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{Darian needs 2 or 3 glass rods so she can do some Lightning Bolts. She needs bat shit for the occasional Fireball. Some exotic feathers for Fly. Weapons sharpened and polished. Stop by at the Peloran Temple for some healing potion(s). Stop at Cracked Mug for a quick lunch. Flirt with locals. She'll probably try to pawn her render tooth. Swap her old backpack for a nice new leather one (preferably in a dark green leather). Hey - might as well go with this green trend. Don't forget the hair, manicure, pedicure, massage, and facial...}
Darian was someone who couldn't feel rushed. On previous adventures, she had resented how her companions seemed so impatient when she went shopping. Here, though, she was on her own time, and was free to take as much time as she liked.
Taking a couple of hours, she travelled the city of Auspelis getting the things she thought she needed or wanted for whatever faced her. The spell components were simple enough. While exotic feathers were not strictly required for the Fly spell (any feather would do), Darian was a firm believer that the more exotic the feather, the more potent the spell. As she did this, she sold the tooth she had of the terrible Render. Likewise, the weapons were quickly handled.
The backpack was a small problem. While backpacks were easy enough to obtain, green was a very uncommon colour to find them in. She was informed that she could have one custom made for her, but it would take a couple of weeks to make. Darian decided to put that on hold for the moment, and got a black backpack instead. It went with her new gloves and boots. Besides, you could wear black with anything.
Darian made the trip to the Cathedral as quick as possible. She always spent as little time as possible in places of worship. Five minutes after she went in, she came out with two greater healing potions.
The makeover was a must in Darian's eyes. Looking good was feeling good, as Starlimus would say. Serges, the "artiste" as he called himself, was mincing and effete, but could do wonders so long as one kept him from indulging in "creativity".
Next was a leisurely lunch at the bar her companion Rand owned, the Cracked Mug. It was a working class place, clean and homey rather than ostentatious. At meal times, it was always full of laborers and other common folk. Darian always did well here... the regulars were a rowdy bunch who rarely restrained themselves from commenting on any pretty lady who passed into their domain, and Darian was no exception.
Rand wasn't in his usual spot in the corner, but that was not surprising. Rand was a wanderer who only occasionally came to his establishment.
Pontick, the barrel-chested proprietor recognized Darian. He wasn't fond of her, based on an incident a while back where she snuck up behind him, brained him with a frying pan, tied him up, and nearly raided the wine cellar before Rand caught her. Sheesh, some people get upset over the smallest things. Still, he tolerated her, and asked her what she wanted.
{Total cost, 83 gold, 6 silver, including the trade-in of the tooth. The two potions are of the Extra-Healing variety.}
Feeling satisfied that she was well prepared (and looking good), Darian headed toward the Duke's Repose.
{What time of day is it now, anyway?}
By the time Darian had gotten all of her extra-curricular activities done with, the sun hung low on the horizon. She finally made her way to the Duke's Repose. It was in the Old City, which was the domain of monied folk in Auspelis. One of the best inns in the city, the Duke's Repose was quieter than the Prospect (another fine inn), and was not popular with young nobles out for a night on the town... something which suited its older clientele well.
While this place was not the sort Darian preferred to hang around in, it did mean that this Vanestin had money to throw around... a good sign.
Vanestin's room was tastefully decorated, and suited the man himself well. He dressed in a high-quality robe with a minimum of ornamentation. His hair was short, as was his beard, and both were kept neat and trimmed. Tall and well built, he did not appear the typical wizard.
After greeting Darian, he spoke.
"Mordraneth. A dark mage, a man of guile and cunning, who has mastery of black magic shunned by most magicians. I doubt you've heard of him. He is a servant of evil, one of the so-called Children of Amathar. To defeat his purpose, I need your skill and courage. If you accept the task I offer..." He stopped pacing the room, sat down, and his voice had a keener edge to it.
"Two weeks ago, servants of Mordraneth kidnapped a wizard of Moonshade, Alsander, who was occupied in magical research into the schemings of the Children. I last saw Alsander a few days before he disappeared, and he was excited and worried then. He warned me that Mordraneth was using magical energies to draw power from the Grey Waste, one of the realms of the damned, and he urged me to consult with him again when he had had a little more time to study the problem. Alas, when I called upon him he was gone, with all his notes.
