Herremann the Wise
First Post
Hello everyone and a cordial welcome to all,
The following story represents our current campaign [3.5] which has been going since 3rd Editions inception - with a couple of 2nd edition characters thrown in too. Unfortunately, one of those characters - my Paladin in fact - had recently been booted from the campaign. Looking back, his behaviour was entirely self-righteous but oh well, he was fun while he lasted. As such, I had to introduce a new character into the campaign and that is where this story begins.
The Party range from 11th to 13th level so hopefully this will present good reading for those of you who like some of the higher level stuff. I am one of six players (five of us DM's) aside from Paul who is the DM for this campaign. We are all certainly grateful for the fun he provides.
I hope you enjoy the story and style.
A Quick Roster of Characters
Lucifus Cray [Conjurer 10 / Alienist 3]: A wily human warlock fond of intrigue.
Demar Alorr [Fighter 10 / Knight Protector of Greater Beltratia 3]: A human noble, silver spoon etc. Suits the classic lawful Paladin.
Nemhan [Sorcerer 13]: A very chaotic elf who easily finds trouble. Elves are very rare in our game.
Titus Hornblower [Rogue 12]: A halfling with a definite knack of rubbing two coins together and creating a third.
Rebecca of Nethendawe [Ranger ? / Rogue ?]: Mysteriously played by Maree. Human we think. Hated type {Most}
Father Brian McPhail [Cleric 11]: Priest of Galasso: Father of the Beltratian Pantheon. Somewhat gruff and grumpy. Human but he should have been born a dwarf.
The Disappearing Tower
The newly titled Company of the Griffon had undergone dramatic events in recent weeks. The Paladin of Fiarle who shall be known from this point as he-that-shall-not-be-named had been foisted from the group in no uncertain terms to achieve his righteous agenda elsewhere. Demar Alorr; Knight Protector of Greater Beltratia had successfully removed he-that-shall-not-be-named from the group in a most dramatic stand off. Titus, halfling and rogue extraordinaire had told the Paladin to rack off while the rest of the group failed to have more of an opinion than to go with the consensus. In the end, it was Nemhan; the elvish wizard [who in actuality was only a sorcerer] who proclaimed that the Paladin would be more suited with those of his kind. He-that-shall-not-be-named promptly departed and was heard of later adventuring down into the abyss trying to exterminate all evil with a bunch of similarly minded fools. Passionate, to the last was he.
Currently however, the party had reformed after a month’s sabbatical. They all met back in their base of operations: the City of Nethendawe, to discuss recent developments. Demar had recently won the Emperor’s medal at his order’s Grand Melee – a curious event where a bunch of farmers, knights and other riff-raff of the order beat each other’s heads in until only one remained standing. Demar was left standing as the one with the least beaten in head and so he garnered much glory and honour from the display. Demar’s martial efforts were augmented by his wizard friend and cohort Abacus [and this guy was a proper wizard too].
Rebecca, a strange “hunter” and gatherer of information had joined up with Titus the rogue to investigate events within Nethendawe itself. The group had a month earlier successfully defeated the Thieves Guild known as the Mocker’s Eye and so Rebecca and Titus had been busy mopping up the last of their presence. The massive beholder who was the Mocker’s “Eye” had been well and truly dealt with and so some level of order and safety were restored to the many and twisting streets of Nethendawe.
Father Brian contemplated the many messages of his god Galasso whilst making a variety of magical equipment for the party. Nemhan pottered around The Fraternity (the order of wizards in Nethendawe) hoping to ingratiate himself more so into their wizardly doings. He had been somewhat on the outer with Niconius Fren, the Head of The Fraternity ever since a disastrous incident with the Lady Krueg of Keryl several months earlier. Suffice to say, the chaotic elf had gone some way to making amends by gifting Niconius with a “Well of Many Worlds” much to the dismay of the rest of the party. Nemhan lacked the authority to give away such a priceless party item but I suppose an elf is an elf and an elvish sorcerer trying to be a wizard is something else again.
Presently, the group joined up along the Beltrates River in Nethendawe to discuss their various doings at Demar’s premises, a massive yet only partially finished keep labouring ever slower towards its completion deadline. Whilst intending to catch up on recent movement and activity as well as a possible new mission to Larkshire killing Giant Rivertrolls, the Company of the Griffon was somewhat distracted by local events. Of immediate interest was a squat tower that had been appearing and disappearing at regular intervals for the past few days directly adjacent to the demarcation of Demar’s property. The majority of Demar’s followers had thought it had been the fusty wizard Abacus performing some strange experiment. However when the closeted wizard had been asked, he claimed no knowledge of the events, “I assure you Lord Demar I know nothing of this. If it is magical as you describe, then it is of a distressingly powerful magnitude. We must investigate.”
The others somewhat curious as well decided to head out and follow Abacus’s suggestion. [You have to understand that not much worries this group; they are pretty powerful – 11th to 13th level]. The buildings placement, while not technically breaching the boundaries set down by the Governor Loriam of Nethendawe [she gifted Demar with the land for services rendered], still bore a degree of insolence that disturbed the young knight. If the structure blocked local access for his keeps construction, he would have the thing removed upon the instant.
As they got closer to the three story stone structure, a sign upon the building was spotted dangling in the breeze drifting off the Beltrates. “What does that say Titus”, Demar enquired.
“Buggered if I know” responded Titus trying to rub a smudge off of the eyeglass lens with his shirtsleeve. The group approached carefully and Titus read the sign above the open doorway to the tower.
“Lucifus’s… Diabolerie… Arcana. What kind of name is that?!”
Abacus, warming up to informative duty answered, “I fear good Titus that it has to do with something entirely evil. Diabolerie refers to works of the Devil or some such. Arcana refers to the wizardly arts while Lucifus…well whoever he is, he must certainly be a foreigner.”
This had the party a little on edge. They had dealt recently with the Mocker’s Eye Guild that had connections to the abyss and so dealing with something directly evil like this again did not sit well with them. Demar, ever the hero walked to the front and poked his head inside the premises. It soon became obvious that this was a shop of some type. Books lined every conceivable space in the building with scrolls, skulls and strange equipment rife. A twisted staircase led aloft to an upper area where a small kafuffle was taking place.
