Struggle and Strife- A scarred lands storyhour

[Lars Frehse]

The Serpent Amphora -part1

Chapter 6- The serpent Amphora

After weeks in the dwarven citadel, all of them were happy to be back on the road again. They left the gates of Burok Torn behind and marched northwards.

For the next days, each mile they marched brought them a little higher in the mountains, and the air grew ever thinner, and in spite of the summer that had reached the valleys and the plains, here, so close to the stars, it was freezing at night.

At noon of their fifth day, they had reached the highest point of their journey. They were between two majestic mountains and to their north, miles below them, Adurn's Tear was laying peacefully like a mirror in a frame made of rock. All of the heroes stared down intently, captured by the beauty of that sight. Not only was the view beautiful to behold, but it also showed, that the streinous journey through the Kelder mountains was finally drawing to an end.

Their revery was abruptly interrupted as a shriek echoed through the mountains. They looked upwards, and above them, they saw a reptilian predator diving down at them!

The beast had a long and toothy beak and leathery wings, and at the end of it's tail, there was a vicious tip. Niklas raised his glaive just in time to thrust it at the attacking beast. He missed it, and was hit by one claw and the tail. As the beast hovered for a moment, getting ready to fly up again, it was hit by one of Ben's bullets. Again, it shrieked loudly, deafening the heroes for a short while until it had risen beyond the reach of their bows and crossbows. There it used the updraft to circle over it's prey., lazily beating it's wings every now and then...

Meanwhile, the poison from the beast's tail had paralyzed Niklas who was now standing stiff as a statue. Fearing a return of the beast, the other ones kept their weapons, bows, crossbow and sling aimed at the sky, as Ben explained: "That predator is called a spirewyvern. It's poison paralyzes for some hours, but afterwards, Niklas should be fine. I am surprised it attacked us- it must be having young ones to attack a group of our size..."

Still aiming his Crossbow to the sky, Jan asked:"And, do you think it will come back?"

Ben shrugged:" I really don't know. Usually a spirewyvern waits for it's prey to be completely paralyzed... Now, in this case, our presence probably confuses it. After all, a flock of mountain goats would have run away in fear, leaving the victim of the initial attack behind. It really depends on how hungry it is...".

Then, anticipating the next question, Ben added: "And I really can't tell how hungry it is from looking at it!".

They were still debating as the Spirewyvern decided to give an answer itself by diving down at them again.

As soon as it was in range, they shot their missiles at it, but only a bullet hit and before they could shoot again, it was already over Bristian, one of their mules. Again, it used it's sting on the poor beast of burden, which was screaming in terror, and dodging yet another volley of missiles, it flew up again.

Again, it circled high above them, and Jan, annoyed by the hit and run tactic the beast had used so far, walked away from the group, banging his sword against his shield and shouting up to it, all the while. Seeing one of it's prey seperate from the group, the spirewyvern dove down again. This time, an arrow and a bolt hit the creature in the body, and Jan too was able to hit it with his sword before he was struck down by it's mighty talons.

Again, the beast flew up, and deciding that these strange creatures were too much trouble, circled only once and then returned to it's nest high up in the mountains.

Relieved, Ben turned his attention to Jan, who had lost conciousness. Then, after Jan had recovered, they wrapped Bristian and Niklas into blankets and waited till they had regained control of their limbs. Keeping a wary eye on the sky, they marched on.

For the next days, they went downwards, and after a while, there were plants again, and soon they had to shed some of their clothes, since the heat of the young summer made them sweat under their coats and scarves. As they went down, they at last saw signs of civilization again, as well. A shepherd leading his sheep up to a meadow and a forager of healing herbs were the clearest sign that they were among the divine races again.

Then, one evening, they reached a small village at the shore of Adurn's tear, and there were busy people everywhere. Some peasants were putting benches and tables on a field outside of the village, while others were carrying heavy kegs of beer and wine. There were boats in the small harbor, but none looked as if they were leaving soon. It seemed as if everyone was busy preparing a festivity.

