Very well. We made it back to the airship using word of recall, thankfully avoiding a fight in which we would have been outnumbered hundreds to one....pick your battles carefully and victory will always be in reach. heh..
After some discussion, we conclude that there is a grave keeper who may know of a mausoleum that may be the room our two little quarries are located in. Lady Ann has the airship to an about face and we heard right back to the citadel, making for the graveyard.
Upon arrival, we disembarked the airship and made our way into the graveyard. It was massive. Biggest damn thing I've laid eyes on in...heh.....a long time, lets leave it at that.
The group wound their way towards a rather aornate crypt with a familiar name on it. Semies.....
"You are dead? Or were dead?" , I asked aloud, my eyebrow arching rather high off my forehead...
Well im sure ill find out about all that in due time.....ahem.....
The party makes its way over to another large crypt marked with a family name, "DelCova", and they begin to poke around as if searching for something. Always the odd ones it seems....
The only out of place item is some fresh flowers at the entrance. But other than that, nothing unusual. They continued seeking this gravekeeper to ask about the room of weapons the girls had been envisioned in. We assume it may be a tomb of a great warrior. We approached him outside what would appear to be his dwelling tending to the flowers, and seemingly speaking to someone. As we approach he seems to wrap up his conversation and greets us, rather reservedly. We ask him to commune with the spirits and help us find the two girls. After some very mild reluctance he agrees and walks us over to a group of old cairn stone looking graves. He whispered to the spirits and there were questions posed. The spirits knew of this place but could not tell us where it was. They insisted the girls were safer where they were, and we needed to essentially butt out. After a couple more questions and us not really getting to far, we thanked the tender and departed. On the way out of town many MANY eyes were upon us.....and we made haste to the waiting airship outside the citadel walls. No sooner did we approach the ladder than dozens or were rats came pouring across the field after us. Bastard all to the ninth circle and back...i was already halfway up the blasted ladder...so natch, i made it rain, so to speak....heh...
After vaporizing about half, i began trying to work my way down to the fight, but by the time i hit ground, all but one were dead. : sigh : never can be like the good old days anymore...
Annja had bound him with magic rope and the little bugger was obviously pissed. Kept trying to gnash and bite. So i shoved my Obad-Hai talisman right down his throat. Wish silver hurt em like it used to, but no. he just gagged.
Annja and i dragged his were rat arse up the ladder into the airship where we...ahem...sequestered him in a side room, and fixed him firmly to a support beam.
After that, Ann and I spent some time alone making our...guest...more comfortable....Specifics all aside, we introduced him to pain and then to joy, before realizing he didnt speak a lick of common. Well damn.
Luckily I have a few spells to deal with this problem, and he and i conversed, shortly after i conjured up some food for him. He told us the lycans were consorting with magic users. He then gave a location to where this meeting place was and demanded we set him free. Heh, yeah right.
Eventually we struck a deal, where we give him enough food for a few days, and he leads us to the temple. Fine and dandy, just like candy. Deal.
But first, we need Jules and Garnar. Could prove useful.
:: illegible scribbling and some doodles in the margin of the next page ::
Well we stopped at Bethrengard and i got myself a new icon to replace the one i fed Rat boy, and we got Jules and Garnar on board. We made for the temple and found ourselves in a swampy environ that the airship couldnt travel over. Back to foot work.
:: The next few pages have smelly stains along the edging that resemble rotting algae, and fetid water marks ::
Well we're here. The rat boy led us through the gases, with Garnar keeping a whirlwind around us to keep the worst of them at bay. Once we reached what looked like it may have been ruins, the little informant grew anxious and wanted to leave. Fine. We let him go, and trekked off in the last direction he pointed.
The swamp gas grew thick and fetid. Gods, im never getting this smell off of me....
and we trudged over the soft spongy earth, we could hear.....things...moving around us...and out of (Stupidity) curiosity, we had Garnar blast a wind tunnel out into the murky mists, and immediately wished we hadn't, as it reveals what looks like a treant, but....rotting....pustules and weeping sores, and rotting wood...and just like that it vanishes back into the mists...
And the fire spells are soooo on hand right now...
As with everything, it comes down to an 'eventually'.
Eventually, we find two massive stone pillars rising out of the rotting loamy goodness that makes up the ground.....which in turn leads to a corridor just barely concealed in the mists.
I open up my senses and try to see if there is any magical doom awaiting ahead, and all i see is radiance everywhere.......everything is permeated with magical residue.....as if something titanically powerful washed over everything in this area....
I close off my senses to save my sanity, and we continue through the corridor, with Ann and I in front. Annja picking up on loads of traps that didnt seem to spring.....
Not to far a journey, the corridor opened up in front of a moderate sized ziggurat. Havent seen one of those in awhile.....and the last time was in an ancient tome....never in person....how...odd..
Piles of bones, intact bones, LYCAN bones, lay strewn about and we were very close to one such pile, when it.....activated.
The bones rattling loudly as the skull turned in regard to us, and then the others as well. They all began sliding forward under something elses power, not their own, and took up what appeared to be...royal guards(?) positions on either side of the path that lead to the ziggurats entrance. Spider like creatures retracted webs covering what looked almost like witch light. Well, what the hells....why not? We made our way up and into the massive step pyramid, and followed corridors and passageways as they opened up for us...leading us....deeper inside.
Suddenly, a door opens up in the side of the passageway, and it seems to just beckon us inside...and of course, we go inside...
Im not one for mystery and suspense, so let me be brief about this. Inside was a rather shadowy figure, whom i wouldnt be surprised if he turned out to be an ancient necromancer, kept alive by his own magicks. But to Ladies Ann and Semie, he revealed to them the story of the two angels romance during the war.
But as suddenly as this fellow offered that information, he also told us to leave lest he be found by those that followed us. Followed? Yes followed. They tracked the damn rat.
We hurriedly depart the ziggurat, and leave the courtyard, and as we enter the swamp, it became apparent that we were outnumbered. We could hear many feet tromping through the swamp, and the battle began...
It was Fierce and Fast, and although now it escapes me as to what was said, it does still ring clear, that a necromancers ego is an easy thing to toy with.
Shortly into the fight, i had to cast my Blades Barrier to keep them from sending reinforcements into the fray.
This intrigued the spell caster....or one of them, who attempted, more than once to end my spell, be it by dispel ( which failed ), or by trying to kill me, ( twice ), which also failed.
In the end he sent an assassin to try to dispatch me.
A lycan hurled a satchel of poisons at me and it luckily hit at my feet, but the damage was enough....I called out to Annja for the wand of healing, and did my best to fight on.
