Struggle and Strife- A scarred lands storyhour

[Lars Frehse]

Shadows of Mithril, part 3 of 4

They ran out of the Demonwhale just in time to see the green hooded woman turning around the corner of the drinking hall. Anxious to keep up, they sprinted to the corner, and there she was, seemingly oblivious to her pursuers, entering one of the streets of the merchant quarter.

Niklas and Ben walked up to her, and when they had caught up, Torn positioned himself into the woman's way and said:" Good evening, m'lady. My name is Torn and my friend here is called Niklas Anson Palek. I hadn't had the chance to thank you for your intervention against the shade back in the tavern.".

For the first time, they were able to get a good look at the woman. Standing in front of the burly human and halforc, she seemed rather small in her green coat which she had wrapped around herself, but her big brown eyes were eyeing the two steadily, showing that she was not in the least afraid of them. She nodded graciously and said:" That is not necessary. Seeing that you were attacked by the supernatural, it was my duty as a citizen to intervene to the best of my meager abilities."

Before she could walk around them, Torn intervened:" I see that you have a good heart, m'lady, but I am honor-bound to at least invite you for a drink." He pointed at a tavern a little bit down the road:"Why don't you join us for a glass of wine?"

"Alright", she answered in resignation and they went to the pub.

When they were seated around the table in the small comfy taven, Niklas adressed her:" Alright, let's get to business. I know for a fact that you had been shadowing my friend here for a while. Who do you work for?"

She raised her eyebrows in insulted consternation:" I don't know what you are talking about.".

"I have watched you following him from the cavansary to the Demon Whale".

If she was surprised about Niklas having watched her, she wasn't showing it:" Why, sure. I had business to attend to in the caravansery. When I was done, I walked down the mainroad along the sea and went to the Demon Whale for a meal and a pint. Surely there is nothing illegal about that?"

Niklas bent over the table, his distorted face close to the woman:" Don't try to fool me. I saw you, there is no doubt about that. And I will not let you go until you tell us who you are working for."

The woman leaned back, sighed, and turned to Torn:" Could we speak in private? I will tell you who I work for but I would rather do it with merely four eyes and four ears around."

Torn nodded. Niklas, content about his performance as bad militiaman, walked outside, keeping an eye on the two through the window. When they were alone, the woman introduced herself:" My name is Nadezhda, and I have been observing you for an organization called the Scaled Ones.".

Torn tried to hide his surprise. He had heard about the Scaled Ones. Originally, they were founded by rogues and illusionists in Hedrad, ever challenging the rigid order there with their magical and mundane skills. In the beginning they viewed themselves as a force of chaos in a lawful society. As time passed they found out, that you could make money with those skills as well. And so they spread, turning into a criminal organization that spanned all of Ghelspad. They were involved in smuggling, thievery and the likes but stayed out of the more violent business like extortion, slavery and downright murder.

That was all Torn knew. There was probably more to them, but he didn't know. When all was said and done, the Scaled ones were as elusive as they were famous, and so most things known about them weren't much more than rumors.

"I see. And why are the Scaled Ones interested in me?", he asked.

"I was told that you look like a candidate for the future. Since we like to get an impression of future members first, I had been looking for you, and so I was around when the halfling you were following was turned into a shadow. I think I even saw who did it.".

Now Torn was on the edge of his seat:"Who?"

"I will tell you if you tell me what you have been doing in turn."

"Deal."

Nadezhda told him that when she had settled down in the Demon Whale, she had seen an Albadian merchant gesturing with his hands and uttering some words. She didn't recognize the spell, and when nothing happened, she had already dismissed this as some sort of hedge magic with little effect. But then, as the merchant turned to leave, the halfling was transformed into a shadow. Looking back, she was pretty sure that the Albadian had modified a spell in order to work after a short delay, so that he could be up and about once it had started to work it's dark magic.

Torn asked her to describe the Albadian to him in all details she could remember, until his suspicions were confirmed:" I believe I have met him... His name is Baron Yurik Vagas".

It all made sense. He had been around on the new years's ball, and if he was able to turn a man into a shadow, he could have had the means to eavesdrop on Derigesh, Barconius and Khelarian Asuras that night. Torn told her about it, and after she had promised to try to find out all she could about the halfling and the Albadian Baron, she left, waving goodbye to Niklas as she cast a spell and turned invisible in the middle of the road.

