Graywolf-ELM
Explorer
Wow, I hadn't thought of this thread for a good long while. 3 months to be sure. I hope the game goes well.
GW
GW
DM Brainiac's Prison of the Firebringer (Updated 12/21/05)
ltclnlbrain
First Post
::blows the dust off the thread::
Oh man. Is this thing still around?
Glad to hear you like the story, Faulkin. And Terenon might come back? That's great! We'd love to have him back; the game's slowed down a bit lately, and he'd be just the kick we need to get things going again. Plus there are some loose storylines we can tie up.
Sorry about not updating in a long time. I got World of Warcraft and...well, you can imagine how that story goes. MMORPGs are huge time sinks. At any rate, there's still a lot of catching up that needs to be done. Look for an update by the end of the week probably.
Oh man. Is this thing still around?
Glad to hear you like the story, Faulkin. And Terenon might come back? That's great! We'd love to have him back; the game's slowed down a bit lately, and he'd be just the kick we need to get things going again. Plus there are some loose storylines we can tie up.
Sorry about not updating in a long time. I got World of Warcraft and...well, you can imagine how that story goes. MMORPGs are huge time sinks. At any rate, there's still a lot of catching up that needs to be done. Look for an update by the end of the week probably.
ltclnlbrain
First Post
Chapter 32
"You travel upon our road, short ones. We demand you pay us a toll for using it."
Jelani rolled his eyes. The five frost giants who stood alongside the road ahead were illuminated by the fading rays of the setting sun. Behind the mystic theurge, his other companions and Taigiel watched the giants warily, hands hovering near their weapons.
Right, like we carry around a thousand gold pieces on each of our persons all the time, Jelani thought to himself. He sighed and stepped forward before beginning to speak in the rumbling tongue of the Giant language.
"Don’t be foolish, we could crush the lot of you in less than a minute if we really had the desire. Luckily for you, we both have the same enemy. Take us to your leader and we’ll speak of an alliance to destroy the dragon Acessiwal. That is unless you’d prefer to be crushed under the might of the dragon’s armies?"
One giant stepped forward as well, laughing heartily. The other four shared the chuckle. "Tiny fool! Do you really think we would want to fight the white wyrm? He has crushed us many times in the past, scattered our once mighty kingdom into dozens of pitiful tribes! Our leaders are dead, and all we care about now is survival. Give us your money or we will take it from your dead corpses."
Though Rumar did not understand the language, there was one word that was unmistakable: Acessiwal. Alarmed, the paladin strode up beside Jelani.
""What have you told them of the dragon?" he asked Jelani, spreading his wings and slowly propelling himself up to look into the speaking giant's eyes. "Whatever you said, it seems clear their response was negative."
The giant stared at the paladin, snorting, as he reached into a bag at his waist and retrieved a boulder. He sneered at Rumar and casually tossed the rock up and down, a silent threat. Rumar nodded slightly. "If you have told them of our quest and they still refuse to remove themselves from our path, then they are clearly no more than spineless cowards," he continued, raising his voice loudly as he glared at the frost giants.
Well, Rumar may not have been able to understand the giants, but the giants were certainly able to understand him, especially his words of challenge. They reared back and hurled enormous rocks at the paladin. A few clattered off his shield and armor, and two missed him completely, sending up plumes of snow as they hit the ground.
Roaring in challenge, the giants started forward, drawing enormous greataxes as they approached. "Your life ends here!"
Jelani snarled as he too began floating in the air, the winds of Akadi buoying up above the tundra. "Your choice is that your families have perished in vain, your bloodlines will end here and now; and there will be no vengeance. You truly honor the fallen by your cowardice...if you reconsider be clear about your surrender." He gestured and whispered a prayer, and a roaring column of divine flame engulfed the lead giant. The giant howled in pain as the fire seared his flesh.
"Jeez, so much for diplomacy," said Grundar, drawing his rapier and activating his blinking ring.
"Where diplomacy fails, might prevails, my friend," said Rhys. "Let Torm's holy flame show them the error of their ways!" In a mimic of Jelani's spell, the priest summoned another column of divine fire down on the lead giant. He staggered to a knee, barely able to keep standing.
Rumar grunted with some satisfaction as the boulders go tumbling about, signaling the beginning of the fight. Petty as it was, he was glad this had happened - nothing quite like a good ol' straight-forward battle with giants to help bolster the confidence.
Besides, perhaps if they proved they could handle themselves the giants would be willing to back down. Healing spells could always be administered after.
"Nostramos!" he bellowed, twin blasts of energy bursting forth from his eyes to hungrily seek his opponent's flesh. The searing lights burned into the lead giant, and with a groan he collapsed forward onto his face.
Terenon laughed to himself as he worked a powerful spell. "Frost giants are notoriously weak-minded. Time to hold them all." And with that he unleashed a chained hold monster spell, tendrils of magic extending from his hands and seeping into their minds.
Terenon's triumphant smile quickly faded, though, as all four giants were utterly unaffected by the spell.
Releasing ululating battle cries, the giants charged forward, crashing into the front ranks and delivering devastating cuts with their massive axes. Grundar, Rumar, and Taigiel each took a hit, their blood staining the snow red.
"You spread your energies too thinly, Terenon," Allanon commented, grinning. He worked a spell similar to Terenon's though he focused solely on the giant engaging Taigiel. As the giant froze in place, the wild mage shot the evoker an imperious look.
In the thick of the melee, Taigiel snarled at the helpless giant. "I have killed many of your kind in the past, giant. You will not stop me from reaching Coldheart now!" Baring his vicious fangs, the half-dragon reared back and plunged his longsword deep into the giant's belly in a coup de grace. Taigiel tore the blade back out as the giant toppled backward, spilling entrails as it hit the ground with a resounding thud.
