1995-06-24
Recovered original text · preserved verbatim
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NEVERWINTER NEWS
Issue # 88
Week Ending 6-24-95
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FRONT PAGE
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEVERWINTER!!
Saturday the 24th was full of festivties celebrating the fourth birthday of
Neverwinter. The streets were alive with chatter and laughter as friend and
foe travelled from one booth to another.
Thank-you Neverwinter!;D
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Congratulations to Morngrym for winning last week's News of the Realm
contest.
Morngrym has earned choice of 4 Pearls or Access to the GOH (Guild of Heroes)
WTG!
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"Rumors of a fabulous General Store like no other were abound, and I wished
to confirm these rumors! However, I could not find my way to the popular
Groal's Emporium. Thus, I requested aid from some knowledgable adventurer for
its location, and Aurela came forth with information I needed!
Congratulations to Aurela who recieves 4 pearls and 1 free hour!
-NW Strahd"
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On this fine day of June 19th...I decided to test the casting ability of
Neverwinter's citizenship by hosting a Magic Missle Booth! The missles flew
fast and furious...and after the smoke was cleared it came down to a double
tie-breaker between Jedi N1te and ITB Scythe! Congrats to Jedi N1te whose
total damage of 70 points edged him to the number one spot and earning 4
pearls and 1 hour of free online time!! Congrats and thanks to ALL who
participated
NWA Kregar
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Congrats Shumard!
Won the location hunt Shumard won 4 pearls & 1 free hour.
NW Ulfius
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The first to esp me from the correct location was: SKARRAK
Congrats SKARRAK. You win 4 pearls and one hour free time.
NW Sparkle
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Rumors of trouble in Windycliffs bandied within the halls of Nasher's palace.
Taking me aside, the Mayor Neverwinter asked that I gather a group of
Adventurers together and head to Windycliffs to investigate.
Stepping forward to aid were Hunter253, JbJanlrj, Eleeo, Kradock, John Gf216,
Dead trip, and Sir Jax. We gathered together and moved out to Windycliffs.
The road to the city was long and hard, one in which the infamous punt
monster could not resist in taking advantage of: Sir Jax was suddenly taken
by the monster. We know of his safe return, but he was no longer available
for our journey.
Synstral would then join our band of adventurers as we finally made it to
Windycliffs Inn after several battles with Blazing Snakes and Lizard Men.
Exiting the Inn, we decided to see why the Center of Town had become so
quiet. Thieves, thieves, and more thieves had taken over the place, but our
group fought bravely on.
Kradock and Hunter253 then had missives that required urgent leaves to
elsewhere, thus reducing our party to Myself, JBJanlrj, Eleeo, John GF216,
Dead Trip, and Synstral. We moved on to explore the rest of town and managed
to slay Ogre kin who seemed to be the ones in charge of the takeover of the
Central parts of Windycliffs. After finishing our duties there, we rested at
the Inn once again and then went to our final destination: the Rumors of
Dracoliches.
The Rumors were true. John GF216 was hurt badly by a undead outside the
Dracoliches lair, and was not available for the final confrontation: Spells
exploded, arrows flew, and Swords crashed, but in the end the Dracoliches
fell to the hands of JBJanlrj, Eleeo, Dead Trip, and Synstral!
And they all came home a little bit richer, congratulations to all!
-NW Strahd
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NEVERWINTER CALENDAR
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Be on the look out for those Mini Booths that seem to pop up out of nowhere!
Can you be at the right place at the right time when the NW calls for a
location?
Keep your eyes and ears open for these events! Watch for the banners!
New Player Tour:
June 25th Tuesday 12:00PM (Noon)ET - Join NW Thornfor a tour of the Realm.
Those interested should keep an eye out for the banner telling where to
meet!;D
New Player Tour
June 27th Thursday 9:00 PM ET - Join NW Mystek for a tour of the Realm.
Those interested should keep an eye out for the banner telling where to
meet!;D
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CAR1SSA
(Submitted by CAR1SSA)
As the first shadows of twilight begin to embrace the city of Neverwinter,
Carissa opens the window of her garrett apartment above Mataga's Inn and
feels the warm salt breeze against her cheeks. The sun burns slowly into the
sea beyond Nasher's Palace bathing it in a blood-red glow which comforts her
strangely. A seagull's plaintive and forlorn cry echoes among the tall
spires of the castle as the breeze gains strength, blowing her tousled, black
hair back from her cheeks.
She turns to look upon herself in her dressing mirror and admires the way the
thin fabric of her nightshirt drapes loosely across her young lithe form.
She thinks to herself that youth is a beautiful curse. To possess a body so
alive, so desiring of the pleasures of power - and yet, so powerless. Her
eyes twinkle and a slight smile crosses her crimson lips as she thinks to the
future. "oh yes, but it will not be long before this rabble of slavenly
treasure-hunters sees what Carissa has become. Then they shall see..."
Knowing what she must do, she turns from the mirror and reaches for the heavy
plate mail which she so very much detests wearing. As she buckles it into
place and straps her weapon so her side she can think only of how cold the
metal feels against her tender flesh and how there will be marks upon her
body from the pinching of its hinges. "Oh for the day when I shall no longer
need to wear this abomination."
From his perch in the corner of the room her hawk, Diamonde, ruffles his
black and gray feathers and bobs his head in agreement. She raises her
leathered arm, prompting him to fly immediately to her and grip his talons
firmly into the studded black sleeve. He clucks the low dark tones which she
knows to speak his loyalty and devotion. "Yes my Diamonde, soon we shall be
submitting to no more of this condescending mass of knights and rangers. Soon
they shall be forced to answer for their self-righteous drivel."
She leaves the garrett, pulling the door shut and descending the stairs to
begin her trip north. The crowd in the dark tavern speaks in low tones as
they discuss among themselves the deeds they plan for this night. Among them
sits one whom she recognises. The knight known as Balin in his silver
glistening armor drinking his one ale of the evening which will surely lull
him to sleep. Carissa dons her brightest and most innocent smile and tosses
her black tresses back across her shoulders as she approaches him.
"Good evening brave knight. You wouldn't care to ready a young cleric for
battle with your powerful magic would you?" She smiles the sweet smile that
she knows no knight has the will to resist. "Oh lass, t'would be more than a
pleasure to assist one so lovely." Carissa resists the urge to cringe as he
passes his hands over her arms to cast his magic. In less than a moment, it
is over and she feels the effects of his touch. "Ah, now I am ready. My
thanks to you, handsome one." As she speaks these words, she can think only
on the day when she shall see his form lying crumpled against the black iron
gate of the sewers - and the first genuine smile of the conversation crosses
her face. "Take care" she says as she steps through the doorway.
<to be continued>
The Story of the Bracelet
Chapter 22: The Finding of an Friend
When the emerald-studded clockwork giant exploded under the twin
onslaught of red and blue energy beams from opposite directions, the beams
met for a moment and in a white flash they stopped. From the bridge of The
Phoenix, Leoster and Crystal saw the sapphire in the headband worn by
Princess Jasmine stop glowing as she fell to her knees. "That must be a
Supreme Sapphire," Leoster remarked "I've read about them in the Tome of
Knowledge. Several of them were created at the same time as these ruby
artifacts which we wear. She wears it but she can't control it. We've got to
get her up here so we can teach her how to use it."
