Quick Summary 12.15.08
In the Zentilig Kingdom:
-Keydar is chopped up into cordwood, except for a cross-section.
-Azariah gathers some seeds for examination
-Gold, silver and magic items are taken back to Neshuza without incident
-The chests with valuables had the same H that the
In the Archmage District of Neshuza:
-While looking for places to sell magic items, Abel finds a masterwork crystal ball in an alleyway with a coat of arms in it similar to House Eleazar.
-They find a shop with a weeping willow; inside is a balding old man and two sapling Urash trees
-The man's name is Dakkon. While he doesn't offer to buy magical weapons for coin, he is a member of an organization called The Lords of Eroth, who formerly were a passive branch of caretakers.
-Dakkon explains the role of the Lords of Eroth, The Priests of the Stars and the Children of the Sun. The Lords of Eroth were a kind of wizardly order of arborists charged with direct care of the Urash tree; the Priests of the Stars were a militant order charged with the physical defense of the Urash trees. The Children, based on his response, were likely a kind of spy or subterfuge branch of the three.
-It is revealed that while there were no "official" guardians of the tree, the Lords of Eroth and the Children of the Sun were ostracized by the current line of kings and removed from their accepted status. In their place, the Priests of the Stars were assigned to guard the trees; however, their lack of understanding of the Urash trees results in poor and inefficient caretaking, such as allowing Dewfrond vines to grow on the trees....
-It is discovered that Keydar was a dangerous inhabitant who existed in a sentient state before the fall of the Zamunsol, and likely participated in their destruction. His kind are born from intense malice or evil feelings, though they do not always become sentient as he. It is also revealed that the lesser Zentilig creatures are likely controlled and amplified in power and intelligence by Keydar... which explains why there were no encounters returning home.
-He also reveals the identity of the Whispering Ones, whom he believes are evil spirits who tell people what they think they need to hear or what they want to hear, but have wicked intent.
-The crystal ball is revealed to belong to the Knights of Ghazi- the "bluebloods of the Archmage's district"
Elsewhere:
-The party hires 4 mercs in the Rusty Bottom; they offer 20 gold per person, 40 up front, 40 later.
-They meet with Lord Hilchiah and report to him and ask him to sell the magic items for them for a good price, and he agrees. Andreas requests that he and some nobles begin to consider adding their own resources to the fight.
Suddenly:
-The Borad-Elamites, mighty warriors on horseback, arrive about 200 strong to ask the King for help. Lord Bahirim, their leader, requests aid. They are fighting the Ruk Shol on two fronts and soon will have to contend with the Balkin giants, who have been amassing forces for an unusually long time.
-Andreas proposes an alliance between Hazael and Borad-El, and Azariah notes the reliability of the assembled fighting force, pointing out their success in destroying a significant figure in the wastes. Andreas suggests that the Borad-Elamites help the party fight the Ruk Shol outside of Neshuza, then they will return with the Borad-Elamites to aid them.
-The King consents after what seems to be a period of intense thought. Abel observes an evil shadowy aura around him when he decides to agree to this.
Session Ends.
December 19, 2008
November 20, 2008
Chop Down the Tree, Strip Off and Scatter All the Fruit
Nobo'ru wriggled out from under the roots that had erupted from the earth and pinned him down. Hopping to his feet, he cast his intense gaze to the massive creature before him. Keydar, the living tree and Lord of the Zentilig was before him. With a look devoid of anything recognizeable, Nobo're whipped a dagger at its baleful green eyes. The massive fireball Abel had rolled into Keydar's branches was suddenly extinguished, and with it the light by which Nobo'ru could see his target. The dully shining dagger flew wide and dissapeared into the never-ending gloom. Several arrows joined it, whisking harmlessly through Keydar's branches as Azariah danced around the ice-blue webs spread by the spiders crawling in Keydar's limbs, firing arrows as fast as his screaming muscles would allow. Though as many hit as missed, Azariah could tell that Keydar would fall if they redoubled their efforts. To his left, the soldiers were already withdrawing to regroup and counterattack, carrying an unconscious Andreas from the battle. Azariah did not have time to wonder at the wide grin frozen on his unconscious face.
Suddenly, Abel fell to the earth under the crushing force of Keydar's roots, his staff tumbling from his hand. Gnarled roots burst forth and seized it, and Keydar, declaring that it was enough, disappeared in a baleful green whirlwind. Azariah leapt from the wall he had climbed on to and pounded his fist against it with an unbridled curse. Nobo'ru stood stock still at the edge of the churned up crater where Keydar once was, and Abel fell to his knees in the midst of it, clenching the dead rocky soil in his hands, which now had arcane flames licking across them, a sign of his fury at the loss of both his staff and his satisfaction of bringing the creature down. They had been so close to ending this, and now Keydar was not only alive, but had stolen Abel's unique staff. Everyone knew that Abel would never part with the thing for long. Rising to his feet, Abel said through gritted teeth, "I am going to get my staff back." Azariah and Nobo'ru nodded with determined assent, and Andreas, now back on his feet, added, "We will bivouac one more time, then find him again. We will end this, and next time we will be better prepared." Looking to his battered soldiers, Andreas said, "We will press in and fight until he is destroyed." They assented grimly, knowing that few men could possibly last long in both the cold of the webs of the spiders and the potent life draining force that surrounded Keydar.
"He will be in his lair," Azariah added, "He will have nowhere to run."
After a long rest, they moved out to finish this, once and for all.
Keydar waited for them in his place, and forced them to come to him. The twleve soldiers Andreas had gotten from the King charged foreward under a shower of needles, getting ready to position themselves to strike the tree-king, with Nobo'ru stalking quietly among their ranks. Abel shifted behind a wall, and once again an orb of fire rolled up Keydar's trunk and into his crown of branches, from which deadly showers of piercing needles showered unending. The spiders again fell from the branches and left blankets of freezing webs in their wake, making the ground near Keydar a fatal blend of icy cold and life-draining necrosis. As the soldiers approached, roots burst forth, pinning them to the ground. With a shout, Andreas charged over a wall Azariah was shooting behind and leapt over the constraining webs, his Sunblade flashing forth and washing the evil creature with golden sunlight. The soldiers who had been pinned and frozen to the earth were invigorated as Andreas lead them again into the fold. Nobo'ru swept in to flank the monster, but was harried by the spiders, who dropped from the branches to strike with venomous fangs. A soldier, Verchan, was seized by a vine and strangled before his unconscious form was comtemptuously tossed among the freezing webs and necrotic, life draining aura of Keydar's presence.
Finally, the soldiers rushed in en masse, prepared to sell their lives to bring this monster to justice. Freezing webs and pain of death did not stay their swords, and Keydar began to buckle under their mass of strikes, while Abel's rageful fires burned relentlessly in his branches. Azariah sensed Keydar's weakening condition, and charged into Keydar's deadly presence, striking once and preparing to sweep his blades in a mighty hewing stroke that would be the end of the monster. Andreas fell in the cold and deadly darkness at the base of Keydar's trunk, finally exhausted, while Nobo'ru desperately tumbled away from the spiders to lash out again. As Azariah wound his scimitars up for the killing blow, a vine lashed out from the branches, its rough form cutting his neck. and picking him up off the ground. Nobo'ru was knocked unconscious by a lashing root as Keydar, in a sudden rush of movement, grasped Azariah and Andreas' unconscious forms and slid backward, churning up the earth. "Relent, give me the Bow, and I will let you live, never to return."
Only Abel and the eleven soldiers stood. Their battlecry and the roar of Abel's fire was their response, as eleven soldiers hacked ferociously into the monster, felling it in a merciless flurry of razor-edged steel. The raw cries of triumph from the soldiers reverberated in the darkness with the crunch of the falling tree-king as the spiders and plant-beings infesting Keydar's now-dead branches fled skittering into the night. The soldiers revived their leader Andeas and the other heroes.
....
Andreas, battered and nursing a dozen new piercings from the thorn shooting plants, watched with grim satisfaction as Abel coaxed his flames along Keydar's corpse with no small measure of fervor, his hands shifting in angry gestures that belied his frustration with the monster that lingered after its death. Nobo'ru looked on, the implications of their act of regicide not troubling his expression, which would have been cold as the stars hidden in the darkness were it not for the blaze before him. Many feet away, from the atop the wall he had been shooting behind moments ago, Azariah took in the moment, every ache and pain, every flame-lit form and burning feeling in his heart. In the heart of the Zentilig Kingdom, with no words and tongues of flame dancing in his eyes, Azariah watched a king burn.
Suddenly, Abel fell to the earth under the crushing force of Keydar's roots, his staff tumbling from his hand. Gnarled roots burst forth and seized it, and Keydar, declaring that it was enough, disappeared in a baleful green whirlwind. Azariah leapt from the wall he had climbed on to and pounded his fist against it with an unbridled curse. Nobo'ru stood stock still at the edge of the churned up crater where Keydar once was, and Abel fell to his knees in the midst of it, clenching the dead rocky soil in his hands, which now had arcane flames licking across them, a sign of his fury at the loss of both his staff and his satisfaction of bringing the creature down. They had been so close to ending this, and now Keydar was not only alive, but had stolen Abel's unique staff. Everyone knew that Abel would never part with the thing for long. Rising to his feet, Abel said through gritted teeth, "I am going to get my staff back." Azariah and Nobo'ru nodded with determined assent, and Andreas, now back on his feet, added, "We will bivouac one more time, then find him again. We will end this, and next time we will be better prepared." Looking to his battered soldiers, Andreas said, "We will press in and fight until he is destroyed." They assented grimly, knowing that few men could possibly last long in both the cold of the webs of the spiders and the potent life draining force that surrounded Keydar.
"He will be in his lair," Azariah added, "He will have nowhere to run."
After a long rest, they moved out to finish this, once and for all.
Keydar waited for them in his place, and forced them to come to him. The twleve soldiers Andreas had gotten from the King charged foreward under a shower of needles, getting ready to position themselves to strike the tree-king, with Nobo'ru stalking quietly among their ranks. Abel shifted behind a wall, and once again an orb of fire rolled up Keydar's trunk and into his crown of branches, from which deadly showers of piercing needles showered unending. The spiders again fell from the branches and left blankets of freezing webs in their wake, making the ground near Keydar a fatal blend of icy cold and life-draining necrosis. As the soldiers approached, roots burst forth, pinning them to the ground. With a shout, Andreas charged over a wall Azariah was shooting behind and leapt over the constraining webs, his Sunblade flashing forth and washing the evil creature with golden sunlight. The soldiers who had been pinned and frozen to the earth were invigorated as Andreas lead them again into the fold. Nobo'ru swept in to flank the monster, but was harried by the spiders, who dropped from the branches to strike with venomous fangs. A soldier, Verchan, was seized by a vine and strangled before his unconscious form was comtemptuously tossed among the freezing webs and necrotic, life draining aura of Keydar's presence.
Finally, the soldiers rushed in en masse, prepared to sell their lives to bring this monster to justice. Freezing webs and pain of death did not stay their swords, and Keydar began to buckle under their mass of strikes, while Abel's rageful fires burned relentlessly in his branches. Azariah sensed Keydar's weakening condition, and charged into Keydar's deadly presence, striking once and preparing to sweep his blades in a mighty hewing stroke that would be the end of the monster. Andreas fell in the cold and deadly darkness at the base of Keydar's trunk, finally exhausted, while Nobo'ru desperately tumbled away from the spiders to lash out again. As Azariah wound his scimitars up for the killing blow, a vine lashed out from the branches, its rough form cutting his neck. and picking him up off the ground. Nobo'ru was knocked unconscious by a lashing root as Keydar, in a sudden rush of movement, grasped Azariah and Andreas' unconscious forms and slid backward, churning up the earth. "Relent, give me the Bow, and I will let you live, never to return."
