So the life I led was boring the shit out of me, all these would be suitors fawning over me and my parents constantly nagging me to choose a husband. High born of the Eladrin is a pain in the ass.
I got more and more pissed off, and took up magic as a way to show them all what I really think. In the meantime, took to brawling in the streets, skulking around in the dark and spying on the weak minded, occasionally swordfighting as dishonourably as possible. Then when the magic began to work, I could fire off a Thunderwave or two to shove the assholes back where they belonged. My parents disowned me, so I left with little or nothing. Thought I'd take a look at what happens outside the Fey world, and ended up with a bunch of unruly Dragonborn who were at least not such totally useless sucks that they didn't get angry when I used my spells on them. OK, I can live with that, at least for a while.
Still, watch yourselves guys. I piss of easily, and really, don't fear very much.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
On Relmaur, Rumours & Lore
Relmaur, long free of draconic control, has for centuries welcomed escaped dragonborn slaves of other realms. Though life is hard in the orc-contested land, it was one of the few places dragonborn could live free until the Blue Breath of Change. History taught as young.
The 3 largest clans are Belarrak, Garandorn and Urlingscar. The ruler, the High Crown of Relmaur, the stern Harangor Urlingscar is an aging dragonborn from an old Bloodname. Common Street knowledge.
Belarrak is a very new Bloodname, less than 65 years old. Fennor Belarrak is the Clan Founder and still the current head of the clan. At its founding, Fennor and his Spawnmates bought back 147 Dragonborn from the outside, forming the 3rd largest clan overnight and gained him the greatest honour bestowed to an individual since the Blue Breath of Change. History learned.
Rokthorl is the name of the Capital of the realm, but it is not a specific geographic city. It is the cavern currently inhibited by the clan of the High Crown. Dragonborn clans move their caves out of necessity, because of the Dragon Empress send raiding forces to attempt to reclaim "her slaves" every 10-20 years. None of the caverns are marked on the maps.
Dragonborn Culture on Returned Abeir.
Here's an excerpt on Dragonborn from Forgotten Realms Players Guide.
The Dragonborn on Returned Abeir is somewhat different than the free Dragonborn on Faerun. While all Dragonborn believe in the importance of honour, the definition of what is dishonourable can range greatly. There are 3 groups of Dragonborn in Returned Abeir: Slaves of Dragon Empires, scattered freed dragonborn slaves living in pockets here and there with no nation to call their own, and the free dragonborn of Relmaur. Of the 3, the Relmaur dragonborn are the most different from the norm.
The free dragonborn of Relmaur are a small minority (10%?) of the population of the dragonborn in Return Abeir. Living mainly in 3 small community of 400-800, the nation of Relmaur consist of less than 2500 members, of which half are young adults or younger. The enviornment is harsh, and the war with the orcs and other monsters are constant realty. Mature Dragonborn have no time to rear their own clutch, and the eggs of Relmaur are hatched and raised by specialized members called Spawn Parent, where he/she take care of all the eggs & its hatchlings of a particular year regardless of their clutch.
Therefore, the young have no Bloodnames(Lastnames) in Relmaur, as their parentage is unknown. As they approach adulthood, those who wish to earn their own Bloodnames may do so by earning it in a process known as the Bloodname Quest. The way to earn it is to gain honour outside their world, and return once they have found honour and knowledge to strengthen the nation. It is especially honourable to return with dragonborn immigrants who wish to become a part of Relmaur. The mortality rate is very high in Relmaur, and it need a constant influx of honourable adult dragonborn
Not all young adults chose to earn their own Bloodname and start their own clan. Those who did not take the Bloodname Quest are drafted/adopted by an existing clan, starting at the bottom in honour and rank and must work their way up.
Of the few that return, most of those are bounded so closely through battle as well as spawn, the survivors form the heart of a new clan. There are exeptions where more than 1 return wish to be on their own, with his/her own Bloodname.
Honor is very different for these Dragonborn. For most other Dragonborn, Family name (the Clutch) is the most imporant thing to honour. Like the dwarves to dishonour your family and ancestors is the worse sin, as well as dishonouring your own self. Here, the clans are not related by blood at all, other than circumstantially adopted.
