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ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 959117" data-attributes="member: 63">Previously, on Tides of HomelandThe captain glared at the odd group of passengers.  "You want to sail, then you take my ship.  With the funny way these winds have been acting, steam power is the only way you're going anywhere on the sea.  If you don't trust it, I hope you don't expect your money back."Damien muttered under his breath, "<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />."Sabri glanced at the bizarre metal ship, then back at the captain.  "That man is cool."Weebit shrugged.  "Hey, if he was able to capture an Orcish ship, we oughta be safe.  Let's get on board."/"Fancy spell," Bit complimented, "blowing that bastard overboard and into those blades.  You're a druid?"The shrouded figure, probably a woman, shook her head slightly.  "An aeromancer," she said, the veil muffling her voice.  "I'm in training, on pilgrimage.""Why do you wear the veils?" Sabri asked nervously.  "Are you blind?"Damien winked down at Bit.  "Maybe she's ugly."The woman chuckled softly, a hint of regret in her voice.  "I, ah, wear it because of the sun.  I burn easily."Sabri, Bit, and Damien exchanged glances, not sure what to make of that."Um, well then, I'm Sabri.  What's your name?""Vidania.  And you two?""Damien.""Bit.  Well, Weebit Ankylebiter Vallshadow, but . . . Bit works.  Oh, yeah, and don't hesitate to ask about Sabri here."Vidania glanced at Sabri again, her expression hidden.  "I had wondered. . . .""I'm half-Minotaur," Sabri answered with a friendly smile.  "Hey, Vidania, I don't want to impose, but when we stop at that island to repair the ship, the captain wanted us to do some foraging.  You willing to come along?"/ The dark-skinned Kohalesti Elf shook his head.  His voice was quiet amid the nightsounds of the island.  "Those three navigators haven't returned yet.  The last any of us saw of them, they were planning to explore the tidal flats.  None of us go there.  It isn't safe."/With a hideous shriek, the monstrous tree began to uproot itself.  Blood streaming down his face, the mad mage cackled, "Rise dark spirits, and destroy them!  By the blood of Dragons eternal, we are invincible!"/Vidania ducked a swiping branch and finished her spell.  With a thunderous blast of wind, the mad mage was knocked backward, into the gaping heart of the tree.  Simultaneously, he and the tree began to scream their death cry./"You have saved our people.  I shall send my son Aitch with you, to repay our debt and learn of your world."The young dragonling nodded to his mother, then turned to the party.  "I'm going to be coming with you, to see the world and bring back its magic to my home."  He twisted his scaled head to stare at the uneasy Vidania.  "You know, I'll be on a pilgrimage, like you."/McGonagal had left the room with Bit, Damien, and the dragonling Aitch, leaving Sabri and Vidania alone in the study."Vidania," Sabri started, cautiously.  "You saved our lives on that island, and you know we owe you a lot in thanks.  I've just noticed that you seem uncomfortable around Aitch.Her voice was muffled by the heavy veils, but Sabri could hear a mixture of bitterness and sadness in Vidania's voice.  "When I was young, my father, my mother, and I were almost killed by a Dragon.  I can still . . . remember seeing stalking toward us, and I was . . ./ (voiceover: ". . . helpless."The scaled creatures emerged from the shadows like vapor, surrounding the group.  Vidania tensed to cast an evocation, but Damien held her back."What do you know of this place," the leader demanded, his pale white eyes aimed at Vidania, "and why are you here?"Aitch panicked.  "We just thought it was an Orc citadel.  We didn't know there was a biomancy lab down here!""Aitch," Sabri growled, "shut up before you get us killed!""We're here to rescue someone," Vidania said resolutely, almost threateningly.  "Who the hell are you?"/"They called themselves the Tarrasques," Sabri explained.  "They just seemed like they were there to pick some things up and go.  Didn't want to fight.  They were probably the nicest things we met down there.""You ever heard of them, Cerryto?"  Vidania looked to her friend with curiosity."Not a clue," the Elvish mage answered.  "I'll ask around, do some research."/Vidania entered the room, not wearing her veil."Oh gods," Sabri sighed, awestruck.  "You're gorgeous.  What-?""Elvish healing . . . doesn't leave scars.  The burns were very severe, and I couldn't let my father find out what had happened."/"Dammit," Damien muttered under his breath, only to realize a second later that the Elf could hear him.  "Look, is there any way we can get the papers we need before next month?"The Minister sighed, exceedingly slowly, and shookher head once, slowly.  "I'm sorry, but . . . well, yes, I can understand your . . . 'urgency,' . . . after all, many people want to visit Conscean Phuurst, but you must understand, it's a magical site, very sensitive, and this month just is too occupied for me to really get a sense for whether it's safe to let you go.  I'll be too busy this entire month training with my Bahly team."/In the center of the Bahly field, Bit cast entangle, then tossed the ball up to Vidania as she flew past overhead.  He doubted the other team would be able to move very well in this overgrowth.  Vidania caught the ball with a smile and streaked off toward the goal./Sabri scoffed, shaking her head.  "I can't believe they thought we'd be a danger to some silly little grove."/The avalanche crashed toward them.  Everyone began to shout at once and run toward the cave, barely making it in time./The ice witch's voice echoed in her cave while the avalanche still grumbled outside.  "I do not know who is trying to control the spirit atop the mountain, but it must be someone at the grove.  Only they could know what is the real power of the song of the mountain."Vidania leaned forward.  "Which is?"The ice witch nodded her head toward the flow of snow that blocked the cave's mouth.  "If whoever is behind this manages to free the song from the mountain, he could use it to wreak terrible destruction."/The crown of the mountain began to crumble around them, sending stones crashing down and snow flying into the air.  Damien grabbed a fallen giant shield and kicked it onto the ground in front of him like a sled, then kicked down the mountainside, speeding after the fleeing mage.  He had to make sure the bastard couldn't get to safety long enough to finish his spell.  The mountain spirit was free, and now it was the only chance they had to stop the avalanche from destroying the grove and the village, and killing every one of them.Damien leaned low into his snowboard and angled after the fleeing shape in the distance./Aitch twisted and scratched his back.  He waved for Sabri and Bit to come over, his grimace revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.Bit glared at the dragonling, who appeared to be trying to stretch his back.  "What's your problem now, lizard?"Before Aitch could say anything, Sabri pointed at the skin on Aitch's back and squealed a noise that should not have come from a woman her size.  There appeared to be bones shifting under the skin, trying to get out.  "What's that?!"With the sound of snapping leather, the skin on Aitch's back opened, and two crumpled limbs emerged.  While Bit, Sabri, and the rest of the caravan looked on in revulsion, Aitch twisted and stetched his new wings, shaking off the fluid that covered them.  He gave them a few experimental flaps, opened his mouth in a smile, and said, "Hm.  That's new.  I like."/Simba's interpreter laughed at what the panther had said, then translated it to the party.  "Master Simba wants to know if Vidania has anything to do with the hurricane out there."Of the group, Bit was the first to overcome his confusion and reply.  "The what?"Simba mewed and growled a bit, and his interpreter nodded patronizingly.  "Of course I'll tell them, but I can't believe they didn't notice.  There's been a hurricane hovering a few miles out to sea for the past week.  Hasn't moved.  Master Simba knows Lady Vidania is an air mage, and was wondering if she might know what's going on."Vidania shook her head.  "Er . . . no.  Actually that's kind of scary.  Why haven't you all left yet?"The interpreter shrugged.  "Oh, it's no worry.  Storms hit Seaquen quite often.  It's our lot in life."/The rain made it hard to find the meeting place, but they knew they were getting closer.  Simba had given them the directions quite clearly, and Vidania had warned them that Mr. Rocquet wouldn't tolerate them being late even if there was a mild hurricane in the way."Oh, good, I think that's him."  Vidania pointed toward a man leaning against one of the snuffed street lamps."He looks hurt," Aitch said.  "I'm gonna fly over and take a look."/The interpreter closed the door to James's study and faced the party.  "Master Rocquet is doing fine, though he's having trouble coping with not being able to talk.""What caused it?" Vidania asked."The Breathstealer Dagger.  Twenty years ago, an assassin used it to hold the government of Seaquen at ransom.  He was caught and arrested, but the dagger was never found."/The visibility was poor in the flooded prison, and they tried not to look into the cells, where drowned bodies floated, recently dead.  Then, ahead of them, they saw movement.  Someone was still alive down here, somehow.  Speeding like a torpedo with her flight spell, Vidania led the way./I'd do more, but it's late.</blockquote>

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