However, two of them seemed to stop fighting for a moment...and the voice belonging to our favorite mancer called out " YOU WILL DO AS YOURE TOLD! REMEMBER WHO YOU SERVE! "
.....Hmmm.....
One of the two looked at me and i told him, " You can come with us....or you can die here...your choice "
...."I didnt sign up to die", he said.
And at that, the mancer bellowed out once more, with " TO ME! ". And the other were departed into the mists.
I looked back to the party and told garnar to get us out of here as soon as possible.
As he moved towards a tree, a low chanting rose from the swamp and the lead mancers voice cackled out to us, " You WONT leave the forest alive!! "
The tree opened up and we stepped through to an earthen tunnel....our escape route i would assume....
And in this group it would seem....The oddities never seem to cease......
Monday, December 8, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
and so it begins.
I have recently responded to a summons from an old friend, Talron of all people. Hmm...Never dull where he and the company he keeps is involved. Heh.
I have joined with Ladies Annja and Semie, and their unusual friend. A large fellow by the name of Mayon. I don't think he is human, but something ethereal. I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later.
These people keep almost as odd of company that Talron does, what with their vampiress, Lady Ivy and her pet dog, King, one of the Firsts of the lycanthropes. Even a dragon kind, by the name of Dagan. Both the dragon kind and their little goblin friend, Garnar, have piqued my interest.
Well, the four of us are to meet up with another of their associates, by the name of Jules, in Shoalwater, for reasons truly unbeknownst to me, but what DOES intrigue me, is how we are getting there. Portals. Ancient cullis gates. You've my attention now i would say, heh.
We make our way down to the portal, and the ladies and Mayon step through, with me not too far behind. In transit all is going smoothly when all of the sudden it feels as if i have been jerked off a pathway and onto another and I'm dropped into a dark room. I haven't been into Shoalwater before but I'm sure this isn't what it looks like. It resembles a giant fishbowl, except, I'M on the inside, and the water and the fish are on the outside. One small problem though. The water doesn't look like water, and i see no fish. only darkness. There are a few corridors that branch off from the main chamber and in one of them , i can just make out a figure, shrouded in the gloom. I approach and see it is no man, and no threat either it would seem. It is what i would believe to be a lizard man, looking like an iguana in the face and tail, but ending the similarities there. He (?) is dressed in a cloak with leather bindings on its chests and waist. It seems to be mummified almost, but...there is still warmth on the skin. As if it had been frozen in time. Odd.....It also seems to have some sort of talisman on...I pulled it off the body and held it for a moment before i recognized it. The last time i heard of something like this, was the studies of the ancient texts. I cant place exactly what and when and where, but i know this is the marking of a zealot. A fanatical warrior of a most ancient cult.Now what was it called again? Ah, blast...never mind. Ill save it for later.
I step through the portal and find myself in another bowl. Similar but lighter than the last. I can see water and fish swimming outside. There are also several of these lizard men frozen in place in one of the corridors. I again approach, and investigate. Their talisman are different. I suppose i should cut these off and save the for future studies. So, of course, i do.
I teleport again. Its pitch black. Again, its lighter. Again. Dark again. Again, and its almost to the surface i would presume. Its very light out and there are many many schools of large fish swimming outside the bubble. For the first time i noticed that behind the portal is a symbol etched into it. Hmmm......maybe Ladies Ann or Semie could make something of this. I etch it down and step through again. Blackness. All the passages are blocked off. Bugger...I'm getting tired of this. I step through one last time and find myself in another dark bubble. To the Fifth circle of Abbadons dark hell with this. I step away from the portal and ready a torch, only to find the floor illuminates where i step. As if it were the ripples in water, though played out in light through the air. Fascinating. i choose a corridor that looks like its going "up", and start walking. On the way i see dozens of these lizard folk seemingly running FROM the way I'm headed. This could be fun. Heh.
I enter a new chamber, though this one is nowhere near spherical, but more so oblonged, and very dark. Filled with dozens upon dozens of these lizard men. But i notice some are in varying states of what would appear to be decomposition.Drying up and crumbling. Odd..... They appear to be fleeing from a certain corridor to my left. Well....if there's any adventure to be had and evil to be purged, it is surely to be up that corridor. As i start down this new tunnel i notice the walls aren't transparent like the others....this is like a black crystal.....and...i can hear a noise....like crackling parchment...ahead of me? or was it behind me?
I keep moving forward until i enter a chamber like none i have seen so far. It is spherical, but its walls are more like...metal...or stone....solid except for a circle of clear at the top and bottom.
the noise is louder here. and i walk around the room to determine which branch should i take. i settle for the tunnel directly across from me....as i walk slowly down it, the sound gets louder, and there seems to be, as odd as this may sound, a white light at the end of the tunnel. Heh, the gods always were ones for irony. Go figure.
I enter a chamber similar to the last, but in the center, is a tiny ball of what appears to be lightning. Hmm.....
I call out and ask " Are you sentient? Can you hear me? " and it begins moving towards me. While it does, it seems to charge up and....BY THE GODS!!...the damned thing attacked me....i feel...slowed....and burned, damned glow ball! I grab for two acorns from my belt and charge them up and hurl them at it. They explode marvelously, and when the fire and smoke clears, the little bugger isn't even phased....
shit.....time to run
as i turned it blasts me again and i feel encumbered even more...like my own body is becoming a dead weight. But i keep hauling my holy arse to the portal chamber....I'm almost there, i can see the portal, and one of its bolts hits me square in the back. and I'm done. frozen. stuck.
well, at least now i know what happened to our little lizard friends down here. Guess I'm stuck waiting. hoping the ladies and Mayon can find me before i crumble away like the poor bastard next to me.
The portal flashes and they all step through. I wish i could speak so i could say some smart arse comment, but i cant, and nothing comes to mind anyways.
I don't think they could realize i could see, hear, and FEEL EVERYTHING....but they manhandle me onto the portal and we get back to Bethrengard where the elven cleric Thandrel is able to free me. I related my tale to the others and we addressed the slight...issue...with the portals.
Now that everything seems to be all set and dandy again, we try for Shoalwater once again.
Turns out this Jules fellow is currently "entertaining" guests, and has requested privacy and posted guards on the doors.
The ladies aren't to pleased and order one of the guards to check on something for them elsewhere and open the now unguarded door. I stand back a ways, just inside of the door, watching the two ladies "sneak" into the room. Lets see how this goes for them. heh..
It would seem Jules is holding court with a plethora of generals and their lieutenants, spy's and infiltrators, assassins and ship masters. The table was lain out with maps laden with military and fleet icons.
