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<blockquote data-quote="Pacio49" data-source="post: 2093015" data-attributes="member: 28472"><p><strong>Karral's Tower, part 2</strong></p><p></p><p>The staircase led upwards into the center of the tower this time, emerging out in a grand hallway, dimly lit, with an open and airy feel to the place. Fifteen foot tall ceilings were bedecked by spidery geometric carvings and pierced stonework screens. The floors were of polished white marble with inlaid green and black stone tilework in tricolored geometric patterns and borders of gold and silver inlay. Carpets of many hues and tapestries of varied scenes were all carefully preserved somehow, the crisscrossing energy currents of magical wardings and buidling enchantments almost visible to the naked eye. False pillars framed doorways of white alabaster and fine wood paneling. Mobile screens of intricately pierced wood artfully channeled the flow of traffic within the larger lounging areas, creating nooks and small enclosures about couches and divans with matching dark wood tables and now-extinguished lamps, silver candelabras and beaten gold, brass, and copper lanterns and candlelight reflectors. Small, tasselled pillows of rich silk brocade and velvet cushions were in abundance in the main entry area, and the white of the ceiling plaster looked freshly washed and undisturbed by dust or cobwebs.</p><p></p><p>Halls and doors abounded, some with wood paneling, others with marble veneers in varied tones and grains, each setting off the distinct areas and doors that led to common areas. One set of doors that the party explored led into a form of a guest suite, walls curiously blank considering the opulence of the exterior decoration. Small crystalline outcroppings were cupped in minor inset alcoves just above the door height at regular intervals along the walls. Rich, mahogany and cherry tables with inlaid wood patterns in birch and cypress marked one room as a small dining room, with halls leading out to smaller, private lounge areas. Marbled bathing rooms and private bedrooms were found through interior doors off of the common dining area of the suite, and the master bedroom and dressing room were marvellous to behold, with vanity tables and full length mirrors, solid oak and mahogany armoirs on clawed feet gilt with gold in tasteful accents. Inside the armoirs several sachets of different scents... lavender and rose in one, cedar and sandalwood and lignum aloes in another. Tiny vials of scented bathing oils and cooling ointments for forehead and feet were found in the bathing room, along a tiled marble tub with curious runes etched into the wall above it, one to fill the tub with water, another to drain it, one to heat it, another to cool it, all reactive to the pass of a hand... well... almost reactive.</p><p></p><p>The Tower was obviously a marvel of magical construction, with the conjuration of water merely a tiny part of it... and a tiny part of it which no longer functioned exactly as it seemed to be intended. In the many guest and living suites that the party explored all were found similarly furnished though accomodating different numbers of occupants and in different levels of privacy and shared space, some with bedchambers sharing a communal bath, others with private albeit smaller bathing facilities, others with bedchambers that had private anterooms and sitting areas, others with simply a hall, a lounge, a bath, and several bedrooms off of the hall. Yet in every instance, there was a feeling of the failing of magic somehow. The sense of incompleteness that haunted every room. As though there were something missing, something not quite working to the fullest extent. A hint of color appearing to dance over a wall in the wake of someone passing, the fleeting feeling of fresh air circulating through the room then fading into the staleness nearly approaching musty air. The small amount of tepid water summoned into the baths, the lagging delay between activation of the runes over the privvy and the actual removal of wastes to places unknown. All somehow... incomplete.</p><p></p><p>Marcus pronounced the whole of the place to be failing, although failing slowly enough that it seemed to still be holding up well enough for now. The magic that somehow powered the entire Tower was shutting down slowly as it faded. Laeka used her knowledge of the healing craft to wonder whether or not it was like a human exposed to the elements, losing feeling and heat in the extremities first in an attempt to safeguard the heart and head. Marcus concluded that it must be so, and wondered if there were some way to restore the old Tower to its former glory and full power.</p><p></p><p>Perhaps indeed.</p><p></p><p>The party found in each of the guest suites, and indeed in the main lounge area they had emerged into at first that the walls were made of that strange glass, smoky to the view at first from the outside (more on the 'outside' in a moment), and clear when viewed from the inside. Skalar remarked at how it seemed to be the same material and effect as they had found in Dorecan Manor, and Yovaire posited that perhaps Karral had built or enchanted the Manorhouse in the times gone by. Or perhaps they had a common contractor in things magical.