PoorWandering 1 Posted September 30, 2004 Report Share Posted September 30, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age Great work! I second Irishspy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted October 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age 9/30/04 Session 16 For a Crown of Gold There wasn’t much fancy food left in the Amethyst, but the proprietors offered the group a free meal of hot cereal and pork, with what dried fruit was left from storage. Lao asked Rogar to ask for a dining room to themselves, so that they could talk privately. Once that was arranged, Lao stood at the head of the dinner table, with Rogar seated near him and Valdergast, Trogdor, Tanaka and Lo’ma’ndra looking on. Lao looked at Rogar and said, “I am still not expert in Trade-Tongue. I ask you to translate for me.†“Of course.†Lao looked on the team and began. He said, “You are familiar with this… black magician named Kal-Turak.†The group nodded. Valdergast said, “He was looking for something that we had.†Tanaka broke in, “What exactly?’ “A certain magical scroll that offered all the knowledge of Necromancy ever recorded. I had to keep it with me until we could give it to the priestess’ superiors in the High Church. But for a while we were getting dogged for it.†Tanaka shook his head, saying, “This is why I never write things down. It is too dangerous.†Lao said, “There is a caste of people in my land, the priestly caste, who can meditate and receive visions. They have confirmed that Kal-Turak will conquer the world. They have confirmed that this is inevitable. And even that is not his ultimate goal.†He paused. “Kal-Turak seeks to become a god. He will not succeed before he is finally overthrown, but he will do the next best thing by conquering the world. Because by that point, his magic will be so great that even the gods of Thun and the Scarlet Gods will be forced to give him his due- for he will control their access to the world.†No one commented on that. Lao continued, “But one thing the prophecies agree on is that this lord will not make his first military conquest for another decade. He will not be ready to consolidate his rule for at least three centuries. But the signs are that he is making his first move now, in Khirkovy. It is possible…†He started to think for a second, and went on. “It is possible that if the evil creature’s power is so great as to warp Fate itself, ensuring his victory, then likewise it follows that our Fate, the natural cycle of things, has been changed by his presence in the world. And therefore it is possible, at least in this case, to defy prophecy. For some reason, Kal-Turak is acting now, in defiance of the visions, and that means he can be stopped.†Without waiting for Rogar, Lo’ma’ndra spoke up. “Teacher, is this why you came here? And why do you think the Dark Lord is focused on Khirkovy?†Lao noted, “You speak my language flawlessly.†“I have a spell that allows such.†And somehow you also know the proper form of address, Lao thought. He said, “Yes, priestess. You are already involved. From what I could gather, Skarill was a strong lord, but even he did not attack to such a large extent before the last two years. And he is attacking at the same time that Khirkovy has resumed a feud with your nation.†He looked at Rogar. “I have studied an incident that happened to Rogar and me years ago. There have been several events where groups of adventurers or pirates have been dispatched to find certain magic items, even to find rumors of such.†Lao looked at Rogar again. “Ask the mage if he knows of the Crowns of Krim.†Valdergast had hidden the fact that he could understand Lao through the Diplomat’s Ring, but his face fell when he heard “Krim.†Rogar went, “Yes?†Valdergast sighed. “This Krim is a great demon lord. Supposedly the father of Kal-Turak himself, but no one’s sure. He created a set of great elemental crowns to give his lieutenants, in order to increase their power. And these things ended up on Earth.†Lao said, “That is also part of the prophecy. When this Dark Lord begins his empire, he will quest to find the six Crowns, bind them to himself, and give each to his main vassals. What I have learned leads me to believe that the Crown of Fire, the Shining Crown, is somewhere in Khirkovy.†“And so what do we do about this?†Tanaka asked. “I need to speak to your superiors,†Lao said. “Is there one of you who has contact with the local nobility?†â€There really isn’t local nobility here,†Trogdor said. “They’re busy trying to drive off Khirkovy,†Valdergast said. “The main lord I know personally is Duke Jabel. He may be riding with the army, but I’m not sure where.†Lao said, “We also need to track down where those Goblins are going. They might lead us to the rest of Skarill’s Orcs.†Lo’ma’ndra nodded. Lao stepped back and said, “In the meantime, it would be best that you rested until morning. The Goblins will travel by night, but then we will have them at a disadvantage in the day, especially if most of you have horses. I can always ride with Rogar.†Rogar seemed to accept that decision well enough. The group dismissed, most of the team left the dining area. Lao watched Lo’ma’ndra as she went outside, and he turned to Rogar. Lao said, “She seems to know something of Tran-Dhuk,†Rogar said, “Yes. Well, believe me, it was necessary to help her defend herself.†Lao’s face was unreadable. Finally he said, “While we travel, I shall have to find out exactly how much she has learned.†As suggested, most of the group decided to rest after the events of the day. Lo’ma’ndra told Nyx about the plans for the morning, and he told her, “Hm. Off to chase an even bigger army. I think I’ll stay here for right now. It is safe here now, at least.†“Yes.†He said, “Besides which, Trogdor is starting to worry me.†Tanaka counted it an unusual night. This was the first time he’d come into a town where the women were happy to see him. - The next day, Cloverfield sent the Rangers off. On Lo’ma’ndra’s suggestion, the party didn’t take any more than the free food, as they still had enough provisions to last them for a week’s journey, along with the gear they brought to find Skarill in the mountains. Five horses left on the same road as the Goblins, with Lao and Rogar seated together. During the morning, Tanaka and Lo’ma’ndra both set to tracking the Goblins, which was hardly difficult. However, the path seemed confusing. After going toward the northwest, the mob changed direction and went due north, moving closer to the Grimwash River and the forests on its bank. There were also a larger group of even older tracks that were somewhat more difficult to find, but they were Man-sized prints. This seemed to confirm that Orcs had gone through the area before them- and the Goblins were linking up. Meanwhile, Valdergast had had his familiar perform his scouting routine, and the mage called to Lo’ma’ndra. “Mertwig says he’s found the greenskins.†“Good news,†the priestess said. Tanaka said, “They’re probably trying to cross the river. It would be easier if we waited for them to do so.†The mage said, “He’s also found a big group of Men nearby. Fighting each other.†“We need to see this,†Lo’ma’ndra told him. Riding straight north, the group went up a hill ridge and reached the top of the slope to look over a green field, a small wood to the east, and less than a hundred feet off, the river. East of that was the thick forest of Toreth. The battle was already joined. A heavily armored Vestrian force of foot and knights, almost five hundred strong, had already engaged a mixed force of Khirkovy troops, apparently to crush the unit before it reached the river. The Khirkovy cavalry had attempted to stop the Vestrian knights from outflanking them and had been repelled. “It looks like the cavalry are beaten,†Lo’ma’ndra said. “Yes,†Tanaka said. “The Khirkovy pattern their horsemen after our raiders. It doesn’t work when they do it.†And it now seemed that with the two units in melee, and Khirkovy at a disadvantage, the battle was coming to a halt. The riders soon saw why. For taking cover in the southern woods, which the party had been obliged to pass, a force of several hundred Orcs, attended by the remaining Goblins, was making camp, setting fires, and readying standards and crude artillery weapons. Some were already making an initial advance to prepare for the main force. “But why would Khirkovy wait, if the Orcs are on their side?†Lo’ma’ndra asked out loud. Valdergast continued to contact Mertwig while he watched the battlefield with his own eyes. And he noticed that the Vestrians, unlike the Khirkovy, had a supply train, and this included several small tents with a set of banners around them. Among these Valdergast only recognized the standard of the Duke Jabel Duharion, and the royal standard over the flag of another noble house, indicating the presence of a ranking officer. [NOTE: I really oughtta have the details of these flags, but I was a bit pressed for time in the game, and those details weren’t provided for the lesser houses in The Turakian Age.] At one point, the mage observed a Khirkovy captain in golden scale mail ride under a truce flag to the Vestrians, and saw the man escorted to the Duke’s tent. Valdergast said, “I’m telling Mertwig to find the Duke. He’ll know to have you summoned if he sees my owl.†He wrote a short message explaining their situation, and tied it to his bird’s leg, before bidding it to fly off. “What else?†Lo’ma’ndra asked. “I’m going to keep those Orcs occupied. There’s another spell I invented for myself in my spare time.†From his horse, Valdergast cast the spell, and with a sudden motion completed it, causing a great plume of fire to sprout from his back, a fire that soon shaped itself into birdlike wings, the flames stretching out into feathers. With a thought, Valdergast leapt into the air, his horse barely resisting a complete panic. Tanaka steadied his comrade’s mount as Lo’ma’ndra looked up and said, “How amazingly— flamboyant.†In a few minutes, Mertwig returned with a new scroll on his other leg. Lo’ma’ndra opened the ducal seal and saw that the scroll was a summons demanding that the bearer and ‘his’ companions not be harmed. The group moved immediately, Lao and Tanaka leading Valdergast’s horse, even as the mage fired a spell into the Orcs on the open plain. A great ball of fire, over a hundred and twenty feet across, engulfed the inhuman troops. Those who knew to dive for cover were the only ones who lived. “So that’s why he wanted that new spell,†Tanaka said. The five rode into the Vestrian camp, most of the men recognizing Lo’ma’ndra by her clerical gear. Some even knew her and the others from Greyspan. But more than one gave an ugly stare, and the squire who took Rogar’s horse asked, “Why are you riding with a Gorthundan?