Godhead: Episode 5 - The Quest Begins
Godhead
Episode 5: The Quest Begins -- October 19, 2005
[This game, and the one to immediately follow, is a side adventure set years earlier in Living Earth.]
The Adventurers Guild is the world renowned league of gentlemanly heroes and explorers that have entered the twilight of their careers and have decided to retire in luxury to the old oak furniture, hearth warmed dens, and brandy filled snifters of the upper class. Known as much for their charitable acts and community services as for the amazingly famous (and sometimes infamous) acts of the legendary heroes that make up their membership, the Adventurers have spread far and wide across the world, leaving chapters wherever large kingdoms, cities, and their alumni reside.
Joining the Adventures is no easy task. While the rewards for being a part of such an illustrious group are many, few are up to the task of working their way into the private society. For a hero to even be considered, they must have had a long and illustrious career, with the requirement of at least a few daring acts and heroic deeds to claim as their own. Many are those that work their entire adventuring lives struggling to do something that would draw the notice of the secretive group of higher masters that rule the Adventurers Guild, to no avail.
Our story begins with three such individuals.
Silton Darrybow was a gnomish bard, high in spirit and low in life experience. He had seen much of the world, but had avoided any of the darker experiences that sometimes haunt the careers of other adventurers. While this gave the young one no discomfort, he longed to experience the big thrills of the open road, the real and true risks of living a daring life. He had managed to receive a minor position among the Adventures in the chapter located in the hamlet of Dunwick, on the border of the Black Forest to the north of the Elven Homeland. The Dunwick Chapter, however, treated him as little more then a recruit. Simply put, Silton hadn’t enough experience or glory in his life to warrant a more dignified role. How could he ever add to the romantic stories he played as a bard if he never got a chance to do anything worthwhile himself?
One day, while strumming softly in a corner of the Adventurers’ lodge, the doors burst open to reveal Klaus Johansson, a leading member of the Dunwick Chapter. The various gray beards gathered around in a flurry when Johansson collapsed upon himself in the doorway. He had been missing for some time now, and many had expected him to have been out on expedition to some faraway corner of the world. Instead, Johansson was before them, withered away and gibbering like a madman.
By the time his wounds were treated and he was put to bed rest, rumors had already begun to spread on what had happened. In the weeks leading up to his disappearance, Johansson had become obsessed with the mysterious lost city known to many as the “Jewel of the Wastes”. According to legend, at the dawn of creation the Gods battled beings of pure Chaos, great djinns that threatened the world. Although the gods were successful in defeating their enemies, the battle caused the great disaster known as Moonfall, where the orb in the heavens that served as the seat of the gods came crashing down to earth. The resulting devastation created a great blight across the heart of the world, making an artificial wasteland that tore through reality and destroyed some of the greatest civilizations that the world had ever seen. The lost city that Johansson quested for was once such a great kingdom in the middle of this cursed terrain now known as the Twilight Wastes.
Johansson spoke of strange things in his fever dreams. He spoke of the lost city as if he had found it, and he spoke of an Enchantress that was held prisoner within.
The Adventurers Guild spared no expense making sure Johansson was comfortable, but other then that nothing was done. The Jewel of the Wastes was a lost cause, a lunatic’s desire for greatness and mysticism that belonged more to the fancy of storytellers then an objective for serious minded heroes. In other words, it was perfect for the bard. Silton thought he found an opportunity for greatness in the making and a way to do some good at the same time. If he could assemble a group of heroes to rescue this Enchantress and uncover the Jewel of the Wastes, perhaps he could help save Johansson and earn the respect necessary to make something of himself in the Adventurers!
Of course, to do so would mean assembling a group under the noses of the guild. By pressuring a young nobleman clerk named Ian, Silton searched through reams upon reams of Adventurer lodge-books to obtain the names of several inductees, servants, and hangers-on that were just as eager as he to make a name for themselves amongst the society of heroes. He soon set out to gather his party.
***
The first stop was a tavern where Xavier, a skilled human warrior and Pious, his loyal bugbear companion were known to frequent. The two unlikely friends were followers of the God of Discord, Change, and Conflict. In fact, rumor had it that the bugbear was a cleric, and quite skilled at the divine arts. Xavier and Pious had both tried unsuccessfully to make an impression upon the Dunwick Chapter, hoping to earn a place amongst the Adventurers. Xavier was getting on in years and was ready to settle down and start a dignified smithy outfit, if only he could recruit enough apprentices without scaring them off with his gruff nature. Pious had devoted his life to the freeing of victimized people, and it was in this way that he met Xavier. Being a bugbear, Pious could never understand Xavier’s rootless existence. Without family and tribe, Pious would be nothing, so he longed to aid his friend find a sense of community, even if it was with a bunch of snotty dried up heroes. Unfortunately, it was a case of the blind leading the blind, and both Xavier and Pious botched their attempts to draw fame and recognition from the guild.