</p><p></p><p>Off of several of the suites the party encountered doorways fashioned out of the same thick glass-like material that led out onto large, connected balconies, ringing the entire Tower. They each contained a small copse of trees, a miniature grove with a lawn and marble seats to sit upon and take in the view of the outside. A view which, at the moment, appeared drab and somewhat confusing. A dark horizon line not too far off yet appearing somehow also in the distance met a gently glowing blue-gray sky without much in the way of features. The balconies had a ceiling that extended upwards and above the treetops of the planted and maintained copses, and in that same, lingering sort of effect, a gentle mist released at one time to water the different trees. Arien declared once again that this was now her new home, and marveled at the magic that was necessary to keep those trees alive, without sunlight, without rain, and in apparently perfect health.</p><p></p><p>There were nine such balconies all told, and in each of the balconies a different copse of trees lived and thrived. Oak, Maple, Birch, Almond, Orange, Chestnut, Apple, Hazel, and a rare tree of elvish origin, the legendary Queensfruit trees. Elvish Queensfruit trees were a closely guarded horticultural secret of the elves. Giving off faint silvery and golden light by day or night, with leaves that fell gently in season but never stripped the tree bare, with smooth trunks of silvery bark and small clusters of reddish fruit that resembled pomegranates and which ripened in pod clusters that turned to deep burnished gold when fully ripe, with white and golden flowers that yielded the most heavenly of scents and whose perfumes and jellies were said to be aphrodisiac and restorative... Elvish Queensfruit were truly magical trees, and spoke more to Karral's power to keep and preserve them than anything else had done. It also raised the question as to whether or not Karral were some Elvish nobility, since the only way the trees would blossom and bear fruit was under the careful tending by a member of Elvish royalty. Folklore held that it was the Queen herself, but the Royal Bloodline of the Elves was sufficient to make the trees blossom, though in a way that was a closely guarded secret.</p><p></p><p>As the party investigated the trees, Laeka, Valar and Marcus were approached by a diminutive woman of surpassing beauty and highly pointed and notched ears with a decidedly green tinge to her skin and long, chestnut hair. "Are they yours?" the dryad asked Laeka, nodding to the men and absently twirling a lock of her hair about her forefinger.</p><p></p><p>"Are who mine?" Laeka responded.</p><p></p><p>"The men, silly. Are they yours, or are they up for the taking?"</p><p></p><p>"Hey now, none of us are up for the taking!" Marcus said.</p><p></p><p>"I dunno, Marcus," Valar responded. "She's kinda cute."</p><p></p><p>Marcus bapped Valar on the back of his head. "Of course she's cute. Beautiful even. But she's a dryad, and we're needed with the rest of the party, not to take some seven-plus year sabbatical to be her sex slaves."</p><p></p><p>Valar arched one eyebrow at the mage. "Are you <em>sure</em> about that?"</p><p></p><p>Matters were salvaged by the arrival of the druidess, who quickly pointed out to the Dryad that they were *her* men, and it wasn't nice to steal from druids. The Dryad pouted and sighed, and then remembered that the Queen wanted to meet the new arrivals as soon as they were ready. At the Queensfruit trees.</p><p></p><p>The party was assembled, and they met in the appointed place under the faint and pleasing light of the Queensfruit trees (nine trees total, planted in a perfect circle so that each tree's crown mingled perfectly with that of the tree on either side). There they were met by a whole host of dryads surrounding a single woman of short stature and green skin, old in demeanor yet youthful in appearance, she had a look about her that defied age, yet her eyes were as old as the stars. The party made their obeisance, and were properly introduced to Zathira, Lady of the Fae Courts from the Place Which Was No Longer, Duchess of the Sidhe Courts of her homeland and Queen in Exile of the Faerie who had accompanied her to abide with Karral, ages ago.</p><p></p><p>"You see," the wise Zathira said to Arien, "Karral's people tried to warn us of the impending doom that was eventually to take over our plane of existence, creatures so chaotic and horrible that I shudder to think what would have happened to us had we not fled with Karral. They had been fighting them across the planes, and they had come to us in the early stages of our plane being overrun. My Queen would not hear of it, loving freedom as she did, but I took pleasure from the company of one of the Envoys of Order, a young Conjurer named Karral. I took him as my lover, and he took me, and because of that I was able to flee the Sacred Groves when the Queen and the rest of the Court were destroyed by the Rampagers. I gathered as many of my kind as I could, including the seedlings you see here," she said, gesturing to the dryads among her. "Karral made us comfortable and gave us this place as a home." Her face was overcome with sadness. "We long for what we have lost, but we dream a little here, and it has been pleasant... but Karral is now long gone and, I fear, dead to us these many years, and I am the last of the Seneschals of the Tower. If you be good of heart, then you are welcome guests of the Tower for as long as you wish to stay."