†“Gorthundan?†Lo’ma’ndra asked. “He means me,†Tanaka said. “Oh. I never thought to ask.†Tanaka told her, “I never thought to say. I am just me.†Rogar said, “We attract a wide group.†The youth said, “If you please?†As they were led towards the nobles’ tents, the group and the others assembled saw a streak of fire touch down from the sky as Valdergast came to earth and ended the spell. He only smiled as he went ahead to the Duke Jabel’s tent. At the moment, the Duke himself, dressed in shining plate, was standing at the flap of his own tent. The back was occupied by two arguing men. The first was the Khirkovian, distinguished by his mail- actually more of a brass or bronze color- and his long blond hair and mustaches. The other was a tall, middle-aged knight, balding but with full grey beard, dressed in plate in a vivid red metal, elaborately fluted and decorated. The Khirkovian was a much younger man, but he was making an agitated confrontation, with the Vestrian noble responding in the cavalryman’s language. The Duke looked at Valdergast and the others from inside. “What have you found?†Valdergast said, “That’s why we needed to find you, Your Grace. We think these events of the past year are related.†“What’s this?†the older lord boomed out. Jabel gave a slight bow and let the adventurers in the tent, somewhat surprised to see both Lao and Tanaka. “Lord Tyron. This is my servant, the noted mage Valdergast Arcanus. These are his adventuring companions. I think he’s found something relevant to our battle.†“To our war, Lord,†Valdergast said. “We already had to scout for Skarill. We did kill him.†“We had received word. You are the ones that did it?†Tyron asked incredulously. Valdergast said, “Yes… it helped that he had most of his army elsewhere. We found correspondence from a Khirkovian writer telling Skarill’s man that Vestria was to be kept occupied, that the greenskins had to stop our army from reinforcing Toreth and Skald, that we not be allowed to find out who their real target was.†The blond man looked at the mage with the same angry- and confused- expression that he gave the nobleman. He said in Vestrian, “You say this? You are saying that Khirkovy makes common cause with these creatures?†“You have not?†Lo’ma’ndra asked. The Khirkovian said, “No… we thought it was a trick. That you sent reinforcements to destroy us before we could retreat.†The group was confused. Lo’ma’ndra then asked, “Why did your country invade Vestria?†“It was the will of our Tassar. We were sent to reclaim our western provinces.†“Our eastern provinces,†the Duke muttered. Before anyone could interject, Lo’ma’ndra asked, “Why were you retreating anyway?†The cavalryman did not answer. “What are you not saying?†she asked evenly. The man said, “These Orc creatures- we have received word from home. They are attacking our camps, they have Ogres. Some say that they have even worse. Foul night creatures. They attack my people, and we must go back to stop them.†Valdergast started to ponder. According to Lao, Kal-Turak wanted access to Khirkovy in order to find the Shining Crown. Apparently he’d already gotten them to start a war with Vestria. And why would they send much of their army due west, at the same time that Skarill’s forces were occupying the Vestrians on another front? To make sure that both nations were too busy to deal with the main threat… He made his deduction at the same time that Lo’ma’ndra said: “Vestria isn’t the target. It never was.†Seconds later, a loud explosion was heard outside the tent, followed by the screams of panicked men. Lo’ma’ndra and the others ran outside. Night had fallen completely, and the eastern bank of the river was illuminated by strange and horrid green and red fires, as large shapes that bore some relation to Men appeared between the shadows of the trees. And in between their battle cries, there were shouts and cries of terror that unquestionably were those of Men. The Khirkovian officer looked out. “By the Gods! Some of our horsemen have already crossed. They’re being killed!†The Lord Tyron said, “You’re going to have to have your other men line up on this side of the river. Your archers and mine will have to defend this bank and make cover fire.†“What are you saying?†Tyron looked at the officer and said, “For now, it looks like you would be safer with us.†One of the knights in camp came to the Duke and said, “Sire- the Orcs on the plain, they’re marching.†Valdergast said, “Well. Guess they decided it was safe to attack after all.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “We need to help rescue those horsemen on the east bank.†Trogdor asked, “Eh?†“There’s still time to save them.†Lo’ma’ndra horsed up and looked at the Drakine. “I can go without you.†Trogdor shrugged and got on his horse to follow her. “May as well,†he said. Valdergast looked and realized that both Rogar and his mentor had sneaked off. Jabel said, “Those Orcs are headed towards us and their cousins are threatening from the east. And they know you’re here.†Crude smoke grenades hit the camp from the greenskins’ arrows. The Vestrians managed to maintain some order even as the confusion of the situation set in and the knights had to force the ranks to line together with the men who were fighting them an hour ago. Valdergast said, “Duke Jabel, is the cavalry in position?†“It will be.†“It’s going to take those Orcs a while to move and fire. While they move, you can charge… and I can attack before you reach them.†Lo’ma’ndra was the first to reach the enemy on the east bank, finding a small group of Orcs in well made ring mail set in black vests. Strangely, these creatures all seemed to have a uniform. Moreover, their captain held a standard she’d never seen before, a red wolf’s head on a black field. Trogdor rode behind her, with Tanaka following. While the Gorthundan went off to scout, Trogdor drew the Red Blade and concentrated. Firing past Lo’ma’ndra, Trogdor immolated the squad of Orcs moving against her. They died badly. Tanaka rode past a rank of tall trees to where the battle seemed quieter. To his surprise, he found a necromantic horror- an entire force of walking bones, skeletons made to walk by magic and gruesomely outfitted in scale and helmets, carrying spears, moving around the land in a parody of Westerlands military fashion. He called out, “UNDEAD!†Retreating back enough for Lo’ma’ndra to see him, Tanaka then caught sight of a Khirkovian rider with his colorful banners, making for the river. Suddenly a man in black plate mail ran up to the man’s horse, jumped and grabbed the rider in one motion, and attacked him as he hit ground. The black-armored man looked up, his fanged mouth stained with his prey’s blood. Tanaka gave a wordless yell, and the blood-drinker looked up at Tanaka with glowing wolf’s eyes. Tanaka readied his bow and fired a long shaft. It bounced off the breastplate. The blood-drinker began to move toward him even as the skeletons made a more deliberate march toward the heroes. Lo’ma’ndra placed herself between Tanaka and Trogdor, and called out an Elven name to the gods. With what seemed to be a sudden flash of sunlight, the rank of skeletons fell backward and collapsed into dust- as did the blood-drinker racing toward Tanaka. Nothing was left of him but the armor and gear. Tanaka felt a little disappointed. At the west bank, Valdergast flew up using his spell, making a review of the field before him. The creatures had shamans; some of them were actually throwing bolts of power his way, but they couldn’t reach him at his elevated position. He waited for the Vestrian cavalry to assemble. The Orcs began to ready spears and bows, stopping their own advance. At the call to charge, Valdergast threw another great Fireball past the front ranks of the Orcs, tracing using the lines of magical attack against him. He hit the middle of the column, the vast explosion forming the anvil to the hammer-blow that hit the Orc footmen three seconds later. Valdergast then looked to the east. The Khirkovians and Vestrians had indeed managed to organize their common forces to fire at any attackers on the other bank. But it was occurring to him that the new army was not even attempting to make the crossing. Lo’ma’ndra and Tanaka rode the bank to find more Khirkovians. Trogdor looked around and saw another humanoid in black ring armor- a thuggish, eight-foot Ogre with a great club. The two looked at each other. They both grinned. Trogdor dismounted as the Ogre ran to him. The big brute ran up with an overhead swing as Trogdor ran into the charge with the Red Sword’s blade before him. He moved out of the club’s path and caught the Ogre straight in the gut. The Drakine then drew his steel blade and hacked into the torso. With one hand, he wrenched the hilt of the Red blade, cooking the foe’s entrails as Trogdor’s right-hand blade caught the monster in the neck. Trogdor pulled the Sword out of his foe and looked around. He saw another Khirkovian on foot try to run to the river under pursuit from a tough-looking Orc. Suddenly the Orc fell as if struck from behind and the soldier made it to the river without looking back. Trogdor wasn’t sure, but it seemed that his eye caught a black-clad figure with a thick sword run past the fallen Orc, between the trees. The Drakine looked up and saw Lo’ma’ndra talk to one of the Khirkovians on horse. She looked around at Tanaka and turned her mount, motioning for the others to ride back across. They pushed their horses on in the dark and smoke, reaching the left bank of the Grimwash. To the south, the Vestrian force had effectively routed the Orcs on the plain. But in the east, the black banners flew, the last screams died out, and the black clouds from the army’s transport spell still hung over the trees. The Enemy had claimed his first conquest. JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishspy Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age Bravo! It feels like a good old Sunday afternoon serial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted October 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age 10/7/04 Session 17 The heroes stayed overnight with the armies on the Grimwash. As the Vestrians suspected, the new enemy made no incursions over the river. In fact, they seemed to be retreating with their standards. Lo’ma’ndra received an audience with Duke Jabel, and asked, “What should we do now, Your Grace?