Vincent's Laboratory Notes and Footnotes (Updated December 30, 2007)

[Altalazar]

Notes – Chapter Ninety-Four – Start at the end

Just inside the entrance, there was a huge double stone door set into worked walls. Around their edge to the left was a fast-moving stream that went deeper into the mountain. Balor investigated that while I and my friends held back toward the entrance. Then I heard the scream and splashes.
I quickly ran around the wall until I could see the river. I saw two huge snakes coming up out of the water, one of which had grabbed Willow and was in the process of pulling her down into the water. The Marshall shouted out tactical orders and my four new friends rushed forward, their tentacles quickly snapping into the flesh of one of the snakes. A line of fire then surged through both of them, courtesy of Selina’s magic.
I weaved some of my lovely magic, speeding up my zombie friends. I sent Blackberry into the water after the rapidly retreating form of Willow. The Marshall jumped in as well. I waited a minute or so and then I saw Willow, in the form of a large bear, return to the surface, pulling the body of a snake behind her. The Marshall came up behind her. Then I heard the blast of thunder from behind me.
I turned and saw Hauver still smoking from a blast of lightning. I rounded the corner back to where the doors were and saw them burst open, a large blue dragon standing in their wake. I waved my hand and my friends burst into blue flames, the better to harm their foes. Hauver and Spence charged the dragon while Blackberry went around his flanks to come at him from behind. BR also approached.
The Blue ignored Blackberry and turned to Spence, ripping into him with his claws, teeth, wings, and even his tail. Big mistake. Blackberry let loose with his circlet of blasting, ripping away large chunks of the Blue’s flesh with a single, searing blast of light. Spence was nearly gone. Hauver was well scorched. But BR, Blackberry, and my new, small friends’ tentacles quickly did their work. Selina sent another line of fire into the Blue’s flesh. Then BR’s final blow sent the Blue to meet his maker. Me. I’m sure he’ll make a lovely alabaster beauty.

Notes – Chapter Ninety-Five – Dragon’s horde, Druids gourd

We found a small fortune, emphasis on the small, in the dragon’s chamber beyond the doors. There was rubble piled up against another door on the far side of the room. My friends made quick work of the rubble, and we opened the door, revealing a hall heading further into the mountain. Balor was met with more pain as a large wall of plants attacked him, shambling out of the rubble. Balor, not wishing to take it, struck back, but Willow would have none of it.
“Stop!” she yelled.
The two shambling mounds stopped, as did we. Unfortunately, one of them was already dead, or dying. I quickly healed it.
“We’re not evil!”
“You just killed my mate”
“Well, look, your mate is all better now,” I said, and he was.
“Would you like to come live in our forest,” Willow asked them. “It is a lovely forest.”
They seemed to stop and think for a moment. Either that or plants are just used to sort of sitting there. Then they spoke. “Can you give us lightning?” it asked, as it caressed Willow with one of its tree-like tentacles.
Willow smiled and raised her arms to the sky. A low roar of thunder filled the room. Then for a full minute, lightning struck each one of the mounds in turn, making them bigger and bigger. Willow was positively aglow, and not just from the electricity running up her fingertips.
“We will go to your forest,” they finally said, and then they began slowly shambling out the door.
They’ll make a lovely addition to our family. I turned toward the dark tunnel ahead, wondering what wondrous creatures awaited us there. “Maybe we’ll find a vampire!” I shouted gleefully, listening to the words echo off the stone.

 

[Altalazar]

Notes – Chapter Ninety-Six – Looks like a Crypt

The room beyond the Shamblers was dark and dusty. I hung back with my friends while the others investigated it. I heard Willow’s voice shout from the darkness ahead.
“Hey Vincent, it looks like a crypt!”
“Really?” I shouted back to her. “Let’s move in!”
After a pause, she yelled, “there are skeletons here, too! Large ones!”
That got me really excited. Then she said something that got me even MORE excited.
“And now one of them is standing up!”
“Vincent!” the Marshall shouted, “Get up here!”
I had my hopes up so high. But they were dashed almost immediately. Far too much flesh on those bones. And the flesh did not even look like it all came from the same creature. Neither did the bones. The flesh that was there was rotting. At least the smell was pleasant. It reminded me of home.
“Oh, its just a flesh golem!” I said and I went back to the rear and pouted. The sniff of bones excited my four tentacled friends, so they ran forward to greet it. Another one rose up as it moved, making two in all.
Selina’s flaming sphere seemed to have little effect on the golems. The mute bard’s chain, however, had great effect as he slammed one of them into oblivion. The other one soon fell as well. The parts, while interesting, were in far worse shape than the well-preserved golem bits we had discovered at White Plume Mountain, so they held little interest for me. As my tentacled friends tore apart the flesh and feasted on their bones, some platinum and gems spilled out of the bodies onto the floor. We also found a magical longbow in the refuse pile. No arrows, though.