When Silton appeared at the tavern offering them the chance to save a maiden and garner the attention of the Adventurers, Pious and Xavier were willing to give it a try.
With the clever bard, solemn cleric, and brave fighter, they knew they would need some magic to round out their number. Among the research Silton had acquired was information about a strange figure seen lingering around the ruins of a forgotten and cursed barn at the outskirts of Dunwick. Traveling there, the party found an eerie sight. The dilapidated barn was host to some strange mystical incantations, and the smell of death was in the air. Cautiously they entered to find a raven greeting them at the door. From the shadows, they were approached by Karsh Ullegrend, a dwarven necromancer who was exiled from the Great Wall for his heretical beliefs. His grim demeanor and dark calling seemed ill-fitted for the rest of the group, until he heard mention of the prize that they sought. Long had sorcerers and wizards sought evidence of the Jewel of the Wastes, and an arcane wielder alone could decipher the many clues needed to uncover its lost location. Pious and Xavier may not have liked or even trusted the strange dwarf, but they realized they needed him. Karsh may not have enjoyed the company of such tight minded fools, but he needed them. At long last, Silton seemed to have the party he was searching for.
***
To make the long journey to the Twilight Wastes, they would need provisions and a guide. Silton had known a man who worked with him in the Adventurers named Ichi. A clever and skilled man, Ichi was the wagon and horse master for the guild, and would be able to bring the party to the Twilight Wastes with the right resources. He too was eager to show himself worthy.
With some clever forgery and the naivety of the diplomat clerk Ian, they procured funds, weapons, supplies, horses, and passports to travel all the lands necessary to reach the fabled Twilight Wastes. Legend stated that the wastes could be reached by traveling through the Great Dessert. They also obtained maps of the area and went to visit Johansson in secret one last time before heading out.
The old man was surrounded by the splendor of a successful adventuring life where he lay in his room, but stayed motionless and wrapped in his bed. Ian lead the party in to speak with him, and while Pious tried to ease his pain the others asked Johansson what he could tell them of the location of the Jewel of the Wastes, and his imprisoned Enchantress. Johansson was still clearly delirious, but he did manage to mumble one thing as he drew it with his finger on the center of their map.
“Blue… blossoms…”
He was asked what he meant by that, but it was clear that the man was too far gone to answer. Ian had remarked that he had heard that some of the masters at the Dunwick Chapter were attempting to make sense of what Johansson was mumbling about, but the heroes knew better then to risk jeopardizing their cover to ask for advice. Satisfied that they did all that they could from here, they headed out to begin their journey.
Ichi had arranged to meet a ranger guide at the outskirts of Dunwick, near where the start of the Elven Homeland began. Expecting to see an elven ranger, they were shocked to see a female gnoll whisk up to the party and begin to guide. Her nose and tracking skills were unmatched, however, and soon everyone began to take comfort in their progress.
Soon after heading out, the gnoll ranger, who went by the name of Tasha, asked a pertinent question. Had they really left on a quest for a long lost city, and not thought of bringing a thief with them? The bard almost kicked himself, and the rest would have lent him a hand (or foot) had the ranger not offered to lead them to a local town to see if a skilled rogue could be obtained. When Ichi asked where they would look to find a rogue, she simply said, “Check the prisons if you want to find a crook, the one that is in no hurry to get out is either a murderer, insane, or the right thief for the job.”
They took her advice.
In the first town they stopped in, sitting in a jail cell with free room and board, and having never actually been arrested for anything in the first place, was a halfling calling himself Puck. Thinking that a rogue that could easily bust himself into jail on a lark was a handy addition, they got their new friend to come along. Interestingly enough, Puck wasn’t so much asked as recruited, but as halflings go, he didn’t mind much.
Before leaving this territory, they were surprised to find the young clerk Ian had followed them to their camp. He had bad news; the Adventurers had uncovered the forgery and realized that equipment and funds were taken to undergo an unauthorized quest for the Jewel of the Wastes. Ian had left in secrecy to join the bastards that had played him for a fool and risked his professional career. He reasoned that now they had all reached the point of no return, and unless they were successful in their quest, they would be in dire straits with the guild. That was a fate no one wanted.
With this, their party was complete and the quest had begun.
