Tales of Faerun

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine and Conall began searching through the treasure for anything interesting, the former mainly focusing on the chests. She pocketed enough gold and gems to last them for quite a while longer, plus some for charity and other things. Conall managed to find an interesting set of armored bracers - enchanted with something, but he didn't know what. He turned to Xallistine, "Do you know what spells these are enhanced with?"

 

Xallistine inspected the pair of bracers for a few moments before returning them to the paladin's hands and replying, "Besides a simple protection ward, Conall, it seems these bracers sport a stunningly rare enchantment - a Bane Blind, specifically against undead. Simply put, you would appear invisible to any undead being you encountered."

 

Conall's mouth dropped open, and he exchanged glances with Rhaine. These bracers would prove invaluable...it was a pity that whoever had originally worn them had fallen to Ivanthyriatryx, but it was good fortune indeed that the party had found them.

 

He began to back away from the treasure horde, intending the bracers to be his only prize, when he thought he heard a faint purring sound. Rhaine was nearby, looking through a chest of fabrics with the purpose of saving them for the group. It seemed Tannin was a craftsman of some sort, and the Doomguide wondered if he could make use of these materials in some way. She took both that small chest of neatly folded cloth and an additional one of varied potions she wanted to split up amongst the party, putting both in her Bag of Holding, when Conall suddenly called out in warning.

 

"Rhaine, don't move! There's something just under your heel...if you put your weight down, you'll step on it."

 

The Doomguide froze, her weight balanced on her toes. She slowly looked down, but couldn't see anything, "Ah...what is it?"

 

Conall approached carefully, his hands reaching towards whatever it was beneath her boot, when the thing sprang to life. It had disguised itself to match the coin pile, so it had been virtually invisible until disturbed, at which point it raced up Rhaine's leg, around her torso, and behind her shoulders with such speed that one still could not discern exactly what it was. They had both heard a clattering of claws against her metal armor as it ran, and a chittering could be heard right beside her left ear. It had disguised itself again...this time the same color as her scarlet mane...the only thing distinguishable being a pair of pale, yellow-green eyes that peered out from between strands of her hair.

 

Rhaine was still frozen in position, concerned that she didn't know precisely what this little clawed thing was. She began with a whisper, "You don't think it's...?"

 

"Dangerous?" Conall supplied, "No...not for now, at least. He's just frightened...and extremely shy. No sudden moves...let me see what I can do."

 

The paladin slowly reached out a hand to the creature again, "It's all right, now. We're not going to hurt you. Come on out and let's have a look at you."

 

There were a few moments' pause before there was a slight clatter of claws again and a trilling purr. The thing suddenly jumped from Rhaine's shoulder to Conall's hand, and it became visible. It looked like a dragon in miniature, its scales a deep bronze color, with horns and spines of black. Its body was only a foot long, its tail twice that length and ending in a barb like a scorpion's. It blinked as it looked around at the adventurers with curious pale eyes, making soft chittering noises halfway between a bird's chirps and a kitten's mews.

 

"Pseudodragon," Conall said finally, a grin spreading across his face, "This little fellow was a wizard's familiar before the dragoness slew his master. He's been hiding in the lair ever since, never having found the way out again. Been living on the rodents around here. He doesn't exactly remember much, and he's having trouble communicating, but a few things are certain: he's hungry, cold, and he wants out."

 

The miniature dragon suddenly growled, jumped back to Rhaine's shoulder, and pulled itself behind a lock of hair again, this time matching her armor color, so that he looked like a tiny gargoyle ornament perched on her pauldron.

 

"And he definitely doesn't like being exposed. At least not now."

 

The Doomguide smiled and leaned down, picking up a piece of meat from Amendale's conjured food and offering it to the little dragon. It sniffed the piece tentatively before snatching the meat out of her hand and wolfing it down in one gulp, smacking its lips contentedly.

 

I could get used to this, it thought to her.