Notes – Chapter Ninety-Seven – Crypt number two, two friends in number

Beyond the trapped door of the crypt lay another crypt. Two wraiths stood menacingly there. I raised my skull, and flicked it lightly in their direction. I barely even broke a sweat.
“What is your bidding my master,” they said to me in unison. It was great to have some wraiths. I’ve never had one of those. It will be a while before I can make my own. But these two new friends would suffice for now.
“Tell us what is in the halls ahead,” I asked them.
“We do not know, master. Except that there are those who walk in light.”
“Have they been imprisoning you?” I asked them, with some compassion in my voice.
“I fear for you master,” they replied.
“Describe them for me!”
“They can weaken us, master, they are very strong against us,” said the wraiths. “They are beings from not-here,” they said.
“Outsiders? Clerics? Do they turn our kind to dust?” I could get no real answers from them on that point, beyond the fact that the evil ones had “dog faces.” That’s all the wraiths could tell me. Poor fellows. They must really have been traumatized. I told them what lay in store for them with me. They would get their own rooms. They would be welcome additions to the family, wanted and loved. No longer orphans of fate. I also promised to take care of their health needs, showing them my cure-undead wand, belt, and natural abilities. They seemed very impressed by my health plan.
Two doors led from this room. BR ripped the one on the left from its hinges, his troll-strength continuing to impress me. If only I had made him myself, he’d be even stronger. Bygones.
Beyond the door was a very narrow tunnel. Breeze and BR could not fit, but since the tunnel led back around to a secret exit behind the altar in the crypt, this was moot. We soon marched forward, up a long hall leading to a small room with a table and one other exit. Then it had two exits, as the northern wall collapsed.

Notes – Chapter Ninety-Eight – Dog-faced evil

Balor and Willow rushed up to the opening in the wall and stood their ground. Further down the tunnel, we heard footsteps coming. Then they saw two dog-faced devils running toward us. Then a third, close behind! At first glance, I knew what they were. Hound Archons. Foul, evil beasts from the outer planes. Without any warning or conversation at all, they charged us, forcing Balor and Willow to defend us from their onslaught.
Then in an instant, they were gone, and they were on the other side of us. Teleporters! I quickly had my friends surround me. I summoned my spectral hand to attack them, but then paused to heal Willow, who was still hurting from our encounter with the golems, and now was nearly dead from the dog-faced evil ones’ attacks.
“Vile creatures!” one of the hounds shouted at us.
“Vile?” I said, “You were the one who attacked US, unprovoked.”
“We are simply following the laws of vanquishing evil!” he replied.
“Then you must vanquish yourselves!” I said, “for we are good, and you are the evil ones!”
They then snarled and attacked us further, proving their evil intent.
My tentacled friends quickly surrounded one of the hounds, then grabbed onto it with their tentacles. Just as they were about to pin it and finally feed on its sweet bones, it teleported again. But one remained within reach, and so this one they could grab and pin quickly, sucking the marrow from its bones, then sucking out its bones as well. My tentacled friends squealed with delight!
I heard Balor scream in triumph as well as one of the hounds went down. But then the two remaining teleported away.
“Cowards!” echoed off the walls and back again as Balor let them know his opinion of their retreat.
We took the greatsword and two bows that were left behind by the fleeing fiends (and the dead one). Willow and I used our healing magic to help our friends.
“Such foul evil in the world,” I said, “I hope the world appreciates our efforts on behalf of all that is true and good.” I said as I fed some of the bones and flesh of the dead Hound Archon to one of my walking dead.
“Fighting evil has made me tired,” said the Marshall.
“Me as well,” said Balor, “Let’s rest!”
I agreed, and so we returned to the crypt of my two new wraith friends to rest. They told me stories from their crypt well into the night. My other friends shared their own crypt tales. It was a happy time.

 

[Bryon_Soulweaver]

Dude. This is great, even funny.

 

[Altalazar]

Dude. This is great, even funny.

Thanks - I'm glad someone gets something out of this. We have evolved into an evil group of do-gooders. And now, another chapter or two.


Notes – Chapter Ninety-Nine – Families, Xorn, and diplomacy

During the course of the night, many conversations drifted over our fire. I was busy telling my new friends about the last vampire we met when I caught the end of a conversation between Willow and the Marshall.
“What’s your family name, Willow?”
“What do you mean, I’m just Willow,” she replied. “What’s a family name?” she asked, looking rather puzzled.
I cut in, “this is our family, Marshall,” and I held my arms out in love and affection for my walking dead, soul-sucking spirits, blood hulk monstrosity, and tentacled horrors. “And my name is Vincent.”
By that point, the fire had run low and it was time to prepare for further crypt exploration. I had some kobold jerky for a quick breakfast and then we set out down the corridor where we last saw the dog-faced demons of evil.
Around the bend, we found a hot room that smelled strongly of sulfur. A bridge led across a pit of tar. As soon as we set foot on the bridge, two creatures appeared. They were round, with many eyes, arms, and mouths, such that it looked like they could roll or walk and face in any direction. They were xorn.
“Hail friends,” the Marshall said to them, as friendly as ever. “We wish to palaver, not fight.”
“Don’t take what is ours,” they replied, “you must leave this place.”
“We only wish to explore, friend,” the Marshall soothed. “Is there anything you need?”
“Don’t take what is ours,” they said again, not quite explaining what it is they were referring to. “We have all that which we need to make us happy.”
“Ok then, friend, we will depart in peace.”
“Do you promise not to come take what is ours?”
“I cannot speak for everyone,” said the Marshall, “but I speak for myself when I say that we will leave.”
“But what about the others?” they asked.
“They have free will, and I’m sure they will freely will to not come back and take what is yours were it not for my promise.”
Their multi-eyes looked at him uncertainly. There was much confusion in those eyes. There was enough confusion to make these xorn seem like umber hulks. Then they finally sighed and said, “go then, there are other tunnels than these.”
We departed and took the other branch in the passage, finding our way around again to the west until we found a door.

