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
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Talismans of Aerdrim
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="havenstone" data-source="post: 4703285" data-attributes="member: 61094"><p><strong>An Unexpected Knife</strong></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong>A MONTH INTO </strong></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">the long march, where the fertile Senalline low country begins rising into the dry, rugged grasslands of Arawai, a delegation of border villagers holds an audience with the Generals. Nina and Ontaya are both there with their respective Families when the lean, dusty village elders are admitted to the Generals’ presence.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">The head of the delegation spreads his hands in supplication. “Lords, as you know, we do not fall under the protection of either Wildengard or Guardwatch. With no soldiers to keep order, this region has been troubled for years by a robber named Athos – Tur Athos, lord of the plains, he calls himself. By now he has a hundred-odd thugs and barbarians at his command, and a tribeless Arawai as his lieutenant. They camp in the rough heights to the south and emerge to prey on all the villages and traders in the region. Your passage through our lands is an Ain-given chance to restore law and end Athos’ banditry forever!”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">The d’Aramant High General, Athriam, eagerly slams his fists together. “If we do not break Athos’ thieving rabble and bring back his head, let us not call ourselves men and Senallines. General Marcor, what say you? Will you join me to lead an expedition against him?” A cheer goes up from the assembled knights.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">“Yes – but not too large an expedition,” Marcor d’Syrnon replies judiciously. “We can’t slow down the main force’s progress toward Guardwatch. If we lead half our cavalry against this bandit army, along with a share of the strongest mercenaries, that should suffice.”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">General Sarquin d’Loriad speaks up. “For this aid, elders, we will require you to send a share of your villagers along with our army to help us settle and farm the plains after the great conquest.”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">The elders exchange relieved glances. “Of course, m’lords. Only destroy Athos, and a tenth of our people will follow you to Arawai.”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">The knights spend the rest of the day arguing over which of them will join the excursion against the bandits. All the party members end up being part of the force, and prepare to ride out the next morning under the joint command of Athriam and Marcor. Atrix ties a length of cloth firmly around his lower face to conceal his identity, but shrugs off with a “Don’t be silly,” his friends’ suggestion that he might want to sit this fight out.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong>BEFORE DAWN, ASH </strong></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">goes ahead with several scouts to locate the bandit camp. Tur Athos’ men are not hard to find, camped at the height of a field of massive boulders and caves; they have heard about the coming army, and have chosen a vantage where cavalry charges are impossible. Ash stealthily moves between the boulders, taking out enemy scouts and opening up a vantage for the coming attack.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">When the Senalline cavalry and mercenaries arrive, the bandits shower them with poisoned arrows, while barbarian spearmen and axmen descend into the stone field to meet them. Tur Athos, a huge man brandishing a battle-hammer, steps to the top of a craggy outcrop with his shield-guard and bellows his half-crazed defiance to the approaching knights. “This land is not yours and never will be, weaklings of Lynar!” General Marcor and a cluster of knights from all the families wend their way toward him, shields held above their heads to fend off arrows; Atrix and Lucian also start fighting their way through the boulder field.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">“Cover me,” Kyla says shortly to Adgar and Alan d’Loriad, and spurs her horse forward until she’s within bow range of Tur Athos. Then she begins firing a flurry of arrows from horseback, striking the bandit lord with ease despite the raised shields that surround him. Athos howls to his men to take “the Arawai archer” down. Adgar and Alan ride beside Kyla, shielding her from arrows, while Meeshak stays close to heal the wounds from any missiles that make it through. Carwyn stands beside her friend with a crossbow, and Ontaya and her six squires form a wall of swords in front of them, felling dozens of bandits as they break from the rocks. Ash joins them, along with Darren and the gray dwarrow. </span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Without warning, Athos’ second-in-command, a renegade Arawai, emerges with several dozen hard fighters to plow into Darren and the dwarrow. Darren manages to duck away with a nasty head wound, firing back with needles coated in a sleeping potion. The bandit Arawai stumbles, his muscles suddenly sluggish, and has no time to recover before Ontaya and Dorma burst through his spear guard to strike him down. At almost the same time, one of Kyla’s arrows finds Tur Athos’ eye. The over-confident bandit lord topples from his crag to groans from his own men and wild cheers from the Senallines.