Chapter #1166
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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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+ Alindyar 18th level dark elven wizard +
+ Lyra 14th level female drow wizard +
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+ Adolphus 8th level half-ogre warrior +
+ Damien small, renegade imp +
+ Peyton 9th level gnome thief +
+ Rogar 8th level human priest of Olidammara +
+ Sylus 7th/7th level dark elf warrior/thief +
+ Wembly 7th level human wizard +
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+ Date: Richfest day 3, after 6/28/586 C.Y. (Common Year) +
+ Time: late morning +
+ Place: the northwest reaches of the Abbor-Alz hills +
+ Climate: warm and dry +
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+ "Why fight when you can negotiate? All one needs is the proper +
+ leverage." +
+ - from _Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest_ +
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MCLXVI. Return to the Mines
On the third day of the weeklong festival between months - almost two
weeks after the previous teams bade farewell to He Chak and the mines,
and four days shy of the deadline given by the mysterious beholder known
as Father Eye - a smaller group returns to the area.
Lyra: We'll be there shortly. And this wizard will sense our arrival
and come out to meet us?
Peyton: That's what he said.
Alindyar: I see.
Adolphus: (regards the pair of dark elves, wondering why they are moving
along on unseen chairs while he and his group ride horses) Huh.
Sylus: (regards Lyra, wondering how such a fine-looking dark elf female
escaped the subterranean life and society of the dark elves)
Sylus, for his part, knew exactly how and why he'd left the Underdark
behind and made the surface world his home: he had a strong aversion to
authority, at least the sort that prevailed in the culture of the drow.
As warriors went, he'd been skilled enough to draw the riskier duties and
attention from those who ruled, but not skilled enough to gain a command
of his own (at least not at that time, for his experience and prowess in
combat had improved substantially in his time above ground.) However, he
would never be mistaken for one of those rare dark elves who simply were
not ruthless and cruel, and thus opted to depart from whatever Underdark
city they'd been born in. Those types of drow were one in ten thousand
at best, and tended to seek to befriend others - and perhaps eventually
fight evil when they found it. Not so Sylus. He would fight anyone if
the pay was right, and was not the altruistic sort...which was why he fit
in so well with Peyton and the others.
To be sure, these two dark elves didn't seem like do-gooders; they were
far too quiet, and when they did speak, they always seemed to have some
unknown greater end in mind. Although today's goal was known to everyone
present: this group had to re-engage He Chak and his beholder master and
come to some sort of agreement about the mines, the surrounding hills,
and exactly who would (and could) do exactly what in those areas from now
on. Supposedly the pair were two of the "Bright Alliance", the powerful
collection of wizards that wished to rule the Bright Desert. Sylus didn't
fully know or understand all of that - his attention was focused on much
smaller pieces of the greater puzzle - but he knew all about dark elves,
and these two looked both serious and competent. Accordingly, he had no
problem with Peyton's team accompanying them in a support role.
And besides, the pay for this job (just like that for various past jobs
sponsored by the tall elf, Belphanior) was excellent.
Alindyar: (ESPing to Lyra) Methinks you have an admirer.
Lyra: (ESPing to Alindyar) I already noticed that. He's probably just
never seen a dark elven female out and about on the world's surface.
But it's nothing to worry about...if he says anything inappropriate,
I'll put him in his place.
Alindyar: (ESPing to Lyra) If he says anything inappropriate, I will
put him in another plane of existence.
Lyra: (ESPing to Alindyar) Heh.
The drow brought quite a bit of power to this endeavor. Aside from his
own highly potent magical capabilities, Alindyar had his enchanted cloak
and several defensive spells already in effect on his person. While he
carried a staff of power and also a wand of conjuring, those weren't even
his most useful items in a fight. The unusually thick wand he carried
(its end tipped with a tiny hand that moved and changed depending on which
variant of Bigby's hand spell it was casting) offered a fast and simple
means of dealing with most dangers. He also had three small and fragile
glass globes - currently held in an extra-dimensional pocket to keep them
from being crushed - that each contained a different variety of potent gas
that would be released upon the sphere shattering. Perhaps the dark elf's
most impressive magical item, or at least the most impressive one on his
person at this time, was the small gilded cage of brass that was stashed
in a different extra-dimensional pocket. With a single word of command,
this device could entrap a target, magically shrinking it and imprisoning
it within, unable to escape by physical or magical means. This extremely
rare cage was one of only five said to be in existence, the things being
created long ago by the mad archmage Zagyg before his eventual ascension
to godhood. Legend had it - and Alindyar believed - that the wizard had
used something similar to these cages and their magic to imprison nine
deities far beneath Castle Greyhawk, many decades past. At any rate, the
powerful brass cage was his trump card, similar to the way that his ally
Belphanior utilized the time-stopping hourglass which he possessed.
And if all else failed, Alindyar wore an amulet around his neck that
allowed instantaneous travel to other planes of existence. However, he
had absolutely no intention or expectation of using the amulet today.
As for Lyra, she had a smaller and more streamlined collection of items
to augment her own impressive spellcasting capabilities. Like her mate,
she wore an enchanted cloak of protection and had previously cast several
defensive spells upon herself. Additionally, she wore boots of flying and
a ring that could summon a powerful djinn from the Elemental Plane of Air.