</p><p></p><p>Zathira paused a moment to turn and regard the dryads. "I said, daughters, that they were guests of the Tower. Honor them as guests. . . not as pets. I claim them for myself, and woe to any of my children who <em>glamer</em> them with the Seeming against my Will, and I do not Will it so. Hear, and obey."</p><p></p><p>There was a rustling among the assembled dryads and many sighs of disappointment, but as one they responded, "We hear and obey, Mother."</p><p></p><p>Zathira nodded and smiled. "Now, you must be tired. Take repast in the dining hall and my folk will serve you, to see that you are rested and refreshed. And, of course, there is still the matter of your exploration of the Tower to contend with. No place that you can contrive to enter here is closed to you. I trust your goodness of heart to guide what you do with what you find and how to dispose of yourselves in the meanwhile. Be welcome, and be blessed."</p><p></p><p>The party gave their thanks and were (straining to be) on their best behavior. After the pleasantries and the audience with Zathira were over, the group continued their exploration of the level and found. . .</p><p></p><p>. . . the library. Not a magical library, but a library nonetheless, with enough tomes and volumes to contain all of the knowledge that they would need to study up to 8 ranks in any of the regular Knowledge skills, as their class focus allowed. [META: <em>Essentially, this provides the party with the plausible source for any of their knowledge skills that they wished to take up to 8 ranks, and beyond that the players would need to do their own investigations and RP them out as such to gain such mastery over what there is to know.</em>]</p><p></p><p>Marcus and Tybok were immediately lost in the stacks, beginning to review what there was to know and at the very least catalogue what the library had to offer. Each of them immediately claimed one of the many 5-person study rooms as their own, and the party generally decided that the large conference-type room with the glass-like walls looking out onto the rest of the lounge was their new headquarters for meetings and discussions of plans/rendezvous points.</p><p></p><p>Arien did manage to force her brother, Marcus, to give up the library to at least find out where the dining hall was, and they were not disappointed in this, either. They found several large kitchens and were amazed to find that there were many fae creatures of different types busying themselves with the tasks of cooking and preparing food. The boggans greeted the party warmly but firmly and kindly made it known that they were not allowed inside the kitchens, and they could sit and place their order with the Major Domo inside the dining hall proper, would the party please leave now? Please. Thank you.</p><p></p><p>The Major Domo appeared, a pooka dressed in proper tuxedo and looking positively fox-like when he thought the party wasn't watching. He refused to give his name, pointing out that fae-folk do not lightly give over their own names, holding firmly to the contract and power inherent in names and giving them to strangers. Instead, he insisted on being called by his title, and mentioned that should they need of him they had only to call out for the Major Domo and one of the other servants nearby would fetch him shortly. The banquet table was laid out for them with serving utensils by fae who seemed to disappear when the party wasn't watching them. When questions of this, the Major Domo gave a sly smile and informed the group that of course the faeries had the ability not to be seen when they weren't wishing to, or needed. It wasn't intentional, although they certainly could hide, but rather a sort of automatic thing, like an ongoing suggestion to the viewers that they weren't worthy of attention. Almost as if they could Hide in Plain Sight, and it was something that was always active. [META:<em> These are not your D&D description fae. I've always run with the homebrew fae I encountered from college gaming groups and the way that they handled them. Since the dimension is extraplanar, it makes sense that certain things are not what the party is used to... for example, the dryads hailed from *all* of the trees on the balconies, not just the oak trees. These are mostly homebrew, partly White Wolf/Changeling fodder, and partly D&D. Never be afraid to mix things up to make them your own, so long as you play things consistently. Players will forgive much if you are consistent within your variations... it allows them to anticipate and react as they grow in their knoweldge of your homebrew world.</em>]</p><p></p><p>There were exclamations of surprise as the Major Domo told them they could have pretty much whatever they wished to eat, providing it was a food with which the boggan chefs were already familiar. Nothing exotic (well, not by fae standards), but other than that the boggans were fairly quivering with anticipation at being able to serve once more. The party members each ordered their favorite food, and Arien enamored the boggans to her by asking them to serve whatever they considered their best dish for an informal supper. All the food was excellent, and the party decided to rest for a while before exploring the rest of the upper portions of the Tower.