The Druids of Dunore

Brief Recap: Last turn (the telegaming session) Bibi and Ghotu and Bronk took Mog to be healed by the Druids. Bibi also gave the Grand Druid the Obsidian Stone.

February: Bibi and Ghotu and Bronk prepare for the long journey home. They will leave soon, probably tomorrow. Though winter is still on the lands, spring is on its way. This morning, the sun shines warm. The snow is nearly melted, now only remaining where once there were drifts or constant shade.

Bibi seeks out the Grand Druid. Finding him in the main temple, she asks for his assistance in charging her amulet with the most powerful spells that she cannot do alone. She also further inquires about her curse. She wants to know if she is possessed by this demon. The Grand Druid takes her amulet and places it in an alcove decorated with the symbols of the Druidic religion--holly leaves, the sun, the moon, and a silver sickle arcing over them all. He says, "After the morning prayers, the Earth Mother will have done her work. I will bring the amulet to you then."

As for Bibi's question about the demon, the druid says, "I do not know the answer to your question, Bibi. It was long ago, before your birth that your father undertook this task." The old man warms his hands over a firepot near his seat, and looks distantly into the embers.

"The forest of Dunore, as you know, is situated between the Huttites to the north, and the Warring States to the south. The Huttites had a foul mage among their number, Faerak the Bane. He is the one who conjured the spirit. It served him for a short time, long enough to accomplish the task he set it to--revenge against a rival I suspect. But after that, the spirit served no one but its own appetite, which included many denizens of the forest. It worked much death among our people.

"Our magic was unable to destroy the demon. But with a vessel of sufficient strength, we thought we could imprison it. We were wrong. The council was able to bring the demon here, but we could not force it into the prison we had devised for it--the amulet you now wear. With the Obsidian Stone in the amulet, the demon would have been contained. But as I said, our power was insufficient to force the demon to enter that prison. And when the Demon felt the power of the Obsidian Stone, it tried to seize it.

"Your father was a young man at the time, and had only just achieved the rank you now hold as Druid. As the Arch Druids and I wrestled with the demon and lost, your father took action. He seized the Obsidian Stone and swallowed it. I do not know if he intended to take the demon into himself or if he intended to protect the Obsidian Stone from the demon.

"The result was that the demon disappeared. At first we thought it had been successfully imprisoned inside the Amulet or the Stone. But when your father passed the stone, we were able to tell the demon was not inside it. It was not until his first transformation, at the next full moon, that we suspected the price he had paid. "After that, the only thing that could keep your father from becoming a beast was the presence of the Obsidian Stone and the Amulet. Perhaps the demon was actually present inside his body, and the Stone prevented it from asserting control over him. Or perhaps the demon fled entirely, or was destroyed, but left some trace of itself in your father. And when you were born, that trace passed to you as well. "Later, after the Obsidian Stone was stolen, your father had no way to stop the transformations. He was driven from your tribe. When you reached maturity, you began to show signs of the change too. The rest of the story...you know."

The old Druid looks weary from recalling the story, and his head nods when he is done speaking, eyes closed. Just that moment, Azriel walks into the chamber. The Grand Druid does not respond, and Azriel looks questioningly at Bibi. Bibi says good-bye to Azriel and invites him to come visit. [DM NOTE: Anne, I know I may have altered some details in your story, but if I did, consider that maybe Bibi did not have the whole or accurate story. If I made any major changes you want to talk about, we can discuss. Also, as far as Bibi knows, Azriel never knew what caused your father's problem, only that he was driven from the tribe after the Obsidian stone was stolen, and your father began changing again. Azriel knew the stone prevented the changes, but did not know the demon story or why your father changed to begin with.] [Post here if you want to ask more questions or continue the scene.] Bronk approaches Bibi and tells her, "My lands are near the forest as well, and you should visit some time soon. You could start a temple there as well. Think about it." Bibi looks a bit puzzled "That is very generous. I must first get my own started but if the offer stand I will come as soon as I can." Bronk answers, "Oh, it ain't all generosity. My lands are next to the biggest darkest forest I've seen in a while, so I figgered we might both benefit from another temple. You can attract people from my lands to your religion, and at the same time, you just might turn that dark forest a little brighter." On the journey back be resumes the training she had been working on with Mog before she had the stone to try to control the change. She wonder if she wanted to if she could have change when she had the stone she regrets that she never tried that. The day of the full moon Bibi takes bird form and leaves the group. She finds an isolated area to make camp that night. Sit alone she thinks about the demon that is inside of her. She had never before been frightened by the change. She only feared that she may hurt someone but now she feel very scared. She wishes her friends could be here with her. She looks at her amulet and thinks of swallowing it. 'I must be going crazy.' Bibi begins to cry.