Torn dropped some coins on the table and left as well, telling his friend that the woman would help them. However, as Niklas wanted to know more about her, the halforc told him that he had promised to her not to tell anyone. Her intentions were good, and his word had to suffice as proof.

They picked up their friends and told them what had happened so far, and together, they returned to the Demon Whale. Except for the waiters, bouncers and the owner, the place was deserted now. The sailors had gone to other places for the night, and there was plenty of cleaning up left in the wake of the panicked flight earlier.

However, noone could tell them anything about the halfling. The Innkeeper claimed that it was impossible for him to keep track of all his hundreds of guests, and the one waitress who said that she knew that he was a regular guest was silenced when one of the bouncers walked up to the table that she had been cleaning with a rag.

After a while, two Paladins appeared and questioned the owner and the employees as well, however by the time, the adventurers were pretty certain that official means wouldn't get them far.

So, late at night, Torn intercepted the barmaid that had been silenced by a bouncer on her way home, and after he had pressed some gold into her palm, he found out that the halfling's name was Joey and that he was part of an organization of thugs, called "The Reapers", Mithril's very own club of cut-throats and murderers.

Back at Torn's appartment, the friends talked about what they had found out. It was unlikely that the Reapers were responsible for what had happened tonight. They were a gang of brutal bashers and murderers, and they did not have the necessary magical force for a spell like the one the night before. It was much more likely that the halfling had been a member of the gang since he had little chance of making it on his own, and that he was working for yet another organization: The penumbral Pentagon. Since he was dead, they didn't know whether he even knew who he had been working for in the first place.

Niklas and Jan returned to templecity, and the others settled down to sleep in the appartment. Fearing the worst, they put up watches, and at the first light of the new morning, Trepat heard a rap at the window. Torn lived on the third floor, but Trepat saw a woman's face through the window, nonetheless. Immediately, Trepat made the connection between Torn's narration and the female face up here, and he opened the window. Nadezhda thanked him and climbed in.

They woke up Ben and Torn, and told him that she knew where the Baron lived- furthermore she was able to confirm that the halfling did indeed work for the reapers. She drank a cup of hot tea, and when she was done relaying what she knew, she said:" I would like to help you. If you don't mind, I will aid you while you are confronting that man. After all, he seems to be very dangerous, and I believe you need all the help you could get."

Trepat looked around, and seeing that his friends agreed, he stretched out his hand:" We would be glad to have you!".

"Good. There is one thing I have to ask you, though. Don't tell your law-abiding friends anything about the Scaled Ones".

Trepat nodded:" That shouldn't be a problem. The monk knows when to ignore things, and the other guy will need a week to even figure out that there is one more person than usual in the group.".

Torn got up:"Allright, let us pick up the others then. I think it is time to find out more about Baron Yurik's estate.".

 

[Nightfall]

The Scaled and the Penumbral! Nice combo.

 

[Lars Frehse]

Shadows of Mithril, part 4of5 (Yes, yes, I know, I had spoken of four parts earlier)

They went uptown and met their friends at Mithril Keep. They decided to have two of them watching the house at any time. Torn and Niklas were chosen to take up the first eight-hour watch, after which Trepat and Ben would take over.

Yurik's house was a three story building in moon street, close to the shrine of the lost. All the houses there belonged to succesul merchants and the like, and there was hardly any traffic on the cobbled street. The only means to stay close to the house was to either hunch into one of the opposite doorways, hoping that none of the people in there would notice them or walking up and down the road. From what Nadezhda had told them, it seemed that there was only one person living in the house, but that one person looked different every time he or she left it. One time, it would be a woman leaving, and a man returning, or vice versa. But there was never more than one person inside, and so the Scaled Ones had surmised that there was really only one single individual who had the power to change his appearance in there.

Around noon Niklas and Tornn were sweating in their winterclothes. The springsun was melting away the last snow on the roofs and streets, and after a while they were both holding their wrapped up coats in their arms. Then, the door of the house opened, and a young red haired woman came out. Torn followed her, and Niklas stayed behind, keeping an eye on the house.

The young woman went to a storagebuilding down by the harbor, and Torn waited outside. As the hours passed, Niklas grew more and more worried about his friend not coming back, until, in the afternoon, he was walking up in front of the merchant's house, as suddenly he stood face to face with Baron Yurik Vagas. Both stood there, puzzled, just ten yards from each other, until the Baron was the first to react.

