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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Welcome to the Halmae (updated 2/27/07)
- Thread starter spyscribe
- Start date
spyscribe
First Post
Happy Birthday to Me!
Part the One-Hundred Seventieth
In which: we tell a tale of two libraries.
Reyu decides that, since they are going to be seeking a captain to take them to Barnabus’ island, it would be appropriate to seek lodging near the docks.
She wanders past several taverns populated by the filthiest of humans, as well as one inn that appears to also be operating as an unlicensed brothel, until she finds a suitable-looking establishment not far from the water. It’s a well-built lodging house and tavern with a large holy symbol of Alirria carved above to the door. Above the holy symbol is a freshly painted sign which names the place The Briny Blue.
A lively lunch crowd of many sailors and a few Alirria Priestesses fills the common room on the ground floor, but Reyu only stands in the door for a few moments before a server appears.
“Come for lunch, ma’am?”
“Actually, I am seeking rooms for myself and my companions.”
The woman considers. “Oh. Well, we should have rooms available. You’ll want to talk to that man,” she points across the room. “In the apron.”
Reyu nods her thanks and threads her way over to a high counter near the entrance to the kitchen. The man the server indicated breaks off a friendly conversation with a few sailors at Reyu’s approach. She notices that he eyes her a little oddly, but his voice is friendly enough.
“Can I help you with something?”
“Yes, I am seeking lodging for myself and my companions.”
The man’s brow furrows. “How many companions?”
“Seven, including myself.”
“How many rooms do you need?”
Reyu considers for a moment. “Three, ideally. But if you lack space, we could make do with two.”
“Right…” The man looks for a ledger, and flips through it. Although to Reyu it doesn’t seem like he’s really looking at it very hard. “Three rooms. We can do that.”
“What is your rate?”
“Fifteen gold a night.”
“For all of us?”
“Per room.”
Reyu frowns. “That seems a bit high.” She pauses, and the innkeeper busies himself wiping out an earthenware mug. “Now…” Reyu continues, “what price would you have offered if I were a human?”
The man looks up at her again, obviously reassessing his first impression. Then grins. He quotes her another rate, which seems much more reasonable to Reyu. She takes some of her share of the party’s funds and puts down a deposit.
The man takes her money, and then, as she is about to turn to go, beckons for her to lean in so that they can speak without being overheard.
“Your companions… are they all… elves?”
Reyu shakes her head. “No, they are human.”
The man lets out a visible sigh of relief and seems much more relaxed about the whole transaction. “No offence, you understand, but we don’t get many of your kind in here. And well, you know some people…” he ducks his head again. “They say elves are all crazy.”
Reyu sighs. Given their recent adventures, it’s harder to argue with the man than it once was. “Some are,” she allows.
###
Anvil is escorted to the basement library of the Temple of Justice, where two acolytes attend him to fetch any records he might need. Anvil notices that he is never left completely alone. If he requires something, one acolyte will go off to fetch it, and the other will remain nearby, keeping a subtle, but unmistakable, eye on his activities.
Unfortunately, Anvil is unable to find many references to mysterious islands in the middle of the Halmae inhabited by reclusive wizards. Instead, he bends his search towards matters of maritime law.
On this subject, the Justicars have extensive records. From what Anvil is able to determine, it appears that once they are out of sight of land, the laws of no land apply, and no matter what flag the ship is sailing under, the captain has—by maritime custom—almost complete authority to do as he sees fit. All more the reason, Anvil thinks, for forwarding the cause of Universal Law.
On a related note, Anvil does a bit of research in an attempt to determine the feasibility of bringing the Universal Law Caucus to Ebis. He determines that it will be a hard sell, and it would be best to focus first on Dar Aego on the Universal Law front. He also makes a mental note to be sure that they sail with a captain of good moral character.
As he is leaving, the acolyte who met him on the way in asks if Anvil found the information he was searching for.
“I did not,” Anvil replies.
“Well, you might want to consider checking with the Keepers of Light, at the Temple of Ehkt. They tend to keep a… broader… collection. It might contain the information you seek.”
Anvil thanks the acolyte and leaves, finding Reyu on the steps waiting for him.
“Were you able to find us rooms?” he asks.
“Yes,” Reyu replies, “I even convinced the innkeeper not to charge us double fair market rate for them.”
