It has been over a month since Father Wronski last saw Malachi. He was the closest person to family he had since… well… since Hans. Wronski says a silent prayer to Kormath that Hans could be ransomed from his infernal prison. His mind tells him it is not possible but his heart still hopes.
Wronski hears Krimp walking up behind him. He is amazed how quietly a nine foot tall, five hundred pound wolfen can be. “Wronski, it’s your turn at watch,” Krimp nudges the kobold priest. Wronski nods as he rises and gathers his claw bracers. “Several hours ago, I saw a large group of close to thirty or more heading north on foot. They were too far away to tell who they were, perhaps humans but more likely orcs. These plains are so flat that they could have been miles away at the edge of the horizon. I wouldn’t even have seen them if the moon hadn’t been rising at that very moment. They didn’t alter their course, so I didn’t wake anyone, but I wanted to tell you to stay low and keep an eye out. Any signs of trouble, just wake me.” Again Wronski nods and takes up his watch position.
Krimp curls up on his batch of grass where he has walked in circles until it is matted down just so. Nibell is quietly snoring in her grey pup-tent. Krimp laughs remembering the argument between the two of them. Krimp had told her that her tent would give away their position to every roaming nomad on the Old Kingdom plains, and she had bitten back with “I’m not sleeping on the ground like some animal!”. Krimp had stormed off shaking his head with his hands thrown in the air.
Wronski considers the newest member of their party, Roxana Diamondshard, the dwarven bounty hunter they met in Acoroc. She sleeps silently on her bedroll. His eyes are drawn to the scroll she has clutched in her fist. She must have read that scroll ten times a day for the past month. She said it is Brother Nuvalye’s “profile”; his history, his public appearances, his mannerisms, his family and acquaintances, even a detailed record of his most prized possessions. Wronski recalls a couple of weeks ago when Krimp jokingly asked her, “Haven’t you memorized that by now?” At first she didn’t respond, instead just finished reading the part of the scroll she was on. Then without looking-up she coldly said, “I’m trying to get into the mind of a gnome wizard that has specialized his magical discipline to become a Master Illusionist. He then poses as a holy man and becomes the most popular evangelist the Church of Light has ever had by using magical illusions to mimic miracles. He fools thousands of people into giving him riches and fame including the King. When he gets caught and his charlatan act is going to be revealed, he does the unspeakable.” She looks up into the wolfen paladin’s eyes, “What kind of sick madman do you have to be? A town full of people threatens to reveal your con to the nation, so you use your illusionist abilities to trick the people into thinking they are being attack by goblin raiders. But when the town’s people finish slaying the goblins that are in their houses and on their streets, only then do they realize that the goblins were just an illusion and every child less than twelve turns of the seasons is dead by the hands of the people that loved them.” She stands up not taking her gaze off Krimp’s eyes, “I hunt criminals, all kinds of criminals. And to catch a criminal, I have to think like that criminal thinks. But how can I think like someone that would murder children because the inevitable end of his game has finally arrived?” there was a breathless silence among all of them, and then she rolls up the scroll, and goes to bed. Krimp looked over at Wronski with a “right, don’t ask her any questions” expression on his face and walked off.
It is next morning and they are traveling through a lightly forested area near a creek. Roxana hears a person running towards them out on the plains. She dismounts from her pony, crouches, starts swinging her bolas over her head, and tells everyone “Someone is coming!”. Wronski and Nibell also dismount and draw their weapons.
Krimp lifts up his glaive and prowls toward the tree line for a closer look. He sees an elf charging through the tall grass straight towards him, an elf who seems to be running for his life. Behind the elf, Krimp sees three large creatures almost the size of rhinos. They have the appearance of great hairless boars, with sharp fangs and large straight tusks. Krimp vaguely remembers seeing one of these creatures stuffed in Credia. A Tusker he thinks it is called. Realizing the true danger of the situation, Krimp reaches to his belt and grabs the Mummy Baron’s scepter which he had brought out of the catacombs under Gate Manor. He holds up the scepter and reads it’s inscription. Instantly Krimp and his equipment grow to an enormous twenty foot tall giant. He readies his now giant size glaive to strike the first Tusker that gets too close. Krimp looks closer at the elf and says, “I think that is Soveliss!”
Captain Soveliss tries to keep his mind focused on the tree line, “Got to get to a tree! If I can get to a tree maybe they will stop chasing me”, he thinks to himself. He can hear the pounding of the Tuskers hooves and their rhythmic panting as his legs burn with pain trying to out run the large omnivores. He has done it! He made it to the tree line! Soveliss scrambles up a tree as he sees a flurry of crossbow bolts fly past him and hears the roar of one of the Tuskers! He looks back and they are still thirty feet from the trees when a giant size glaive splashes through the bushes and splits one of the three Tusker’s skull in twain. He turns to see “giant” Krimp, Father Wronski, and Nibell poised for battle!
Father Wronski kneels and cries out to the heavens, “KORMATH! BRING DOWN YOUR FROSTY BREATH!”. The translucent image of a great wyrm springs forth from the kneeling kobold, towering over the trees extending it’s neck over the charging Tuskers. The spirit-like dragon roars as its breath blasts the Tuskers in a blizzard of liquid ice before fading back into Father Wronski. The creatures cry out in pain and are severely frostbitten, but there is little that can stop a charging Tusker.
The Tuskers charge Krimp with their deadly tusks lightly cutting both of his legs. Nibell unloads her crossbows on the closest Tusker, but they are barely penetrating the thick armor-like hide. Father Wronski scorches the beasts with the light of Kormath while Captain Soveliss releases his arrows from above. Roxana bursts from her hiding place stabbing one of the creatures with her sword.