Only Abel and the eleven soldiers stood. Their battlecry and the roar of Abel's fire was their response, as eleven soldiers hacked ferociously into the monster, felling it in a merciless flurry of razor-edged steel. The raw cries of triumph from the soldiers reverberated in the darkness with the crunch of the falling tree-king as the spiders and plant-beings infesting Keydar's now-dead branches fled skittering into the night. The soldiers revived their leader Andeas and the other heroes.
....
Andreas, battered and nursing a dozen new piercings from the thorn shooting plants, watched with grim satisfaction as Abel coaxed his flames along Keydar's corpse with no small measure of fervor, his hands shifting in angry gestures that belied his frustration with the monster that lingered after its death. Nobo'ru looked on, the implications of their act of regicide not troubling his expression, which would have been cold as the stars hidden in the darkness were it not for the blaze before him. Many feet away, from the atop the wall he had been shooting behind moments ago, Azariah took in the moment, every ache and pain, every flame-lit form and burning feeling in his heart. In the heart of the Zentilig Kingdom, with no words and tongues of flame dancing in his eyes, Azariah watched a king burn.
November 4, 2008
Return to the Forest
Quick Summary 11.3.08
-Andreas drill soldiers for a week, while Nobo'ru and Azariah help to train the soldiers in fieldcraft and fighting techniques. Meanwhile, Abel researches the old ruins and hears of a region where the Zamunson and Hazaelites fought a huge last stand battle.
-It seems King Malevus has all of the key tomes that would convey the most useful information. He guards them jealously to keep people from venturing into the ruins and discovering items of power there.
-Andreas manages to curb the drinking of the soldiers, and Nobo'ru encourages them and vouches for Andreas' character, improving morale.
-The party plans to first go out into the ruins to find magic items in order to finance a stronger force to attack the Ruk-Shol encampments.
-The group reaches some ruins and Abel detects a magical aura. After a two-pronged attack, they successfully recover a +2 Flameburst Longbow from the ant-hill. They decide to meet with Keydar to negotiate salvage terms.
-They escape and Andreas manages to survive near mortal wounds. His decision to be the first in and the last out resonates with his men strongly.
-Azariah and Nobo'ru hear a spy near the camp but don't catch up to it. Andreas decides to encamp and rest for a day before speaking to Keydar.
-Leaving their magic items behind with the soldiers, they go to speak with keydar who gives them very unfavorable 70/30 terms. They decide to quickly leave, and Andreas makes a parting insult. A chase ensues and Keydar and a few minions catch up with them. Ready for battle, they prepare to face Keydar in battle.
-Andreas drill soldiers for a week, while Nobo'ru and Azariah help to train the soldiers in fieldcraft and fighting techniques. Meanwhile, Abel researches the old ruins and hears of a region where the Zamunson and Hazaelites fought a huge last stand battle.
-It seems King Malevus has all of the key tomes that would convey the most useful information. He guards them jealously to keep people from venturing into the ruins and discovering items of power there.
-Andreas manages to curb the drinking of the soldiers, and Nobo'ru encourages them and vouches for Andreas' character, improving morale.
-The party plans to first go out into the ruins to find magic items in order to finance a stronger force to attack the Ruk-Shol encampments.
-The group reaches some ruins and Abel detects a magical aura. After a two-pronged attack, they successfully recover a +2 Flameburst Longbow from the ant-hill. They decide to meet with Keydar to negotiate salvage terms.
-They escape and Andreas manages to survive near mortal wounds. His decision to be the first in and the last out resonates with his men strongly.
-Azariah and Nobo'ru hear a spy near the camp but don't catch up to it. Andreas decides to encamp and rest for a day before speaking to Keydar.
-Leaving their magic items behind with the soldiers, they go to speak with keydar who gives them very unfavorable 70/30 terms. They decide to quickly leave, and Andreas makes a parting insult. A chase ensues and Keydar and a few minions catch up with them. Ready for battle, they prepare to face Keydar in battle.
October 29, 2008
Andreas' Plan
"AND SHAVE THAT STUBBLE OFF YOUR FILTHY MAGGOT FACE!" roared Andreas, peppering the private's already wet face with more spittle. "Y-y-y-yes sir!" the hung over soldier replied. Not sure what to do, he saluted. It did not seem to soften the look on Andreas' face, which was the mixture of disgust and artfully controlled rage that only a heavy-handed drill sergeant could muster. "You have 12 hours to get your sorry hides in order and report back to me. DIS-MISSED!"
The twelve bedraggled, hung over and still somewhat inebriated soldiers King Malevus had given the adventurers to fight the Ruk-Shol with staggered and bustled out of the room, moving as fast as they could to escape their new commanding officer. Bitter complaints behind closed doors were likely to ensue, but it was clear that Andreas intended to brook no foolishness in his unit.
Azariah had at first become tense when Andreas had burst out at the soldiers, but when he saw what Andreas was doing, he relaxed. He had a feeling that the rabble would be organized in short order.
Shoving one of the chairs out from the table and taking a seat, Andreas looked up at Azariah, Nobo'ru and Abel. "I have a plan..."
The twelve bedraggled, hung over and still somewhat inebriated soldiers King Malevus had given the adventurers to fight the Ruk-Shol with staggered and bustled out of the room, moving as fast as they could to escape their new commanding officer. Bitter complaints behind closed doors were likely to ensue, but it was clear that Andreas intended to brook no foolishness in his unit.
Azariah had at first become tense when Andreas had burst out at the soldiers, but when he saw what Andreas was doing, he relaxed. He had a feeling that the rabble would be organized in short order.
Shoving one of the chairs out from the table and taking a seat, Andreas looked up at Azariah, Nobo'ru and Abel. "I have a plan..."
October 11, 2008
A King's Consent
Summary 10.6.08
-The party goes to the Raven's Claw. En route, Andreas incapacitates a drunk soldier chasing after a prostitute. He successfully doesn't get singled out and beaten up by mobs of drunk soldiers.
-Arriving at the Raven's Claw, the party sidles up to the bar, at which point Andreas declares, "Long live the King!" and then breaks into a song about is former order, the Knights of Stron. His lyrical opus is for the most part wasted on the crowd's ears, except for two individuals.
-One man is Lord Hilchiah, who formerly had connections with the Order of Stron. He and Andreas discuss things for a short time and agree to meet. Abel goes to the other man named Zadok, who is a politicla agent for House Eleazar, a very prominent noble house in Neshuza. Azariah and Sorden do not get directly involved in conversation; the former goes to the outer edge of the crowd and evesdrops on Abel's conversation, and the latter remains at the bar quietly observing and nursing a drink. Nobo'ru weaves about and listens in on various conversations to get a feel for the people, who generally seem to be concerned about the Ruk Shol.
-The next day, the party meets with Lord Hilchiah in his manor. The Lord serves them fruit and many delightful and rich foods that most individuals on Abaden never have the pleasure of eating, including oranges. The party (or, at least Azariah) is generally astounded that food could taste so good.
-Lord Hilchiah agrees to present them to the King when he holds court, and Andreas presents the evidence as best he can remember to Lord Hilchiah, who believes that it will be a great help.
-Upon returning to the Raven's Claw, they pass through a part of town where all of the magic shops and fortune tellers are. They see a man with a bright glowing eye in the window and consciously choose to not go toward him, passing on to the Raven's Claw. Abel later goes back to this part of town and gets a fortune from a on old man by reading rat's entrails. Yummy.
-The next day, they go to court, surrender their weapons and speak with the King. Andreas brings forth all of the arguments at his disposal, including the black substance that Azariah reminds him about at the last minute. King Malevus is still unwilling to do anything. The King points out that there are millions of Ruk Shol and that the best strategy is to hold out against them behind the city walls, where he believes they can survive indefinitely.
-Andreas shifts his strategy, hoping to bank on the King's pride in his city by pointing out the squalor and debauchery going on in the red district. This does not work. Azariah attempts to encourage the king by stating that though the king's forces may be small in proportion to the Ruk Shol numbers, if they are directed with wisdom they can do much damage to the Ruk Shol. He also points out that while the King's forces may not be numerous, they are also well equipped and competant soldiers, and uses Sorden and his agency as an example of this.
-Lord Hilchiah steps to the fore and backs the party. Sorden notices that the majority of the court is paralyzed, including House Eleazar, who were thought to support what the party was attempting to get the king to do.
-The King decides to create a force and to place it under the party's command, and to send a force to elimiate the Ruk Shol encampments near the city.
-The next day, the party is brought to the officer's quarters and are introduced to their "force" of 12 hung-over soldiers. Andreas immediately leaps into action and goes Major Payne on the drunk soldiers, whipping them into shape and sending them scampering from the room. The party retires to their quarters to rest.
-End Session.
-The party goes to the Raven's Claw. En route, Andreas incapacitates a drunk soldier chasing after a prostitute. He successfully doesn't get singled out and beaten up by mobs of drunk soldiers.
-Arriving at the Raven's Claw, the party sidles up to the bar, at which point Andreas declares, "Long live the King!" and then breaks into a song about is former order, the Knights of Stron. His lyrical opus is for the most part wasted on the crowd's ears, except for two individuals.
-One man is Lord Hilchiah, who formerly had connections with the Order of Stron. He and Andreas discuss things for a short time and agree to meet. Abel goes to the other man named Zadok, who is a politicla agent for House Eleazar, a very prominent noble house in Neshuza. Azariah and Sorden do not get directly involved in conversation; the former goes to the outer edge of the crowd and evesdrops on Abel's conversation, and the latter remains at the bar quietly observing and nursing a drink. Nobo'ru weaves about and listens in on various conversations to get a feel for the people, who generally seem to be concerned about the Ruk Shol.
-The next day, the party meets with Lord Hilchiah in his manor. The Lord serves them fruit and many delightful and rich foods that most individuals on Abaden never have the pleasure of eating, including oranges. The party (or, at least Azariah) is generally astounded that food could taste so good.
-Lord Hilchiah agrees to present them to the King when he holds court, and Andreas presents the evidence as best he can remember to Lord Hilchiah, who believes that it will be a great help.
-Upon returning to the Raven's Claw, they pass through a part of town where all of the magic shops and fortune tellers are. They see a man with a bright glowing eye in the window and consciously choose to not go toward him, passing on to the Raven's Claw. Abel later goes back to this part of town and gets a fortune from a on old man by reading rat's entrails. Yummy.
-The next day, they go to court, surrender their weapons and speak with the King. Andreas brings forth all of the arguments at his disposal, including the black substance that Azariah reminds him about at the last minute. King Malevus is still unwilling to do anything. The King points out that there are millions of Ruk Shol and that the best strategy is to hold out against them behind the city walls, where he believes they can survive indefinitely.
-Andreas shifts his strategy, hoping to bank on the King's pride in his city by pointing out the squalor and debauchery going on in the red district. This does not work. Azariah attempts to encourage the king by stating that though the king's forces may be small in proportion to the Ruk Shol numbers, if they are directed with wisdom they can do much damage to the Ruk Shol. He also points out that while the King's forces may not be numerous, they are also well equipped and competant soldiers, and uses Sorden and his agency as an example of this.
-Lord Hilchiah steps to the fore and backs the party. Sorden notices that the majority of the court is paralyzed, including House Eleazar, who were thought to support what the party was attempting to get the king to do.
-The King decides to create a force and to place it under the party's command, and to send a force to elimiate the Ruk Shol encampments near the city.