"Still fighting?" asked Jelani. "How about this?" He sent a coruscating ray of energy into the giant fighting Grundar, and the giant sagged noticeably as his strength was sapped from him. Seizing the opportunity, Grundar jabbed his rapier into the weakened giant, scoring two telling hits.
The other giant raised its axe to bring it down upon Rumar again, but before it could complete its attack, Rhys completed another spell and the axe shattered into numerous fragments. The giant cried out in surprise and shielded his eyes as the fragments flew past his face.
"Ha!" Rumar barked as he flitted about, slashing at the unarmed giant with Pergium. "We have you outnumbered now and outmanuvered! Surrender now while you still have the breath to do so, lest I run you through!"
The fourth giant, who had hung back thus far, called out a command and the two up front stopped fighting. As Grundar and Rumar lowered their weapons, the two wounded giants scurried back to a position of relative safety.
"We surrender," called the unwounded giant. "We did not expect you to be so powerful."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taigiel stared at the giants menacingly, growling low in the back of his throat. "We should not let them leave this place," he said. "They are evil to the core, and will bully and hurt more travelers if we do not deal with them."
Terenon gave the halfbreed a stern look. "They have more use than food for vultures. To succeed against Acessiwal, we will need to use cunning, make alliances, and choose our battles."
The half-dragon snarled louder as he loomed over the smaller wizard, but before it could come to blows, Rhys stepped between them. "Terenon don't criticize Taigiel for what he thinks," the priest told the mage. "I too don't trust the giants, but I do see the potential benifits that could come from an alliance with them against Acessiwal." Then he turned to Taigiel. "Taigiel, for one who'd been mistrusted all his life and considering the oath you swore, should not any aid, even form these evil giants, be considered valuable?" Both wizard and dragonspawn were silent for a few moments, then Taigiel spat on the snow and strode away a fair distance.
Terenon nodded, then moved forward a bit and called out to the giants. "We wanted to speak with you, not fight. Choose to be our allies and we will crush Acessiwal together. Your kind will triumph over the dragons and his minions with our aid."
The giant spokesman regarded his two fallen brethren, then turned to glare at Terenon. "The fallen have met a valiant end and our with our lord Thrym now. Bring them back if you wish, but we will not fight the white wyrm. Too many of our number have already fallen to his minions: we are on the verge of extinction, having to extort and raid travelers just to maintain our existence. We cannot risk it further."
Terenon's eyes flashed with anger. "A valiant end?!? They died for nothing. Look at you, you cower like kobolds before us. 'Please don't kill us little ones.' You are not worthy of an alliance. The wyrm has stripped you of courage. You are not worthy to speak the name of Lord Thrym. You are not worthy of your heritage. If you don't have the heart for revenge or to see your clans powerful once more, then run like cockroaches before torch light."
"If you seek their deaths, there is no better way than to belittle their pride and goad them into attacking," Rumar remarked as he strode to stand between Terenon and the giants. He favored the mage with a disapproving glare. "I had not thought you such a bloodthirsty person, Terenon. Do their lives mean so little to you? Are you that much better than them?"
Clearing his throat, Rumar nodded at the giants. "If you will not help us, than you may take your dead and leave. Know that I will brook no more of these occurances though - hear I of continued robbery and murder and I will be more than willing to consider thee and thy clan a lost cause. My fury will be no less intense than if you were to attempt retribution upon as directly."
The three giants stared daggers at Terenon, fists clenched. At Rumar's words, the spokesman nodded curtly. "We will not bother you further. You will have safe passage through our lands, at least from us. We will be on our way."
The other two giants picked up the fallen ones, hefting them bodily over their shoulders. They then turned west and walk off into the icy plains.
Terenon shot a look at Rumar as the giants departed. The paladin seemed to be bound and determined to get under his skin. "I belittle nothing. They have no pride, Rumar. They have nothing to be proud of."
The mage let his anger subside. The emotion was more about the waste of strong swordarms connected to the hearts of cowards, than anything else. "Yes, I am better than them. They serve no useful purpose. They provide no benefit to the world around them or to us."
"Does my sister know of how little you value the lives of others?" Rumar replied. "How you would have slaughtered those for no reason other than you see no reason for them to exist and because they were unwilling to throw their lives away for our cause? How would she look on you now, twisted with anger and so certain of your own worth?"
Rumar gestured in the direction the giant's have fled as he continued. "They are evil creatures, yet their lands have been shattered, their people slain; they are merely trying to survive. How they chose to deal with their situation was wrong, yet it does not merit them execution merely because you believe they do not serve enough purpose in the grand scheme of things. I would say that it is dubious at the end of the day whether or not you, nonetheless any of us, serve a benefit to the world around us. This is why I do not trust of you. This is why I will never approve of you, mage, or any relationship you may have with my sister. I fight to make it so ones such as they may perhaps live a better life one day, lifted from their squalor. Your reasons for battling often seem much less defined and prone to fits of emotion."
And then, after all that, Rumar concluded things with merely a shrug, apparently having decided that is the end of that. "Let us continue. I have no desire to fall prey to those golems that only may still remain trapped within the snow and ice."
As the paladin walked away, Terenon couldn't help but feel amused. Rumar obviously had some very strong feelings about him dating his sister. He wondered if the paladin would explode when he found out that he wanted to marry her. He let Rumar have the last word. It was the least he could do for his future brother-in-law. Maybe he would ask him to be the best man.