Living in a land where war is constant and the environmental dangers is just as harsh, Honour in combat is least of their worry. There is a saying here. Nation before Self, Spawn before Nation, and Clan before Spawn. To dishonour your Clan is the worse sin, and those without a Bloodname must honour first and foremost their other Bloodnameless spawn brothers/sisters.
Dragonborn have always cleaved to a complex set of principles to guide their beliefs. Dragonborn society is highly ordered, with rigid castes and social
expectations, but nowhere does the race’s sense of honor reveal itself more than in combat. A dragonborn always shows his enemies respect, giving his opponents the greatest due regardless of the cause that makes them foes. Few dragonborn would sully
themselves by using treachery to defeat their adversaries, and they give each opponent the chance to acquit himself in the same honorable fashion.
This adherence to proper behavior eclipses the race’s views toward the gods. Since Abeir was without divine influence, at least in a way that most people of Toril understand, dragonborn regard the gods and their servants with suspicion, for they have ever held themselves accountable for their own actions and never to the expectations of others, especially to some remote god or other. Although a few dragonborn have found themselves in the service of traditionally wicked institutions, they cannot share the tenets and beliefs of the organizations they serve.
The Dragonborn on Returned Abeir is somewhat different than the free Dragonborn on Faerun. While all Dragonborn believe in the importance of honour, the definition of what is dishonourable can range greatly. There are 3 groups of Dragonborn in Returned Abeir: Slaves of Dragon Empires, scattered freed dragonborn slaves living in pockets here and there with no nation to call their own, and the free dragonborn of Relmaur. Of the 3, the Relmaur dragonborn are the most different from the norm.
The free dragonborn of Relmaur are a small minority (10%?) of the population of the dragonborn in Return Abeir. Living mainly in 3 small community of 400-800, the nation of Relmaur consist of less than 2500 members, of which half are young adults or younger. The enviornment is harsh, and the war with the orcs and other monsters are constant realty. Mature Dragonborn have no time to rear their own clutch, and the eggs of Relmaur are hatched and raised by specialized members called Spawn Parent, where he/she take care of all the eggs & its hatchlings of a particular year regardless of their clutch.
Therefore, the young have no Bloodnames(Lastnames) in Relmaur, as their parentage is unknown. As they approach adulthood, those who wish to earn their own Bloodnames may do so by earning it in a process known as the Bloodname Quest. The way to earn it is to gain honour outside their world, and return once they have found honour and knowledge to strengthen the nation. It is especially honourable to return with dragonborn immigrants who wish to become a part of Relmaur. The mortality rate is very high in Relmaur, and it need a constant influx of honourable adult dragonborn
Not all young adults chose to earn their own Bloodname and start their own clan. Those who did not take the Bloodname Quest are drafted/adopted by an existing clan, starting at the bottom in honour and rank and must work their way up.
Of the few that return, most of those are bounded so closely through battle as well as spawn, the survivors form the heart of a new clan. There are exeptions where more than 1 return wish to be on their own, with his/her own Bloodname.
Honor is very different for these Dragonborn. For most other Dragonborn, Family name (the Clutch) is the most imporant thing to honour. Like the dwarves to dishonour your family and ancestors is the worse sin, as well as dishonouring your own self. Here, the clans are not related by blood at all, other than circumstantially adopted.
Living in a land where war is constant and the environmental dangers is just as harsh, Honour in combat is least of their worry. There is a saying here. Nation before Self, Spawn before Nation, and Clan before Spawn. To dishonour your Clan is the worse sin, and those without a Bloodname must honour first and foremost their other Bloodnameless spawn brothers/sisters.
Prologue to Part II, The Secrets of Amra
"How much for the suit of layered plate?! That's outrageous!", goggled Malgrim as he considered the smith's quote of 800 gold crowns.
"You look here, elf - You see them thousand or so dwarves out there milling about? The price of metal is going through the roof! I've got teams of cryers in the countryside buying ploughshares and scrap metal because price of iron ore has increased 10 fold overnight! Until a new supply of metal shows itself this be my price for the armour. You won't find cheaper around town!", said Bjarngerður Alfgrun.
"But I'll tell you what, since you're with them dragonborn heroes, - I have a job for you. If you can get it done, I'll get you the suit for free. How's that for a deal?
