p><p></p><p>“Well, what a productive day! The Ostaliner Marcenaries are now fully behind the plan, as are the Ragesian Hospitallers.”</p><p></p><p>“What!” I squeaked. “You got two of them! How did you manage that?”</p><p></p><p>“The Mercenaries went fairly much as we planned. Their leader, he is called Arick by the way, was very interested in the battle as we guessed; then we had the sparring session. He is a canny fighter and a very worthy opponent. I beat him, but only just.”</p><p></p><p>Victor nodded: “We don’t see too many people fighting with hammers but they can be very effective weapons and Arick is obviously an expert. I am glad it was only a sparring session.”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim continued: “Anyway, after the contest, we explained the situation, our plans for the future and the necessity for unity and organization; they were remarkably amenable and proclaimed that providing that the Temple was somewhere suitable for their worship, they would support us fully.”</p><p></p><p>He took a sip and continued: “Felix and I then went to the Ragesian Hospitallers. Those ladies, under their Mother Superior, are performing miracles every day and at great risk to themselves! We have to help them as much as we can!”</p><p></p><p>Felix was nodding at this; or he may have been nodding off. His head was bowed and his eyes were closed. Gently, Drudge, took the cup out of his hand. </p><p></p><p>“Anyway, as soon as the ladies heard who we were and what we represented, they became far more interested in what we could do to help the refugees above everything else. Filth Fever, Consumption, Ague, Flux, you name, they’ve got it. I want to think we made a little difference; well several children are now running around as opposed to coughing blood on a pallet, but really, what we did was but a drop in the ocean. The sooner we can help to sort out this situation, the better. We had to stay there and cram spells twice!”</p><p></p><p>They had crammed their spells twice! No wonder they were looking like death warmed up. </p><p></p><p>I stood up. “You have to go to bed. What are you doing here? You must be on your last legs. Go!”</p><p></p><p>“Wait, Faden; a few minutes more. So, at the end of the day, we had a brief audience with the Mother Superior. She was grateful and impressed after our efforts. In the end, it took but a few moments. In fact, she looked surprised that we had to ask. I recited a parable of course, but it was quite transparent and she stopped me fairly quickly and just said that it would be fine with them. They would give it their full support; as long as there was a provision made for the sick in our new system.”</p><p></p><p>Drudge the stood up: “Just quickly, I went to the druids; nothing new there I am afraid but one of them does have a little bear; a cute little thing. I think that Order of Echoed Souls would find it a great symbol of good luck.”</p><p></p><p>“Well done, Drudge, now let’s go to bed. Busy day tomorrow.” </p><p></p><p>With those words, I shooed everyone out of the library.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 5985357, member: 6692807"] The next day dawned as we were getting ready. We had a brief discussion about what we remembered a regards travelling through the swamp and everyone recalled that we needed boats. John’s research indicated that the dragons used to live in the Southwestern part of the swamp, not too far away from the city. We remembered our friend, the ragged half orc who was doing a roaring trade in boats from the refugees that continued to cross the swamp endlessly from the North. Along with that, John, Felix and I put our heads together and carefully chose spells which were likely to aid us in this environment and thus bolstered, we set out. We also re-iterated to ourselves that the whole idea was to talk to the dragon; to ask it to borrow this instrument or lyre or whatever it was; or come to some sort of deal with it; and we were going to be very polite. Longhelim fixed me with a gimlet eye: “And Faden, I do the talking. No blurting out of questions about obscure pieces of lore that you feel are of the utmost importance.” I was a little offended. I thought I had been doing well recently. After all, I had only blurted out one question in the War Council; and that one was really important. I opened my mouth to protest at Longhelim but he just cocked his head and looked at me, so I kept quiet. We purchased our two boats for an exorbitant price; I suddenly began to feel far less concerned about the well being of a certain half orc and suspected that if we followed him one evening, he would lead us to one of the newly built mansions around South Harbour. So once my brief rumination was over, I began to theorise about a spell that would freeze undead in place and next thing I know we had reached the edge of the swamp; there we boarded the craft and set out. From my point of view, it certainly wasn’t the case of absence making the heart grow fonder for the swamp. The place was still as nasty, smelly, creepy and generally unpleasant as I remembered. The only thing that was missing were the groups of goblins that could sometimes be glimpsed in the distance. Those seemed to have disappeared; but the crocodiles, the flying things, the other lizards and even odder animals were still all there; and I was sure they were ready to pounce. To make things even better, we knew that there was a strong possibility we would have to stay for the night as the strange cries that we had heard only became audible at dusk. Before then, our best chance