Chapter #1113

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                       +      THE ADVENTURERS      +
                         +                       +
                           +      Epic VI      +
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+     Many of the locations, non-player characters, spells, and other     +
+   terms used in these stories are the property of Wizards of the Coast  +
+   which has in no way endorsed or authorized their use.  Any such       +
+   property contained within these stories are not representative of     +
+   Wizards of the Coast in any fashion.                                  +
+     The player characters depicted in these stories are copyright       +
+   1991-2022 by Thomas A. Miller.  Any resemblance to any persons        +
+   or characters either real or fictional is utterly coincidental.       +
+   Copying and/or distribution of these stories is permissible under     +
+   the sole condition that no money is made in the process.  In that     +
+   case, I hope you enjoy them!                                          +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+   Belphanior     18th/18th/18th level elven fighter/wizard/thief        +
+   Paige          13th level human female warrior                        +
+   Razor Charlie  12th level human fighter                               +
+   Skektek        14th level human wizard                                +
+                                                                         +
+   Arnold          14th level human barbarian warrior                    +
+   Lorelei          8th level human priestess of Beory                   +
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+   Date:          4/18/586 C.Y. (Common Year)                            +
+   Time:          early evening, an hour before sundown                  +
+   Place:         the plains outside Djekul, in the land of the Fruzti   +
+   Climate:       cold                                                   +
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+   "Sometimes we make wrong choices to get to the right place."          +
+                  - Susan Plummer, from _The Equalizer_ (2014)           +
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                   MCXIII.  Arnold of Djekul





  The four adventurers now found themselves on the cold, windswept plains
outside the small, walled city of Djekul, in the western reaches of the
Fruzti kingdom...also known as the lands of the Frost Barbarians.  Unlike
the forest they'd just departed, this area had no trees or other cover to
break the icy wind, and they were quickly feeling the full effects of the
northern cold.

Belphanior:  (eyeing the walls and gate of the city in the distance)
Skektek:  It was nice of your friends in the forest to tell us where to
  find the next one.  (he watches Belphanior stow the Eye of Celestian)
  Not that we needed the help.
Belphanior:  Nope.
Paige:  They seemed angry...though I get it, given what they said they've
  been through.  Hell, I felt the same way when I lost all my companions
  in that land of zombies.  (she shivers, both from the memory and from
  the cold)
Razor Charlie:  (seeing a group of hulking warriors headed their way, he
  unconsciously reaches for some of his knives, while raising his voice
  just enough to be heard)  Incoming.
Belphanior:  Yeah, I know.  (he regards his three companions)  Be ready,
  just in case we have to defend ourselves...but I do NOT want a fight
  here.  I'll do the talking.
Skektek:  Got it.  You'll do the talking.  (he readies himself to use his
  ring of flying to rise into the air, should he need to, and mutters to
  himself in a low voice)  And I'll do the blasting...though it'd sure be
  a hell of a lot easier if I had my old wands.
Belphanior:  I heard that.  (sternly)  No blasting, unless we have to...
  in which case I'll make the first move.
Skektek:  (only half-seriously)  Dammit.
Razor Charlie:  (double-checks his vest and belt, which together contain
  more than two dozen fine, well-balanced, razor-sharp throwing knives)
  Hm.  (finding everything in order, he just barely cracks a smile)
Paige:  (mentally readies herself to draw and use her sword in a hurry)
  Why are we worried about a bunch of-  (she eyes the band of approaching
  warriors)  -crazy, gigantic, half-naked barbarians?  Hmm.  Okay, maybe
  we should be worried.
Belphanior:  They look mean, and they probably are - but we need to bear
  in mind that they've been through a lot, and don't much trust outsiders.
  They never have.  But we also have a big advantage in that we personally
  know one of their leaders.
Skektek:  Not to mention the advantages of thunder, lightning, fire, and
  such.
Belphanior:  And those too.
Paige:  (eyeing the half-dozen barbarian warriors who are now just thirty
  feet away)  Showtime.
Belphanior:  Let's hope not.  (he raises both empty hands, palms facing
  the approaching barbarians, and takes a single step toward them)  Peace
  be with you, friends.