We were noticed entering almost immediately. Jules politely excused himself and came over to us, where the ladies introduced us, and in turn he introduces us to the room. At this point we begin to retell our tale from the start of the morn. He listens intently, and then pauses us for a moment to call a bard over. This bard says they sound like the Zahn, a race of aggressive lizard men, who share allot in common with feral goblins, only slightly smarter.
He asks us if we recovered any symbols off the Zahn we saw, and I hand him the six talismans i had taken. I told him what little i knew of these symbols and he didn't know why they would be wearing such symbols. However he could tell us about the Zahn. They were last seen far to the east about fifteen hundred years ago. Which brings us to this ball of light. What the hells was it?
Perhaps a guardian? hmm..... the plot only thickens, heh..
It would seem Jules is remaining her in Shoalwater to, "rekindle", old alliances. The Ladies begin talk of freeing two captives from the lycans. I haven't a clue as to what or whom they are talking, however, i would fight through the blackest hell to spare someone from the desires of those filthy lepers. They talk of details of which I know nothing about. They talk of the lycans somehow losing their weaknesses. I.e. fire, silver, acid...
I mention that i have met only one thing that couldn't be purged by faith fire and steel. Lycans should prove no threat. We debate for a while on how to fight these beasts. But that's a topic for another time.
We seek the goblin, Garnar, and find him outside his dwelling in the forest, playing with what appear to be fire sprites. I'm impressed. i cant even summon them yet, and here he is, practicing fire domain spells for but a few days, and he is mastering them. one of the reasons i hold him in such high regard.
We ask him if he knows anything about the more interesting portions of our adventures of earlier, and he says he does not. We bid him farewell and to be safe.
On our way back to the keep Semie says she will try to contact King, the big mutt of mutts. heh..
Lady Annja departs to find Thandrel to ask about a child she had blessed some moons past.
I find my way back to the chapel to pray, restock my supplies and prepare my gear.
A short while later we all meet up again to ask Ardremities about our encounters in an attempt to glean as much information as possible on this potential new threat. He knows only of the Zahn, so i depart to find Thandrel and ask him, cleric to cleric what he knows of this ancient cult.
When i find him and pose the question, he seems apprehensive. And he tells me, worriedly, that these talismans appear to be from a cult formed by a dragon some fifteen hundred years ago. This dragon idolized his own kind and believed all other races inferior, and should be slaves to dragon kind. But they were believed to have been wiped out millenia ago. Yet with the resurfacing talismans, and the fact they are being worn by Zahn at that, he says he will investigate. They are isolated it would seem. for now. And it would be best if it was kept that way.
I once again meet up with the two ladies of the keep, Semie and Ann, and they tell me we will soon be departing for the great desert to the east to seek a friend of theirs. They certainly seem to misplace allot of their associates. Heh
We are summoned into the dining hall by a man unknown to me, and we follow. Inside we are met by a man who calls himself Crow. Obviously a spy or an infiltrator by the way he moves and talks.
He informs us that a man the ladies seek is on the southernmost spire in the great desert. He is in the city of Narond.
He then quickly relays that the empress of the Citadel, is currently eradicating all forms of resistance, and tells the ladies to be wary. Being so bold as to question our allegiance, for it would seem, so says this Crow fellow, that Talron has chosen to ally with this empress and her Citadel : spits :....
Surely he would have not unless there was an understandable reason.
He finishes up his report, by mentioning something about the weather. He says this unusual heat wave in the heart of autumn, supposedly has something to do with a great red wyrm residing in the mountains to the north.
hmm....Undead scourge? sign me up. bandits and orcs? im there. Dragon slaying? Talron, you old bastard, what have you gotten me into? Heh. Whatever it is, should be fun. Wish you were here old friend.
This crow fellow and his herald depart, leaving us to discuss our plans of freeing these two captives from the lycans. They are being held somewhere in the citadel. But where? we haven't a clue.
We know that there is a tavern known as The Pewter Kettle, that is a popular lycanthrope dive.
And seeing as how our lovely ladies are well enough known by all halfbreed, its up to myself and the crystal giant, Mayon, to get some sort of information out here.
Heh, out of the frying pan, as they say.
We ready our selves and by morning we are on the airship heading for the citadel.
The plan is (was) to make a stealthy landing outside of the city, split up, the ladies going one way and Mayon and I going for the tavern. well....heh...best laid plans and all that rot. We end up setting down in a busy intersection of a small village on the outskirts of the Citadel walls. Close enough to be noticed by those we would rather avoid.
We drop down and as quick as our feet hit the ground, a Citadel captain and guard retinue has surrounded us.
Crap, it was all going so well.....
The captain approaches.....and drops to his knees and says " Ladies Semie, and Annja, will you be requiring an escort into the walls today?"
: sigh of relief at this point :
They say no, and Mayon and I don our cloaks, mask our alignments and intents and slip into the city.
We make good time finding the bar, and make our way inside.
The door man has Mayon check his unusually large halberd at the door. Understandable. Its frigging huge. But my small priestly mace is fine. So we start in, find a table and order a couple drinks.
I listen around the room and try to hear if there is anything useful being said.
A scrawny man at the table next to us is going on about " now that the boss is gone, we get to do what we want to do for once." and " cant wait for that special feast under this next moon".
And that clinches it. I observe the room for a few moments more. Spotting who is (may) be one of the half breeds, and who is just a normal drunk.
Once i get a warm and cozy for the disposition of the room, i put on my best happy drunk facade, and stagger over to Loudmouths table.
I stumble up and offer a round for the whole table.When the drinks arrive, i sit down, to some very unfriendly faces.
Loudmouth speaks up "What'dya want?".
And i simply reply, "Me? Oh, I'm new in town, just thought I'd make some new friends", smiling like a moron the entire time.
"So what? You looking for work?" he inquired, seeming more interested in me all of the sudden.
"Work? Sure! Could always Use some more coin! Hahahaha!" I motioned for the barmaid to bring us another round.
"What kind of work do you do, good sir?" we asked, leaning closer.
"Me? Oh, I'm just a blacksmith. Made my fortune and figured a vacation was in order."
Really? Is that your mace?" he points at the mace at my side. "did you make that?"
Oh, this old thing? Nah, Me father made that. Taught me everything he knew though. And then some", i replied with a wink.
"can you make spears?" he slyly asked. "Of course i can make spears. How many? What kind? And how pointy?hehehehe", i replied, giggling like a fool.
"I may have a job for you. IF you're interested. Buy another round, and I'll take ya there."
And so i buy them another round, and we start to get up. The loudmouth looks Mayon up and down, and says, "What about 'im?". I look over at the giant and say, "Him? Travelers insurance. All brawn. Little brain."
Loudmouth looks him over once more and nods, rising to his feet and heading for the door.