"But by magical scrying, I have found where Alsander is, and he is still alive. Your task is not as desperate as you may have thought when I told you of Mordraneth. I do not require you to slay him; I need you to bring Alsander back to safety."
He paused, and offered Darian some wine. "The mages of Moonshade are not noted for looking out for one another, but friendships are formed in spite of this. Alsander is perhaps the only man I trust as a friend. Mordraneth tried to fool anyone who would be looking for Alsander. I know that the evil one is in Sokara, but Alsander is imprisoned elsewhere. Mordraneth expects pursuers to come for him, in the belief that he has Alsander with him. Well, I won't disappoint him. A ship will set sail for Sokara, with warriors and lesser mages aboard. Just a diversion, of course, although I've made sure that his spies have heard of it as a serious mission. But you, my dear, will be making for the real quarry.
"Mordraneth has hidden Alsander on Scar Island, an island just off the east coast of Irolo. Deep within his dungeons he has hidden him, one of which is called the "Iron Crypt". Why he has not slain him, I do not know -- but this I do know: I need desperately to find out what Alsander has discovered, and he MUST get back alive. I think you are the adventurer to do it. One brave soul can penetrate defenses secretly and silently, where a group would raise too many alarms and thereby fail. A small ship, the Petrel, is waiting. Will you accept this task?"
"It definitely sounds interesting. I'm just curious to know why you chose me?" Darian queried with a cheshire smile. "I mean, how did you hear about me in particular?"
"Also, I hate to be blunt, but what's the reward if I do it?" she asked.
Vanestin smiled in return. "Believe it or not, some word has gotten about of you and your talents. How you aided in fighting the Idiot King in Parravon, the fall of Arik Hawkwind, and so on. There's even a rumor that you've faced Lord Bane himself and lived! You are well known in some circles, Miss Silverstone.
"As for why I chose you, the answer is flexibility. You're rumored to be skilled in stealth and magic, both of which may prove useful. Based on some of the rumors associated with you, I can only assume you can handle yourself in a fight. You have many talents, which makes you ideal."
Vanestin stopped and looked out the window while sipping his wine. "I offer one thousand Durenor gold crowns for the success of this mission. Agreeable?"
Darian rolled her eyes along the ceiling. "It sounds to me like I'm going alone into the trapped lair of a powerful wizard, risking my life, to save Alsander. A thousand crowns isn't going to be useful to me dead on Scar Island! Just to properly equip myself magically will cost me half that much. This is the important part of the mission, the "real quarry" as you put it. Fifteen hundred is a more reasonable amount..." she stated, with a classy aire.
Vanestin smiled slightly, as though he was prepared for this. "Come, Miss Silverstone. Please don't try to tell a mage how expensive magic is. Remember, I hail from the center of magic in the Old World! One thousand gold is more than most see in a lifetime!"
The bargaining went back and forth. Darian was a capable haggler, but Vanestin obviously was no fool. Still, Darian managed to get him to agree to 1200 gold crowns, 400 in advance, the rest on completion of the mission.
Seemimgly satisfied, Vanestin handed Darian a purse with the advance payment. "Gold and glory, my dear, I can promise you both in abundance! Let us drink to it -- but not too much. The tide will be favourable in a few hours!"
{Remember that I use a silver standard: all prices in the Player's Handbook should be bumped down a category: silver to copper, gold to silver. The reward is effectively 12,000 standard gold. As for the haggling, I rolled a 15 on the "Indifferent" Reaction table. I bumped it down to nine due to Darian's Charisma, an Indifferent result. He met you roughly half-way.}
Darian was glowing again. She had picked up a few pointers from Rand on negotiating. It all seemed to be paying off. Secretly she wondered how close she was to a down-payment on that dream castle.
After enjoying some wine with Vanestin, Darian prepared to head toward the docks.
Darian quickly found the ship, known as the Petrel, and soon she was at sea.
Fair weather and a good breeze sped Darian along her way. She should reach Scar Island in a day or two. Garaeth, the ship's captain, had been well paid, and she had no problems arranging for him to pick her up after she had completed her quest.