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">There remains some intense combat between the desperate bandits and the conquering knights. Capping off her achievement in killing Athos, Kyla saves the lives of two squires who have been persecuting her since Wildengard. Nina and Agerain fight back-to-back when Agerain loses his horse. The masked Atrix and Lucian mow through the bandits, each a bit miffed that Kyla stole his chance to strike down the bandit lord in single combat.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Through the fray, Atrix is surprised to glimpse his cousin <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/4517926-post41.html" target="_blank">Serif</a> d’Loriad, the cheery drunkard his father proposed as a substitute ring-brother. Serif is looking glassy-eyed and walking with jerky movements into the circle of knights surrounding General Marcor d’Syrnon. <em>Drunk again, cousin–here? </em>he thinks incredulously. <em>No</em>. “Something’s wrong,” he mutters to Lucian. “Something – ah, Ain!” He is too far away to do anything as the pudgy Serif pulls a knife and plunges it into General Marcor’s leg. The d’Syrnon commander shouts in surprise as much as pain, then goes pale and sags in his horse as he is stabbed again. </span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Atrix’s old friend <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/4410575-post25.html" target="_blank">Jaron</a> d’Syrnon cries out in rage and rides Serif down, killing him almost instantly. Marcor clutches at the air, gasping for breath, his face the color of ash. “The General is hurt – get him to the priests!” Jaron screams, and the circle of knights begins pulling back through the boulders. Atrix and Lucian charge over to cover their retreat, along with several other knights. In the confusion, Atrix is able to drag Serif’s trampled body away into a rocky alcove.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">The dwarrow arrive moments later, charging past Atrix into battle. Darren hangs back when he recognizes his masked friend, and grabs Meeshak as he is about to run past them. “What just happened?”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">“My harmless, drunken cousin stabbed General Marcor with a poisoned knife,” Atrix says with bitter bemusement. “The way he was moving, the way he looked... he wasn’t himself, I’d swear it. There’s some deviltry involved here. Some plot to dishonor the d’Loriads.”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Meeshak looks around, then speaks in a low voice. “It’s possible for a priest to control a man’s mind and movements. The Sistecherns know how to do it, and are freer in using the charm than other Orders.”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Atrix’s face is taut, furious. “No one can know that it was a d’Loriad who did this.”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Meeshak looks clinically at Serif’s battered body. “Well, we’re halfway there already. Give me a minute.” Darren and Atrix queasily avert their eyes while Meeshak goes to work. “Right. No one will recognize him now. Leave him – quick, back to the fighting, before any of us are missed.”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong>THE BANDITS ARE</strong></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"> soon routed, with only a handful of survivors straggling out into the plains. The Senalline victors are grim and subdued, however; Marcor d’Syrnon is dead, his heart stopped by poison and his soul fled beyond Resuscitation before he reached the priests. Jaron d’Syrnon swears hotly that he killed the murderer, but hesitates when asked if he saw who it was, and admits he didn’t get a clear view of the man’s face. They ride back through the evening and are back in the camp by nightfall. The initial burst of revelry is soon quenched as the news of the General’s mysterious murder spreads through the camp.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">“Darren!” Calla bursts from the crowd, pale at the sight of the many injuries on Darren and the dwarrow. She begins cleaning their wounds, ignoring Darren’s protests that he’ll be able to get that taken care of by a cleric soon. Then Calla straightens, going even paler.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Feeling a certain déjà vu from the <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/4440912-post36.html" target="_blank">Grand Ball</a>, Darren looks around to see Mercon d’Aramant regarding them with implacable displeasure. The sandy-haired General walks up to them and says stonily, “My niece is to be courted by a <em>dwarrow</em>?”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">“Uncle,” Calla says breathlessly. He cuts her off with a gesture. Two smirking northern d’Aramant cousins appear and escort Calla away; the mocking note in their whispers to her is obvious. Darren opens his mouth to speak, but Mercon shakes his head. “Be silent, boy. She’s meant for higher things than you can possibly offer. It will go hard with you if I hear that she has been seen with you again.” Darren remains silent as the General walks away.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong>UNDER COVER OF </strong></span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">night, Atrix takes the risk of finding Adgar (along with Kyla) and telling him that it was Serif who killed Marcor. Adgar is floored. “’Trix – I can’t believe it. Serif was the least violent person in the Family, even in his cups.”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">“That’s what I’d thought,” Atrix agrees. “He wasn’t even a squire, was he?”