“Excellent.”
“Were you able to find information about Barnabus’ island?”
Anvil shakes his head. “The annals of Kettenek have little to say on this matter… Where is Lira?”
###
Anvil finds Lira that evening when she returns with the rest of the shopping party. Sure enough, Kiara has found and purchased a completely ridiculous hat. Anvil ignores the sartorial blunder and addresses Lira directly.
“We believe there is information to be found about Barnabus’ island in the library kept at the Temple of Ehkt.”
By now, Lira is used to Anvil’s abrupt style of greeting. “Okay.”
“You should go look for it.”
“Why me?”
Now, it is Anvil’s turn for confusion. “You are an Ehktian.”
Lira rolls her eyes. “I don’t think you have to be a member to get in. I mean, I know Ehktian scholars are called the Keepers of Light, but they’re not proprietary. Their motto is: ‘The light of knowledge illuminates the world,’ right?”
Anvil just stares at her blankly.
“Fine. I’ll come with you.”
###
Lira is quite correct in that the Keepers of Light are more than happy to accommodate anyone seeking knowledge among their collections. A librarian accompanies Lira and Anvil into the stacks, but merely to help them locate the records that will be useful to them. The cataloguing system is a tad… impressionistic.
“Islands that no one has ever heard of…” the librarian sneaks a wink at Lira, “Well, that should be a challenge.”
The librarian takes Anvil and Lira over to a rack of rolled maps, and selects three or four, seemingly at random. “Obviously, an island that no one has ever heard of isn’t going to be on any map, but we’ll see what we can do for islands that most people haven’t heard of.
Bringing the maps over to a table, the librarian unrolls them one by one, right on top of each other. “Now here,” the librarian indicates the first map, “is a map of the channel islands between Ebis and Dar Thane. Everyone has heard of them.” He unrolls another map. “And this shows the al Soor map of the Halmae as comissioned by General al Soor more than 150 years ago.”
In contrast to the first map, which looked more or less like a standard nautical chart, the al Soor map is covered in lost continents, sea monsters, and roving intelligent storms.
Anvil and Lira exchange glances. Although they have seen more than their share of unusual things on their recent travels—certainly more than many might see in a lifetime—al Soor’s map seems a bit excessive even by their standards.
“The fascinating thing,” the librarian continues, “is that although this was the chief map in use for more than 85 years, it is now commonly accepted that al Soor never got closer to the Halmae than Ehkthotep.”
“But that is a hundred miles from the Halmae,” Anvil points out.
“Exactly!” the librarian replies. “Which is what makes it all the more amazing that the map was of any use at all.”
“Well…” Lira begins, “We might need something a little more concrete than that.”
“Oh! But here’s the genius of the catalogue!” says their guide. He points to Anvil, “You, go through that pile over there and look for a leather-bound volume with a red spine and brown covers.” He turns to Lira, “Those are the accounts written by travelers following the al Soor map, and here,” he unrolls five more maps is quick succession, “are the maps based on those accounts.”
By this time, Anvil has managed to find the volume in question and brought it over to the table. The librarian takes it eagerly, and after consulting back and forth with some cryptic notations on the maps, thumbs through the pages until he locates the passage he is looking for. “Here it is,” he says:
Lira turns to Anvil once the librarian has finished. “If I were a reclusive wizard who wanted to live in the middle of the Halmae and not be bothered, I might just cultivate rumors of mysterious islands, ‘from whose shores no sailor returns.’”
Anvil addresses the librarian, “We will require parchment upon which to take notes.”
Part the One-Hundred Seventieth
In which: we tell a tale of two libraries.
Reyu decides that, since they are going to be seeking a captain to take them to Barnabus’ island, it would be appropriate to seek lodging near the docks.
She wanders past several taverns populated by the filthiest of humans, as well as one inn that appears to also be operating as an unlicensed brothel, until she finds a suitable-looking establishment not far from the water. It’s a well-built lodging house and tavern with a large holy symbol of Alirria carved above to the door. Above the holy symbol is a freshly painted sign which names the place The Briny Blue.
A lively lunch crowd of many sailors and a few Alirria Priestesses fills the common room on the ground floor, but Reyu only stands in the door for a few moments before a server appears.
