Chapter #1165

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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       +
+   1991-2024 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                  +
+                                                                         +
+   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:          dusk                                                   +
+   Place:         the Gedlands, west of the Free City of Greyhawk        +
+   Climate:       warm                                                   +
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+   "It's not a bad thing finding out that you don't have all the         +
+    answers.  You start asking the right questions."                     +
+                  - Erik Selvig, from _Thor_ (2011)                      +
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                   MCLXV.  An Odd Test Subject





  Some of Otto's companions have brought him to a place where everyone
can be secure and free of distractions as they finally learn whether or
not the dwarf will suffer the most unpleasant and uncontrollable effects
of lycanthropy.

Nenya:  (speaking through the barred window set within the door of the
  holding cell)  How are you feeling?
Otto:  A little antsy...just like that other time in the dark realm, it's
  a general edginess, of the kind I often get right before a big battle.

  Nenya and Deryck couldn't remember why they had originally built this
chamber within a small, squat blockhouse of a building within the castle
from which they administered their land.  Regardless, they had done all
they could to make the place as comfortable as possible for the dwarf...
he rested upon a plush leather couch, near which was a table covered with
a variety of food and drink.  The room was lit by several magical torches
(so that there would be no live flames) and was well-ventilated by dozens
of narrow holes near the ceiling.  Despite all of these amenities, it was
still very much a cell, in a functional sense.  The walls were stone, six
inches thick; the door was two inches of solid iron and the bars in its
small window were an inch in diameter.  An adjacent room offered occupants
a one-directional view into the cell via a special section of wall made of
glasstone.  There was a zone of silence _around_ the small building such
that those inside could hear sounds from within, but not from outside, or
vice versa.

Deryck:  I'm really sorry about this-
Otto:  (irritably, likely due to the impending ascent of the two moons in
  the sky above)  Save it.  (he pauses)  See, there I go again.  But it's
  fine - I get it.  You can't risk me breaking out and getting loose and
  maybe killing someone.
Deryck:  ...right.
Arusha:  (shakes her head)  Stay calm.  I've researched your situation,
  unique though it may be, and I'll say again that I do _not_ believe you
  are going to change this time.  (she glances out the window at the ever-
  darkening sky)

  That window was out of sight of anyone within the cell, although that
was simply a coincidence since at the time of its construction, no one
could have ever guessed that it would one day hold a lycanthrope on the
night of the dual full moons.

Neera:  (glances at Nenya questioningly)
Nenya:  (nods in return, and they both move into the other, adjacent room
  so they can speak freely without Otto hearing)

  The grey elven sorceress had prepared further precautions, just in case
things went really badly.  The cell could be quickly filled with sleeping
gas thanks to a potion bottle positioned just outside the door.  If that
portal was somehow in danger of being sundered, Nenya would conjure forth
a thick plate (actually a miniature wall) of iron.  The ultimate fallback
option would be for all of them to exit the building, after which it would
be covered in a magical dome of force.

Nenya:  (quietly)  I doubt all - or any - of these precautions will be
  needed.  Even if Arusha is wrong-
Neera:  Which I doubt.
Nenya:  -even if she is wrong, I don't believe any werewolf can batter
  down that cell door.  A were-bear, maybe...
Deryck:  I know one of those.  (he eyes the door)  And you're probably
  right.
Neera:  This is why we have fallback options.

  Soon enough, the time for talking was over; the five observers were all
gathered in the adjacent room, where they could most safely observe the
state of Otto.  Deryck was closest to the door, ready to deploy the vial
of sleeping gas if things went bad; Nenya was similarly ready to cast the
wall of iron spell.

Neera:  (watching Otto through the glasstone)
Nenya:  We're really just here to help and support you in this.
Neera:  And we appreciate it.

  Within the sealed room, Otto felt fine so far...a bit apprehensive, but
nothing more than that.  He'd already eaten hefty portions of the meat,
bread, and cheese on the table but now felt thirsty, so he poured himself
a mug of ice-cold beer, silently thanking whichever wizard ensured that
the drink would remain at that temperature.  Draining that mug, he poured
another and soon finished it, after which he began pacing around the room.
He was restless, perhaps not from the uncertainty but rather from simply
being cooped up.  However, he realized that it was necessary and that it
would likely be just this one time, so he took a moment to calm down and
breathe deeply, steeling himself to be patient.

Otto:  (sighs, and returns to the couch, pouring and drinking a third mug
  of beer before lying down)

  In the other room...