“Ah…hello” enquired Demar speaking towards the upper level of the tower. “Is anyone up there?”
The noise from above ceased momentarily before continuing. A few seconds later a voice could be heard giving orders, “We have customers Joald… don’t just leave them standing there pondering their fates.”
Another voice could be heard mumbling an ineffectual response before seemingly returning to whatever it (Joald?) was doing.
At that point a strange floating figure descended from the upper portion of the tower. “And somehow I’m supposed to make money with such staff” mumbled the hovering cross-legged man somewhat exasperated at being disturbed from his work. “Oh…we do actually have customers”, the man said somewhat surprised as if clientele were a novelty. The man floated down to the group slowly; recognition appearing on his face as if in delight. He was wearing a strange black silk toga and what appeared to be some form of headdress [the group had not seen a turban before]. He proceeded to hover above and in front of the surprised party before introducing himself, “Is there anything in particular I can help you with? My name is Lucifus Cray…Warlock.”
Now this immediately had the group on guard. Warlocks and Witches were seen in an incredibly poor light in Nethendawe. With recent events [another sorry saga involving the party that shall perhaps be discussed at a later stage] regarding witches still fresh in the minds of those of the party and city, this man automatically aroused deepest suspicion.
“My name is Lord Demar of the Family Alorr. You have set up your… premises disturbingly close to my property. I do not wish you ill but I would like to know what exactly you are doing here and perhaps when you are intending to depart?”
“Now that, I’m glad you asked. In actual fact and I am sure to your surprise, I was hoping to attract your august attention young Demar,” replied Lucifus as Demar frowned at the informal use of his first name. “I was hoping you… and I suppose your entire party would consider me as a candidate for inclusion into your famous group of adventurers. In fact, I would wish to assist you now that you seem to have released the unfortunate services of your Paladin.”
Now this caused a definite stir amongst the group. Father Brian immediately choked upon the temerity of this strange man while Demar was caught short for words – it was not quite the answer he was expecting. Nemhan, himself floating [if not quite as elegantly as Lucifus] dropped to his feet while Rebecca tried to apply some form of logic to the request. Abacus peered inquisitively at a strange set of equipments upon a shelf while Titus was the only one who thought the man’s introduction somewhat ingenious. He had certainly grabbed their attention [and from a rogue’s point of view, he had a fabulous variety of valuable and saleable items].
Eventually, Demar found his voice, “As the newly appointed leader of our group, I find your request hard to fathom. Do you know who exactly we are and what we stand for? Your interests would seem to be somewhat at discord with our own.”
“But young Demar [Demar’s frown deepened even further at this point], you are looking at perhaps one of the foremost minds of arcana, extraplanar activity, magics and lore, not only here in Nethendawe but perhaps across the breadth of Urth. I am not boasting when I say that I would be an incredible asset to your group. My castings would augment your group’s already potent magics nicely, particularly considering the most recent departure of some upfront righteous muscle. I can of course summon all manner of creatures to good and positive effect to assume some of the slack.”
Lucifus’s argument and promise of ability while cogent did not seem to immediately sway the young Knight still caught surprised by the overall request. By this stage Abacus had ventured further examining various articles for trade that seemed to increasingly disturb him. Titus as well had begun to “case” the tower while Rebecca and the others watched on to see Demar’s response.
Just as Demar was about to speak, a small ruckus similar to that of their initial entry could be heard followed by a squawk of protest from some creature. The heavy steps of a very large person as well as a few hideous noises [possibly laughter] could be heard twisting down the tight staircase. Landing at the base of the stairs was a repulsive beast: half man, half orc carrying a ridiculously large axe. “Gruk gnasa, tuk-tuk?” he asked Lucifus in a strange tongue.
“Ara su Tunthi. Nusay Gnasa” responded Lucifus as calmly as possible to the beast’s question of whether to take all of the visitor’s heads off. “This my friends and guests is Tunthi. He is very happy to meet you all”, ‘interpreted’ Lucifus.
Now Tunthi is best described as barely human, poorly attired [in rat fur] and somewhat rank and odiferous to those near him. He is also incredibly large and possibly strong enough to rip most people in half. Both he and Lucifus exchanged quick words in the primitive Derman language while the half-orc sniffed around the new guests. Lucifus had by this stage determined that Derman was fortunately foreign to the Company of the Griffon.
Abacus who had by now stumbled upon Lucifus’s collection of demon skulls – some inscribed with a curious dialect rarely seen by mortals – called out to Demar, “I am not entirely happy with some of the articles this man has in his possession.” Lucifus in fact had a great number of questionable items in his possession as any comprehensive collection of lore on arcana and extraplanar activities eventually must. If Abacus had have ventured to the upper levels, hostile action would have been inevitable. Fortunately for the group and of course Lucifus Cray, Abacus kept his investigations to the lowest level.
Demar now turned back to Lucifus, “If Abacus has issues with some of your interests then so do I. While any support or assistance, particularly of the arcane variety is always appreciated, you are not doing much to further your cause here. We would need someone who was trustworthy and could act in a responsible manner. Your strange interests would seem to preclude…”
At this point, Demar’s postulating was interrupted by Tunthi the half-orc looking leeringly over at Rebecca and holding something out towards her whilst shuffling from foot to foot. Further examination revealed two coins of platinum being thrust at Rebecca. It took a few moments for all present to work out the intentions of the half-orc. The Bluster of Father Brian’s billowing protest then filled the air, “Well I never! This is an absolute disgrace to come here and be subjected to the fornicating desires of this beastly…”
“Tunthi esa nusay bilgus. Nusay bilgus”, Lucifus said mildly reproaching the half-orc [more for his frivolous generosity than the fact that the offer was not consonant with Rebecca’s dignity]. “I am terribly sorry young lady. Tunthi sometimes gets a little toey when in big cities like Nethendawe. I can assure you however that he was being untypically generous. Personally I would derive some level of compliment from his misguided display of affection.”