  Truth be told, these men looked anything but peaceful.  The shortest
among them stood a head taller than the elf - who was a good six feet -
and they were all broadly-built, their limbs corded with thick muscle.
Every one of them bore some sort of huge, heavy weapon; despite most of
these being sheathed or otherwise at rest, there was no doubt that they
could be readied and used at a moment's notice.  Some of the barbarians
sported huge, bushy beards while others were almost clean-shaven; they
all had long, wild hair that came down to their shoulders.  Their blond
hair and pale skin spoke to their Suel heritage, as did the stern looks
on their faces.  They were clad in various furs which didn't seem to be
enough to keep them from freezing, yet none of them appeared to be cold.

lead barbarian warrior:  (takes a couple of steps forward, his long arms
  crossed as he regards the four adventurers)  An elf, a wench, a wizard,
  and-  (he studies Razor Charlie)  -a warrior.
Razor Charlie:  (grimaces, locking gazes with the much larger man)
lead barbarian warrior:  A strange group...but then these are strange
  times.  What is your business in the lands of the Fruzti?
Belphanior:  I seek one of your leaders.  I am an old friend, and we've
  not seen each other in many years.
second barbarian warrior:  (snorts)  A likely tale.
Belphanior:  But nevertheless true.
second barbarian warrior:  You talk funny, elf.  (he eyes Paige)  And do
  you talk too?
Paige:  I do.  (she gives the man an icy stare)  But you wouldn't like
  what I have to say.
second barbarian warrior:  (involuntarily recoils from the look in her
  eyes, then catches himself and puffs out his chest, raising his voice)
  We'll just see about-
lead barbarian warrior:  (turns to his kinsman)  Enough.
second barbarian warrior:  But-
lead barbarian warrior:  (sternly)  Quiet yourself.  (he turns back to
  Belphanior)  I am Burgrim, a war chief of Djekul.  And while I doubt
  you are agents of Redbeard, you are yet strangers here.  These are hard
  and dangerous times, and we must be wary.
Belphanior:  Understood.
Burgrim:  You claim to know one of our chiefs...name him.
Belphanior:  I seek an audience with Arnold.
second barbarian warrior:  (his eyes widen)  Arnold!

  Judging from the surprised looks and rapid muttering of the others, it
was obvious that this name meant something to them...as it should, if the
claims of Songa and Rillen were true and Arnold was some sort of military
leader among these people.

Burgrim:  Arnold.  (he shakes his head)  You come here...not barbarians,
  and damn sure not allies...asking after the chief of all warriors in
  the city.
Belphanior:  Yes.  And we may not be your allies, but we are also not your
  enemies.  I have heard of the misdeeds of Iuz, and I hope to one day see
  him pay for all that he has done.
Burgrim:  Your words are good.  But, they are just that...words.
Belphanior:  They will be proven true.  As will my friendship with your
  leader Arnold, once I talk to him.  (he frowns)  Or once you do.  I see
  your problem now.  You can't just take us to him, whether we're really
  his friends or not, because either way that would make you irresponsible
  at doing your job.  But you can't attack or arrest us, because we might
  be telling the truth.
Burgrim:  (nods)  Go on.
Belphanior:  I propose this solution to the dilemma:  Leave us here, under
  whatever guard you think necessary, but safely outside the city's walls.
  We won't enter the city, we won't leave, we'll just wait...
Burgrim:  While I, or one of my men, goes into Djekul and lets Arnold know
  who's come to see him and is waiting out here.  (he nods)  A fine plan.
Belphanior:  It is, at that.
Burgrim:  Heh.  (he regards the elf)  The best part is how you made it to
  to look like it was my idea.  Fortunately for all of us, I have no need
  to take the credit for good ideas, whoever thought of them.  (he turns
  and gestures to one of the others)  Halwulf.  Go into the city barracks,
  find our war-chief, and let him know that-  (he turns back to the elf
  with a questioning look)
Belphanior:  I am Belphanior.  Trust me, he'll know.
Burgrim:  Belphanior.  Right.  (he turns back to Halwulf)  Go.  I'll wait
  here.
Halwulf:  (sprints away toward the city gate)
Burgrim:  And now...we wait.

