tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169337922329181372024-02-18T23:01:49.304-05:00D4signA Dungeons & Dragons game design blogDominic Mattehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09711711981365429057noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-79671331071932721902017-06-26T19:02:00.000-04:002017-06-26T19:21:10.342-04:00The Beginning<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dominic-matte.html">Dominic Matte</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The dragons, to their great shock, had been defeated. Soundly. Overwhelmingly. The dragons had been nearly exterminated.</div>
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The vermin - the lesser races - had called it the Great Betrayal. None of the dragons thought of it that way - none who mattered. They were reclaiming their birthright, one they had long given up in the name of peace and prosperity. The dragons were reminded of the way things used to be, before they agreed to share with and protect the weaker races. Cooperation bringing prosperity? Nonsense! A dragon had its home and its hoard within the empire, but in the old days, a dragon <i>was</i> an empire. Dragons took what they wanted and cared not for the pathetic two-legged beasts who scurried around on the ground, save only for what the vermin could provide to the dragon. If a dragon protected a city, it was not out of generosity or fellowship, but as a means to an end. In the old days, dragons <i>were</i> power. Kings trembled at their wingbeat and armies shattered at their whim. That was as it should be - the dragons had suffered alliances with the three empires for far too long. Acting as one, they razed the capitals to craters of ash in a firestorm of draconic rage the likes of which had never been seen. After centuries, the dragon lords were vindicated, and all was as it should be.<br />
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Or so Hydrargea had been told. Perched on the tip of a rocky spire among the remainder of dragonkind, she flexed her shining wings, the light playing over the damaged membranes like liquid metal. She had her doubts about all this. The dragons were all here, perched on the highest peak on the continent, ignorant of the freezing cold and piercing wind. Some were the most powerful of dragonkind: ancient, powerful dragons with the knowledge and experience a thousand years or more, triumphant over legions of dragonslayers. Others were young, weaker, less experienced; having survived the purge with cunning, luck, or stealth (which some called cowardice).<br />
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One short year ago, there had been thousands of dragons. Here, now, in an assembly of the entire continent's dragons, there were only a few dozen.</div>
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It had been obvious that the vermin would be upset about the loss of their capital cities, leaders, and collected wealth. This was of no concern... but perhaps it should have been. The dragons had severely underestimated the ingenuity and rage of the lesser races. After the razing had come the great dragon hunt. A mature dragon was worth no less than a thousand average smallfolk, and often far more - but their armies and "heroes" learned from the small, weak dragons and applied their newfound knowledge and skill to the greater dragons. There were all kinds of new weapons and spells and tactics developed specifically to fight dragons that had grown vain and overconfident, and they suffered for it.</div>
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None of the dragons had spoken since they assembled on the mountain peak. Most appeared stunned, lost in thought, as Hydrargea had been. She saw that no dragon, regardless of their power, had escaped injury. Hydrargea's wing membranes were tattered by arrows and acid - she barely made the flight. Drathohto, formerly known as the Invulnerable thanks to his adamantine hide, had lost his eyes to the lances of a dragonslayer. Green dragon wizard Tyrogru's rear legs had been badly mangled in some kind of colossal steel trap and dangled uselessly off his ledge. Though some were worse off than others - Kluahkeht, the Sandstorm, the ever-hungry great desert lord who dwarfed all other dragons, held embedded in his hide hundreds of broken arrows, lances, and spears, but appeared to feel nothing at all. Gazes were fixed on empty stone, unsightly wounds, or unfocused at nothing.</div>
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Finally a voice spoke out, seething with the fire of rage and hate. "Whose idea was thissss?" hissed a smaller red dragon, the heat of his anger disrupting air currents and melting the stone his four clawed limbs gripped tight. Hydrargea struggled to recall his name - Kelnferx, she thought.<br />
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The question snapped the other dragons out of their reveries. Wings stretched, tails snapped, serpentine necks twisted to face the speaker, then craned for a response. Quizzical yet venomous gazes swept the mountaintop, alighting on each and every dragon. </div>
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It was a good question, thought Hydrargea, and judging by the reactions of those present, one that was being posed for the first time. Who was to blame for the slaughter of dragonkind? Was it someone now present? Hydrargea tilted her head toward the slender purple dragon Rheessutt, a powerful psychic. Perhaps she could -</div>
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"It matters not," rumbled Drathohto, wrapping himself in his impenetrable wings and covering his damaged eyes with his wing talons. "What's done is done."</div>
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Rhoadide's silver crest bristled in response. "Of course it matters. Someone must be held accountable."</div>
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"No." All eyes turned to the shining golden dragon Ruettak, his front limbs crossed elegantly. "No," he repeated, his voice smooth and haughty, "What matters is how we respond."</div>
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<i>Misdirection?</i> thought Hydrargea. </div>
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"This is not disaster. This is <i>opportunity</i>," grinned Ruettak, his fleshy whiskers twitching.</div>
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<i>Not misdirection</i>, Hydrargea corrected herself, <i>greed and vanity</i>. Regardless, all eyes were now on Ruettak. </div>
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Relishing the attention, Ruettak stood and prowled around the assembly, gesticulating languidly with his forelimbs and whiskers. "Yes, our kind has been nearly wiped out - but so have those pathetic empires. The fewer of us there are, the less organized they are. Their 'heroes' have almost all fallen, been broken, or fled. Old rivalries -" he paused to glare at Drathohto, who remained oblivious - "are reemerging."</div>
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Kenferx looked ready to boil. "Get on with it!"</div>
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Ruettak paused to raise an eyebrow ridge at the interruption, but continued. "I think we can take advantage of this situation." He grinned wide, exposing a double row of wicked pointed teeth.</div>
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"I think we should play a game."</div>
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<br />
A shiver of dread swept over Hydrargea. Something wasn't right. Not Ruettak - now that she saw where he was going, this seemed completely like him: turn a disaster to his advantage and come out on top. No, it was something else. The question nagged at her. Whose idea was all of this? Could someone have wanted the dragons dead? Maybe out of the way? Out of the way of what? Or perhaps - as unlikely as this might be - perhaps it wasn't about the dragons. Did someone want to destroy the three empires? She shuddered with disgust at the thought of being used.</div>
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<br />
A light touch from a smooth, tufted pearlescent tail drew Hydrargea's attention back to the circle. The dragon next to her - her old friend Thoudsygg, the seer - gave her a look. She could sense his curiosity towards her thoughts, but at the moment he meant for her to refocus on her surroundings.</div>
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Ruettak had transfixed the crowd. He basked in the attention as the assembled dragons broke out into whispers of debate.</div>
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There was a heavy crunch as Drathohto slammed his tail into the mountain rock, leaving it in pieces. "What kind of game?"</div>
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His spell on the crowd broken, for a fraction of a second, Ruettak bristled - but quickly regained his composure. "Why," he purred, "a game for control. For wealth. For power. For eternal domination. I propose..." he paused dramatically - "that the last dragon standing wins the world."</div>
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That was it. Hydrargea felt as though a vital moment had just slipped away from her. With only a few words, Ruettak had completely dismissed any questions or doubts over the events of the last year. The dragons were fascinated. What kind of game? What were the rules? Kelnferx's volcanic temper had completely dissipated and he growled excitedly at the other two red dragons of his kind. Rhoadide, the last silver dragon in the world, set aside her precious honour and accountability to debate rules. Despite his ruined eyes, Drathohto focused directly on Ruettak, his attention consumed by their ancient rivalry - if Ruettak would propose a game, Drathohto would win it.</div>
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Of all present, only four dragons were not completely enraptured by Ruettak's idea. Hydrargea and </div>
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Thoudsygg exchanged incredulous glances - both had the sense that they were missing something important and that it was in danger of being swept away. Rheessutt frowned at Ruettak, her pure purple eyes inscrutable and unfocused as they always were when she probed a mind. And Kluahkeht lay unperturbed, resting his thickly spined lower jaw near a small blue dragon as his stomach rumbled.</div>
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<br />
The dragons debated and argued for hours. Hydrargea and Thoudsygg spent the time quietly turning over their thoughts who had come up with the idea for the dragons to regain their independence, but came up with nothing. Neither could Thoudsygg's prescience determine the final outcome of the turn or the proposed game - dragons lived so long that there were far too many possible futures for any to be judged accurately. Kluahkeht only stared steadily at the young dragon that had caught his eye. He could probably swallow it whole.</div>
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Finally, Ruettak reared up on his hind legs to gesture for silence, his long slender body and neck raising his head high above the assembly and drawing all attention to himself. "The rules have been decided!" he bellowed. "But first, a bit of housekeeping."</div>
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Ruettak dropped and whirled, snapping his long tail like a whip at the head of the other gold dragon. The pair of frills that ran down his spine were sharp, and with a single motion, he beheaded the smaller dragon.</div>
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He roared over the immediate outcry: "There must only be one of each kind of dragon! Determine among your kind who will play the game and who will die!"</div>
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Again, excitement for the game and each dragon's innate sense of superiority overcame rational thought. The dragons turned on each other. Kelnferx's explosive anger served him well and he quickly dispatched the other two red dragons, bellowing victory with a jet of fire and smoke. The brutish white dragons erupted into a frenzy of claws and blood. Kluahkeht snapped up the blue dragon and swallowed, dropping a ragged forelimb in his haste. </div>
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<br />
Some dragons were already the last of their kind and leapt to perch atop stone pillars, isolating themselves from the carnage. Rhoadide had snapped out of her game focus and now gazed wide-eyed at the few remaining dragons killing each other merely for a chance to play a game. Hydrargea and Thoudsygg landed across from Ruettak, staring daggers at the smug ringleader. One by one, dragons emerged victorious, until twenty-four remained - one of each type and five copper dragons. Ruettak tilted his head at them questioningly, and one responded "We reserve the right to choose the copper player through our own process at a later date." Ruettak shrugged.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Once again, the gold dragon raised himself up above the others. Ruettak spoke with a tone of absolute authority. "The rules of engagement are as follows.</div>
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"The first rule: a dragon's identity must not be known by more than five living non-dragons. If additional non-dragons learn of that dragon's identity, they must be eliminated until only five remain." In a more conversational tone of voice, Ruettak added, "This allows dragons without shapeshifting or psychic powers to have a few means of communication with the lesser races. Build an empire and whatnot." The dragons collectively nodded; this sounded sensible.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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"The second rule: a dragon may not physically act unless its life is directly threatened. We are all of different ages, strengths, and abilities - to ensure a fair game, we will play with minions in a game of strategy rather than direct force. As stated in rule one, should your minions attack another dragon and survive, they must be purged so that only five know that dragon.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
"The third rule: a dragon may have no more than one living heir. Your place in the game can continue through offspring... should you lose confidence in your own abilities." There were a few chuckles.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"The fourth rule: a dragon's heir may not produce offspring unless its parent is deceased. One player and one heir for each kind - no more.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
"The fifth rule: a dragon must eliminate direct threats to the game as they arise." Ruettak grew stern. "We will not tolerate interference from the lesser races. Factors outside our control are undesirable and unpredictable. If your minion learns of the game and decides it should not proceed, you must eliminate them, no matter how useful.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
"The sixth and final rule: a dragon found to be in violation of any of these rules forfeits its position in the game and must be executed as a threat to the game.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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"Finally, I propose a five hundred year grace period for empire building and preparation before we begin in earnest." Ruettak relaxed, shedding his commanding aura and returning to a show of confident relaxation. "Any questions?"</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Kluahkeht rose suddenly, his enormous mass of muscle displacing boulders and toppling a rocky spire. He spoke in a rasping dry voice that sounded as though it had not been used for decades. "I have no interest in your game. Leave me in peace." He raised his colossal wings and with a shower of sand and billowing clouds, Kluahkeht heaved his bulk off the mountainside and disappeared into the mist. The dragons, collectively, were relieved.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
"Anyone else?" inquired Ruettak.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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The dragons were silent for a time, mulling over the rules, considering how best to manipulate the game to their advantage. With some effort, Tyrogru lifted himself up by his undamaged forelimbs. "How do you propose to eliminate the influence of the gods?"</div>
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Ruettak was clearly prepared for this question. "I have in mind a powerful spell to shield our world from intrusion. If I may ask, I would appreciate some assistance in casting it after our meeting is concluded."</div>
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Ever the opposition, Drathohto's voice rose like oiled metal. "All well and good, but who will enforce these rules? It'll have to be someone outside the game." He grinned as he heard the beginnings of consternation in the circle - here was something Ruettak hadn't considered. A dark expression passed over the gold dragon's face.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Thoudsygg nudged Hydrargea with his shoulder. She turned to him, eyes wide, then paused to consider. In a position outside the game, she might learn more than any on the inside. And she knew that without enforcement of the rules, sooner or later, there would //be// no rules, and nothing left for anyone - as devastating as the last year had been, it would be nothing compared to all-out war between elder dragons.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Hydrargea reared up and unfurled her wings. "I will be your arbiter."</div>
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Ruettak froze for an uncharacteristic full second before replying. "Thank you, Hydrargea, but that won't be -"</div>
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"An excellent proposal!" interrupted Drathohto. "Hydrargea is among the strongest of us, and her shapeshifting ability will allow her to observe the game unseen by the players. She'll keep us all honest." He grinned from ear frill to ear frill. "As long as we play fair, we have nothing to hide - right, Ruettak?"</div>
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The gold dragon shifted, struggling to retain his air of confidence. "Yes... of course."</div>
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Rheessutt spoke for the first time, her voice deep and resonant, felt more than heard. "With only one player of each kind, we can be known simply by our colour, and our empires named for the same. We no longer need our names. Henceforth I will be known as Purple, and my domain known as Purpura." She gestured to Ruettak - "You will be Gold, and your domain Aurum -" then to Drathohto - "and you are Adamantine, and your domain Adamantina. And so forth for all of you." Ruettak's and Drathohto's faces both fell.</div>
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Purple pointed a talon to Hydrargea. "And our Arbiter," she finished, "will be called Mercury."</div>
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"Then it's agreed," grumbled Adamantine.</div>
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<br />
"Well then," Gold grinned, "Welcome, all... to the Long Game."</div>
Dominic Mattehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09711711981365429057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-1419785480635608202016-12-28T17:46:00.001-05:002016-12-28T17:46:22.621-05:00Horizon Black IV: The Finale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Last time, on </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">The Long Game</i><span style="font-size: large;">, Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar had infiltrated, stormed really, the gates of the secret superweapon base known as Horizon Black. The </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">Shockrosia</i><span style="font-size: large;"> had been destroyed, and Kalgar's crew had fought their way through, and acquired, two new ships. The rest of Kalgar's fleet, fighting near the outskirts of the shoals, was being threatened with destruction by the giant death beam emanating from the base.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The stakes have never been higher, so let's get into it!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.8192px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-size: xx-small;">Dallas Kasaboski</span></a></span></td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;">The grounds inside the base were full of activity. In every direction, soldiers were running, organized, but in a hurry. The guards above the gate began yelling, alerting the base to our party's presence, and began turning their weapons inward.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After finding cover, Alvyn surveyed the scene. He noticed a long metal bar sticking out of a nearby bunker, and then several others. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"A lightning rod?" Tong suggested.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"I could dispel the lightning," Kalgar suggested, pulling out his horn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Maybe, but with so many of them, maybe not. Heat dissipators?" Alvyn replied. </span><span style="font-size: large;">"Kalgar, make it a calm day, but also one where the chances of dissipating heat are difficult and unlikely." </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar just looked at him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Hot as balls! I'll explain later!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So Kalgar blew his horn, and the weather began to change. Then, they set off toward the bunker.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nearing the door, Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar heard a voice cutting through the air.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"He's casting a spell!" Alvyn said, flipping down his goggles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Over on a nearby gun emplacement, Alvyn could sense psionic energies changing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Mind control! Brace yourselves!" Alvyn called.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Wait!" Tong said, his <i>third eye </i>opening, "It's not meant <i>for</i> us! He's aiming it at the water!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar grabbed Tong by the shoulders. "Are you sure?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Yes! You know what that means?! Everyone get indoors!" Tong exclaimed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"No!" shouted Alvyn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Yes!" Tong shouted back.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"We need to kill a wizard, otherwise we're going to have to kill another krakken, and that's <i>not</i> on my menu today." Alvyn quipped.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"We have to split up!" Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"No, we're stronger together!" Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"If we don't split up, we will lose something. You two, take out the energy beam, I'm going to fight a wizard. Tong, I need a lift."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The three smiled at each other. <i>The fastball special</i>. It had been some time.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong grabbed Alvyn and began running diagonally up the nearest wall. As he leapt from the stones, he sprouted wings of <i>chi</i> energy and, at the apex of his jump, threw Alvyn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The crossbowmen, on top of the walls, in shock, began firing at him. Alvyn took a few out with his rifle. Looking out over the water, Alvyn could see what the wizard was controlling.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">There, a large swell of ocean water grew and pushed against Kalgar's newest ship, tilting it on its side, as a colossal crab loomed out of the water and seized a hold of the ship.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The crew began to panic, trying to hold firm to the ship. Cannon-fire began, sporadically, but to no effect, the cannon balls just bouncing off its carapace. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And then Alvyn landed, locking eyes on the Aesian wizard.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Back inside the fort, Tong was landing softly on the ground to see Kalgar carving a wedge through the soldiers through the bunker. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Taking cover behind a wagon, Tong said, "Drakeswynd, how much do you remember Alvyn saying about the decomfobulator?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Some kind of glowing machine?" Kalgar shrugged.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"You call upon your god and I will call upon mine! We will find this machine!" Tong said, moving with all haste.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The road sloped downward, meeting a hole in the wall where the energy beam's cannon was facing out. It was a tight squeeze, but Tong and Kalgar made it inside. There, they could see that the cannon's barrel was 50 feet long, mounted to a swivel-type station. All around, they were surrounded by glowing panels, lit up brilliantly.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Ioun!" Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Having spent some time with Alvyn, our two faithful friends had some idea as to what things were, and at the very least, were observant enough to note the power cable off to the side.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">That's the good news, that they found the cable. The bad news? It was 6 feet thick. Sizing it up, they knew they could not simply pull it out of the wall. The whine of the weapon began picking up again. Inside, it was deafening.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So loud, in fact, that they did not hear the 20 men inside the bunker. Tong tapped Kalgar on the shoulder and pointed. There they were, soldiers and scientists of Aes, manning several stations. Turning cranks, staring at panels, writing things down, all stopping as they looked directly at Tong and Kalgar.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar looked at the men, he looked at the barrel, and then he put his hand on the nearest panel countertop. With very little effort, he squeezed his hand <i>through</i> the countertop, all while looking at the soldiers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The man nearest to Kalgar began sweating profusely.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar reached over and picked this man up, and threw him against the wall.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Then he moved to the next nearest man, and crushed the console.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Not so easily intimidated, several Aesian soldiers reached down and grabbed weapons of their own, snap-out batons.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, Tong pushed several people away from their consoles, and began pushing every button, pulling every lever, turning every knob. The whine of the energy became sporadic.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Kalgar! It's working!" Tong shouted.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The men who were focused on Kalgar, turned to Tong and charged him. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Raising an eyebrow, Tong simply walked up the wall to the ceiling, all while continuing to push buttons. Anyone who came close to Kalgar was punched or thrown down.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The whine continued growing louder. It began to give Tong and Kalgar a splitting headache. The Aesian guards had been wearing earmuffs, not that it mattered now as they were all unconscious. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Nothing seemed to stop the weapon. </span><span style="font-size: large;">The only thing they knew they could control was the steering mechanism.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Time was running out. Kalgar grabbed the crank and turned it hard away from his fleet, toward the crab. Then they ran out of the bunker as fast as they could.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The high-pitched whine grew louder and louder and then, suddenly stopped. Then an explosion erupted as the yellow energy beam ripped out from the bunker toward the crab. The beam hit its back hard, slicing off the crab's left claw. It rocked from side to side, releasing the mast of the ship from its other claw.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar and Tong saw this from the road leading to the base. As they stood there, hoping their ship and crew survived, they heard someone breathing hard, behind them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">There stood a 3 feet tall gnome, half of his clothes burned off, his gear slung over his shoulder fastened by a belt. He looked horrible, but then he smiled, those pointed teeth and coal-black eyes twinkling. "How'd your thing go?" Alvyn asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Alvyn...is...is that a hand? Is that a hand grasping your pocket?" Tong asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Oh, yeah, it's not mine." Alvyn replied.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Ugh!" Tong responded.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar noted that Alvyn was holding a new staff, black, ornately carved, with runes carved into it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Back at their ship, the crab had moved away and began sinking back into the ocean.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"So, there's, like, three towers left guys. I did one, and mine had a wizard on it." Alvyn said, sitting down for a short rest.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"<i>He doesn't look good</i>," Tong whispered to Kalgar, "<i>And not the way he usually looks, which also isn't good!"</i></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">"Alvyn, do you want to get in my bag? I could carry you." Tong offered.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"Nope, I'm good. I think part of my insides is snakes." Alvyn replied.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Suddenly, a nearby gun emplacement erupted, cannonfire hitting the ground around them. Tong and Kalgar were knocked down, and smoking craters formed </span><span style="font-size: large;">around their feet. On reflex, Alvyn was able to spot the attackers and roll aside, avoiding the blast.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"We need to get to those cannons before they reload!" Tong shouted, his ears ringing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Let's move, we can outrun them!" Kalgar said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Good!" the outline of Tong's body said in the smoke. Our Canitian monk was one step ahead of Kalgar and moved so fast that between saying the word and Kalgar hearing it, Tong was already 30 ft away from where he stood, gunpowder smoke clearing and trying to keep up.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Chi wings formed from his back and Tong leapt into the air, flying up the wall into the gunnery tower. The soldiers were not expecting him. They were easily defeated.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn and Kalgar moved toward the next tower. Despite overwhelming numbers, our party made quick work of all they came across. Few soldiers surrendered, as only the most devoted and fanatic would have been selected to guard a place such as this.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Some of the soldiers, retreating from our party, moved toward the main bunker and began pounding on the doors, shouting, "Release it! Release it! We have no choice!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar looked at each other. What horrible monstrosity lay ahead?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The main doors were 20 feet tall, made of a solid metal, fashioned in the Aesian manner. They opened slightly, then blasted open. Kalgar, Alvyn, and Tong felt a gale-force wind hit them hard and pushed them back, knocking them against the wall of the courtyard.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Standing inside the door was a fairly unassuming-looking human, except for the blue and purple flashes of light running over his skin, emanating from his chest, and sparking off of his fingers. His head twitched, but otherwise, he did not move.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Oh...no..." Alvyn said, and suddenly Kalgar and Tong knew the worst was upon them. He was spellscarred, cursed with power, as Alvyn had been. A walking bomb and worse yet, he wasn't in control.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">They looked around, all the soldiers were gone, fleeing away hurriedly and desperately.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"I can save you!" Alvyn shouted.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"What? How?" Tong replied, putting his hand on Alvyn's shoulder. "We don't have the <i>Edge of Sanity</i> this time."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"No, but we have the <i>Edge of Destiny</i>." Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The man was trying to speak, opening and closing his mouth several times, but no sound came out. The clouds overhead began to funnel and swirl above them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn took off his hat and said, "I've got three plans: leave; use the bunker's heat dissipation rods to drain his power somehow; or...absorb the power myself."<br /><br />"You can't do that!" Kalgar shouted into the wind.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Actually, I can. And I am the <i>only</i> one who knows how to wield and then <i>get rid of</i> that power." Alvyn said, his eyes set.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn stood up, dropped his bandalier, and walked toward the man, wizard staff in hand. The gnome's eyes were filled with hate. Here he was, about to do something he swore he would never do, something he thought he would never have to face again. He pressed the end of the staff against the man's chest, the spiked end pierced his chest.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Alvyn! NO! You don't have to do that!" Tong shouted, he and Kalgar had regained their feet.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"I...I have to let it out!" the man finally said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn grabbed his hand, pulled hard, and tried to take as much as he could. Just as Alvyn was closing his eyes, he looked at his hand. Scarred as they were, he could see the <i>Mark of Mercury</i>. Branded by the dragon, Alvyn knew that the mark could alter fate. It could allow a person to ensure their success, or the failure of their enemy, but at what cost? He had sworn never to use the mark, it went against everything he believed in. Of course, he had sworn to end his life before ever taking spellscar-level power back again, and here we were. If this failed, it could kill Kalgar, Tong, everyone here. If he used the mark though...what did that mean for him, for his soul? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn closed his eyes. The <i>Mark of Mercury </i>glowed a faint silver, white colour for a single moment.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Sparks erupted from the man, surrounding Alvyn. Lightning-shaped scars ripped through the metal doors, and the funnel clouds above slammed down into the two.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong and Kalgar were blinded, but they could hear it. The screams. More piercing than the screams of hell, louder than a thunderstrike, they could hear it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn saw colours of all kinds. Flashes, moments, at one point he saw his own skeleton through his skin.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Then, everything stopped.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">For a brief moment, the man appeared normal. He had just enough energy to say, "Thank you" before collapsing to the ground.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn passed out, falling beside him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong ran up to Alvyn, dropped to his knees and cried, "Alvyn, why?" He shook the gnome gently, and his teardrops fell easily. Everywhere a drop fell, a flower sprouted, grew, bloomed, and died.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar walked over, his stride crisp and full of authority. He reached down and pulled the staff aside, acknowledging its importance. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He placed his large, draconic hand on Alvyn's chest, and prayed to his god. Here, was a moment of sacrifice, a feat of strength not of arm, but of heart. Kalgar prayed to Kord for the ability to heal his friend, to honour his fighting spirit.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kord's might coursed through Kalgar, into Alvyn. The gnome's body flinched, but he was stable. Looking over to the man on the ground, Kalgar noted that he was dead.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn woke up, and tried to stand. As he fell, Tong caught him, but sparks of power shocked him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"No, no! I got this." Alvyn said, lying down.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"I would have rather died than see this." Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn's body heaved as he cried, sobbing with regret.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar moved over and kneeled above Alvyn.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Alvyn, are you going to be able to walk?" Kalgar said. "We've got a job to do."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn lay there, moving only to spasm and cry.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Who did this to you?" Kalgar asked, standing up and moving toward the doorway.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Let's shut this place down. Let's stop those who did this to you, Alvyn."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn reached out and grabbed what once was steel door. Weakened through the exchange, the material crumbled in his hand. He stood up, reached out, and the wizard staff flew through the air into his hand. He was enraged. His clothes were in tatters, his skin was cut and peeling.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Alvyn Sehanine," Tong intoned, "Twice born, thrice cursed."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As our party stepped inside, the bunker appeared empty. Several floors were abandoned, and while paperwork and equipment lay about, nothing was heinous enough to stand as proof of the superweapon program, nothing they could use to convince the public.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Until they reached the bottom level.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">There were 6, heavy, steel doors barring their way. They were labeled <i>Materials Research, Preliminary and Speculative Design, Manufacturing, Prototypes, Test Results, </i>and <i>Final Records. </i>Each door was larger, and more formidable than the main doors had been, above.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In the centre of this room of doors was a medium-sized, featureless, black cube, with a lever. Holding the lever, was an ancient-looking human, wearing a simple black, Aesian military uniform, bearing the rank of admiral.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">He looked over Kalgar, Tong, and Alvyn, slowly. "I assume you're the ones leading this assault on my facility." He said, with malice in his voice.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"And I can assume you are the being who has done this once again to my friend." Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn said nothing, his rage in fine control.</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The old man seemed weak, his arm slipping slightly.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"You don't intend to leave this place alive, do you?" Tong asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"No." Came the simple answer.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Why defend a mechanism that has brought pain to so many?" Tong continued.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Defend?" the man said, raising an eyebrow. "That's not <i>quite</i> the word I would use."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Does that lever blow up the place? A self-destruct?" from Alvyn, this time.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Yes."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Okay, I <i>ate</i> your last self-destruct. Pull it, I dare you!" the gnome's teeth were barred.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"You seem to be operating under a false presumption." the man replied. He released his hand from the lever, "I've already activated it."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar sighed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"As a failsafe, as we speak, my men are destroying the records and prototypes from each room."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Tong, can you take care of that?" Kalgar said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Sure!" the monk said, disappearing at once.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"But...you know what happened here. This...is your base?" Alvyn asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Of course."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"So, you have all the records." Alvyn said as he walked forward.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong popped back. Kalgar nodded in understanding.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Alvyn. The doors. Tong can't get through." Kalgar said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The gnome stopped. His fists clenched at his side. The doors. Three feet of steel in depth. <i>And me with this fresh, raw power</i>, Alvyn thought. He stepped toward the door marked <i>Final Records</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The old man attempts a smile at this. "You may have time to save 1 or 2, or maybe 3 of these rooms, of course even if you do, you'll be just in time for the self-destruct to activate."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn turned around. He looked more closely at the man and the box. The man appeared to be telling the truth. The box was shielded, but simple, and...seemed to contain a person.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar and Tong looked at Alvyn, and as his face changed into a horrified grimace, so too did their own. They knew what was in that box. Another superweapon. Another person tortured and imbued with uncontrollable power.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar looked at the box. It was built into the floor. <i>Can't move it</i>. Alvyn nodded. Kalgar looked at Tong, and the door. Tong nodded.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn waved a hand and the giant steel door just melted, hissing into black smoke. Inside, people were lighting fires, destroying records, with a look of panic on their faces, but they continued their work.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The gnome stepped toward the box, and the old man stepped between. Kalgar stepped up. "Move." he commanded.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"No." the old man responded, whose will was strong.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar grabbed him by the shoulder. With surprising dexterity, the man reached into his coat, pulled out a dagger, and stabbed Kalgar, aiming for his stomach.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">His plate armor stopped most of the force, but then the blade suddenly heated, vibrated, and melted its way through Kalgar's plate! The blade cut deep into Kalgar's stomach, and felt as if it was twisting, burning, from within.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The man grabbed the hilt, turned his wrist slightly, and looked as if his next move was to move the blade up through Kalgar's chest.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar grabbed the man's wrist and stopped him. The old man was straining, putting all of his strength, all of his will into this. His veins were bulging, his skin was stretched, the strain was too much.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">With incredible reserve, even under all his pain, Kalgar squeezed the man's wrist slowly, until it broke. Then, he gently pushed the man back. As the blade was just leaving Kalgar's body, the man put a hand to his chest, gasped, and died. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Shaking his head, Kalgar lowered the man to the ground, and took a knee. The attack, and his restraint, had taken a lot out of him, all at once. He could have stopped the man earlier, prevented the attack, crushed the man with little effort, but he didn't. He let the man deal his final blow, for two reasons: the man was no threat to him, and the strength of the man's conviction spoke to Kalgar.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">What these people were doing was Wrong. Completely. Without question. Yet these people were not mindless. Not all of them were blind or dominated to act; many, including this man, believed these superweapons were not only the wisest course of action, but the <i>only</i> one. It would take a lot more than exposure and force to overthrow these ideals. Kalgar was strong, but he would have to work hard to turn this tide.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, Tong had stepped into the now opened room. As he did so, he tapped his staff to the ground, and a white mist began to appear around him. With both hands on the staff, Tong twisted, grinding the staff against the floor, willing his pupils to appear. Pulling them from wherever they had been, through the <i>Reverie</i>, he summoned them to this reality. It was difficult to maintain the connection, something was shielding him, but the memory of Alvyn's sacrifice spurred him on. Rather than appearing as mist-like ghosts of themselves, Tong summoned flesh and blood people.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Record everything!"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Students stepped out of nowhere, pulling records away from Aesian guards. Another stopped a torch from dropping on a pile of papers, and suddenly a metallic hand reached past Tong, grabbed a stack of books, and vanished back into mist and smoke.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong was sweating, straining, chanting, speaking in languages long forgotten.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Back in the main area, Alvyn looked at the cube. He took a deep breath and suddenly, the air around him began burning in a series of red sigils, signs, formula, floating around him. Through it all, Alvyn remembered the cube. He remembered his time within the cube. His early life. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The cube began to dice, break apart on a fundamental level, until it was no more. Inside, was a young girl, no more than 6 years old, chained to the floor. Her face, red, strained, she looked as if she had never stopped crying a moment in her life.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn looked back over his shoulder. Tong had just finished with his pupils, the room was empty, even the corpses of the Aesian guards were gone.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn could see Tong and Kalgar. Without looking at either one, he said, "Leave."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong looked at Kalgar.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Without saying a word, the three exchanged a lifetime of conversation. Debating, arguing, proposing and shutting down ideas. Tong's eyes pleaded, Kalgar's glance turned various shades of anger, Alvyn's eyes were resolute.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong moved forward, put a hand down on Alvyn's shoulder, then walked away. </span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar looked away, then back. There was no way out of it this time. They had faced the impossible before, but this time, luck was not on their side. It wasn't right. Alvyn was the one who started all of this.</span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It was Alvyn who had brought them together. Alvyn's was the voice of reason when Tong's and Kalgar's ideologies clashed. It was his determination that had shown them that there was no other way, that every effort <i>must</i> be made for the greater good.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">No matter the cost.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar looked down at his friend. His ally. His brother. And he said, "Stay strong. Thank you, Alvyn." And then he left.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Once alone, Alvyn sat down next to the girl. He knew what she was going through. The pain, the torture, the power, it was all-encompassing. It was total. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn glanced about the room. Making up a spell off the top of his head, he warded the room, tight. Nothing could see in. Nothing would get out.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Then, with needle-like precision, he tore a hole into the <i>Reverie</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong, boarding the ships with Kalgar, suddenly dropped to his knees. The invasion, the violation, he felt it, and it was brutal. It felt like Alvyn was reaching into his ribs and pulling.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn looked at the girl. He then reached into her mind and pulled the only human thing left, the only part of her that was <i>her</i>, out of her mind and forced it into the <i>Reverie</i>. Suddenly, Alvyn could see her mind, afresh, anew, all at once.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The room around him was a hellish, nightmare-scape. The doors were jagged, the walls were lava, and next to the girl, was Alvyn, a horrible, horrifying monster. Broken, terrible.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Yet, right next to these two monsters, sat a cute, little girl, and a young, almost chipper-looking gnome.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The gnome said, "Hey."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">She panicked, but then relaxed. This gnome appeared different. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"I'm Alvyn, what's your name?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">She didn't know why, but she wanted to move her mouth. She wanted to respond, but she didn't know how. She had never learned to speak, spent her life in a box, but the <i>Reverie</i>, the plane of knowledge, helped her connect to this creature. She responded with words she never knew before.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"I'm Ree."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Hi Ree. I'm really sorry." the gnome replied.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"I'm scared."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"I know, I'm scared too."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Inside the <i>Reverie</i>, rather than being chained to the floor, she was simply tied. So Alvyn untied her, and patted her head.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A fragment of the real world pierced through the scene. Drawn by Alvyn, filtered by his perception, he gives her this gift. For the first time, she sees the world as it was, and realizes, it wasn't all terrible. She looked at the gnome, so confused, and so lost.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"I don't have time to explain, Ree. But, something bad is going to happen. Something worse is going to happen."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">She didn't respond. She couldn't imagine anything worse. Her whole life has been nothing but <i>worse</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn took her hand, placed it on his chest. "Do you feel that?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">She nodded.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"That's the thing that's you. That's why you know that. But yours...yours is broken."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">She tilted her head slightly.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"But that's okay. That's what they wanted. A broken you. They wanted a broken me, too. If I could, Ree, I would fix you, and then you'd be like me."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">She looked at him. More tears formed. Not from pain, but because she could see in his mind <i>why</i> she couldn't be fixed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"So, I need you to trust me. Can you do that, Ree?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">She bit her lip, and nodded.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Good, good." Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Because you and I, Ree, we're going to be the last. We're going to be the last, Ree!" With tears in his eyes, he head her tight.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"You...you could escape, if you want to. There's t-t-ime." she stuttered.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"You've been alone too long, Ree. I'm not going anywhere."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">She buried her face in his chest and whispered, "<i>Thank you.</i>"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Back on the ships, Kalgar was routing the fleet, and using his horn to help them sail away at breakneck pace. The sails were full, too full, about to rip.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Off in the distance, back at <i>Horizon Black</i>, came an explosion. It was brighter than 100 suns, yet the sound was distant. The shockwave rushed toward them, moving toward them faster than anything Kalgar had seen before.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Before he could even issue orders, the shockwave parted, wedged apart, split perfectly, missing Kalgar, Tong, the entire fleet. The tsunami followed. Its waves eclipsed the sun, the roar of the waves was deafening. It was a screaming, primal, eviscerating sound that left everyone deaf for minutes after.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">When the glow in the distance, and the waters around them, finally settled, the island that had been <i>Horizon Black</i>, was gone.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong stood up, "It's impossible..."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He could feel <i>something</i>, no...<i>someone</i> in the <i>Reverie</i>. Someone who shouldn't be there. Some scrap of a consciousness.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"<i>Kalgar, I can feel a whisper. Alvyn's gone, but not totally.</i>"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The Aesian Dragonborn scratched his head. He could hear Tong's words in his mind.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"<i>There's a fragment here. A remnant of power, both divine and arcane.</i>"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"<i>Where?</i>" Kalgar thought.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong swept his hand aside, and Kalgar could see the <i>Reverie</i> made real.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"<i>His love, his sacrifice, something brought him here. He had no gods. He had nothing, and yet he gave EVERYTHING! I don't know what this is, but he has left a mark on the </i>Reverie<i>."</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">An image of milk appeared before them. Swirling, constant, white, and pure. Now, a drop of ink splotched the image. Mixing, turning, disseminating, fading away.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"<i>What's left?</i>" Kalgar thought.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"<i>Nothing...everything. Not a life, I don't think, just a feeling.</i>" Tong answered. "<i>I must meditate</i>." he stormed off.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar blinked, then shook his head. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The ships moved as one, sailing off to the east.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Whew! That was quite a post, but we didn't feel that stopping in the middle would do the story justice. That was a long, emotional ride, and we hope that you have enjoyed the journey as much as we have. This will be the last post for quite a while, as the creators of D4sign haven't played <i>The Long Game</i> in some time. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We're looking to the new year with hope for more adventures, but life is tough, and scheduling is even more difficult. We hope to move this forward, together, when the time is right, and with your support. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks for reading!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-47812006655302445232016-12-11T12:29:00.000-05:002016-12-11T12:29:50.208-05:00Horizon Black III<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Welcome back to The Long Game! Last time, Alvyn, Tong, Kalgar and his small fleet had made their way to the ultra-secret base <i>Horizon Black, </i>the likely place of development for Aes' superweapon program. Now, the fun begins... </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.498039) 1px 1px 5px; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.524px; line-height: 16.2288px; margin-left: 1em; padding: 8px; position: relative; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6b2ast7HV2pcPRteTYM38k_g_98EgN93-8E5avSHupOp7KUp6VS6ryXPif3lBNMFvv4QKc6IYoVV-m-1Y4rXN9Clba3kDUdYn47ZrTSPAEX-5fZBMdf5ykgwdHcV_8hSUX41OsGVZ8U/s1600/photo.JPG" style="background: transparent; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 0px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.8192px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-size: xx-small;">Dallas Kasaboski</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar Drakeswynd stood on the bow of his ship, excited for the first time in a long time. He had not been part of a naval battle in years and it felt good to fall back into old habits. This was his playground, and between the seriously frowning face that the dragonborn commodore exhibited, he felt a strong sense of anticipation.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn Sehanine stood on the port side, as the <i>Shockrosia</i> moved around the western side of the shoal, making their way closer to Horizon Black. He held a spyglass to his eye, affixed with several add-ons and upgrades. He had been fooled before with illusions and psionics and he was not going to sail into a trap...well, at least not into an even bigger trap than he was expecting. His eyes changed colour, the lens of the spyglass changed colour, but no, he could not sense any illusions. It was tough to pierce the fog cloud of cover Kalgar was working up, but he was fairly certain the ships, towers, and shoal were real this time.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlu7TNJI50ESas1vyAowxY7Xx7XReRWYRP3FOh7I-Fz498EC4kchMcojdaWJMVJkpD0Wbo4Z6naahWvvbnjazV0MpMmBb6B6LemxZrSaIQik4K1j0PRF-fYpyj8Vs_rFOOe3p9_W4wAo/s1600/2016-01-31+19.40.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlu7TNJI50ESas1vyAowxY7Xx7XReRWYRP3FOh7I-Fz498EC4kchMcojdaWJMVJkpD0Wbo4Z6naahWvvbnjazV0MpMmBb6B6LemxZrSaIQik4K1j0PRF-fYpyj8Vs_rFOOe3p9_W4wAo/s400/2016-01-31+19.40.55.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horizon Black, the shoal line, and guard towers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Off to the east, distant cannon fire was heard; hopefully the rest of Kalgar's fleet was keeping their distance. Up ahead, the gunnery towers were lighting fires to help with visibility. The <i>Shockrosia</i> glided along the water, silently, gaining speed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong si Gong placed his hand on Alvyn's shoulder, who nodded. Tong's <i>third eye</i> illuminated and he reached out with his sense of faith. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Go!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A squad of frog men, sailors outfitted with <i>potions of water-breathing</i>, dove into the water and quickly made their way to the nearest guard tower.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Our three adventurers made their way over as well, hoping to quickly wrap up this early stage of the coming battle. Stopping at the base of the tower, Kalgar looked back, noted his frog men were keeping a good pace, all out of the water and ready to fight.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn jumped onto Tong's back while the human monk realized the illusion that was reality and walked vertically up the tower. Kalgar spread his wings and flew up, hoping to surprise the soldiers there.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar landed with a heavy thud, while Tong walked around the side of the building. There were 6 soldiers, eating food and playing dice.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"I am Kalgar Drakeswynd, and I bring the fight to you!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He charged the first soldier, knocking him back. Tong, barely touching the ground, sped around the room dealing viscous blows to 3 guards. Alvyn slipped between the shadows, quickly dispatching 2 more guards as Kalgar grabbed the last one and threw him out of the tower.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It had been a long time since our heroes fought something "normal", something not world-ending or crazy dangerous. They might have hit a little too hard, but the world is dangerous and they weren't fooling around. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The frog men burst into the room. Kalgar looked at them and said, "You know how to work this?" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The men nodded, guard towers were easy.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Good." Kalgar said as he grabbed a hunched-over corpse lying on the tower's controls, and threw him hard against the wall.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">From their vantage point, they could see an enemy ship, moving down the shoal line, headed for their own ship. Cloaked in fog as their ship was, it was only a matter of time before they were discovered.