"I've got an idea," began Crystal "I'll swing down on a rope from the
rear of the ship, grab her, and swing back up to land on the front of the
ship." "You've done this before?" questioned Leoster "Once, off a castle wall
to grab a messenger during a siege." came Crystal's reply. Soon, Crystal was
on deck with one end of a rope tied around her waist, and the other end
around the waist of a massive Giff marine.
As The Phoenix flew over the city wall of Agrabah, Crystal leaped and
swung straight towards the still kneeling form of Jasmine. She grabbed
Jasmine and began her upswing just as Aladdin, flying back on carpet, shouted
a warning. As Crystal reached the deck of The Phoenix, Aladdin was getting
close to the ship himself. The Giff marines leveled their smokepowder pistols
at the boy on the flying carpet. "Incoming!" came the alert from a marine
"Ready! Aim!" "NO!" came the cry from Jasmine and amazingly, the Giff stopped
short of giving the command to fire.
"Let him come aboard." said Crystal "He deserves to know what is to
occur." As Aladdin arrived on board, Genie also appeared, having recovered
from the effects of his own blast. "Whoa!" came the cry from the blue genie
"This must be some serious magic, never saw a ship that could fly AND shoot
magical beams of destruction." "It's magic all right," said Crystal "but it's
older than perhaps even you. Come Jasmine, we have much to teach you about
the power in that sapphire and now in you."
In the lab which had spent so much time in on the journey from Toril,
Leoster met Crystal, Jasmine, and Aladdin with the Tome of Knowledge in hand.
"Jasmine, when we passed above you earlier, that Supreme Sapphire which you
wear in your headband activated. But you did not know how to control it so it
controlled you. We will teach you how to control it so that we can help each
other. You see, that bejeweled behemoth was only the first to come in a wave
of destruction known as the Emerald Evil."
Leoster and Crystal gave Jasmine instructions and insights as to how to
control her sapphire. Before they were finished, The Phoenix had landed in
the garden in the rear of the palace. Jasmine went up on deck to dismiss the
guards who had gathered fearing trouble.
Meanwhile, in an emerald castle, the evil wizard Mozenrath gazed into a
massive emerald showing an image of Agrabah. "Mechanocles failed me, but I
have more powerful minions to conquer Agrabah for me." "Conquer! Conquer!"
came from a floating eel.
Beware!
(Submitted by Mikewar)
Attention all Denizens of the Realms,
Let me tell you a strange tale of events that recently took place here in
Neverwinter so that you may learn from my experiences.
One evening I was busy bartering for magic items at the Neverwinter vaults.
While I was ESPing a reply to a deal, I saw the bottom of my screen flash,
indicating that I had been given something, unfortunately I did not see who
gave me the item. As I examined my inventory I discovered that someone had
given me a CLOAK OF ELVEN KIND!!
For those of you who don't know, an Elven Cloak is a special Pearl Item and
costs about 5O pearls! As a special pearl item it must be registered to the
user.
I was surprised to say the least, and knew it had to be a mistake. I queried
those at the vaults asking who among them had given me a cloak, but no one
responded. Now I grew suspicious! I completed my trading and then left the
area, pondering my predicament.
If it is a hacked item and I get caught with it, then I get kicked out of
Neverwinter. If it is a hacked item and I try to register it...same
results..kicked out. If it is a real Cloak and I get caught with it and it
is not registered to me, then I lose it at the very least.
So I did the only thing I could do...no I didn't drop it, or trade it, or
sell it. I went up to NW Skye and explained what had happened and hoped I
wasn't going to get accused of hacking! Skye was very understanding and soon
an undercover NW came by (can't say who...) and took the cloak to have it
identified. They said if it was real that I could have it!!
After a few minutes I received an ESP...It was a Hacked item. Whew..glad I
didn't keep it, but too bad it wasn't real ;> The NW's were very
understanding and congratulated me for doing the right thing.
So the moral of the story is...Beware of free items, especially unusual or
rare ones. You may also want to keep item trading turned off while at the
vaults until you are ready to actually trade with someone. This will avoid
any unexpected items showing up in your inventory. But the bottom line is if
you suspect something is "hacked" then speak to the NW's, they really are
there to help you!
DIMGAR'S BEGINNERS GUIDE TO THE ART OF PvP (Player vs Player Combat)
This guide is dedicated to all Novice PvP'ers past, present, and future. It
contains information that may or may not be of benefit to you but will
hopefully serve as a basis for the development of your own unique approach to
PvP.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this guide is in no way to be considered as the
definitive dissertation on Player vs Player combat within the realms. I do
not consider myself to be an "Expert" in this field. I am simply compiling
information that has been given to me by other players, so the content is
based on theory, speculation and opinion. If the tactics and suggestions
contained herein do not work out exactly the way you had hoped, then you have
my sympathy.
I. General Information
As you have probably already discovered PvP is one of the more exciting and
addictive aspects of Neverwinter. If you plan on exploring the far reaches
of the Realms then you need to have some general knowledge about what to
expect when you find yourself involved in PvP either accidently or
intentionally.
Depending on your class and level you may or may not be adequately prepared
for this sort of personal combat. The premier choice for PvP is a maxxed
Cleric/Magic User. This character possesses an extensive array of spells
which is unequaled by any other character class currently within the Realms.
Below is a brief list of the strengths and weaknesses of some of the more
common class combinations that engage in PvP:
Cleric/Magic User (Human, Dual class, 10/11)
PRO'S--Can cast an awesome array of offensive, defensive and supportive
spells.
CON'S--Average fighting ability. Average hit points. Cannot cast MU spells
while wearing armor.
Ranger/Magic User (Human, Dual class, 10/11)
PRO'S--Excellent fighting ability, Excellent hit points, good selection of
offensive spells, can cast spells while wearing armor.
CON'S--Limited selection of defensive and supportive spells.
Fighter/Magic User (Human, Dual class, 10/11)
PRO'S--Excellent fighting ability, Excellent hit points, good selection of
offensive spells.
CON"S--Limited selection of defensive and supportive spells. Cannot cast
spells while wearing armor.
Paladin/Magic User (Human, Dual class, 10/11)
PRO"S--Excellent fighting ability, Excellent hit points, good selection of
offensive spells, bonus to saving throws, limited cleric ability.
CON'S--Limited selection of defensive and supportive spells, cannot cast
spells while wearing armor. Limited to Lawful Good alignment.
Fighter/Magic User (Elf, Multiclass, 7/11)
PRO'S--Good selection of offensive spells, can cast spells while wearing
armor, racial bonuses.
CON"S--Average fighting ability, average hit points, limited selection of
defensive and supportive spells.
Fighter/Magic User/Thief (Elf, Multiclass, 7/11/12)
PRO"S--Good selection of offensive spells, can cast spells while wearing
armor, racial bonuses, backstabbing ability.
CON'S--Average fighting ability, average hit points, slower advancement,
thief abilities limited by certain armor types, limited selection of
defensive and supportive spells.
II. PvP Spell Selection
These are only recommendations and subject to individual preference, but do
offer a fairly well-rounded approach. The PvP's should be intimately
familiar with the range, area of effect and duration of all of these spells.