</p><p></p><p>By this time, when the party saw that the fires had been lit in their chambers and the beds warmed and sheets turned down, ALL of the party members were beginning to think that this would be a fine place indeed to call home... even if it was in the middle of the Blasted Lands.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Pacio49, post: 2093015, member: 28472"] [b]Karral's Tower, part 2[/b] The staircase led upwards into the center of the tower this time, emerging out in a grand hallway, dimly lit, with an open and airy feel to the place. Fifteen foot tall ceilings were bedecked by spidery geometric carvings and pierced stonework screens. The floors were of polished white marble with inlaid green and black stone tilework in tricolored geometric patterns and borders of gold and silver inlay. Carpets of many hues and tapestries of varied scenes were all carefully preserved somehow, the crisscrossing energy currents of magical wardings and buidling enchantments almost visible to the naked eye. False pillars framed doorways of white alabaster and fine wood paneling. Mobile screens of intricately pierced wood artfully channeled the flow of traffic within the larger lounging areas, creating nooks and small enclosures about couches and divans with matching dark wood tables and now-extinguished lamps, silver candelabras and beaten gold, brass, and copper lanterns and candlelight reflectors. Small, tasselled pillows of rich silk brocade and velvet cushions were in abundance in the main entry area, and the white of the ceiling plaster looked freshly washed and undisturbed by dust or cobwebs. Halls and doors abounded, some with wood paneling, others with marble veneers in varied tones and grains, each setting off the distinct areas and doors that led to common areas. One set of doors that the party explored led into a form of a guest suite, walls curiously blank considering the opulence of the exterior decoration. Small crystalline outcroppings were cupped in minor inset alcoves just above the door height at regular intervals along the walls. Rich, mahogany and cherry tables with inlaid wood patterns in birch and cypress marked one room as a small dining room, with halls leading out to smaller, private lounge areas. Marbled bathing rooms and private bedrooms were found through interior doors off of the common dining area of the suite, and the master bedroom and dressing room were marvellous to behold, with vanity tables and full length mirrors, solid oak and mahogany armoirs on clawed feet gilt with gold in tasteful accents. Inside the armoirs several sachets of different scents... lavender and rose in one, cedar and sandalwood and lignum aloes in another. Tiny vials of scented bathing oils and cooling ointments for forehead and feet were found in the bathing room, along a tiled marble tub with curious runes etched into the wall above it, one to fill the tub with water, another to drain it, one to heat it, another to cool it, all reactive to the pass of a hand... well... almost reactive. The Tower was obviously a marvel of magical construction, with the conjuration of water merely a tiny part of it... and a tiny part of it which no longer functioned exactly as it seemed to be intended. In the many guest and living suites that the party explored all were found similarly furnished though accomodating different numbers of occupants and in different levels of privacy and shared space, some with bedchambers sharing a communal bath, others with private albeit smaller bathing facilities, others with bedchambers that had private anterooms and sitting areas, others with simply a hall, a lounge, a bath, and several bedrooms off of the hall. Yet in every instance, there was a feeling of the failing of magic somehow. The sense of incompleteness that haunted every room. As though there were something missing, something not quite working to the fullest extent. A hint of color appearing to dance over a wall in the wake of someone passing, the fleeting feeling of fresh air circulating through the room then fading into the staleness nearly approaching musty air. The small amount of tepid water summoned into the baths, the lagging delay between activation of the runes over the privvy and the actual removal of wastes to places unknown. All somehow... incomplete. Marcus pronounced the whole of the place to be failing, although failing slowly enough that it seemed to still be holding up well enough for now. The magic that somehow powered the entire Tower was shutting down slowly as it faded. Laeka used her knowledge of the healing craft to wonder whether or not it was like a human exposed to the elements, losing feeling and heat in the extremities first in an attempt to safeguard the heart and head. Marcus concluded that it must be so, and wondered if there were some way to restore the old Tower to its former glory and full power. Perhaps indeed. The party found in each of the guest suites, and indeed in the main lounge area they had emerged into at first that the walls were made of that strange glass, smoky to the view at first from the outside (more on the 'outside' in a moment), and clear when viewed from the inside. Skalar remarked at how it seemed to be the same material and effect as they had found in Dorecan Manor, and Yovaire posited that perhaps Karral had built or enchanted the Manorhouse in the times gone by. Or perhaps they had a common contractor in things magical. Off of several of the suites the party encountered doorways fashioned out