As we exit, Mayon holds the door open for me, playing his part, and subtly motions to the rooftop across the street. Excellent. Semie and Ann were poised barely visible on the roof. I motion discreetly for them to follow us at a distance. And we are off.
About an hour later, we arrive at a dark allyway. Down the alleyway set into the side of a building is a large iron door. Loudmouth knocks on the door, and a view slit open and eyes look us all over. The slit closes and the door creaks open. Inside are multiple workstations for smithies, and tiny little spears stacked everywhere. Too small for even Semie to wield. Better suited for children. or...or Skaven.....
Loudmouth takes us to the shop foreman and introduces us. He asks my smithing background, and i relate to him some of what i know, never telling him i haven't been in a forge since i was 15. He nods and asks about the behemoth behind me. I say "He's with me, and he does as i say". The foreman seems very pleased at this, and pulls the scrawny yapper aside and palms him some coins. Curious.
The group from the bar departs, and the foreman approaches and motions for us to follow him.
We follow across the forge room to a small doorway that leads down some stairs into what could be assumed is a cellar. He leads us down to a room on the right side of the hall, and opens the door. Inside is piles and piles of iron ore, and scrap metal. He tells me and Mayon to gather up some armloads and bring them upstairs, then he turns and leaves.
In the room are a couple of doors, with heavy bars chains and padlocks on them. We begin peeking into the tiny view ports when all of the sudden, the wall behind us opens......
Mayon unslung his halberd and said only "Danger"
I wheeled around to find the wall had opened to reveal four drooling idiots with short swords. one of them, I would assume the leader was giggling like an stooge.
Me, being the way i am, simply said, "Can we help you boys?"
The "leader" looked at his boys and chuckled, drooling even more, and said "yeah, hehe, Yeah you can"
And of course at this point, being the smartarse i am, have to say " You be needing some iron I'd assume." and ready two fire seeds behind my back.
Needless to say, at this point, all hell breaks loose.
During the course of the battle Mayon and I get nicked up, but nothing serious. But we lay low Two of them. Of course, only after i have exhausted every offensive fire spell in my arsenal. The ladies weren't kidding when they said the lycans were gaining immunities to their once weaknesses. The moment Mayon stepped forward and finished of the leader stooge, the remaining two took off back down the passage way. Lucky for them, i think out loud. Lucky for us, I think to myself. Just as we are recomposing ourselves, a sentry opens the view port to this room from the hallway outside and stars, "Are you guys done feeding alre-SHIT!!"
And the port slams shut, the door locks, and we can hear feet running up the stairs. Gods damn our luck sometimes.I stride forward and begin pounding the holy hell out of the door, and break through. We skirt out into the hallway where i pull out my tiny hand crossbow and make very well ready to use it.
As we sneak up the stairs we can hear yelling in the forge area. Sounds like Mr foreman is pissed. Heh. Good. I don't die cheap.
As we approach the door, Lady Annja appears out of nowhere behind us saying, "This way, a way out." I don't even think to wheel around, she was that well hidden. I do however ask, "Wheres Lady Semie?" to which she replied, "In my bag". And a small Meow comes from within.
..........
Right.
"I'm not even going to ask"
And she leads us to an open window, which she gracefully leaps out of as does Mayon. My armoured arse however, scrabbles up the wall just in time to be noticed.
As my feet hit the ground outside, the iron door begins to open, and we haul past it. As the others reach the street, I wheel around and level the crossbow, and let fly at the first face i see.
The bolt hits true, and any normal man would have never risen from such a blow, but this creature just pulls ducks back, and comes right back around the corner as if it never happened.
Shit....
Time to run.
After about a dozen blocks of running we finally lose the, in the intricacy of these city streets.
Semie changed back to her normal self. Again, the most interesting people. And we made our way to an artificers shop. Apparently an old friend of the Ladies. Go figure.
Inside they discussed matters pertaining to everything that has happened with them over the last many moons all the way up through today. We also inquired as to...heh..."lighter" heavy armour for me.
We mentioned the new found resilience of these were creatures and discussed the two captives for a bot. before he claimed to have an idea as to how to locate them, and he disappeared into a side room. The moment the door closed, we heard a tiny Bark, from the back of the room we were in. A poodle had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Yet as he walked behind a shelf, he came out the other side as a man dressed in regal reds and blacks, with the blackest eyes you'd ever seen. "Toby", Semie whispered.
This Toby, spoke to Ann and Semie about the two captives in the lycans grasp and said, before he turned to depart, " Let nothing happen to my daughter". Which was taken as a shock to every one in the group aside from me, mainly because i am such an outsider at this early point in our adventure. Once he departed the wizards from the guilds entered, having been summoned by the artificer. They spoke of their plan to retrieve the captive girls from the lycans hands. Turns out the clergy wizard bastards had one of the Firsts. The ORIGINAL werewolves. Only a couple of them left and these book diving geeks had one.
They departed after a short banter between them and the ladies. And we continued idle banter between the shopkeeper who emerged shortly after the 'zards had left. We then made for the keep. Semie needed to speak with King, and i needed a recharge after the little tussle those jackals had put Mayon and I through. I tried getting some sleep on the airship, but didnt get much with having to re write my spells, and memorize some pretty twisted ones. By the time we landed i was fairly grumpy, and not ready to put up with the formalities this were-pup demanded. We walked into the woods, where Semie called out quietly for King. I leaned up against a tree and sounded off, " Come on dog...we havent got all night now...".
Everyone looked at me as if I had just slapped a baby. Yet from the shadows, here came King, Obviously pissed at the 'dog' comment, He started in my direction, when Semie spoke up, " We came to let you know, the wizards at the Citadel have one of the f-"," I KNOW",he interrupted.
"But..we thought you sho-", " I KNOW.", he again interrupted. I must have nodded off for a moment because when i opened my eyes again, conversation was over and he had vanished into the shadows again. Silly pup, if only he knew.
Ah, from here, back to the Citadel. The question of the eve was where were the were's getting the scrap metal? They couldnt have access to the mines under the Citadel. And surely noone was just handing an army of lycans tonnes of scrap metal, no. That metal had looked ripped and shorn. Perhaps they were salvaging it from something. But the only large source of metal in the undergrounds other than the mines was the sewer system itself. Hmm...
We agree to check with the dwarven consulate about any...odd, happenings in the sewer lines.
We arrive about a mile out from the city walls this time, and the airship again departs to practice maneuvers. We walk in the city gates as a group, and head direct for the consulate. Lady Ann informs us, these are dwarves, no politeness, or any of that. Direct and to the point will get results. I know dwarves. Direct, and BLUNT. We enter the consulate and speak with the representative at the desk. Lady Ann does the talking from here. " We wish to inquire about any sewer lines that arent functioning properly." The dwarf looks her up and down and spits out, "Anything built by DWARVES never functions IMPROPERLY." Strike one.
