The Defenders of Tronus - The Birth of Heroes (Updated 2/28/04)
- Thread starter Arkyst
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The Defenders of Tronus – One Shall Not Return:
After the better part of a days travel the Defenders reached the base of the Dragonclaw Mountains. Twizle and Rayna surveyed the area and found the only path up the mountain that was headed in the right direction. It was clear which peak was the whitest, and Twizle was beside himself that it happened to be the highest one. Beneath his breath he mumbled, “These hands were made for music, not climbing.”
They had all decided it best to make an early camp and rest the night before trying to reach the summit of the mountain. Rayna took advantage of having the shelter of the carriage while Azerot and Cinder huddled around a fire outside. About ten or so feet away, Twizle and Storm laid out their magical sleeping bags, which were standard issues to the Defenders.
“You’ll roast us with that fire,” commented Storm as he sprawled his massive half-Ogre Magi body on the ground.
Azerot calmly replied, “Well you see, my friend Cinder here is not actually a gnome…”
Cinder interrupted with, “I’m a gnome.”
“No Cinder, it is safe to tell them,” said Azerot as he motioned for Cinder to set down the lantern that he was always carrying. “Cinder is actually a fire mephit, and he uses this lantern of disguise to appear as a gnome.”
The difference in appearance was striking, but it was apparent that Cinder kept many of his features in gnome guise, not to mention his twitchiness.
“Sure,” was about all of the interest Storm could feign before passing into unconsciousness. He, being a monster himself was not entirely impressed.
Rayna peered out of the cart to get a good look at the mephit, nodded her head and returned to sleep as well.
During second watch Twizle hummed himself a tune. He could control the pitch as to not wake the others. “What a great chorus that would make,” he mused to himself, until he heard two gruff voices quickly approaching.
“I tell you, there be plenty of pins around here somewhere. I saw them walk’n about earlier,” said one of the voices. “In fact, one of them would make an even better ball!”
Twizle instantly changed the pitch of his song to that of a whistling alarm. Everyone struggled to free themselves of their sleeping bags, which were notorious for being hard to slip out of in a hurry. By the time the party was up, two giants with bluish skin were upon them.
“Knock their heads off,” yelled one as he came in for the charge.
Yet Storm had moved up first, and as he loosened the chain that he wore as a bandoleer, he found that he would be the one to strike first. With one brutal lash, Storm had struck the closest giant in the eye with his chain. In a burst of blood and octal fluid, the first hit had been scored and it was a good one!
The battle raged on while the crazed giants made swing after swing at Storm. Yet for every step closer, he would back up another step, using his chain for distance and Azerot’s positioning to make it dangerous proposition for the Frost giants to advance further. It wasn’t until Azerot put up a wall of fire though, did the heroes feel like they were getting closer to ending the fight.
Cinder moved forward to flank one of the giants while standing in the fire to heal the damage he had sustained. Twizle and Rayna hung back towards the carriage. Neither was well suited to engage in this type of battle, so Twizle fired his crossbow while Rayna took advantage of their enemies’ apparent weakness to fire and burned them with several scorching rays.
However, after the wall of fire went up, the giants had a new target…Azerot. He had received several bad hits, and it was only through the relentless attacks of Storm and Cinder did the giants once again change their focus. Yet the onslaught was weighing heavily on Storm. The behemoth was a monster among men, but with these giants he had found his equal.
Azerot healed Storm several times but finally the hulk slumped to the ground unconscious. Seeing that Cinder was now left to fight both of the remaining giants alone, Azerot fell to his knees and called upon Kabod to heal his friend with his most potent spell available. Moments later Storm was back on his feet. “Quickly, protect Cinder, he is about to die,” shouted the cleric in desperation.
Cinder’s limp body lay on the ground, but the imp-like creature was not yet dead. One of the giants was standing over him about to correct that problem when a large fist of the half-Ogre Magi monk broke his lower jaw. That one hit was enough to drop the giant and Storm turned to face the other and growled, “I really don’t think you want to know what I’m going to do to you!”
Storm proceeded to charge forward and pummel the remaining giant while the others blasted it with spells. Yet, even missing one eye, the giant was a formidable foe. With one gruesome swing of his greataxe, he dislodged Storm’s arm and shoulder. The other Defenders watched in disbelief as their friend crumpled to the ground in pieces. Although, Rayna’s tears weren’t enough to stop that final ray that burned deep into the giant’s hide.
Azerot ran forward to help his fallen comrade, but the sight was grisly. Suddenly Storm’s eyes shot open and he jerked Azerot closer with his remaining hand. “Did Cinder make it,” whispered Storm as if trying not to waken a sleeping child. “Did he make it?”