-The next day, the party is brought to the officer's quarters and are introduced to their "force" of 12 hung-over soldiers. Andreas immediately leaps into action and goes Major Payne on the drunk soldiers, whipping them into shape and sending them scampering from the room. The party retires to their quarters to rest.
-End Session.
September 23, 2008
Arrival
Summary:
-The tree creature is given a Zamunsol lightning staff as a guarantee of safe passage.
-The tree-creature names itself as Kaydar and reveals himself as a member of the Zentilig, the sentient plant-beings of his kingdom. It is revealed that all sentient plants are under his control.
-While discussing things, Andreas openly apologizes for the destruction of the Zentilig which the party fought earlier. Keydar pardons them, and releases them to continue their travel.
-They decided to peruse through the ruins as they go, and find yet another wall with a prophetic inscription, which reads:
-Abel remembers the story of an immortal prince, who is the son of the king of the now destroyed kingdom. Legends say that he wanders the world looking for an heir to the throne. Most governments regard it merely as a fairy tale, but occasionally people get into trouble for believing too strongly in the legend.
-Using their abilities to detect magic, Abel and Sorden discover a magical Zamunsol sword in a chest. They hear rustling similar to what they had heard when Keydar was about to prove his authority, and so they decided to withdraw. It is to be noted that the ruins bore both Zamunsol and Human architecture, and that they seemed to mingle together.
-Investigating ruins on the other side of the road, they again detected magical auras, but these turned out to be the thorn shooting bushes and swarms of scarab beetles. The party decided it would be best to no longer fight the "citizens" of the kingdom, and enacted a fighting withdrawal.
-They continued along and found another magical aura, this one belonging to a tome with several rituals, which Abel kept on his person.
-The party went around the Xs on the map which represented Ruk-Shol encampments for six days, and then they saw the glow of the capital city.
-Some time later they arrived at the capital city of Naeshuza and began to think about ways to convince the king, Malevus, to perform action against the Ruk-Shol.
-About the city of Naeshuza: It is a capital city ruled by king Malevus, and is a highly militarized city that only allows people to live there if they have a good reason. The heads of most families are soldiers, and there are few if any people whose jobs do not have some connection with the military, be it logistical or otherwise. People are typically paid well enough that women who have husbands are home makers. Prostitution flourishes in the city and is very common. Economically, the city is mostly locked down to a few general stores which more or less have monopolies on sales of goods. There are very few small businesses to be had.
-They learn from the guard at the door of the Raven's Claw, a locale that might contain people of interest. The party visit's Sorden's order for the purpose of trade, acquiring several items and enhancements. They discuss with the man Parazeem about different possibilities of how to convince the king. The most likely method seems to be to convince the nobility first, who the king does his best to appease.
-The party decides to head to the Raven's Claw first to get a feel for the military's disposition towards action, and to get a general scope of the situation with those other than the king.
-Session ends.
-The tree creature is given a Zamunsol lightning staff as a guarantee of safe passage.
-The tree-creature names itself as Kaydar and reveals himself as a member of the Zentilig, the sentient plant-beings of his kingdom. It is revealed that all sentient plants are under his control.
-While discussing things, Andreas openly apologizes for the destruction of the Zentilig which the party fought earlier. Keydar pardons them, and releases them to continue their travel.
-They decided to peruse through the ruins as they go, and find yet another wall with a prophetic inscription, which reads:
-Abel remembers the story of an immortal prince, who is the son of the king of the now destroyed kingdom. Legends say that he wanders the world looking for an heir to the throne. Most governments regard it merely as a fairy tale, but occasionally people get into trouble for believing too strongly in the legend.
-Using their abilities to detect magic, Abel and Sorden discover a magical Zamunsol sword in a chest. They hear rustling similar to what they had heard when Keydar was about to prove his authority, and so they decided to withdraw. It is to be noted that the ruins bore both Zamunsol and Human architecture, and that they seemed to mingle together.
-Investigating ruins on the other side of the road, they again detected magical auras, but these turned out to be the thorn shooting bushes and swarms of scarab beetles. The party decided it would be best to no longer fight the "citizens" of the kingdom, and enacted a fighting withdrawal.
-They continued along and found another magical aura, this one belonging to a tome with several rituals, which Abel kept on his person.
-The party went around the Xs on the map which represented Ruk-Shol encampments for six days, and then they saw the glow of the capital city.
-Some time later they arrived at the capital city of Naeshuza and began to think about ways to convince the king, Malevus, to perform action against the Ruk-Shol.
-About the city of Naeshuza: It is a capital city ruled by king Malevus, and is a highly militarized city that only allows people to live there if they have a good reason. The heads of most families are soldiers, and there are few if any people whose jobs do not have some connection with the military, be it logistical or otherwise. People are typically paid well enough that women who have husbands are home makers. Prostitution flourishes in the city and is very common. Economically, the city is mostly locked down to a few general stores which more or less have monopolies on sales of goods. There are very few small businesses to be had.
-They learn from the guard at the door of the Raven's Claw, a locale that might contain people of interest. The party visit's Sorden's order for the purpose of trade, acquiring several items and enhancements. They discuss with the man Parazeem about different possibilities of how to convince the king. The most likely method seems to be to convince the nobility first, who the king does his best to appease.
-The party decides to head to the Raven's Claw first to get a feel for the military's disposition towards action, and to get a general scope of the situation with those other than the king.
-Session ends.
September 9, 2008
The Plant Kingdom
Quick Summary No. 4
-The party wakes up in the ruins they found and travels on. Along the side of the road, they see a fluorescent light. They decide to investigate this light source.
-They come across ruins, and after going through them find an open courtyard with very large mushrooms growing there that glow. Abel identifies them as being at least 10 years old. Azariah gathers some of the smaller mushrooms for light sources, as the current ones will likely run out in about a week or two.
-Sorden discovers more broken and ancient weapons, which Abel recognizes as a tribe of Zamunsol.
-The party sees black and twisted vines growing everywhere. Upon further inspection, it is shown that the sap of these vines is corrosive in a similar but weaker manner to the fluid the Ruk Shol used on the Urash Tree. It is also noted to have similar dimming properties when applied to one of the glowing mushrooms, though at a very diminished rate from what the Ruk Shol used.
-Azariah speculates that this vine's fluids are distilled to a more concentrated state to create the stuff the Ruk Shol used. Abel uses Gentle Repose to preserve a sample of this vine and also the sample of the dewfrond vine that he has.
-Azariah begins to patrol the broken outer walls and finds an engraving. He clears away the wreckage, and finds that the top half has been destroyed. It is written in Common and says:
“...from generation to generation it shall lie desolate; and for ages
none shall pass through it. But the vulture and the raven shall
possess it; and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion,
and the stones of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the
kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be
nothing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles
in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be a den of dragons, and a
court for owls. The wild beasts shall meet, and the satyr shall cry to
his fellow.”
-The party wonders at what this means and then discovers a path leading away. They also notice that the mushrooms, after a second look, seem to be cultivated in some way. They decide to follow this path.
-After a distance, noise is heard to the side of the path in the midst of the rubble. Nobo'ru is shot by a needle as he goes out to investigate.
-As the enemies are discovered, there are two different kinds: One is a large vine that is similar to the one found among the glowing mushrooms. The other is a moving bush that sends showers of black thorns shooting into the party. Azariah and Nobo'ru are entangled and choked by the vines as they fight to cut them off.
-With a lot of help from Abel's Flaming Sphere, the party overcomes the plant attackers and only Sorden is taken out, and even then only because at the last moment the strangling vine that Azariah was attacking swung Sorden around to take the hits from his attack. Afterwards, the flaming sphere destroyed the vine.
-The party continues, but hear more vines in the rubble. Nobo'ru immediately wishes to leave, and Sorden also expresses doubts about continuing. Upon further examination, it is discovered that the vage path they have been following was likely made by the plants, and so Azariah decides that it would also be best to leave. Fighting dissapointment, Abel follows them.
-Going along the path again, they see another light in the distance. Investigating this new light, they see a tree with large, globe-like green fruit that glows hanging from it. Nobo'ru wisely decides to test the vines that surrounding it (which appear to be the same black vines seen before) by throwing a broken stone into their midst. To the party's surprise, the tree begins to move and twist around to reveal two green eyes in its trunk.
-This tree claims to control the wide expanse the party has been passing through and asks for a tribute, particularly in the form of magical items. The tree expresses that it eats magic. It also expresses that a toll is a typical expense for travelers in the region. It says that it knows much about the Ruk Shol in the following area that the adventurers are heading to, and generally seems to appear to be neutral in nature.
-Sorden and Azariah begin trying to negotiate a toll with a +1 Orb that was found on “Draven,” but the tree senses the greater magic of the Zamunsol staves and indicates that it would be insulted by the meager offering that Sorden and Azariah present.
-Before anything else can be learned from the creature or negotiations for a toll are concluded, Nobo'ru, much to Azariah's chagrin, indirectly challenges the tree's ability or authority to exact a toll and there is rustling that is heard underfoot.
-The session ends.
[note, Andreas' absence is not noted by the party. This writer assumes that he stayed behind for some reason unknown to the party. It might be good for Pete to come up with a reason for why Andreas was not present...the story could be retroactively changed, if necessary.]
August 27, 2008
A Grim Goodbye
Abel clearly wanted to move on, and was palavering with Andreas about his thoughts regarding leaving the place. For his honor, Andreas would not budge, but knowing he was not a prevailing authority, asked the others for their opinion. Nobo'ru also agreed that they should leave, and Sorden, not having a hand in either choice, abstained from making a choice. Azariah decided that it would be best to wait, saying, "These Urash trees have mystical healing properties that aid us beyond our physical limits of recovery. It is also possible that Bacouth might have something to help us...I believe we should wait. It may also be that we have bled them, and so with reconnaisance we might learn more."
"Very well," said Andreas, "We will wait to see what Bacouth has that can help us."
Azariah asked Bacouth if he had anything that might be of aid, and he gave them the same drink that they had before at the feast, which Azariah had forgotten about between moments of unconsciousness and killing Ruk Shol. They were revived to a degree, but all except perhaps Sorden were exhausted and would not be able to last against any except the weakest and most last-ditch assault.
Just then, the familiar form of the ranger Draven came into the clearing. He was clutching a bloody wound on his arm. "The Ruk Shol!" He said, "The Ruk Shol are coming, more of them!"
"How many!?" asked Azariah, speaking more quickly than he does normally. "At least 15 more, they'll be here any minute!". "Of what quality are they?" Andreas inquired. "Just the weak grunts. It looks like a last-ditch attack to me," replied the wounded ranger.
Azariah turned to Andreas. This changed things. Now it was confirmed that more Ruk Shol were coming their way; but they were also weak, and relatively easy to put down, as the archers had been. Andreas, began to talk to everyone else. It was decided that if they were weak, that they could be held against- and that the original plan of ambush would likely work better this time. "At the very least," said Azariah, "it is time that the Priests of the Stars bore the brunt of their duty."
They left Draven at the tree, and slipped out past the now almost worthless tarp curtain and circled several hundred feet to the fank; when the sound of fighting began, they would come and surprise the Ruk Shol from behind.
Five minutes passed, and nothing. Then fire more. There was more palaver, and it was decided to wait five more minutes before going back. Five more minutes passed again without a sound, and they quickly came back to the tree. From behind the shredded curtain, they could hear Bacouth bellowing, "What are you doing!? Traitor!" As they entered, they could see the Priests of the Stars attempting to bind the ranger Draven. Andreas arrived first. Ever since they had discovered that the boy Jakoba had been a Ruk Shol shapeshifter, Azariah had been checking Ruk Shol bodies to see if they carried anything the boy had on him... but Azariah was not the only one seeking the creature's blood. Andreas would demand a repayment for the blood of the children that died because of this creature.