She then asks, if there are any that are closed. " Even if there were i am not authorized to disclose that information to you." Strike two. She starts to ask again, and that enough to count as strike three. I step up to him, lean down and gruffly say, "Listen ya beig bearded blowhard, two tankards of dwarven ale says theres somethin youre not tellin us." AGAIN, the slapping a baby look from everyone. The dwarf looks my in the eyes and says, "I cannot release that information to you." Disheartened looks from the group, but i stand there looking this Dwarf right in his eyes. I know dwarves. He licks his lips, and looks around the room quickly then says, "I cannot release that information to you, HOWEVER, if you were to be lookin for housing, then i would simply HAVE to tell you the sewer lines At the intersection of 4th and 15th arent functioning right now. You may want to search elsewhere." I for one am smiling as I'm sure is the rest of the group as i slip the dwarf 20gp, and thank him kindly.
We make for the intersection, and find it blocked off with signs that say "KEEP OUT" in a variety of languages. Heh..a welcome sign if i ever saw one.
There are two guards posted at the blockade, and we approach. They look at us and declare, " Noones allowed in here. Construction dont ya know.". I nod, and say heartily and with a touch of concern, " Standin guard out here all day can be a drain, how bout if'n i sponser a lunch break for you two fine gents?"......
The obvious leader of this watch looks around and says, "Lunch sounds pretty good right about now. About 30 minutes of lunch. Then we would have to come right back, y'know. Cant let anyone wandering round in here." I smile and palm the guard 100gp. Gods above this city will break me by the time we're done.
The two depart and we enter the undergrounds. Not to long of a walk underground the smell is obvious. It was the sewer lines alright. And a massive gash in the wall. hmm...wonder where this leads.
We walk down it, and find a stream of clean fresh water leading down. We follow it to an opening where we see dozens of people working in an underground river, cleaning and cooling fragments of metal. Found the source of the scraps then.
We also noticed, we had been noticed. and Lady Annja gracefully lept down to speak with the spotter. Carried himself a little more regally that the others, who i took for jackals and rats. Lycans....can never tell sometimes.
We were approached from behind, and asked to come down and join our companion. We did, but as we passed each of them, they smelled us. Like food. I dare one of these beasts to touch me. I just dare them.
We meet up with Ann, and she and this lycan have broached the subject of why we are here. What he knows: we want to feed them. What he doesnt know: To cause dissent in the ranks of the lycans, since the leadership isnt obviously feeding its soldiers and worker classes.
But to continue. He keeps saying we are lying and presses it with all his might. I will say he has a way for words. But eventually we convince him to entertain the notion we want to feed them. Then the prig asks what favor we can do for him if he is to let us feed them.
This displeases Mayon, visibly.
We are then led to an underground, what seems to be, arena. Surrounded by hundreds of these things. The leader figure asks us to turn a prominent figure. And says since this person knows Semie and Ann, he will have to turn me in order to get closer to this person. Like Hells.
But simply the fact that we entertain the notion to turn this person outrages Mayon and he gets in the way. We calm him down, and the Lycan leader says he will consider our offers, and tells us, regrettably, for the sake of showmanship, he' cant let us leave' and makes a quick glance around the room. In the shadows of the walls in alcoves, are more faces. He nods to us, and begins to change. As he changes everyone grabs my arms, and we begin to Recall to the airship, but right before we do, the mane of fur has made itself visible. A Gods damned Werelion. Makes sense.
We find ourselves on the airship in a blink, and tell them to make for Bethrengard at haste.
Until next Entry.
~ Alaric
I have joined with Ladies Annja and Semie, and their unusual friend. A large fellow by the name of Mayon. I don't think he is human, but something ethereal. I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later.
These people keep almost as odd of company that Talron does, what with their vampiress, Lady Ivy and her pet dog, King, one of the Firsts of the lycanthropes. Even a dragon kind, by the name of Dagan. Both the dragon kind and their little goblin friend, Garnar, have piqued my interest.
Well, the four of us are to meet up with another of their associates, by the name of Jules, in Shoalwater, for reasons truly unbeknownst to me, but what DOES intrigue me, is how we are getting there. Portals. Ancient cullis gates. You've my attention now i would say, heh.
We make our way down to the portal, and the ladies and Mayon step through, with me not too far behind. In transit all is going smoothly when all of the sudden it feels as if i have been jerked off a pathway and onto another and I'm dropped into a dark room. I haven't been into Shoalwater before but I'm sure this isn't what it looks like. It resembles a giant fishbowl, except, I'M on the inside, and the water and the fish are on the outside. One small problem though. The water doesn't look like water, and i see no fish. only darkness. There are a few corridors that branch off from the main chamber and in one of them , i can just make out a figure, shrouded in the gloom. I approach and see it is no man, and no threat either it would seem. It is what i would believe to be a lizard man, looking like an iguana in the face and tail, but ending the similarities there. He (?) is dressed in a cloak with leather bindings on its chests and waist. It seems to be mummified almost, but...there is still warmth on the skin. As if it had been frozen in time. Odd.....It also seems to have some sort of talisman on...I pulled it off the body and held it for a moment before i recognized it. The last time i heard of something like this, was the studies of the ancient texts. I cant place exactly what and when and where, but i know this is the marking of a zealot. A fanatical warrior of a most ancient cult.Now what was it called again? Ah, blast...never mind. Ill save it for later.
I step through the portal and find myself in another bowl. Similar but lighter than the last. I can see water and fish swimming outside. There are also several of these lizard men frozen in place in one of the corridors. I again approach, and investigate. Their talisman are different. I suppose i should cut these off and save the for future studies. So, of course, i do.
I teleport again. Its pitch black. Again, its lighter. Again. Dark again. Again, and its almost to the surface i would presume. Its very light out and there are many many schools of large fish swimming outside the bubble. For the first time i noticed that behind the portal is a symbol etched into it. Hmmm......maybe Ladies Ann or Semie could make something of this. I etch it down and step through again. Blackness. All the passages are blocked off. Bugger...I'm getting tired of this. I step through one last time and find myself in another dark bubble. To the Fifth circle of Abbadons dark hell with this. I step away from the portal and ready a torch, only to find the floor illuminates where i step. As if it were the ripples in water, though played out in light through the air. Fascinating. i choose a corridor that looks like its going "up", and start walking. On the way i see dozens of these lizard folk seemingly running FROM the way I'm headed. This could be fun. Heh.
