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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Galfridus" data-source="post: 18214" data-attributes="member: 119">Thorald's Adventure, Part 1Before the next update, there are a couple events which took place prior to the start of this story hour which are soon to become relevant.The "Calkyrix" is the current name for a creature which has plagued Thorald’s home village of Magehaven for centuries. The last time the Calkyrix appeared, Thorald was forced to flee Magehaven and has not returned since then, although he hears from his friend Selphyra from time to time. What follows is the accounting provided to Thorald’s player of what took place while he was absent from the game.-------------------------------------------------The group decided to reach Merelin by the land route, south to the ancient East-West Road, east along that road, and then north into Merelin. The fact that this road lay within Sygwerdan's land did not seem to deter anyone.After meeting the hill giant, the group rested and slept while Entia carved the giant's club. During the night, a group of 20 ogres passed by. They were going to bash the group, but Jonetello woke the giant, who said they couldn't because you guys were in the process of paying a toll.The next day, the group rode eastward, encountering a number of unpleasant creatures: gnolls, more ogres, krenshar, and a ghoul which led Jonetello into an assassin vine. They stopped to rest -- and were attacked by a mummy. The next day, they rode into a field occupied by three giant wasps. Entia summoned an eagle to distract the wasps, but two chased the party for a while, stinging Jonetello several times. That night, an angry brown bear approached the party. Entia used Speak With Animals, then Animal Friendship to gain a powerful but hungry ally. Jonetello had to lift the food up into a tree to save it.The next night, a heavy mist accompanied by rain settled in just after sunset. Out of the mist came three strange figures -- two boars and a raven. The raven looked at you and asked if you were Thorald Stone. You declined to answer, as did the rest of the group. The raven whispered to a boar, then declared that you must be Thorald Stone. The boars then turned into ravens, and the trio flew off into the woods. They returned after a while, and suggested that the group wrap their weapons against the rain. Grugg and Entia noticed that this was a spell, but Jonetello thought it was a great idea and proceeded to wrap his bow and crossbow. Then, three imps appeared and attacked. They declared that they were there to fight Thorald's friends, but not Thorald, so Thorald was unable to attack them (Concussion would have done wonders!). Two days later, the group finally rejoined the well-traveled section of the road, after meeting a strange old man who seemed mildly interested in Entia for her beauty. The group traveled to Merelin without any further encounters, arriving at sunset and taking up residence in a local inn. The next morning, Thorald departed for the mage's guild to continue his research. In the meantime, Kalenthas had gained the power to cure Jonetello of the disease that the mummy had given him. At that point, two new characters arrived: a half-elf ranger and an elf wizard. The wizard arrived seeking Jonetello and Kalenthas, with a message from the Order of the Iris that they had a mission for the group involving Kanavin Loxham, who is apparently staying with the elves. According to the wizard, he cannot stay there any longer. The group made preparations to leave the next day. Jonetello also traveled to the mage's guild to sell some magic items and get a couple identified. Later that evening, it was discovered that Grugg had been arrested for breaking up a tavern, and was accused of murder. [Grugg's player has not shown up in a long time; Grugg is departing the group.]However, you had a much more interesting time. The mage's guild was reluctant to let you research, and informed you outright that many of their tomes would be off limits to you. Apparently, a wizard had stolen a powerful tome or spell earlier this year, and as a result the guild is being very careful about who they let into their libraries. They did, however, have a letter for you:To Thorald Stone, travellerGreetings from your homeland! Master Ian McEwen arrived from Merelin just last week, to deliver a Tataiafar scroll to Master Kelefar the Diviner. I hope you receive this note -- Master McEwen promised he would see it delivered to you should you come to Merelin. I asked if you might study there, but the Master said that someone had stolen a powerful spell just this year and the Archmage had ordered the libraries closed. What a terrible thing to do!I’m almost able to cast the locking spell of the 2nd circle -- Enam says I need to focus more on my ward-gesturing. I suppose he’s right, since the spell keeps sticking the doorknob and not the door! I want to learn to enchant objects to speak -- then I could send you spoken messages -- but Enam says "Abjure first, my dear." Typical! Your parents miss you -- your mom most of all. I think your dad talked to Kelefar or one of our diviners, because he seems more confident. Most people just act like you were never here, except when the Calkyrix comes up. Oh -- Calkyrix is Master Trophtin’s name for the creature. He has some theory about it, and why it came back so soon, but it never makes sense to me, and since he can’t predict when it will return I don’t see how it makes much difference anyway. It’s warm here as I write this, but it’s getting cold at night, and I can see the snows are farther down the mountain peaks than