But now dark clouds were gathering and a gale was picking up. The captain gave orders for battening down the hatches, and prepared to run before the wind. The first heavy drops of rain splattered down on the wooden deck.
As Darian prepared to go below, a cry went up from a crewman and her gaze followed his pointing finger; a huge black bird, with a wingspan of yards -- and outstretched talons -- was plummeting down from the leaden sky, straight towards her!
{Action time! Tell me what you want to do for the next couple of rounds, including any contingency plans you might have in case something goes wrong: i.e. you want to cast a spell but are wounded before you can get it off.}
{I don't really have an idea of how big this bird is. It's black so I'll assume it's not a Roc. I'll also assume it's not big enough to pick me up (it would need a wingspan of probably 10+ yards to do that). So, here goes:
Cast Mirror Images on myself
Cast Spook on it as soon as I can after that (ie if wounded wait until next round)
Throw my returning dagger +2 at it if it's not within sword reach (I will call for the dagger to return after it hits or misses).
Attack it with Balisarda for all other rounds when it's close enough...
I suppose all the others are just staring at it.}
The sailors were too far away from Darian to help her, and though a few tried, they couldn't get to aid her through the rain and gale and lashing waves which spilled onto the deck.
Darian quickly tried to prepare her mind for the spell Mirror Images. Unfortunately, the giant bird was near the end of its dive, and struck before she could form the spell, giving her a painful gash with its talons.
{Darian lost initiative, it hit once, doing seven points of damage.}
Irritated, Darian struck out with her sword, Balisarda. The bird was a hard target, all wing and feather, so it was hard to get a bead on it. However, Darian's swing was true as it squawked in pain. It quickly flew out of her reach. The bird seemed to be in its element in the foul weather.
{Darian hit with her first strike, and missed with her second.}
Angered, the great bird swooped down, giving Darian two stinging tears with its hooklike claws. Seawater splashed on Darian at the same time, making the wounds hurt that much worse.
{It won initiative again, and hit twice, doing 8 damage total.}
Frustrated, Darian whipped her throwing dagger at it as it climbed into the sky to launch another offensive. It made a satisfying shearing sound as it bit deep into the bird's flesh. Shouting "return!", Darian caught the magical blade as it returned to its master.
"All right, let's see how you like a bunch of me!" Darian thought as she cast her Mirror Image spell. Suddenly, there appeared to be a multitude of Darians, all eager to strike at the bird! Confused, the bird attacked one of the false images, causing it to vanish.
Angry, the bird struck again, and this time it was the true Darian it went after! Darian was not unprepared, and warded off its blows with her blade. "Boo!" Darian shouted, as she cast her spook spell. The magic had the desired effect, causing the huge bird to panic and attempt to flee. "Damn!" She cursed internally, as her blade failed to strike its mark as it fled.
Darian considered throwing her dagger at it for a moment, but decided against it as its massive wingspan quickly carried the thing out of her throwing range. Soon, the great bird was out of sight.
The battle over, Captain Garaeth and his men congratulated her on her bravery. One shoved a mug of rum into her hand, which she took gratefully. Rum was just the thing to warm one up on a cold, stormy day! "Well done," Garaeth said, "but this encounter troubles me. It is very rare to see such a bird in these latitudes." Darian stopped to think what 'latitudes' meant. "Perhaps someone already knows of you're coming and has attracted such a creature by magic."
Darian quaffs a healing potion. She'd heard how her brother died by fighting on too long without healing. She wasn't going to make that mistake.
She spoke to Garaeth. "Thanks for the rum. Is there a city on this Scar Island, or is it basically untouched wilderness?" So there was a chance Mordraneth knew she was coming. No turning back now.
Garaeth replied, "Wilderness it is, ma'am. Though there might be one or two folks living there, you'll be on your own for the most part. Nothing like a village, let alone a city. Now, it's getting late, and you have a big day tomorrow."
Darian slept surprisingly well, even though she was on a rocking ship, and felt refreshed and ready to set out to Scar Island.
As she was making her preparations to leave, a sailor came to her and gave her a small jar of ointment. He explained that on Scar Island there might be insects which bite and spread disease, and this would repel them. He commended her on her bravery, and said he hoped this gift would help her. She thanked him, and collected her gear.