  In some circumstances, one or both groups might have tried to find some
topic to talk about, to spark conversation.  This was not one of those
times.  While there was no open hostility, there was also no common ground
of any sort...not yet.  Belphanior sensed that, once this was all cleared
up, some sort of feast might be possible, with good food and strong drink,
not to mention all sorts of loud and bold tales.  For now - as much as it
went against his very nature - the elf did his best to be diplomatic and
peaceful.  The last thing he needed was a conflict during one of these
trips to see his old friends.

second barbarian warrior:  (still glaring at Paige, who is now pointedly
  ignoring him as she appears to doze while still standing)
Belphanior:  Then again, maybe not.
Burgrim:  Eh?
Belphanior:  Nothing.

  The elf was fairly certain that both the barbarians and his own people
were thinking about exactly what they'd do, and in what order, if a fight
did break out.  He even ran through the most likely chain of events in his
mind, as he waited...Razor Charlie would take out the spear-wielding foes
with knives...Paige would leap to the attack using her speed and perhaps
the element of surprise...Skektek would fly straight up into the sky, and
then begin blasting away with magic...and Belphanior would choose between
blade or spell as appropriate, before using the Eye of Celestian to whisk
them away to safety before things got worse...

Belphanior:  (shakes his head)  No.  I won't believe that things are so
  far gone, that such strife could happen when one simply comes to visit
  an old friend.
Burgrim:  Are you well?  You seem to be talking to yourself.
Belphanior:  I'm fine.  Just reflecting on the state of the world.

  The elf's brooding didn't last long.  Either the one he sought had been
close at hand, or else had hurried to exit the city.  Whatever the case,
a nearby commotion first hinted at the presence of someone important, and
that commotion was moving this way.  Momentarily, Arnold came into view,
surrounded by a dozen of his best warriors (presumably in case this was
some sort of trap).

Arnold:  (breaks into a grin)  Belphanior!
Belphanior:  (smirks at Burgrim)  I told you.
Burgrim:  Well, that's that.  (he stands at attention)
Arnold:  (walks right up and seizes the elf in a powerful bearhug)  It's
  good to see you!
Belphanior:  (amazed at the sheer strength of the other)  Yes...urgh...

  As Arnold released the elf, they sized each other up, for it had been
around six years since they last met.  For the barbarian's part, he was
much the same:  tall, immensely muscular, and honest.  However, just like
the others who Belphanior had already sought out and spoken with, Arnold's
face and eyes bore the pain and stress of all the fighting and turmoil of
the last few years.

Belphanior:  What was your part in the w-
Arnold:  Let us now retreat to my chambers, in the city, to catch up and
  discuss things.  (to Burgrim)  Good work here.  These four shall come
  with me, into Djekul.
Burgrim:  Yes sir.

  As they walked, Belphanior quickly and briefly introduced his three
companions, although he took the hint and didn't say anything about the
Greyhawk Wars, or even any of his own recent adventures.  Arnold, still
surrounded by his retinue of guards, led them toward and then into the
walled city - which was truthfully more of a giant fort.  Built for the
purpose of withstanding attack until its warriors could issue forth and
do battle, Djekul was a simple and functional place.  Within its immense
palisade were a series of smaller keeps and other buildings; they walked
past a number of these before entering one of the larger keeps.  All of
the guards remained on the second floor while Arnold took the visitors
up to the third floor, which appeared to be his working area.