Cleric Spells (Assumes 18 Wisdom)
Level 1
Protection from Evil, Protection from Good, Resist Cold, Bless, Cure Light
Wounds, Cause Light Wounds.
Level 2
Hold Person x 3, Resist Fire, Silence 15' Radius x 2.
Level 3
Prayer, Dispel Magic x 3
Level 4
Cause Serious Wounds x 4 OR Poison x 4.
Level 5
Slay Living x 3 OR Cause Critical Wounds x3.
Magic User Spells
Level 1
Shield, Friends, Magic Missile x 2 OR Shocking Grasp x 2
Level 2
Invisibility, Mirror Image x 1 OR 2, Stinking Cloud x 1 or 2.
Level 3
Haste, Lightning Bolt x 3 OR Fireball x 3.
Level 4
Minor Globe of Invulnerability x 2, Fumble.
Level 5
Hold Monster x 3 OR Substitute some Feebleminds.
III. Equipment.
The following items are recommended for the PvP'er :
Bracers AC 3
Ring +2
Cloak of Displacement or Cloak +3
Mirror Shield +2 or Shield +3
Wisdom Stone if not 18.
Amulet of Life
Wands of Fireball, Lightning Bolt, and/or Magic Missile
Assorted Scrolls (usually offensive in nature, very important if you get
feebleminded. Recommended spells on Scrolls: Dimension Door, Globe of
Invulnerability, Hold Monster, Dispel Magic, Fumble, Cause Wounds, Slay
Living and Feeblemind.)
+3 Weapon (Flail, Mace, Etc depending on class)
Gauntlets of Ogre Power
IV. Tactics
Prior to entering a planned PvP combat you should cast the following spells:
Bless, Protection from Good, Protection from Evil, Resist Cold, Resist Fire,
Prayer, Shield, Friends, Mirror Image, Haste and Invisibility as the final
spell. (If you only have Magic User spells available to you i.e. Ranger/Magic
User, etc; then just cast the appropriate ones.)
If you are jumped while fighting an NPC or monster encounter you will just
have to make do with casting whatever preparatory spells you can, i.e. Minor
Globe, and hope for the best.
Once battle has been initiated in a planned PvP encounter, you should move a
few spaces away from the NPC's or monsters and cast Minor Globe of
Invulnerability as your first spell. (Being invisible as you enter the
combat enables you to move away from any nearby monsters or NPC's.)
After these preliminaries it is time to get down to some serious butt
kicking! The first order of business is to try and wear down you opponents
defenses. Your first spell cast should probably be a Fumble. This should
accomplish several things: If he/she does not save they will be slowed and
clumsy i.e. sitting ducks, if they save they will only be slowed but the
effects last 11 rounds! It will also probably remove at least 1 Mirror
Image. Removing Mirror images can be attempted with stinking clouds, cleric
hold person, and lightning bolts, but with a Globe up they may or may not be
effective. After a couple of rounds you might want to try using Cause Serious
Wounds or Poison instead. With a little luck after a few rounds you will
have worn down your opponents defenses or possibly even killed them.
Next, try casting a Hold Monster on your enemies. If you can hold them this
may allow adjacent monsters to move up and finish them off. You don't need
to try and kill them all yourself, let the monsters help you out. Your
opponent will probably try to get one of his allies to cast a Dispel Magic in
order to remove your hold. Watch for this tactic and try to take advantage
of it when it happens, for the dispel will often remove any remaining
defenses your opponent has in place and make them vulnerable to a well placed
Lightning Bolt, Fireball or Magic Missile attack. By the same token, if you
have an ally who was just "Dised" then you might want to try casting a
Stinking Cloud on your enemies to prevent them from taking advantage of this
vulnerable period.
Other offensive spells such as Cause Wounds, Fumble, Stinking Cloud, Poison,
and Slay Living may be used as the opportunity presents itself.
Remember your opponent will be trying to do all of these things to you!
You will notice that I did not mention casting a Dispel Magic or a Silence
spell directly at your opponents. While this might seem to be an obvious
method of dealing with hostile spell casters, in PvP Combat it is considered
to be a major "No-No", so don't do it! More about PvP Etiquette later.
V. Special Tips
The above described some of the basics of PVP combat, now lets cover a couple
of special tactics that may be of help to you.
As stated above you don't cast silence spells directly at your opponents, but
there is nothing to stop you from casting a Silence on a free NPC or monster.
The idea being that the monster will wander over next to your opponents and
they will then be within the spell effect radius of the silence. The down
side is the monster may also wander over near you.
During the spell preparation phase, you might want to cast Clerical Detect
Magic on yourself just before the Invisibility. The Detect Magic will last
for 10 rounds and Globe of Invulnerability lasts 11 rounds, so by watching
for the asterisk to disappear from your magic weapon on the battle screen you
can be warned that the Globe will be down the next round and cast a new one
before this happens.
If you are indoors and there are tables shown on the screen, standing on a
table may allow you to cast a spell over a wall at an opponent.
A "Bonus DIS" is a Dispel Magic that you cast on an ally, and get an enemy in
the process. The Dispel Magic covers a 3 x 3 area so be sure that your ally
is targeted or it may be considered a Direct DIS. A good rule to follow
would be to target the spell no more than 1 square away from your ally.
These same tactics may also be applied to the Silence spell.
Try not to get yourself boxed in or cornered by obstacles or monsters, being
able to maneuver around the playing field is important to your survival. It
is probably a good idea to try and maintain some distance from your opponents
and allies alike so that large area spells are less effective, and you are
less likely to get "Bonused" by a nearby spell.
VI. PvP Etiquette *
1. Never CAD (Ctrl-Alt-Del) or quit a fight.
2. Never Direct Silence or Dis someone.
3. Never re-enter a fight you have been gated (killed) in.
4. Never Bonus off of a HELD NPC or monster.
5. Never whine or complain, take your hits like a man/woman.
6. Never PvP in a Non-PvP area unless agreed on by all involved parties.
* Additional rules may be agreed on by the involved parties i.e. No Feebs,
etc.
My final tip to you is the most important one - PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
Good Hunting!
Dimgar
LordScribe of the Servants of Mystery
Breakfast at Longsaddle
(Submitted by HG Renn)
Renn hurriedly fastened the Mithril buckle on his well-worn scabbard, as he
raced thru the pinkish pre-dawn light towards the Church of the Magic Yeoman.
The early morning streets seemed cloaked with an errie silence as the Rangers
soft-leather forest boots glided past the Longsaddle General Store and
Farmer's Supply House. Turning west as the blood-red orb of the morning sun
crested the rugged horizon behind him, Renn soon arrived at the small
ivy-covered cottage that served as Qyl's Church.