Then it happens! Over the pounding of hooves and panting of the Tuskers, they hear a scream. They look to Krimp as one of the Tuskers impales his thigh with its tusk. It takes all of his strength to not pass out from the injury! The giant-sized wolfen lets out a battle howl as the Tusker frees itself from his bleeding wound. Krimp falls victim to his primal rage! His blind fury erupts and the Tusker is pinned to the ground by the giant glaive. Roxana moves quickly to finish the immobilized beast.
The last Tusker swings its razor sharp tusks at Father Wronski! Roxana rushes to his aid, but in her haste crashes into the hind leg and dislocates her shoulder. The Tusker turns on Roxana and slashes her with its tusk, bites at her, and attempts to slash her it with its claws. Captain Soveliss’ arrows seem to have little effect on the beast. Finally, Nibell stands empting her bolt clips into the creature’s face and the mighty Tusker falls. Krimp is still out of his skull with rage and pain; he takes a wild swing at Wronski before he collapses in exhaustion.
Father Wronski prays for Kormath’s healing mercy over Krimp’s unconscious body. His leg closes up and a layer of soothing ice rests on his thigh where the gashing wound was. Soveliss and Nibell retrieve their bolts and arrows. Roxana pops her shoulder back into the socket with a slight flinch.
When Krimp awakens, Captain Soveliss informs them of Nestor’s disappearance and the kidnapping of the Emperor. Wronski and Krimp begin to plan a rescue mission when Soveliss tells them of his oath to Devin. There is a long silence, then Nibell says, “He knew the risks. We have to respect his final request.” Wronski begins to whisper prayers for Devin’s safety. Krimp stands and strides toward the bodies of the Tuskers, preparing them for food and leather armor. Roxana pulls out her scroll and starts reading.
It is been weeks since they found Captain Soveliss and the Tusker jerky is starting to run low. The late morning sun is becoming unbearable. Across the plains they see a small prairie town. The road into town has cornfields on either side. As they get closer, Roxana pulls her sword, “Something’s wrong.”
“What is it?” Krimp asks.
“Look at this place.” They look closely and notice the town is overgrown. It seems to have fallen into disrepair. There is no motion in town, as if abandoned. As they approach the outskirts of town they come upon a barn. Roxana motions to Krimp, “I’m going to head around back. You check the front.” Krimp nods. Nibell follows Roxana around the back of the barn. Soveliss follows Krimp at a distance with his bow ready.
Krimp enters the barn. The barn is overgrown inside, tools are rusting on there racks, and holes in the roof illuminate the barn. Krimp is about to turn around and leave when something out of place catches his eye. He slowly creeps to the far back corner of the barn, glaive at the ready. It’s a skeleton of a human, he thinks. The skeleton is slumped over the gate of a cow pen. The skeleton has a rusted pitch fork stuck through its back and into the wooden gate. He can see by the stage of decay this murder happened years ago. As Krimp exits the barn Roxana and Nibell come around the corner. Krimp tells them of the skeleton.
Suddenly, they hear the cawing of a crow. They watch as it glides down into the cornfield. They see the bird land on an ear of corn and begin to peck. Then there is a fast rustle through the corn, like someone running. In a flash, the crow is snatched down into the stocks as it attempts to fly away. They hear the panicked squawks of the crow before it is silenced with a loud snap!
There is silence as the heroes look at one another nervously. About thirty yards up the road a human figure saunters out of the corn rows. The figure has a field-hand’s hat, pants, gloves, boots, and he is wearing some kind of mask or sack over his head. As the farmer lifts his head the sun reveals his “mask”. Krimp looks closely and realizes there are no eye holes in the sack, only buttons where the eyes should be and the mouth is threaded shut! Krimp gasps as he realizes it is not a man dressed as a scarecrow but it is an animated scarecrow! The creature strains its mouth against the stitches and whispers “Protect the corn!” It starts running at the heroes. As it builds speed and gets closer, it gets louder and angrier repeating over and over, “Protect the corn! Protect the corn! Protect the corn!”. Krimp lifts his glaive. Nibell pulls her crossbows. Soveliss readies his arrow. Father Wronski raises his symbol of Kormath. Roxana looks towards the corn field as she hears someone coming up behind them.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Prologue: Old Kingdom Prairie
It is the final days of summer in Timiro. The valley known as the Northern Gate is suffocatingly humid. Lord Devanaht Lithandor sits at his desk writing his parting orders to his town council. He reads the scroll again, “The Rune Gauntlet of Glorfidel is the only remaining piece of the full plate rune armor worn by Emperor Glorfidel XVII who perished in the seven-hundredth year of the Elf/Dwarf War over fifteen thousand years ago. The Gauntlet symbolizes elven unity and its wearer is destined to reunite the elven peoples.” He slowly rolls up the scroll and contemplates the final message, “its wearer is destined to reunite the elven peoples.”
Devin meets with his fellow Lords of the Northern Gate. First is Krimp a wolfen of the Eastern Arm tribe who has been chosen to be a righteous champion by Kym-nark-mar, the ancient Dragon-god long believed to be dead. Nibell is a dark and mysterious human woman of Timiro that seems to be running from her past but her pair of handheld repeating crossbows makes her a formidable opponent for anyone that asks too many questions. Father Wronski is a kobold from the Algor mountain range who is a High Priest of Kormath, the Dragon-god of peace and law. Nestor is a wolfen of the January Magic tribe who revels in combat and dedicates his extraordinary intellect to the art of war. Also, at the meeting is Captain Soveliss, the elven ranger that is deeply devoted to Emperor Devin and his cause, Malachi the kobold mercenary that has become more of a friend to the Lords then their hired-hand, and Nib-nib, Lord Nestor’s psychopathic goblin that poses as a sophisticated assassin.
Devin tells them of his visit from three elven knights from Elohorn, a predominately elven city-state in the Eastern Territory. These knights told Devin if he can find and claim the Rune Gauntlet of Glorfidel that Elohorn would officially recognize his sovereignty as the emperor of the new elven empire and support him politically and militarily. He implores his fellow Lords of the Northern Gate to aid him in this quest.