Arusha:  I feel so bad for him.  He must feel like a subject in a strange
  experiment.
Judhon:  I'd say this is preferable to what would have happened if all of
  us were still in that other world.
Arusha:  True.  (to the gnome)  Do you miss it?
Judhon:  (shakes his head)  Any friends I had there were long gone, and
  my servitude to the vampire was both tedious and miserable.  I'm glad
  to be gone from there, and to be here making a new start.  (he frowns)
  How about you?
Arusha:  I shouldn't miss it - since I had no living relatives of note,
  and was living two lives there, one an absolute secret from everyone
  in the other.  But sometimes I do, in a way, which makes no sense.  I
  have to remind myself that the town of Holmburg is now in a much better
  state without Lord Marek around.  (she shrugs)  And much like you, I'm
  appreciative and excited for this new beginning here on Oerth.
Neera:  (listening to their conversation while she continues to observe
  Otto, she remains silent)

  Neera had been and would continue to do her best to keep the two happy
and productive.  She had unofficially been put in charge of them; with
everything that was going on in the Bright Desert and with the group of
archmagi, Belphanior was ridiculously busy and also away a lot, leaving
Neera to manage her own time and research projects.  In addition to those
(any general history of the fallen empire of Sulm, with a specific focus
on the Scorpion Crown, as well as side efforts like this one tonight) she
was starting to look ahead to the near and far future.  In that future,
the Bright Alliance's fortress-city would be complete, its vast series of
towers and walls dominating the Brass Hills and the surrounding desert...
a desert which would be in the process of becoming a proper kingdom, with
people who lived and worked there, doing their best to make it a better
place.  In that future land, the central fortress-city would be a center
of knowledge, learning, and innovation.  There could be a library unlike
any other on Oerth, containing both knowledge (including unique works the
adventurers had collected over the years such as the journal of the death
knight Gorath and the tome found in the werewolf-lord Tarkus' keep) and
magical lore (such as spells both common and rare, perhaps even formulas
for some of the legendary true dweomers.)  Such a library could be added
to and grown on a regular basis, incorporating new material as well as
copies of classics found in other libraries.  There could also be other
areas, similar to the library but with different functions...a laboratory
with vast stores of materials and components, where new spells and magic
items could be invented and tested and perfected...a foundry to forge a
variety of magical armor and weapons...an armory to store them, and from
which to distribute them as needed...perhaps even a planetarium where the
night skies could be observed and studied.
  This was Neera's vision, and she believed that - with the support and
resources of the archmagi who made up the Bright Alliance - her vision
would one day be realized.  Until that great day came, she was working
diligently to build and strengthen her small team.  In addition to her
magical ability, Arusha brought alchemy skills to the group; in addition
to his magical ability, Judhon contributed his building and craftsmanship
expertise.  Neera hadn't figured out - yet - how exactly to put it all
together, but she would, and expected the results to be nothing short of
wondrous.

Judhon:  -strange.
Neera:  Eh?
Arusha:  Nothing's happening.  (she gestures to the adjacent room, where
  Otto appears to have fallen asleep)
Neera:  Hmm.  (she walks over to the window, peering up into the night
  sky, where both Luna and Celene are full and majestic amidst the vast
  starscape beyond)  Hmm.
Judhon:  Could it be that...nothing's going to happen?
Arusha:  (smugly)  Told you.

  The young wizard and sage wasn't being obnoxious; rather, like anyone
in her profession, she was simply pleased when her long and difficult
work was validated by the results she expected.

Neera:  Let's not jinx ourselves.  The night is still young.
Arusha:  True, but the moons are already full.  If something was going
  to happen, it would have happened by now.  I again suggest that his
  particular curse was, or is, tied to that other world and possibly to
  the one who bit him.  Without those elements, here on Oerth...he should
  be free of the cyclical changes that haunt most lycanthropes.
Nenya:  (eyeing the sleeping form of Otto, now snoring loudly)  I hope
  you're right.
Neera:  As do I.  This is one loose end I'd very much like to be done
  worrying about.
Arusha:  (folds her slender arms and continues to watch Otto)  Then we'll
  have to wait all night, until the sun comes up.

  It was a long night - mostly due to the "what if?" factor which pretty
much prevented any of the five observers from sleeping too deeply - but
it was also a wholly uneventful night.  In the morning, long after the
two moons had vanished from sight and the sun had risen, the exhausted
adventurers opened the door to the central room.

Otto:  (sitting up, eating and drinking happily, he regards the others)
  Morning.  (he frowns)  Why do you all look so tired?





next:        we return our attention to...the Mines!
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:    8/30/2024
notes:       Neera spoke for me.  This is a loose end that I now consider
  put to rest.  I've mentioned this before, but in my 1980s childhood the
  _X-Men_ comic series was in its heyday, and Chris Claremont's plotting
  used to drive me crazy because for every loose end that got resolved,
  one or two more usually cropped up.  I remember thinking, back in 1985
  or thereabouts, that this was completely unsustainable (not to mention
  frustrating to me as a reader.)
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