Darian had long since stowed her dress in her pack. While it was fine for social situations, it would be quite a hindrance while adventuring. She checked her weapons, made certain that her spell reagents were in place, and noted that her bodysuit had mended the rents from the previous day's battle, and showed no sign that it had ever been damaged. The suit was was surprisingly warm on a brisk, foggy morning, though her legs didn't share the covering. Perhaps some leggings would be in order in the future, when the weather got really cold. Still, she was far from uncomfortable.
Scar Island was dimly visible through the fog on the starboard side of the ship. Garaeth explained that there was no natural harbour here, and she must make her own way from then on. The crew lowered a rowing-boat into the water, and taking all of her equipment, Darian lowered herself into the boat and rowed for shore, as the Petrel glided slowly away into the gloom.
She was nearly ashore when a huge pair of grey pincers, trailing green and purple strands of seaweed, rose from the shallow water and snapped at her oar! The streaked grey shell, beady eyes, and hooked jaws of a hungry giant crab emerged after them!
{Darian is at full hit points after the potion and the rest. How does she respond to this new danger?}
Rowing like one possessed, Darian got to the shore, outpacing the crab. This took a lot of effort, and Darian's muscles ached in places she didn't know she had muscles.
{Take 2 hit points damage from the exertion.}
She beached her boat and looked around. To the west was a trail leading towards the hilly interior of the island, and to the south there was a tall white cliff which barred her way. Appearing out of the wispy mist to the north loomed a huge figure -- a giant, about 16 feet tall, with burnished coppery skin and pale white hair. Barrel chested and powerfully muscled, he wore garments made of braided hair, with shells for decoration. "Hello, human," he boomed.
Darian tries to avoid the crab. She knows she could fight it, but who knows what else is awaiting her on the island? Killing this crab is going to do nothing to help her cause (except, perhaps, provide some nice roasted crab meat for dinner). Rowing as swiftly as possible, she tries to make it to shore. "Just great," she thinks.
Darian wasn't up on her giant lore. She thought carefully.. "Let's see. Mountain? Nope. Frost? Not likely. Maybe he's a beach giant. That would be cool. Wait a minute. He speaks common?" Now she was confused. "Ahem..."
"Um, Hi!" She said, crossing her legs, trying to look innocent. "My, you are strong" she remarked, giving him a big, admiring smile.
{Does this giant have any Charisma whatsoever? I'm just wondering how much of this is an act on her part}.
The giant was not handsome, by human terms. His face was wide, and he had a pug nose. Still, he was well-muscled, with a mostly bare chest. Besides, it is easy to be impressed by a heavily muscled man about three times one's height.
"Sorry about Edwina," the giant said, "she's frisky today. I hope she hasn't hurt you? Good." His tone was pleasant, but his deep voice was so loud it hurt Darian's ears. "It's going to rain. Would you care for food and shelter?"
"Sure, that would be nice," she said. Darian enlarged herself twice, making herself the giant's height (proportionately for a female). It would only last 45 minutes, but it would make the dinner conversation less painful. "Sometimes it's fun to play cave-girl," she thought. She hoped he had a nice cave. He was not as good looking as Rikus, but the fact that he didn't hate her guts was a good sign.
"There, that's better, she said. So that crab is your pet? Cute. Makes a great guard --uh, crustacean. So, what kind of giant are you?" she asked. She took this opportunity to look around at the scenery. From this vantage point, she could see over the tree-tops to any obvious landmarks.
{Enlarge, like most spells, is not "stackable", that is, it is not cumulative, just as Stoneskin, Strength, et. al. do not provide double effect for two spells. Otherwise, we'd have people with six Protection from Evil spells on for -12 to AC, and so on. Darian is a bit less than 12 feet tall... still quite a bit shorter than the giant, but at least not tiny compared to him.}
Many of the trees were taller than Darian, even at her new height. The fog didn't help matters... all she could tell was that the island was hilly and had lots of trees.
The giant laughed when Darian caused herself to grow. Little people were always so insecure about their heights. "Why, I'm Garr, and your folk would call me a 'reef giant'. Fortunately for you, I'm fond of small folk. Ah! I can see you better now! You're not a human, after all! My apologies."