I enter a new chamber, though this one is nowhere near spherical, but more so oblonged, and very dark. Filled with dozens upon dozens of these lizard men. But i notice some are in varying states of what would appear to be decomposition.Drying up and crumbling. Odd..... They appear to be fleeing from a certain corridor to my left. Well....if there's any adventure to be had and evil to be purged, it is surely to be up that corridor. As i start down this new tunnel i notice the walls aren't transparent like the others....this is like a black crystal.....and...i can hear a noise....like crackling parchment...ahead of me? or was it behind me?
I keep moving forward until i enter a chamber like none i have seen so far. It is spherical, but its walls are more like...metal...or stone....solid except for a circle of clear at the top and bottom.
the noise is louder here. and i walk around the room to determine which branch should i take. i settle for the tunnel directly across from me....as i walk slowly down it, the sound gets louder, and there seems to be, as odd as this may sound, a white light at the end of the tunnel. Heh, the gods always were ones for irony. Go figure.
I enter a chamber similar to the last, but in the center, is a tiny ball of what appears to be lightning. Hmm.....
I call out and ask " Are you sentient? Can you hear me? " and it begins moving towards me. While it does, it seems to charge up and....BY THE GODS!!...the damned thing attacked me....i feel...slowed....and burned, damned glow ball! I grab for two acorns from my belt and charge them up and hurl them at it. They explode marvelously, and when the fire and smoke clears, the little bugger isn't even phased....
shit.....time to run
as i turned it blasts me again and i feel encumbered even more...like my own body is becoming a dead weight. But i keep hauling my holy arse to the portal chamber....I'm almost there, i can see the portal, and one of its bolts hits me square in the back. and I'm done. frozen. stuck.
well, at least now i know what happened to our little lizard friends down here. Guess I'm stuck waiting. hoping the ladies and Mayon can find me before i crumble away like the poor bastard next to me.
The portal flashes and they all step through. I wish i could speak so i could say some smart arse comment, but i cant, and nothing comes to mind anyways.
I don't think they could realize i could see, hear, and FEEL EVERYTHING....but they manhandle me onto the portal and we get back to Bethrengard where the elven cleric Thandrel is able to free me. I related my tale to the others and we addressed the slight...issue...with the portals.
Now that everything seems to be all set and dandy again, we try for Shoalwater once again.
Turns out this Jules fellow is currently "entertaining" guests, and has requested privacy and posted guards on the doors.
The ladies aren't to pleased and order one of the guards to check on something for them elsewhere and open the now unguarded door. I stand back a ways, just inside of the door, watching the two ladies "sneak" into the room. Lets see how this goes for them. heh..
It would seem Jules is holding court with a plethora of generals and their lieutenants, spy's and infiltrators, assassins and ship masters. The table was lain out with maps laden with military and fleet icons.
We were noticed entering almost immediately. Jules politely excused himself and came over to us, where the ladies introduced us, and in turn he introduces us to the room. At this point we begin to retell our tale from the start of the morn. He listens intently, and then pauses us for a moment to call a bard over. This bard says they sound like the Zahn, a race of aggressive lizard men, who share allot in common with feral goblins, only slightly smarter.
He asks us if we recovered any symbols off the Zahn we saw, and I hand him the six talismans i had taken. I told him what little i knew of these symbols and he didn't know why they would be wearing such symbols. However he could tell us about the Zahn. They were last seen far to the east about fifteen hundred years ago. Which brings us to this ball of light. What the hells was it?
Perhaps a guardian? hmm..... the plot only thickens, heh..
It would seem Jules is remaining her in Shoalwater to, "rekindle", old alliances. The Ladies begin talk of freeing two captives from the lycans. I haven't a clue as to what or whom they are talking, however, i would fight through the blackest hell to spare someone from the desires of those filthy lepers. They talk of details of which I know nothing about. They talk of the lycans somehow losing their weaknesses. I.e. fire, silver, acid...
I mention that i have met only one thing that couldn't be purged by faith fire and steel. Lycans should prove no threat. We debate for a while on how to fight these beasts. But that's a topic for another time.
We seek the goblin, Garnar, and find him outside his dwelling in the forest, playing with what appear to be fire sprites. I'm impressed. i cant even summon them yet, and here he is, practicing fire domain spells for but a few days, and he is mastering them. one of the reasons i hold him in such high regard.
We ask him if he knows anything about the more interesting portions of our adventures of earlier, and he says he does not. We bid him farewell and to be safe.
On our way back to the keep Semie says she will try to contact King, the big mutt of mutts. heh..
Lady Annja departs to find Thandrel to ask about a child she had blessed some moons past.
I find my way back to the chapel to pray, restock my supplies and prepare my gear.
A short while later we all meet up again to ask Ardremities about our encounters in an attempt to glean as much information as possible on this potential new threat. He knows only of the Zahn, so i depart to find Thandrel and ask him, cleric to cleric what he knows of this ancient cult.
When i find him and pose the question, he seems apprehensive. And he tells me, worriedly, that these talismans appear to be from a cult formed by a dragon some fifteen hundred years ago. This dragon idolized his own kind and believed all other races inferior, and should be slaves to dragon kind. But they were believed to have been wiped out millenia ago. Yet with the resurfacing talismans, and the fact they are being worn by Zahn at that, he says he will investigate. They are isolated it would seem. for now. And it would be best if it was kept that way.
I once again meet up with the two ladies of the keep, Semie and Ann, and they tell me we will soon be departing for the great desert to the east to seek a friend of theirs. They certainly seem to misplace allot of their associates. Heh
We are summoned into the dining hall by a man unknown to me, and we follow. Inside we are met by a man who calls himself Crow. Obviously a spy or an infiltrator by the way he moves and talks.
He informs us that a man the ladies seek is on the southernmost spire in the great desert. He is in the city of Narond.
He then quickly relays that the empress of the Citadel, is currently eradicating all forms of resistance, and tells the ladies to be wary. Being so bold as to question our allegiance, for it would seem, so says this Crow fellow, that Talron has chosen to ally with this empress and her Citadel : spits :....
Surely he would have not unless there was an understandable reason.
He finishes up his report, by mentioning something about the weather. He says this unusual heat wave in the heart of autumn, supposedly has something to do with a great red wyrm residing in the mountains to the north.
hmm....Undead scourge? sign me up. bandits and orcs? im there. Dragon slaying? Talron, you old bastard, what have you gotten me into? Heh. Whatever it is, should be fun. Wish you were here old friend.
This crow fellow and his herald depart, leaving us to discuss our plans of freeing these two captives from the lycans. They are being held somewhere in the citadel. But where? we haven't a clue.