My Qyl, the cherubic, and faithful Cleric was still rubbing the sleep from
his tired eyes, as he quickly opened the weathered oaken door. "I gots me
plenty 'o kindling out back ye big lout" grumbled Qyl "'n I be thankin ye
nots ta turn me door inta moren it, ye over-grown Firblog". Sheepishly Renn
allowed his big gauntleted fist to drop to his side as he mumbled his brief
apology "Uh, sorry Qyl." "But", "Is she Healed?", "Is she ready?", "Can she
train?" Renn asked in rapid-fire succession. "Whoa lad" Qyl said, as his
stern frown turned to a smile, "One question at a time." "Yes, Yes and Yes",
Qyl said with a chuckle "'n since ye pound'n woulda woke de dead, she should
be here shortly." "Fetch me some water fer makin coffee, 'n I'll get Break
Fast started." Renn started to protest, as he was eager to get her training
started, but he knew Qyl would hear none of it. Grabbing a dented and
well-worn pail, he headed for the nearby stream to do as instructed.
Qyl already had three huge Griffon eggs cooking next to a slab of wild Boar
when Renn returned with the ice-cold water. Taking the brim-full pail from
the Ranger, Qyl continued the meal preparations in the small, but well
organized kitchen. "Sit down, ye big oaf, afore ye crash inta sumpin" Qyl
said as he gently turned the large eggs, taking care not to break their
enormous yokes. Renn grumbled something about "Silly dang Cleric's" as he
lowered his large 6' 5" frame into one of the small, wooden chairs, which
creaked and groaned in protest to his muscular 220 pounds. A soft, melodic
voice said "Qyl that smells absolutely delicious" as Ldy Marian entered the
small, cozy kitchen.
The room seemed to brighten as the petite Rangerette entered. Her green and
brown forest leathers, so badly ripped and torn just days ago, glistened in
the early morning light. They seemed to hug her pert, slender 5' 5" frame.
Long waves of silky, raven-black hair cascaded down her slender back,
reaching almost to her tiny waist. Her emerald-green eyes seemed to sparkle
with a radiance of their own, as she turned her gaze on Renn, who was now
holding the heavy oak table, that he had grabbed in his hurried effort to
stand and bow to the lovely lady. "And who is this Qyl?" Marian giggled as
she watched Renn's face turn the color of his fiery red hair. "Err, uh, HG
Renn, of the Harper's, Melady" Renn managed to stammer, as he bowed awkwardly
with the heavy table still in hand. "Put me table down ye big oaf" Qyl said
as he rolled his eyes, "an lets be eat'n dis afore it cools." "This big ox
carried ye in here a few days back Lady Marian", Qyl said with a smile, as he
started serving the large eggs and boar-bacon. Marian smiled up at Renn as
he moved to hold a chair for her, "HG Renn, thank you kind Sir, for both the
rescue, and bringing me here. You will never know just how much I do
appreciate the hospitality of your friend, but more than that your strength
and courage to rescue me from those terrible Griffon Beasts that seemed
intent on devouring me for dinner." She continued her bright cheery smile
throughout the serving of breakfast. Her eyes caught the handsome rangers
gaze more than once.
During the excellent meal, Renn could not take his eyes off the lovely
Rangerette, and barely noticed when his food was gone. As Qyl began cleaning
the dishes, Renn watched Marian delicately sip coffee from the mug that
seemed to large for her tiny little hands. He quickly adverted his gaze as
she slid lithely from her chair to help Qyl with the remaining kitchen
chores. Drying his hands on his dark blue Clerical robes, Qyl asked with a
sly smile, "Well, ye two birds be a stay'n here all morn, or was ye gonna
show the lady around Renn?" Turning her radiant smile on Renn, Marian asks
"Oh, are there shops here in Longsaddle?" "Well, er, yes, of course there
are" were all the words Renn could manage as he hurried to take the small
lady Ranger's arm in his. "Hold there ye big Ranger" Qyl said, as his holy
symbol turned a deep azure with his casting of a "Bless" and "Prayer" spell.
"Go ye with care, and ware the Cloud Giant Shaman's" Qyl advised, as Renn and
the Lady Marian walked arm in arm out into the brightening Longsaddle morn.
To be continued....
Humbly,
HG Renn
Elimination Part 1
(Submitted by Grey Ice)
There he sat, in the darkness not making the slightest movement. Bow
in hand, arrow in place, ready for the shot. The hours of waiting used to
seem like days or even weeks, but now he was seasoned, and could remain
still for hours on end without even a hint of discomfort. Down on the
street below all was quiet. The target would soon make his move. The target
was paranoid of being attacked, and tried to travel only when the streets
were empty. This paranoia, however, was well founded, since the target was
heir to the throne. There they were, the noble's personal guard, casing the
street to make sure no one was around to harm the prince. A guard glanced
in the bowman's direction. The bowman was unphased by this gesture. He had
picked his spot well, and knew that it could not be seen from the street
below. He was now only moments from a clear shot. The prince emerged from
the tavern bordered by four guards, one posted to each of his sides, another
in front, the final in back. The leading guard stepped down from the tavern
entryway. The assassin drew the oiled bow string back, silently. The prince
moved his foot forward and prepared to place his weight on the leading foot.
The assassin quickly released the string, letting the arrow thrust forward
into the night. The arrow flew silently through the air striking its target
dead in the throat, just below the Adam's apple. The prince stumbled and
both his legs went limp instantly. The assassin was pleased, the arrow had
killed instantly. The victim would not have to suffer the effects of the
poison that had been applied to the arrow tip as a precautionary measure.
The guards immediately drew their weapons and attempted to locate the
perpetrator. Only seconds later the assassin was clinging from a branch on a
tree behind the crime scene and dropping to the ground below. He turned and
ran swiftly to the corner of the building, pausing to draw his sword. As
soon as the blade was out of the sheath, a guard stepped around the corner.
The startled man briefly saw the assassin and attempted to signal his fellow
guardsmen, but it was too late, the assassin's blade was already slicing his
throat. From the opposite of the building the assassin heard speedy
footsteps. His hand quickly reached for a dagger at his side as he knelt
down to avoid being spotted. The dagger was in his steady hand and the
assassin threw the balanced weapon at the shadow coming towards him. The
knife found its mark, but the dying guard managed to scream in agony before
before falling to the ground. He had to think quickly, the remaining guards
would soon be arriving, alerted by their ex-companion's death call.
If you like the story send e-mail to Grey Ice and based on positive response
I will submit continuations in the future.
Brothers (Part 3)
(Submitted by DarkWolfMM)
The dim gray clouds of early morning became blotted out by a thick, black
smoke. Two brown and white birds shrieked and flew as the peaceful morning
was disturbed. The black smoke hung close to the ground for a time. Then
the wind, which had brought it around me, took it away.
I took in the scene about me once again. The forest near me, the
burning cottage spewing smoke. And my brothers. In front of the cottage
stood Mercanter and the reminant of his followers. To my right was Wedge,
further on was Chris, and to Wedges back was my friend Arrow.
All forms were tense, including myself. I had prepared a lightning bolt
to cast and likewise the others had something ready aswell. The exception
would be Arrow, not yet able to cast spells. He stood with an arrow nocked in
his bow, not yet pulled back.
Mercanter stepped forward. "Yes?" He asked with a wicked grin as made
directions for his followers by pointing. They faned out.
"We've come for your life, Mercanter," Wedge hissed through his teeth
loudly. "You know who I am don't you?" Now Wedge was grinning. His traced
the outline of his mask.
Mercanter gave a wounded look with his eyes, "Of course I know you
Wedge! What kind of brother would I be if I didn't know my own kin?" He
pointed at Wedge's glove, "Besides, brother, who else would wear the gloves
father gave to his second born?"
