With a coronation to take place this weekend in Greyhorn, it seemed like a good time to pay my second visit to that particular Duchy. You see, after years of rule, Duke Endless Star was stepping down, to be replaced by Baron Chance Evermore. Apparently Duke Endless Star decided that he had done all he could for Greyhorn, and now it was time for someone new to step into that role. From what I observed at the gathering, Baron Chance was the perfect person to take over. But wait, I am getting ahead of myself. Lets start at the beginning instead.
I arrived in town on Friday night with my friends Glenn Stormwolf, Mirage Sandchaser,
and Sathen. It had been a long journey up from Therendry, and we were all tired.
However, we knew that we weren’t likely to get any rest, as Friday night
tends to be an exciting time when adventurers gather together. This Friday proved
to be no exception.
Not long after the gathering had begun, a man came running into town screaming
about a plague. When we asked him what he meant, he told us that there were
townsfolk from the nearby city of Elmstar who had been infected with a plague
and were heading towards us. Along with my friend Squire Smoke Darkstar and
Glenn, I went to investigate. What we found was an army of people marching towards
us, not looking especially healthy. We called for support from the rest of the
town and waded into the fight.
The plague, as it turned out, transformed people into what came to be referred
to as “Mindless Ones.” When someone was turned into a Mindless One,
they had to obey the commands of the creature that had transformed them, they
could not cast spells, and they swung for five dagger blows of normal damage.
They also developed dark, voided eyes and became somewhat hardier, being able
to take eighty dagger blows of damage. It was a hard fight, but we did manage
to take down most of the Mindless Ones without too many losses. Unfortunately,
we had no idea how to cure the plague, though, and so we had to simply leave
everyone to resurrect.
With the first crisis of the weekend taken care of, the adventurers headed back
to town to exchange greetings. I was happy to see that Lord Zug had traveled
up from Therendry to be there, and I was also pleased to see Lady Nyneave, who
seemed to be doing well. I also got to see some people who I had not seen in
a long time, such as Lady Magistrate Callendia Evermore, Faustus Evermore, and
of course Baron Chance Evermore. From what I was told, they had all been surviving
since the last time I saw them, and in the life of an adventurer, oftentimes
anything more than that cannot be asked for.
The next challenge of the evening came when a rat scavenger ran up to Lord Zug,
Glenn, and I at the tavern and told us that the plague had reached his people,
and they were being converted to Mindless Ones. We said that we would help and
started off towards the caverns that led to his people’s underground home.
As we went, we gradually picked up people until almost the entire town was with
us. Unfortunately, we soon realized that the caverns were very narrow, and would
not hold either a very large amount of people or very large people. When he
saw this, Lord Zug started back to town, as he figured that his services would
likely not be needed. Glenn began investigating the tunnel, and found that it
was trapped.
We were going to simply throw someone in to spring all the traps, but there
was a rogue in the crowd of people from town who said he would try to disarm
the traps even though he did not have his tools. Unfortunately, as he found
out, disarming traps is not easy without tools. He did manage to disarm one
of the traps, but set off most of the others, and disabled one at the end of
the tunnel without fully disarming it. Overall, I thought his performance was
very solid considering the circumstances he had to work in.
With the traps basically out of the way, Glenn led the way into the tunnel with
me behind him. Because Glenn and I are both relatively thin people, and have
the ability to use both weapons and spells, it seemed to make the most sense
to send us first. Unfortunately, at the end of the tunnel we found a horde of
Mindless One rat scavengers waiting for us. They attacked, but Glenn managed
to spell down each of them, and we got out on the other side. We were joined
on the far side of the tunnel by Sathen, Baron Chance, Faustus, and another
whom I do not recall.
The six of us, however, were swarmed by a seemingly endless amount of Mindless
One rat scavengers. They were very aggressive, often charging right into our
shields. However, we were able to channel their aggressiveness against them.
By holding our ground, we made sure they came to us, where we could deal with
them pretty easily.
On the ground Glenn found some type of pottery, I believe it was a jar. However,
it didn’t seem to want to move from its place on the floor. I suggested
to Glenn that he could turn it and something might happen, but then we were
distracted again by more attacks. Glenn reached inside the jar and managed to
find some scrolls that burned his hand (he being a barbarian and all), but no
way to get anywhere. He next decided to try my idea of turning the jar, and
when he did so a hole opened up in the wall. Inside, we found a chest, but it
was locked. Baron Chance managed to get it open, and inside the chest we found
a note. It was from someone named Arandor, and it told of how he had come to
the cave seeking escape, and gradually some foreign influence overtook him and
turned him into a creature known as the Shadow Lord.
