September 18-24 by Kingdom Reckoning.
It's a busy week for the party and everyone gets a lot done. You find yourself slipping into a routine very quickly and it's nice to have some time to enjoy labor for the sake of labor. It's also nice to have a bit of time away from the harrowing life of an adventurer.
Kring sees a man he thinks was a former gladiator's trainer but he fades into the crowd before Kring can get a better look. Kring is sure the man didn't recognize him though.
Shade hears rumors of one of the town magistrates, a Lord Algais, is dying of an incurable infection. His wife is advertising a handsome reward for the doctor that cures the man.
Everyone else has an easy week.
What would you like to do?
After a week constructing a canoe, Thor managed to sell it to a young man who wanted to impress his belle. Thor didn't bother telling the poor boy that a canoe was not as stable as a flat-bottom boat since he had his heart set on it. As he and Alis were returning to camp, a vendor in the market caught Thor's eye.
ReplyDeleteHe turned to see that the man had exotic beasts of all description. But there was one that stood out to him, a small spotted cat. The thing look utterly frightened in its cage, its eyes darting back and forth. But Thor could see there was more behind those eyes. He recognized the look of a predator, and he knew that no predator deserved to be caged.
"How much for this one?" Thor asked the merchant.
"The leopard cub?" The man replied, considering. "Seventy-five gold pieces."
"Seventy-five?" Thorvald asked incredulously. "I'll give you forty for him."
"Sixty," the merchant shot back.
"He hasn't really started eating much yet, had he?" Thor asked, attempting a different tack. "I imagine his food costs are going to double, and then double again and then double again. It would be a shame if I walked away and left you to foot the bill yourself. I don't imagine there are too many people who wish to purchase an animal that will grow into a savage predator." Having said his piece, Thor held his tongue and let the merchant stew with the knowledge.
"I can go as low as fifty gold pieces," the merchant said after a short time.
"Then we have a deal," Thor answered removing the gold pieces and dropping them on the merchant's counter. Or reached up and collected his new friend and turned back to Alis. "Time to head back to camp, Alis," and with that, Thor spun and hauled his leopard toward the city gates, with Alis following in tow.
Spending days transcribing spells from Rethas' spell book and nights researching the mystical device and its history, Shade feels as though he is ready to return to the camp to share his news with his friends. Walking through the streets he buys a hunk of meat on a spit that has been roasted and covered with a thick brown sauce. Eating his snack while he walks he is amazed by the sights and smells of the city once more, the ingenuity of its people and the rich flourishing cultures bespeak of a time of wealth and plenty in the kingdom. Not all is so rosy though, as he passes an alley he sees two thieves beating a shopkeeper and robbing him of his belongings, casting a spell to throw his voice Shade believes he can be of help. Creating the false sounds of guards yelling in the streets, the two thieves drop their quarry and scale a wall, disappearing from sight. Smiling smugly to himself he pulls his hat lower and bows his head once more, trying to pass unseen without drawing attention to himself.
ReplyDeleteThere was a time when he had openly cast spells believing his magic would keep him safe from harm but it had been an arrogant belief. Thinking back made him smile, there was even a time he ensnared a barbarian with his spells, calming the oaf from a frothing rage. The fiery redhead had even become a companion once upon a time, before their ship had been lost at sea, and all of his companions with it.