After some deliberation it is agreed that Krimp, Nibell, Wronski and Malachi will travel to the dwarven city of Acoroc and obtain much needed equipment and arms. Devin, Soveliss, Nestor, and Nib-nib will travel to the port town, Providence, on the Inland sea where they will await the others on a ship named Calligraphy. The party leaves Gate Manor within days of one another.
It has been seven weeks since Devin, Soveliss, Nestor, and Nib-nib set out from Gate Manor. It is early Autumn and they have reached the Old Kingdom Prairie. Devin and Soveliss ride hearty horses of Timiro while Nib-nib, the three foot tall goblin, rides upon the back of his master Lord Nestor, the over eight foot tall wolfen. They are now in the midst of what was once the breadbasket of the Elven Empire thousands of years ago. Now the Old Kingdom Prairie is a lonesome place that gives way to a plethora of nomadic tribes of human barbarians, orcs, and ogres. Every now and again, they see the ruins of an elven castle or pyramid on the southern horizon. Despite the temptation of exploration, they continue their trek west towards Providence.
One evening, the two elves are on watch, Devin turns to Soveliss and tells him, “The Gauntlet of Glorfidel is the last hope of the elven people. If something happens to me on this quest you must continue. Retrieve the gauntlet and return it to the Northern Gate. Swear this to me.” Soveliss silently nods. Devin raises his troubled brow to stare at the stars alleviated.
Weeks pass since that night under the stars. Unbeknownst to Devin, Soveliss, Nestor, and Nib-nib they are skirting the boarder between the Old Kingdom and the Eastern Territory. In a lightly forested hallow, a company of thirty elven warriors on horse back approach from the northeast. These elves carry the banner of Elohorn and hail the group with warm salutations. Once the elves have closed in on the party they inform Devin he is under arrest and is to come with them to Elohorn. Devin does not understand why he is being arrested. He fears attacking these elves will destroy any chance he has of uniting the elven people. He makes a diplomatic decision to go peacefully and hopes that he can negotiate his release with the king of Elohorn.
He is fitted with anti-magic shackles, preventing him from calling on the elements for aid. Soveliss, Nestor, and Nib-nib stand almost paralyzed with indecision. When Devin is secured on a horse, the elven lieutenant addresses his sergeant nonchalantly and loud enough for all to hear, “Our Lord is only interested in the imposture emperor, slay the others.” At this Nestor relinquishes his self-control and gives into his primal fight or flight instincts. Three elven warriors fall as Nestor wades into their ranks with his massive axes. Nib-nib rains his arsenal of small but deadly shards of sharpened metal down on the elven warriors atop Nestor’s broad shoulders. Soveliss fires three arrows into the elves as they charge Nestor.
Devin cries out over the chaos “Remember your oath! Complete your mission! Remember your oath! Complete your mission!” the elven lieutenant renders Devin unconscious with a powerful blow from the pommel of his sword to the back of Devin’s head. As Soveliss sees this he remembers what has been asked of him and he fades back into the foliage to evade capture.
Nestor begins to fall back as the elves threaten to overwhelm him. He spits elven blood from he’s crimson soaked mussel as he roars, “I will come for you, Devin! They will pay for this transgression! The elves of Elohorn will learn to fear my wrath before I rip the throat out of their traitorous king! I swear! They will all pay!” He turns and bounds away on all fours, as Nib-nib showers their would-be pursuers with his shuriken.
Nestor’s dramatic retreat is enough of a distraction for Soveliss to properly hide himself and watch the Elohorn elves depart with his beloved emperor. Soveliss waits two days before moving from his hiding spot incase any of the elven soldiers were left behind to find him. Soveliss begins tracking Nestor in hopes of joining up with him again, advising him of Devin’s order, and continuing to Providence. After four days of tracking, Nestor’s trail turns cold and Soveliss knows that he is alone.
Soveliss is unsure if he can make it to Providence alone and if he could what if the Elohorn elves ambush Krimp, Nibell, Wronski and Malachi too. He decides his best course of action is to turn back down the same route they came; the others should only be a month behind him. He can meet with them and steer them clear of the Elohorn elves.
Devin meets with his fellow Lords of the Northern Gate. First is Krimp a wolfen of the Eastern Arm tribe who has been chosen to be a righteous champion by Kym-nark-mar, the ancient Dragon-god long believed to be dead. Nibell is a dark and mysterious human woman of Timiro that seems to be running from her past but her pair of handheld repeating crossbows makes her a formidable opponent for anyone that asks too many questions. Father Wronski is a kobold from the Algor mountain range who is a High Priest of Kormath, the Dragon-god of peace and law. Nestor is a wolfen of the January Magic tribe who revels in combat and dedicates his extraordinary intellect to the art of war. Also, at the meeting is Captain Soveliss, the elven ranger that is deeply devoted to Emperor Devin and his cause, Malachi the kobold mercenary that has become more of a friend to the Lords then their hired-hand, and Nib-nib, Lord Nestor’s psychopathic goblin that poses as a sophisticated assassin.
Devin tells them of his visit from three elven knights from Elohorn, a predominately elven city-state in the Eastern Territory. These knights told Devin if he can find and claim the Rune Gauntlet of Glorfidel that Elohorn would officially recognize his sovereignty as the emperor of the new elven empire and support him politically and militarily. He implores his fellow Lords of the Northern Gate to aid him in this quest.
After some deliberation it is agreed that Krimp, Nibell, Wronski and Malachi will travel to the dwarven city of Acoroc and obtain much needed equipment and arms. Devin, Soveliss, Nestor, and Nib-nib will travel to the port town, Providence, on the Inland sea where they will await the others on a ship named Calligraphy. The party leaves Gate Manor within days of one another.