of the same thick glass-like material that led out onto large, connected balconies, ringing the entire Tower. They each contained a small copse of trees, a miniature grove with a lawn and marble seats to sit upon and take in the view of the outside. A view which, at the moment, appeared drab and somewhat confusing. A dark horizon line not too far off yet appearing somehow also in the distance met a gently glowing blue-gray sky without much in the way of features. The balconies had a ceiling that extended upwards and above the treetops of the planted and maintained copses, and in that same, lingering sort of effect, a gentle mist released at one time to water the different trees. Arien declared once again that this was now her new home, and marveled at the magic that was necessary to keep those trees alive, without sunlight, without rain, and in apparently perfect health. There were nine such balconies all told, and in each of the balconies a different copse of trees lived and thrived. Oak, Maple, Birch, Almond, Orange, Chestnut, Apple, Hazel, and a rare tree of elvish origin, the legendary Queensfruit trees. Elvish Queensfruit trees were a closely guarded horticultural secret of the elves. Giving off faint silvery and golden light by day or night, with leaves that fell gently in season but never stripped the tree bare, with smooth trunks of silvery bark and small clusters of reddish fruit that resembled pomegranates and which ripened in pod clusters that turned to deep burnished gold when fully ripe, with white and golden flowers that yielded the most heavenly of scents and whose perfumes and jellies were said to be aphrodisiac and restorative... Elvish Queensfruit were truly magical trees, and spoke more to Karral's power to keep and preserve them than anything else had done. It also raised the question as to whether or not Karral were some Elvish nobility, since the only way the trees would blossom and bear fruit was under the careful tending by a member of Elvish royalty. Folklore held that it was the Queen herself, but the Royal Bloodline of the Elves was sufficient to make the trees blossom, though in a way that was a closely guarded secret. As the party investigated the trees, Laeka, Valar and Marcus were approached by a diminutive woman of surpassing beauty and highly pointed and notched ears with a decidedly green tinge to her skin and long, chestnut hair. "Are they yours?" the dryad asked Laeka, nodding to the men and absently twirling a lock of her hair about her forefinger. "Are who mine?" Laeka responded. "The men, silly. Are they yours, or are they up for the taking?" "Hey now, none of us are up for the taking!" Marcus said. "I dunno, Marcus," Valar responded. "She's kinda cute." Marcus bapped Valar on the back of his head. "Of course she's cute. Beautiful even. But she's a dryad, and we're needed with the rest of the party, not to take some seven-plus year sabbatical to be her sex slaves." Valar arched one eyebrow at the mage. "Are you [i]sure[/i] about that?" Matters were salvaged by the arrival of the druidess, who quickly pointed out to the Dryad that they were *her* men, and it wasn't nice to steal from druids. The Dryad pouted and sighed, and then remembered that the Queen wanted to meet the new arrivals as soon as they were ready. At the Queensfruit trees. The party was assembled, and they met in the appointed place under the faint and pleasing light of the Queensfruit trees (nine trees total, planted in a perfect circle so that each tree's crown mingled perfectly with that of the tree on either side). There they were met by a whole host of dryads surrounding a single woman of short stature and green skin, old in demeanor yet youthful in appearance, she had a look about her that defied age, yet her eyes were as old as the stars. The party made their obeisance, and were properly introduced to Zathira, Lady of the Fae Courts from the Place Which Was No Longer, Duchess of the Sidhe Courts of her homeland and Queen in Exile of the Faerie who had accompanied her to abide with Karral, ages ago. "You see," the wise Zathira said to Arien, "Karral's people tried to warn us of the impending doom that was eventually to take over our plane of existence, creatures so chaotic and horrible that I shudder to think what would have happened to us had we not fled with Karral. They had been fighting them across the planes, and they had come to us in the early stages of our plane being overrun. My Queen would not hear of it, loving freedom as she did, but I took pleasure from the company of one of the Envoys of Order, a young Conjurer named Karral. I took him as my lover, and he took me, and because of that I was able to flee the Sacred Groves when the Queen and the rest of the Court were destroyed by the Rampagers. I gathered as many of my kind as I could, including the seedlings you see here," she said, gesturing to the dryads among her. "Karral made us comfortable and gave us this place as a home." Her face was overcome with sadness. "We long for what we have lost, but we dream a little here, and it has been pleasant... but Karral is now long gone and, I fear, dead to us these many years, and I am the last of the Seneschals of the Tower. If you be good of heart, then you are welcome guests of the Tower for as long as you wish to stay." Zathira paused a moment to turn and regard the dryads. "I said, daughters, that they were guests