As they circled around the man named Draven, they found on him the same vials of black stuff which had been thrown at the tree before, and he had already put some on it, causing it to darken. Nobo'ru picked up one of the vials. Pinning the ranger to the ground, Andreas began to question him. He was not gentle. Draven lied, saying that his family had been kidnapped, but the Sorden and Nobo'ru saw through the lie. Without a moment's hesitation, Nobo'ru dropped some of the fluid on his forehead. He began to make more noise as it started to burn his skin. Andreas demanded that it assume its true form, and roaring "Never!" it started to try and break its bonds and escape. With a muffled popping sound, Andreas dislocated its right arm. Draven began to shift, and as he did the bonds loosened. Again Andreas pinned him down.
As he did so, Azariah walked away. As much as he would have enjoyed tormenting the Ruk Shol, he enjoyed the silence of the darkness outside better. Slipping past the remains of the curtain, he climbed a dead tree and waited, listening quietly to the sounds outside in the rain and the screams of the creature that had called itself Draven inside.
With surpirising strength, the thing, now certainly a Ruk Shol, broke free and attmepted to flee but was stabbed by Nobo'ru and tackled again by Andreas, who used his experience with grappling to put the Ruk Shol in an ankle lock. A lot of pain and a broken ankle later, the creature revealed its name, which no one cared to remember, and the plans of the Ruk Shol. They learned of their organization, and of their plans to take over Abaden. Most importantly, they learned that the force that "Draven" had said was coming was a third larger and far more powerful. As the interrogation drew to a close, the Ruk Shol said arrogantly, "You cannot stop us. We will detroy you all and enslave this world."
"Well," Andreas said, "Then I suppose my one consolation will be that you never lived to see it." And rising up with his sword in hand, Andreas cut the creature's head from its body. Azariah once again came back inside. "I heard nothing," he said. "The reinforcements are likely still a while off." "Well, by a half-hour, at least," said Andreas.
"Very well," said Andreas, "We will wait to see what Bacouth has that can help us."
Azariah asked Bacouth if he had anything that might be of aid, and he gave them the same drink that they had before at the feast, which Azariah had forgotten about between moments of unconsciousness and killing Ruk Shol. They were revived to a degree, but all except perhaps Sorden were exhausted and would not be able to last against any except the weakest and most last-ditch assault.
Just then, the familiar form of the ranger Draven came into the clearing. He was clutching a bloody wound on his arm. "The Ruk Shol!" He said, "The Ruk Shol are coming, more of them!"
"How many!?" asked Azariah, speaking more quickly than he does normally. "At least 15 more, they'll be here any minute!". "Of what quality are they?" Andreas inquired. "Just the weak grunts. It looks like a last-ditch attack to me," replied the wounded ranger.
Azariah turned to Andreas. This changed things. Now it was confirmed that more Ruk Shol were coming their way; but they were also weak, and relatively easy to put down, as the archers had been. Andreas, began to talk to everyone else. It was decided that if they were weak, that they could be held against- and that the original plan of ambush would likely work better this time. "At the very least," said Azariah, "it is time that the Priests of the Stars bore the brunt of their duty."
They left Draven at the tree, and slipped out past the now almost worthless tarp curtain and circled several hundred feet to the fank; when the sound of fighting began, they would come and surprise the Ruk Shol from behind.
Five minutes passed, and nothing. Then fire more. There was more palaver, and it was decided to wait five more minutes before going back. Five more minutes passed again without a sound, and they quickly came back to the tree. From behind the shredded curtain, they could hear Bacouth bellowing, "What are you doing!? Traitor!" As they entered, they could see the Priests of the Stars attempting to bind the ranger Draven. Andreas arrived first. Ever since they had discovered that the boy Jakoba had been a Ruk Shol shapeshifter, Azariah had been checking Ruk Shol bodies to see if they carried anything the boy had on him... but Azariah was not the only one seeking the creature's blood. Andreas would demand a repayment for the blood of the children that died because of this creature.
As they circled around the man named Draven, they found on him the same vials of black stuff which had been thrown at the tree before, and he had already put some on it, causing it to darken. Nobo'ru picked up one of the vials. Pinning the ranger to the ground, Andreas began to question him. He was not gentle. Draven lied, saying that his family had been kidnapped, but the Sorden and Nobo'ru saw through the lie. Without a moment's hesitation, Nobo'ru dropped some of the fluid on his forehead. He began to make more noise as it started to burn his skin. Andreas demanded that it assume its true form, and roaring "Never!" it started to try and break its bonds and escape. With a muffled popping sound, Andreas dislocated its right arm. Draven began to shift, and as he did the bonds loosened. Again Andreas pinned him down.
As he did so, Azariah walked away. As much as he would have enjoyed tormenting the Ruk Shol, he enjoyed the silence of the darkness outside better. Slipping past the remains of the curtain, he climbed a dead tree and waited, listening quietly to the sounds outside in the rain and the screams of the creature that had called itself Draven inside.
With surpirising strength, the thing, now certainly a Ruk Shol, broke free and attmepted to flee but was stabbed by Nobo'ru and tackled again by Andreas, who used his experience with grappling to put the Ruk Shol in an ankle lock. A lot of pain and a broken ankle later, the creature revealed its name, which no one cared to remember, and the plans of the Ruk Shol. They learned of their organization, and of their plans to take over Abaden. Most importantly, they learned that the force that "Draven" had said was coming was a third larger and far more powerful. As the interrogation drew to a close, the Ruk Shol said arrogantly, "You cannot stop us. We will detroy you all and enslave this world."
"Well," Andreas said, "Then I suppose my one consolation will be that you never lived to see it." And rising up with his sword in hand, Andreas cut the creature's head from its body. Azariah once again came back inside. "I heard nothing," he said. "The reinforcements are likely still a while off." "Well, by a half-hour, at least," said Andreas.
Tree and Testing
They are coming. The boy had deceived them; he was Ruk Shol. He would pay. No time to think of that now. They are coming. Nobo'ru peered into the darkness, his eyes not narrowed with effort as the others' were. In the dark, the hulking shapes of the Ruk Shol and the loping figures of wild dogs of some kind came bounding up the hill. Waiting for the creatures to pass into the curtain to be ambushed from behind an ambush was a good plan, but with the dogs there was no way to hide; Andreas, knowing that you don't stick to a plan that has already gone wrong, leapt from his tree signalling the attack early. Nobo'ru nimbly dismounted and flung a dagger into the dark, piecing the canine's flesh. Azariah hesitated to leave the dead tree he was concealed in as he raised his bow, and one of the dogs fell with a wail from the bite of arrows. Around six heavy muscled Ruk Shol, each with their two-handed axes, slammed into the line as they awaited the Ruk Shol outside the curtain's edge.
Bacouth, resplendant in his battle gear, stepped to the fore, and with magical energies seared the Ruk Shol, with Braxis at his side. Barrages of magical lightning from the Ruk Shol shamans blasted around, burning holes in the tarp curtain around the tree and striking Nobo'ru. The priests of the stars responded in kind from the tree, sending showers of exploding stars in to the Ruk Shol. Andreas used all of his expertise to control the massive melee in the middle, as Azariah lithely leapt from the dead tree he was in and fell back behind the curtain to draw off some of the Ruk Shol. Drawing his blades, he awaited them in the light.
Suddenly outside, creatures never before seen swept into the fight with keen blades and more slender figures than the Ruk Shol. Andreas and Nobo'ru began to grow weakened from the many enemies around, and Andreas, frustrated that they were scattered, bellowed for his friends to come closer but there was no answer.
Behind the curtain, Abel stood at the tree, summoned a huge fireball with a mystical word and sent the roiling flame into the Ruk Shol shamans, who began to press into the melee in the middle as well. Against the Ruk Shol on the left, Azariah stood alone, trading vicious blows. One mighty Ruk Shol fell beneath slashing blades, and then Azariah was knocked off of his feet with a heavy blow. Rising again on power he could not comprehend, Azariah recovered and attacked the other Ruk Shol, his roars of effort challenging the Ruk Shol's and defeaning him to Andrea's cries. As the second Ruk Shol fell broken at his feet, a third swept in with his axe, and Azariah knew no more.
...
Azariah's eyes opened weakly, and he saw standing over him a priest of the stars. Looking at himself, he saw his fatal wound closed. Without a word, the priest moved on to the tree, where the rest were gathered. Abel was leaning heavily on his staff, barely standing from his wounds. It looked as though he had been the only one not incapacitated during the whole fight, and perhaps only by a thread of his life. At the foot of the tree were the dead forms of two Ruk Shol and two of the strange half-breeds, which Azariah had never seen before. Azariah noticed that the tree's roots were covered in a kind of balck slime, and he realized that what he thought was a side effect of a brush with death was not a result of his condition; the tree was dimming. As Nobo'ru looted the dead Ruk Shol bodies in a business-like manner, Andreas wiped some of the fluid off with his glove. He hastily wiped it on the grass as it began to burn through his glove. Azariah took his waterskin and poured it on the tree, and noticed that it helped to wash off some of the fluid. The priests of the stars busily began wiping off the substance.
And this was going on, a familiar figure walked into the clearing. It was Sorden. Bearing his signature longsword which he carries with him at all times, and armor similar to Andreas', he strode in and asked, "I heard the sounds of battle and my ears were not off. What happened here?" Andreas stepped forward and, clasping Sorden in a military greeting declared, "Your presence is most welcome, Sordan." He quickly began to relate the situation as everyone else took to cleaning the tree. Meanwhile, Nobo'ru slipped away into the darkness outside and recovered the shaman's staves. Looking intently upon them, it was clear that they were covered in Zamunsol script, perhaps an ancient variant; it was more jagged looking than Zamunsol script typically was.
As they examined these trophies, again the footsteps of attackers could be heard, and before they could react, arrows whipped through the curtain, striking Nobo'ru and narrowly missing Sorden. Without hesitation, Andreas picked up the table Azariah had taken cover behind and advanced, using the table like a pavise. Azariah swiftly followed. They could not afford to stand off and be killed by arrows, and they had no idea about their attackers; the light of the Urash tree was in this case a curse, not a blessing. Nobo'ru pushed through the ragged tarps in time to see a huge Ruk Shol charging in, its reek almost overpowering in and of itself. Nobo'ru reacted without thinking, feinting and falling over backwards, and a massive axe blade swept an inch from his nose over his face. Bacouth sent burning light at the creature, but it seemed that Bacouth's power was not as effective as it once was, and the massive Ruk Shol barely noticed the burns as they began to heal with startling swiftness. Azariah and Sorden rushed out and engaged the creature, their blades ripping into its flesh, while Andreas stepped around behind the creature, hoping to position himself better. The monster was vicious, and it swung its axe around violently, striking back and forth between Nobo'ru and Andreas.
As they struggled to contain the monster, powerful bolts of magical energy streaked from behind the tarps and two of the archers exploded in a mist of gore. Unable to discern between friend and foe in the frenzying melee, Abel moved foreward but could not hit the Ruk Shol without hurting his friends. The giant Ruk Shol roared in its foul tongue and the archers continued to rain down arrows; everyone except Abel and Bacouth felt their bite. Tiring of the archer's arrows, Sorden and Nobo'ru charged away from the Ruk Shol and pursued the smaller Ruk Shol. Nobo'ru's knife was a whisper on the wind speaking a word of death, and an archer fell with a gurgle as its response, a dagger buried in its throat. Bloodied from the arrows and wild swings of the Ruk Shol, Sorden lost his concentration and swung wide of his target, but the Ruk Shol was badly distracted and found his aim to be faulty as he slipped away to try and pick off Andreas.