About a month ago...."
---
Master Alfgrun is the most well known Armoursmith/merchant south of Belprin's Hold. He's from a long line of smiths dates back to the founding of Rorst 250 years ago. Malgrim was trying to negotiate for the price of a set of masterwork platemail so he can transfer the enchantment of the +2 chain to the plate when this adventure lead was discovered.
Around a month ago, he had an overland shipment robbed on route to him. In this shipment was 2 sets of magical leather armour, 1 set of magical hide, and weapon grade ore and armor grade bars. He had set a reward for the return of the magic armors, but while he has discovered their location, the bounty hunters had been unsuccessful in retrieving the items. Since 2 groups of bounty hunters died, no one tried unless the reward was going to go up substantially. Unwilling to to up the reward, he had since retracted the bounty and counted the shipment lost.
Since the destruction the Belprin Gate mines and most importantly the complete disruption of trade route to the dwarven nation of Belprin's Hold, price of those ore is worth much more than the 3 sets of magical armor. If Alfgrun can get those ore within days, he'll be the only smith in town that can fill some very specialized orders. (ores for weapon and ores for armour has drastically different characteristic requirements. One is hard and strong but can keep an edge, other is more mailable but less brittle. Weapon Grade metal is much harder to come by and more expensive.)
The Deal:
Find the rogues hiding in a abandoned ruin of House Malserpent-, get his stolen ores back to him within 10 days. In return, the party will get the following:
-good will of one of the best smiths in this region, he trust the dragonborn won't cheat him.
-get to keep the 3 suits of magic leather/hide armor.
-anything they find in the ruins
-a suit of layered plate, custom made to Malgrim specs.
-500 gp
Bonus - get back by evening of 28th of Eleint (5 days)
additional 500gp.
If all goes well, the party should be able to get there in 2 days, and back in 3 days travelling with with ore. You'll be needing a cart. Lots of carts for sale from the dwarves. Horses are a different story.
"You look here, elf - You see them thousand or so dwarves out there milling about? The price of metal is going through the roof! I've got teams of cryers in the countryside buying ploughshares and scrap metal because price of iron ore has increased 10 fold overnight! Until a new supply of metal shows itself this be my price for the armour. You won't find cheaper around town!", said Bjarngerður Alfgrun.
"But I'll tell you what, since you're with them dragonborn heroes, - I have a job for you. If you can get it done, I'll get you the suit for free. How's that for a deal?
About a month ago...."
---
Master Alfgrun is the most well known Armoursmith/merchant south of Belprin's Hold. He's from a long line of smiths dates back to the founding of Rorst 250 years ago. Malgrim was trying to negotiate for the price of a set of masterwork platemail so he can transfer the enchantment of the +2 chain to the plate when this adventure lead was discovered.
Around a month ago, he had an overland shipment robbed on route to him. In this shipment was 2 sets of magical leather armour, 1 set of magical hide, and weapon grade ore and armor grade bars. He had set a reward for the return of the magic armors, but while he has discovered their location, the bounty hunters had been unsuccessful in retrieving the items. Since 2 groups of bounty hunters died, no one tried unless the reward was going to go up substantially. Unwilling to to up the reward, he had since retracted the bounty and counted the shipment lost.
Since the destruction the Belprin Gate mines and most importantly the complete disruption of trade route to the dwarven nation of Belprin's Hold, price of those ore is worth much more than the 3 sets of magical armor. If Alfgrun can get those ore within days, he'll be the only smith in town that can fill some very specialized orders. (ores for weapon and ores for armour has drastically different characteristic requirements. One is hard and strong but can keep an edge, other is more mailable but less brittle. Weapon Grade metal is much harder to come by and more expensive.)
The Deal:
Find the rogues hiding in a abandoned ruin of House Malserpent-, get his stolen ores back to him within 10 days. In return, the party will get the following:
-good will of one of the best smiths in this region, he trust the dragonborn won't cheat him.
-get to keep the 3 suits of magic leather/hide armor.
-anything they find in the ruins
-a suit of layered plate, custom made to Malgrim specs.
-500 gp
Bonus - get back by evening of 28th of Eleint (5 days)
additional 500gp.