***
Ichi took them by road and river to the lands of the great Empire, and from there into the Halfling Badlands. Being well stocked and equipped, and being no strangers to adventure themselves, they managed to travel quickly enough through this hostile terrain and into the neighboring sand-seas that made up the Great Dessert. This dessert was part natural, part a result of close proximity to the Twilight Wastes. It was through the dessert that the party hoped to reach their fantastic destination.
The first stop was a magnificent community hidden in the sands, a large city where traders met around a carefully guarded oasis that sprang up just at the edge of the enormous dessert. If they were going to go any further in this alien and hostile terrain, they would need fresh equipment and guides.
Word had it that a fierce Gnoll Nation was active in the dessert surrounding the oasis, and that they were well over several hundred strong. Karsh made a contact in a darkened corner of the bazaar that explained to him that unless he could find a mystical sand walker to guide his party, than he would have to recruit a pack of gnolls as an escort through these lands. The contact reasoned that while the gnolls were fierce, they could be reasoned with and bribed, and in this way the heroes could make it through their territory without being harassed. The contact took a small finders fee, and arranged for the party to meet with a band of gnoll guides on the outside of the settlement, near a small gathering of rocks out in the foothills.
That night, the party met at the rocks hoping to make a deal for some gnoll guides to help them through the dessert and points beyond. Before reaching the outcrop, Tasha gave her companions a few pointers. Gnolls are territorial, and may not accept another gnoll in their presence, let alone humanoids. She also advised her party to be armed and confident at all times, and to never expose their throats or other vulnerable parts. Any sign of weakness can inspire an attack. She then left with the halfling to scout ahead around the meeting spot for signs of where the guides would be.
Suddenly, a volley of bolts came raining down upon the party from the rock formations. It was an ambush!
In the darkness the fiends shot at the party while they tried to take cover and retaliate. The bard played furiously as the wizard cursed at those he could spy from their cover. The cleric shook off the attacks as if they were the buzzing of flies, and the fighter took blind shots, hitting the enemy right between the eyes. Eventually, the last brigand was brought down, only to reveal that it was not gnolls but the contact and his men that had made the ambush.
Before the party could angrily go back to square one, Tasha sniffed the air. She said they had company, and low and behold it was true. Several dozen pairs of white eyes shone out in the darkness of the night, as a fierce gnoll chieftain growled and approached. He ridiculed them for falling into such an obvious human trap, and did his best to test the party with intimidation, but they were all prepped well by Tasha, and held their ground. Impressed, the Chieftain asked what they had wanted with the gnolls in the first place. The party described their search for the Jewel of the Wastes, and offered the emptied city as a trophy for the gnolls if they would act peacefully and guide them through the dessert. The gnolls chief seemed interested, but asked what the party could offer that the gnolls themselves could not get on their own. Silton put it bluntly, “Why risk your lives in uncovering and dealing with the mystery of the lost city? You can just lead us there, let us free the Enchantress and uncover the secrets we seek, and you guys reap the benefit.”
The deal was done and the party had their guides.
***
The road with the gnolls was a hard one. Water and food were scarce, despite the skill that their guides had in acquiring more. They road at night, and road hard, resting all day. It was only in the morning sun, when it was too hot to work and too bright to sleep that the party got any planning done.
Over the past few days, each of the party had kept themselves busy in various ways.
Noticing Ian’s skill and interest in healing, Pious began to instruct the young man in the divine arts. Being a disciple of the God of Conflict, Pious was careful to explain pain’s role in the process of healing. Xavier helped demonstrate this point when he punched Ian after cauterizing one of his many wounds.
Karsh was busy with his own experiments. A master alchemist, the dwarf was delving into potions and poisons that rivaled those found in nature. Eventually, Karsh devised a potent drug, which he gave to the all too willing gnoll guides. The drug kept them happy and filled with energy and fire, which they expended through maddening dances into the night. The dwarf himself was a frequent sampler of his own wares, and it was this wicked craft that allowed the journey to pass for him.
Tasha was keeping an ear, eye, and snout open for changes in the hierarchy of the gnoll band they were running with. Having become very interested in the dwarf’s potions, Tasha began to devise a plan on how to use the sweet nectar to ingratiate herself into this powerful pack.
Xavier had finally found another sane human to relate to in Ichi, having spent so much of his life in the company of humanoids and goblinoids of varying degrees of sanity. The two men were agreed that the others were too distracted by their own inanity to truly understand the situation they were in. Xavier had great plans for the fame and fortune he’d receive after solving this mystery. Ichi also seemed to be a dreamer. He believed that men were in many ways better off then the other races, because they were not born special in any way, but rather had to make something special out of themselves. Ichi wanted to make something out of himself; something big.