“Yes, he was just feigning,” explained Azerot with a meager smile, but it was too late. Storm had already gone to join his father in Titanos’ hall. Tonight he would feast at a table with his ancestors.
After the better part of a days travel the Defenders reached the base of the Dragonclaw Mountains. Twizle and Rayna surveyed the area and found the only path up the mountain that was headed in the right direction. It was clear which peak was the whitest, and Twizle was beside himself that it happened to be the highest one. Beneath his breath he mumbled, “These hands were made for music, not climbing.”
They had all decided it best to make an early camp and rest the night before trying to reach the summit of the mountain. Rayna took advantage of having the shelter of the carriage while Azerot and Cinder huddled around a fire outside. About ten or so feet away, Twizle and Storm laid out their magical sleeping bags, which were standard issues to the Defenders.
“You’ll roast us with that fire,” commented Storm as he sprawled his massive half-Ogre Magi body on the ground.
Azerot calmly replied, “Well you see, my friend Cinder here is not actually a gnome…”
Cinder interrupted with, “I’m a gnome.”
“No Cinder, it is safe to tell them,” said Azerot as he motioned for Cinder to set down the lantern that he was always carrying. “Cinder is actually a fire mephit, and he uses this lantern of disguise to appear as a gnome.”
The difference in appearance was striking, but it was apparent that Cinder kept many of his features in gnome guise, not to mention his twitchiness.
“Sure,” was about all of the interest Storm could feign before passing into unconsciousness. He, being a monster himself was not entirely impressed.
Rayna peered out of the cart to get a good look at the mephit, nodded her head and returned to sleep as well.
During second watch Twizle hummed himself a tune. He could control the pitch as to not wake the others. “What a great chorus that would make,” he mused to himself, until he heard two gruff voices quickly approaching.
“I tell you, there be plenty of pins around here somewhere. I saw them walk’n about earlier,” said one of the voices. “In fact, one of them would make an even better ball!”
Twizle instantly changed the pitch of his song to that of a whistling alarm. Everyone struggled to free themselves of their sleeping bags, which were notorious for being hard to slip out of in a hurry. By the time the party was up, two giants with bluish skin were upon them.
“Knock their heads off,” yelled one as he came in for the charge.
Yet Storm had moved up first, and as he loosened the chain that he wore as a bandoleer, he found that he would be the one to strike first. With one brutal lash, Storm had struck the closest giant in the eye with his chain. In a burst of blood and octal fluid, the first hit had been scored and it was a good one!
The battle raged on while the crazed giants made swing after swing at Storm. Yet for every step closer, he would back up another step, using his chain for distance and Azerot’s positioning to make it dangerous proposition for the Frost giants to advance further. It wasn’t until Azerot put up a wall of fire though, did the heroes feel like they were getting closer to ending the fight.
Cinder moved forward to flank one of the giants while standing in the fire to heal the damage he had sustained. Twizle and Rayna hung back towards the carriage. Neither was well suited to engage in this type of battle, so Twizle fired his crossbow while Rayna took advantage of their enemies’ apparent weakness to fire and burned them with several scorching rays.
However, after the wall of fire went up, the giants had a new target…Azerot. He had received several bad hits, and it was only through the relentless attacks of Storm and Cinder did the giants once again change their focus. Yet the onslaught was weighing heavily on Storm. The behemoth was a monster among men, but with these giants he had found his equal.
Azerot healed Storm several times but finally the hulk slumped to the ground unconscious. Seeing that Cinder was now left to fight both of the remaining giants alone, Azerot fell to his knees and called upon Kabod to heal his friend with his most potent spell available. Moments later Storm was back on his feet. “Quickly, protect Cinder, he is about to die,” shouted the cleric in desperation.
Cinder’s limp body lay on the ground, but the imp-like creature was not yet dead. One of the giants was standing over him about to correct that problem when a large fist of the half-Ogre Magi monk broke his lower jaw. That one hit was enough to drop the giant and Storm turned to face the other and growled, “I really don’t think you want to know what I’m going to do to you!”
Storm proceeded to charge forward and pummel the remaining giant while the others blasted it with spells. Yet, even missing one eye, the giant was a formidable foe. With one gruesome swing of his greataxe, he dislodged Storm’s arm and shoulder. The other Defenders watched in disbelief as their friend crumpled to the ground in pieces. Although, Rayna’s tears weren’t enough to stop that final ray that burned deep into the giant’s hide.
Azerot ran forward to help his fallen comrade, but the sight was grisly. Suddenly Storm’s eyes shot open and he jerked Azerot closer with his remaining hand. “Did Cinder make it,” whispered Storm as if trying not to waken a sleeping child. “Did he make it?”