was to row in the general direction towards the abode of the dragons that we had deduced from the books; thankfully, Drudge proved quite expert at guiding us through the swamp without running into angry crocodiles and other equally unpleasant beasts. When we finally reached our general destination, we hoped that once the cries began, we would be quite close to their source. However, before that, we were pre-empted. As our boats rounded one of the large islands, we glimpsed a much larger body of water in the distance. We looked closely, and indeed, it was a beautiful, clear, large lake in the middle of the swamp. The water was fresh and must have been fed from underground springs because it looked very different from the fetid swamp. Even more unusually, around the open shores of the lake, we saw a collection of stone buildings. These were of a variety of styles, from quite plain stone or wooden boxes to elaborately decorated mansions; many of them looked as if they had been subjected to enormous blows. As we stared at them, John breathed softly: “Oh my, so this magical lyre does actually exist.” We backtracked quietly and then Drudge said: “I am going to have a look around. Wait here.” Before he did so, Felix pulled all of us around him and blessed us all quietly, saying: “There! Now, by the power of Farlanghn, we can walk on water.” That was a very nifty trick. Taking the opportunity, I also cast a few defensive spells on myself. Drudge moved softly away and we lost sight of him, until we suddenly saw him walk onto the lake. Felix’s spell worked impressively. After watching him for a little time, we saw Drudge stop, turn towards us and begin jabbing frantically downwards into the water next to him. Then, using his hands and he began to sign to us something that had huge jaws. It did not take a genius to work out that he had found our dragon or at least a dragon. Carefully, he moved back to us. “Well, there is something down there. It’s enormous and if it’s not a dragon, it may as well be. Anyone have any ideas as to what to do next?” “Well, we could try to wake it up?” this from John, sounding dubious. Drudge shook his head. “Let’s not. I have a better idea.” With that he disappeared into the swamp. A little puzzled, we waited for him. It took him a while, but he returned, laden with a variety of various denizens of the swamp: lizards, fish, the odd rodent of some type. Rapidly, he began to make a fire and soon, most of his catch was being roasted on a spit. Suddenly, we realised what he was doing. When the dragon woke up, it would be greeted with the smell of its dinner; that would hopefully put it in a better mood; or at least a talkative mood and one where it didn’t decide that we were going to be its dinner. So, thus prepared, we waited until dusk. Suddenly, as the sun set and we dozed in one of the buildings, we heard a huge splash of water and saw a magnificent creature burst into the air. Its scales glistened emerald in the waning light as it bellowed in rage and power. It most certainly was a dragon! I felt a primordial, unreasoning fear of this being. It was something primitive, as if running away from this creature was something my ancestors had been doing for thousands of years; somehow, I managed to control myself and I steeled myself to keep looking at it; and it was magnificent as it flew around the lake; magnificent, majestic and enormous. Looking around, I could see that everyone else around me was pale and trembling as well with the exception of Victor and Felix, who had curled into a foetal position on the floor, unable to do anything. This primitive feeling of terror had completely incapacitated them. After a few moments watching this extraordinary sight, Longhelim stepped forward onto the shore: He shouted: “Your mightiness, your mightiness, we seek a parley and a bargain.” The dragon swooped down and breathed a cloud of acid onto a neighbouring building, destroying most of it. A thunderous voice, deep, loud and……female boomed: “Return the egg that was stolen”. At that, I couldn’t resist and crept out of the building, followed by everyone else except Victor and Longhelim who were still incapacitated. Longhelim shouted: “If we return the egg, we would like to borrow your magical instrument for a time.” “Return the egg and bring the thief and I shall consider it.” I whispered to Longhelim: “Fantastic! We have her talking; and she’s not trying to eat us; but having her consider it means nothing. We could do what she wants and then she could come back, telling us that after due consideration she has decided against it and then eat us on general principle.” Longhelim shouted back: “We bring the thief and your egg; you lend us the instrument. Can we call that a bargain?” She swooped down again, looking at all of us: “We can call that a bargain.” I sighed with relief and then whispered to Longhelim: “Can you ask her what happened and get a detailed description of the egg?” Longhelim shouted again: “Please Your Mightiness, what may I call you; what is your name?” “I like Your Mightiness”, was the reply. “Well Your Mightiness, can you tell us what happened and also tell us what the egg looks like, in as much detail as you can.” “Ten days ago, some disgusting thief snuck in here while I was away and took the egg. It is so big. I saw his tracks as they led in the direction of Seaquen where I cannot go; but I will have my revenge. Especially now you are here. Remember, I want the thief as well. He is a child kidnapper. The egg may be newly laid and many months away from hatching but it is still of