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Moving fast, Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar descended the tower, ran along the shore, and headed for the Interceptor class ship. Tong sprouted wings of energy, flying low over the water and up onto the deck. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">There, he effortlessly and silently moved past a pair of sailors too stunned to shout. Tong moved to the back of ship, to the cannoneers, throwing ankle and fist as fast as possible. One of the sailors was an orc, rare to be found in Aes, but he dropped right away as Tong tossed two warbeads at the first two sailors, knocking them out.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar landed on the ship, his wings softening the landing. He stomped the deck and roared his head back, unleashing <i>Dragonfear</i>. The eyes of several nearby shipmates widened in panic and, while backing away, tripped over each other and fell over.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQSgGiBYKhyphenhyphen_MeWdRKf6Ou5Qjh98U42YVinjXwoIQQ4R8jJk5VoSnyQ1mbl_xWVC2DgisRX2hWm9vRPgrx9CyTRG7JEOv9MvCQ30UipOnZT10XtXtPTeI_BQCM34H3oN0Pr4c-YwhagI/s1600/2016-01-31+20.30.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQSgGiBYKhyphenhyphen_MeWdRKf6Ou5Qjh98U42YVinjXwoIQQ4R8jJk5VoSnyQ1mbl_xWVC2DgisRX2hWm9vRPgrx9CyTRG7JEOv9MvCQ30UipOnZT10XtXtPTeI_BQCM34H3oN0Pr4c-YwhagI/s400/2016-01-31+20.30.13.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Just then, Alvyn leapt off Kalgar's back, moving quickly along the railing of the ship. Distracted by Tong, a sailor near the back of the ship did not see Alvyn coming, and it was too late. Alvyn slipped his hand and arm around her, killing her quickly, and silently. Her lifeless body hung limply over the side of the ship, falling over as Alvyn disappeared overboard, vanishing from sight.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRTVWmXXyxYug2A-khPVQDltvHoNp28_BZi4X2f1xXb5Nt4lrb-BtpHh71-VyiWvd3rUVUCJR6z5r0Y9EuiWvdbnjXROHkZxKzX_Kafx7WyzlQSGAq76e2dVGS-eeQocit171qyHNLhHI/s1600/2016-01-31+20.30.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRTVWmXXyxYug2A-khPVQDltvHoNp28_BZi4X2f1xXb5Nt4lrb-BtpHh71-VyiWvd3rUVUCJR6z5r0Y9EuiWvdbnjXROHkZxKzX_Kafx7WyzlQSGAq76e2dVGS-eeQocit171qyHNLhHI/s400/2016-01-31+20.30.23.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In short time, the ship was theirs! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn pulled himself back up onboard, and said, "So, how familiar are you two with the concept of a <i>fire ship</i>?<i>"</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong replied, "There was a legend in my temple about ships that were set on fire, but that was a teaching allegory."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"That's an interesting point, I was thinking of it as a teaching allegory as well. Teaching people not to get in our way by exploding them with a ship."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Your ego waxes", Tong responded, "but I am amused."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As they were speaking, their new ship was continuing to drift along its route, getting closer to the base. Suddenly, they heard a whistle off in the distance.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Followed by silence.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn looked to Kalgar. He shook his head. Whistles were common signs of passage, but each base, each fleet, could and did use different signals. There was no way to guess the response.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn whistled back.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">No response.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The ship was running along the main shoal wall. Up ahead, were two taller guard towers, separated by a gap in the wall, large enough for the ship to get through.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar tilted his head. "There's a chain there."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"What?" Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"There's likely a chain in the water, can be pulled up to stop ships."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"We have to work quickly," Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong moved about the ship finding anything flammable and putting it in neat piles. Alvyn followed behind, tinkering with things from his bag, and placing alchemical objects on the piles.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar called over his ship, and blew a few short blasts into his new horn. The fog immediately surrounding them disappeared, leaving a hole of visible space around the <i>Interceptor</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As soon as this happened, the first guard tower opened fire! Cannons roared, the nearby fog turned orange in colour, and cannonballs hurled just past the mast into the water.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar grabbed a sword lying on the deck and jammed it into the helm wheel. Grabbing Alvyn, he and Tong leapt off the ship.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">They landed at the base of the guard tower, and made quick work of it. Still, horns had been blown, alarms were raised. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The <i>Inteceptor</i> crashed into the other tower, and exploded. The tower collapsed, now a smoking ruin.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOr5Ga0IO7N2yKVXrGmcmNVR6yONTxgAeE6erYq100Dw3y9cdQ2m-bA-A6jh3sGhHxYgEWulKv4MY8LJ7Hbq5XTps3jGHWFumn2JWbmh2vfLgf92aDCvbKmgLdNC3bdGyPxAO2B6ifJIQ/s1600/2016-01-31+20.57.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOr5Ga0IO7N2yKVXrGmcmNVR6yONTxgAeE6erYq100Dw3y9cdQ2m-bA-A6jh3sGhHxYgEWulKv4MY8LJ7Hbq5XTps3jGHWFumn2JWbmh2vfLgf92aDCvbKmgLdNC3bdGyPxAO2B6ifJIQ/s400/2016-01-31+20.57.17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar pulled some flares out of his bag and fired them into the sky. In several directions, simultaneously, from the <i>Shockrosia</i> and guard towers alike, cannonfire was heard. Several enemy ships were destroyed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Then, the guard towers not occupied by Kalgar's men began opening fire.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Our party boarded the <i>Shockrosia. </i>Kalgar shouted orders, Tong moved quickly through the ship, replacing cannons and the like.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Between orders, Kalgar blasted his horn, moving the fog with him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Ship!" Alvyn shouted.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Out of the fog, a massive ship moved toward them, Kalgar cranked the wheel hard to starboard. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Narrowly avoiding collision, Kalgar gave the order to fire!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">They broadsided the ship, destroying the mast entirely, its sails falling to cover the deck. The taller ship answered back, knocking out one of the <i>Shockrosia</i>'s cannons.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar turned the wheel hard, bringing the ship to bear. "Haymitch! Bring out BallistApe!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Raucous was heard even among the cannons and there, appearing on deck, was a giant gorilla, with a mechanical repeating crossbow for an arm. Kalgar looked at him, looked toward the enemy ship, and nodded. BallistApe moved to the side of the ship, laying cover fire at the sailors on the larger ship.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Closing in from off to the northeast, another ship opened fire at the <i>Shockrosia</i>. Cannonballs slammed into the bow and portside of the ship. The vessel shook, the deck split apart. Fire erupted from below while water rushed in. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"The ship's gonna blow! Abandon ship!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The entire crew leapt off. Dwarves, BallistApe, Kalgar, Tong, Alvyn, Dwight, Haymitch, everyone.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The bow of the <i>Shockrosia</i> exploded violently, knocking out the port-side cannons of the tall, nearby ship. The rest of the ship tilted, then sank slowly.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The crew had escaped, but barely. The shock of the explosion had pushed the crew, and some supplies, against the nearest ship.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"To me!" Kalgar shouted, as he grabbed his lieutenants, Dwight and Haymitch. His wings unfurled as he hurled himself out of the water and landed hard on the deck.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT90BNmlwK1NVy7QN5QWhwQLyx6GPhfrA8BWiXbbllL7_kn-NjKheaNauoe85QEnww01CYnvdY4mw4Z70CpLPNe7JSw9hyphenhyphenGhZQC7E_lReuG3mo_LIi-nhT6rH1hWkk0qB7dEot4271sMk/s1600/2016-01-31+21.22.48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT90BNmlwK1NVy7QN5QWhwQLyx6GPhfrA8BWiXbbllL7_kn-NjKheaNauoe85QEnww01CYnvdY4mw4Z70CpLPNe7JSw9hyphenhyphenGhZQC7E_lReuG3mo_LIi-nhT6rH1hWkk0qB7dEot4271sMk/s400/2016-01-31+21.22.48.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The blue dice represent proud, Aesian sailors. Woe to them.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">"We're being boarded!" the crew shouted, as the captain, seen up front by the helm, drew pistols.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar acted quickly. He pushed two crewmen out of the way, stomped on the deck and roared! Lightning pierced the sky and thunder boomed!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The ship shook, as the shockwave of thunder blasted out from Kalgar, </span><span style="font-size: large;">and all of the crew, save the captain, fell to their knees. The crew was dazed. They could not believe it. They had destroyed their enemy's ship, and yet here Kalgar was, dragon wings and all, terrifying in his reality and proximity.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn crept over the stern of the ship, and pulled out his rifle. The shot hit the captain in the shoulder, making an opening for Tong, who had just alighted on the ship, whipped a warbead at him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Before the crew had even stood up, Tong moved over them, drew back his fist and punched hard, tearing through the wall of reality, through the <i>Reverie</i>, through the <i>Idolawn</i>, and back, hitting the captain with the might of his faith.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The captain was tough. He pushed Tong back, raised his guns and said, "Stand firm! Focus on the captain!" He fired his pistols, aiming near Tong and Kalgar's feet. Special ammunition spread out, slammed into the deck, trapping Tong and Kalgar in place.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The crew regained their feet and converged on our party. Kalgar deflected two attacks and laughed at the sailors. He swept his wings, blinding another attacker, but one made it through, stabbing Kalgar in the shoulder. "Yes, good. Press your advantage!" Kalgar shouted, in the midst of battle.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Haymitch gestured toward BallistApe, and nodded at Dwight. Moving like two halves of a whole, Dwight and Haymitch circled around each other, attacking like clockwork. BallistApe leapt past them, knocking a crewman off the ship, firing a blast of crossbow bolts at the next nearest enemies.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A kukri slashed down on Kalgar, but he caught the wrist of his assailant. Looking up at the sky, he said, "I hope you're seeing this, Kord! <i>This</i> is a battle for the scribes!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Thunder boomed and lightning struck, turning 8 men into a pile of bones. Kalgar looked up at the remaining crewmen.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">They dropped their swords.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar, Tong, and Alvyn looked at the captain. He snarled defensively.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn poked him in the back with his rifle. "You really want to do this? I mean, the whole "strength in battle" thing, I get it, but do you <i>really</i> want to do this?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The captain moved to spin around and attack-BOOM! Alvyn's rifle put a hole in the captain's back the size of a skull.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The ship continued forward, unable to turn, damaged in the attack, soon to meet the ship which destroyed the <i>Shockrosia</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">With a defiant roar, the two ships edged past each other, too close, wood and metal screeching, as the former crew of the <i>Shockrosia</i> collapsed on the new ship like ants. Alvyn gained a vantage point high on the remaining mast and, using explosive bolts from his rifle, thinned any resistance Kalgar and Tong came across. Dwight and Haymitch moved as one, taking out foes, a sudden cry of bestial fear was heard as BallistApe crushed two human skulls with a single, giant fist.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn joined the frey, moving like smoke as Tong's fists and elbows struck mercilessly. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar didn't run. He didn't fly. He stood tall, and walked calmly across the ship. He didn't swerve, he didn't block or parry, he didn't have to. His friends and allies cleared a path for him, a path leading to the captain.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Standing at 8 feet tall, the dragonborn captain sneered, drew an incredibly long broadsword, and looked at Kalgar. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"I am Kalgar Drakeswynd, Commodore, the <i>Eye of the Storm</i>, the bearer of <i>Bad News</i>, I challenge you! What is your name so I may tell your god?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"You don't need my name, only my blade!" the captain said as he charged.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The two clashed, strength vs. strength, broadsword vs. katana-bastard-sword. The captain was good. He used his strength and hit hard. Kalgar's sword was dainty in comparison, small and meant for precision, though Kalgar wielded it more like a club.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar admired the man. His cause was lost, his ship was lost, but he fought on. This was the backbone of Aes, not cowardly superweapons. When he won the war, men like this would be on his side.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The captain swung, Kalgar rocked his head back to avoid the blow. When the captain surged forward, Kalgar stood his ground, running the sword straight through, upwards, and out the back of the captain. Hugging the captain close, Kalgar said, "You fought well. You died with honour."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar withdrew his blade, and let the captain's corpse fall to the deck. He looked around. The only men left were his own.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He looked off the ship. The <i>Shockrosia</i> was destroyed, half of it already sunk into the bay. But, there he and his crew stood on the 200 foot Aesian battleship, which Kalgar noted as named, <i>Draxos' Honour</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The ship they came from was abandoned, empty, but still serviceable. Kalgar decided to leave it, for now. Time to expand his fleet later.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn pointed off ahead, they were nearing another guard tower. Before Kalgar could give the order, Dwight and Tong were marshaling the crew to the long guns, and Haymitch was calming BallistApe.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The tower was easily destroyed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Just then, off in the distance, there was a high-pitched whine. It was hard to localize, and it was getting louder.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">They brought the ship to dock, and Alvyn, Kalgar, and Tong quickly leapt off. The crew's orders were as normal, survey the scene, avoid danger, be ready for pickup.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIz99NRe4FDXzbqt0zgKx4V18lHhsNC-2UqXg7qeepnS2SzRrKAO0mQEVxGlyym2ARsH5a0QZlHMOnzo_8HFhPoRhtpO2xEQCdSg3qp58dbFdkAnJJAO-tIGk1PnCAMqDvqHtntGxfXg/s1600/2016-01-31+22.13.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIz99NRe4FDXzbqt0zgKx4V18lHhsNC-2UqXg7qeepnS2SzRrKAO0mQEVxGlyym2ARsH5a0QZlHMOnzo_8HFhPoRhtpO2xEQCdSg3qp58dbFdkAnJJAO-tIGk1PnCAMqDvqHtntGxfXg/s400/2016-01-31+22.13.16.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Suddenly, the whine turned to a shriek as a yellow beam of energy ripped out from a nearby hill, clearing fog in a long column along the way. Off in the distance, our party could see that the beam missed its target. Clearly aiming for one of Kalgar's fleet ships, skirmishing on the border of the shoal, the beam instead hit a guard tower, obliterating it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Our ships cannot handle fire of that magnitude!" Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar took a few flares from his bag and signaled a retreat.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTU50rBHAx4c3YlePo6Fm_qxpXZ88NXrhcGGxw9gUB9W-VLt54yKXdzecLWuKb-_di6ba03_b1uy9BdSczUg1qPrerZURburWEz1Itqc5oPm0ORKYS_WmmsUm1ZFzA1a_KfNLduI72gIw/s1600/2016-01-31+22.13.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTU50rBHAx4c3YlePo6Fm_qxpXZ88NXrhcGGxw9gUB9W-VLt54yKXdzecLWuKb-_di6ba03_b1uy9BdSczUg1qPrerZURburWEz1Itqc5oPm0ORKYS_WmmsUm1ZFzA1a_KfNLduI72gIw/s400/2016-01-31+22.13.25.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar looked up the hill. The walls of the base were high, formidable, and lined with archers and guard towers. Directly ahead of them, the source of the yellow energy beam, was a bunker made into the side of a hill.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A service road, meeting near them and splitting around the base, also ran toward a gate near the bunker, and that gate was closing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Bunker or gate?" Tong shouted, as the whine built up.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Both?" Kalgar said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Gate. Let's get inside." Alvyn decided.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">With great haste, our party slid through the gate, as it slammed shut behind them. Just then, they heard another blast as the energy beam fired off once again. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Did it hit this time? Had their choice come at the price of a ship and its crew? Inside the high, stone walls, they could not tell. They were standing in a large courtyard, ready for the real fight to begin.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And that's where we'll leave it this week. Thank you so very much for reading. If you have any comments, or questions, be sure to leave them below. We hope you've enjoyed the tale thus far, be sure to return for more of <i>The Long Game</i>, coming soon!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-41554315025360224992016-11-16T15:37:00.003-05:002016-11-16T15:37:44.376-05:00Horizon Black: Part II<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">When last we left our heroes, Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar had questioned the odd book of knowledge in Tong's possession. This book, created through an arcane, Aesian ritual, was able to answer any question, given at least 10 people currently alive knew the answer. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Our heroes have been traveling for years, learning more of the threats which face the world continent of <i>Cyfandir</i>. Through that time, they have made many enemies, and as our party neared <i>Horizon Black</i>, a deep-dark over-the-top secret base purportedly the stronghold of Aes' superweapons program, Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar knew the real test had only begun.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.498039) 1px 1px 5px; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.524px; line-height: 16.2288px; margin-left: 1em; padding: 8px; position: relative; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6b2ast7HV2pcPRteTYM38k_g_98EgN93-8E5avSHupOp7KUp6VS6ryXPif3lBNMFvv4QKc6IYoVV-m-1Y4rXN9Clba3kDUdYn47ZrTSPAEX-5fZBMdf5ykgwdHcV_8hSUX41OsGVZ8U/s1600/photo.JPG" style="background: transparent; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 0px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.8192px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-size: xx-small;">Dallas Kasaboski</span></a></span></td></tr>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;">After a few days of smooth sailing, there, on the horizon was...Horizon Black.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It was a medium-sized island, surrounded by islands and shoals, with guard towers dotting their vision.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Lowering his spyglass, Kalgar walked to the port side of the ship. There, he saw his friend Tong zi Gong speaking to what could only be described as a dwarf made of mist.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"...and <i>that</i>'<i>s</i> how you align your chakras." He said as the dwarf woman vanished in the wind. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Tong", Kalgar said. "Keep your senses attuned for that which remains hidden, unseen. We've already had people slip by us before. Not again."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong nodded, setting his vision upon the water. "I understand, and will ensure that my third eye remains open and vigilant."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn made his way up from below decks. "We there yet?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar nodded.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As their fleet got closer, they could see more details. There were several patrol ships moving through the shoal. They were small, maneuverable, but Kalgar suspected that they may have heavy weapons to take out ships. On several of the nearest islands, they could now see gunnery towers, tall and foreboding.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong reached out with his senses, searching for threats.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Nothing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Other than the psionic background noise of the ship and crew around him, and what he could sense of the ships ahead, Tong could sense nothing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"I cannot sense anything yet. Just what we can see." he said. </span><span style="font-size: large;">"Perhaps, we can use their tricks against them."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"How so?" Alvyn asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong reminded Kalgar and Alvyn of the ships hidden from view during their adventure at Deep Watch Bay. Through deep meditation, Tong theorized that he could obfuscate the <i>Shockrosia</i> using his abilities, aided by his Iounian disciples.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Wow, that would be amazing!" Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Yes, but it would tax me. I would be unfit for much else after." the monk added.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"No. It is a good idea, but we cannot have you resting. Stealth or not, we cannot avoid this fight for long." Kalgar added.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Yeah Tong, it's a good backup plan, but let's hold off on that." Alvyn added. </span><span style="font-size: large;">"We need to find a route in, with the least resistance."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Dwight!" Kalgar called.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Yes, Commodore." the young Lieutenant responded.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Circle the fleet, we'll keep our distance for now. Get Haymitch here, we're making a plan."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Aye, aye!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Lieutenant Haymitch arrived from below decks. He brought over a crate and set it in front of Alvyn.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Alright. We need to draw their attention away." the gnome began, roughly drawing the shoals and dotting the paper with towers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar leaned in, grabbed the pencil and started drawing intersecting circles. "That marks the towers' range of vision."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Perfect." Alvyn said. "Now, we tend to do things alone, so we need to find a way in, I say...here!" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"But there are so many ships, surely they'll see us!" Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Not if we draw them away." Alvyn added, grinning. "Kalgar, keep your fleet out here, keeping their distance, but aggravating the towers. That should draw the ships. Then, we circle through here, maybe coming against a few towers on the way."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Frogmen." Haymitch added.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"What?" Kalgar said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"My frogmen can get off the <i>Shockrosia</i> here, and here. Take out the towers before the ship sails through and picks us up."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Nice. Good. That works." Alvyn added, nodding in approval. </span><span style="font-size: large;">"Plus, Kalgar, use your horn, we'll draw fog." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Suddenly, Alvyn started laughing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"What is it?" Tong asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"What does your book say about who runs Horizon Black?" Alvyn asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong consulted his Book of Knowing. The blank pages filled with swirling text which settled upon the following: <i>Angrimich Shivi Commander, human, Admiral Katakale</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Ah, useless. I don't know this person. Do you know him, Kalgar? Or his tactics?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Never heard of him."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn thought about it and realized something odd; Tong's book did not give a last name. He shook his head; his death book, his magic artifact would not work.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar called Dwight over and gave him his orders.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh0OKW5cwVo" target="_blank">And so they began!</a></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-1027281677237038942016-10-23T23:37:00.000-04:002016-10-23T23:37:14.584-04:00On the Way to Horizon Black<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Welcome back to The Long Game! If you're new to the adventure, a short summary can be found <a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/2015/07/the-short-version-of-long-game.html" target="_blank">here</a>! If you're fairly familiar with our tale, you can check out the medium recap, <a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/2015/07/the-medium-version-of-long-game.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">When last we left our heroes, they had just investigated the western outpost known as <i>Deep Watch Bay</i>. Officially, the outpost's purpose is to guard and warn the rest of the nation of Aes of the terrifying creatures coming from the deep ocean. However, our party, Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar, learned that it was a superweapon development complex. After exploring it, finding plenty of information about superweapons, they ended up fighting one! A super-psionic security force, capable of projecting harmful illusions, guarded the outpost.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As our heroes defeated him, they learned of an even more dangerous and secret base located farther west, known as <i>Horizon Black</i>. Rumoured to be the main superweapon facility, our party set sail!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6b2ast7HV2pcPRteTYM38k_g_98EgN93-8E5avSHupOp7KUp6VS6ryXPif3lBNMFvv4QKc6IYoVV-m-1Y4rXN9Clba3kDUdYn47ZrTSPAEX-5fZBMdf5ykgwdHcV_8hSUX41OsGVZ8U/s1600/photo.JPG" style="background: transparent; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 0px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.8192px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;">Dallas Kasaboski</span></a></span></td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;">It was smooth sailing, the waters to the north and west of <i>Deep Watch Bay</i> were tranquil. Kalgar Drakeswynd was busy giving orders and commanding his fleet to move in the new formation he had designed. Kalgar stood on the port side of the <i>Shockrosia</i>, his dragon-hide jacket billowing in the wind. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Suddenly, a gnome appeared at his side. Alvyn Sehanine, spy extraordinaire, smiled and handed Kalgar a clear jar with a moving, semi-fluid grey substance inside.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Here, stick your hand in here." he said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The scales above Kalgar's eyes moved as he looked down at his friend. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"It won't hurt...I think." Alvyn reassured him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Shrugging, Kalgar made a fist and stuck his right hand into the jar. The fluid felt smooth, cold, and suddenly, it coalesced! When he pulled his hand out of the jar, Kalgar was holding a long horn, curved, maybe from a dire ram, coloured blue, white, with silver accents. It was decorated with clouds, and wind, and lightning.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He handed it to Alvyn who flipped down a set of googles. Running his hands over it and mumbling, Alvyn was able to determine its true nature.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This magic item allowed someone to change the weather, at any time, simply by blowing into it. Any area larger than 100 ft in radius, and smaller than 10 miles, could be changed into any type of weather, although the item required focus, and some time if the weather change is drastic, or so Alvyn suspected.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Explaining this to Kalgar, he handed the horn to him. "Could come in handy." the gnome said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Kalgar accepted the gift solemnly, but vowed to reflect on the item. As a devout follower of Kord, lord of storms and battle, an item that could change the weather at will was worth thinking about. If his adventures had taught Kalgar anything, it was that power must be understood to be used properly.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">After making some notes on a clipboard, Alvyn left Kalgar's side. Moving quickly, between sailors, he went below deck and found Tong, meditating in a corner.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Here, touch this." Alvyn said, offering another jar.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong hesitated. He wanted to uncover this piece of knowledge, but it was an odd liquid and an odd request. Still, his curiosity, and worship of Ioun, god of knowledge, won out, and he touched the liquid.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">When he pulled his hand out, he held in his hand an ornate, leather-bound tome, with a symbol of Ioun adorning it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"My god!" Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Literally," Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">When he opened the book, it appeared to be full of text, but in a language neither Tong nor Alvyn knew.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Poring over it for some time, Alvyn and Tong were able to determine the item's function. If the book was asked a question (verbally or written inside), if at least 10 people knew the answer, the text would rearrange to show that answer.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong's eyes went wide. The item was of immense value, especially to someone like him, but the knowledge was gained, not from divine sources, but through experimentation. The many adventures he had experienced taught him that progressing without knowledge, experimenting and manipulating what was known, often brought ruin.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn reassured him, "This was not really made through experimentation. The ooze was made as a means of creating magical artifacts, but they could not get it to work. For some reason, it does now. Besides, this artifact is divine, so that's something to think about."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Taking it in his hands, Tong nodded and said, "The Iounic book of questioning...I mean answering! Thank you, Alvyn!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">During the next few days, Tong continued his meditation. Tong had both earned, and was burdened with, the responsibility of being the Mist Knight, the connection between this realm and the next, and as such, he had begun reaching out with his abilities. Tong could seek an audience with other followers of Ioun, through the <i>Reverie</i>, an in-between place, and there he instructed his students.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"The storm grows," Tong said. "I cannot speak much of it, but great change is coming. You must prepare yourself."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn spent much of his time in his lab, studying the new items, and working with the ship's dwarves to upgrade the ship. The <i>Shockrosia</i> had been an airship, but lost its ability to fly after a large storm.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">One quiet night, Alvyn sat alone in his lab. Candles were lit, but the ship was quiet. Alvyn thought back to the <i>Doomguard</i>, the spy organization he had once been part of which worked to keep the balance of power by removing items of power from the corrupt. Alvyn had served for years until, Liliana, chief of the Doomguard, decided to start <i>using</i> the weapons for the Doomguard purposes. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn had lived a hard life. He had learned to do what needed to be done. Unlike his friends, Alvyn did not limit himself by a moral code, or rather, he did, but he was more willing to do what needed to be done, even if the consequences were personally damning. Still, he could not bear to remain with the Doomguard and had left it. Vowing to overturn it, but unable to at the time, Alvyn had left.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He stared at his book. His magical item, unbeknownst to Kalgar and Tong, was also a book, capable of killing anyone in any manner specified. It was an incredibly dangerous item. If he were part of the Doomguard, he would definitely have locked it up, or destroyed it. However, things were different now.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The candles burned low, the book remained unopened. He reached for a quill, grabbed the book...and put the quill down. Answers, he needed answers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Knocking on Tong's door, Alvyn made his way inside and asked to see Tong's book. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"I'm going to need to run some tests on this." Alvyn said. He did not want to ask his questions in front of Tong. He had kept his <i>death book</i> a secret from his friends for one simple reason: they would never allow him to use it. Alvyn did not want to use the book, but he didn't want to limit himself either. Why place limits on yourself when you're only trying to do the right thing?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Opening Tong's book back at the lab, and locking the door, Alvyn asked, "Is Liliana of the Doomguard still alive?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Nothing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He tried several questions and nothing happened. He went back and woke Tong up. "You need to ask the questions, apparently."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">When Tong asked, the words stirred, but did not form. "Curious, there was a stirring of energies, but nothing happened." Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"It could be because it's not her real name. Try: <i>Is the person we know as Liliana of the Doomguard still alive?</i>" Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The words stirred upon Tong asking, she was alive.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn and Tong continued, finding out more and more about the Doomguard and other threats.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Who hired the Brass Company to take us out?" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">No response. Apparently, fewer than 10 people knew why the world's most successful mercenary group was after them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />"Where are the Brass Company mercenaries who want to take us out?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Northwest Aes</i>. The book responded. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"So, where we're going?" Alvyn inquired.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A few questions later, they found out that the mercenaries were close, but not as far west as they were.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"What about Verius?" Tong asked.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"Wasn't the tiefling who lost a horn?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Tail" Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"We have not many many friends out here, have we?" Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The book was not able to reveal much about him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Where is the dragon known as Mercury?" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Adamantina</i>, the book responded.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Who's in charge of Ruber?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>No one</i>. The book answered.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"That's not good." Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"We can deal with that later. I'll take anarchy over dragon any day."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong thought back, it seemed so long ago. They had learned that the Balor Lord of Ruber was working with the devil who had cursed Tong. When they attacked the lord of Ruber, they learned he was in fact a red dragon. Taking him out had also, unfortunately, taken down the leadership structure in Ruber. Kalgar had mentioned a few times that this was one thing he wanted to fix, when they had the time.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Where is the purple dragon?" Alvyn asked the book, through Tong.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Under Argentum</i>, the book answered.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Is the purple dragon the master of its own will?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Yes</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Alvyn wiped his forehead. He did know which answer would have been worse.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Which dragon is that?" Tong asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"That's mindflayer dragon. The one who can control minds, who's likely teamed up with mindflayers. No, no, I'm shelving that for now. We can deal with that later."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Is Tribulus alive and well?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Yes</i>. The book responded. Alvyn sighed in relief, knowing his former Doomguard ally was okay.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Pressing the book for more questions, Alvyn and Tong discovered that Lilianna was at the Doomguard vault in Aurum, which should have been defended by a ghost dragon. Somehow, she and over a dozen older, female dwarves had made their way inside. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Three of the dwarves were sisters, named Essor, Darwit, and Dadewyn, and they were antiquaries specializing in ancient, magical artifacts.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Exhausted of questions, Alvyn thanked Tong and went back to his lab. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tong placed the book in front of him and asked, "Is Votharxis alive or is he dead?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Dead</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Is Victor Whitehelm alive or dead?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">No answer. Tong frowned.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Back in his lab, Alvyn </span><span style="font-size: large;">opened his book, and wrote Lilianna's name, followed by a detailed account of a freak accident. He closed the book with a sigh.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As the scene fades to black, we'll finish this part of the story for today. There was a lot of references to times past in this chapter, but hopefully you followed along and continue with us as the story unfolds!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks for reading!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-55322346005643451762016-10-11T13:00:00.001-04:002016-10-11T13:00:42.075-04:00Deep Watch Bay: Part IV<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: small;">Tong, Alvyn, and Kalgar had found Deep Watch Bay. They thought it abandoned but inside, they found illusory archers, soldiers, and structures. Moving past the illusions, and dropping to a lower level, they found a hidden floor, the base of the volcano. Will they finally get some answers, or just more questions in Deep Way Bay?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Dallas Kasaboski</span></a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a>The walls were still dripping, wet, damp, but otherwise well kept. They appeared to be at the base of the fort. The walls curved inward, and there were a few side tunnels leading off of the main room.<br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Thi</span><span style="font-size: 18px;">s looks like it was the main test area," Alvyn said. "They could flood the area if there was a problem."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Good points." Kalgar said. "It's pretty dark down here." he remarked. "And still no obvious signs of treachery."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"What do you mean?" Tong asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Just, there may be something on the cards, but so far nothing here could be taken to the Admiral as evidence."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Put one of your Ioun friends on it Tong, scour the cards." Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Tong rolled his eyes back in his head and said, "Search and Know." Six pupils appeared upstairs and began their work.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">They reached the first chamber. The doors opened, stiffly, and a musty smell emerged. Inside, there was a small mechanism which Kalgar and Alvyn recognized as a volcano-manipulator. It was old, incomplete, likely a prototype, but this was the start of the superweapons, similar to the one the <i>Doomguard</i> sent Alvyn to collect and destroy a long time ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn collected it, and put it in a secret pocket within his bag.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Moving on to the next room, there were 4 jars on a pedestal. One was empty, the other three had a metallic grey semi-fluid substance which seemed to move slightly on its own. Looking closer, Alvyn got the sense that the fluid was mostly <i>residuum</i> but there was something animating it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Bag", Alvyn said, holding his open.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Nooo, they're not even sealed properly!" Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn closed the jars properly and then deposited them into his bag. Behind the pedestal, there was a clipboard, which he also grabbed. The notes were scratched, over and over, all seeming to show failure. It seemed that the experiment was to create modular magical weapons, something which could adopt itself to the wielder. However, it seemed to have failed, although the notes made no mention of the liquid moving.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Hmm", Alvyn said, "Bag!" and he dropped the notes into his bag.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">They moved from room to room, Alvyn continued bagging anything of interest, until they reached a door marked, "Confidential Records".</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"These secrets <i>must</i> be exposed to the light of Ioun!" Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar reached forward, the door was unlocked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Hmm, they didn't bother locking it. Either they thought the rest of the security was enough, or they didn't think to question the loyalty of the soldiers." Kalgar said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Wait!" Alvyn said. He took a closer look at the door. It was severely warded with alarms. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Sighing, Alvyn reached into his bag and pulled out a tripod. He set it on the ground, and pulled out a round dish of some kind. He attached the dish to the tripod, running wires away from the dish to a little box, and then connected that box to his goggles.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">He looked up at the party with his gnomish smile and said, "Whatever you do, don't look directly at it."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Ioun's eyes should never be blind to-AHHH!" Tong screamed as a bright flash erupted around the dish as Alvyn worked to drain the arcane energies from the door. Steam and smoke came out of the dish. </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn could sense that he got all but one. It wouldn't harm them but it would send an alert somewhere. Looking closer, all he could sense was that the signal would head west.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"But, there should be nothing west of here..." Kalgar said, thinking of krakens and the ocean depths.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Well, this door is a problem so, let's skip the door." Alvyn said, flipping up his goggles.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"What?" Tong replied.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"We've got access to dwarves, chemicals, all kinds of things, let's just go through the wall!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"I can start right now!" Tong said, and began rapidly punching the wall.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Uh...yeah, you keep at it, Tong, we'll be back." Alvyn said, leading Kalgar back to the stairs.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Before they got too far, Tong stopped. In the back of his mind, he felt something. A presence, getting stronger.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Wait!" Tong called out, "There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?" He asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"No," Kalgar responded.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn reached out with his senses. Kalgar listened to the sound of his heart, seeking a connection to the gods. Alvyn and Kalgar sensed something, but they were very unsure what it was.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"It's on the island. Or, it's attention is." Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">The three ran back upstairs, past the elevator and through the rooms.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">When they looked out, they saw ships on the horizon, sailing away. They also saw Kalgar's fleet stirring and readying. They could hear orders being shouted out, sounding confused and hurried.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Ready the cannons! Turn the fleet! Man the sails."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Belay that!" Kalgar said, flying quickly on deck. "Hold your fire!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Looking to the horizon, Kalgar, Tong, and Alvyn saw several ships, with flags bearing the insignia of the soldiers they fought below. The ships were sailing away, looking like they came from the very docks where our party now sat. Looking overboard, Tong noticed the water was not acting strange anymore.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Hmm, remember the Crimson Fields? Ghosts reenacting their last days? Maybe it's that." Kalgar suggested. "Or, maybe they're trying to lead us away..."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Suddenly, it struck him! The interference pattern, the waves, they looked exactly like the wake beside a docked ship. Except without the ships being visible, the waves had looked quite strange. The ships may have been docked the entire time, invisible.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"A cloaking device!" He shouted. "They were here the whole time!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Tong then realized that the presence he felt occurred at the same time they ships must have started sailing away.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"But, that makes no sense. Why would I feel them now?" Tong asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Well, they're uncloaked now, maybe unhidden from your senses as well." Kalgar offered.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"No, this is something different." Tong sensed it. "Whatever was keeping them invisible, it's not anymore, and its presence is here."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Maybe it's the dragon that's here."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"It's always dragons." Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"She has been moving the country toward efficiency, maybe this is part of it." Kalgar said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Well, either way, they're leaving, we need to get into that vault." Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Right." Kalgar turned, "Dwight! Call our ships back, get the Dwarves down below, there's a vault there we want open. Set up crews to round the island, look for anyone or anything interesting." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Aye, Commodore."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">While this progressed, Tong, Alvyn, and Kalgar continued looking for the presence. They led the dwarves to the spot, who began drilling.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Suddenly, Tong stopped, "It's here, on the bottom level with us!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Show yourself!" Kalgar snapped. This deception was irritating him greatly.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Somewhere deep in the cavern, a low, booming voice shouted, "<i>You should not be here...but, you have given my people the time they needed. Fools!</i>"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn begins putting smaller tripods in the ground, hoping to isolate the presence. He then walked over to the dwarves and said, "Going back to the ship would be ridiculous."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">The dwarves looked at each other, then at Alvyn, "Pfft" they scoffed, and began going back to the ship.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">One of Alvyn's sensors began beeping, and there stood a figure. Its skin was tightly drawn over its skull, it wore a cloak and it said, "<i>You should not be here.</i>"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"I go places I'm not supposed to be, so I'm not surprised." Alvyn said, drawing his gun which was as long as he was tall.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"This is <i>my</i> country." Kalgar said, drawing his katana. "Who in the <i>Nine Hells</i> are you?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">The skull face appeared to smile.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar, Tong, and Alvyn struck at once. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn flipped down his goggles, trying to learn more, but the numbers were fluctuating. It was almost as if the goggles had trouble locking on to the creature. So he pulled a lever and his rifle began spinning up. He loosed a bolt, which went through the creature, who immediately disappeared.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">The party looked at each other. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"What <i>is </i>that thing?" Tong asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Whatever it is, I bet it doesn't even really look like that. You know, illusions." Alvyn replied.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Well...let's bust into that wall again, wait for it to come back." Kalgar suggested.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">They made their way back to the room when, all of a sudden, shimmering, semi-silhouetted versions of Kalgar and Tong came around the corner.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Kalgar, shift there, Tong, get ready!" Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"I've already fought Tong's demons, now it's time to face mine!" Kalgar said, re-drawing his katana.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn took a step back, loaded a <i>Firestorm Arrow</i> and fired it at the not-Kalgar. It exploded on impact, catching the not-Tong on fire. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Kalgar, drop yourself." Alvyn ordered.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar swung his katana and was blocked, with moves mirroring his own.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"We can't kill our own demons, we have to kill each other's demons!" Tong said, smirking.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Returning the smirk, Kalgar lowered his guard, on purpose, drawing in the not-Kalgar. He moved away, but could not block the incoming attack. The attack lands in his shoulder, and Kalgar reached up and grabbed his foe's sword, pulled it out, and continued his movement.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Nobody makes me bleed my own blood, especially me!" Kalgar said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">He turned on his heel, ready to strike his new foe, when he felt radiant light damaging him. Seems he had become the subject of <i>Divine Sanction</i> from the not-Kalgar.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"So that's what that feels like." Kalgar said, driving his sword home into the not-Tong. The illusory Tong vanished.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
A new not-Kalgar moved in swept its katana from side-to-side, it struck Kalgar deeply, blood dripping from its illusory blade.<br />
<br />
Another not-Tong moved closer and attacked the real Tong. Its movements were fast, blurry, and knocked Tong prone, switching places with him. Another not-Kalgar stabbed at the prone Tong.<br />
<br />
To Alvyn's left, an illusory Tong attacked. He swept his leg and hit Alvyn in the head, knocking him prone.<br />
<br />
Tong leapt up and said, "Two can play at that game...but I'm playing this game, with you!" He loosed his <i>Arc-hammer scroll </i>at the fake Kalgar, and missed.<br />
<br />
Far off in the dungeon, Alvyn's sensor was going off. The skull creature was back.<br />
<br />
Rising to his feet, Alvyn dropped half of his gun, drawing a shield.<br />
<br />
Tong couldn't seem to remember many of his abilities. Neither could Kalgar. Tong surmised that these illusions were formed from their memories.<br />
<br />
Kalgar feinted his sword high, then struck low, seriously wounding a not-Kalgar. When that happened, the image became fuzzier, less coherent.<br />
<br />
Two not-Tong's attacked Alvyn. The gnome shifted to the side, and blocked another attack with his shield.<br />
<br />
Tong reached out and the <i>Codex Caduceus </i>appeared. A pillar from the Canitian temple appeared and fell promptly on the nearest not-Tong and not-Kalgar. The two forms shimmered and disappeared.<br />
<br />
"You may have my form but you don't have my training!" Tong said.<br />
<br />
"Tong," Alvyn shouted, "Clear me a path!"<br />
<br />
Tong swung around and whipped a warbead at one of Alvyn's foes. It hit, and the foe shimmered.<br />
<br />
"Form up!" Alvyn called out again.<br />
<br />
Kalgar shifted his weight back, and then lunged forward, catching the not-Kalgar off-guard, killing it. He tried to focus on the sound of his heart beating, like the beat of the waves, in order to clear his mind of these illusions. But he was distracted and could not shake it.<br />
<br />
To his right, Alvyn saw the skull creature, and felt compelled to move away. He moved away from the group.<br />
<br />
A warbead whipped past his head, striking the skull creature. It sunk into his chest, <i>thunk</i>, hitting something before returning to Tong.<br />
<br />
Alvyn moved, flicked his wrist, his shield collapsed into his gloves once more. He gripped his rifle in both hands again and fired at the creature. The bolt lands and begins pulsing, distracting him and slowing him somewhat. He flipped his goggles down, gave them a tap, and tried to see through the illusion.<br />
<br />
Alvyn could now see the outline of a normal human underneath this mummy lord/lich shape, and he realized its powers were half-fueled by illusion and half-fueled by psionic force. "It's some kind of half-psion!" he called.<br />
<br />
With no foes around him, Kalgar began running toward the creature. He threw the javelin with the strong arm of practice, but while his aim was true, the javelin passed through his foe.<br />
<br />
It turned its gaze toward Kalgar, and tried to peer deep into his mind. More not-Kalgars appeared to either side and the skull creature disappeared. The not-Kalgars charged and stuck Tong and Alvyn.<br />
<br />
"You're not my friend!" Tong shouted, as he brought his limbs across all who surrounded him. The images shimmered.<br />
<br />
"Tong, there is a Kalgar in front of me, get rid of it!" Alvyn commanded.<br />
<br />
Tong whipped a warbead. It bounced off of the not-Kalgar's arm and struck the next not-Kalgar in the neck.<br />
<br />
"Tong, do you even listen? I said <i>this</i> guy!" Alvyn shouted, with a smile on his face.<br />
<br />
"The beads go where they may, like my spirit." Tong responded.<br />
<br />
A javelin flew past his shrugging gesture, and struck the not-Kalgar next to him.<br />
<br />
The skull creature appeared closeby and pointed a skeletal finger at Alvyn. Several shimmering not-Alvyn's appeared.<br />
<br />
Off in the corner, the party could hear a metallic clunk, and the sound of rushing water.<br />
<br />
"Uh...we need to get out of here!" Kalgar said.<br />
<br />
Tong whipped his head toward the lever and ran with breakneck pace. He reached the lever and pulled it, the water rescinded. The skull creature was gone.<br />
<br />
Alvyn raised his rifle, rotated the barrel, and fired at the nearest not-Alvyn. Trailing the bolt were two wires, leading back to Alvyn. The creature was hit, it shimmered, looked up at Alvyn who smiled, pressed a button on the end of the wires, and teleported closer to Tong.<br />
<br />
Kalgar shifted his stance and charged the next nearest not-Alvyn. Bringing his sword down, he swiped through the illusion, who began growing fuzzy.<br />
<br />
The skull creature pointed at Tong, who suddenly felt compelled to move away from the lever. He whipped a warbead at another illusion, shattering it, before moving over to one of Alvyn's sensors. Pinging the dungeon, the party realized the creature was in a room, on the far side.<br />
<br />
Kalgar's next javelin toss missed his foe. He rocked his head back, still reeling from psychic attacks. More not-Kalgars appeared.<br />
<br />
"Kalgar, get back in the game!" Alvyn shouted, reinvigorating him.<br />
<br />
Kalgar shook his head clear and swiped his katana. Wounding his adjacent foe, Kalgar then moved to the next nearest. Both foes were subject to Kord's might.<br />
<br />
The not-Kalgars moved next to Alvyn and swung their katanas. Knowing what was about to happen, Alvyn stood stoically. Before their attacks could hit, lightning struck each and they vanished.<br />
<br />
<i>Clunk</i>, the lever was moved and water began rushing into the dungeon once more.<br />
<br />
Tong's mind was hailed by another attack and he was slid away from the lever.<br />
<br />
Chi wings sprouted once again from his back, and Tong landed near the creature. "BIG. HIT!" Straining, Tong's attack just missed. Drawing divine energy into himself, Tong backflipped and followed up with a <i>Seismic Knee Veda</i>.<br />
<br />
The creature staggered and grunted, revealing himself to be a normal human for a moment.<br />
<br />
Moving to make the most of the opportunity, Alvyn slugged him with a bolt of <i>Reaving Ammunition</i>. "Tong, your cloak!"<br />
<br />
Wrapping the cloak around himself, Tong felt refreshed, ready for the next round.<br />
<br />
The not-Alvyn's closed in on Kalgar, who stood defiantly waiting. A spiritual bolt struck him, but it was just enough for him to shake his mind of the creature's attack. He felt his memories return, finally, after long last able to use his more powerful abilities.<br />
<br />
Tong swept his leg and hit the creature, injuring him and sliding him closer to Alvyn.<br />
<br />
Alvyn's next rifle bolt went wild, as the water level reached three feet and the gnome found himself floating off his feet.<br />
<br />
Kalgar roared, channeling all of his rage into a single gale of force. Despite his use of <i>Dragonfear</i>, nothing happened. The creature, his minions, none looked affected.<br />
<br />
The creature reached out to Tong. "Watch out for the thing!" Alvyn called, causing Tong to duck and the skeletal fingers to just miss grabbing him.<br />
<br />
Two not-Alvyn's fired at Kalgar as a not-Kalgar charged him. Our friend the paladin fended off all the attacks, but the dungeon's water level continued to rise.<br />
<br />
Alvyn clicked something on his belt, causing him to hover above the water. The water level rose, drowning the false Alvyns.<br />
<br />
Tong slammed his elbow into the creature's face. It pointed at him, and fake Tong's appeared around the party.<br />
<br />
The first one attacked Alvyn and missed. The next attacked Kalgar and bloodied his jaw.<br />
<br />
Alvyn's hover ended, and he fell into the water. He began to tread water.<br />
