Post by zendog on Jan 22, 2010 20:55:18 GMT -5
You come from all over the Empire, each of you has a story, but this cold winter’s night you find yourselves huddled by the fire in a small country Inn, called The Bear and The Balrog, listening to the landlord, a Rock Demon by the name of Halfcut, weave a tall tale . . .
. . . when the tale ends, you notice that you few travellers are the only ones still there.
“Sounds fantastical, doesn’t it?” says Halfcut with a devilish twinkle in his amber eyes. The firelight cast eerie shadows across the Inns walls. It is very quiet.
“What if I told you, you could go there, what if I told you there were riches and adventures aplenty to be had?”
Of course, you have been drinking, and who doesn’t want riches and adventures. Especially when you’ve been matching a Rock Demon pint for pint.
Halfcut produces a small intricate chest full of Onyx rings, “Take one each,” he says. “Go on, take one.”
And of course you do. Those of you sensitive to such things feel the tingle of magic as you put on your ring.
“It’s very clever,” he says with a rascal’s smile. “If anything untoward should happen to the wearer of a Vortex ring, the ring appears back here, and I can send some other poo-, ahem brave adventurer through the mirror to aid you.”
“What mirror?” one of you asks.
“The Vortex mirror of course,” says Halfcut pointing to the wall where there is a huge onyx farmed mirror you all swear was not there before.
“If you should wish to return here before anything . . . happens to you, or for any other reason, you must gather in a circle, link hands, and chant this charm . . . 'Illish-nathrak-dothost-spethod-dilloc-de-veny-Illish-nathrak-dothost-spethod-dilloc-de-veny-Illish-nathrak-dothost-spethod-dilloc-de-veny!' . . . you might have to wait a little while," he says with a smile.
You cannot understand the words, but you are all certain they have been burned into your memory forever.
“The adventure of a lifetime awaits,” says Halfcut gesturing towards the swirling vortex mirror and one by one you move towards the mirror and step through the vortex . . .
. . . into the harsh heat of a midday summer sun, as you find your bearings, and your eyes adjust to the bright light you hear Halfcut’s voice from beyond within the vortex . . .
“Of course, adventure has a nasty habit of shortening lifetimes.”
Then the vortex closes.
You are standing on an empty grassy plain. In front of you, you see a dilapidated castle built into the side of a large rocky outcrop.
Bernard Stonefoot checks his compass. The ruined castle is directly to your north.
The moat is dry, the drawbridge and gate have long since rotted. The stone works looks, aged, crumbling, but the wall directly before you is still standing. Through it's gates you can see a badly aged manor house. On the east corner of the near wall there is a 40’ high round tower. You can see a taller squarish tower in the north-west corner of the castle.
Apart from the ominous cronk of carrion crows all is silent.
You stand before Castle Ward.
Once upon a time there was a little-known tribal chieftain named EI Ghred who called himself "The Conquerer." He discovered that an alarmingly large number of his best warriors and bravest subjects were seeking riches and fame by venturing into an underground monster haven. Unfortunately for him, and for his best warriors and brave subjects, a number of them did not return from their adventures. To put an end to this waste of humanity, EI Ghred commanded that a castle be built. He named it Ward.
The Castle was a grand affair. The back wall of the manor house and the fourth wall of the castle itself were formed by the face of the cliff that housed the entrance to the monsters' lair. A round tower was built into the northwest corner of the castle; in the southeast corner was constructed a five-pointed tower for the use of EI Ghred's favorite wizard, a woman named Banitaar. She sunk a well which tapped into the monsters' water supply, knowing the monsters would not poison themselves to kill the humans outside. The courtyard was paved with mosaic of colored flagstones which formed EI Ghred's Red Hawk crest.
The Castle was built to prevent adventurers from entering the monster lair. EI Ghred gave the command of Castle Ward to his nephew, the Count, who was hopelessly in love with the
wizardress Banitaar. Anticipating charges that he and his soldiers were "mining" the dungeon for its riches, EI Ghred built the castle strong enough to stand off an assault by any military force his age could muster. He did not realize that the greatest threat to his castle came from the monsters within the dungeon it guarded.
The monsters became aware that something was amiss when adventurers no longer entered their dungeon to die. Their scouting parties returned with tales of a massive castle and many
soldiers. They also told of the weakness of the castle and how an assault from within could destroy it. The monsters struck.
Their assault was simple and deadly. They waited for a night with a full moon so that their were-companions would be at full strength. Trolls burst the doors the humans had erected to contain them. Werewolves and vampires, orcs and ogres quickly sacked the manor house and killed the Count and the officers of his guard while they slept. Having slain the leadership of the
garrison, the monsters abandoned caution and assaulted the troop barracks outside.
Their assault would have succeeded but for two people. One was a guard in the round tower; he happened to be watching the interior courtyard when the monsters rushed from the manor house. He roused the other guards in the tower, and they sold their lives dearly, making the monsters pay in blood for every step in the tower. Eventually they were slain, but not before
the monsters had vowed to eat their hearts to gain their bravery.
The other person who cost the monsters dearly was Banitaar. She returned the Count's love, and felt his death where she slept in her tower. Enraged, she set her demons to protect her
tower, then made her way to the tower's roof. From there she blasted the monsters back into their underground lair with sorceries more powerful than they had ever seen. Unable to touch her, the monsters shattered the east wall of the castle and then fled back home. With them, they dragged as much wealth as possible.