If all goes well, the party should be able to get there in 2 days, and back in 3 days travelling with with ore. You'll be needing a cart. Lots of carts for sale from the dwarves. Horses are a different story.
Sword Lands Rumours & Lore
Stories are important in the Sword Lands, and a favourite one is of Amra, the nation that once existed there. Amra had a human King who successfully stood up to the Empress Dragon, winning a promise from her that no dragon would ever attack Amra. That promise remain kept to this day. Hundreds of years has passed since the fall of Amra, by human hands. To this day, the Ruins of Amra is still visible litter the countryside, and the Dragon Empress has kept her word. Myth & Legends
Today, the valley of the Sword Lands is filled by a string of small, warring lands each ruled by a lord from his castle. The Lords feud constantly, but lack coin enough to raise army to unify the region. Scheming and spying are ever-present, Assassination of wizards, Lords' retainers, and lordly heirs and spouses goes on energetically. The feuds are so tangled that it can only end when whole lines are extinguished. Word on the Streets
Campaign Timeline for Part 1, Swordriver Valley
1479 DR The Year of the Ageless One
- Alturiak 12: Dragonborn left their home Rokthorl behind and arrived in the Swordriver valley.
- Elisias 24: Arrived at the human city of Rorst. [day 1 of actual game campaign]
- Eleint 3:
- Orcs attempt a raid of Rorst, was repelled, objective- kidnapping seemingly random people for reasons unknown.
- Dragonborn met 2 Eladrin who joined the party.
- Orcs attempt a raid of Rorst, was repelled, objective- kidnapping seemingly random people for reasons unknown.
- Eleint 7: Eladrin Paladin dies while rescuing villager for Rorst.
- Eleint 10: Returned to Rorst, semi heroes' welcome as all villagers minus 1 is still alive and all are accounted for.
- Eleint 13: Arrived at Belprin's Gate, warnings of attack.
- Eleint 14:
- Party met half-elf paladin in the dwarven temple
- Rescued the high priest and dwarf miners, high priest called lava in desperation.
- Arrival of a lich under the dwarven temple.
- Party met half-elf paladin in the dwarven temple
- Eleint 15:
- Destruction of Belprin's Gate, dwarves from Belprin's gate march toward Rorst.
- Met with a Dragonborn Barbarian on the way down the mountain who joined the party.
- Destruction of Belprin's Gate, dwarves from Belprin's gate march toward Rorst.
- Eleint 17: Arrived back at Belprin's Gate. Joined refugee line towards Rorst.
- Eleint 19: Return to Rorst, dwarves settling in about 1 mile east of Rorst in a vast refugee camp of 1200. Rorst extend hands of friendship with expectation that they find their way home once the lavaflow cools. Dwarves estimate 2-3 tendays from now depending on rainfall.
- Elient 21: Highharvestide Holyday and Autumn Equinox, everyone partied hard, including the dwarven refugees.
- Eleint 23: Recovered fully from hangovers, begins part 2...
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Falcor Journal/Log Entry #6078265
A question of honour.
my whole life has been a struggle to survive, to life with the 2 sides of myself. a weak dragonborn physically VS hidden power within. A Honorbound dragonborn VS The Infernal Pact I have made.
it is the latter struggle I will address here now.
My Pact decrees I send the souls of those I curse and slay to the underworld in exchange for my powers, gifts and boons. which I have honored my side of this by sending those I believe are headed there anyways just earlier than they expected.
on this journey I've had a few challenges.
#1 Mathus. I'm not sure whats got into him, he seems to be shedding his scales and turning into something different which I dont understand. is he Evil? Of course, but thats not what disturbs me. It's the lack of honour on which he acts and disrespects himself, his family, and also his clan, which bothers me. I always knew I would be the one to kill him someday due to his evilness and send him to the underworld, but killing him before his actions dishonour our clan further might be a new choice I must make. I suspect and hope his continued recklessness will solve that problem for me.
#2. We left a man behind. Our paladin, Our leader, we left him. We did hole up for a day in a dangerous cave in hopes he would arrive, with no luck. we did find some chalk that hopefully we can create a trail for him to follow. When this drawf resuce is over, I will return to recover his body.