 

There was a flicker of a smile across Conall's face as he watched the interaction between Rhaine and the creature, but it was mixed with an obvious feeling of pain. In an attempt to shove such feelings away, the paladin left the horde chamber and followed Azuris to Dri's side, wondering what had caused the girl to flee.

 

Back in the treasure room, Rhaine gestured to the rest, "Get what you want and let's finish up here. We've a three day journey to Dilpur, and then we're going to need a ship...a fast one." She nodded to Shalena, "I'll tell you about it when we get there."

Edited January 5, 2014 by AurianaValoria1

[Deleted6317247User]

When the pirates finished hoarding treasure, Shalena started picking something for herself too. She took a couple of rings and necklaces, a bag of coins and new leather boots. But the most precious item she found was a cutlass. The blade was made out of silver, it's black hilt adorned with real gold and on it's pommel was a golden anchor.

 

"Hells take me..." Shalena muttered under her breath as she examined the blade. She could not believe it that such a priceless relic was just lying around in some dragon's hoard. Just to make sure, the half-elf pirate flipped her compass-necklace and looked at the carving on it. Same anchor. Same bloody anchor!

 

"This is... I can't believe it. I can't believe it!" She exclaimed while looking at her crewmen and companions. "I found it! I found the relic from the Golden Anchor!"

 

Her crewmen looked at her both amazed and jealous. When Rhaine addressed her, Shalena from excited turned into her regular self.

 

"You hear that boys, we're going back to the Sea's Compass." She said, her men cheered happily and started walking out of the cave.

==========================================

Tannin's compliment caught Nawen off guard. Cliche or not she wasn't expecting to hear anything like this. "I... what?" She said, unsure how to reply.

 

"If it will make you feel any better, I won't mention this to anyone," she finally said and smiled slightly, "and I'll just pretend you said something else. It might seem odd to others if I pushed you off the cliff." She added and stood up while offering him a hand. Tannin was lucky that he didn't break his neck. She saw people with the most serious injuries who had suffered a fall from lesser heights.

Edited January 5, 2014 by Guest

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine began heading out with Shalena and the others, eventually catching up with Conall, Azuris, and Dri. She wondered what it was that had made the girl run out crying. The pseudodragon had looped itself around Rhaine's neck, tail on one side, head on the other, and had fallen asleep. Dagny was not too far behind, now sporting her new, large, shiny silver shield and an Everfull Mug she happened to find in one of the chests. The dwarf made a mental note to show this latter treasure to the Greys...

 

====================

 

Argyros, too, offered a hand to Tannin, a puzzled expression on his face, "Why you would retract your words, I do not know. I thought they were quite complimentary and suitable for one in your situation."

[Quintatas]

As soon as Amendale conjured up some food, Xundus dug in. He took a slab of meat and bread, wrapping the meat in the bread and eating it rather ungraciously. After he was finished eating (which was rather quickly), he turned his attention to the creature crawling over Rhaine. He almost decided to throw a dart with his sleeping poison at it, but he didn't know if his aim would be true, and he was glad he didn't when it turned out as a pseudo dragon, and a nice one at that.

 

The drow became alert as he heard a crashing sound, but when he found out it was Dri he relaxed. He didn't figure she'd been attacked; if that was the case, she wouldn't have fled the lair. Eventually, he decided she just needed time alone. He knew the feeling.

[Flipout6]

When Weyland heard the crash, he drew his blade and ran for the source, expecting a fight. Instead, all he saw was a cracked mirror, tipped over onto its back and dust trailing through the air. He lowered his sword, confused, and raised an eyebrow.

 

"Huh?" Was Arland's response. He'd reacted in a similar fashion, except both of his blades flared with fire in a perfectly-timed dramatic fashion.

 

Great, flaming anarchist's swords with a sense of theater. Just what we Arland needs.

 

"Wonder what happened." Weyland pondered, before putting his blade away and followeing Dri outside. "What's going on? What happened?"

 

From inside the cave, Arland shouted, "The mini-dragon probably scared the hells out of her! Ha!"

 

Ignoring him, Weyland walked up to Dri. "What spooked you? There anything in there?"

