Dr Midnight
Explorer
SESSION 42
Freeday, 15th of Patchwall
BEYOND ALL REASON
Kizzlorn and Shade sat on a bench outside Heroes’ Tower, where the town watch and several city council members were quickly putting together the pieces of Hedrack’s crimes. The morning sunshine wasn’t warm enough to put off the chill of the dew in the air. The two hadn’t said much, as they really didn’t know each other that well.
Any topic to speak of was likely a gloomy one, so they sat silently. Kizz had lost two party members- one a trusted relic of her parents’ past, and the other a friend from her childhood. Lem had grown odd and consumed with lust for power in his final years, but at his heart Kizz had still felt he was a stalwart companion. She had lost good friends before, though, and would never forget them.
Someone walked up to them. Kizz looked up to see the great lumbering half-orc Grumbar that she and the others had saved from sacrifice (and, to a lesser extent, stupidity) the night before. “Hello,” he grunted with a smile.
“Good morning, Grumbar,” Shade said. “Sleep well?”
“Yes, slept on a bed that was feather-soft and comfy. I’m here now.”
Kizz blinked. “Here for what?”
“I’m joining you. I owe you my life.”
“What?? Uh… we saved you, sure, but you don’t have to pledge to us a life-debt or anything like that.”
The half-orc shook his head vigorously. A thin line of saliva whipped out from the force and splattered against the ground. “Nope. Nope. Must. Life-debt.”
Kizz sighed and looked at Shade. “Couldn’t hurt. On this note, you weren’t even a member of the group, either. How about it? Care to travel with us? We have two more back in Verbobonc, so we only number four right now… We could use that blade of yours.”
Shade thought for a moment as asked “I dunno, luv… Where are ya headed?”
“Eventually, we mean to slay an ancient white dragon and locate another dragon, freeing it from a mirror prison. Uh… as for where we’re headed, right now, I have no clue.”
“Why, bless me, that’s exactly where I’m going.” He grinned with a wink. She smiled back.
“Excuse me,” a voice said. The three looked to see Canoness Y’Dey, the high priestess of Saint Cuthbert in Hommlet. She was holding a letter. “This just arrived. I thought if anyone should be present when it’s opened, it should be you.” She held it out, and the three Knights read the address: ~Burne~ Heroes’ Tower, Hommlet”.
“Let’s open it,” Kizzlorn said at once. They did, and read.
Dearest Burne-
It pleases me to hear that you have kept busy. Best wishes to you during this especially festive Fear’s Eve season.
I myself have recently started a lucrative partnership that could bear fruit for our cause… come time. I believe I have found the location of another “friend,” and am working with a curious gentleman up here in the Griff mountains to locate and free him. It’s rather cold, and winter is coming, but the prospect of what could be done here is just too exciting.
I promise I will tell you more when we next meet in person. The written word is just too dangerous to trust much to, if you take my meaning.
-E.
“’Lucrative partnership’, eh?” Shade noted.
“’E.’,” Kizz muttered, thinking.
“’Written word’?” Grumbar blurted. The others stared at him for a moment. His gray-green skin reddened as he blushed.
“Whoever this is, she’s onto something that will aid both their causes. This means she needs to be confronted and stopped,” Kizzlorn said.
“Agreed,” replied Shade. “How far away are the Griff mountains?”
They found a yellowed map of the Flanaess in the Temple’s library, and spread it out over Y’Dey’s desk. The mountains looked to be roughly 1,600 miles from Hommlet. Grumbar groaned.
Kizz straightened. “The trip shouldn’t be any kind of hassle, with the use of a teleportation spell. The trick is knowing enough about the location beforehand to make certain it works.”
Canoness thought silently for a while, and said “I may be able to help you with this.” She had a serving boy run off through town. He soon returned with two men in tow: The first was a man in a simple brown tunic with comfortable boots. He had an unkempt yet attractive mop of dark curls on his head. The man behind him wore no weapons and wore padded armor. He had blond hair that was combed back from his forehead. His sly blue eyes conveyed a sense of easy confidence that said he didn’t worry about much.
“This is Jo’nas Redlong,” Canoness said as she gestured to the first man, “and his companion Gryph Greycloak. I believe they might be able to assist you with the distance between here and the mountains.”
“It seems we have you to thank, my friends,” Jo’nas said with a courteous bow. “My brother and I fell to the treachery of the witches’ lamps. Without your help, who knows how long we might have dwelled in madness.”
Canoness Y’Dey spoke again. “Jo’nas here is a priest of Fharlanghn, the god of travel. He has seen much of the world. He may be able to provide you with the aid you need.”
“That would be greatly appreciated,” Kizzlorn said. “We are going far away, to the Griff mountains. Have you been through the area?”
“Several times,” he answered. “It’s frost-rimed and cold, overrun by barbarians, ogres, giants, and griffons… from which the range takes its name. Not a bad place to travel to, at all.”
“Can you help us scry a suitable position to teleport to?”
“I can do better than that. I can come with you, as a guide.”
Kizzlorn looked surprised. “You can? You wouldn’t mind?”
“Not at all.” He looked to his friend. “Gryph, you wouldn’t mind helping these good people, would you?”
“I wouldn’t mind in the least. We owe these heroes our gratitude for what they’ve done here. It’s only right that we offer our services.”
Grumbar furrowed his brow and looked at Gryph. “Jo-nas can help travel, but what do you do? You don’t even have a sword.”
Gryph laughed. “I don’t have a sword because I lack for need of one, my porcine friend. Mine are the arms of the kraken, the wings of the eagle, the claws of the dragon.”
The half-orc looked genuinely confused. He looked at the man’s form and said “How do you mean?”
“Why, literally, of course.”
