Vítday, 15 Gentle Days 204
After eight years of silence, the wizard Narramac reveals himself
to the people of the fractured continent. A swarm of insubstantial
mephits invade the land, coming to rest in every village, town and
city in civilised Urova. At the appointed hour they speak in unison,
the scratching of their inhuman voices reverberating around the
land. They say:
"Hail Men of Urova. Hail dwarves and gnomes; hail hobbits
and orcs. Know that we speak for the wizard lord Narramac and carry
his words. He bids you know that he has returned to the world of
Men, and that he offers a great challenge to the brave and worthy
of the world. Magical power, the like of which has not been seen
in Urova for a millennia, is offered to those willing to take it.
Lord Narramac invites everyone from serf to nobleman, from barbarian
to sorcerer to journey to Mount Korvast. On the first day of summer
he will appear before you and make himself known."
The result of the proclamation is electric. The steadfast belief
of King Yaddagon XIV that the words are true, and that Narramac
has truly returned, seek to convince the people. A steady stream
of hopefuls begin their long trek to Mount Korvast, many travelling
incredible distances to reach the mountain on time. Korvis, exiled
warlord of Sal’Cran sends his representative to the holy mountain,
while King Yaddagon sends no other than his chamberlain, Alberdark.
Among the more mundane questors are the monk Raza de Luna who has
travelled from Sal’Cran himself; Nicos Allumière a fire
cleric from Uris; Ravenna a young sorceress; Minsc, a paladin from
the Order of the Shining Fist; the druid Arvan and Elias Raithborne
a mercenary originally from distant Tibrai.
Sunday, 35 Gentle Days 204
The bard Alessandre arrives in the Village of the Eighteen Churches
at the foot of Mount Korvast. She was already journeying to the
town to perform in the church of Fortune’s Favour when she
heard of Narramac’s proposition. Between this date and the
end of the month, may thousands of people their entourages and countless
hangers-on arrive in the Village. Very few find a bed a to sleep
all. The sense of anticipation is palpable.
Vítday, 1 Brightday 204
The first day of summer, and the first day of the dark of Calafax
- much to the chagrin of Nicos Allumière. An hour before
dawn there are ten thousand people on the vast plain before Mount
Korvast. Although many clerics consider Narramac’s use of the
Holy Mountain a blasphemy they are willing to go along with it to
see if they can secure any magical gain.
As the first rays of the sun touches the mountain, the rock lurches
forward grinding and changing into a vague approximation of a human
face. This is the face of Narramac, unseen for thirty seasons. The
mouth of the 80’ high face opens and a voice booms around the
valley: "You have all journeyed far to reach this place, and
I will not keep you with flowery speeches or unnecessary words.
You are here for the magic, it is up to me to determine which of
you are worthy of this power. I will therefore set you four tasks,
quests if you will. Perform them well and you are so much nearer
your goal. No-one will undertake these tasks alone...."
At this point the mouth opens inhumanly wide, and hundreds of screaming
mephits issue forth. A hurricane force wind comes up blowing many
flat on their backs. Few can see their hands in front of their own
faces as they are tossed this way and that. There is a great sense
of movement, and when the wind dies many find themselves standing
in a ring, facing five strangers. Raza, Ravenna, Nicos, Arvan, Elias
and Minsc look upon one another for the first time.
"Now you are six!" the voice rumbles."Remain with
the party to which I have assigned you. They are your allies, your
friends. Only on the death of one of your members may you recruit
another. Bear this rule well, or forfeit any chance of victory.
Should you succeed you will all succeed. Should you fail, you will
all fail."
"And so to your quest. You will retrieve for me the following
items: Firstly, a wyvern egg taken when Vítaeous is full
and inscribed with the answer to Curmudgeon’s riddle; secondly:
a tooth from the maw of the oldest of dragons; thirdly: a skin of
water taken from the bottom of the Great Sea; finally, and most
importantly: deliver to me a secret known to no other soul."
"Use whatever means your consciences will allow to find these
items and return them to me at the summit of Mount Korvast at dawn
on the first day of Suntask. You have one month. I wish you swift
journey."
His speech at end, the face of Narramac inches noisily back into
the rock face, leaving hundreds of people standing bemused and a
little shocked. The party quickly introduces themselves to each
other, and although it is obvious that Nicos is uncomfortable sharing
the group with the half-orc druid. However, looking around the clearing
it is clear that many others have been assigned to seemingly inappropriate
groups. Iltillmus, the right hand of Alberdark, has found himself
stuck with a collection of hobbits and holy men. The bard Alessandre
is now allied with a warrior bearing the standard of Korvis. The
mountain is alive with conversation and argument. Although many
have heard of Curmudgeon none can think of one riddle that he is
most renowned for. Finding the wyvern egg is the most important
matter, as Vítaeous is only full for six more days. A female
half-orc suggests getting a chicken egg and pretending it was a
wyvern egg. There are those in the crowd who don’t even know
what a wyvern egg is. Arvan suggests that his order might be able
to help them find a wyvern, but druids tend to stay away from Mount
Korvast, and as a result it would be about a two-day journey to
find them.
