Candlekeep Forum
Candlekeep Forum
Home | Profile | Register | Active Topics | Active Polls | Members | Private Messages | Search | FAQ
Username:
Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

 All Forums
 Forgotten Realms Journals
 Adventuring
 A Troubled Economy (Deceased): Enalda Ruveldrar
 New Topic  New Poll New Poll
 Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly
Author Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  

cpthero2
Great Reader

USA
2285 Posts

Posted - 11 Dec 2020 :  06:20:50  Show Profile  Visit cpthero2's Homepage Send cpthero2 a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
Journey to a New City

23 MAY 2017

These past few days have been rather exciting! We stepped off the ship from Lath and entered Assur. The docks were filled with merchant and cargo ships. More than I’ve ever seen! Setibyr and I went to the market and shopped for a few essential items for the new climate before we found a place to stay for the night.. Lodgings and dinner was far more expensive than I anticipated, but I heard that the situation in Assur was driving costs upwards. Our room was at a place called The Kraken’s Afterbirth. It certainly wasn’t a name you’d hear in Lath! Setibyr did much better than I expected in the new city. I suspect part of that is from the anonymity. No one gave us a second glance or came too close. Part of that was probably from the heat. Part if it was probably from the variety of folk that were milling around the city. For once, we did not stick out.

The next day, we went to the temple of Lucha. Even though we arrived early, the lines were long. I was prepared to wait, but some priests from the temple came out and started separating us all into groups based on our skill sets. So many of the others had real combat experience, and I was a little embarrassed to admit that our fighting was mainly in settle a few brawls in the tavern. Oh well, I’m sure there’s still plenty of time to get that kind of experience. I’ll probably be sick of fighting long before I’ll be free of battles. I can hold my own in a fight, but I don’t take as much pleasure in it as Setibyr does.

Once we were inside the temple, I was greatly impressed by the symbols and the power I could feel from the very stones of the building itself. I’ve prayed to Lucha for so long, but this is the first time I’ve been in her temple. The priest who brought us inside offered us a job seeking information and offered to advance us part of our pay. We were paired with some other foreign fellows. Before we left the temple, I took the chance to pray to the Goddess. I asked her for healing for Setibyr and guidance on our trip. I am not sure that it will be what Setibyr needs to heal, but I prayed that the taste of battle would quench his thirst for revenge. I did not pray as long as I had wanted, but I trusted that we would be back and I could spend more time with the Goddess. We had some money left from when we left the tavern, but we supplemented it and bought a little more hot weather gear before meeting back up with our new work companions.

Our comrades had made the acquaintance of a Hinn, and we were offered a job for the night to guard a warehouse. The building had a form of magical cooling, so we spent the night in relative comfort and made a little money at the same time. The next day we formally accepted our assignment and set to completely outfit ourselves for our desert trip. A very helpful man looked over our gear and gave us pointers to help us survive. After a few more purchases and significantly lighter coin purses, we decided to leave at dusk. Travelling by the heat of day would be suicide.

Our travel went pretty smoothly the first day. The worse we really encountered was boots full of sand. The next night of travel, however, would be far more trying. I spotted a storm blowing up on the horizon. Sure enough, shortly before dawn the downpour came. What would have been a heavy rain in Lath was a dangerous torrent in a desert. There were no trees and no vegetation to slow the water and we were nearly washed away. I managed to dig my long sword in the ground and hold myself steady, but in the end we lost some rather important supplies. I am glad no one was gravely injured, but it was quite disheartening to have our trip start off with such a loss. Setibyr handled the sudden rainfall wonderfully and did not even slip! I fell in the water and got a good dousing. I suppose it was one way to get the sand out of my clothes!

Once the rain stopped and we fixed what supplies we had left, we continued on as the temperature was much more conducive to travel. We came upon some overturned wagons and approached slowly. They might have some of the information we went sent out to retrieve! What luck would it be if we had what we were looking for only two days into our trip! Before we could get too close, we were attacked by three particularly gruesome hobgoblins and a bugbear. Setibyr approached them right away, showing a confidence I rarely saw from him. He went directly after the bugbear, and I followed. We made short work of him and suffered not even a scratch! I am proud that he was so confident, but his willingness to go directly into battle worries me slightly. I hope that he won’t let his desire to fight cloud his judgement.






Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring

cpthero2
Great Reader

USA
2285 Posts

Posted - 11 Dec 2020 :  06:37:04  Show Profile  Visit cpthero2's Homepage Send cpthero2 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The Neverending Desert

15 JUN 2017

These last few days have been incredibly trying. I’m not used to all of the long travels in such a hot climate. Thankfully our friend Sahil has been helping with the heat by casting a spell to allow us to not feel the elements as badly as others around us. Even so, the days seem to drag on, punctuated only by moments of action.

One such moment came while we were escorting the hobgoblin to Lastar for interrogation. We came upon a larger caravan that had been attacked. It was awful. It looked like the men had been tortured and many of them had been tied down and raped. Poor Setibyr. I didn’t know if he would run or fly into a rage. He’s incredibly brave and stood his ground. Instead of fleeing the awful scene, he broke their restraints and prayed for them. He was clearly very distressed, though. I really hope his night terrors don’t start again. I knew we would see some terrible things, but I didn’t think about what we might see affecting my brother so badly.

Later that night, I tried to keep a discreet eye on him. I know he wouldn’t want me doting on him in front of the other men. While we were sleeping, our hin friend, Tuck, took it upon himself to untie the hobgoblin prisoner, who promptly fled. Why, I do not know. It certainly made a lot more work for us as we tried to recapture him. We foolishly split up before realizing that separating in a desert was quite possibly a death sentence, especially in an area where we could easily become disoriented and lost. When we did get back together and locate the hobgoblin, he had died from the extreme heat. He had not been prepared when he fled our camp and had succumb to the elements. Now he was dead and useless to us. One of the members of our party suggested that we could possibly speak with him from beyond the grave, so his head was cut off and taken with us.

After another short monsoon, we came upon another caravan and a mob heading away from it. This one was ablaze! Shino and Danjo tried to put out the fire so we could look at the contents of one of the wagons, but it exploded once they poured water on it!! I’ve never seen such a fire or such an explosion! Not knowing any way to put out the fire, we fled. We were just outside of Lastar and were surrounded by a group of guards, who no doubt had seen the fire and explosion. They interrogated us and let us know that the rules of their city-state were incredibly strict before allowing us inside.

Once we were inside, we were beset by the townspeople who wanted to know about the trade routes from Assur and the state of the city. They were starting to panic and Tuck was able to work some kind of magics to calm them so we could head to the temple of Lucha. Finally I was back somewhere that I could be comfortable! I told the initiate about our job from the temple in Assur. We all serve the same lady, so I saw no problem in giving them the news of how the trade routes are and the conditions in Assur. I’m sure the Lady has revealed some of this to higher followers anyway. Technically, we are employed by the temple of Lucha so I consider them my employers as well.

We tried to find someone to give us information from the severed head, but the price was rather steep. The temple of Lucha would not let us ask questions or be present at the spell casting so we did not want them to perform the ritual. We tried bartering at some of the temples, but it would be at least 600 crintz just to ask three questions. Who knows if we would ask the right questions! While we considered our options, we went to an inn and tavern called The Eye. There were all manners of beings there, including one called a Beholder! I’m sure my eyes were bigger than saucers, and I hope I did not show how little I know of such exotic races. I have a feeling I will meet a great many more in this strange city!






Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring
Go to Top of Page

cpthero2
Great Reader

USA
2285 Posts

Posted - 11 Dec 2020 :  06:39:37  Show Profile  Visit cpthero2's Homepage Send cpthero2 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Murder in the Merchant City

17 JUN 2017

I think I have had enough of this adventuring. So much has happened, and I think we are in over our heads. Our time at The Eye enjoying a break from the desert was interrupted by a drow with a rather large hat. He gave each of us a sack of 125 crintz, and he also gave us a scroll that Sahil was able to decipher. It instructed us to go to the Tailor’s Truth to speak with the proprietor about a possible job. I had some very strong reservations about taking such a job considering our current contract. Tuck had no reservations about anything and took some kind of mood elevating herb before leaving to spend some time with one of the hin women who sold her body for coin. I don’t understand the appeal of being with someone that you must pay to tolerate your company, but perhaps it’s a custom of his race or where he is from to not form deep attachments. Either way, it did give us time to discuss the situation.

