Tales of Faerun

[Flipout6]

Amendale was understandably surprised when he received what amounted to quite possibly the best good-night he'd ever been given, and simply sat there blushing madly once he felt many of the eyes of the camp on him at once. He unconsciously scratched Sir Meowsalot's ear as he tried to come back to his senses, however, so as far as the furry feline was concerned nothing was amiss.

 

"You're welcome for the flowers idea." Weyland remarked offhand.

 

"In all honesty, Weyland....it was probably my plan." Amendale corrected.

 

"I don't remember." The Grey shrugged.

 

"Neither do I." The Moon Elf followed suit.

 

"Why don't you light some candles and throw some roses while you're at it?" Arland rolled his eyes.

 

"Why, Arland, I never thought you for the romantic type." Marie sniped with a sly grin. She received an exasperated glare in response. Annette and Dri both had big smiles on their faces, the latter giggling silently.

 

Sybille just wolf-whistled.

 

Upon the announcement that Doshkin was welcome, however, Marie wasn't quite as quick to trust as Rhaine was.

 

"You're really letting him travel with us? We don't even know if he's being honest about his intentions. And he followed us through the desert for days....and just to land a woman? I don't buy it."

 

"I'd agree with you..." Arland began with a shrug. "....but it's not like he'd be the only stray dog that got tangled up in this mess. Why do you think I'm here?" Then, glancing Rhaine's way briefly, he raised an eyebrow and hastily added, "uh, not that I'm complaining."

 

"As long as he's honest I don't see a problem." Sybille added enthusiastically. "He seems fun enough, for all his fixation on Llhunie here." She winked at Doshkin and grinned widely.

 

"As long as he's honest. I agree." Amendale added as an afterthought, still a little shocked with Zorica's sudden show of affection...in front of everyone.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Flipout6

[AurianaValoria1]

Argyros, in his elven form, decided to keep watch for the night while the others went about their business and prepared for sleep. Conall was not long after Zorica in going to bed, he, too, eager for rest. Imhiros and Rhaine stayed awake for a little while longer, mostly watching Doshkin, until exhaustion at last required them to head for their bedrolls. The following day was certain to be even more tiring than the previous few, as it would be more than likely when they would finally reach their destination. Imhiros predicted that they would get to the tomb before highsun if they left camp at dawn, and so that was the plan for the following morning.

 

When the sun broke the horizon hours later in hues of lavender, the enticing aroma of searing fish slowly began to fill the camp. Conall had woken before daylight and caught a number of fish from the River of Spears, and he was now cooking them over the newly refreshed campfire to serve as their breakfast. He had set aside a few select morsels for the party's animal friends and was busy monitoring the fresh fillets that occupied the pan he held intently over the flames. He tossed in a few herbs last-minute and splashed a bit of wine into the pan for flavor, too. The flames jumped briefly as they devoured the alcohol, blackening the edges of a few of the fillets.

 

Rhaine emerged soon after, ready for travel, and she almost immediately began breaking down her tent and repacking her gear; all the while her stomach was protesting its emptiness, and the scent of Conall's cooking did nothing to help matters...

 

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Quarylene glanced around, hesitant to respond to the voice that addressed her. She still held her daggers firmly in her grip.

 

"Come now, don't be afraid."

 

The drow vampiress hissed, "I fear nothing, fool."

 

The feminine voice chuckled in response, "Who is the fool?"

 

There was a light clicking sound, and Quarylene whirled as a figure seemed to step through the wall to her right. The figure was petite and lithe, wearing dark leathers, face hidden underneath the deep shadow of a cowl. The figure bore two goblets in her hands, both of solid silver, and the drow did not need to guess what was inside them. It was a startlingly compelling temptation...

 

"See?" the dark-clad woman, the owner of the voice, proffered one goblet to Quarylene, "I offer you the gift of hospitality. There are no tricks here."

 

Quarylene did not sheathe her weapons, "Why do I sense you are lying to me?"

 

There was no answer.