Rebecca, not easily flustered put a hand upon her weapon ready to draw it if Tunthi’s exuberance edged any closer. Tunthi however, looked downward, his disappointment obvious and firmly registered.
A further disturbance was heard from upstairs as a large bird descended towards Lucifus. At this, Titus’s crossbow was instantly out and loaded and Rebecca’s hand went from short sword to longbow, instantly drawing an arrow and placing a bead upon the raven; now freshly perched upon Lucifus’s shoulder.
Lucifus’s face was unmoved, the cordial smile not leaving for an instant. He then replied, “Friends, friends. Come now, this is my small companion. Surely she is not worthy of such dramatic attention?”
Demar who had gone on guard as well answered “I think you need to start explaining yourself a little more thoroughly now. We have had poor experiences with ravens of late. They have been used to spy upon our group’s activities much to our detriment.”
“Well surely you don’t think Winter here is any threat. She is quite friendly in fact.” Lucifus looked towards his familiar, “Go on why don’t you introduce yourself…”
It took a few moments before the bird coughed up a small squawk. Lucifus frowned. “Go on. Introduce yourself properly.”
“Hello” said the bird in a very croaky bird-like Beltratian [the Common tongue for the region].
This brought several strange looks from the party. “Unfortunately, her Beltratian is scatty at best. On the other hand though her Ambornan is perfectly fluent”, answered Lucifus.
Titus by now had perched himself at height upon the staircase, “Well I don’t care nuthin’ bout talking birdies. Pluck us one of its feathers and lets see what happens.”
Titus was obviously responding to their experiences where if a feather from one of their enemy’s ravens was dislodged and touched the ground, it would crumble upon the instant to dust. Lucifus knowing none of this responded diffidently, “I do not know of the suspicions you speak. Suffice to say that there is surely some form of misunderstanding here.”
The looks upon the faces of the party had not changed and in Father Brian’s case, his frown had deepened to outright hostility. “Oh very well then” said Lucifus quickly plucking one of Winter’s downy feathers from her breast. The raven squawked in extreme protest and flapped disgustedly back to the upper level. In the excitement, several feathers were left floating down to the ground. The party’s eyes followed the twisting path of the feathers to the floor. As the feathers hit the ground resting upon the flagstones unmolested, the party visibly eased. This seemed to assuage some of their concerns to Lucifus’s surprise. He then remembered something and smiled although not quite as cordially as before. “Well I hope that alleviates some of your concerns in regards to Winter. As you can see, she is not some devil spawn or arcane oddity. However, you have now got her most upset at me and I dare say I’ll need to perform several contortions of highest magnitude to placate her.”
Ever the icebreaker, Tunthi let loose a rancid expulsion of thunderous proportions. He looked around at his backside where a cage containing a toad rested at his hip. With exaggerated joy, he wafted the now acrid air towards the toad while excitedly repeating “fufi, fufi, fufi…”
“What on Urth is he doing”, said Demar stating the obvious mirthful confusion of everyone as Tunthi banged the metal cage in delight. “Do you normally let him treat your creatures in such manner?”
Smiling, Lucifus said “Tunthi has a certain emotional affinity and rapport with a variety of beasts. In regards to that nasty toad however, he does his best to torment the malignant thing.”
Nemhan, now aroused said, “What exactly are you saying? Is the toad… evil?’
“Well… “
“Well is it evil?
“I suppose its distorted morality could encompass such motives. It is certainly a most malevolent beastling”, Lucifus answered.
“ What do you mean by this?’ demanded Nemhan. “Is it some demon’s get you have captured and now torture?”
“Well Nemhan… may I call you Nemhan?” enquired Lucifus. “For a start, the creature is not mine, it is Tunthi’s and secondly, if you knew the whole story, you might not be so quick to judge Tunthi’s behaviour. He is in fact performing a most important duty and service for his clan in regards to this… toad.”
Nemhan, not able to contain either impulse or curiosity cast a magic and approached both Tunthi and his ‘companion’ whilst also trying to catch Lucifus within the spell’s range. Tunthi looked on harmlessly while the toad seemed to cower back uncomfortably from Nemhan’s aura. “It is most certainly evil”, reported Nemhan. “As to its origins, I cannot divine Lord Demar.”
Demar now spoke, “Again Lucifus, this seems most uncustomary. Why do you feel the need to have an evil toad? And certainly why is it evil in the first place? In fact, while you have rabbited on about your numerous virtues, you have not discussed a mote about what it is exactly that you are doing here, nor have you provided any background history for our groups discussion on your suitability for inclusion. In fact you have mounted an argument quite to the contrary.”
“Why Demar, as you can see if you look around, I am a merchant of various lore. In fact I travel from place to place with my tower providing assistance to interested and like-minded people. In truth though I have not always been a vendor. As for the toad’s malignancy, I suppose I must confess myself that I have not always followed the good path nor been the nicest of chaps either.”
“Wait a minute” demanded Father Brian, obviously unhappy with Lucifus’s personality and presentation thus far. “Do you follow some God or Deity that we should perhaps know about?”
Father Brian obviously expected to hear some form of tainted worship or cult membership.
“Well as a matter of fact, I have searched and found entities far more powerful than the commonly worshipped local deities.” To this, Father Brian of Galasso’s face purpled. Lucifus not noticing continued, “I suppose I have tried to reach beyond the normal boundaries customarily accepted by most mortals.”
At this point, Lucifus was doing his unwitting best to dig a rather large hole for himself, jump in and hand the group a series of spades.
Demar fortunately sought to take some of the heat out of the situation trying his best to give the man a chance [Lucifus might be very useful to the party after all]. “But you have swayed away from such evil doings now? You currently consider yourself good of heart so to speak?”
“Oh quite assuredly so Demar. I believe I have well and truly suffered the redemptive process in its entirety. Where as once I used to claim dominion over any creature I could bind to my will, now I am far more selective.”
“So you used to deal with evil beings as well!?” asked Father Brian.