Bacouth was again unable to effectively damage the creature, and though a priest of the stars joined the battle with his morningstar, he too could not bring the Ruk Shol low. Abel, overcome by the rush of adrenaline, swung his staff to unleash magical power on the creature, but his stoke failed to find its mark. As the creature shifted around and struck Azariah, Andreas stepped back battered and exhausted. Then straightening, his voice took on a different quality than it usually did when he bellowed commands, and a faint supernatural light emanated from his sword as he challenged the Ruk Shol to fight him. The Ruk Shol turned to engage Andreas, and Azariah, releived from the frenzied swings of the creature for a moment, slashed a deep gash in the creature's side. Wildly it struck out and hit Azariah, but expecting this Azariah rode the blow out and slipped near Andreas, ready to fight the creature again.
In the outer darkness, Sorden felt satisfaction as he buried his longsword deep into the archer he pursued and began to move back towards the Ruk Shol with renewed purpose. Nobo'ru continued his hunt. In an unbroken, fluid motion, Nobo'ru slashed the eyes of the archer and dropped low, crouching stealthfully before the Ruk Shol's body even hit the ground.
As the monster closed in on the valiant but wounded Andreas, Sorden interrupted the challenge with a battlecry and stuck at the creature. It swung wildly and knocked Azariah unconscious to the ground with its backswing. A priest of the stars bent and revived Azariah, but Andreas did not realize this and steeling himself disengaged from the Ruk Shol to try and heal Azariah. When he saw him about to stand up, he composed himself and prepared to strike. He didn't need to. As Azariah rose, the creature's back was turned, and Azariah swung his blade overhanded into the Ruk Shol's back, snapping its spine in two and piercing its heart. With a deep groan its lages gave way and it fell on its face. Nobo'ru, swept up and cut its head off to ensure it was dead. Retrieving his sword from the corpse and wiping it down, Azariah began to go back to the light of the tree, where Abel and Andreas were already talking privately.
Bacouth, resplendant in his battle gear, stepped to the fore, and with magical energies seared the Ruk Shol, with Braxis at his side. Barrages of magical lightning from the Ruk Shol shamans blasted around, burning holes in the tarp curtain around the tree and striking Nobo'ru. The priests of the stars responded in kind from the tree, sending showers of exploding stars in to the Ruk Shol. Andreas used all of his expertise to control the massive melee in the middle, as Azariah lithely leapt from the dead tree he was in and fell back behind the curtain to draw off some of the Ruk Shol. Drawing his blades, he awaited them in the light.
Suddenly outside, creatures never before seen swept into the fight with keen blades and more slender figures than the Ruk Shol. Andreas and Nobo'ru began to grow weakened from the many enemies around, and Andreas, frustrated that they were scattered, bellowed for his friends to come closer but there was no answer.
Behind the curtain, Abel stood at the tree, summoned a huge fireball with a mystical word and sent the roiling flame into the Ruk Shol shamans, who began to press into the melee in the middle as well. Against the Ruk Shol on the left, Azariah stood alone, trading vicious blows. One mighty Ruk Shol fell beneath slashing blades, and then Azariah was knocked off of his feet with a heavy blow. Rising again on power he could not comprehend, Azariah recovered and attacked the other Ruk Shol, his roars of effort challenging the Ruk Shol's and defeaning him to Andrea's cries. As the second Ruk Shol fell broken at his feet, a third swept in with his axe, and Azariah knew no more.
...
Azariah's eyes opened weakly, and he saw standing over him a priest of the stars. Looking at himself, he saw his fatal wound closed. Without a word, the priest moved on to the tree, where the rest were gathered. Abel was leaning heavily on his staff, barely standing from his wounds. It looked as though he had been the only one not incapacitated during the whole fight, and perhaps only by a thread of his life. At the foot of the tree were the dead forms of two Ruk Shol and two of the strange half-breeds, which Azariah had never seen before. Azariah noticed that the tree's roots were covered in a kind of balck slime, and he realized that what he thought was a side effect of a brush with death was not a result of his condition; the tree was dimming. As Nobo'ru looted the dead Ruk Shol bodies in a business-like manner, Andreas wiped some of the fluid off with his glove. He hastily wiped it on the grass as it began to burn through his glove. Azariah took his waterskin and poured it on the tree, and noticed that it helped to wash off some of the fluid. The priests of the stars busily began wiping off the substance.
And this was going on, a familiar figure walked into the clearing. It was Sorden. Bearing his signature longsword which he carries with him at all times, and armor similar to Andreas', he strode in and asked, "I heard the sounds of battle and my ears were not off. What happened here?" Andreas stepped forward and, clasping Sorden in a military greeting declared, "Your presence is most welcome, Sordan." He quickly began to relate the situation as everyone else took to cleaning the tree. Meanwhile, Nobo'ru slipped away into the darkness outside and recovered the shaman's staves. Looking intently upon them, it was clear that they were covered in Zamunsol script, perhaps an ancient variant; it was more jagged looking than Zamunsol script typically was.
As they examined these trophies, again the footsteps of attackers could be heard, and before they could react, arrows whipped through the curtain, striking Nobo'ru and narrowly missing Sorden. Without hesitation, Andreas picked up the table Azariah had taken cover behind and advanced, using the table like a pavise. Azariah swiftly followed. They could not afford to stand off and be killed by arrows, and they had no idea about their attackers; the light of the Urash tree was in this case a curse, not a blessing. Nobo'ru pushed through the ragged tarps in time to see a huge Ruk Shol charging in, its reek almost overpowering in and of itself. Nobo'ru reacted without thinking, feinting and falling over backwards, and a massive axe blade swept an inch from his nose over his face. Bacouth sent burning light at the creature, but it seemed that Bacouth's power was not as effective as it once was, and the massive Ruk Shol barely noticed the burns as they began to heal with startling swiftness. Azariah and Sorden rushed out and engaged the creature, their blades ripping into its flesh, while Andreas stepped around behind the creature, hoping to position himself better. The monster was vicious, and it swung its axe around violently, striking back and forth between Nobo'ru and Andreas.
As they struggled to contain the monster, powerful bolts of magical energy streaked from behind the tarps and two of the archers exploded in a mist of gore. Unable to discern between friend and foe in the frenzying melee, Abel moved foreward but could not hit the Ruk Shol without hurting his friends. The giant Ruk Shol roared in its foul tongue and the archers continued to rain down arrows; everyone except Abel and Bacouth felt their bite. Tiring of the archer's arrows, Sorden and Nobo'ru charged away from the Ruk Shol and pursued the smaller Ruk Shol. Nobo'ru's knife was a whisper on the wind speaking a word of death, and an archer fell with a gurgle as its response, a dagger buried in its throat. Bloodied from the arrows and wild swings of the Ruk Shol, Sorden lost his concentration and swung wide of his target, but the Ruk Shol was badly distracted and found his aim to be faulty as he slipped away to try and pick off Andreas.
Bacouth was again unable to effectively damage the creature, and though a priest of the stars joined the battle with his morningstar, he too could not bring the Ruk Shol low. Abel, overcome by the rush of adrenaline, swung his staff to unleash magical power on the creature, but his stoke failed to find its mark. As the creature shifted around and struck Azariah, Andreas stepped back battered and exhausted. Then straightening, his voice took on a different quality than it usually did when he bellowed commands, and a faint supernatural light emanated from his sword as he challenged the Ruk Shol to fight him. The Ruk Shol turned to engage Andreas, and Azariah, releived from the frenzied swings of the creature for a moment, slashed a deep gash in the creature's side. Wildly it struck out and hit Azariah, but expecting this Azariah rode the blow out and slipped near Andreas, ready to fight the creature again.
In the outer darkness, Sorden felt satisfaction as he buried his longsword deep into the archer he pursued and began to move back towards the Ruk Shol with renewed purpose. Nobo'ru continued his hunt. In an unbroken, fluid motion, Nobo'ru slashed the eyes of the archer and dropped low, crouching stealthfully before the Ruk Shol's body even hit the ground.
As the monster closed in on the valiant but wounded Andreas, Sorden interrupted the challenge with a battlecry and stuck at the creature. It swung wildly and knocked Azariah unconscious to the ground with its backswing. A priest of the stars bent and revived Azariah, but Andreas did not realize this and steeling himself disengaged from the Ruk Shol to try and heal Azariah. When he saw him about to stand up, he composed himself and prepared to strike. He didn't need to. As Azariah rose, the creature's back was turned, and Azariah swung his blade overhanded into the Ruk Shol's back, snapping its spine in two and piercing its heart. With a deep groan its lages gave way and it fell on its face. Nobo'ru, swept up and cut its head off to ensure it was dead. Retrieving his sword from the corpse and wiping it down, Azariah began to go back to the light of the tree, where Abel and Andreas were already talking privately.
A Bloody Departure
Quick Summary No. 3
-After repelling the previous wave, Sorden arrives in between waves to help the party
-A third wave comes, this time with a very large regenerating Ruk-Shol as a leader, followed by many weaker archers.
-The party manages to repel this wave better than the last, but is badly drained in the process. The substance the Ruk Shol used on the tree is thick and viscous, and burns, but it can be wiped away, using water helps.
-The ranger Draven arrives informing the party that more Rul Shol were on their way. The party decides to lie in ambush, and they leave Draven beside the tree. Many minutes pass.
-The party returns to the tree to find Draven being tied up by the Priests of the Stars and being called a traitor. Andreas and Nobo'ru subdue Draven after a few stabbings, dislocated/broken bones and submission moves, after which they discover Draven is actually the shape shifting Ruk Shol who deceived them. Azariah quietly leaves the shelter and goes outside.
-The creature revealed its name, but nobody in the party really cares to remember the names of such filth (i.e. I forgot it). Several other things were revealed: There are millions of Ruk Shol, some of them are smart, shapeshifters are rare, they are confidant that they can take over the world, and there are more (about 20) coming in about a half hour or so from the south where their base is.
-Andreas decapitates the Ruk Shol and the party loots his corpse. Two maps are found, one a large scale map showing the general area (including the capital) and one a smaller scale map. Both show Xs on the map which are believed to be Ruk Shol encampments. Some other items are also found.
-The Ruk Shol's head is placed on a spike outside the curtain and Andreas (?) decides to throw his corpse into the Dewfrond vine covering the tree, which promptly shreds it.
-Bacouth decides that since the party has proven that they really care about the tree, they should be able to kill the vine, which Azariah and Andreas do with relish. The vine is shown to secrete some kind of substance similar to that which the Ruk Shol used, and it starts to kill the tree before the party wipes it down.
-In the meantime, Azariah apologizes for insulting behavior done earlier and asks Bacouth for an official letter explaining the new Ruk Shol and the organization of the Ruk Shol attackers.
-The party leaves. It is noted that hours later, the light of the Urash tree can still be seen, though dim because of distance.
-Five days of travel pass as the party avoids Xs on the map and then begins to go to the large open area in the middle of the map. They come across a stone ruin, which Andreas believes to be the location of a large battle hundreds of years ago. Sorden (?) and Azariah find under some rubble Zamunsol blades which have been ruined with rust. They look to be rather old.
-The party spends their sleep-cycle in the ruins. It is established that Azariah will take first watch and Andreas will take the last...the rest of the party are fey-blooded, so they don't need to take watches.
-Session ends. 800XP awarded.
-After repelling the previous wave, Sorden arrives in between waves to help the party
-A third wave comes, this time with a very large regenerating Ruk-Shol as a leader, followed by many weaker archers.
-The party manages to repel this wave better than the last, but is badly drained in the process. The substance the Ruk Shol used on the tree is thick and viscous, and burns, but it can be wiped away, using water helps.