[tokyobiohazard]

Aera and Hazel navigated the cool banks of the river in tandem, grateful for cool mud beneath their feet instead of hot sand burning them through the thin soles of their worn boots. Aera was following the faint scent of fish being cooked nearby, noticing a large camp on the horizon. Perhaps they were in luck.

Hazel was weak and exhausted, but she'd planted her sapling far from the Kryptgarden, in the hopes that healthier soil might draw out the poison a little bit. She wasn't wrong, exactly, but the healthy soil did very little to help. She could feel that her original tree was dead, and the sapling was all that remained.

Ianthe and Arva had opted to stay behind, for much more pressing matters than adventuring. They were heavily missed, but Aera and Hazel were happy for the life they'd chosen.

Soon, from behind the cover of a few lush bushes, Aera and Hazel emerged, the smell of fish making Aera's mouth water.

"Hello?" Aera called out, hoping to catch the attention of her friends, and hoping she still had some place with them after leaving for Kryptgarden. As they neared her tent, Aera added, "Rhaine?"

[Flipout6]

Amendale woke up to the sound of bushes rustling only to find Sir Meowsalot curled up on his chest, purring but slowly waking up. Groggy, elf and cat looked at each-other with sleep-heavy eyes until the bushes rustled again. Sir Meowsalot's ear twitched. Amendale's ear twitched too.

 

"Hello?" Somebody sounded out. Then they called for Rhaine, and then Amendale decided it was time to get up.

 

When he was finally dressed and clambered out of his tent with Zorica's persistent feline perched on his shoulder, he rubbed his eyes and peered around until he spotted the odd duo that was Aera and Hazel. He smiled and waved as they approached, but it quickly became obvious that Hazel was not well at all. Perhaps worse than last time. The bark that made up her skin was turning grey and flaking off, leaving spots of her raw and leaking sap in a manner similar to sores or scabs. The leaves that were her hair were dead and dry, falling off as she walked, and she looked haggard and weary.

 

"Rhaine!" He called out, louder than Aera had. "Nawen, Annette, any of you! You're needed!"

 

"I'm already awake." Annette's answer was swift. "What's wron- oh. Let me grab my potions and I'll be right with you!" She disappeared into her tent. The bustle woke up a grumpy Marie, who emerged from the tent behind her sister with her shortbow strung and ready to fire. She put it back once she saw who it was, however. Inside the tent, Sybille kept right on snoring, hugging her maul.

 

Looking as if she were about to pass out, Hazel sat down in the water, letting it flow over her and making her feel just a little better as Amendale and Annette began to tend to her. Annette instructed the dryad to lie down and place her head on her lap to rest while Amendale wordlessly channeled divine magic into the dryad, for what good it would do. Annette fished out one of the leftover antidote potions that she'd created in Earthheart and pressed it insistently to Hazel's lips and bade her drink it.

 

"Is it done? Did you replant a sapling?" Annette asked, eyes wide with concern. "You'll be alright?"

Edited February 7, 2015 by Flipout6

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine heard her name called in a tone that suggested urgency and dropped everything, running over to where - to her great surprise - Aera and Hazel had arrived on the riverbank, and were currently being nursed by Annette and Amendale. Her armor clanked as she came to a halt nearby, "Aera! Hazel! I thought you had departed for the Kryptgarden...but you are back!"

"They must have not been able to make it for some reason," Conall remarked grimly. Frustrated that he was unable to turn loose of the cooking fish, he raised his voice to address Annette, "Madame alchemist! There are more potions and herbs in my pack should you need them. Feel free to take whatever you require to help the dryad." He acknowledged Aera with a nod, but could do little else, his hands being full and all.

 

Hazel looked dreadfully ill, and it seemed Amendale's healing was doing little to help. Rhaine attempted to channel her own healing energy into the dryad, mustering a powerful Heal spell, but even after the golden light died down, Hazel's complexion remained unchanged. The Doomguide cursed, "Stlarning...! This is reacting like the sickness that befell our horses near Eartheart...it resists even our best efforts!" She then knelt beside the dryad and put a comforting hand on Hazel's shoulder, "Could you not make it back to your tree, Hazel? And if that is the case, where are Ianthe and Arva?"