More to come...
Freeday, 15th of Patchwall
BEYOND ALL REASON
Kizzlorn and Shade sat on a bench outside Heroes’ Tower, where the town watch and several city council members were quickly putting together the pieces of Hedrack’s crimes. The morning sunshine wasn’t warm enough to put off the chill of the dew in the air. The two hadn’t said much, as they really didn’t know each other that well.
Any topic to speak of was likely a gloomy one, so they sat silently. Kizz had lost two party members- one a trusted relic of her parents’ past, and the other a friend from her childhood. Lem had grown odd and consumed with lust for power in his final years, but at his heart Kizz had still felt he was a stalwart companion. She had lost good friends before, though, and would never forget them.
Someone walked up to them. Kizz looked up to see the great lumbering half-orc Grumbar that she and the others had saved from sacrifice (and, to a lesser extent, stupidity) the night before. “Hello,” he grunted with a smile.
“Good morning, Grumbar,” Shade said. “Sleep well?”
“Yes, slept on a bed that was feather-soft and comfy. I’m here now.”
Kizz blinked. “Here for what?”
“I’m joining you. I owe you my life.”
“What?? Uh… we saved you, sure, but you don’t have to pledge to us a life-debt or anything like that.”
The half-orc shook his head vigorously. A thin line of saliva whipped out from the force and splattered against the ground. “Nope. Nope. Must. Life-debt.”
Kizz sighed and looked at Shade. “Couldn’t hurt. On this note, you weren’t even a member of the group, either. How about it? Care to travel with us? We have two more back in Verbobonc, so we only number four right now… We could use that blade of yours.”
Shade thought for a moment as asked “I dunno, luv… Where are ya headed?”
“Eventually, we mean to slay an ancient white dragon and locate another dragon, freeing it from a mirror prison. Uh… as for where we’re headed, right now, I have no clue.”
“Why, bless me, that’s exactly where I’m going.” He grinned with a wink. She smiled back.
“Excuse me,” a voice said. The three looked to see Canoness Y’Dey, the high priestess of Saint Cuthbert in Hommlet. She was holding a letter. “This just arrived. I thought if anyone should be present when it’s opened, it should be you.” She held it out, and the three Knights read the address: ~Burne~ Heroes’ Tower, Hommlet”.
“Let’s open it,” Kizzlorn said at once. They did, and read.
Dearest Burne-
It pleases me to hear that you have kept busy. Best wishes to you during this especially festive Fear’s Eve season.
I myself have recently started a lucrative partnership that could bear fruit for our cause… come time. I believe I have found the location of another “friend,” and am working with a curious gentleman up here in the Griff mountains to locate and free him. It’s rather cold, and winter is coming, but the prospect of what could be done here is just too exciting.
I promise I will tell you more when we next meet in person. The written word is just too dangerous to trust much to, if you take my meaning.
-E.
“’Lucrative partnership’, eh?” Shade noted.
“’E.’,” Kizz muttered, thinking.
“’Written word’?” Grumbar blurted. The others stared at him for a moment. His gray-green skin reddened as he blushed.
“Whoever this is, she’s onto something that will aid both their causes. This means she needs to be confronted and stopped,” Kizzlorn said.
“Agreed,” replied Shade. “How far away are the Griff mountains?”
They found a yellowed map of the Flanaess in the Temple’s library, and spread it out over Y’Dey’s desk. The mountains looked to be roughly 1,600 miles from Hommlet. Grumbar groaned.
Kizz straightened. “The trip shouldn’t be any kind of hassle, with the use of a teleportation spell. The trick is knowing enough about the location beforehand to make certain it works.”
Canoness thought silently for a while, and said “I may be able to help you with this.” She had a serving boy run off through town. He soon returned with two men in tow: The first was a man in a simple brown tunic with comfortable boots. He had an unkempt yet attractive mop of dark curls on his head. The man behind him wore no weapons and wore padded armor. He had blond hair that was combed back from his forehead. His sly blue eyes conveyed a sense of easy confidence that said he didn’t worry about much.
“This is Jo’nas Redlong,” Canoness said as she gestured to the first man, “and his companion Gryph Greycloak. I believe they might be able to assist you with the distance between here and the mountains.”
“It seems we have you to thank, my friends,” Jo’nas said with a courteous bow. “My brother and I fell to the treachery of the witches’ lamps. Without your help, who knows how long we might have dwelled in madness.”
Canoness Y’Dey spoke again. “Jo’nas here is a priest of Fharlanghn, the god of travel. He has seen much of the world. He may be able to provide you with the aid you need.”
“That would be greatly appreciated,” Kizzlorn said. “We are going far away, to the Griff mountains. Have you been through the area?”
“Several times,” he answered. “It’s frost-rimed and cold, overrun by barbarians, ogres, giants, and griffons… from which the range takes its name. Not a bad place to travel to, at all.”
“Can you help us scry a suitable position to teleport to?”
“I can do better than that. I can come with you, as a guide.”
Kizzlorn looked surprised. “You can? You wouldn’t mind?”
“Not at all.” He looked to his friend. “Gryph, you wouldn’t mind helping these good people, would you?”
“I wouldn’t mind in the least. We owe these heroes our gratitude for what they’ve done here. It’s only right that we offer our services.”
Grumbar furrowed his brow and looked at Gryph. “Jo-nas can help travel, but what do you do? You don’t even have a sword.”
Gryph laughed. “I don’t have a sword because I lack for need of one, my porcine friend. Mine are the arms of the kraken, the wings of the eagle, the claws of the dragon.”
The half-orc looked genuinely confused. He looked at the man’s form and said “How do you mean?”
“Why, literally, of course.”
More to come...
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