-The ranger Draven arrives informing the party that more Rul Shol were on their way. The party decides to lie in ambush, and they leave Draven beside the tree. Many minutes pass.
-The party returns to the tree to find Draven being tied up by the Priests of the Stars and being called a traitor. Andreas and Nobo'ru subdue Draven after a few stabbings, dislocated/broken bones and submission moves, after which they discover Draven is actually the shape shifting Ruk Shol who deceived them. Azariah quietly leaves the shelter and goes outside.
-The creature revealed its name, but nobody in the party really cares to remember the names of such filth (i.e. I forgot it). Several other things were revealed: There are millions of Ruk Shol, some of them are smart, shapeshifters are rare, they are confidant that they can take over the world, and there are more (about 20) coming in about a half hour or so from the south where their base is.
-Andreas decapitates the Ruk Shol and the party loots his corpse. Two maps are found, one a large scale map showing the general area (including the capital) and one a smaller scale map. Both show Xs on the map which are believed to be Ruk Shol encampments. Some other items are also found.
-The Ruk Shol's head is placed on a spike outside the curtain and Andreas (?) decides to throw his corpse into the Dewfrond vine covering the tree, which promptly shreds it.
-Bacouth decides that since the party has proven that they really care about the tree, they should be able to kill the vine, which Azariah and Andreas do with relish. The vine is shown to secrete some kind of substance similar to that which the Ruk Shol used, and it starts to kill the tree before the party wipes it down.
-In the meantime, Azariah apologizes for insulting behavior done earlier and asks Bacouth for an official letter explaining the new Ruk Shol and the organization of the Ruk Shol attackers.
-The party leaves. It is noted that hours later, the light of the Urash tree can still be seen, though dim because of distance.
-Five days of travel pass as the party avoids Xs on the map and then begins to go to the large open area in the middle of the map. They come across a stone ruin, which Andreas believes to be the location of a large battle hundreds of years ago. Sorden (?) and Azariah find under some rubble Zamunsol blades which have been ruined with rust. They look to be rather old.
-The party spends their sleep-cycle in the ruins. It is established that Azariah will take first watch and Andreas will take the last...the rest of the party are fey-blooded, so they don't need to take watches.
-Session ends. 800XP awarded.
August 23, 2008
Encroaching Darkness
-The party discovers Bacouth has increased in his madness over time, and that the Priests of the Stars are very religious with lots of rules.
-A ranger comes and tells the party that the boy Jakoba ran away. The party discovers that Jakoba was actually not a boy, but some kind of shape shifter, who was likely planning for some kind of attack.
-The party returns to Bacouth and there is a feast, which consisted entirely of alchohol distilled from various things, one of which being the Urash tree [check with brian on this, I forget if this is true or not]
-Bacouth and the priests prepare for battle as the party informs him of the coming Ruk shol. Bacouth considers that the Dewfrond vine may in fact be evil.
-The Ruk Shol attack, this time with shamans and also a new, before unheard of race that are similar to drow. It is speculated that these might be a controlling race that dictates the ruk Shol.
-The Ruk shol and the mysterious race throw some kind of black tarry substance on the Urash tree that makes it start to go dark. Bacouth is badly wounded in battle. Azariah nearly dies. The Ruk Shol and the elvish race are barely repelled.
-End Session.
-A ranger comes and tells the party that the boy Jakoba ran away. The party discovers that Jakoba was actually not a boy, but some kind of shape shifter, who was likely planning for some kind of attack.
-The party returns to Bacouth and there is a feast, which consisted entirely of alchohol distilled from various things, one of which being the Urash tree [check with brian on this, I forget if this is true or not]
-Bacouth and the priests prepare for battle as the party informs him of the coming Ruk shol. Bacouth considers that the Dewfrond vine may in fact be evil.
-The Ruk Shol attack, this time with shamans and also a new, before unheard of race that are similar to drow. It is speculated that these might be a controlling race that dictates the ruk Shol.
-The Ruk shol and the mysterious race throw some kind of black tarry substance on the Urash tree that makes it start to go dark. Bacouth is badly wounded in battle. Azariah nearly dies. The Ruk Shol and the elvish race are barely repelled.
-End Session.
July 31, 2008
Announcement- Quick Summaries
Hello all Chronicle readers...
As of recently, I have decided that for the sake of readers who do not have time to read 20 pages of exposition every week, I will be writing "Quick Summary" entries. They will cover the same basic events and dialogue details as my novel-esque writing, but will obviously be much shorter and less time consuming. We writers are still refining how we want to do things, so please bear with us if things get a little repetitive.
Quick Summary No 1:
-Andreas, Azariah, Nobo'ru and Abel leave the Zamunsol enclave headed east. A storm comes from the north, so they divert south off the beaten path to avoid it.
-While off the path, they hear screams and rescue some children
-Combat encounter: Azariah, Andreas and Nobo'ru fight 3 Ruk Shol to try and save the 3rd child while Abel hides the other two. Abel returns to invigorate the beleagured party and the Ruk Shol are then defeated in short order. It is learned that the Ruk Shol will even stop mid-battle to try and feast on incapacitated party members.
-The party returns to where Abel hid the children and finds them gone. The party spends many hours trying to track them down, to exhaustion. The children's remains are found, and the party encamps farther off. Andreas wishes to avenge the children's deaths, and Azariah is willing to go with him, but Nobo'ru's counsel diverts them back to their main quest.
-The party wishes to investigate the source of light they saw while traveling before they found the children. The child proves difficult to deal with, and so they bring him.
-The source of light is discovered to be an Urash tree covered in tarps, and also wreathed in a kind of dangerous, vampiric vine which Azariah identifies as a Dewfrond. A man in the tree, Bacouth, sends the adventurers on a mission to get more tarps to cover up the places he has failed to conceal where the light shines out. He says that he is there to protect the tree, that he is a Priest of the Stars.
-The adventurers go to the young boy's villiage and acquire the goods they need, using star dust Bacouth gave them as currency. The boy is discovered to have no surviving relatives or guardians. The boy is dropped off with a villiager, "Miss Cindy" who promises to take care of the boy. Andreas promises to come back one day to teach him swordplay if he promises to behave and no longer run off.
-The party returns to Bacouth without incident. It is noted that the storm they had run through several times has in fact not moved, but is situated in a ring around the hill upon which the Urash tree sits. The ground around it has become a swampy mire.
-Other helpers of Bacouth are revealed. One of them only speaks in whispers and appears mad. The party suspects, due to Azariah's insistence that the Dewfrond vine is evil, that it must be destroyed. Bacouth, however, insists that it is a good thing that creates a symbiosis with the Urash tree. It is noted that after the Dewfrond was wounded in the first encounter, that the Urash tree's light weakened.
-The one priest who whispers insists on the vine's evil nature as well, but does not dare challenge Bacouth and the other followers. He is willing to help the party if a conflict should arise, but because of the numerical advantage Bacouth has, he is unwilling to start anything.
-Bacouth suggests that the ruk shol are to blame for the odd storm, and wants the party to hunt them.
-Andreas manages to acquire a sample of the vine by "accidentally" falling into it, drawing it to attack, and then hacking off a piece. Bacouth nearly attacks Andreas for this. The situation is rather tense when the session ends.
As of recently, I have decided that for the sake of readers who do not have time to read 20 pages of exposition every week, I will be writing "Quick Summary" entries. They will cover the same basic events and dialogue details as my novel-esque writing, but will obviously be much shorter and less time consuming. We writers are still refining how we want to do things, so please bear with us if things get a little repetitive.
Quick Summary No 1:
-Andreas, Azariah, Nobo'ru and Abel leave the Zamunsol enclave headed east. A storm comes from the north, so they divert south off the beaten path to avoid it.
-While off the path, they hear screams and rescue some children
-Combat encounter: Azariah, Andreas and Nobo'ru fight 3 Ruk Shol to try and save the 3rd child while Abel hides the other two. Abel returns to invigorate the beleagured party and the Ruk Shol are then defeated in short order. It is learned that the Ruk Shol will even stop mid-battle to try and feast on incapacitated party members.
-The party returns to where Abel hid the children and finds them gone. The party spends many hours trying to track them down, to exhaustion. The children's remains are found, and the party encamps farther off. Andreas wishes to avenge the children's deaths, and Azariah is willing to go with him, but Nobo'ru's counsel diverts them back to their main quest.
-The party wishes to investigate the source of light they saw while traveling before they found the children. The child proves difficult to deal with, and so they bring him.
-The source of light is discovered to be an Urash tree covered in tarps, and also wreathed in a kind of dangerous, vampiric vine which Azariah identifies as a Dewfrond. A man in the tree, Bacouth, sends the adventurers on a mission to get more tarps to cover up the places he has failed to conceal where the light shines out. He says that he is there to protect the tree, that he is a Priest of the Stars.
-The adventurers go to the young boy's villiage and acquire the goods they need, using star dust Bacouth gave them as currency. The boy is discovered to have no surviving relatives or guardians. The boy is dropped off with a villiager, "Miss Cindy" who promises to take care of the boy. Andreas promises to come back one day to teach him swordplay if he promises to behave and no longer run off.
-The party returns to Bacouth without incident. It is noted that the storm they had run through several times has in fact not moved, but is situated in a ring around the hill upon which the Urash tree sits. The ground around it has become a swampy mire.
-Other helpers of Bacouth are revealed. One of them only speaks in whispers and appears mad. The party suspects, due to Azariah's insistence that the Dewfrond vine is evil, that it must be destroyed. Bacouth, however, insists that it is a good thing that creates a symbiosis with the Urash tree. It is noted that after the Dewfrond was wounded in the first encounter, that the Urash tree's light weakened.
-The one priest who whispers insists on the vine's evil nature as well, but does not dare challenge Bacouth and the other followers. He is willing to help the party if a conflict should arise, but because of the numerical advantage Bacouth has, he is unwilling to start anything.
-Bacouth suggests that the ruk shol are to blame for the odd storm, and wants the party to hunt them.
-Andreas manages to acquire a sample of the vine by "accidentally" falling into it, drawing it to attack, and then hacking off a piece. Bacouth nearly attacks Andreas for this. The situation is rather tense when the session ends.
July 24, 2008
The Road Less Travelled
Departing from the subterranean home of the Zamunsol where all of the party was raised (save for Andreas) the group was sent out with the mission of "affecting change", what exactly that will look like, no one rightly knows. Following maps given to them by the Zamunsol, the party took the main road to the West.
As they were traveling, Azariah could feel in his bones that a storm was coming on. The humidity was more intense than even the normal cold, dark, musty atmosphere of Abaden. Traveling on, the weather proved him right as a light mist began to fall. Andreas, concerned about the safety of his primarily metal equipment, wanted to find shelter. Believing he was understanding the weather patterns, Azariah suggested that if perhaps they veered of of their set path by going slightly South, they would be able to skirt the storm and lose less time than if they were to stop moving and take shelter.
So the group changed course and turned Southward, but as they traveled there was something odd about the storm. Though they had only moved a few miles South, they were able to stay dry while watching lightning bathe the sky to the North. Moving forward, the group noticed at a certain point that there seemed to be a source of light other than the lightning off to the North. Just as they were debating heading toward it screams were heard from afar off. Running toward the screams they saw the light of some phosphorescent mushrooms and found two young children who had been tied up. Cutting them free, the child said "They've got my brother, help him!" While Abel stayed behind to protect the children, Noboru, Azariah, and Andreas charged in the direction they heard the scream come from.
Just as the group spotted a dim light source in the distance, a hunting party of Ruk-Shol emerged from the darkness. In the brief battle that ensued, the Ruk-Shol quickly overwhelmed to group knocking Andreas and ultimately Noboru unconscious. Just when it seemed all hope was lost, Abel came to their aid and him and Azariah were able to defeat the already-injured warband.