“Yes, he was just feigning,” explained Azerot with a meager smile, but it was too late. Storm had already gone to join his father in Titanos’ hall. Tonight he would feast at a table with his ancestors.
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I really see Melcher and his band of belly-dancing girls to be like on of the old Batman and Robin TV show villains. But you will all be able to see what I mean as the story progresses. I'll be posting an image of that bunch before long as well, I just have to dot all the eyes ;p and such (bad pun I know, but I couldn't resist).
As for Storm, it's really too early to tell...but I did get an email from Wee Jas the other day that made me think that the character was already starting to be missed.
Well, stay tuned and I hope to have another update tomorrow.
As for Storm, it's really too early to tell...but I did get an email from Wee Jas the other day that made me think that the character was already starting to be missed.
Well, stay tuned and I hope to have another update tomorrow.
Wee Jas
First Post
Arkyst said:
Ha! Storm critically hit on his first attack.. I did great damage and had the advantage of a 5 foot longer reach with combat reflexes. I was trying to wear the pair down a bit. Unfortunately the cleric was getting a little too close for comfort and his henchmen "was going to die if I didn't step up". In retrospect I should have replied "Since when do monsters attack cohorts when there are so many PCs to hurt?"
The Defenders of Tronus – The Quest Must Go On:
Morning had come and the group was reluctant to accept the outcome of the previous night. “Storm was firm in his belief, he told me that he did not want to be brought back,” repeated Azerot. “No matter how many times you ask, I’ll have the same answer. Yes I’m upset, but what can we do? Even if we did have the time to go back to town…we would be directly opposing his wishes. He died in battle, and that is the way that Storm would have wanted it.”
The group was upset but they couldn’t argue the fact that they needed to continue. They were running out of time. Twizle hid the carriage in the surrounding foliage along with Storm’s body. Rayna applied some Oil of Timeliness so that the body would be preserved in the cart and to reduce any foul odors.
Azerot lead the party up the trail until they hit an obvious fork in the path. One of the directions appeared to be far more traveled, and they unanimously determined that it must be where the giant’s had come from. With some discussion, the Defenders decided to approach the camp and find out if there were any more giants in the area.
During the approach, the near dead silence was a clear indication that no Frost giants remained. Upon entering the campsite, the party was shocked to find giant sized version of ten-pins setup on an adjacent ledge. A human head appeared to be the ball, with the eyes pushed in for finger holes, and nine legs were setup in a triangle formation. One of the legs appeared to be half-eaten, and the obvious replacement was an unconscious elf that was bound and gagged.
After a little help from Kabod, Azerot had restored the elf to full vigor. “Well, what luck, what luck,” chimed the elf in a manner that was a bit too chipper for the mourning group. “My name is Dazreal D’Amberville, but you can call me Daz.”
“You see, I just got here last night right after dusk in search of you, the Defenders of Tronus,” continued Daz in a frenzy of words. “I was chosen to be a Defender, but I was running really late and I never made it to the ceremony or anything. It was all that I could do to catch up with the party when I got captured by those scary giants. You don’t mind if I join you, right?”
Daz hastily pulled forth a crumpled piece of parchment that had both King Redbrook and Duke Kevrin’s seals, even if they were a starting to flake. Azerot looked at both Rayna and Twizle who just shrugged. In the uncomfortable silence Cinder cracked under the pressure, “I’m a gnome!”
Daz grinned ear-to-ear and said, “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“What harm could he do,” thought Azerot. He did have official papers and seemed genuinely happy to have been freed. With his mind at ease, he motioned for the others to search the camp for any possible treasures.
“This is just sick,” commented Daz who was now staring at the human head used to bowl down the ten-pins. “It appears that they have even gone so far as to craft their own trophy.”
“That is some trophy alright!” Twizle hustled over to take a closer look. “I can’t believe my eyes! Look here, if you just pull off these wooden slats that they have fashioned about the base, you can see it for what it really is.”
Twizle’s hands worked quickly as he spoke. It wasn’t long before they entire team was able to see that it was really a hammer crafted entirely of gold.
“Amazing…A-mazing,” rambled Twizle. “This hammer belonged to the late Prince Bonidor Stonehelm of the Griffholme Mountains. It was a very rare collaboration since the Dwarves of Goldborough have completely removed themselves from the craft of arms and armor due to the tremendous demand for coin. Only a handful of times have the dwarves of Goldborough allowed anyone to use their stores of ore to craft such an item. The Stonehelms are the ruling clan of the Griffholme dwarves, and expert weapon smiths as well. It is only fitting that they should work together to craft such a fine hammer.”