He chanted a short formula and strechtched his arms out towards the surprised monk. Immediately, Niklas felt how a dark force tried to get a hold of his body, and for a terrifying moment that seemed to last an eternity, he could see his hand getting darker and almost insubstantial. Surpressing his panic, he willed himself to stay calm, and with all the mental strength he had, he forced his body to remain solid.

The shadow disappeared, and his flesh became as solid as it had been before, and now Niklas jumped into action. Running as fast as his feet could carry him, he dashed down the road and around the corner, out of the sight of the Penumbral Lord.

Around the corner, he decided to get back to Mithril Keep. All this seems to be too much to handle for him and his friends, and he knew that he had to tell the Paladins all he knew, so that they could come to the house in force. Having made up his mind, he went uptown, as a call from the roof stopped him.

It was Nadezhda, who came crawling headfirst like a spider down the wall of the house to his right:" I have seen the man attacking you. When you ran, he stepped into the shadow of his house, and disappeared."

"Alright. I will go get the Paladins. Meanwhile, stay behind and tell Torn what has happened if he comes back". He hesitated for a moment, and then added with a reassuring tone:"When he comes back, I mean."

After Niklas had reported about the events at the keep, it was a matter of minutes until a small troop of Paladins was ready. Niklas lead the way down, and together with Ben, Trepat and Jan, he showed them the way to the merchant's estate. Meanwhile, Torn was back as well. He had stayed outside of the building for hours, and in spite of many men and women coming and going, the red haired woman hadn't been among them.

The Paladins knocked hard against the door:"Open up in the name of the shining council!"

When nothing happened for a while, they bashed the door down and stormed into the house, their mithril swords drawn. The heroes waited outside, and for minutes, all they heard were the Paladins ravaging the house. Eventually, the Paladins came out again. Their leader reported that the house was deserted.

While the Paladins returned to the keep, the heroes were on their own again. They went into the house, and looking around, they found no evidence that anyone had really lived in there. There were guestrooms and representative rooms on the ground floor, but the kitchen-stove looked like there had never been a fire in it, and the upper rooms were all empty.

Most of the furniture had been turned over by the searching Paladins, and it looked as if the whole building had merely served as a front for whoever was behind all this... Maybe it had been Dar' Tang himself...

They searched through the house once more, even though they thought it was unlikely that they would succeed where the Paladins of the order of Mithril had failed. They started on top, where they found a few pigeon feathers, and worked their way to the basement. There was a winecellar.- Here, too, they gained the impression that the place hadn't been used in a year. Most of the bottles were empty, and even the wine Ben tried was corked.

The bottles were lined up in the wall, each one in a small seperate shaftlike compartment that was hewn into the rock of the basewall. As Ben was complaining about the bad wine he had just tried, Trepat noticed that one of the bottle looked different then the others. Unlike the other bottles down here, it seemed clean, and it was neither covered by cobwebs nor dust. The elf reached for the bottle, and when he tried to pull it out, he felt a resistance- and has he pulled on, a trapdoor opened in the middle of the room.

The trapdoor opened a shaft that lead further down into the darkness.

Niklas and Nadezhda stayed behind, in case anyone should come from behind, and the others climbed down. The shaft lead to a damp, rectangular room that was totally empty. The walls and the floor were moist, there were small puddles of dark water on the floor and there was a heavy closed door at the far side of the room.

The friends looked carefully around, as all of a sudden three things happened:

The trapdoor above them slammed shut, Trepat's and Torn's shadow fused together, keeping the two tied together as strongly as a chain around their ankles could have done, and large black leathery tentacles grew out of the floor, lashing out for anything they could grasp.

 

[Ancalagon]

I wonder what the scaled want with this...

Ancalagon

 

[Nightfall]

They're probably concerned that Dar'Tan's schemes will disrupt trade. Not to mention he might be trying to get a monopoly on illicit activities.

 

[Lars Frehse]

Shadows of Mithril- part 5 of 5

Whenever one of the tentacle got hold of one of the heroes, it wound itself around it's victim and started to squeeze tightly, pushing out the air out of lungs and crushing bones in the process. Fortunately for the adventurers, though, those tentacles were solid, and they could be hurt with physical weapons.