†He said, “My advice to the army will be to wait until morning. Then we will be able to get a better look at what’s happened.†They did so. Once the sun came up, the Vestrians- and the Khirkovians now camped with them- looked over the river and saw that the humanoid forces had indeed left. There were however some pillars of smoke in the eastern forest, indicating that while the new troops were no longer in sight, they were not actually gone. Jabel told Lo’ma’ndra and Valdergast, “I am going to have birds sent out with messages to the King’s army, telling them what our situation is. In the meantime we’ll need to scout to find out how many are left and where they are.†“I volunteer,†Lo’ma’ndra said. “And so do I,†Rogar said. He looked at the priestess. “Might as well keep an eye on you.†“I was going to say likewise.†â€I’ll go,†Trogdor said. Rogar looked a bit skeptical. Lo’ma’ndra said, “You can scout?†“I was hiding well enough in Cloverfield,†Trogdor said. “Until we had to blow up that ballista,†Rogar reminded him. “In any case, it would help if we were a bit more spread out,†Lo’ma’ndra said. - A few minutes later, Rogar, Lo’ma’ndra and Trogdor had been escorted over the river on horse, with Tanaka agreeing to take their mounts back to camp. Rogar moved with great speed into the trees, and while Lo’ma’ndra was less quick, she was a good deal more careful and sure in the woodland. Trogdor trailed behind, looking at one of the hawks the Vestrians sent into the air. The Red Sword told him, “I know what you’re thinking.†“What?†“You know the ancient legends. You have heard that in older days Drakine warriors could fly on their own wings, like dragons did.†“Yes.†“And you seek that power for yourself.†“Yes.†“The legends are true. When this Sword was forged, winged Drakine were more common than now. These days they seem to be treated as throwbacks. But they do exist, and did exist.†“Could I get wings of my own?†â€I am not sure…†The Sword thought a second. “It is not normally possible for wings to develop if you were not born with them. But I know you have a strong heritage. It may be possible.†“How?†“In order to alter your body to become more like a dragon’s, you will have to be more like the dragons. You will have to eat as the dragons eat.†“What does that mean?†Trogdor asked. “You will have to cook your own food, and eat what you kill.†“All right…†The Sword told Trogdor, “This means you will need to eat what you kill with the flames of this blade.†“Orcs and such? Or just rabbits?†Trogdor asked. “Hmmm. It might be best if you started with animals. These Man-friends of yours may be squeamish to see you eat the roasted flesh of your enemies.†“Is it all right if I use seasoning?†The Sword took a long pause. “I don’t see why not.†- Lo’ma’ndra took lead. At the moment the foot tracks were very obvious, but that also meant that it was hard to distinguish any special marks or clues other than general direction, and she already knew the troops were going east. Still, she looked over the ground. In half a second, a shadow on the leaves alerted her, and Lo’ma’ndra readied her staff as a black-clad figure jumped out of the trees, brandishing a quarterstaff like hers. Lo’ma’ndra saw Lao’s face under his hood. The man barked a word in his native tongue, and proceeded to attack. Lo’ma’ndra parried as quickly as possible. Rogar walked into the clearing where the two fought, and sat down on a rock. Trogdor caught up to him. The Drakine asked Rogar, “Aren’t you going to help out?†Rogar said, “This is the same thing Lao used to do with me. I had to go through beatings several times to make sure that I was always ready to anticipate attack.†â€Hmm.†Lao moved in again. Lo’ma’ndra had no choice but to parry. He moved too fast for her to make a countermove. Finally the chance presented itself, and Lo’ma’ndra lashed out with her staff, and punched the air. But as she moved, Lo’ma’ndra was able to flank Lao, and she rapped his shoulder with a stiff blow. The monk took a step back. But afterward he pivoted on one foot and struck Lo’ma’ndra in the torso. She got the impression it could have been a harder blow if he’d wanted. Trogdor called out, “Can you just lose now? I need to burn something and eat it.†Not responding to this non sequitur, Lo’ma’ndra had to regain her balance and defend against Lao’s renewed attack. Stepping back, she parried once, then twice. Then, Lao used an unexpected move, swinging under Lo’ma’ndra’s parry and cutting her legs out from under her with his staff. Lo’ma’ndra got up quickly but then had to parry another attack. Realizing that she had to act forcefully, Lo’ma’ndra twirled her staff around with a double-headed attack, and Lao was only able to parry one of the two strikes. She hit him hard in the stomach. Rogar said, “That’s weird. He usually didn’t take this long to kick my ass.†“Maybe he likes her,†Trogdor said. Lao resumed his attack and Lo’ma’ndra parried again. She was about to make her counterstrike when the monk seemed to double his speed, rapping both her hands at once with his staff. Even before Lo’ma’ndra’s staff hit the ground, Lao used the other end of his weapon to leg-sweep her again. She looked up at him from the ground as Rogar and Trogdor approached. Lao extended a hand. She took it and he helped her up. Lao looked at the others. He said to Lo’ma’ndra in Trade, “Very good. You are not necessarily skilled, but lucky.†- It was still early in the morning, and Lo’ma’ndra continued to track. After a while, the group noticed that while the main body of troops continued east, Lo’ma’ndra saw a smaller group move off, finally tracking them to what seemed to be a cave entrance under rocks. She pointed this out to Rogar. Lo’ma’ndra said, “These are probably the Undead who accompanied the army. They wouldn’t be able to survive in the sunlight.†Rogar said, “Well, the Orcs don’t much like the light either.†“But they can live. They would probably be camped during the day and then move at night, like they did last night.†“Do you think we need reinforcements?†Rogar asked. Lo’ma’ndra said, “First we need to see the size of the force.†Moving out a little further into the woods, Lo’ma’ndra and Rogar saw a set of tents- in some cases composed of a large battle flag hung horizontally over posts- under a forest canopy. Most of the troops were hiding under the cover, or sleeping, but Rogar estimated about fifty Orcs. They came back to Lao and Trogdor. Rogar said, “I think we should go back.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “I think we need to check around to see that there aren’t any more hiding underground.†“To get those, we’ll need some help.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “Since when have you been concerned with that?†“What?†Lo’ma’ndra told Rogar, “Are you sure you can’t take on the entire troop by yourself?†â€Is this about the castle again?†“I told you before, you were to simply do your job and report the information and come back-“ “And that’s what we’re doing now,†Rogar said. “Plus, in that castle, if I hadn’t rescued that woman, the were-rats would have put her in the stewpot. Oh, and I rescued Valdergast.†“I thought he rescued you,†Lo’ma’ndra said. “It kind of happened at the same time.†“Let’s go back,†Trogdor said. “That’s what I said,†Rogar told him. “She doesn’t listen to me.†â€Well no. That’s because you keep talking to a sword,†Rogar told him. - Meanwhile Valdergast was having an audience with the Duke and a few of his men over luncheon. The fare was venison, pies and dried fruit, not elaborate by a Duke’s standards but certainly better than most men got while marching. For his part, Tanaka seemed uncomfortable in the setting and told Valdergast that he was just as happy to eat outside with the soldiers. Jabel asked Valdergast, “So… what other strange things have you been doing lately?†The mage said, “Well, we killed Skarill.†The Duke seemed impressed. “How?†he asked. “The battle ended when Rogar the Storm destroyed Skarill’s hall with his staff.†The Duke looked almost incredulous. “Which one is Rogar?†“The tall one with black hair.†â€That boy is Rogar the Storm??†Valdergast nodded. “That’s how we ended up here, we had to track Skarill’s forces. And I’m apparently cursed,†Valdergast said in between bites of meat. Jabel said, “You seem… calm about being a cursed man.†“There was this Dryad who didn’t seem happy about the way I was handling the trees.†Duke Jabel nodded. “I think you are the only man who could provoke such a reaction from a Dryad.†- Lo’ma’ndra and the others returned. Duke Jabel looked at Rogar and said, “You seem a bit young to be Rogar the Storm.†Rogar shrugged. Lo’ma’ndra told the Duke what she’d found. Valdergast said, “So are we attacking their camp?†Lo’ma’ndra said, “That would be my recommendation to His Grace. The main question is when.†Tanaka said, “We should do this now. I can’t see for shit at night anyway.†“Most Men can’t,†the Duke said. “Move ahead and make your attack. I’m going to send a hundred cavalry behind you. That’s going to include my knights and some of the Khirkovy who are here. Might as well have a guide to the area they just took.†â€So we are moving east, Your Grace?†Lo’ma’ndra asked. “Eventually,†Jabel said. “Remember, the river isn’t the boundary to Khirkovy. It’s the boundary to Toreth, and that was our land before they invaded.†Tanaka said, “And then we’ll have to find out if there’s even a Khirkovy left.†Valdergast said, “Why would you care? I thought they were your enemies.†Tanaka answered, “Who are we supposed to raid if the Khirkovy are dead?†- And so the six set out. Lo’ma’ndra noted that Rogar had sheathed his staff and taken out a shorter length of wood, about sword length, as a hand weapon. He also wore the basket-hilted blade that he called a ‘knife’ at his belt. “Who else should go ahead?†Lo’ma’ndra asked. Tanaka said, “I will stay with the mage and use arrows. I’m not much good at this sneaking. I would rather wait for the attack.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “Well, we’re sneaking AND attacking.†â€We’re raiding,†Rogar said. “Ah,†Tanaka said. Then Valdergast caught sight of something. He pointed down from the trail. Approaching the group were two Orcs with bows and spears. Valdergast waved to them. Having drawn their attention, Valdergast backed up and prepared a spell. Rogar had already drawn his quarterstaff. Running up, he scored a powerful hit on one Orc, drawing blood and causing the scout to collapse. Valdergast hit the second with Magefire, but the spell failed to drop the Orc. It did however cause him to scream at a high pitch and great volume. Rogar moved behind him with the staff and finished him off. “Damn,†Valdergast said. “They’ll be alerted now.