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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 918681" data-attributes="member: 1210">An Audience with God-King MalfordAs the party heads towards King Malford's castle, Lester stops for a moment.&quot;Oh no!&quot; he gasps.&nbsp; He's staring into what appears to everyone else to be empty space.&nbsp; But to him-&quot;Noooo!&quot; he shouts, the fingers of his one hand clawing momentarily at his eyes.&nbsp; &quot;The spaces between the spaces!&nbsp; Aargh!&quot; Lester sees things.&nbsp; He's seen them before, long ago, when he touched a great, formless mind beyond mortal comprehension, accidentally, and a weird black fungus grew on his brain.&nbsp; He began to perceive strange things swimming between the spaces we all know; things that nobody else could seem to see.&nbsp; Then, slowly, over the course of months, his head began to swell... and he had developed a third eye that he couldn't control.&nbsp; It wasn't until his companions entered his head and killed the fungus that he returned to... well... relative normality.&nbsp; The third eye died, and his head shrank back down.&nbsp; They're back.&nbsp; Just for an instant, but it's enough to chill the L to his bones, enough to freak him out more than the Bile Lords or even Felenga ever could.&nbsp; Horbin eyes Lester warily and thinks of a priest he knows who's said similar things.***God-King Malford the Magnificent is pouring over maps of his domain- and, hopefully, of the areas he'll soon add to his domain- in one of the studies in his palace.&nbsp; He's intent on annexing Goldstone, a process that seems to be going well in the absence of the Tiger Princess.&nbsp; He hums softly to himself, making little marks on the parchment he's got unrolled across the marble table, when a page enters and clears his throat.&quot;Yes, yes, what is it?&quot; the gnome-king mumbles.&quot;Your pardon, Your Majesty... one of your old friends has come to beg an audience.&quot;&nbsp; The page, a half-elf, hesitates a beat, then adds, &quot;He's come with some... ahem... rough folk.&quot;&quot;Ah!&quot;&nbsp; Malford's eyes light up with good humor.&nbsp; &quot;Good, good!&nbsp; Belmondo, eh?&nbsp; I haven't seen him in quite a while!&quot;&quot;Ah, no, Your Majesty.&nbsp; It's Lester.&quot;&quot;Oh.&nbsp; I see.&quot;&nbsp; His enthusiasm dampened, Malford harrumphs, then says, &quot;Well, go ahead and admit him to the throne room in, say, fifteen minutes.&nbsp; I'll be there presently.&quot;&nbsp; He squints back over his maps, muttering briefly, then activates his rod of splendor to properly attire himself to impress and stumps off to his throne.When the party is ushered in to the chamber, they find themselves face-to-face with a living legend: Malford, First Companion of Dexter (the Son of Galador) himself, author of the King Malford Edition of the Galadron, former pirate and adventurer.&nbsp; The little gnome has gems and gold adorning his arms and neck, a golden fur from an aurumvorax upon his back.&nbsp; He sits in a large throne of wine-colored fey wood, its arms carved to resemble displacer beasts (his heraldric animal).&nbsp; He sports wild white hair and a small beard and moustache; in fact, he looks a lot like a large-nosed Einstein (though the analogy would be lost on him or any of our other heroes).&nbsp; Behind him is an elven archer, leaning insouciently against the wall.&nbsp; As one, the party bows.&quot;Uh, hey, there, Malford!&quot; calls Lester.&nbsp; &quot;Er, King Malford, I mean!&nbsp; Let me introduce everyone- this here's Horbin, he's a cleric of Dexter- you remember him, right, of course you do- let's see, this is Sybele, the red one's Angelfire, um, in the chain mail bikini is Sheva...&quot;&nbsp; When he's finished giving the names of the group to the impassive gnome-king, he continues, &quot;So, uh, how's it going?&quot;&nbsp; He gives Malford a large grin.&quot;Okay,&quot; the King answers.&nbsp; There is caution evident in his tone.&quot;How much money do you need?&quot; the elf calls sarcastically from behind his king.&quot;No, it's not like that!&quot; Lester protests, eyeing Drelvin the Archer, bodyguard of Malford's Queen, Moira, with distress.&nbsp; &quot;We just need a place to stay for the night, and we heard that, uh, Rajah's room was open.&quot;&quot;Oh, I don't know,&quot; Malford mumbles, his sharp eyes narrowing.&nbsp; &quot;What do you think, Charleston?