Banitaar found herself alone in Castle Ward. With the help of her demons, she buried the Count beneath the heart-shaped flagstone in the middle of the Hawk mosaic, then burned the
other bodies. At the entrance to the monsters' haven, she set an invisible demon and gave it instructions about how to let pass any who sought to leave. Satisfied that there was no reason to
stay, she outfitted herself with a small pack and left the castle to spread the tale of Castle Ward.
The Castle was a grand affair. The back wall of the manor house and the fourth wall of the castle itself were formed by the face of the cliff that housed the entrance to the monsters' lair. A round tower was built into the northwest corner of the castle; in the southeast corner was constructed a five-pointed tower for the use of EI Ghred's favorite wizard, a woman named Banitaar. She sunk a well which tapped into the monsters' water supply, knowing the monsters would not poison themselves to kill the humans outside. The courtyard was paved with mosaic of colored flagstones which formed EI Ghred's Red Hawk crest.
The Castle was built to prevent adventurers from entering the monster lair. EI Ghred gave the command of Castle Ward to his nephew, the Count, who was hopelessly in love with the
wizardress Banitaar. Anticipating charges that he and his soldiers were "mining" the dungeon for its riches, EI Ghred built the castle strong enough to stand off an assault by any military force his age could muster. He did not realize that the greatest threat to his castle came from the monsters within the dungeon it guarded.
The monsters became aware that something was amiss when adventurers no longer entered their dungeon to die. Their scouting parties returned with tales of a massive castle and many
soldiers. They also told of the weakness of the castle and how an assault from within could destroy it. The monsters struck.
Their assault was simple and deadly. They waited for a night with a full moon so that their were-companions would be at full strength. Trolls burst the doors the humans had erected to contain them. Werewolves and vampires, orcs and ogres quickly sacked the manor house and killed the Count and the officers of his guard while they slept. Having slain the leadership of the
garrison, the monsters abandoned caution and assaulted the troop barracks outside.
Their assault would have succeeded but for two people. One was a guard in the round tower; he happened to be watching the interior courtyard when the monsters rushed from the manor house. He roused the other guards in the tower, and they sold their lives dearly, making the monsters pay in blood for every step in the tower. Eventually they were slain, but not before
the monsters had vowed to eat their hearts to gain their bravery.
The other person who cost the monsters dearly was Banitaar. She returned the Count's love, and felt his death where she slept in her tower. Enraged, she set her demons to protect her
tower, then made her way to the tower's roof. From there she blasted the monsters back into their underground lair with sorceries more powerful than they had ever seen. Unable to touch her, the monsters shattered the east wall of the castle and then fled back home. With them, they dragged as much wealth as possible.
Banitaar found herself alone in Castle Ward. With the help of her demons, she buried the Count beneath the heart-shaped flagstone in the middle of the Hawk mosaic, then burned the
other bodies. At the entrance to the monsters' haven, she set an invisible demon and gave it instructions about how to let pass any who sought to leave. Satisfied that there was no reason to
stay, she outfitted herself with a small pack and left the castle to spread the tale of Castle Ward.
. . . when the tale ends, you notice that you few travellers are the only ones still there.
“Sounds fantastical, doesn’t it?” says Halfcut with a devilish twinkle in his amber eyes. The firelight cast eerie shadows across the Inns walls. It is very quiet.
“What if I told you, you could go there, what if I told you there were riches and adventures aplenty to be had?”
Of course, you have been drinking, and who doesn’t want riches and adventures. Especially when you’ve been matching a Rock Demon pint for pint.
Halfcut produces a small intricate chest full of Onyx rings, “Take one each,” he says. “Go on, take one.”
And of course you do. Those of you sensitive to such things feel the tingle of magic as you put on your ring.
“It’s very clever,” he says with a rascal’s smile. “If anything untoward should happen to the wearer of a Vortex ring, the ring appears back here, and I can send some other poo-, ahem brave adventurer through the mirror to aid you.”
“What mirror?” one of you asks.
“The Vortex mirror of course,” says Halfcut pointing to the wall where there is a huge onyx farmed mirror you all swear was not there before.
“If you should wish to return here before anything . . . happens to you, or for any other reason, you must gather in a circle, link hands, and chant this charm . . . 'Illish-nathrak-dothost-spethod-dilloc-de-veny-Illish-nathrak-dothost-spethod-dilloc-de-veny-Illish-nathrak-dothost-spethod-dilloc-de-veny!' . . . you might have to wait a little while," he says with a smile.
You cannot understand the words, but you are all certain they have been burned into your memory forever.
“The adventure of a lifetime awaits,” says Halfcut gesturing towards the swirling vortex mirror and one by one you move towards the mirror and step through the vortex . . .
. . . into the harsh heat of a midday summer sun, as you find your bearings, and your eyes adjust to the bright light you hear Halfcut’s voice from beyond within the vortex . . .
“Of course, adventure has a nasty habit of shortening lifetimes.”
Then the vortex closes.
You are standing on an empty grassy plain. In front of you, you see a dilapidated castle built into the side of a large rocky outcrop.
Bernard Stonefoot checks his compass. The ruined castle is directly to your north.
The moat is dry, the drawbridge and gate have long since rotted. The stone works looks, aged, crumbling, but the wall directly before you is still standing. Through it's gates you can see a badly aged manor house. On the east corner of the near wall there is a 40’ high round tower. You can see a taller squarish tower in the north-west corner of the castle.
Apart from the ominous cronk of carrion crows all is silent.
You stand before Castle Ward.