Xavier would have been satisfied for a party that didn’t have some many damn little folk in it.
Silton and Puck, being very small, were listing the various places they thought they could hide on a bet. Both agreed that the bugbear’s mouth would be an interesting choice.
***
This whole time, the party pondered the question of the “blue blossoms”. Johansson had given them an approximate location to travel to, but without a definite point they were doomed to travel the dessert for years. The clue, “blue blossoms” was no help… until the day their gnoll guides happened to overhear.
When trying to navigate, the party showed the gnolls their map, complete with the hastily drawn flower over the region where they wanted to travel. The gnolls began to grumble in their own savage tongue, and quickly turned away going back to their duties on the open sands. Tasha said that one of the gnolls said something about “evil flowers” when the Chieftain dismissed him and they all turned away. Thinking it better not to push their violent hosts, the party let it be for now.
Over the course of the journey, Karsh had regularly administered “libations” to the gnolls, and Tasha had become increasing interested in their joy for the substance. Ian too, had gotten curious to the strange dwarf’s gifts, much to the chagrin of Pious. Pious had found that Ian was very adept at the gifts of healing and anatomy, and understood well the duality of injury and health, but had an utter failing at the divine. Still, if Ian would ever become a cleric, it would have to be under the tutelage of the God of Discord, for the young man had none of the false sentimentality that comes with the other more palpable gods.
Ian’s interest in Karsh was proving to be a major kink in Pious’ instructions.
Karsh preached about the role of death in life, and how undeath was simply a tool to be manipulated. It was these same beliefs that caused him to become a pariah amongst his own people, who barely condone the use of undead as a weapon against other undead, let alone as a common tool of labor. The necromancer held great power in his hands, and it was clear that he was all too familiar with it to take it as seriously as it deserved.
Ian didn’t necessarily see the conflict. As far as he was concerned, dealing with certain aspects of death was just as valid as healing back grievous injuries. Pious explained that healing was a part of nature, but nothing that dies should ever naturally return. Since the young man didn’t have much of a gut for the putrescence of death, he allowed his holy tutor to make his point.
It seemed as if that argument would have kept bouncing back and forth until the day an accident out in the sands shook things up at camp.
One morning, while waiting for the hottest part of the day to pass, Tasha, Pious, Silton, and Puck went out to scout ahead. Ichi was deep in meditation out in the scorching sun, as was his habit, when each morning he woke to read from his devotional text. Xavier had expressed an interest, especially when he discovered that the book described, among other things, the way of war. Ichi tore Xavier half of this books to read himself when he got the chance.
Ian had again taken up pestering Karsh about the way his craft worked, being careful to wait until Pious was gone before asking questions. Pious would be pleased at least to find that the young man seemed totally disinterested in the manipulation of the undead, but merely had the intense desire to learn.
While out on point, Tasha uncovered some strange bruise-black tubers in the sand, with fine cactus pricks on the outside rind. Thinking they were cactus fruit, she picked at one only to have it ensnare her muzzle. The creature grew long thin vines from the ground, and it was only the combined strength of the gnoll, bugbear, and halfling (ahem) that managed to pull Tasha free.
In the struggle, they happened to unearth an enormous writhing beast, whose roots and many spore vines that once lay hidden under the sands now massed up on the surface exposed to the sun. The monster plant was more then 30 cubic yards around, and was of the type the halflings of the badlands feared, calling it Pithannie. They were lucky it was just a young one, and that they were not all eaten alive.
When the exhausted scouts returned to the camp, the others decided that enough was enough. They needed to know where exactly they were headed for in this cursed dessert, and the only way they could do that was to confront the gnolls about the blue blossoms.
Tasha challenged the leader of the gnoll band about what he knew about the blue blossoms, but the Chieftain remained evasive. Tasha pushed back, and with a healthy dose of feminine wile demanded more answers from the gnoll. The Chieftain came through; apparently, certain human nomads were known to use a potion derived from these strange plants in a ritual that allowed them to “see things that should be left unseen,” and that the gnolls kept their distances from these fools. Offering a dose of Karsh’s brew as encouragement, Tasha asked for her group to be led to these nomads… but it wasn’t drugs that the Chieftain had his eye on.
And that was how the clever Tasha found herself as the alpha female in the band.
The party had come to realize that to locate the Jewel of the Wastes they would have to find these mysterious nomads and discover their secret method of using the blue blossoms to “see the unseen”, but to do that they would have to cultivate some strange fruit indeed.