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">“No, he’d been studying with the Sage of the Merle Tower – <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/4439076-post34.html" target="_blank">Aleander</a>.” Neither of them see Kyla’s knuckles whiten around her bow.</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="havenstone, post: 4703285, member: 61094"] [b]An Unexpected Knife[/b] [FONT=Verdana][B]A MONTH INTO [/B][/FONT][FONT=Verdana]the long march, where the fertile Senalline low country begins rising into the dry, rugged grasslands of Arawai, a delegation of border villagers holds an audience with the Generals. Nina and Ontaya are both there with their respective Families when the lean, dusty village elders are admitted to the Generals’ presence.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]The head of the delegation spreads his hands in supplication. “Lords, as you know, we do not fall under the protection of either Wildengard or Guardwatch. With no soldiers to keep order, this region has been troubled for years by a robber named Athos – Tur Athos, lord of the plains, he calls himself. By now he has a hundred-odd thugs and barbarians at his command, and a tribeless Arawai as his lieutenant. They camp in the rough heights to the south and emerge to prey on all the villages and traders in the region. Your passage through our lands is an Ain-given chance to restore law and end Athos’ banditry forever!”[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]The d’Aramant High General, Athriam, eagerly slams his fists together. “If we do not break Athos’ thieving rabble and bring back his head, let us not call ourselves men and Senallines. General Marcor, what say you? Will you join me to lead an expedition against him?” A cheer goes up from the assembled knights.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]“Yes – but not too large an expedition,” Marcor d’Syrnon replies judiciously. “We can’t slow down the main force’s progress toward Guardwatch. If we lead half our cavalry against this bandit army, along with a share of the strongest mercenaries, that should suffice.”[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]General Sarquin d’Loriad speaks up. “For this aid, elders, we will require you to send a share of your villagers along with our army to help us settle and farm the plains after the great conquest.”[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]The elders exchange relieved glances. “Of course, m’lords. Only destroy Athos, and a tenth of our people will follow you to Arawai.”[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]The knights spend the rest of the day arguing over which of them will join the excursion against the bandits. All the party members end up being part of the force, and prepare to ride out the next morning under the joint command of Athriam and Marcor. Atrix ties a length of cloth firmly around his lower face to conceal his identity, but shrugs off with a “Don’t be silly,” his friends’ suggestion that he might want to sit this fight out.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana][B]BEFORE DAWN, ASH [/B][/FONT][FONT=Verdana]goes ahead with several scouts to locate the bandit camp. Tur Athos’ men are not hard to find, camped at the height of a field of massive boulders and caves; they have heard about the coming army, and have chosen a vantage where cavalry charges are impossible. Ash stealthily moves between the boulders, taking out enemy scouts and opening up a vantage for the coming attack.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]When the Senalline cavalry and mercenaries arrive, the bandits shower them with poisoned arrows, while barbarian spearmen and axmen descend into the stone field to meet them. Tur Athos, a huge man brandishing a battle-hammer, steps to the top of a craggy outcrop with his shield-guard and bellows his half-crazed defiance to the approaching knights. “This land is not yours and never will be, weaklings of Lynar!” General Marcor and a cluster of knights from all the families wend their way toward him, shields held above their heads to fend off arrows; Atrix and Lucian also start fighting their way through the boulder field.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]“Cover me,” Kyla says shortly to Adgar and Alan d’Loriad, and spurs her horse forward until she’s within bow range of Tur Athos. Then she begins firing a flurry of arrows from horseback, striking the bandit lord with ease despite the raised shields that surround him. Athos howls to his men to take “the Arawai archer” down. Adgar and Alan ride beside Kyla, shielding her from arrows, while Meeshak stays close to heal the wounds from any missiles that make it through. Carwyn stands beside her friend with a crossbow, and Ontaya and her six squires form a wall of swords in front of them, felling dozens of bandits as they break from the rocks. Ash joins them, along with Darren and the gray dwarrow. [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]Without warning, Athos’ second-in-command, a renegade Arawai, emerges with several dozen hard fighters to plow into Darren and the dwarrow. Darren manages to duck away with a nasty head wound, firing back with needles coated in a sleeping potion. The bandit Arawai stumbles, his muscles suddenly sluggish, and has no time to recover before Ontaya and Dorma burst through his spear guard to strike him down. At almost the same time, one of Kyla’s arrows finds Tur Athos’ eye. The over-confident bandit lord topples from his crag to groans from his own men and wild cheers from the Senallines.