But soon she realizes that the sun is close to setting so she pulls herself together and begins her meditation.

* * *

Later, Bibi is preparing her things to leave tomorrow. One of the Arch Druids asks to speak with her. [The Arch Druid tells you about your Druidic duties, which only include being a good druid and returning to Dunore once a year to participate in an annual ritual. She also offers to send along some of the acolytes to help build the temple in the forest north of Thedrickstand Keep.] Bronk, Ghotu, and Bibi plan to head east again until they reach the northern Kingdom. From there, Bibi will go to her forest, while Ghotu and Bronk turn south toward their own lands. [If you have any plans you want to make before the journey or on the journey, or if you have entirely different plans, please post them!]

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To Return a Blade

Brief Recap: In the Telegaming Session, Fyona and Blade left the encounter with the humans fighting the winged lion monster. November: Blade and Fyona journey south, on the long road to Pastille, the home of Bruce Tyrlan. [Insert anything you want done along the way.] December: Blade and Fyona arrive on the outskirts of Pastille. The sun sets just as they crest a hill, exposing the sea and the lights of the city, spread across the waterfront before them, still leagues away. They make camp in the newly fallen snow. The next morning the two enter the city. [Keith and Anne, please post any preparations you make before entering the city.] Both of them have been to Pastille before, and they enter by the North Gate. They kick through the slush and mud that covers the cobblestone streets, finding an inn that Blade used to frequent. They enter and secure a room, ordering hot coffee and some food. They then exit the inn to scout out Bruce's villa, which is in the rich district, down by the waterfront. Bruce's home itself is a two story townhouse (the entire strip is made of connected buildings) that overlooks the sea. Between Bruce's villa and the sea is a cobblestone street that is usually not too busy in the evenings. Behind the villa is an alley, then another strip of buildings, then another street. Bruce's house is three houses from the corner (to the east) and seven houses from the corner (to the west). The road the house sits on runs east/west. As Blade and Fyona casually ride by, hoods covering their features, they see one guard behind the gate to Bruce's place. No other guards are visible at this time.

[Please post any scouting you do and your plan for returning the sword. If you have specific questions about how the villa is laid out, please ask them and I will answer. I will try to post a map of the situation tonight, but don't wait on it--I am notoriously slow at posting maps.]

Blade had originally been planning to sneak into bruce's villa and deposit it in the same place he had borrowed it from, but that would hardly clear the air between the two of them. Making sure that he is far enough from Fyona so that she would not resort to her irritating habit of slapping his horse and making it run away (Blade has secretly been training the horse not to respond to that), he yells out t to the guard.

"Ho there! I've a message for your master. " he throws a dagger with a written note tied to it and it sticks into a wooden rail near the guard post. "Make sure Bruce Tyrlan gets that message. I'll wait here for his response." [the message reads: Surprise! I am back and I come bearing gifts. xoxoxoxo, Blade] The guard glares at Blade as the knife quivers in the post a few feet away. He pulls the knife out of the post, having to work it back and forth once to get it out. He scans the street up and back before retreating into inside the gate, out of sight. A few seconds later, Blade hears a door open for a moment, then he hears it close. [All this takes place inside the gate, out of view from the street.] The soldier hands the note to __________, Bruce's valet who works inside the villa. The valet takes the note straight to Bruce, where he sits on his back second story balcony drinking tea reading the latest trade report from his agent in Galay.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside, Blade gives Fyona a reassuring smile to indicate that everything would work out just fine. "Trust me. " he says "I've got it all under control. Just don't kill anyone." They hadn't really discussed a plan but Fyona still feels like this wasn't how it was supposed to go. She waits until the guard is out of sight then says "what are you doing? I haven't got the feel you will be welcome here." Fyona backs her horse into the shadows and readies a throwing knife.

