Chapter #1164
previous chapter (#1163)
next chapter (#1165)
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+ THE ADVENTURERS +
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+ 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 +
+ 1991-2024 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! +
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+ +
+ Neera 12th level female human wizard (sage/savant) +
+ Arusha 6th level human female wizard (sage/alchemist) +
+ Judhon 7th level gnomish illusionist and artisan +
+ Otto 12th/14th level dwarven fighter/thief +
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+ Deryck 13th level half-elven ranger +
+ Nenya 12th/12th level female grey elven warrior/wizard +
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+ Date: 6/28/586 C.Y. (Common Year) +
+ Time: afternoon +
+ Place: the Gedlands, west of the Free City of Greyhawk +
+ Climate: warm +
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+ "I think there is something very strange going on over there, and I +
+ think it’s about time I started to find out what. Now there are +
+ various ways I can go about that. I intend to use the direct +
+ approach.” +
+ - from _The Equalizer_ episode _Pretenders_ (1985) +
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MCLXIV. A Snarled Situation
As the month of Wealsun neared its end, making way for the weeklong
Richfest before the new month, a small element of Belphanior's team has
gathered in a secure location...
Neera: Again, many thanks for letting us stay here for this.
Nenya: It's our pleasure. Aside from the space and the solitude you
needed in order to properly research all of this, there's definitely
some advantage to being here tonight...if things go wrong.
Otto: (sighs)
For the last week, the dwarf (as well as Neera and her assistants, the
novice wizard/sage Arusha and the gnome illusionist and craftsman Judhon)
had been quartered in Nenya and Deryck's domain west of Greyhawk. While
the location allowed them to access any needed resources in the nearby
Free City, their primary reason for being there was much simpler: the
fortress-city under construction in the Brass Hills, within the Bright
Desert, had no facilities for research...or for dealing with the worst-
case scenario.
Otto: It's going to be fine.
Deryck: That may be, but it would still be prudent to confine you in a
safe place until we know for sure.
Neera: You made it through Luna's cycle without a problem, last month.
Tonight marks the start of the week when _both_ moons are full...and
this will be the real test.
Arusha: (helpfully) Silver Luna, also called the Mistress, appears in
its entirety every month...while aquamarine Celene, the Handmaiden,
is full only once every three months.
Neera: (smiles to herself)
The master savant couldn't have been more proud of her young understudy;
Arusha had an insatiable hunger for learning and constantly (some might
say obsessively) sought to expand her knowledge. It might have been the
fact that she'd lived in a single town - and with a single purpose - for
her entire life thus far...but more likely it was simply ingrained in her
personality. Aside from the fact that she had taught herself the use of
magic in her teenage years, with no guidance or arcane resources, Arusha
also had a solid understanding of oddities such as vampirism, lycanthropy,
and the like. She read fast and was quickly able to absorb concepts and
put them together into greater ideas (which was similar to, but different
from, Neera's own unusual ability to recall precise words, numbers, and
other information that she had previously read or seen.) Arusha also had
a high degree of competency in the field of alchemy, the combination of
different substances to produce various mystical effects. In addition to
all of this, Neera had realized that - now given proper magical resources
and mentorship - Arusha was continuing to learn and grow in her magical
prowess. It was a foregone conclusion that (given enough time, lore, and
practice) Arusha could very well attain the status of archmage one day in
the far future.
Arusha: (continues, breaking Neera out of her reverie) We know that,
when he did change back in that dark realm, Otto had more control over
his wolfen form that anyone would have suspected. Based on the dozens
of sources in my research - including the highly-useful tome from that
Tarkus, the beast who inflicted this curse - I've concluded that this
high degree of rational thought resulted from the combination of two
things-
Otto: Agreed.
Arusha: -the lack of a master werewolf, and an exceptionally high degree
of willpower. If you _do_ change tonight, I'd expect you to have much
the same autonomy as you did that other time. (she frowns) But I'll
also say that I don't expect such a change to happen...not here on this
world. All moons, across all realms, are not the same. I believe the
worst you'll experience is a preference for raw meat, and random changes
in mood.
Neera: Plus we know that you've experienced some...beneficial effects as
well.
Otto: (nods) I shook off a couple of sleeping potions pretty fast, back
on that other world...although I had a pretty strong resistance to all
sorts of poisons and such before then.
Arusha: Let's not forget the fact that you healed from a deep cut in a
matter of hours, rather than the day or two it would have taken with
your magical ring, or the weeks it would have taken without any help.
Otto: Yeah, I had noticed that. What's going on there, do you think?
Arusha: Typically, werewolves and other lycanthropes can only be wounded
by magical weapons, or those of silver. Given your unusual situation,
which has apparently resulted in your equally-unusual not-quite-full-
lycanthrope state...I posit that non-magical weapons can and will cut
or slice or smash you, but that the damage from such will heal far more
rapidly than normal. You're not immune - the wound you received in the
battle with Robilar caused you pain, and bled?
Otto: Yup, it sure did.
Arusha: But it was gone in less than a day?
Otto: Right. (he pauses) So I can be hit and hurt by weapons, but if
they're not enchanted, those wounds will heal on their own, and faster
than expected.
Arusha: That's my theory. (she shrugs) We could always test it with
some knives and an hourglass, but I doubt any of us wants to do that.
Otto: No thanks. I'll wait until the next time I'n in battle, and let
you know afterward.
Judhon: This is fascinating. You've become...a quasi-lycanthrope.
Otto: I don't know if I'd call it fascinating, but it does seem to have
more advantages than drawbacks, at least for someone like me who fights
for a living.
Judhon: (shakes his head) Fascinating.
The gnome had a different skillset than Arusha, but had also proven a
useful member of Neera's team (which she had come to jokingly refer to as
"the ones left behind on all major missions.") Like Arusha and also Neera
herself, Judhon wasn't used to combat or conflict, and was quiet and meek
most of the time. But - in addition to a fair level of competence as an
illusionist - he was highly skilled at building and shaping things: wood,
stone, and metal. He could create ornate carvings, elaborate decorations,
or intricate mechanisms with equal competence and also had some aptitude
for taking things apart or fixing them. Perhaps the best example of the
gnomish artisan's recent work had been the simple, foolproof dead man's
switch he'd fashioned for Belphanior prior to the battle with Rary. That
work had helped guarantee that the potent anti-magic sphere could be used
effectively when the time was right...and had thus helped Belphanior win
the day with a combination of surprise and power.
Judhon: So...what's the next step here?
Otto: (eyeing the sun's position in the sky) I'd imagine that you will
soon lock me in some room that I can't get out of, and then we wait for
the double full moons, and see what happens.
next: the test of the two moons
map: http://www.peldor.com/world/atlas/bright_desert_1156.jpg
www: http://www.peldor.com/download.html
homepage: http://www.peldor.com/
email: tmiller@peldor.com
released: 8/23/2024
notes: So...in game terms, Otto now has the inherent property to
regenerate from wounds inflicted by non-magical weapons, at the rate
of 1 hp of damage per turn. If coupled with a ring of regeneration,
overall healing of such wounds occurs at double that rate.
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