The gloves were black, with a small strip of blue running the tips of
the fingers and a emblem sewn in the same color. Wedges gaze never left
Mercanter, his head remained fixed forward, watching. "No one," he said
finally.
Mercanter examined his followers placement. Satisfied he returned to
talking, "You say you've come to kill me, yet you should be better prepared.
As it is we are nearly even in strength. If the tables were turned and-"
"We want two things from you Mercanter," Wedge cut him off. "One your
death. And two is just for me." He lowered his head and shuffled his feet
childlike. Then clenched his fists and looked up again, "Why?!" He said,
his voice teetering on tears. Then it lowered to a pleading level, "Why did
you do it?"
Mercanter's grin widened, exposing his teeth. He leaned back in a
perplexive posture, looking mentally occupied. Then in a uncaring tone, "I
guess just to see if I could. Good question though."
I stepped forward with Chris, Wedge stood still. Inside me I felt the
anger I had when I'd looked upon Mercanter killing my father and brothers.
Mercanter had wiped out all but those that stood against him now. Then I had
been a boy. Now I was a young man, and that anger could be released with
greater force.
Wedge shifted his feet, "Well then, I kill you-"
"You kill me in hatefull revenge!!" Mercanter shouted.
"So be it then!!"
Mercanter raised a minor globe around him a second before Wedge's bolt
struck. The scene was a familiar one of childhood. A sibling rivalry. This
time there was no one to break up the two boys rolling on the ground, tearing
at each other.
The battle began. The three companions of Mercanter hurriedly cast
minor globes while we, already having them, cast mirror images. I cast one
for Arrow as well while the rest began exchanging fire. Missile flew,
lightning flashed, trees fell, wood burnt, and time wore on. In that time
only trees fell. It was battle of endurance. By noon I had cast all but one
of my memorized spells. The others too went to casting from scrolls.
The sun rose above the trees to high overhead. There the scales tipped
suddenly. Chris let fly a ice storm. The spell soon consumed one of
Mercanter's mages, blocking him from sight. The storm ceased and the mage
stood undamged, safe inside his globe. A magic missile struck him as he
raised his arm in a triumphant gesture. He fell backwards to the ground.
As he sat up on his elbows and I spied a small flame on his cape. His
globe had failed. He either felt it or saw it for he took to flight. His
comrades attempted to cover his escape with a lightning salute. My magic
missile was stopped by the bolts, along with Wedge's. But past the defenses
a silver arrow shot, ending its flight in the back of the mages neck. The
man stumbleda step or two, then with a hand crasping the arrow fell to the
ground. Over the din of battle we cheered Arrow for his kill.
The sun began its' decent behind the trees on the other side of the
field. We'd forced the remaining three enemies back into the woods untill
they they came up against a river. Tributary to the Neverwinter River. They
crouched in the bushes while we remained in the trees across a small grass
field, just within casting range.
All our globes had disappeared recently. The mirror images were gone
aswell. That was the cause for the hiding. There we sat. They could not
leave, and for us to attack would be suicide. My body and mind had been
strained for over ten hours, they cried for rest. I felt sleepy there, in
the soft ungrowth and the pine needles.The sweet smell of moss below me and
the singing of the birds.
"Hallo," a voice from afar woke me. "Brothers!" It was Mercanter. I
rubbed the sleep from my eyes and searched out where my brothers were. "You
given up yet?" The voice grew more obnocious as I became more awake.
"Come closer," I yelled, "we can't hear you." I yawned slightly.
Mercanter had so far been ignored by us. His tauting had grown to the point
however that staying silent was torture in itself.
"Good idea! Lets settle this another way."
"All ways end with your death, if you can offer us a better method than
killing you ourselves we'll listen."
"You've already tried that with magic, can you do as well with swords?"
I was suddenly awake, "You mean to take us on hand to hand, brother?"
"He's lying," Wedge put in.
"I wasn't able to finish it last time with magic either, brothers,
believe me yyou won't kill me this way. I too good at it, so was father, to
a point."
"Deal Mercanter," Chris spoke, shortly after I heard the familar sound
of swords being unseathed.
Wedge shouted, "It's a trick Chris!"
"For once I believe him."
"Why?!" Wedge demanded in a hoarse whisper, "Why would he come out
into the open and fight us when he could stay there safe and untouchable?"
"Because as kids he could beat any of us in hand to hand!"
"Ahhh, you remembered." Mercanter stood in the grass field with his
two followers. One held a two handed sword, the other a mace, he himself
hefted a Quarterstaff. We stood and came out of the woods. Chris carried a
flail, Wedge a longsword. Behind us Arrow still held his bow but was drawing
his broadsword.
I stood back in the shaddows, fitting on my plate armor quickly. I then
tossed away my Trident and bastard sword in favor of my longsword, mounted on
my shoulder was my silver two handed sword. I held a dagger hidden.
As we neared Mercanter I observed his men. One was a cleric, the other
must have been a fighter/mage, for he wore banded mail and carried a sword.
Also he was a giant of a man, a good six inches taller than me, and to my
dismay, he was built better than I. There were no plesantries as we waited
for Arrow who was still storing his arrows. Chris was eyeing the cleric, I
looked over the fighter, and Wedge stared straight at Mercanter, who grinned
back at him.
"He's taking too long, " he said and suddenly he was casting a spell.
Arrow froze in mid-motion. Mercanter was casting a hold spell, the rest of
us would be next. He raised his arm toward Chris and I threw my knife. It
hit him lightly on the shoulder, but enough to break his concentration. He
lost the spell.
I grinned at him. He grinned back. "You've grown little one, you're
very tall. Now try growing the other way, out. But then, you may not get
the chan-" I was blow onto my back by a blow to chest by a powerfull object.
The pain I felt was not magic, it was good old metal impact. I looked
up to see the fighter/mage standing with his giant sword above his head. I
rolled and it came down. Quickly I got to my feet. The battle was in full
swing, eveyone swinging. I dodged another blow and gave myself a little
space. My armor was dented in the chest area. Also, I was suprised to see
my sword still in my hand. I raised it.
The fighter came on yelling. I met him in full charge. The blow came
and my sword did little but come between me and the other man's steel. Again
I hit the ground. I regained my feet once more and began a long series of
dodges and ducks. The big man came on again and again. I'd given up
out-muscling him and had settled for wearing him down.
I would dodge and try to stike a light blow before he swung again. I
would catch glimpses of the fight as I did this. The flash of metal and
flash of movement. Not enough to tell who was winning however. Then it
stopped. The fighter had his sword ready to swing and I was ready to dodge.
Both of us were breathing heavy, him more than I. Behind him I saw Wedge
fall to the ground and get back up again, leaving his mask in the grass.
I looked at the big man in front of me. "Stand still!" He screamed.
The big man had a rather high pitched voice. I chuckled just loud enough for
him to hear. He swung again. It was a sweep chest high, designed to cleave
me in two. I ducked, and in break with tradition I jumped into him, hoping
to knock him to the earth. Instead he budged a foot, at the most. The big
man's sword was up above his head again, but I was too close to hit with the
blade. So he smashed his pummel into my breastplate. My knees gave way and
I went down.