"Looks like its going to get dark soon," Grundar commented, still unsettled by the confrontation between Rumar and Terenon. "We'd better find a place to camp for tonight."
"You travel upon our road, short ones. We demand you pay us a toll for using it."
Jelani rolled his eyes. The five frost giants who stood alongside the road ahead were illuminated by the fading rays of the setting sun. Behind the mystic theurge, his other companions and Taigiel watched the giants warily, hands hovering near their weapons.
Right, like we carry around a thousand gold pieces on each of our persons all the time, Jelani thought to himself. He sighed and stepped forward before beginning to speak in the rumbling tongue of the Giant language.
"Don’t be foolish, we could crush the lot of you in less than a minute if we really had the desire. Luckily for you, we both have the same enemy. Take us to your leader and we’ll speak of an alliance to destroy the dragon Acessiwal. That is unless you’d prefer to be crushed under the might of the dragon’s armies?"
One giant stepped forward as well, laughing heartily. The other four shared the chuckle. "Tiny fool! Do you really think we would want to fight the white wyrm? He has crushed us many times in the past, scattered our once mighty kingdom into dozens of pitiful tribes! Our leaders are dead, and all we care about now is survival. Give us your money or we will take it from your dead corpses."
Though Rumar did not understand the language, there was one word that was unmistakable: Acessiwal. Alarmed, the paladin strode up beside Jelani.
""What have you told them of the dragon?" he asked Jelani, spreading his wings and slowly propelling himself up to look into the speaking giant's eyes. "Whatever you said, it seems clear their response was negative."
The giant stared at the paladin, snorting, as he reached into a bag at his waist and retrieved a boulder. He sneered at Rumar and casually tossed the rock up and down, a silent threat. Rumar nodded slightly. "If you have told them of our quest and they still refuse to remove themselves from our path, then they are clearly no more than spineless cowards," he continued, raising his voice loudly as he glared at the frost giants.
Well, Rumar may not have been able to understand the giants, but the giants were certainly able to understand him, especially his words of challenge. They reared back and hurled enormous rocks at the paladin. A few clattered off his shield and armor, and two missed him completely, sending up plumes of snow as they hit the ground.
Roaring in challenge, the giants started forward, drawing enormous greataxes as they approached. "Your life ends here!"
Jelani snarled as he too began floating in the air, the winds of Akadi buoying up above the tundra. "Your choice is that your families have perished in vain, your bloodlines will end here and now; and there will be no vengeance. You truly honor the fallen by your cowardice...if you reconsider be clear about your surrender." He gestured and whispered a prayer, and a roaring column of divine flame engulfed the lead giant. The giant howled in pain as the fire seared his flesh.
"Jeez, so much for diplomacy," said Grundar, drawing his rapier and activating his blinking ring.
"Where diplomacy fails, might prevails, my friend," said Rhys. "Let Torm's holy flame show them the error of their ways!" In a mimic of Jelani's spell, the priest summoned another column of divine fire down on the lead giant. He staggered to a knee, barely able to keep standing.
Rumar grunted with some satisfaction as the boulders go tumbling about, signaling the beginning of the fight. Petty as it was, he was glad this had happened - nothing quite like a good ol' straight-forward battle with giants to help bolster the confidence.
Besides, perhaps if they proved they could handle themselves the giants would be willing to back down. Healing spells could always be administered after.
"Nostramos!" he bellowed, twin blasts of energy bursting forth from his eyes to hungrily seek his opponent's flesh. The searing lights burned into the lead giant, and with a groan he collapsed forward onto his face.
Terenon laughed to himself as he worked a powerful spell. "Frost giants are notoriously weak-minded. Time to hold them all." And with that he unleashed a chained hold monster spell, tendrils of magic extending from his hands and seeping into their minds.
Terenon's triumphant smile quickly faded, though, as all four giants were utterly unaffected by the spell.
Releasing ululating battle cries, the giants charged forward, crashing into the front ranks and delivering devastating cuts with their massive axes. Grundar, Rumar, and Taigiel each took a hit, their blood staining the snow red.
"You spread your energies too thinly, Terenon," Allanon commented, grinning. He worked a spell similar to Terenon's though he focused solely on the giant engaging Taigiel. As the giant froze in place, the wild mage shot the evoker an imperious look.
In the thick of the melee, Taigiel snarled at the helpless giant. "I have killed many of your kind in the past, giant. You will not stop me from reaching Coldheart now!" Baring his vicious fangs, the half-dragon reared back and plunged his longsword deep into the giant's belly in a coup de grace. Taigiel tore the blade back out as the giant toppled backward, spilling entrails as it hit the ground with a resounding thud.
"Still fighting?" asked Jelani. "How about this?" He sent a coruscating ray of energy into the giant fighting Grundar, and the giant sagged noticeably as his strength was sapped from him. Seizing the opportunity, Grundar jabbed his rapier into the weakened giant, scoring two telling hits.
The other giant raised its axe to bring it down upon Rumar again, but before it could complete its attack, Rhys completed another spell and the axe shattered into numerous fragments. The giant cried out in surprise and shielded his eyes as the fragments flew past his face.
"Ha!" Rumar barked as he flitted about, slashing at the unarmed giant with Pergium. "We have you outnumbered now and outmanuvered! Surrender now while you still have the breath to do so, lest I run you through!"
The fourth giant, who had hung back thus far, called out a command and the two up front stopped fighting. As Grundar and Rumar lowered their weapons, the two wounded giants scurried back to a position of relative safety.
