Zaruthustran
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Sagiro Returns!
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Sagiro's Story Hour Returns (new thread started on 5/18/08)
- Thread starter Sagiro
- Start date
Milo Windby said:
I think Sagiro does that with EVERYTHING in his story hour.
After recently going back and reading through the story hour from the beginning, there are literally hundreds of this kind of dangling plot thread that the great spider at the center of the web could pull on if he wanted to. Plot hooks are scattered like confetti.
My personal favorite being the Guild of Chains that the group pretty much vowed to come back and destroy some day.
Wolfspirit
First Post
Milo Windby said:
I personally think it's rather short sighted to assume that once This Big Thing is over, there isn't some Other Big Thing that's going to become really important too. And what happens if during the next Big Thing, the Illuminated Sisters' abilities wouldn't become even more important, or if nothing else really darn usefull?
I realize that this is a really good solution for now (why get excomunicated now when you can deal with the consequences later?), but this is probably going to come back to haunt Morningstar. And of course, barring Ell giving a ground shaking pronouncement to the church at large, I doubt that the two factions can exist. Heck, the fact that an avatar pretty much started the whole thing doesn't seem to faze the high priestess; what else could?
Lord Pendragon
First Post
Welcome Back!
Also, just because the Illuminated Sisters are dissolved doesn't mean the members would lose any of the abilities they'd gained, they just wouldn't openly be using them anymore. So what, if the sisters rejoin the Mother Church? When the next Big Bad appears, they can just re-form the group, this time likely at the High Priestess' bequest.
Also, just because the Illuminated Sisters are dissolved doesn't mean the members would lose any of the abilities they'd gained, they just wouldn't openly be using them anymore. So what, if the sisters rejoin the Mother Church? When the next Big Bad appears, they can just re-form the group, this time likely at the High Priestess' bequest.
Sagiro
Rodent of Uncertain Parentage
Sagiro’s Story Hour, Part 147
Saturday, July 20
The next morning the members of the Company straggle down to the common room of the Moonspell with hangovers of various degrees. Califax is already there, sitting in a chair and staring blankly at the far wall.
“It’s still gone,” he says flatly. “They burned away my soul. I don’t think I can get it back. But if there’s a way, Tomnic the Follower will know. You said you would take me there.”
And so they do. Using a combination of teleport and wind walk, Dranko, Aravis, Kay, Morningstar and Califax arrive a couple of hours later at the High Church of Delioch in the kingdom’s capital city. Despite his past heresies, Califax is admitted and tended to, while Dranko is granted audience with Tomnic the Follower.
In that audience, Tomnic promises that Califax will be examined, and healed if possible of whatever the Black Circle has done to him. Dranko tells the tale of the Circle’s recent defeat, and Tomnic is obviously pleased. Still, Dranko finds him unimpressive as the spiritual zenith of his faith. More like an officious bureaucrat, he thinks. Tomnic requests that he be allowed to examine the powerfully evil tome discovered in Kallor, but Dranko becomes a bit evasive. He says that he’ll have to check with the higher-ups in the Spire to be sure that it’s safe, and in any case figure out a safe way to transport it. Privately Dranko thinks that Tomnic might not be able to withstand the power of the book, and intends to keep it far away from Hae Charagan if possible.
From there, the group heads to the gates of the Royal Palace, intending to make a report with Yale, the advisor to King Crunard IV. They are given slight hassle at the gate by a bored guard named Lackland, who (when pressed by General Windstorm) agrees to have a written message delivered to Yale, and would they please wait here outside the gate until a return message is delivered?
While they wait, Kay hears suddenly the sound of a sending inside her head. She doesn’t recognize the sender, but the message is urgent: General – emergency north of Tal Hae. Dangerous stench-beasts from Calnis swarming south and east. Hundreds of them. We lack available manpower. Please assist immediately.