“Come for lunch, ma’am?”
“Actually, I am seeking rooms for myself and my companions.”
The woman considers. “Oh. Well, we should have rooms available. You’ll want to talk to that man,” she points across the room. “In the apron.”
Reyu nods her thanks and threads her way over to a high counter near the entrance to the kitchen. The man the server indicated breaks off a friendly conversation with a few sailors at Reyu’s approach. She notices that he eyes her a little oddly, but his voice is friendly enough.
“Can I help you with something?”
“Yes, I am seeking lodging for myself and my companions.”
The man’s brow furrows. “How many companions?”
“Seven, including myself.”
“How many rooms do you need?”
Reyu considers for a moment. “Three, ideally. But if you lack space, we could make do with two.”
“Right…” The man looks for a ledger, and flips through it. Although to Reyu it doesn’t seem like he’s really looking at it very hard. “Three rooms. We can do that.”
“What is your rate?”
“Fifteen gold a night.”
“For all of us?”
“Per room.”
Reyu frowns. “That seems a bit high.” She pauses, and the innkeeper busies himself wiping out an earthenware mug. “Now…” Reyu continues, “what price would you have offered if I were a human?”
The man looks up at her again, obviously reassessing his first impression. Then grins. He quotes her another rate, which seems much more reasonable to Reyu. She takes some of her share of the party’s funds and puts down a deposit.
The man takes her money, and then, as she is about to turn to go, beckons for her to lean in so that they can speak without being overheard.
“Your companions… are they all… elves?”
Reyu shakes her head. “No, they are human.”
The man lets out a visible sigh of relief and seems much more relaxed about the whole transaction. “No offence, you understand, but we don’t get many of your kind in here. And well, you know some people…” he ducks his head again. “They say elves are all crazy.”
Reyu sighs. Given their recent adventures, it’s harder to argue with the man than it once was. “Some are,” she allows.
###
Anvil is escorted to the basement library of the Temple of Justice, where two acolytes attend him to fetch any records he might need. Anvil notices that he is never left completely alone. If he requires something, one acolyte will go off to fetch it, and the other will remain nearby, keeping a subtle, but unmistakable, eye on his activities.
Unfortunately, Anvil is unable to find many references to mysterious islands in the middle of the Halmae inhabited by reclusive wizards. Instead, he bends his search towards matters of maritime law.
On this subject, the Justicars have extensive records. From what Anvil is able to determine, it appears that once they are out of sight of land, the laws of no land apply, and no matter what flag the ship is sailing under, the captain has—by maritime custom—almost complete authority to do as he sees fit. All more the reason, Anvil thinks, for forwarding the cause of Universal Law.
On a related note, Anvil does a bit of research in an attempt to determine the feasibility of bringing the Universal Law Caucus to Ebis. He determines that it will be a hard sell, and it would be best to focus first on Dar Aego on the Universal Law front. He also makes a mental note to be sure that they sail with a captain of good moral character.
As he is leaving, the acolyte who met him on the way in asks if Anvil found the information he was searching for.
“I did not,” Anvil replies.
“Well, you might want to consider checking with the Keepers of Light, at the Temple of Ehkt. They tend to keep a… broader… collection. It might contain the information you seek.”
Anvil thanks the acolyte and leaves, finding Reyu on the steps waiting for him.
“Were you able to find us rooms?” he asks.
“Yes,” Reyu replies, “I even convinced the innkeeper not to charge us double fair market rate for them.”
“Excellent.”
“Were you able to find information about Barnabus’ island?”
Anvil shakes his head. “The annals of Kettenek have little to say on this matter… Where is Lira?”
###
Anvil finds Lira that evening when she returns with the rest of the shopping party. Sure enough, Kiara has found and purchased a completely ridiculous hat. Anvil ignores the sartorial blunder and addresses Lira directly.
“We believe there is information to be found about Barnabus’ island in the library kept at the Temple of Ehkt.”
By now, Lira is used to Anvil’s abrupt style of greeting. “Okay.”
“You should go look for it.”
“Why me?”
Now, it is Anvil’s turn for confusion. “You are an Ehktian.”
Lira rolls her eyes. “I don’t think you have to be a member to get in. I mean, I know Ehktian scholars are called the Keepers of Light, but they’re not proprietary. Their motto is: ‘The light of knowledge illuminates the world,’ right?”