†“Let’s keep going then,†Rogar said. In a few minutes they reached the camp and discovered that indeed, the forces against them had already put on gear and started assembling. Among the crowd of Orcs there seemed to be about four more of the Ogres. Trogdor muttered to the Red Sword, “If the blade is red-hot can that count for burning the enemy?†“Yes.†Valdergast yelled, “Trogdor! Have the internal monologue later!†The Fire Wizard completed his spell, and a great Fireball hit the middle of the camp. Tanaka fired one arrow at an Ogre; the shaft caught in the thing’s hide for no appreciable damage. Trogdor moved up and used the Red Sword to blast fire at the first rank of Orcs in range. Rogar switched to two weapons, the short staff in one hand, the blade in the other, smacking one Orc with the club and fending off two others to stab them both. Lao, moving in from the other side, likewise attacked three Orcs with staff blows, knocking them out. Lao then ran into the forest while the Orcs pursued. Valdergast threw another Fireball into the back of the camp, blowing away the makeshift tents and taking out possibly a third of the force. A big Ogre captain looked at Trogdor burning his Orcs, and roared out a challenge. The Ogre moved up, but then Trogdor struck with the Sword, its red-hot blade slicing neatly into the Ogre’s viscera. Getting ahead of himself, Trogdor almost took a bite out of the Ogre while he still lived. The massive foe jumped back and snarled something in his own language, shifting back to pound Trogdor with his club. Before the Ogre could move in, Trogdor grasped the Red Sword and chopped at the enemy’s limbs. The Sword went down- and hit the dirt. Trogdor had no time to correct his stance, as the enraged Ogre raised his club over Trogdor’s skull and readied the blow… -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishspy Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age And now the cliffhanger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted October 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age Oh, I haven't been feeling too good this week, so I cancelled the game. Sorry. JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HewhoisMatt Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age I got your msg, I just did not want to call and bother you. I hope you feel better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted October 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age I think it's more a really bad case of indigestion, because I was getting chest pains that only increased when I ate and decreased when I belched. JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted October 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age Session 18 10/21/04 [i had to play without Dustin this week because he was grounded over homework. However, Matt recruited one of his friends, Aaron, to play, and he was able to create a PC fairly easily with Hero Designer and start that night. This makes six so far. And Matt is saying he might be able to run ‘one-off’ adventures when I’ve got writers’ block. Of course, that raises a question as to what character *I* would play. Anyway, when last we left…] The club swung down and missed Trogdor’s head. Meanwhile, Tanaka continued to fire into combat, missing an Ogre. Lao and Rogar continued to press their melee attacks against the Orcs. Lao did spinning moves with his staff, taking down three Orcs, then moving back towards the group to knock out three more approaching the team. Rogar stunned one with his club, stabbed another then smacked two more with the baton. Tanaka fired, wounding an Orc. Lo’ma’ndra spoke another spell, stretching her hands out. Vines burst out in front of her, entangling no less than six Orcs who were approaching. Valdergast spoke his own spell, straining to complete the incantation properly. For the third time in twelve seconds, a Fireball hit the Orcish ranks. And sweating, Valdergast collapsed in his saddle. With that, one of the Ogres still remaining strode out of the carnage caused by the Fireball and threw what looked like an iron ball towards Valdergast and Tanaka. It hit earth and spewed foul black smoke, obscuring vision. The Ogre didn’t realize that Valdergast had effectively burned himself out already; Tanaka had to retreat around to find a spot where he could see again, cursing the decision to leave his horse with the Vestrians. The good thing about Valdergast throwing all those spells was that the only troops still able and willing to fight were the four Ogres in the camp. Rogar unsheathed his quarterstaff and moved up on one before he could advance on the team. He swung the staff and scored a solid blow, but the creature seemed almost unfazed. Meantime, Trogdor’s opponent finally managed to connect, clubbing the Drakine in the side and causing him to reel. Unfortunately for the Ogre, his follow-up blow didn’t catch Trogdor before that warrior moved out of the way. Lao had already engaged a third Ogre that had moved up from the camp. He was trading strike and parry combinations while Rogar evaded his opponent’s great sword attacks. This left the weathered and burned Ogre who had used the smoke pot. He advanced on Lo’ma’ndra, who invoked the Staff of Thorns. She attacked first and connected to the upper left thigh, staggering the monster as blood flowed between his legs. A second later, Tanaka, moving from the cover of the trees, fired on that Ogre, hitting with an arrow to the neck. The creature fell. Trogdor finally struck back, the Red Sword cutting through the fingers on the Ogre’s hand gripping the club. Lo’ma’ndra, realizing that Trogdor still needed help, ran up and used another Tangling Vines spell. The Ogre looked at the strands encasing it, sneered, and snapped them with a flex of its massive arms. It then gripped the club left-handed and cuffed Trogdor again. Rogar moved around his target and snap-moved with two quarterstaff attacks. The Ogre pitched and fell unconscious. Rogar looked towards Lao and saw his mentor perform a standing cartwheel kick to hit that Ogre’s head. No trouble there. While Tanaka searched the body of Lo’ma’ndra’s foe, finding another of those odd grenades, he also found a few scattered notes put together in what looked like a notebook. Meanwhile, Lo’ma’ndra advanced on Trogdor’s foe with her thorny staff, and scored a single hit to the torso. In and of itself, it was not much, but the Ogre was already bleeding sorely from its wounds. The Ogre sank to its knees and shouted, “DHIMMU BORGIIR!!†before expiring. Trogdor said, “Dimmu Borgir? What’s that mean?†Lo’ma’ndra said, “Ow, my twinkys?†Tanaka said, “’I shall never be a father’?†Valdergast looked up and said, “It means, ‘you are the one we have come to kill.’†But even his Diplomat’s Ring didn’t register that as an actual word or phrase. The Red Sword spoke in Trogdor’s head. It said, “That Ogre was an incompetent.†“How so?†Trogdor asked. “He could have very easily killed you. You were lucky to have lived.†Trogdor sheathed the blade. - Meanwhile: Airik crept over the hill as quietly as he could. Reflexively he touched the side of his face where the makeup was, to confirm that the scar was still concealed. On all fours, he looked over the horizon and found what the Vestrians were looking for. On the edge of the forest, commanding the main road to Burnam in Toreth, was a camp of at least two hundred Orcs, with what seemed to be a few Goblin servants and Ogre captains. There were no cavalry; the knights would be interested to know that. Airik went down the hill the way he came, and began moving into the forest as soon as it was safe. He’d always been very good at moving stealthily; this skill served him well when he decided to volunteer for the Duke’s army. Not really strong enough to be a soldier, he found himself working as a scout. This role also allowed him to act on his own, allowing him to minimize contact with others. After a while he retraced the path toward the Grimwash River and came upon a smoking patch of trees and land. It seemed that a fallback post of Orcs had been set upon, their standards used to create makeshift tents and shelters, mostly obliterated by the inexplicable firestorm that seemed to have hit with little trace. Airik stepped over several charred Orcish bodies and noted where one Ogre warrior had fallen in combat, his possessions looted. Then Airik also noted that there was a strange patch of plant growth and vines in which a squad of Orcs was caught up. Figuring that he might as well help the army, Airik took one of the knives he had concealed under his light armor and came behind an Orc. - Lo’ma’ndra heard one of the imprisoned Orcs cry out and saw that one of the Vestrian army scouts had shown up to cut the green skins’ throats. She didn’t say anything. Eventually he was done. Valdergast, having somewhat recovered from his exertions, came over to talk to the newcomer. Lo’ma’ndra followed. They noticed that he had a plain face and dirty-blond hair. His leather armor and gear were fairly similar to those of the skirmisher troops, but cut to a minimum; the scout seemed to have no weapons other than a couple of knives. The scout nodded and looked at them. “Saw some Orcs. Not a big fan,†he said. “Join the club,†Valdergast snorted. To the side, Rogar asked his mentor “Is it really appropriate that they’re killing the prisoners like this?†Lao held his tongue for a while, but then shook his head and said, “They are at war.†Lo’ma’ndra looked at the scout and said, “Where did you come from?†“The other direction,†he said. “I have to report to the Duke’s men where the rest of the Orcs are.†“You were advance scout? Funny they didn’t mention you…†the priestess mused. The stranger said, “Well, I stay away from camp usually. It stinks like horses…†At that, the cavalry that Duke Jabel said would be reinforcing came up to meet the group. In their ranks were two of the Khirkovians who had come over the river, along with the blond horseman who had approached the General and the Duke. One of the knights said, “Thunk! Report!†Airik responded. “Sire- past the forest, another half mile out. There’s another two hundred of them, all on foot. They’ve got the main road.†[NOTE: Yes, Airik is traveling under an alias. And I didn’t make up the name.] The knight asked, “What about the Undead?