* * *

Eventually Bruce appears from inside the villa. He approaches the gate, from inside his compound, heavy cross-bow cocked and loaded, in hand (the gate separates them). "Let me guess," he says "you return with my property you 'borrowed.' What do you suggest I do, forget our past, or should I say our future, and invite you in for tea? Or should I shoot you where you stand and take your woman as compensation for the deal you broke?"

Since Bruce has obviously seen her and he has the bow drawn on Blade Fyona approaches from the side, with knife in had but held down. "You guess correctly. I am returning your borrowed sword, which proved quite handy a number of times while I was off saving the Wurld and you where here sitting here drinking tea." says Blade merrily. "Since I have a choice, I'd much prefer drinking tea to being shot with a crossbow. However I'm not sure what you are referring to when you speak of a broken deal. I don't recall having having made any deals. Also, as much as I'd like Fyona to be my 'woman' as you say, sadly she is not. She is a business partner and traveling companion, nothing more. At least until she decides to quit playing hard to get. So why not be happy that you are the presence of an old friend who is returning a borrowed item, rather than the scoundrel who stole your sword and killed the leader of the death squad you sent after him. I'm willing to forget about such misunderstandings, provided you are as well."

"Yes, Thaddius. It seems the stitch in time has saved him, and for that I am grateful, though not to you. As for the deal. You are still so self-centered you think I refer to a deal with you. Your arrogance is only outpaced by your audacity. Nontheless, I am a businessman. I suppose we can discuss how you intend to compensate me for the time the sword was gone and the buyer who quit the deal after you stole it, over tea. James, open the gate." he says to his servant. Bruce uncocks his crossbow.

The talk of mages turns Fyona's mind to Humphrey. She wanders if that old bastard is dead yet. She has no reason to think that he would be other then it just seems like he is hated by everyone. Blade looks at Fyona as if she shoud be impressed at them not coming into conflict.

Blades glance catches Fyona's attention and she once again begins to listen to overblown conversation between the two men. Blade then says to Bruce "Just as the stitch in time saved Thaddius, pehaps it can save your deal as well. I am not sure on teh exact timing of things, but in actuality the sword has only been with me for a few weeks in this timeline [I may be wrong in this, not sure]. If not, then I may even be interested in buying the sword from you. It has served me well and may come in handy yet again. I certinly have the resources to afford such things now. Of course a true friend would simply give it to me as a gift, along with his good wishes. "

Blade dismounts and leads his horse through the gate. [I assume Fyona does the same, but Anne is in Indy until tomoroow and probably won't be able to post til then] "I suppose introductions are in order. Fyona, this is Bruce Tyrlan. merchant and former adventurer. Bruce, this vision of beauty is Fyona, an accomplished duelist and equal partner in my new fencing academy located in [I forget where]." Fyona dismounts and extends her hand to Bruce. "We have already meet or should I say we would have meet." Blade unties a leather strap on his saddlebag, freeing up the Dragonslayer from where it has been stowed on their journey south. He hands it to Bruce. "I believe this is yours." Bruce takes the sword, pulls it from its sheath and hefts it. He then turns and walks inside, waving Blade and Fyona inside. "James, tend to their horses. Put them in the East stable. Chalres, he says, to one of his two guards--when is shift change?"

"Bout and hour sir, the guard replies."

Bruce leads Fyona and Blade into his house. "Drink?" he asks. "So tell me Blade, what do you propose as payment for the money you have cost me?" he says this as he pours the two of them a drink. Fyona helps herself to a glass of the yellow liquid in a crystal decanter on the mantel and find it quite delightful. As a matter of fact she's not even sure what the beverage is but she is very much enjoying it. "Are you not even going to see if teh party that was interested in the sword is still willing to buy before you demand money from me? It is no wonder you gave up adventuring to become a merchant, you are a greedy bastard. How much money were you going to gain by the selling of the sword? I'd estimate it's worth to be around 4,000 gold. Am I far off in my guess?"

"I see you theifing instincts have gotten rusty Blade. Actually, the sword alone is worth about 6000 gp. However, it is one of a set of five, of which I HAD the complete set. As a set they total 80,000 gp. Singularly they don't even approach this amount. The buyer is gone. So NOW do you see what you have cost me?!"