Niklas turned to one of the farmers who had just helped putting up a small tent: "Greetings god man. What is the name of this village and what are you all doing here?"

The peasant answered:" Ah, you don't know? Well, this village here is Trela. But you sure must know what day it is tomorrow?"

Jan shook his head:" No. You see, my friends and me had spent a long time in the Kelders, and I have to admit that there we had lost track of the passage of the days..."

"Ah! Well, sir, tomorrow will be the first corday of Chardot- divinities day! There will be a big feast and several contests. There will be footraces, duels, an archery competition, horse rounds, and a bardic competition. All in honor of Chardun and Corean!".

After a long trek through the mountains, the young adventurers congratulated themselves for such good luckwith their timing. Of course they would use this opportunity and join the fun!

They got rooms for the night, and on the next morning, Niklas stood ready to participate in the first event, the footrace.

 

[Ancalagon]

This is the third time I'm trying to post so I'll be brief.

Ah, footraces, looking forward to the rest!

Ancalagon

 

[Lars Frehse]

Are the boards acting up again?
Anyway, I am glad you like it. Because of the world cup final, we didn't play this weekend. I plan on continuing the current chapter on monday.

 

[Lars Frehse]

Serpent Amphora- pt. 2

The track made a circle around the village, leading up into the hills in the south and along the beach of Adurn’s Tear in the north. It was a mile long, and the runners were supposed to run four laps.

Apart from Niklas, there were four other runners, three men and one woman. All were young humans from Trela, and their families and friends were cheering for “their” runners, so that Ben, Torn, Jan and Trepat were the only supporters of Niklas.

As the sun had just risen over the Kelder mountains in the east and was only starting to burn away the chill of the night, the captain of the militia, Jonegar the half-orc, banged his axe against his shield, thus signalling for the competitors to start running.

Niklas had a good start. Giving all he got, he was making good progress, and soon, after the first lap, he didn’t feel the morning’s chill anymore and he was leaving the locals behind. As he went into the second lap, he felt his heart beating in his ears, yet he kept on running, while the other runners were being cheered on by their family and friends.

Meanwhile, a black robed priest of Belsameth, the slayer, approached Jan, who was cheering and yelling for his brother: “ Welcome good sir knight. My name is Radraan and I am the local priest. As you can see, I serve the lady of the night, Belsameth.”.

“Good morning”, Jan answered, “My name is Jan Palek, and I am a Paladin of the great champion Corean.”.

The priest was now smiling broadly, yet somehow, the radiant smile didn’t quite find it’s way, to his eyes: “Ah, fate must be smiling on our village! On the day of the two champions, one of their chosen ones finds it’s way here! But, alas, it looks like two of our own are catching up on your friend!”.

And indeed, there the woman and one of the men were now slowly getting closer to Niklas, who was now, in the third lap, feeling the long treck through the mountains in his legs. His heart was hammering in his chest, and in spite of the coolness of the morning, he was now sweating profusely. Still, he was leading the field, and mustering his last strength he entered the last lap, intending to win the race.

After Niklas had turned around the corner into his last lap in the hilly part of the track, Radraan turned to Jan again: “Anyway, it is always a pleasure for me to welcome defenders of other divine faiths here in our village. If you like, you can always come and visit the midnight shrine”.

Niklas looked over to the small windowless building at which the priest was pointing- the midnight shrine, dedicated to the goddess of murder. Supressing a shudder, he said: “Thank you for the invitation.”.

By now, Niklas was running towards the finishing line. On his side, there was the local woman, who looked as exhausted and determined as he was. Then, as there were only a few yards left to run, the woman seemed to summon extra strength from nowhere, and she left Niklas behind, winning the race.

Niklas came in second and lay down on the cool grass, panting heavily. Already his friends were around him, congratulating him for his good performance, and after he had recovered, he gratefully received the second prize: A pair of masterwork boots.

Now, that the race was finished, there was a hearty breakfast for everyone. Happy to have fresh food after living on trail rations for so long, the heroes stuffed themselves with bread, cheese and smoked sausage, chasing it down with milk.