Notes – Chapter One Hundred – A new friend with a hundred-twenty thousand gold piece smile

The door was, of course, temporarily locked. After Balor opened it, we found a room that looked more like an arrangement of art than a threat. In one corner, on a platform, was a large statue of a lovely man with a friendly smile, reminiscent of the dwarf we met at White Plume Mountain. A symbol of Erythnul was etched into his palm. The statue itself was well worn, but intact.
Balor approached the statue.
“Don’t hit it,” shouted the Marshall.
“Ok, but if this thing tries to hit me, you are in for a smashing, and I’ll never believe you again,” replied Balor.
In the other corner was a very decayed body guarded by a large creature made of stone, wood, and metal. When I finally laid eyes on it up close, it was clear what it was. A shield guardian! Very valuable! And very likely that the amulet of its control lay on the corpse of its former owner. Just before Balor attacked our treasure, the Marshall shouted to him to stop and find the amulet. The guardian already had begun to react, and thumped its foot, causing the statue to fall over on Balor and the Marshall.
A voice was then heard from underneath the statue that sounded like the Marshall saying, “Hey, it wasn’t the statue that attacked you.”
Then Balor vanished from sight, only to reappear moments later with a shiny new amulet around his neck.
“Kneel!” he shouted at the construct, and so it knelt down before him.

Notes – Chapter One Hundred One – Lothander introduces us to Elizar

Searching the body, we also found a note, preserved after a hundred years. It gave directions to find this place. It also had warnings of possible traps and guards. It was addressed to Lothander (the corpse) and was regarding the whereabouts of Elizar, his master. We needed to know more.
We rested again, and I prepared my enchantment to speak to Lothander’s corpse. I hoped he would enjoy having some conversation after so long. As the enchantment completed, I asked my first question of Lothander.
“Who is Elizar?”
“He is my master. I am here to rescue him. It was his statue in the room of my death.”
Then I asked, “Who would pay for the information to rescue him?”
“He paid for me to rescue him, he is my master.”
“Who was holding Elizar?”
“The Paladins of Hieroneous. Tyrants who use their religion to control the masses!”
“Yes, we know of their evil,” I said, “Why were they holding Elizar?”
“Because they couldn’t kill him!” he said, and then his corpse once again was at rest. At least until dinner time.
My palaver over, we returned to the hall of the xorn.

Notes – Chapter One Hundred Two – The Marshall is nearly dead tarred

Balor scouted ahead, walking along the ceiling while vanished from sight. We saw no hint of the xorn as he went on ahead. Several minutes later, we heard a “thump” as Balor fell to the floor ahead. Apparently his slippers no longer worked further on down the corridor. In fact, no magic at all worked there. The hallway ended in a large iron door. After he returned to tell us this, the Marshall set out to follow in his footsteps, only on the bridge, not the ceiling. Then came trouble.
As he reached the middle of the bridge, a trapdoor opened and the Marshall found himself immersed in tar hot enough to melt rock. His screams echoed down the halls as all of the flesh came off his body. We rushed forward to help him out, pulling at least his barely-fleshed bones from the tar before he expired. Then the xorns arrived.
Willow healed the Marshall, as did I. Balor and the mute bard held off the xorn, finally smashing them into the ground from whence they came after a terrible struggle. Most of my minions were kept out of the fight by the narrowness of the hall and the bridge over the tar. Willow’s summoned elemental of fire is what finally tipped the fight in our favor.
The fight won, Willow sent her flaming friend to search the tar and retrieve the bodies of the xorn. We found gems within them (and I added two more corpses to my stockpile) and the elemental also found a fireproof eternal wand in the tar that can be used to heal constructs. I wonder how it got there.
That just left the door.



Notes – Chapter One Hundred Three – Elizar

After much work, we finally got the iron door open, revealing a small triangular room. There were many books lining the shelves of that room. There was also a man standing in its center who looked remarkably like the statue we had seen earlier.
“Elizar, my friend!” said the Marshall as he strode into the room and shook the man’s hand warmly.
I looked at him carefully, and was able to discern his true, warm nature. He was a vampire!
“We’re here to rescue you!” I said sincerely. “Together we can fight against those vile hound demons!”
“What can he contribute,” Willow asked skeptically.
“I can turn into a wolf!” he said, and then he did.
Willow was unimpressed. “I can do that, too, show us something more. Can you do a bat?”
“Yes, I can,” he said, and then he did. A few bats, wolves, and floating clouds of gas later, Willow was feeling less skeptical. Then he turned all of us invisible with one wave of his hand.
“Ok sold,” she said.
“Everything in this room you may have,” he said, “except for this one book of mine,” which he cradled protectively in his arms.
I looked at it closely. “I have one of those as well, perhaps we can compare notes,” I said.
“That we can,” he said, “But now I ask you to help me punish those who imprisoned me. Be on your guard. They are sure to be aware of my release. Oh, and might you have some books I might read?”
I looked around and noticed that all of the books in this room looked well worn, read dozens of times each. Such torture!
“We can bring you home,” said the Marshall. “There we have hundreds of volumes! We even are working on a tunnel system so you need not fear the sunlight.”
Elizar smiled at that, showing his lovely fangs. We then joined arms with the vampire and marched merrily out of the door. We went down the hall, over the bridge, and then rounded the corner just in time to see that two hounds and a paladin hound had appeared in our path. I sensed great evil from them all, particularly the paladin. It was almost palpable, like there was something solid surrounding them all.