We know that there is a tavern known as The Pewter Kettle, that is a popular lycanthrope dive.
And seeing as how our lovely ladies are well enough known by all halfbreed, its up to myself and the crystal giant, Mayon, to get some sort of information out here.
Heh, out of the frying pan, as they say.
We ready our selves and by morning we are on the airship heading for the citadel.
The plan is (was) to make a stealthy landing outside of the city, split up, the ladies going one way and Mayon and I going for the tavern. well....heh...best laid plans and all that rot. We end up setting down in a busy intersection of a small village on the outskirts of the Citadel walls. Close enough to be noticed by those we would rather avoid.
We drop down and as quick as our feet hit the ground, a Citadel captain and guard retinue has surrounded us.
Crap, it was all going so well.....
The captain approaches.....and drops to his knees and says " Ladies Semie, and Annja, will you be requiring an escort into the walls today?"
: sigh of relief at this point :
They say no, and Mayon and I don our cloaks, mask our alignments and intents and slip into the city.
We make good time finding the bar, and make our way inside.
The door man has Mayon check his unusually large halberd at the door. Understandable. Its frigging huge. But my small priestly mace is fine. So we start in, find a table and order a couple drinks.
I listen around the room and try to hear if there is anything useful being said.
A scrawny man at the table next to us is going on about " now that the boss is gone, we get to do what we want to do for once." and " cant wait for that special feast under this next moon".
And that clinches it. I observe the room for a few moments more. Spotting who is (may) be one of the half breeds, and who is just a normal drunk.
Once i get a warm and cozy for the disposition of the room, i put on my best happy drunk facade, and stagger over to Loudmouths table.
I stumble up and offer a round for the whole table.When the drinks arrive, i sit down, to some very unfriendly faces.
Loudmouth speaks up "What'dya want?".
And i simply reply, "Me? Oh, I'm new in town, just thought I'd make some new friends", smiling like a moron the entire time.
"So what? You looking for work?" he inquired, seeming more interested in me all of the sudden.
"Work? Sure! Could always Use some more coin! Hahahaha!" I motioned for the barmaid to bring us another round.
"What kind of work do you do, good sir?" we asked, leaning closer.
"Me? Oh, I'm just a blacksmith. Made my fortune and figured a vacation was in order."
Really? Is that your mace?" he points at the mace at my side. "did you make that?"
Oh, this old thing? Nah, Me father made that. Taught me everything he knew though. And then some", i replied with a wink.
"can you make spears?" he slyly asked. "Of course i can make spears. How many? What kind? And how pointy?hehehehe", i replied, giggling like a fool.
"I may have a job for you. IF you're interested. Buy another round, and I'll take ya there."
And so i buy them another round, and we start to get up. The loudmouth looks Mayon up and down, and says, "What about 'im?". I look over at the giant and say, "Him? Travelers insurance. All brawn. Little brain."
Loudmouth looks him over once more and nods, rising to his feet and heading for the door.
As we exit, Mayon holds the door open for me, playing his part, and subtly motions to the rooftop across the street. Excellent. Semie and Ann were poised barely visible on the roof. I motion discreetly for them to follow us at a distance. And we are off.
About an hour later, we arrive at a dark allyway. Down the alleyway set into the side of a building is a large iron door. Loudmouth knocks on the door, and a view slit open and eyes look us all over. The slit closes and the door creaks open. Inside are multiple workstations for smithies, and tiny little spears stacked everywhere. Too small for even Semie to wield. Better suited for children. or...or Skaven.....
Loudmouth takes us to the shop foreman and introduces us. He asks my smithing background, and i relate to him some of what i know, never telling him i haven't been in a forge since i was 15. He nods and asks about the behemoth behind me. I say "He's with me, and he does as i say". The foreman seems very pleased at this, and pulls the scrawny yapper aside and palms him some coins. Curious.
The group from the bar departs, and the foreman approaches and motions for us to follow him.
We follow across the forge room to a small doorway that leads down some stairs into what could be assumed is a cellar. He leads us down to a room on the right side of the hall, and opens the door. Inside is piles and piles of iron ore, and scrap metal. He tells me and Mayon to gather up some armloads and bring them upstairs, then he turns and leaves.
In the room are a couple of doors, with heavy bars chains and padlocks on them. We begin peeking into the tiny view ports when all of the sudden, the wall behind us opens......
Mayon unslung his halberd and said only "Danger"
I wheeled around to find the wall had opened to reveal four drooling idiots with short swords. one of them, I would assume the leader was giggling like an stooge.
Me, being the way i am, simply said, "Can we help you boys?"
The "leader" looked at his boys and chuckled, drooling even more, and said "yeah, hehe, Yeah you can"
And of course at this point, being the smartarse i am, have to say " You be needing some iron I'd assume." and ready two fire seeds behind my back.
Needless to say, at this point, all hell breaks loose.
During the course of the battle Mayon and I get nicked up, but nothing serious. But we lay low Two of them. Of course, only after i have exhausted every offensive fire spell in my arsenal. The ladies weren't kidding when they said the lycans were gaining immunities to their once weaknesses. The moment Mayon stepped forward and finished of the leader stooge, the remaining two took off back down the passage way. Lucky for them, i think out loud. Lucky for us, I think to myself. Just as we are recomposing ourselves, a sentry opens the view port to this room from the hallway outside and stars, "Are you guys done feeding alre-SHIT!!"
And the port slams shut, the door locks, and we can hear feet running up the stairs. Gods damn our luck sometimes.I stride forward and begin pounding the holy hell out of the door, and break through. We skirt out into the hallway where i pull out my tiny hand crossbow and make very well ready to use it.
As we sneak up the stairs we can hear yelling in the forge area. Sounds like Mr foreman is pissed. Heh. Good. I don't die cheap.
As we approach the door, Lady Annja appears out of nowhere behind us saying, "This way, a way out." I don't even think to wheel around, she was that well hidden. I do however ask, "Wheres Lady Semie?" to which she replied, "In my bag". And a small Meow comes from within.
..........
Right.
"I'm not even going to ask"
And she leads us to an open window, which she gracefully leaps out of as does Mayon. My armoured arse however, scrabbles up the wall just in time to be noticed.
As my feet hit the ground outside, the iron door begins to open, and we haul past it. As the others reach the street, I wheel around and level the crossbow, and let fly at the first face i see.
The bolt hits true, and any normal man would have never risen from such a blow, but this creature just pulls ducks back, and comes right back around the corner as if it never happened.
Shit....
Time to run.
After about a dozen blocks of running we finally lose the, in the intricacy of these city streets.