Then, Jan and Torn signed up for the bamboo rod duels which were being held in the town’s square. They were given padded armor and rods and had to face their enemies.

With a combination of luck and skill, both managed to defeat their opponents one by one, until only the two of them were left.

By now, both had bruises and small wounds from the previous fights. Again, Jonegar gave the signal to start.

Both, half-orc and human were now circling each other, waiting for the other to loose his concentration. Many times had they fought side by side, but never had they matched their fighting prowess with each other.

The sun had reached it’s Zenith by now, and as Torn had to squint his eyes, Jan attacked him with his rod, hitting his leg. But Torn didn’t let the moment pass and hit his friend on the shoulder with his rod. Now, they were opposing each other, striking and parrying. Then, Jan fell for a feint and was hit on the side of his head.

Now, the paladin’s head was ringing and he was hardly able to see straight. Instead of giving up, though, he threw all his might into one last desperate blow, hitting the half orc on the head and knocking him out cold. Yet, he wasn’t able to gloat over his victory, since the exhaustion made him pass out as well, and both, Half Orc and Man hit the dusty ground at the same moment.

The crowd that had been cheering and yelling before were now transfixed in an awed silence. Both friends lay side by side in the dust for a moment, until two buckets of water were emptied over their heads, and they slowly regained conciousness, their head hurting as if they had had a night full of wine and ale.

Jonegar, the half orc, pulled both of them upwards and raised an arm of each of them into the air: “We have two winners!”. The crowd showed it’s approval by clapping and cheering.

Groggily, they both accepted the laurel and merely registered the local mayor telling them that they could pick up their prize at his warehouse.

Now, it was time for a large lunch. The villagers and the visitors all sat down on the benches in the meadow in front of the village, and as the meal went on, many villagers congratulated those who had participated in the competitions so far. No one in the village was able to remember a Bamboo rod duel in which there had been a draw.

Afterwards, there was an archery competition, in which Ben came in second. Only a local halfling had been better and then all of the heroes enjoyed the horse races and in the evening the bardic competition in which the Corean’s and Chardun’s deeds during the titan’s war were praised.

Then, after the sun had set, everyone returned to the meadow. There was wild boar and plenty of beer and wine for everyone, and the night was clear and beautiful and full of song. Even though it had been a long day, nobody wanted to go to rest early that night.

Late at night, while the feast was still in full swing, Torn went to some bushes out of sight of the tables to relief himself. As he was just done buttoning himself, an ill-shaven man in tattered clothes stumbled out of the underbrush. He looked exhausted, sick and desperate and grabbed Torn’s shoulder, keeping himself on his feet with his last strength: “Quick, I need a priest!”

 

[Nightfall]

Ah sweet! The start of the fun just arrived! Can't wait to see how old Radraan feels about Chardun visiting him.

 

[The It's Man]

Yes, I like it. Too bad I live a 4.5 hours trainride from you Lars

 

[Lars Frehse]

The serpent Amphora- part 3

Storyhour 6-3

The man broke down, and Torn saw that there was blood seeping through his torn cloak in the back. Picking the wounded man up, he ran back to the feast.

At the sight of this emergency, a hush fell over the crowd. Ben cast a healing spell on the Ranger, who recovered. Resting him on a bench, Ben examined the puncture wounds of the man.

"Poison", Ben said. "I can try to help him with some of the herbs I found in the mountains. But my magic is not strong enough to cure him.".

By now, a small crowd had gathered, and the wounded man spotted Jan. Upon seeing Corean's insignia, the man seemed to gather his last strength, and he signalled Jan to come closer.

The man now started speaking frantically, with the conviction of a man, who knew that he was living on borrowed time: "I thank the gods and the mother for your presence here, servant of Corean. My name is Eochaid, a Vigil of Vesh. We learned of a small covey of hags on the edge of the Hornsaw and the Blood Steppes. They had come into posession of a vessel that contains part of the essence of Mormo the Hag-queen."