my brood. And I want it back! And I want him as well! Oh, how I want him!” Then she gave us a very detailed description of the egg itself. “Enough! Now go! Get my egg back! It is in Seaquen and it lies that way.” I looked into the dark swamp with a certain amount of trepidation but then looked at the green dragon kicking us out of its lake; choosing the lesser of the two evils, we picked up Felix and Victor and made our way back the way we came. Drudge made an aborted attempt to find a trail for the thief but after that amount of time and so much rain, it was beyond someone of even his skills. Amazingly, we managed to return to Seaquen and the Lyceum before the night was out without mishap. There, we talked a little further about how to find the thief. Felix had powerful magic which could find the egg, providing that the thief was not aware of that kind of magic; or aware that someone with those sorts of skills was looking for it. Unfortunately, bearing in mind that this thief was brave enough to defy a dragon, it was likely that he would be very aware of this type of divination. Another approach was to ask Simeon if someone had offered the Lyceum something as exotic as a dragon’s egg. The problem with that was that it may have been done but on a private basis and if questions were asked, it could tip off the thief. Finally, John said: “We have been here for a few days now. It’s about time I began to get to know the lay of the land so to speak. Let me work on a few things in the morning. I may be able to dig something up. Drudge, you want to come as well?” The latter nodded. So, the next morning, John and Drudge disappeared. Everyone else was busy with their own things. Personally, I began to delve into Toma’s books on elemental lore. The elf may have been mad but some of what he recorded in his books was astonishing and incredibly interesting knowledge. The two did not return until the late afternoon, but when they did, John looked immensely pleased with himself. Quickly, we all convened. John stood up: “Right, well I managed to convince several people that I was looking for a dragon’s egg; that I was willing to pay good money for it; that the thief was someone who killed my brother. In the process, I managed to set up a meeting with someone this evening in the ruins. Apparently, he has access to a dragon’s egg……” We all burst into spontaneous applause. “Of course he won’t have it with him but it is an initial meeting and we take things from there. Oh, I also managed to meet someone who is a representative of a group here in Seaquen; a group that specializes in……lost and found is probably the best way to put it”. I said: “You mean that they find lost things; by magic? How do they do it? Are they connected with the Lyceum? Do people lose lots of things in Seaquen?” Victor just looked at John and said quietly: “Be very careful there John. We are in a strange place; and we have an important mission. Faden, a little quiet and I will explain later.” Then we discussed how to handle the meeting. We decided that we would attempt to give the thief some coinage as an initial payment. One of these coins would be marked in such a way as to make it easy for Felix to find with his magic. Once we decided on that course of action, we all set out for the evening meeting in the ruins. We decided to be close but out of sight of the meeting place while John slipped off. We waited for some time, and then to my relief, he returned. He looked a little different though; subtle changes but enough to mislead in terms of his appearance. “We have a deal. Seven thousand, here in two days, for the egg. I gave him a deposit of five hundred including the coin. The messenger was unremarkable; human, good longbow, chain shirt, normal sword; looked handy in the woods. It could even have been him. I took the long way around to get back to you but it’s still worth trying to see if we can use the spell to follow that coin. It may not work but we won’t know until we try. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait for the two days.” Felix made ready to cast his spell. Unfortunately, it showed nothing; this was not a great surprise. We had not been expecting a great deal. Still, mildly disappointed, we returned to the Lyceum, where we retired. The next day, we convened in the library after breakfast and had a brief discussion. I emphasized to the others that I thought it unlikely that I would have such an opportunity as this again to do spell research. The facilities here were ideal and the sources were unrivalled. It would be unavoidable that we were going to be sent on other missions in the near future and I very much wanted to take advantage of my time here. So I proposed to the others that as much as possible, I wanted to stay in library and continue my research. The others agreed. I believe that they realised that the more I studied, the more useful I would be to them in the future. With this in mind they decided that they would leave the Lyceum and visit the Ostaliner mercenaries. They would regale their leader, the former hippogriff rider, with an eye witness account of the battle above Gate Pass between the Wyvern Knights and the Red Dragon of Ragesia against the Griffin Riders of Gate Pass and their druidic allies. As the mercenaries worshipped the God of Battle, it had also been indicated that a formal sparring session to indicate the worth of the negotiator would be appropriate. If the latter won, his proposal would be given more consideration. I spent the day scribing more spells, more research and more reference. It was