In a last hope effort I swung my sword as I fell and it struck
something. I looked up above me to see the big man holding his wrist. I was
on my knees when the sword came. I stuck my longsword up and it was whipped
out of my hands. Without looking to see where it went I scrambled away and
got to my feet. My plan hadn't worked.
The big man allowed himself a smile for disarming me. He charged. I
gripped the two handed sword sheathed over my back. I ducked under his swing
and pulled the sword out. Not looking I swung at the level I was at. It
connected and the big man stumbled, then fell. I swung again and the man
cried in pain.
I opened my eves to see the man on the ground. I'd struck his ankle.
The sheer impact must have broken it. As for the second blow his shoulder
bleed heavily. I sent my sword through his mail and into his chest. It
struck the heart and ended him.
My knees shook and gave way. I fell on top of the dead fighter. I
struggled to open my eyes. Up ahead the others fought.
I saw all four. Mercanter swinging his staff, Wedge fending it off and
nursing a limp. Chris was a ways of with the mage. Each carefully swinging
now and again. I concentrated on Mercanter and Wedge.
Wedge had had the worst of it, I could tell. He fought defensive, and
not very well. Frequently Mercanter's staff stuck home. Wedge seemed wayed
down, moving slowly, while Mercanter darted everywhere. I struggled to my
feet. My limbs were like lead. They'd taken the worst beating I'd ever had.
I forced myself to take a step.
Wedge suddenly struck out. His sword caught Mercanter in mid-dart,
slashing his side. But Mercanter's staff rounded and smashed the back of
Wedge's head. He fell to his knees. Suddenly I was running forward.
Mercanter held a small knife to Wedge's jaw. He swiped it to the other jaw,
and Wedge fell.
I was upon Mercanter screaming. His staff came in front of my sword and
I cut it in two. The swing continued on and hit Mercanter. It sent him
flying back with a long slash across his the width of his chest. He landed
on a tree stump and rolled off just in time to avoid having the same fate as
his staff. My sword was stuck.
I cursed. I couldn't budge the thing. I left it. Mercanter stood and
came toward me. I swung my fist, and missed. He came back with a hook to my
cheek. Then a jab to the nose. A body blow to my unseen armor sent him
screaming and holding his hand. I grabbed hold of his blood soaked shirt and
held him nose to nose to me. He grinned just as I smashed his face with my
forhead. He stumbled back a good ten steps, then stopped.
He flipped his wrist and the knife sunk into my shoulder. I pulled it
free as he pounched. I was then rolling on the ground with him on top and
holding a dagger to my throat. I held it back my free hand and struggled to
free my other out from under me. I struck with my forhead again nearly
cutting my own throat. I rolled him off me and lashed out with my knife. The
first stike sunk straight into his bicep muscle. The others missed as he
dropped his knife and rolled away..
He backed off as I stood up. I unbuckled my throughly dented armor and
let it fall to the ground. I looked about for a sword and spied Chris and
the cleric. I just glanced for a second. The cleric swung his mace and
missed Chris' head. Chris ducked and spun with his flail, it was a metalic
blur. A heartbeat later the cleric's head was crushed inward.
I looked back to Mercanter. He was standing, straight and tall. His
nose was bent and bleed heavily. The slash on his chest had poured out blood
enough to soak his entire front. He dropped the dagger at his feet, and
raised his palms upward. "I am defeated, brother."
I caught my breath, "Then you die."
He made a saddened face, "Tisk tisk, I misjudged you." I stepped
forward. "I'll admit defeat, but I won't relent my life"
"You don't have to, I'll take-"
"No, you won't brother"
"Stop me then," we stood eye to forhead. The shorter man sighed. I
sheathed my newfound knife loosely in my belt and raised my fists.
"Stop you from what?" He chuckled slightly, "Ever kill a man with your
hands, kid?" This time he laughed.
"I'll break your neck," I lashed out, hitting air. A foot arced into my
chest and was followed by a knee to my ribs. A blow to my shoulder forced me
to knees where a I glimpsed a fist just before it conected with my nose.
I was held upright by my vest. I brought my head up and saw Mercanter,
holding my knife. A cry to my rear came, whom I knew to be Chris. Mercanter
glanced up and then thrust the knife into my chest.
I looked down. The blade had sunk to the guard, which was silver and
engraved with a black skull. Mercanter's fingers were white, drained of
blood. They held the knife in place for a moment, then pulled it free from
my ribs, bringing forth a spray of blood. With his other set of fingers he
let me fall.
A Calling to Myrkul
(Submitted by UDL Diablo)
It was a dark, cold, damp night as the spirit drifted south along the High
Road towards the City of Splendors, Waterdeep. Occasionally the sounds of an
owl screeching, or a wolf's howl could be heard, but otherwise the road was
deathly quiet. This was how it should have been, as one of Myrkul's servants
drifted along it's worn stones, headed to Waterdeep to free himself once and
for all from the bonds that held him to this world.
It was only a short month ago when he had come to Neverwinter, known then as
Zoquar, a magician of considerable power. He had been hired by one of the
Lord's of Waterdeep to investigate the guilds of Neverwinter and report back
as to which held the most power and sway within the small trading town four
hundred and fifty miles north of the City of Splendors. Neverwinter was of
extreme importance to the Lords of Waterdeep, as the Zhentarim had been
disrupting their trade in the area for way to long. He was to find out which
guild could be trusted to work for the lords in battling the power of the
Zhentarim in the area.
But fate had decided to lay out a different course for the magician known as
Zoquar. He had arrived in Neverwinter, finding a room in Duglow's Inn and
using it as a base for exploration of the area. He had increased his power
considerably in his adventures around the area of Neverwinter as he learned
the lay of the land as well as which guilds held the most power in the small
trading town.
Lord Nasher, he who ruled in Neverwinter, was a weak man, his power long lost
to the guilds that dominated regions in and around the town known for, of all
things, it's priceless clocks. Many nights in Duglow's Inn had he laughed
himself to sleep, knowing that Lord Nasher was no more than a puppet to the
guilds. This mission he was assigned was awaking him to more possibilities
than he had could have possibly imagined.
It was during a trip through the Lost Hills one evening that his true destiny
was revealed to him. He was involved in a skirmish between two rival guilds,
the Undead Lords and the Keepers of the Eternal Flame, when he met the Arch
Ghost known as Shurg. The spirit form of Shurg had aided him in the battle,
as he had succumbed to the magic of two of the members of the Keepers of the
Eternal Flame. Shurg showed great power in defeating both of them and
freeing Zoquar from the magic that held him that night. After the battle was
done, Shurg had drifted over to him and invited him to join the Undead Lords.
Zoquar had no idea of the course his life, or lack of life, was about to
embark on.
"Join with us evil one, for only through Myrkul will you receive the power
you truly seek", the spirit form of Shurg had said to him. Zoquar sat back
and listened, for was it not his mentor, Halaster Blackcloak, who had told
the magician that a dark age was about to engulf the Forgotten Realms, and it
would be the powers of Myrkul, Bane and Bhaal who would herald the beginning
of this age. And now, here before him was a servant of Myrkul, inviting him
to join in this gathering of evil power.