"We surrender," called the unwounded giant. "We did not expect you to be so powerful."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taigiel stared at the giants menacingly, growling low in the back of his throat. "We should not let them leave this place," he said. "They are evil to the core, and will bully and hurt more travelers if we do not deal with them."
Terenon gave the halfbreed a stern look. "They have more use than food for vultures. To succeed against Acessiwal, we will need to use cunning, make alliances, and choose our battles."
The half-dragon snarled louder as he loomed over the smaller wizard, but before it could come to blows, Rhys stepped between them. "Terenon don't criticize Taigiel for what he thinks," the priest told the mage. "I too don't trust the giants, but I do see the potential benifits that could come from an alliance with them against Acessiwal." Then he turned to Taigiel. "Taigiel, for one who'd been mistrusted all his life and considering the oath you swore, should not any aid, even form these evil giants, be considered valuable?" Both wizard and dragonspawn were silent for a few moments, then Taigiel spat on the snow and strode away a fair distance.
Terenon nodded, then moved forward a bit and called out to the giants. "We wanted to speak with you, not fight. Choose to be our allies and we will crush Acessiwal together. Your kind will triumph over the dragons and his minions with our aid."
The giant spokesman regarded his two fallen brethren, then turned to glare at Terenon. "The fallen have met a valiant end and our with our lord Thrym now. Bring them back if you wish, but we will not fight the white wyrm. Too many of our number have already fallen to his minions: we are on the verge of extinction, having to extort and raid travelers just to maintain our existence. We cannot risk it further."
Terenon's eyes flashed with anger. "A valiant end?!? They died for nothing. Look at you, you cower like kobolds before us. 'Please don't kill us little ones.' You are not worthy of an alliance. The wyrm has stripped you of courage. You are not worthy to speak the name of Lord Thrym. You are not worthy of your heritage. If you don't have the heart for revenge or to see your clans powerful once more, then run like cockroaches before torch light."
"If you seek their deaths, there is no better way than to belittle their pride and goad them into attacking," Rumar remarked as he strode to stand between Terenon and the giants. He favored the mage with a disapproving glare. "I had not thought you such a bloodthirsty person, Terenon. Do their lives mean so little to you? Are you that much better than them?"
Clearing his throat, Rumar nodded at the giants. "If you will not help us, than you may take your dead and leave. Know that I will brook no more of these occurances though - hear I of continued robbery and murder and I will be more than willing to consider thee and thy clan a lost cause. My fury will be no less intense than if you were to attempt retribution upon as directly."
The three giants stared daggers at Terenon, fists clenched. At Rumar's words, the spokesman nodded curtly. "We will not bother you further. You will have safe passage through our lands, at least from us. We will be on our way."
The other two giants picked up the fallen ones, hefting them bodily over their shoulders. They then turned west and walk off into the icy plains.
Terenon shot a look at Rumar as the giants departed. The paladin seemed to be bound and determined to get under his skin. "I belittle nothing. They have no pride, Rumar. They have nothing to be proud of."
The mage let his anger subside. The emotion was more about the waste of strong swordarms connected to the hearts of cowards, than anything else. "Yes, I am better than them. They serve no useful purpose. They provide no benefit to the world around them or to us."
"Does my sister know of how little you value the lives of others?" Rumar replied. "How you would have slaughtered those for no reason other than you see no reason for them to exist and because they were unwilling to throw their lives away for our cause? How would she look on you now, twisted with anger and so certain of your own worth?"
Rumar gestured in the direction the giant's have fled as he continued. "They are evil creatures, yet their lands have been shattered, their people slain; they are merely trying to survive. How they chose to deal with their situation was wrong, yet it does not merit them execution merely because you believe they do not serve enough purpose in the grand scheme of things. I would say that it is dubious at the end of the day whether or not you, nonetheless any of us, serve a benefit to the world around us. This is why I do not trust of you. This is why I will never approve of you, mage, or any relationship you may have with my sister. I fight to make it so ones such as they may perhaps live a better life one day, lifted from their squalor. Your reasons for battling often seem much less defined and prone to fits of emotion."
And then, after all that, Rumar concluded things with merely a shrug, apparently having decided that is the end of that. "Let us continue. I have no desire to fall prey to those golems that only may still remain trapped within the snow and ice."
As the paladin walked away, Terenon couldn't help but feel amused. Rumar obviously had some very strong feelings about him dating his sister. He wondered if the paladin would explode when he found out that he wanted to marry her. He let Rumar have the last word. It was the least he could do for his future brother-in-law. Maybe he would ask him to be the best man.
"Looks like its going to get dark soon," Grundar commented, still unsettled by the confrontation between Rumar and Terenon. "We'd better find a place to camp for tonight."
HalfOrc HalfBiscuit
Adventurer
I haven't posted in this thread before, which is rather remiss of me, but I've read - and enjoyed - this story from the beginning.
I'm glad to see that it hasn't died a complete death - hope to see more update soon.
I'm glad to see that it hasn't died a complete death - hope to see more update soon.
ltclnlbrain
First Post
Chapter 33
"If we were just going to teleport to Baldur's Gate to begin with, why did we spend the day walking across the tundra? Perhaps next time you should speak of your plans before we waste time trekking across the winterlands. The skirmish with the giants could have easily been avoided."
Taigiel snorted as the others entered the room at the Elfsong Tavern and shut the door behind them. It seems they had made it just in time, too, for Terenon's polymorph spell ran out and the son of Acessiwal, who had been temporarily changed into a human so as not to draw attention to himself, resumed his draconic form. Taigiel shook his head and thrashed his tail about in agitation.
"I wanted to try out my new boots." Jelani said matter-of-factly. ”Besides, we learned quite a bit from that little skirmish with the giants."