The man coughed heavily, blood flecked his lips and his body was shaken with spasms. Then, after he was able to breathe again, he continued: " We, we raided their encampment. We lost two... But we got the amphora and then we were pursued all across the Blood Steppes, and the servants of the hags caught up with us over and over again! And each time, they got some of us... One or two at a time... My brothers in arms, my friends... They sacrificed themselves to buy us time with their very lifes..."

For a short moment, it looked as if grief and exhaustion were keeping the ranger from continuing. But then, he motioned for his backpack, and after Niklas had handed it to him, he pulled an Amphora out of it. It was crafted of lead and had a metal seal impressed with the scepter and laurel wreath symbol of Chardun. The amphora itself was decorated with a twisting, intricate pattern of intertwined snakes, and as Jan focused back on Eochaid the Ranger, it seemed as if the snakes were moving at the edge of his sight.

Eochaid grabbed Jan's shoulder, and pulled himself halfway up to him:" This must be returned to Vesh. Don't let all those lifes be wasted for nothing- guard it with your life now until it has reached the hands of the Vigils of Vesh. Swear you shall do this, in the name of Corean!".

And as Jan swore, the poisoned Ranger settled back with a reliefed smile, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

By now, some villagers had brought a stretcher and the heroes carefully put the wounded man on it and carried him to Radraan. When they reached the midnight shrine, the priest of the slayer was waiting for them in front of the windowless shrine.

"Ah, you brought the wounded man! Some villagers already told me about him and the prize he brought. Well, carry him inside, I will take care of him and the amphora.".

"I am sorry", Jan objected:" But I have promised this man to bring the amphora to Vesh!".

Radraan kept on smiling but his eyes got even colder:" Now, certainly you won't consider the words of a delirious man to be binding, no? I would make sure that the Amphora reaches the hands of king Virduk himself."

Jan shook his head:" He is a Vigilant, so I don't think that his wish to have the amphora delivered to Vesh can be considered to be delirious.".

"But certainly, it is much safer in the heart of the Calastian empire then it could be in a land that is besieged by titanspawn on all sides. And of course, I am certain that his imperial highness would be more than grateful.".

Now Ben spoke up. The little Halfling had never forgotten that he came from a country that had been raped by Calastia:" No way. We will take care of the poisoned man and the amphora ourselves. Let's go:".

They turned around to the hut they had slept in, and Radraan kept on staring coldly at their backs, as if his gaze was a dagger, poised to strike them down.

Back in the hut, they decided to leave the next day, after Ben had tended to the Ranger's wounds. For the next hours, he kept on taking care of the wounds. Fortunately, the herbs he used countered the poison, and it looked as if his patient should be able to recover after a couple of days rest.

Niklas was examining the amphora, Ben checked the Ranger's pulse and the others were sleeping in cots on one wall, as the door burst open, and two lizardlike creatures were standing in the doorway.

They had long necks and were as slender as an elf while being as tall as a human. Their scaled skin was deep green and their golden eyes were burning with a rare mixture of intelligence and hatred. Both scanned the room for a short moment and then regained their motion when they spotted Niklas holding the amphora.

Niklas and Ben in turn recognized the creatures from countless stories and legends: They were Asaathi- an ancient race of reptilian warrior-wizards who had once, in an ancient past, ruled an empire that covered half of Ghelspad. Their once proud cities were now in ruins, but they were still serving their maker, Mormo, the serpentmother, as fanatically as they were back when their cities were still filled with life.

 

[Lars Frehse]

Oh, and Itsman- if you stay long enough on the sunday after my wedding, you can make a guest appearance. I think I could always integrate a pitchfork wielding Paladin into my campaign...

 

[Nightfall]

Ah and here come the Assathi! Man I'm SOO loving this.

 

[SSS-Druid]

Once I get back to my home computer (I am on working vacation right now), I'll post some of the better images from the Serpent Amphora art contest we held on the SSS site a while back.

Thanks for the story!