It has been seven weeks since Devin, Soveliss, Nestor, and Nib-nib set out from Gate Manor. It is early Autumn and they have reached the Old Kingdom Prairie. Devin and Soveliss ride hearty horses of Timiro while Nib-nib, the three foot tall goblin, rides upon the back of his master Lord Nestor, the over eight foot tall wolfen. They are now in the midst of what was once the breadbasket of the Elven Empire thousands of years ago. Now the Old Kingdom Prairie is a lonesome place that gives way to a plethora of nomadic tribes of human barbarians, orcs, and ogres. Every now and again, they see the ruins of an elven castle or pyramid on the southern horizon. Despite the temptation of exploration, they continue their trek west towards Providence.
One evening, the two elves are on watch, Devin turns to Soveliss and tells him, “The Gauntlet of Glorfidel is the last hope of the elven people. If something happens to me on this quest you must continue. Retrieve the gauntlet and return it to the Northern Gate. Swear this to me.” Soveliss silently nods. Devin raises his troubled brow to stare at the stars alleviated.
Weeks pass since that night under the stars. Unbeknownst to Devin, Soveliss, Nestor, and Nib-nib they are skirting the boarder between the Old Kingdom and the Eastern Territory. In a lightly forested hallow, a company of thirty elven warriors on horse back approach from the northeast. These elves carry the banner of Elohorn and hail the group with warm salutations. Once the elves have closed in on the party they inform Devin he is under arrest and is to come with them to Elohorn. Devin does not understand why he is being arrested. He fears attacking these elves will destroy any chance he has of uniting the elven people. He makes a diplomatic decision to go peacefully and hopes that he can negotiate his release with the king of Elohorn.
He is fitted with anti-magic shackles, preventing him from calling on the elements for aid. Soveliss, Nestor, and Nib-nib stand almost paralyzed with indecision. When Devin is secured on a horse, the elven lieutenant addresses his sergeant nonchalantly and loud enough for all to hear, “Our Lord is only interested in the imposture emperor, slay the others.” At this Nestor relinquishes his self-control and gives into his primal fight or flight instincts. Three elven warriors fall as Nestor wades into their ranks with his massive axes. Nib-nib rains his arsenal of small but deadly shards of sharpened metal down on the elven warriors atop Nestor’s broad shoulders. Soveliss fires three arrows into the elves as they charge Nestor.
Devin cries out over the chaos “Remember your oath! Complete your mission! Remember your oath! Complete your mission!” the elven lieutenant renders Devin unconscious with a powerful blow from the pommel of his sword to the back of Devin’s head. As Soveliss sees this he remembers what has been asked of him and he fades back into the foliage to evade capture.
Nestor begins to fall back as the elves threaten to overwhelm him. He spits elven blood from he’s crimson soaked mussel as he roars, “I will come for you, Devin! They will pay for this transgression! The elves of Elohorn will learn to fear my wrath before I rip the throat out of their traitorous king! I swear! They will all pay!” He turns and bounds away on all fours, as Nib-nib showers their would-be pursuers with his shuriken.
Nestor’s dramatic retreat is enough of a distraction for Soveliss to properly hide himself and watch the Elohorn elves depart with his beloved emperor. Soveliss waits two days before moving from his hiding spot incase any of the elven soldiers were left behind to find him. Soveliss begins tracking Nestor in hopes of joining up with him again, advising him of Devin’s order, and continuing to Providence. After four days of tracking, Nestor’s trail turns cold and Soveliss knows that he is alone.
Soveliss is unsure if he can make it to Providence alone and if he could what if the Elohorn elves ambush Krimp, Nibell, Wronski and Malachi too. He decides his best course of action is to turn back down the same route they came; the others should only be a month behind him. He can meet with them and steer them clear of the Elohorn elves.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
XIV: Acoroc, The City of Iron
Nibell the human rogue with the double handheld crossbows, Krimp the wolfen Champion of Kym-nark-mar, Father Wronski the kobold High Priest of Kormath, and Malachi the kobold mercenary, travel out of the valley of the Northern Gate east through the forest to the mountain city Acoroc. After Nibell’s last run-in with bounty hunters, they decide to shun the roads and trade routes. Krimp takes point, even though he is now a paladin, he was first a Wolfen hunter of the Eastern Arm Tribe.
After a little over a week of travel, Iron Mountain can be seen just above the tree line. A few days later the forest begins to spread apart and farmland can be seen in the hill country ahead. These are the human run farms at the base of the great mountain. Stone fences dot the country side; barley, grain, and hops can be seen growing in the fields; and herds of cattle and sheep are tended among the rolling hills.
Iron Mountain is 14,409 feet from base to summit. Like a Juggernaut it rises from Timiro’s hilly forest country in the northeast of the kingdom. The mountain and it’s surrounding foot hills are home to several small human villages but upon it’s summit, like the mountain’s crown, rests the City of Iron, Acoroc.
As the heroes begin to exit the woods a patrol of Timiro soldiers, lead by a mounted knight, approaches them. At first the knight is harsh to the heroes. However, upon learning they are The Lords of the Northern Gate, his demeanor changes to a sarcastic courtesy. He introduces himself as Sir Bartholomew Lington, Commander of Fort Seb. Sir Lington escorts the Heroes to the base of Iron Mountain. On the way, Sir Lington’s bitter sarcasm and disdain for his position at Fort Seb becomes abundantly clear. They are glad to reach the main trade road leading up the mountain and to be rid of Sir Lington’s company.
As the heroes ascend Iron Mountain, they notice the incredible amount of wagon traffic both going up and down. The heroes recall that on a busy trade road anywhere else in the kingdom a wagon or traveler would be seen every hour or two. But here on the road to Acoroc, it seems every 20 minutes a human or a dwarf passes on horse, pony, or wagon. Along the road there are seven or eight small villages, each consisting of a few shops and an inn and each is spaced a few miles apart. Everyone on the mountain seems to be in a hurry. Both Human and Dwarf are set about their work with a fierce single-mindedness.