In the meantime, the group returns to the town. Hoping that the
quests may be metaphorical where possible, the party departs to
the Dragon tavern thinking that it could be the first pub in Urova
called by that name. They are soon disappointed, and discover that
the bartender, Vardos, is by far the most sallow-faced and obnoxious
man they have met in many a long day. The party decides to divide
its forces. Nicos will go to the temple of fire, and ask his superiors
if they can help; Minsc will do the same at the citadel of the Justician
faith; Ravenna will eavesdrop as much as she can in the market place;
Elias who (along with Nicos) had joined the Guild of Adventurers
the previous day is off to the church of Fortune’s favour to
see if they could help; Arvan opts to commune with nature. This
leaves brother Raza alone in the tavern. After the others leave
a half-orc bruiser grabs Vardos and demands his money back. The
half-orc had paid Vardos to be shown a guide that could lead him
to a wyvern nest. The guide is in a drunk stupor, however, and the
half-orc isn’t amused. He gets his money back and storms out
of the tavern, his curiosity piqued, Raza follows.
Nicos is allowed into the temple of fire. The atmosphere inside
is muted during the Dark of Calafax. He and seventeen other clerics
of fire are given a talk by the head priest, Belaerus Rothsman.
He says that he doesn’t know what riddle Narramac could mean,
but he does know that wyverns live in the mountains and it is the
mating season at present. He advises his priests to be careful.
He doesn’t trust Narramac, and he doubts that any prize the
mad old wizard offers, is worth risking a life for. Minsc, doesn’t
learn much more in the justician temple. The leader of the Order
of the Roaring Lion (the paladins based in town) is actually taking
part in the quest, and is therefore unavailable. The high priest
Morittius won’t talk to him either; but an acolyte says that
he believes that Narramac is practising a peculiarly Justician value
in this quest. He thinks that it doesn’t matter whether the
party succeeds in gaining these items, Narramac will instead judge
them on how they perform in the attempt. In the market, Ravenna
overhears that one of questors, a warrioress from Calclafique called
Ariadne has a flying carpet that she intends to use to steal a wyvern
egg.
At the temple of Fortune’s Favour Elias listens to an acolyte
recounting all of Curmudgeon’s riddles that he knows to an
unenlightened audience. Bumping into a large man in plate armour
he steps backwards and treads on the foot of the bard Alessandre.
She yelps in pain, and Elias is transformed into a strange mixture
of contrition and lecherousness. She responds to his clumsy come-ons
and happily flirts her way through the rest of the speech given
by an acolyte. Alessandre reveals to Elias that she has worked out
the answer to Curmudgeon’s riddle, but her new team mates would
take a dim view of her sharing it with anyone. Elias offers to buy
her a drink, she happily accepts and the two head off for some privacy.
Meanwhile, Raza follows the half-orc bruiser out of The Dragon
to the large tree behind the pub. The half-orc, called Lafdan, reports
his failure to secure a guide to his five companions. They are a
warrior-woman, whose accent marks her as coming from Calclafique;
a completely bald dwarf; a cleric of Sharrash; a cleric of Calafax
and the female half-orc the party had overheard earlier. The woman
is revealed to be Ariadne; she is accepting of the loss of the guide
and intends to use her flying carpet to find a wyvern nest. She
asks the dwarf, Carrac, to come with her and use his magic to aid
in the quest. The dwarf agrees, but he will not travel on the carpet
and instead elects to fly under his own power. Raza has seen enough
and returns to The Dragon.
At the pub Raza meets up with Ravenna, Minsc, Nicos and Arvan who
compare stories. After some discussion they ask Vardos about the
guide. At first the barkeep is unwilling to point the way, fearing
another beating, but eventually he gestures to a man he calls Gunlarr,
a rough looking character who is lying face down in a pool of his
own vomit and sleeping soundly. The party instinctively know they
have found their man. They wander over and wake the guide, and discover
him to be a cannier individual than they expected. He is not drunk,
and is instead covered in someone else’s vomit. Gunlarr demands
100 gold crowns per day, or a service from the party. They cannot
raise the cash, and so ask him to explain the second option. Gunlarr
gets a bit cagey and rather misty-eyed. He says that he has asked
many people for help in this matter over the years, but everyone
of them has refused. he won’t discuss it in the bar however,
and bids that the party meet him at his home in one hour. He leaves
the pub, and the party consider their next move.
Elsewhere in the village Elias and Alessandre have discovered privacy
is an impossible commodity in the heaving crowds. Obtaining a bottle
of wine and two glasses, the pair climb a tree with a mixture of
ease and difficulty - for Alessandre it is easy, for Elias it is
difficult. Elias tries to get Alessandre to tell him the answer
to Curmudgeon’s riddle, but she won’t oblige him that.