<br />
Kalgar reached out with his fist, calling upon Kord's strength. A false Tong kicked him in the side, Kalgar did not even flinch.<br />
<br />
Suddenly, a hole ripped open in the room, and lightning struck out at the creature and 3 surrounding minions. Sadly, while they took damage, it was not a lot, even with the water.<br />
<br />
Kalgar flapped his wings and moved over the water, closer to the lever. As he landed, he was hit with another psychic attack and more false Kalgars appeared.<br />
<br />
One swiped down on Tong, missed, and Tong teleported across the room. He appeared next to another false Kalgar, who struck, but Tong kept moving toward the lever.<br />
<br />
The creature vanished, Alvyn checked his sensors, and the creature suddenly appeared near Kalgar!<br />
<br />
"About damned time!" Kalgar said, his wings unfurled. "You've really pissed me off!" He shoulder-checked the creature, and thrust his katana forward.<br />
<br />
The creature fell, the shimmering duplicates vanished, and the creature's facade disappeared, revealing a young human male, military crop hair, wearing a uniform that marked him as the Head of Security.<br />
<br />
Tong tripped the lever, the water level began to drop.<br />
<br />
Kalgar sheathed his katana, picked up the human, punched him in the face, and dropped him back on the ground. Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar gathered around the human.<br />
<br />
"Let's tie him up, and get in that room." Kalgar said.<br />
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"Are we not going to kill him?" Alvyn said.<br />
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"I don't think we need to, his power is finished." Tong replied.<br />
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"I just want to cut into his brain..." Alvyn said, forever investigating the powers that be.<br />
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"That is not how you extract knowledge, Alvyn!" Tong exclaimed.<br />
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"Watch me." Alvyn said, but he didn't say anything.<br />
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After tying the human up, our heroes finally broke into the final room. Inside, it was exceptionally clean and empty, except for one filing cabinet. Inside of which, papers and files related to various superweapons Alvyn had heard of, and some he had not. Most of the text was redacted. One folder stood out, entitled, "Horizon Black".<br />
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Reading through and cross-checking, it seemed to suggest that there was another facility, even further to the west. Horizon Black.<br />
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Alvyn examined the main document, all covered in some kind of marked ink. He cast <i>Make Whole</i> on it, and the document reformed, without the ink!<br />
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It detailed a newer research base, to the north and west, just south of the Arctic circle, on an uncharted island. The document went on to say that Deep Watch Bay was simply the research facility, whereas actual manufacture of superweapons occurs at Horizon Black.<br />
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Reading on, Alvyn was able to learn a little about the base's defensive capabilities, which were substantially more so, at least officially, than that of Deep Watch Bay. Furthermore, it seems that the Head of Security was part of a program to enhance a person's normal abilities, turning the simple human into the security for the entire base.<br />
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The three shook their heads upon reading the news. More evidence of corrupt and abused power.<br />
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Specifically not mentioned in the documents was Alvyn, the Grand Admiral, or the Capital.<br />
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"It's likely to keep deniability with the government." Alvyn said.<br />
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While Kalgar and Tong investigated the last few rooms, Alvyn noticed that his bag was shaking. Inside, one of the jars containing the semi-fluid goo was shaking vigorously. Alvyn opened the jar and reached in, the goo immediately changed and coalesced into a small, black, leather notebook. Even without looking too hard, Alvyn could sense that this was an extremely magical item.<br />
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When Kalgar and Tong returned, Alvyn pocketed the book.<br />
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"What should we do with him?" Kalgar asked, pointing to the gagged and unconscious human.<br />
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"Throw him in the brig!" Tong suggested.<br />
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"Are you kidding me? No! He's an extremely powerful psionic caster. We take him to the other side of the island, put a bunch of knives in him so he's almost dead, and, hmm, maybe we should disable him so he can't move." Alvyn replied.<br />
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Despite this being the base of a volcano, the room felt very cold.<br />
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"He's a psionic, obviously misguided, perhaps he could be changed for good." Tong said, moving between Alvyn and the human.<br />
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"Wait. Don't we have a psionic dampener? Tong, you could cut him off from that energy, like you did with the Iron Dragon."<br />
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"I want to know, was he willing or was he made this way against his will?" Tong asked.<br />
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"Doesn't really matter. He's a superweapon." Alvyn replied.<br />
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"I'm a superweapon, so are you." Things were getting heated.<br />
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"No, I'm not. I fixed that."<br />
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"Are you going to 'fix' him?"<br />
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"No, he's Aesian, he's unfixable." Alvyn looked at Kalgar, "You know it's true!"<br />
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Kalgar stood there, fuming.<br />
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"You hold him, I'm going to hold a knife to the back of his neck. If I see something I shouldn't, I'm going to put a dagger through his vertebrae so he dies instantly."<br />
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"Let me talk to him first." Tong said.<br />
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"Knock yourself out," Alvyn pulled out a dagger. "Keep in mind that he's the Chief of Security of the exact kind of place that I escaped from. Think about the kind of person you're dealing with."<br />
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"I understand that the wounds run deep," Tong began-<br />
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"Just disable his powers if you can. If you can't, we would have killed him in battle anyway Tong." Kalgar finally responded.<br />
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The three began. Tong knelt and began meditation.<br />
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"His connection is strong. I can hold off his power, but not well and not for long." Tong said, straining. Mists from the <i>Reverie</i> began forming around them.<br />
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Suddenly, Alvyn clasped a collar around the human's neck. In his hand, Alvyn held a switch. "If I let go of this, spikes will go through his neck."<br />
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Kalgar shook the man awake. Instantly alert, he looked at Tong, as if he knew what was happening.<br />
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"I see from your look that you're aware of your situation," Tong began, "I have a question for you. Several, actually. What is your name?"<br />
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The man is silent.<br />
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"Did you agree to this?"<br />
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No response.<br />
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"Such power, you could do <i>so </i>much, you could heal, why choose to destroy?"<br />
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Finally, the man spoke. "Destroy? No."<br />
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"What do you call this? You're an arbiter of death! You pit people's personalities against themselves," Tong replied.<br />
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"Tong, we are invaders here." Alvyn reminded him.<br />
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"We tried to talk, no one listened." Kalgar said.<br />
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"What caused you to use this power in this way?"<br />
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"I'M PROTECTING MY PEOPLE AND MY COUNTRY!" the man shouted.<br />
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"He's not wrong." Alvyn admitted.<br />
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"I'm a member of the military and he still attacked us for no reason." Kalgar said, confused.<br />
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"Yeah, this is a <i>black site</i>." Alvyn replied. "Anyone here is a true believer and fully committed to this cause."<br />
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Kalgar breathed heavily through his nostrils. Seeing zealotry from the other side was not at all comforting.<br />
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"Is there any soul, any mote, anything underneath this incredible power-"<br />
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"I'm a loyal soldier, what are you?" the man interrupted, startling Tong.<br />
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Kalgar pushed Tong aside, looked into the man's eyes and said, "I am your better" as he pushed the dagger through the man's heart. He collapsed to the floor, and Tong stopped his meditation.<br />
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"He wore his power like a beggar's rag. That's all I needed to know." the monk said.<br />
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Alvyn moved over and carefully removed the collar. Kalgar picked up the man and threw him over his shoulder, like the trash that he was.<br />
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Tong, Alvyn, and Kalgar loaded what they could and made their way to the ships. Kalgar was pleased to see the fort's cannons manned by his own people. Kalgar began issuing orders, getting his men to collect all the information they could, and bring it back to <i>The Bilge Rat</i>.<br />
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Alvyn began setting himself up a lab on the ship, a place to tinker with what remained. He reached into his bag and pulled out the leather notebook. On the surface, it seemed very plain, the paper inside was rough but strong. Flipping down his goggles, Alvyn took a closer look.<br />
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This book was heavily entwined with fate. It seemed that any name could be written down, along with the intended cause of death. The book would then ensure that happened. If no cause was left, the person would die of a heart attack one minute after their name was written.<br />
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"What's that?" Tong asked, dropping off some supplies.<br />
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"I'm not really sure," Alvyn said, doing his best to look dejected. "It's really powerful."<br />
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"Be careful with it." Kalgar said.<br />
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"You're sure you don't know?" Tong asked, in a moment of insight.<br />
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"It <i>seems</i> like it's some kind of 'death book' but that doesn't make sense. I'll have to study it further."<br />
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Tong looked at Alvyn, nodded, and then walked away.<br />
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Whew! That's a wrap for this adventure. Thank you for sticking with us and making it this far. We're a little behind on things which is good for you, as it means new content will be coming soon, so please, come back next time to find out more about Horizon Black!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-47608940496450712902016-10-04T13:11:00.000-04:002016-10-04T13:11:44.253-04:00Secret Backstories and Mysterious Characters<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A well-developed backstory is often a critical part of creating a role-playing character. By no means necessary, a backstory can provide a foundation, some core tenets, for your character and allows you to ground yourself in his/her motives and behaviour. It allows you to understand how that character may make decisions and evolve as the story unfolds.<br />
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We have discussed character-making before, but today I'd like to discuss a specific type of character backstory, the secret one.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Dallas Kasaboski</span></a></span></td></tr>
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Sometimes, it can be fun to include secret elements into the history of your character. These elements allow you to think one way, but act another, and they can provide interesting plot points and challenges later. Maybe your character ran away from home, and the DM may have your party deal with that later. Maybe you're a long-lost prince and that could provide an interesting twist on your adventure. Whatever the case may be, I have noticed that people sometimes like to create backstories with elements hidden from the other players.</div>
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But I have also noticed that this can cause problems at the table if not handled properly. If your elements never come to light, then what is the point of having them? If you behave oddly because of something from your past and your fellow players never know about it, they may just think you're being strange with no context.</div>
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Communication is essential amongst players and DMs but does this preclude a secret backstory? Not at all, and we will use a couple of examples here to demonstrate how to more effectively make use of this device.</div>
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<u><span style="font-size: large;">Example #1: Strider</span></u></div>
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I'm quite certain you're all aware of Strider, from The Lord of the Rings. But, in an effort to avoid spoilers, I'll dance around it a bit.</div>
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When we first meet Strider, he is a very mysterious character. Sitting in the corner of The Prancing Pony inn, he is surrounded by smoke and shadows. Strider isn't even his real name, just the only alias by which he is known. He agrees to help the hobbits, understanding the danger they face, but his true history and intentions remain unclear. He is scary, dangerous, but a loyal ally. It is revealed much later that he is more than a simple ranger, and this becomes a major part of the trilogy.</div>
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I have seen people try to create and play a "Strider-like" character. The mysterious past, the ambiguous loyalty, it is quite common in D&D circles. However, I have seen this character concept create the wrong kind of tension and confusion, either because the player acts suspiciously, or because the player fidgets with the paradox of both wanting and not wanting to reveal the motivations behind their behaviour.</div>
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So, how do we do this properly? Well, let's look at Strider. The character is introduced by someone else, someone who seems aware of the goings-on in the area, but admits no one knows much about the mysterious ranger. Later, Strider shows up when the hobbits are in danger, knowing much more about Frodo's mission than he really should. Seeing no alternative, the hobbits decide to trust him.</div>
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Bits and pieces of Strider's backstory become more clear later in the story, and are almost always expressed/shared by characters other than Strider himself. While the monologue about one's past is a time-honoured technique, I kind of like the slow, piecemeal, unveiling of his backstory. His motivations become more clear and when you finally connect the dots, things become really interesting.</div>
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So, talk with your DM. Have a cool, mysterious introduction, if you wish. Perhaps have your DM bring up elements of your backstory at specific times from specific non-playing characters. Probably the most important, underlying point, is to be an active member of the party. Too often, people mistake "mysterious" for aloofness, and in a game where party cohesion is important and essential, your standoff-ness is really doing your party a detriment. Work with your party, slowly reveal your history, always act according to your character, but be willing to bend and compromise for your party. Strider did not want to become more involved with the mission of the One Ring. He wanted no attention drawn to himself, but he did what he thought was right and what he had to do to protect the hobbits, and eventually, his backstory was revealed and he realized he had to become more involved. </div>
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<u><span style="font-size: large;">Example #2</span></u><br />
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Sometimes, your backstory, your intentions, are not exactly pure. I have seen this type of character a few times, where the character's motivations actually go <i>against</i> the party. Whether selfish, evil, or misaligned, such a character can also be made and played well, it's just tricky.</div>
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I once played in a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovecraftian_horror" target="_blank">Lovecraftian</a> campaign, a modern tale about mysterious legends and creatures of unfathomable monstrosity. Rather than know each other for some time, our characters came together separately, out of desperation, and had to work together to uncover and stop the threat before us. </div>
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One of our characters was a radio host, whose uncle had been an archaeologist. His uncle has stumbled upon some knowledge concerning the coming threat, and the character had studied his work. During the campaign, he was very useful to the party. His knowledge of Latin helped us uncover and translate information about cultists, those working to bring about the apocalypse. Working together, we made our way to the summoning door and were ready to fight off the cultists. </div>
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And at the most critical moment, the character threw open the sealed doors, unleashing Cthulhu upon the world, driving us instantly and completely insane, killing us all! Our DM demanded our character sheets, which he promptly ripped in half, and the players were all stunned, upset, and shocked.</div>
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It turns out the player had worked with the DM to bring about the players' downfall. His unique knowledge of Latin allowed him to read the manuscripts which, instead of being vague cultist propaganda, were actually manuals for summoning the Old One. In fact, the cultists we had encountered were no such thing, they were actually people trying to stop the apocalypse but we were mislead by assumptions, our trust in the character, and low skill checks at opportune moments.<br />
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Now, I would not exactly recommend playing this type of character. I believe D&D works best when all of the players are working together, and while characters can and should argue, they shouldn't actively work against each other. A good game of D&D usually doesn't conclude by a total party wipe, complete with betrayal at the table. However, despite all the emotions involved, I thought it was brilliantly done. Sure, one of our players kept her torn character sheet as a bitter reminder, but in the end, we all remained friends and look back at the experience with a laugh.<br />
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This method was successful because the player and DM had worked things out in advance. The player was true to character the entire time, leaving hints which, in retrospect, were obvious, and while the character had plenty to hide, he still worked alongside the party. He wasn't aloof, or hard to deal with, and he didn't act suspiciously. In the end, the betrayal was just as amusing as it was shocking, and in retrospect, it was very well executed. (And so were our characters, I guess)<br />
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So there you have it, two examples of how to play a character with a mysterious past, or mysterious motives. Remember, D&D is a game best played together, so if you want to be mysterious, make sure to be an active party member. And if you want your secret past to have greatest effect, talk to your DM, and work out a plan for how your story will unfold. <br />
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Thanks for reading!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-45574672439017067932016-09-23T05:21:00.000-04:002016-09-23T05:21:36.586-04:00Deep Watch Bay: Part III<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Last time, in The Long Game, Alvyn, Kalgar, and Tong had found Deep Watch Bay. Thinking it abandoned, they explored the outpost, finding stairs leading underground. There, they found a grand library of records, but before they had a chance to investigate, they were surrounded by soldiers and archers!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Who are these soldiers? How will our heroes escape? Let's continue the story!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Dallas Kasaboski</span></a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">What is the meaning of this!?" Kalgar shouted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">No response.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">"A commodore shows up on your front step and this is how you greet him? I had to climb down this dark tunnel...where is your commanding officer?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">The archer at the top of the stairs raised his arm, and pointed at Kalgar. The other archers, drew their bows and fired.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">"In Kord's name, what is the meaning of this!?" Kalgar shouted, as Alvyn stowed himself back in Kalgar's bag.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar turned, pulling his cloak and wings in front of him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Standing his ground, Kalgar was hit with 7 arrows which vanished after impact.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">"What is this sorcery?" Tong asked, pulling out a warbead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Warriors came around the bookcases, and the first one was met with a warbead to the face! Dodging deftly, he advanced on Kalgar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar spun on his heel and slashed out with his katana. Despite his best efforts, he took two attacks. In the back of his mind, Kalgar felt some form of pressure, mental pressure, which was trying to make him hesitate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Two warriors rounded on Tong who blocked one but was slashed in the back by another.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Tong looked down, and then at Kalgar, there was no blood, no visible wound.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">"They're attacking our minds!" Tong shouted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Let them come!" Kalgar shouted back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Taking a second look, Kalgar had trouble focusing on their insignia, like part of him didn't <i>want</i> to look at it. The soldiers were also incredibly quiet, no talking, no grunting, no heavy breathing. Nothing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">"They're some kind of construct, guard-force, something." Kalgar shouted, unsure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Man or metal, they will fall. <i>Cho</i>!" Tong retorted, answering one attacking with two quick strikes of his own.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Who's in charge here? It's about to be me!" Kalgar roared. "You, let's see if your spirit can stand up to Kord's might!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn tapped Kalgar in the back, "Attack him, the one on your right!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar thrust forward, gouging the side of his foe. When he pulled his sword back, he said, "I've killed ghosts before."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Deeper in the room, there was a booming, "You should not be here!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">To answer that, Tong swept his legs high and low in his <i>Eight-limbed scroll</i> attack. He missed one soldier, but brought his heel down over another. Culminating with a warbead, Tong's attack dropped a soldier. He then slid to the side, pulling the next soldier off the edge of the floor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">The soldier just stood there, in mid-air, ignoring the deep pit below.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Looking up, Kalgar noticed several arrows arcing over the bookshelves, heading toward him. He turned, but still took the attack. All seven arrows struck simultaneously and then disappeared.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">More soldiers moved in, attacked Tong and Kalgar.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Get in their faces!" Alvyn commanded into Kalgar's ear.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Wings unfurled, Kalgar swooped past Tong and moved to grab a nearby statue. Intending to pull it down on some foes, the statue dissolved before he could touch it and Kalgar fell prone. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Standing up, Kalgar roared back his head and shouted, "Come out and face me, you coward!" His voiced boomed through the chamber, but despite his <i>dragonfear</i>, it had no effect. The soldiers remained, and looked undisturbed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn tapped on Kalgar's shoulder, warning him of an incoming strike, then stuck his hand out of the bag. Instinctively, Tong brought his hands together and wings of <i>Chi</i> energy sprang from his back. He swooped past Kalgar, pulling Alvyn with him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">They moved closer to the archers, but before they could get there, the archers disappeared. The floor vanished, and they fell 30 ft into water. The entire staircase, the archers, all were fake.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Tong leaped into the air, and flew back up. "Alvyn, it's time to show you the technique I developed myself. <i>BIG HIT!</i>" he yelled, concentrating very hard on his new move.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"It's good", Alvyn said, "but needs work. Maybe a new name." And it was a good thing he was hanging on because Tong's attack missed the next soldier and revealed the next area to also be an illusion; they both fell back into the water.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Frustrated, Tong shouted, "Temple Suit Veda!" and moved quickly through the knee-deep water. He rounded a corner into another chamber, which Alvyn recognized as some sort of lab. It had books, vials, equipment, and there were several similar chambers on either side.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Meanwhile, back above, Kalgar was the sole target of the remaining archers and soldiers. He moved quickly, taking attack after attack, shredding the nearest enemy, and pushing the next one away. "I will crush you, you ghosts! You are not real! Not real!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar balled his fist and jabbed himself in his side, reinvigorating himself. His hand glowed and he felt Kord's blessing of strength washing over him. Calling more of Kord's strength, tightening his hands on his katana, he slashed back and forth, sword slicing through the air where the soldier's stood, through their fake chests, stomachs, necks, all while Kalgar, fuelled by battle rage shouted, "NOT REAL!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Down below, Tong and Alvyn stopped to listen. "What is that sound?" Alvyn asked. They could hear <i>swoosh, snikt, fwit </i>followed by Kalgar shouting. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Ohh", Tong replied.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar's wings unfurled, knocking the last soldier away, and he followed Tong. For him, the staircase finally disappeared, revealing the hole and water 30 ft below. He alighted, falling smoothly, landing well on the stone below.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Looking over at the archers, Alvyn directed Tong, "Deal with them!" And while Tong went one way, Alvyn went another, looking into the nearest chamber. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"With gusto!" Tong replied. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Inside the chamber, Alvyn noticed a room in disarray. Unlike everywhere else, this room looked very recently abandoned, things were still laying around. Sniffing the air, Alvyn couldn't get a better idea of the room's contents, but he didn't smell anything explosive at least.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">He exited, moving to the next chamber, and tried to duck under an impending attack but while the figure seemed to have <i>clearly </i>missed, Alvyn felt damaged. <i>Psychic damage</i>, he realized.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Tong moved one palm over another, unleashing <i>Ego Tempist Veda</i>. Shards of spiritual ego glass swirled around him, blocking some of the incoming attacks. More soldiers moved in on his position and were struck; as they fell prone, they disappeared.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">As Alvyn looked further into the room, he noticed a large set of double doors. On either side, were signs representing danger of every kind. <i>Flammable. Corrosive. </i>If there was a symbol representing danger, it was beside those doors.</span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar moved to the room nearest him and looked inside. Beyond the door, there was a great hole in the ground and the walls looked burned. He turned around, pulled his javelin out of his bag, and threw it at one of the archers, still above. Still equipped with a sunrod, it streaked through the air and knocked the archer back. He vanished as the javelin streaked back into Kalgar's hand.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">On the other side of the dungeon, Alvyn whistled and moved his hand, communicating danger. Tong understood and took a moment to steady himself, regaining health. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Go get 'em, Tong!" Alvyn commanded, and Tong took the opportunity to close in on the enemy. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn popped his head inside another room, and found a lot of vials, crates, all with coloured warnings. There seemed to be some sort of filing system, but it wasn't very clear. None of the items were recognizably alchemical, it was more like the Iron Tower, a collection of animal parts and bits and compounds of alchemical items.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Elbows, fists, knees went flying from Tong, taking out two more enemies. Finishing with a cartwheel, he loosed a warbead at one of the archers above, who vanished upon being hit.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar looked in the next room, which appeared to be some sort of test chamber. Pedestals, with shelving, inside which were some crystals, rocks, chemicals, but nothing really interesting.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Leaning back into the main dungeon, Kalgar roared another challenge at whoever was controlling the archers. "Do I belong here?!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">At this point, Alvyn had made it over to the double doors, which were locked. He took a closer look. The lock seemed fairly complex. Alvyn pulled out his gun and a flask of water. He poured some water into the lock, and then popped one of his <i>Bolts of Freezing</i> inside. He could hear the metal of the lock groaning.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar and Tong fended off some attacks and finally moved to join Alvyn. Inside the double doors, Alvyn found vials and vials of liquids. They looked dangerous, but he wasn't entirely sure what they were. He took one, very gently, and put it in his bag.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Tong looked in another room, nothing of interest.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar looked in another room, found it equipped with blast walls and more evidence of explosions.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Leaving the double-doored room, Alvyn found a set of stairs which led both up and down. Beside it was a lever, upon pulling it, the water level dropped. "Found the flush." Alvyn called.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Out of combat, the three adventurers continued looking from room to room. They found many more files, tools, experimental equipment, it definitely appeared that this was the place superweapons were developed and researched, but there was no evidence of specific weapons.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Tong, see if you can contact the ship through your <i>Reverie</i> connection." Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Tong brought his palms together and send word back to the ship.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Kalgar, I'm going to need a bigger lab." Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Understood." Kalgar said, "Tong, instruct them to clear out <i>The Bilge Rat</i>, bring up the frogmen, what else, Alvyn?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Tell them to come collect everything. Everything that looks like a vial or something curious, I want it." the gnome replied.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"So many books, but no answers, we're still no closer to the overthrow of the dragon's clutch. Should we not destroy this island, instead?" Tong said, between sending the messages.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar and Alvyn shrugged.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Now that the water had rescinded, they decided to go down to the lower level.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 18px;">--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Another good spot for a pause. We'll leave Kalgar, Tong, and Alvyn for now. Thanks for reading, come back soon to discover the secrets below the volcano of Deep Watch Bay!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-59464339913091970482016-09-15T10:26:00.000-04:002016-09-15T10:26:07.269-04:00Deep Watch Bay: Part II<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">When last we left our party, Kalgar, Tong, and Alvyn were on their way to Deep Watch Bay, an outpost whose official purpose was to guard against terrors of the deep ocean, but which our party suspected of being a superweapon facility. We join them now, within sight of the outpost. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">The captains departed, the ships were made ready, and Kalgar and Tong returned to the top deck. There was still a strange lack of ships; <i>there should be something guarding this</i>, Kalgar thought.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">By now, the details of the outpost were becoming more clear. They could see large walls and giant docks, easily large enough to host several galleons, which seemed strange for what was supposed to be a small border outpost.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Other than some small fires in the fort, there were no signs of life.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"It's quiet", Tong said, "no one is celebrating anything."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar shook his head, remembering adventures long ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"There's still no sign...what could it mean?" Tong asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Three options: no one is here, trap, or...trap."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Alvyn, is it the second option?" Tong asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn popped out of the bag, "What's happening?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Two of the three options are traps." Tong was uncomfortably close to Alvyn.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"What options? I'm in a backpack, I don't know what's going on!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"There's still no one here, it looks like the forts are deserted." Kalgar said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Okay, turn around." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"And go where?" Kalgar asked, confusedly.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"No, just turn around so I can see."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Tong started laughing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Hmm, how many people would accompany a commodore?" Alvyn said, looking around.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Usually a few. One to handle requests and one to handle communications between the fleet." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Okay, bring a runner," Alvyn said, "and he and Tong form the retinue."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar looked to one side. He was worried about bringing someone. In a fight, he could count on Alvyn and Tong, but Alvyn had to remain hidden until things got serious. Gnomes were extremely uncommon in Aes. They had to bring someone, someone who could escape and make it back to the ship. Kalgar thought about his crew, and the crews of the other ships. These were dangerous times and every choice Kalgar made would have long-lasting effects. A quick brush with a storm took the life of his crewmate, a scourge in Ferum took the life of a crewman who hadn't even left the ship.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar signaled over to <i>The Bilge Rat</i>, who sent over one crewman. People called him Joey, but his real name was Jorfrey. He was a dragonborn, mid-way through his first tour, and his athleticism caught Kalgar's attention during some training exercises.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"You are coming with us," Kalgar began, "You will be escorting me and your main job will be to communicate between myself and <i>The Bilge Rat</i>."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"So, should I bring these flags?" Joey said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn popped out of the bag, "[Sigh] When things go bad, you run back and tell them that things went bad."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Oh, okay." Jorfrey said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar and Tong could hear Alvyn's muffled voice from inside the bag.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"I said get a coward, not an idiot."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Finally, the ship docked, and our adventurers moved to disembark. Immediately, they could sense something strange about the water just off the dock.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Tong looks suspiciously and says to Kalgar, "Take a look at the waves, there's something...amiss."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar looked, something about the current seemed weird.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Tong dropped a stone into the water. It sank normally.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar lowered his backpack to the dock. Alvyn took a closer look, but couldn't sense anything.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Talk to the frogmen", Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Rolling his eyes back in his head, Tong reached into the <i>Reverie</i>. There, he was able to communicate with all followers of Ioun, including the one from Kalgar's fleet who was currently under the ship. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"He seems fine." Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Good, I was worried he may be soup." the gnome quipped.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Let's get going." Kalgar said, he was getting impatient.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">As they made their way, the first thing they noticed were supplies. Barrels, crates, just lying there, things which should have been taken if the fleet was just going to leave. Moving up a smooth cobblestone walkway, the main gate was wide open. Inside, was a small courtyard, again abandoned. Cannons were placed on the walls, everything looked ready to be used, but still abandoned.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Send your runner back, get men on those cannons, this base is ours now." Alvyn suggested.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Tong laughed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Plus, that would be a fitting action for a commodore, would it not, Kalgar?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar nodded, but he was thinking of something else. He recalled the first time he saw a superweapon, which destroyed an entire island. He relayed this to his comrades.<br /><br />"Yes, but it destroyed the entire island, not just the people on it." Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Yes, and if they were planning to lure us here to kill us on the island...they would have taken their supplies with them." Kalgar reasoned.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"They had the time." Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar nodded decisively. "Joey, back to the ship, report to Lieutenant Dwight, get some men out here. It's not right for an Aesian fort to have no defenses."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">As the runner made his way back to the ship, our adventurers continued. At the far end of the courtyard, there appeared to be a stairway leading down, as well as a large lift. The ground beneath their feet was strange as well, soft, almost sponge-like.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Alvyn, can you hand me a dagger?" Kalgar reached back.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">He dropped the dagger, it landed point down, stuck into the ground a little, then fell over. Tong looked at him quizzically.<br /><br />"Just testing something." Kalgar said, remembering that this base was made to protect against giant monsters.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Let us proceed downward, toward the secret weapons base." Tong said, very loudly.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Ssh, Tong, let the Commodore speak." Kalgar said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Down the stairs, the party came out to a large dungeon. There were two closed jail cells on either side, a desk, and a dragonborn statue at the end of the hall. </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">The desk was empty, the cells were empty.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Tong looked around, shaking his head back and forth.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"What are you looking for Tong?" Kalgar said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Sweeping his eyes over every surface, Tong almost missed it. Nothing was out of place, except the eyes of the statue.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Kalgar, regard the gaze of the statue, it's eyes! Some sort of mechanism! This looks like our way in!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar placed himself to the left side and Tong to the right side of the statue and at the same time, they flipped the switches. Nothing happened.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Huh, I thought that would have been more dramatic."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar commanded, "<i>J'raksha kunal</i>" which roughly translated from Draconic into "Open, you bastard!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Again nothing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Hmm, maybe something different." Tong flipped the switches in various states.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Seeing no one around, Kalgar lowered his bag. "There's no one here, we're not sure where to go."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"There are switches in the eyes!" Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn looked around, and changing the colours of his irises, he tried to sense magic. All he could determine was that the eye switches controlled something somewhere else.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">They walked back to the courtyard, nothing was different. "Try the lift", Alvyn said, jumping back in the backpack.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Inside the lift, Kalgar pulled the lever. As he did, he noticed that the lever could be lowered further, thanks to the switches. As he moved the lever to the hidden position, the lift started to move and the ground with it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">The walls of the shaft moved past them, stone, but very smooth. Kalgar realized that the wall was basalt, and the island was in fact a dormant volcano. During his first tour in Aes, Kalgar had visited such facilities. After 100 ft or so, the elevator stopped. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">The corridor in front of them was long, dark, with double doors at the other side. Tong reached over behind Kalgar, pulled the lever up. The elevator started moving back up, and then back down when he moved the lever again.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Just checking." Tong said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"That's wise." Alvyn replied.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"This is not a great way to greet a Commodore!" Kalgar called out, his voice echoing down the hallway.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar reached his hand back, and Alvyn immediately felt pushed aside as a javelin rose from the <i>Bag of Holding </i>into Kalgar's hand. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Ahh!" Alvyn exclaimed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar held the javelin, with attached sunrod out in front of him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Keep your eyes open for some sort of trap, or mechanism, it's all strange down here." the dragonborn warned the others.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"My third eye is always open...also I'll keep these open." Tong said, only losing some of his mystery.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar laughed, and followed up with, "You go first."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Reaching the double doors, Tong and Kalgar pushed them open. They were well-conditioned, oiled, and opened silently.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Looking inside, our party was faced with a large, domed room, carved out of the rock, with lights hanging in various parts of the room. It was practically a stadium in size, and all around them were bookshelves. Rows and rows of books.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Nearby, there were a couple of cabinets with what looked like index cards.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Farther into the room, there seemed to be a giant throne, and laying at the base of a giant staircase, some corpses.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"<i>Ioun</i>!" Tong gasped, looking at the repository of knowledge all around him. He moved immediately to the nearest cabinet, pulled out an index card and read it aloud. "XJ37-74-6.2 ....uhh...clearly not in <i>Common</i>, here Alvyn! Read this!"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Handing the card to Alvyn, still in Kalgar's bag, he read, "'<i>Effect of high voltage mist on large scale etheric manipulators</i>.' Hmm." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"What's it say?" Tong asked, staring very intently at him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Uhh, how to electrify fog people." Alvyn replied.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Must we always traipse through these temples of terror, masquerading under the pursuit of knowledge." the monk said, crossing his arms.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Actually, it's fog that electrocutes people, sorry." Alvyn replied, ignoring Tong. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"First the Iron Tower and now this." Tong continued, ignoring Alvyn.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar reached over and pulled out another card. Again a long string of letters and numbers along with the text, "Experimental results of Experiment X37JB."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Let's find anything that's important and then destroy it all." Alvyn said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">"Tong, can you check out that stack of cards over there?" Kalgar asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Flipping through more cards, Tong saw more of the same. Letters, numbers, strange text.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar moved further out, coming to a statue standing at the end of the first row of bookshelves. It was a fairly simple depiction of an Aesian sailor. Nothing interesting.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">The party pushed out further, exploring the room.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Suddenly, all around them, archers and warriors appeared! There was no warning, no sound or smell of teleportation, they just appeared! All were human, wearing typical Aesian military attire, but Kalgar could not recognize the insignia they wore. They drew their swords, long bows, and stared with ominous presence.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px;">And right in the middle of the action, we're going to make a stop this week. Thank you again for reading and please come back soon!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-39202531241186542462016-09-02T11:31:00.001-04:002016-09-02T11:31:21.464-04:00The Long Game: On the Way to Deep Watch Bay<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Welcome back to <i>The Long Game</i>! We've had a bit of a hiatus but now we're back! When last we left our adventurers, they had just faced off against a fragment of Tong's past, a fragment which came in the form of a bald, female, monk on fire who left Aes' Windle's Landing in ruin. Let's find out how our party progressed after something like that.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Dallas Kasaboski</span></a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Standing aboard the Shockrosi, still docked at Windle’s Landing,
Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar surveyed the scene. Buildings were burning, and not
just buildings. The townspeople who were left began to wake up out of a daze,
looking around as the reality of the situation began to settled in. This
included the guards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Did we get the goods we needed?” Alvyn asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yes, it was stored aboard ship during the battle.” Kalgar
replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Then what are we still doing here. Let’s go!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“No. We need to help these people. We need to make sure these
people will recover.” Kalgar leaned heavily on the railing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Look, they’re going to pin this on us, which, well, it is kind of
our fault, Tong!” Alvyn looked up at the constantly meditating monk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“I agree with Kalgar. We need to help these people.” Tong said,
arms crossed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“We have to help them, we cannot leave another wasteland again.”
Kalgar said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“They’re strong. They’re Aesians. Let’s make like a tree and leaf,
we have bigger fish to fry.” Alvyn said, taking off his hat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“True, but-”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">“Come on, it was a nautical metaphor, I’m working with you here,
Kalgar!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Kalgar eyed the scene again. The guards were mobilizing, beginning
to help people. Kalgar knew they would survive, and they would efficiently
begin rebuilding. They were strong. Kalgar could not help them right now, and
especially not if he were behind bars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Tong moved over to Kalgar, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Alvyn
is an unfeeling creature, but he’s not incorrect. When these people come out of
their daze, they may try to attack us. You can heal the core of this, Kalgar,
by returning to your destiny.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Realizing the harried wisdom of his comrades, Kalgar added this to
the list of things he would need to fix. “Let’s go.” And he began giving orders
to push off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Just then, Tong knocked the Codex Caduceus onto the planks of the
ship, creating a plume of smoke which congealed into a small altar. Behind
which, the forms of volunteers became clear; an old woman, and a small dwarven
boy. Tong gently whispered to them, “Administer for the dead. We must leave.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The journey to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Deep
Watch Bay</i> would still take a few days, and the crew of the <i>Shockrosia</i> did
their best to prepare for what lay ahead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">As if that ever helped.</span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> Kalgar thought, looking over maps, trying to recall what he
could about the outpost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No plan ever survives contact with the enemy</span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">. Alvyn thought, in the bowels of the
ship, stocking up on alchemical items.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Meanwhile, Tong was kneeling in his cabin, surrounded by dense
smoke, which the crew had taken to mean he was striding through the mists of
the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Reverie</i>. He sought to
commune with Ting Tang Wong Gong, his former master. Tong had been looking, but
what once was a loud voice of discipline, had become little more than a whisper
as of late.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Finally, off in a long-forgotten corner, Tong found him. There he
sat, sitting on a stool, smoking a pipe. As Tong approached, his former master