 

At that moment, Zorica emerged from her own tent armed and ready for travel. When she saw and took in the scene before her, she snapped her fingers sharply at her kitten, "Meowsalot...come here, now!"

 

The kitten, as usual, ignored her request, being quite comfortable where he was.

 

Imhiros, who was awake as well and taking in the spectacle with more than a small bit of interest, stared openly at Aera and the deathly-ill dryad, having never seen either of their kind before in his life. He blinked slowly and asked no one in particular, "I take it these are friends of yours?"

[Llhunara]

Doshkin’s arrival had been the only real event of the night. As he stepped aside to tend to his own sleeping arrangements Llhunarra chose to remain next to the fire. Enjoying the warmth of the flame as the night wore on she figured it as good a place as any to sleep. The idea of a tent was far too confining to the rogue, walls so close making her feel a bit uncomfortable. She had a simple set up should the elements force her into it, but otherwise chose to sleep under the stars.

 

Having tapped into her flask soon after returning to the warmth of the flame the half-elf found it rather easy to fall asleep several hours later. Quite a heavy sleeper she slept comfortably on the blanket she had thrown across the dirt for herself. Eventually she did wake though, shouting causing her head to lift the next morning. Blinking several times as she looks up, several bangs were plastered to her face from the position she had been lying in. Not sure of the commotion that was taking place at the other side of camp she rolls over at first. With no screams of pain or howls of beasts coming from the small crowd she figured it was not anything of real concern.

 

Rolling onto her back was a bad idea, the sun and its cursed rays having returned. Squinting against the bright light she runs her hands down her face before rolling up into a seated position. Taking in a deep breath she reaches for her flask and weapons before staggering to her feet. With a yawn she casually heads towards the commotion. Time to see what all the hubbub was.

 

“Everything alright?”

[tokyobiohazard]

Hazel was in no condition to explain things to anyone, and her eyelids fluttered as she drank Annette's potion. She felt a little better, but nonetheless passed out from exhaustion. They had made it back as quickly as they could have, with Hazel's condition.

Aera stood nearby with her arms crossed, worried. She tried to explain to her companions what had happened, speaking with a nervous intensity. "We made it halfway to Kryptgarden, but Hazel just kept getting worse. On top of that, Ianthe became ill. We stopped outside a small village, and rested a few days, but neither improved.

"Not long after we stopped, Hazel recognized Ianthe's illness as a sign of, well, pregnancy. She and Arva stayed behind and planted Hazel's sapling outside a small cottage they bought with some of Arva's inheritance. We knew Hazel wasn't going to make it back to Kryptgarden, so we took our chances and decided to come back here. We knew the healers here were her best chance at pulling through."

Aera looked increasingly worried as she watched everyone tend to Hazel.

[AurianaValoria1]

When Rhaine saw Hazel collapse into sleep from sheer fatigue, there was nothing left for her to do but let the dryad be. The Doomguide shook her head and slowly rose to address Aera, "You were right to bring her to us, although I do not know how much we can do for her, now. Her recovery may be long indeed...certainly longer than we can wait in one place. We'll have to carry her with us and do our best to keep her out of harm's way. Someone will also need to watch her while we investigate this tomb we are going to."

 

"I'll do it!" Heidi piped up, "No way I'm going in there with you. Should be easy enough to look after her, right? I can make potions myself, ya know."

 

Rhaine then nodded to Imhiros, "Yes, they are friends. They were with us until just before we reached these lands."

 

Satisfied with her answer, the Osirian merely shrugged, "Very well."

 

Turning to Llhunarra, the Doomguide added, "Everything is fine, for now. As long as Amendale and Annette can keep Hazel stable, she should be all right. She will just be quite vulnerable until she returns to full health."

 

At that moment, Conall announced that the fish was ready to serve, and they gathered around the campfire to eat. During this time, Rhaine introduced Aera and Hazel to the newer members of the party, describing when they had joined with her and how they had valiantly aided her in the past. She smiled when she mentioned Ianthe's pregnancy to the rest of the party, and she was sure to say how proud she was of the young nymph; she could think of no better custodian for Hazel's sapling. The Doomguide made a mental note to ask Aera about where exactly Ianthe and Arva had settled, so she could go by and visit them and their child sometime in the future. She also decided that she would cast a prayer their way that evening, asking for blessings upon the pair and their baby.

