Heroes of Haven

[Taboo]

For some of you, the first few posts will be new, for others, this will be a refresher! Paulewaug originally started this story, but I'm going to be writing it along with "From Slaves to Heroes." This is our alternate game, DM'd by AndrewADnDPlayer.

We started off with the Palace of the Silver Princess, and I thought it best to repost everything Paulewaug wrote to bring everyone up to speed. I only hope I can do it justice, I take over when our group actually enters the palace.

Enjoy!

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The Heroes of Haven

The valley of Haven had long been a quiet place. A peaceful place where Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, and Humans have lived in harmony for many years. It was a safe place to live.

Was a safe place to live.

Yet literally overnight that had changed.

The dwarves had delved deep into the mountains surrounding Haven. They had discovered a wondrously faceted, heart shaped ruby, the size of an apple.

The diggers had felt almost drawn to the chamber it was discovered in. The clan elders decided that it should be taken to the fair, and much loved ruler of Haven, lady Argenta, the Silver Princess as a token of the dwarves love and loyalty,
and so that all the other races could see once more the wonders of the dwarves and their accomplishments.

Two of the clans mightiest protectors were chosen to escort the dwarven clan elders to the Palace.

Gruss and Druss...long had the dwarves had mixed feelings about the two. Twins were a very rare thing to many of the good aligned races. Whereas many of the vile races of evil bred like rats. Added to the fact that both seemed a bit odd for dwarves, almost unhinged at times, made it even harder to know what to do with the pair.

Both spent a great deal of their time scouring the mountainsides and hills on the outside of the valley.
"Keeping it safe for dwarves and such" they always said. Although truth be told the twins seemed to revel in the carnage and mayhem they could inflict on any Goblinoids they happened to come across.

Gruss had been born one minute before Druss, and Druss had always enjoyed finding ways to get his 'older' brother in trouble. While performing their duty to the clan by serving in the dwarven Guard it was discovered that the two had a bit of a problem with authority.

Gruss was prone to fly into a fit berserk rage if combat was not going well for him and Druss was constantly insubordinate to his superiors. Especially since he didn't consider them to be superior. The pair of them were huge with muscle and tough even by dwarven standards. As if they had been born from the mountain itself rather than fine upstanding dwarven parents.

The fact that they were a bit insubordinate could be a problem from time to time though, so it was decided that the brothers should spend some time apart.

Gruss was sent Topside to learn to track and be a border guard. Druss had always been strong willed and claimed that the only superior he had was Moradin himself. So he was sent to the Temple of Moradin, where he grew a bit of fanaticism in his devotion to Moradin and an aptitude for channeling His divine power.

But he was still insubordinate, he felt that since his calling was doing the will of the All-Father that he didn't have to listen so closely to the Elders. Even the high priest did not enjoy discussing dogma with him. Whilst learning to honor the Creator at the forges Druss managed to forge a masterfully crafted Claymore for himself and a very large Axe for Gruss. So he took it upon himself to head topside and find his brother.

More accurately it was his brother who found him. Gruss had become an experienced tracker and woods-dwarf. And had learned a lot about the Hated Enemy...Goblins and their kin. Sadly for them it was seldom that any of the enemy tried to get into the valley.

So it was that the brothers were found among the company of soldiers getting drunk when they were summoned to the elders council. They were informed of the plan and told to be ready to leave the next morning. They went back to the tavern and drank some more.

They woke up bleary eyed the next morning, packed their gear and headed out to join the entourage. The elders were both relieved and disappointed when they arrived, on time.

It took the better part of the morning to arrive at the Palace. The palace was made of white shinning marble, about which it was said that as the sun set, glowed like silver.

The dwarves presented the ruby to Argenta and declared it "My Lady's Heart." The Princess was so delighted by the gift she invited all in the valley to attend a celebration to see the wondrous gem. The dwarves were to be the guests of honor.

The day before the celebration was to commence a strange visitor arrived. He flew into the valley riding a white dragon, dressed all in black and with pale skin, long blond hair and a short beard. He was here to escort the Princess to the ball.

The dwarven elders were busy contemplating what to do with Gruss and Druss.
Rurik said to Barendd "But sir! The brothers eat too much, drink too much, and laugh far too loudly and much too often!! They are a bad influence on the others guards and they have already started a fight with the elves' emissary, Ivellios."

Barendd rolled his eyes and suppressed a laugh, "Ivellios was asking for it. His elven sense of humor got him in trouble. When he said "Why are we having a ball in honor of the dwarves? Everybody knows that dwarves don't have balls!"
He was just asking for a punch to the treasure..."

"I'll tell you what, to avoid further incident we'll have the pair of them guard the ruby, ok?"