looked up and said...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"Why did you cut your hair, Tong?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">And Tong said, "I was scared."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Don't you know, fear is the dick killer! Did you ever try to make love to a bug-bear? Answer me!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">"No...uh, no Master, I have never-"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">"That's because fear is destroying you, Tong. When you were released from <i>The Edge of Sanity</i>, the chains were removed from you body, but I can see now that the chains were not removed from your <i>mind.</i> Understand that there is a destiny beyond that of the temple. You still mourn for the pile of corpses that were your former students but now, and see what your lack of insight has wrought upon the world. The eradication of evil is <i>not</i> your destiny, because the truth is that evil cannot poison the insight of your soul. That's right, Tong zi Gong, Scroll 1, "You cannot poison a ghost!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">And with that, Tong fell to his knees, looked at his hands trembling, at the scar of Mercury's curse. And Ting Tong Wong Gong continued.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">"And <i>that</i>, is the summation of my teaching to you. Look at your tattoos, your lessons are complete. Your curse on your back has been replaced by the blessing of insight, of Ioun itself. It has taken a lot of my energy to remain here but you of all people must know that there can be only one <i>Mist Knight</i> in this troubled world. You walk, pregnant with the possibility of a new temple, but that can only happen, can only be created when this scourge, the dragons carving up this land, is ridden from this earth. I leave it to you, you now have your first ability. You have the ability to create your own maneuvers, "Big Hit!" uhh, the name could use some work, it's no Scroll Deck Sutra, but come on!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">And like the opening of a long-clenched fist into an open palm, Ting Tang Wong Gong exploded into a mist and a cloud gently rises into the <i>Astral Sea, </i>and with that, the darkness of the <i>Iodolawn </i>is suddenly filled with light and clarity. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Suddenly, the orb of smoke surrounding Tong imploded into his chest as he woke up with a start.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Beside him, Alvyn was eating an apple. "Have a good trip?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Tong hung his head, "My Master is dead."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"Uh, yeah, I know. We were there." Alvyn said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"No, but actually dead..."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alvyn looked at him </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">quizzically</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"I am the Master now, Alvyn, what do you need to know?" Tong looked at him with new eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alvyn smiled, his teeth razor sharp and asked, "Did you eat my muffins?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"I <i>don't</i> eat." Tong replied.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"Yeah, but you take things, I've seen you."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Tong leapt up, brushed off his robes, and walked away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn called after him, "I'm just saying, I've seen you!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">On deck, Commodore Drakeswynd was busy issuing orders. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Dwight! Fleet report!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"The Rogue Wind, Bilge Rat, and Aquamarine report nominal, sir."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Excellent. Instruct them to continue weaving maneuvers as instructed. As we approach the base, they will keep their distance until I update them on the plan."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Aye, sir." And with the Aesian salute, Dwight scurried off to carry out the orders.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Haymitch!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Yes, Commodore."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"How are the crew?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Same as ever."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"How are the dwarves?"</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Their work is in progress, but it will take time, especially with us under way."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Understood. And you, how is your team shaping up?"</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Still reviewing the fleet complement, narrowing down possibilities."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Good. Continue. You've seen what we're up against. I want your ideas for improving our fleet by the time we've reached the base."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Aye, sir." And with that, Haymitch went back below deck.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Just then, Alvyn strode above deck with some wood and rope.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Alvyn, what are you doing?" Kalgar asked.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"I'm changing the name of our ship."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Why? I like the name."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Yes, but we're being hunted. The name needs to change, at least for now." Alvyn said, while tying a rope to the railing.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Well, what did you go with?"</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">With a wink, Alvyn jumped off the ship, rope around his waist. He quickly fastened the new name over the old, and Kalgar could just make out the name, "Kord's Might".</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Nice, I approve." the dragonborn said.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"I thought you might." the gnome replied.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Later, Tong approached Kalgar and asked, "Kalgar, are you okay?"</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Fine." the Commodore answered.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Tong stared at him, waiting for more.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar sighed. "I've seen death before, and it was horrible what happened, but we did everything we could, and that's really the best you can do. We have to make reparations, at least I do. The sooner we shut down this program, the sooner we can turn this government around, maybe we'll get some pull, some influence, so we can start fixing things."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Tong put a hand on Kalgar's shoulder, "I want you to know that confronting that demon has shown me a personal insight that my own past is becoming less and less important to me and less important to the future and what must be done. I will not be bogged down by the 'geist of what once was, when we're talking about what must be."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Kalgar just nodded. "Very good. Thank you, Tong."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Over the next few days, the fleet did come across a few ships, most Aesian military, a couple of fishing ships desperate or crazy enough for new stock that they were this far out. As with everything, Aes' military had strict protocol concerning ship traffic. Military ships were always given the right of way, and those ships differentiated priority via the hanging of flags. Certain colours indicated a greater </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">need or importance of mission</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">and those ships were given priority. Kalgar, with his years of experience flew the right colours, passing by the ships with little interruption.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Alvyn, always wary, had the scoff dwarves run up the cannons on one side of the ship, hidden, but ready to broadside if necessary.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">Some time in the afternoon of the 5th day, they spotted, far in the distance, two ships. Similar to flies, they were buzzing back and forth along the horizon, moving closer and farther, scouting. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The ships were small, but they seemed to have something large mounted to them. Kalgar thought back to his years of training. Officially, as most people know, <i>Deep Watch</i> was a base on the north-western edge of Aes, whose mission was to keep watch of the deep ocean and the monsters that live within it. These scout ships were Interceptor-class, fitted with cannons that shot grapeshot coated in a special fluid which would burn even underwater. Kalgar relayed this to Alvyn and Tong.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"I need one." Alvyn said.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"Alvyn, you always want the latest toys." Tong said.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"Does it aim up?" Alvyn said, pointing into the air.<br /><br />"You could probably make it do that." Tong replied.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"I need one. I will take any advantage against dragons."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The three smiled, as they continued watching.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"There will likely be several, 5-7 scouting the ocean, those two closer, watching the island, the outpost." Kalgar continued. Suddenly, the scout ships were gone. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"That's strange, normally they would be greeting us by now. I think they suspect something."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"I sense no emanations. The machinations of this group are very unknown." Tong said.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"We have two options. We sail ahead, hoping to dock without problems. Or we try to hail them."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"I've never been very comfortable on the sea, so you know where I want to be." Tong si Gong continued. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"You want to roll up, sorry, sail up, and introduce yourself. You. The dragon man with wings." Alvyn said.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"My wings fold up." Kalgar replied.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"Still, you're bulky."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Kalgar shook his head in a grin.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"What we need, are some backups. Long range artillery", the gnome pointed back at the rest of the fleet, "and immediate backup. Here's something I've been working on." Alvyn pulled out some vials and little contraptions. "These should help make frog men, who can hide under our ship, ready to attack when needed. Sound good?"</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"Do we have time for that?"</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"This is why we have scoff dwarves." </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alvyn called for a meeting below deck. The ship wasn't very large, but they had made it work well for them. The mess hall, normally bustling with food and conversation, cleared out. On one side of the table, Kalgar sat, his arms crossed. On the other side, Alvyn stook on his chair, poring over a 3d map Kalgar had been able to make of the island. He had referred to maps which</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> were old, out of date, and likely didn't include a lot of information on the base, but Alvyn could work with this.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"What's over there?" Alvyn asked, pointing to one side of the island, "We're going to want ships there."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">They continued going back and forth for some time, as Tong listened fervently.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">At one point, Alvyn looked up. We're going to need a signal.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Kalgar and Tong looked at each other. "For what?" Kalgar asked.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Alvyn tilted his head and looked at Tong.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"You're psionic. Can you use telepathy yet?"</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"I can only speak to the followers of Ioun." </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Fine. Find followers of Ioun among the crews."</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"That may not be easy. We mostly follow Melora and Kord here in Aes." Kalgar said, with arms crossed.<br /><br />"We'll see about that." Alvyn said.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">At this point, Haymitch walked in, "Commodore, I have some ideas...oh,"</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Haymitch, good, I was going to call you in here. Alvyn has plans. Work with him, refine the plan, then, carry out his requests with the crews from the other ships. We're going to need specialists."</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 18px;">"Got it. Ouf!" He said as Alvyn turned his attention to him. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"Haymitch, bring me three squads from the ships, give them these, and these. These are caps of water-breathing, as per that plan we discussed earlier. And these, vials of darkness."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">When Alvyn finished with his plans, he climbed up on the table, jumped on Kalgar's back, and disappeared in his backpack.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The captains of the other ships looked at each other, and then back to Kalgar. The orders themselves were very strange, even more so coming from a gnome, <i>even more so</i> coming from a gnome that had just disappeared in their Commodore's bag.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Kalgar looked at them and said, "You have your orders."</span><br />
<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
And that's a great place to pause. Thank you all very much for reading, we're really sorry for the long gap, but with one of players moving to France, this have been a little busy.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"></span><br />
Come back soon to discover more about our adventurers and Deep Watch Bay!<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-53640166606421440722016-01-05T12:31:00.002-05:002016-01-05T12:31:35.563-05:00The Long Game: The Windle's Landing Massacre<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Alvyn, Kalgar, and Tong were on their way to Admiral Draksha, Sora's commander. Sora claimed that the admiral was interested in meeting Kalgar as she too believed there was something deeply troubling about Aes and its military developing superweapons.<br />
<br />
The party had just defended Sora's outpost from a monstrosity created by the now-dead Iron Dragon, but their defense came at the cost of the outpost itself.<br />
<br />
With many things weighing on them, the party set sail for the admiral.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Dallas Kasaboski</a></span></td></tr>
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<br />
<div>
<a name='more'></a>Sora's ship escorted them through the heavy fog toward the admiral's ship. Suddenly the fog parted, revealing 3 escort ships and the admiral's ship, named <i>The Old Way</i>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kalgar recognized this type of ship as one that was retired decades before he was even born. They first started production of these ships nearly 200 years ago and, despite being in great shape, the ship looked like it might have been developed way back then.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It was large, not streamlined like the <i>Angrimich Shivi</i> ships, reinforced with steel, painted mostly charcoal grey, and featured a huge ramming spike off its bow. The ship had been upgraded, the cannons had been refitted. It practically dwarfed the <i>Shockrosia</i>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kalgar stood near the prow of his ship, overlooking the scene. Sora's ship was already docking alongside <i>The Old Way</i> and he could tell by looking at her crew that they were nervous. They were all wearing their best and acting out their orders in a very stiff, regimented way.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And no wonder, Admiral Draksha was a big deal, with a long-standing reputation in the Aesian Navy. The admiral's crew made Sora's crew look like fresh soldiers. Everything they did appeared easy, professional, exact. Everyone was working efficiently.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kalgar noted all this, hands behind his back, dragonhide cloak flapping in the wind. He looked to his crew, the ragtag riff-raff from several countries. They appeared wild, but thanks to Kalgar's iron will, and constant training exercises, the crew had successfully fielded storms of all kinds, and formed a strong, familial bond. Kalgar was proud of his crew, even if they didn't appear as regimented as the admiral's.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tong, noting the tension in the air, walked over to Kalgar and said, "I fear a bowstring too taut will not produce a single note." He was worried for Kalgar, for the crew, but he trusted his friend.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
With a nod toward Dwight, Kalgar's lieutenant, the crew made ready to accept <i>The Old Way</i>'s gangplank. Sora boarded Kalgar's ship, and he nodded to her, and then to Alvyn and Tong. Suddenly he unfurled his wings, leapt into the air, and landed on <i>The Old Way</i> beside two started, but composed, sailors.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tong leaned toward Alvyn, "Kalgar will be in the centre of these military heroics, let's make certain he plays the role of the hero and not the role of the fool."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Okay." Alvyn responded, not sure what to say to that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The admiral was standing on her ship, watching the entire proceeding. She was old, a bronze dragonborn with fading scales, wearing an old-style uniform. It featured a sleeveless vest, charcoal grey. She stared at Kalgar.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kalgar waited for his friends to arrive.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tong, Alvyn, and Sora follow closely behind. Alvyn's attitude was very relaxed, not one to conform to this parade. He munched on a giant apple, chewing loudly, his pointy gnome teeth just eviscerating it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kalgar took several purposeful steps toward her.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Admiral Draksha, I am Kalgar Drakeswynd. These are my comrades, Alvyn Semanine-"</div>
<div>
Alvyn munched loudly.</div>
<div>
"-and Tong si Gong." The monk gave a solemn bow.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Before we begin, I would like to explain the change in protocol, and recent events. As you may or may not know, there was an incident at the outpost, captained by...Captain Sora here."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kalgar paused, not used to speaking so much.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"My ship and crew have sailed all over the world, and see some fantastic, and terrible things. While we were investigating the Iron Tower, in Ferrum, we realized someone had been experimenting. They were ripping creatures apart, and stitching them back together in horrible abominations. We did what good we could, then we got out of there, but what we didn't know is that, somehow, one of those creatures infested one of my crew. It ripped itself from his chest, killing him. While investigating this, we discovered a new, horrible species, some predator, some creature we had never seen before, and it was infesting the outpost."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Alvyn cut him off, stepped forward and said, "Long story short, I blew up your outpost myself to keep them from hurting your crew, your people, any longer." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tong gasped.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Without even looking down at Alvyn, the admiral tilted her head toward some members of her crew. Two guards immediately grab Alvyn, who doesn't resist.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tong stepped forward, "Wait! I implore you! It was an accident. What Kalgar said is completely true, the creatures themselves, the infestation were the cause of this, our actions were palliative at best. If only I had, we could, shown you the ghastly horrors that had infected the outpost, then you'd believe us!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"But if we had shown you," Alvyn interjected, "they would have eaten your entire crew alive, and gone on to destroy your entire navy, so I'm thinking, what, feast in my honour?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Alvyn! This is not the time for that!" Tong continued, "I am a man of Ioun, what I say to you is completely true, I am a disciple of truth!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The admiral did not respond, except for tilting her head. The two guards led Alvyn away.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tong looked at Kalgar with pleading eyes.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kalgar closes his eyes, and made a very disappointing gesture. Just before Alvyn disappeared below-deck, he made a thumbs-up gesture. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"I'm going to have to ask you to pardon my comrades' behaviour. They are an extremely passionate, excitable people. Regardless of exactly who destroyed the outpost, what they're saying is correct. These creatures, and you can ask Captain Sora, these creatures were dangerous. And the three of us," Here Kalgar nodded to Alvyn and Tong, "we have experience hunting monsters of this kind. What happened to the outpost was extremely unfortunate, and it is a shame that my return here to start to fix things was met with the outpost's destruction. But we did save the remaining lives, including my crew, Captain Sora's, and possibly those on the nearby isles. In less time that it took to even figure out where the creature had been, it seemed to grow to a horrible infestation that posed a great threat." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"If what Captain Sora says is true, we have much to discuss concerning my fate and the fate of this nation. I would rather have started this on strong footing, but I'm going to have to ask for your patience, and your leniency, while we discuss everything here."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kalgar stopped. Breathing deep. He was in unknown waters and had to sail with caution.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"But change brings a cost, and well, it's dangerous," Kalgar sighed, massaging his scalp. "It has been some time since I've been back here, in Aes, and in my time in the rest of Cyfandir, I have seen horrible things. I have seen dangers that are the nightmares of the most experienced soldier, and before any judgement is passed on recent events, I think you should realize that. I think you should talk to us, look at our ship, and think about this. But any way that you seek judgement, I was responsible for the actions of my ship and crew, and I would do the same thing again, I stand by what I've done, in the past, and now."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The admiral remained silent. A long moment of silence hung in the air. After some time, she tilted her head, gesturing them to follow her. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As they began walking, Sora leaned toward Kalgar, "She didn't say anything, and you gave her all that? You told her everything! It was all unprompted, you just came up here and started saying things."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"It was <i>her</i> outpost, wasn't it?" Kalgar looked at her. "I am not ashamed by what I've done, and people need to know what happened."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sora shook her head, "She didn't ask you to explain, you just started talking about monsters, and outposts."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"I have been charged with many crimes, and I'm not carrying the weight of them anymore...besides, did you want to take the blame?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Inside the admiral's quarters, Tong was impressed by the spartan nature of it. A bed, a desk, some charts, it was very simple, and reminded him of his days in the temple of Canitia. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Standing behind her desk, the admiral said, "Kalgar Drakeswynd, Captain Sora claims that the reports of your treason are incomplete. Explain."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Well, what do the reports claim?" Kalgar asked.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
No response. Kalgar got the impression that she was evaluating him, testing him based both on <i>what </i>he said, and what he <i>chose</i> to say.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
True to form, Kalgar was entirely honest with her, choosing to lay all of his cards on the table.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"A few years into my second tour of duty, I started noticing a chance with the way we were acting, and the way we were fighting, the way our military was arranging itself. I wasn't sure what it was, I was quite young. I had done a tour already, but I was still following orders. After not too long, our crew witnessed what I have come to call a superweapon. It was a device that destroyed an entire island, easily. There were also rumours that I've come to learn about, concerning the <i>Dragon's Waste</i> and the destruction of the eastern coastline. I felt that my country was moving in a different way than I had been raised. We had been raised with the Aesian tenants of strength and honour, always presenting ourselves completely, before destroying our enemies. We started moving toward efficiency, which I have no problem with, but then we started moving toward <i>these</i> weapons. I tried to change the minds of my crew, my captain, but they were just following orders. I knew that if I stayed, I would not be living true to myself, I would not be following what I felt Aes truly stood for. I did not want to act this way, I did not want to hurt my country, I did not want to destroy innocents with these uncontrollable weapons. So I did the only thing I thought I could do. I left. In order to try to close the weapon, so they would not hunt me down, and also so they would move on, I faked my own death. I left my ship, my home, and I have been trying to make sense of that ever since. I understand, fully, that abandoning the navy is one of the greatest crimes of our country, and I understand that I have been charged with treason, but I believe that the higher-ups have committed treason by steering my country in this direction, and I will not stand for that. I have spent the last three years learning about myself, and the world, and I tell you these weapons are uncontrollable. They will kill innocents. And I will not hold to that. It is my hope to come back to Aes to try to make things right. Regardless of being called back, I am here to make some sort of positive change. And I believe that is all you need to know."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Silence ensued. Then, the admiral nodded and said, "Then, let us begin."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She pulled out maps, charts, and ledgers and put them on her desk. She motions to everyone to sit down, and she does so herself. Seeing that the admiral is getting down to business, and not the business of arresting Kalgar, he noticeably relaxes. Tong relaxes as well, but does not sit down.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"I intend to test the waters with you, Kalgar Drakeswynd. I will grant you three ships from my command, but I will not officially support you, and will claim blackmail if questioned. If you can prove to me that you have the strength and will to win battles, the wisdom to choose the right fights, as well as the force of personality to sway others to your side, I will give you my public support. Now, before I share my advice, tell me of your strategy and final objective."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"What is meant by this? A garmental mutiny? Are we to insinuate the topple of this government?" Tong asked, looking incredibly pensive. The admiral does not answer him, or even acknowledge him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"The first thing, is that the superweapon program has to be exposed, or at the very least, shut down. It is the main issue that I have with the military power of Aes. The way I see it, I have three problems: my charge of treason, the superweapon program, and the third is the direction of this country that would support this program. I believe that if we can destroy and possibly expose this program, than that might take away the support and power of the people using it. So, in light of this country's love of efficiency, I think if I took down the superweapon program, that might ease my other two problems. To do so, we're going to need to find the location of the superweapons, understand their development, and destroy them. I'm still working on plans to that end, I have not tested the waters of Aes in some time, I'm not sure if revealing the details of the program to the people would be wise."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"It may be the <i>only</i> way to get significant support, due to your charge of treason." the admiral answered.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Excellent. I hate secrets, I hate lies." Kalgar smiled, the first time in quite a long time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"So, expose the program, destroy it, gain public support, and remove/change the direction of the power of Aes."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The admiral shook her head slightly, "Sabotaging the program will not be enough, as long as the Grand Admiral is in power, he'll simply order it to be continued. There is a way to challenge his authority, but it is dangerous. It has only been done a handful of times in the history of our country."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kalgar tilted his head, "Do you mean the <i>Law of Challenge</i>? The <i>old law</i>?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Yes. Specifically the challenge is known as <i>The Rising Tide</i>. The difficulty is that in order to prove the challenger's conviction, the challenge must be made face-to-face, and more importantly, the Grand Admiral decides how the challenge will be resolved. The dispute must be resolved between the challenger and challenged, or their seconds, directly. The dispute has to be resolved with witnesses, namely his left and right wing of the Navy, and the leader of the <i>Angrimich Shivi</i>. And the challenger must immediately accept the contest as proposed by the challenged or the challenge is immediately defeated."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"The next problem is that in order to issue this challenge, you must find the Capitol, which is also the headquarters of the <i>Angrimich Shivi</i>, those in charge of arresting you." The admiral sat back in her chair.</div>
<div>
"Well then, stage 2 of the plan would be drawing them out, find out where the Capitol is." Kalgar said.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then admiral then suggested that Kalgar would need at least 1 of 3 things: a large enough force to storm the Capitol directly, enough support with the <i>Angrimich Shivi</i> to prevent them from arresting you when you get to the Capitol, or somehow doing something to draw the Grand Admiral out of the Capitol, which she believed was impossible. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Do you know <i>Deepwatch Base</i>?" She asked Kalgar.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Recalling his lessons in the Aesian Navy, he remembered. Deepwatch base is on the north-western waters, situated just before the descent of the continental drop off before the large ocean. It was mostly responsible for fending off the large ocean monsters that may make their way toward the nation, and warn the rest of the military should there be any threats from there.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That is the official story. However, Admiral Draksha had been keeping an eye on it and had noticed that it has too many local patrols for an outpost and it receives far too many shipments to be a normal outpost. She believed it to be a base of operations for the superweapon program. Unfortunately,since she was not attached to the program directly, she didn't know more.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kalgar scratched his jaw and said, "Captain Sora has told me, and it is obvious by your ship and crew, that you respect the old ways. But I would like to hear from <i>you </i>why you are doing this."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Without hesitation she responded, "The superweapon program is an affront to the honour of our soldiers, Kord's dictates, and the strength of our country. The Grand Admiral is responsible for its creation and therefore should be removed from his station."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Agreed." Kalgar said. "So, it is now time to discuss the ships and crew with which I must begin and also, my man in your hold."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Cutting away to Alvyn. As he was being dragged down to the brig, he saw shackles on the wall. As soon as he saw this, Alvyn struck. Fiercely strong, surprising for one so little, Alvyn wrenched himself free of the grasp of his guards, used a <i>potion of darkness</i> to make it impossible to see in the area, and tried to jump out a porthole. Just then, a leg flew out of the darkness, aimed at Alvyn's head. He backflipped and, midair, pulled an arrow bolt from his jacket, threw it at the floor, and it immediately filled the doorway with sticky webs, slowing down the assailant.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Just before he jumped out the porthole, he felt a tiny pain in the back of his neck. Reaching him, he removed an arrow and felt the effects of <i>Sleep</i> trying to overtake him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"That's MY trick!" Alvyn shrugged it off, and pocketed the bolt.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Hanging on the side of the ship, he made his way to the engine room, rigged up an explosive, and began climbing toward the admiral's quarters. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Alvyn had spent much of his early life doing exactly this, his skill set oddly trained for <i>exactly </i>this purpose, and it felt good to be at it again.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Appearing right outside the admiral's quarters, he looked in. Kalgar looked up and raised both eyes.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Just then, there was a knock at the door. In walked an officer of the <i>Angrimich Shivi</i>, the one who had attacked Alvyn, looking incredibly angry. He was holding a sword, covered in sticky webs, and on his wrist appeared to be a dart-launcher.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Alvyn, why must you be like this? Always the eternal trickster!" Tong exclaimed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Because I was afraid they were going to hurt my good buddy! So basically, I need you people to tell me if you are trouble so we can get out of here in less than two minutes."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tong paced, "First of all, I was here as his bodyguard and I think you should have-what?! Two minutes!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The admiral stood up, turned to Alvyn, and closed the porthole window.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
With a muffled voice, Alvyn could be heard, "For the record, I'm willing to tell you where the explosive is, just don't hurt my friend."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The admiral sat back down and stared at Kalgar.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"So you see what I'm working with."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Admiral Draksha, I believe-" Tong began.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Tong. Not right now. Alvyn, I appreciate it, we're fine. Please come on board and disable what you've set up."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"...but you're not under duress while you say that, right?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tong's mistform was practically waving in agitation "Alvyn! Just do it!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Fiiiine." Alvyn climbed in the window, taking off his gloves, belt, bag, and dropped them. Holding out his hands, he asked, "Where did you get the dart thing?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The guard kicked aside his things, walked over to him and said, "That showmanship is going to get your killed, two minutes is <i>way</i> too long for that kind of threat."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"I know, but I was worried they'd be too slow to respond. Don't feel bad, big guy, you've got a mean swing."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The guard smiled, then took Alvyn away to the brig.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"So, those ships?" Kalgar asked.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The admiral pulled out three folders, crew manifests for the ships she was giving to Kalgar. On the folders could be clearly seen the names, <i>The Rogue Wind, The Bilge Rat, </i>and <i>The Aquamarine</i>. The ships are average, but the crews are exceptional. The crew will do anything you command, efficiency. And I will bestow upon you the rank of Commodore, to aid you." She handed him an officer's pin, to note his station.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"If you successfully publicize the superweapon program, then I will offer you my public support, and will authorize protests against the program. The more of these protests that you can inspire, the more <i>Angrimich Shivi</i> will be drawn out, and the fewer soldiers you will face in the Capitol. When you are ready, I will give you the location of the Capitol."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kalgar rose, and saluted the admiral. It was a serious gesture, full of emotion. Kalgar had not done this in over three years. He had turned away from Aes, but now, after all this time, he saw a chance. He brought his right hand over his heart, appearing to stab it, and his left arm behind his back, as though to reinforce it. The meaning of the gesture was more than respect, it signified that the saluter rather stab himself through the heart, than betray those he saluted.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"This is the second time in years that I have met another Aesian who truly understood the heart of this country. Thank you."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The admiral saluted back with extreme precision.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kalgar turned, and left, the others following quickly.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The <i>Angrimich Shivi</i> officer who had been dealing with Alvyn, was standing outside the door. He saluted Kalgar. "Commodore Drakeswynd. I am Commodore Dirgere." Upon closer inspection, he looked like an incredibly average human. His features did not stand out in any way, except for a small tattoo of a dagger on his neck. Kalgar felt almost aggressively bored when he looked at Dirgere, in fact it was so strong that Kalgar wondered if it was a magical effect.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In a dry monotone, Dirgere told Kalgar that he had heard things, relevant to Kalgar. "You are five days off of your deadline to turn yourself in. Until then, the <i>Angrimich Shivi</i> will not be looking that hard for you, but after that point, you will have to be careful. There have also been people looking for you, your party. One group has been looking in all the old <i>Angrimich Shivi</i> locations, questioning guards, looking for the location of Alvyn. Always wearing a hood, one report suggested this questioner had horns, so possibly a tiefling."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The party thought of Tribulus, from the Doomguard.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Another questioner has been more rash, and appeared to be a mercenary, possibly from <i>The Brass Company</i>. Finally, one person has been looking for Victor Whitehelm. This female, some sort of young, bald monk, has been apparently ripping information out of people's heads, responsible for several dozen murders, looking for the location of Victor Whitehelm. Rumour has it that she can walk on water, and when she speaks, several voices sound at once. She has been spotted in the northern waters, kind of on your way to Deepwatch Base, making her way south."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tong became agitated and nervous.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"So be careful! Oh, also, collect your gnome." Commodore Dirgere saluted.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kalgar looked at him, and then walked toward the hold.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Hey guys!" Alvyn was manacled.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Around the cell, there were ten guards with hands on their swords, guarding the cell.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"Release him." Kalgar said. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And they did.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Alvyn rubbed his wrists, "Ugh, I hate that, really uncomfortable. And hey, you there, get a steak for that eye, you'll feel better!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As they walked away, Tong said, "Alvyn, have you ever heard the parable of the Canitian child with the mind of a child and the body of a man?"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"I'm not wearing pants, are you aware of that?" Alvyn stood there, confidently.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The party made it above deck, Alvyn collected his things, and everyone walked down the gangplank to the <i>Shockrosia.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
When they got aboard ship, Kalgar stopped Alvyn, put a big, meaty hand down on his shoulder and said, "Thanks."<br />
<br />
"Anytime."<br />
<br />
Kalgar strolled past him, Sora greeted him with a case. It was a case of flares, complete with a list of codes of communicating with different combination of flares. There was also a set of flags for the same purpose.<br />
<br />
"Dwight! Take this, study it, report back to me when you can answer any question about it."<br />
"Haymitch! Report on ship's status, how and what are the dwarves doing, and what is BallistApe doing?"<br />
<br />
"BallistApe is fine, doing ape things. The dwarves are saying something about requiring more materials to do, something? I'm not sure, I don't understand exactly."<br />
<br />
"Tell them to report to my quarters in an hour. Dismissed."<br />
<br />
About an hour later, Kalgar looked around for Tong, wanting to tell him to come to his quarters. It was time to make plans. But Tong wasn't on deck.<br />
<br />
A short look later, and Alvyn and Kalgar found Tong in a bathroom below decks.<br />
<br />
"What'cha doing?" Alvyn asked.<br />
"Cleansing." Tong replied, as he was shaving his head.<br />
"Just don't clog up the drains." the gnome quipped.<br />
"It's ethereal. Nothing to worry about." the human answered.<br />
"I hate you." Alvyn answered.<br />
"Hurry up!" Kalgar said, and left.<br />
<br />
When they all reconvened in Kalgar's quarters, he filled them in on the other ships, their plans, and asked for their thoughts.<br />
<br />
"Well, do you <i>have</i> a plan?" Alvyn asked.<br />
"I've never been there, but I have some ideas." Kalgar answered.<br />
Tong stepped forward and said, "Whatever you need to do, I will aid you, I am with you. Many trials have we traversed, and you have been a beacon in my own darkness, and I hope to be the same for you."<br />
<br />
"Thank you, Tong."<br />
<br />
"Does he seem more melodramatic to you?" Alvyn asked, cracking his knuckles.<br />
"Yes, but I think I know why." Kalgar said, informing them of the information Commodore Dirgere had given him regarding the monk looking for Victor Whitehelm.<br />
<br />
"...but with any luck, we can take care of that on the way." Kalgar concluded.<br />
"Doesn't matter anyway, she'll never find Whitehelm, because he's dead." Alvyn said.<br />
<br />
Tong gave a look to Alvyn of loving friendship, and deepening trust. Alvyn smiled a shark-like smile, with his dark, totally black eyes.<br />
<br />
"What do you think, Alvyn?" Kalgar asked, looking comfortable in his chair.<br />
"I think it's a terrible plan and we're all going to die. We'll come up with a better plan on the way. I'm in."<br />
<br />
"Good. What about the <i>Brass Company</i>?"<br />
"What about them?" Alvyn retorted.<br />
<br />
"Hmph, well, what should we do about them?"<br />
"If they were hired, they should have a record of who hired them, right? We may have some contacts that can help us out here."<br />
<br />
Finally, Kalgar looked to Sora, "Well, I don't know about most of what you're talking about, but Draksha is on the level. I'm not too happy that she's holding back her support, but at least she's supporting the cause."<br />
<br />
"Agreed. Now, concerning this other monk thing, we may likely run into her soon-"<br />
"Why?" Alvyn asked. "Who cares? Why waste resources on her? She's looking for a dead man."<br />
"She is a stalker in my past, and I am part of her design. We should tread lightly."<br />
<br />
Here, Tong reminded the party of the history of <i>The Edge of Sanity</i>. A cursed blade, made by a devil, the <i>Edge</i> had been given to many over the eons. It struck to make the bearer's desires come true, but also destroyed their mind and soul in the process. Tong si Gong, formally Victor Whitehelm, had wished to become invulnerable and, in doing so, ended up slaughtering most of the military of the nation of Albus. Tong reminded his friends of the moment when they were all pulled into Tong's mind, there to see countless dead cursing him. Most had been victims, but some, had been former <i>Edge</i>-bearers. Perhaps this monk was one of them, and perhaps she was upset that Tong had destroyed the sword.<br />
<br />
As they thought about that, there was a knock at the door. Kalgar called in the dwarves.<br />
<br />
He then asked, "So, when will this ship fly again?"<br />
<br />
"That depends. Do you want it to explode?"<br />
<br />
Kalgar sighed. "No, how long until it will fly without exploding?"<br />
<br />
The dwarves responded that they needed some things, including time. Some easy things included copper, squidweed, a strong, rubbery seaweed. Some of the tricky bits include azure-behir-eye gems that can store a lot of power safely.<br />
<br />
Kalgar looked to Alvyn, "Does that make sense?"<br />
"Yeah." the gnome agreed, nodding.<br />
<br />
"Fine. All of you but two are going to be responsible for improving the ship. Two of you will be overseeing defenses for the ship. We have other ships, with engineers and allies, and we are going to work together to improve all of our defenses. Dismissed."<br />
<br />
He called Dwight in. Kalgar quizzed him on the use of the flare and flag system. Dwight did his homework, and answered every question correctly.<br />
<br />
"Good. Signal the other captains, instruct them to report to me within the hour. Dismissed."<br />
<br />
Tong left the meeting without saying much; something was weighing on his mind. He walked over to an area near the bow. There were people rushing everywhere, eager to follow Kalgar's orders, but the crew had learned to give Tong some space when he wished it.<br />
<br />
Tong si Gong knelt down and began to meditate. As his concentration deepened, his physical body faded away and disappeared, while plumes of ethereal mist shrouded the area in which he knelt. Entering the <i>Idolywn</i>, Tong wandered, looking for his master. The <i>Idolywn</i> is an unusual place, where time and space function completely independently of other planes. One moment, you're in the present, the next, the past, over there a future that will not ever come to pass. Still, Tong's training and ascension into an <i>Idolywn Mist Knight</i> left him able to traverse this space with ease.<br />
<br />
But, he still could not find Ting Tang Wong Gong, his master.<br />
<br />
Off in the "distance", Tong could hear voices from his past, haunting who he once was. Assuming a different stance, he began hearing other voices, not those of former masters or from his past, but of novitiates, calling for help. Leaping down from the <i>Idolywn </i>to the <i>Reverie</i>, Tong found a little girl.<br />
<br />
"Oh, I have this test! School is so stressful! Ioun! Please help me!"<br />
<br />
Sitting across from her mind, Tong leaned in and said, "Ah, but the true test is what happens when the pencil is put down."<br />
<br />
Tong leapt awake!<br />
<br />
And was splashed with a bucket of water. Alvyn could be heard chuckling off in the distance.<br />
<br />
Shaking his head, Tong released that he had gained knowledge and wisdom from the <i>Reverie</i>. Changing an old stance, he came up with a new one, a large, massive hit, which he will call...a <i>Big Hit</i>!<br />
<br />
On another part of the ship, Alvyn had been running tests on crewmates blood, looking for signs of the alien creatures from before, and also trying to better understand Tong and Kalgar. If the rumours of a rampant monk were true, perhaps understanding Tong could help better capture or eliminate her.<br />
<br />
Alvyn side-stepped up to Kalgar and pricked him with a tiny needle. With reflexes neither of them knew he had, Kalgar reached down, grabbed Alvyn, and said, "Wait."<br />
<br />
Reaching into his bag, Kalgar pulled a hand-ax, and made a cut on his palm.<br />
<br />
"That...entirely unnecessary. Thank...thank you Kalgar."<br />
<br />
Kalgar nodded. Since the Iron Tower, the idea of needles was not too appealing to Kalgar. Plus, spilling blood was a serious matter for Kalgar and he wanted to have control over it. He would lose blood because he <i>chose</i> to, it would not be taken from him unbeknownst, even by a friend.<br />
<br />
Kalgar then climbed the Crow's Nest, dismissing the sailor who was there. Kneeling, squeezing his bloody palm, the dragonborn reached out to the waters of Aes. He had been away for some time and, the few times he <i>had</i> been back, he had not been able to stay, or affect change. Now, however, he was coming back to make a difference. Kalgar thought long about the waters of Aes, how they had been changing, and how he could change them back. His heart told him it was the right thing to do, but he knew that he needed the people on his side, otherwise, his quest would be in vain.<br />
<br />
He knew that he would succeed but, if he didn't, it would make for one <i>hell</i> of a story.<br />
<br />
Clouds and storms formed and merged and split above the ship.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Tong had again found Alvyn.<br />
<br />
"Alvyn, I was always bald."<br />
<br />
"You...you had hair, I saw it!"<br />
<br />
"These locks shall never see the light of day. You were right in saying that Victor Whitehelm is dead and, with it, the distinguishing feature of my bloodline. I have no family. I have no past. I am bald."<br />
<br />
"Well, you got us, we're family, better than family!"<br />
<br />
Keeping the ship away from populated areas and known ship lanes, the <i>Shockrosia</i> reached Windle's Landing after a few days, located at the southern edge of Emerald City, so named for its kelp forests growing in the shallow waters.<br />
<br />
Windle's Landing is a training academy for wind and storm mages. With the sheer amount of arcane users in the small area, there were some unusual physical phenomena. Small pockets of reality were twisted, turned, connected in non-linear ways. These pockets were small, and mostly harmless, and the locals had grown accustomed to navigating around them. At a distance, the crew of the <i>Shockrosia</i> felt static in the air.<br />
<br />
The architecture here was more bunker-like, with all the buildings made of stone, simply made. Kalgar related that it was because of the mages. Accidents happened, and buildings often needed to be maintained and repaired. All over, robed figures wandered to and fro.<br />
<br />
Our party was searching for special gems, if you recall. Alvyn had explained earlier that a special type of stone was needed to help make the <i>Shockrosia</i> fly again, as these stones absorbed and limited the amount of magical energy from surging through the ship.<br />
<br />
Given the approaching deadline of the <i>Angomich Shivi</i> call for Kalgar, our party was heavily disguised. Alvyn used a silver solution to coat Kalgar's scales, changing his colour, and donned a ragged, brown cloak.<br />
<br />
Alvyn provided Tong with a cloak, as well as a flask. If you knew anything about Tong si Gong, you knew he didn't eat or drink. The flask was a front.<br />
<br />
Alvyn, himself, was dressed as a child, wearing a scarf and a rice paddy hat.<br />
<br />
The air of this port smelled very different from the other Aesian places they had been. It was even different to Kalgar, who spent most of his time in military harbours. Instead of the tar, black powder, fish smells, here the air was full of static, the smell of cinnamon, and other smells not easily identified.<br />
<br />
Entering the marketplace, there were booths everywhere. As our adventurers watched, they could see where these reality-bending pockets were located. Some were obvious, with direct effects, some were only seen by the people interacting around them.<br />
<br />
In one corner, a commoner was running a shell game and his table was actually placed <i>inside</i> one of these pockets, where time seemed to run slightly faster, causing the gamblers to have a more difficult time keeping up with the shell.<br />
<br />
In several booths nearby, mages were selling wands, and their booths were pushed really close together. It seems that the static electricity in the nearby pocket was good for keeping wands from rolling around and all the competing mages were competing for the most pocket-space.<br />
<br />
Across the way, another vendor, pushing a cart, was moving around chasing a moving pocket, for some unknown reason.<br />
<br />
Alvyn was impressed with the variety of magical wares. The remoteness of the island was appealing to vendors from all over Cyfandir, and there were many different shops. Styles from Aurum, selling animal parts, Adamantina, displaying lab gear, Ruber merchants displaying minerals, a vendor from Himes fetured recipes made by frostgiants, from the jungled lands of Aerugo there were enchanted necklaces and trinkets, and the one that caught Alvyn's eye, a Cupro booth, selling gems and precious stones.<br />
<br />
Walking over to the booth, Alvyn tugged on Tong's robes.<br />
<br />
"What is it, SON?"<br />
"Ask him what the blue jewels are in the centre."<br />
<br />
"Wage-slave! What are these blue gems here?"<br />
<br />
"Ah, you have a discerning eye! These are blue-eyed Behir sapphires."<br />
"Fascinating, where do they come from? Wait! I don't care! I'm going to buy some!"<br />
<br />
Another tug of the robes. Some whispering, seemingly between father and son.<br />
<br />
"My son here has a peculiar lust for ornate jewels, do you mind if I just bend these to his delicate, dear boy face?"<br />
<br />
"I do mind actually, I'll hold them if you don't mind."<br />
<br />
As soon as the gems are held close to Alvyn's face, he reaches into his jacket, grabs a few tools, and googles, to inspect the stones more closely.<br />
<br />
"Such an industrious child, he likes them!" Tong continues the charade. "We want a dozen or so."<br />
<br />
"Ah yes, very good, very good! I only have a few here, but my assistant shall go to the warehouse for more. Should be back in 15 minutes."<br />
<br />
"Very good. We'll loiter here."<br />
<br />
"And that will be at the low, low price of 250 gold pieces each."<br />
<br />
"Excellent!" Tong said, not really the value of money.<br />
<br />
Another tug at the robes. "<i>This is not excellent!</i>"<br />
<br />
Kalgar looks across the stalls, seemingly without interest.<br />
<br />
Alvyn reached into his jacket, and pulls out several hundreds gold pieces worth of platinum, shoving the rest into his clothes. Before he even placed them on the counter, the merchant increased his asking price.<br />
<br />
Alvyn made a show of putting his money away so as to say that he will not be offering more.<br />
<br />
"Ah, you drive a hard bargain, child! How about this?" The merchant counters with a fairer price.<br />
<br />
"Done." <br />
<br />
"My assistant should be back with your sapphires in ten minutes. Feel free to browse more of our wares!"<br />
<br />
Alvyn passed a note to the merchant, asking for the gems to be delivered to the <i>Shockrosia</i>.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, down the market, Kalgar noticed someone mention the name, "Whitehelm."<br />
<br />
Looking around, Kalgar noticed a robed figure asking questions to a random, Aesian merchant. The merchant was shaking his head, seemingly confused. There were people everywhere, no safe avenue, no place to divert the attention of the robed figure without calling for trouble.<br />
<br />
Kalgar nudged Alvyn, who looked up, saw what Kalgar saw, and shook his head.<br />
<br />
Tong noticed, saw the same thing and became very agitated.<br />
<br />
Alvyn grabbed Tong by the robes, "Are you here? I need you here!"<br />
<br />
"Yes." Tong said seriously.<br />
<br />
"Good. Focus up!"<br />
<br />
Alvyn began sneaking his way toward the robed figure, while Tong and Kalgar split off to keep their distance, but ready to run in if needed.<br />
<br />
The merchant was sweating, and seemed very uncomfortable.<br />
<br />
"No...I don't...I don't know anything, what are you doing?"<br />
<br />
Alvyn tugged at the robed figure.<br />
<br />
When the figure turned, the merchant jumped back. The figure turned toward Alvyn. It was a woman, young, with a burned face, and a overwhelming feeling of despair washed over Alvyn. Whatever he was about to say was forgotten.<br />
<br />
Her eyes were glowing. Red, familiar, reminding him of Votharxes, the devil who had created <i>The Edge of Sanity</i> and cursed Tong.<br />
<br />
Trying to shake things off, Alvyn was caught off-guard. He reached into his bag and grabbed a flare, readying it in case he somehow lost the ability to speak.<br />
<br />
"I heard you were looking for my buddy."<br />
<br />
She said, "You know Whitehelm!" in a voice that was not entirely one.<br />
<br />
"Yeah, he's dead."<br />
<br />
"No. Not yet." several voices emerged at once.<br />
<br />
"What's...what's your beef?" Alvyn stammered, trying his best.<br />
<br />
She leaned down toward him, and said, "Where is he?!"<br />
<br />
"I told you, he's dead!"<br />
<br />
As she stared at him, Alvyn could feel his resolve cracking. The pressure was building. He didn't want to tell her, but he felt like he may very soon.<br />
<br />
"The body that once contained Victor Whitehelm is nearby."<br />
<br />
She continued to stare. "Where. Is. Whitehelm!"<br />
<br />
Alvyn felt a burning sensation building from inside of him. "I can't tell you...but I can show you."<br />
Alvyn lit the emergency flare.<br />
<br />
Down the street, Tong si Gong whipped off his robe and yelled, "Witch! Why do you hunt that which is no more?!"<br />
<br />
Alvyn pitched in, "That's what I've been saying!"<br />
<br />
The female monk turned toward Tong and as her eyes glowed brighter, she yelled in a discordant voice, "WHITEHELM!" Her cloak burned off of her body.<br />
<br />
Tong recognized her. She was a student, he had seen her before, in the <i>Reverie</i>.<br />
<br />
With a mix of emotions, overshadowed by the pang of failure, Tong si Gong whipped a warbead at her bead, "Get down, mortal!"<br />
<br />
Kalgar yelled over to some nearby officers, who had been patrolling the area. "You better get these people out of here! We have a dangerous situation here!"<br />
<br />
Then he charged at the woman. He drew his katana in mid-charge, using his wings to guide him, and slammed into her. She took damage and didn't even notice.<br />
<br />
Suddenly, Alvyn and Kalgar felt immense despair; somehow emanating from the woman.<br />
<br />
She drew a sword from her back. It was <i>The Edge of Sanity</i>!<br />
<br />
Then she drew another one!<br />
<br />
The party had seen this sword up close for far too long. It looked like a simple blade but was one of the most powerful objects they had ever seen. It was nearly unstoppable and yet they had done so, once, at a great cost. And now this fiend had two of them!<br />
<br />
"Karesse," Tong said, remembering his student's name, "I know you can hear me. Whatever happened to you, whatever force has gripped you. I know you can break free! Remember your training! I've heard that sword you grip now, I don't know how you've come to them, from what foul depth of hatred of pain you are forced to course through your damaged soul. What is your purpose? Is Votharxes alive? What are you doing here? I killed you!" Tong was losing his control.<br />
<br />
"I don't think Karesse is home right now, but if you'd like to leave a message, you can do it with your corpse!" Alvyn yelled, trying to snap Tong out of it.<br />
<br />
It didn't work. Tong began yelling at the woman.<br />
<br />
"Kill me! Do it! I'm the one you want! I'm your goal! If you wish me to be a treasure to the <i>Nine Hells</i> then so be but leave these mortals be!" <br />
<br />
Trying to draw her attention, Kalgar raised his sword and attempted to use <i>Dragonfear. </i>It did not work. The woman continued her attack on Tong si Gong.<br />
<br />
"<i>Edge's of Sanity</i>!" Tong spit out, "They can't be felled by any weapon!" That was part of its power, and its curse.<br />
<br />
"You will pay for ignoring me! Let's see your cursed power face the strength of Kord!" Kalgar brought his sword to bear.<br />
<br />
She didn't bother dodging, and didn't flinch as the sword swiped at her neck. She was bleeding, but uncaring.<br />
<br />
Alvyn popped his <i>Goggles of Aura-Sight</i>, taking a closer look. Her aura was nasty, full of several souls. To his relief, he saw through the illusion; those were not really <i>Edges of Sanity</i>. Drawing a vial of <i>Fey Step</i>, he smashed it into the ground, disappearing and appearing on a nearby cart, out of her reach.<br />
<br />
Looking down, Alvyn realized that none of the people around him seemed very concerned. They just seemed sad.<br />
<br />
"I know you are sad, but you need to run away!", then to his comrades, "They're not <i>The Edge of Sanity</i>!" He directed Tong to make his next attack!<br />
<br />
Tong shifted, preparing a stance. The woman followed, walking straight toward an innocent bystander. Without changing direction, she walked right through the person, turning them to ash, instantly.<br />
<br />
"Stop this! STOP IT NOW!" Tong had tears in his eyes.<br />
<br />
She swung her blades at him. He was unable to block them, but he slowed them down. All around her, lightning struck her body, fueled by Kord's blessing.<br />
<br />
The people around them begin crying, some have begun looking at their hands, confused.<br />
<br />
Tong teleported away, trying to regroup.<br />
<br />
Kalgar unfurled his wings, leapt into the air, and crashing with thunder and lightning, got behind her and grabbed her arms.<br />
<br />
Bringing his rifle to bear, Alvyn pelted her with several bolts. He hopped down from the cart, dragging the nearest merchant with him. "Go!"<br />
<br />
Then he grabbed Tong, "Get your head in the game! I need TONG SI GONG!"<br />
<br />
The merchant Alvyn had grabbed took a couple of steps, fell to his knees, and began crying.<br />
<br />
The commoners around the woman instantly turned to ash.<br />
<br />
The woman pulled herself out of Kalgar's grasp. She didn't even struggle. No matter how much Kalgar tried to hold on, she escaped, walked through stalls, carts, and walls, toward Tong.<br />
<br />
She swung her swords, once again Kord's lightning struck her, trying to punish her for ignoring Kalgar's challenge.<br />
<br />
Ignoring Kord's might, she spun at Tong, cutting three deep burns across Tong's body. He dropped to the ground, becoming corporeal again, dropping unconscious. As he did so, Tong suddenly felt that everything he ever did was pointless. No point in running from his past. No point in anything, really.<br />
<br />
She was growing stronger, her strength seemingly fed by the despair of the people around her.<br />
<br />
Kalgar had an idea. He would cut her strength. He raised his wings, and his sword, and he yelled into the sky. Lightning roared overhead. "There is no fight or flight! There is ONLY FLIGHT!"<br />
<br />
The nearby people momentarily were shaken out of their grief. They stumbled away, pulling others with them. It was working!<br />
<br />
"Tong! Back on your feet!" Alvyn's inspiring words cut through Tong's semi-conscious state. His eyes snap open, and Alvyn threw him over his shoulder, dragging him back away from the woman. Laying him down, Alvyn turned and fired a freezing bolt. It cut into her leg, and should have hampered her, but it instantly melted.<br />
<br />
She walked through a nearby bunker, its stone walls melting in her way, and starting to crumble. She passed by more innocent people, who burned right in front of her.<br />
<br />
She began screaming and swinging her swords furiously at Tong. He fell again.<br />
<br />
Kalgar pushed through the carnage, reached down to Tong and healed him with <i>Lay on Hands</i>, the power of Kord. Tong could feel Kalgar's anger, adrenaline, and determination. It renewed him.<br />
<br />
Alvyn snuck in, and using a scalpel, sliced off a piece of her skin. He wanted a sample.<br />
<br />
The possessed woman slammed Kalgar out of her way, and attacked Tong.<br />
<br />
Alvyn dragged him back and dropped a potion of <i>Fey Step </i>to him. Tong drank it, and teleported away. Shouting, "All is lost!" Tong ran toward the harbour.<br />
<br />
"We've checked her strength! Now let's go!" Alvyn yelled at Kalgar. "More Aesians are going to die if you stay here with your god-damned pride!"<br />
<br />
Kalgar looked around. The carnage was everywhere. This was not a fight. This was a massacre. So unnecessary, so brutal.<br />
<br />
Nodding, Kalgar stood up, moving between the woman and Alvyn, preparing to leave. She swung her sword at him.<br />
<br />
"On your left!" Alvyn cried out. Kalgar heard, and redirected the attack. Flipping the katana over in his hand, he stabbed her through the kidney.<br />
<br />
"Back to the ship!" Alvyn and Kalgar took off. The gnome lit a flare.<br />
<br />
On the docks, the dwarves could be seen loading a crate of supplies onto the ship.<br />
<br />
"Forget the crate! Get on the ship!"<br />
<br />
"Mount the cannons!" Kalgar ordered.<br />
<br />
Tong grabbed several of the <i>Shockrosia </i>crew and got the cannons ready.<br />
<br />
Kalgar ran, trying to keep ahead of the woman. He prayed to Melora, and Kord. To Melora, goddess of nature, and the sea, he apologized for this monstrosity. This woman, whatever she was, was not natural, and her actions were aberrant, she needed to be destroyed. To Kord, god of storms and battle, he prayed for the strength to make things right.<br />
<br />
His sword alighted in flame and as he swung it, he brought it down across her chest. Immediately, her aura flared up, and Kalgar felt intense heat. She shifted, walked through the next wall, out into the open.<br />
<br />
And there, sitting on the ship, was Tong si Gong, with a cannon of the <i>Shockrosia</i> ready.<br />
<br />
He fired, and a cannonball slammed into what remained of the building. A plume of black smoke erupted around the building.<br />
<br />
Silence.<br />
<br />
And out walked the woman. Her shoulder was misaligned, her skin was gone. Alvyn, Kalgar, and the rest of the crew stood there with jaws agape.<br />
<br />
Tong shifted to the next cannon and fired again.<br />
<br />
She dropped to her knee and then stood again.<br />
<br />
"Die! DIE! DIE VICTOR DIE!" He fired one last time.<br />
<br />
She rose. Again. Her arm was hanging off, so was her jaw. She trudged forward.<br />
<br />
The rigging on the <i>Shockrosia</i> started to smoke; the aura was starting to affect the crew.<br />
<br />
Alvyn summoned his short sword, sidestepped forward, tried to grab her wrist and disarm her. However, the heat from her aura brought him short.<br />
<br />
The people on the dock burn to ash. She sidesteps Alvyn, begins to hover, and moved past Kalgar.<br />
<br />