 

Conall was still a bit surprised to see that Aera had come back to join their company once more. As he ate quietly, he briefly wondered how long it would be before the weretigress wandered off again. Their relationship was a shaky friendship at best, and though he hoped it would improve with time, he was not certain that it would. Aera was, to him, flighty and more than a bit wild, and her ideas about lycanthropy seemed to clash somewhat with his. She was a hellcat in battle, though, and as such, certainly an asset to their cause...

 

Zorica sat beside Amendale through breakfast, giving him a sideways glance when Ianthe's pregnancy was brought up. Something about the conversation stirred a distant feeling within the half-drow, and she silently mused to herself as the rest of them talked. She met the elf's eyes momentarily with an enigmatic smile, but said nothing. Meanwhile, Argyros chose not to eat and instead transformed into his dragon form to fly ahead and scout the way to the mountains. On the other side of the fire from Zorica and Amendale, Imhiros found it difficult to take his eyes off of the strangely beautiful and simultaneously unnerving weretigress. She seemed to him an avatar of Bast herself.

 

After breakfast was finished, they prepared a makeshift litter for Hazel to be carried upon, stringing the canvas of one tent between two horses so that the dryad could lay on the hammock created between them. Heidi assisted in getting all of the last bits and pieces of the camp wrapped up, and then the party was off once more, traveling northeastwards towards the looming Dragonsword Mountains.

 

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Luckily, Argyros had nothing of note to report, and so the last leg of their journey was swift and uneventful. When they finally arrived outside the ancient tomb, it seemed worthwhile to stop and simply take in the sight of the place for a few moments. The River of Shadows spilled over the grand entrance in a magnificent waterfall, which sparkled in the midday sun. The entrance itself was square-shaped, with carved winged scarabs over the massive, engraved stone doors. On either side of the supporting pillars, two statues of Osiris stood, silently watching over the sparsely vegetated river valley. The tomb itself was gouged into the mountainside, the peaks towering above the companions, dwarfing Argyros as he sat like a cat beside the gathering party.

 

"Well, here we are," Imhiros said, gesturing before them, "This is the tomb of which Sirensis spoke. Many high priests are buried here, along with members of the royal family."

 

Heidi pulled her cart to the side, near the riverbank, and crossed her arms, "And I'm staying right here. I'll be waiting for you when you get out, of course - presuming you don't all get yourselves killed in there."

 

Rhaine nodded and produced her helm, along with her new mask. It would be the first time she would wear the latter in front of her comrades, and she briefly wondered what they would think about it. She put it up to her face, where it molded to her visage and stayed, then wrapped her hair around the crown of her head and secured it underneath her helm. As she adjusted the chin strap, she spoke to the others, "Prepare yourselves well, friends. I know not what lies ahead."

 

Conall inclined his head and double-checked Ariel and Starbright, then secured the horses with Heidi before rejoining Rhaine's side. Argyros returned to his elven form and readied his bow. Zorica patted the blade hilts at her sides, and Imhiros tapped the tip of his spear with his finger to check the sharpness of its point before giving Rhaine a slight nod of approval.

 

The Doomguide glanced over the party members, meeting each of their gazes with her stern one, "I want protection spells cast just before we enter. Make sure you have potions evenly distributed amongst you and don't hesitate to use them. Amendale or I may not be able to get to you in the heat of battle right when you need us to. Watch each others' backs and be mindful of traps. And just so we understand each other, let me say this: do not, under any circumstance, take anything from the dead who have been interred here. We are not here to rob graves - we are here to put an end to an evil."