Episode 5: The Quest Begins -- October 19, 2005
[This game, and the one to immediately follow, is a side adventure set years earlier in Living Earth.]
The Adventurers Guild is the world renowned league of gentlemanly heroes and explorers that have entered the twilight of their careers and have decided to retire in luxury to the old oak furniture, hearth warmed dens, and brandy filled snifters of the upper class. Known as much for their charitable acts and community services as for the amazingly famous (and sometimes infamous) acts of the legendary heroes that make up their membership, the Adventurers have spread far and wide across the world, leaving chapters wherever large kingdoms, cities, and their alumni reside.
Joining the Adventures is no easy task. While the rewards for being a part of such an illustrious group are many, few are up to the task of working their way into the private society. For a hero to even be considered, they must have had a long and illustrious career, with the requirement of at least a few daring acts and heroic deeds to claim as their own. Many are those that work their entire adventuring lives struggling to do something that would draw the notice of the secretive group of higher masters that rule the Adventurers Guild, to no avail.
Our story begins with three such individuals.
Silton Darrybow was a gnomish bard, high in spirit and low in life experience. He had seen much of the world, but had avoided any of the darker experiences that sometimes haunt the careers of other adventurers. While this gave the young one no discomfort, he longed to experience the big thrills of the open road, the real and true risks of living a daring life. He had managed to receive a minor position among the Adventures in the chapter located in the hamlet of Dunwick, on the border of the Black Forest to the north of the Elven Homeland. The Dunwick Chapter, however, treated him as little more then a recruit. Simply put, Silton hadn’t enough experience or glory in his life to warrant a more dignified role. How could he ever add to the romantic stories he played as a bard if he never got a chance to do anything worthwhile himself?
One day, while strumming softly in a corner of the Adventurers’ lodge, the doors burst open to reveal Klaus Johansson, a leading member of the Dunwick Chapter. The various gray beards gathered around in a flurry when Johansson collapsed upon himself in the doorway. He had been missing for some time now, and many had expected him to have been out on expedition to some faraway corner of the world. Instead, Johansson was before them, withered away and gibbering like a madman.
By the time his wounds were treated and he was put to bed rest, rumors had already begun to spread on what had happened. In the weeks leading up to his disappearance, Johansson had become obsessed with the mysterious lost city known to many as the “Jewel of the Wastes”. According to legend, at the dawn of creation the Gods battled beings of pure Chaos, great djinns that threatened the world. Although the gods were successful in defeating their enemies, the battle caused the great disaster known as Moonfall, where the orb in the heavens that served as the seat of the gods came crashing down to earth. The resulting devastation created a great blight across the heart of the world, making an artificial wasteland that tore through reality and destroyed some of the greatest civilizations that the world had ever seen. The lost city that Johansson quested for was once such a great kingdom in the middle of this cursed terrain now known as the Twilight Wastes.
Johansson spoke of strange things in his fever dreams. He spoke of the lost city as if he had found it, and he spoke of an Enchantress that was held prisoner within.
The Adventurers Guild spared no expense making sure Johansson was comfortable, but other then that nothing was done. The Jewel of the Wastes was a lost cause, a lunatic’s desire for greatness and mysticism that belonged more to the fancy of storytellers then an objective for serious minded heroes. In other words, it was perfect for the bard. Silton thought he found an opportunity for greatness in the making and a way to do some good at the same time. If he could assemble a group of heroes to rescue this Enchantress and uncover the Jewel of the Wastes, perhaps he could help save Johansson and earn the respect necessary to make something of himself in the Adventurers!
Of course, to do so would mean assembling a group under the noses of the guild. By pressuring a young nobleman clerk named Ian, Silton searched through reams upon reams of Adventurer lodge-books to obtain the names of several inductees, servants, and hangers-on that were just as eager as he to make a name for themselves amongst the society of heroes. He soon set out to gather his party.
***
The first stop was a tavern where Xavier, a skilled human warrior and Pious, his loyal bugbear companion were known to frequent. The two unlikely friends were followers of the God of Discord, Change, and Conflict. In fact, rumor had it that the bugbear was a cleric, and quite skilled at the divine arts. Xavier and Pious had both tried unsuccessfully to make an impression upon the Dunwick Chapter, hoping to earn a place amongst the Adventurers. Xavier was getting on in years and was ready to settle down and start a dignified smithy outfit, if only he could recruit enough apprentices without scaring them off with his gruff nature. Pious had devoted his life to the freeing of victimized people, and it was in this way that he met Xavier. Being a bugbear, Pious could never understand Xavier’s rootless existence. Without family and tribe, Pious would be nothing, so he longed to aid his friend find a sense of community, even if it was with a bunch of snotty dried up heroes. Unfortunately, it was a case of the blind leading the blind, and both Xavier and Pious botched their attempts to draw fame and recognition from the guild.