After dispatching them, the party was able to track down their quarry, another young boy named Jakobah. Heading back to where they had left the other two boys, the party arrived to find them missing. They were able to track the boys footprints away from the site. The party moved as quickly as possible in pursuit of the boys thinking that they could not have gone far in a such a short time. Unfortunately, minutes of tracking became hours quickly and there was no sound of the boys. The tracking was proving too slow so the party broke into an all-out run in the direction they thought the boys fled.
After some time the tracks changed from children's footprints to large, heavy boots. Driven by a sense of duty, the party refused to rest until they found the children. Pushing themselves beyond limits they had known before, the party was ultimately confused and exhausted. Just when they were unsure what to do next, Jakobah spotted something on the ground. Closer inspection showed that it was blood and bits of human flesh. It seemed that it was too late, that the Ruk-Shol had already killed the children they were trying so desperately to rescue.
Andreas felt that despite this evidence, the party should press on and avenge the deaths of the boys. The rest of the party felt it necessary to continue their travel, in his wisdom Noboru explained "There are many people in this world in need of justice, but if we become the agent of each and every victim, surely we will not have the kind of influence on the Kings and Nobles of this world that the Zamunsol have trained us for."
Jakobah mourned bitterly the death of his brother and friend. The next day the group retraced their steps. Conversation along the journey seemed to prove the Jakobah was quite a handful. He refused to listen to reason and go back with the party to town. Instead he insisted that they take him with them to see find out what the light was that they had all seen off in the distance.
As they were traveling, Azariah could feel in his bones that a storm was coming on. The humidity was more intense than even the normal cold, dark, musty atmosphere of Abaden. Traveling on, the weather proved him right as a light mist began to fall. Andreas, concerned about the safety of his primarily metal equipment, wanted to find shelter. Believing he was understanding the weather patterns, Azariah suggested that if perhaps they veered of of their set path by going slightly South, they would be able to skirt the storm and lose less time than if they were to stop moving and take shelter.
So the group changed course and turned Southward, but as they traveled there was something odd about the storm. Though they had only moved a few miles South, they were able to stay dry while watching lightning bathe the sky to the North. Moving forward, the group noticed at a certain point that there seemed to be a source of light other than the lightning off to the North. Just as they were debating heading toward it screams were heard from afar off. Running toward the screams they saw the light of some phosphorescent mushrooms and found two young children who had been tied up. Cutting them free, the child said "They've got my brother, help him!" While Abel stayed behind to protect the children, Noboru, Azariah, and Andreas charged in the direction they heard the scream come from.
Just as the group spotted a dim light source in the distance, a hunting party of Ruk-Shol emerged from the darkness. In the brief battle that ensued, the Ruk-Shol quickly overwhelmed to group knocking Andreas and ultimately Noboru unconscious. Just when it seemed all hope was lost, Abel came to their aid and him and Azariah were able to defeat the already-injured warband.
After dispatching them, the party was able to track down their quarry, another young boy named Jakobah. Heading back to where they had left the other two boys, the party arrived to find them missing. They were able to track the boys footprints away from the site. The party moved as quickly as possible in pursuit of the boys thinking that they could not have gone far in a such a short time. Unfortunately, minutes of tracking became hours quickly and there was no sound of the boys. The tracking was proving too slow so the party broke into an all-out run in the direction they thought the boys fled.
After some time the tracks changed from children's footprints to large, heavy boots. Driven by a sense of duty, the party refused to rest until they found the children. Pushing themselves beyond limits they had known before, the party was ultimately confused and exhausted. Just when they were unsure what to do next, Jakobah spotted something on the ground. Closer inspection showed that it was blood and bits of human flesh. It seemed that it was too late, that the Ruk-Shol had already killed the children they were trying so desperately to rescue.
Andreas felt that despite this evidence, the party should press on and avenge the deaths of the boys. The rest of the party felt it necessary to continue their travel, in his wisdom Noboru explained "There are many people in this world in need of justice, but if we become the agent of each and every victim, surely we will not have the kind of influence on the Kings and Nobles of this world that the Zamunsol have trained us for."
Jakobah mourned bitterly the death of his brother and friend. The next day the group retraced their steps. Conversation along the journey seemed to prove the Jakobah was quite a handful. He refused to listen to reason and go back with the party to town. Instead he insisted that they take him with them to see find out what the light was that they had all seen off in the distance.
July 22, 2008
An Abundance of Rain
Author's note (David): I, unfortunately, didn't do a great job of record keeping this time, so some of the exact wording of the dialogue may be lost. I mostly remember the kinds of things my character said, but aside from very "key" converstaions I don't remember what others said. So this may be slightly inaccurate in that regard.
The grinding crunch of gravel gave way under the soft earth and quieted as the four adventurers set off from the Zamunsol, a twenty day journey in the gloom spead out at their feet. Azariah walked ahead in the darkness, keeping his own quiet counsel as he lead them along paths that were familiar from his training in fieldcraft. Nobo'ru, doggedly walked nearby, with a luminescent mushroom shifting about his person as he idly passed it about without comment, his motion more expressive than his face. Only Andreas truly stood out, a torch looped to the bottom of his shield illuminating the path before him. The light of it clung the bottom of his mixed armor of leather and steel like a beggar pleading for a coin. It reached out and lapped at Azariah's heels as he strode forward, always slightly out of the lamp's reach. Abel stepped sprightly behind Andreas, white radiance washed about his person, his youthful optimism and excitement seeming to shine from him, or would have if his wooden staff of power did not overpower it beyond one's ability to see.
As they advanced, a mist began to fall. Azariah stopped only to offer a quiet warning: "If it worstens, we must find shelter." Stopping again, he paused, and feeling the winds, said "I feel an abundance of rain. We should go around, off the path." While Azariah assured that it would be far better than risking the wetness of the rain, Nobo'ru began to walk off the path without a word. They again moved on, this time with Andreas walking in step with Azariah. It seemed that they had avoided the worst of the storm, though crackles and peals of thunder began to smite the earth a ways off to the north as they headed east. After a time of travel, Azariah, Andreas and Nobo'ru caught a faint glowing light in the far distance. Andreas pointed to the light and, looking to Abel who knew more about the deep magic of the world than the rest of them, inquired, "Abel, can you discern the nature of the light over there? What kind of light is it?"
"It is like the light in my dreams!" He exclaimed softly. "It is not a magical kind of light." There was a pause and then, as though perfectly timed between the cracks of thunder, a bloodcurdling shriek was heard faintly on the wind.
Andreas sprang into a run towards the sound as though it were a clarion for his destiny to be fulfilled, and the rain that he had once avoided for want of keeping his accoutrements intact was of no consequence to him at all any more. His piercing eyes narrowed against the hard rain as it coursed about his face amongst the stubble, pattered on his armor and quenched his lamp. As Andreas charged off, Azariah followed, his instinct starting to come over his mind. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Nobo'ru sweep to the right, ranging out to avoid the eyes of foes trained on the three others who charged ahead.
Andreas arrived first, and seeing the two children hog-tied on the sodden ground, he wasted no time ripping his sword from it's scabbard and cutting their bonds. One of them rose immediately and shouted "They got my brother, they got my brother!" as he pointed emphatically into the darkness. Ahead a small glowing light bobbed frantically. Azariah, hardly having stopped running, charged off again toward the light. Andreas paused only a moment to sever the ropes binding the other boy and set off at Azariah's heels. While the two continued recklessly into the dark, Nobo'ru coninued forward, his luminsescent mushoom barely able to send its light ahead of his swift feet.
Abel arrived at where the children were. Stripping off their remaining ropes, he took them under his robe to shield them from the rain, and encouraged them as best he could, saying "You're safe now," as he lit up his staff again with a wave of his hand.
In the distance, Azariah's feed pounded in the darkness. He could see the light ahead, and with that in the attention of his eye, he never saw the Ruk Shol coming. With a sudden shuddering roar, Azariah was struck in his stomach with a blow that might have cut him in two and put an end to his life, if he had not been struck with the haft instead of the blade of the axe. As he staggered under the blow's weight, he straightened with a roar and tore his blades from their scabbards. In an instant, he swung them with such a savage hatred brought on by his surprise and loathing for the creature before him that the bite of his scimitars was inevitable, slicing deep into the flesh of the Ruk Shol. Andreas was caught in another Ruk Shol's surprise attack, and was hammered by a weighty blow from another Ruk Shol's axe. The melee turned vicious for the two men; but as the furious blows of the Ruk Shol began to tell, Andreas bellowed a battle cry that would straighten the spine of the most weary soldier as he pierced his sword deep into the crearture's dark flesh with a well calculated strike. The other Ruk Shol swung wildly at Azariah, missing him and hitting Andreas in the back, opening him up for a crushing blow from another. Andreas crumpled to the ground with a grunt. With a slavering roar, the other Ruk Shol turned to Azariah and for the first time in his adulthood, Azariah knew fear.
Behind him, he could not see that Nobo'ru had fought past a Ruk Shol to run to the other by Azariah. With a word that undoes flesh, the Ruk Shol that had laid Andreas low howled as his flesh was pierced by an inscrutable magic power.
Off in the distance, as he heard the clash of battle, Abel wasted no time. Hoisting a child under each arm, and levitating his illuminated staff before him, he ran to the nearest tree, placed the children underneath, planted his staff in the earth before them and said "Please stay here until I come back! Don't go anywhere, OK!?". The children only nodded emphatically as Abel sprinted towards the roars and ringing of steel.
Dazed from the weighty swings of the Ruk Shol's axe, and his power draining from him like water, Azariah whirled again his blades, but could not wound the Ruk Shol deeply enough to end its life. The Ruk Shol Nobo'ru had distracted pounded Nobo'ru squarely in the shoulder, staggering him. Again the Ruk Shol before Azariah swung wildly, and Azariah dodged the blow. The axe turned in the air and the flat of its blade connected with the back of Nobo'ru's head, knocking his face into the ground at the other Ruk Shol's feet.
With a blistering cry, Azariah thrust both of his blades into the Ruk Shol which had denied him the satisfaction of a kill so long, puncturing both lungs at once. Azariah's moment of fear died with the Ruk Shol and left him like the blood dribbling from its lips. Tearing them out he saw the other Ruk Shol leaning over Nobo'ru's crumpled form and with uncanny speed drew his long bow. Haste and exhaustion plagued his aim, and though he shot with a rapidity that would be the envy of many, he only found his mark once, sending an arrow piercing through the Ruk Shol's skin as though it were merely another bone ornament threaded through its flesh.
Like a dawn that comes suddenly, Azariah saw to his right a burst of bright light as magical energy streaked into the third Ruk Shol a distance away and seared his flesh. Abel stood at the clearing with lighting cackling in his hands. The Ruk Shol, incredibly, turned and ran to Andreas' body and fell on it, its tongue hanging out.
The other Ruk Shol that Azariah had shot did the same to Nobo'ru, and Azariah's eyes widened as he saw their jaws open to feed. Dropping his bow and taking up his scimitars again, he shook off his dazed exhaustion and laid his blade into the Ruk Shol over Nobo'ru. It rose and struck Azariah in the face with its fist, it's crude, grimy thumbnail slicing his forehead open. Nearly unconscious, lights flickered in Azariah's eyes as he reeled; it was only through sheer will that he was stayed on his feet. The other Ruk Shol stood up again and began to move towards Azariah.