Taking the note in hand, we decided it was time to leave. Glenn crawled through
the tunnel in front of me, and Baron Chance and Sathen were supposed to follow
behind me. As I got halfway through the tunnel, though, I heard the sound of
battle. Apparently a Mindless One rat had jumped out and downed the Baron and
Sathen. Sathen tried to cast at it, but it wasn’t enough, and the rat downed
both adventurers. I told Glenn that we had trouble behind us, and then I turned
around. Baron Chance had fallen right at the edge of the tunnel, so I pumped
some healing into him, and he jumped up and ran to the other side of the room,
in order to lure the rat scavenger away from the tunnel entrance.
Using the momentary distraction created by the Baron, I managed to get out of
the tunnel and fight the creature one on one. I knew I wouldn’t be able
to take it, but I could distract it long enough to get support. And sure enough,
Glenn and Faustus came through the tunnel behind me, and managed to take out
the rat scavenger while I got Sathen and Baron Chance up.
This time we hurried out of the chamber before more rats could arrive, and finally
we made it back to town. At this point I finally got my first break of the evening,
and I used it to talk some to Lady Nyneave and Squire Smoke. Actually, I think
this would be a good point in the story to pause for a moment and say a word
or two about Squire Smoke.
I didn’t get to know Squire Smoke very well the first time he came to Therendry.
He traveled with Lady Nyneave and many others, and Lady Nyneave was the only
one I got to know well, and that was because of us both being held captive by
Mordakai. The next time Squire Smoke came to Therendry, though, I got to see
him fight in the battle with the orcs, and I realized just how competent a fighter
he is. Unlike many modern rogues, he understands that the best way to ply your
trade is not to run up behind a creature, because then they will turn around
and spot you. Instead, Squire Smoke understands that moving casually up behind
a monster so that they don’t notice you is many times more effective. In
knowing this, Squire Smoke reminds me of the most skilled rogue I know, Lord
Orion of Kincora.
I should point out, though, that Squire Smoke is no longer a squire. He was
raised to Ducal Knight by Duke Chance Evermore, and so he is now Sir Smoke.
And few that I have known are more deserving. Sir Smoke displays all the qualities
one wishes for in a knight. He is loyal, he is honorable, and he has a strong
grasp on right and wrong. He is also a master of the tenet of the code of chivalry
that instructs a noble to be generous and give freely to others. Sir Smoke is
one of the most generous people I know, and he will be a great knight. I wish
him all the best as he pursues the noble path.
After talking with Lady Nyneave and Squire Smoke for a while, I went to help
Glenn escort an experienced adventurer named Arcannon to Baron Chance’s
cabin so that he might deliver a message. A young adventurer named Pele also
came with us. When we got near the cabin, Glenn had to go deal with another
matter, and so only Arcannon, Pele, and I actually made it to the cabin.
And we spent a long time at the cabin. Probably close to an hour, in fact. Most
of it was spent discussing the affairs of the evening with Baron Chance. Apparently,
many years ago in the Hadran Empire, the Empire decided to experiment with some
forms of transforms that were beyond anything that had been tried before. A
political organization known as the Circle of Suppressed Magics was formed in
opposition to what the Empire was doing. The Circle’s leader was at one
point a man named Mythos. However, Mythos defected and became the Empire’s
head of research. The reasons for this are not entirely clear.
Mythos developed a type of transform he could put on people that would not only
make them more powerful, but would also make them live forever, although the
price they had to pay was service to Mythos. In order to apply this transform,
Mythos needed to apply a six-part ritual to them. One of the parts of this ritual
was the part that extended their lives indefinitely, and it was this part that
later became a great area of trouble.
To the best of my understanding, Mythos used his ritual to create six “sleepers,”
or people with his transforms upon them. He then sealed these sleepers into
holding areas in caves where they “slept” for years and years.
Amongst the sleepers were a rich hobling who wanted to live forever, a dwarf
assassin, and three others. The most interesting sleeper, though, was named
Mordakai (no, not the Mordakai from Therendry). This Mordakai had been a resistance
fighter who had fought against Mythos and he had been gifted with a sword that
kills sleepers. Unfortunately, when Mordakai transforms, Mythos takes control
of him, and Mordakai is a mighty warrior, far more skilled than any adventurer.
So, as long as Mordakai was in his human form, he was an asset to us, but when
he transformed, he was capable of slaughtering entire towns full of adventurers.
It is unknown whether Mythos transformed Mordakai to harness his power or just
because he thought it was ironic.