When Silton appeared at the tavern offering them the chance to save a maiden and garner the attention of the Adventurers, Pious and Xavier were willing to give it a try.
With the clever bard, solemn cleric, and brave fighter, they knew they would need some magic to round out their number. Among the research Silton had acquired was information about a strange figure seen lingering around the ruins of a forgotten and cursed barn at the outskirts of Dunwick. Traveling there, the party found an eerie sight. The dilapidated barn was host to some strange mystical incantations, and the smell of death was in the air. Cautiously they entered to find a raven greeting them at the door. From the shadows, they were approached by Karsh Ullegrend, a dwarven necromancer who was exiled from the Great Wall for his heretical beliefs. His grim demeanor and dark calling seemed ill-fitted for the rest of the group, until he heard mention of the prize that they sought. Long had sorcerers and wizards sought evidence of the Jewel of the Wastes, and an arcane wielder alone could decipher the many clues needed to uncover its lost location. Pious and Xavier may not have liked or even trusted the strange dwarf, but they realized they needed him. Karsh may not have enjoyed the company of such tight minded fools, but he needed them. At long last, Silton seemed to have the party he was searching for.
***
To make the long journey to the Twilight Wastes, they would need provisions and a guide. Silton had known a man who worked with him in the Adventurers named Ichi. A clever and skilled man, Ichi was the wagon and horse master for the guild, and would be able to bring the party to the Twilight Wastes with the right resources. He too was eager to show himself worthy.
With some clever forgery and the naivety of the diplomat clerk Ian, they procured funds, weapons, supplies, horses, and passports to travel all the lands necessary to reach the fabled Twilight Wastes. Legend stated that the wastes could be reached by traveling through the Great Dessert. They also obtained maps of the area and went to visit Johansson in secret one last time before heading out.
The old man was surrounded by the splendor of a successful adventuring life where he lay in his room, but stayed motionless and wrapped in his bed. Ian lead the party in to speak with him, and while Pious tried to ease his pain the others asked Johansson what he could tell them of the location of the Jewel of the Wastes, and his imprisoned Enchantress. Johansson was still clearly delirious, but he did manage to mumble one thing as he drew it with his finger on the center of their map.
“Blue… blossoms…”
He was asked what he meant by that, but it was clear that the man was too far gone to answer. Ian had remarked that he had heard that some of the masters at the Dunwick Chapter were attempting to make sense of what Johansson was mumbling about, but the heroes knew better then to risk jeopardizing their cover to ask for advice. Satisfied that they did all that they could from here, they headed out to begin their journey.
Ichi had arranged to meet a ranger guide at the outskirts of Dunwick, near where the start of the Elven Homeland began. Expecting to see an elven ranger, they were shocked to see a female gnoll whisk up to the party and begin to guide. Her nose and tracking skills were unmatched, however, and soon everyone began to take comfort in their progress.
Soon after heading out, the gnoll ranger, who went by the name of Tasha, asked a pertinent question. Had they really left on a quest for a long lost city, and not thought of bringing a thief with them? The bard almost kicked himself, and the rest would have lent him a hand (or foot) had the ranger not offered to lead them to a local town to see if a skilled rogue could be obtained. When Ichi asked where they would look to find a rogue, she simply said, “Check the prisons if you want to find a crook, the one that is in no hurry to get out is either a murderer, insane, or the right thief for the job.”
They took her advice.
In the first town they stopped in, sitting in a jail cell with free room and board, and having never actually been arrested for anything in the first place, was a halfling calling himself Puck. Thinking that a rogue that could easily bust himself into jail on a lark was a handy addition, they got their new friend to come along. Interestingly enough, Puck wasn’t so much asked as recruited, but as halflings go, he didn’t mind much.
Before leaving this territory, they were surprised to find the young clerk Ian had followed them to their camp. He had bad news; the Adventurers had uncovered the forgery and realized that equipment and funds were taken to undergo an unauthorized quest for the Jewel of the Wastes. Ian had left in secrecy to join the bastards that had played him for a fool and risked his professional career. He reasoned that now they had all reached the point of no return, and unless they were successful in their quest, they would be in dire straits with the guild. That was a fate no one wanted.
With this, their party was complete and the quest had begun.
