Embedded Files
SEA SEASON 1616
Gramper had spent time in the Stael hills. He had gone up there to call on the spirits of his ancestors, who he was starting to miss. His ministrations did not go unanswered though, for Great Ancestor Uncle Heler Who Keeps The Rains heard his wailing and told him that Brother Swamp Snake had lost his coat and must have it returned else he would die. To help Gramper see in the murky waters of the Donalf stream Uncle Heler gifted him with the power of Misty Eyes, so that Gramper could see the spirits of all that swam about him.
Gramper dived beneath the river waters and swam downstream in search of the Swamp Snake’s coat.
There in the reeds he saw a naiad who fearfully beckoned toward him. ‘Oh, sir, help me and my children,’ - a shoal of minnows hiding behind her – ‘from Maxwell, who is a fearsome pike and who eats my sweet darlings!’
‘Mistress Aoife,’ called a voice from outside,’ mistress Aoife, bring out your children so that I may dine!’
‘That’s him!’ cried the naiad. ‘That’s him – that’s Maxwell. Oh, stop him and then I will help you all I can.’
Gramper swam out from the reeds to confront the huge fish as it swam left and right, waiting to eat the minnows. Tied around the pike’s neck, Gramper noticed that Maxwell wore a scarf made of what looked like a snake skin.
‘Who are you, you cad?’ spat Maxwell.
‘I am Gramper Soulmarsh and I am here to stop you eating the naiad’s children.’
‘Oh, you are, are you! Well, I’ve a mind to thrash you for your impudence. Stand aside – I am hungry and mean to feast.’
‘I have no intention of doing that,’ said Gramper.
And with that the huge pike made a lunge for Gramper. But Gramper was not slow and he dodged the pike’s lunge and struck him on the top of the head; his bronze spear point bursting through the skull, killing Maxwell outright. Gramper than took the swamp snake skin scarf from Maxwell. Aoife the naiad told him where the Swamp Snake lived and Gramper swam down river to help his Brother.
The Swamp Snake had made his home beneath a rock surrounded by razor reeds. Gramper cast his protection spell on himself to stop himself from being cut by the sharp edges of the reeds. He made his way through the reeds to find a hole leading below a large boulder. Leaving his shield aside so that he could fit in it, he squeezed through the hole into a larger cavern.
‘Come no further,’ bellowed a voice. ‘The whelp is my prisoner – begone from here.’
This did not scare Gramper, who swam deeper into the cave, but as he did he fell victim to a warding spell and as he recoiled from the pain from out the ceiling came the ghost of a rotten crayfish. But Gramper was stronger and managed to fight off the ghost. And there he found his Brother Swamp Snake, tied to a rock with reeds. Gramper released the snake from his bonds and as thanks the swamp snake told him he could call on him for his help at any time.
During the time that Gramper spent in the hills and rivers of Sartar, Grant, Darkos and Cleombrotus had been busy in Jonstown and the surrounding villages asking questions on chief Gaudyr Longsword. This notorious chieftain and bandit had been one of the ring-leaders of Starbrow’s Rebellion three years earlier. For his role he had been outlawed by the Lunar authorities, only for him to take to the hills and launch raids against the Lunars. He had been captured, and thrown into a dungeon where he was awaiting execution.
The plan was to try to free Gaudyr, since that may help the party get into the inner circles of the resistance movement. They had made contacts in the city and through these contacts it had been arranged for them to meet with key people in an abandoned farmstead below the hill of Orlanth Victorious.
The four of them rode for the stead, where they were met by a thane who took their horses and fed them. Inside were four seated men, their faces wrapped in scarves to protect their identity. The party were questioned about their past, and what their purpose was. They were all forced to take a Humakti oath that they would say nothing of their meeting to anyone. In the end, the four mysterious interrogators agreed to provide a guided teleport matrix, and that they would call on favours with members of the Jonstown underground.
However. As they left the stead both Cleombrotus and Grant saw the scarf of one of them slip, and saw that it was Minaryth Purple. Wisely they decided to act as if they had seen nothing.
The outcome of the meeting was that the adventurers were to make contact with a man called Tyngyr in Jonstown in two days time. Two days after that they were to meet at the abandoned stead again when they would be given the spell matrix and finalise plans for Gaudyr’s rescue.