Notes – Chapter One Hundred Four – We face the last great test of evil before we depart

The vile one spoke. “Please tell me you are not trying to take Elizar out of this place. We were tasked to keep him in his tomb for eternity to atone for his great evil.”
“How dare you imprison such a wonderful man,” I replied, “does your evil know any bounds at all? Have you no decency?”
We then threw ourselves into the fight. Again, due to the narrowness of the corridor, I and my friends stayed mostly back while Balor, the Marshall, Willow, and the mute bard fought Elizar’s evil jailors. I sped up my zombies and brought forth flames from all of my friends, including Elizar, but none of them ever got close to the hounds.
I want to now mention a special hero from this fight. William, one of my new wraith friends, rushed to the fore almost immediately, traveling through the walls. He came out right next to the paladin, and immediately drained from him some of his evil life force. I am saddened to say that the vile creature then turned his canine eyes toward my friend and then cut him down in his prime, slashing him through with four swipes of his unholy holy blade, reducing William the Wraith to dust before my eyes.
“Noooooooooooooooooo!” I screamed. “I can’t even make wraiths yet!” Poor William will never know the warm, caring hearth of our keep. He will never feel the love of acceptance, long denied him in all of his years of undeath existence. He will never partake in the festival, he will never meet all of my other friends. He will never see the room I had all ready for him upon our return to the keep. I began to cry.
Soon the combat was over. The three hounds were gone, their corpses decorating the tomb floor. The paladin was preparing to leave like the coward he was when Balor, Willow and the Marshall cut him down with a spectacular show of swordsmanship, leaving him no breath left to utter his traveling magic.
But he was not quite dead. I stabilized him. Then I called Elizar to my side. “Drain away his life, I have plans for him after his grave is filled.”
I missed William dearly. And I had not even a corpse to bury or to feast with in his honor. It was a sad day. His brother Richard mourned with me as we slowly departed the tomb, our voices low in remembrance of William’s sacrifice. He is the definition of a true hero.
I looked down at the paladin’s corpse as BR dragged it behind him. I thought to myself, “he is going to pay.” Yes, he will make a fine ally once Elizar is through with him. Then we’ll send him back to his foul masters. William would be proud.

 

[Altalazar]

Book VII

Notes – Chapter One Hundred Five – One Happy Family

Elizar has moved in and is doing well. Wilhelm, William’s wraith brother, is also doing fine. Crushstone has completed our tunnel system, allowing us access to Reg’s town of Mayberry to the south as well as access to Night Falls (and its crypt) to the west without ever having to step out in the foul light of day. Goblin hunts in the woods continue to go well. Willow is concerned, as always, about the humanoid population, but she must appreciate the need to keep a stable food supply as well.
Our family has thus grown and is very happy. The only missing part of the family, as always, is our parents. But my experiments are getting closer and closer to fruition.
Our happy family was almost disrupted one morning when Crushstone came tunneling in, breathless (as always) and stated that he heard “many footfalls” coming from Night Falls, moving slow. I was busy in the kitchen, cooking up some goblin stew, when I was interrupted with this report. This required some investigation. I send my loyal sphinx corpse Tessa to the air to see what was coming. As always, I asked her to fly high, to avoid the prying eyes of those evil humanoids who would do her harm simply for existing. Such prejudice and bigotry runs deep.
When Tessa returned, she verified what Crushstone had said. There were almost a hundred men, all mounted on horseback, heading up the mountain toward Brightstone Keep. They had mixed banners, but they had one thing in common. They were all paladins. It remained to be seen if they were the evil sort of paladins we encountered when we rescued Elizar, or if they were true good paladins, such as Reg.
As they approached our gate, the Marshall rode out to greet them. “Ho! Parlay!”
“Stand aside in the name of King Asaloth,” they said to the Marshall. “We have reliable intelligence that there is an army of evil, vile undead here!”
“Well, your information is wrong,” the Marshall smoothly replied. “There are no _evil_ undead here,” he replied truthfully, with special emphasis on the word “evil.” The Marshall spoke true because we all knew that our undead were of the purest good. The paladins were ummoved. Such prejudice is to be expected from paladins.
“Deploy the troops!” the lead paladin said, and the paladins behind him began to move into formation for storming the keep. The Marshall’s forces behind him, some forty strong, manned the now-repaired walls and towers for the assault. My friends stayed out of sight below, ready if the gates were to be breached.
Just as the paladins were about to charge, we saw another mounted figure riding furiously up the path to the keep. It was Reg! “Here, let me handle this,” he said, as he pulled the lead paladins aside in conference.
It was hard to hear it all, but we heard Reg tell them of how the incidents of undead have drastically been reduced in the surrounding lands since we’ve come to the keep. Which, of course, is true. The undead in the surrounding lands have been drained considerably, I noted, looking back at all of the undead now standing in our walls.
Reg then assured them that he has instituted a program to guarantee there were no more incidents of undead in the surrounding area and then asked for them to allow this program to proceed. Reg then pulled aside on paladin in particular, someone he apparently knew well, and they talked privately.
“I don’t know what you have going here, Reg,” Reg’s friend said, “but be careful. So long as the higher-ups are appeased, you’ll be ok, but if anything happens…”
“I’ve got it covered,” Reg replied.
“I’ve seen undead. I saw something flying above us on the way here. I can smell them. Something up here reeks of evil, Reg.”
“I’ve got it covered,” Reg repeated.
“Just be careful,” Reg’s friend said before he rode off to join the others.
Reg then joined us. “I’m glad I was able to divert that.”
“Would you like to come in for a bite to eat,” the Marshall asked him. “Vincent just loves to cook.”
“Uh, no thank you,” Reg said. “I trust you, and lets just leave it at that. As long as you keep whatever it is you do away from the towns around here, I’ll do my part to keep trouble out of your way.”
“Good to know,” said the Marshall. “Do you have anything for us to do? Any evil to vanquish?”
“I have nothing for you right now,” Reg said, and then he rode off, heading back to Mayberry, shaking his head, as he always seems to do after talking with us.
The last thing I heard before going back inside to my cooking was Willow commenting on the damage the horses’ hooves had done to the land as they rode up. “But at least they made up for it with the fertilizer they left behind,” she commented.


Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Six – Willows Gross Dreams

Willow told me the next morning that she had been having dreams, very vivid dreams, about something very wrong with the village of Gross Fell.
“Was it sexual?” asked the Marshall.
“It was a private dream,” was all she said in reply. The Marshall seemed to take that as a “yes” and then he departed before I could ask him what he was doing following me into Willow’s room.
“Something has gone bad in Gross Fell, something that is causing an illness in the land,” Willow said.
So that was it. We had a mission. Perhaps I could find out, in curing this illness, how to save our parents as well. We prepared to depart.
I decided to bring my three small bonedrinkers with me to see if they can prove their worth. BR, Blackberry, and Rankin came as my bodyguards. Two of my shadows came as well, to, well, shadow me. With my wall of undead flesh around me, we started to head out of the gate. Elizar stopped by to wish us off.
“Is there anything you’d like us to bring you, Elizar?” I asked him.
“Clean farm girls have nice blood,” he told me.
“Is used okay?” Balor asked (which I found puzzling, given that I did not think Balor drank blood and he always refused my meals).
“Just don’t taint the blood,” Elizar said. “Oh, and I don’t like children. Their blood is too gamey.”
“We’ll see what we can do!” I cheerily said, as we exited the gate and felt it close down behind us. We hunkered down in our wagon for the day’s journey to Gross Fell.

Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Seven – Naboo’s Hut leads to Frendy

By nightfall, we were at the outskirts of Gross Fell. Willow in particular noted a hut that seemed familiar. It was the hut of Naboo, Gross Fell’s resident druid. Willow asked him about her dream.
“In my dream, I saw a great and powerful druid, and elf, but when he spoke to me, the words were not understandable. It was like the land was trying to talk to me but I could not hear it,” she said.
“Did that elf have blue hair? Green eyes?”
“Yes!” Willow said. “Did you dream of him as well?”
“I often do, but not like that. I know this elf. I know him well. His name was Naralex. Long ago, he was a very powerful druid. He kept the land in balance. Then, two dozen moons ago, he vanished. Another druid, one of his disciples, traveled far to the west, to Camp Taurajo, to find him. He shared Naralex’s conviction that it was humanoids who were destroying the balance in this area.”
“It is settled, then, off to Camp Taurajo we go.” I said and then I headed back to the cart.
When Willow joined me, she told me we were searching for Frendy, Naralex’s disciple.

Not wanting to risk traveling in the open, we returned to the Keep and then we took the tunnels on the week’s journey to Night Falls. I checked in on my necromantic apprentice Harkin and the sphinx in her new body. Our tomb there is complete and they are now in the process of decorating it to taste. I noticed there were many detailed webs, some woven with symbols of magic. This place was definitely secure. Our inspection complete, we departed for Camp Taurajo.
After several days’ journey south from Night Falls, we came to Camp Taurajo, which was surrounded by a wooden palisade. Guards asked us our business at the “gate.”
“We are adventurers! We seek ale and food!”
The guards waved us in. One of them asked if I was feeling ok. “He seems a little pale.”
“He’s fine,” said the Marshall, and in we went.
We did not have much luck finding Frendy. Apparently he did grow up here, but no one has seen him in a long time. They said he left to follow Naralex and then never returned.
Well, that was helpful. Willow told me that the sickness seemed even stronger here. Well, at least that was something. Further inquiry by the Marshall revealed that there were creatures “not of this area” collecting in a place called the Howling Caverns. Lizard type creatures. So we went to investigate.

Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Eight – Howling Caves are Quiet

Following the directions of the locals, we found our way to the entrance to the Howling Caves. And what an entrance it was! It was shaped like a skull!
“Cool, we’re moving in!” I shouted as we saw it.
“Vincent, we already have several homes,” Willow said.
“But this is a skull!”
“You can always carve your own,” Willow said.
“But this is a SKULL!”
Willow sighed and we entered the cave as my mouth hung open in wonder.
As we traveled the tunnels, they became noticeably damper. There were also strange plants growing, plants Willow had never seen before, and she had seen plenty. Most she had never even heard of before. That was strange.
Then the strangeness peaked, as the slimy floor rose up into a cube to attack us. And another, even larger glob of slime formed into a huge ball in front of us. Quickly, I sent my bonedrinkers to surround the smaller ooze in our midst. Before they could take it down, Balor and the Marshall “helpfully” split it into several smaller, but still deadly oozes. Then they turned their attention to the huge one in front of us.
Gerry, one of my bonedrinkers, was quickly engulfed by the ooze, and I watched in helpless horror as his flesh slowly melted away from the creature’s digestive juices. Then, just when it seemed like all hope was lost, Gerry was ejected and the ooze tried to slither away. We quickly surrounded it and pummeled it into submission. Gerry was saved! Though he was disappointed there were no bones to drink. I consoled him as I healed his grievous wounds.
It was then that we noticed that the caves, despite their moniker, were quiet and still. At least, they were right up to the point of Balor’s discovery.

Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Nine – Terrible Lizards not so Frendy

The cave ended in a cliff, opening up to an even larger cave. We saw dozens of lizards there, lizards much larger than animals normally get, but still animals themselves. Some had long necks and huge, long bodies. Others were smaller, but with rows of razor-sharp teeth. Some were nesting in the opening above the center of the larger cavern. Very strange.
We searched high and low, but could find no further egress into the cave. Then we noticed that the wall to our original tunnel was not what it seemed. It was not a wall at all, but an illusion. We could tell because we heard the faint sounds of battle on the other side of it and, when we touched the wall, our hands went right through it.
Stepping forth, we saw a minotaur battling with an elf and one of those terrible lizards. Before we could move, the elf was dispatched by the minotaur. Balor, thinking fast, quickly slew the lizard, and then shouted “don’t hit the minotaur!”
The minotaur then introduced himself. “I am Frendy.” At this point, I wondered if it would have been too much trouble for anyone we had talked to to mention that Fendy was a minotaur. But no matter. We, unlike certain paladins that will remain nameless, do not prejudge based on prejudice. We welcomed the minotaur with open arms.
“What happened?” we asked him.
“It has been so long, I can barely remember,” he told us. “I have been here, stemming the tide for as long as I could. I tire, but I cannot stop.”
“Where is Naralex,” Willow asked.
“He’s somewhere, but I know not where. I have not seen him in ages. There is something wrong with the others, his other disciples. They have all become . . . evil.”
“We don’t stand for evil!” I and the Marshall said, simultaneously.
“Do you mind if we take the elf,” Balor asked.
“Is she a farmer?” I asked.
Balor then had his shield guardian pick up the elf.

Frendy said he would guard the passage from any further escapes while we explored further, looking for Naralex. “If you find him and need my help, come get me,” Frendy said as we departed further into the caves. As a parting gesture, he cast an enchantment on all of us, making us feel smarter, stronger, and more vigorous.

Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Ten – Rivers Rise

The cave led to another cross-tunnel that had a twenty foot deep crevice down its center. Bridges led across the crevice on either side. The crevice itself had stairs leading down into it and it was filled with a river of water about two feet deep. Breeze smelled something down that way, so we followed the scent up the river into a room filled with two feet of water. Standing on a ledge in the room, just out of the water, were two elfs and a huge snake.
I stayed at the entrance to the room, surrounded by my protective flesh, while my three small bonedrinkers (and everyone else) charged into the room. Before they could reach the elves, a wall of fire sprung up in front of them and the water started to slowly rise.
There was much confusion, but one thing became clear. The elves and snake were not real. When I saw them, I saw them for the insubstantial illusions they were. The real elves were high up on a ledge, a ledge that came closer and closer to the surface of the water as it continued to rise.
In the end, they were no match for us. They both jumped off the cliff. One became a huge snake, the other a bat. The snake landed in the water and we surrounded it. The bat flew to the ceiling. Soon, the snake was an elf again, floating face-down in the water. Blackberry finished off the bat, blasting it with his circlet of blasting, sending it falling to the water where, by the time it impacted, the body was an elf once again.
We found several strange gems on the bodies. They had a strange, green, swirling color. They were not of this plane. We took them to Frendy, who told us that they were from a plane with no humanoids. He did not know what they were for, but he promised to study them. We left the gems with him (keeping the rest of the items we found on the druids for ourselves) and then returned to our exploration of the caves. Unfortunately for Elizar, it seemed there were few farm girls in this place. But one should never give up hope.

 

[Altalazar]

Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Eleven – River’s End

We followed the “river” in the other direction all the way to the end, where it ended in a large, circular room. Our everburning torches barely illuminated half of the darkness, but there were tell-tale glints of something at the far end of the chamber. Water dripped from the ceiling, making loud, echoing “drips” into the pool of water below. There was a long ledge along either side of the room, providing the only dry ground within our meager vision.
Noticing the glint, I suggested Selena illuminate it. “Fireball, I said.”
Before the echo on “ball” stopped, there was a burst of flame at the far end of the cavern, showing an island aglitter with gems. “No Wait!” shouted Willow, but it was too late. Willow was probably worried about who we might hurt there, but I did not think there was any reason to worry. And I was right.
Balor walked around the outer rim, toward the gem peninsula at the far end of the cavern. The Marshall and Selena began walking around the other side of the rim, in the same direction. Willow made herself into a polar bear and swam up the middle. Breeze and my friends stayed at the entrance, covering our rear. My poor, small bonedrinkers would soon be over their heads in the murky water.
Balor was almost to the gems when something fell on top of him from the ceiling. A cloaker! I had heard of such things in my research. Such an exciting discovery! If one could animate enough of them, one could make one’s entire ceiling out of friends! The possibilities were endless!
I sent my shadow friends to help Balor, who was now engulfed and being carried up toward the ceiling. My friends used their cold touch to slowly weaken the beast, allowing Balor to wrest himself free. It was then that two more cloakers fell, one on the Marshall, one on Selena. Selena’s small halfling body was snatched right up off of her wardog. She was likely not long for this world (but would soon be joining mine) if she did not get out of that monster’s maw quickly.
I pulled back my shadows from Balor’s beast and sent them to help Selena. I also sent a ray personally into the beasts’ hide, weakening him in anticipation for my shadow’s icy touch. Fortunately for Selena, we acted just in time, draining away almost all of the creature’s strength, forcing it to drop Selena, barely alive, onto the ledge. The Marshall was next on my list. After my shadows drained the beast to nothing, they moved to his aid.
Selena asked me if my shadows could take fire damage. I told her, “No don’t! They can’t take fire damage!” Selena then took this to mean they were immune to fire, and so promptly fireballed the Marshall’s cloaker and my two shadows. “Nooooo!” I screamed, but too late. Fortunately, my shadows heard my scream, and they ducked out of the way, avoiding the full brunt of the flames by a fraction of an inch. Had either not dodged so effectively, they would have been dispersed back to the shadows from whence they came. So close to death, I called them back to me to be healed. The Marshall, thanks to Selena’s fire fetish, was on his own for the time being.
As I healed my friends, Balor took down his beast and Willow was busy pulling pieces of flesh out of the Marshall’s beast with her large polar bear claws and teeth.
Selena came to me, begging for healing. As I prepared to heal her, I said one thing to her, perfectly clearly. “Selena. Don’t fireball the shadows. Ever. Again.” She seemed to listen, but that could have been the desperation as she barely clung to life. I could tell by looking at her that the temporary boost given us by Frendy was the only thing keeping her alive. Were that to wear off, she would be requiring a few onyx’s plus a visit to get my necromantic mentor’s awakening magic before she would be up for much conversation.
Balor then made an interesting discovery.

Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Twelve – Balor’s Gems

Balor was walking across the peninsula to help the Marshall when he suddenly stopped. “Gems!” he shouted, and he began picking them up. He got two into his pouches before the third opened up, disgorging a diamondback snake that then bit into his hand, substantially reducing his social dispensations.
Balor shouted, “shoot the gems, shoot the gems!” and before anyone could say anything, the whole island was illuminated by another of Selena’s fireballs.
Willow seemed particularly disappointed to find that the snakes had been fried to a black crisp. “Aww, you killed some cool snakes!” she said. “I wanted their poison!”
Balor said, “Here, have some!” and held out his hand with the two bite-marks still fresh with blood.
Searching in the water, we found a body of an unknown humanoid. Curious as to what it was, I prepared to give it new life, but Willow stopped me. “Save it for later. We have to find the druid.” I stopped my magic and collected the helm, boots, and ring that were the body’s only remaining adornments.
Willow was so insistent that we move forward that we did not stop to rest and pressed further into the caves, back over the bridges we saw across the water earlier. There was where we discovered Naralex.

Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Thirteen – Naralex’s Slumber

Naralex was lying on a stone slab, apparently deep in slumber, when we found him.
“That’s not a farm girl!” said Balor. But Balor still said, “He’s mine!”
“You want to drink his blood?” asked Willow, incredulous.
“No, but I can kiss him” said Balor.
“You kiss him,” said Willow. “I’m a polar bear.”
And people say I am odd.
Balor tried another strategy. “Wake up!”
Failing that, we took him out to Frendy, the not-minotaur, half-cow, half-man, Tauren.
“What is this you have here,” he asked, until he saw us bring Naralex into the light. “Naralex!”
“Can you help us wake him?”
“No, but I can transport you to his emerald dream. I can open a portal so you can view it, and, if need be, you can enter his dream.” Frendy then made his preparations, which took several hours. What he revealed was strange.
We saw a vision of an emerald landscape, full of forests, mountains, and grasses. The view was from above, as if we were flying. We could see the wings of a giant owl at the edge of our “vision,” making me think we were seeing through the eyes of Naralex while he was transformed into a giant owl.
The landscape flew by until we saw a woman. She was a rather interesting specimen. Very symmetrical, with few interesting blemishes on her face. She’d make an attractive zombie. She was running toward Naralex, waving at him, asking for help. As we got closer, I wondered, “Is she a farmer?”
Naralex seemed to land and run up to her. Then there was a flash and the vision faded, filled with blood and the sight of the ground up close. Then it all restarted again. The same vision, with only slight differences. When the vision ended the second time, the woman was closer. It seems this woman is bad news. She must be evil. Willow confirmed this when she saw her up close. Apparently in her wake, all vegetation she had touched was dead.
“She is causing the taint! We must stop her and save Naralex!”
Willow again was insistent that we could not wait or rest, so we quickly plunged into the vision, entering the emerald dream world.

Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Fourteen – Joining the Dream

It was strange being in the emerald world. It seemed so much more, well, alive, then our own. It gave me a strange sensation to be there. Looking behind me, I could see the “door” we had passed through. It always seemed to remain ten feet behind us, no matter how far we moved. What a comforting thought.
It was not long before we saw the girl. We ran up to see her.
“Are you a farmer,” I asked her, always mindful of our purpose.
Before she could answer, Balor, Selena, and the Marshall were all around her, vying for her affections. I exchanged a glance with Willow. We never did understand the whole strange mating dance of humanoids. Our parents were always at home with us and never made much of a fuss. They simply sat there, in their bed, providing safe haven for the maggots and the spiders who Willow tended as her little friends on her visits to our home.
“Would you like to come back with us!” the Marshall asked the woman.
“No no no no!” shouted Willow. “She’s evil! She’s the taint on the land! We must stop her!”
“Do you think she’d be better if I animated her,” I asked Willow, too quietly for the others to hear (I think they were too captivated with the woman to notice us in any case).
“Oh yeah!” shouted Willow. “But we must hurry! Look!”
I looked up at the sky. A giant owl was approaching. And I heard a rustle in the underbrush. From three different directions. Something bad was coming. Make that two directions. From the third, the way was already lit up with a fireball. Taking inspiration from Selena, I waved my hands and weaved my magic, causing all of my non-shadow friends to burst into flames of their own. Whatever was coming, we were ready. Hopefully the Marshall, Selena, and Balor would be helping us and not that woman. Glancing at Willow, I prepared my friends for the fight.

 

[Altalazar]

Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Fifteen – A Ringing in my Ears

Despite the rustling of the leaves, nothing seemed to come from the underbrush. The overbrush was another matter. Soon after I gathered my friends into a tight circle around me, in anticipation of hastening their moves, a rustling was heard in the branches directly above us. Then there was a loud shaking of the air as a strange beast blasted a cone of pure sound directly down upon us. It instantly dissolved my poor shadow friends. If only I could have understood their dying words as they wordlessly shouted in agony before melting away! That beast will pay for that evil!
My own ears were ringing, and I was forced to wait for this to stop before I could hasten my friends. Unfortunately, the foul beast did not let up, blasting us all again. Fearing for the lives of all of my undead companions, I quickly turned back toward the “door” behind me and bade my friends to do the same with their own “doors,” returning us to the cavern, and out of harm’s way.
We could still see through the “doorway” that there was still a fight going on in the dreamworld. A huge creature was in the trees above where we were standing. The druid there had summoned aid in the form of lions that were now climbing the tree to surround the beast. When my ears stopped ringing, I finally was able to haste my undead friends and then I sent Blackberry back through the doorway, carrying two of the small bonedrinkers in his arms. They flew up into the tree and engaged the horrid beast.
The beast in its pure evil attacked my poor, nearly defenseless undead friends with another blast of sound. Fortunately, only two of my friends were caught in the blast: Blackberry and a bonedrinker, Josh. Josh was nearly dead, but Blackberry was still looking spry, despite the massive damage he had already absorbed. Josh and his brother Jeb slashed their talons and their tentacles against the beast, to little effect. Blackberry, however, hasted as he was, tore the beast a new orifice, slashing away with his greatsword. The beast did not take kindly to this and blasted Blackberry again and again. In the meanwhile, there was another battle afoot.
I arrived back in the dream world with the rest of my friends on the ground below. We had to find the beastmaster, the evil druid that was causing all of Willow’s pain. The trouble was, she was invisible, thanks to the Marshall, who was quite “taken” with her. I never will understand that whole “love of the flesh” that seems to enthrall so many. It is just flesh. You eat it. You can animate it. Why do you have to get all messy with it?
Willow was having none of this, either. She weaved her hands and unweaved the charm over Balor and the Marshall, freeing them from the foul chains of the flesh. This also allowed us to see the vile druid woman. Josh and Jeb leaped into action, jumping over to where she was standing in the tree branches. Josh wrapped his tentacles around her and embraced her, digging down to her bones, which be began to drink! Josh had a look of ecstasy on his face as her bones dissolved and slipped down his warm throat! Unfortunately, she was able to work her magic and escaped from his embrace, arriving on the ground some distance away. But she was still too close to Josh. Josh and Jeb, hasted as they were, ran and leapt into the air, pouncing on top of her, sucking out more of her bones! But she managed to escape again! This time, it was Balor and Willow who were upon her, ending her existence. Josh then finished off her bones, sharing some with Jeb in the process. Her soft flesh then lay in a heap upon the ground. The beast was no more. Naralex was free.

Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Sixteen – Naralex’s Shame

Naralex was visibly shaken and clearly shamed. He had traveled to the emerald forest world in the hopes of helping to reduce the population of our own world, to preserve the environment from destruction. Instead, he had found this woman trapped there who then used him to further her destruction on our own world. Apparently one can’t save the world’s forests by killing everyone, Willow. But that’s ok. That still leaves the option of saving the world by making everyone into my friends.
At this point, Naralex realized that his door had returned and that he could leave. We all did so.
Willow later was quite excited. Not that the forest was safe. But that she could now become a tree! A Treant!
“Hey Vincent, Look at me! Look at what I can do!” She then turned herself into a Shambling Mound. Amazing! We all returned to our keep, vigilant against the oppressive evil of the paladins (sorry Reg, present company excepted)!
I had much work to do. In my research, I had finally figured out how to make the larger, more regular-sized bonedrinkers. I also think I have finally determined the ancient secret of mummification. That, plus I think I finally know how to replace my shadow and wraith friends. Finally, there is something called a Direguard and something else called the Spawn of Kyuss that has caught my interest. I am going to need a few more bodies. And I’m getting ever closer to the secret of restoring my parents to their former glory! Only three more levels of secrets to unlock and I’ll have their bodies back!