"That is a shame, but if the Githyanki had overrun the Wurld, I doubt you would have been selling the sword then either. Take comfort in the fact that the sword did come in handy on more than one occasion in my quest to save the Wurld. It seems it works just as well against wyverns as dragons. Tell the people that it was wielded by the infamous swordsman, Blade and I'm sure it will jump up in value. So, I not only saved the wurld, but I garnered you a larger profit as well." Blade seems pleased with his reasoning as he admires Bruce's luxurious abode. Changing the subject he asks, "How is it you came to be at the climatic battle, just before the time machine was activated? I'd figured you'd be here tending to your business. "

"I was there defending you, you IDIOT! The wizard was sent to find you, not kill you. He overstepped his boundaries and I was forced to tell them so, so the entire Mages Guild would not hunt you! You attempts to turn this into heroics--your double talk offends me. It is not going to get you out of this one for free. I am willing to make a deal. Otherwise, we can end this differently."

"I did not travel all this way to fight with you. I came here to return the sword as a show of good faith. Your mage nearly cost me my life and if I am willing to forgive that then surely you can forgive any momentary financial losses from me borrowing your sword. If it is truly worth what you claim then there will be other buyers aching to buy it. From the look of your home and the size of your gut you do not seem to be wanting for wealth and luxury. Do not let your greed get the better of you. I said earlier that I might be intereasted in buying it, but frankly the costs you quote and your ill manner have soured my interest in it. What sort of deal did you have in mind? If you expect me to pay 80, 000 gp for a momentary setback, I'm afraid you will be disappointed. I am a merchant's son and know a thing or two about haggling as well as the value of things."

Fyona thinks that this conversation is quite possibly the least interest thing she has ever hear. So, she goes back for a second glass and then begins to inspect the room for something that might entertain her. "Well, if you could occassionally approach a problem as you did with this last statement, instead of trying to goad me into a conflict then perhaps we could deal with things in a more business-like manner. I don't expect you could pay me 80,000 gold, nor that you have it, although I know I could be wrong. What I would exact from you is your pledge of a service, nothing against your nature mind you, but a promise that you shall repay my generosity by putting your skills to use to assist me, not to thwart me."

"Even though I think I owe you nothing, I shall be the bigger fellow and agree to the one time use of my dueling abilities pro bono. Note I said my duelling, not theiving or other nefarious activities. I am a respectble schoolmaster now. However, if there is a matter of honor you need settled by the sword, then I will be more than happy to act as your agent in the matter. You would be responsible for paying any traveling and boarding costs associated with the endevor though. Is there somethnig you had in mind or did you just want to be able to call upon this favor at a later date? Fyona and I do need to be returning to the capital city to oversee the details of opening our academy, so I hope it isn't something that needs to be done immediately. If not then you can show us to our room and we'll be on our way back in the morning. " Bruce notes that Blade mentioned a singular room, rather than plural, even though the swordsman had admitted the two duelists were not an item. He also catches a quick conspiratal wink from Blade as he says it. It seems the man will never change.

"That is completely unacceptable. I can hire ten thousand duelists of greater skill than yours. Besides, did you allow me to set the terms when you stole my precious item? I exact a service, of my choosing, when the time comes, or we do not have a deal and you can spend the next twenty years looking over your shoulder, wondering if I have forgiven you. Blade sighs and says. "I tire of your threats. Fyona, it is time to take our leave, it appears we have overstayed our welcome. Perhaps I will take you up on your offer, perhaps not. You know where to find me when the time comes. We can show oursleves out. "Blade grabs Fyona's hand and begins escorting her towards the door, he whispers in her ear. "If anyone tries to stop us, make an example of them." Fyona giggles and pulls her head slightly away from Blade. His breath on her ear tickled. She turns back to Bruce and raises her eye brows gesturing that she doesn't know why he is acting like this. "Goodnight, I was very nice to see you again and thanks for the drinks." She laughs again thinking that it is funny that she is thanking him for the drinks that he never offered to her.

"Those are not threats Blade. They are CONSEQUENCES! When you steal from others, then have the audacity to act as if you have done them a favor, consequences are WILL follow. Keep your eyes open Blade, for this is hardly over." Bruce says to Fyona, "I hope you have the good sense to stay out of this, as I fault you for none of his arrogance. But please be smart enough to stay out of the way."