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]There remains some intense combat between the desperate bandits and the conquering knights. Capping off her achievement in killing Athos, Kyla saves the lives of two squires who have been persecuting her since Wildengard. Nina and Agerain fight back-to-back when Agerain loses his horse. The masked Atrix and Lucian mow through the bandits, each a bit miffed that Kyla stole his chance to strike down the bandit lord in single combat.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]Through the fray, Atrix is surprised to glimpse his cousin [URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/4517926-post41.html"]Serif[/URL] d’Loriad, the cheery drunkard his father proposed as a substitute ring-brother. Serif is looking glassy-eyed and walking with jerky movements into the circle of knights surrounding General Marcor d’Syrnon. [I]Drunk again, cousin–here? [/I]he thinks incredulously. [I]No[/I]. “Something’s wrong,” he mutters to Lucian. “Something – ah, Ain!” He is too far away to do anything as the pudgy Serif pulls a knife and plunges it into General Marcor’s leg. The d’Syrnon commander shouts in surprise as much as pain, then goes pale and sags in his horse as he is stabbed again. [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]Atrix’s old friend [URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/4410575-post25.html"]Jaron[/URL] d’Syrnon cries out in rage and rides Serif down, killing him almost instantly. Marcor clutches at the air, gasping for breath, his face the color of ash. “The General is hurt – get him to the priests!” Jaron screams, and the circle of knights begins pulling back through the boulders. Atrix and Lucian charge over to cover their retreat, along with several other knights. In the confusion, Atrix is able to drag Serif’s trampled body away into a rocky alcove.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]The dwarrow arrive moments later, charging past Atrix into battle. Darren hangs back when he recognizes his masked friend, and grabs Meeshak as he is about to run past them. “What just happened?”[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]“My harmless, drunken cousin stabbed General Marcor with a poisoned knife,” Atrix says with bitter bemusement. “The way he was moving, the way he looked... he wasn’t himself, I’d swear it. There’s some deviltry involved here. Some plot to dishonor the d’Loriads.”[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]Meeshak looks around, then speaks in a low voice. “It’s possible for a priest to control a man’s mind and movements. The Sistecherns know how to do it, and are freer in using the charm than other Orders.”[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]Atrix’s face is taut, furious. “No one can know that it was a d’Loriad who did this.”[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]Meeshak looks clinically at Serif’s battered body. “Well, we’re halfway there already. Give me a minute.” Darren and Atrix queasily avert their eyes while Meeshak goes to work. “Right. No one will recognize him now. Leave him – quick, back to the fighting, before any of us are missed.”[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana][B]THE BANDITS ARE[/B][/FONT][FONT=Verdana] soon routed, with only a handful of survivors straggling out into the plains. The Senalline victors are grim and subdued, however; Marcor d’Syrnon is dead, his heart stopped by poison and his soul fled beyond Resuscitation before he reached the priests. Jaron d’Syrnon swears hotly that he killed the murderer, but hesitates when asked if he saw who it was, and admits he didn’t get a clear view of the man’s face. They ride back through the evening and are back in the camp by nightfall. The initial burst of revelry is soon quenched as the news of the General’s mysterious murder spreads through the camp.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]“Darren!” Calla bursts from the crowd, pale at the sight of the many injuries on Darren and the dwarrow. She begins cleaning their wounds, ignoring Darren’s protests that he’ll be able to get that taken care of by a cleric soon. Then Calla straightens, going even paler.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]Feeling a certain déjà vu from the [URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/4440912-post36.html"]Grand Ball[/URL], Darren looks around to see Mercon d’Aramant regarding them with implacable displeasure. The sandy-haired General walks up to them and says stonily, “My niece is to be courted by a [I]dwarrow[/I]?”[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]“Uncle,” Calla says breathlessly. He cuts her off with a gesture. Two smirking northern d’Aramant cousins appear and escort Calla away; the mocking note in their whispers to her is obvious. Darren opens his mouth to speak, but Mercon shakes his head. “Be silent, boy. She’s meant for higher things than you can possibly offer. It will go hard with you if I hear that she has been seen with you again.” Darren remains silent as the General walks away.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana][B]UNDER COVER OF [/B][/FONT][FONT=Verdana]night, Atrix takes the risk of finding Adgar (along with Kyla) and telling him that it was Serif who killed Marcor. Adgar is floored. “’Trix – I can’t believe it. Serif was the least violent person in the Family, even in his cups.”[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]“That’s what I’d thought,” Atrix agrees. “He wasn’t even a squire, was he?”[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]“No, he’d been studying with the Sage of the Merle Tower – [URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/4439076-post34.html"]Aleander[/URL].” Neither of them see Kyla’s knuckles whiten around her bow.[/FONT] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Talismans of Aerdrim
Top