***
Ichi took them by road and river to the lands of the great Empire, and from there into the Halfling Badlands. Being well stocked and equipped, and being no strangers to adventure themselves, they managed to travel quickly enough through this hostile terrain and into the neighboring sand-seas that made up the Great Dessert. This dessert was part natural, part a result of close proximity to the Twilight Wastes. It was through the dessert that the party hoped to reach their fantastic destination.
The first stop was a magnificent community hidden in the sands, a large city where traders met around a carefully guarded oasis that sprang up just at the edge of the enormous dessert. If they were going to go any further in this alien and hostile terrain, they would need fresh equipment and guides.
Word had it that a fierce Gnoll Nation was active in the dessert surrounding the oasis, and that they were well over several hundred strong. Karsh made a contact in a darkened corner of the bazaar that explained to him that unless he could find a mystical sand walker to guide his party, than he would have to recruit a pack of gnolls as an escort through these lands. The contact reasoned that while the gnolls were fierce, they could be reasoned with and bribed, and in this way the heroes could make it through their territory without being harassed. The contact took a small finders fee, and arranged for the party to meet with a band of gnoll guides on the outside of the settlement, near a small gathering of rocks out in the foothills.
That night, the party met at the rocks hoping to make a deal for some gnoll guides to help them through the dessert and points beyond. Before reaching the outcrop, Tasha gave her companions a few pointers. Gnolls are territorial, and may not accept another gnoll in their presence, let alone humanoids. She also advised her party to be armed and confident at all times, and to never expose their throats or other vulnerable parts. Any sign of weakness can inspire an attack. She then left with the halfling to scout ahead around the meeting spot for signs of where the guides would be.
Suddenly, a volley of bolts came raining down upon the party from the rock formations. It was an ambush!
In the darkness the fiends shot at the party while they tried to take cover and retaliate. The bard played furiously as the wizard cursed at those he could spy from their cover. The cleric shook off the attacks as if they were the buzzing of flies, and the fighter took blind shots, hitting the enemy right between the eyes. Eventually, the last brigand was brought down, only to reveal that it was not gnolls but the contact and his men that had made the ambush.
Before the party could angrily go back to square one, Tasha sniffed the air. She said they had company, and low and behold it was true. Several dozen pairs of white eyes shone out in the darkness of the night, as a fierce gnoll chieftain growled and approached. He ridiculed them for falling into such an obvious human trap, and did his best to test the party with intimidation, but they were all prepped well by Tasha, and held their ground. Impressed, the Chieftain asked what they had wanted with the gnolls in the first place. The party described their search for the Jewel of the Wastes, and offered the emptied city as a trophy for the gnolls if they would act peacefully and guide them through the dessert. The gnolls chief seemed interested, but asked what the party could offer that the gnolls themselves could not get on their own. Silton put it bluntly, “Why risk your lives in uncovering and dealing with the mystery of the lost city? You can just lead us there, let us free the Enchantress and uncover the secrets we seek, and you guys reap the benefit.”
The deal was done and the party had their guides.
***
The road with the gnolls was a hard one. Water and food were scarce, despite the skill that their guides had in acquiring more. They road at night, and road hard, resting all day. It was only in the morning sun, when it was too hot to work and too bright to sleep that the party got any planning done.
Over the past few days, each of the party had kept themselves busy in various ways.
Noticing Ian’s skill and interest in healing, Pious began to instruct the young man in the divine arts. Being a disciple of the God of Conflict, Pious was careful to explain pain’s role in the process of healing. Xavier helped demonstrate this point when he punched Ian after cauterizing one of his many wounds.
Karsh was busy with his own experiments. A master alchemist, the dwarf was delving into potions and poisons that rivaled those found in nature. Eventually, Karsh devised a potent drug, which he gave to the all too willing gnoll guides. The drug kept them happy and filled with energy and fire, which they expended through maddening dances into the night. The dwarf himself was a frequent sampler of his own wares, and it was this wicked craft that allowed the journey to pass for him.
Tasha was keeping an ear, eye, and snout open for changes in the hierarchy of the gnoll band they were running with. Having become very interested in the dwarf’s potions, Tasha began to devise a plan on how to use the sweet nectar to ingratiate herself into this powerful pack.
Xavier had finally found another sane human to relate to in Ichi, having spent so much of his life in the company of humanoids and goblinoids of varying degrees of sanity. The two men were agreed that the others were too distracted by their own inanity to truly understand the situation they were in. Xavier had great plans for the fame and fortune he’d receive after solving this mystery. Ichi also seemed to be a dreamer. He believed that men were in many ways better off then the other races, because they were not born special in any way, but rather had to make something special out of themselves. Ichi wanted to make something out of himself; something big.