Fyona is puzzled by this comment. Although it was phrased very politely it sound also very much like a threat. Slowing her pace she stairs back at Bruce causing Blade to pull her along. She is trying to read his expression to understand this statement. Despite Blade feeling for him Fyona had assumed that Bruce was an honorable man, since he had been a member of the group that she had heard so many fantastic tail of from Blade. Blade stops and turns. "YOU POMPOUS ASS!! Do you really think that I meant you ill? It was no more than a prank amongst friends ,or so i thought. Do you honestlly think that I would have made it so obvious as to who took your sword if I had any intention of keeping it permanently? I may be crazy but I am not stupid and I do not intentionally create enemies from friends. You on the other hand seem to have no problem doing so. The sword has been returned. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you, and if that is not good enough then that is your problem not mine. I will not pledge unquestioning fealty to you just because you are angry over being duped. Whether you realize it or not, you are overreacting to this situation.Your wealth and finery have distorted your views and made money more important than friendship. So if you feel the need to send more assassins my way, then by all means do so, but please try to make it a bit more of a challenge next time. Thaddius barely caused me to break a sweat." He then grabs Fyona around the waist to steady her and heads for the door. "He is not the same man I once knew. Now he hides behind assassins and veiled threats. He used to be a man of action. Now he just reminds me of my father."

Normally Fyona would be angered by Blade chauvinistic behavior of grabbing her but in her slightly drunken state she thinks that it is charming and she is more then willing to allow him to look like her protector in front of Bruce.

[the following is assuming they are allowed to leave without any trouble. If not then disregard]

In the stables, Blade looks at Fyona trying to assess her coordination. "Well that certanly was an adventure . Are you steady enough to ride? If not, then we will have to double up. I think we should return to the Inn we were staying at and leave in teh morning. It will give you time to sober up and get some rest before our journey back to teh north. I should have warned you, the drink you choose was from Rasheman, they call it Firewater. Very potent. Unless you are from Rasheman, it's best to cut it with something such as chilled water. Bronk claims infants in Rasheman skip their mother's milk altogether and go straight to drinking Firewater. "

"It was so smooth," Fyona replies. "I think I had better ride with you. Will you tether my horse." She thinks that she could probably ride but she likes the idea of getting close to Blade without letting on to her feelings for him.

"Of course, " says Blade as he ties the reins of Fyona's horse to the loop on the back of his saddle. "Ladies first, " he says as he assists Fyona into the saddle of his horse. After making sure she is stable, Blade gets on behind her. He uses his right hand to steer the horse and puts his left hand around her midrift to prevent her from falling. As the horses saunter through the gates of Bruce's abode, Blade nods to James and Charles, who both nod back in acknowledment.

Once out of the gates, Blade picks up the pace to a quick trot. Fast enought put some distance between them and Bruce, but not so much as to call attention. Once out of sight of the gates, he slows the horses a bit and listens for any signs of pursuit. "I think we are safe now, at least for the time being," he says to Fyona. "But I think I should take a roundabout way back to the Inn to throw off any secret pursuers on our trail. Besides, it is a beautiful night and the fresh air will do you some good." Blade inhales the flowery scent of Fyona's hair, "I know I am enjoying it."

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The Crown of Acererak

Brief Recap: Last turn, Humphrey spoke with Nepal. The two plan to go to a magic book trade, where Nepal knows he will be betrayed. November: [Brian, please post any preparations for travel, and what items you are bringing--spellbooks, crown, scepter??? Remember, I will be more realistically portraying spellbooks. You can already have prepared the Boccobs book by now if you like, which is your new traveling spellbook. If you don't have access to the statistics on it, I will post them. You will only get so many spells in your traveling spellbook, and if you want more you must take your bigger spellbooks along. You have no copies of any of your spellbooks. Everything in your traveling spellbook is of course in the other ones already, but that is the only duplication of spells you have. Humphrey and Nepal will be traveling by teleportation most of the journey, but some of it will be via horse.] Humphrey casts invisibility on the demon head, which he places in a trunk, that he casts invisibility on as well. He then wizard locks the room. His spell books, he hides in a wall safe, that he also wizard locks. He takes the crown and the sceptre with him. The scepter is attached to his belt, though easily hidden. The crown is in his side bag. He leaves strict orders for the staff to stay away from the house (except for his butler, who is allowed in the common area and his quarters)

Posting Instructions: Please add as you like, and feel free to revise any actions I have portrayed you as taking.

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