Men & Hoods [Feb 21st '19, Greenwich]
Feb 27, 2019 0:56:43 GMT
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Jimbo (Traavor/Torvald) and Heret Velnnarul like this
Post by ScottWolfgang on Feb 27, 2019 0:56:43 GMT
Ginead Gladhand the Green was nursing a drink and wondering how to be useful in this new town, when he heard of the plague.
It was announced to gloomy responses in the Cavernous Seashank. People seemed to know about it already and dark words were muttered into cups. It didn't seem to be affecting business though, as the 'Shank was packed to the rafters - Jed the barman was splitting his time between doling out ale and prophecy in equal measure, the old sailors bitter words still seemingly flecked with seasalt. Some seemed to think it an elf problem. Ginead paid little mind to the rumours, however. He drained his ale, and made to ask about how he could help...
... Then he became totally and utterly distracted.
There was a curious looking halfling sat with a lyre on her lap. Ginead loved bards. His time as glade protector was often spent serenaded by chirping pipes and stirring strings, always with a soothing voice that carried out over the meadows and into the dense forests.
He was about to go and excitedly bother the halfling when a frog in a bathtub came through the door.
Carried by four other frogs, the one in the bathtub announced in a gravelly voice (Ginead wondered if all sentient pond-dwellers spoke this way, bereft of their main source of hydration) that he had actually "taken care" of the plague.
Ginead was confused. He also wondered if he should check the contents of his pipe. He was about to enquire further when he realised another was speaking, much quieter, and nearer to him. A man in a hood needed something retrieving from underground, something that could help him stop the plague, or the "Lassitude", as he called it. Agreeing bemusedly to help, Ginead realised that he was joined by the halfling with the lyre, Kira, a silent man with a hood, Traavor, a half-elf with two bows no less, Maturin and...the frog in the bathtub. Who was called G'lorth.
Their benefactor told them of a place underground (G'lorth enthused that he knew the place well, and would be willing to go back, just to..."make sure" that the plague he had fixed was in fact fixed...) and set up a magical floating beacon to guide them there. Maturin was instantly suspicious of the beacon and tested it. With an arrow.
The resulting ricochet ended up in poor Jed's arm, and prompted the group to leave rather swiftly.
Therein, a nights journey following the beacon through a forest (Traavor slept in a tree, giving the others the creeps), they were surprised by a young drow girl who had seemingly crept out of the undergrowth to join them. Upon learning her ancestry, Ginead stood square with Maturins suspiciousness (Ginead had been told before dropping out of knight training that dark elves were very, very, always, totally, absolutely bad) and the group grilled the girl, Lido, as she called herself. She seemed genuine enough to some, and she also had some knowledge of the underground caverns they were travelling to.
These caverns were in a chasm. G'lorth had no problem climbing down (or abandoning his bath and servants) and Ginead offered to help Kira down as she was the smallest. She smiled sweetly and simply scampered down the rockface, leaving Ginead red-faced and gingerly picking his way down.
The tunnels inside were dark, and after a while, it began to teem with small spiders. Skin crawling, the group continued and came face to multi-eyed face with their source! A webby battle ensued, with Traavor proving his deadly worth at range, Kira proving her worth as a healer, Maturin proving his worth ingeniously using fire to scour spiders from his companions...and G'lorth proving his fists worth against Gineads face.
Another chamber was hidden from the group, which Ginead smashed open - revealing the many-eyed horror of a Beholder! Having warmed up and synced as a party, however, the group overturned the beastly threat in no time at all. G'lorth and Ginead prized open a crevice, revealing (after a near-miss with a blast of fire, causing Ginead to be, by now, deeply suspicious of the frog-man) a glassy dragons eye.
The group had no time to dwell upon their trophy, however, as the walls literally began caving in on them, thanks to vile Beholder magic. Quick-thinking Kira managed to carve them a way through with her druidic powers (Ginead was still convinced she was a bard), the expanding walls actually exploding a little on contact with her moonbeams.
Finally, the group followed the beacon into a chamber populated by many hooded figures, and Seth himself once more. The dragon eye was the artifact he needed, and he thanked and paid the group. Curious Kira stayed behind, though, prompting Ginead to linger as well, and, after some leading questions and hints from Lido, they discovered that all the hooded figures were drow...including Seth himself. Or herself, as it were.