"Nothing more than what I could have told you, had you asked," Taigiel retorted. "If we could teleport here, then why could we not just teleport to Latona?"
"None of us have ever been there before," said Allanon from a position of comfort on the bed. The sorcerer idly played with his beard, combing out some errant flecks of snow. "Tomorrow morning Terenon's gonna prepare a scrying spell to study the area outside of town so we can all 'port there. It'll shave days off our journey."
"If we could do that, why not just scry on Acessiwal and teleport to his lair?" asked Rhys.
"I doubt that would be advisable," replied Allanon. "Our best bet is to take them by surprise, and if they detect the scrying, they will likely bolster their defenses. If we can sneak up on the lair by more mundane means, we should stand a better chance."
Taigiel muttered something about impatient wizards, but it was lost as the door opened and Grundar and Terenon entered, back from a brief shopping expedition. After the encounter with the golems, the group had decided to get items that would aid them should they encounter more of their ilk. Grundar sported a purplish-black scarab pinned on his shirt that would allow him to detect golems and bypass their resistances with his blade.
"Here, take this," said Terenon, tossing a helm to Taigiel. The half-dragon caught it and looked at it quizzically, sniffing the item.
"What is it?" he asked.
"It is a helm of disguise," replied Terenon. "It will cloak you in an illusion of a human so that you can enter town freely. It won't stand up to close scrutiny, though, so try not to let anybody touch you."
"Let's get some rest; we set out in the morning."
"If we were just going to teleport to Baldur's Gate to begin with, why did we spend the day walking across the tundra? Perhaps next time you should speak of your plans before we waste time trekking across the winterlands. The skirmish with the giants could have easily been avoided."
Taigiel snorted as the others entered the room at the Elfsong Tavern and shut the door behind them. It seems they had made it just in time, too, for Terenon's polymorph spell ran out and the son of Acessiwal, who had been temporarily changed into a human so as not to draw attention to himself, resumed his draconic form. Taigiel shook his head and thrashed his tail about in agitation.
"I wanted to try out my new boots." Jelani said matter-of-factly. ”Besides, we learned quite a bit from that little skirmish with the giants."
"Nothing more than what I could have told you, had you asked," Taigiel retorted. "If we could teleport here, then why could we not just teleport to Latona?"
"None of us have ever been there before," said Allanon from a position of comfort on the bed. The sorcerer idly played with his beard, combing out some errant flecks of snow. "Tomorrow morning Terenon's gonna prepare a scrying spell to study the area outside of town so we can all 'port there. It'll shave days off our journey."
"If we could do that, why not just scry on Acessiwal and teleport to his lair?" asked Rhys.
"I doubt that would be advisable," replied Allanon. "Our best bet is to take them by surprise, and if they detect the scrying, they will likely bolster their defenses. If we can sneak up on the lair by more mundane means, we should stand a better chance."
Taigiel muttered something about impatient wizards, but it was lost as the door opened and Grundar and Terenon entered, back from a brief shopping expedition. After the encounter with the golems, the group had decided to get items that would aid them should they encounter more of their ilk. Grundar sported a purplish-black scarab pinned on his shirt that would allow him to detect golems and bypass their resistances with his blade.
"Here, take this," said Terenon, tossing a helm to Taigiel. The half-dragon caught it and looked at it quizzically, sniffing the item.
"What is it?" he asked.
"It is a helm of disguise," replied Terenon. "It will cloak you in an illusion of a human so that you can enter town freely. It won't stand up to close scrutiny, though, so try not to let anybody touch you."
"Let's get some rest; we set out in the morning."
Graywolf-ELM
Explorer
Good to see you back.
GW
GW
ltclnlbrain
First Post
Glad to be back.
Since the last update was so short, here's another one.
Chapter 34
The next morning, Terenon cast a spell of scrying to gaze upon the area outside the town of Latona, a few miles out. He didn't know much of the town's inhabitants, but it was likely they would be surprised to see a band of heavily armed adventurers suddenly appear in the town's square. After studying a suitable spot for several minutes, he gathered everybody together and uttered a teleport spell, transporting them back to the frozen plains north of the Spine of the World.
Stretching out before the group, a small caravan was working its way slowly north. Forty or so men and women were clumped around a pair of wagons. The groups' progress was impeded by the snow, the stiff wind, and the caravan's size. The group appeared to be led by an elderly missionary dressed in heavy furs. He looked up in surprise as the adventurers appeared nearby.
Gathering his robes to extracate them from the snow, Terenon approached the old man. "Salutations. We are travelers. What news have you of this area?"
The missionary smiled from the depths of his hood. "Greetings, my young friends. I am Oftir. I am afraid that I know little of import about the area. We are but travelers making our way to Latona. We are almost there, as you can see," he says, gesturing broadly at the city in the distance. Oftir gazed upon each of the adventurers, his eyes lingering briefly on Taigiel. The half-dragon shifted uncomfortably under the man's scrutiny, but the magical helm was doing its work, and all Oftir saw was the illusion of a muscular, blonde-haired man with a close-cropped beard.
"I'm Terenon, Oftir," the mage replied. "Do you mind if we travel with you to the city? Latona seems like the place to be."
"Of course, my young friend! I would enjoy the company."
The adventurers fell into step alongside Oftir as he and his pilgrims resumed their trek. Terenon looked at the others in the caravan; most turned away to avoid his gaze. They looked tired. "It looks like you've travelled a long way. If you don't mind me asking, what leads you and your people to take such a pilgrimage?"
