Dr Midnight
Explorer
My name is Snooky. You asked.
The words came into Kizz’s head as a thought she might have had herself. She didn’t hear them or read them- she thought them. They had a voice that sounded small and polite. The black cat looked up at her with golden eyes and purred.
After a moment, Kizzlorn managed to say “A… cat… is talking to me.”
I’m afraid that’s incorrect on two counts. For one, I’m not talking to you- You’re talking to me. I’m using telepathy. For two, I’m not a cat... not really.
“Um. What are you?”
I am a pseudodragon.
“You’re a pseudodragon. And you’re pretending to be a cat.” Kizzlorn was incredibly surprised.
I was polymorphed into a cat long ago by my master. This brings me to my reason for coming to you, if you’ll pardon me. I should like to approach your entire group about an adventuring opportunity. Would this be acceptable?
“Y… yeah. Let me- I’ll just go get them. Wait here.” She ran out of the room and found her friends standing around the board. “Guys. You have to come with me.”
Niffler said “Hey, Kizz, we’re number one! We’re going to be awarded top honors for tier 1 at the ceremony!”
She waved that away and said “Right now there’s a talking cat in our prep room who wants to give us an adventure to undertake.”
Everyone stared at her. After a moment, Niffler said “Neat! Let’s go!” He ran back to the room. Kizz followed. It took everyone else another ten seconds to pull their heads together and process what she’d said before they went.
Back in the room, Niffler was petting Snooky. Kizzlorn gestured and said “See?”
Orthos slowly said “It’s not talking, Kizz.”
“Say something, kitty,” Niffler pleaded.
Would you all have a seat? I’d like to discuss an adventuring opportunity.
The stunned group sat.
As I told Kizzlorn, my name is Snooky. I am a polymorphed pseudodragon. About nineteen years ago, my master disappeared. He was a masterful wizard named Gorgoldand- and what’s more, he was a gold dragon in disguise, living among humans. He lived quietly in a town named Poddleton out to the east. He owned a bookstore and trained adventurers when need arose. In the Great Purge, as it is now known, a posse of false paladins of Heironeous assaulted our town and ousted, converted or killed anyone of differing religious faith or arcane skills. My master found his way outside and began fighting them. Through the army of paladins came a large cowled figure in a robe who blasted us with light and fire. He held up a small item and chanted some words. Everything after that is a blackened blur. When I awoke, I was alone and my master was nowhere to be found. The town had been all but burned to the ground.
“Uh…” Taessus stuttered. He wasn’t the only one who perhaps thought Snooky was going through this altogether too quickly.
There will be time enough for questions in a moment. From that point on, I only wandered from place to place in a daze, trying to figure where to begin piecing the puzzle together. I needed to find my master. After a time, I managed to figure out a few small clues. I began to seek out adventuring groups with the hope of finding his location and freeing him. This is where you come in. Now… questions?
The next half hour was a haze of clarifying questions for the puzzled group. After they had the basic facts down in their heads, they began to ask other things.
“So- where do we begin?” Ziad asked.
There is a dead man in a town North of here. His name is NeMoren. He was a leader among the Eye of Heironeous, and was with the team that assaulted Poddleton, as far as I can guess. It’s told that he took many secrets to his grave. His tomb may have some clue yet as to who this robed figure was… or at least something that can give us somewhere else to look.
“When would we leave?”
As soon as you are able. When would you want to leave?
The group exchanged looks that blossomed into grins. Niffler shouted “Immediately!” and the others nodded.
“I’m going to tell my family,” Taessus said.
“I’m going to fetch my bedroll,” Orthus added.
“I’ve got to tie up some loose ends,” Kizzlorn finished. “All right, let’s meet back here in, say… a half hour?”
Kizz ran off to the castle with an enormous feeling welling up in her. She was going on a quest! Like her brothers, mother and father before her, she was doing something for the good of Greyhawk… she wouldn’t just sit around under Lord Belthor’s thumb, whiling away the years wearing frilly dresses in the court. Freedom was hers. She’d just grab a few things and she’d be off on a life of adventure and excitement. She could hardly wait.
She burst into her room and ran to her dresser, throwing some essentials into a knapsack. She took a bedroll from the back of her closet and took out some scrolls she’d been saving.
“Nice job out there today, Kizz.” She whirled to find Lord Belthor sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the room. He looked quietly upset. “Nice to know you’re taking after your parents.”
She turned red and kept her chin high. “I don’t know what you’re-“
“Don’t insult me,” he snarled, standing up. “I don’t know what the problem is in your mind. I give you food, I give you shelter, I give you a regal life to live. You continually defy me. Why do you insist on finding the death that your parents found?”
She decided to be strong and continued tying the bedroll to the top of the knapsack. “I am not made for this castle life,” she said. “ballgowns and tiaras do not interest me. I thank you for all you’ve done, but I am leaving.”
“So this is my thanks? Leaving me here to find your death, as surely as your brothers found theirs?”
Kizzlorn turned her head to him with a gaze. “My brothers are not dead.”