Rising above the water, the guard rail of the <i>Shockrosia</i> caught fire. She raised her swords, intent on killing Tong.<br />
<br />
Dropping to his knee, Kalgar prayed. The clouds parted, and a single ray of sunlight shines through. Draining her of her strength, she landed on the guard rail, looks at Tong, and said, "This is not over!"<br />
<br />
Falling backwards, she landed in the water. Tong leapt in after her, and bringing her to the shore, looked at Alvyn and Kalgar. <i>Please help her</i>. His eyes seemed to say.<br />
<br />
Kalgar looked at him, "Why should we help her?"<br />
<br />
Tong summoned the <i>Codex Caduceus</i>, tapped her head, and a spiritual river appeared, carrying her soul, what was left of it, away.<br />
<br />
Alvyn, Kalgar, and Tong looked around them. Windle's Landing had been devastated. Twenty-five people had been killed and dozens more were seriously wounded. Kalgar shook his head. He returned to Aes to make a difference, to help his country, but with this, and the destroyed outpost, it seemed their past was determined to catch up with them and ruin everything.<br />
<br />
They wouldn't be seen as triumphant heroes, but villains, monsters whose very presence destroyed all those around them.<br />
<br />
With heavy hearts, our adventurers boarded the ship.<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-38397232896450185812015-12-21T10:40:00.001-05:002016-01-06T14:45:23.385-05:00The Long Game: The Last of the Aesian Outpost<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When last we left our adventurers, they were in Aes, at a lonely outpost, underground, facing off against an alien queen and her many terrifying creatures. The monsters had already killed many Aesian guards, as well as one of Kalgar's crew. The room was surrounded by dripping water, and barrels of oil and black powder. The fight had started. Now, it was time to finish this!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Kalgar roared his challenge, raised his sword, and charged the alien nearest Tong! The creature burst, spraying the dragonborn with acidic blood.<br />
<br />
Alvyn hoisted his new gun, took aim, and fired at the next alien. <i>Phfwomp!</i> The shot splashed the creature, disorienting it! "Get your asses back into the doorway!"<br />
<br />
Suddenly, a creature leapt from the water at Tong's face! Shards of <i>ego-tempest veda</i> smashed into it, falling into the water, bursting.<br />
<br />
Another creature leapt from the ceiling, jaws wide, going for Tong's throat!<br />
<br />
"Not so fast!" Kalgar called out. Divine light illuminated the alien, bursting it in mid-air. The creature's acidic blood splashed on Kalgar and Tong.<br />
<br />
A creature swiped at Kalgar, he parried it with his katana.<br />
<br />
Tong, wiping some blood from his face, wrapped himself tighter in his <i>Stoneskin Robes</i>. His skin hardened, and he felt emboldened. Alvyn, shouted out more orders, and his words reassured Tong further. His wounds closed, and he was back in the fight!<br />
<br />
The queen, meanwhile, had not been inactive. She was hissing, gesticulating, and her drones had been following her orders. As she did so, two creatures advanced toward Kalgar and Tong, and reached out to grab them. Tong's assailant glowed with divine light as the power of Kord destroyed the creature.<br />
<br />
Alvyn spun around, and fired a couple of bolts from his gun. They slammed into an alien creature, and in its confusion, Kalgar lashed out with his sword.<br />
<br />
Rearing his head back, Kalgar unleashed a deafening roar. The creatures hissed and leaned away from him, extremely wary. He then stomps, sending out a shockwave of thunder damage. Several creatures shrieked in pain, another exploded, raining acid down on him and Tong.<br />
<br />
"Tong! You're up!" Alvyn shouted, distracting the nearest creature.<br />
<br />
The monk centred himself, and with a prayer to Ioun, shouted with divine force, clearing the area of drone alien creatures.<br />
<br />
The three looked at each other. Bloodied, wounded, breathing heavy, they were still there, still alive. They looked at the carnage around them; spilled and destroyed barrels, water, oil, and black powder mixing, and alien carcasses strewn about.<br />
<br />
Then they heard it. A blood-curdling, nearly deafening scream. Our adventurers nearly fell to the ground, the pain was so intense. Words were muffled, sound was garbled.<br />
<br />
"...ong! Can....y...see?"<br />
"Whaaaaa-"<br />
"This bit...let...inish...this!"<br />
<br />
Several more creatures burst from the water, surrounding the queen. The queen dropped her egg sac and took steps forward.<br />
<br />
The party was now completely surrounded.<br />
<br />
One reached out and squeezed its massive claws into Alvyn's shoulder. Then it took a step back and pulled him under the water!<br />
<br />
Two creatures stepped up and swiped at Tong and Kalgar! One grabbed Kalgar and dragged him underwater. The other slashed Tong's chest and with a cry of pain, he fell to the ground.<br />
<br />
Inhaling water, Alvyn reached into his belt, retrieved a vial of <i>Feystep Potion</i> and smashed it. He immediately teleported out of the water, and out of melee range of the creatures. Dropping to his knee, he took careful aim with his rifle and fired another arrow into a creature. As it hit, a light on the shaft blinked once, and Alvyn teleported, appearing right in front of the alien.<br />
<br />
Kalgar sunk deeper into the water. It was deeper than he thought. He clenched his fist against his chest and healed himself thanks to the strength of his god. Kalgar was getting angry. Really angry. These creatures, had been born from the mad desires of a dragon. That dragon had been destroyed, but this curse followed Kalgar. Stole away aboard his ship, killed a member of his crew, several Aesian guards, and was now threatening this outpost. Enough. Is. ENOUGH!<br />
<br />
Kalgar unfurled his wings, flapped them once, and launched himself well out of the water. He landed with a solid thump next to Tong's fallen body, and shoved the alien creature off of him.<br />
<br />
Tong was blinking in and out of consciousness. This fight had been so senseless. These creature, they were devoid of birth, of life experience. They had simply been made, against the laws of nature, and they had no knowledge except that of their prey, no plans beyond consumption. They were aberrant, they were foul, and by all that he knew, Tong <i>had </i>to destroy them, had to push back. With a surge of belief, Tong's body felt invigorated and he was restored to life! He bounced back onto his feet, shifting his weight back and forth, on his toes and ready to finish this.<br />
<br />
Alvyn was tired of these stupid creatures and wanted to destroy them, this place, and forget about these foul things.<br />
<br />
The queen charged forward and attacked Kalgar. Turning too slow, he was unable to stop her from chomping her jaws down on his shoulder, lifting him from the ground. Dropping him, the queen spun around and whipped her tail at Alvyn. It missed him, but obliterates part of the frame of the stone doorway. Alvyn was <i>seriously</i> reconsidering the effectiveness of the doorway.<br />
<br />
Retreating, Alvyn flipped a switch on his rifle and started firing bolts, repeatedly, at the creatures around him. One of the bolts flashed and Tong's vision completely changed as he was teleported out of the range of the nearest creature.<br />
<br />
Kalgar brought his katana down, swinging overhead, and splitting the nearest creature in half! "Make yourselves ready to face my god! For His will is <i>the</i> will, and His strength is mine!" Stomping again, the ground shook, and all the enemies fell prone.<br />
<br />
"You, queen, you're the greatest challenge here!" Kalgar pointed at the queen and moved toward her. He slashed back and forth, shifting his weight with every swing, hacking and slashing.<br />
<br />
Tong leapt to his feet and shouted, "Get away from him, you bitch!" He stomped the ground, creating a shockwave, propelling him knee-first into the Queen's jaw. The queen tumbled.<br />
<br />
With a low, rumbling noise, the Queen rose to her feet, grabbed Tong and dug her long claws into his shoulders. She then whipped her head side-to-side and used <i>Dragonbreath</i> on Kalgar and Tong!<br />
<br />
Acid shot out in all directions. Alvyn dove out of the way, avoiding the blast, but Kalgar was covered in it, his plate armour hissing. Walls to either side of our heroes were crumbling as they dissolved.<br />
<br />
The queen turned, and began dragging Tong deeper into her lair. Kalgar swiped at her tail hurting, but not stopping, her. Each step the queen took shook the building, and she dropped the monk into a nest of eggs. Several exploded open, and horrifying creatures leapt at Tong's face! While the queen held Tong down, her face-hugging children crawled all over him.<br />
<br />
Alvyn rolled out of the shadows and fired a bolt at her. It struck her, but didn't lessen her hold on Tong. He flipped down his <i>Goggles of Aura Sight</i> to take a closer look. She appeared very strong, resistant to many things, and still very, very healthy, despite all the damage the party had caused.<br />
<br />
The situation was dire. Tong's face was being smashed over and over again into the dais. Kalgar wanted to do something, this fight, it was terrible. This creature shouldn't even exist! The result of horrible, aberrant, experimentation by the Iron Dragon created these monsters, these alien hunters. And in the name of Melora and Kord, it was time to end this!<br />
<br />
Kalgar side-stepped away from an alien creature using his <i>Boots of the Fencing Master</i> and then charged the Queen. His sword held high, and using his wings he practically glided across the floor. His sword became lit with righteous fire and he brought it down across her face.<br />
<br />
The Queen burst into flame and started screaming in agony. The oil dripping off her lit a trail that spread throughout the room, igniting everyone and everything.<br />
<br />
Tong closed his eyes, evaporated into mist form and teleported away from the Queen and her creatures. He appeared far from her and using, <i>Temple Step Veda</i>, he streaked out of the room, gone in a flash.<br />
<br />
The Queen lashed out, blindly swinging, missed Kalgar, stomped past him, pushing him into the water. She spun around, swiping her tail at Alvyn, who ducked under it. Alvyn shouldered his rifle and fired a freezing bolt at her. The effect was immediate; she was slowed. Alvyn then turned and started moving toward the door.<br />
<br />
"Kalgar! Let's get out of here! It's explode-o'clock!"<br />
<br />
Above, Tong appeared in the hallway where the Aesian guards, including Kalgar's friend Sora, had been waiting. Bloodied, with acid still burning off him, and on fire, Tong stopped and shouted, "Something's amiss! There is a situation!"<br />
<br />
Back downstairs, Kalgar had to hurry. Everything was on fire, and he was all the way at the back of the room. The quickest way out of the room was...through a wall.<br />
<br />
Kalgar thought, "What would Kord do?"<br />
<br />
Knowing the answer to that question, Kalgar brought his sword to his chest, asking for Kord's <i>Strength through discipline</i>, and flew at the wall. The 5-foot thick wall had been seriously damaged throughout the fight, but it was still made of stone. Taking flight, he flew over the water, weaved through the smoke, barely able to see, just passed by the queen who hissed in rage!<br />
<br />
From Alvyn's perspective in slow-motion, the queen was hissing, and swiping at something in the smoke when, all of a sudden, the wall beside him burst open, and Kalgar squeezed through the hole his shoulder had made, folded his wings back, and landed with a heavy thud.<br />
<br />
<i>Crack!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
As the wall started to tumble, the building shifted.<br />
<br />
"We need to leave now!" Tong was saying.<br />
"What did you do to my outpost? I'm going to blamed if something happened!"<br />
"We didn't do anything! We need to leave now before being crushed in rubble!" Tong tried his best to copy Kalgar's normally intimidating stance.<br />
<br />
To little effect.<br />
<br />
Sora just stood there, with her arms folded.<br />
<br />
The queen focused all her rage on Alvyn, still left in the room. She tried to charge him, but his freezing bolt was still slowing her down. She swiped at him, he side-stepped <i>just</i> under her claws, she tried again, he backed up. At the other end of the room, eggs were popping, bursting, igniting. When the queen heard this, she renewed her attack and swiped at him again. She slammed into Alvyn, knocking him back, and Kalgar down.<br />
<br />
Alvyn started dragging Kalgar out. At the top of the tunnel, Alvyn raced over to the cannon, still mounted facing the cellar door, waited for Kalgar to move past him, and held his sleeve over the fuse. Still on fire, the sleeve lit the fuse, and a blast of heat and light sends a shockwave out.<br />
<br />
Everyone was thrown from the outpost, dust and loud noise was everywhere. When the dust settled, all that could be seen were the ruined remains of the outpost.<br />
<br />
Everyone took a moment, to just breath. Our party put out their flames.<br />
<br />
Sora looked at Kalgar and said, "You know I was in charge of this outpost...I'm going to be blamed for this."<br />
<br />
Kalgar sighed. "Did you <i>see</i> what was down there!?"<br />
<br />
"No." She responded.<br />
<br />
"That thing would have killed you all instantly."<br />
<br />
"You have to believe us! As a prophet of Ioun, I speak only truth!" Tong added.<br />
<br />
"You guys can settle this if you want. I, however, am going to take a shower." Alvyn started heading toward the <i>Shockrosia</i>.<br />
<br />
Sora shook her head. "I suppose it is safe to bring in Admiral Draxsha now, but we have nowhere to receive her."<br />
<br />
Tong placed his hand on Kalgar's shoulder, "I can advocate for you, if you need it."<br />
<br />
"I think the best thing would be for you, Sora, to escort us and the <i>Shockrosia</i> to the Admiral, where I will explain the situation and take all of the blame."<br />
<br />
Tong looked to his friend, "Your will is like steel, and you show the determination of your god."<br />
<br />
Sora just shrugged and said, "Well, we can't stay here, so, everyone load up!"<br />
<br />
<i>And with that, the destruction of the Aesian outpost, and the alien creatures, our party boarded the </i>Shockrosia<i>. As he was boarding the ship, Tong had a single thought, "</i>What if that wasn't the <i>only</i> alien creature that got loose?"</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-27839648390207724032015-12-19T13:09:00.000-05:002015-12-19T13:09:11.472-05:00The Long Game: The Queen's Lair<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Under the isolated Aesian outpost, Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar were following the carnage caused by a creature of unknown form and intent. It had killed one of their crew, many Aesian guards, and was now seemingly trapped under the outpost.<br />
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Still, nothing is ever easy in <i>The Long Game</i>, so let's see how our adventurers handle it.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Dallas Kasaboski</a></span></span></td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a>Kalgar held his javelin back, waiting for Alvyn and Tong to position themselves. Just as Tong was about to step forward, Alvyn made a quiet whistling sound. Without a word, Tong understood, and moved on an angle into the room.</div>
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Alvyn nodded, and Kalgar raised the javelin, letting its <i>sunrod</i> shine into the room. It was a large storehouse, with barrels and lumber in surplus. The room had seen better days and was very dark, with 15-foot pools of water in places.</div>
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Kalgar stopped and took a breath. All around him was a strong smell of lamp oil, unsurprisingly, however there was something else, a fishy smell. Kalgar recalled fishing season in Aes, when schools of fish would spawn everywhere and the waters would smell terrible. No one wanted to swim then.<br />
<br />
Stepping further into the room, Tong noticed a side chamber containing barrels, some brown and some red in colour. The brown ones seemed to contain old supplies, but the red ones contained black powder or lamp oil.<br />
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"Kalgar, Alvyn, we're surrounded by explosives." Tong called out.<br />
"Eee!" the gnome replied.<br />
"Don't make that sound! This is serious!" Tong said.<br />
"No no, it's good news!"<br />
<br />
Tip-toeing farther, Tong made it to the next set of doors. There, he braced his body for combat. Around the door-frame, Tong could see a resin, grimy and gross.<br />
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Kalgar approached the door, as quietly as he could. Alvyn slipped into the shadows. Up ahead, Tong heard a moaning sound.<br />
<br />
"<i>There's somebody in there, and he's alive!</i>" Tong whispered.<br />
<br />
Pressing his fingertips together, Tong sent a prayer to Ioun, his god. The shadows around Tong became alive and crawled over his skin. He was now partially concealed as he entered the room, and this is what he saw:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWEEI3E7ynJ5oP4vsP6veed5qBu20tBlTWwiECNzL-w1K3iWMyN4DBvmtE1OiVy1W02AIJCtOPt8fOJnGc9CTmPP3LiWdgEOmPa1-B1JR1txTPaF1Gy031vRwiuivq3ASJ1e08d1LPC_Y/s1600/11802795_10101023100780535_799732039185031567_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWEEI3E7ynJ5oP4vsP6veed5qBu20tBlTWwiECNzL-w1K3iWMyN4DBvmtE1OiVy1W02AIJCtOPt8fOJnGc9CTmPP3LiWdgEOmPa1-B1JR1txTPaF1Gy031vRwiuivq3ASJ1e08d1LPC_Y/s640/11802795_10101023100780535_799732039185031567_o.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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The storeroom looked less like a room and more like a hive, a nest, the walls dripping in water and resin. Barrels were overturned, some floating in the deeper pools, and then there were the creatures themselves. Scattered all around the room, each was horrifying. Completely alien, the creatures stood taller than Kalgar, moved more gracefully than Tong, and wore the shadows better than Alvyn. They had two legs and a long, segmented, blade-tipped tail. Their heads were elongated and cylindrical, without any obviously visible eyes, and featured a large, powerful-looking jaw. The creatures were moving about the room, climbing the walls, and everything about them seemed so completely...right, actually. They seemed both an abomination against nature, and yet somehow its logical end. To see one creature was terrifying in both their appearance and their menacing grace, but to see so many, it would set your mind ablaze with fear.<br />
<br />
And, worst yet, at the back of the room, stood the queen. Larger than the rest, the queen was surrounded by a giant cobweb-textured sack. It occurred to our adventurers that she was about to spawn more!<br />
<br />
Tong stared at the nearest creature. Remembering some of the other horrible creatures he had seen before, he searched this...thing, this alien thing, for any sign of knowledge. He saw nothing but darkness. Sensing no redeeming qualities, Tong grabbed a warbead and whipped it at the alien.<br />
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It smacked off the creature's chest, its green blood splashed on the nearest barrel, hissing, bubbling, and melting right through it, covering the platform, and Tong's feet, in whale oil.<br />
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Kalgar rounded the corner, saw Tong's attack, trained his eyes on the same creature and challenged it to fight him! "You! Abomination! Come to me!" He threw his javelin and, with divine accuracy, it pierced the same area as Tong's attack. When the javelin returned to Kalgar's hand, he felt slight pain as the acidic blood dripped off the javelin onto his hand.<br />
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Alvyn moved out of the shadows, toward the door, and took a closer look at these alien creatures. He noted that they looked extremely strong, and that their hands and feet were quite large, even better for climbing walls. The queen was indeed birthing new creatures and, like her fellow creatures, had no eyes to be seen in her head.<br />
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Alvyn nodded, and changed his stance. Kalgar looked at Alvyn and nodded, and the two focused on the nearest creature.<br />
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Kalgar flashed his wings wide and slid to his left. Alvyn slid to the right, using the distraction to take aim. He fired two heavy slugs from his rifle, hitting the creature where its stomach should be, each slug impacting and starting to spin up. The rifle made a heavy thud sound and as Kalgar and Tong looked back, they noticed that Alvyn had upgraded his weapon, now using a slightly miniaturized boarding cannon, modified with several different types of ammunition and range sights.<br />
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Alvyn was smiling widely. "It works!"<br />
<br />
Suddenly, Kalgar's shoulders were grabbed from above! Hanging from the ceiling, the creature's long, clawed fingers dug into his shoulders. He screamed in pain! And the next creature moved into position, reared its head back like Kalgar often does when using <i>Dragonfear</i> and spewed acid at Kalgar and Tong!<br />
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"They're adapting!" Tong shouted.<br />
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Another creature leapt from the ceiling down toward Tong, and crushed him? No, wait! Tong's mistform body materialized next to his enemy and the two grappled. Another creature circled around the monk and wraps its long tail around his waist!<br />
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"Watch out!" Alvyn called.<br />
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Tong whirled around and punched the creature in the chest. His strike pushing the creature back a step.<br />
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An egg next to Kalgar split open and a tiny creature emerged and leapt at Kalgar's face!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAAn7nbDtkj-RPLUjcXIyooquQ3BzBnh1ThVZGbnNFBqBq9-twRAow0BfQghREeVll7n5rbtQlSki3fiX8Fk46ddMTsKUQi2ULHUA1dlc_zGakdVtqF54Q49jcNoO0P-3XIwMKF1p-__w/s1600/11834695_10101023202062565_2083570388176124748_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAAn7nbDtkj-RPLUjcXIyooquQ3BzBnh1ThVZGbnNFBqBq9-twRAow0BfQghREeVll7n5rbtQlSki3fiX8Fk46ddMTsKUQi2ULHUA1dlc_zGakdVtqF54Q49jcNoO0P-3XIwMKF1p-__w/s640/11834695_10101023202062565_2083570388176124748_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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In the back of the room, the queen started making some hissing noises, somehow coordinating the other creatures, who attacked again!<br />
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Two monsters, the one on the ceiling next to Kalgar, and the one next to Tong, grabbed our heroes and flung them deeper into the room, into some pools of water.<br />
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Regaining his feet, Tong drew one arm across his chest, and another in line with his body. Psionic energy rippled out from him, reaching into the creatures' minds and creating a projection of the creatures' past. This rippling, shimmering surface depicted the last creatures the monsters had consumed and, as the creatures stood there watching it, a powerful, cosmic fist smashes through the mirror, hitting the creature, and the shattered pieces impacted the creature, a nearby creature, and the floor and nearest support pillar.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmTTEqgPu5kCbE2k424YqWHU-IvrHwPB1a_eE_T6UPj302cMhiszgNimeTKalX8mZqV8e3r6fadC-Mvg_FL3_P5MZT2shCKtYEg_hbSUFGjcR2ZEhHIgH2rnyimKyLZNKbydHrr-E5kA8/s1600/11838561_10101023128964055_7360064286794462382_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmTTEqgPu5kCbE2k424YqWHU-IvrHwPB1a_eE_T6UPj302cMhiszgNimeTKalX8mZqV8e3r6fadC-Mvg_FL3_P5MZT2shCKtYEg_hbSUFGjcR2ZEhHIgH2rnyimKyLZNKbydHrr-E5kA8/s640/11838561_10101023128964055_7360064286794462382_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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All the monsters in the room turned and hissed at Tong.<br />
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Kalgar stood up, grabbed the monster clinging to his face, and ripped it off. He tossed it aside and flapped his massive wings once, leaping into the air and smashing into one of the creatures! With a massive roar, Kalgar brought his jade-coloured sword high and dared the monsters to strike him!<br />
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"Hey, you two, suck it up!" Alvyn called them as he saw them and what he saw was how injured his friends were, despite their bravado. His words had an inspiring effect, and Tong and Kalgar gained heart, along with their bravery.<br />
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<i>Surrounded by deadly mutated creatures, all along in this Aesian outpost, what will our heroes do? Stay tuned for the resolution of this fight!</i> </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-2080511796493934772015-12-16T12:25:00.000-05:002015-12-16T12:25:03.667-05:00The Long Game: The Caves of Calamity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Our adventurers were making their way west, to track the monster that had killed one of their crew. They did not know what it was, only that it likely came from <b>The Iron Tower</b> and that it was dangerous. Let's see what they find...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.8192px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Dallas Kasaboski</a></td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a>The water was very quiet. All they could hear were the splash of their paddles, occasionally interrupted by vines and roots as they passed near some nearby islands.</div>
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The fog was thick, Alvyn kept checking his compass. To his left, he could hear Kalgar mumbling, probably praying to Melora, goddess of the sea. To his right, Alvyn could hear Tong, also mumbling. Probably to Ioun.</div>
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"Could you two shut up?" Alvyn could never really be stealthy with these two around.</div>
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Hours pass, just as the adventurers started to worry that they may be lost, their kayaks brushed the shore. "At last. Our destination." Tong stated solemnly. </div>
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The island was small, but featured an old building, collapsed, made to look like a mausoleum. Upon investigation, the party discovered a staircase leading into the earth. Kalgar recalled buildings such as these leading to tunnels connecting chains of islands. Very useful for moving about quickly and without interruption.</div>
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"Hey, Tong, use your psychic powers, find the monster." Alvyn patted him on the back. Rolling his eyes in his head, Tong searched...and found nothing. Kalgar pulled out his javelin, recently upgraded, and placed a sunrod in the holster Alvyn had installed. He then proceeded down the staircase.</div>
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Damp, dark, and half-flooded, the water was up to Kalgar and Tong's waist, or in other words, above Alvyn's chin.</div>
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"Guys...blugh...this tunnel sucks!"</div>
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"This water reeks with the dead, rotted, mucus, Alvyn do you...oh..."</div>
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"Tong, can you lift Alvyn up?" Kalgar asks.</div>
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"Nah, I'm good." Alvyn rips a reed from the tunnel wall, lowers his goggles, and snorkels his way along.</div>
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Kalgar reached out to the wall and, using his dwarven bracers, tried to learn a little more about the tunnel's construction. "The walls are limestone, mortar is soft, breaking through, guys, don't poke at this."</div>
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Suddenly, Alvyn feels something poking at his fingertips. Relaxing his hand, Alvyn waited until whatever it was was in reach, then he ripped his hand out of the water revealing...a fish. "Ugh, it's nothing, Tong, keep looking for some alien emanations."</div>
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"What!? Alien emanations? Tell me your secrets!" Tong placed his hands on the fish.</div>
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"No, not the fish!" Alvyn threw it away.</div>
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Tong didn't feel anything from the fish, but he did feel something further up the tunnel.</div>
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Plowing through the muck and algae, Tong stopped them, "I sense the emotional residue...something, was in pain near here recently!" The party continued cautiously, the tunnel continued on and on, back in the direction of the Aesian outpost. </div>
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Some time later, they came to a T-intersection, and floating on the water at that point, was a body. It was floating face-down, the water was murky, red-brown with blood reflecting the light of the sunrod. Kalgar used his javelin to flip the body over. It was a female bronze dragonborn, wearing the current Aesian uniform, likely one of the scouts who didn't report back. Her chest was ripped open just as the party's shipmate, Malark Chenn, had been. Alvyn reached forward, and grabbed her discarded flare kit, which only had a yellow and green flare left. </div>
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"But...did the monster crawl its way out or in?" Tong wondered aloud.<br />
Sadly, the corpse was too mangled to even attempt to answer that question.<br />
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"Let's move on." Kalgar brushed his way past Tong, grabbed the collar of the corpse, and dragged it forward, down the tunnel.<br />
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They continued on in this way for quite a long time until the tunnel seemed to end. The ceiling had collapsed and the way was blocked. Alvyn, who was mostly submerged at this point, felt that there was a current, perhaps a passage running under the cave-in.</div>
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"Could we clear it?" Kalgar asked.<br />
"I don't think so, it might collapse even more." Alvyn replied.<br />
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Kalgar held the sunrod under the water, and asked Alvyn to look closer. Taking a closer look, the tunnel looked wide enough but Alvyn could not see how far it went.<br />
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"Looks like we're going swimming." the gnome said, upon surfacing.<br />
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"Wait! I have an idea!" Tong si Gong grabbed a leather satchel and breathed into it.<br />
"Here, Alvyn, I have contained my breath; halfway through the tunnel, you may breathe it in!"<br />
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"...you do not pay me enough." the gnome quipped. Sighing, Alvyn reached out his hand, taking the rope Kalgar was handing him. After tying it about his waist, Alvyn dove down. While Kalgar and Tong stood waiting, Alvyn counted the seconds. 10...30...1 minute...2 minutes had passed and, at this point, the tunnel seemed to slope upward. Thirty seconds later, Alvyn reached the other side. The tunnel was similar to the one he had just left, but with stalactites on the higher ceiling.<br />
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Through a complex series of tugs on the rope, Alvyn indicated that<br />
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"'All is well'" Tong said, "'the...forthcoming surroundings are heavy with stalagmites' no tites! 'please continue swimming, look forward to seeing you or, at least, your next missive.'<br />
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Tong clapped his hands together and dove into the murky water. Kalgar grabbed the corpse and quickly followed.</div>
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While waiting, Alvyn felt something gently touch his fingers. Remembering the fish from earlier, he ignored it. The tingling feeling continued. Tired of the water, the fish, everything, Alvyn used his <i>Boots of Levitation</i> to fly 10 feet upward, grabbing a stalactite above. Clinging to his leg was a crab. Alvyn examined it, and grabbed it.<br />
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Tong was the first to appear. Splashing loudly, the monk looked around, and saw no one.<br />
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"Alvyn? Alvyn? Oh Ioun! He must have been taken by that monster! Kalgar, hurry up!" He splashed the water and fell to his knees. Above him, the gnome's stomach hurt from holding in his laughter.<br />
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Underwater, Kalgar, still holding the fallen Aesian guard, felt something grab his ankle and began pulling him backward.<br />
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Between giggles, Alvyn looked at the water behind Tong. <i>That honourable baffoon is probably bringing the guard with him.</i><b style="font-style: italic;"> </b>Alvyn dropped the crab on Tong.<br />
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Back underwater, Kalgar kicked hard and managed to break free, moving forward, but not quickly. Reaching into his armour, Kalgar pulled on a pin known only to a few. When Alvyn originally made Kalgar's plate armour, he made sure to include a fail-safe, a flotation device, so that the sea-faring dragonborn wouldn't be at an unnecessary risk.<br />
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The armour plates expanded, small balloons inflated pushing on Kalgar's body, and he surged forward. The resistance on the body he was holding increased dramatically. Kalgar kicked and kicked, but his pace was slowing, he couldn't break free.<br />
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On the surface, Tong was kneeling, traumatized, thinking himself alone. Alvyn dropped beside him.<br />
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"What!? Who? You...Alvyn...wait, where's the big one?"<br />
"Probably dragging that corpse...still, it's been a while." Alvyn moved over to inspect the water.<br />
"Yes, the body is devoid of knowledge, why does he cling to it so?"<br />
"I don't know, we're going to have to talk to him about this."<br />
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Meanwhile, Kalgar was fighting a losing battle. He knew he could bring the corpse no further. He had seen death many times before, but this was unnecessary, brutal, and he wanted to bring the soldier back to her people. <i>I'm sorry</i>, he thought, and he let it go.<br />
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Released of his burden, Kalgar used both arms and legs to swim and kick off the walls, finally surfacing loudly beside his friends.<br />
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"Kalgar! Where have you been?" Tong asked.<br />
"What took you so long?" the gnome's eyebrows were raised.<br />
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Looking at them coldly, Kalgar pulled the pin again, deflating the armour.<br />
"Something grabbed me down there. Whatever it was was really strong."<br />
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"Ioun! We're being pursued by creatures from the deep!"<br />
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Suddenly something else surfaces and slams the three adventurers into a wall!<br />
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"Was it the creature?"<br />
"Was it that?"<br />
Alvyn and Tong ask simultaneously.<br />
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"Yes. I think so." Kalgar set his jaw and answered solemnly.<br />
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The three took off after it, but it was moving too quickly. The water was murky, thick, slowing them down. Kalgar reached back and whipped his javelin after it. It flew down the tunnel, struck the water, and reappeared back in his hand. No blood, nothing.<br />
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The three looked at each other. The creature was gone; it was so fast that the water in the tunnel had already settled down. Even with Tong's great speed, there was no way they could catch it.<br />
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"We need to warn the outpost. And get back to the kayaks." Kalgar advised.<br />
"Right. I will open my mind to the <i>Reverie </i>and..."<br />
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"I'm a ritual caster, Tong. I'll use <i>Sending</i>. Hmm, hold on, '<i>Aquatic monster imminent</i>'<i> </i>he counted the words out loud,<i> </i>'<i>traveling through tunnels, do not engage, wait for us, terrifyingly powerful, we're kayaking back, sandwiches please.</i>'" And after a few moments, Alvyn nodded. "She's received the message."<br />
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Traveling back up the tunnel, back to their boats, they rowed back as quickly as they could. Arriving early in the morning, the sky was alight with red flares. Danger, warning.<br />
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As their boats neared the shore, the three could hear shouting coming from the outpost. Kalgar suddenly stood up in his kayak, flapped his massive wings and leapt into the air. Landing hard on the prow of the <i>Shockrosia</i>, he immediately barked orders.<br />
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"Report!"<br />
Dwight was on deck, dealing with some rigging, "I don't know, they just started yelling!"<br />
"And all is fine here?" Kalgar grabbed some rope.<br />
"Yeah."<br />
"Fine. Stay here, stay vigilant. Alert status." And with that, he ran along the ship and leapt off.<br />
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Shoring up their boats, Tong looked over to Alvyn and said, "...we never do this kind of thing anymore. It's relaxing."<br />
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<i>Thump</i>.<i> </i>Kalgar landed beside them. Alvyn whistled, and one of the dwarves handed down a package, something Alvyn had been tinkering with earlier.<br />
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Kicking open the outpost door, the three saw Sora and her men in battle formation in front of the door to the main, underground, storehouse.<br />
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"Are you okay? We told you not to engage!" Tong said, his eyes glowing white, anticipating trouble.<br />
"We didn't engage" Sora replied, wiping her brow, "Something came out of there and grabbed Porset!"<br />
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"Is there another exit?" Tong asked, his hands out to his sides, simultaneously calm and extremely alert.<br />
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"Did anyone see what it was?" Kalgar demanded.<br />
"It was big, dark, no one was paying attention. It all happened so fast." Sora shot Kalgar a look of rage, undertoned with pleading concern.<br />
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"...so it was bigger than, say, the hole in our crewmen's chest?" Alvyn asked, cutting the tension.<br />
"Yes, much bigger. And, we haven't heard back from any of the other scouts, they haven't reported back in 5 hours!"<br />
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"Alright. We will need one of your heaviest, most powerful cannons, set up here, aimed at that door." Sora looked down at Alvyn, not used to taking orders from one so short.<br />
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"Load it, prime it, and all that stuff. Do not fire until I give the command. I'll use a yellow flare."<br />
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"You shouldn't be lighting flares in here."<br />
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"Yeah, well, there's a lot of things we shouldn't be doing, but we're doing them, so let's go!" Alvyn slung his latest experiment, from the ship, over his shoulder and moved toward the door.<br />
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"None of this is your fault...have you heard of Ioun? Here, here's some literature. That will help." the monk handed over a pamphlet to Sora and followed Kalgar and Alvyn to the door.<br />
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The three entered the double doors. To their back was a group of armed guards and a cannon ready to fire at a moment's notice. In front of them, a dark, murky storeroom that smelled like fish. Moving farther within, they noticed the large metal door, used to connect with the storage room below, smashed, seemingly from inside.<br />
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"It came from belowwww!" Tong said incredulously.<br />
"Yeah, we knew that!" Alvyn said, shutting him up.<br />
"Even I knew that." Kalgar grunted.<br />
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The passageway was wet, recently flooded, but also recently drained of water thanks to Kalgar's crew from earlier. The three sloshed through the ankle-deep water. Kalgar pulled out his javelin, fit a sunrod into the slot, and aimed the javelin down into the storeroom.<br />
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They couldn't see much other than barrels. Tong rolled his eyes and searched the plane, hoping to find some sign of life. He wasn't exactly sure what the creature was, nor what to look for, but he did end up sensing the life-force of 4 or 5 people below.<br />
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"I sense the living, but not the creature we're after...Ioun!"<br />
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Kalgar dropped down, his dragon-like wings slowing his fall.<br />
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"Bold!" Tong remarked.<br />
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Alvyn climbed on top of Tong, "Geddyup!"<br />
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"I'm not a horse! But I will, because we have to! Neigh!"<br />
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Splashing down below, the party observed the room. The tunnel progressed some 20 feet ahead, into a larger room, with a side tunnel off of that, possibly connecting to another room. Through the main tunnel, the open area was quite dark. Nothing moved.<br />
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"Tactics as usual?" the paladin asks.<br />
The monk and warlord confidently nod.<br />
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Here we go again!<br />
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<i>Stay tuned for more of this story in a future post!</i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-72821442011259065812015-11-28T09:30:00.001-05:002015-11-28T09:31:05.270-05:00New players? Use premade characters.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeQ6qOF7folI2Ul-DchCmmw4KWJi1VTHACCamjE7xj96rXTcY38QWulkjjD4VsunN7Z50ec0TyaRdjw9UMP5HBB66qBA-VRuirRHNttVupQ858xIMMcNVmvTn_06xIuTM7K4MaOlXCvU/s1600/Self-portrait+avatar+128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeQ6qOF7folI2Ul-DchCmmw4KWJi1VTHACCamjE7xj96rXTcY38QWulkjjD4VsunN7Z50ec0TyaRdjw9UMP5HBB66qBA-VRuirRHNttVupQ858xIMMcNVmvTn_06xIuTM7K4MaOlXCvU/s1600/Self-portrait+avatar+128.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dominic-matte.html">Dominic Matte</a></td></tr>
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After years of introducing people to D&D and seeing where people want to engage and struggle to do <b>never </b>involve creating a character.</div>
so, I've come to the conclusion that a person's first ever RPG session should <br />
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When you want to try something new, you want to <i>actually try it.</i> A new player who wants to try D&D wants to start roleplaying, experience awesome action and tense encounters and root out intrigue - not spend an hour referencing rules and copying text and doing math and cross-referencing. I ran a session for a new group recently, and even 5th edition's very simple and streamlined character creation took over an hour because none of the players had ever touched a tabletop RPG and every rule and many basic concepts were new to them. In fact I've actually watched potential players get bored and leave the table during character creation who never got to actually try the game.</div>
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When a newbie tells you they want to be a dwarf wizard who used to be in the military, it's much better to hand them a sheet and get started than it is to sit down and explain how Vancian spellcasting works and ask them to choose from a vast list of spells with no frame of reference. Handle the rules as they come up - don't say "before we get started, here's a quick overview of how combat works". Do say "you are ambushed by a foul-smelling gang of orc marauders! Roll initiative! Which means..." </div>
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In fact, new players are often more creative <i>before </i>they know how the rules work. When you have a list of options you tend to choose from the list, even if the list items are suggestions and not your only choices. A player who has no list of combat options is more likely to say "Can I do this crazy thing?", in which case your job as DM is to reply either "Yes, and here's how that works" or "No, because of X, but you could try Y".</div>
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This is all a long way of saying that over the years I've become a big fan of pre-made character sheets. Don't fuss over choices the new player doesn't understand and filling out numbers that have no meaning yet. Hand them a complete level 1 character (or the system equivalent) with a
minimum of backstory and <i>get started</i>. </div>
Dominic Mattehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09711711981365429057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-24034510068359238792015-11-22T13:54:00.002-05:002017-07-30T12:35:54.070-04:00Introducing Aseir (Al'Farok) Aerendgast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We've started a new D&D game here at D4sign! Don't worry, we'll continue playing <i>The Long Game</i>, but we're also playing a game run by fellow D4sign blogger, Mike! Today's post is all about my character for the game, and how he came to be!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6b2ast7HV2pcPRteTYM38k_g_98EgN93-8E5avSHupOp7KUp6VS6ryXPif3lBNMFvv4QKc6IYoVV-m-1Y4rXN9Clba3kDUdYn47ZrTSPAEX-5fZBMdf5ykgwdHcV_8hSUX41OsGVZ8U/s1600/photo.JPG" style="background: transparent; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 0px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.8192px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Dallas Kasaboski</a></td></tr>
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Before the game got started, the DM brought the players together to learn about the world of Saba. As will be made public and viewable soon, the world of Saba is broken into many continents, each with their own people, religions, and traditions. Our characters, each about 16/17 years old, were raised in a small farming community known as Bringamthorpe, on the continent known as The Commonwealth of the Great Provider. The Great Provider is also known as Erathis and, as such, the ideals of community, civilization, and invention are most prevalent.</div>
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Along with this, the players had to consider the fact that spirits and souls are a very real thing in the world of Saba. Simply put, everyone is born with a soul, which grows and develops, becoming one's main purpose/goal/desire in life. Spirits, however, are sentient creatures which often form on the basis of ideas (the spirit of community, for example), yet no matter their origin, spirits choose to bond with sentient creatures shortly after birth. Spirits drive a person's desires, their ambition, often sharing them. In this way, while a soul represents one's purpose, their spirit represents their drive. </div>
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Therefore, the players were encouraged to think about their character's soul purpose and spirit companion. Did they have a mighty and ambitious T-Rex (since dinosaurs exist in the world of Saba) or did they have a meek mouse?</div>
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Finally, the DM had some background elements that he wished to include in the game. It did not matter to him <i>who</i> had which feature, only that they be represented, to be used and developed later. To that end, I chose for my character to be a <i>spiritwalker </i>(able to see and communicate with the spirits) and to be taught the <i>old ways</i> of magic, whatever that meant. </div>
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The rest, was up to us.</div>
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As mentioned in a <a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/2015/10/making-magic-happen.html" target="_blank">previous blog post</a>, I had decided to play a wizard well before I knew anything about this game. I was excited about switching roles and trying something new, making it my own. </div>
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Reading through the 5th edition Player's Handbook (PHB), I decided that I wanted to play an elf. I have been playing a dragonborn for years, and a shifter before that; I don't like playing a human, I like being different, but I didn't want to be "that" different this time, plus it wouldn't make much sense in our current setting. Elves have some neat features which can really help a spellcaster, so I chose elf! After a perusal of elf subraces, I chose high-elf, favouring knowledge of magic over the classic wood elf, or the dark elf.</div>
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The choice of elf drove my character's backstory. Elves were not common in the <i>Commonwealth</i>, so I had to work up a reason as to how/why my character was there. The high Elves of Bel Marid, are lightly tanned, and primarily consist of the upper class. Why did my parents move? When? What were they doing before? </div>
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After a lot of thought, I worked with the DM to create the story that my parents used to live in Bel-Marid, before the last conflict between the two continents. They were Intelligence Officers, enjoyed their work, were good at it, gathering, organizing, decoding information. However, their work led them to learn that war was coming, and when my mother learned that she was pregnant, my parents' perspective changed. They did not want to live a life of conflict, and while they had grown up with the <i>Patient God</i>'s way of life, they were not as closely attached to those beliefs as others. Rather than leaving things to fate, they took their chances, used some contacts and money they had stashed away, and made their way to the <i>Commonwealth</i>. There, they acquired new identities, and set themselves up as the postmasters of Bringamthorpe. Over time, they began to embrace the ideas of the <i>Commonwealth</i>, but they still kept some traditions from their former life, including teaching me the <i>old ways</i> of magic.</div>
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It took a while to come up with these details, and I'm quite proud of them. They offer so much depth to my character that I will be able to draw on later. It explains why a high elf is living in the middle of rural <i>Commonwealth</i>, explains why I was taught the <i>old ways</i>, and gives me a lot to build off of in terms of personality, which I'll talk about in a moment.</div>
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5th Edition encourages the use of set Backgrounds which not only gives depth to a character, but offers statistical advantages, such as stat boosts and skill proficiency. Once again, our DM had some custom backgrounds, so I chose Tinkerer, which gives me proficiency in Investigate and Arcana, which allowed me to take other skills as a wizard.</div>
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So, tinker, wizard, elf, spirit-walker. With all this, I was able to think about my character's personality. My character is an optimistic, cheerful, friendly person, who spends his days working for his parents in the post office of Bringamthorpe. He dreams of adventure and exploring new lands, always wanting to learn more about the world, and the stories to be told within it. Raised with the ideals of the <i>Commonwealth</i>, my character believes strongly in community, yet respects the traditions his parents set down for him, without knowing exactly where they're from. He spends much of his time reading (fiction and non-fiction books about Saba), dreaming of adventure, and tinkering around with odd little inventions. He dreams of exploring the world and sharing knowledge and his inventions with others, to make the world a good and fun place.</div>
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For as long as he can remember, he can see the spirits. This is an extremely rare gift, and his parents warned him that many people would not understand. A person's spirit can be a very personal thing and others may not take too kindly to someone else being able to see that. So, my character keeps that to himself, his friends, and anyone he trusts. However, sometimes the spirits are just <i>too</i> funny! Sitting on people's heads, running around, so my character can't help but laugh! Thankfully, most people pass his interactions with the spirits off to his jovial, and absent-minded, nature.</div>
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If you've ever read or seen any fantasy, you may recall the stereotypically chipper, happy, young character. The one who dreams of being a knight, and the one who knows all the best stories. This was what I was going for with my character. If he could be a Ninja Turtle, he would be mostly Michelangelo with some Donatello thrown in. It's great when you find an idea that works that even Fate seems to agree with, as you'll see below.</div>
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5th Edition also encourages new characters to have a trinket, some memento from their early life. Rolling the dice, I ended up getting a pipe that blows bubbles. This is perfect! Fun, silly, while appearing serious, I was thrilled to add this to my character's equipment. </div>
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Next, spirit animal, what to choose? I needed something that reflected my character's nature. Something cute, fun, silly, but maybe somehow also reflected the idea of community. A friend suggested the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fennec_fox" target="_blank">Fennec Fox</a>, and one look at it helped me make the decision.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTz6sMYxb4Y0wqcXhtjXmorSdeLGRxKvz3QQ8YRyArZ6AkCdxNYCAbDwpbzrWBJq0jeuTKa9DMijO53U2on8CYIfoT3F7fSA8gsu0OLLxwnJfVfs8PRkrBhYMTdnCLql25Z_SemaT-Yk/s1600/Fennec+Fox+-+Ash%2527s+Spirit+Companion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTz6sMYxb4Y0wqcXhtjXmorSdeLGRxKvz3QQ8YRyArZ6AkCdxNYCAbDwpbzrWBJq0jeuTKa9DMijO53U2on8CYIfoT3F7fSA8gsu0OLLxwnJfVfs8PRkrBhYMTdnCLql25Z_SemaT-Yk/s400/Fennec+Fox+-+Ash%2527s+Spirit+Companion.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Finally, his name. This part usually takes me the longest. Names are very important to me, and I take a long time to make sure the name works because I'll be stuck with it for a long time. I wanted something foreign sounding (Egyptian if possible, since Bel Marid is similar), something that could be shortened to something fun and easy. After a lot of research, I came up with Aseir (Al'Farok) Aerendgast! Aseir can be shorted to Ash, which is how he usually uses it, Al'Farok is his true last name known only by his parents, and Aerendgast is Old English for "errand-spirit", perfect for a spirit-walking son of a postmaster.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVuvOV6OXcwqtntTZ-YTjxa9gIsZll3_al8BPsP-qBsKSkaU_X2QWH61Cv3p9SC0Kfi_BamqR8rG8UhrTWwGD3lONhIoWm9MzoKMkENobN1c7cf0xmSop7PpLNtLZruzNoX_htlEs7Mw/s1600/Aseir+%2528Al%2527Farok%2529+Aerendgast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVuvOV6OXcwqtntTZ-YTjxa9gIsZll3_al8BPsP-qBsKSkaU_X2QWH61Cv3p9SC0Kfi_BamqR8rG8UhrTWwGD3lONhIoWm9MzoKMkENobN1c7cf0xmSop7PpLNtLZruzNoX_htlEs7Mw/s400/Aseir+%2528Al%2527Farok%2529+Aerendgast.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And here he is! Special thanks to Juliette for drawing him! I'm very excited about this character, this drawing, and this game! I look forward to discovering the world of Saba!<br />
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Thanks for reading!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-78759234242993680682015-11-21T12:39:00.001-05:002015-11-22T13:33:34.428-05:00The Long Game: Intrigue with a Side of Indigestion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Greetings, fair traveler, and welcome back to D4sign! Let's continue The Long Game! When last we left our adventurers, they had barely sailed their ship to an outpost in Aes, Kalgar's home country. There, they were recuperating, and waiting to speak with Admiral Draksha concerning Kalgar's fate...<br />
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<br />
<a name='more'></a>All was quiet. The <i>Shockrosia</i>, such as it was, was docked at the island outpost in the south of Aes. The view was bleak; fog lay heavy and humid in every direction, and the wind barely stirred.<br />
<br />
Beside the <i>Shockrosia</i>, only one other ship was docked, one of the <i>Angrimich Shivi's</i>. From there, the tower that stood as both watchtower and lighthouse, could barely be seen through the fog.<br />
<br />
At the end of one of the empty piers, monk Tong si Gong sat, cross-legged, giving a lecture on psionic morals to a series of disciples, fading in and out of reality through the <i>Reverie. </i>The mystical realm allowed the teachings of Ioun, and its followers, to stay connected all around the world. Tong took a deep breath, the fog of the <i>Reverie</i> mixing with the fog of Aes.<br />
<br />
Later in the day, Captain Sora, dragonborn Aesian sailor in charge of this outpost, took our adventurers on a tour of the small outpost. Leading away from the piers, the island slopes upward, revealing a bunker whose height was half buried in the ground, with the tower above that. Inside, there were four sailors sitting at a table, playing cards, braziers burned along the walls. While it was very warm outside, inside was worse, combining the humidity and the fire's heat. Down the hall, there were doors leading to other rooms, storage and such, and to lower levels. One passage led to a spiral staircase leading up, to the tower.<br />
<br />
The ship and crew had a few days respite from their latest adventurers; Sora informed them that Admiral Draksha was on her way and would arrive in a few days' time.<br />
<br />
Sora and Kalgar stood on his ship, the wind had picked up some.<br />
"Does this outpost have any spare supplies, for ship repair?" Kalgar asked, he could tell Sora was not liking the humidity so he flexed his wings, creating a breeze.<br />
<br />
"Some, yes, but not all of the damage can be fixed with our supplies here. You may need to go to a more equipped outpost." Sora answered, welcoming the breeze.<br />
<br />
Kalgar nodded, and called over some of the crew, Kildrak, Vondal, and Logann, three of the crew's most able smiths and tinkerers, and told them, "We don't have a lot of materials here, so do what you can, keep the ship afloat-"<br />
<br />
One of the dwarfs scoffed at him, ostentatiously.<br />
<br />
"-yes, well, you have time. Work on some new designs, we have a chance here to make the ship even better!" The dwarves nodded and descended below decks.<br />
<br />
At that moment, Tong approached, "Kalgar, I have a question for you."<br />
<br />
"I've thought for much length on your journey and mine, and while I was musing over my own training with my disciples, it occurred to me that we are walking a narrow and stormy path, one that leads to your death. Do you find these prophecies true, in your own heart?" Tong's hair, robes, and spiritual energy swayed according to their own logic.<br />
<br />
Kalgar frowned and said, "I think...I think it's going to be one of the most dangerous paths that I've ever taken. One that I started years ago, but it's also...it's time. It has to be done. We are the ones to move this forward. We've gone through some crazy stuff so, we are the ones to make this happen, if we're not stupid."<br />
<br />
"I've walked away from my own past, I've left Canitian history as an eternally-closed home. Could you not do the same!?" the lines of stress and concern were showing on Tong's face.<br />
<br />
If it were possible for Kalgar to look more stern, he did so. "Look. The whole world is starting to build to war. Aes is the country I know the best, and if we can make a stand, here, then we have a place to fall back on and we have a place to build <i>from</i>. That's my thinking."<br />
<br />
Tong tried to interrupt him, but was cut off.<br />
<br />
"Because we really don't have anywhere <i>else</i> to go. Canitia, as you said, you've abandoned, Chalybs is besieged, we really don't have a single place that we can call our own, beyond the other reasons I have for wanting to make Aes better, that's another good one. We need to start fixing things!"<br />
<br />
Tong nodded deeply. "Your tongue is like a rope connected to the mighty belfry of your heart."<br />
<br />
"...yes?" Kalgar answered, hesitantly.<br />
<br />
Tong gives a knowing smile, as if Kalgar's 'yes' contains cosmic profundity, and then exclaims, "Perhaps this is the <i>first</i> thing we will be able to...unbreak?" Looking at his hands, Tong walked away.<br />
<br />
As the monk walked away, Kalgar called out, "Keep an eye out for Alvyn!"<br />
<br />
"You haven't seen him?"<br />
<br />
"No, he snuck off somewhere."<br />
<br />
During all of this, Alvyn had been walking around the outpost. He spent years learning how to keep himself hidden, gathering information on his friends and foes alike, why would now be any different? The island was quite small, his recon taking less than an hour, and satisfied that he knew all there was to learn, he came back.<br />
<br />
"Alvyn! Where have you been? Was it another spiritual journey of your shattered past, involving the entire pantheon of gods?" Tong asked, recalling another incident in Aes, and exaggerating the current situation, as always.<br />