 

"Lots of goodies and gold and platinums!" Arland shouted.

 

"Arland, SHUT UP!" Weyland snapped.

 

Meanwhile, Amendale, met with silence from Connall, shrugged it off and began searching the treasure horde for something that he could use, finding several trinkets and bits of jewelry that interested him that he'd be able to examine later or share with the group. Arland, meanwhile, took an entire suit of armor that he nearly fell over for and pocketed as many platinums as he could find for later.

 

When all was said and done, Amendale was waiting on his horse and Arland was about to hop on when Weyland paused.

 

"Say, Rhaine, where are we heading now? Might be something in the treasure trove we could use that might help us in a specific region."

"Hey, good idea." Arland agreed. "Where are we heading?"

[GrueMaster]

Dri was still sobbing silently and trying to stop her tears from coming. Why did it have to show me that? Of all things? Shuddering slightly, she gave a small jump when Azuris came, followed shortly by Weyland and Conall. *It's nothing,* she insisted, wiping her face. *Just... that stupid mirror. It- it showed me something I didn't wan... Can we just leave now? Please?*

 

 

Tak'we was snickering as he went to work on the corpse in front of him. "Clutchmate hass that mating sscent again." *Tck'Tck!* he joked, poking fun at Tannin once again. *Sss-sss-ss!* If only Nawen could smell you now... *Sss-sss-ss!* He went over to one of the massive claws and began working on trying to remove one with some of the bone attached as well, an idea for a replacement weapon in mind. He couldn't repair or retrieve his gythka, for it was ruined beyond repair and scattered beyond his reach, but this could serve as a viable replacement...

 

If I can get this stupid bone out! *Nrak'Tck!* he cursed angrily as he pulled and jerked after managing to slice the flesh open a little. With a final heave, the large claw and a good two-three feet of bone popped out with a SHNICK! Tak'we looked at it approvingly; the claw, because it extended partly into the body, was easily 4 feet long with an extra 2 feet of bone. Very nice...

 

Satisfied with that, the thri-kreen repeated the process and after a while managed to extract another set of claw and bone. Picking up the two ends, he went and retrieved the wooden staff he'd used back in the softskin village for the tournament and attached the deadly claws on both ends, with the dull bone ends serving as counter-weights for balance, in the end creating a very vicious-looking double-scythe.

 

"Thiss will do nicely." *Tcktck* Tak'we clicked in approval. "May the spiritss blesss thiss weapon." Finished, he made his way to where the others were and nodded to his clutchmates. "Tak'we iss ready to go."

[josh900]

"I would appreciate it, can be our little secret, just don't blackmail me with the threat of telling everyone." Tannin laughed as he accepted Nawen's hand and got up. "Well if you did toss me down I imagine Rhaine wouldn't be too upset. Now then, lets go carve ourselves up a dragon shall we?" He said as he started to make his way over to where Ivy had fallen, Blackrazor still embedded in her neck, feeding off the lingering remains of her soul and denying the great dragon the right to an afterlife.

-------------------

 

Unable to truly understand what upset Dri, Azuris was completely useless at the moment and with Weyland nearby he decided to let him take over from there and went back inside the lair to help collect the loot.

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine mounted Azrael and looked back at the Greys, "Our first stop is Dilpur, where we'll stock up on supplies before boarding the Sea Compass. Our ultimate destination is the Shaar, but we'll be stopping in Westgate along the way to resupply if we need to. I'll discuss the why of it at a later time...for now, just trust me when I say that we need to get moving."

 

==============================

 

Once Tannin and Nawen were finished collecting what they wished from the dead dragon, they rejoined the main party and began the three-day long journey back to Dilpur. There, around midday, they purchased rooms at The Sipping Siren once more, where they were hailed as the local tournament champions. The plan was to spend the rest of the afternoon and night in the town before departing for Westgate the following morning.