Ginead Gladhand the Green was nursing a drink once more in the Cavernous Seashank. Only this time, he had a lot more on his mind, and perplexed his paladin morality on the ethics of Drow trying to cure a plague...
It was announced to gloomy responses in the Cavernous Seashank. People seemed to know about it already and dark words were muttered into cups. It didn't seem to be affecting business though, as the 'Shank was packed to the rafters - Jed the barman was splitting his time between doling out ale and prophecy in equal measure, the old sailors bitter words still seemingly flecked with seasalt. Some seemed to think it an elf problem. Ginead paid little mind to the rumours, however. He drained his ale, and made to ask about how he could help...
... Then he became totally and utterly distracted.
There was a curious looking halfling sat with a lyre on her lap. Ginead loved bards. His time as glade protector was often spent serenaded by chirping pipes and stirring strings, always with a soothing voice that carried out over the meadows and into the dense forests.
He was about to go and excitedly bother the halfling when a frog in a bathtub came through the door.
Carried by four other frogs, the one in the bathtub announced in a gravelly voice (Ginead wondered if all sentient pond-dwellers spoke this way, bereft of their main source of hydration) that he had actually "taken care" of the plague.
Ginead was confused. He also wondered if he should check the contents of his pipe. He was about to enquire further when he realised another was speaking, much quieter, and nearer to him. A man in a hood needed something retrieving from underground, something that could help him stop the plague, or the "Lassitude", as he called it. Agreeing bemusedly to help, Ginead realised that he was joined by the halfling with the lyre, Kira, a silent man with a hood, Traavor, a half-elf with two bows no less, Maturin and...the frog in the bathtub. Who was called G'lorth.
Their benefactor told them of a place underground (G'lorth enthused that he knew the place well, and would be willing to go back, just to..."make sure" that the plague he had fixed was in fact fixed...) and set up a magical floating beacon to guide them there. Maturin was instantly suspicious of the beacon and tested it. With an arrow.
The resulting ricochet ended up in poor Jed's arm, and prompted the group to leave rather swiftly.
Therein, a nights journey following the beacon through a forest (Traavor slept in a tree, giving the others the creeps), they were surprised by a young drow girl who had seemingly crept out of the undergrowth to join them. Upon learning her ancestry, Ginead stood square with Maturins suspiciousness (Ginead had been told before dropping out of knight training that dark elves were very, very, always, totally, absolutely bad) and the group grilled the girl, Lido, as she called herself. She seemed genuine enough to some, and she also had some knowledge of the underground caverns they were travelling to.
These caverns were in a chasm. G'lorth had no problem climbing down (or abandoning his bath and servants) and Ginead offered to help Kira down as she was the smallest. She smiled sweetly and simply scampered down the rockface, leaving Ginead red-faced and gingerly picking his way down.
The tunnels inside were dark, and after a while, it began to teem with small spiders. Skin crawling, the group continued and came face to multi-eyed face with their source! A webby battle ensued, with Traavor proving his deadly worth at range, Kira proving her worth as a healer, Maturin proving his worth ingeniously using fire to scour spiders from his companions...and G'lorth proving his fists worth against Gineads face.
Another chamber was hidden from the group, which Ginead smashed open - revealing the many-eyed horror of a Beholder! Having warmed up and synced as a party, however, the group overturned the beastly threat in no time at all. G'lorth and Ginead prized open a crevice, revealing (after a near-miss with a blast of fire, causing Ginead to be, by now, deeply suspicious of the frog-man) a glassy dragons eye.
The group had no time to dwell upon their trophy, however, as the walls literally began caving in on them, thanks to vile Beholder magic. Quick-thinking Kira managed to carve them a way through with her druidic powers (Ginead was still convinced she was a bard), the expanding walls actually exploding a little on contact with her moonbeams.
Finally, the group followed the beacon into a chamber populated by many hooded figures, and Seth himself once more. The dragon eye was the artifact he needed, and he thanked and paid the group. Curious Kira stayed behind, though, prompting Ginead to linger as well, and, after some leading questions and hints from Lido, they discovered that all the hooded figures were drow...including Seth himself. Or herself, as it were.
Ginead Gladhand the Green was nursing a drink once more in the Cavernous Seashank. Only this time, he had a lot more on his mind, and perplexed his paladin morality on the ethics of Drow trying to cure a plague...
- Level 
Inspiration to Ginead on his next game!