of the Tower. Honor them as guests. . . not as pets. I claim them for myself, and woe to any of my children who [i]glamer[/i] them with the Seeming against my Will, and I do not Will it so. Hear, and obey." There was a rustling among the assembled dryads and many sighs of disappointment, but as one they responded, "We hear and obey, Mother." Zathira nodded and smiled. "Now, you must be tired. Take repast in the dining hall and my folk will serve you, to see that you are rested and refreshed. And, of course, there is still the matter of your exploration of the Tower to contend with. No place that you can contrive to enter here is closed to you. I trust your goodness of heart to guide what you do with what you find and how to dispose of yourselves in the meanwhile. Be welcome, and be blessed." The party gave their thanks and were (straining to be) on their best behavior. After the pleasantries and the audience with Zathira were over, the group continued their exploration of the level and found. . . . . . the library. Not a magical library, but a library nonetheless, with enough tomes and volumes to contain all of the knowledge that they would need to study up to 8 ranks in any of the regular Knowledge skills, as their class focus allowed. [META: [i]Essentially, this provides the party with the plausible source for any of their knowledge skills that they wished to take up to 8 ranks, and beyond that the players would need to do their own investigations and RP them out as such to gain such mastery over what there is to know.[/i]] Marcus and Tybok were immediately lost in the stacks, beginning to review what there was to know and at the very least catalogue what the library had to offer. Each of them immediately claimed one of the many 5-person study rooms as their own, and the party generally decided that the large conference-type room with the glass-like walls looking out onto the rest of the lounge was their new headquarters for meetings and discussions of plans/rendezvous points. Arien did manage to force her brother, Marcus, to give up the library to at least find out where the dining hall was, and they were not disappointed in this, either. They found several large kitchens and were amazed to find that there were many fae creatures of different types busying themselves with the tasks of cooking and preparing food. The boggans greeted the party warmly but firmly and kindly made it known that they were not allowed inside the kitchens, and they could sit and place their order with the Major Domo inside the dining hall proper, would the party please leave now? Please. Thank you. The Major Domo appeared, a pooka dressed in proper tuxedo and looking positively fox-like when he thought the party wasn't watching. He refused to give his name, pointing out that fae-folk do not lightly give over their own names, holding firmly to the contract and power inherent in names and giving them to strangers. Instead, he insisted on being called by his title, and mentioned that should they need of him they had only to call out for the Major Domo and one of the other servants nearby would fetch him shortly. The banquet table was laid out for them with serving utensils by fae who seemed to disappear when the party wasn't watching them. When questions of this, the Major Domo gave a sly smile and informed the group that of course the faeries had the ability not to be seen when they weren't wishing to, or needed. It wasn't intentional, although they certainly could hide, but rather a sort of automatic thing, like an ongoing suggestion to the viewers that they weren't worthy of attention. Almost as if they could Hide in Plain Sight, and it was something that was always active. [META:[i] These are not your D&D description fae. I've always run with the homebrew fae I encountered from college gaming groups and the way that they handled them. Since the dimension is extraplanar, it makes sense that certain things are not what the party is used to... for example, the dryads hailed from *all* of the trees on the balconies, not just the oak trees. These are mostly homebrew, partly White Wolf/Changeling fodder, and partly D&D. Never be afraid to mix things up to make them your own, so long as you play things consistently. Players will forgive much if you are consistent within your variations... it allows them to anticipate and react as they grow in their knoweldge of your homebrew world.[/i]] There were exclamations of surprise as the Major Domo told them they could have pretty much whatever they wished to eat, providing it was a food with which the boggan chefs were already familiar. Nothing exotic (well, not by fae standards), but other than that the boggans were fairly quivering with anticipation at being able to serve once more. The party members each ordered their favorite food, and Arien enamored the boggans to her by asking them to serve whatever they considered their best dish for an informal supper. All the food was excellent, and the party decided to rest for a while before exploring the rest of the upper portions of the Tower. By this time, when the party saw that the fires had been lit in their chambers and the beds warmed and sheets turned down, ALL of the party members were beginning to think that this would be a fine place indeed to call home... even if it was in the middle of the Blasted Lands. [/QUOTE]
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