never ending. The more I unraveled one mystery, the more I was tempted by other directions. This particular spell was a powerful divination which allowed me to observe specific areas, as if I was looking at them from above. It was like throwing my sight some distance ahead of me; as I wrote it though, I realised that with a few changes, I would make it even more interesting and make it go through doors, through walls and other barriers; all I had to do was visualize the space behind the barrier. I couldn’t wait to try it out. Of course, scribing something like this took me most of day but I did manage it. Then, this line of research took me in another direction with another formula; this one was a spell that would allow me to see invisible opponents. Invisibility was a powerful ability and when I had seen John using it, I realised that we would need to find counters against it lest it be used against us. Unfortunately, at the moment, I could theorise a spell that could be used only by me, but it was early days. John returned a little earlier than the others. He had been to the opening performance of The Wayfarer’s performance of the Trials of Toteth Topec. He was full of praise for a spectacular performance by the Theatre. He also spoke of the Wayfarer’s truly magical ship. By some magic, it had a huge auditorium below decks, much bigger than the actual ship. It contained a stage, space for hundreds of spectators and whatever other accessories a theatrical performance needed. Even music was provided; as were sound effects representing anything from the soothing sounds of waterfalls to the crashing thunder of storms. It all sounded most impressive. John then went on the praise the acting of the leading man, Giorgio as the druid Toteth Topec. He also described the plot, a truly convoluted multi-generational adventure story full of deeds of derring do. To be absolutely honest, I lost track of the plot fairly quickly as I was trying to work out what the magic of the ship was; I did gain the impression that the play was very…….long. The others returned late that evening; everyone looked very tired so I restrained myself from telling them about my day. Although I was sure that they would have been very interested in learning how my spell worked, I was beginning to learn and decided to let everyone else speak first. Longhelim and Felix in particular looked as if they had been awake for a week or more, with hollow eyes, an unhealthy pallor and dark rings under their eyes. They had been cramming spells; I recognized the signs. After dinner, we all retired to the library and sipped hot drinks while Longhelim lit up as usual. After several puffs, he began: “Well, what a productive day! The Ostaliner Marcenaries are now fully behind the plan, as are the Ragesian Hospitallers.” “What!” I squeaked. “You got two of them! How did you manage that?” “The Mercenaries went fairly much as we planned. Their leader, he is called Arick by the way, was very interested in the battle as we guessed; then we had the sparring session. He is a canny fighter and a very worthy opponent. I beat him, but only just.” Victor nodded: “We don’t see too many people fighting with hammers but they can be very effective weapons and Arick is obviously an expert. I am glad it was only a sparring session.” Longhelim continued: “Anyway, after the contest, we explained the situation, our plans for the future and the necessity for unity and organization; they were remarkably amenable and proclaimed that providing that the Temple was somewhere suitable for their worship, they would support us fully.” He took a sip and continued: “Felix and I then went to the Ragesian Hospitallers. Those ladies, under their Mother Superior, are performing miracles every day and at great risk to themselves! We have to help them as much as we can!” Felix was nodding at this; or he may have been nodding off. His head was bowed and his eyes were closed. Gently, Drudge, took the cup out of his hand. “Anyway, as soon as the ladies heard who we were and what we represented, they became far more interested in what we could do to help the refugees above everything else. Filth Fever, Consumption, Ague, Flux, you name, they’ve got it. I want to think we made a little difference; well several children are now running around as opposed to coughing blood on a pallet, but really, what we did was but a drop in the ocean. The sooner we can help to sort out this situation, the better. We had to stay there and cram spells twice!” They had crammed their spells twice! No wonder they were looking like death warmed up. I stood up. “You have to go to bed. What are you doing here? You must be on your last legs. Go!” “Wait, Faden; a few minutes more. So, at the end of the day, we had a brief audience with the Mother Superior. She was grateful and impressed after our efforts. In the end, it took but a few moments. In fact, she looked surprised that we had to ask. I recited a parable of course, but it was quite transparent and she stopped me fairly quickly and just said that it would be fine with them. They would give it their full support; as long as there was a provision made for the sick in our new system.” Drudge the stood up: “Just quickly, I went to the druids; nothing new there I am afraid but one of them does have a little bear; a cute little thing. I think that Order of Echoed Souls would find it a great symbol of good luck.” “Well done, Drudge, now let’s go to bed. Busy day tomorrow.” With those words, I shooed everyone out of the library. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
Top