The heroes decide to stay the night at an inn over halfway up the mountain. To their surprise, they are warmly greeted by the locals that have set aside the days work to partake in a jovial celebration of ale and songs. The dwarves immediately assume Wronski and Malachi have come down the mountain out of Acoroc. Krimp is the only one among the party that doesn’t speak the dwarven language and finds the majority of the evening unintelligible. When Wronski inquires about a dwarven blacksmith, the dwarves inform Wronski that he is probably in the real city not the “storefront” on top. Wronski asks how deep the subterranean city delves. The dwarves perceive this as a joke and merrily laugh; Malachi kicks Wronski under the table and shoots him a look to keep quiet. Wronski takes the hint and laughs along with the dwarves.
Suddenly a human is flung through the door of the inn. He is wearing orange overalls and has is hands bound behind his back and his ankles shackled. Directly after he lands on the hard wood floor, in walks a dwarven woman with reddish brown hair in two braids, a traveling cloak and muddy boots. She surveys the inn for any signs of danger as she enters. The locals recognize her to be a bounty hunter and go back to their music and spirits.
She approaches the bar, “Stew for me and whatever gruel you have back there for him.”
“What did he do?” asks the human bartender.
“Plenty.” She flatly replies. It’s been over a week since she captured him trying to flee to the Eastern Territory. He could have made it too, start a new life, and put that senseless intoxicated night that ended in bloodshed behind him. But she took the job. Another bounty hunter could have been paid off or would have let their guard down after a week of travel, but not her. She has a methodic almost ritualistic way of maintaining control of his every action, almost as if she could read him and guess his most brilliant escape plan before he can even finish dreaming them up. Now they are already half way up Iron Mountain, and by noon he’ll be at the gallows.
In the still of the night, Krimp is restless in the cramped inn bed. Suddenly he hears dwarvish speaking outside his door. It sounds like arguing and one of the voices is distinctly Malachi’s. He hears a pouch of coins hit the hard wood floor. There is some cursing and the pouch is retrieved by the dwarf who turns and heads down the stairs to the lobby. Malachi skulks back to his room. Krimp waits till he hears Malachi’s door shut and begins to tiptoe into the hall to see who Malachi was arguing with. Except when you are nine feet tall tiptoeing is still pretty loud. Several of the inn’s patrons shout from within their rooms to quite down, Krimp quickly returns to his bed and decides to confront Malachi in the morning.
The next morning…
Malachi pops his head into inn room and shouts “Let’s move people!”
Father Wronski wipes the sleep from his eyes, “It’s still dark! What time is it?”
“Early but we can’t wait till the sun comes up, we are on the west side of the mountain. By the time the sun gets here it will be the middle of the afternoon.” Malachi slams the door and moves down the hall to Krimp’s room.
Malachi creeks open the door expecting to see a slumbering wolfen. He is surprised to see Krimp, dressed and geared up. Krimp is sitting on the side of his bed and looks very irritated. He points and motions for Malachi to enter, “You have some explaining to do.” The wolfen’s eyes narrow and his ears fold back. Malachi loudly gulps and enters, closing the door behind him.
The walls of Acoroc are like a crown at the top of the mountain. The walls are easily four stories in height and at least twenty feet thick. As the heroes approach they notice the walls are the finest masonry any of them have ever seen. Above the walls can be seen the cramped tall stone buildings of the dwarven city. They turn the final bend and see the great iron gates of Acoroc. These magnificent gates are spiked and depict the agreement between King Acoroc and the dwarves of Iron Mountain. Above the gate it reads in dwarven, “Acoroc the Last Citadel.”
As they enter the gates they see the towering buildings of Acoroc. Most buildings appear to be four to six stories in height. The architecture is a marvel! The buildings are rectangular in shape, made of stone, though they seem plain from a distance, an almost artistic flare is in the details of the buildings especially around archways, windows, and ledges. The majority of the buildings are shops or businesses. Each building on the city block has a main or front entrance and then once inside there are entrances to each of the adjacent businesses. One could wander through six or even seven shops before having to set outside.
The city is extremely packed. The noise of carts, arguing merchants, and singing clerics is almost deafening. The people of Acoroc almost seem not to notice the noise. The heroes see mostly humans, dwarves, and a surprising number of kobolds bustling about. Father Wronski notices an unusual number of clerics of varying races and pantheons hurrying about the city, he starts to wonder if there is an inter-pantheon convention he has not heard about. The lack of pollution, homelessness, and the diseased makes a striking contrast to the other cities of Timiro. The heroes are bewildered by the sights and sounds of the great city. The crowd seems to move them like a current towards the city square.
In the city square has been erected a temporary gallows for a public execution. On the gallows are three dwarves. Two of the dwarves are executioners without face coverings; the dwarves of Acoroc are not ashamed to administer justice. The third dwarf is a paladin in full plate armor without a helmet he has close to a dozen different religious symbols on separate gold chains around his neck. As the heroes approach they see the dwarven bounty hunter leading her prisoner up the wood steps to the noose.
The paladin pulls for sack of coins and says, “As always, Roxana of clan Diamondshard, you have the gratitude of the people of Acoroc and especially of the victims family.” He present the sack of coins to her, she nods, and takes her position at the bottom of the stairs to ensure nothing goes wrong at the very end. The paladin unrolls a scroll to read and looks up at the crowd and is startled by the grinning wolfen towering over the crowd. The paladin grins and motions to Krimp to meet him at the base of the platform when it is finished. He returns his focus to the scroll and bellows, “The people of Acoroc have found the accused, Vali Torati of the village Rolling Oak in the southeastern foothills of Iron Mountain, guilty of the murder of his fiancée, Malisa Gratovi. In accordance with Acoroc law, a human convicted of murdering another human is sentenced to hang by the neck until dead.” The paladin rolls up the scroll and descends the steps as the executioners position the prisoner.
After the hanging, the crowd thins out. The dwarven paladin shouts to Krimp as he wades through the crowd, “What are you doing here?! I heard you had some trouble with a haunting at Gate Manor!”