And so it was that the twins, Gruss and Druss, were standing in the throne room as, at midnight the ruby began to glow. And pulse. And then to suddenly erupt with a wave of red energy. As it washed over those gathered about, the twins only had time to say in unison..."Oh Cra..."

 

[Taboo]

Phillippe and Rowena

Phillippe awoke gasping for air. His bed sheets were soaked in sweat.
He fumbled in the darkness of his room for a moment until he found his flint and steel and was able to get a small candle lit.

He then staggered over to the lone window of his attic home. Phillippe lived in an attic in the abbey located by the Lake of the Night. The lake was so called because on a clear night, such as this had started out, it clearly reflected the stars. But now dark clouds brooded in the sky.

The abbey has stood for years at the far end of the Valley of Haven and been a place of solace for warriors who needed a break from the troubles of the world. A place for learning for those with the mind for it. Filled with books and scrolls and scholars. And more books were brought from time to time from other lands.

This place was Phillippe's home. He was found on the steps at the main doors on the morning of the winter solstice. From all appearances it looked as if he had spent much of the night there, in a blanket of wool and snow.

The brothers quickly brought him in, concerned for his health. He was awefully quiet.
They soon learned they had no need to worry for his heatlh as he appeared to be perfectly fine. In fact he seemed to be a perfect human male child. As he grew he was never sick a day in his life, seemingly protected by some divine grace.

He was a well behaved child and grew into a very fit, polite, and well spoken young man. He listened attentively to the headmasters and showed no small degree of skill in his sparring sessions with the guards and the visiting warriors who frequented the abbey.

He especially enjoyed reading books about knights and heroes of valor that would go out and right wrongs and put a stop to the evils that would rise throughout the lands.

The brothers always new the day would come when their beloved son would leave and discover just what kind of evils were to be found out in the world. The long awaited time, after 20 years, had arrived.

Phillippe stood in the window looking east, the sun wouldn't rise for many hours yet. But strangely, to the south, he could just make out a faint red glow. Because of his dream he knew why this was.
A presence had come to him while he was sleeping. It had imparted to him in a vision what had occurred.

The discovery of the ruby, the journey of the Dwarves. The plan to have a celebration and the arrival of the strange, dark clothed, pale man. A dark pale man riding a white dragon no less. A White dragon! Of all of the books Phillippe had ever read they indicated that white dragons were of evil temperament, savage beasts. How could he be allowed to land at the palace and see the princess?

He could sense others in his dream as well. Five others. He could not make out their features but he new they were there. They seemed strangely familiar to him. One of them felt particularly familiar. He realized why...It was Rowena. One of his friends here at the abbey, closer to a sister really.

She was younger than he and had been sent to the abbey by her parents, farmers who had several children and could scarcely afford to take care of them all. Rowena had showed a keen mind and taken well to learning to read. So the sisters at the abbey had taken her in and trained her to be a priestess of Pelor, god of the sun. Just as Phillippe had taken to following Heironeous, god of valor.

The presence in the dream had urged them to go to the Palace of the Silver Princess. It showed them an explosion and parts of the Palace tumbling down. When the dust settled a ruby glow surrounded the entire palace.

Chaos had come to Haven, Orcs and Goblinoids crept in to terrorize the valley and it would only get worse. The disaster happened so quickly that the people were helpless and confused. Their leaders trapped, possibly dead in the palace. Something had to be done quickly.

Phillippe gathered up his meager belongings, some weapons and armor given to him by the guards and visitors. A wooden holy symbol given to him by the brotherhood, indicative that his clerical training was not yet completed. He stopped by a storeroom and stuffed a backpack with some food and other equipment he though he might need.

As he prepared to leave he discovered Rowena in the courtyard also getting ready to go. Several of the brothers and sisters of the abbey had gathered around and loaded a small cart with equipment and hitched it to a mule.

They all knew it was time for them to leave, the both of them. They could only hope they had trained them well enough for the trials to come.

Several hours before sunrise they bid good fortune and the blessings of the gods to these two whom they had grown so fond of.

They set out, bound for the southern end of the valley. Where the Palace waited.

Glowing reddly. Red like blood.

 

[Taboo]

Fortin and Madison

Fortin Maegani felt a strange compulsion to head towards the south. He didn't know why but it didn't concern him too much, most things didn't.

He had lived for years in the north near the tribe of barbarians that would travel to the town of Haven to trade with the more civilized people there.
Skins, furs, and meat for woven clothes and crop grown vegetables.

Fortin was not easily accepted by the tribe but it was better than living with the orcs. They feared him because of his size. But as a child several other of the children had enjoyed beating him. Those beatings from the human children stopped once Fortin had started puberty and his muscular frame filled in. Physical maturity came quickly for orcs. It had to.