Arnold:  (gestures to the maps spread across several tables, and a rack
  full of weapons and a battered suit of chain mail armor)  Behold, the
  war room.
Paige:  You live here?
Arnold:  No, we live upstairs on the top floor.  I try to keep my family
  away from...(he waves one hand around the room)  All this.
Belphanior:  So they're alive and well?
Arnold:  (nods)  As well as can be expected, considering.
Belphanior:  I see.  Please know that - long story short - I, and all of
  my companions, have been elsewhere for years.  Including the entire time
  of the wars.
Arnold:  Elsewhere?
Belphanior:  (nods)  Another world, to be exact.  Not by choice, and not
  by plan.
Paige:  It worked out well for me, though.
Arnold:  Eh?
Belphanior:  We...helped her fight off a horde of zombies that hungered
  for flesh and could infect others, passing along their diseased state.
Arnold:  (silently contemplates this)
Belphanior:  Anyhow, we weren't here and so we missed the wars, meaning
  we didn't get to help at all.  Which is greatly upsetting in more ways
  than one.  But enough of that.  How did you fare?
Arnold:  (sadly)  It was a bad time.  As you may know, we lived in Nevond
  Nevnend, within Tenh...had a good life there, too.  A happy life.  Nice
  house, good jobs, and we stayed busy doing things that mattered and made
  a difference.  (he shakes his head)  Imagine our surprise when we heard
  that the barbarian kingdoms up north - all three of them, and then the
  Stonefists too - had united and were readying themselves to head south
  to loot and pillage.  (he grits his teeth)  Tenh was our home.  My wife
  is from there.  And now it's gone, its people exterminated or fled, the
  land under the control of that damned Iuz.  (he suddenly grabs a heavy
  mug of cast iron)
Belphanior:  I keep hearing that name.
Arnold:  Yes.  (the muscles of his forearm bunch up, and the thick metal
  cup is slowly crushed)
Paige:  (quietly)  Damn.
Arnold:  (sets the now-useless lump of metal back down on the table)  That
  foul one has much to answer for.
Belphanior:  I couldn't agree more.  And for what it's worth, I'm sorry.
Arnold:  Not your fault.  (he sighs)  So, we lost everything.  I mean, I
  did what I could - tried to talk to our generals, if not our king...but
  no one was listening.  The idea of a great northern god had taken hold,
  and everyone was crazy.  There I was, caught between my homeland and my
  wife's, with two small children to protect.  It quickly became obvious
  that Tenh was in danger from the north...and also that there wasn't a
  damned thing I could do about it, you know?
Belphanior:  (trying to put himself in the other's boots and see things
  from that perspective)  Damn.  You couldn't fight your own people - not
  that it would have made a difference - and you couldn't join them in the
  raids.
Arnold:  It was a bad situation, with no way to win, no right course of
  action.  We talked, we argued, we cried...and in the end, we did the
  only thing that made clear sense.
Belphanior:  You got your family out of harm's way.
Arnold:  Yes.  We fled to the County of Urnst, to the southwest.  It was
  the safest place we could reach in the short time we had.  By the time
  I had them stowed there, Tenh had fallen and the Stonefists were turning
  their gaze to Ratik next.  Of course, I didn't know that when I left my
  family in Urnst and headed back north.  I was lucky to learn of the sad
  events before I got too far, else I'd likely have wandered into Tenh and
  crossed swords with some Fists.
Belphanior:  (already suspecting the answer, he asks the question anyway)
  Wait, weren't they allied with the barbarian kingdoms?
Arnold:  (bitterly)  Only until they swept into Tenh, looting and killing
  and burning.  By then, all of the rest of our lands had come to their
  senses.  The king of the Fists - Redbeard himself - wanted to press on
  into Ratik, but the army was falling apart, and our own people had been
  allies of Ratik for decades.  I took the long way around and into that
  land, where I fought with them against the Fists and other foes.  After
  that, I led a small force up north into my homeland, where we fought
  various monsters that had emerged from the mountains, thinking to raid
  our lands.  (he clenches a fist grimly)  They thought wrong.
Belphanior:  And then what happened?
Arnold:  I'd fought well, and slain many foes both human and otherwise.
  In doing so, I led others into battle more than once...and by the time
  the fighting was over, someone thought I would make a good chief over
  Djekul's warriors.
Belphanior:  So you're a...?
Arnold:  Other lands might call me a general.  Here, I'm a war chief.
  It's an important job, and one that needs doing - for the hordes of Iuz
  are still in the former lands of Tenh, too close for comfort, and the
  Stonefists as well.  (he shakes his head)  The fighting isn't over, of
  that I'm sure.  And when that time comes, the evil ones have much to
  answer for.
Belphanior:  Agreed.
Arnold:  The good news is, the new king knows and understands all this.
  When the time comes, he will do what needs doing.  He has worked hard
  to strengthen our alliance with Ratik, and to increase our standing
  compared to the Schnai and Cruski, the other barbarians.
Paige:  (helpfully)  He sounds like a good and wise king.
Arnold:  He is all of those things and more, which is surprising given
  his young age.  Anyway, he has done a lot of good in a fairly short
  time, and he will do more.  And until then, I will do my part here.
Belphanior:  How is your wife holding up?  And the children?
Arnold:  (wearily)  The worst of the sadness and the arguments are in the
  past now.  She has lost her homeland, and we have lost everything we'd
  built there...but we hold out hope that one day things will get better
  for the surviving people of Tenh.
Belphanior:  (frowns)  Is there anything I can do to help, once my current
  work is done?
Arnold:  Right now?  Nothing.  But in the future, if you hear that the
  Fruzti have gone to war against any of the foes I've told you about...
  any support would be greatly appreciated.
Belphanior:  (nods)  Understood.  You have my word that I will try.
Arnold:  Many thanks.  And now, you should meet Lorelei and the children.
Belphanior:  I've met her, once.  But we don't want to impose-
Arnold:  It's no problem, and it would be a treat.  We never get visitors
  from outside our land.  In fact, night has fallen and it grows cold out
  there.  I'd be honored if you four would stay the night.  We have plenty
  of room for guests - one of the advantages of being the war chief.
Belphanior:  Well...I guess...
Arnold:  (nods)  Excellent.
Paige:  Just as long as I'm not sleeping anywhere near that one idiot from
  outside.