Torn was the first to get caught by one of the tentacles, and Trepat, who's shadow was attached to his, was pulled along. Those adventurers who stayed free of the tentacles' grasp hacked at those that had caught up a victim. Usually, two or three good blows sufficed to destroy one of the leathery black arms, but more often then not, help came at the last possible moment. By the time Niklas had succeeded in opening and blocking the trapdoor above, Trepat and Torn were already unconcious on the floor, but in the end, they succeeded in defeating the last of the tentacle.

Ben and Jan took care of the wounds, and when they were all back on their feet, bruised, but alive, Torn took care of the door, with Trepat, who was still magically chained to him, close by. Recognizing the design of the lock, opening was easy for him.

Behind the door, there was a corridor that lead into the catacombs. At an intersection, Trepat found tracks that lead further down, and eventually, they reached another door. As Torn examined it, the rest of the group retreated a little back into the corridor they came from.

Torn found no trap, and so he started to work at the lock, but as he inserted his lockpick tools, he heard a short *click* and before he or Trepat could react all hell broke lose. The world around them exploded in heat, noise and light, as a Fireball was triggered. Fortunately for Trepat, Torn's body shielded him from the main force of the impact, so that they were both badly scorched but still concious afterwards.

Fortunately for them, the door was blasted open as well, so that after Ben took care of them, they were all able to enter the room behind it without triggering any further traps. The room was empty, except for one marble portal in the middle of it. Between the white frame, there was a flat field of utter blackness that absorbed all light around it. In a way, it was in every aspect, the exact opposite of a mirror.

Jan pulled out his sword:" Allright, I will go first then!"

"What? Are you insane? We are all badly wounded and there is most likely a powerful wizard behind that door!", said Trepat, infuriated by the paladin's unstoppable optimism.

Jan was about to answer, as a black, shadowy arm materialized out of the field and touched him. Suddenly, everything was like when the Slarecian shadow had hit him all over again. He was severly weakened and hardly able to carry the weight of his armor anymore. He crashed down, fell forward and as the black field disappeared, leaving behind only an empty, pointless doorway in the middle of the room, he hit the floor.

There was nothing left to do now, except for carrying poor Jan out and informing Barconius. Back at Mithril Keep, the leader of the Paladins was agitated. He sent out squads of Paladins with backing from the shadow guild. All local forces were mobilized, tracking down associates of the shadow mage and sweeping through the streets, doublechecking all contacts of Jurik Vagas.

Meanwhile, Torn and Trepat remained chained together. It took Emili Derigesh, who worked a powerful ritual, to tear apart their shadows. Days went by, but there was no trace of the disappeared nobleman. He had definetly been a member of the Penumbral Pentagon, and maybe he had even been Dar Tang himself... Yet, he had slipped away. But still the deeds of the heroes had destroyed many months of work- if he was to return, he would have to build all his cover identities fromscratch again.

Eventually, Ben and Trepat returned to the Gravelfists, and soon afterwards, Jan and Niklas were sent after them to help them negotiate for farming tools, animals, and the like. Torn, who had been informed by now that he would be able to join the Scaled Ones in due time, decided to come along. A little spring trip to Mullis Town sounded like a nice change of pace.

Little did they know, that soon they would be endangering their life because of The Serpent Amphora again...

 

[Lars Frehse]

Coming up next:


Our stalwart heroes against "The Serpent in the Fold".

So, some spoilers are in order, since SSS Druid's adventure "Serpent in the Fold" will come next.

 

[Nightfall]

Sweet! Can't wait to see what you do then Lars!

 

[Lars Frehse]

Eve of the Taurosphinx - part 1

It was the first of Tanot in the year 151, exactly one year after they had left Durrover, when the adventurers were finishing their negotiation in Mullis Town on behalf of the Gravelfist Orcs. Niklas and Jan were there to give the merchants a guarantee on behalf of the city of Mithril, so that the orcs were able to purchase much needed goods on credit, and Ben, Torn and Trepat served as middlemen. After all, the merchants, who were mostly humans, felt much more comfortable doing their business with an elf, a halfling or even a halforc, than with Orcs.

It was a warm afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly in a sky that was as blue as the sea as they settled down for dinner with Donnangar. They sat down in front of their inn on wooden benches and ate outside, watching the busy pedestrians and carts on the street, as a young human approached them.