He had spent time with both the orcs and the humans. His parents were both.

His father was an orc, the son of the tribes chieftain. As part of a treaty he lived for a time with the barbarians.
During his stay there Fortin's father, Grach'ack, had gotten a certain young woman pregnant. Her father, the clan leader's cousin, was none to happy about this. Saying that even though she had flirted with Grach'ack on occasion she must have been an unwilling participant. The girl had been seriously drunk at the time. She didn't have much to say for herself, it was well known that she greatly feared her father. So they had lived on the outskirts of the tribes camp.

Until his father decided it was time for him to be a real Orc. He came and took him back to the orc tribe and there Fortin had to put up with being beaten again. Again all because the orcs feared his size.
Fortin was even bigger than his father and it was likely that Grach'ack's father, the chief, was concerned that one day Fortin would try to take control of the tribe.

Strongest orc was leader. And Fortin had been growing very strong. Whether it was out of some affection for his son or more likely parental pride, Grach'ack learned Fortin to fight. He was very good at it, swinging a massive sword around with apparent ease and little concern for his own defense.

After a few attempts on his life Fortin headed back to the tribe of his mother. Never comfortable with the unease his presence had on others Fortin became self conscious. He spent more time alone.

His only real friend was Madison. A barbarian woman, born the only child of Madi Elkslayer.

He raised his daughter as a boy, and truth to tell she acted like one. She never washed, her hair was a dire rats nest and she was as a berserk a warrior as any other in the tribe. Thus everybody called her 'Madison'..Son of Madi..as a kind of joke. It stuck.

For days Fortin had felt the compulsion to head towards Haven, and last night he had the dream.

Madison did too.

This was fine with Fortin as he had come across a group of goblins attacking a farm. He had killed most of them, cutting and cleaving a swath of death through them with his greatsword. But as he tried to run down the two survivors of the war-party his luck had changed. They could see he was rapidly gaining on them so they stopped, turned, and threw their javelins at him. They both struck Fortin and he was badly hurt.

Flying into a rage he quickly struck the heads from both goblins. It wasn't much after that when Madison found him. She tracked Fortin down on his way to Haven and they continued on together.

They continued on at a rapid pace to Haven.

 

[Taboo]

The Protector

Dawn's early light should have been brightening to day, but there were dark clouds gathering. Dark clouds brooding in the air as if a storm were gathering.

As Phillippe and Rowena crested the hill they could see the palace was not far off. The road forked at the base of the hill. The left track would head down to the town and the right wound uphill to fork again. One fork lead to the base of a low cliff, atop of which sat the palace. Or at least the remains of the palace.

The other fork continued to head uphill, winding up the cliff to what once must have been the gatehouse of the castle like palace.

However that way was blocked by the collapsed remains of the structures left side. Stone blocks and rubble littered the hillside.

The remains of the castle and the surrounding area were aglow with a soft, red, radiance.

The only plant life within the radiance that appeared to be living were some strange looking, thorny, white rose bushes.

Phillippe and Rowena noticed a young woman waiting on the trail at the base of the cliff just outside the radiance. Rowena recognized her as a young sorceress named Electra. She lives in the nearby Town of Haven and had come to the Abby before to do research and had spoken with Rowena on a few occasions .

As they approached her a lithe figure stepped out, almost unnoticed, from behind a nearby tree. He was dressed in dark clothes of mostly gray and black. He held a strung shortbow in his left hand and at his hip he was wearing a long sword that had a slight curve to it. As he gracefully approached he reached up and pulled back his hood. He had dark hair pulled behind his long, pointy, ears.

As Phillippe locked his gaze to the elf's bright eyes and opened his mind, trying to detect if there was any evil residing within him, he smiled slightly and introduced himself. "Hello human, my name is Syron. I had the same dream as you and the others and have come to lend my assistance."

As Phillippe prepared to introduce the ladies and himself, he noticed Syron glance over his shoulder. He turned and saw that coming downhill were an odd looking pair. They looked to be barbarians from the northern lands beyond the valley.

Although one of them had gray skin and was nearly seven feet tall! The other had a mess of blond hair and carried a large axe on her shoulder as she walked down hill.

These must have been two of the others from his dream. Now that they were all together they could each feel it.
As they all exchanged names and talked of the details of their shared dream an indistinct greenish glowing form appeared before them.

They could hear a voice in their minds. "I have long stood as a protector of Haven but my time has passed. Haven needs new protectors to take action and you six have taken up the call. I can open a path through the aura for you but my powers have long since faded. I fear I will not be of any real help to you. If you are to succeed it will be on your own. Quickly now! I will open the way for you to get safely inside. Go and be brave!"