Realizing he was near the gates, he dropped the commoners outfit he had placed over his robes, stashing it into his bags. He cast another spell in the dark of the alley, disguising his features as that of another man; a sallow skinned old man, with liver spots covering his bald pate. Approaching the gates he leaned heavily on his new staff he had purchased, looking little more than an old mans walking stick. His ring he covered in the folds of the robe, grasping cloth over the entirety of his hand. The guards waved the man through, and a pudgy noble rode by kicking mud from the horses hooves at him. His mud splattered robes and his new visage completed the look of a man with little to offer the world, making him an unlikely target of the local thieves guild. After walking for some time, the staggering gait of an older man shuffling along actually became easier. By the time he reached the camp his hood was back up covering his features once more. As he approached the camp he had to be careful to not get himself ensnared in several traps, set for small animals and game. Nodding he appreciated the fact that the dwarf was keeping his skills sharp and even marveled at some of the catches he saw ensnared. Stopping near a particularly plump looking hare hanging on a bit of twine from a branch, he thought he might save the dwarf some effort and bring the catch back for him. Taking a step nearer to the struggling rabbit he missed the secondary trap and soon found himself swept off his feet by a swinging branch. Tumbling down a small rise all elbows and knees flailing amidst his flying robes, Shade came to rest against an unflinching log set at an angle to complete the trap. Flipping his robes out of his face and grabbing for his staff he felt the searing pain through his shoulder, yes that dwarf had been busy. After standing and taking a few unsteady steps he heard the deep billowing laughter of a dwarf from deeper in the thicket. Marching grumpily into camp he saw Draymun and Dolgi pointing and laughing at his folly. Surveying the camp he noticed that several suits of armor had been set up to simulate small humanoids and he saw a young man striking at them while a familiar face dictated orders to dodge left or strafe right, then pulling rope that he had tied to the straw soldiers arms to simulate the swing of a wooden sword or the bash of a shield. Shade dropped his staff, it was not possible that anyone could have been spared from the wreck... No it couldn't be possible... Straining to speak on a trembling voice he managed to whisper, "Thorvald?"
Hearing his name, Thorvald looked up from his training session with Alis to see a familiar face hiding beneath a hood.
ReplyDelete"Shade?" Thor said in disbelief. "By Thunor's grace what winds have carried you to these shores?" Stepping away from his training session, Thor rushed over to the wayward wizard and picked him up in a massive bear hug.
"It is good to see you my friend," Thor said, releasing him. "Come let me introduce you to the others, they are stalwart heroes with a ferocity that rivals Thunor himself."
"I don't under... stand!" Shade sputters in between labored breaths from under the crushing embrace of his lost friend. After being set down he throws back his hood to reveal a face scarred and torn, but underneath recognizable as the man Thorvald had known. "When the lightning struck the mast I tried to help put out the fire, the fire spread so quick, the rigging cut loose and fell on top of me. Aflame as it was, my face felt its touch worse than other parts of me. Then I watched as the main mast fell and crashed into the cabin. The waves swept over the ship and the fires went out as the ship began to roll and fall beneath the waves. I grabbed onto a floating chest and held on, but the waves had thrown me far of the wreck within a few moments. When lightning flashed once more it was as if the ship had never been... And there was no sign of anyone..." Shades tone dies down as the memories play in his eyes, the only thing anyone might ever find beautiful about his face ever again. Raising his hood back into position Shade gathers up his staff. The gods may have separated us but they have also chosen to reunite us once more. I met your friends and began to labor on your groups behalf. Gather together only those members of the group who know of the purpose of my studies, I have much to relate and we have more to do. Shade gathers up his robes and hikes up a short rise, disappearing among the shrubs and bush.
ReplyDelete"Thunor touched our voyage, it is true," Thorvald said. "That you survived as well proves that you are as blessed by the Thunderlord as I. In a test such as that, only the truly worthy live to tell the tale."
Delete"But let us move on to other matters," Thor said as Shade went up the hill. Thor motioned for Draymun, Dolgi to follow as he fell in line behind his wizardly friend.
Dolgi's laugh fades when Thorvald and the wizard reunite. He leans over to Draymun, "Did he ask us to call him shade? Odd name, but he's odd, so it probably fits."
ReplyDeleteAs Shade hikes up the short hill, Dolgi yells after him, "Shade perhaps you can avoid my traps this time? We don't feed the bear, he's liable to turn on us!"
That said, Dolgi looks toward Draymun and Thorvald for direction.