“You haven’t heard from them since they stole from Greyhawk in the night, like thieves, have you? Perhaps I didn’t raise any of you right, but I won’t allow you to make the same mistake. Nanny!”
The hulking shield guardian entered the room. “Yes, mas-ter.”
“Keep her here in this room. Do not allow her to leave.”
Kizzlorn threw her backpack around one shoulder and headed towards the door. “Nanny, let me pass.” Nanny stepped aside and she turned in the doorway to see the look on Belthor’s face. She’d dreamed of it for two years now. It was better than she’d hoped. He was positively red. He pulled the amulet out of his doublet and yelled.
“NANNY, DO NOT ALLOW HER TO LEAVE! THIS IS AN ORDER FROM YOUR MASTER!!”
Kizzlorn pulled the real amulet from her pocket and held it up. “Nanny knows who his master is, and has been. I am a Spellforge. Nanny was created by my father, for his children. Nanny is mine.”
Belthor looked at his amulet and threw it at the wall. The jewel shattered like glass… which in fact it was. “KIZZLORN!”
“This the way it is, so we’d all best get used to the idea. I’ll give you some time to be alone.” With that, she turned and left. “Come, Nanny.” Nanny tromped off after her. They barred the door shut behind them.
As they walked quickly down the hall, the sounds of the nobleman pounding and screaming on the door for her to come back, come back only cemented that they were now free. They kept walking until she couldn’t hear him any longer. Lord Belthor didn’t stop shouting for some time.
She rejoined her group. Orthos said “What’s this, Kizz? Your nanny’s coming with us?”
“Yep. We ready?” They were.
The Foes of the Winter Wyrm walked out of the city of Greyhawk, headed north in the fading sunlight. Snooky sat atop Kizz’s knapsack.
“You know, Snooky, this just feels right. My parents were adventurers.”
Oh yes? Did they do anything I might have heard of?
“Well, they saved the world once… or so my brothers said. They were a part of a group called the Knights of the Silver Quill.”
Snooky was silent for so long that Kizzlorn thought he’d fallen asleep. Our mission may indeed be blessed, then, Kizzlorn.
“Why is that?”
The Silver Quill was the name of the bookshop my master owned. The Knights were his last adventuring party. They were famous throughout the land. I lost track of them after the assault on Poddleton..
“My parents knew your master?” Kizz was astounded.
I don’t believe so… they must have come around after he disappeared.
They walked for a while more. “Snooky, can I ask you one more thing?”
Of course.
“How would you like to be my familiar?”
More to come…
The words came into Kizz’s head as a thought she might have had herself. She didn’t hear them or read them- she thought them. They had a voice that sounded small and polite. The black cat looked up at her with golden eyes and purred.
After a moment, Kizzlorn managed to say “A… cat… is talking to me.”
I’m afraid that’s incorrect on two counts. For one, I’m not talking to you- You’re talking to me. I’m using telepathy. For two, I’m not a cat... not really.
“Um. What are you?”
I am a pseudodragon.
“You’re a pseudodragon. And you’re pretending to be a cat.” Kizzlorn was incredibly surprised.
I was polymorphed into a cat long ago by my master. This brings me to my reason for coming to you, if you’ll pardon me. I should like to approach your entire group about an adventuring opportunity. Would this be acceptable?
“Y… yeah. Let me- I’ll just go get them. Wait here.” She ran out of the room and found her friends standing around the board. “Guys. You have to come with me.”
Niffler said “Hey, Kizz, we’re number one! We’re going to be awarded top honors for tier 1 at the ceremony!”
She waved that away and said “Right now there’s a talking cat in our prep room who wants to give us an adventure to undertake.”
Everyone stared at her. After a moment, Niffler said “Neat! Let’s go!” He ran back to the room. Kizz followed. It took everyone else another ten seconds to pull their heads together and process what she’d said before they went.
Back in the room, Niffler was petting Snooky. Kizzlorn gestured and said “See?”
Orthos slowly said “It’s not talking, Kizz.”
“Say something, kitty,” Niffler pleaded.
Would you all have a seat? I’d like to discuss an adventuring opportunity.
The stunned group sat.
As I told Kizzlorn, my name is Snooky. I am a polymorphed pseudodragon. About nineteen years ago, my master disappeared. He was a masterful wizard named Gorgoldand- and what’s more, he was a gold dragon in disguise, living among humans. He lived quietly in a town named Poddleton out to the east. He owned a bookstore and trained adventurers when need arose. In the Great Purge, as it is now known, a posse of false paladins of Heironeous assaulted our town and ousted, converted or killed anyone of differing religious faith or arcane skills. My master found his way outside and began fighting them. Through the army of paladins came a large cowled figure in a robe who blasted us with light and fire. He held up a small item and chanted some words. Everything after that is a blackened blur. When I awoke, I was alone and my master was nowhere to be found. The town had been all but burned to the ground.
“Uh…” Taessus stuttered. He wasn’t the only one who perhaps thought Snooky was going through this altogether too quickly.