Abel moved toward Andreas, still far away, and suddenly winked into existence beside him and took Andreas under the arms, who was even now regaining consciousness. With clarity of mind sliding back in, Andreas gathered himself, shouted for Nobo'ru to get up, and stepped in to engage the Ruk Shol who had been a moment ago looking for a good place to sink its teeth into his body. Nobo'ru responded to Andreas' impeccable timing, and planted a dagger deep into the Ruk Shol's back as it turned to face to Andreas, who stepped back to avoid it's reach.
Azariah, in a swift move responded to the blow he received before and slashed the Ruk Shol's face as he ran to help Andreas, sending it to the ground howling in agony. Without a lost moment, he slipped between Andreas and the last Ruk Shol, ready to die if he had to, as the Ruk Shol drew his axe back for a final blow.
It never came. With a soft splitting sound, a dagger point sprouted from the Ruk Shol's forehead and a single drop of blood flew out from its tip and struck Azariah's face. The Ruk Shol's white eyes went vacant and it collapsed to the side. On the other side stood a very disheveled Nobo'ru, his emotion, if he had any at all, only expressed in his heavy breathing, which seemed more like a necessity of his flesh than any tell of emotion.
Remembering the boy they had suffered so long to find, Azariah sheathed his blades distractedly and immediately tracked the boy's steps as Andreas took his sword and punched it into the Ruk Shol who had knocked him out before repeadly, putting an end to its groaning. Finding the boy, Azariah grabbed his shoulder and said simply, "I have you now, and you will be safe. Come with me, we have found your brother and your friend." Andreas came and took the boy, and they ran back to the clearing where the boys were.
Abel's staff stood loyally where he had left it, it's white radiance bathing the earth under the tree, but the boys were gone.
The grinding crunch of gravel gave way under the soft earth and quieted as the four adventurers set off from the Zamunsol, a twenty day journey in the gloom spead out at their feet. Azariah walked ahead in the darkness, keeping his own quiet counsel as he lead them along paths that were familiar from his training in fieldcraft. Nobo'ru, doggedly walked nearby, with a luminescent mushroom shifting about his person as he idly passed it about without comment, his motion more expressive than his face. Only Andreas truly stood out, a torch looped to the bottom of his shield illuminating the path before him. The light of it clung the bottom of his mixed armor of leather and steel like a beggar pleading for a coin. It reached out and lapped at Azariah's heels as he strode forward, always slightly out of the lamp's reach. Abel stepped sprightly behind Andreas, white radiance washed about his person, his youthful optimism and excitement seeming to shine from him, or would have if his wooden staff of power did not overpower it beyond one's ability to see.
As they advanced, a mist began to fall. Azariah stopped only to offer a quiet warning: "If it worstens, we must find shelter." Stopping again, he paused, and feeling the winds, said "I feel an abundance of rain. We should go around, off the path." While Azariah assured that it would be far better than risking the wetness of the rain, Nobo'ru began to walk off the path without a word. They again moved on, this time with Andreas walking in step with Azariah. It seemed that they had avoided the worst of the storm, though crackles and peals of thunder began to smite the earth a ways off to the north as they headed east. After a time of travel, Azariah, Andreas and Nobo'ru caught a faint glowing light in the far distance. Andreas pointed to the light and, looking to Abel who knew more about the deep magic of the world than the rest of them, inquired, "Abel, can you discern the nature of the light over there? What kind of light is it?"
"It is like the light in my dreams!" He exclaimed softly. "It is not a magical kind of light." There was a pause and then, as though perfectly timed between the cracks of thunder, a bloodcurdling shriek was heard faintly on the wind.
Andreas sprang into a run towards the sound as though it were a clarion for his destiny to be fulfilled, and the rain that he had once avoided for want of keeping his accoutrements intact was of no consequence to him at all any more. His piercing eyes narrowed against the hard rain as it coursed about his face amongst the stubble, pattered on his armor and quenched his lamp. As Andreas charged off, Azariah followed, his instinct starting to come over his mind. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Nobo'ru sweep to the right, ranging out to avoid the eyes of foes trained on the three others who charged ahead.
Andreas arrived first, and seeing the two children hog-tied on the sodden ground, he wasted no time ripping his sword from it's scabbard and cutting their bonds. One of them rose immediately and shouted "They got my brother, they got my brother!" as he pointed emphatically into the darkness. Ahead a small glowing light bobbed frantically. Azariah, hardly having stopped running, charged off again toward the light. Andreas paused only a moment to sever the ropes binding the other boy and set off at Azariah's heels. While the two continued recklessly into the dark, Nobo'ru coninued forward, his luminsescent mushoom barely able to send its light ahead of his swift feet.
Abel arrived at where the children were. Stripping off their remaining ropes, he took them under his robe to shield them from the rain, and encouraged them as best he could, saying "You're safe now," as he lit up his staff again with a wave of his hand.
In the distance, Azariah's feed pounded in the darkness. He could see the light ahead, and with that in the attention of his eye, he never saw the Ruk Shol coming. With a sudden shuddering roar, Azariah was struck in his stomach with a blow that might have cut him in two and put an end to his life, if he had not been struck with the haft instead of the blade of the axe. As he staggered under the blow's weight, he straightened with a roar and tore his blades from their scabbards. In an instant, he swung them with such a savage hatred brought on by his surprise and loathing for the creature before him that the bite of his scimitars was inevitable, slicing deep into the flesh of the Ruk Shol. Andreas was caught in another Ruk Shol's surprise attack, and was hammered by a weighty blow from another Ruk Shol's axe. The melee turned vicious for the two men; but as the furious blows of the Ruk Shol began to tell, Andreas bellowed a battle cry that would straighten the spine of the most weary soldier as he pierced his sword deep into the crearture's dark flesh with a well calculated strike. The other Ruk Shol swung wildly at Azariah, missing him and hitting Andreas in the back, opening him up for a crushing blow from another. Andreas crumpled to the ground with a grunt. With a slavering roar, the other Ruk Shol turned to Azariah and for the first time in his adulthood, Azariah knew fear.
Behind him, he could not see that Nobo'ru had fought past a Ruk Shol to run to the other by Azariah. With a word that undoes flesh, the Ruk Shol that had laid Andreas low howled as his flesh was pierced by an inscrutable magic power.
Off in the distance, as he heard the clash of battle, Abel wasted no time. Hoisting a child under each arm, and levitating his illuminated staff before him, he ran to the nearest tree, placed the children underneath, planted his staff in the earth before them and said "Please stay here until I come back! Don't go anywhere, OK!?". The children only nodded emphatically as Abel sprinted towards the roars and ringing of steel.
Dazed from the weighty swings of the Ruk Shol's axe, and his power draining from him like water, Azariah whirled again his blades, but could not wound the Ruk Shol deeply enough to end its life. The Ruk Shol Nobo'ru had distracted pounded Nobo'ru squarely in the shoulder, staggering him. Again the Ruk Shol before Azariah swung wildly, and Azariah dodged the blow. The axe turned in the air and the flat of its blade connected with the back of Nobo'ru's head, knocking his face into the ground at the other Ruk Shol's feet.
With a blistering cry, Azariah thrust both of his blades into the Ruk Shol which had denied him the satisfaction of a kill so long, puncturing both lungs at once. Azariah's moment of fear died with the Ruk Shol and left him like the blood dribbling from its lips. Tearing them out he saw the other Ruk Shol leaning over Nobo'ru's crumpled form and with uncanny speed drew his long bow. Haste and exhaustion plagued his aim, and though he shot with a rapidity that would be the envy of many, he only found his mark once, sending an arrow piercing through the Ruk Shol's skin as though it were merely another bone ornament threaded through its flesh.
Like a dawn that comes suddenly, Azariah saw to his right a burst of bright light as magical energy streaked into the third Ruk Shol a distance away and seared his flesh. Abel stood at the clearing with lighting cackling in his hands. The Ruk Shol, incredibly, turned and ran to Andreas' body and fell on it, its tongue hanging out.
The other Ruk Shol that Azariah had shot did the same to Nobo'ru, and Azariah's eyes widened as he saw their jaws open to feed. Dropping his bow and taking up his scimitars again, he shook off his dazed exhaustion and laid his blade into the Ruk Shol over Nobo'ru. It rose and struck Azariah in the face with its fist, it's crude, grimy thumbnail slicing his forehead open. Nearly unconscious, lights flickered in Azariah's eyes as he reeled; it was only through sheer will that he was stayed on his feet. The other Ruk Shol stood up again and began to move towards Azariah.
Abel moved toward Andreas, still far away, and suddenly winked into existence beside him and took Andreas under the arms, who was even now regaining consciousness. With clarity of mind sliding back in, Andreas gathered himself, shouted for Nobo'ru to get up, and stepped in to engage the Ruk Shol who had been a moment ago looking for a good place to sink its teeth into his body. Nobo'ru responded to Andreas' impeccable timing, and planted a dagger deep into the Ruk Shol's back as it turned to face to Andreas, who stepped back to avoid it's reach.
Azariah, in a swift move responded to the blow he received before and slashed the Ruk Shol's face as he ran to help Andreas, sending it to the ground howling in agony. Without a lost moment, he slipped between Andreas and the last Ruk Shol, ready to die if he had to, as the Ruk Shol drew his axe back for a final blow.
It never came. With a soft splitting sound, a dagger point sprouted from the Ruk Shol's forehead and a single drop of blood flew out from its tip and struck Azariah's face. The Ruk Shol's white eyes went vacant and it collapsed to the side. On the other side stood a very disheveled Nobo'ru, his emotion, if he had any at all, only expressed in his heavy breathing, which seemed more like a necessity of his flesh than any tell of emotion.
Remembering the boy they had suffered so long to find, Azariah sheathed his blades distractedly and immediately tracked the boy's steps as Andreas took his sword and punched it into the Ruk Shol who had knocked him out before repeadly, putting an end to its groaning. Finding the boy, Azariah grabbed his shoulder and said simply, "I have you now, and you will be safe. Come with me, we have found your brother and your friend." Andreas came and took the boy, and they ran back to the clearing where the boys were.
Abel's staff stood loyally where he had left it, it's white radiance bathing the earth under the tree, but the boys were gone.
July 18, 2008
A Preface
The purpose of this blog (for now) is to create an ongoing update of the Chronicles of Abaden as the plot unfolds. Should any player miss a session, the rule will be that you have to check this blog before the following session. This will help us to jump right into the game on a given week.
Also, there has always been a question in D&D of "Does my character remember ______?" As a player, I agree that it is frustrating when we forget certain important storyline details from the campaign. This blog will allow me to maintain the whole "If you don't remember then your character doesn't remember" stance during the game sessions, but give the players a way of recalling the events (because let's face it, your characters would remember a lot of the things that we in our busy lives tend to forget about the game) from past sessions by going over the blog after before the next game session.
This blog will be authored by myself, David, and any other players who feel led to contribute. David will be my "scribe" of sorts, keeping a record of the Chronicles of Abaden. I doubt that anyone else is coveting his position considering how busy I know everyone is.
Looking forward to the start of a fun and exciting story this Monday.
Peace & Joy!
Also, there has always been a question in D&D of "Does my character remember ______?" As a player, I agree that it is frustrating when we forget certain important storyline details from the campaign. This blog will allow me to maintain the whole "If you don't remember then your character doesn't remember" stance during the game sessions, but give the players a way of recalling the events (because let's face it, your characters would remember a lot of the things that we in our busy lives tend to forget about the game) from past sessions by going over the blog after before the next game session.
This blog will be authored by myself, David, and any other players who feel led to contribute. David will be my "scribe" of sorts, keeping a record of the Chronicles of Abaden. I doubt that anyone else is coveting his position considering how busy I know everyone is.
Looking forward to the start of a fun and exciting story this Monday.
Peace & Joy!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