 

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In the dark of another shadowy room, Quarylene sat, sipped from her goblet, and smiled wryly at her hostess, licking her ruby-stained lips. The dark-clad woman was certainly clever and independent, and she seemed to share Quarylene's disdain for the weak and cowardly. It was obvious that this fellow vampiress was after power of some sort, and through her roundabout conversation, Quarylene deduced that the dark woman wanted to recruit her into her fold. Though the woman's methods were as brutal as they were surprising, they were, the drow had to admit, quite effective. She surmised that the woman would do well in the Underdark if she were a drow matron.

 

The woman, who had been silently observing Quarylene for the past few minutes, polished off her own goblet of blood and leaned forward in her seat opposite the drow, only her red mouth and shining teeth visible beneath her hood, "Tell me, then, dear Quarylene. How much do you know about the dracolich, Valthanarax?"

 

...and Quarylene's own mouth split into a wide and vicious grin.

Edited February 11, 2015 by AurianaValoria1

[josh900]

Azuris looked at the entrance with an irritable look. "Well this won't be fun." He grumbled.

 

"Well... you never know really." Lucas spoke up as he started to strap his leg guards on. "Maybe... it'll be quiet, and it'll turn out nothing was in there all along? Maybe the.. the people buried here wanted to have visitors so they set up it all nice and inviting... ya know?"

 

"And what do you think the chances of that are?" Azuris asked with an arched brow.

 

"Umm.... there's...no possible way that's..even remotely correct." Lucas admitted sadly. "I'd just..rather not want to run in the opposite direction before the bad stuff starts happening." He admitted.

 

Azuris snorted at the young squire's comment. "Hexol, you do us a favor and keep your hands where we can see em yeah?" He said, wanting to keep the Kender from unleashing some form of curse or another. When there was no answer from him, Azuris spun around trying to locate him, quickly discovering that Hexol had already ran off to the entrance and was doing his hardest to open it.

 

"Hexol!" Azuris yelled as he approached.

 

"Yeah yeah, heard you, hands where you can see em. But there's gonna be a lotta cool stuff in here!" Hexol said as he strained to open the tomb doors.

 

"Stuff that you can't take." Azuris said, echoing Rhaine's order.

 

"I'm not gonna take anything... just look at it!" Hexol answered innocently.

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

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Upon Azuris's return to the group, Hexol's head was sticking out from behind his own.

"Hi guys!" The Kender squeaked. "Azuris said that since I've been walking around a lot, that He would carry me in his pack while we're in there! It's really neat seeing everything from this high up, you tall folks got it lucky ya know? I used to think being little was better than being big but woooow can you see a lot more from up here!"

 

As Hexol excitedly chattered on, Azuris bore both the Kender's weight, and the volume of his voice with a grim scowl, knowing that this was the only way to keep him from causing trouble for the group as they ventured into the tomb.

[Deleted6317247User]

Nawen smiled a little as she saw Zorica kissing kissing Amendale on the cheek. It appeared that some of her friends have grown closer and she was happy for them as well as hopeful that they will happiness in each others' companionship, something she didn't believe she'll ever find herself.

 

Next morning Nawen was woken up earlier when she expected by Shalena's pirate crew mumbling something not to far from her tent. She tried to listen it as she didn't trust the other pirates who unlike their captain didn't even try to talk to talk to the rest of them. Sadly, someone else stirred from their tent and the pirates grew quiet.

 

Later on when she was helping with the breakfast, Aera and Hazel stumbled into their camp and while the drow was glad to see them but at the same time worried about Hazel's condition as the dryad looked worse than the last time she had seen her, but thankfully more skilled healers had helped her but even so Nawen was ready to offer any assistance she could.

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

After the breakfast, the group finished packing and headed towards the tomb.

 

Shalena, as she didn't have her own horse, sat behind Nawen cheerily humming to herself. Nawen wasn't as calm. As they rode sometimes she couldn't help but feel as if something or someone was following them but whenever she looked back and watched the area behind them she saw nothing.

 

As they finally arrived to their destination Shalena watched Hexol with a light smile on her face. "While I'm always up for a good looting, I have to agree with our dear Doomguide and Azuris on this," she said, "I've seen some pretty bad things happening to those taking things from creepy tombs. Flesh melting off your bones being one of the examples."

Edited February 12, 2015 by Guest