Darian and Garr set off north together and soon reached the giant's cave, which was set into a hillside sloping down the shoreline. She entered and looked around. There was some fine fish stew simmering, and Garr offered her a HUGE bowl of it!
Garr looked thoughtful and said, "This is becoming an increasingly evil place. I'm not afraid, for I can look after myself, but you... you must be on some kind of quest here. I don't know if it this will help you, but it might mean something." He retrieved an old scroll which he had carefully concealed under a pile of shells, and held it before Darian carefully, with his thumb and forefinger, so as not to damage it.
Darian carefully examined the scroll, trying to determine what it does. "Interesting," she mumbled.
She sampled the fish stew. Darian preferred to be thought of as human. All this action made her forget to keep her ears covered.
"What other dangers do you know of on the island?" she asked.
{Is it evening now? If so, she'll sleep here. Otherwise, she's going to bid the giant farewell and leave.}
Darian looked at the scroll. It was written in common, unfortunately, meaning that it was not magical. It read:
Singing in the wind is the harbinger of death, and the Stealer of Souls shall tear terrors from the minds of the damned to make his home.It seemed to make little sense, but it might prove useful later on.
Garr sighed. "I can tell you little of what goes on inland. Most of what I know is from those who come near my beach... I've seen orcs, a troll or two. They ran quick when they saw me, ho ho! I spend more of my time out at sea than on land."
It was raining heavily, so Darian stayed in the giant's cave for the night.
The next morning was sunny and clear; the giant wished her well and gave her some salted fish. {Enough food for 3 days.} Darian set off to the west, to seek the trail leading inland.
About an hour later, the trail split; she could head north, where she could see hilly terrain and bracken in the distance, or she could continue west along what appeared to be a fairly well used mud track.
Darian decided to travel west along the mud track. "Why complicate things," she thought, as she started along the track.
She pulled out her torch. It wasn't dark, but she wanted it ready in case she ran into trolls. She lit the torch with her flint and steel. Oddly, the torch already emitted light, due to a Continual Light spell that was placed on it before. But light wasn't good enough. She would need fire to burn any vile corpses.
She also decided to walk along the left edge of the track. She wasn't actively searching for traps (that would make progress too slow), however she kept her eyes focussed on any anomalies on the track. She also listened carefully as she walked for any sounds of creatures lurking within earshot.
Darian made good progress along the trail. Eventually, she arrived at a crossroads. By the side of the path to the north, there stood a wooden pole with a skull atop it. By the southern path, there was a bloodied fistful of feathers on a pointed stick. There was nothing to mark the path which continued westwards.
{I'm just trying to get my bearings here. Is west still "inland"? In other words, does heading west take me further away from the coast? Or does going North (which a prior message stated leads to hilly terrain) actually take me inland? Usually on an island, higher ground equals inland. Hence the confusion here.}
{West is inland. The hills to the north have receded, and in fact north seems to have a slight downward grade to it.}
Darian decides to continue west. All these weird stakes in the ground speak of nothing but "bad juju". Besides, she has a feeling this wizard would have his place near the center of the island.
Darian set off west along the unmarked path. She was reaching undulating foothills, and grew tired as she marched. There were craggy peaks to the north, and the path turned northwest to meet them.
{She's been walking for several hours since the crossroads, and the terrain to the north has changed again.}
It was late afternoon when she began to grow hungry, and had to stop to eat something. The rays of the setting sun bathed the countryside with a warm glow and reflected from the back of some kind of building made of grey rock, to the west. She could reach it in an hour, if she desired.
She began heading toward the building. As she drew closer, she casted Detect Magic to hopefully pick up any magical traps or alarms that might have been set out for her.
"(Sigh) This is hard work. That Vanestin better pay up the other eight hundred or I'll be pretty pissed off..." she grumbled. Maybe it was better to travel with the others. That way she didn't have to work as hard. She could have fun teasing Calidor and Elpie. She could also impress them with her superior sword-play. Darian wondered where Calidor was, and if he even thought about her. "He's probably too busy with his administration to care about me," she thought.
Struggling across rocky terrain, Darian arrived at the building just as twilight descended. This was a small, simple structure, without windows, but a door facing west. It was too gloomy to see what was inside; she would have to enter to investigate. Casting her spell, Darian pulled out her torch and moved on.