 

Rhaine spent much of the afternoon shopping for some items to help her companions - not only useful things she thought would aid them later on, but items she saw as gifts as well. She planned on giving them these gifts over dinner, in addition to explaining Kalin's dire situation.

 

==============================

 

As the party settled in for the evening, Rhaine dressed in her usual robes and waited in the inn's common room. Since the tournament was long over, the Siren wasn't as crowded. Indeed, there were few customers besides those in the group itself. The Doomguide's Bag of Holding was at her side, filled with the items she wished to share with her companions.

 

The pseudodragon, whom they later learned was called "Aodh," sat upright in her hand, his tail wrapped around her forearm. His tiny claws gripped her fingers as he looked around the room. The little dragonkin had gained more and more confidence over time, and he was now regularly begging every member of the party for food anytime he got the chance. Despite this small annoyance, however, he was an endearing pet, often curling up to sleep beside random members of the group. Mostly, however, he stayed close to Rhaine and Conall, choosing one or the other to spend most of his time with.

 

Conall, who sat nearby, was significantly more quiet since the death of Fenrir. He had not failed to notice Amendale's offer for counsel, but he just wasn't ready to talk about the incident. Even Ariel seemed to sense his dark mood, and the sword was also strangely silent as of late.

 

Dagny seemed satisfied since finding her new shield, but she was even more interested in her new Everfull Mug. The cheerful dwarf was perched at the bar of the Siren, seemngly awaiting the arrival of the Greys for some reason.

 

Argyros spent most of his time wandering Dilpur, taking in the various sights and smells of the port. He was one of the last to arrive at the inn for the evening, wearing a contented smile as he seated himself. His silvery eyes never stopped looking here and there with their curious gaze.

[Flipout6]

"Westgate?!?!" Arland's eyes shot to the size of dinner plates. "Just..gimme a minute!" He darted back into the cave at top-speed, and almost instantly there was a huge clamor as he knocked over...well, something. Many somethings, it sounded like.

 

"The hells are you doing in there?" Weyland asked.

 

"Grabbing something!" Arland's voice echoed throughout the cave. He came out pulling a suit of armor to put Weyland's old adamantine suit to shame, put it into the Bag of Holding, and then ran off to grab something else. The sound of metal dragging across the ground reached their ears, and Weyland and Amendale shot each other odd looks. After a minute, Arland came out of the cave dragging a ridiculously large warhammer the size of Weyland and so heavy that even being a Fighter he was more inclined to drag it than carry it. The head occupied at least a quarter of the nearly six-foot-long weapon and looked like it had been designed to squash a horse.

"Arland!" Weyland exclaimed, exasperated. "Why do you have that?"

 

"It's a coming-home present." He answered, puzzled. "What, you're not excited to be heading back home?"

 

"...No, not really." Weyland answered. "Why would I be? None of ours live there anymore."

 

Arland visibly recoiled, horror dawning on his face. "What, you mean you didn't...?"

 

"I got there, farm was burned down, searched high and low in that city and not a Grey to be found." Weyland answered, scowling. "What, do you know something?"

 

"They were in Waterdeep the whole time!" Arland answered. "They moved back about a year ago! Look, I paid a wizard to scry Ma to make sure she was doing alright, because if she wasn't doing alright, NOBODY was doing alright. I was short on time so I couldn't scry everyone, but Ma was shopping in Westgate and then she went back to a house back towards the commons. Gets in there and Pa's right there too. Drinking beer, obviously."

 

Weyland remained cautiously skeptical. "Well how do you know they weren't visiting?"

 

"They were totally settled in. Ma had the key to the place, it was nice and cozy and homely, nobody else was there. Least not as far as I could see."

 

"Where were Sybille and Ethel?" Weyland asked, puzzled.

 

"They're old enough to work now. They probably have jobs." Arland deadpanned. "Apparently we don't live on a farm anymore, we're in the city."

 

"You're right, we don't live on a farm. I've got a house in Everlund. That's where I live, if I'm not on the road."

 

"Might want to sell it then!" Arland's face split into a huge, jubilant smile, the first of its type that Weyland had seen in quite a while.