Krimp strides toward his old mentor, “Nothing we couldn’t handle.” Krimp turns to Wronski, “This is my mentor, Sir Serafim. He taught me what it meant to be a paladin.”
“Oh! I’m sorry! I want you to meet someone. Roxana this is my friend Sir Krimp, Champion of Kym-nark-mar, and the Lords of the Northern Gate. Krimp this is Roxana Diamondshard the greatest bounty hunter in all of Timiro.” The heroes nod and shake hands with the dwarven woman. “That reminds me. Roxana, the Duke wants you to stop by the castle he has a big job for you. All I know is that it is a magic-user.” At the word “magic-user” the heroes notice a serious contemplative look comes over the bounty hunter and a tension fills the air. The paladin adds, “The Duke said you might need a team for this one.” and looks toward the heroes.
“Oh we are just here to do some shopping.” Injects Father Wronski.
“Yes, we are here to look up your cousin that you told me about back in Credia, Serafim.” Krimp adds.
“Well, my cousin’s shop is in the “real” city. You’ll need permits from the Duke to go underground. You might as well travel together. Krimp, I have business at several of the temples today but I hope to see you again soon.” Krimp smiles and nods in respect to his mentor. The paladin turns and kisses Roxana once on each the cheek, “Roxana always good seeing you.” He turns before striding off, “May the gods of light be with you and evil feel the sting of your steel!”
Now Malachi, Wronski, and Roxana get more acquainted in dwarven. Krimp again is left out of the conversation and finds himself looking around the city square at the bustling people. He has noticed that the kobolds here have the same complexion as Malachi who is from the Old Kingdom Mountains, who is darker skinned then Wronski who is from Algor Mountain Range. Suddenly, he notices a kobold that looks a lot like Wronski so similar that not only could he be from the Algor Mountains but possible the same clan. Krimp abruptly interrupts the dwarven gibberish , “Wronski! Excuse me, but I think a kinsman of yours is visiting this city. I saw a kobold of your complexion that looks strikingly similar to you just enter that shop over there.”
“Really? My people seldom travel far from home, lets go say hello.” Father Wronski lets Krimp lead the way. Wronski explains to Roxana what is going on and ask if she would mind a slight detour on the way to seeing the Duke. She decides if it won’t take long she could spare a few moments. No one notices the tense look on Malachi’s face as they head towards the shop.
Everyone walks into the tea shop. There is a rotund dwarf behind the counter smoking a pipe with a scowl on his face. The room is filled with delicate ceramic tea pots, tea sets, and glass jars of dried tea leaves. As they enter they see the back of a muscular kobold wearing studded leather armor. Before a word can be uttered, Malachi suddenly pulls his sword!
Everyone’s attention is drawn towards Malachi! Wronski throws up his hands, “Malachi, what are you…”
“YOU!” comes from behind Wronski, he is almost petrified with bewilderment, Wronski looks at Malachi and realizes his angry eyes are not focus on him but on the kobold behind him. Wronski turns to face his identical twin brother, Kasimierz, that he had thought was dead. The kobolds, Malachi, Wronski, and Kasimierz erupt into shouting, pointing, and make threaten gestures towards each other.
Roxana understands some of the kobold language from her constant visits to Acoroc but they are shouting, using obsinities and talking way to fast for her to ketch everything but she listens intently to try and pull out the facts. Kasimierz is Wronski’s brother. She suspects they are identical twins but it is obvious from Kasimierz build that he was the more physical of the two. She also notices from his callus hands, bitter snarl, and weary eyes that his life has been hard and filled with bad choices. Kasimierz blames Wronski for some misfortune… prison… she thinks she hears. Something about a business deal that resulted in Wronski going into exile. Malachi is talking about a troll and a job that he and Kasimierz were on together… now they are back to swearing.
Krimp, who has not understood a word since this has begun, roars, “Will someone please tell me what is going on!”
The dwarven shopkeeper shouts, “OUT! All of you OUT!” He pulls two heavy crossbows out from underneath the counter. Nibell and Roxana exit immediately. Krimp lifts Wronski and Malachi by the back of their collars and walks out of the shop as they continue to yell at Kasimierz.
Wronski explains to the rest of the heroes that his brother blames him for being thrown in prison even though his brother did commit a crime. Kasimierz has sworn vengeance and Wronski advised them to be on their guard. Wronski hopes to leave Acoroc without a confrontation with his brother.
Roxana leads the group up the hill to Castle Acorok, home to Duke Fredric Acorok. The human personnel at Castle Acorok are very friendly and helpful. They are taken through the castle, past an empty throne room to a modest office filled with scrolls, papers, and a desk. A young human male sits behind the desk he seems intent on his work but has a calm, strength about him. He looks up at the heroes and smiles cheerfully, “How may I help?” he stands and extends his hand. The heroes are unsure and ask if they may speak with the Duke. The young man laughs. “I am the Duke! Please sit down.”
to be continued...
After a little over a week of travel, Iron Mountain can be seen just above the tree line. A few days later the forest begins to spread apart and farmland can be seen in the hill country ahead. These are the human run farms at the base of the great mountain. Stone fences dot the country side; barley, grain, and hops can be seen growing in the fields; and herds of cattle and sheep are tended among the rolling hills.
Iron Mountain is 14,409 feet from base to summit. Like a Juggernaut it rises from Timiro’s hilly forest country in the northeast of the kingdom. The mountain and it’s surrounding foot hills are home to several small human villages but upon it’s summit, like the mountain’s crown, rests the City of Iron, Acoroc.