Elias presents Alessandre with a bunch of flowers and the flirting
continues as they pass the time mocking the other party members
that Narramac saddled them with. Elias points out Gunlarr walking
beneath the tree and laughs at the poor people who have been stuck
with him! Little does he know. Alessandre explains that her group
consists of a man called Alexi who is Korvis’ champion from
Sal’Cran; Nosuch a gnomish warrior with a very poorly developed
hygiene habit and superfluous nasal hair; a cleric of Zephyre from
the church of the arcanum incognita who is a right bitch; a handsome
roguish bloke called Jakil and Mortimer, a wizard from Uris who
walks as though he’s got a broom up his arse. The bard goes
on to say that she has all ready upset her team-mates by refusing
to leave the town until he has made her final performance at the
temple to Fortune’s Favour. The performance is that night and
she hopes Elias will be there; she says she will call him onto the
stage as a volunteer. The time passes too quickly for the smitten
Elias, as he is spotted by the rest of the group passing under the
tree as they travel to Gunlarr’s house.
They explain the situation to Elias who realises who the guide
was and begins to despair. He introduces Alessandre to the group,
and tells them that she knows the answer to the riddle. Despite
Minsc’s best pleading voice she won’t reveal the answer;
although on the way off through the crowd she does turn and smile
at the group and say "It’s all in the name." Elias
is convinced that she likes him, but Nicos assures him that Alessandre
was smiling at him. Watching the stunning girl disappear into the
crowd it is clear that both Elias and Nicos have fallen for her.
The party of six quickly reach Gunlarr’s house. He has dressed
and washed himself and wastes no time in getting to the point with
them. He shows them a sketch of an attractive woman called Heena.
Heena was his wife who died of brain fever a year ago. Her body
is interred in the temple of the Watchers on the Cusp of Oblivion.
Gunlarr wants Heena back, and has saved enough money to pay Belaerus
Rothsman to resurrect the woman. The problem is the Watchers. They
despise resurrections and will under no circumstances release the
body. He wants the party to get the body of his wife from the crypt
of the Watchers; in return he will guide them to a wyvern nest he
knows of free of charge. After some discussion, the party agrees
although Minsc says he cannot be party to theft, he will turn a
blind eye and simply not aid the rest of the group in this endeavour.
Knowing that the Watchers allow mourners to enter the crypt to pay
last respects to the dead they plan to pose as the recently bereaved,
enter the crypt and take a part of Heena’s body. That will
be all that is necessary for the resurrection. Gunlarr describes
the coat of arms on his family crypt and the distinctive ring on
Heena’s finger. The tomb is in the first subterranean level
of the necropolis. He thanks the party whole-heartedly.
Nicos believes that they should wait until after dark so he can
at least get some of his powers back. Elias thinks that it would
be a brilliant idea if, in the meantime, the party attended Alessandre’s
performance in the temple. They all agree apart from Arvan who will
wait outside for them, seeing no attraction in listening to the
bard. The hall in the temple I not as packed as one might expect
with such a famous bard, but on this evening the distractions are
many. Alessandre opens to rapturous applause, and slips straight
into some most provocative dancing, that the unkind might call slutty.
Elias feels his ardour growing, and is quick to point out to Nicos
that the bard is wearing the flower he gave her in her hair. As
the dances ends she begins a song that completely entrances the
crowd - even Arvan outside the hall plants his tusks against the
window and watches in awe. Raza has wits enough about him to realise
that his is a magical effect - the song magic commonly practised
by bards. He alone seems unaffected. Elias and Nicos - their tongues
lolling from their open mouths - are completely taken in by the
enchantment.
Eventually the song ends and Alessandre begins an heroic tale of
the riddler Curmudgeon and his time at the Norandon court. She explains
how Curmudgeon served Yaddagon XII - Norandor’s shortest lived
monarch. Yaddagon XII died just two days after succeeding to the
throne after he fell down a flight of steep stairs in the palace.
The king’s death saved Curmudgeon’s life, as he was about
to be put to death for riddling such dire riddles. The new king
spared him. The members of the group still not reeling from the
song wondered if Alessandre was giving them a clue as to the answer
to the puzzle, but if she was it was not a very obvious one.
When she is finally finished the crowd erupts in appreciation of
her talent. She takes bows and blows kisses to the audience. Elias
is convinced she is directing them at him, but Nicos is certain
that they were meant for him. After a few minutes she leaves the
limelight, waving all the while. She is met on the edge of the stage
by an imposing young man in deep blue robes and neatly clipped beard.
He holds are cloak open for her and moves to usher her away. Raza,
who is closest to the stage can here the man say, "Come on,
we’re delayed long enough!" Alessandre only smiles and
leaves the stage hand in hand with man much to Elias’ despair.
As the temple begins to empty the party realise that the sun has
set, and now is the time to try to enter the temple of the Watchers
on the Cusp of Oblivion.
Prodigal
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