When he returned, we paid for our meals and decided to head towards the shop. We were in agreement that interfering with our contract was not wise, but speaking with the man should not lead us to any harm so long as we were careful with what we disclosed. While we waited to speak with the man who had summoned us, Setibyr commissioned some work from a silversmith. I was rather disappointed to see that the smith had nothing bearing the insignia of my Lady. I suppose I can understand that it would be difficult to display works from every temple, but I cannot afford to wait about town for a piece of artwork. I’m certain I can find a smith in Assur upon our return and have my Lady’s sign placed on my scabbard then. Until then, I will have to carry her in my heart and on my holy symbol and display her in my works.

The tailor, as he claimed to be, was rather interested in us and our travels. We disclosed to him that we were employed by the Lady to complete a job, but we made sure to stay rather vague. He offered us each a total of 4,000 crintz for the completion of a job where we found what was causing the stoppage of goods along the trade way. He claimed that he only had the funds to survive for four more tenday before he would have to close his shop. I immediately became rather suspicious about his offer of payment for our completion of his job. If he was in such a bad way financially, there is no way he would be able to afford paying six adventurers a total of 24,000 crintz. We left to discuss our options and seek legal counsel before making a decision. On our way back to The Eye for the night, Setibyr and I stopped to resupply our rations and replace the barrel that had exploded during our trip. Once our shopping was complete, we met back up with Danjo and Shino and returned to The Eye.

From here, things went downhill quickly. Tuck and Sahil informed us that a dwarf warned them against working with the tailor, Suhl. According to the dwarf, Suhl was an evil man and all that were employed by him disappeared into the desert and were never heard from again. The desert is a rather cruel place at the moment so I could believe that anyone sent out could meet their end quickly. I was not sure that was entirely indicative of the tailor being evil, but it was certainly something to consider. His willingness to part with large sums of gold that he may not actually have was far more concerning to me than other adventurers not returning from the hostile desert. I care little for the money itself, but question his abilities and motives if he would so easily part with crintz in a city that revolves around money.

We decided to retire for the night to discuss our situation more privately. I offered up our room as Tuck and Sahil said that they had had a messenger approach them previously in the larger room. I thought ours might be more private and may not be being watched as closely as the room that was housing majority of our group. Shortly after we entered, a terrible scream rang through The Eye. There had been a murder right outside the front doors! The dwarf that had warned Sahil and Tuck about the tailor was nearly decapitated.

We got our first taste of the law enforcement of Lastar at that point when they can to investigate the murder. They were incredibly no nonsense. Quite frankly, they were terrifying. They questioned Sahil and Tuck before they left with the dwarf’s body. We returned to The Eye to finish our discussion and possibly find different, less conspicuous lodging for the night. Again, we went to our smaller room. Danjo entered with some kind of vibrant alcoholic drink. I really did not feel it to be the appropriate time to be getting drunk, but I stayed quiet. I have spent enough time working in the tavern to understand that some need to kill their emotions with alcohol, though I may not agree. He did, at least, choose to wait to drink the concoction.

He did not need to wait long. There was a fire started in our hallway and we were swiftly put in the position of needing to escape from a burning room. We managed, but chaos now reigned in The Eye and just outside. Patrons had been evacuated and were milling about outside. Danjo, who had downed the drink before running through the fire, was passed out on the ground. Either the drink was strong or his tolerance was terrible.