"Well, to put it simply, to start new lives. Those who follow me are the poor and disaffected from the small assortment of villages just south of the great mountains. To us, Latona is a land of opportunity, despite its desolate location. Since the city sees little in the way of new residents, we figure there may be plenty of jobs waiting for us once we get there.
"Now, if you don't mind me asking, I am curious why you fellows are heading there?"
Rhys listened to the conversation, a frown darkening his features. Despite the old fellow's good nature and cheer, there was something off about him and his story, something he couldn't quite place. "Did you send word ahead to the mayor of the city that you would be coming?" the priest asked.
Oftir chuckled. "No, they don't know that we're coming. We had not the means to send a message hundreds of miles north of our homes, across the very Spine of the World. We can only hope the mayor will find it in his heart to let us stay in town and work for him. He can't very well let us freeze or starve to death in the tundra, can he?"
"And why not? You're bringing almost half a hundred people to his town, with little in the way of support; after all you were the dregs of society. If it's a choice between letting his people, people with whom he's lived, worked, laughed and loved, people who he's shared the birth and death of friends and relatives with, or you and your people, who do yopu think he'll chose? I would do all in my power to help fair, honest and sensible people survive. It's my nature, my belief, the way I was taught as well as the correct way to treat people in need. The mayor has no compulsion to do that. As a matter of fact his compulsion would be to do whatever was is his power to help his people survive.
"What have you with you to trade with or to purchase items with? The mayor will probably ask some very hard questions before he decides what to do. I hope that you'll be able to give him the answers he needs."
Oftir frowned, his patience with Rhys clearly beginning to wear thin. "Look, we have everything under control. If the mayor turns us away, then we will resupply and head back. We have lost nothing but time in our journey north, and if we are accepted in Latona, then we will have gained so much more than that. Your concern is appreciated, but unnecessary. We are survivors if nothing else, and we will survive whether Tymora decides to smile upon us or not."
Jelani had been listening to the conversation developed, and felt it was time to interrupt. "Excuse me, but I need a word with my friend for a moment." He laid a hand on Terenon's shoulder and led him aside. “We should help them," he said quietly once they were a fair distance away. "A couple thousand gold coins would be a fortune to them, and go a long way toward establishing a home for them. We, in turn, would gain quite a number of eyes and ears, and having a network of informants seems like a very good idea. After all, our enemies seem to be doing just that so it must be a valuable tactic.“
Terenon smiled at Jelani. "Great minds think alike. That is what I was planning. It can't hurt to have friendly eyes and ears here. Plus I like the old man. A few thousand to set these people up here, might balance the books with whatever gods watch us."
"Perhaps I should explain to our more…intense…friends that the work is so the villagers pride won’t be wounded? Most people prefer a job to a handout. They might even give some of their own, though I don’t expect approval from some, just on principle."
Meanwhile, Rhys fell back a few paces to stand beside Rumar. The paladin was pointedly ignoring most of the things happening around him, concentrating on the town in the distance. The priest frowned as he leaned close to Rumar. "Rumar, I've a gut feeling that Oftir is either hiding something or twisting what he's told us. Have you noticed that the people are paying us no attention, even when I mentioned that they may not get a warm welcome at Latona. Also, for such a dangerous trip and eben assuming that they're dirt poor, do you see any guards? No, there's more to Oftir than what he's said so far."
The paladin shrugged. "Could be. I detect no evil from anybody here though. It might be a case of over-active imagination, or simple paranoia."
"I just don't trust him," Rhys sighed.
"Mmph," Rumar offered, apparently disinterested again.
Having finished their conversation, Terenon moved back up to join Oftir. "Oftir, I was speaking wiht Jelani, and he and I think we may be able to assist each other. We have been looking for a venture to invest in, and you are looking for work. With all the laborers you have at hand, I was thinking of maybe a brewery or establishing a merchant caravan route. My father always said, 'Make your money work for you.' I'd like to invest in your people's tenacity and courage. Let us see this meeting as a blessing of Tymora."
Rumar's face scrunched up with disgust at what he saw as another example of Terenon's uncontrolled greed and desire to manipulate situations to his advantage. He spared a glance at Jelani, who gestured to stay calm and quiet. The aasimar merely grunted. "My sister is a damned fool."
"It is possible that she is; it does seem to run in the family,” Jelani said in a dry tone.
Rumar tossed an angry glare at Jelani. "Best watch out - might end up cutting yourself on that razor sharp wit of yours one of these days." Pergium buzzed faintly in its sword sheath.
“That’s quite the comment coming from someone who plays with sharp things professionally," the theurge retorted.
Unaware of the jibes being traded behind him, Oftir smiled at Terenon's offer. "An investment, you say? You are truly kind and generous, friend. Perhaps once we get settled around Latona, we will see about starting up this business. It may be a few days before we finish negotiations with the authority figures of the city, so you may want to finish your business first before we start making business plans. Come to think of it, what is your business in Latona? I don't think you've mentioned why you're going there."
Terenon smiled back. "Well, we are adventurers and entrepreneurs. There have been rumors about dangerous creatures organizing up in the wastes. What money we earn, we invest. You can't live the life of an adventurer forever. We need something to retire on. This place looks as good as any," said the mage with a wink.
"Dangerous creatures? What sort? I hope it's nothing too dangerous; I'd hate to see our new home destroyed before we get a chance to settle in. Is it the usual evil humanoids and giants, or something greater?"
"I said there were rumors, but still worth looking into. I'm not sure what we'll find, but I doubt the town is in any real danger. That's the reason I asked you of the news you've heard around these parts. Please don't concern yourself; until we investigate, nothing is certain, and I don't want to unduly alarm people."