†Airik thought about the weird creatures he’d seen over the river during the night’s battle. One of the other soldiers told him about a corpse that grabbed a Khirkovian and drank his blood. ‘Thunk’ told the knight, “No, sire. I only saw the greenskins. Not the walking skeletons. Or anything like that.†The knight nodded. “With the footmen coming up, we’ll be able to take them down before nightfall.†Tanaka came up to Valdergast. “You might need this. I can’t use it.†The Gorthundan gave the Fire Wizard the Ogre’s notebook, slightly burned by the magical attacks. Valdergast thought it a bit amusing that the creature would be able to read in the first place. It might have been given the materials for safekeeping by superiors. The book had a few sheaves of notes in Khirkovian, apparently to scout a certain area near the river for magical materials. The actual book had a few remaining pages and Valdergast noted that the script was in the dead language of High Ilurian. The text was written in a semi-poetic form. The point that caught the mage’s attention was this verse: The Prince sent his Crowns To tempt the unwise and spread Chaos And so they did- The lands of the world Suffered under the Crowned Ones’ misrule. Soon they were overthrown, But while the hosts could die, The Crowns were immortal No blade or spell could nick them. Only the ancient race before the Drakine Had the power to guard them And the power not to desire them. Valdergast shrugged and put the notebook in his bag. “What do we do now?†Rogar asked Lo’ma’ndra. Tanaka said, “We can help the army.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “They won’t need us. And we still haven’t found out what happened to the rest of the Undead.†“I’m curious,†Thunk said. The priestess nodded. “Would you be interested in helping us?†The scout said, “Well, my job is done for now.†The knight who had talked to them looked at Lo’ma’ndra and asked, “You wish to take custody of the scout?†She thought that a peculiar question, but said “Yes.†Tanaka thought, “Thunk? Is that the opposite of ‘think’?†- Lo’ma’ndra led the others on foot back toward the cave entrance where she had traced the other soldiers. No one spoke much on the way over. Tanaka had pulled a round shield off his back- the others weren’t sure he’d ever used it in combat before. Lo’ma’ndra said, “Who has a torch? I believe I won’t be able to see in total darkness.†“I can see,†Trogdor said. “The rest of us can’t,†Rogar said. “I’ll have a torch ready.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “Good. Stay by me. I’ll be in advance. My powers will be most effective in destroying these things.†Tanaka said, “Don’t forget to eat the Undead, Trogdor.†Trogdor said, “Mrm. Too cold.†They went down with Lo’ma’ndra ahead, Rogar holding a torch behind her, the others in a body behind him, and the new scout and Tanaka in the rear. Soon they came to a plateau in the passage and saw five of the skeletons, equipped with Polearms and the black-and-red foot uniforms they had seen. Lo’ma’ndra immediately pronounced condemnation on them, causing the group to back off as a body. Rogar noticed that the Undead were retreating into what seemed to be an actual carved passage. “Get ‘em, Trogdor!†Tanaka yelled. To his surprise, the Drakine (out of boredom) did indeed charge the retreating creatures, using both swords to chop through one leg, then swinging the Red Sword around to cut through the exposed neckbone. The thing collapsed into a pile of bones and moved no more. “A bit less effective that time, I think,†Valdergast said. Rogar said, “Well, she’s not really a Cleric.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “Eh?†Rogar said, “How much time do you spend dealing with the Undead? You talk to trees.†“I am of the Druids.†“Again, not really a Cleric,†Rogar said. “We are in the same order,†Lo’ma’ndra told him. “Obviously you know nothing of the Blue Gods, as Good beings should.†Rogar joked, “Who said we were good beings?†Lo’ma’ndra said, “We are a special organization in the structure.†Tanaka scoffed, “Oh, you smell.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “No, YOU smell. But that’s not important right now.†Rogar said, “Druids are Clerics who just know the best herbs for smoking.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “A skill I have had to make much use of since meeting you.†Trogdor pointed to the pile of bones, shrugged and said, “That’s one.†Moving further in, the group noted that the corridor had been fairly recently carved out of a smaller passage within the rocks. Shortly it opened into tiled passages. Lo’ma’ndra said, “This was here long before the skeletons were sent to Vestria.†Rogar pointed to the ground and used the torch to show them something. A set of picks and excavation tools were laid in neat order on the ground. They looked to be of decent make and were recently used. “I’m not sure what to make of this,†the priestess said. They advanced further down the tile corridor and saw a side room with an open doorway. Rogar checked inside. “See this,†he said. He went in with the others following. The room was rectangular with three of the walls lined with carved out spaces in which bodies seemed to have been placed. Lo’ma’ndra looked at them closely. They seemed to have been dressed as monks, in any event not richly, and were corpses of advanced age. It was a strange sight, but she doubted that remains so withered were Undead. As it was, they did not seem to have been disturbed in ages. Tanaka looked about the catacombs. He turned his back toward Thunk the scout, and just beyond the firelight, he saw a young boy in black robes crawling on the side of the wall like a lizard, moving to strike the scout. The Gorthundan gave a short cry, drawing his horseman’s sword. He ran up and struck the creature on the wall, his curved blade chopping into the being’s forearm. It cut but did not draw blood. The boy looked up at Tanaka and hissed like a cat. And then he scurried along the wall and out the top of the doorway. “Demon Children from the grave…†Tanaka muttered. Valdergast finally looked in that direction, and noting the unnatural movement, immediately raised his Wizard’s Shield and Protection from Fire charm. “What was it?†Lo’ma’ndra asked Tanaka. He said, “A child. A monster.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “It is another one of these Undead. Everyone, gather round. I shall perform a blessing.†Valdergast looked at Thunk and said, “We need to be careful. I don’t think we have any enemies with us though.†Tanaka told Thunk, “She blessed the Giant.†“When are we going to get over that?†Lo’ma’ndra said. “Remember, *I* was the one who wanted to beat him and leave him in the hallway.†Valdergast told her. Tanaka said, “The Giant used some illusion magic to appear as a human, then he led us into a trap in his throne room.†“Ow,†Thunk said. Valdergast said, “Well, in that case we may as well kill every stranger we meet!†Tanaka said, “Exactly!†As Lo’ma’ndra began her ritual, Airik hoped these people didn’t consider him too much a “stranger.†- JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted October 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age Just to update: Neither Jason nor Don could show up, and Aaron (Airik's player) couldn't get a babysitter, and when I showed up at Matt's, he was a bit more interested in Knights of the Old Republic. So we watched that for a couple of hours. Hopefully we can play next week. I was a bit bummed because a) Dustin finally got a Friday off from school and on that one week, we didn't play; and it's Halloween weekend, and the group got sufficiently spooked by that last encounter that I decided to keep running in that vein... JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted November 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age If my guys are reading this: Matt, I need to know if you're hosting, and if Aaron is coming this week. Don & Jason, I need to know if you're available this week. JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugugly Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age If my guys are reading this: Matt, I need to know if you're hosting, and if Aaron is coming this week. Don & Jason, I need to know if you're available this week. JG I'll be available. Look forward to seeing you guys again. -Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted November 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age As it turned out, I didn't run AGAIN this week, cause I'd been invited to a buffet dinner that my relatives were holding for my 15-year old niece. I wanted to make sure Dustin could come too, although he seemed kinda ho-hum about the idea. In any case, during the afternoon, Dustin got caught committing an act of vandalism, WITH a big knife that cops saw him brandishing. So not only is he grounded, he's GROUNDED grounded. Double Secret Probation grounded. I'll have to see what this means for Trogdor.... JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted November 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age The loss of Psycho Dave was a blow to our gaming group, in the sense that the chances of us ever finding another bedwetting, racist, pyromaniac of his caliber were slim. -Ab3 As it turns out, Dustin was actually sent to jail, where he’s been all week. This weekend he’s supposed to go to court on the charges, and there’s a slim but distinct possibility that they may send him up to Elko to serve his sentence. Now THAT’s grounded. Even worse, Matt told me that Aaron was sick, and Jason, after a long day of moving his relatives’ stuff to a new home, decided he didn’t want to go out and do the game this week, so I had to drive out to BFE Southeast myself to pick up Don. This also meant I had 1 NPC in the group and 3 people who were effectively NPCs. The three guys I had with me agreed to ‘double up,’ with Gary taking Trogdor, Matt taking Airik/Thunk and Don taking Valdergast. And by the time I got all the crap straightened out, it was after 7:30 pm, and we only got to play until about 10 before Matt got tired and had to kick us out. But we did get to run one combat.... --- 11/11/04 Session 19 The priestess gave a short service in praise of the Blue Gods, and asked their blessing in the group’s endeavor. Airik felt a bit relieved afterwards. It was certainly an oppressive surrounding. Rogar caught Lao searching the ground. Lao looked up at him and said, “Whatever this creature was that Tanaka saw, it’s been here a while.†Rogar said nothing. Lao explained: “I don’t even see any rats.†Trogdor muttered to Lo’ma’ndra, “We should not be here.