“Of course, although demons while useful are somewhat flighty. Devils on the other hand are much more practical. However, they do abrade my sensibilities somewhat. I must say though, such creatures have advanced my power immeasurably. I suppose…”
Lucifus’s words were cut off by Demar placing a hand upon his massive hammer whilst quietly saying, “Let’s get one thing quite straight shall we if you wish to join us. If you so much as pretend to flicker one of these demons or devils into our presence, I will see to it personally that it shall be your last movement. On this may I have your sincere understanding?”
“Oh Demar, you have no need for such concerns at all. I have long given up dealing with such creatures. I have seen the error of my ways well and truly. I have not used such a creature to assassinate someone for what must be…”
“You were an assassin?!!!”, roared Father Brian. “I believe the current discussions have gone quite far enough! If the rest of you wish to stay hear and listen to this heathen dribble…”
“But I assure you good Father. I have most earnestly changed my ways. In fact I would consider myself most trustworthy… one of the reasons in fact that I have chosen the path of Merchant.”
Even Titus shook his head at this, trying his best to hold back a smirk as he balanced his crossbow at Lucifus’s head waiting for the go ahead.
“So, having reformed yourself from assassinations, you now wander around in this tower?” asked Demar. “How exactly do you carry it around?” he added.
“Why by magic of course. It is certainly one of the greatest Dweomers I have designed. I have titled it Lucifus’s Portable Tower. It is a very handy way of carrying all my libraries, materials and possessions from place to place. For example if you need to vacate a particular township in a hurry to evade the local authorities, you simply dismiss the tower and…”
“And you have needed to evade the law?” questioned Demar. Now Demar as a Knight Protector and most strict adherent to all things lawful waited patiently for the answer.
“No no no, of course not. I was merely speaking in theoretical terms. I make a hard and fast rule never to cheat a customer. Reputation is everything in my field. I would not want to be seen as breaking the law so to speak.”
“Well, if you insist upon your probity, we will have to believe you”, Demar said. “Nemhan does not seem to have divined differently [Nemhan shakes his head earnestly] and while some of your interests are off-putting, I suppose we all have our foibles. I do have a question for you though seeing as you have such an interest in books. If I wished for you to purchase a Master’s Library on historical scripts around the time of the Interregnum, you could quickly effect such a transaction?”
“Such a request could be easily achieved over time”, Lucifus answered.
“What do you mean by ‘achieved over time’?”
“Well”, said Lucifus. “You could not possibly expect to instantly…you see people will not just simply sell an entire collection like that. Such a collection is… well... collected.”
“Surely there would be some room for latitude?”
“Not as much room as you would wish. You could pay treble the market value… unless of course you wished to… de-possess someone of their library.”
“De-possess?”
“Steal. You know…nick their books”, added Titus, not passing up an opportunity to set the Knight off.
“No!” responded Demar emphatically. “I am most certainly not requesting you to thieve, steal or unlawfully attain someone else’s possessions. Such a library would be required to be lawfully purchased. I will not have my good name or the company’s stained by such activities. I was hoping for a more expedient transaction but if that is the way the wind blows, it is good knowledge to have I suppose. In any case, the issue at hand is your request to join the Company of the Griffon. While I am the leader of this group I would still prefer for individual responses from the party. A vote would be the most orderly and practical mechanism. Abacus, as my trusted advisor, what are your thoughts?”
“Well”, warmed Abacus to the task. “I have some concerns in regards to this man's past as well as some of the habits he has picked up from goodness knows where. From his unnatural collection and aerial acrobatics, I can see he is a wizard [Lucifus looks most affronted at this title] of considerable power. Whether he has the morals to use such power correctly is yet to be seen. As to any benefits he may supply the group… I am yet to come to a full and complete conclusion. As such Lord Demar, I will be in accord with your opinion and judgment”.
“Rebecca?” asked Demar.
“He could be useful. I fail to see too much of an issue with him as long as he keeps this hairy bag of filth and snot in line”, she said in her low cadent voice, her eyes distinctly upon Tunthi’s large back.
“Titus?”
“He looks the goods to me.”
“Father Brian?”
Looking disdainfully over at Lucifus who was now starting to hover upside-down in expectation of the priest’s poor opinion, Father Brian said “I will abstain from the poll and keep my opinions to myself”.
Such was the way Father Brian thought to register his most heavy disapproval. Surely the Company did not want to be morally weighed down by this ridiculous little man.
“Nemhan?”
“If he has changed his ways, I am all for giving someone a go” Nemhan answered.
While disturbed by some of Lucifus’s revelations and despite his party position being marginalised by another spellcaster, a mood of congeniality came over the elf to accede to Lucifus’s inclusion.
“Well” began Demar. “I suppose it falls to me to rubber stamp the invitation. The majority of you have chosen to give Lucifus here a go. But Lucifus Cray or whatever you wish to call yourself, understand one thing with clarity and precision. I will tolerate your addition so long as you toe the party line. Understand that we deal on a regular basis with the type of person you once were. If you ever fall back into earlier habits, your life will be quickly ended so long as I stand upon the soils of Urth. Anyway, meet with us this evening at the recently completed Mess Hall of my keep at the ringing of the 6th bell. We are actually making plans for an expedition on the morrow and so your input will be required if you truly wish to help us.” To the others Demar added, “And Lord Herland Ramus, Leader of my Order will be in attendance as well. He has communicated a gap in his schedule with the Governor so he will be present for the evening repast as well.”
With this, Lucifus bowed deeply and politely. “I thank you Lord Demar and all of you for your sincerest good will [this elicited a firm stare and jutted jaw from Father Brian]. I shall make my preparations for this evening’s gathering”. Smiling now he added, “I look forward to a little adventuring. It has been quite a while so thank you again for the opportunity”.
With this, the group departed Lucifus’s tower a little surprised at what had just happened. Surely they had not just asked an itinerant, thieving, demon summoning, raven owning, evil toad carrying, half-orc possessing, warlock-titled, godless, former assassin to become the newest member of the valorous Company of the Griffon? I suppose a Paladin was part of the group once so anything is possible.