As the heroes begin to exit the woods a patrol of Timiro soldiers, lead by a mounted knight, approaches them. At first the knight is harsh to the heroes. However, upon learning they are The Lords of the Northern Gate, his demeanor changes to a sarcastic courtesy. He introduces himself as Sir Bartholomew Lington, Commander of Fort Seb. Sir Lington escorts the Heroes to the base of Iron Mountain. On the way, Sir Lington’s bitter sarcasm and disdain for his position at Fort Seb becomes abundantly clear. They are glad to reach the main trade road leading up the mountain and to be rid of Sir Lington’s company.
As the heroes ascend Iron Mountain, they notice the incredible amount of wagon traffic both going up and down. The heroes recall that on a busy trade road anywhere else in the kingdom a wagon or traveler would be seen every hour or two. But here on the road to Acoroc, it seems every 20 minutes a human or a dwarf passes on horse, pony, or wagon. Along the road there are seven or eight small villages, each consisting of a few shops and an inn and each is spaced a few miles apart. Everyone on the mountain seems to be in a hurry. Both Human and Dwarf are set about their work with a fierce single-mindedness.
The heroes decide to stay the night at an inn over halfway up the mountain. To their surprise, they are warmly greeted by the locals that have set aside the days work to partake in a jovial celebration of ale and songs. The dwarves immediately assume Wronski and Malachi have come down the mountain out of Acoroc. Krimp is the only one among the party that doesn’t speak the dwarven language and finds the majority of the evening unintelligible. When Wronski inquires about a dwarven blacksmith, the dwarves inform Wronski that he is probably in the real city not the “storefront” on top. Wronski asks how deep the subterranean city delves. The dwarves perceive this as a joke and merrily laugh; Malachi kicks Wronski under the table and shoots him a look to keep quiet. Wronski takes the hint and laughs along with the dwarves.
Suddenly a human is flung through the door of the inn. He is wearing orange overalls and has is hands bound behind his back and his ankles shackled. Directly after he lands on the hard wood floor, in walks a dwarven woman with reddish brown hair in two braids, a traveling cloak and muddy boots. She surveys the inn for any signs of danger as she enters. The locals recognize her to be a bounty hunter and go back to their music and spirits.
She approaches the bar, “Stew for me and whatever gruel you have back there for him.”
“What did he do?” asks the human bartender.
“Plenty.” She flatly replies. It’s been over a week since she captured him trying to flee to the Eastern Territory. He could have made it too, start a new life, and put that senseless intoxicated night that ended in bloodshed behind him. But she took the job. Another bounty hunter could have been paid off or would have let their guard down after a week of travel, but not her. She has a methodic almost ritualistic way of maintaining control of his every action, almost as if she could read him and guess his most brilliant escape plan before he can even finish dreaming them up. Now they are already half way up Iron Mountain, and by noon he’ll be at the gallows.
In the still of the night, Krimp is restless in the cramped inn bed. Suddenly he hears dwarvish speaking outside his door. It sounds like arguing and one of the voices is distinctly Malachi’s. He hears a pouch of coins hit the hard wood floor. There is some cursing and the pouch is retrieved by the dwarf who turns and heads down the stairs to the lobby. Malachi skulks back to his room. Krimp waits till he hears Malachi’s door shut and begins to tiptoe into the hall to see who Malachi was arguing with. Except when you are nine feet tall tiptoeing is still pretty loud. Several of the inn’s patrons shout from within their rooms to quite down, Krimp quickly returns to his bed and decides to confront Malachi in the morning.
The next morning…
Malachi pops his head into inn room and shouts “Let’s move people!”
Father Wronski wipes the sleep from his eyes, “It’s still dark! What time is it?”
“Early but we can’t wait till the sun comes up, we are on the west side of the mountain. By the time the sun gets here it will be the middle of the afternoon.” Malachi slams the door and moves down the hall to Krimp’s room.
Malachi creeks open the door expecting to see a slumbering wolfen. He is surprised to see Krimp, dressed and geared up. Krimp is sitting on the side of his bed and looks very irritated. He points and motions for Malachi to enter, “You have some explaining to do.” The wolfen’s eyes narrow and his ears fold back. Malachi loudly gulps and enters, closing the door behind him.
The walls of Acoroc are like a crown at the top of the mountain. The walls are easily four stories in height and at least twenty feet thick. As the heroes approach they notice the walls are the finest masonry any of them have ever seen. Above the walls can be seen the cramped tall stone buildings of the dwarven city. They turn the final bend and see the great iron gates of Acoroc. These magnificent gates are spiked and depict the agreement between King Acoroc and the dwarves of Iron Mountain. Above the gate it reads in dwarven, “Acoroc the Last Citadel.”
As they enter the gates they see the towering buildings of Acoroc. Most buildings appear to be four to six stories in height. The architecture is a marvel! The buildings are rectangular in shape, made of stone, though they seem plain from a distance, an almost artistic flare is in the details of the buildings especially around archways, windows, and ledges. The majority of the buildings are shops or businesses. Each building on the city block has a main or front entrance and then once inside there are entrances to each of the adjacent businesses. One could wander through six or even seven shops before having to set outside.
The city is extremely packed. The noise of carts, arguing merchants, and singing clerics is almost deafening. The people of Acoroc almost seem not to notice the noise. The heroes see mostly humans, dwarves, and a surprising number of kobolds bustling about. Father Wronski notices an unusual number of clerics of varying races and pantheons hurrying about the city, he starts to wonder if there is an inter-pantheon convention he has not heard about. The lack of pollution, homelessness, and the diseased makes a striking contrast to the other cities of Timiro. The heroes are bewildered by the sights and sounds of the great city. The crowd seems to move them like a current towards the city square.
In the city square has been erected a temporary gallows for a public execution. On the gallows are three dwarves. Two of the dwarves are executioners without face coverings; the dwarves of Acoroc are not ashamed to administer justice. The third dwarf is a paladin in full plate armor without a helmet he has close to a dozen different religious symbols on separate gold chains around his neck. As the heroes approach they see the dwarven bounty hunter leading her prisoner up the wood steps to the noose.