<br />
"No." Alvyn said, handing some Aesian hardtack to Kalgar. "Just like old times."<br />
<br />
Alvyn's recon had not revealed much new to him, Sora had showed them most of the outpost, but he had learned that the lower levels of the outpost appeared to be flooded, their doors blocked off. The tower's masonry was quite old and was showing obvious signs of wear.<br />
<br />
Tong stared at the hardtack, an Aesian sailor's common ration, and said, "This reminds me of the Scroll of Mindfulness, 'The hard man's soul is like hardtack, impossible to chew."<br />
<br />
Ignoring that, Kalgar waved over another dwarf, "Do you think we could do something about that?" he nodded toward the tower. The dwarf seemed unsure, saying that much of it had to be de-flooded first. Kalgar instructed a few dwarves to check out the tower, in their spare time, see if there was something they could do, to repay the kindness Sora had showed them.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Tong's eyes lit up, "...hardtack, impossible to chew...Wait!" Thinking about the Scrolls of Mindfulness, Tong si Gong realized that this wasn't one of the Scrolls, he had just created it! Out of his own mind, it was an utterance on the same level as that he had learned in the temple. His eyes shone white as he pointed his finger down at his upturned palm. Kalgar and Alvyn recognized this, Tong was preaching into the <i>Reverie</i> again. His words, visualized in spectral light as he spoke them, disappeared into that other place.<br />
<br />
Sora had other duties to perform, so she left the ship and walked back to the tower. Kalgar kept his crew busy with ship repairs and maintenance, and any crew not thus occupied, Kalgar was leading them through some fighting exercises, battle drills.<br />
<br />
Alvyn left the ship, quietly, again, returning with an <i>Angrimich Shivi</i> cannon. Taking it down to the hold, Alvyn dropped it off in front of the dwarves and said, "Here, let's make this better." It was a boarding cannon, specially designed to fire many lines at once, catching a nearby ship and securing it in place.<br />
<br />
Kalgar approached Alvyn, opened his bag, and said, "Do you see any problem in making a cloak out of this?"<br />
<br />
Looking into Kalgar's bag was kind of horrifying. It was a <i>Bag of Holding</i> so it could carry a lot of things quite easily, and looking into such a bag often brought a sense of vertigo, nausea. This feeling would be made worse if, like Kalgar, you kept one of every type of weapon you had ever found, a few magical weapons, a few magically-stripped weapons, oh, and the heads of the dragons you and your allies had killed so far.<br />
<br />
However, Alvyn, has had a tough life so after looking around, he said, "No, not a problem." And jumped right in.<br />
<br />
Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar had learned the great secret of the world, that the dragons were not extinct and were in fact playing a secret game for rule of Cyfandir. The dragons had a set of very strict, but loosely interpreted, rules that they had to follow, one of the strictest is to keep their existence secret. So far, our adventurers had defeated two fully grown dragons and a younger one, and Kalgar had kept their severed heads, both as trophy, but also for a strange reason he could not entirely identify. Mostly, he presumed they may be needed at some point, so he kept them safe.<br />
<br />
Kalgar's thinking regarding the cloak was fairly straight-forward. Intimidation spurs others to fight, or to cower. Kalgar used intimidation to challenge foes and lead his crew. While the cloak itself would not do much to regular foes, Kalgar thought it may infuriate the next dragon they met, and Kalgar grinned at the image he was making for himself.<br />
<br />
The next couple of days were mostly uneventful, as Kalgar's crew worked on repairs both on the ship and on the outpost tower. Inside the tower, the dwarves removed some water and patched up some of the structure, but they noted that there was too much rubble and water in the lower levels and so the main storehouse was closed. One of the older solders noted that the room had been used for storing larger and more extensive supplies, ship masts, gunpowder, etc.<br />
<br />
Toward the end of the fourth day, three flares cut through the fog from somewhere in the north, signalling Admiral Draksha's impending arrival. As Kalgar watched this from the prow of his ship, one of his lieutenant's, Dwight, approached him.<br />
<br />
"Sir? Sir! Uh...it's Chenn...Chenn's dead, there's blood everywhere!"<br />
<br />
Kalgar quickly recalled him. Malark Chenn. The juggler. Kalgar and his crew had picked him, and others, up in the <i>Crimson Fields</i> in Aurum, after <a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/2013/07/when-gods-collide.html" target="_blank">the incident in Hyacintho</a>. Chenn was an entertainer, always looking to make people laugh, enjoy life. It was a tough role, considering how serious our adventurers can be, but Malark brought a spark of life and adventure to the ship, and lead many a merry tune on long nights.<br />
<br />
"Where? In the hold? On the ship?" Kalgar grabbed Dwight's shoulders, then waved over Alvyn and Tong over.<br />
<br />
Sora, sensing some issues, signaled to the Admiral to halt her progress, until they worked out what was wrong.<br />
<br />
Some of the dwarves were tugging their beards and muttering.<br />
<br />
"He looked alright, a little under the weather, maybe."<br />
"We thought it was just motion sickness, or altitude sickness."<br />
"There was <a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.com/2013/06/when-storms-collide.html" target="_blank">that storm</a> after all."<br />
<br />
Walking down into the hold, Haymitch was there, squinting at the body. There, Malark Chenn laid facedown, in his own blood. Alvyn looked closely, there were no noticeable wounds on this side. In the blood, there were streak marks like something had been dragged through it.<br />
<br />
Kneeling down, Kalgar grabbed Chenn's shoulder, and flipped him over. Chenn's face was contorted in pain and fear, and his chest was ripped open. Blood, guts, organs, all violently ripped apart.<br />
<br />
Taking out some of his surgical tools, which he had acquired from the Iron Tower, Alvyn inspected the body. It appeared as if something had ripped itself out from the inside. A closer inspection led him to believe that something had been growing in Chenn before he died, as the organs were compressed, like something had been pushing against them for some time.<br />
<br />
"Tong..." Kalgar called, eyes closed as he voiced words to Kord and Melora, his patron gods.<br />
<br />
"Yes." the monk answered.<br />
<br />
"Can you take a good look around?" Kalgar knew that Tong's psionic abilities allowed him to see things beyond the material plane. Tong's eyes rolled in his head as he reached out with his mind. He could sense the people in this room, the energy of life leaving Malark, and he could sense others on the ship. He reached out farther, sensing Sora, her soldiers, even the guard in the lighthouse who was confused by the delay on Admiral Draksha's ship. He could even tune his thoughts to catch the life-force of small animals scuttling and living on/around the island. However, none of what he could sense was unusual.<br />
<br />
Upon hearing this, Alvyn asked around, looking to see if anyone else was feeling sick. No one was.<br />
<br />
"Did Chenn follow any specific deity, perhaps someone who begins with an O, and ends with an rcus?" Tong asked. In spite of the situation, Alvyn and Kalgar smiled, Orcus being the orc demigod.<br />
<br />
Kalgar snorted, "Chenn didn't follow any god other than coin and a good audience."<br />
<br />
Tong scowled, "I hope he finds his way into the Infinite Knowing, this is no fate for an entertainer!"<br />
<br />
Nothing within the wound appeared alien to Chenn, Alvyn noted. Moving out from the body, Alvyn inspected the streaks of blood on the floor. Looking around, the adventurers noted that whatever was here had left the ship.<br />
<br />
"Perhaps this is now under the purview of Aesian military law, and no longer an issue for our ship." Tong noted.<br />
<br />
"Pretty sure the dead guy on our ship makes it our problem." Alvyn quipped.<br />
<br />
"Ah, your retort burns, like a hot poker."<br />
<br />
Alvyn looked at Kalgar, "We should find an arcanist." Alvyn found himself in an amusing situation. All of his life, he had been a powerful wizard, too powerful in fact, but since his transformation, he had no innate magical ability. "We could use him to maybe scry or track down what was here."<br />
<br />
"Sounds good." Kalgar said.<br />
<br />
"I'm wondering if we should lie, to Sora and the Admiral." Tong suggested.<br />
<br />
"Isn't Ioun all about truth and knowledge?" Kalgar retorted.<br />
<br />
"Knowledge is dangerous. A fire in your brazier provides light, a fire in your hands provides wounds."<br />
<br />
Kalgar was looking to wound someone, getting more upset by the minute, "Whatever direction we take on the truth-telling, we have to start fixing our problems." He stalked up to the upper deck. Calling over the sailors on duty, he told them to stay very vigilant, rotate the guard duty, and he flagged Sora, asking for any arcanist she had to come over.<br />
<br />
Soon, a figure approached the gangplank. With giant bushy eyebrows, skinny arms, and thick legs, the man introduced himself as Porset. Kalgar led him over to Alvyn, whose knowledge trumps his own in these matters.<br />
<br />
Staring up at him with his coal-black eyes, and sharp teeth, Alvyn said, "Not to be rude, but to be blunt, how powerful are you?"<br />
<br />
Taking slightly aback by this, the man answered, "Well, quite strong with wind-magic specifically."<br />
<br />
"How about <i>real</i> magic?"<br />
<br />
The mage frowned quite hard.<br />
<br />
"So, I imagine scrying to not be too high on your list of skills."<br />
<br />
Kalgar interjected, "Could...could you help him, with you knowledge?"<br />
<br />
Alvyn rocked his head from side to side. "Well, maybe, I could help direct him. Look, something was here" he shows the man the corpse of Chenn, "and I need you to find it. Now there are two ways you can do this-"<br />
<br />
"Some...<i>thing</i>?" the man looked skeptical.<br />
<br />
"Yeah, well, the chest bits, mostly. There's a hole, obviously something was in this hole, I need you to find it. Because it was either taken, or it left.<br />
<br />
"Alriiiiight."<br />
<br />
"Scrying is the most efficient technique for this, but if that's too much, we have other options."<br />
<br />
Sitting down next to the body, the man stuck his hands in the blood and smeared it all over his face.<br />
<br />
"Heretical!" Tong cried out, and left.<br />
"You Aesians are <i>so</i> gross!" Alvyn shook his head.<br />
"This isn't a tradition of ours." Kalgar says, staring intently at the man.<br />
<br />
Dwight threw up.<br />
<br />
"This could take a few hours." the man said.<br />
<br />
Suddenly, Alvyn had another idea, "Tong. What do we know about this person? Nothing. We know it came out of a person, but where do you imagine we could find information on things like this?"<br />
<br />
"A book!"<br />
<br />
"Yes, and do you know anyone we could ask to read, say, 1000 books at once?"<br />
<br />
"Yeah, me!"<br />
<br />
"No, do you think you could ask your people to look around and try to find information on this for us?"<br />
<br />
"Yes! Great idea! I will use an old technique, older than my old master Ting Tang Wong Gong, to instruct my disciples to look, the ancient technique of Goo-gal!" Suddenly a plume of smoke erupted from Tong, revealing the <i>Eidolawn Fortress</i>, the realm between the <i>Reverie</i> and the Astral Sea. Tracing the connection back through the lineage of the old masters, Tong searched for information.<br />
<br />
"No...nothing. They have seen nothing like this before."<br />
<br />
All of their investigation lead our adventurers to feel more and more certain that the creature was from the Iron Tower. The Iron Dragon had been experimenting, creating abominations, this must be one of her new, terrible creatures.<br />
<br />
Returning to the body, Kalgar asked Alvyn and the sorcerer, "We can move this body, yes? It doesn't have to stay here?"<br />
<br />
"Yeah, I'd like to keep it. We may need to study it further."<br />
<br />
Kalgar knelt down, picked up the body, and wrapped it in some of the materials from the old sails. He placed the body on Alvyn's workbench, and handed a mop to Dwight who still looked very shaken.<br />
<br />
"Dwight, you're a lieutenant, act like it. Blood is like water, get it off my ship." For a moment, Kalgar's intimidating stance took on an almost fatherly tone, and Dwight strengthened his resolve.<br />
<br />
Climbing the stairs, Kalgar reached the main deck, there he found Sora, "What's going on?" she asked.<br />
<br />
Kalgar had known Sora for a very long time. She knew him as he had been before, and as he was now. He would not lie to her. He told her all about Chenn and their investigation, and mentioned the thought that the threat came from the Iron Tower. He apologized for bringing this to her, but asked for her help, and for her knowledge and discretion in dealing with the Admiral.<br />
<br />
She nodded, gravely, and told Kalgar that they had to have a better assessment of the threat before the Admiral would even think about coming in. Kalgar promised her that they were still looking, and would do everything they could to find it.<br />
<br />
Heading back below deck, Alvyn, Tong, yielded no new information, but the sorcerer deduced that the creature may have gone west to one of the nearby isles. He told the party that there were some nearby islands with some tunnels beneath them which had been used to move between the island without arousing suspicion. If the creature was not here, it may be there, he suggested.<br />
<br />
"So you're not completely useless. But mostly. Work on that." Alvyn quipped, Porset frowned. "And wash your face!"<br />
<br />
Getting some Aesian long-kayaks from Sora, Kalgar instructed his crew to stay extremely vigilant.<br />
<br />
"Yeah, and if any of you start acting weird or sick in any way, don't forget to kill yourself and have someone examine your body!" Kalgar looked down at Alvyn, who was smiling mischievously.<br />
<br />
The dragonborn sighed. "Belay that." With a strict, military pivot, Kalgar turned on his heel and walked away. Sora told Kalgar that the western patrol had not returned.<br />
<br />
Sighing, Kalgar placed his hand behind Sora's head, and she returned the gesture. They leaned together and closed their eyes. It was a very intimate gesture.<br />
<br />
Our three adventurers pushed off with their kayaks, hoping to confront the creature and get some answers.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned next time for more exciting adventure from The Long Game!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-17607581606282313482015-10-18T09:43:00.000-04:002017-06-26T12:35:02.339-04:00Making Magic Happen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I used to have a problem with magic in D&D. For years, I avoided playing a magic-user, and would go so far as to <i>ignore</i> magic in games. This has changed recently, and I'm about to tell you why.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.8192px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Dallas Kasaboski</a></td></tr>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a>My D&D characters are often incredibly martial, with no connection to magic. When our games required magic, my character would scoff and leave the task to someone else. It started off as a kind of personality crutch; it was something different, and something I could easily cling to to form my characters' personalities. It was also inspired by other people and their reaction to magic.<br />
<br />
Magic in D&D is a given. Unless otherwise stated by your DM, magic is an expected element in the game, as prevalent as air and many are able to call upon its mystical forces. However, early on, I sensed something off about the way 4th Edition sees magic.<br />
<br />
While it is an ever-present force, I disliked the assertion that magic was easy and easily accessible. I felt that, like any skill, magic required training, practice, consistency. This was likely enhanced by my playing a martial character, thinking about my character's training, but I did not like how <i>easy</i> magic seemed to be. Spells could be cast, rituals performed, all at the mere cost of a Standard Action, and some components, which were often not difficult to obtain. Sometimes, I did not mind the ease and spontaneity of magic; sorcerers are a prime example of how fun and undisciplined magic can be. But, often, I found even the strictest wizards lacking in the seriousness that I believed to be involved with having the ability to tear physics apart.<br />
<br />
This is not a comment on the play-style of my friends. Not at all. Any problems I have are my own, and stem not from my friends, but from 4th Edition itself. I have never played any earlier versions of D&D, so I did not realize that 4th Edition magic was extremely streamlined for ease of use. After learning about it, I came to understand the issues earlier editions had concerning magic. I nodded my head, tamed my dislike of magic, and came to enjoy it, but I still didn't really want to play a magical character.<br />
<br />
Then, 5th Edition came out, and I became interested.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
One of my friends, and fellow D4sign blogger, Mike, came to me with a new concept for a new campaign, a 5th edition campaign. Before I heard anything about this game, I had decided that I wanted to play a 5e caster, a magic user. As I mentioned, this was such a rare thing for me that all of my friends stopped what they were doing and asked me if I was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jc-QpgmcTI" target="_blank">sure</a>.<br />
<br />
But I <i>was</i> sure. After reading through the rules for spellcasting in 5th Edition, I must say that I have become very excited about playing a spellcaster.<br />
<br />
<div>
4th Edition flavour for magic was too simple; with a wink, gesture, wave of your hand, things happened. Sure, much is <i>supposed</i> to be left to the imagination, but I wasn't satisfied.<br />
<br />
5th Edition, however, seems to have done a great job of keeping magic "simple", like in 4th Edition, while adding structure and balance, like in earlier editions. The rules of spellcasting are in their own chapter, detailing such things as the area of effect, schools of magic, components, and an interesting notion known as <i>Concentration</i>.<br />
<br />
If you're a D&D expert, perhaps much of this is familiar to you from earlier versions, however, to me, this was brand new, and very exciting! All divine, arcane, and primal magic can be broken into different schools (conjuration, evocation, divination, etc.), creating a consistent, yet diverse nature of magic. Some may not like this consistency, as many enjoy there being completely different "types" of magic, but I think it is interesting.<br />
<br />
The <i>most </i>interesting aspects, to me, are the components and concept of concentration. All spells require components, and these components are broken into Verbal, Somatic, and Material. It is assumed that you always have the components you need (unless they are expensive and rare) and you can do without components by using a spellcasting focus. However, since each spell details the components required for casting, this provides an excellent resource from which to roleplay. Now, I can completely imagine what is required to cast a spell. Instead of just a simple wink, perhaps some gold dust must be rubbed between my fingers while I recite some Draconic. Maybe I clap two lodestones together while saying nothing.<br />
<br />
Next, we have Concentration. Simply put, some spells require the caster to concentrate in order to sustain the effect. Perhaps you are summoning a creature to fight for you, or creating a magical wall of protection, whatever the case, sometimes you cannot simply "cast and forget". The rules for sustaining concentration are pretty simple: don't take damage, don't cast another concentration spell, and don't become incapacitated or killed. This element of spellcasting forces the player to strategize, and prioritize their spells. They have to play smarter when they're trying to sustain a spell, and they must be careful not to train only in concentration spells.<br />
<br />
I really like this. In 4th Edition, you could sustain a spell by using your Minor Action, but there was no limit to how long those spells could last, except for being incapacitated or killed, of course. Concentration conjures (pun always intended), the idea that magic can be influenced and interrupted by the world around the caster, and so even the most chaotic of sorcerers must account for what is going on around them.<br />
<br />
I know what some of you are saying, "It's magic! It's not <i>supposed </i>to be consistent or well-understood!" I get it, I really do. Some of the best moments in fiction occur because of the power of belief (in oneself, see Gurren Lagann, in a divine power, see The Dresden Files' Grave Peril), where the magic seems to <i>just</i> happen, not through rigorous or disciplined study, but because it is magic; magic normally doesn't have any rules.<br />
<br />
And honestly, I am fine with that. Magic can be the antithesis to physics; not based on a strict set of theories, models, and rules. However, it should not be <i>easy</i>. And when there are no defined rules, there are no limits on what can be done, nor how. The 5th Edition rules make sense to me; they're easy to follow and they allow a certain amount of effort in order to cast magic. The consistency of these rules allows me to flavour my spells so that they feel familiar, as if I had truly learned them myself.<br />
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When I started this new game, I gave a lot of thought as to the way I had learned and cast my spells. I chose my spells very carefully, to fit my character, his background, and my desired play-style. And I wrote out the components for the spell. By the end of the first session, the players around the table were able to recall some of my more called-upon spells. Just like a fighter and his classic fighting move, I like the idea that when I weave my hands in a certain way, and shout certain "Draconic" phrases, that my allies will smile, knowing what's coming.<br />
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</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-43481139966261086452015-07-25T16:10:00.003-04:002015-07-25T16:10:56.651-04:00Developing Starfall: a story-first approach<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeQ6qOF7folI2Ul-DchCmmw4KWJi1VTHACCamjE7xj96rXTcY38QWulkjjD4VsunN7Z50ec0TyaRdjw9UMP5HBB66qBA-VRuirRHNttVupQ858xIMMcNVmvTn_06xIuTM7K4MaOlXCvU/s1600/Self-portrait+avatar+128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeQ6qOF7folI2Ul-DchCmmw4KWJi1VTHACCamjE7xj96rXTcY38QWulkjjD4VsunN7Z50ec0TyaRdjw9UMP5HBB66qBA-VRuirRHNttVupQ858xIMMcNVmvTn_06xIuTM7K4MaOlXCvU/s1600/Self-portrait+avatar+128.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dominic-matte.html">Dominic Matte</a></td></tr>
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When I work on a D&D game, I start with a core idea for a world or story (for example, what if dragons were secretly playing a game for the fate of the world and no one knew). Then I build the world in excessive detail, including history, politics, organizations, and characters. When I write in an event (or when the players do) I want to know how it'll affect the world, and
for that I need to have the world ready in working detail. Once I'm satisfied with the expansive planning, I star play, adding more to the story and world on a session-by-session basis as the players explore and learn about what's going on. </div>
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At least, that's how I <i>usually </i>work on a D&D game. I've been slowly kicking out ideas for a campaign that I'm tentatively calling Starfall (after three or four rejected titles over the years), and I've been taking a different approach than I normally do. I may have mentioned it here before, earlier in the process. I've been building a framework of story in distinct arcs with specific themes around the core concept, adding and subtracting and re-organizing as I make progress.<br />
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This is new territory for me. I usually overprepare my worldbuilding so that no matter what the player characters do, I know how the world and NPCs will respond, and no matter where they go I'll know what they find. But with Starfall I'm looking at 30 pages of typed notes on the campaign's plot outline with zero worldbuilding on anything that's not directly relevant to the story.</div>
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Which is not to say that I'm planning a strict railroad. Starfall won't be as open-ended as the campaign I'm currently running (The Long Game), but each arc has at least two major decision points or significant forks for succeeding or failing particular challenges, and a key early player decision will be the basis for a huge amount of important stuff later on.</div>
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Anyway. I'm planning the game to take place over 1,500 years across eight "books", each divided into two or three chapters. Each chapter is its own smaller themed story that contributes to the book's arc, and each book will arm the players with more knowledge and resources to combat the growing threat. Book eight, the big finale, will be the culmination of everything the players have learned and experienced and accumulated as they face down the threat once and for all.</div>
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This structure and time span demanded that I work out all the major themes and ideas and arcs if I wanted to fit in everything I had in mind, and that wasn't easy since it's not what I'm used to. I didn't even start with that firm eight-book structure in mind, only that I wanted the campaign to take place over a long time.</div>
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The core idea I started with was of a young, pre-civilization world corrupted by something from the Far Realm (D&D's H.P. Lovecraft dimension) and that the players would take on the roles of various characters throughout history battling the corruption as it spread over a thousand years, with the final group of characters inheriting the knowledge and experience of those who came before. That makes for two easy starting points: a prologue set at the end of the world where the final characters begin to learn the world's history, and Book One chronicling the point of first contact and the initial response to the infection. It also created an easy finale: the do-or-die confrontation where the final characters attempt to purge the corruption once and for all.</div>
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With a beginning and end in mind, I started chipping away at the middle. I had a few ideas, such as the first organized attack that proves the corruption has an agenda of some kind, the emergence of psionics in response to the touch of the Far Realm, the emergence of a rival group to the PCs, and the point where the corruption becomes so expansive that it overwhelms the natural spirits of the world. This stage in planning got pretty chaotic as I fleshed out the particulars of these developments and shuffled them around when the order stopped making sense. Cuts and additions were made here and there, and I slowly firmed up the timeline as I considered which themes would be relevant to which events and in which order.</div>
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As I slowly plugged away at things over the years, the thought developed that maybe I didn't want to build this as a standard D&D world with elves and dwarves and halflings. I figured maybe I'd self-publish the campaign as a free ebook one day, and to do that I'd have to stay away from anything copyrighted (and for the biggest reach it would also help to make the campaign setting- and system-agnostic). The video game <i>Dragon Age: Origins</i> was also a big influence in that direction - I didn't like the game because I felt that the writing and worldbuilding tried to put their own unique spin on fantasy tropes and races but came off as lazy and uninspired (my reasoning is explained in more detail in my review of the game). I decided that I wouldn't use the standard D&D races or pantheon or cosmology. I'd make up my own deities and religions. All people would be human, though they'd have different physical characteristics and abilities determined by the magic of the world through the location of their birth.</div>
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This decision didn't actually have a huge influence on the game's development, not at first. At first it just meant that I removed references to non-human races and (temporarily) all traces of religion. I kept working on the game, mostly very slowly, adding something here and there when I had a neat idea but not actively developing.</div>
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The biggest change in direction, and a big help in focus, was when I read Jeff Vandermeer's novel <i>Annihilation</i>. It's sort of like a modern version of Lovecraft. The big thing that stuck out to me was that the otherworldly threat was not an elder evil as in Lovecraft's work, but rather something simply <i>different </i>from anything we can understand. Its behaviour and goals (if any) are incomprehensible, but not evil or malicious - it simply is, and does what it does.</div>
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Reading this novel convinced me to pull back on the sheer Lovecraftiness of the alien threat, and changing the influence from an evil inevitably spreading <i>corruption</i> to a neutral inevitably spreading <i>change </i>inspired me with new direction and focus. I had been slowly poking at this campaign over the years, but this was the kick in the pants to get serious about it. I went over everything I had written, reconsidering everything from that new perspective. </div>
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This is where it pays to not get too attached to your drafts. With the new framework, a ton of stuff didn't really fit anymore (such as an army of corrupted creatures organizing an attack on a major city) so I did a lot of cutting and relocating and rewriting. But at the same time a lot of new territory opened up, allowing me to push more themes and ideas of confusion and dissension and incomprehensibility.</div>
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Then I read <i>the Dresden Files</i> novels by Jim Butcher and had a less dramatic but equally useful inspiration: don't let the players focus on just one thing. Always have at least two plots or themes running to keep them on their toes and off-balance. This doesn't apply to every D&D game, but in one built around an unknowable alien influence, it's perfect. So I went over everything again, adding subplots and parallel plots, and found that the skeleton was really fleshing out.</div>
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After three or four years of tinkering and four months of on-and-off but much more intensive writing, I'm finally happy with the overarching structure of the campaign. Everything now fits together well enough that I don't foresee any major cuts or additions or edits, just a lot more expansion and worldbuilding on the 30 typed pages I have now (already up two more pages since I wrote that last sentence).</div>
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Starting with story and theme has been a very different experience from the worldbuilding-first approach I usually take. For The Long Game I built the world and its history, worked hard with my players to integrate their characters and backstory and goals into the world, and then pretty much turned them loose. The story is what it is because of that collaboration and building on each others' ideas. It's not telling my story through the PCs, it's building their own story with them.</div>
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But I have a different set of goals with Starfall. I wanted to try something with clearer and more distinctive thematic elements in a particular order, and that requires slightly tighter control than "here's the world, have fun". But I think I'm striking the right balance between predetermined events and player choice to make the party feel like they're responsible for the outcome every step of the way, and the structure is set up to make them <i>want</i> to get involved - or feel that it's their responsibility to get involved - whenever something big happens.<br />
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Of course, I'm still not ready to start the game. It's in a state where the story is developed enough that I <i>could</i> start it now, expanding as I go, but it's missing the fine details and comprehensive worldbuilding I prefer - I'm not yet ready for anything the players might throw at me.<br />
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But it's been a different experience, one that's made me think about campaign planning in a different way than I usually do. I might do this again the next time I have a more focused story idea.</div>
Dominic Mattehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09711711981365429057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-53881074719007071502015-07-18T00:20:00.000-04:002016-09-02T11:29:15.474-04:00The Medium Version of The Long Game<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello! We here, at D4sign, have been playing many games and sometimes it is easy to lose track of things. True to its name, we have been playing <i>The Long Game</i> for a long time, and I thought it would be a good idea to provide a summary. If you're new to the game, this should help you catch up, and if you're very familiar with it, this should refresh your memory. I will be updating this as we play and further details can be found in earlier <i>Long Game</i> posts!<br />
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I also found that while this was much shorter, it was still longer than the average reader may wish to peruse. Therefore, I have written an <i>even shorter</i> summary <a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/2015/07/the-short-version-of-long-game.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.8192005157471px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Dallas Kasaboski</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Character Backstories</span></b><br />
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<b>Tong zi Gong</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Human, formerly Victor Whitehelm, prince of Canitia.</li>
<li><i>The Whitehelm Reaping</i></li>
<ul>
<li>Lost duel with Albus general, he and his men imprisoned.</li>
<li>Made deal with devil, Votharxos, received the <i>Edge of Sanity</i>, a sword chained to his back, making him invincible in armed combat.</li>
<li>Slaughtered his men, his family, and most of Albus' military strength</li>
</ul>
<li>Met Ting Tang Wong Gong, Canitian monk who defeated him in combat</li>
<li>Became Tong zi Gong, dedicated his life to Ioun's search for enlightenment</li>
</ul>
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<b>Alvyn Semanine</b></div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Gnome, imbued with godly amount of power, accidentally destroyed home and family</li>
<li>Captured, experimented on by Aesian scientists leading to destruction of eastern border of Aes</li>
<li>Escaped, joined the Doomguard, devoted to preventing apocalypse</li>
<li>Associates: Trixie (on/off again relationship), Tribulus (mentor), Leliana</li>
</ul>
<b>Kalgar Drakeswynd</b></div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Dragonborn, former naval Commander in Aes</li>
<li>Served in Aes' navy his entire life</li>
<li>During second tour, learned about superweapon program, tried to dissuade against their use</li>
<li>Close comrades - Sora (sometime lover), Ghesh, Kriv</li>
<li>Committed treason by faking his own death, leaving Aes</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Group backstory</b></span></div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Alvyn met Kalgar while trying to steal a superweapon, helped Kalgar escape Aes</li>
<li>Alvyn met Tong while trying to steal the <i>Edge of Sanity</i></li>
<li>Kalgar and Tong initially agreed to be Alvyn's assets, helping the Doomguarrd </li>
</ul>
</div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Tomb of the Last Human Emperor</span></u></b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Investigated tomb in mountain in Albus</li>
<li>fought Invulnerable Guardian, defeated it by dropping down a deep hole</li>
<li>found throne room with human remains, and a book about devils and demons</li>
<li>mural on wall suggested white dragon took the place of the last human emperor</li>
</ul>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Killing a White Dragon in Albus</span></u></b></div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Mercury hired us to kill dragon in Albus </li>
<li>Stole dragon-summoning flare from kobolds, summoned dragon in abandoned town</li>
<li>killed young white dragon who</li>
<ul>
<li>confirmed his father was the Emperor of Albus</li>
<li>mentioned the <i>Long Game</i></li>
<li>warned of the Adamantian invasion</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Doomguard Headquarters</span></u></b></div>
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<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Located in Chalybs, city-state in centre of Cyfandir continent</li>
<li>Lead by Leliana, and Tribulus Griefblade</li>
<li>Mercury was there, warned us to not talk about the <i>Long Game</i>, would explain later</li>
<li>Tong began to question weapons vs. tools, pored over book about devils</li>
<li>Party convinced to go to Aes, find news of missing Doomguard agent</li>
</ul>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">An Adventure in Aes</span></u></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>traveled through Canitia on way to Aes, saw Tong's old temple</li>
<li>stopped at Portam Myvillion, northern Aes city</li>
<li>booked passage on the <i>Red Sky </i>to go to Suturi, last known location of Doomguard agent</li>
<ul>
<li>first mate: Sirtha, tiefling female</li>
<li>Captain Wyrren, dragonborn female</li>
<li>sailed through <i>Opal Strait</i>, Kalgar helped Tong with seasickness</li>
</ul>
<li>At Suturi, stopped at the <i>Salty Dragon</i> pub</li>
<ul>
<li>found Doomguard agent, seemingly drunk, who mind was being controlled by a dragonborn member of the <i>Angrimich Shivi</i></li>
<li>bar fight</li>
<li>chased dragonborn agent through streets, Alvyn killed him to cover our tracks</li>
<li>Kalgar realized Aes was not the home he remembered, <i>Strength must be checked; weakness is its own punishment</i></li>
</ul>
<li>Tong tried to ease Alvyn's mind, psionic technique reveals a vision</li>
<ul>
<li>In this vision, beings who Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar felt to be the patron gods, infused Alvyn with unholy power as a baby</li>
<li>Alvyn storms off, upset with Tong for interfering, upset with gods for interfering</li>
<li>Kalgar and Tong are unsure of truth of vision, keep a skeptical mind toward their gods </li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Canitia: The Hunt</span></u></b></div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Great Hunt, 3 day tournament, starts in The Vale, Canitia's capital</li>
<li>met members of the <i>Brass Company</i>, famed mercenaries</li>
<li>met tielfing Knight Verius, from Ruber, who noticed the <i>Edge of Sanity</i></li>
<ul>
<li>member of the Knights of Shame, knights who had broken a great vow</li>
<li>vigilance against devils and demons allowed him to see the sword</li>
<li>said his ruler, a former demon, may help Tong remove the curse</li>
</ul>
<li>Party learned of the <i>Edge of Sanity</i> and Tong's backstory</li>
<ul>
<li>Alvyn had known of the sword but was upset that Tong had originally asked for it</li>
<li>Kalgar reflected on the curse of power</li>
<li>both had horrible, violent nightmares</li>
<li>Tong woke up seemingly charred</li>
</ul>
<li>Tong's meditation showed Kalgar and Alvyn the <i>Reverie</i> for the first time</li>
<ul>
<li>When does a weapon become a tool?</li>
</ul>
<li>met Alia the Stubborn, former brash monk of Canitia, who knew Tong</li>
<li>killed mammoth</li>
<li>Aleia won the Great Hunt after killing an animal erroneously thought to be the Grey Beast</li>
<li>met Shizuka, white dragonborn, samurai from Albus</li>
<ul>
<li>Alvyn challenged him to a fight with Kalgar</li>
<li>Kalgar's intimidation struck a nerve, Shizuka saw every failure he had faced in Albus</li>
</ul>
<li>met the Oracle, "The arcane knot will come undone, the <i>Edge of Sanity</i> will be called into action, the thunder god will challenge the storm god, and one way or the other, the game will end."</li>
<li>Shizuka decided to travel with the party</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Break-in at the Doomguard Headquarters</span></u></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Heading to Chalybs, via Cupro and the Dragon's Waste</li>
<li>Hugging the Adamantian border, saw giant wall of inert golems, watched over by warforged</li>
<li>met Faulty, the friend warforge, Alvyn gave him a Doomguard contact card</li>
<li>Kalgar learned the shifting attack technique from Shizuka</li>
<li>Shizuka admitted to knowing Tong's past</li>
<li>met genasi praising "The god of thunder" Rayden, at crossroads between Cupro and Adamantina</li>
<li>met female dragonborn patrolling border of Cupro</li>
<ul>
<li>gave party directions for quicker passage through the country</li>
<li>party had to swear to do her a favour someday</li>
<li>led through caverns, past <i>The Screaming Pit</i></li>
</ul>
<li>Back at Chalybs</li>
<ul>
<li>Plumber's Guild strike was over</li>
<li>Sanitation Guild threatening a strike, garbage everywhere</li>
<li>Party learned of CWNN, Cyfandir Wizard News Network, and lead anchor goliath Filivus Mountainface. "If you don't like it, you can take it up with my face!"</li>
<li>siege commencing in Albus thanks to invading Adamantia</li>
</ul>
<li>At Doomguard headquarters</li>
<ul>
<li>security very tight, place looked ransacked</li>
<li>Vex, Doomguard librarian asked for help in sorting material</li>
<ul>
<li>found two scrolls missing: one for summoning a creature, the other for binding it</li>
</ul>
<li>suspected the Brass Company</li>
<li>Kalgar and Tong met Trixie</li>
</ul>
<li>Brass Company Chalybs office, Tong and Kalgar took a tour, Alvyn snuck around for intel, found no clues or hint of involvement in Doomguard affair</li>
<li>Doomguard decides to move headquarters, and move vault to Aurum</li>
<li>Party went to Aurum, to old capital city of human empire Nerath, to see if teleportation circle was still there</li>
<li>In Aurum,</li>
<ul>
<li>saw <i>bloodgrass</i>, red grass which affected nearby animals</li>
<li>saw ghosts</li>
<li>made camp for the night</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Sorrows</span></u></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>fought ghosts, Tong's first mention of Discipline Scrolls, Scroll #1 "YOU CAN'T POISON A GHOST!"</li>
<li> found building made of ghost-blocking obsidian</li>
<li>found underground vault, guarded by a ghost-dragon</li>
<li>defeated it, it vanished, the party took some residuum and some coins</li>
</ul>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Fall of the Dwarven Empire</span></u></b><br />
<div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>On way to Ruber, ghost-dragon appeared, demanded coins back</li>
<ul>
<li>party made deal to bring more coins as long as dragon guarded vault</li>
<li>party returned to the Sorrows, dropped off a few coins</li>
</ul>
<li>Alvyn told Kalgar and Tong about his past, see <b>Character Backstory </b>for more detail</li>
<ul>
<li>Asks Tong to consider using the <i>Edge of Sanity</i> should Alvyn's magic get loose</li>
</ul>
<li>At Aurum's Capital </li>
<ul>
<li>Saw news-cast - Adamantia had wrecked last Albus city using giant mechanical golem!</li>
<li>met Mako, male dwarf, scholar, Doomguard friend of Alvyn, at a bar</li>
<ul>
<li>had studied rumoured mind-flayer threat which was said to have fell the empire</li>
<li>had group of dwarves ready to lead expedition to learn more</li>
<li>party offered to help</li>
</ul>
<li>Alvyn made cloak for Tong, belt and javelin for Kalgar </li>
</ul>
<li>Mountains outside city</li>
<ul>
<li>dwarves open hidden doors, everything looked old and torn down</li>
<li>Illithid killed most of the dwarves, took over Kalgar who almost killed party</li>
<li>Seeing Kalgar's anger at the above, Tong took Kalgar to the <i>Reverie</i></li>
<ul>
<li>Met Ting Tang Wong Gong, earned spiritual tattoo</li>
</ul>
<li>found statue of mind-flayer, underneath were many of the creatures</li>
<li>party sealed the city, ran back to Aurum's capital</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Onward to Ruber, the Land of Fire</span></u></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Shizuka decided to go back to Albus, to help where he could, gave Kalgar the dragonbone, jade-green katana</li>
<li>In Tubetown</li>
<ul>
<li>bought rings of fire resistance</li>
<li>had meeting with dwarven merchant, Arthur</li>
<ul>
<li>recommended searching for Tong's answers in Frozen Stacks of Ioun temple</li>
<li>told to meet Rilgar, female dragonborn librarian</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li>At Frozen Stacks</li>
<ul>
<li>met Rilgar, who offered to help find more information about the <i>Edge of Sanity</i></li>
<li>tiefling in the room became suspicious, Kalgar followed but lost him</li>
<li>new book summoned devils, party fought them, bound book closed with rope</li>
<li>book had picture of, but not name or description of the devil who made the <i>Edge</i></li>
<li>Rilgar suggested to ask the author, Lady Peryl, a succubus, adviser to Baelfire, lord of Ruber</li>
<li>party ambushed by Knight Verius and several Knights of Shame</li>
</ul>
<li>At Baelfire's lair</li>
<ul>
<li>volcanic mountain room</li>
<li>Baelfire revealed name of devil, Votharxis</li>
<li>summoned the devil</li>
<li>just as party was about to fight it, Baelfire asked the devil if he could make more swords!</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Ruber: A New Quest</span></u></b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Party lost battle to Lord Baelfire, a red dragon</li>
<li>Kalgar had near-death vision of armoured knight from the Order of Kord</li>
<li>Party reluctantly agrees to collect magic longsword from temple of Pelor</li>
<li>Back in Chalybs, CWNN reports that adviser to Queen was fighting to extend the number of terms he could stay in office</li>
</ul>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">A Paladin's Sword and then off to Viridi</span></u></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Party fought and killed priestess and guards of a temple of Pelor, retrieving Posse McToes' undead-vanquishing sword</li>
<li>Kalgar and Alvyn sucked into Tong's nightmare</li>
<ul>
<li>Votharxis was there</li>
<li>Whitehelm's wife was there, dead but animated, cut in half</li>
</ul>
<li>Envoy from Aurum approached Chalybs, wanted to take the city back.</li>
<li>While Tong and Kalgar distracted the tiefling guards, including Verius and Orianna, Alvyn stripped McToes' sword of its power, making a fake replica</li>
<ul>
<li>made <i>Difficulty Spheres </i>for Tong, <i>Bag of Holding, Boots of the Fencing Master</i> for Kalgar, wand holsters, shield for himself</li>
</ul>
<li>The party made its way to Viridi to collect Corellon's Blessed Sword, bane of the drow</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Viridi and Corellon's Blessed Sword</span></u></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>party fought, and defeated Alufyr, lieutenant of a Viridi fortress, in a non-lethal fight</li>
<li>party fought, and defeated Commander Cali, an Eladrin, in a non-lethal combat</li>
<ul>
<li>party told Cali of their reluctant quest to take Corellon's weapon</li>
<li>Commander allowed them to see the weapon so they may copy it to fool Verius</li>
<li>Party given Black Lotus wine as tribute/reward</li>
</ul>
<li>Alvyn received message from Vex about The Circle, who may be able to help Alvyn with his condition, his <i>spellscar</i></li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Dealing with the Curse of Power</span></u></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Alvyn lead party and tieflings to The Circle</li>
<li>Party met with Alufar, Alufyr's brother, who said Alufyr and Cali were dead</li>
<li>Met Ficktusk, a giant, and The Sea Witch (woman from Aes) in The Circle</li>
<ul>
<li>tried to help him transfer/transform his power, didn't work, said it would take time</li>
</ul>
<li>Tong found the <i>Reverie</i> empty of monks and masters, leaving him very concerned</li>
<li>The party summoned Votharxis, to deal with him once and for all, with tieflings' help</li>
<ul>
<li>Votharxis was covered in blood, said it was the blood of Tong's masters</li>
<li>Alvyn transformed all his arcane energy to psionic, gave it to Tong</li>
<li>Tong, in super-Monk-sayan mode, killed Votharxis</li>
<li>Mercury arrived, snapped Verius' neck, killed all the tieflings, killed Vex</li>
<li>Tong directed all his new-found energy into the <i>Edge of Sanity</i>, purifying it, the curse was over</li>
<li>Alvyn had no more magic, his curse was over</li>
</ul>
<li>Tribulus reported threat in Canitia, ordered the party there</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Student Becomes the Master</span></u></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>2 years has passed since Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar started traveling together</li>
<li>Tong questioned whether he was still Whitehelm, warned that plane of anger still exists</li>
<li>Tong vanished into <i>Reverie</i>/<i>Hell</i> - Alvyn and Kalgar followed him</li>
<ul>
<li>conquered souls were feeding off Tong</li>
<li>Victor's wife said she forgave him</li>
<li>This gesture sent wave of compassion through crowd, they could forgive him</li>
<li>It was revealed that there had been previous wielders of the <i>Edge of Sanity</i></li>
</ul>
<li>Party saw Adamantinan invasion in the mountains of Cyfandir</li>
<li>Met with Faulty again, convinced it to leave the wall, explore the <i>Dragon's Waste</i>, Faulty would report what he found to the Doomguard</li>
<ul>
<li>Scroll: <i>Never make a deal with a machine man!</i></li>
</ul>
<li>In Canitia, party makes it back to temple of Ioun</li>
<ul>
<li>found many monks dead</li>
<li>Tong released the souls of the dead</li>
<li>Alvyn found a large tome/obelisk</li>
<li>Kalgar found Alia the Stubborn, still alive</li>
<li>Tong took the obelisk, <i>All weapons are tools, all tools are weapons, </i>Tong took on the quest to restore/lead the monks of Cyfandir</li>
<li>Alia decided to journey with the party</li>
</ul>
<li>The party then went to Hyacintho, to investigate a kraken threat</li>
<ul>
<li>country's weather seemed controlled</li>
<li>brass rails everywhere, conducting lightning and power</li>
<li>found a very large ship in the capital, called the <i>Rayden</i>, party thought it could house a kraken</li>
<li>the party disguised themselves, climbed aboard the ship headed for Aes, did not find a kraken onboard the ship</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">When Storms Collide</span></u></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Party blended in, became popular aboard ship</li>
<li>Kalgar earned lightning-resistant bracers in arm-wrestling match with fellow dragonborn</li>
<li>Tong experimented with the tome, calling it the Codex Caduceus</li>
<li>The <i>Rayden </i>made it to Aesian border</li>
<ul>
<li>met with <i>Vutha Kepesk</i>, Kalgar's old ship</li>
<li>Captain of <i>Rayden</i> summoned a kraken</li>
<li>the beast held the <i>Kepesk</i> in place, started tearing it apart</li>
<li>Alvyn unleased his warpick cannon/multitool</li>
<li>The party crossed over to the <i>Kepesk</i>, met with Sora, Kalgar's former lover</li>
<li>Sora seemed brainwashed against Kalgar</li>
<li>Alvyn's words inspired Sora to fire cannons at the kraken</li>
<li>the party disengaged the ships and kraken using explosives, the <i>Rayden </i>went back to Hyacintho</li>
</ul>
<li>Sora gave what remained of the <i>Kepesk</i> to Kalgar, said she would investigate rumours of superweapon program in Aes</li>
<li>The party set sail for Hyacintho, to stop the <i>Striking</i>, a Rayden threat</li>
</ul>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">When Gods Collide</span></u></b></div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Party repairs the ship on the way to Hyacintho</li>
<li>Alvyn upgrades ki focus for Tong, makes light-weight, sink-proof plate armour for Kalgar</li>
<li>Party arrives at Eldengarr, Hyacintho's capital, disables the port of ships</li>
<li>Party defeats Genasi priestess of Rayden, Kalgar cuts off her head</li>
<li>Party (Alvyn) threatens country, tells them to wake up, take back their own strength</li>
<li>Party recovers body of Kord, puts it in Kalgar's bag</li>
<li>Tong uses <i>Codex Caduceus</i> to spread scrolls and knowledge of Ioun</li>
<li>Party sails to Chalybs</li>
<li>Doomguard had successfully moved headquarters to Crimson Fields, Alvyn gets key from Tribulus</li>
<li>Party meets Galvin, warforged, High Deacon of the Temple of Kord</li>
<li>All agree to lock body of Kord in Doomguard vault</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Ship Hits the Fan</span></u></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Kalgar meets Thunderfood, Battle Priest of the Order of Kord, in Chalybs</li>
<li>Giant explains the Order of Kord, group devoted to the god, rank and power bestowed upon those who earn it.</li>
<li>Kalgar meets Dwight and Haymitch, delights temple with stories, asks if any want to join him, to meet him at the nearest bar in an hour, or <i>The Crimson Fields</i> in a month</li>
<li>Tong entered the <i>Reverie</i>, found it not empty, but with people from Hyacintho, reading the books he had left, including one warforged which disturbed Tong. He momentarily felt compelled to recruit more followers</li>
<li>Alvyn had problems with Trixie because he thought she'd spurn him, now that he has now magic</li>
<li>Kalgar names the ship, the <i>Shockrosia</i>, party sails around Aerugo, Niger, toward the Crimson Fields</li>
<li>In the Doomguard vault, the party sees the cage Alvyn had been kept in at Aes, also discover a crate which makes you forget it as soon as you look at it</li>
<li>Many arrived from Hyacintho and Chalybs, including Dwight and Haymitch</li>
<ul>
<li>Dwight received replica of Posse McToes' sword</li>
<li>Haymitch received replica of Corellon's Blessed Sword</li>
</ul>
<li>Alvyn and the "scoff" Dwarves repaired and upgraded the <i>Shockrosia</i> into an airship</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Fall of Baelfire and the Rise of the Arbiters</span></u></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The party surprised and defeated Baelfire, who revealed his true form upon death</li>
<li>Kalgar put Baelfire's head in his bag</li>
<li>Mercury showed up, warned party about their actions, tells them to go to Hiems</li>
<ul>
<li>100 million gold reward offered for Rime, ice beast of Hyiems</li>
</ul>
<li>Quick stop in Fields of Ruin to cremate Hyacintho dead via lightning</li>
<li>Quick stop in Canitian temple, leaving the ship and her crew there</li>
<li>Party and Mercury head north to Hiems</li>
<li>Met up with mercenary party of 10 000</li>
<li>Moving past them, trying to reach Rime, party ambushed by ice giants, while fighting them, Rime appeared (100 ft wingspan cobalt dragon), killed all the mercenaries</li>
<li>Rime and Mercury talked, the party learned about <i>The Long Game</i></li>
<li>Mercury revealed that she and Lilianna formed the Doomguard </li>
<li>Inducted Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar into being Arbiters of <i>The Long Game</i>, marked each of their hands with the <i>Mark of Mercury</i></li>
</ul>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Transition to Paragon</span></u></b></div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Party found summoning box, and drums of inspiration, among the mercenary bodies</li>
<li>Walking back toward Canitia, Tong stabbed himself with the <i>Edge of Sanity</i></li>
<ul>
<li>he reappeared in swirling white robes, white hair, wielding a quarterstaff</li>
<li>said he had been away for two years, found new plane of existence</li>
<ul>
<li>Ting Tang Wong Gong and other masters were there</li>
<li>new place called <i>Eidolon Fortress</i>, Tong now a Mist Knight</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li>Kalgar had vision of fighting <i>Hand of Kord</i>, met Kord, became twice blessed by Melora and Kord, grew wings, became Last Scion of Arkhosia</li>
<li>Alvyn continued his training, learning how to effectively master his non-magical body. Became more of a leader than ever before, a Twice-born warlord</li>
<li>Back at the <i>Shockrosia</i>, the dwarves had made battery for the ship, and box to block Illithid psionic influence</li>
<li>Haymitch reveals that Kalgar killed his brother, one of the guards of the Temple of Pelor</li>
<li>Tong continued training his ethereal followers, realized he had forgotten about Alia, vowed to continue her training</li>
<li>Alvyn contacted Doomguard, no response, contacted Quarion, Doomguard chef</li>
<ul>
<li>Lilianna was saying that Vex's death was Alvyn's fault</li>
<li>Alvyn contacted Lilianna, left the Doomguard, and asked to be left alone</li>
</ul>
<li>The Oracle appeared on the ship</li>
<ul>
<li>warned party about Mercury, he wasn't able to see their or her future</li>
<li>warned of world going to war</li>
<li>claims to want to end the <i>Game</i>, not win it</li>
</ul>
<li>the party decides to go to Aes to steal superweapon to use to slow down Adamantinan army</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Iron Tower Part 1</span></u></b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The party changed its mind, headed to Ferrum to investigate the Iron Dragon</li>
<li>Saw Iron Tower, were followed by a peryton, winged creature with antlers</li>
<li>Tower surrounded by old archaeological camps</li>
<li>Party attacked by cadaver-collector and peryton, defeated both, helped by <i>Shockrosia's </i>cannons</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Iron Tower Part 2</span></u></b></div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>In hole by tower, Alvyn found a 6 inch cubed cube, with 16 toggles to each side</li>
<li>Found holes leading down metal hallways deeper into the ground</li>
<li>5 levels down, found hole into Iron Tower</li>
<ul>
<li>Tong warned: Scroll 877: <i>Plunge through 7 holes and darkness will befall you.</i></li>
</ul>
<li>Found bridge leading over murky water filled with scary fish</li>
<li>Found heap of mutated bodies dropping from centre of tower which had a tube running straight up the centre</li>
<li>Party burned heap, climbed tube, which was lined with weird parasitic slugs</li>
<li>Found room of discarded furniture, all mimics, party fought and defeated them</li>
<li>party found old map of the tower, continued upward</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Iron Tower Part 3</span></u></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>party found floor with experimental labs, vials of chemicals</li>
<li>found, fought, and defeated, gibbering mouthers</li>
<li>on next floor, many prisoners shackled to the walls, tubes coming from their bodies</li>
<ul>
<li>sole survivor, an elf, in great pain and couldn't speak, Tong ended her suffering</li>
</ul>
<li>next floor had many more creatures in tubes with blood pumped in/out, odd chemicals</li>
<li>Tong summoned ethereal followers of Ioun, said a war on this type of horror would soon begin</li>
<li>Alvyn investigated the internal experimentation done to a creature, Kalgar ended its suffering</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Iron Tower Part 4: The Nightmares of a Dragon</span></u></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Party found cyborg gorilla (BallistApe), and man-orc</li>
<li>Tong sensed malice from creatures all directed at him</li>
<li>Party finds out man-orc had been experimented on by a dragon, a mutated/modified dragon</li>
<li>Party names man-orc Primus, asks him to release as many willing and able mutants and leave the tower</li>
<li>Party found several canisters containing 7 bodies identical to Alvyn</li>
<ul>
<li>Alvyn became crazy and obsessive over examining them</li>
<li>Kept shouting that they were copies, he was true</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Finally convinced to keep the bodies as decoys, Tong stored them in the <i>Reverie</i></li>
</ul>
<li>Penultimate floor contained sleeping, dangerous creatures, which appeared to be mind-controlled, though dormant</li>
<li>Iron Dragon on top level, heavily mutated/modified to "make [itself] more formidable"</li>
<ul>
<li>was working to create ultimate predator to kill other dragons</li>
<li>Party threatened this predator</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Iron Tower Part 5</span></u></b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Confronted the Iron Dragon</li>
<ul>
<li>heavily mutated with elixirs of other animals</li>
<li>Tong blocked mind-control of other creatures using his psionic abilities</li>
<li>party fought and defeated the dragon</li>
<li>Alvyn mutated into many creatures, via elixirs</li>
<ul>
<li>unleashed his fury over clones into his attacks on the dragon</li>
</ul>
<li>Lightning bolt from Kord struck tower, killed Dragon</li>
<ul>
<li>Kalgar cut off its head, put in his bag</li>
</ul>
<li>Kalgar took flight for first time</li>
<li>Tower was a giant, angry mimic</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Escape from The Iron Tower</span></u></b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Party fought mooncalf and beholder on floor below</li>
<li>Encountered the cyborg gorilla, BallistApe, having wiped out all monsters on floor below</li>
<li>Saved Primus, the man-orc, from a manticore and four-armed giant on floor below</li>
<li>Briefly fought mimics on floor below and made a friend of BallistApe</li>
<li>Tower had been draining iron from blood of creatures, keeping itself alive</li>
<ul>
<li>Party caught tower's eyeball brain, destroyed it</li>
</ul>
<li>Party escaped the tower, embarked on the <i>Shockrosia</i></li>