Xavier would have been satisfied for a party that didn’t have some many damn little folk in it.
Silton and Puck, being very small, were listing the various places they thought they could hide on a bet. Both agreed that the bugbear’s mouth would be an interesting choice.
***
This whole time, the party pondered the question of the “blue blossoms”. Johansson had given them an approximate location to travel to, but without a definite point they were doomed to travel the dessert for years. The clue, “blue blossoms” was no help… until the day their gnoll guides happened to overhear.
When trying to navigate, the party showed the gnolls their map, complete with the hastily drawn flower over the region where they wanted to travel. The gnolls began to grumble in their own savage tongue, and quickly turned away going back to their duties on the open sands. Tasha said that one of the gnolls said something about “evil flowers” when the Chieftain dismissed him and they all turned away. Thinking it better not to push their violent hosts, the party let it be for now.
Over the course of the journey, Karsh had regularly administered “libations” to the gnolls, and Tasha had become increasing interested in their joy for the substance. Ian too, had gotten curious to the strange dwarf’s gifts, much to the chagrin of Pious. Pious had found that Ian was very adept at the gifts of healing and anatomy, and understood well the duality of injury and health, but had an utter failing at the divine. Still, if Ian would ever become a cleric, it would have to be under the tutelage of the God of Discord, for the young man had none of the false sentimentality that comes with the other more palpable gods.
Ian’s interest in Karsh was proving to be a major kink in Pious’ instructions.
Karsh preached about the role of death in life, and how undeath was simply a tool to be manipulated. It was these same beliefs that caused him to become a pariah amongst his own people, who barely condone the use of undead as a weapon against other undead, let alone as a common tool of labor. The necromancer held great power in his hands, and it was clear that he was all too familiar with it to take it as seriously as it deserved.
Ian didn’t necessarily see the conflict. As far as he was concerned, dealing with certain aspects of death was just as valid as healing back grievous injuries. Pious explained that healing was a part of nature, but nothing that dies should ever naturally return. Since the young man didn’t have much of a gut for the putrescence of death, he allowed his holy tutor to make his point.
It seemed as if that argument would have kept bouncing back and forth until the day an accident out in the sands shook things up at camp.
One morning, while waiting for the hottest part of the day to pass, Tasha, Pious, Silton, and Puck went out to scout ahead. Ichi was deep in meditation out in the scorching sun, as was his habit, when each morning he woke to read from his devotional text. Xavier had expressed an interest, especially when he discovered that the book described, among other things, the way of war. Ichi tore Xavier half of this books to read himself when he got the chance.
Ian had again taken up pestering Karsh about the way his craft worked, being careful to wait until Pious was gone before asking questions. Pious would be pleased at least to find that the young man seemed totally disinterested in the manipulation of the undead, but merely had the intense desire to learn.
While out on point, Tasha uncovered some strange bruise-black tubers in the sand, with fine cactus pricks on the outside rind. Thinking they were cactus fruit, she picked at one only to have it ensnare her muzzle. The creature grew long thin vines from the ground, and it was only the combined strength of the gnoll, bugbear, and halfling (ahem) that managed to pull Tasha free.
In the struggle, they happened to unearth an enormous writhing beast, whose roots and many spore vines that once lay hidden under the sands now massed up on the surface exposed to the sun. The monster plant was more then 30 cubic yards around, and was of the type the halflings of the badlands feared, calling it Pithannie. They were lucky it was just a young one, and that they were not all eaten alive.
When the exhausted scouts returned to the camp, the others decided that enough was enough. They needed to know where exactly they were headed for in this cursed dessert, and the only way they could do that was to confront the gnolls about the blue blossoms.
Tasha challenged the leader of the gnoll band about what he knew about the blue blossoms, but the Chieftain remained evasive. Tasha pushed back, and with a healthy dose of feminine wile demanded more answers from the gnoll. The Chieftain came through; apparently, certain human nomads were known to use a potion derived from these strange plants in a ritual that allowed them to “see things that should be left unseen,” and that the gnolls kept their distances from these fools. Offering a dose of Karsh’s brew as encouragement, Tasha asked for her group to be led to these nomads… but it wasn’t drugs that the Chieftain had his eye on.
And that was how the clever Tasha found herself as the alpha female in the band.
The party had come to realize that to locate the Jewel of the Wastes they would have to find these mysterious nomads and discover their secret method of using the blue blossoms to “see the unseen”, but to do that they would have to cultivate some strange fruit indeed.