Unlike most others would in her situation, Lyra did not abuse this item or
take such summoning lightly; she intended to only call upon the djinn in
the direst of straits.
Aside from all of those things, of course, the drow had their ESP rings
which provided a dedicated mental link between the two of them, allowing
private communications that would go unnoticed by others present.
Lyra: (ESPing to Alindyar) You know, we should probably do less mental
communication and more talking with the team we borrowed and brought
along for this.
Alindyar: (ESPing to Lyra) Aye.
The dark elf turned to Peyton, leader of that group; the gnome rode
astride a small pony, and seemed deep in thought.
Peyton: Yes?
Alindyar: Is there anything else about this wizard He Chak, or Father
Eye, that you can offer and that may be of use?
Peyton: Nothing overwhelming. I'll say the same thing I told Otto after
the last time...I talked with He Chak for a while in the dungeons, and
I'm a pretty good judge of character, and I got the impression that he
wants to escape the beholder's service. Before, he was an emissary for
Rary, and now that that's over with, his only use to Father Eye will be
as an emissary to us. I mean, he has his spells, but I don't think the
eye tyrant needs those as much. It had really hoped for an alliance
with Rary, and probably now hopes for the same with you folks.
Alindyar: (nods) I see.
Peyton: And He Chak has a young lady, a companion, who he's trying to
protect in all this. (he rubs his short beard thoughtfully) If you
ask me, a win here would be figuring out what exactly the beholder
wants...and if it fits into your plans for the region, then ensuring
that it happens. But if that doesn't prove to be possible...a win of a
different kind would be the destruction of the monster and all of its
minions and such in the mines and dungeon. (he thinks about how that
particular outcome could free up access to the veins of gold and silver
in the mines)
Lyra: (ESPing to Alindyar) You know, I bet he's thinking about how the
more violent outcome would possibly give him a chance to take precious
metals from that mine.
Alindyar: (ESPing to Lyra) Agreed. This gnome is quite clever, and
also unusually crafty. While I doubt he will lead us astray, much less
into a dangerous situation...I believe he will find the gold along any
path, so to speak.
Lyra: (ESPing to Alindyar) Regarding this western wizard, He Chak, I'm
inclined to rescue him and his lady friend from their situation, if at
all possible.
Alindyar: (ESPing to Lyra) Aye. (verbally, to Peyton) We shall see
what the eye tyrant's demands are.
Peyton: Oh, and one more thing...it's not just duergar who serve him. I
saw about ten big, brown trolls - a desert species, I'd assume - but he
also had a quartet of fire giants in his palace. (he frowns) And two
big iron statues that I think were mobile and could fight.
Lyra: Golems.
Alindyar: Hmm. With allies or minions such as that...this creature has
no need of physical help such as troops. That leads me to think that
it seeks magical might to overcome its foes and accomplish its goals.
(to Peyton) Your observations are astute and useful, and we thank you
for those. (he turns his attention to Sylus) Like Lyra and myself,
you are well aware of the nature of any possible foes in the passages
beneath the beholder's lair, foes that the monster will likely want to
deal with.
Sylus: (nods) While the mines are close enough to the surface for trolls
and goblins to be a problem, they wouldn't be any real challenge for one
such as the beholder. We know about the duergar, although there aren't
many left now.
Wembly: (beams with pride)
Sylus: Illithids are a strong possibility, and possibly also kuo-toa or
drow. (he frowns) Not both at once, of course, as the two races hate
one another.
Alindyar: My thoughts exactly.
Lyra: There may also be other beholders...Father Eye's enemies or rivals
from whatever strange place he came from.
Peyton: We just won't know until we talk to him. (he sees a familiar
series of hills just ahead) Ah, we're about there.
Alindyar: Say what you will to He Chak when he appears, but whenever we
deal with the beholder...please allow Lyra and I to do the talking.
Shortly, they were about fifty feet outside the hillock which contained
the multiple mine entrances (several of which still bore the scorch marks
from the past assault.) The majority of the visitors spread out to avoid
presenting an easy, grouped target; only the dark elven wizards and Peyton
remained together. No guards were visible.
Peyton: If there are duergar, they'll be inside, out of the sunlight.
(he frowns) Any who still survive won't look kindly upon us, so you'll
want to bear that in mind.
Lyra: Noted.
Alindyar: (blinks) Ah. An emissary approaches.
Although no one else had seen or otherwise detected anything, the dark
elf sensed the shift in reality that represented magical movement, in this
case through solid stone. A few moments later, a slender middle-aged man
emerged from one of the intact mine entrances. He was garbed in fine and
exotic clothes in the style of the lands to the far west, After a brief
assessment of the scattered adventurers who had come to pay a visit, he
began walking toward Peyton and the two dark elves.
He Chak: Well-met, O emissaries of the Bright Desert. (he stops walking
once he's about ten feet away, and bows slightly) I am He Chak, advisor
to his Acute Ocularity, the great and powerful Father Eye.
next: the hard-core negotiations
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: 9/6/2024
notes: I hope no one minds the way I move back and forth between
arcs. I am trying to show multiple events happening basically all in
parallel. It's usually best not to get bogged down in any one sub-arc
for too long.
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