  Within the hour, Belphanior and his three companions were enjoying a
massive feast, along with Arnold, Lorelei, and their two children...who
weren't really children anymore.  At nine years old, Kira was almost as
tall as her mother, and was unusually intelligent and empathetic.  While
she didn't talk much about recent world events and the hardships that her
family had endured, it was obvious that she understood things...not just
_what_ happened but also _why_ in many cases.  She seemed to have quite
an affinity for nature and the ways of Beory, and appeared poised to one
day follow in the footsteps of her mother.  As for Seth, who was a year
younger than his sister...he was bigger and stronger than any other boy
of his age that any of them had ever seen.  It turned out that he had not
only shown an interest in learning how to fight, but he also possessed
some of his mother's talents when it came to dealing with animals.  Seth
didn't talk much at all, but was keenly observant of everything going on
around him.

Arnold:  (speaking quietly, while his children are occupied at the other
  end of the table)  It says something about the world that children as
  young as these are already thinking about becoming priests, warriors,
  or similar.  (sadly)  The world has changed, my friends.
Belphanior:  It has, but that doesn't mean it can't be changed in other
  ways.  (he raises his glass in an impromptu toast)  Here's to someday,
  somehow finding ways to make a better future for all these lands.
Lorelei:  (smiles, hesitantly at first, but then more hopefully)  I'll
  drink to that.
Arnold:  Damn right.





next:       Peyote and Daffodil
www:        http://www.peldor.com/download.html
homepage:   http://www.peldor.com/
email:      tmiller@peldor.com
released:   6/24/2022
notes:      The "capital" city of Djekul was referenced in episode 158
  as the original party rode within a day of it; it was noted that Arnold
  didn't want to take his friends there.  It next appeared in episodes
  627-628 when Rillen and Songa joined Tarl to undertake a mission for
  King Ralff.
    There's only one problem:  Djekul was never the capital of the lands
  of the Frost Barbarians.  That would be Krakenheim.  So this mistake
  dates back to the 1990s and some of my earliest writing...no surprise
  really.  It's probably best to assume that Arnold was confused, and
  passed that confusion on to Rillen and Songa.  In any case, I've made
  sure not to claim Djekul as the capital in this episode.
    As far as Arnold and Lorelei, we haven't seen them for a while, since
  episode 680 (more than seven years ago in game time, when Rillen and
  Songa caught up with Arnold and met his wife Lorelei and their two
  children) and then episode 789 (only six months later in game time,
  when the two couples again caught up) and finally and most recently
  in episode 800.  That last was still more than six years ago in game
  time, and was the big gathering/feast story that marked the supposed
  end of the series because I was worn out and thought I'd told all the
  stories I had to tell.  (Obviously I had not.)  Anyhow, a look back at
  episode 800 showed me that Belphanior had indeed met the new, married,
  accent-less Arnold and his wife, which helped set the context of this
  episode.
    On a final note - and this applies to all of the original adventurers
  as well as their henchpeople - it shouldn't be a surprise that most of
  them rose to leadership positions of some sort, especially during such
  a time of turmoil as the Greyhawk Wars.
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