Setibyr made to help carry him away from the crowd, but he was struck with a bolt. Normally would have taken such a small hit in stride. It would have angered him, but it would not have done much other than be an annoying small wound. I watched in horror as my brother dropped. Surely such a small wound should not have brought him down! I pulled the bold from his neck and was hit with one as well. I felt a stinging and realized right away that these bolts were poisoned. I did not succumb and realized we needed to get him to a healer right away. I did not know the nature of the poison.
Lady have mercy, I was terrified. I could see my brother’s eyes and knew he was aware of his surroundings, but he could not move and could not talk. His breathing seemed more labored and he could not support himself. More bolts continued to rain down on us. I was able to withstand whatever poison they had been coated with, thank the Lady. I carried my brother as swiftly as I could and we begged for entry at the temple of Lucha. They were hesitant, but allowed us in where there was safety.

They healed my brother. For that I am forever in the Lady’s debt. The priest said that poison was called the Tears of Death. Had we not gotten to the temple when we did, Setibyr would have died. My brother, so healthy and so strong, would have died to a simple bolt. My Lady is the only reason he survived. I could offer up my prayers every waking moment for the rest of my life and not have given Her enough thanks. I donated some gold to the temple to help the monetary costs of healing him, but the remainder of my debt will be paid with prayers and deeds. Once we have finished this cursed job, Setibyr and I will need to sit down and discuss our future and whether we should quit adventuring. I am ready to be done now. Quietly running the tavern is seeming more appealing every day. I don’t know that it would satisfy him, but perhaps I can appeal to him by offering to set up shop in a different city. I know Lath has too many difficult memories for him.

The next morning, we were able to send one of the priests out to purchase replacement goods for us. I sent paid him with the crintz from the tailor. This turned out to be a grave mistake. I had suspected that there was some sort of tracking spell on our bag of crintz and planned to leave the entire bag with the temple, minus the cost of a new desert outfit, but the crintz were fake! We were accused of passing fake coin and were shackled and sent to be interrogated, despite our insistence that we did not know it was fake. I had not wanted to keep any sort of payment from this tailor and certainly did not want a bag that could lead him to us, but I never dreamed the crintz was fake, especially in a city where money was so very important and respected.

During our trip to be interrogated, we were targeted by the assassin with the poison bolts again. He dropped our guards and Shino and Sahil were affected as well. Knowing what we did, we knew we had limited time to get them aide. We could not seek asylum with the temple of Lucha, however. As we were trying to decide on a course of action, the city guards sprang to our rescue and returned us to the temple. I had my doubts as to whether they’d let us in, but the guards overruled the priest who had sent us to be interrogated. Finally, someone listened to us and did not brand us as criminals. He convinced the priest that they must help us flee the city as we had been attacked three times in less than a full day. The attacks on us were putting other innocent citizens in harm’s way. They agreed to sneak us outside of the city, and we took them up on the offer.

Once we were back outside of the city, it was a little easier to relax. We could not let our guard down entirely, but the assassination attempts had stopped. The only thing trying to kill us now was pterafolk. Far easier to contend with than sneaking drow. For now, I’m happy to be back outside the city where we can see our threats coming from afar.






Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring
Go to Top of Page

cpthero2
Great Reader

USA
2285 Posts

Posted - 11 Dec 2020 :  06:41:38  Show Profile  Visit cpthero2's Homepage Send cpthero2 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The Loss of Friendship

28 JUL 2017

The first time I realized we were different was around our seventh year. I was used to everyone at the tavern telling us that we were beautiful and thought little of it. Our mother would brush my hair at night and tell me how pretty it was. There was no one else in our town besides my brother and I with such light blonde hair. There was plenty of black and brown, and I knew that we had unique hair. I didn’t realize how unique we were in our little city. Not until the children our age started to point our our differences.

Early on, I had had a friend, Arabez. Her mother was a seamstress, and she lived four houses down from ours. Arabez, Setibyr, and I would play in our tavern during the day when business was slow. She didn’t seem to mind that Setibyr and I were always together. She had no other siblings her age and was always underfoot at home. She was the last of five children and was often shooed out of the shop.

It was during our eighth summer that Arabez started to act differently around us. One morning when she came over, she was very quiet. I tried to get her join us in a game sticks at one of the tables, but she seemed to not want to come fully into the dining room. I asked her why she didn’t want to play.