The following story represents our current campaign [3.5] which has been going since 3rd Editions inception - with a couple of 2nd edition characters thrown in too. Unfortunately, one of those characters - my Paladin in fact - had recently been booted from the campaign. Looking back, his behaviour was entirely self-righteous but oh well, he was fun while he lasted. As such, I had to introduce a new character into the campaign and that is where this story begins.
The Party range from 11th to 13th level so hopefully this will present good reading for those of you who like some of the higher level stuff. I am one of six players (five of us DM's) aside from Paul who is the DM for this campaign. We are all certainly grateful for the fun he provides.
I hope you enjoy the story and style.
***
A Quick Roster of Characters
Lucifus Cray [Conjurer 10 / Alienist 3]: A wily human warlock fond of intrigue.
Demar Alorr [Fighter 10 / Knight Protector of Greater Beltratia 3]: A human noble, silver spoon etc. Suits the classic lawful Paladin.
Nemhan [Sorcerer 13]: A very chaotic elf who easily finds trouble. Elves are very rare in our game.
Titus Hornblower [Rogue 12]: A halfling with a definite knack of rubbing two coins together and creating a third.
Rebecca of Nethendawe [Ranger ? / Rogue ?]: Mysteriously played by Maree. Human we think. Hated type {Most}
Father Brian McPhail [Cleric 11]: Priest of Galasso: Father of the Beltratian Pantheon. Somewhat gruff and grumpy. Human but he should have been born a dwarf.
***
The Disappearing Tower
The newly titled Company of the Griffon had undergone dramatic events in recent weeks. The Paladin of Fiarle who shall be known from this point as he-that-shall-not-be-named had been foisted from the group in no uncertain terms to achieve his righteous agenda elsewhere. Demar Alorr; Knight Protector of Greater Beltratia had successfully removed he-that-shall-not-be-named from the group in a most dramatic stand off. Titus, halfling and rogue extraordinaire had told the Paladin to rack off while the rest of the group failed to have more of an opinion than to go with the consensus. In the end, it was Nemhan; the elvish wizard [who in actuality was only a sorcerer] who proclaimed that the Paladin would be more suited with those of his kind. He-that-shall-not-be-named promptly departed and was heard of later adventuring down into the abyss trying to exterminate all evil with a bunch of similarly minded fools. Passionate, to the last was he.
Currently however, the party had reformed after a month’s sabbatical. They all met back in their base of operations: the City of Nethendawe, to discuss recent developments. Demar had recently won the Emperor’s medal at his order’s Grand Melee – a curious event where a bunch of farmers, knights and other riff-raff of the order beat each other’s heads in until only one remained standing. Demar was left standing as the one with the least beaten in head and so he garnered much glory and honour from the display. Demar’s martial efforts were augmented by his wizard friend and cohort Abacus [and this guy was a proper wizard too].
Rebecca, a strange “hunter” and gatherer of information had joined up with Titus the rogue to investigate events within Nethendawe itself. The group had a month earlier successfully defeated the Thieves Guild known as the Mocker’s Eye and so Rebecca and Titus had been busy mopping up the last of their presence. The massive beholder who was the Mocker’s “Eye” had been well and truly dealt with and so some level of order and safety were restored to the many and twisting streets of Nethendawe.
Father Brian contemplated the many messages of his god Galasso whilst making a variety of magical equipment for the party. Nemhan pottered around The Fraternity (the order of wizards in Nethendawe) hoping to ingratiate himself more so into their wizardly doings. He had been somewhat on the outer with Niconius Fren, the Head of The Fraternity ever since a disastrous incident with the Lady Krueg of Keryl several months earlier. Suffice to say, the chaotic elf had gone some way to making amends by gifting Niconius with a “Well of Many Worlds” much to the dismay of the rest of the party. Nemhan lacked the authority to give away such a priceless party item but I suppose an elf is an elf and an elvish sorcerer trying to be a wizard is something else again.
Presently, the group joined up along the Beltrates River in Nethendawe to discuss their various doings at Demar’s premises, a massive yet only partially finished keep labouring ever slower towards its completion deadline. Whilst intending to catch up on recent movement and activity as well as a possible new mission to Larkshire killing Giant Rivertrolls, the Company of the Griffon was somewhat distracted by local events. Of immediate interest was a squat tower that had been appearing and disappearing at regular intervals for the past few days directly adjacent to the demarcation of Demar’s property. The majority of Demar’s followers had thought it had been the fusty wizard Abacus performing some strange experiment. However when the closeted wizard had been asked, he claimed no knowledge of the events, “I assure you Lord Demar I know nothing of this. If it is magical as you describe, then it is of a distressingly powerful magnitude. We must investigate.”
The others somewhat curious as well decided to head out and follow Abacus’s suggestion. [You have to understand that not much worries this group; they are pretty powerful – 11th to 13th level]. The buildings placement, while not technically breaching the boundaries set down by the Governor Loriam of Nethendawe [she gifted Demar with the land for services rendered], still bore a degree of insolence that disturbed the young knight. If the structure blocked local access for his keeps construction, he would have the thing removed upon the instant.
***
As they got closer to the three story stone structure, a sign upon the building was spotted dangling in the breeze drifting off the Beltrates. “What does that say Titus”, Demar enquired.
“Buggered if I know” responded Titus trying to rub a smudge off of the eyeglass lens with his shirtsleeve. The group approached carefully and Titus read the sign above the open doorway to the tower.
“Lucifus’s… Diabolerie… Arcana. What kind of name is that?!”
Abacus, warming up to informative duty answered, “I fear good Titus that it has to do with something entirely evil. Diabolerie refers to works of the Devil or some such. Arcana refers to the wizardly arts while Lucifus…well whoever he is, he must certainly be a foreigner.”
This had the party a little on edge. They had dealt recently with the Mocker’s Eye Guild that had connections to the abyss and so dealing with something directly evil like this again did not sit well with them. Demar, ever the hero walked to the front and poked his head inside the premises. It soon became obvious that this was a shop of some type. Books lined every conceivable space in the building with scrolls, skulls and strange equipment rife. A twisted staircase led aloft to an upper area where a small kafuffle was taking place.
“Ah…hello” enquired Demar speaking towards the upper level of the tower. “Is anyone up there?”