Anvil just stares at her blankly.
“Fine. I’ll come with you.”
###
Lira is quite correct in that the Keepers of Light are more than happy to accommodate anyone seeking knowledge among their collections. A librarian accompanies Lira and Anvil into the stacks, but merely to help them locate the records that will be useful to them. The cataloguing system is a tad… impressionistic.
“Islands that no one has ever heard of…” the librarian sneaks a wink at Lira, “Well, that should be a challenge.”
The librarian takes Anvil and Lira over to a rack of rolled maps, and selects three or four, seemingly at random. “Obviously, an island that no one has ever heard of isn’t going to be on any map, but we’ll see what we can do for islands that most people haven’t heard of.
Bringing the maps over to a table, the librarian unrolls them one by one, right on top of each other. “Now here,” the librarian indicates the first map, “is a map of the channel islands between Ebis and Dar Thane. Everyone has heard of them.” He unrolls another map. “And this shows the al Soor map of the Halmae as comissioned by General al Soor more than 150 years ago.”
In contrast to the first map, which looked more or less like a standard nautical chart, the al Soor map is covered in lost continents, sea monsters, and roving intelligent storms.
Anvil and Lira exchange glances. Although they have seen more than their share of unusual things on their recent travels—certainly more than many might see in a lifetime—al Soor’s map seems a bit excessive even by their standards.
“The fascinating thing,” the librarian continues, “is that although this was the chief map in use for more than 85 years, it is now commonly accepted that al Soor never got closer to the Halmae than Ehkthotep.”
“But that is a hundred miles from the Halmae,” Anvil points out.
“Exactly!” the librarian replies. “Which is what makes it all the more amazing that the map was of any use at all.”
“Well…” Lira begins, “We might need something a little more concrete than that.”
“Oh! But here’s the genius of the catalogue!” says their guide. He points to Anvil, “You, go through that pile over there and look for a leather-bound volume with a red spine and brown covers.” He turns to Lira, “Those are the accounts written by travelers following the al Soor map, and here,” he unrolls five more maps is quick succession, “are the maps based on those accounts.”
By this time, Anvil has managed to find the volume in question and brought it over to the table. The librarian takes it eagerly, and after consulting back and forth with some cryptic notations on the maps, thumbs through the pages until he locates the passage he is looking for. “Here it is,” he says:
Lira turns to Anvil once the librarian has finished. “If I were a reclusive wizard who wanted to live in the middle of the Halmae and not be bothered, I might just cultivate rumors of mysterious islands, ‘from whose shores no sailor returns.’”
Anvil addresses the librarian, “We will require parchment upon which to take notes.”
Sunday Raisin
First Post
Happy Birthday Spyscribe!
This morning, I shamelessly used your birthday as justification to spend over an hour catching up on all of this storyhour that I've not had time to enjoy while being an allegedly virtuous scholar. Reading this was much more fun than analyzing political ramifications of 18th century British gardening practices as revealed in the writings of Charlotte Smith, so thank you for having a birthday and giving me the excuse....
Thanks to you, Fajitas, and rest of the cast, too, for letting me guest star (or, rather, guest observe-quietly-in-the-uncertain-manner-of-a-beginner). I'm still hoping that all of Kiara's carefully-considered questions to Manaal pay off. And I miss you all!
Thinking of you, Spyscribe! Have a great day.
This morning, I shamelessly used your birthday as justification to spend over an hour catching up on all of this storyhour that I've not had time to enjoy while being an allegedly virtuous scholar. Reading this was much more fun than analyzing political ramifications of 18th century British gardening practices as revealed in the writings of Charlotte Smith, so thank you for having a birthday and giving me the excuse....
Thanks to you, Fajitas, and rest of the cast, too, for letting me guest star (or, rather, guest observe-quietly-in-the-uncertain-manner-of-a-beginner). I'm still hoping that all of Kiara's carefully-considered questions to Manaal pay off. And I miss you all!
Thinking of you, Spyscribe! Have a great day.
A'vandira Silvermane
Explorer
Even later but still meaning well: Happy birthday Lady Spyscribe. (Was not able to read earlier, thus missing your announcement).
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