Anyhow, Mythos was eventually brought down when an experiment gone wrong blew
up the Hadrani capital, which ironically sat where the Duchy of Greyhorn now
sits. Mythos was thought killed, but of course all adventurers know that big
bad guys never fully go away. Mythos came back, but when he did, he no longer
had a physical form, and he needed to perform rituals to get his physical form
back. In order to do this, he decided to wake the sleepers. However, his problem
was that he didn’t know how to wake the sleepers.
Fortunately for Mythos, this problem was taken care of for him. A woman who
was apparently a powerful formal caster stumbled upon one of the caves the sleepers
were kept in, took the scroll that extends objects indefinitely, and used it
on her golems. As near as we can figure, her bumbling is what began awakening
the sleepers. It has also been speculated that her casting is what may have
led to Arandor becoming Shadow Lord, but that is much less certain.
Well, after that long discussion, it was getting towards 6 AM, and we decided
it was time for bed. It was a long walk back to our cabins, but we finally got
there. When I arrived back, I found that everyone was still up, and Glenn was
fighting some shadow creatures. They were pretty much dealt with by the time
I got there, though, so I just went straight to bed.
In the morning I went down to the tavern, and Glenn, Mirage, and I spent some
time dealing with Mindless Ones who kept popping up and attacking. Fortunately,
many of them used two-handed swords, so they were pretty easy to deal with.
A lot of the time, we just disarmed their weapons and beat them down. Unfortunately,
we still had no cure available.
Eventually, Glenn and some others, including Lord Zug, Lady Nyneave, and Squire
Smoke, went off to have breakfast. Mirage and I wandered down to the gypsy Orchadia’s
encampment, but she wasn’t there, so we hung out outside and talked for
a while. Pele came over, and I spent some time teaching him how to fight. When
he wandered off again, I told him to scream if he needed my help. Not five minutes
later, I heard him screaming.
I ran off towards the sound of his voice, and on my way there I ran into the
gypsy Karsus. Karsus told me that he needed the entire town because there was
an emergency. I explained to him that everyone else was out to breakfast, and
so I was the entire town. He explained to me the situation.
Apparently, some shadow creature had showed up and converted the entire Evermore
team, as well as Countess Cali of the County of Darkhaven, into Mindless Ones.
Karsus told me that his gypsy brothers and the rest of the Court of Darkhaven
were trapped near the Evermore cabin. I left Karsus on the road with instructions
to draw a circle, figuring that if I needed to make an escape I could get back
to Karsus and throw the circle up around us.
However, in my heart I knew that we were in serious trouble. Having the most
powerful team in Greyhorn and other assorted converts against me and a few gypsies
(Karsus’ friends), wild elves (most of the Court of Darkhaven), and a hobling
(Bekias of the Court of Darkhaven) were not good odds. Nonetheless, I had to
do what I could to get to the people trapped by the cabin. I took Pele with
me (we had found him along the road) and went towards the Evermore cabin. Fortunately,
I found both the gypsies and the Court of Darkhaven walking towards us along
the road. We quickly exchanged accounts of what was going on, and then decided
that fleeing would be a good idea. We picked up Karsus along the way, and were
even fortunate enough to pick up Conner, one of the most experienced adventurers
of Greyhorn. We moved back towards town, knowing that we would need a place
to make a stand, and Conner thought that the circles, which he was the only
one in town invested in, would be a great place to do it. We found Lord Zug,
Lady Nyneave, and all the others who had just returned from breakfast, and we
let them know what was going on. They barricaded themselves in their ward while
Conner, Glenn, and I moved down to the circles. Right about then, the Mindless
One army finally arrived in town.
There were a few random adventurers milling around town, and unfortunately we
couldn’t save them because we couldn’t risk stepping out of the circle.
They were converted. Pele decided to attack the entire army by himself, and
he was dropped and converted. Things were looking very grim.
Then hope arrived, in the form of someone called The Watcher. He made his way
to our circle, and once safely inside, began to explain what he knew about the
Mindless Ones to us. He told us two important things. First, they were unable
to do anything but swing their weapons. No spells, no gasses, and no items.
Second, they could be cured with life spells. Fortunately, between myself, Glenn,
Mirage, Lady Nyneave, and Pyroxia, we had plenty of life spells in town. And
we could get even more when we began to fix adventurers who had been converted
to Mindless Ones.
Secure in our knowledge of how to beat the Mindless Ones, we marched out onto
the field. We stared into each other’s eyes, our array of different colored
eyes against their black eyes. And then they charged, and the battle was on.