Since Jonstown was under Lunar control there would be some restrictions. Firstly, no armour was allowed to be worn into the city and neither were missile weapons nor heavy weapons allowed either. And there was a curfew in place. Cleombrotus said he would wait atop the hill of Orlanth Victorious for four nights, where he wanted to perform a ceremony. Grant, Darkos and Gramper would ride to Jonstown. Once at the city, Grant and Darkos would give all their armour and equipment to Gramper who would ride back to be with Cleombrotus. Grant and Darkos would enter Jonstown as civilians where they would scout out the Lunar palace (where the jail was) and make contact with Tyngyr.
For three days and nights, Cleombrotus prayed to the gods and cast upon himself a magical enchantment that left him able to suffer terrible blows without succumbing to the effects. When he rose from his ceremony he found Gramper protecting him.
In Jonstown, Grant and Darkos took rooms at Simbal’s Inn, which overlooked the Lunar palace. From there they were able to see and make notes on the guard patterns. At night they noticed that the main compound had guards stationed on each of the four corner towers, and that the palace itself had guards on the main gate.
They met Tyngyr at the House of the Rising Sun, a squalid Lunar gin joint. Tyngyr agreed to provide a divination block, as a favour owed. But he also offered them extra information if they agreed to owe him a favour in turn. They thought about this for a while, but eventually agreed. Tyngyr told them that in five days time the city Provost and Marshall would be riding out with some priests and bodyguard – leaving the palace free of its most formidable fighting force. This was good news.
They rode back to the abandoned stead where they met the four masked men. They were given the matrix and told the men that they would rescue Gaudyr on the night of the dark moon, and meet them at Death Hollow, below Two Pine Ridge.
Come the time of the attempt they all four made off under the cover of darkness. They crept up to the wooden palisade that surrounded the compound and made over the walls. All well and good so far. They crept across the yard and clambered up and over the palace walls. Alas, Gramper slipped as he crossed over the palace roof, and this alerted the guards.
There were shouts and calls to surrender. But these fell on deaf ears. Working efficiently as a team, the four adventurers went into action. Cleombrotus broke into one of the palace windows and jumped through, closely followed by Grant, who made sure to cast mindspeech on Cleombrotus and Darkos to keep the group linked. Darkos knelt by the window, drew his bow and calling upon the Bull’s Eye felled one of the guards. Gramper lowered himself to the palace courtyard and from within the well he summoned his undine, and then called on the blessing of the swamp snake to summon a fiend who bite one of the guards and injected his body with venom. Cleombrotus made his way down the stairs in the palace and started to check the doors – all locked. Grant followed behind, keeping guard and ready to attack should he be needed. Darkos kept up his bowfire, and he also summoned his undine. Gramper threw open the main palace doors where he found a surprised Cleombrotus – and the two of them received a soaking as Gramper’s large undine splashed around in the enclosed space.
Lunar hoplites, alerted by the shouts and calls were soon running over to the palace to see what was happening. As they came running through the gate Darkos’ bowfire felled one and he sent in the undine to create havoc among them. Though he knew this would only delay them. Without further ado, he ducked through the window and down the stairs where the others waited.
Gramper cast his shamanic eyes about the villa – telling them that he saw several power sources beneath them. And three of those sources were strong at that! With his ability to see the spirits and souls of those who may be hidden, it was he who led the party further down the stairs.
Below he could see a room swathed in a red light. The doorway had been protected by a warding spell and that was soon dispelled. With time against them, there was nothing for it, and so Gramper was the first into the room. As he stepped through the first thing he saw was a red-robed figure, and immediately he set his undine on him. As he did that, the red light in the room coalesced and descended upon him! A lune! An element of the Red Moon itself!
Gramper’s catatonic body blocked the doorway, as his mind and spirit wrestled with the elemental. Being pragmatic about this, Darkos pushed him aside so the others could enter the room.
The room was split in two by a heavy oak cage. The first half was a torture chamber and questioning room, and the other half was the home to six shackled prisoners. As he burst into the room, Darkos fell foul of the priest’s allied spirit, and he took to the corner where he admonished himself for all his wrong-doings. Cleombrotus went for the priest, who was still engaged with the undine and Grant tried to see if he could find the keys to the cage.
Then things took a turn for the worst. The priest finally defeated the undine and Gramper fell to the lune. The priest, with whip in hand, addressed the group.
‘Pain. Pain is the only way to redemption. Miserable sinners, you all, know pain and have your spirits purified!’
Cleombrotus turned to Darkos, to dispel the enchantment he had fallen under, and as he did this, Grant went for the priest; though as he did so, the lune also fell upon him.
