BAND
OF ARMED VAGRANTS FOILS ASSASSINATION/DIABOLIST COUP
The
brave warriors were showered with accolades and silver for their
deeds. Being guests of the palace, they availed themselves of the
library hoping to turn up information relevant to their quest, but
the stars were not in their favor. Kleber, the palace's
scholar-in-residence, was able to supply them with the information
that one of the remaining word-shards was in the possession of a man
known as the Ice Wizard, who resided in a cave accessible only by a
glacier in the western mountains of Corsinia.
MALEFACTOR'S
FATE DECIDED
Bishop
Gerard de Centuri summoned the newly knighted Ser Fray to the
cathedral. The meeting concerned the fate of the perfidious Armand's
surviving minion, the Turk warrior Malik of Tunis. Naturally the
king's first inclination was to let the blackguard rot in the
oubliette or to be drawn and quartered, but since the man's crime had
been an attempt on the Bishop's life, the holy man's word had some
influence.
THE
PATH OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
He
offered to intercede on the Turk's behalf, remanding him to the
custody of Fray, who was to put the Turk onto the true path, ensuring
the salvation of his soul. Fray, still feeling remorse for his
failure to protect the lovely Donusa from being made an offering to a
pagan deity, readily accepted. He conferred upon Malik the name of
Isaac. "Isaac" seemed resigned to his fate, but presently
unwilling to contemplate conversion.
SAINT
MARGARET'S REVENGE
Andronikos
had called bootlessly to heaven during the battle with Armand, and
now had to pay the price. The Bishop told the wizard that he had
been granted a vision of Saint Margaret in a dream, in which the
saint had charged him to give a certain clay jar containing her
apocryphal testaments to the young wizard and charge him to deliver
the scrolls into an ocean crevice roughly 13 miles off the coast of
the island. Andronikos agreed to this and hired a fishing vessel,
begging the assistance of Baraldur and his magical trident, which
could ensure the help of local sea-life in ensuring the scroll's
arrival in the trench.
NORSE
BUSINESSMAN 6' 3'' BLONDE HAIR BLUE EYES SEEKS COMPANION STOUT OF
HEART AND STATURE FOR GOOD TIMES, WAGON GUARDING, MUST WORSHIP THE
ALLFATHER, SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY
Meanwhile,
Cruum had a dream in which the Allfather charged him to head to a
local tavern, "Le Corbeau" and there offer whatever
assistance he could to a man he would find there. Heading to the
tavern next morning, he made the acquaintance of Thorolf Ulfsson, a
viking warrior whose longboat had been wrecked by a great sea worm
three years past. Ulfsson had turned to trading to support himself
after the loss of his crew. Currently he sought to transport his
goods for sale in the village of Piéve, but had been unable to find
local men willing to brave the island's queer wilderness. One night,
in a drunken rage, the Norseman had cursed the island's weak-hearted
men, calling out to the Allfather to send him a worthy traveling
companion. It seemed his plea had reached Odin after all. Cruum
agreed to travel to Piéve with Thorolf and be his shield-mate until
bloody death or the attainment of the village's borders.
AFRICAN
LIONS SPOTTED SOUTHWEST OF PORRI, EXPERTS BAFFLED
The
first leg of the journey was uneventful. As the party arrived in the
town of Porri, Andronikos sought to discover whether any spells might
be acquired locally. He was disappointed to find no peddlers of
occult lore, but did hear a rumor concerning the presence of a pride
of African lions living on a plain to the southwest of the town.
Sensing sorcery afoot, Andronikos convinced his fellows to accompany
him to the plain. There the party discovered a sheltered aureate
meadow populated with sunflowers, marigolds, and palm and orange
trees. Loping lazily about were a pride of 12 male lions. Cruum,
insensate the natural beauty surrounding him and sensing only the
profit he might make from the pelt of one of the magnificent
creatures, fired a crossbow bolt into a nearby lion. The beast
charged, and its fellows made ready to do so as well. The guardian
of the meadow, Sestus of Leo, also came running. Clad in yellow
garments and golden plate armor, the scion of Atlantis was terrible
to behold in his anger, his fair-haired head actually transforming
into the visage of a lion. In this form he fired bolts of radiant
sunlight from his eyes, one of which struck Cruum and did the dwarf a
great deal of damage.
MAKING
NEW FRIENDS IS AS EASY AS 1-2-3
Andronikos
in a rare display of bravery charged towards the furious Atlantean,
dodging a blast of radiance which would surely have been his doom.
He cast an enchantment over the lion-headed man, mitigating his rage
and ensuring his good will for a time. With the meadow's guardian
charmed, Andronikos was able to broker a peace and secure the
purchase of some scrolls containing a some spells of the lower
echelons. The body of the one slain lion was left in the field to be
tended to by its surviving brothers. The party hastily took leave of
the sun-drenched plain, lest the Atlantean should recover from the
charm placed upon him.
LOCAL
WARRIOR CONVALESCING AFTER RUN-IN WITH GIANT STING-PANDA
The
next leg of the journey found the party traveling through trackless
wilderness in the primeval forests which covered much of the island.
One day, as rain began to fall, the warriors spotted an immense
monstrosity crashing through the greenery ahead. The beast resembled
a 22 foot tall emaciated panda with a long tail terminating in a bony
spike. It was soon found that the beast was only vulnerable to
bronze or magical weapons. Thus Baraldur's pearl trident and the
great two-handed black blade owned by Cruum were the only reliable
methods of hurting it. Combat began with the creature charging Cruum,
biting him and not letting go. During subsequent rounds of combat,
it lashed with its tail at Baraldur, laying the warrior low. After
the creature was killed, Fray was able to rescue the warrior with the
aid of forest herbs. Isaac contributed a share of medical knowledge
which the European party members found highly dubious- hot
water and clean bandages? Clearly the savage had much to
learn. Nonetheless his ideas were entertained and Baraldur survived,
though the warrior was forever weakened by the foul poison of the
beast's sting.
SAFE
AT LAST
The
party finally reached Piéve.
Cruum paid a substantial sum to have the panda-creature's sting
forged into a poisonous broadsword. Andronikos attempted to sell the
creature's severed head, but met with surprisingly little interest in
the local market.