|
|
|
Those damned orcs have cleaned me out and razed my cottage. Living on the edge of the Bad Lands has its advantages of seclusion and the small orc bands normally avoid me. I only popped out for a walk and to experiment with my spells. I figure the fireball is still too powerful for me yet. It’s always a good idea to do this away from things you don’t want damaged. I wish I hadn’t bothered, there’s nothing left to damage now. A few feet away from the smoking embers was a black patch with a skull depicted on it, an evil looking thing with jagged crack on the right. I’ll need some help to deal with these orcs and get my things back. My father gave me that amulet!
The road to Galantry has the occasional caravan. I joined one of these and paid my way by cleaning and helping with the cooking. It’s amazing how impressed people are with the results of prestidigiation.
Galantry, what a place! I managed to sell my jewellery for a fair price. He seemed very interested in purchasing my crystal ball too but I’ll need that later. Sidney is getting skittish around all these people, I can’t really blame the snake, and I feel much the same way.
I’m told that there are lots of places to hire a band of adventurers. The safest place to start though is the coliseum.
The coliseum is a rough place; do people actually enjoy watching this sort of thing?
I can’t believe my luck! Amongst all the things hitting each other is a big ugly orc who sports the same patch that I found. I pushed my way through the crowd to talk to his keeper. We agreed to meet at his inn, the something duck? at 8 this evening.
Well I suppose it didn’t go too badly. Cronnen, for that is his name (and he’s quite handsome for a slaver) was very late so I had a chat with the orc, Gargouth. He’s even more stupid than most but I gathered from him and his party that his tribe has been wiped out and nothing remains. A sinister group called the Veiled Society is the likely culprits. I think Cronin and friends Bralec and Jutiapa are going to investigate this so call society so I offered to join their cause in the hope that I can regain what is mine.
If were going to be travelling I’ll need some supplies. While living on my own for so long I’d forgotten how much fun shopping could be.
Jutiapa and Bralec seem to be visiting Captain Black a lot. I think I may be in over my head here. A less infamous team might have been a better choice.
I followed my new friends around half the night. They are trying to track down some common thief. How this furthers us in finding the society I cannot say but the mage Jutiapa managed to turn herself to stone with sneaking in the back of someone’s house via the river.
I went house hunting with Cronnen but we were set upon by some thugs. He was very gallant and put himself in harms way to protect me but I wasn’t going to be dictated to by these ingrates and fried them where they stood with my electric breath. Cronnen was a little surprised I think.
Jutiapa is back with us. I didn’t know clerics were illegal here. After visiting Captain Black it seems I’m illegal too! He’s a nice man but his manners are rough. I now have a chit to allow me to go about without being arrested. I don’t know how he knew. I’m very careful to keep the visual clues covered up. He gave Jutiapa a spell licence; perhaps I should get one of those if I’m going to cast spells in town. Life here seems very complicated but I might not get exiled this time if I have licences.
The misfits as my group call themselves have managed to buy a house outside of the city. I’m in better company than I thought. A woman Shaela who seems to have lots of quiet doings with Bralec joins us. Cronnen has also added to our number by introducing us to huge cat. I’m a little uncomfortable about having this large predator about but perhaps it’s just my own instincts telling me he’s competition.
An old friend of the misfits has joined us for a while. Gondar, a charming gnome who I think may have upset Cronnen by abusing his cat. He showed me a few of his best tricks which were impressive in their way but I much prefer to use real force when diplomacy fails.
It is decided that we try and discover more about the slave trade taking place in the next few days. Cronin seems to have gained this information by dubious means. I’m not sure what we will gain from this course of action but as I’m new here I’ll see how it goes. We have been provided with a guide, a halfling called Rosco. He seems an able fellow and should prove lucrative I’m sure.
We got side tracked by a group of petty thieves. Cronnen charged in when he found that they had murdered simple folk. Jutiapa thinned their numbers with a sleep spell but the leader caught most of the misfits in a fireball before he was put down.
We forced the surviving lout to take us to a recent target of his crimes but it turned out to be a tavern where most of his family and friends get together. I dazed the fellow in front of me with a simple spell but a knee to the groin didn’t have the effect my friend Sue had promised. (She had told me that this was the way to deal with bad men back when I was still in my village.) The rest of the ruffians quickly realised that they were no match for my comrades and fled. So much for good intentions.
We’re at the meeting place but we have some time to wait for the slavers to arrive. Bralec and Shaela weren’t around when we left but we left a message for them so that they can join us when they can.
This is the first update I’ve managed in for a while. The slavers and their buyers arrived and we posed as slavers selling Rosco. As everyone parted with their ill gotten gains we followed a covered wagon that had elves on board. Rosco managed to sneak under the wheels and disable the cart. I surprised the guards with my dragon breath (I really should see an apothecary about that) and Cronnen finished them off with aid from Gargouth. Jutiapa had the mage in a choke spell the whole time so he didn’t pose much of a problem. We freed the two elves and took them with us.
Splitting up we went separate ways to foil the mages and their guards.
The elf that I was babysitting suggested that we hide ourselves away until things die down. I took his advice as these creatures know about such things I hear.
It wasn’t long before a couple of mages and a warrior had placed themselves around our hiding place. They shouted for us to come out but we were well camouflaged in the middle of the copse so they shouldn’t have known for sure that we were there. The mages cast fireball spells in to the copse burning great swathes to flush us out. I breathed electricity on the warrior (this is the only time I’ve managed it more that once a day) would have escaped on the warriors horse but for being caught by a web spell from once of the mages. Tied and gagged I would have been in a bad way if Bralec, Shaela and Jutiapa hadn’t arrived just then. Jutiapa used her spectral hand spell to chill touch the mages. Bralec charged in to disable the guard and mages. The guard who was week from being electrocuted quickly surrendered and one mage was despatched but the other cast fly on himself and picked up the bound elf on his was to escape. "Destroy the evidence" he shouted to the warrior who quickly set fire to the dead mages body. I cut my bonds on the warriors discarded sword but was too late to help. Jutiapa got the mage to drop the elf with a prod from spectral hand and cast an acid arrow to bring him to earth before he was out of range.
It turns out that Jutiapa was similarly captured earlier but Bralec saved the day there too.
I hope Cronnen fared better that us.
We met up with Cronnen in a town to the south as we had agreed before splitting up. He also me warriors and mages but between his cat and the orc there wasn’t much left.
When rested the elves should be able to give us much needed information.