Duke Endless Star behind me was throwing magic missile spells to break shield
magics, and I was hitting people with life spells left and right. I didn’t
see what happened in the rest of the battle, but I know that it didn’t
take long for us to convert all the adventurers back to the way they were with
no loss of life.
With the adventures of the morning taken care of, it was now time for Duke Endless
Star’s final Council of the Realm and the coronation of Duke Chance Evermore.
At the Council of the Realm, I felt it proper to recognize the contribution
that the gypsies and the Court of Darkhaven had made to saving the town that
morning when they gave us advance warning of the fact that the Evermores had
been converted. Without their help, all might have been lost.
The coronation itself was a spectacular affair, involving many writs as well
as Duke Chance swearing to protect the water, earth, and life of Greyhorn. When
it was finally over, new Duke Chance had some raisings of his own to do. To
fill his spot as Baron of the North, he raised Lady Magistrate Callendia to
Baroness. A terrific choice, if you ask me. He also raised Squire Smoke to Ducal
Knight, which I believe was a great decision as well. Lady Nyneave was raised
to Lady Chancellor of Greyhorn, giving her the ability to speak with the Duke’s
authority. A high position to be sure, but a well deserved one. Allow me to
say a few words about Lady Nyneave.
I first met Lady Nyneave in Therendry when we were both held captive by the
slaver Mordakai. It is amazing how much you learn about someone when you are
both held captive together, and I learned that Lady Nyneave was a person with
a good heart. However, I found that I didn’t know much else about her,
as we had never had a chance to talk except when one or both of us were in some
type of danger. Thus, I hoped that this trip to Greyhorn might give me a chance
to really get to talk to her, and indeed it did. I found that Lady Nyneave is
an extremely intelligent person, and one who understands not only battle tactics,
but also people. And being able to truly understand people is a rare gift indeed.
Also, Lady Nyneave is a person of strong moral character, and she will not put
up with actions that may endanger the town. However, that said, she is also
far more merciful than many people I know. She will not execute people nearly
as quickly as some others would, and because of this she has many friends and
allies that support her, as she well deserves. I am excited by the prospect
of continuing to get to know her in the coming months and years, because I believe
we will yet see many great things come from her.
The final raising of the afternoon involved Big Ben, a powerful caster, being
named Guildmaster of all the Guilds of Greyhorn. Quite an honor, and from what
I understand, a well deserved honor. With all that business taken care of, the
Council was finally adjourned, and everyone went on his or her way. I went to
congratulate Sir Smoke and Lady Nyneave on their promotions, and then I got
tied up in personal business for a few hours.
When I was done dealing with the personal business, it was getting near dusk.
Glenn and some of the Evermores went out of town to deal with something, and
so I went to warn Lord Zug and Lady Nyneave that things could get nasty since
many of the most powerful adventurers had already left town. Unfortunately,
I was told that they were about to go off for a trip foraging in the woods.
Lady Nyneave left Saishen, a member of Baroness Callendia’s team, in charge
of town, and so I met with Saishen to set up a defense while most of the experienced
adventurers were away from town.
At first we tried defending the tavern. It was not easy, but we managed to hold
it against frequent assaults by Mindless Ones. The problem was that we didn’t
have many experienced adventurers in town, and we didn’t have many fighters
in town. As a matter of fact, on our entire line, I was swinging the most damage,
and I am only capable of inflicting three dagger blows of harm with my blade.
Several times we got pushed back into the tavern, and once we got pushed back
while someone was down outside the tavern. Sathen threw up a wall of force on
the doorway to keep them from getting in, but I told him that he had to drop
it so that we could rescue the person who was down. We gathered all the casters
to the front, and when the wall dropped, we just let spells fly so that we could
get to the downed adventurer. However, we decided that it would not be safe
to remain in the tavern, and so Saishen took his team down to Orchadia’s
encampment, where there was a ward, and I took the gypsies and my team up to
our cabin. However, since Mindless Ones blocked the path, we had to sneak around
through the brush instead of going straight up the road. Fortunately, we all
made it in okay, and we remained in our ward until we heard that the team at
Orchadia’s was under attack. We rushed down to help them, but when we got
there we found that Lord Zug had already taken care of the problem.
Not much happened for the rest of the evening, except for Lady Nyneave taking
care of some matters that had to be dealt with, and so we all retired to bed
earlier than usual. When morning came, we said our goodbyes and my friends and
I went to head back to Therendry. However, should Greyhorn need the services
of the adventurers of Therendry anytime again in the future, I am sure they
know where to contact us.
Scribed by Seronia on the 24th day of September in the year 603.