#3 grave robbing. disturbing the burial rituals of others doesn't sit well with me, but from what I understand, we only removed some discarded equipment from the grave. I have decided this is fine with me for 3 reasons.
a) why would the dwarfs leave valuable equipment in a grave?
b) why would the dwarfs abandon a site that it seemed they honoured?
c) if the black dragon had discovered it before we did (odd that it did not) and stole it, then we stole it from the dragon it would clearly be ours without question, why the difference in the chain of custody?
Thats about it. I'm still being plane shifted to the underworld without any time lapse so the others are unaware, but I'll futher that discussion at another time.
[ps. Mark don't use comment it will be buried!]
my whole life has been a struggle to survive, to life with the 2 sides of myself. a weak dragonborn physically VS hidden power within. A Honorbound dragonborn VS The Infernal Pact I have made.
it is the latter struggle I will address here now.
My Pact decrees I send the souls of those I curse and slay to the underworld in exchange for my powers, gifts and boons. which I have honored my side of this by sending those I believe are headed there anyways just earlier than they expected.
on this journey I've had a few challenges.
#1 Mathus. I'm not sure whats got into him, he seems to be shedding his scales and turning into something different which I dont understand. is he Evil? Of course, but thats not what disturbs me. It's the lack of honour on which he acts and disrespects himself, his family, and also his clan, which bothers me. I always knew I would be the one to kill him someday due to his evilness and send him to the underworld, but killing him before his actions dishonour our clan further might be a new choice I must make. I suspect and hope his continued recklessness will solve that problem for me.
#2. We left a man behind. Our paladin, Our leader, we left him. We did hole up for a day in a dangerous cave in hopes he would arrive, with no luck. we did find some chalk that hopefully we can create a trail for him to follow. When this drawf resuce is over, I will return to recover his body.
#3 grave robbing. disturbing the burial rituals of others doesn't sit well with me, but from what I understand, we only removed some discarded equipment from the grave. I have decided this is fine with me for 3 reasons.
a) why would the dwarfs leave valuable equipment in a grave?
b) why would the dwarfs abandon a site that it seemed they honoured?
c) if the black dragon had discovered it before we did (odd that it did not) and stole it, then we stole it from the dragon it would clearly be ours without question, why the difference in the chain of custody?
Thats about it. I'm still being plane shifted to the underworld without any time lapse so the others are unaware, but I'll futher that discussion at another time.
[ps. Mark don't use comment it will be buried!]
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Returned Abeir
Of old, the Dawn Titans fought the Estelar and were humbled. Great was the slaughter among the Dawn Titans, but they retained Abeir for their own. Seared and ravaged by the divine fires of their foes, the few who survived were tired from strife. Sensing this, their steeds the dragons turned on and rose against the Dawn titans, slaying more, until nearly all who yet endured retreated into the very stones of the mountain and fell silent.
The triumphant dragons then made war on each other and on dragons who retained loyal to the Dawn Titans. This event was called the War of Fang and Talon, in which dragons recklessly unleashed the abandoned magic of the primordials. Much of Abeir was laid to waste, and the dragons were in turn left scarred, few in number, and at long last weary of war.
Then the legendary Gorloun, founded the first dragon empire. Rival draconic realms sprang up thereafter, and the long Rule of Dragons began. All were slaves and servants to the mighty dragons and other spawns of Tiamat. Dragons quarrelled, empires rose and decayed, or were wrested from the talons of their dying emperors, but dragonic rule survived nearly unchallenged until the Blue Breath of Change where Abeir merged with Toril and part again. Dragonbane amber was unearthed, enough to shatter the Rule of Dragon. Now, much of the Returned Abeir govern themselves, free of draconic rule surrounded by foreign seas.
The triumphant dragons then made war on each other and on dragons who retained loyal to the Dawn Titans. This event was called the War of Fang and Talon, in which dragons recklessly unleashed the abandoned magic of the primordials. Much of Abeir was laid to waste, and the dragons were in turn left scarred, few in number, and at long last weary of war.