<li>Alvyn tried to wash away his grief via a long shower</li>
<li>Dwarves had made device to catch the news-cast</li>
<ul>
<li>news-cast was hijacked by Aes' <i>Angrimich Shivi</i> who called Kalgar back on charges of treason, giving him 30 days to return</li>
</ul>
<li>Tong, after spending a night of passion with Alia, breaks things off, she was not pleased by this</li>
<li>Mercury lands on ship, warns party that other dragons may come after them</li>
<ul>
<li>also, someone has hired the Brass Company to come after the party</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Return to Aes</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Party decides to go south, avoid Adamantina</li>
<li>Kalgar explains charge of treason to crew, gives them a chance to leave</li>
<li>Tong contacts 3 very devout followers: Hassim, Kashatriya, and Lenny (the warforged)</li>
<ul>
<li>asks them to expand upon Ioun influence while he was gone</li>
<li>for a moment, Tong sensed the same feeling of intense hatred as from the Iron Tower</li>
</ul>
<li> Party encounters Argentum wyvern knights, who saw ship thanks to skill and magic</li>
<ul>
<li>party warns them of strange, wild animals from Ferrum</li>
<li>finds out no real interaction yet between Adamantina and Aurum</li>
<li>knights warn of underground creatures which appear to be causing problems</li>
</ul>
<li> Party arrives to Chalybs to find the city completely under siege by Aurum</li>
<ul>
<li>wanted to steal supplies from Aurum's army, to use in Aes</li>
<li>Haymitch advised against it, suggesting getting the materials <i>in</i> Aes</li>
</ul>
<li>Party arrives on border of Aes, encounters a massive storm cloud, coming straight for them</li>
<ul>
<li>despite efforts, the storm attacked violently, mostly destroying the ship</li>
<li>party is confident that the storm was the blue dragon from Hyacintho, out to get them</li>
</ul>
<li><i>Shockrosia</i> encounters <i>Angrimich Shivi</i> ship, the <i>Dauntless</i>, captained by Sora who:</li>
<ul>
<li>agrees to take them in, shelter them</li>
<li>sets up meeting with Admiral Draxia, old-fashioned, and willing to listen to Kalgar</li>
<li>listens to Kalgar's adventures and spends the night with him</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Intrigue with a Side of Indigestion</b></u></span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Kalgar ordered Kildrak, Vondal, and Logann, members of his crew, to repair and upgrade the ship, using whatever materials were available.</li>
<li>Tong raised concern with Kalgar that the path they tread may lead to Kalgar's death.</li>
<ul>
<li>Kalgar responded that he was doing what <i>had</i> to be done, and that the party was the only group that <i>could</i> get it done.</li>
<li>Tong said he has walked away from his own past, could Kalgar not do the same?</li>
<li>Kalgar told Tong that the entire world is building for war, if they could create a stronghold, a place to strike out from, take a stand, they could push back against the insanity of the current world.</li>
<ul>
<li>They needed to start fixing things.</li>
<li>Perhaps this is the first thing they will be able to..unbreak, Tong responded.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li>Meanwhile, Alvyn had been scouting the island and the outpost.</li>
<li>Kalgar asked crew to also attempt to fix up Aesian outpost.</li>
<li>Scroll of Mindfulness, "<i>The hard man's soul is like hardtack, impossible to chew."</i></li>
<ul>
<li>Tong just made up a Scroll!</li>
<li>Tong began teaching his followers via the <i>Reverie</i> with renewed energy.</li>
</ul>
<li>Alvyn took an Aesian cannon, handed it to some more of Kalgar's crew, and asked them to "make it better".</li>
<li>Alvyn made a cloak for Kalgar from hide taken from the necks of dead dragons, still preserved in Kalgar's <i>Bag of Holding</i></li>
<li>Malark Chenn, one of Kalgar's crew, had been killed.</li>
<ul>
<li>Rescued in the <i>Crimson Fields</i>, Chenn was an entertainer, always able to make someone smile.</li>
<li>Chenn's body was ripped open from the inside. A blood trail moved toward the window off the ship.</li>
<li>Despite investigation by the party, as well as Sora's only arcane user, Porset, a Storm Genasi, the party was unable to determine exactly what had caused this.</li>
<ul>
<li>Although they were fairly certain it was a monster from the Iron Tower</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li>Kalgar told Sora all that he could, excluding any mention of dragons, and asked for her help.</li>
<li>Porset determined that the creature may have gone west to some Aesian islands.</li>
<ul>
<li>Sora said she had not heard from her western patrol in some time.</li>
</ul>
<li>The party started to kayak toward the islands</li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>The Caves of Calamity</u></b></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The party found ruins and a tunnel leading underground on one of the islands</li>
<ul>
<li>The tunnel was half-filled with water, and seemed to head back toward the outpost</li>
<li>Kalgar remembered that such tunnels sometimes existed between outposts as another means of movement</li>
<li>The party found a female Aesian dragonborn, one of the western patrol, dead, floating in the tunnel</li>
<ul>
<li>Kalgar took her along</li>
</ul>
<li>The tunnel lead to an even deeper channel of water, the only way through.</li>
<ul>
<li>Alvyn went first, made it to the other side, jumped up to a stalagtite and hung from the cave ceiling.</li>
<li>Tong made it through quickly, couldn't find Alvyn, was very worried.</li>
<li>Kalgar was slowed by carrying the guard, and was grappled and attacked by an unseen force underwater. Despite everything he tried, including inflating his special armour Alvyn had made for him, he could not bring himself <i>and</i> the guard through the tunnel. So he had to abandon her.</li>
</ul>
<li>Outside of the tunnel, the party was tackled by a quickly moving creature, which continued down the tunnel toward the outpost.</li>
<li>The party realized it would be faster to go back, get the kayaks, and sail back to the outpost.</li>
<ul>
<li>Alvyn used <i>Sending</i> to warn Sora and the outpost</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li>The party made it back, the crew of the <i>Shockrosia</i> were vigilantly readying themselves.</li>
<li>Inside the outpost, something had grabbed Porset, dragging him down into the storeroom under the outpost</li>
<ul>
<li>Sora and her men were guarding the door, not engaging</li>
<li>The party went in, saw much water damage, barrels of oil and blackpowder, and a horrible alien queen creature and many of her children!</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>The Queen's Lair</u></b></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The queen was laying eggs, while her creatures crawled around the room, climbed the walls</li>
<li>One of the creatures killed Porset</li>
<li>The party attacked the creatures!</li>
<ul>
<li>Alvyn's new weapon, a rifle made from an Aesian boarding cannon, was quite impressive!</li>
</ul>
<li>The party was surrounded.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Last of the Aesian Outpost</span></u></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The party killed the queen's creatures</li>
<li>The queen stepped forward to attack, while some of her newly-hatching children grabbed at the party's faces!</li>
<li>Kalgar's <i>Blazing Brand </i>attack lit the queen, and everything else on fire</li>
<li>The party retreated quickly</li>
<ul>
<li>Kalgar bust through a wall</li>
<li>Tong evacuated the guards upstairs</li>
<li>Alvyn lit the cannon at the top</li>
</ul>
<li>The entire outpost was destroyed</li>
<li>Kalgar asked Sora to take him to the Admiral, to explain the situation and take all the blame</li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>The Windle's Landing Massacre</u></b></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The party met with Admiral Draxsha and her ship, <i>The Old Way</i></li>
<ul>
<li>Kalgar explained the incident at the outpost, keeping out the mention of dragons</li>
<ul>
<li> Alvyn took the blame, was led to the brig</li>
</ul>
<li>Kalgar explained the reason for his treason</li>
</ul>
<li>The Admiral accepts all of this and discusses plans with Kalgar</li>
<ul>
<li>Plans to give him three ships, <i>The Bilge Rat</i>, <i>The Aquamarine</i>, and <i>The Rogue Wind</i></li>
<li>Kalgar has three problems: charge of treason, superweapon program, and the change in direction of leadership in Aes</li>
<ul>
<li>Kalgar thinks that by shutting down the superweapon program, he can chip away at the other two problems</li>
<li>Admiral recommends <i>The Old Law</i>, aka the <i>Law of Challenge</i>, or <i>The Rising Tide</i></li>
<ul>
<li>challenge must be made face-to face</li>
<ul>
<li>tough since the location of the Capitol is known to only a few</li>
</ul>
<li>Grand Admiral decides how the challenge will be resolved</li>
<ul>
<li>must be resolved only between challenger and challenged</li>
<li>must be resolved with witnesses, left/right of the Navy, and <i>Angrimich Shivi</i></li>
<li>challenger must immediately accept the contest proposed by the challenge or the entire thing is immediately defeated</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li>Final plans involve investigating <i>Deepwatch Base</i>, where the Admiral thinks the superweapons may be developed.</li>
<ul>
<li>Expose and stop the superweapon program</li>
<ul>
<li>if he does expose it, the Admiral will offer public support</li>
</ul>
<li>Draw out the <i>Angrimich Shivi</i>, with the protests over the superweapons</li>
<li>When Kalgar is ready, the Admiral will reveal the location of the Capitol</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li>Kalgar promoted to Commodore, given insignia pin</li>
</ul>
<li>Alvyn breaks out, plants explosive on <i>The Old Way</i>, makes his way to Admiral's quarters</li>
<ul>
<li>has conflict with Lieutenant Dirgere, a seemingly ordinary man, member of the <i>Angrimich Shivi</i></li>
<li>Dirgere warns the party that people are looking for them</li>
<ul>
<li>possible Tiefling (Tribulus) asking around in all <i>Angrimich Shivi</i> locations</li>
<li>random questioner possibly from <i>The Brass Company</i></li>
<li>monk woman murdering people looking for Victor Whitehelm</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li>Crew embarks for Windle's Landing, to find gems to fix ship, help it fly again</li>
<li>Tong meditates, cannot find Ting Tang Wong Gong</li>
<li>Crew arrives in Windle's Landing</li>
<ul>
<li>finds the gems needed, negotiates for their price</li>
<li>encounters bald, young, monk-like woman</li>
<ul>
<li>Tong recognizes her as Karesse, an old Iounian pupil</li>
<li>She attacks the party, clearly possessed, burnt skin, clothes, many voices</li>
<ul>
<li>party stops her via combat and <i>Shockrosia</i>'s cannons</li>
<li>she kills 25 Aesians instantly, turning them to ash, bringing death count to over 60</li>
</ul>
<li>possession leaves her, Tong sends her soul down a spiritual river in <i>The Reverie</i></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Deep Watch Bay (Part 1: On the Way)</u></b></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The party left Windle's Landing, Alvyn wanting not to draw any more attention, and Kalgar knowing that being put in jail would not help their cause.</li>
<li>Tong finally connected with Ting Tang Wong Gong, through meditation, in the <i>Reverie</i></li>
<ul>
<li>Tong's former master said that Tong was the Mist Knight, the one true bridge between the <i>Iodolawn</i>, the <i>Reverie</i>, and Ioun He told Tong to build on the lessons, and to let him go in peace. With that, Ting Tang Wong Gong ascended into <i>The Astral Sea</i>.</li>
</ul>
<li>Alvyn temporarily changed the name of the <i>Shockrosia</i> to <i>Kord's Might</i>.</li>
<li>The fleet passed by a few Aesian military ships on the way to Deep Watch Bay without incident.</li>
<li>Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar devised plans for storming Deep Watch Base, including fleet operations and "frog men" (soldiers who could remain under the ship via potions of water breathing) who could be called in as reinforcements.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-88878704536463531872015-07-18T00:19:00.006-04:002016-09-02T11:30:49.628-04:00The Short Version of The Long Game<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello! In an effort to bring everyone, including the players, up to speed on the events of The Long Game, I strove to make a <a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/2015/07/the-medium-version-of-long-game.html" target="_blank">synopsis</a>. Realizing that it was great, but maybe still a little too long, I decided to make this summary, here. Lacking most of the story and content, it may not make as much sense, but for anyone already familiar with the journals, which can be found in previous posts, this summary will help to refresh your memory of our adventures. I hope you like it and find it useful!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6b2ast7HV2pcPRteTYM38k_g_98EgN93-8E5avSHupOp7KUp6VS6ryXPif3lBNMFvv4QKc6IYoVV-m-1Y4rXN9Clba3kDUdYn47ZrTSPAEX-5fZBMdf5ykgwdHcV_8hSUX41OsGVZ8U/s1600/photo.JPG" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; background: transparent; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 0px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.8192005157471px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Dallas Kasaboski</a><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a><ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Alvyn destroys family and home with his magic</li>
<li>Alvyn experimented on by Aesian scientists, who destroy the eastern side of Aes</li>
<li><i>The Whitehelm Reaping</i></li>
<li>Tong joins Ting Tang Wong Gong, becomes monk of Ioun</li>
<li>Alvyn meets Tong, trying to steal the <i>Edge of Sanity</i></li>
<li>Kalgar meets Alvyn, trying to steal superweapon, Kalgar fakes death, leaves Aes</li>
<li>Tomb of Last Albus Emperor</li>
<ul>
<li>fought invulerable golem</li>
<li>murals indicated that dragon was in charge of Albus</li>
</ul>
<li>Killing a young, white dragon</li>
<ul>
<li>hired by Mercury</li>
<li>dragon mentioned dragon for a father, Adamantia's invasion, and the <i>Long Game</i></li>
</ul>
<li>party goes to Doomguard headquarters in Chalybs</li>
<li>party goes to Aes to find missing Doomguard agent</li>
<li>finds agent mind-controlled by <i>Angrovich Shivi</i>, party kills him to avoid detection</li>
<li>Great Hunt in Canitia</li>
<ul>
<li>learn of Ruber tieflings who fight devils</li>
<li>meet Shizuka, defeated general from Albus</li>
<li>meet Aleia, former Ioun monk</li>
<li>meet the Oracle who gives insightful prophecy</li>
</ul>
<li>met Faulty on Adamantina border, curious warforged</li>
<li>Break-in at the Doomguard headquarters, two scrolls stolen</li>
<li>Doomguard moves headquarters, party goes to Aurum to scout out new vault location</li>
<li>Sorrows, Aurum city, party meets/fights ghosts, finds teleportation circle and vault, guarded by ghost dragon. Party makes deal with dragon.</li>
<li>Alvyn tells party about his past</li>
<li>Party learns of Adamantia's siege-ending mech-golems wrecking last Albus city</li>
<li>Alvyn's friend, Doomguard agent Mako, agrees to help party, in exchange for help in dwarven city</li>
<li>Joining party of dwarves, investigate old city, encounter illithids, Kalgar almost kills party</li>
<li>Kalgar visits <i>Reverie</i> with Tong, earns tattoo</li>
<li>In Ruber, party goes to Ioun library, learns that Ruber's advisers know more about Tong's devil</li>
<li>Meet with Lord Baelfire, who summons Votharxis, and then betrays party</li>
<li>Party lost battle to Baelfire, red dragon, ordered to collect powerful weapons</li>
<li>Party killed guards in temple of Pelor, steal Posse McToes ancient, undead-killing sword</li>
<li>Kalgar and Tong learn of Tong's nightmares</li>
<li>Aurum envoy surrounds Chalybs, wants the city back</li>
<li>party play-fights guards in Viridi, makes fake copy of Corellon-blessed sword</li>
<li>Alvyn learns of The Circle, group of magic users, tries to learn to shed his <i>spellscar</i> curse</li>
<li>Party summoned Votharxis</li>
<ul>
<li>Alvyn gave Tong all of his power, Tong defeated Votharxis</li>
<li>Tong purified and rid himself of the <i>Edge of Sanity</i></li>
</ul>
<li>Mercury arrived, killed all the tieflings, and Vex</li>
<li>2 years have passed since the party started travelling together</li>
<li>Tong comes to terms with his nightmares over Whitehelm</li>
<li>met Faulty again, party convinces him to leave wall and investigate the <i>Dragon's Waste</i></li>
<li>At Ioun temple, in Canitia, all monks dead except Alia the Stubborn, Tong takes the Codex Caduceus, begins quest to restore world monk order of Ioun, Alia joins the party</li>
<li>Party goes to Hyacintho, boards the ship called <i>Rayden</i>, sails to Aes</li>
<li><i>Rayden</i> summons kraken to fight <i>Vutha Kepesk</i>, Kalgar's old ship</li>
<li>Party defeats kraken, sends <i>Rayden</i> home, Kalgar reunites with Sora, who gives him the ship</li>
<li>At Hyacintho capital, Eldengarr, the party:</li>
<ul>
<li>disables their ships</li>
<li>publicly challenges and defeats priestess of Rayden, warning the people of blind faith</li>
<li>finds the body of Kord, hides it in Doomguard vault</li>
<li>(Tong) book-bombs people with teachings of Ioun</li>
</ul>
<li>Doomguard headquarters and vault successfully moved to Crimson Fields, in Aurum</li>
<li>Kalgar learns more about Order of Kord, recruits followers to meet in Crimson Fields</li>
<ul>
<li>including Dwight and Haymitch</li>
</ul>
<li>Tong finds new followers, those reading the books, in the <i>Reverie</i></li>
<li>In Doomguard vault, the party discovers cage used to hold Alvyn in Aes</li>
<li>In Crimson Fields</li>
<ul>
<li>form a crew of people from Hyacintho and Chalybs</li>
<li>Dwight and Haymitch receive Posse McToes and Corellon's sword replicas</li>
<li>Alvyn and the Dwarves upgrade <i>Shockrosia</i> (their ship) into an airship</li>
</ul>
<li>Party returns to Ruber, defeats Baelfire, puts head in Kalgar's bag</li>
<li>Mercury urged party to go to Hiems, party dropped off ship in Canitia</li>
<li>party saw Rime, cobalt dragon, slay 10 000 mercenaries, easily</li>
<li>Mercury tells party about <i>The Long Game</i>, swears them in as Arbiters</li>
<li>Tong becomes Mist Knight of Eidolon Fortress, plane between <i>Reverie</i> and the Astral Sea</li>
<li>Kalgar has vision of meeting Kord, is bestowed wings, becomes Last Scion of Arkhosia</li>
<li>Alvyn recuperates and trains his mind and body, becoming Twice-born Warlord</li>
<li>Dwarves make Illithid psionic blocker</li>
<li>Haymitch reveals Kalgar killed his brother, a guard in the temple of Pelor</li>
<li>Lilianna, of the Doomguard, blames Alvyn for Vex' fault, Alvyn abandons the Doomguard</li>
<li>Party meets the Oracle again, warns party about Mercury, warns of world at war</li>
<li>party thought to go to Aes to steal superweapon to use against Adamantina, changes their minds and goes to Ferrum instead to investigate the Iron Dragon</li>
<li>The Vanguards of the Night (party name) encounter and defeat a peryton and cadaver-collector at base of Iron Tower</li>
<li>Enters the tower via holes beside the tower, leading to tunnel and tube leading up through centre of tower</li>
<li>Each floor higher reveals more extensive examples of mutations and experimentation</li>
<li>Party fights gibbering mouthers, beholders, mooncalves, mimics</li>
<li>Met and freed half man, half orc, named him Primus, and cybord-gorilla they call BallistApe, told them to go to the <i>Shockrosia</i></li>
<li>Alvyn finds 7 canisters of clones of himself, goes crazy about finding out what they were and why they were</li>
<ul>
<li>canisters stored in <i>Reverie</i> for safe-keeping </li>
</ul>
<li>Iron Dragon</li>
<ul>
<li>mutated itself via elixirs to become more formidable</li>
<li>was creating perfect predator for defeating other dragons</li>
<li>was in league with tower which was actually a iron-blood-sucking mimic</li>
<li>was killed by party, its head thrown in Kalgar's bag</li>
</ul>
<li>Tong blocked mind-controlling psionic influence of the dragon in the fight</li>
<li>Alvyn transformed extensively, and repeatedly, in the fight, fought very aggressively</li>
<li>Kalgar took flight for first time, called lightning strike which broke through tower, killing the dragon</li>
<li>Back on <i>Shockrosia</i>, dwarves made device for catching news-cast, <i>Angrimich Shivi</i> hijacked the signal to call Kalgar back to Aes on charges of treason</li>
<li>Tong spends a night of passion with Alia, breaks it off</li>
<li>Mercury arrives, warns party that other dragons, and Brass Company, will come after them</li>
<li><i>Shockrosia</i> sailed south to avoid Adamantina, meets wyvern knights who warn of underground threat</li>
<li>Party arrives at Chalybs, finds it completely under siege by Aurum</li>
<li><i>Shockrosia</i> intercepted by storm of the blue dragon, "Rayden", nearly destroyed</li>
<ul>
<li>meets with <i>Angrimich Shivi</i> ship <i>Dauntless</i>, captained by Sora who:</li>
<ul>
<li>tows them back and gives them shelter</li>
<li>sets up meeting with Admiral Draxia, someone who may support Kalgar</li>
<li>spends the night with Kalgar</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li>Party begins rebuilding/upgrading the <i>Shockrosia</i></li>
<li>Malark Chenn, crew mate, discovered dead, ripped open from inside</li>
<ul>
<li>Party discovers it was a creature from the Iron Tower</li>
<li>Party tries to track it down, lead all around, then back to the Aesian outpost</li>
<li>Party finds alien creatures, complete with queen, fights them</li>
<li>Kalgar's <i>Blazing Brand</i> destroys the outpost, bringing it down on the queen and her children</li>
</ul>
<li>Party sails to Admiral Draxsha, escorted by Sora's ship</li>
<li>Admiral Draksha, on her ship <i>The Old Way</i>, accepts Kalgar's explanations for his past</li>
<ul>
<li>makes him a Commodore, gives him three ships</li>
<li>urges him to check out <i>Deepwatch Base</i></li>
<li>if Kalgar can expose the superweapon program, she'll publicly support him</li>
</ul>
<li>Alvyn takes responsibility for destruction of outpost, is arrested.</li>
<ul>
<li>escapes, saboutages ship, fights with Lieutenant Dirgere, <i>Angrimich Shivi</i> agent</li>
<li>learns people looking for them: Tribulus, <i>Brass Company, </i>young, bald monk woman </li>
</ul>
<li>Crew goes to Windle's Landing to get gems to make ship fly again</li>
<li>encounters possessed monk woman looking for Victor Whitehelm</li>
<li>she kills 25 people, turning them to ash, party stops her with ships cannons</li>
<ul>
<li>she claims it isn't over as the possession leaves her</li>
</ul>
<li>The party leaves Windle's Landing, sailing toward Deep Watch Bay</li>
<ul>
<li>The crew makes preparations including fleet operations, "frog men", and psionic connections to the fleet through Tong</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-36434603598730468122015-04-30T14:43:00.003-04:002015-04-30T15:23:07.009-04:00Magic Is Not A Tech Crutch<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeQ6qOF7folI2Ul-DchCmmw4KWJi1VTHACCamjE7xj96rXTcY38QWulkjjD4VsunN7Z50ec0TyaRdjw9UMP5HBB66qBA-VRuirRHNttVupQ858xIMMcNVmvTn_06xIuTM7K4MaOlXCvU/s1600/Self-portrait+avatar+128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeQ6qOF7folI2Ul-DchCmmw4KWJi1VTHACCamjE7xj96rXTcY38QWulkjjD4VsunN7Z50ec0TyaRdjw9UMP5HBB66qBA-VRuirRHNttVupQ858xIMMcNVmvTn_06xIuTM7K4MaOlXCvU/s1600/Self-portrait+avatar+128.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dominic-matte.html">Dominic Matte</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've seen a few interesting thoughts on the interaction between magic and technology. A common argument is that advanced technology would not develop in a world with magic because magic works as a sort of crutch that negates any need for scientific advancement. If you can shoot fireballs and beams of force from your fingertips, why would you need a gun? If you can teleport not just between towns, but between continents or worlds or planes, why would you need cars or trains?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Personally, I'd argue the opposite: a world with magic would develop technology at a <i>faster</i> rate.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wizards are often portrayed as very academic. They spend days studying tomes, researching methods, memorizing formulas, and creating new spells through experimentation, trial and error. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That sounds awfully scientific, doesn't it? If the greatest minds in a fantasy world are employing the scientific method to magic, then why would anyone think that same method would be applied nowhere else?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Alchemy has also been a staple of fantasy worlds since forever, and it's even more scientific than spell creation. Potions and solutions are created by mixing specific ingredients and substances in precise quantities to generate the desired result. That's literally just chemistry, and the most common alchemical weapons are completely plausible in the real world. Alchemist's fire? Napalm. Thunderstones? Flashbang. Alchemist's acid? Well... acid. The only difference is that fantasy alchemy goes a little farther than real-world chemistry - we don't have potions that turn people invisible or give them dragon breath.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To show just how absurd the idea is that the existence of magic impedes tech, let's look at a specific example: guns.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
People argue that firearms would never need to be developed in a world where people can shoot fire from their fingertips. Well... why not? We've already talked about how alchemy is real-world chemistry, but more powerful. So in a world where adventurers can buy a napalm grenade with pocket change, is it really so implausible to imagine that someone would realize that sticking explosives in a tube focuses the force, and that sticking something else in the tube will make it go fast?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The invention of firearms seems like an easy bet in that kind of world, but how about usage? Why would anyone use a gun when they can toss fireballs? </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Actually, that's another easy answer. I have never seen a fantasy world where magic is so easy and commonplace that <i>anyone</i> can shoot fireballs. Powerful, effective combat magic is almost always a rarity, and while individuals exist who can blast armies into ash, they're far from common. Just like in the real world, a gun is something that your typical farmer could - and likely would - have on hand for hunting or protection.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And this is exactly the same reason that any kind of technology would become as common in a fantasy world as it is in the real world: magic isn't easy or accessible to the common folk, and while armies or guilds or wealthy nobility can afford to get their hands on magic, they still don't necessarily have magical ability themselves, and might want something cheaper as an alternative.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
On that topic, low cost sounds like a good niche for non-magical technology. In a typical D&D setting, anyone could feasibly become a wizard with enough time, resources, and study, but not everyone has or is willing to spend those resources. As long as the tech to reproduce a spell effect is cheaper and easier than the spell itself (or the training to cast the spell), there will always be a market for non-magical technology, even if it isn't as reliable.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There's even more application in a world that treats magic as a branch
of science. If magic is another type of physics, then technology might
be able to duplicate, block, or even counter the effects of magic. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And we still haven't even talked about anti-magic application! A wizard can kill you with a Magic Missile from two hundred feet. How do you protect yourself from that? You could become a wizard yourself, or you could buy fancy protection spells or magic armour. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Or you could shoot him with your rifle.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Magic isn't a crutch that excludes technology. Treating magic as an academic or scientific discipline only encourages technology, as the same methodologies will create scientific discovery. There's plenty of room for technology in any fantasy world where not everyone can use magic - and even if magic is super common, there's still room for tech if it's cheaper or easier than magic.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Don't use magic as an excuse to ignore technology when the implications of having both are so much more interesting!<br />
<br />
P.S.: if you're interested in worlds with advanced tech and magic, some do exist - for RPG examples, check out Shadowrun or D&D's Eberron. Both are excellent, well-developed, interesting worlds that consider the implications of the coexistence of magic and tech.</div>
Dominic Mattehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09711711981365429057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-1659742832749011722015-03-26T02:11:00.002-04:002015-03-26T02:11:52.246-04:00The Long Game: Return to Aes!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last time...<br />
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Our three adventurers had defeated the Iron Dragon and were fighting their way out of the tower. Making it safely aboard the <i>Shockrosia</i> (or Thunderhead, in the Common tongue), along with some new allies, the crew had intercepted a message from Aes. Kalgar was being called back, on charges of high treason.<br />
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<br />
<a name='more'></a>Standing at the helm of the ship, Kalgar ordered his crew back to their posts and he turned the ship westward. Examining his map of Cyfandir, he examined the possible routes they could take.<br />
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At this point, Adamantina's forces had completely invaded Albus; that sovereign country no longer existed. Hiems, the northern waste, was also home to Rime, a beast, a cobalt dragon actually, who the players had met, nearly at the cost of their lives. Sailing due west or circling to the north were completely out of the question.</div>
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There was nothing for it, they would have to go south. So, Kalgar turned the ship and sailed down along Argentum's mountain range, along the border of Ferrum and Aurum. With any luck, they could stop off in Chalybs, the city-state, and perhaps replenish some supplies.</div>
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With his orders given, Kalgar went below-deck to find Alvyn. One of the many horrors of the tower included clones, copies, empty versions of Alvyn. Adding to that the fact that the fight with the iron dragon turned Alvyn into several kinds of creatures at once, Alvyn had taken the first opportunity to take a shower, a long shower. Of course, first he had to ask the dwarves to make a shower, but one step at a time.</div>
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When Kalgar arrived, Alvyn had moved on from his shower, to a sauna. <i>When did that get here?</i> Kalgar thought, he'd have to talk to the dwarves about that, they should really run new things by him first.</div>
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"Alvyn, where are you?" the dragonborn asked.</div>
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"I'm in here, it's warm." the gnome answered, not wanting to move a muscle.</div>
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"I'm out here." Kalgar answered, having little time for games.</div>
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"Fine." With a long sigh, Alvyn moved to the door. Opening the door, standing there in his towel, he looked up at Kalgar. "What!?"</div>
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Standing tall, Kalgar answered, "It's time. I've been called back to Aes."</div>
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Alvyn stared at him, unblinking. "Alright, who do we have to kill? I assume that we just have to kill some people so we can get back to the business at hand."</div>
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"The Angrimich Shivi, the military police, you know too well, they intercepted a signal of the news-cast and, well, they're out for blood. They're looking for me." </div>
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"You couldn't have been a loan shark, with a debt to pay off, no no, <i>you</i> had to get the Angrimich Shivi after you." Alvyn's hands were on his hips.</div>
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Rubbing his chin, Kalgar raised an eyebrow and said, "I seem to recall that this was partly your idea."</div>
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"Well...yeah, but they weren't supposed to find out you weren't dead. Alright, well, we'll figure something out."</div>
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Kalgar called a meeting with Alvyn and Tong in his quarters. He wanted to brief them on some of what they might be getting into. Kalgar explained the rule of Aes, which publicly starts from the Grand Admiral and works its way down through military rank and file. Every citizen of Aes must serve in the military for a 15 year term, some do this more than once. It was Kalgar's abandonment of his second term which turned him into an enemy of the state. Publicly, the country is run by the Grand Admiral, a terse, fierce, elderly dragonborn who is said to have been the survivor of a powerful storm, through which he alone sailed his ship. However, privy to the information of <i>The Long Game</i>, Kalgar reminded Alvyn and Tong that the country was actually controlled by the Bronze dragon and that she had been responsible for Aes' turn toward superweapons. The location of the Capital, where presumably both the Grand Admiral and the dragon reside, is only known by official captains of Aes' military.</div>
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The three sorted out the details, working every scenario they could think of. Kalgar remembered an old law, which allowed the accused to challenge his accuser, and thought that could be used. He was no lawyer, but he believed he had the power of the people, and Kord, behind him, and thought it worth a try. If he could challenge the Grand Admiral, the very lawmaker who had turned his country away from the path of strength and honour, and if he was worthy of the fight, Kalgar might not only fight off his charges, but maybe turn the country back on the proper course. It was a gutsy move, but then again, the three adventurers were used to that.</div>
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Alvyn gave some thought as to the location of the Capital. He thought there must be a pattern in the trade routes of the ships moving through the archipelago of Aes. Perhaps by consulting paperwork of the trade manifests, they could narrow down the Captial's location. "Sure, there may be outliers for accidents such as storms and horrible monsters, but we should be able to figure it out." He also gave some thought to Kalgar's return. He remembered that not only did Kalgar leave Aes way back when, so too did the superweapon Alvyn was originally after, an earthquake machine. "So when you challenge the Grand Admiral, if something goes wrong, we'll just rig up a facsimile and broadcast the weapon to Aes."</div>
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"Plus," Kalgar added, "if anyone recognizes you, they'll be too worried anyway about what you could do." Since details of Alvyn's cured spellscar were not widespread and Aes' high brass had used his spellscar to craft the superweapons in the first place.</div>
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"We're going to need a smaller boat, a hundred feet of rope, two hundred pounds of explosives, some parachutes..." Alvyn was scheming, and that was both good and bad.</div>
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"Alchemist's fire?" Tong suggested.</div>
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"Yeah, some thunder stones, some..."</div>
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"How about a suit of armour and a corpse?" Tong loved guessing, it was a playful way of gleaming knowledge, and as a monk of Ioun, he loved knowledge, in all its forms.</div>
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"No, that's not something you <i>buy</i>, that's something you <i>make</i>." Alvyn said, in between items on his list.</div>
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"Another thing to consider. The Order of Kord." Upon seeing the raised eyebrows from Tong and Alvyn, Kalgar continued. "The Order is a loose following of Kord's soldiers, those who believe and fight for Him. But, Kord Himself has told me have that members of the Order can <i>share</i> their strength, even give it to others, it has rarely been done, but it <i>can</i> be done, and maybe I will need it."</div>
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Suddenly Tong stood up and in the voice of his old master, Ting Tang Wong Gong, he uttered, "Scroll #8444: The world of appearances is like a sausage skin, the <i>Reverie</i> is the meat." And just when they thought he had finished, he continued, "Scroll #8445...No sausages!" Ting Tang's lessons burned strongly in Tong's mind, even after all this time.</div>
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Thinking they had at least the semblance of a plan, Kalgar led them back above deck. </div>
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"All hands on deck!" He commanded, and the crew assembled.</div>
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"You've all heard the news-cast! I've been called back to Aes, the west of the world, marked as a fugitive and a traitor. But you probably don't know why. One thousand years ago, the dragons took over, or they tried to during <i>The Great Betrayal</i>, before all the nations of this world teamed up, and well, we all know what happened."</div>
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A look of worry came across Alvyn's face as he stepped forward to stop Kalgar. <i>You can't tell them this, they don't know this!</i> Alvyn's face was saying. He was worried about <i>The Long Game</i>, one of its rules being that if more than 5 non-dragons knew about the existence of dragons, those people would be killed. However, Kalgar was not speaking of the present, he was speaking of the past.</div>
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"...since then, Aes was built on the principles of strength and honour. We rounded up our allies, we cleared our country of weakness, and we faced our enemies head on, never afraid to show our true strength, we'd rather face our enemy in battle than cunningly sneak from afar."</div>
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Alvyn muttered to Tong, "<i>Yeah, like idiots</i>." But he said it with a smile.</div>
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"Back when I was in Aes, serving in the Imperial Navy, I noticed a change in my country, a change in weaponry which I believe to be less honourable. They started using weapons of mass destruction, thinking they were more efficient and a better way to wage war. But, I believe that the weapons removed the risk from the fight, and that if a battle costs nothing, its victory is worthless. Strength must be checked, and weakness is its own punishment. Superweapons cannot be checked and their strength cannot be merciful."</div>
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"I couldn't change the minds of my crew, the military is the law. So I faked my own death, and I left the country, and I have been traveling ever since, hoping to learn more, gain strength, so that I could one day go back and turn the tide of my country, back to a better way. That, is why I'm labeled a traitor because rather than simply giving my life to a service I didn't believe in, I choose to walk away."</div>
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"We are going back there now, and we are going to face, well, you've already faced some terrible dangers, but we are going to even greater threats. You have all served me well. Without hesitation, and with an obedience that I probably haven't earned because I haven't been the greatest captain. We will be making a stop in Chalybs, and if any of you choose to get off this ship, leave this life, I won't stop you, but, if you want to actually accomplish something, if you want to turn the tide of aggression, and make ours a better world, and if you want real adventure, then I suggest you come with us!"</div>
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With that, he looked at his crew, knowing this was a defining moment for him and for them. </div>
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Dwight, one of Kalgar's disciples, stand up, looks around, then sits down and says, "I...I'm with you."</div>
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The dwarves look at Kalgar and scoff, "Hmph" as always. They're with him too. Everyone else is nodding.</div>
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Kalgar smiles, some of his teeth still broken from when he faked his death all those years ago, and he said, "I always knew you were a bunch of badasses, now get back to work!" And with a hearty cheer from the crew, everyone went back to their posts.</div>
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A single tear rolled down Tong's cheek but then evaporated into ethereal spirit mist. </div>
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Kalgar, noticing Haymitch's silence, calls him over to speak privately.</div>
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"Speak plainly, Haymitch, what are your concerns?"<br />
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"This seems sudden." the young disciple says.<br />
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"Sudden? The fact that we're going back? You saw the transmission."<br />
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"You don't seem to have put a lot of thought into this." Haymitch frowns.<br />
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Keeping an eye on some dwarves loading the port-side cannons, Kalgar says, "I can assure you that I have had this on my mind for the past few years. I don't have everything worked out yet, but it will take some time to get back to Aes."<br />
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"So, you plan to, what? Take on an entire country but you don't have a plan."<br />
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Kalgar laughed at this, "I don't have a full plan yet, but I'm working on it. The last time I was in Aes, I noticed that the people were divided on the military's way of doing things. Some sided with efficiency, but others sided with the side of honour, on which they were raised. I believe that if someone were to challenge the lawmakers, to challenge the laws publicly, that this could turn the tide of favour toward a more honourable way of things. I know it's rash, I know it's dangerous, but I believe that a sudden storm can break through the wall of resistance and an example must be made to turn this country back. And while I am not one to quote law, there are some ancient laws on my side, as well as the spirit of that law."<br />
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"Well, I guess I have some time, let me think about it." Haymitch says.<br />
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"The details are still being worked out, but I left the coutnry because I didn't think I was storng enough to make any kind of change. Even after the transmission, I would only go back if I believed that something had changed. <i>I</i> have changed. I am stronger and I am surrounded by allies who believe in the same idea as myself, including you. I think we can go back and make a difference. Most of the problems of Aes come from on high. If I can change the Grand Admiral's mind, then I think that I can make things better."<br />
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After some thought, Haymitch says, "I'll have to think on this, I'll let you know when we're at Chalybs."<br />
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During this conversation, Tong si Gong focused his mind into the <i>Reverie</i> to contact his fellow followers of Ioun. There he summoned his three most devout disciples Hassim, Kashatriya, and Lenny.<br />
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"I am going on a pilgrimage, but it is not for me. I am helping a close ally. You three will be my lord regents in my stead, it is your job to maintain the spiritual equanimity while I am away and you will be the bearers of my knowledge. There will be no temples, the age of temples is ending. This physical world will be the temple of our deity, and its halls will stretch out throughout all of Cyfandir. You will soon know the meaning of the Mindfulness Scroll 4182. Do not weep over this stone, look for the temples inside of you. Reverie over!"</div>
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And, just for a fraction of a second, just as the <i>Reverie</i> closes, Tong si Gong felt the same, brief but intense feeling of hatred and focus he had felt in the iron tower. Like someone was watching him, with malicious intent.<br />
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"Troubling. Meditate on the pupil who gazes at all things, but to itself is blind."<br />
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Staying on the eastern side of the Argentum mountains, the <i>Shockrosia</i> makes good time. Along the way, they spot some of Argentum's wyvern knights, an elite military group who make quick work of scouting the mountain range with their winged beasts. It becomes suddenly clear to Tong that the knights see them, even though the ship is surrounded by a cloud-based cloaking system. To anyone else, they appear as a quick moving cloud, but the knights seem to be able to see through that.<br />
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Alvyn watches them, and finally hails one, "Hey! How did you see us?"<br />
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The knight and wyvern circle the ship. "No, no, you can land, we want to talk with you." Alvyn clears the deck.<br />
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The wyvern gently, but solidly landed on the deck, and the wyvern grabbed the rail as the knight dismounted. The beast was large, but its muscles were very compact, leaner than a wild wyvern, and its scales and spikes were larger. Strange, but formidable.<br />
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The knight has two lances strapped to the wyvern, and he himself was carrying a long sword. Taking off his helmet, they could see that he was a middle-aged human, nothing extraordinary about his personal appearance. After greeting them, he says, "So, you wanted to know how we saw you?"<br />
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"Yes", Alvyn said, stealth being very important to him.<br />
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"Excellent vision is a mandatory part of being an Argentum knight, or military wyvern. We have massively long borders, with many people trying to cross often. Plus, we have help." And with that, he shows Alvyn his helmet, which seemed to have magical enhancements which aided perception.<br />
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Alvyn whistled over one of the dwarves, who were always tinkering with something, "Hey, look at this, learn!"<br />
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"These helmets allow you to see all things, but do they see the spiritual realities that inter-penetrate this world-"<br />
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"No!" Kalgar and Alvyn say simultaneously.<br />
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"But, the mys-".<br />
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"No." Alvyn says.<br />
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"But!"<br />
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"It's a hat."<br />
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Tong shrugged this off and went to another part of the ship to think.<br />
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"How fare your borders, with the push of Adamantina?" Kalgar asks, always coming to the point.<br />
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"We have noticed some scout groups from Aurum and Adamantina pushing through gaps, trying to scout out information on each other but while there hasn't been open hostility yet, we are staying vigilant."<br />
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"As we've been travelling south, we noticed a ragged group of mutated creatures moving west through Ferrum. It is something you might want to warn your northern patrols."<br />
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"Hmm, we have also noticed some movement within the depths, from underground, some creatures we have not seen in some time. Nothing dangerous, but the fact that they are emerging is, in itself, quite strange."<br />
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As this was said, Kalgar looked over at the dwarves, all performing various duties on deck. They hadn't been paying attention before, but they were now, and they looked horrified.<br />
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"Alvyn, is there any way to send a signal, maybe through the news-cast, to communicate with people in other lands?" Kalgar asked.<br />
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"Well, there's the <i>Sending </i>ritual." Alvyn answered, nodding.<br />
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"I could send one of my neophytes through the <i>Reverie</i> to contact people all over Cyfandir." Tong si Gong saw an exciting opportunity for sharing knowledge.<br />
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"Well, I just thought there could be a way for different groups to post information, as it developed, which could be useful to us later." the dragonborn said.<br />
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"Hmm, well, at least for now, perhaps our Argentum knight here could give us the coordinates of this incident and we could investigate it later. And yeah Tong, you could look into it."<br />
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"Seems sort of heretical, but I guess, given the context, I could do so."<br />
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"Heretical? I remind you that knowledge is the most important thing about your worship to Ioun, is that not right, Tong?" Kalgar took religion just as seriously as Tong, however differently he practiced it.<br />
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"I never thought someone who bowed to the god of war would trump me in ecumenical knowledge. Very well, it shall be done."<br />
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Kalgar quoted lessons learned long ago, "...accumulate, distribute, and attain knowledge in all forms, pursue education, build libraries, and pursue ancient legion and all lore. That is the way of Ioun. Yes, I paid attention in my religious studies."<br />
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"Yes, but can you break a stone with your head?"<br />
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"Yes." Kalgar said, flexing his huge muscles.<br />
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"Oh, hmm, yes."<br />
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Meanwhile, the wyvern is sniffing and checking out members of the crew, especially Dwight, who are all trying to avoid it, but finding it difficult to do that and maintain their post. The knight seemed to want to ask something, but kept thinking better of it.<br />
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"What's on your mind, soldier?" Alvyn asked, polishing his <i>goggles of Aura sight</i>, an innocent looking manuever, but he was actually scanning Dwight for any abnormalities. He didn't find anything.<br />
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The knight looked down at Alvyn and says, "What manner of vessel is this? I've never seen its like before."<br />
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"It's a sailing ship. It sails" Alvyn was being a little circumspect.<br />
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"It also flies." Tong contributes.<br />
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Alvyn reaches into his satchel and hands the knight a flask of something delicious. "Thanks for everything, good luck with your country."<br />
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Sensing some hesitation from the knight, Alvyn adds, "Oh, it's non-alcoholic, it's fruity!"<br />
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"Oh, well, thank you!" The knight tried a sip, smiled, and then jumped off the ship. The crew of the <i>Shockrosia</i> watched the knight and wyvern fly away.<br />
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"That was to share!" Alvyn called after him, laughing.<br />
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In a moment of curiousity, Tong tried to use his psionic magic to erase the memory of the <i>Mark of Mercury</i> from his mind. But nothing happened. Its magic exceeded his own. Tong spit out a curse at this crude mark sullying the temple of his body.<br />
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The travel along the border of Aurum yielded much activity, as the country seemed to be increasing its presence in the area. Towns, cities, camps, all were growing in military presence, gearing for something. Due to their cloud-cloak, no one noticed the Thunderhead.<br />
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"The open palm of this verdant land is slowly becoming a closed fist." Tong si Gong muttered, psionic power emanating from him.<br />
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"Yeah, war will do that." Alvyn quipped.<br />
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That is when they remembered.<br />
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When last they had seen Chalybs, the self-designated country, which had branched off from Aurum, had just suffered a city-wide strike from its civil workers, and most importantly, the city was under siege, from Aurum!<br />
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Rounding the valley which held the city, they saw that this was still in effect. Aurum's military had encircled the city, their troops, which included dinosaur armies, were patrolling the walls, keeping the city locked down. Chalybs, fully able to defend itself, had trebuchets and other weapons lining the walls of their once-fair city.<br />
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Studying this, Alvyn said, "We need helium."<br />
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"What!?" Tong shouted, eyebrows raised as high as they could go.<br />
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"Helium..."<br />
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"What?"<br />
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"...or its magical equivalent." Alvyn finished.<br />
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"Ah, you mean breath of the heavens!"<br />
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"No, I mean helium."<br />
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"Breath of the heavens was given by Ioun." Tong was always willing to ignore the knowledge of anything that <i>wasn't</i> his god.<br />
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"We can't land here, but we do need a way to get supplies."<br />
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"<i>The wealthy third brother will always pick sides</i>. Scroll # 7869." Tong said, considering their situation.<br />
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Our three adventurers thought over their situation. Alvyn wanted to steal supplies from Aurum, his eyes twinkling at the sight of dinosaurs. Tong was willing to do whatever it took to make the mission succeed, but Kalgar wasn't convinced that stealing would be the right thing to do.<br />
<br />
"Your strength comes at the expense of your enemies." Alvyn said.<br />
<br />
Kalgar thought this over, and came to the conclusion that their supplies would not make much of a dent in what Aurum had in its camps. Knowing that he was the least stealthy person, he wondered if it was time for Dwight and Haymich to go on a mission. But, there was still the question of Haymich's loyalty; with Chalybs under siege, he didn't even have the choice of getting off the ship.<br />
<br />
"Tell you what, I'll go talk to Haymich since you may be intimidating him and causing him to not speak freely." Alvyn said. "I'll be right back."<br />
<br />
As the gnome walked off, Kalgar called after him, "Make sure it <i>is</i> talk, I've heard you whispering."<br />
To which Alvyn replied, "Hey, it's me!"<br />
<br />
Alvyn found Haymich leaning against a rail on the far end of the ship. "Jeez, Haymich, tie your shoes! No, wait, I'll do it for you." As Alvyn began tying his shoes, he asked, "Are you staying with us or not?"<br />
<br />
Looking down uncertainly, Haymich answered, "I presume if my answer is no, you're just going to throw me off the ship?"<br />
<br />
"Oh probably. We have met."<br />
<br />
"Fine."<br />
<br />
"So, you're going to do the right thing?" the gnome asked.<br />
<br />
"If that's what you call it."<br />
<br />
Alvyn laughed, a dark laugh, "Shades of grey, buddy, shades of grey. Alright, well then. Good choice." Alvyn then untied the rope he had surreptitiously tied to Haymich's ankles.<br />
<br />
Walking back to Tong and Kalgar, carrying a sloop of rope, Alvyn said, "It's fine, he's staying with us." <br />
<br />
"Excellent!" Tong replied, "I'm proud of the fact that you've grown so much, Alvyn, learned to use your words to change someone's mind."<br />
<br />
"Hmm." Alvyn answered.<br />
<br />
"...it takes a lot to use your <i>words</i>, your heart, to convince people to do the right thing, you don't have to resort to actions-"<br />
<br />
"Or physical threats." the gnome warlord smiled.<br />
<br />
"Or otherwise, yes, you've matured!" the human monk looked pleased.<br />
<br />
"So, how are we going to get these supplies?" Kalgar asked.<br />
<br />
"I have a plan. We're going to go down, put all the supplies we need into a pile, and then we're going to teleport them onto the ship!" Alvyn was looking through his supplies, trying to sort our his arcane accoutrement, in order to make teleportation circles.<br />
<br />
After sorting through some odds and ends, Alvyn remembered that making a teleportation circle would take way too long. "Hmm, any other ideas?"<br />
<br />
"We could taunt them, we could fly overhead saying, 'Haha! I bet you cannot even hit us with your thunderstones, and then wait, as they toss their thunderstones onto your ship." Tong leans back, looking pleased with this plan.<br />
<br />
Alvyn and Kalgar looked at him. "No. That is one of the worst plans I have ever heard." Kalgar said.<br />
<br />
"But, Tong, that will destroy our ship." Alvyn pointed out.<br />
<br />
"It will if...it will. Never mind!" Tong resigned the point.<br />
<br />
"Look, I used to do this for a living. I'm sure we can do this." Alvyn said.<br />
<br />
"What do you need for this? I am not made for this type of mission." the 300 lb, fully-armoured dragonborn was not made for stealth, and he knew it.<br />
<br />
"Hmm, maybe if I put all the supplies in one spot. You could send a rope down from the ship with your harpoon and haul us and the supplies back up."<br />
<br />
"Maybe we could use Dwight and Haymich to help."<br />
<br />
"Sure, in fact, they can lead this mission." Alvyn said, nodding.<br />
<br />
Breaking apart the meeting, Kalgar went to his quarters, where he called Dwight and Haymich. Haymich was the first to arrive. As he walked in, he saw the dragonborn, sitting at his desk, which appeared to be bolted into the floor. The rest of the quarters were quite spartan, hosting a hammock, some weapon and armour racks, and some extra chairs. Taking one of these, Haymich sat down.<br />
<br />
"So, you've decided to stay with us." Kalgar said.<br />
<br />
"Sort of."<br />
<br />
"What does that mean?" Kalgar looks up from his desk, straight into Haymich's eyes.<br />
<br />
"I can't exactly get off the ship, now can I?"<br />
<br />
"Do you want to leave? What are your concerns?"<br />
<br />
"The same things I mentioned earlier."<br />
<br />
Right now the captain of the <i>Shockrosia</i> thought to himself that he could really use a drink.<br />
<br />
"Alright, look, I have very little patience, and what little I have, I'm trying to use to answer your questions. But I don't have all the answers, I'm not an <i>ideas</i> man. I go where the wind blows, and right now it's calling me back to Aes. That is why I have told everyone that if they want to join me on my crusade they can, but if they want to leave, then I need to know now. If you're so unhappy with the plan, then help <i>make</i> it, talk to Alvyn, talk to some of our dwarven crew. I don't have every detail laid out, I trust in Kord. Kord and Melora will see me through. I have been twice-blessed by these gods, especially for this quest to turn the waters of Aes. If you have issues or problems with that, you need to voice that so we can work through them."<br />
<br />
"Fine. As long as you're not going to do something stupid like, I don't know, raid that camp down there for supplies."<br />
<br />
Sitting up straight, Kalgar said, "Well, what would you suggest? We need these supplies, and we cannot get them in Chalybs."<br />
<br />
"Can't you get them in Aes?"<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
A short time later, the <i>Shockrosia</i> entered Aes.<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
Rounding south of Hyacintho, Kalgar, at the helm of the Thunderhead, noticed a large storm off in the horizon. Examining it, he couldn't get a sense of what it was, but now that he had noticed it, it started moving toward them, quickly.<br />
<br />
Reaching into his inner self, Kalgar examined it from a religious perspective, his patron god <i>is</i> the lord of storms, after all. He got no sense from it.<br />
<br />
Alvyn and Tong looked at it, neither could figure out what it was. Alvyn put on his parachute. Unsure if they could outrun it, Kalgar slowed the ship and told everyone to brace for impact.<br />
<br />