After taking a long breath, Twizle continued. “If memory serves me correctly, this hammer has the power to turn those struck by it into solid gold. Of course it takes a master warrior to finesse it, and Bonidor was one of the finest. Yet he fell in battle during the age of the Orc, long before the Kingdom of Redbrook.”
As the party moved up the path towards the whitest peak, Twizle continued to marvel over the beauty of this newfound item. That is until their new ally Daz sparked up a conversation regarding the uselessness of Bards.
Morning had come and the group was reluctant to accept the outcome of the previous night. “Storm was firm in his belief, he told me that he did not want to be brought back,” repeated Azerot. “No matter how many times you ask, I’ll have the same answer. Yes I’m upset, but what can we do? Even if we did have the time to go back to town…we would be directly opposing his wishes. He died in battle, and that is the way that Storm would have wanted it.”
The group was upset but they couldn’t argue the fact that they needed to continue. They were running out of time. Twizle hid the carriage in the surrounding foliage along with Storm’s body. Rayna applied some Oil of Timeliness so that the body would be preserved in the cart and to reduce any foul odors.
Azerot lead the party up the trail until they hit an obvious fork in the path. One of the directions appeared to be far more traveled, and they unanimously determined that it must be where the giant’s had come from. With some discussion, the Defenders decided to approach the camp and find out if there were any more giants in the area.
During the approach, the near dead silence was a clear indication that no Frost giants remained. Upon entering the campsite, the party was shocked to find giant sized version of ten-pins setup on an adjacent ledge. A human head appeared to be the ball, with the eyes pushed in for finger holes, and nine legs were setup in a triangle formation. One of the legs appeared to be half-eaten, and the obvious replacement was an unconscious elf that was bound and gagged.
After a little help from Kabod, Azerot had restored the elf to full vigor. “Well, what luck, what luck,” chimed the elf in a manner that was a bit too chipper for the mourning group. “My name is Dazreal D’Amberville, but you can call me Daz.”
“You see, I just got here last night right after dusk in search of you, the Defenders of Tronus,” continued Daz in a frenzy of words. “I was chosen to be a Defender, but I was running really late and I never made it to the ceremony or anything. It was all that I could do to catch up with the party when I got captured by those scary giants. You don’t mind if I join you, right?”
Daz hastily pulled forth a crumpled piece of parchment that had both King Redbrook and Duke Kevrin’s seals, even if they were a starting to flake. Azerot looked at both Rayna and Twizle who just shrugged. In the uncomfortable silence Cinder cracked under the pressure, “I’m a gnome!”
Daz grinned ear-to-ear and said, “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“What harm could he do,” thought Azerot. He did have official papers and seemed genuinely happy to have been freed. With his mind at ease, he motioned for the others to search the camp for any possible treasures.
“This is just sick,” commented Daz who was now staring at the human head used to bowl down the ten-pins. “It appears that they have even gone so far as to craft their own trophy.”
“That is some trophy alright!” Twizle hustled over to take a closer look. “I can’t believe my eyes! Look here, if you just pull off these wooden slats that they have fashioned about the base, you can see it for what it really is.”
Twizle’s hands worked quickly as he spoke. It wasn’t long before they entire team was able to see that it was really a hammer crafted entirely of gold.
“Amazing…A-mazing,” rambled Twizle. “This hammer belonged to the late Prince Bonidor Stonehelm of the Griffholme Mountains. It was a very rare collaboration since the Dwarves of Goldborough have completely removed themselves from the craft of arms and armor due to the tremendous demand for coin. Only a handful of times have the dwarves of Goldborough allowed anyone to use their stores of ore to craft such an item. The Stonehelms are the ruling clan of the Griffholme dwarves, and expert weapon smiths as well. It is only fitting that they should work together to craft such a fine hammer.”
After taking a long breath, Twizle continued. “If memory serves me correctly, this hammer has the power to turn those struck by it into solid gold. Of course it takes a master warrior to finesse it, and Bonidor was one of the finest. Yet he fell in battle during the age of the Orc, long before the Kingdom of Redbrook.”
As the party moved up the path towards the whitest peak, Twizle continued to marvel over the beauty of this newfound item. That is until their new ally Daz sparked up a conversation regarding the uselessness of Bards.
Wee Jas
First Post
Oh and the DM for this is Xaltar .. .. who was Shade, Rafflorn Spellforge and that druid.. 
Wee Jas said:Yeah, I was Storm. My new character will show up soon
Twizle - Dartan but he dropped. Tried to run his own campaign and quit dming game one. lol.
Rayna - Kizz
Azerot - Jamison
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