Then the legendary Gorloun, founded the first dragon empire. Rival draconic realms sprang up thereafter, and the long Rule of Dragons began. All were slaves and servants to the mighty dragons and other spawns of Tiamat. Dragons quarrelled, empires rose and decayed, or were wrested from the talons of their dying emperors, but dragonic rule survived nearly unchallenged until the Blue Breath of Change where Abeir merged with Toril and part again. Dragonbane amber was unearthed, enough to shatter the Rule of Dragon. Now, much of the Returned Abeir govern themselves, free of draconic rule surrounded by foreign seas.
Changes to official Belprin's Hold
in page 207 of the Forgotten Realms Campaign guide, they listed Belprin's Hold as a Keep. In our version, Belprin's hold is a mountain Range from the B in Belprin's Hold on map page 201 and following the words Belprin's Hold and curves down south until it touches the N in word Swordlands.
Belprin's Hold is a mountain range that serves as a natural border between Eskorn and Swordlands. It is a land where the dwarves and giants, as well as few small frontier villages of very hardy humans.
At the south edge of the mountain range(of Belprin's Hold), near the bend of the north-east-most tributary of the Sword River was Belprin's Gate, the dwarven city that was just destroyed. To the east and north are foothills and forest infested with monsters - trolls, gnolls, goblins and orcs.
Belprin's Gate served as the trading post to a dwindling dwarven kingdom, that existed when the land was still Maztica. Being deep underground, some of the Belprin dwarves survived the continent transposing/switching places with Maztica.
There were 7 cities in Belprin's hold including Belprin's Gate (so now 6), as well as numerous smaller fort-towns/mines of less than 200. The largest of which is Belprin's Hold, a dwarven city of 4500. There's only one good way though the mountains, and that path was destroyed by the lava. Until the lava cools and the ways are rebuilt, the refugees are stuck on this side of the mountain, unless they take a boat all the way around to Aldreth then up to Stormhelm, then travel on foot from there south into the north side of the mountain range.
Belprin's Hold is a mountain range that serves as a natural border between Eskorn and Swordlands. It is a land where the dwarves and giants, as well as few small frontier villages of very hardy humans.
At the south edge of the mountain range(of Belprin's Hold), near the bend of the north-east-most tributary of the Sword River was Belprin's Gate, the dwarven city that was just destroyed. To the east and north are foothills and forest infested with monsters - trolls, gnolls, goblins and orcs.
Belprin's Gate served as the trading post to a dwindling dwarven kingdom, that existed when the land was still Maztica. Being deep underground, some of the Belprin dwarves survived the continent transposing/switching places with Maztica.
There were 7 cities in Belprin's hold including Belprin's Gate (so now 6), as well as numerous smaller fort-towns/mines of less than 200. The largest of which is Belprin's Hold, a dwarven city of 4500. There's only one good way though the mountains, and that path was destroyed by the lava. Until the lava cools and the ways are rebuilt, the refugees are stuck on this side of the mountain, unless they take a boat all the way around to Aldreth then up to Stormhelm, then travel on foot from there south into the north side of the mountain range.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Epiloque, Part I
After the encounter with the wolves, the rest of the trip around the mountain was tense, but otherwise uneventful. To the relief of the party, the lava flow never made it to the bottom - but it was still a dangerous climb over the cliffs. From a distance, they see clouds of smoke rise where the dwarven city stood.
As the band of Dragonborn and their elvish allies escorted the few remaining dwarves over the last hill, they know they have guessed correctly, for the scene below is devastation. The lava flow on their side of the mountain was but a trickle compared to the torrent on the side facing Belprin's Gate.
From this vantage point they saw the lava flow had cut the town in half. At least the undead were nowhere in sight. Perhaps this was the lesser of 2 evils, but the lava had effectively sealed off the road into Belprin's Hold, and Belprin's Gate will have to be rebuilt. The dwarves said farewell to the adventurers, who knew that they no longer had a place to claim their reward. They joined the refugee line towards Rorst, hoping they would take in their dwarven allies. The Gate's militia would be the last to leave, just in case the orcs are specially blood thirsty. But there probably will not be any need to fight - the orcs can loot the town once the lava cools and the dwarves clear out.
Rorst is 30 miles through a trading route south west of Belprin's Gate. They made it within 2 days. For a town of 3600 to suddenly take on 1200 dwarves strains the food supply heavily, even with the river to bring food upstream. The local lords lend the dwarves a tract of land to set up temporary shelters, with the understanding that the dwarves will slowly leave and find a way back into Belprin's Hold, even if its the long way around.