before. There’ll be frost on the windows here by the time you read this -- which means the passes will soon be closed, and I will have to miss you until spring. Signed,Selphyra CaldyrinReading the letter makes you think of home, but you have studies to attend to. Master McEwen is not present -- the apprentices of the guild tell you no more, only that he is not available for audiences at this time. You return to your studies of Ardinor, but the books they allow you to see don’t seem to hold much. Toward the end of the day, you find an ancient tome counting various minutae of the Empire (taxes, population, etc.). In that tome is a reference to separate atlas volume containing a map of the Empire. You ask the apprentice if the atlas is available; he says that they certainly have it, but that he will have to check with a Master before you can see it.Happy with that success, you leave the guild house and start walking back to the inn. The night is cool and clear, the stars shining brightly. Then, you realize that they are shining a little too brightly...you turn, and see a large tentacle of darkness groping toward you from the sky. The Calkyrix--here?!? You run down the street as fast as you can, calling on all your powers, followed by screams from those you pass by. You feel a cool prickling at your back, but see nothing when you dare to look over your shoulder.At last, you come to an open square, about half the distance to the inn. You dash across, but suddenly you catch sight of something in the corner of your eye. Above you, to the left and the right, the sky ripples into two globes of inky darkness, which distort as they ooze down toward you. You can see stars shining through the blackness, but the constellations are not ones that you know. Run as you might, the creature envelopes you once again in its grasp. The screams of the townspeople fade away as a sound of rushing wind (or perhaps water) overtakes you, and an icy coldness sweeps through your body. You steel mind and body against it, to no avail. The stars whirl and spin, until at last the noise stops. You lie on a bed of soft grass, looking up at stars that seem closer and somehow sharper, as if the air between you and them was more pure than that of Rellenor. You try to stand -- but the cold has weakened you. You manage, with some effort, to raise your head and look around. Blue moonlight illuminates a mountainside meadow, wildflowers and close clipped grass rolling down the slope and out of sight. Vague shadows of mountain peaks surround you. You lie back, exhausted, not knowing what you will do: once again stranded without water or food. Suddenly, there are shapes standing around you -- human, but dressed strangely, like acrobats or performers in a play. "What is it," one asks softly. The response comes in a language you do not understand, the words seeming to blend with the cold mountain breeze. They converse briefly in that language, then return to the common tongue. "He is of the earth," one said, and they lean toward you. "I am of Stone" is your last thought before consciousness flees.***"One appears in the Plaza of Harmony. The tall, eternal flame burns in the center of the square, warming the pure mountain breeze that blows down from the heights. Deep, dark pools of water glisten in the starlight, sparkling as fountains send their droplets leaping into the sky and cascading downward. And beneath your feet lies stone, pure stone from the deeps of the hills, stone laid down in the time before time began.""Leaving the Plaza, one enters the Avenue of Legacy. Statues, masterful statues, depict men long dead, their memories captured only in solemn stone gazes that watch over the marble-paved avenue. Marble pillars line the way toward the Arch of Great Victory. Larger than life, the figures on the arch fight their triumphant battle in silence as the avenue passes beneath. On the underside, vibrant painted hues preserve the moment of history as one general surrenders to another.""Past the Arch lies the Great Square, thousands upon thousands of colored flagstones laid out in beautiful patterns of blue, gold, and silver. Ancient villas and castles surround the square, their walls echoing the cheers of the gathered crowd. A wide open path crosses the square, corner to corner, marking the lane toward the Emperor’s Palace…"You open your eyes. A ceiling of worked stone is above you, carved in abstract designs of wind and wave. Turning your head, you see a pale-skinned young woman with light blond hair tied back, pale blue eyes, and a vibrantly green shirt, made of a thin fabric you do not recognize. Her voice, high and pure, falters as you look at her. She blinks once and smiles, then claps her hands. "You are awake! I will fetch the others!" She rises and moves away. Her trousers are of a similar fabric, seeming far too light for the cold air of the chamber you are in. As she speeds away, almost seeming to float out of the room, a bitter wind blows across you. You shiver, lifting the thick quilt over your shoulders and sinking back onto the soft bed. A fluttering curtain catches your eye; suddenly, you notice that the room is encircled by wide stone windows, covered only by light curtains that twist and blow in the cold wind. Beyond, you catch sight of emerald fields and high slopes…and then weariness returns, and you sleep.