Well, that’s awfully inconvenient. With only one teleport remaining, there’s no way to get the whole Company back to Tal Hae today. Since a reply to their letter to Yale hasn’t come back yet, Morningstar decides to press the issue, with a sending directly to Yale: It's Morningstar. I am waiting at gate for appointment with you. But received distress call from Tal Hae - Many Golguthrans - Can someone arrange teleport now?
It turns out Yale isn’t even in the city – she’s down on the peninsula inspecting the armies fighting against the Delfiri. But she returns the message: Morningstar, I'm in Hydra, but you can get a teleport scroll at palace from court wizard Nysturn. Password for day is "vigilance." Good luck.
Kay again gets the attention of Lackland, tells him straight out that they’ve just spoken with the King’s advisor by magic, and that he’d better get them an audience with Nysturn in a hurry. When the guard shows skepticism, Kay gives the password. Lackland, allowed to come to his own conclusion about the consequences of non-compliance, runs off into the palace grounds.
A few minutes later he comes huffing and puffing back to the gate, and – between gasps – invites the party inside. Nysturn will meet with then in ten minutes. Leaving their weapons with the palace guard, they go to their meeting, and Nysturn, a nice old chap with a long white beard, lends them the two teleport scrolls that they need from the palace archives.
Kibi and Grey Wolf have finished casting identify on some of the magic items recently removed from deceased Black Circle practitioners, when the others come teleporting back to Kallor in the mid-afternoon. Kay quickly briefs the others on the sending regarding the stinkwiggles, and there is some hurried handing out of newly identified magic items. A few minutes later, after numerous magical and logistical contortions involving more teleports, reduces and wind walks, the entire party is flying out from Tal Hae toward the open farmland to the northeast. Several of them are connected mentally via Rary’s Telepathic Bond, and all are scanning the ground for signs of stinkwiggles. They don’t have long to wait.
The smell comes first. Ordinary farmland manure is one thing, but the reek of stinkwiggles is many times stronger and many times fouler. Even in wind-form they can smell it, the stench of rotting offal and carrion that wafts from the creatures’ bodies. A few minutes later, the first stinkwiggle comes into view.
There are several, and despite the urgent sending, they don’t appear to be swarming. Rather, they’re contentedly munching on cow-dung, grazing mostly-peacefully. “Mostly,” because nearby the cluster of creatures is a dead cow, and two more stinkwiggles are dining on its bloody flesh. Rather than re-solidify to fight them, the Company flies on, hoping to get a better sense of the beasts’ dispersal and number.
There are more pockets of slowly moving stinkwiggles, but finally the party sees a herd of them, over 30 in number, striding quickly and methodically toward the nearby town of Tal Korum – where (incidentally) Dranko was raised. The Company flies on to the town to warn them of the coming swarm.
The stinkwiggles and their accompanying odor are already the talk of the town, and many townsfolk are patrolling the dirt streets with pitchforks and clubs. But none of them suspect that three dozen of the creatures are only a few minutes away from old Jonas’ Thorndike’s farm at the northern edge of town. The head militiaman of the town is a pompous but competent fellow named Tankersley, who helps the Company organize a hasty defense. This mostly consists of getting the people indoors, excepting some of the stronger militia, and putting the three men up on rooftops who both own bows and know how to use them. Most of the people don’t recognize Dranko, who was only eleven when he was sent away to Tal Hae, but all of the Company are held in awe by the commoners of Tal Korum. With their shiny armor and festoonery of armaments, they will certainly be able to defend the town!
Then the first wave of stinkwiggles arrives, the Company launches their attack, and it’s a rout for the good guys. Stinkwiggles are engulfed in fireballs. Stinkwiggles are filled with arrows. Stinkwiggles are hacked with swords, bludgeoned with hammers, torn apart by searing darkness, and plunked with sling bullets. The beasts are strong, but not that strong, and their movement is ponderous. The only time the fight gets interesting is when an especially large stinkwiggle arrives in one of the last waves – crusted over with a yellowish crystal. The patterns of the crystal are familiar to most of the Company – clearly an Eye of Moirel has at one time used this beast. But the Eye is not there now, and while this stinkwiggle is clearly the driving force behind the others, it is not much tougher than the others. Less than two minutes after the battle is begun, thirty-three stinkwiggles lie dead along the northern borders of Tal Korum, and the townsfolk are peeking out of doorways, holding their noses and cheering.