&quot;After a moment (and a quick augury), a voice comes from Malford's invisible lamassu cohort.&nbsp; &quot;I recommend against it, Sire.&quot;&quot;Who've you pissed off this time?&quot; the King demands.&quot;Felenga, all right!&quot; Lester confesses.&nbsp; &quot;It's Felenga!&nbsp; But he's bad for everyone!&nbsp; C'mon, Malford, it's for the ultimate good of all Dorhaus!*&quot;&quot;Rajah's room, eh?&quot;&nbsp; King Malford purses his lips and seems to consider for a moment.&nbsp; &quot;How would you get in there anyway?&quot;&quot;Oh, uh, I can just pass through earth and stone and walk right in.&nbsp; You just tell me where it is.&quot;What is this 'Rajah's room' anyway? wonders the rest of the party.&nbsp; And where is it?&quot;And your companions?&quot;&quot;Well, they can trump in-&quot;&quot;No they can't.&nbsp; It's protected against such things.&quot;&quot;Well, they can teleport in-&quot;&quot;Not today we can't,&quot; Orbius reminds him.&quot;Uh, well, humm... we can work something out...&quot;&quot;Passwall?&quot; Orbius suggests.The King sighs.&nbsp; &quot;I'll tell you what.&nbsp; Give me the trump you have of me, and you can stay.&quot;&quot;What!&quot; Lester protests.&nbsp; &quot;I could get a lot of money for that!&quot;&nbsp; Malford's eyes harden, and the Elementalist hurriedly continues, &quot;Not that I'd do something like that, of course... aw, c'mon, Malford, I might need that sometime!&quot;&quot;I don't think you're responsible enough to have it,&quot; the gnome says.&nbsp; &quot;Well... all right, I'll tell you what,&quot; Lester tries.&nbsp; &quot;How about I'll give you the trump if you join us on our adventures?&quot;Drelvin, still behind the throne, snickers.Malford coughs into his hand.&nbsp; &quot;Oh, no, all that adventuring stuff- that's behind me.&nbsp; I've got kids now, and a wife- why, the Queen would kill me!&quot;&nbsp; He smiles.&nbsp; &quot;But give over the trump and you can stay in Rajah's room.&quot;The L sighs.&nbsp; &quot;Well, I guess, hm, you do have a lot of enemies, and I can definitely see why you wouldn't want them to get ahold of it... all right, all right!&quot;&nbsp; Reluctantly, he shuffles out Malford's trump and hands it over.&nbsp; And the party, with Malford's aid, has a room for the night.*Dorhaus is the continent on which Malford's kingdom is; Var is the city that is its capitol.Next Time: Lester continues to try to talk Malford into going adventuring!&nbsp; The destruction of the Temple of Elemental Good!&nbsp; And exeunt Sheva and Zeebo!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 918681, member: 1210"] [b]An Audience with God-King Malford[/b] As the party heads towards King Malford's castle, Lester stops for a moment. "Oh no!" he gasps. He's staring into what appears to everyone else to be empty space. But to him- "Noooo!" he shouts, the fingers of his one hand clawing momentarily at his eyes. "The spaces between the spaces! Aargh!" Lester [i]sees things.[/i] He's seen them before, long ago, when he touched a great, formless mind beyond mortal comprehension, accidentally, and a weird black fungus grew on his brain. He began to perceive strange things swimming between the spaces we all know; things that nobody else could seem to see. Then, slowly, over the course of months, his head began to swell... and he had developed a third eye that he couldn't control. It wasn't until his companions [i]entered his head and killed the fungus[/i] that he returned to... well... relative normality. The third eye died, and his head shrank back down. They're back. Just for an instant, but it's enough to chill the L to his bones, enough to freak him out more than the Bile Lords or even Felenga ever could. Horbin eyes Lester warily and thinks of a priest he knows who's said similar things. *** God-King Malford the Magnificent is pouring over maps of his domain- and, hopefully, of the areas he'll soon add to his domain- in one of the studies in his palace. He's intent on annexing Goldstone, a process that seems to be going well in the absence of the Tiger Princess. He hums softly to himself, making little marks on the parchment he's got unrolled across the marble table, when a page enters and clears his throat. "Yes, yes, what is it?" the gnome-king mumbles. "Your pardon, Your Majesty... one of your old friends has come to beg an audience." The page, a half-elf, hesitates a beat, then adds, "He's