‘Stand clear!’ yelled Darkos, who had drawn his bow. Cleombrotus ducked out of the way, took the keys off Grant and went for the prisoners. Grant was protected from the worst of the lune’s effects and chose to ignore the spirit and continue with his attack against the priest. As Grant’s sword sailed through the air, Darkos’ arrow hammered into the chest of the priest as the blow hacked at the body. He fell down dead.
Though his sick and twisted god, Danfive Xaron, heard his call for help. And immediately the priest’s eyes opened wide, live and well!
As Cleombrotus unlocked the prison doors, it was to Grant and Darkos to finish off the priest. Though before this was done, Grant also fell foul to the lune – both he and Gramper were now unconscious on the ground. It was Darkos who, once again, killed the priest. This time he didn’t rise.
With the priest dead, the lune retreated.
Peace.
Darkos and Cleombrotus pulled the bodies of Grant and Gramper into the prison, where they had identified Gaudyr and healed him as best they could.
But there was a problem. To teleport out it was up to each person to activate the matrix for themselves. Grant and Gramper would be unconscious for an unknown amount of time. To make matters worse, they could hear the shouts and calls of the Lunar hoplites coming to get them.
A stalemate ensued.
The Lunars were hesitant to enter the room without knowing more about who had managed to sneak into their fort and defeat their priest. The adventurers were unable to teleport out without leaving two people behind.
Darkos correctly guessed that the Lunar’s had sent in an allied spirit to spy on them, and looked about in the darkness for where it could be. Seeing two feline eyes, he took his bow and put an arrow between them.
This enraged the Lunar officer, who agreed to spare the lives of the others if they surrendered Darkos to him. This they wouldn’t do.
To break the stalemate the Lunars charged into the jail and formed a shieldwall, from the safety of which they proceeded to assault the adventurers with a barrage of disruption spells. Darkos became the most targeted. He bravely held out for as long as he could, but seeing the futility of his own death, he took hold of the teleport matrix, said the words of power, and instantly disappeared. As he did this, both Gramper and Grant came round. This was their chance. One by one, Grant, Gramper, Cleombrotus and Gaudyr, took hold of the matrix and were teleported out!
Together they found themselves in Death Hollow. Another successful caper.
Now Darkos, who had long since given himself over to worship of the Storm Bull, had set his heart on having a bow specially made. What he wanted was one that was more powerful, able to draw a longer arrow, able to fire further. He looked at his own bow, which had been made by Tarshite craftsmen so long ago, and he looked at what it was made of – the staves of the bow were of good, tough, yew wood, and the grip was made of bone. To make a tougher bow would require tougher materials. And materials don’t come any tougher than dragon bone!
Grant, meanwhile, had a dream; and in that dream he heard the voice of Forang Farosh who told him that they all should make their way for Tink – it had been a long time since they had last met Forang. Grant told the others of his dream and Cleombrotus spoke against the idea of visiting Tink. The matter was left unresolved and they all decided that first of all they would follow Darkos’ lead into the Vale of Bones, where it was known that the remains of an ancient dragon priest lay. Depending on how they fared they would make a decision after that.
They followed the road north to Herongreen, where they stocked up on provisions for the cross-country route to the Vale. The Vale of Bones was where their adventures had started all those years ago, and the source of their first meeting with Forang Farosh and the discovery of the Brown Dragon of Jarn. Maybe these coincidences are what subconsciously plagued their minds…
The going in the Vale was difficult. They constantly trampled over the decrepit bones of those who had been killed here centuries before during the Dragonkill War. They knew from experience that the place was haunted by ancient ghosts and horrors. They made their way through the Vale, heading for an ancient ruin where the dragon priest was said to be interred.
Darkos scouted out in front of the group. Ahead he saw a lone figure coming over a rise. The figure was in some state of panic and fear and was clearly running away from something.
‘Trolls! Trolls!’ he shouted.
When he saw Darkos he immediately pleaded for help. ‘We have been attacked by trolls,’ he said.
‘How many of you were there?’ asked Grant.
‘Seven of us.’
Meanwhile, both Gramper and Cleombrotus dismounted.
Suddenly the stranger looked around, pointed to where he had come from and shouted, ‘here they come!’
Instinctively the four of them looked up and saw a dozen or so trolls charging over the hill toward them. But these trolls had long since died and all that was left were the bare bones! To make matters even more sinister, when they turned back to the figure they saw that he had disappeared.
That would have to wait, because the skeletal trolls were soon on them!