†Lo’ma’ndra did not respond to him. Instead she looked out the doorway where the ‘demon child’ had scurried away. He had gone further into the dungeon, down the only passage the group could take. Lo’ma’ndra beckoned the others to follow. Trogdor came in line behind her, Tanaka and “Thunk†behind, Valdergast between them and Lao with Rogar in the rear with his torch. The passage took a corner left and after some distance opened into a 30 by 30 foot square room with other passages opening in the opposite and side walls. But the main thing Lo’ma’ndra noticed was that a large portion of the floor had been ripped apart- and from the way the tile was displaced, the force that had opened the ground had apparently come from below. The group went in the chamber to look around. Tanaka continued to look on the walls and ceiling. He turned back and saw the weird child hanging from the ceiling with some kind of chamber pot, directly over Rogar. Rogar saw Tanaka and took a look up just as the child poured water over his torch. And all was in blackness. Rogar waited to find out what would happen next. As he expected, the child dropped to the ground in an attempt to attack him. He heard Lao cry out as the elder warrior used a Legsweep move to bring the child prone. Rogar tried to concentrate on what the creature was doing. He lashed out with a kick to where he thought the boy would be but missed even with the target on the ground. The undead then rose up and stabbed out with his naked fingers, touching Rogar and creating a horrible biting chill in him. Trogdor was the only one who could see naturally. Lo’ma’ndra saw Trogdor’s red-hot sword waving about, but the blade cast little light beyond itself. But Trogdor turned to his right and saw a fanged human in plate armor attempting to sneak up on Lo’ma’ndra, even as the corridor directly ahead of her was occupied by four armed skeletons. Trogdor growled and advanced on the armored warrior, cutting through him with the Red Sword and knocking him to the ground. At the edge of her perception, Lo’ma’ndra caught one of the skeletons moving against her. She set up her typical spells and attacked with the Staff of Thorns, but missed. Meanwhile, Valdergast activated his Wizard’s Shield, but found that it too did not cast enough light to see by. But almost at the same time, he saw the motion of the Red Sword as Trogdor cut down his opponent. The foe’s breastplate was red-hot at the point where Trogdor cut across it. Targeting that object, Valdergast cast Kheldred’s Flammifer, and found that the creature’s unnaturally preserved flesh made it quite combustible, and thus a fine source of fire and light. Whether the bloodsucker was still ‘alive’, it didn’t matter much anymore. At this point, Tanaka was able to see that the corridor to the right- through which the vampire had apparently come- was being occupied by a column of animate corpses- zombies. Thunk, hiding behind Tanaka, readied one of his throwing knives and threw it straight, hitting the zombie in the lead and making a proper ‘thunk’ sound through the thing’s dry meat. The thing didn’t seem to notice that it was supposed to be hurt. Tanaka asked Thunk, “Do you want to go get that back?†The scout shook his head. Tanaka shrugged and raised his sword and shield, charging into the ranks of the zombies, hitting one of the ‘fresh’ ones for a flesh wound that, again, didn’t seem to register. Finally able to see, Rogar moved back and made a straight kick, hitting the undead child and knocking him prone again. Lao followed up, scoring a punch to the boy’s solar plexus. He did not move. Rogar asked, “Is he dead now?†Lao said, “It is hard to tell if he does not breathe. I will watch him.†Rogar looked towards the others. Trogdor motioned for Lo’ma’ndra to step back. He used the power of the Sword and blasted the corridor with flame, roasting the bones of the skeletons, which yet continued to advance. Lo’ma’ndra, now set for them, met them at the mouth of the corridor, making a double-attack with the staff, managing to smash one skeleton for good. Its partner raised a broad sword and hit Lo’ma’ndra, the blow bouncing off her Shield of Faith. Some of the undead soldiers took that opportunity to move past Lo’ma’ndra and toward Trogdor, advancing into the chamber. Rogar ran up to Trogdor’s opponent, using a staff strike to break the undead’s spine down. Meanwhile, Valdergast counted the number of zombies in the other corridor- he estimated nine, including Tanaka’s opponent- and cast the Flammifer on all of them. The corpses began to smolder as they continued on, oblivious. Thunk threw a second dagger into his target. It did no damage to the zombie’s frame. Tanaka used his sword to cut his opponent, but the strike did not stop the thing’s motion. Two zombies pressed an attack on Tanaka, but he managed to fend them off. Trogdor and Lo’ma’ndra used their melee weapons to break apart the last two skeletons in their corridor. The zombies were proving harder to deal with. Valdergast cast the Flammifer on them again, combining the effect. Thunk threw yet a third dagger into his target, resulting in no effect as the zombie continued to swing a sword at Tanaka. The scout backed into a wall and cowered. Rogar tried a similar tactic on a different zombie, throwing three of his straight blades into its chest, but these smaller blades were just as ineffectual as Thunk’s expertly targeted shots. The zombies were now in the chamber. Frustrated with this, Tanaka stuck his sword point into the tile, took his round shield in both hands, and bashed his zombie target over the head. He didn’t seem to feel that, either. At that point, Lo’ma’ndra brandished her holy symbol at the front rank and yelled “Begone, Abomination!!†One of the zombies collapsed into dust. Thunk’s three knives hit the ground. Realizing that the combustion would soon smoke up the corridor, Valdergast used Quench Fire on his zombie targets. Trogdor moved up and did a sweeping attack on two zombies, cutting both down. Rogar used a staff attack to pummel another, Lao moved up and did a Legsweep on two targets. They slowly got up and tried to hit Lao, failing miserably. Rogar attacked his target again, killing it for good, Trogdor killed another with the Red Sword, and Lo’ma’ndra made a turning attempt on another zombie. Tanaka saw that the corpse’s face finally changed expression, registering fear at Lo’ma’ndra’s words. Tanaka wound up his fist and performed a haymaker strike on one of the remaining zombies, connecting to the jaw and breaking the thing’s neck. It went down quickly. Rogar moved towards the two zombies on Lao, and used his staff attack to connect with both, breaking them like dolls. Meanwhile, the last one slowly moved to run away as it recoiled from Lo’ma’ndra’s holy power. Tanaka let the thing retreat. Killing zombies was just too tedious. --- JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Ciaramella Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age You all are going to love the next game report... heh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishspy Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age One of these days, if you have time, I'd like to see the stats for some of the chararacters, NPCs, and critters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted November 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age You all are going to love the next game report... heh! Yes. But after this is Thanksgiving, so no game for 2 weeks. JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Ciaramella Posted November 20, 2004 Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age One of these days' date=' if you have time, I'd like to see the stats for some of the chararacters, NPCs, and critters. [/quote'] I'll post my character soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HewhoisMatt Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age We seem to be missing a post here. OH GREAT GM PLEASE BLESS US WITH YOUR TALES OF HEROIC LORE!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted November 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age OK... 11/18/04 Session Twenty After a minute or so of rest by the warm fire that used to be a vampire, the group started looking about. Valdergast looked at the undead boy that Lao and Rogar were guarding and noticed that the boy was trying to speak. Lo’ma’ndra noticed that Valdergast actually seemed to understand him. She asked, “What is he saying?†The mage shrugged, going, “He says he hates adults, and adults were the ones who put him in here.†After a second, Lo’ma’ndra remembered she had a translation spell too. She cast the effect, and knelt down to talk with the boy, even as Lao continued to gaze warily over him. The boy looked at Lo’ma’ndra and said, “They want to kill me.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “They are foolish, but controllable.†“We just wanted to be left alone,†the boy said. “It was adults that stuck us here. One of those stupid succession wars. Our father lost, and after they killed him, the usurpers killed us too, buried us here in this catacomb under an old monastery ground.†“Why did you attack us?†the priestess asked him. “The men who came in are like us. Dead. They told us they’d gotten rid of all the day-walkers and claimed the land for a new lord. And they were going to protect us if we helped them get this magic item that’s supposed to be here.†“Us?†Lo’ma’ndra said. “You say us, who’s with you?†The boy did not respond. She said, “I am Lo’ma’ndra. What is your name?†The boy paused before answering. “Karon,†he said. “Karon, these beings who say they come here to protect you are lying. They are using you.†“No,†Karon said, “they are using you.†Lo’ma’ndra was slightly taken aback. “They were crowding you,†Karon said, indicating the leftward passage, “in order to push you toward the chapel that the monks had built. The item they seek is in there.†“What item are you talking about?†“I don’t know,†the boy said. “Our kind cannot go in there. It seems to burn us. But the leader says he knows what’s in there. How he would know, I cannot say.†“Your family is with the leader, isn’t he?†Lo’ma’ndra asked. The boy nodded. “Chena,†he said. “Your sister?†“Yes.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “Karon, can you help me find that chapel and bring the item out?†He shook his head. “I told you, I can’t go in. And why would you want to bring it out?†“Because we came to destroy the dark forces that have seized this land. And we need to find out what their mission was here, and why they want the item.