The paladin pulls for sack of coins and says, “As always, Roxana of clan Diamondshard, you have the gratitude of the people of Acoroc and especially of the victims family.” He present the sack of coins to her, she nods, and takes her position at the bottom of the stairs to ensure nothing goes wrong at the very end. The paladin unrolls a scroll to read and looks up at the crowd and is startled by the grinning wolfen towering over the crowd. The paladin grins and motions to Krimp to meet him at the base of the platform when it is finished. He returns his focus to the scroll and bellows, “The people of Acoroc have found the accused, Vali Torati of the village Rolling Oak in the southeastern foothills of Iron Mountain, guilty of the murder of his fiancée, Malisa Gratovi. In accordance with Acoroc law, a human convicted of murdering another human is sentenced to hang by the neck until dead.” The paladin rolls up the scroll and descends the steps as the executioners position the prisoner.
After the hanging, the crowd thins out. The dwarven paladin shouts to Krimp as he wades through the crowd, “What are you doing here?! I heard you had some trouble with a haunting at Gate Manor!”
Krimp strides toward his old mentor, “Nothing we couldn’t handle.” Krimp turns to Wronski, “This is my mentor, Sir Serafim. He taught me what it meant to be a paladin.”
“Oh! I’m sorry! I want you to meet someone. Roxana this is my friend Sir Krimp, Champion of Kym-nark-mar, and the Lords of the Northern Gate. Krimp this is Roxana Diamondshard the greatest bounty hunter in all of Timiro.” The heroes nod and shake hands with the dwarven woman. “That reminds me. Roxana, the Duke wants you to stop by the castle he has a big job for you. All I know is that it is a magic-user.” At the word “magic-user” the heroes notice a serious contemplative look comes over the bounty hunter and a tension fills the air. The paladin adds, “The Duke said you might need a team for this one.” and looks toward the heroes.
“Oh we are just here to do some shopping.” Injects Father Wronski.
“Yes, we are here to look up your cousin that you told me about back in Credia, Serafim.” Krimp adds.
“Well, my cousin’s shop is in the “real” city. You’ll need permits from the Duke to go underground. You might as well travel together. Krimp, I have business at several of the temples today but I hope to see you again soon.” Krimp smiles and nods in respect to his mentor. The paladin turns and kisses Roxana once on each the cheek, “Roxana always good seeing you.” He turns before striding off, “May the gods of light be with you and evil feel the sting of your steel!”
Now Malachi, Wronski, and Roxana get more acquainted in dwarven. Krimp again is left out of the conversation and finds himself looking around the city square at the bustling people. He has noticed that the kobolds here have the same complexion as Malachi who is from the Old Kingdom Mountains, who is darker skinned then Wronski who is from Algor Mountain Range. Suddenly, he notices a kobold that looks a lot like Wronski so similar that not only could he be from the Algor Mountains but possible the same clan. Krimp abruptly interrupts the dwarven gibberish , “Wronski! Excuse me, but I think a kinsman of yours is visiting this city. I saw a kobold of your complexion that looks strikingly similar to you just enter that shop over there.”
“Really? My people seldom travel far from home, lets go say hello.” Father Wronski lets Krimp lead the way. Wronski explains to Roxana what is going on and ask if she would mind a slight detour on the way to seeing the Duke. She decides if it won’t take long she could spare a few moments. No one notices the tense look on Malachi’s face as they head towards the shop.
Everyone walks into the tea shop. There is a rotund dwarf behind the counter smoking a pipe with a scowl on his face. The room is filled with delicate ceramic tea pots, tea sets, and glass jars of dried tea leaves. As they enter they see the back of a muscular kobold wearing studded leather armor. Before a word can be uttered, Malachi suddenly pulls his sword!
Everyone’s attention is drawn towards Malachi! Wronski throws up his hands, “Malachi, what are you…”
“YOU!” comes from behind Wronski, he is almost petrified with bewilderment, Wronski looks at Malachi and realizes his angry eyes are not focus on him but on the kobold behind him. Wronski turns to face his identical twin brother, Kasimierz, that he had thought was dead. The kobolds, Malachi, Wronski, and Kasimierz erupt into shouting, pointing, and make threaten gestures towards each other.
Roxana understands some of the kobold language from her constant visits to Acoroc but they are shouting, using obsinities and talking way to fast for her to ketch everything but she listens intently to try and pull out the facts. Kasimierz is Wronski’s brother. She suspects they are identical twins but it is obvious from Kasimierz build that he was the more physical of the two. She also notices from his callus hands, bitter snarl, and weary eyes that his life has been hard and filled with bad choices. Kasimierz blames Wronski for some misfortune… prison… she thinks she hears. Something about a business deal that resulted in Wronski going into exile. Malachi is talking about a troll and a job that he and Kasimierz were on together… now they are back to swearing.
Krimp, who has not understood a word since this has begun, roars, “Will someone please tell me what is going on!”
The dwarven shopkeeper shouts, “OUT! All of you OUT!” He pulls two heavy crossbows out from underneath the counter. Nibell and Roxana exit immediately. Krimp lifts Wronski and Malachi by the back of their collars and walks out of the shop as they continue to yell at Kasimierz.
Wronski explains to the rest of the heroes that his brother blames him for being thrown in prison even though his brother did commit a crime. Kasimierz has sworn vengeance and Wronski advised them to be on their guard. Wronski hopes to leave Acoroc without a confrontation with his brother.
Roxana leads the group up the hill to Castle Acorok, home to Duke Fredric Acorok. The human personnel at Castle Acorok are very friendly and helpful. They are taken through the castle, past an empty throne room to a modest office filled with scrolls, papers, and a desk. A young human male sits behind the desk he seems intent on his work but has a calm, strength about him. He looks up at the heroes and smiles cheerfully, “How may I help?” he stands and extends his hand. The heroes are unsure and ask if they may speak with the Duke. The young man laughs. “I am the Duke! Please sit down.”
to be continued...
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