Darkos took one look, drew his sword, dug his spurs into his horse and bravely charged them! Gramper took one look at the heavy-boned lumbering form of the skeletons and, not quite so bravely, decided to hide. That left just Grant and Clembrotus to stand to face them. This fractured nature of their battle tactics would be significant.
In Darkos rode. He made for the centre of the trolls and, before they could react, he lashed out with his sword, shattering the arm of one. But they continued.
Gramper pulled out his slingshot, swirled it around his head, and let fly; but the stone bullet passed through the bones of the trolls.
Then, wallop! The two battle lines came into conflict. Grant and Cleombrotus were overwhelmed. Grant called upon the power of the Wyrd Woad and his body was covered with the strange, shifting patterns which turned the clubs and maces of the troll skeletons. Cleombrotus called upon the power of good military discipline and the instructions of the parade ground, and used his skill and ability to dodge and parry the blows.
Gramper, obviously confused and panicked by the ferocity of the attack, loaded up his sling again and made the foolish decision to shoot into the melee. He waited for a while, trying to pick his target – the heavy skull of one of the skeletons facing off against Cleombrotus. But when the bullet struck it wasn’t the troll skull he hit, but Cleombrotus!
After his charge, Darkos wheeled his mount around and made for the melee. Grant had attracted the most number of skeletons, so that was where Darkos would join the fight. Gramper also realised that he would better serve his friends in the front rank, so he too also joined the battle.
Blows were exchanged, but the trolls were getting lucky. Grant tried a clever manoeuvre, but he tripped himself up and fell face down. Darkos recognised the danger – even with the protection of the woad, the number of skeletons would tell and Grant may die! Darkos put his spurs into the horse’s flanks and the animal reared up and smashed into the troll skeleton waiting to kill Grant. The skeleton was smashed into bits, and the horse, in its fury, very nearly dealt Grant the same fate.
But this had given Darkos an idea. Seeing that the battle was not going their way, the young Tarshite nobleman foolishly, and rashly, decided to trample down the remaining skeletons, whether or not Gramper and Cleombrotus were in the way!
He turned the animal to face them and drove it hard over them. It certainly had the desired effect of smashing the skeletons, but he also brought the powerful animal crashing down on Gramper, who had not seen him coming. Fortunately Cleombrotus saw Darkos and managed to dodge out of the way of the savage hooves in time, spitting curses at the reckless charge.
Gramper was down and not moving. The horse had left him fallen with a serious wound to his head. All could see the severity of the situation. Grant, who had always prided himself on being there for his comrades, could do nothing as he was still on the ground. Darkos was now away, bringing his mount back under control. The only one who could do anything was Cleombrotus. He would only have one chance. Gramper’s wound was so severe that he would be dead in seconds, if not so already. Cleombrotus leant over to Gramper. Concentrating heavily, so as to make sure that he said the words correctly, he uttered his healing spell. Success. He managed to put enough healing into Gramper so as to save his life. But the Sofali turtleman still lay on the floor, unconscious. His life had been saved though.
Grant finally got to his feet, and immediately made for Gramper, standing astride his fallen friend with his shield covering his body. Darkos came over to Cleombrotus and the two of them managed to finish off what remained of the troll skeletons.
Gramper’s wounds were cleaned and bandaged and water splashed in his face. Coughing and spluttering, and with an enormous headache, he came too. Darkos immediately went on to the defensive. No one was listening. Darkos had long been a friend, and a reliable one at that, but on occasion this stupid and reckless side of him would come through. For the time being he would have to suffer the angry stares of his friends.
This battle should not have been so arduous. It is hard to know what had been the error. The troll skeletons, surely, had got in some lucky strikes. But the disordered nature of the party’s tactics, how they had come at it as a group of individuals rather than an organised group, and Darkos’ erratic charge, had all told. Darkos had, indeed, been foolish; but inside they all knew they were all to blame to some extent.
The party found the ruin where the dragon tomb was located. It had been built into the rock face. It was in a dilapidated state – most of the floors had fallen in and the tiles on the roof were missing. Traps had been laid on the doorways, but the mechanisms had mostly corroded; only one of the traps still worked, and that dripped acid onto Grant, whilst another still had a powerful Warding spell on it. The dragon’s tomb lay at the top of a spiralling tunnel that reached higher and higher into the cliff face. When they finally got to the top, tired and exhausted, the party found that the room was open to the sky – the far end of the room had fallen away in a rock slide.
In the room were six pillars, and placed in each was a skull. These skulls turned out to be binding enchantments for six ghosts, and it was left to Grant to fight these ghosts and destroy them because he had the protection of the Wyrd Woad.