He was grinning happily and as he arrived at the table, the friends recognized him: It was Eochaid- the Vigilant who had, in the previous summer, handed to them the Serpent Amphora, a leaden vessel, that held some of the essence of Mormo and which was protected by the seal of Chardun. When they had first met, he was on the brink of death from Asaathi poison, but Ben's herbs and medicines had saved him. Together, they had brought the Amphora to Lave, the capital of Vesh, all the while hunted by Belsamites, Ratmen and other agents of evil.

It was a cheerful reunion, and soon they were drinking wine and telling each other what had happened in the year since they last saw each other. After a while, Eochaid explained why he was there in Mullis Town: "Originally, I was sent to deliver a message to Mithril. But as I had just sattled my horse, and was about to leave Lave, I was stopped by Home Commader Kelemis Durm himself.

"He told me that I would find you here in Mullis Town, leading negotiations for an Orcish tribe, and that I was to deliver letters to you."

And with that he pulled out five identical looking letters from his bag, which he had put in front of his chair. They opened the letters, and read them:

My friends,

Please forgive the suddenness of this message.

It is imperative that I speak with you, since a situation has arisen that demands action, but I fear that my vigilants are hampered- quite frankly, they are too well known. We need someone of strength and dedication of the kind which you have shown in the past.

I would ask you that you come as quickly as you might to the Hall of Command in the Veshian capitol of Lave. Present yourself to the Majordomo there, a man named Trophion. Time is of the essence.

I thank you.

With kind regards,

Kelemis Durn,
Home Commander of Vesh

After they had read the lettters, all of them were silent. Each of them thought back to his own part in the adventure that had revolved around the Serpent Amphora. The good cheer that had prevailed just a few minutes earlier was gone, and they all felt sobered up.


Five days later, they were in the sun room in the Hall of Command. It was a large and beautiful chamber with huge picture widows that transformed the sunlight into beautiful golden rays which were bathing the room in a warm golden light. With them were two Vigilants and one priest of Tanil. There was Kelemis Durn himself, his lieutenant, Amra Varith, a young woman with a face that was both stern and sensual, and Erem of the Huntress, a scholar who served Tanil.

After they were formally welcomed and Kelemis had thanked them for coming on such short notice, Erem cleared his throat, and with a shy and nervous smile he handed out some scrolls to the heroes.

"As you will see", he started," these scrolls are copies of an account of Lilliandel, a legendary archer-bard who had fought for Tanil in the divine war. She reports about how the gods fought Mormo. Apparently, Chardun pulled out the witch queen's heart and afterwards, he had captured parts of her essence in a leaden amphora which he sealed with the powers that he commands as the god of binding."

Kelemis nodded towards the scholar and continued:" This vessel is the Amphora which you have taken from the Titanspawn and brought here last summer. Ever since, titanspawn activity has gotten much stronger in Vesh- especially servants of Mormo, Asaathi and Slitheren are found deeper and deeper within the borders of our realm. It looks like the servants of Mormo have gotten stronger and bolder in the past, and they seem to crave this vessel that holds the essence of their mistress.

Now we intend to send you and and three other groups, some of which you had met on the way in here, on four seperate missions with the goal to learn as much about the serpent amphora as it is possible for mortals. Before I continue, I need to know one thing though: Will you accept this mission?".

Without any hesitation, they all agreed. Not only had the Vigilants proven to be grateful employers with good intentions in the past, but they, too, were curious just what the true significance of this artifact was.

He smiled contently:" Very well, then. I want you to go to Hedrad. The city of The Lawgiver is also home to the most extensive libraries and wisest sages in this part of the world. There, you should be able to find more information about the amphora. Meanwhile, small parties of known vigilants, complete with false amphorae, will try to draw out Mormo's forces in the open."

When they were finished in the Hall of Command, and after they had said goodbye to the two vigilants and the priest, they went to the market to buy provisions. After all, a long journey to the city in the east lay ahead of them.

Then, as Niklas was talking to a shopkeeper on the market, he felt something tugging on his backpack. Turning around, he stood face to face with a scrawny brown haired human, who was just pulling his hand out of Niklas' backpack. Seeing that he was caught redhanded, the thief turned around and ran down the market, with Niklas in hot pursuit.

 

[Nightfall]

And thus it begins!