"The greatest concern would be a dragon, though other things seem to patrol these lands," Rumar said loudly, moving to block Terenon, "And yes, they are dangerous. If they wanted the town destroyed though, I imagine they would have done so long before now. Now, if we are quite done with interrogations and blatant avarice, could we move along?"
Terenon rolled his eyes, but Oftir turned to Rumar. His eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and excitement. "A dragon? You don't actually mean to go after such a creature? Good luck with that, friends; I want nothing to do with such reckless notions. I guess that's why you are the adventurers; I could never have the stomach for that sort of thing."
After a few more minutes, the party reached Latona. High stone walls surrounded the city. Guards could be seen on all of the city's six stone towers, and outside the walls, mounted scouts patrolled the surrounding land. The city gates were open, but a squad of mounted guards approached the caravan to inspect it and question Oftir. The elderly man turned to Terenon and shrugged.
"It may be some time before they let us through. You should go ahead and take care of your business; I'm sure I'll be find. Come back and find me when you finish this hunting trip of yours and we'll discuss business."
Terenon gave a slight bow to Oftir, then led the others into the city.
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Oftir could barely contain his glee as the adventurers left. They were hunting a dragon, and the only dragon around here worth a damn was the white wyrm Acessiwal. Acessiwal, whom he had been courting favor with for months! Acessiwal, whom he had convinced the forty men and women in his caravan to willingly sacrifice themselves to! This would be the final proof of his loyalty, a report of the movements of a group of the dragon's enemies.
As the guards searched through the wagons of the caravan, Oftir slid his hand inside his robe, where his holy symbol lay. The symbol was a white skull upon a black starburst--the symbol of Cyric. Quietly, he whispered the words of a sending spell and felt it make contact with Acessiwal's mind.
Since the last update was so short, here's another one.
Chapter 34
The next morning, Terenon cast a spell of scrying to gaze upon the area outside the town of Latona, a few miles out. He didn't know much of the town's inhabitants, but it was likely they would be surprised to see a band of heavily armed adventurers suddenly appear in the town's square. After studying a suitable spot for several minutes, he gathered everybody together and uttered a teleport spell, transporting them back to the frozen plains north of the Spine of the World.
Stretching out before the group, a small caravan was working its way slowly north. Forty or so men and women were clumped around a pair of wagons. The groups' progress was impeded by the snow, the stiff wind, and the caravan's size. The group appeared to be led by an elderly missionary dressed in heavy furs. He looked up in surprise as the adventurers appeared nearby.
Gathering his robes to extracate them from the snow, Terenon approached the old man. "Salutations. We are travelers. What news have you of this area?"
The missionary smiled from the depths of his hood. "Greetings, my young friends. I am Oftir. I am afraid that I know little of import about the area. We are but travelers making our way to Latona. We are almost there, as you can see," he says, gesturing broadly at the city in the distance. Oftir gazed upon each of the adventurers, his eyes lingering briefly on Taigiel. The half-dragon shifted uncomfortably under the man's scrutiny, but the magical helm was doing its work, and all Oftir saw was the illusion of a muscular, blonde-haired man with a close-cropped beard.
"I'm Terenon, Oftir," the mage replied. "Do you mind if we travel with you to the city? Latona seems like the place to be."
"Of course, my young friend! I would enjoy the company."
The adventurers fell into step alongside Oftir as he and his pilgrims resumed their trek. Terenon looked at the others in the caravan; most turned away to avoid his gaze. They looked tired. "It looks like you've travelled a long way. If you don't mind me asking, what leads you and your people to take such a pilgrimage?"
"Well, to put it simply, to start new lives. Those who follow me are the poor and disaffected from the small assortment of villages just south of the great mountains. To us, Latona is a land of opportunity, despite its desolate location. Since the city sees little in the way of new residents, we figure there may be plenty of jobs waiting for us once we get there.
"Now, if you don't mind me asking, I am curious why you fellows are heading there?"
Rhys listened to the conversation, a frown darkening his features. Despite the old fellow's good nature and cheer, there was something off about him and his story, something he couldn't quite place. "Did you send word ahead to the mayor of the city that you would be coming?" the priest asked.
Oftir chuckled. "No, they don't know that we're coming. We had not the means to send a message hundreds of miles north of our homes, across the very Spine of the World. We can only hope the mayor will find it in his heart to let us stay in town and work for him. He can't very well let us freeze or starve to death in the tundra, can he?"
"And why not? You're bringing almost half a hundred people to his town, with little in the way of support; after all you were the dregs of society. If it's a choice between letting his people, people with whom he's lived, worked, laughed and loved, people who he's shared the birth and death of friends and relatives with, or you and your people, who do yopu think he'll chose? I would do all in my power to help fair, honest and sensible people survive. It's my nature, my belief, the way I was taught as well as the correct way to treat people in need. The mayor has no compulsion to do that. As a matter of fact his compulsion would be to do whatever was is his power to help his people survive.
"What have you with you to trade with or to purchase items with? The mayor will probably ask some very hard questions before he decides what to do. I hope that you'll be able to give him the answers he needs."
Oftir frowned, his patience with Rhys clearly beginning to wear thin. "Look, we have everything under control. If the mayor turns us away, then we will resupply and head back. We have lost nothing but time in our journey north, and if we are accepted in Latona, then we will have gained so much more than that. Your concern is appreciated, but unnecessary. We are survivors if nothing else, and we will survive whether Tymora decides to smile upon us or not."