Zoquar quickly forgot the minor promises made by the Lord's of Waterdeep, for
here before him was his destiny, to become immortal, with power greater than
he had envisioned for himself at this point in his life. He bowed to the
spirit of Shurg, arms open in submission to the Arch Ghost.
"I accept your offer", the words spoken quickly, as he knew that this was
where his path to power would begin. The words of acceptance had barely left
his lips when he felt the cold chill of death engulf him. The Arch Ghost had
slain the magician quickly, but then, as his soul was leaving the body,
Shurg's magic took him to the Castle of Bones.
Zoquar had never imagined something this incredible, as they descended
towards the massive castle of ivory, the remains of so many enemies making up
the walls and towers of this dark fortress. And the souls, many servants of
the Lord of Bones, and others, tormented as enemies of Old Lord Skull.
Shrug's spirit led him to the Well of Souls and invited him to drink, so that
he could become one with Myrkul and accepted in the guild of Undead Lords.
Zoquar bent forward and drank deeply from the well, and in doing so, felt
Myrkul's power engulf him. The vision he received would forever remain
etched in his mind. Myrkul appeared as a cloaked, animated corpse, skeletal
at its head, then becoming fleshed toward his feet, but the flesh was rotted
and gangrenous. The voice was that of a high whisper as the god looked down
on his newest servant.
"You shall serve me well magician, I foresee that destiny has brought you to
me, and you shall be one who will spread the word of my coming", the skeletal
figure began. "But first, as one reborn in the spirit, you shall receive a
new name, you shall be known as Diablo, the devil who serves the God of the
Dead", the whisper continued as Zoquar felt his soul being washed over with
the power of Myrkul. "From this day forth, whenever you shall die, you will
come here, to the Land of Always Night, and be reborn, more powerful, wiser,
as you carry the word of my coming to the realms", the last words spoken by
the vision as it then faded away.
Zoquar, or Diablo as he would now be known, turned to the spirit of Shurg who
stood smiling behind him. Shurg gestured for Diablo to follow him and the
two headed down a long hall. As they drifted through the Castle of Bones,
Shurg introduced him to the other souls who served Myrkul, each being a power
in his or her own right. They stopped before an ornate door, the whole being
an almost solid construction of skulls from those who refused to embrace the
God of the Dead.
"Below Myrkul, we serve Slayer, the soul who guides us", Shurg had said, as
he led Diablo through the door. Once inside, Diablo was introduced to
Slayer, who informed Shurg that this newcomer would serve as squire to him
until the time of knighting was at hand. Shurg had accepted this charge and
then led Diablo out of the room once again as they continued to drift through
the castle.
As the two moved down hall after hall, Shurg informed Diablo of the practices
of the guild of Undead Lords, informing him of what areas around Neverwinter
belonged to the guild, who were the guilds enemies, and those few the guild
called allies. He also laid out the quests that Diablo would have to perform
to become knighted, to become a true spirit in service to Old Lord Skull.
With each bit of new information, Diablo felt pleased that he had chosen
well. Within his spirit he felt the power of the Lord of Bones, his hair
flaming as a mark of his name, the magic of his soul growing with each moment
spent in the Castle of Bones.
Then as easily as they had arrived at the castle, the two spirits were once
again in the Lost Hills, where Zoquar had met Shurg a short time ago. The
spirit of Shurg, the Arch Ghost of the Undead Lords turned and looked to
Diablo.
"I now leave you apprentice, go forth and spread the news of the coming of
Myrkul. Join your new brothers and sisters in filling the Well of Souls,
drink of the blood of our enemies and when the time of knighting is at hand,
I shall free you from your apprenticeship", Shurg said to him. Then turning
and moving away, the Arch Ghost faded into a bog, leaving Diablo standing
alone in the hills, his destiny now and forever tied to Myrkul and the Undead
Lords.
Diablo's attention returned to the High Road as the sound of creaking wheels
heralded a caravan approaching. The spirit of the Undead Lord quickly took
cover behind a large tree, watching and waiting for those unsuspecting souls
to round the bend.
The wait was a short one, as first two mounted knights turned the corner,
riding ahead of the caravan as a guard to any who would bring harm to their
master's goods. Diablo smiled to himself, drifted further back into the
woods and waited for the right moment.
Following the two knights was a large wagon, easily one of the richest
looking wagons Diablo had seen. Tonight Myrkul's blessings were evident, as
this was a wealthy merchant traveling north along the High Road towards
Neverwinter. Tonight many new souls would be counted among those of the Lord
of Bones as Diablo quickly moved from behind the cover of the trees.
The first spell cast caught the two knights unawares as they both felt their
bodies stiffen as the magic held them in place atop their mounts. The
horses, not having been affected by the magic quickly bolted from the road,
running free into the forest beyond. Then a scream from a small child who
sat next to an old man who was driving the wagon.
"Father, what is that", her cry cut the silence of the night. Diablo had
come forth in full glory, his hair blazing red, as the flames danced from his
skull, his evil intent showed in the wicked grin on his face.
The old man tried to reign in the wagon, but found himself engulfed with
magic that made his handling of the reigns an impossible task, fumbling them
away, the team of horses started to bolt also, the sudden surge of the wagon
throwing the young girl to the ground beside it.
Four more men at arms quickly rode around the corner, their station being
obvious in their style of dress. None of the four had even the chance to
scream warning as a fireball lit up the night sky killing rider and mount
alike. Diablo's laugh cut through the night air, as he quickly moved forward
towards the bend in the road.
The young girl started to scream once again as Diablo was almost on her, but
the scream never left her lips as she too succumbed to the magic that Diablo
cast. Her body not moving, but her mind aware of the happenings around her.
Diablo took out a knife and cut the child's heart from her body, lifting high
into the night air, the blood, warm, running down the length of his arm. He
took a large bite of the heart and then called out to the darkness.
"Myrkul, another soul do I offer to the one I now serve", he said and then
tossed the remains of the heart to the side, moving again down the road. For
this was nothing compared to what he planned for the Lords of Waterdeep,
those who he had served only a few weeks ago.
A Poem for Vaas
(Submitted by UDL Diablo)
He rounded the bend, within the Lost Hills,
His senses wary, his bones feeling chills,
He wore no guild colors, his name was Vaas,
He had chosen Ranger, Mage as his class.
Diablo stood out, in his undead glory,
Hoping this fight, would be blood and gory,
Preped he was, his magic strong in power,
Diablo started it, hoping Vaas would not cower.
Pleased Diablo was, as he waited the fish,
Knowing he would serve this one up on a dish,
For Myrkul's glory, this ranger mage would die,
And in the end, Diablo would drain his blood dry.
The ranger appeared, disappointing Diablo not,
And moved next to the spirit, marking his spot,
One spell he did cast, and it was for naught,
As one of Diablo's images, was all he had bought.
Stepping back, Diablo's hair a colorful blaze,
The globe went up, so future spells could not faze,
The UDL squire, as he prepared for this fight,
And to claim Vaas's soul, as that was his right.
Then the first spells cast, nothing but a stinking cloud,
And Vaas did start choking and coughing out loud,
The boar did charge, the ranger who stood sick,
And Diablo sighed, next time a challenge he would pick.