The noise from above ceased momentarily before continuing. A few seconds later a voice could be heard giving orders, “We have customers Joald… don’t just leave them standing there pondering their fates.”
Another voice could be heard mumbling an ineffectual response before seemingly returning to whatever it (Joald?) was doing.
At that point a strange floating figure descended from the upper portion of the tower. “And somehow I’m supposed to make money with such staff” mumbled the hovering cross-legged man somewhat exasperated at being disturbed from his work. “Oh…we do actually have customers”, the man said somewhat surprised as if clientele were a novelty. The man floated down to the group slowly; recognition appearing on his face as if in delight. He was wearing a strange black silk toga and what appeared to be some form of headdress [the group had not seen a turban before]. He proceeded to hover above and in front of the surprised party before introducing himself, “Is there anything in particular I can help you with? My name is Lucifus Cray…Warlock.”
Now this immediately had the group on guard. Warlocks and Witches were seen in an incredibly poor light in Nethendawe. With recent events [another sorry saga involving the party that shall perhaps be discussed at a later stage] regarding witches still fresh in the minds of those of the party and city, this man automatically aroused deepest suspicion.
“My name is Lord Demar of the Family Alorr. You have set up your… premises disturbingly close to my property. I do not wish you ill but I would like to know what exactly you are doing here and perhaps when you are intending to depart?”
“Now that, I’m glad you asked. In actual fact and I am sure to your surprise, I was hoping to attract your august attention young Demar,” replied Lucifus as Demar frowned at the informal use of his first name. “I was hoping you… and I suppose your entire party would consider me as a candidate for inclusion into your famous group of adventurers. In fact, I would wish to assist you now that you seem to have released the unfortunate services of your Paladin.”
Now this caused a definite stir amongst the group. Father Brian immediately choked upon the temerity of this strange man while Demar was caught short for words – it was not quite the answer he was expecting. Nemhan, himself floating [if not quite as elegantly as Lucifus] dropped to his feet while Rebecca tried to apply some form of logic to the request. Abacus peered inquisitively at a strange set of equipments upon a shelf while Titus was the only one who thought the man’s introduction somewhat ingenious. He had certainly grabbed their attention [and from a rogue’s point of view, he had a fabulous variety of valuable and saleable items].
Eventually, Demar found his voice, “As the newly appointed leader of our group, I find your request hard to fathom. Do you know who exactly we are and what we stand for? Your interests would seem to be somewhat at discord with our own.”
“But young Demar [Demar’s frown deepened even further at this point], you are looking at perhaps one of the foremost minds of arcana, extraplanar activity, magics and lore, not only here in Nethendawe but perhaps across the breadth of Urth. I am not boasting when I say that I would be an incredible asset to your group. My castings would augment your group’s already potent magics nicely, particularly considering the most recent departure of some upfront righteous muscle. I can of course summon all manner of creatures to good and positive effect to assume some of the slack.”
Lucifus’s argument and promise of ability while cogent did not seem to immediately sway the young Knight still caught surprised by the overall request. By this stage Abacus had ventured further examining various articles for trade that seemed to increasingly disturb him. Titus as well had begun to “case” the tower while Rebecca and the others watched on to see Demar’s response.
Just as Demar was about to speak, a small ruckus similar to that of their initial entry could be heard followed by a squawk of protest from some creature. The heavy steps of a very large person as well as a few hideous noises [possibly laughter] could be heard twisting down the tight staircase. Landing at the base of the stairs was a repulsive beast: half man, half orc carrying a ridiculously large axe. “Gruk gnasa, tuk-tuk?” he asked Lucifus in a strange tongue.
“Ara su Tunthi. Nusay Gnasa” responded Lucifus as calmly as possible to the beast’s question of whether to take all of the visitor’s heads off. “This my friends and guests is Tunthi. He is very happy to meet you all”, ‘interpreted’ Lucifus.
Now Tunthi is best described as barely human, poorly attired [in rat fur] and somewhat rank and odiferous to those near him. He is also incredibly large and possibly strong enough to rip most people in half. Both he and Lucifus exchanged quick words in the primitive Derman language while the half-orc sniffed around the new guests. Lucifus had by this stage determined that Derman was fortunately foreign to the Company of the Griffon.
Abacus who had by now stumbled upon Lucifus’s collection of demon skulls – some inscribed with a curious dialect rarely seen by mortals – called out to Demar, “I am not entirely happy with some of the articles this man has in his possession.” Lucifus in fact had a great number of questionable items in his possession as any comprehensive collection of lore on arcana and extraplanar activities eventually must. If Abacus had have ventured to the upper levels, hostile action would have been inevitable. Fortunately for the group and of course Lucifus Cray, Abacus kept his investigations to the lowest level.
Demar now turned back to Lucifus, “If Abacus has issues with some of your interests then so do I. While any support or assistance, particularly of the arcane variety is always appreciated, you are not doing much to further your cause here. We would need someone who was trustworthy and could act in a responsible manner. Your strange interests would seem to preclude…”
At this point, Demar’s postulating was interrupted by Tunthi the half-orc looking leeringly over at Rebecca and holding something out towards her whilst shuffling from foot to foot. Further examination revealed two coins of platinum being thrust at Rebecca. It took a few moments for all present to work out the intentions of the half-orc. The Bluster of Father Brian’s billowing protest then filled the air, “Well I never! This is an absolute disgrace to come here and be subjected to the fornicating desires of this beastly…”
“Tunthi esa nusay bilgus. Nusay bilgus”, Lucifus said mildly reproaching the half-orc [more for his frivolous generosity than the fact that the offer was not consonant with Rebecca’s dignity]. “I am terribly sorry young lady. Tunthi sometimes gets a little toey when in big cities like Nethendawe. I can assure you however that he was being untypically generous. Personally I would derive some level of compliment from his misguided display of affection.”
Rebecca, not easily flustered put a hand upon her weapon ready to draw it if Tunthi’s exuberance edged any closer. Tunthi however, looked downward, his disappointment obvious and firmly registered.