Semie changed back to her normal self. Again, the most interesting people. And we made our way to an artificers shop. Apparently an old friend of the Ladies. Go figure.
Inside they discussed matters pertaining to everything that has happened with them over the last many moons all the way up through today. We also inquired as to...heh..."lighter" heavy armour for me.
We mentioned the new found resilience of these were creatures and discussed the two captives for a bot. before he claimed to have an idea as to how to locate them, and he disappeared into a side room. The moment the door closed, we heard a tiny Bark, from the back of the room we were in. A poodle had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Yet as he walked behind a shelf, he came out the other side as a man dressed in regal reds and blacks, with the blackest eyes you'd ever seen. "Toby", Semie whispered.
This Toby, spoke to Ann and Semie about the two captives in the lycans grasp and said, before he turned to depart, " Let nothing happen to my daughter". Which was taken as a shock to every one in the group aside from me, mainly because i am such an outsider at this early point in our adventure. Once he departed the wizards from the guilds entered, having been summoned by the artificer. They spoke of their plan to retrieve the captive girls from the lycans hands. Turns out the clergy wizard bastards had one of the Firsts. The ORIGINAL werewolves. Only a couple of them left and these book diving geeks had one.
They departed after a short banter between them and the ladies. And we continued idle banter between the shopkeeper who emerged shortly after the 'zards had left. We then made for the keep. Semie needed to speak with King, and i needed a recharge after the little tussle those jackals had put Mayon and I through. I tried getting some sleep on the airship, but didnt get much with having to re write my spells, and memorize some pretty twisted ones. By the time we landed i was fairly grumpy, and not ready to put up with the formalities this were-pup demanded. We walked into the woods, where Semie called out quietly for King. I leaned up against a tree and sounded off, " Come on dog...we havent got all night now...".
Everyone looked at me as if I had just slapped a baby. Yet from the shadows, here came King, Obviously pissed at the 'dog' comment, He started in my direction, when Semie spoke up, " We came to let you know, the wizards at the Citadel have one of the f-"," I KNOW",he interrupted.
"But..we thought you sho-", " I KNOW.", he again interrupted. I must have nodded off for a moment because when i opened my eyes again, conversation was over and he had vanished into the shadows again. Silly pup, if only he knew.
Ah, from here, back to the Citadel. The question of the eve was where were the were's getting the scrap metal? They couldnt have access to the mines under the Citadel. And surely noone was just handing an army of lycans tonnes of scrap metal, no. That metal had looked ripped and shorn. Perhaps they were salvaging it from something. But the only large source of metal in the undergrounds other than the mines was the sewer system itself. Hmm...
We agree to check with the dwarven consulate about any...odd, happenings in the sewer lines.
We arrive about a mile out from the city walls this time, and the airship again departs to practice maneuvers. We walk in the city gates as a group, and head direct for the consulate. Lady Ann informs us, these are dwarves, no politeness, or any of that. Direct and to the point will get results. I know dwarves. Direct, and BLUNT. We enter the consulate and speak with the representative at the desk. Lady Ann does the talking from here. " We wish to inquire about any sewer lines that arent functioning properly." The dwarf looks her up and down and spits out, "Anything built by DWARVES never functions IMPROPERLY." Strike one.
She then asks, if there are any that are closed. " Even if there were i am not authorized to disclose that information to you." Strike two. She starts to ask again, and that enough to count as strike three. I step up to him, lean down and gruffly say, "Listen ya beig bearded blowhard, two tankards of dwarven ale says theres somethin youre not tellin us." AGAIN, the slapping a baby look from everyone. The dwarf looks my in the eyes and says, "I cannot release that information to you." Disheartened looks from the group, but i stand there looking this Dwarf right in his eyes. I know dwarves. He licks his lips, and looks around the room quickly then says, "I cannot release that information to you, HOWEVER, if you were to be lookin for housing, then i would simply HAVE to tell you the sewer lines At the intersection of 4th and 15th arent functioning right now. You may want to search elsewhere." I for one am smiling as I'm sure is the rest of the group as i slip the dwarf 20gp, and thank him kindly.
We make for the intersection, and find it blocked off with signs that say "KEEP OUT" in a variety of languages. Heh..a welcome sign if i ever saw one.
There are two guards posted at the blockade, and we approach. They look at us and declare, " Noones allowed in here. Construction dont ya know.". I nod, and say heartily and with a touch of concern, " Standin guard out here all day can be a drain, how bout if'n i sponser a lunch break for you two fine gents?"......
The obvious leader of this watch looks around and says, "Lunch sounds pretty good right about now. About 30 minutes of lunch. Then we would have to come right back, y'know. Cant let anyone wandering round in here." I smile and palm the guard 100gp. Gods above this city will break me by the time we're done.
The two depart and we enter the undergrounds. Not to long of a walk underground the smell is obvious. It was the sewer lines alright. And a massive gash in the wall. hmm...wonder where this leads.
We walk down it, and find a stream of clean fresh water leading down. We follow it to an opening where we see dozens of people working in an underground river, cleaning and cooling fragments of metal. Found the source of the scraps then.
We also noticed, we had been noticed. and Lady Annja gracefully lept down to speak with the spotter. Carried himself a little more regally that the others, who i took for jackals and rats. Lycans....can never tell sometimes.
We were approached from behind, and asked to come down and join our companion. We did, but as we passed each of them, they smelled us. Like food. I dare one of these beasts to touch me. I just dare them.
We meet up with Ann, and she and this lycan have broached the subject of why we are here. What he knows: we want to feed them. What he doesnt know: To cause dissent in the ranks of the lycans, since the leadership isnt obviously feeding its soldiers and worker classes.
But to continue. He keeps saying we are lying and presses it with all his might. I will say he has a way for words. But eventually we convince him to entertain the notion we want to feed them. Then the prig asks what favor we can do for him if he is to let us feed them.
This displeases Mayon, visibly.
We are then led to an underground, what seems to be, arena. Surrounded by hundreds of these things. The leader figure asks us to turn a prominent figure. And says since this person knows Semie and Ann, he will have to turn me in order to get closer to this person. Like Hells.
But simply the fact that we entertain the notion to turn this person outrages Mayon and he gets in the way. We calm him down, and the Lycan leader says he will consider our offers, and tells us, regrettably, for the sake of showmanship, he' cant let us leave' and makes a quick glance around the room. In the shadows of the walls in alcoves, are more faces. He nods to us, and begins to change. As he changes everyone grabs my arms, and we begin to Recall to the airship, but right before we do, the mane of fur has made itself visible. A Gods damned Werelion. Makes sense.
We find ourselves on the airship in a blink, and tell them to make for Bethrengard at haste.
Until next Entry.
~ Alaric
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