"You know for sure it was Westgate?"

 

"It was in the market, you idiot. SHE BOUGHT BREAD FROM OLD LADY REDDLE!"

 

Weyland gasped. "She's still ALIVE?!?!"

 

"Yeah she's like a hundred but- you're missing the point! We get to see them again!"

 

There was a pause between the two before Weyland smiled even wider and happier than Arland, yanked the reigns on his horse, shouted "Let's go then!" and galloped off at full-speed towards their destination.

 

"Well, what do you know?" Amendale said to himself. "They were never dead after all."

 

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Weyland reached Dilpur before anyone else did, but kept everyone else in sight as he went. He felt like he could fly, but if he tried he'd wind up breaking his neck. He rented a stable for his horse for the night and went straight for the tavern once the group got close enough, ordering a round for each and every person within said group (and three for himself) and getting to the drinking. He was on his second tankard by the time Rhaine got in.

 

"Bought you a drink!" He told her. "Bought everyone a drink, actually. But I got you a STRONG one. Drink up! Don't disappoint, now!" Amendale grinned. His friend was over the moon. He decided that he might just join in tonight. Arland started trying to catch up to Weyland almost instantaneously. "Hey, can I have another one?" Weyland asked. "Oh, and a hunk of raw meat." When he paid, he handed it to Aodh.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Flipout6

[GrueMaster]

Tak'we fell into line after his clutchmates, his scythe making dull thuds as he walked along silently. The thri-kreen tilted his head in puzzlement at Arland's attempt to carry one of the largest hammers he had ever seen and Weyland's sudden flight back to the softskin village at the mention of some place called "Westgate." He simply shrugged, though; he could ask later when they weren't traveling.

 

Dri had managed to stop crying and quietly slipped behind Weyland on his horse for the ride back to town, still mulling over the mirror in the lair. How did it do that? she thought, so deeply she failed to notice the discussion between Weyland and Arland until she was left grabbing for dear life as the former suddenly shouted and took off galloping. *WEYLAND!! SLOW DOWN!!* she mouthed over and over again and kept trying get to his attention until the man finally slowed down to a trot.

 

*What's going on?* she asked, trying to get some form of an answer before she got flung off a galloping horse. *I know you and Arland have drinking contests,* the girl teased, a slightly puzzled smile on her face, *but I don't think he'll drink all of the ale before you can have some.* She stopped smiling when Weyland told her everything about his past; being a farmer, becoming a slave for near a decade, fighting to freedom, even how he met Amendale, and how he had thought his whole family dead, only now learning they were alive and well in Westgate.

 

*That's,.. why, that's wonderful, Weyland!* Dri exclaimed, feeling surprise and happiness for him. She felt a little guilty, too, however, for hiding her nature from him when he told her practically his entire past. *You didn't have to tell me all that, you know? But thanks for trusting me. Now,* she again took hold, * I guess you can continue with the wild horse race again.*

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

Dri had a slight flush to her face, having drunk a flagon of some of the strong ale Weyland had ordered for everyone and was on her second. It was her first time actually drinking such a heavy drink, and was reluctant at first to even try it, but Weyland was in such a good mood. He's already bought it, too, so least I can do is celebrate with him. So she had drunk it, and found it to be okay after a while. Tipsy already, she greeted the others with a grin, red hair falling over one side messily, hiding her blue eye. *Hey guys, how's everything?*

 

Tak'we didn't try to disguise himself fully in the softskin village, since everyone had already seen him, only bothering to cover as much of the pink as he could. One softskin started to make a joke about his body, but one look at the massive two-sided scythe in the thri-kreen's hand silenced him instantly.

 

At the taven, he walked in to Weyland and Dri drinking heavily. The warrior just looked at the two softskins and simply shook his head. "No thankss, Weyland," the thri-kreen politely turned down the drink. "Thiss one doess not like that drink. It smellss like it can clean my chitin to a shine." He did accept some of the meat, however, and did enjoy it, glad that his clutchmate was happy.