As the storm moved toward them, it enveloped them. The air became dark, with flashes of lightning, causing hair to stand on end. The winds were rushing in all directions. They were being rained on from all sides. It was becoming hard to hear anything; Alvyn was yelling to Kalgar, this is what he heard.<br />
<br />
"Alright, Kalgar, I think you got this! I'm going to go below deck and make a sandwich!"<br />
<br />
To which Kalgar responded, "We may need...some kind...of yelling ritual!"<br />
<br />
Kalgar began praying to his gods, hoping Melora, the patron goddess of Aes, could help settle this storm. He couldn't feel her influence. "Well, you only live once", Kalgar said, grabbing a lever and guiding the <i>Shockrosia</i> into the eye of the storm. Silhouetted by clouds and lightning strikes, Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar knew they had encountered a dragon. Which dragon, they weren't sure, but it was likely the one which had disguised itself as a sky god in Hyacintho.<br />
<br />
Tong si Gong focused his psionic powers through his <i>Mark of Mercury</i> in order to try to communicate with the dragon. They were arbitors of <i>The Long Game</i>, they should not be attacked like this. Reaching out off the bow of the ship, Tong had a difficult time keeping his focus. For his efforts, he was rewarded with a lightning strike. The shock was massive, blasting him back, past the crew, almost flying off the ship but Kalgar reached out and caught him just in time.<br />
<br />
The winds increased, the lightning began to strike the ship more rapidly.<br />
<br />
"Bring out the long nines! Dwarves! Open lightning receptors to full capacity!" Kalgar was fighting to keep the ship in the air, but while he had been dodging lightning before, or trying to, now he was trying to aim the strikes so as to absorb the lightning's power.<br />
<br />
A sudden double strike of lightning and one of Kalgar's crew, Lenny from Chalybs, flew off the ship, into the clouds, gone. "Kord's blood!" Kalgar swore.<br />
<br />
The lightning strikes were increasing, the receptors were about to overload.<br />
<br />
Pulling back one lever, pushing another, Kalgar wanted to see what his ship could do. He aimed to fly above the storm. The ship's power was increasing thanks to the lightning capacitors, but it was still difficult to maintain the angle of ascent. The rest of the crew had gone below deck, Tong was using his <i>Idolayn Stride</i>, becoming incorporeal, and standing on the deck as if he were attached to it. Kalgar's muscles were straining to keep the levers in place as the wind, rain, and static were rushing all around him. He never felt so alive!<br />
<br />
The lightning strikes were hitting constantly, and just as the ship's core sounded as if it were about to explode, the <i>Shockrosia</i> broke above the storm. Looking down, Kalgar could see that the cloud was completely black. Then a deep rumble was heard, whether it was a storm or a roar, he couldn't tell.<br />
<br />
Below deck, Alvyn flipped the switch and dumped the entirety of the ship's power out below the ship. He reversed the polarity on the lightning receptors, running the power through the bottom, metallic keel of the ship, then used the gravitic inverters to aim the dispersal pattern below the ship.<br />
<br />
The bolts of lightning focused and struck into the storm cloud, but Kalgar could not see if it hit anything.<br />
<br />
Alvyn ran above deck, and said to Kalgar, "Okay, some FYIs. One: we're out of mayonnaise, two: I vented all of our power from the ship so it should functioning about...now."<br />
<br />
"Now?" Kalgar said as the ship began to fall.<br />
<br />
"Kord, Melora, this cannot be the end, help me see my way through this!"<br />
<br />
They began to fall, faster and faster. In a moment of clarity, Tong si Gong remembered that he had earned an ability to redirect lightning in his training. In order to do this, he needed to move quickly. He ran up to the deck, his movement summoned bolts of lightning, then he teleported to the ship's core unloading the energy into the ship. He kept this up, repeating it over and over, faster and faster, blinking in and out of reality.<br />
<br />
However, some of the lightning wasn't being directed through him, it was striking him. Kalgar laid his hand upon the banister of his ship and, for a brief moment, he could feel the presence and strength of everyone onboard. He then channeled some of his strength through the ship, into Tong, healing him.<br />
<br />
The ship plunges, continuing to be struck by lightning on the way down. Suddenly, Alvyn, holding onto the rail was struck by lightning. Among shouts of pain, he yelled, "This sucks! Pilot better!"<br />
<br />
The ship's core filled quickly with energy from the storm, reaching the overload point again. The <i>Shockrosia</i> cleared the storm cloud and was now only a few hundred feet above the water, and falling fast.<br />
<br />
The ocean. It has been Kalgar's home for most of his life. Piloting the <i>Shockrosia</i> wasn't <i>exactly</i> like sailing a ship on the water, and Kalgar missed the ocean. Its swells, its moods, its temper. Kalgar recalled the calm nights and the brutal storms he had to sail through while serving in the Imperial Navy. Sailors long ago noticed that the waters below a storm tended to become mixed and agitated as well. These sailors joked that Melora and Kord, gods of sea and storm, were talking, or fighting. With the <i>Shockrosia</i> falling fast, Kalgar closed his eyes, and trusted his instincts. Turning the ship <i>into</i> the low pressure system, the water and air rising to meet the storm, Kalgar let go of the wheel and allowed it to find the safest course.<br />
<br />
The ship skipped several times off the water before finally coming to rest. The storm above moved off.<br />
<br />
Before they even had a moment to catch their breath, Kalgar spotted another ship approaching. He almost missed it, only someone with keen eyes or his experience would have known what to look for. The ship was extremely low to the water, with almost transparent sails. He recognized that style of ship, those sails, as an <i>Angrivich Shivi</i> ship, Aes' military police.<br />
<br />
"Agghh" Kalgar said.<br />
<br />
"Alright, who are our best fighters?" Alvyn asked, looking around.<br />
<br />
Tong placed palm into fist and nodded, shouts from spiritual warriors from the <i>Reverie</i> shouting behind him.<br />
<br />
"Okay, how about the crew?" the gnome asked.<br />
<br />
"I dunno," Tong replied.<br />
<br />
"Dwight, Haymich, Alea, BallistApe, to name a few", Kalgar said.<br />
<br />
Going below deck, Alvyn grabbed BallistApe, Alea, and some random things, include a few short pipes. "Okay, they're going to come and do some stuff, probably bad stuff. Their entire way of doing things is with stealth and the element of surprise. So, here's what I want you to do: you're going to go underwater, use these tubes to breathe, and when you get the signal to mess things up, come up and fight!" The gorilla did not look pleased when Alvyn mentioned the water.<br />
<br />
"Alea could use her exploding palm technique to sink the ship." Tong said, still on awkward terms with Alea.<br />
<br />
"Yeah, she could, but I <i>want</i> it!" Alvyn's eyes twinkled with yet another opportunity for gain.<br />
<br />
"Your greed will sink the <i>moral </i>ship!" Tong never looked so dogmatic as when he was reprimanding Alvyn.<br />
<br />
Kalgar did not look too happy with this plan. "The <i>Angrimich Shivi</i> are just doing their job, duties given from higher up. I don't like the idea of fighting them."<br />
<br />
"Do you want to be able to move around Aes stealthily?" the gnome asked.<br />
<br />
"No. But I see your point." the dragonborn conceded.<br />
<br />
"That plan will cause a lot of investigation. It may be really hard to cover up. What if I go quietly?"<br />
<br />
"Well, then we'd miss you." Alvyn quipped.<br />
<br />
"That would be your choice, Kalgar." Tong added.<br />
<br />
"Think about this! I am <i>agreeing</i> with the monk!" Alvyn was getting flustered, but still making jokes.<br />
<br />
"Here's how I see it: either I hide, or I go with them willingly. Maybe then they'd leave you alone." Kalgar knew that fighting was not sure to result in victory, in this case.<br />
<br />
"No, you should go with them. They'll take you to the Grand Admiral, right? That's where we want to go anyway." Alvyn said.<br />
<br />
"Tong and I will sneak our way onto their ship. Then, they'll take us where we need to go."<br />
<br />
Kalgar took Dwight aside. He explained that Dwight would be acting captain until Kalgar's return, still a lieutenant but responsible for the ship and her crew. He told Dwight that, in his cabin, there was a notebook with some loose notes on Aes, her ports, customs, things that should help for the time being. He also told Dwight to make special effort to include Haymich in his plans and dealings. "There is strength there, but he has yet to make use of it."<br />
<br />
Slowing the ship, Kalgar stood proudly near the bow. The wind was blowing, a gentle breeze which brushed his scales, and fluttered his coat in the breeze. Kalgar looked down at his jacket. Black, standard Aesian naval wear, with his old insignia torn off. It was time for a new one. Now that he had a moment, Kalgar looked out across the water; it was all coming back to him. The smell of salt in the air, the feeling of the Sun blazing on his scales, and no land to be seen. Freedom. Kalgar was home.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Tong and Alvyn were sneaking along the side of the <i>Shockrosia. </i>Kalgar saw the nameplate on the ship as it approached, the <i>Dauntless</i>. Kalgar was very familiar with it, by reputation. It was connected to Admiral Draxsha, bronze dragonborn, known for her old-fashioned approach to matters, in her command structure. As the ship moved alongside, Kalgar heard a familiar voice.<br />
<br />
"Kalgar!" It was Sora. Kalgar's close friend from his old days, it was her understanding that had led to him claiming and retrofitting the <i>Shockrosia</i> without too much trouble.<br />
<br />
<i>Now what could she be doing here, now?</i> Kalgar thought. "Sora! Pleasure seeing you here."<br />
<br />
Kalgar ordered the lowering of the gangplank and crew members from the <i>Dauntless</i> tossed over some lines to hold the ships in place. Sora, another dragonborn, was visible, along with 4 hooded soldiers. Tong and Alvyn had moved over to Sora's ship.<br />
<br />
"Alvyn, have I ever told you about the 4th Scroll of Mindfulness? This legend begins over two-" Tong began, Alvyn quickly silenced him.<br />
<br />
Sora crossed the plank, a neutral look on her face.<br />
<br />
"So, I hear you're a wanted man now?" A hint of a smile on her lips.<br />
<br />
"So they say, but some want me more than others?" Kalgar returns the smile, looking smug.<br />
<br />
She leans forward and hugs him, "You don't have to worry about anything with us!"<br />
<br />
Alvyn poked his head over the side of the <i>Dauntless</i>. Tong, whose head had been pushed under the water by Alvyn to shush him, resurfaced and said, "The monk would ring the bell thrice, at meal time" Alvyn pushed some cloth into Tong's mouth, "Ughmmghhahhoog". Suddenly, Alvyn could hear a voice inside his head, "<i>That's okay, I'll just communicate with you psychically. He was a great scholar, and a master of many games. The first game he played, he actually invented, it was called Shunooguita!"</i> Alvyn was wincing in aggravation.<br />
<br />
Kalgar held Sora after the hug, "Well met! What are you doing here?"<br />
<br />
"We were checking out that storm, but you seemed to get a closer look than we could."<br />
<br />
"Yeah, you could say that." Kalgar waved over to the ship, which was pretty torn up. "The storm was massive, and we just barely made our escape."<br />
<br />
"Well", Sora continued, "I hope it's not too rude to get straight down to business, but I've been asking around, as you suggested, since the last time we met. Looks like there may be quite a few who are interested in what you have to say."<br />
<br />
Alvyn leaned down toward Tong, whispering, "<i>They're...no one's asking about the gorilla with a crossbow for a hand; these people are </i>really<i> focused.</i>"<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, one of the soldiers on the <i>Dauntless</i>, said, "Hmm, we may need to get rid of some weight if that big guy is going to come over here." And he picked up a cannonball and dropped it overboard. Tong immediately shot out his hand and caught it. Alvyn quickly said, "Sploosh!"<br />
<br />
"How many people are we talking about?" Kalgar asked.<br />
<br />
"Not as many as you would like, but a few rather influential people, such as Admiral Draxsha." Sora responded, surveying Kalgar's crew.<br />
<br />
"How best do you think we should handle this situation? You know the current waters of Aes better than I do."<br />
<br />
"Your ship looks pretty beat up. We are currently based along the South Wall, and with Admiral Draxsha's influence, we could maybe get your ship repaired and even get you an audience with her."<br />
<br />
Kalgar frowned, "The Admiral is willing to fix my ship <i>and </i>meet with me?"<br />
<br />
"Well, you know the South Wall, it's a pretty foggy area, it's pretty easy to miss a couple of small ships sailing in and out." Sora looked at Kalgar, her eyes full of mischief.<br />
<br />
Alvyn climbed over the railing on the far side of the <i>Dauntless</i>, pulling Tong up. Alvyn rooted through the nearest supplies, found a sandwich and began handing them out to the crew. He was so natural, so stealthy, that the crew didn't seem to notice the intruder, when one did, he gladly accepted the sandwich.<br />
<br />
"You know, Alvyn, if you had the same attainment as me, you wouldn't <i>have</i> to eat that sandwich," Tong said, his arms crossed, his hands holding his forearms.<br />
<br />
Back on the <i>Shockrosia</i>, "Well, you know me, Sora, that's more of a plan than I had."<br />
<br />
"Yeah, that sounds like you." The two laugh, even out here, not much has changed.<br />
<br />
Gesturing to his ship and crew, Kalgar said, "She ain't much to look at now, but she has served us well, the <i>Shockrosia</i>, and you remember my comrades, especially," and here Kalgar gestured to Sora's ship, "Alvyn Sehanine and Tong si Gong".<br />
<br />
Tong was barely paying attention, "In the 80th realm, there is the spirit creature known as <i>Shockraba</i>, he is the god of nausea and slivers. In the 89th realm, the god of locked doors, and keys that break..."<br />
<br />
The two ships sailed back to port. Along the way, Kalgar and Sora caught up. "...and returning without a ship would have stopped most people, but I was quickly made captain of the <i>Dauntless</i> and told to investigate that storm front as it seemed to be moving along our borders."<br />
<br />
Alvyn spoke up at this point, "It's probably a good idea that you didn't catch up to it, there was a colossal asshole inside."<br />
<br />
"Also a dragon!" Tong said.<br />
<br />
"Uh, what my friend <i>means</i> to say is that the 89th level of reality is called the dragon." Alvyn spoke up, trying to remind Tong of the rules of <i>The Long Game</i>.<br />
<br />
"No it's...oh!"<br />
<br />
"As a reference to, uh, the power inside all of us."<br />
<br />
"Oh, I see, a ruse!" Tong looked happy, Alvyn shook his head.<br />
<br />
Kalgar spoke up. "Yes, my friends seem afraid to tell you, that Hyacintho seems to pray to some pretty strange gods."<br />
<br />
"We heard rumours of that." Sora looked almost coy.<br />
<br />
"Yeah, we may have accidentally stirred up some trouble there."<br />
<br />
"Accidentally? I heard what you did there." Sora knew Kalgar, she knew how to tease him.<br />
<br />
If it was possible for a dragonborn to blush, Kalgar was doing that. He just smiled, like a satisfied cat.<br />
<br />
"Look," the gnome interjected, "let me just lay something out for you. There are precisely 4 things we have done on purpose in this last year! Everything else, has been <i>entirely</i> coincidental. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a shower."<br />
<br />
Following him, Tong continued, "Have I ever told you about the shower dimension?"<br />
<br />
As the two ships sailed along the South Wall, the fog grew thicker and thicker. This area was always consumed with fog and that, plus the scattering wall of islands, made it a perfect place to hide military complexes to keep watch on Hyacintho ships, but also a prime spot for smuggling and some of the shadier dealings of Aes. But the waters weren't smooth; sharp rocks, narrow waterways, it took good sailors to make their way through, whatever their intentions.<br />
<br />
On one small island, they docked their ships. There was a guard tower, but no one was around.<br />
<br />
"The Admiral isn't here now, but we can send out word for her to meet you here, or some other location." Sora said.<br />
<br />
"Well, we need to make repairs, so it would likely be better if we just wait here." Kalgar, Tong, and Alvyn nodded at this.<br />
<br />
Looking around at the husk of what was left of the <i>Shockrosia</i>, Sora added, "I'm not sure how much you'll get repaired by the time she gets here, and I'm not sure what type of modifications you've made..."<br />
<br />
"Do you have galvanic field inverters?" Alvyn asked.<br />
<br />
"No..." Sora looked confused.<br />
<br />
"Ah, I'm sure our dwarves will figure it out, right?" Kalgar looked back at them.<br />
<br />
One dwarf said, "Pfft...but it'll take some time." <i>Kalgar couldn't remember when he last heard them say anything.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
"Um, this may be a bit of an inconvenience, but not everyone here serves Admiral Draxsha or agrees with everything she says, so while you're here, you may need some sort of disguise, or something." Sora looked Kalgar up and down, he still didn't care too much for stealth and disguise.<br />
<br />
"Sora, is there a place we can go to talk?"<br />
<br />
"Yeah, there are some private quarters in the barracks." she said.<br />
<br />
Pulling an old parka old from his bag, Kalgar wrapped it around him. Walking along the shore toward the barracks, the air damp, and moss-covered rocks strewn the path. "Look, I'm not very good at thanking people, but I really appreciate what you have done for me."<br />
<br />
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll find a way to pay me back." Sora smiled.<br />
<br />
"Quite a lot has changed in the last few years. As strange as it may sound, well, I found Kord." Kalgar told her, briefly, the story of how his life changed since leaving Aes. His connection with Kord and Melora, his renewed sense of purpose. "I can feel His presence guiding me back here. I am very fortunate to have allies like you," he laughs, "to make sure I don't charge straight into the storms."<br />
<br />
Inside the barracks, it was a lot nicer, fires were lit in several places. Sora found a room and they both entered.<br />
<br />
"Really? Because it seems that's exactly what you did."<br />
<br />
"I know it sounds crazy, wait, first of all, <i>that</i> storm chased us! I mean, I didn't run from it, but you know. It sounds crazy, but Kord's strength has become my own. You've seen this country, it's starting to turn, to change from the old ways, and I'm glad there are people like me who sees that as a problem."<br />
<br />
As Kalgar continues, he pulls off his cloak and drops it to the floor. Underneath, she sees that he appears to have another cloak on, a sleeker one, seemingly shiny but dull bronze in colour. Kalgar flexes his shoulders and the cloak opens, revealing that it is not a cloak, but rather his wings. "I told you, I have changed, but my feelings haven't."<br />
<br />
And we'll just fade that scene to black and wrap up today's adventure.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading, we here at D4sign hope you had a great time! Stay tuned for our next adventure when things start getting serious in Aes!</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-78945687063409624372015-03-03T00:45:00.000-05:002015-03-03T00:58:43.453-05:00The Long Game: Escape from The Iron Tower!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last time, in The Long Game, Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar defeated the dragon! Through unbelievable odds, they enraged the Iron Dragon to attack them, thus breaking the rules of the game, and through sheer luck, they were now left standing over a mangled dragon corpse. Not able to rest, our adventurers heard the sound of wild beasts in the levels below, and felt the rumble of an awakening, and angry, tower beneath their feet. They knew they had to escape, but to do that, they would have to fight their way out.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Dallas Kasaboski</span></a></span></td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a>The penultimate floor of the tower had been full of glass tubes containing creatures of seemingly powerful design. They were the results of experiments conducted by the Ironness in order to create the perfect assassin. When Tong si Gong used his psionic abilities to block the dragon's connection with these creatures, he heard the sound of glass crashing below. He knew that the monsters had escaped and would be there to greet them.<br />
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Alvyn cut off the Ironness' head and tossed it to Kalgar. The contents of the dragonborn's <i>bag of holding </i>would make for an odd display indeed containing dozens of weapons, some magical items, hardtack, the heads of severed dragons, and a hammock. But, it was a magical bag and the best place to keep things out of sight, so he stuffed the mutated dragon's head into the bag.</div>
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Moving to the next floor, our adventurers faced off against many foul beasts including the deadly <i>beholder</i>. Narrowing avoiding its gaze, and overthrowing the ferocity of the other beasts, Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar made experienced work of this floor before moving on to the next.</div>
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In an homage to his <i>far</i>-slaying kin, Tong si Gong decided to adorn himself with teeth of the beholder, to remind himself of his necessary victories over these foul creatures.</div>
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Tossing the corpse of the beholder down to the next floor as a warning to all which lurked below, they found piles of corpses everywhere to be seen. Standing in the centre of the room, covered in blood, there stood the cybernetic gorilla with a crossbow for an arm the party had called BallistApe. Seeing the beholder's severed head, BallistApe looked up to the party, and nodded. He then dove into the tube in the centre of the room, roaring furiously as he descended the tower.</div>
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"He's truly a free spirit." Tong said.</div>
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"Looks like he's done some good work here," Kalgar said, inspecting the bodies.</div>
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"I should have given him my card," Alvyn said, a glint of good humour back in his eyes.</div>
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"Alvyn, would you really want someone, a creature of that magnitude, under your influence?" the human monk asked.</div>
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"Have you looked into a mirror lately?" Kalgar's crooked teeth met in a grin.</div>
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Poking around the corpses, Kalgar suggests a rest to regain their strength. Tong agrees and stands in a corner, practicing his breathing exercises, and meditating. Alvyn and Kalgar realized that Tong's power was indeed improving since his ability to meditate was not limited by the need to find a corner, a meditation niche. Alvyn, continuing his gruesome resourcefulness, harvested the stomach from one slain creature and filled it with glass and reagents, hoping to create some sort of weapon. Many of his tools and weapons had been destroyed in previous fights, leaving him to such drastic measures.</div>
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Tong and Kalgar exchanged a look, and then looked at Alvyn. His clothes had been completely destroyed, and he was now wearing only a text of Ioun. Tong was clearly uncomfortable with this, but uncomfortable with Alvyn's nakedness even more; some knowledge should not be learned. Reaching into his bag, Kalgar pulled out his old bed roll, cut holes in it with his katana, and handed it to Alvyn, "There, you have pants."</div>
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"Finally!" Tong said as the holy text disappeared off of the gnome.</div>
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Moving quickly through the next few floors, our adventurers found little to nothing of note. At one point, Tong stopped the party. Sensing the rumbling of the tower, he warned the party that the tower's patience was wearing thin. Taking a solid stance, Kalgar looked into the tube in the centre of the tower. While they had seen a glowing sphere below them before, he now noticed that it was above them. </div>
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"I feel no aberrant cause," Tong said, reaching out, looking for a psionic presence.</div>
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Reaching out with his arcane senses, Alvyn realized it was the core of the tower, its living brain.</div>
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"Hmm, should we go in diplomacy blazing? Or shoot first, ask questions never?" Alvyn looked at his friends.</div>
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"I say we just escape this place. I've seen too much distortion of knowledge." the monk did not want to delay any longer.</div>
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"I say we find out what it wants. If it's a fight it wants, we'll give it one." Kalgar said, tapping his scabbard.</div>
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Putting his head in the tube, Alvyn looked up at the sphere. "Hey! Brain! Mimic-brain, yeah, we would like to speak with you."</div>
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"Subtle, Sehanine." Tong said, only using Alvyn's last name in times of stress.</div>
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The brain core screamed back at them.</div>
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"Can you speak quieter?...I think it may be ignoring me." Alvyn said.</div>
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Trying to open <i>the quiet door</i> between minds, Tong reached out psychically. </div>
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Suddenly, the core flew town the tower, screaming the whole way down, knocking Tong back as it passes beneath them. Holding his broken arm, Tong passed two fingers along it, using healing powers of <i>the Idolawn</i> to fix his injury.</div>
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"That is a handy trick, you're going to have to teach me that." Alvyn said.</div>
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"Are you prepared to spend 15 years training-" Tong asked, interrupted.</div>
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"I have 15 minutes." Alvyn smirked. </div>
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"This thing is starting to piss me off." Kalgar said.</div>
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On the next floor, Tong decided to move with stealth. Whispering this to his comrades, he noticed that Alvyn was nowhere to be seen. Kalgar snorted, and drew attention to himself. Moving loudly, holding the sunrod on the end of his javelin, Kalgar was tired of this tower and didn't think hiding would solve anything.</div>
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The shadows of Kalgar's sunrod flickered off the walls of the laboratory chambers on this floor. Here, as you may recall, the party had encountered gibbering mouthers hidden in the chambers, the result of grotesque mutation and experimentation. This time, the only evidence of the mouthers was their corpses, lying here and there, scattered on the floor.<br />
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Our three adventurers were not alone, however, as sitting in the centre of this floor was a four-armed giant, and a manticore. The giant was busy playing the the bones of corpses, and while Kalgar couldn't see it that well, he thought the giant looked simple-minded. The manticore, the winged beast with a lion's body and a human face, was growling and trying to force its way into one of the chambers.</div>
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Suddenly, Tong and Kalgar heard a voice from the shadows, "Oh, I wonder if our half-orc friend is on the other side of that door."<br />
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Kalgar stopped at the top of the stairs, fully illuminated by the sunrod's glow. Tong and Alvyn stood in the shadows at the bottom of the stairs and considered their options.<br />
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"Should we sneak by? I don't think talking is going to work here." Tong asked, poised on one foot, ethereal robes flowing without wind.<br />
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"I say we just kill them. A) That'll make Kalgar real happy. B) It's going to be hard for Kalgar to stealth. Ever."<br />
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A hmph of agreement from their dragonborn friend above.<br />
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"Plus, I want to know what's on the other side of that door." Alvyn nodded toward Tong.<br />
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Closing his eyes, Tong recalled the <i>Idolawn Fortress</i> and its impossible geometry. He crawled stealthily up the wall and across the ceiling. As soon as he came into view, the giant looked up, seemingly disinterested. It pulled an arm off of a nearby corpse, dwarf, Tong thought. He then opened a portal between worlds and teleported to the far end of the floor. There were no stairs in sight leading to the next floor. They were trapped!<br />
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After all their adventures together, Tong picked up much of the Doomguard sign language. Or he thought he had.<br />
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"I...I have no idea what he's saying, " Alvyn whispered up to Kalgar, "I think he's having a stroke. No, just kidding, there's no stairs, that's what he's saying."<br />
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As Kalgar moved closer to Alvyn, the stairs behind him folded away into the ceiling.<br />
"Okay, new objective. What's behind that door?"<br />
Kalgar turned his head to the side, "So, you want me to run interference?"<br />
"Um, yeah, actually. Hold on, I'm going to toss out a grease grenade, try to clear a path to the door for Tong." Alvyn signaled these plans to Tong, who nodded.<br />
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<i>Tink tink tink</i>, <i>splat!</i> the grease grenade bounced along the floor, exploding right under the manticore. Fighting for stay on its many feet, the manticore was smashed out the way by a flying, charging, dragonborn. "You! Manticore, you're mine!"<br />
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The human-faced manticore roared, Kalgar roared back. Tong slides around the corner, past Kalgar, into the room. There, he came face to face with Primus, the half-man, half-orc they had met earlier. Tong leaned against the door, looking out, ready to brace the door against enemies.<br />
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The manticore leans back and fires spikes at Kalgar, which bounced off his armour. The giant, looking angry but still disinterested, smashed another carcass off the floor. Alvyn crept in, averting the notice of the giant and the manticore. Reaching into his satchel, he pulled out another vial, one of <i>Alchemist's Fire</i>.<br />
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Kalgar swept his wings across the manticore's face, blinding it while Kalgar retreated into the room with his allies. Just as the dragonborn slid into the room, Alvyn tossed the vial out. It bounced once, twice, and then exploded outward in a small, but terrible rush of flames, catching the manticore off guard.<br />
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"<i>What am you going to do with Alchemist's Fire?</i> I don't know, Trixie, maybe light some fools on fire." Alvyn muttered to himself, remembering arguments long passed.<br />
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The giant, lumbering to its feet, wandered over to the manticore, grabbed it out of the air, and smashed it to the floor, crushing its bones.<br />
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Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar stared at the scene, without blinking.<br />
"Uh...let's not fight the giant, guys."<br />
"Such power!"<br />
"Kalgar, if you could lean against the door in a 'it won't open kind of way', that'd be great!"<br />
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Just then, the giant smashes a foot down just outside the door. Tong and Kalgar lean on the iron and brace themselves. Pushing with all of their strength, they are just barely holding the giant off.<br />
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"Kord's blood! This guy is strong!" Kalgar braces himself.<br />
"Just. Keep. Pushing." Tong responds.<br />
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After a few hard shoves, the giant's foot moves away from the door.<br />
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"Let's wait 180 seconds, it should be gone by then. At which point, I say, let's open the door, gingerly, see if the giant is still there, see if it still has the murderous, 'man I wonder what you look like on the inside' look, and if not, then we just go down a level." Alvyn nods, as if to himself.<br />
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"And if that behemoth with the mind of a child is still there, waiting for us?" Tong si Gong asked.<br />
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"Wait him out, he has to sleep sometime."<br />
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Kalgar looked at the half-orc-man, "You, Primus, are you okay? Yes? Fine. Did you try to sneak past this thing? And were you alone at the time? Okay." Primus nods and looks relieved that things are quiet now.<br />
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Precisely 180 seconds later, Alvyn leaned out to see the giant, sitting on the floor, holding the head of the manticore. "Alright, let's get out of here."<br />
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Tong jumped up, "Let's make light the <i>Four Winds</i> and...get out of here."<br />
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Reaching the far end of the room, they noticed that the stairs had returned, and the three plus Primus descended another level.<br />
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Crossing the threshold of the door, they saw BallistApe, the mutated cybernetically-enhanced gorilla roaring in rage as it stood fighting the room of furniture mimics.<br />
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"Kalgar, would you mind assisting our ape-friend here?"<br />
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The dragonborn smiled a crooked grin, unfurled its wings and took to the air, landing on a couch mimic. The dragonborn and the gorilla made quick work, leaving splinters everywhere.<br />
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Brushing himself off, Kalgar looked over at the gorilla. Recalling some brief stories told by Aesian sailors, supplemented by stories from Tong's old Canitian hunting days, he recalled that large, extremely territorial gorillas still roamed the jungles of Cyfandir, the world continent. Often wearing jewelry, more than often consisting of teeth of those they have slain, these gorillas seemed of an intelligence less than man, but far greater than beast. Kalgar nodded at it and said, "Good work."<br />
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Tong, wanting to get out of the tower more quickly, looks into the tunnel in the centre of the room, from which they had came. The tube dripped with blood.<br />
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"What could this mean?" Tong mutters, "Maybe the tower mimic needs us to kill the ape-man."<br />
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"What? Woah" Kalgar begins...<br />
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"Just conjecture!" Tong shrugs.<br />
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"No! Those are ideas, that you keep to yourself, when there's a giant ape-man with a repeating crossbow for an arm."<br />
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"It doesn't understand <i>Common</i>." Tong defends.<br />
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"You don't know that! I'm not taking chances."<br />
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Looking back into the tube, Alvyn noted that the bottom was blocked, and whatever had blocked it was covered in blood. "Hmm, we're not getting out that way."<br />
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Just then the glowing core of the tower screamed its way down the tube, smashing into Alvyn before retreating back up!<br />
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Sitting back to tend to their wounds, and determine their next step, Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar considered the tower, and its motives. The blood continued dripping down the tube. That's when Alvyn made the connection.<br />
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The iron tower was feeding off the iron from the blood of the creatures within, slowly getting stronger, slowly waking up, and it likely made a deal with the Iron Dragon to eat the remains of any of the dragon's experiments.<br />
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After relaying this to the rest of the party, Alvyn asked Kalgar what he had in his bag. Opening up the magical bag, Kalgar sorted through an entire armoury of weapons, rope, some food, hammock, extra magical weapons, as well as the heads of each dragon they've killed.<br />
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"We need to hold it, stop it from retreating. Any suggestions?"<br />
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Kalgar and Tong made quick work, fastening some simple weapons to some dead furniture mimics, hoping to lure the tower core down to become impaled on said weapons. Alvyn sought out with his arcane knowledge, trying to gain more insight into the tower, but he found nothing.<br />
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Tripping the trap, Tong stuck his head in and out of the tube. As he quickly backed away, they all could hear the scream of the mimic core as it flew down the tube, impaling itself on some old weapons. It tried to struggle away but, just as it looked like it might break free, Alvyn tossed another vial of <i>Alchemist's Fire</i> onto it.<br />
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The core froze and turned around, and now the party could see it for what it was, a giant eyeball.<br />
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"Ugh, it's awful!" the human monk exclaimed.<br />
"I've already killed one of these today," Kalgar said, remembering the <i>beholder</i>.<br />
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Dripping with pus and blood, the eye stared at them menacingly. Flipping his goggles down, Alvyn knew that a couple of quick strikes would finish it off. He nodded to Tong who reached an arm through the planes, grabbed the eye and teleported it out onto the floor in front of Kalgar, whose katana was drawn and ready.<br />
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"Alright Kord, let's finish the job!" With that, a bolt of lightning appeared and struck the mimic core eyeball, which popped, oozing everywhere.<br />
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Then, the floor opened up beneath Kalgar's feet and he fell straight through! Bracing his impact with his wings, Kalgar lands, one knee on the ground, with blood all around him.<br />
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"Ugh, disgusting."<br />
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"You okay down there?" Alvyn and Tong were leaning over the hole.<br />
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Finally, after so much misadventure, Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar, along with Primus and BallistApe, escaped the tower, climbed the many levels of stone, and emerged safely on the hilly terrain just outside the tower. While Kalgar hailed the <i>Shockrosia</i>, Tong pointed out some signs of blood on the ground; some of the monsters seemed to have escaped.<br />
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"We should hunt these vile beasts!" the Canitian monk declared.<br />
"Or at least warn someone." Kalgar chipped in.<br />
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The airship circled the skies, as the Sun was about to set. Climbing aboard, the crew were all accounted for, but seemed different. Kalgar could hear a familiar voice farther on deck.<br />
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"Who's that?" Alvyn asked.<br />
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One of the dwarves pulled him through the crew, "So, we were bored, and well, we decided to build this!" There, on deck, were a bunch of random machine parts, and a small sphere. The voice from the box was oddly familiar and that's when Kalgar recognized it as Mountainface from the CWNN news-casting network; it seems the dwarves had hacked into the network.<br />
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Alvyn, wearing only a bedroll, grabbed the nearest dwarf and said, "Build me a shower. Right now."<br />
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"Tong, listen to the newscast, make a report within the hour on what's going on." Kalgar orders some food be brought to him.<br />
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"It is done, as the scrolls say, '<i>Bored dwarves are the ministers of double Orcus!</i>' Scroll 5136."<br />
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Bringing some food down the gangplank, Kalgar helped BallistApe aboard, finding him a place below deck.<br />
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Crossing his legs in front of the news sphere, this is what Tong observed. Mountainface, the half-goliath who reported the news, had toned down his joviality in light of recent events and was finishing his report:<br />
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...<i>and after the fall of the Valley of Glass, last month, the forces of Adamantina have secured all of Albus. No longer a sovereign nation, it is now a fortified territory of Adamantina. </i><br />
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During the newscast, the picture and sound were cutting in and out. Tong and the dwarves thought it was the equipment at first, as they gathered around it, suggesting things to try, when suddenly the picture changed entirely.<br />
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There sat a bronzed dragonborn in a hood, who said, "<i>Kalgar Drakeswynd, it has come to our attention that you yet live. Come home and turn yourself in, or face the wrath of the Angrimich Shivi. You have 30 days.</i>"<br />
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The broadcast flickers and returns to Mountainface, who looks momentarily stunned. "What was that? Whoever that was, I don't approve of this...I...this has better not happen again or, or you're going to have to take it up with my face!" And with that, the broadcast was over.<br />
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The dwarves stared at Tong, who felt a chill running up his spine, "Drakeswynd's not going to like this."<br />
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Standing up, he walked over to Alia the Stubborn, his friend and former lover, and said,<br />
"Alia, what we shared that night, was necessary passion, but it cannot continue. The Edge of Sanity tied my sins to my back, but my wife and child are still tied to my heart. And even though we had a night of martial passion, we cannot allow this to continue."<br />
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"Fine." she said, and walked away. Alia was always one of few words.<br />
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Moving to the other end of the ship, Tong gave Kalgar his report.<br />
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Standing straight and tall, Kalgar looked past Tong and said, "I always knew this day would come."<br />
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Tong had a strange ability to stand completely motionless, yet seem full of movement. The ethereal mists surrounding him helped with this paradoxical illusion.<br />
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While Tong si Gong knew some of the details of Kalgar's past, the dragonborn felt it necessary to update his friend. "I was in my second tour of duty. All of Aes lives and dies by the law of the navy. Dragonborn, we age faster, we are recruited earlier. We live and die by their rule, the only way to leave the navy is to retire. But when I saw those superweapons, what they could do, how dangerous and sinful they were, I had to leave. So I faked my death. I thought it would be easier that way."<br />
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"It is a cruel society in which you have been born, cruel but effective."<br />
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"Cruel? No, they did what they had to do. Until this superweapon business. Since the Great Betrayal, Aes brought itself back together and has been one of the world's most impressive forces, and the service, it speaks to the core of every Aesian. So, abandoning that way of life was necessary for me, but they have reason to hate me."<br />
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Tong put his hand on Kalgar's shoulder, "While it is true that strength must be checked, but do you intend to face this false fate, brought to you by your kinsmen?"</div>
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"When I was taken by the monkhood, I too took a death and was reborn, as you have reminded me. I cannot blame you for this choice, nor can I blame the government for wanting your head."<br />
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"The way I say it, if we don't go back, the Angrimich Shivi, are going to cause havoc trying to find me. And to be honest, I've wanted to go back to Aes for some time, to settle the score. So, it's really up to you whether you want to come with me. I need to go back to settle this and to bring Aes back to the way of the people. I have been chosen and I <i>have</i> chosen."<br />
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"You did not lend your strength in my final battle with Vatharxos, and you may find this surprising to hear, but you helped me more with your words, so I think it is time I helped a friend."<br />
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Nodding, Kalgar stepped past Tong and issued a few commands. He called Dwight to report, and ordered the crew make ready to depart. With sections reporting in, gangplank closed, BallistApe secured, cannons undergoing service, electrodynamicators to full, the <i>Shockrosia </i>took to the skies,<br />
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Just then, without warning, Mercury landed on the ship. Swooping overhead, the wings of her wyvern were staying just out of cannon range. Careful to hide her heritage from the crew, she approached Kalgar and Tong. Alvyn, emerging from his shower, wearing only a tower, sat on a barrel on deck.<br />
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"You may have a problem."<br />
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"Yes?" Kalgar replied.<br />
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"You have killed two of the <i>Game</i>'s players, you haven't broken the rules, but you have killed some of the players, technically you are safe, having not broken these rules, but the other dragons are taking notice."<br />
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"Yeah, that'll happen." Alvyn munched on an apple.<br />
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"Do you mean to say that the other dragons are summoning forces against us? The Vanguards of the Night?" Tong's eyes burn bright with otherworldly knowledge.<br />
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"Not quite" the woman replied, "but someone has hired the Brass Company to track you down."<br />
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"What fair-weather friends those are." Tong crossed his arms.<br />
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"Well, they are mercenaries, they're friends with no one." Alvyn answered. "But we didn't kill the Iron Dragon. There was an accident, things happened, that's what you get for living in a giant mimic."<br />
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"Needless to say, there have been other <i>incidents</i>, I can try to delay things, but watch yourselves. I would appreciate some information on the Copper, Purple, Orium, and Black dragons when next you have the chance." and then she jumped off the ship.<br />
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Staring at his right hand, where the <i>Mark of Mercury</i> still sat etched, Tong pressed his nails into his palm, drawing blood.<br />
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And what happened next is a story for another time.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716933792232918137.post-9287392150843628712015-01-28T01:07:00.001-05:002015-01-28T01:07:56.253-05:00The Long Game: The Iron Tower Part 5<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It seems like our adventurers have been in this Iron Tower forever. All of that is about to end, especially as the three have awoken the dragon, the mutated, angry, <i>charging</i> Iron Dragon.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://dd4sign.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-dallas-kasaboski.html" style="color: #ffb232; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Dallas Kasaboski</span></a></span></td></tr>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a>Leaping at Tong with her six arms and four wings, the Iron Dragon grasped his head between her tentacles. Half-inhaling the human, the dragon then slammed his body against the tower. All around the party, the Iron Tower shook beneath their feat, causing Alvyn to fall to his knees.<br />
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With renewed effort, Tong si Gong pulled himself free, falling to the floor. Staring at his hands, he realized that all his psionic abilities were stripped, that his attack on the dragon's captives rendered his mind clear. No longer clouded by potential, Tong si Gong was but a man, once again.<br />
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Rising from his knees, Alvyn grabbed a couple of vials and smashed them on the back of the dragon. Glass shattered, but the dragon, whose attention was still focused on Tong, experienced no effect. Alvyn, however, felt strange.<br />
<br />
The first feeling starts in his eyes, which shifted to the side of his head and up on stalks. Alvyn could not see this but felt his perspective change. His throat thickened, tightened and felt horribly inflamed, he grew wings, and his skin became green and rough.<br />
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Kalgar moved closer to the dragon and unfurled his wings. "Now we're talking! Taste my steel you monster!" Drawing his foe's attention, Kalgar recalls the lessons of Shizuka, an old ally, and shifts into a better fighting stance. Immediately afterward, the dragonborn paladin reared back his head and shouted, "You and your blasphemous nature will soon meet the power of the gods!" With that, the air in the room felt very dry as lightning struck the dragon's side. Taking a knee, Kalgar placed his hand on the tower, commenced praying in <i>Draconic</i>, and every few words, the others could hear the names of Kord and Melora.<br />
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Paying Kalgar no heed, the dragon attacked both Alvyn and Tong. Coiling around them, she snapped her pincers, clawing at them. Immediately, light shone as if from nowhere and the dragon recoiled from Kalgar's divine retribution.<br />
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Wrapping his keffiyah around his face, Tong touched his <i>Farslayer's Mark</i>, a tattoo gifted to him from his master, Ting Tang Wong Gong. Feeling stronger, Tong shifts away from the Ironness and runs toward the door. Kalgar's matching tattoo shone on his left shoulder, empowering him as well.<br />
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"Look at me!" Alvyn demanded, his voice thunderous and shrill thanks to his recent mutations. Spreading his wings, the mutated gnome abandoned his usual cold logic and gave in to the savage within. Flying higher and higher, he clawed at the dragon's face, hoping to rip out her eye. Swinging her head from side to side, she could not shake loose the gnome who had become a wild animal, relentlessly attacking. Lightning flared from Alvyn and struck the dome, searing a thin line in the iron.<br />
<br />
The tower rumbled.<br />
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Shifting into a better position, Kalgar drew his jade dragon-bone katana and quickly slashed back and forth, tearing strips into the Iron Dragon's side. "They say lightning doesn't strike the same place twice...they were wrong." And with that, lightning emanates from the katana deep within the dragon's hide.<br />
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Continuing furiously, Alvyn struck at the dragon with every action, every limb. Every fall was another attack, every climb was an attempt to blind the dragon. The Ironness could not shake the gnome loose.<br />
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Kalgar's praying grew louder, "Melora, this creature has been dissecting the wilderness, it has not been respecting your creatures. Kord, this is a fight worthy of spectacle and yet no one can see, except you." Recalling an earlier divine vision, the former Aesian feels a drop of rain fall through the thin crack in the dome's ceiling.<br />
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Finally getting a hold of Alvyn with her front claws, the dragon raises him up and throws him past Kalgar into the wall. Peeling her tentacles back, the Iron Dragon's teeth lit up with fire which she breathed at Alvyn and Kalgar. It soared over the gnome but hit the dragonborn.<br />
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Finding the door locked, Tong sighed, "I can't believe I'm doing this, BEINGS! YOU HAVE BEEN FREED! INTO THE EMPTY PLANE OF FREE WILL! LOOK INTO YOUR HEARTS AND <i>FEEL</i> YOUR ANGER! ALLOW THE RAGE TO BLOW THROUGH YOU AT YOUR GROTESQUITIES, COME UP HERE AND SLAY YOUR GRIM CREATOR!"<br />
<br />
Pressing his ear to the door, Tong could not hear the creatures below, however, he sensed a presence, the Iron Tower itself! Kneeling down, he whispered to the floor, "Creature, listen to me! I know there is life within you, I know there is self awareness. Release yourself, relinquish yourself from this form. You do not need to be what your creator wants you to be. You do not need to exist only to hold without. Open to me. Open to me!"<br />
<br />
Beams of energy shoot out of Alvyn's eyes and out of his mouth. Purple energy rebounds off the dragon's iron hide and slices another hole in the tower. The floor shakes. In all the chaos of the battle, Alvyn whispers, "You will tell me everything!" and he roars back his head and breathes lightning and fire right into the Ironness' face.<br />
<br />
The dragon's eyes pop, and she stomps the ground in confused rage.<br />
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Raising his katana toward the ceiling, Kalgar's eyes turned white as he channeled the power within. "Your strength is mine." What starts as a whisper becomes a booming shockwave which slams into his foe. Thunder booms inside the tower as Kalgar kneels again, placing his palm on the wall. "Kord, your time is upon us. Melora, we are not far from the coast. <i>Ick 'nasht Avok, ardur</i>" he continued in <i>draconic</i>.<br />
<br />
Blinding snapping Alvyn up with her jaws, she slammed him down onto the floor. Bracing himself, Alvyn was able to right himself just in time...to land onto the table of extracts. A sudden heat erupts from his body, giving him the legs of a centipede. A spiked tail rips out of his back, his forearms broke in half and formed hook hands, and a shell popped out of his back.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking like this!</td></tr>
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Slashing its tail at Kalgar, he was struck by poisonous barbs which burned and corrupted his blood. He could feel his bones and muscles weakening.<br />
<br />
Tong continued his pontification, "Beings! You did not create each other! You have no quarrel with each other! Just above you, resides the creature of pure horror and destruction that made you the misshapen mass that you are. Cease this quarreling between you! Your victory lies beyond these gates. And you! Womb of this carnival of disgust, you are not created to feel this torment. This pain was brought upon you by one creature, and one creature alone. Wise up, claim your life, and crush the soulless ant which resides in you!"<br />
<br />
Spinning around, Tong launched a war bead at the dragon; it bounced off harmlessly. Alvyn's cries crossed fury, madness, and pain as he continued clawing, piercing, stabbing, biting at the dragon's face. Some of his energy attacks ripped new holes in the dome. Thunder, heard from outside, joined the rumbling of the tower.<br />
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Raising his katana high, he brought his shoulder to bear, hoping to combine all of his strength, and the divine power of the gods, but despite smashing into the dragon, it did not move. Kalgar closed his eyes, and looked to the heavens.<br />
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Outside, the sky darkened, clouds formed, and swirled around the tower. Touching Alvyn, Kalgar passed some of his strength to his gnome friend. The dragonborn then shifted away, took a knee, touched the wall and said, "Melora, wash away some of his sins."<br />
<br />
The dragon turned her attention to Kalgar, opened her mouth, and blasted cold breath over him and Alvyn. One of Alvyn's hook hands froze, and snapped off in its nose. Rearing up, unfurling her wings, the dragon dumped a glittering dust all over them. Coughing once, twice, then Kalgar and Alvyn fell unconscious. The Ironness then turned and charged Tong.<br />
<br />
Reacting, reaching, Tong grabbed a random vial from the shelf and threw it. As the vial spun in the air, Tong could just make out the label, "<i>Iron Dragon</i>", and he thought, "I've made a huge mistake." The vial missed the dragon, hit the shelf next to Alvyn, knocking another vial down onto him. The impact woke up the gnome, just in time to feel his jaw unhinge, his teeth flooding into his mouth, his skin toughened, and suddenly he couldn't breathe! He had gills, he had been hit with <i>extract of shark</i>!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All drawings by Alex Adams, playing Tong si Gong</td></tr>
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Bracing for the inevitable, Tong si Gong closed his eyes and thought of the <i>Reverie</i>, "I have failed you."<br />
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Leaping from the floor, Alvyn dove at the dragon, attacking with his jaws, hooks, and other appendages.<br />
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In a moment of clarity, Kalgar's eyes glowed white, he could feel in his heart a message from his gods. <i>It's ready</i>.<br />
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Before he could react, the dragon lashed out again, ballistically hitting all of the party. Claws, teeth, tentacles, wings, and breath weapons.<br />
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With little left, no war beads, and no psionic abilities, Tong hit the dragon with the only thing he had left, the<i> Codex Caduceus</i>. An instrument of knowledge, never to be used in violence, Tong sinned so that his friends may live.<br />
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Throwing both arms into the air, Kalgar shouted, "Melora! This is an aberrant creature who has mixed together and created more foul creatures than I have ever seen! We need to wash this place, rid this tower of this foul presence and bury it in the depths of the sea. And Kord! Give me the strength I have been working toward!"<br />
<br />
With that, he ran toward his friends, toward the dragon. He leapt at the dragon, grabbed Alvyn and Tong and, with a newly formed reflex, his wings unfurl, caught the air and pushed off of the beast. The dragon lashed out with everything she had but it was too late, Kord's lightning struck the tower.<br />
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Bolts of lightning arced through the room, bouncing off tables and shelves, and concentrated on the iron plating of the dragon. Her body was entirely electrified and she collapsed dead on the floor. The door and the hole in the floor open up.<br />
<br />
Kalgar landed, his wings parted, and he stood up. Looking down, he saw what was left of Alvyn reverting to normal, and he watched as the <i>Codex Caduceus</i> turned to dust. The symbols fell away leaving only a simple staff.<br />
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Breathing heavily, feeling barely alive, Alvyn crawled up to the dragon and whispered, "Even if I have to dissect you myself, you will tell me EVERYTHING!"<br />
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<br />
The fight was over, the dragon slain, but there was much left to do, and our three adventurers had a lot of loss from which to recover. But for now, they caught their breath.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading, we hope you've enjoyed our latest adventure. Stay tuned for the next part in our story as Alvyn, Tong, and Kalgar try to escape the awakened tower and make further plans in <i>The Long Game</i>.</div>
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