“Ma says that both of you are not like us. She says that you’re different and that your pa left you cause you’re strange. I don’t want to be strange, too, and have my pa leave me so I’m not going to be your friend anymore.”

And, just like that, one of my only friends besides my brother walked out the door. Our mother rushed to tell us that our father had not left because we were different. He didn’t even know that we had been born or she was sure he would love us just as much as she did. It did little to ease the stinging of Arabez’s words. Setibyr and I became closer than ever. We were each other’s only friends.





Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring
Go to Top of Page

cpthero2
Great Reader

USA
2285 Posts

Posted - 11 Dec 2020 :  06:43:42  Show Profile  Visit cpthero2's Homepage Send cpthero2 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Dangerous Battles and Difficult Decisions

10 AUG 2017

It is by the grace of Lucha that I am able to write again today. We have had a very trying few days, and I fear that things will only get worse. The first horrifying incident came after a period of rest. We had set up camp under a copse of trees and had rested relatively safely. The peace was not to stay long, as seems to happen to us quite frequently. Some mystical birds began flying over our camp, but were not acting aggressively. Danjo thought it might be a good omen. It was not. The birds landed not too far from our camp and our day took a turn.

Their first act was to dance to create a magic that would send an enormous blast at us. Setibyr and I were able to withstand the explosion and soothe our wounds. Shortly after, the bird creatures created mirror images of themselves. They were far more clever and more dangerous than they looked – and they already looked fairly formidable. I tried to shoot at them, but once Setibyr raced forward, I was off as well. These creatures made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. There was something very much off about them. Surely Lucha would not have permitted something this awful to have been created in our world. Setibyr began attacking the one to my left. As usual, I attacked the other, hoping to draw some of the aggression off of my brother. My brother is a very strong man, but alone against two such creatures, he’d surely be grievously injured, if not killed. I had faith in Lucha and in our companions to support us and help us vanquish these bird men. Lucha protected me. Our companions did not.

Almost immediately, the bird man in front of me sliced into me, rending open my neck. Blood burbled in my throat, cutting off my air and muting my scream. I tried not to panic. I knew this could be a mortal wound, but I trusted in Lucha to keep me alive long enough to defeat these foes and protect my brother. I tried not to let on how dire of a situation I was in after that wound. The last thing I needed was Setibyr going into a frenzy and getting hurt as well. While I was struggling to breathe, the bird men opened their wings and spores flew from them, coating both of us. Danjo, who had gone to help Setibyr with his bird man, was untouched. It seemed fitting as he was unable to wound the bird man as well. The spores took root on us and started carving into our bodies. I was unable to even cry out in pain. A disgusting bubble was all I was able to manage. Setibyr continued furiously attacking the bird creature in front of him. From the back, Shino shot fireballs at the creatures, dispelling the illusions. The actual creatures seemed hardly harmed by the fire. I wonder if Shino would have been more effective fighting physically alongside us rather than using so much magic. Partway through the battle, I felt some healing relief come from Sahil. I do not know what Tuck was doing to aid us. He was nowhere near the front of the fray.

The battle was going poorly. To my surprise, one of the creatures stole Setibyr’s hammer and disappeared. The one he had wounded disappeared as well. For all of our efforts, we had nothing to show but our lives. Even those were almost lost to us. I still could not breathe, and the vines were sapping the last bit of strength that I had. Through Setibyr’s efforts, he was able to repair my throat well enough for me to breathe again. Sahil and my lady Lucha healed me enough that I would not die that day, but nothing could remove the vines. Nothing short of cutting the dozens of them out of our skin, which we could not survive.