†While this was going on, Thunk was pilfering Silvers from the various ruined bodies, and Tanaka searched over the troops, picking out a tough mace to use in case he had to batter more undead. At length, Lo’ma’ndra rose up. Thunk asked, “Can you bargain with him for some of the gold that’s in this place?†Lo’ma’ndra said, “I already made a deal, and there should be treasure out of it.†She nodded, and Karon got up, a bit nervously, still wincing from his injuries. “What did you say?†Tanaka asked. The priestess said, “He told me that he would help us gain the treasure that is supposed to be down below in the monks’ chapel.†Tanaka said, “What’s the chance of it lying to you? Not that Evil Undead would do that sort of thing.†“I think I can trust him. At heart, he is just a boy.†“He’s still a monster,†Tanaka told her. The others said nothing. “Do not move against him,†Lo’ma’ndra said, moving to protect the boy. “He is necessary to the success of this mission. And I have decided to protect him.†Thunk said, “Are you going to beat us up?†“I could do a better job of it than some of you,†Lo’ma’ndra responded. “Can we get some official reassurance that he won’t attack again?†Thunk asked her. She said, “Do you want a notarized affidavit? Look, he is not in position to attack anybody. And I’ll have Trogdor help Lao guard him.†The Thona warrior nodded to her. “As far as he is concerned, he is protecting his home,†Lo’ma’ndra said, getting ready to explore the west passage. Tanaka shrugged uneasily. Valdergast just smirked. The group moved in double file down the corridor as the passage turned into descending stairs. Rogar got out a torch and had Valdergast hold it while he checked for traps. As he figured, there were a few pressure plate systems set up, but the complex was so old that the mechanisms had never been maintained. The group proceeded forward. Soon the stair landed at a thirty-foot long room that apparently entered into a larger chamber. “This is as far as I dare go,†Karon told Lo’ma’ndra. She asked the boy, “You are sure this is a holy temple?†“Based on what I have seen of the layout of this place, yes. I don’t know why else this room causes me to burn, but the troops will not enter it either.†Lo’ma’ndra looked at Lao and said, “Teacher, I would ask a favor. Continue to watch over this boy until we’ve come out.†â€Of course,†Lao said. She turned to Trogdor. “Trogdor, I need you to help Lao. Make sure the boy doesn’t make a run for it.†“Mhmhm.†Lo’ma’ndra and Rogar took torches and walked into the area, an eighty wide by one hundred twenty-foot long area that seemed to retain a certain spiritual peace despite the violence that had obviously taken place inside. Some of the pews had been wrecked, and Lo’ma’ndra could see that the wall adjacent to them had a gaping- and neatly spherical- hole dominating the center. Rogar looked toward the altar and saw a couple of skeletal figures in ruined clothes, apparently locked in their final moments of battle, leaning against the far wall. Most of the group spread out to examine the chapel area. For his part, Valdergast was at pains to place himself directly in the middle of the chamber and not touch anything. Lo’ma’ndra looked at the hole, and the wall, noticing that the chapel walls otherwise retained fine mosaic tile depicting the creation stories of the Blue Gods. The hole was over a yard wide, and the edges of the hole were rather clean, and there was little in the tunnel to indicate what had created it, except to indicate that the entity could cut clear through stone. As she approached the altar, she noticed that one of the side alcoves still had a usable fountain of water. She touched the water’s surface with her hand. It was cold, and seemed pure. She took a flask placed at the fountain and began to fill it up. Rogar, Thunk and Tanaka looked around the altar grounds. They looked over the two bodies against the wall. These were thin people, one in white robes and one in ruined chainmail. The most noticeable thing was that the chain-armored warrior had his opponent’s Longsword sticking through his breastbone, and the sword appeared to be in much better condition than anything else the bodies were carrying. Lying on the floor by the altar was a bright, silvery lantern on a chain. The lantern had four shutters (one in each cardinal direction) and appeared to be of very elegant make. Thunk said, “Hey, look at this.†Lo’ma’ndra came over and checked the lantern for herself. “What is it?†Tanaka asked. “This may be a holy item,†Lo’ma’ndra said, “but I don’t know why the Undead would want such removed from here. Keep looking around.†Rogar looked on the floor and found a featureless golden orb, a rather captivating object, although he wasn’t sure if such a simple object was intended to be a unit of gold or something else. He put it in his pocket temporarily. Next he checked the Longsword in the warrior’s ribcage. He pulled and it came out smoothly. Rogar looked over the sword, putting it through some practice maneuvers. It was a fine, thin weapon, one obviously made for a tall person like himself. He looked at the blade and saw that it was inscribed with some writing in verse that (from his limited experience) looked Elven. He asked Lo’ma’ndra, “What’s this mean?†Lo’ma’ndra looked at the inscription and told him, “It means ‘No Evil Can Escape the Sight of the Righteous.’ It obviously won’t work for you.†“It ought to work as well as anything else.†â€I think that it was forged for use by one of our clerics, based on the religious scripture,†Lo’ma’ndra said. Not that she took the sword; she usually didn’t use blades, and this one was a bit large for her height. Lo’ma’ndra looked over the two bodies and something caught her eye. The chain-armored warrior was grasping a triangular pendant in its withered fist. Carefully Lo’ma’ndra pulled it free. She looked at the one side, then the other. The other face of the triangular talisman seemed to be covered in a strange tangle of spirals and worm-like tentacles. As she looked, it seemed to Lo’ma’ndra that the worms were actually moving, sliding over each other, glistening, in a pattern so vivid, she could actually feel them brushing slime over her bare skin--- Quickly, Lo’ma’ndra pulled her gaze away and put the pendant in one of her belt pouches. Then she buried that under her belt. Rogar looked and said, “What?†Lo’ma’ndra said, “I think we have what we came here for. Have Valdergast check that other item.†Rogar went up to Valdergast- who was still in the middle of the chapel- and showed him the orb. “What do you think this is?†“I think it’s a Wizard’s Focus,†the mage responded. “What’s that?†Valdergast told Rogar, “It means only I could use it. It basically acts as a power source so that a mage doesn’t need to deplete his own energy casting spells. But even if I used it, it’d still take time for me to attune it to myself.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “All right then. You take that orb, Rogar can take the sword, and I think I should use the lantern. But Valdergast, I need you to check this.†She took the purse and got the pendant out, making sure not to look at it directly. “Check what?†the mage asked. “Be careful,†Lo’ma’ndra said. She held the pendant by its chain, raising it to where Valdergast could see. He did not take it, but stared at the detail of the piece, noting how the spirals seemed to move on, into infinity, whirling over each other and back around, around again… “Valdergast?†Rogar looked at the mage. Lo’ma’ndra called again: “Valdergast?†Then she pulled the pendant away and rapidly stuffed it back in her purse. The mage snapped back to normal. And from somewhere below, the earth rumbled. Lo’ma’ndra said, “I think it’s time to leave.†Valdergast said, “Why, don’t you think you can kill that thing?†Tanaka said, “Great, you woke up their Dark God.†“I did no such thing.†“You activated that pendant,†Tanaka said. “I never touched it!†Valdergast said. They went into the entrance chamber to meet Lao, Trogdor and Karon. “You found what you looked for,†Lao remarked to Lo’ma’ndra. “Yes. And we need to move,†she said. Karon told her, “Remember what I told you. That leader is going to be waiting for you up front.†“That’s hardly a surprise,†Valdergast remarked. “Maybe we can get out quickly enough before they know we’re out,†Thunk said. The party retraced its steps from the square chamber, and took the corner around. But they saw it was too late for a quick escape. Standing in the passage leading to the catacombs was a large group of sword-armed skeletons, perhaps twenty in all, led by two other figures. The first stood well over six feet, wearing a suit of fine plate armor much like those worn by the vampires the group had seen, but considerably more elaborate and sinister looking in its flanges and designs. The armored one also wore a wine-purple cloak that seemed to draw in the dim light of the group’s torches. The second figure, to his side, was a short figure, appearing to be an eleven-year old girl, wearing dark robes and gold jewelry similar to Karon’s. Lo’ma’ndra’s suspicion was confirmed when she read the boy’s face. He was looking at his sister, and she was with the enemy. “Chena!†he shouted. “I am all right!†she yelled back. Lo’ma’ndra said, “Trogdor, take Karon to the back.†Not needing any encouragement in that regard, both Valdergast and Thunk stepped back a ways. The armored one spoke through the visor of his helm. He said, “You will deliver the pendant to us.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.†Valdergast grimaced. The armored one said: “You LIE.†Lo’ma’ndra told him, “The only magic in this ruin was in the chapel area, and the only item I found belongs to the Blue Gods.†She touched the lantern, and the armored man seemed to wince. Nevertheless, he laughed, a deep chuckle from within the armor. “Your knowledge of the Blue Gods is based on ignorance,†he said. “And you no longer rule here.