Watching the others climb the low rise and push through the low brush, Shade is impressed by Thorvalds new friends. Draymun, the wise dwarf who had a countenance of a bear, and one as a friend. Dolgi, whose cunning and skill was evident in his very stride, let alone his magnificent traps. Thorvald, the man he had grown to respect for his skill and honor, even if the day they met Thorvald had offered to butcher him for his magics. Waiting for them to gather around in a loose circle Shade prepared himself to divulge the knowledge he had accrued on this magical device. Before he could begin a noise like a thousand stampeding bulls tore through the brush and a massively muscled creature pushed through the foliage. "To arms! Orcs! Shade grabbed up his staff and struck forth with it at the masked behemoth on the hill. Before the staff even got close the Orc deftly side stepped the jab of the staff grabbing ahold of it and pulling, throwing Shade from his feet and disarming him of his weapon. Laughter burst from all around as the huge brute lifted a massive hand and raised his mask to reveal his half Orc features.
ReplyDeleteStruggling back to his feet, hurt more in pride than in reality, Shade mumbled, "Oh and you must be Kring, the smell should have given it away, Rethas took the entire first day at the inn locked in his room bathing to wash off the 'Kring'. Now where were we? Oh right, this item is not like anything I have ever seen or heard of before, it's power is beyond what the sages of even high Elven kingdoms have ever accomplished. As you may have discovered, it was built by dwarves, centuries ago, to try and give a clan a distinct edge over the others during infighting. They were a part of a loose alliance from the mountains to the west. They must have performed a ritual that took lifetimes to perfect to create it, something that might not even be possible to ever be recreated. For whatever reason, shortly after the device was built, the clan disappeared from history, it's members likely long dead in that very dungeon from whence you came. If they did yet live, then there are merely two possibilities that I have come across historically; they were breed into other populations and disappeared or they exist deep within the very transporting realm where the device was found. A third option does exist but I have found no evidence of it... They may have found a place in a new time.
The device itself seems to move in increments of a maximum of one thousand years at a time. And to do even a single transport through time requires a crystal from the heart of the mountain. The crystal can be used for a number of uses, but these depend on each crystal. These exceptionally rare stones make any transport through time a very costly affair. One risks the chance of being disintegrated, and destroyed every time the device is used. While this risk appears low, there is no way to combat it that I believe is possible. Exceptionally powerful wizards might have ways to prepare for such contingencies but I lack the power to help in any way.
The device itself can not move one through time and space, but rather only time. In order to arrive at a particular place and time one must either go to the place in advance or after moving through time.
There are other locations where the dungeon and this device might have arrived in the past, and if it is truly continuing on its journey, where it may arrive again. Only a stop by the old site would determine whether this dungeon is truly moving through time still. Judging by what we do know I would suggest we do return to the location, as I believe the engine of this temporal journey to be gone and therefore the process stopped.
Of course if it has moved than we shall require a mathematician to calculate the location of a new site, or to attempt a temporal journey of our own to find the dungeon, but I believe wholeheartedly that this is unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteAs you may have noticed, such a device is exceedingly rare, and powerful. Such a device could change the course of a persons life forever. Knowing this we shall forever be harried and hunted. Anyone with any knowledge of the device will most likely be sought out and interrogated by the most nefarious and infernal of creatures your mind can ever fathom. I propose we arm ourselves against that storm. Word of our device will spread, and there are those who have sought this device for centuries. I read tales of leagues of explorers... Killers... Who hunt for the device still, awaiting its arrival in nearly every realm. We can arm ourselves, but we must do so now, and we can't do it alone. I would ask that you all join with me in the defense of the object, a sacred task which we can and must undertake, for the sake of balance in the cosmos. We must create a league of our own, and you all will need join the league as its senior members, its elite. The only ones with knowledge of the powerful object which we possess will be those elevated to our ranks, and we must be on guard that those who we elevate are of a caliber to handle the task set before them. If any wish to be free of this task then so be it, but decide this now, for the road we travel will traverse all the realms and all the times that have ever been. This route is not for the faint of heart." With that Shade takes the object out from his robes, carefully setting it down on a fallen timber before him, and stepping back to allow another to speak.