It has only been 2 months since the Dragonborn was last in Rorst, for some reason it had seem much longer. They have a few new allies a half-elf paladin, a Eladrin wizard and a dragonborn barbarian.
----------
Deep in the mines, the sounds of picks rang in pitch darkness. Rotting limbs holding dwarven picks, a mass of zombies hacks into the new tunnel tirelessly. Those without tools claws loose dirt with their barehands, ignoring pieces of flesh left behind.
The lich sat motionlessly on a new throne crafted with dwarven bones. The surprise might be lost, but he has all the time in the world.
As the band of Dragonborn and their elvish allies escorted the few remaining dwarves over the last hill, they know they have guessed correctly, for the scene below is devastation. The lava flow on their side of the mountain was but a trickle compared to the torrent on the side facing Belprin's Gate.
From this vantage point they saw the lava flow had cut the town in half. At least the undead were nowhere in sight. Perhaps this was the lesser of 2 evils, but the lava had effectively sealed off the road into Belprin's Hold, and Belprin's Gate will have to be rebuilt. The dwarves said farewell to the adventurers, who knew that they no longer had a place to claim their reward. They joined the refugee line towards Rorst, hoping they would take in their dwarven allies. The Gate's militia would be the last to leave, just in case the orcs are specially blood thirsty. But there probably will not be any need to fight - the orcs can loot the town once the lava cools and the dwarves clear out.
Rorst is 30 miles through a trading route south west of Belprin's Gate. They made it within 2 days. For a town of 3600 to suddenly take on 1200 dwarves strains the food supply heavily, even with the river to bring food upstream. The local lords lend the dwarves a tract of land to set up temporary shelters, with the understanding that the dwarves will slowly leave and find a way back into Belprin's Hold, even if its the long way around.
It has only been 2 months since the Dragonborn was last in Rorst, for some reason it had seem much longer. They have a few new allies a half-elf paladin, a Eladrin wizard and a dragonborn barbarian.
----------
Deep in the mines, the sounds of picks rang in pitch darkness. Rotting limbs holding dwarven picks, a mass of zombies hacks into the new tunnel tirelessly. Those without tools claws loose dirt with their barehands, ignoring pieces of flesh left behind.
The lich sat motionlessly on a new throne crafted with dwarven bones. The surprise might be lost, but he has all the time in the world.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Catch up
Malgrim here.
I joined the party by accident. As in I met with an accident and there I was, in the party.
Let me step back a bit. I was given the job of Emissary to the Dwarves by my Elf-clan. This had something to do with the fact that I was the only member to speak dwarven, which in turn had something to do with the fact that I am a Half-Elf. Not to mention contrary by nature - which also may be the reason I worship a non-elven deity - the Raven Queen.
Anyhow, I was on my mission, stopping over at the dwarven stronghold - actually sleeping off a couple of pints of dwarven ale (diplomatically necessary), when they were attacked by hordes of Orcs. I was awoken by a vicious blow to the head, and barely got off a couple of jabs before I was bludgeoned back into oblivion. I awoke much later to find a band of dragonborn debating what to do with my gear. With my dwarven friends dead or missing, I was therefore, a de-facto adventurer. Oh, and by the way, the accident - that was the Orcs not killing me.
I joined the party by accident. As in I met with an accident and there I was, in the party.
Let me step back a bit. I was given the job of Emissary to the Dwarves by my Elf-clan. This had something to do with the fact that I was the only member to speak dwarven, which in turn had something to do with the fact that I am a Half-Elf. Not to mention contrary by nature - which also may be the reason I worship a non-elven deity - the Raven Queen.
Anyhow, I was on my mission, stopping over at the dwarven stronghold - actually sleeping off a couple of pints of dwarven ale (diplomatically necessary), when they were attacked by hordes of Orcs. I was awoken by a vicious blow to the head, and barely got off a couple of jabs before I was bludgeoned back into oblivion. I awoke much later to find a band of dragonborn debating what to do with my gear. With my dwarven friends dead or missing, I was therefore, a de-facto adventurer. Oh, and by the way, the accident - that was the Orcs not killing me.
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