There will be time enough for questions in a moment. From that point on, I only wandered from place to place in a daze, trying to figure where to begin piecing the puzzle together. I needed to find my master. After a time, I managed to figure out a few small clues. I began to seek out adventuring groups with the hope of finding his location and freeing him. This is where you come in. Now… questions?
The next half hour was a haze of clarifying questions for the puzzled group. After they had the basic facts down in their heads, they began to ask other things.
“So- where do we begin?” Ziad asked.
There is a dead man in a town North of here. His name is NeMoren. He was a leader among the Eye of Heironeous, and was with the team that assaulted Poddleton, as far as I can guess. It’s told that he took many secrets to his grave. His tomb may have some clue yet as to who this robed figure was… or at least something that can give us somewhere else to look.
“When would we leave?”
As soon as you are able. When would you want to leave?
The group exchanged looks that blossomed into grins. Niffler shouted “Immediately!” and the others nodded.
“I’m going to tell my family,” Taessus said.
“I’m going to fetch my bedroll,” Orthus added.
“I’ve got to tie up some loose ends,” Kizzlorn finished. “All right, let’s meet back here in, say… a half hour?”
Kizz ran off to the castle with an enormous feeling welling up in her. She was going on a quest! Like her brothers, mother and father before her, she was doing something for the good of Greyhawk… she wouldn’t just sit around under Lord Belthor’s thumb, whiling away the years wearing frilly dresses in the court. Freedom was hers. She’d just grab a few things and she’d be off on a life of adventure and excitement. She could hardly wait.
She burst into her room and ran to her dresser, throwing some essentials into a knapsack. She took a bedroll from the back of her closet and took out some scrolls she’d been saving.
“Nice job out there today, Kizz.” She whirled to find Lord Belthor sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the room. He looked quietly upset. “Nice to know you’re taking after your parents.”
She turned red and kept her chin high. “I don’t know what you’re-“
“Don’t insult me,” he snarled, standing up. “I don’t know what the problem is in your mind. I give you food, I give you shelter, I give you a regal life to live. You continually defy me. Why do you insist on finding the death that your parents found?”
She decided to be strong and continued tying the bedroll to the top of the knapsack. “I am not made for this castle life,” she said. “ballgowns and tiaras do not interest me. I thank you for all you’ve done, but I am leaving.”
“So this is my thanks? Leaving me here to find your death, as surely as your brothers found theirs?”
Kizzlorn turned her head to him with a gaze. “My brothers are not dead.”
“You haven’t heard from them since they stole from Greyhawk in the night, like thieves, have you? Perhaps I didn’t raise any of you right, but I won’t allow you to make the same mistake. Nanny!”
The hulking shield guardian entered the room. “Yes, mas-ter.”
“Keep her here in this room. Do not allow her to leave.”
Kizzlorn threw her backpack around one shoulder and headed towards the door. “Nanny, let me pass.” Nanny stepped aside and she turned in the doorway to see the look on Belthor’s face. She’d dreamed of it for two years now. It was better than she’d hoped. He was positively red. He pulled the amulet out of his doublet and yelled.
“NANNY, DO NOT ALLOW HER TO LEAVE! THIS IS AN ORDER FROM YOUR MASTER!!”
Kizzlorn pulled the real amulet from her pocket and held it up. “Nanny knows who his master is, and has been. I am a Spellforge. Nanny was created by my father, for his children. Nanny is mine.”
Belthor looked at his amulet and threw it at the wall. The jewel shattered like glass… which in fact it was. “KIZZLORN!”
“This the way it is, so we’d all best get used to the idea. I’ll give you some time to be alone.” With that, she turned and left. “Come, Nanny.” Nanny tromped off after her. They barred the door shut behind them.
As they walked quickly down the hall, the sounds of the nobleman pounding and screaming on the door for her to come back, come back only cemented that they were now free. They kept walking until she couldn’t hear him any longer. Lord Belthor didn’t stop shouting for some time.
She rejoined her group. Orthos said “What’s this, Kizz? Your nanny’s coming with us?”
“Yep. We ready?” They were.
The Foes of the Winter Wyrm walked out of the city of Greyhawk, headed north in the fading sunlight. Snooky sat atop Kizz’s knapsack.
“You know, Snooky, this just feels right. My parents were adventurers.”
Oh yes? Did they do anything I might have heard of?
“Well, they saved the world once… or so my brothers said. They were a part of a group called the Knights of the Silver Quill.”
Snooky was silent for so long that Kizzlorn thought he’d fallen asleep. Our mission may indeed be blessed, then, Kizzlorn.
“Why is that?”
The Silver Quill was the name of the bookshop my master owned. The Knights were his last adventuring party. They were famous throughout the land. I lost track of them after the assault on Poddleton..
“My parents knew your master?” Kizz was astounded.
I don’t believe so… they must have come around after he disappeared.
They walked for a while more. “Snooky, can I ask you one more thing?”
Of course.
“How would you like to be my familiar?”
More to come…