…to be continued…
Saturday, July 20
The next morning the members of the Company straggle down to the common room of the Moonspell with hangovers of various degrees. Califax is already there, sitting in a chair and staring blankly at the far wall.
“It’s still gone,” he says flatly. “They burned away my soul. I don’t think I can get it back. But if there’s a way, Tomnic the Follower will know. You said you would take me there.”
And so they do. Using a combination of teleport and wind walk, Dranko, Aravis, Kay, Morningstar and Califax arrive a couple of hours later at the High Church of Delioch in the kingdom’s capital city. Despite his past heresies, Califax is admitted and tended to, while Dranko is granted audience with Tomnic the Follower.
In that audience, Tomnic promises that Califax will be examined, and healed if possible of whatever the Black Circle has done to him. Dranko tells the tale of the Circle’s recent defeat, and Tomnic is obviously pleased. Still, Dranko finds him unimpressive as the spiritual zenith of his faith. More like an officious bureaucrat, he thinks. Tomnic requests that he be allowed to examine the powerfully evil tome discovered in Kallor, but Dranko becomes a bit evasive. He says that he’ll have to check with the higher-ups in the Spire to be sure that it’s safe, and in any case figure out a safe way to transport it. Privately Dranko thinks that Tomnic might not be able to withstand the power of the book, and intends to keep it far away from Hae Charagan if possible.
From there, the group heads to the gates of the Royal Palace, intending to make a report with Yale, the advisor to King Crunard IV. They are given slight hassle at the gate by a bored guard named Lackland, who (when pressed by General Windstorm) agrees to have a written message delivered to Yale, and would they please wait here outside the gate until a return message is delivered?
While they wait, Kay hears suddenly the sound of a sending inside her head. She doesn’t recognize the sender, but the message is urgent: General – emergency north of Tal Hae. Dangerous stench-beasts from Calnis swarming south and east. Hundreds of them. We lack available manpower. Please assist immediately.
Well, that’s awfully inconvenient. With only one teleport remaining, there’s no way to get the whole Company back to Tal Hae today. Since a reply to their letter to Yale hasn’t come back yet, Morningstar decides to press the issue, with a sending directly to Yale: It's Morningstar. I am waiting at gate for appointment with you. But received distress call from Tal Hae - Many Golguthrans - Can someone arrange teleport now?
It turns out Yale isn’t even in the city – she’s down on the peninsula inspecting the armies fighting against the Delfiri. But she returns the message: Morningstar, I'm in Hydra, but you can get a teleport scroll at palace from court wizard Nysturn. Password for day is "vigilance." Good luck.
Kay again gets the attention of Lackland, tells him straight out that they’ve just spoken with the King’s advisor by magic, and that he’d better get them an audience with Nysturn in a hurry. When the guard shows skepticism, Kay gives the password. Lackland, allowed to come to his own conclusion about the consequences of non-compliance, runs off into the palace grounds.
A few minutes later he comes huffing and puffing back to the gate, and – between gasps – invites the party inside. Nysturn will meet with then in ten minutes. Leaving their weapons with the palace guard, they go to their meeting, and Nysturn, a nice old chap with a long white beard, lends them the two teleport scrolls that they need from the palace archives.
Kibi and Grey Wolf have finished casting identify on some of the magic items recently removed from deceased Black Circle practitioners, when the others come teleporting back to Kallor in the mid-afternoon. Kay quickly briefs the others on the sending regarding the stinkwiggles, and there is some hurried handing out of newly identified magic items. A few minutes later, after numerous magical and logistical contortions involving more teleports, reduces and wind walks, the entire party is flying out from Tal Hae toward the open farmland to the northeast. Several of them are connected mentally via Rary’s Telepathic Bond, and all are scanning the ground for signs of stinkwiggles. They don’t have long to wait.