The horrors we fought then would not compare to the creature we’d encounter next. The only way I can describe it is as some sort of sand ooze. After it had dissolved Shino, Danjo, and Danjo’s camel, we fled. I’ve never been up against something that could melt you with a single touch. I was still wounded and knew there was no way we could fight something that could melt our weapons and armor as well as ourselves. We ran. I’m not proud of it. I knew we were leaving Shino and Danjo behind. To be fair, we had seen them disintegrate. I had no way of knowing they would re-form later. I ran faster than I had ever run before. I made sure to keep Setibyr beside me, afraid he would seek revenge on the ooze. Thankfully, he must have seen how futile fighting this abomination would be as he kept pace with me. After we were a distance away, I heard the screams of Danjo and Shino. Over my shoulder, I could see them re-form – naked as the day they were born. I felt a great surge of guilt. They were back with the horror, and we had left them there. The horror had been chasing us, but went back after them. I watched in disbelief as they dissolved and re-formed over and over again until Shino collapsed and Danjo grabbed him and ran.

Tuck worked some of his magics and Danjo ran faster, catching up with us. It was quite a sight, and not just because two naked men were coming fast as can be across the sand. Had it not been such a dire moment, I would have been rather embarrassed as that was the first naked man I’ve seen. I’ve seen many shirtless men and men in their underthings, but never like that. I’m a bit embarrassed now, to be honest. That aside, I was able to redeem myself some for abandoning them as I healed Shino. He was able to run on his own and we kept ahead of the ooze horror. Tuck made himself useful this time and blasted the creature over and over with some of the magic we had found earlier. Thank Lucha it worked. It looked like it would never stop chasing us until we died.

Once it was destroyed, we went back to see if any of our gear was salvageable. Setibyr and I lent Shino and Danjo some clothes. I shudder to think what kind of full body sunburn the desert would have subjected them to. We recovered the majority of our supplies and continued on. What else can we do but continue?

The foothills of the mountains seemed more hospitable. There was certainly more greenery than we had been seeing. Some forest creatures spoke with us and gave us directions to Assur, though I don’t know that I believe them. We even spoke with a large tree! Thankfully, none seemed to want to harm us. We set up camp that night and discussed our plans. Setibyr and I want to continue to Assur and be done with this awful job. The rest of the group wants to explore the shrine. A suicide mission.

Setibyr and I discussed amongst ourselves the events of the last few days and our survival options. He was very angry. He felt that the rest of our party had abandoned us during our battles and left us to do all the fighting while they hid in safety. I can certainly see his point. Despite all of the others having more battle experience than us, we seem to always be the ones doing the brunt of the fighting. Setibyr told me that Hoar had come to him with a blessing, giving him some minor magics. He said that some of the magics he was blessed with would allow us to survive in the desert if Lucha would also bless me. I will pray to her tonight and offer her my thanks for my continued survival. If she finds me fit, hopefully she will bless me as well. My prayers will have to be silent, though, as my throat is still in a bad way.

Setibyr is not good at keeping his anger tamed these days. He confronted the group and told them that we were heading to Assur, with or without them. He told them what we had discussed about their lack of aid during our fights. He was rather harsh. I admit, I am not happy about being injured so frequently. Truly, I watched my brother almost die at an assassins hands. I can’t say that hasn’t shaken me. I know he hurt some feelings and wish he hadn’t, but I suppose something needed to be said. He knew that if we were blunt about going off on our own, that they would either have to go with us or die on their own. Without our defense in battle, they would not survive. I hate drawing such a hard line, but it is not our job to save the world. Our job is to get information for the Lady so that she can send a group of heroes that CAN save the world. We’re just a strange group of travelers and are ill equipped to handle such a thing. Most of our supplies are gone or destroyed. Setibyr and I still suffer from the after effects of the vines. We have exhausted much of the magical items we have found. Why die at this shrine when it isn’t our job to fix whatever plagues these people?

Once we get back to Assur, I hope to convince Setibyr that it is time to head home. If I cannot convince him, then perhaps he would be willing to take on some less dangerous jobs. We cannot continue like this, no matter what the rest of the group thinks. Now we just need to pray that the way back to Assur is clear and the city is not in ruins. Lucha protect us.







Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring
Go to Top of Page
  Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  
 New Topic  New Poll New Poll
 Reply to Topic
 Printer Friendly
Jump To:
Candlekeep Forum © 1999-2024 Candlekeep.com Go To Top Of Page
Snitz Forums 2000