***When again you awaken, an old man is seated beside the bed. Light from a fire flickers across the ceiling, turning his white-peppered-with-blond hair a deep reddish shade. He is dressed similarly to the woman, though the color of his garments is hard to discern. His face is more wrinkled and weathered than the woman’s, but is similar – not like a father to his daughter, but rather like one Vellander to another. The man speaks, his voice deep and rich, like an oboe. "My name is Kradiat, and I welcome you into our village. You may enjoy our hospitality until you have recovered.""Where am I?" you ask, still feeling a little dizzy. The fire crackles, and a slight wind disturbs the curtains around the room. Kradiat spreads his hands. "You are in our village. It has no name, though you may call it Gienmordal if it pleases you. I am the leader of our people, and here you may rest until the time has come to resume your travels.""My travels?"Kradiat nods, a extra wrinkle creasing his forehead. "Yes, your travels. You arrived rather—ah, I see. Your arrival was not your own doing." A shudder grabs you briefly, and you shake your head as it passes. "Well, then." He ponders a moment. "Are there others who would pursue you here? Are you an outlaw?" You shake your head again, and Kradiat remains silent."It seems I must inquire perhaps further than custom would allow into your doings and your goings," Kradiat says at last. "Tell me of yourself and your past, and then we will talk of your present." He gestures for you to begin, and leans back in his chair."My name is Thorald, Thorald Stone. I came from the kingdom of Rellenor…" A brief frown crosses Kradiat’s face; the name does not seem familiar to him. "That is not where I come from originally, but it is where I was when I was taken away…"Gradually, in bits and pieces, you tell Kradiat of your adventures in Rellenor: your arrival in Loxham; your brief battle against the forces of the necromancer Malefice, where the ranger Thorfinn met his death and a troll nearly caused the end of you all; the strange visions that appeared on the hill the night after the battle; your return to Leston and brief pursuit of the demon Seriya; your journey to Merelin, capital of Rellenor, through the lands of Sygwerdan; and the sudden appearance of the creature of darkness. The telling takes some time, and you are weary before it is done.Kradiat has many questions, and often prompts you into discussing details of Rellenor that you consider minor, or beneath notice. "This Rellenor, how far is it from Tataiafar?" he asks, referring the ancient empire which you had been studying in your last days in Leston. "It…is within the bounds of the Tataiafar Empire," you say, your voice weak. "In what was the province of Mordallend," you add."Mordahllend," Kradiat corrects you absently. "So…well, that is no matter. And the kingdom allies itself with dragons?" You spend some time explaining the League of Sygwerdan, as best you understand it. "Interesting…and unfortunate," Kradiat concludes. "It is, however, no matter of mine." He looks at you more closely. "Ah – I have been a poor host and allowed you to tire without refreshment. He stands and claps his hands." At once, the smells of a rich meal waft through the room. Kradiat steps away from the bed, toward a stone table. He picks up a few small vials, sprinkling a little something from each over a series of bowls and plates. "Here, eat this," he says, presenting a tray with several unfamiliar dishes and a cup of cool water. He watches for a while as you eat, then moves to one of the windows, looking out into the moonlight. The food is strange to you, and very spicy – but good nevertheless. You eat eagerly. When you are done, Kradiat takes your tray, then adds several logs to the fire."I think there are two more items we need discuss this evening before our business is done," he says, settling down in his chair once more. "The first is Ardinor. You say you were seeking Ardinor, and I presume this means you have the power…" He trails off, and you realize that you have sat up in your surprise and amazement. "You know of Ardinor?" you ask, unable to conceal your shock at this news."You do not?" Kradiat regards you. "Of course…I did not realize how far your kingdom had fallen." He considers. "Yes, I know of Ardinor, but I do not think it wise to tell you any more." He raises a hand. "No, I will not budge, though in time who knows what may come." His eyes grow distant for a moment. "I will wish to hear of your powers, should you have any, but that can wait. For now, let us move back in time to your origins…before you came to Rellenor. From what land do you hail?"You hesitate a moment, but realize that you probably owe your life to this man, and that you have no real reason to mistrust him. "I come from a village, a village of wizards well to the south of Rellenor. The village is called Magehaven." You spend some time describing the village, naming several of the chief wizards at Kradiat’s insistence. "In the south of Mordahllend…that would be Nardhellend, most likely, do you know that name?" You nod, having seen it in your research as a sub-province of the ancient Empire. Kradiat nods in response. "It may be that I have heard of this village of yours, from what you say of it. It does not seem likely that two such places exist in what has become the wastelands of Mordahllend." Kradiat smiles and shakes his head. "Well, you have lived an interesting life, Thorald Stone, and you seem an honest tale-teller to me." He rises from his chair. "Rest now, and I shall consider what I have learned from you. When you have rested, you may depart, if that is your wish." He bows briefly and exits, parting the curtains and leaping nimbly through one of the large windows, which you now see extends almost to the ground. The thought comes to you—even if you wished to depart, how would you find your way home?***(Continued...)</blockquote>

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