A further disturbance was heard from upstairs as a large bird descended towards Lucifus. At this, Titus’s crossbow was instantly out and loaded and Rebecca’s hand went from short sword to longbow, instantly drawing an arrow and placing a bead upon the raven; now freshly perched upon Lucifus’s shoulder.
Lucifus’s face was unmoved, the cordial smile not leaving for an instant. He then replied, “Friends, friends. Come now, this is my small companion. Surely she is not worthy of such dramatic attention?”
Demar who had gone on guard as well answered “I think you need to start explaining yourself a little more thoroughly now. We have had poor experiences with ravens of late. They have been used to spy upon our group’s activities much to our detriment.”
“Well surely you don’t think Winter here is any threat. She is quite friendly in fact.” Lucifus looked towards his familiar, “Go on why don’t you introduce yourself…”
It took a few moments before the bird coughed up a small squawk. Lucifus frowned. “Go on. Introduce yourself properly.”
“Hello” said the bird in a very croaky bird-like Beltratian [the Common tongue for the region].
This brought several strange looks from the party. “Unfortunately, her Beltratian is scatty at best. On the other hand though her Ambornan is perfectly fluent”, answered Lucifus.
Titus by now had perched himself at height upon the staircase, “Well I don’t care nuthin’ bout talking birdies. Pluck us one of its feathers and lets see what happens.”
Titus was obviously responding to their experiences where if a feather from one of their enemy’s ravens was dislodged and touched the ground, it would crumble upon the instant to dust. Lucifus knowing none of this responded diffidently, “I do not know of the suspicions you speak. Suffice to say that there is surely some form of misunderstanding here.”
The looks upon the faces of the party had not changed and in Father Brian’s case, his frown had deepened to outright hostility. “Oh very well then” said Lucifus quickly plucking one of Winter’s downy feathers from her breast. The raven squawked in extreme protest and flapped disgustedly back to the upper level. In the excitement, several feathers were left floating down to the ground. The party’s eyes followed the twisting path of the feathers to the floor. As the feathers hit the ground resting upon the flagstones unmolested, the party visibly eased. This seemed to assuage some of their concerns to Lucifus’s surprise. He then remembered something and smiled although not quite as cordially as before. “Well I hope that alleviates some of your concerns in regards to Winter. As you can see, she is not some devil spawn or arcane oddity. However, you have now got her most upset at me and I dare say I’ll need to perform several contortions of highest magnitude to placate her.”
Ever the icebreaker, Tunthi let loose a rancid expulsion of thunderous proportions. He looked around at his backside where a cage containing a toad rested at his hip. With exaggerated joy, he wafted the now acrid air towards the toad while excitedly repeating “fufi, fufi, fufi…”
“What on Urth is he doing”, said Demar stating the obvious mirthful confusion of everyone as Tunthi banged the metal cage in delight. “Do you normally let him treat your creatures in such manner?”
Smiling, Lucifus said “Tunthi has a certain emotional affinity and rapport with a variety of beasts. In regards to that nasty toad however, he does his best to torment the malignant thing.”
Nemhan, now aroused said, “What exactly are you saying? Is the toad… evil?’
“Well… “
“Well is it evil?
“I suppose its distorted morality could encompass such motives. It is certainly a most malevolent beastling”, Lucifus answered.
“ What do you mean by this?’ demanded Nemhan. “Is it some demon’s get you have captured and now torture?”
“Well Nemhan… may I call you Nemhan?” enquired Lucifus. “For a start, the creature is not mine, it is Tunthi’s and secondly, if you knew the whole story, you might not be so quick to judge Tunthi’s behaviour. He is in fact performing a most important duty and service for his clan in regards to this… toad.”
Nemhan, not able to contain either impulse or curiosity cast a magic and approached both Tunthi and his ‘companion’ whilst also trying to catch Lucifus within the spell’s range. Tunthi looked on harmlessly while the toad seemed to cower back uncomfortably from Nemhan’s aura. “It is most certainly evil”, reported Nemhan. “As to its origins, I cannot divine Lord Demar.”
Demar now spoke, “Again Lucifus, this seems most uncustomary. Why do you feel the need to have an evil toad? And certainly why is it evil in the first place? In fact, while you have rabbited on about your numerous virtues, you have not discussed a mote about what it is exactly that you are doing here, nor have you provided any background history for our groups discussion on your suitability for inclusion. In fact you have mounted an argument quite to the contrary.”
“Why Demar, as you can see if you look around, I am a merchant of various lore. In fact I travel from place to place with my tower providing assistance to interested and like-minded people. In truth though I have not always been a vendor. As for the toad’s malignancy, I suppose I must confess myself that I have not always followed the good path nor been the nicest of chaps either.”
“Wait a minute” demanded Father Brian, obviously unhappy with Lucifus’s personality and presentation thus far. “Do you follow some God or Deity that we should perhaps know about?”
Father Brian obviously expected to hear some form of tainted worship or cult membership.
“Well as a matter of fact, I have searched and found entities far more powerful than the commonly worshipped local deities.” To this, Father Brian of Galasso’s face purpled. Lucifus not noticing continued, “I suppose I have tried to reach beyond the normal boundaries customarily accepted by most mortals.”
At this point, Lucifus was doing his unwitting best to dig a rather large hole for himself, jump in and hand the group a series of spades.
Demar fortunately sought to take some of the heat out of the situation trying his best to give the man a chance [Lucifus might be very useful to the party after all]. “But you have swayed away from such evil doings now? You currently consider yourself good of heart so to speak?”
“Oh quite assuredly so Demar. I believe I have well and truly suffered the redemptive process in its entirety. Where as once I used to claim dominion over any creature I could bind to my will, now I am far more selective.”
“So you used to deal with evil beings as well!?” asked Father Brian.
“Of course, although demons while useful are somewhat flighty. Devils on the other hand are much more practical. However, they do abrade my sensibilities somewhat. I must say though, such creatures have advanced my power immeasurably. I suppose…”
Lucifus’s words were cut off by Demar placing a hand upon his massive hammer whilst quietly saying, “Let’s get one thing quite straight shall we if you wish to join us. If you so much as pretend to flicker one of these demons or devils into our presence, I will see to it personally that it shall be your last movement. On this may I have your sincere understanding?”