come with some... ahem... rough folk." "Ah!" Malford's eyes light up with good humor. "Good, good! Belmondo, eh? I haven't seen him in quite a while!" "Ah, no, Your Majesty. It's Lester." "Oh. I see." His enthusiasm dampened, Malford harrumphs, then says, "Well, go ahead and admit him to the throne room in, say, fifteen minutes. I'll be there presently." He squints back over his maps, muttering briefly, then activates his [i]rod of splendor[/i] to properly attire himself to impress and stumps off to his throne. When the party is ushered in to the chamber, they find themselves face-to-face with a living legend: Malford, First Companion of Dexter (the Son of Galador) himself, author of the King Malford Edition of the Galadron, former pirate and adventurer. The little gnome has gems and gold adorning his arms and neck, a golden fur from an aurumvorax upon his back. He sits in a large throne of wine-colored fey wood, its arms carved to resemble displacer beasts (his heraldric animal). He sports wild white hair and a small beard and moustache; in fact, he looks a lot like a large-nosed Einstein (though the analogy would be lost on him or any of our other heroes). Behind him is an elven archer, leaning insouciently against the wall. As one, the party bows. "Uh, hey, there, Malford!" calls Lester. "Er, King Malford, I mean! Let me introduce everyone- this here's Horbin, he's a cleric of Dexter- you remember him, right, of course you do- let's see, this is Sybele, the red one's Angelfire, um, in the chain mail bikini is Sheva..." When he's finished giving the names of the group to the impassive gnome-king, he continues, "So, uh, how's it going?" He gives Malford a large grin. "Okay," the King answers. There is caution evident in his tone. "How much money do you need?" the elf calls sarcastically from behind his king. "No, it's not like that!" Lester protests, eyeing Drelvin the Archer, bodyguard of Malford's Queen, Moira, with distress. "We just need a place to stay for the night, and we heard that, uh, Rajah's room was open." "Oh, I don't know," Malford mumbles, his sharp eyes narrowing. "What do you think, Charleston?" After a moment (and a quick [i]augury[/i]), a voice comes from Malford's invisible lamassu cohort. "I recommend against it, Sire." "Who've you pissed off this time?" the King demands. "Felenga, all right!" Lester confesses. "It's Felenga! But he's bad for everyone! C'mon, Malford, it's for the ultimate good of all Dorhaus!*" "Rajah's room, eh?" King Malford purses his lips and seems to consider for a moment. "How would you get in there anyway?" "Oh, uh, I can just [i]pass through earth and stone[/i] and walk right in. You just tell me where it is." [i]What is this 'Rajah's room' anyway?[/i] wonders the rest of the party. [i]And where is it?[/i] "And your companions?" "Well, they can trump in-" "No they can't. It's protected against such things." "Well, they can teleport in-" "Not today we can't," Orbius reminds him. "Uh, well, humm... we can work something out..." "[i]Passwall?[/i]" Orbius suggests. The King sighs. "I'll tell you what. Give me the trump you have of me, and you can stay." "What!" Lester protests. "I could get a lot of money for that!" Malford's eyes harden, and the Elementalist hurriedly continues, "Not that I'd do something like that, of course... aw, c'mon, Malford, I might need that sometime!" "I don't think you're responsible enough to have it," the gnome says. "Well... all right, I'll tell you what," Lester tries. "How about I'll give you the trump if you join us on our adventures?" Drelvin, still behind the throne, snickers. Malford coughs into his hand. "Oh, no, all that adventuring stuff- that's behind me. I've got kids now, and a wife- why, the Queen would kill me!" He smiles. "But give over the trump and you can stay in Rajah's room." The L sighs. "Well, I guess, hm, you do have a lot of enemies, and I can definitely see why you wouldn't want them to get ahold of it... all right, all right!" Reluctantly, he shuffles out Malford's trump and hands it over. And the party, with Malford's aid, has a room for the night. *Dorhaus is the continent on which Malford's kingdom is; Var is the city that is its capitol. [i][b]Next Time: [/b][/i][b][/b]Lester continues to try to talk Malford into going adventuring! The destruction of the Temple of Elemental Good! And exeunt Sheva and Zeebo! [/QUOTE]

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