One bite from the boar, and the ranger did fall,
Barely time, for Diablo to give out the rightful call,
In Glory to Myrkul, he who is called Old Lord Skull,
Your soul is ours, though this fight was real dull.
SMIM Chapter 6
(Submitted by YKSS)
That night Smim, Ater, & the two magi made their way to a hiding place in
front of the gates to Opoto's stronghold to wait for Dert. Unfortunatly,
Dert and the rest hadn't agreed to meet in front of the gate, and Dert was
out looking for them in the forest (and quite frantically, as he didn't know
how long he had before the poison did him in).
Before dawn the next day, hordes of Opoto's soldiers left the fortress to
comb the forest. Smim, who was on guard duty, quickly woke the others. Berr
cast a spell of Invisibility on them just in time, and they cowered behind
trees as the first wave swept by them. After that, they moved up into the
trees. They decided to take turns looking over the wall of the stronghold in
search for a sign of Dert. Sana and Berr were working on a spell to find
Dert and were working over a scroll. Ater was looking into the possibility
of placing some of the magi's store of poisons (they had a surprising number
of them) in his darts, so Smim took the first watch. He crawled from the
tree they were hiding in to one in front of it, which was the last one before
the fortress, to get a better view.
Smim was a royal gaurd used to open battle in the streets, not guerilla
warfare. He was not used to camouflage. Quite the opposite, royal guards
made their presence known to reassure the public and to deter criminals.
Smim did not know realize that the purple guard's uniform would stand out
quite clearly from the surroudning vegetation. Opoto, however, who was
standing in his window, noticed it right away. He immediately sent a bolt of
lighting to fell the tree, which it did, exposing the one behing it with Ater
and the magi. He felled that one too, and paralized the forsome from his
perch accross the courtyard. His army quickly brought them to his dungeons
and locked them up in chains.
Opoto released them from the spell. He was very happy. For once things
seemed to be going his way. He was going to gloat, then kill those two
thorns in his side and get on with his plan of conquest that was interrupted
so long ago. "Well well," he chuckled "You finally made a mistake. And a
stupid one at that. What did you do, drop a concentration of Teleport
potion? You must have found a way to make a more powerful teleport spell.
Pity I won't find out what it is. Let me welcome you to my grand palace! It
may not look much now, after all I haven't had much time to redecorate over
the years, but after I get the rest of the key, I suppose I'll have to add on
to the place to make room for my armies. I can have them made in a week,
although," he added thoughtfully, "There's no way the new tunnels will be
finished in a week. I'll have to make a better batch of tunnel diggers, and
make them live longer than eight hours."
"Yes you seem to have learned quite well how to make your own creatures. Of
course, no one else would have tried but you." spat Berr.
"Well, over such a long time it's no wonder I am so good. Congradulations
too, on your fine poisons. What made you take up that field I have no idea,
but you were quite good at it. When you tried to poison the mercenaries I
sent after you, was it seventy years ago?,I analyzed it. Quite impressive.
I have made sure to distribute the recepie to other dark mages like myself
wherever our wanderings have taken us. I imagine it has caused many a life
to be taken over the years."
"It makes me so glad," replied Sana sarcastically. "Congradulations yourself
on your golems. But you couldn't have created them so quickly on your own.
You must have had help."
"They weren't golems," gloated Opoto, enjoying himself. "They are much more
complicated. They were mostly machine inside, with some golem animation, but
you're right, I didn't really create them myself. A dark mage I met a few
weeks ago had tried it himself, and I perfected his design. But enough talk.
Where's you half of the key?"
"Find it yourself," from Berr.
Opoto walked over to Sana. He ripped the chain from around his neck.
"Actually, I knew where it was. I didn't think you had taken to wearing
necklaces. That was very obvious." Attached to the chain was a little bag.
Opoto opened it. Inside was a little white stick. "It looks so
insignificant," Opoto remarked. "It is such a gladness to me to be able to
touch it for myself at last!"
Smim slid his hand free from the loose fitting cuff.
Opoto took the stick. "What did you do, curse it? You didn't think I could
remove a simple curse? You fool, didn't you realize that you could have
ruined the key?"
It was Berr's turn to smirk this time. "It isn't cursed, and it isn't the
key."
"It is a simple stick with glue smeared on it," added Sana. "We hid the
real half-key long ago. This stick was smeared with glue and poison."
"You think I can't take care of a simple poison??!! Give me some credit,"
said a bewildered Opoto.
"It isn't a simple poison," said Sana.
"It's a very specail poison, that took us years to make,"said Berr. It can
soak through your skin, and once in your blood it turns itself into stomach
acid."
"It eats your body from the inside," Sana said, and added almost as an
afterthought,"And the standard Cure Poison spell won't get rid of it because
it's one of the body's natural chemicals. I'm sure given time you could
scribe a spell to rid yourself of it, but you haven't got time."
Opoto was seeing red. Nothing had been going right lately. And now his
archenemy was gloating in his face. Forgetting his magic, he drew his dagger
and charged. A moment before he would have ran Sana through Sana teleported
himself out of the shackles (it was very foolish of Opoto to put the magi in
simple, non-magical shackles in the first place), and Smim reached out with
his free hand and neatly chopped Opoto's head off.
Conculsion next week....
Clash...
(Submitted by Whiiplash )
Four mages crested the hill, their robed forms dimly outlined by the
moon's soft glow. On a similar hill, opposite the first, four armored knights
slid from their horses and turned to face their opponents. Insignia and clan
colors were perfect among both parties, their faces shown calm and stern in
the silver light. Knights lowered faceplates, mages adjusted rings. Then a
mage began to chant.
The battle erupted in sheer fury and chaos. Two of the knights raised
longbows, sending enchanted arrows slicing through the air. The other two
sprinted off toward the mages, pulling longswords from their resting places.
A mage finished casting and a fireball hurtled into the two charging knights,
catching one square in the chest. His armor glowed from the impact, yet the
knight seemed unscathed beyond his once short, trimmed beard being singed and
browned.
Another mage finished casting and lightning shot out from his
outstretched fist. It scorched a nearby tree and sent up a shower of dirt and
grass. The other two mages were farther back, chanting the words to a
protective spell. Arrows streaked past as they hastily finished casting, a
blue flame sprouting from the ground to surround them in shielding rings.
They moved forward to join the fray.
The two charging knights struck the first two mages in blind fury. A
barrier of fog had been erected, but the knights took no notice and charged
in, swinging. One mage fell to the enchanted blades, but the other fought on,
sending every ounce of strength out in a massive lance. It fired straight and
true, spearing two knights and carrying them beyond the circle of light. The
mage fell to one enfuriated knight, who then gritted his teeth and found his
way to the remaining mage. She stood by a tree, a look of serenity etched
across her face. The second knight joined the first.
"What is happening to her?" The second knight asked, his dark eyes
curious as he studied the peaceful mage.
"I think she has found her god. We need not kill her, she rejects the
ways of her former evil goddess. She hath found her true calling. . . Come,
we must tell of our victory and tend to our friends' wounds. . ." The first
knight turned to leave.
"I never will get those finger wiggling mages..." The second knight
muttered, lifting his face to view the moon.
He turned back and the mage was gone.
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