The smell comes first. Ordinary farmland manure is one thing, but the reek of stinkwiggles is many times stronger and many times fouler. Even in wind-form they can smell it, the stench of rotting offal and carrion that wafts from the creatures’ bodies. A few minutes later, the first stinkwiggle comes into view.
There are several, and despite the urgent sending, they don’t appear to be swarming. Rather, they’re contentedly munching on cow-dung, grazing mostly-peacefully. “Mostly,” because nearby the cluster of creatures is a dead cow, and two more stinkwiggles are dining on its bloody flesh. Rather than re-solidify to fight them, the Company flies on, hoping to get a better sense of the beasts’ dispersal and number.
There are more pockets of slowly moving stinkwiggles, but finally the party sees a herd of them, over 30 in number, striding quickly and methodically toward the nearby town of Tal Korum – where (incidentally) Dranko was raised. The Company flies on to the town to warn them of the coming swarm.
The stinkwiggles and their accompanying odor are already the talk of the town, and many townsfolk are patrolling the dirt streets with pitchforks and clubs. But none of them suspect that three dozen of the creatures are only a few minutes away from old Jonas’ Thorndike’s farm at the northern edge of town. The head militiaman of the town is a pompous but competent fellow named Tankersley, who helps the Company organize a hasty defense. This mostly consists of getting the people indoors, excepting some of the stronger militia, and putting the three men up on rooftops who both own bows and know how to use them. Most of the people don’t recognize Dranko, who was only eleven when he was sent away to Tal Hae, but all of the Company are held in awe by the commoners of Tal Korum. With their shiny armor and festoonery of armaments, they will certainly be able to defend the town!
Then the first wave of stinkwiggles arrives, the Company launches their attack, and it’s a rout for the good guys. Stinkwiggles are engulfed in fireballs. Stinkwiggles are filled with arrows. Stinkwiggles are hacked with swords, bludgeoned with hammers, torn apart by searing darkness, and plunked with sling bullets. The beasts are strong, but not that strong, and their movement is ponderous. The only time the fight gets interesting is when an especially large stinkwiggle arrives in one of the last waves – crusted over with a yellowish crystal. The patterns of the crystal are familiar to most of the Company – clearly an Eye of Moirel has at one time used this beast. But the Eye is not there now, and while this stinkwiggle is clearly the driving force behind the others, it is not much tougher than the others. Less than two minutes after the battle is begun, thirty-three stinkwiggles lie dead along the northern borders of Tal Korum, and the townsfolk are peeking out of doorways, holding their noses and cheering.
…to be continued…
Sagiro
Rodent of Uncertain Parentage
wolff96, you remember correctly.wolff96 said:
The Company has two Eyes of Moirel in basement of the Greenhouse. One was found in the eyesocket of a huge lizard, and another was pried from the skull of a skeleton. The third Eye, which they need to "travel nowhere," (assuming they ever figure out what that means and want to do it), is in a place called Het Branoi, probably in northeastern Kivia.
As for the stinkwiggles -- you may recall a while back when a wizardess named Sarai won an Eye of Moirel in auction. She took it back to her home in Calnis (the city 50 miles north of Tal Hae, and which had a stinkwiggle infestation for a while) for study. Some months later Calnis was overrun and sacked by gnolls, after which rumors began to circulate about a giant crystal palace being built in the center of the city by a huge one-eyed gnoll chieftain. Soon after that there was a strange mass exodus of gnolls and kobolds out of the city and back to the mountains, after which the city walls became sealed by yellow crystal.
For many months after, no one knew what was happening inside Calnis. The Company toyed with the idea of investiagting, but always seemed to have something better to do. Then, not long ago, all of the crystal on the city walls vanished. With the war going on, no official investigation has been sent to find out what's going on there now, but reports are that people have been slowly trickling back in to sort through the wreckage.
No one knows what has become of the Eye of Moirel that belonged to Sarai.
-Sagiro
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