"I do not believe I will ever much understand this device," Thor said, "but if you are in earnest as to its importance, then you can count on my strength to safeguard it, and Thunor's blessing to ensure our success." Thorvald looked at each of his companions in turn before continuing.
ReplyDelete"As to the matter of forming a league of our own, I would welcome the challenge to compete with the other guilds in Ashmont. Knowing each of you as I do, I know that we shall build a guild to rival all others. But we need a name'" Thor continued, thinking. "Something strong, but also something that does not reveal the true nature of our mission. Any suggestions?"
Dolgi clears his throat before he speaks. "I've not been with this company long but what I know if it, it's is true and just..most times." He winks at Kring. "But the stories I've heard as we sat around the campfire, tales of vengeance desired and vengeance required." He looks to both Draymun and Thorvald as he says these things. "And I've seen with my own two eyes and helped some with my weapons, and that Leech Queen knows our vengeance well. And the Bandit Queen will soon feel it or I am not Dolgi Orcsmasher!"
ReplyDeleteThe young dwarf grins and asks, "Perhaps we should incorporate vengeance in our name?"
"Aye," Thorvald nodded at Dolgi. "Our vengeance has fallen upon many a foe, all of whom now hail from the afterlife. I have no doubt that it will continue to be brought down upon our enemies."
ReplyDeleteDraymun listens to the back-and-forth as the group discusses the guild's formation, and nods slowly as he rolls the words around in his head. With a glint in his eye his head snaps up and he places a hand on the shoulders of Thorvald and Dolgi to draw their attentions.
ReplyDelete"Vengeance has fallen on our foes, and it will continue to do so. I feel that will sum up our undertaking quiet well... yes...."
He trails off for a moment and grins. Proudly, he announces, "We will form this Alliance, and we shall call it 'Vengeance Falls!'"
"That will work. Ashmont will require a substantial gold fee up front and will probably require you to attend to a few administrative burdens in the creation of a licensed organization. This will mean we must stay in Ashmont for the foreseeable future, I would guess no less than 8 weeks, to set this organization on the road to legitimacy. During that time we should probably remain visible in the community to promote a good image... I would recommend that we also choose a defacto leader or at the very least, a face man. The nobility will associate the groups membership with any such face man, and usually judge it's worth off what that individuals worth is. Since this is your group and I am not one for the publics eye," he tilts his hood down in shame, covering his scarred visage, "I will not be seeking such an appointment. I would suggest that one who knows the ways into people's hearts is probably the best choice." Glancing over at Kring he adds, "And one that bathes on a regular basis." I shall return to the Inn, lest Rethas begin to discover more of our ultimate purpose. I shall attempt to learn as much of the ways of magic as I can and will keep the elf busy enough to stay out of your way. In the meantime, I suggest you bury the artifact in that barrel and sit your bear atop it. The way theives prowl these woods I wouldn't want one to take an interest in the encampment. If you have further need of me you can always find me at the Inn. I shall head there presently, as soon as I have seen a man about a raven." Shade glances around the faces gathered there, awaiting the groups response.
ReplyDeleteDolgi heads down to the trap the wizard tripped and replaces it, then heads around the woods to check on the rest of his traps. When he finds an animal in a trap, he kills the animal quickly, then resets the trap. Day in and day out, Dolgi continues this practice, as the pelts are staked out to be scraped and dried, readied to be taken into town for the tanners. The meat is either fed to the bear or cooked for the group's meals.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of each week, he takes the pelts into town and sells them to the tanner. The dwarf then heads to the Witches Broom for a mug or six of ale and maybe overhear some gossip, also checking the posting boards for jobs listed.