Jelani had been listening to the conversation developed, and felt it was time to interrupt. "Excuse me, but I need a word with my friend for a moment." He laid a hand on Terenon's shoulder and led him aside. “We should help them," he said quietly once they were a fair distance away. "A couple thousand gold coins would be a fortune to them, and go a long way toward establishing a home for them. We, in turn, would gain quite a number of eyes and ears, and having a network of informants seems like a very good idea. After all, our enemies seem to be doing just that so it must be a valuable tactic.“
Terenon smiled at Jelani. "Great minds think alike. That is what I was planning. It can't hurt to have friendly eyes and ears here. Plus I like the old man. A few thousand to set these people up here, might balance the books with whatever gods watch us."
"Perhaps I should explain to our more…intense…friends that the work is so the villagers pride won’t be wounded? Most people prefer a job to a handout. They might even give some of their own, though I don’t expect approval from some, just on principle."
Meanwhile, Rhys fell back a few paces to stand beside Rumar. The paladin was pointedly ignoring most of the things happening around him, concentrating on the town in the distance. The priest frowned as he leaned close to Rumar. "Rumar, I've a gut feeling that Oftir is either hiding something or twisting what he's told us. Have you noticed that the people are paying us no attention, even when I mentioned that they may not get a warm welcome at Latona. Also, for such a dangerous trip and eben assuming that they're dirt poor, do you see any guards? No, there's more to Oftir than what he's said so far."
The paladin shrugged. "Could be. I detect no evil from anybody here though. It might be a case of over-active imagination, or simple paranoia."
"I just don't trust him," Rhys sighed.
"Mmph," Rumar offered, apparently disinterested again.
Having finished their conversation, Terenon moved back up to join Oftir. "Oftir, I was speaking wiht Jelani, and he and I think we may be able to assist each other. We have been looking for a venture to invest in, and you are looking for work. With all the laborers you have at hand, I was thinking of maybe a brewery or establishing a merchant caravan route. My father always said, 'Make your money work for you.' I'd like to invest in your people's tenacity and courage. Let us see this meeting as a blessing of Tymora."
Rumar's face scrunched up with disgust at what he saw as another example of Terenon's uncontrolled greed and desire to manipulate situations to his advantage. He spared a glance at Jelani, who gestured to stay calm and quiet. The aasimar merely grunted. "My sister is a damned fool."
"It is possible that she is; it does seem to run in the family,” Jelani said in a dry tone.
Rumar tossed an angry glare at Jelani. "Best watch out - might end up cutting yourself on that razor sharp wit of yours one of these days." Pergium buzzed faintly in its sword sheath.
“That’s quite the comment coming from someone who plays with sharp things professionally," the theurge retorted.
Unaware of the jibes being traded behind him, Oftir smiled at Terenon's offer. "An investment, you say? You are truly kind and generous, friend. Perhaps once we get settled around Latona, we will see about starting up this business. It may be a few days before we finish negotiations with the authority figures of the city, so you may want to finish your business first before we start making business plans. Come to think of it, what is your business in Latona? I don't think you've mentioned why you're going there."
Terenon smiled back. "Well, we are adventurers and entrepreneurs. There have been rumors about dangerous creatures organizing up in the wastes. What money we earn, we invest. You can't live the life of an adventurer forever. We need something to retire on. This place looks as good as any," said the mage with a wink.
"Dangerous creatures? What sort? I hope it's nothing too dangerous; I'd hate to see our new home destroyed before we get a chance to settle in. Is it the usual evil humanoids and giants, or something greater?"
"I said there were rumors, but still worth looking into. I'm not sure what we'll find, but I doubt the town is in any real danger. That's the reason I asked you of the news you've heard around these parts. Please don't concern yourself; until we investigate, nothing is certain, and I don't want to unduly alarm people."
"The greatest concern would be a dragon, though other things seem to patrol these lands," Rumar said loudly, moving to block Terenon, "And yes, they are dangerous. If they wanted the town destroyed though, I imagine they would have done so long before now. Now, if we are quite done with interrogations and blatant avarice, could we move along?"
Terenon rolled his eyes, but Oftir turned to Rumar. His eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and excitement. "A dragon? You don't actually mean to go after such a creature? Good luck with that, friends; I want nothing to do with such reckless notions. I guess that's why you are the adventurers; I could never have the stomach for that sort of thing."
After a few more minutes, the party reached Latona. High stone walls surrounded the city. Guards could be seen on all of the city's six stone towers, and outside the walls, mounted scouts patrolled the surrounding land. The city gates were open, but a squad of mounted guards approached the caravan to inspect it and question Oftir. The elderly man turned to Terenon and shrugged.
"It may be some time before they let us through. You should go ahead and take care of your business; I'm sure I'll be find. Come back and find me when you finish this hunting trip of yours and we'll discuss business."
Terenon gave a slight bow to Oftir, then led the others into the city.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oftir could barely contain his glee as the adventurers left. They were hunting a dragon, and the only dragon around here worth a damn was the white wyrm Acessiwal. Acessiwal, whom he had been courting favor with for months! Acessiwal, whom he had convinced the forty men and women in his caravan to willingly sacrifice themselves to! This would be the final proof of his loyalty, a report of the movements of a group of the dragon's enemies.
As the guards searched through the wagons of the caravan, Oftir slid his hand inside his robe, where his holy symbol lay. The symbol was a white skull upon a black starburst--the symbol of Cyric. Quietly, he whispered the words of a sending spell and felt it make contact with Acessiwal's mind.
Graywolf-ELM
Explorer
One of the nice things about writing up a story hour, after a story arch is completed, is including behind the scenes happenings, that the PC's didn't know about at the time. I've heard a few "You B@st@ard." comments doing this in my story hour. I like seeing it.
GW
GW