Darkos found a small antechamber wherein he found a solid gold statuette of a wyrm. This had been the ancient symbol of the Empire of the Wyrm’s Friends. Cleombrotus cast his magic and said he detected an enchantment on the statue, though he could not say what form it took. The statue itself was about eighteen inches tall, and would fetch a good prize as gold bullion alone. It was up to Darkos to step forward and pick it up, but as he did so the form of the enchantment was soon discovered: it was protected by a draconic wraith! The wraith wrestled with Darkos, who realised that this would be a difficult opponent. The rest of the party were initially stymied, knowing that the wraith was immune to normal weapons. But then they remembered that wraiths could be harmed with magic and so bombarded the spirit with disruption spells. Fortunately for Darkos, it was soon sent packing.
Standing by the cliff edge, Gramper noticed that the room continued off to the side. But this was inaccessible since, due to the rock slide, the only way to get to the passage would be by climbing out across the sheer face. To make things easier, Gramper tied his rope to a grapple hook and threw that over. One-by-one they made their way across the cliff face to the other side of the chamber – though not without Cleombrotus slipping and nearly falling to the valley bottom far below.
They soon found the dragon bones. Because there, in front of them, lay the skeletal remains of the dragon. Which promptly stood up and came lumbering for them!
The sound of four heavy gulps could be heard as the immense skeletal dragon reared up, ready to smash the four of them into pieces. Only it never got the chance.
Calmly, Darkos drew his bone, loaded an arrow, said a blessing to the Storm Bull and let his arrow fly at the dragon. Which hit him squarely in the head, shattering the hefty skull into bits, and left the monstrosity a jumble of bones on the floor.
Darkos now had his dragon bone for his new bow.
They did go to Tink after all. They had a brief interview with Forang Farosh who asked them how they had been, what they had been doing and what they were intending to do now. Darkos offered Forang the gold EWF statue as a gift, which Forang accepted and, as thanks, gave them a thousand silver lunars.
And so their attention turned to the east. After rescuing Gaudyr Longsword they had agreed to hand deliver a letter to Garrath Sharpsword in Pavis, which lay far to the east, in the province of Prax. They were told to ensure they gave it only to Garrath and to no other, and to not speak of the letter or their purpose to no other than Garrath. Suitably warned, they were once again given thanks and gratitude by Gaudyr and the men in scarves and they made their way east along the Pavis Road.
Their journey took them through Telmori lands, where they encountered a patrol of Antelope Lancers. As the land changed from the rolling green hills of Sartar, to the shrub-strewn chaparral of western Prax, to the desert of the Long Dry, they passed by Tada’s High Tumulus (a relic to an ancient hero) and encountered a tribe of giant baboons for the first time. They were clearly in new lands.
It was at sunrise of the sixth day that they were woken by the distant sound of warhorns. Without wasting much time they started to buckle on their armour. Darkos took up his new bow and scampered off across the dunes to see what the threat was. Rising a crest he saw some two or three hundred yards away a war party of wild feral broo, coming at a run for the party’s camp!
Darkos took out several arrows, stuck them in the sand, and swore to the Storm Bull that he would see the chaos die! One-by-one he notched the arrows, drew back and let the broo feel his wrath. Three of the broo fell under his bowfire. With that he made back for his comrades, mounted his horse and kept up the bowfire from a distance.
The experience in the Vale of Bones had taught them something. This time they worked as a party, as a trained and disciplined group, and the broo were soon dealt with.
At sunrise the next day they were at the gates of Pavis, just in time to see the gates being closed. Next morning though they were first in line to be interviewed by the Lunar gate guards and, armed with passes and permits, allowed to enter the city. Before even looking for someone to stay they went straight for the Humakt temple, where they were told Garrath Sharpsword gave lessons in sword fighting. Just to be told he lived across the road…
‘We are here to see Garrath Sharpsword,’ they told the person who answered the door.
Garrath was fetched. There was some wrangling over whether the person they were speaking to was, indeed, Garrath Shaprsword, so they took their business to the Humakt temple, where no one would have the temerity to lie.
‘Thank you. Thank you very much,’ said Garrath after reading the letter.
‘I am afraid I will only be in the city a day or two longer,’ he told them, ‘but, as way of thanks for all you have done, if you need any future help then feel free to call at my residence where my colleague, Callum Blax, will be happy to help you.’
Herein Ends Volume Two of The Campaign of The Dragon Friends
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