“Oh Demar, you have no need for such concerns at all. I have long given up dealing with such creatures. I have seen the error of my ways well and truly. I have not used such a creature to assassinate someone for what must be…”
“You were an assassin?!!!”, roared Father Brian. “I believe the current discussions have gone quite far enough! If the rest of you wish to stay hear and listen to this heathen dribble…”
“But I assure you good Father. I have most earnestly changed my ways. In fact I would consider myself most trustworthy… one of the reasons in fact that I have chosen the path of Merchant.”
Even Titus shook his head at this, trying his best to hold back a smirk as he balanced his crossbow at Lucifus’s head waiting for the go ahead.
“So, having reformed yourself from assassinations, you now wander around in this tower?” asked Demar. “How exactly do you carry it around?” he added.
“Why by magic of course. It is certainly one of the greatest Dweomers I have designed. I have titled it Lucifus’s Portable Tower. It is a very handy way of carrying all my libraries, materials and possessions from place to place. For example if you need to vacate a particular township in a hurry to evade the local authorities, you simply dismiss the tower and…”
“And you have needed to evade the law?” questioned Demar. Now Demar as a Knight Protector and most strict adherent to all things lawful waited patiently for the answer.
“No no no, of course not. I was merely speaking in theoretical terms. I make a hard and fast rule never to cheat a customer. Reputation is everything in my field. I would not want to be seen as breaking the law so to speak.”
“Well, if you insist upon your probity, we will have to believe you”, Demar said. “Nemhan does not seem to have divined differently [Nemhan shakes his head earnestly] and while some of your interests are off-putting, I suppose we all have our foibles. I do have a question for you though seeing as you have such an interest in books. If I wished for you to purchase a Master’s Library on historical scripts around the time of the Interregnum, you could quickly effect such a transaction?”
“Such a request could be easily achieved over time”, Lucifus answered.
“What do you mean by ‘achieved over time’?”
“Well”, said Lucifus. “You could not possibly expect to instantly…you see people will not just simply sell an entire collection like that. Such a collection is… well... collected.”
“Surely there would be some room for latitude?”
“Not as much room as you would wish. You could pay treble the market value… unless of course you wished to… de-possess someone of their library.”
“De-possess?”
“Steal. You know…nick their books”, added Titus, not passing up an opportunity to set the Knight off.
“No!” responded Demar emphatically. “I am most certainly not requesting you to thieve, steal or unlawfully attain someone else’s possessions. Such a library would be required to be lawfully purchased. I will not have my good name or the company’s stained by such activities. I was hoping for a more expedient transaction but if that is the way the wind blows, it is good knowledge to have I suppose. In any case, the issue at hand is your request to join the Company of the Griffon. While I am the leader of this group I would still prefer for individual responses from the party. A vote would be the most orderly and practical mechanism. Abacus, as my trusted advisor, what are your thoughts?”
“Well”, warmed Abacus to the task. “I have some concerns in regards to this man's past as well as some of the habits he has picked up from goodness knows where. From his unnatural collection and aerial acrobatics, I can see he is a wizard [Lucifus looks most affronted at this title] of considerable power. Whether he has the morals to use such power correctly is yet to be seen. As to any benefits he may supply the group… I am yet to come to a full and complete conclusion. As such Lord Demar, I will be in accord with your opinion and judgment”.
“Rebecca?” asked Demar.
“He could be useful. I fail to see too much of an issue with him as long as he keeps this hairy bag of filth and snot in line”, she said in her low cadent voice, her eyes distinctly upon Tunthi’s large back.
“Titus?”
“He looks the goods to me.”
“Father Brian?”
Looking disdainfully over at Lucifus who was now starting to hover upside-down in expectation of the priest’s poor opinion, Father Brian said “I will abstain from the poll and keep my opinions to myself”.
Such was the way Father Brian thought to register his most heavy disapproval. Surely the Company did not want to be morally weighed down by this ridiculous little man.
“Nemhan?”
“If he has changed his ways, I am all for giving someone a go” Nemhan answered.
While disturbed by some of Lucifus’s revelations and despite his party position being marginalised by another spellcaster, a mood of congeniality came over the elf to accede to Lucifus’s inclusion.
“Well” began Demar. “I suppose it falls to me to rubber stamp the invitation. The majority of you have chosen to give Lucifus here a go. But Lucifus Cray or whatever you wish to call yourself, understand one thing with clarity and precision. I will tolerate your addition so long as you toe the party line. Understand that we deal on a regular basis with the type of person you once were. If you ever fall back into earlier habits, your life will be quickly ended so long as I stand upon the soils of Urth. Anyway, meet with us this evening at the recently completed Mess Hall of my keep at the ringing of the 6th bell. We are actually making plans for an expedition on the morrow and so your input will be required if you truly wish to help us.” To the others Demar added, “And Lord Herland Ramus, Leader of my Order will be in attendance as well. He has communicated a gap in his schedule with the Governor so he will be present for the evening repast as well.”
With this, Lucifus bowed deeply and politely. “I thank you Lord Demar and all of you for your sincerest good will [this elicited a firm stare and jutted jaw from Father Brian]. I shall make my preparations for this evening’s gathering”. Smiling now he added, “I look forward to a little adventuring. It has been quite a while so thank you again for the opportunity”.
With this, the group departed Lucifus’s tower a little surprised at what had just happened. Surely they had not just asked an itinerant, thieving, demon summoning, raven owning, evil toad carrying, half-orc possessing, warlock-titled, godless, former assassin to become the newest member of the valorous Company of the Griffon? I suppose a Paladin was part of the group once so anything is possible.
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or I suppose a lot of people for that matter. As such, your reply and compliments are most sincerely appreciated. As much as I try to write for myself, receiving feedback is still gold. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the twists and turns that are slowly getting revealed and unravelled.
. But I do let some slip by without notice for extended periods of time sometimes, and I'll discover a really good one that has been staring me in the face without being read for months (recently tripped across The_Universe's story hour that way).