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “You do not rule here either. The troops have cleared your armies from the surface-“ â€Enough of this,†the armored one muttered. Suddenly he recited a ritual verse, and then waved his hand. Before even Rogar could react, a wave of force convulsed the ground underneath the adventurers, shaking them badly. The first one to react was Tanaka, running up with his mace and shield to attack the lord, solidly connecting with the foe’s breastplate to score little apparent effect. Both Thunk and Lo’ma’ndra were still reeling from the magical shockwave. Trogdor saw that Karon was likewise stunned. Nodding to Lao, he ran up, the Sword flashing red in his hands. He swung and cut through the armor, causing the lord’s flesh to burn, yet he was not staggered. Suddenly the girl jumped toward Trogdor, but failed to hit. Valdergast cast a ball of Magefire toward the black-armored figure, hitting him solidly. The arcane flame took and continued to burn as the leader called his first rank of skeletons to engage Trogdor and Tanaka. At this point, Rogar made his move, leaping forward with his staff and connecting with a body blow to the leader. Attempting to dodge the warlord’s grasp, Rogar moved about, jumping to get an advantage over the foe. And then he caught sight of the creature’s eyes through the slits of his armored visor. Eyes blue and cold, they pierced into Rogar’s consciousness, blocking all thought. Rogar became aware of an unspoken imperative, to grab the strange pendant from Lo’ma’ndra. He knew where Lo’ma’ndra had it, and he knew that the stranger- the master- knew just what it was he was looking for. Inwardly, a part of Rogar rebelled. And then Rogar came back to himself. He looked at the leader and said, “Hey! Leggo my Ego!!†Thunk threw a knife toward the armored lord, barely missing Rogar as it went into the wall. Tanaka charged forward with his mace to hit the leader, scoring no damage against his enchanted plate armor. From the sides of the corridor, the rumbling from the chapel returned, louder than before. Lo’ma’ndra got up and saw that Trogdor was going to lash out in counterattack. Lo’ma’ndra called out, “Don’t kill the girl!†Trogdor turned toward the girl. She was wide-eyed, with chestnut hair, and might have been considered pretty in life. They made eye contact for a second. With a gesture of his chin, Trogdor bid her to back away. She did. Trogdor then sidestepped the figures in melee range and pointed the Red Sword toward the skeleton warriors in reserve, blocking the corridor beyond. A cone of flame shot forth. The Undead caught ablaze. At that second, the wall to the right of the heroes suddenly gave in, and from beyond oozed a gigantic worm, perhaps two yards wide, featureless except for its lamprey-like mouth and purplish-grey flesh. The thing’s presence was most forcefully announced by its stench, an unwholesome combination of earth, rotten meat, and the pungent acids glistening on its flesh, acids that had allowed it to eat through the wall and the stone behind. Resisting the compulsion to retch, Lo’ma’ndra got herself up and decided to test the properties of her new silver lantern. She opened the top and started the light. The Undead master tried pronouncing another spell against Rogar, but the rogue managed to evade the effect. All the while the Magefire continued, but seemingly to little effect. Tanaka decided a new tactic was in order. He grabbed the armored warrior and pulled him around to face the carrion worm. But the lord was far stronger, and broke the hold- only to find himself next to the abomination. The worm lashed out at the new target, snapping out with its maw, its acids burning through the armor into the lord’s skin. He howled even as Lo’ma’ndra made her next move, casting her Shield of Faith and moving forward with the lantern before her, casting a pure white light in all directions to at least ten feet. The armored foe seemed to stagger, finally, but was still on two feet. Trogdor fired another blast at the skeletons, this time causing them to collapse completely. Two of the ones the lord had called up were still in range of him; the Drakine had to spend another few seconds cutting them down. Tanaka drew his yahgahn sword against the lord, but missed. Rogar came back around to hit again with the staff. Thunk finally hit with his throwing knives, although they didn’t penetrate the lord’s suit of armor. Finally the villain, in frustration, grabbed Tanaka with one hand and threw him hard against the wall. Using his superior speed, the lord retreated past Trogdor and cast his shockwave spell again, knocking most of the group back again. However, this left him exposed to Trogdor’s attack. The Drakine came to flank the armored lord, cutting up and into the midsection with the Red Sword. The leader finally fell. Trogdor said, “Sorry, I got distracted.†Tanaka said, “Can you just kill that thing for good, please?†“Good,†Trogdor said, plunging the Sword into the leader’s chest. Suddenly the body inside the armor collapsed into an old pile of bones, that quickly combusted. Lo’ma’ndra stared at the worm confronting the group. It did not move. It was as if it was waiting for her to do something. She remembered the talisman in her pouch, and concentrated. With no apparent cause, the worm retreated itself through the tunnel from whence it came. “Now that was odd,†Thunk said. “Agreed,†Valdergast said. “We do need to go.†Thunk said, “I think Tanaka and I should check this leader to see if he had any goods on him. Besides that armor, which we can’t use anymore anyway.†Chena had come running up to Karon and then stopped, looking up at Lao. The Thona monk backed off slightly and allowed the two children to hug. Lo’ma’ndra nodded to Lao and said, “Teacher, please go with the others. Trogdor and I will be with you soon.†The elder looked at her and gave a nod, leaving silently. Then she went up to Trogdor and whispered something to him. Afterward the two of them went to Chena and Karon and Lo’ma’ndra looked at the two children. She asked, “Karon, are you alright?†The boy said, “I will heal, eventually.†“I want to thank you both for helping me to get the item and for defeating the dark lord and his forces.†“It was not my choice to help… but yes.†Lo’ma’ndra said to them, “But you did help us in this fight against evil. And that will commend you before the Blue Gods.†The girl looked up at her nervously. Karon asked: “How?†“I will save you,†Lo’ma’ndra said. She looked up to Trogdor, who quickly grabbed the boy in a bear hug. Lo’ma’ndra held her holy symbol before Chena and spoke to invoke the power of the Blue Gods. The girl cried out and collapsed into ash. As the others wearily trudged outdoors through the cave passage, they heard Karon shriek furiously and struggle against Trogdor. Lo’ma’ndra spoke out again and the screaming abruptly stopped. Valdergast shook his head, going, “Man, and she says I’M cold-blooded.†---- Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!!! 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HewhoisMatt Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age Great post Jeff! Well guys I am not working this thursday so we can start as early as ya'll can show up. And don't forget about your hero ideas for the JLA game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Ciaramella Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age Yeah, no forgetting of the character ideas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted December 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age Great post Jeff! Well guys I am not working this thursday so we can start as early as ya'll can show up. And don't forget about your hero ideas for the JLA game. Is this the week that you wanted to GM? JG PS: Gary, great new av. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HewhoisMatt Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age I had not planned on this week. I would have needed to known sooner. I can be ready for next week. I have to say I am drawing a blank for a good hero for the JLA game but I am still trying. Hey Pug give me a call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gillen Posted December 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2004 Re: Campaign: The Turakian Age 11/2/04 Session 21 I had expected Matt to run the characters this week (with me playing Trogdor) but he said he wasn’t ready and would do it next week. After a few weeks, Gary is supposed to run a Champions/Justice League game. So we didn’t do too much, but I did have to confirm where the party was going after last week’s adventure: “We have a choice of two directions,†Lo’ma’ndra told the others. “Two?†Tanaka asked. Lo’ma’ndra said “Either to go further into Khirkovy and find out exactly what happened, and if the whole nation has been seized by monsters, or to return that Worm talisman to our superiors in Ytheis.†“Our superiors?†Lo’ma’ndra told Tanaka, “Yes. Our charter as an adventuring company was set up by one of the Alarchs of the High Church.†Valdergast said, “But why do we need to turn this thing in? Seems to me it was rather useful.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “Yes- I was able to control that carrion worm that showed up in the dungeon. But it was close. And simply gazing at the pendant is corrupting. I was able to avoid the effects, but Valdergast here was practically hypnotized by it.†Valdergast looked slightly miffed. “And in any event, the Dark one sent his forces to this locale specifically to look for it. It occurs to me that if these beings wanted the item so much, it would do much damage in their hands, and we should make sure they can’t have it,†Lo’ma’ndra concluded. “It occurs to me that we end up tending a lot of these Evil artifacts,†Rogar said. Valdergast said, “On my map, we’d have to go due south over the mountains straight through the Kingdom of Umbr. It’s about 700 miles.†Tanaka said, “Well, I know I’m not going to get a warm reception in Khirkovy. My people have something of a reputation.†“Ytheis is not a fun place to visit. All those stuffy Church people…†Rogar said, looking at Lo’ma’ndra. Valdergast said, “We can also go east to Vabanek, overthrow the Troll Kingdom.†The others looked at him strangely. The mage said, “No, just saying there ought to be a good deal of treasure and enchanted items in that area.†Tanaka said, “And we’d have to go through every mother’s Troll to get it. I do not see a lot of profit in that option.†Rogar told Tanaka, “Well, there is one reason to go to Ytheis. Stuffy Church people pay through the nose for Evil artifacts.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “Yes. Well, then it is best we set out for Ytheis.†â€It’s not up to a vote?†Valdergast asked. Tanaka said, “Really, now. I don’t think that too many of us want to go east when we can get paid by these Church people of yours.†“What about Trogdor?†the mage asked. Tanaka said, “Trogdor is barely here. He’s basically Lo’ma’ndra’s bodyguard in any case.†Trogdor muttered, “Rmrh.†Lo’ma’ndra said, “It’s decided.†Tanaka thought to himself, ‘And if we hadn’t wanted to go to Ytheis, the priestess would probably just keep nagging us until we did.’ JG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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