Chapter #753
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next chapter (#754)
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+ THE ADVENTURERS +
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+ Epic IV +
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+ Many of the locations, non-player characters, spells, and other +
+ terms used in these stories are the property of TSR, Inc. However, +
+ TSR has in no way endorsed or authorized their use, and any such +
+ items contained within these stories are not representative of TSR +
+ in any fashion. +
+ The player characters depicted in these stories are copyright +
+ 1991-2001 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! +
+ +
+ Thomas A. Miller +
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+ Alindyar 18th level drow wizard +
+ Lyra 14th level female drow wizard +
+ Belphanior 14th/14th/14th level elven fighter/wizard/thief +
+ Otto 10th/12th level dwarven fighter/thief +
+ Razor Charlie 10th level human fighter +
+ Skektek 13th level human wizard +
+ Ys 14th level reptilian fighter +
+ Mongo 18th level dwarven fighter +
+ Gorgo 9th level dwarven berserker +
+ Peldor 20th level human thief +
+ Bosco 13th level halfling thief +
+ Tanya 5th/11th level female human fighter/thief +
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+ Boltar high priest of Pholtus +
+ Drak barbarian warrior +
+ Parekh dark-skinned female wizard +
+ Neera female human sage/astrologer +
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+ Date: 4/23/579 C.Y. (Common Year) +
+ Time: midmorning +
+ Place: Alindyar and Lyra's mansion, in Greyhawk +
+ Climate: warm +
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+ "Beggars can't be choosers." +
+ "But I can!" +
+ - Jack Burton & Lo Pan, from _Big Trouble in Little China_ +
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DCCLIII. Riches of the Lost Empire
At long last, all the blood, sweat, and tears are about to pay off...
for the plethora of items loaded from the Tomb of Panagaea into Mongo's
portable hole are about to be catalogued and divided.
Belphanior: (arms crossed, he regards the sizable hoard)
Alindyar: Why are you waiting?
Belphanior: Just observing a moment of silence for our fallen comrades
who died to help us get all of this.
Alindyar: Aie...my apologies.
Belphanior: Don't worry about it. And know that I appreciate you letting
us use your house for this.
Alindyar: And we appreciate being able to witness it. The pleasure is
all ours.
Lyra: If Nenya were here, she'd want to open up a new museum for these
things.
Mongo: Maybe some other time.
Alindyar: (ESPing to Lyra) Actually, Nenya is busy devising battle
plans with the others.
Lyra: (ESPing to Alindyar) I know, but they don't need to.
Bosco: (despite the fact that he's still healing, he tries to move about
and see everything) Wow.
Belphanior: Settle down, Bosco.
Peldor: Well, you've got to admit, there _is_ a lot of stuff here...
While within the treasure chambers of the Tomb, a mere day ago (though
it felt like a week) designated party members had loaded treasure into
Mongo's portable hole. Of course, there were the things that they might
have secreted in their own pockets, but that was each person's private
business. Besides, there was enough treasure for all, and then some...
thousands upon thousands of coins, almost all of them gold or platinum,
as the adventurers hadn't bothered with the lesser metals. Several dozen
mithril coins had been recovered as well, these being valuable due to
the rarity of that enchanted metal. Each coin bore the stern visage of
Hyperion, long-dead emperor of Panagaea.
Peldor: This coinage alone is enough to build a kingdom.
Gorgo: Bah. We left behind ten times this much in iron and copper coins.
If they'd had gold as the coin of their realm, the haul would have been
better.
From the second hall, they'd recovered hundreds of gemstones, of every
shape and size. Some had been taken in the urns and jars in which they'd
been found, but others were loose, mixed in with the other treasure. The
third hall had contained raw ingots of unworked metal, and though heavy
and cumbersome, a number of these had been recovered. Most were silver
or gold, though a half-dozen of platinum had been found and taken, as
well as a single, unique ingot.
Mongo: If that's not adamant, I'm the grim god Moradin.
None of the long-rotted items in that same chamber - silk, ornate wooden
furniture, and such - had survived the passage of time. The great blocks
of unworked stone had been too large and bulky to take. At this point,
a large portion of the portable hole had been filled, so they had become
more selective, more careful about what they took. Jewelry of every type
had been carefully loaded into the hole, but some of it had been damaged
by the shifting contents of the magical space. Still, dozens of valuable
items were intact (not to mention those stuffed into pockets and packs.)
Although the books, tomes, scrolls, and such items had all crumbled
into dust, there had been a number of stone tablets stacked in a corner
of that particular chamber, hidden under inches of dust. These had been
taken, though only after significant urging on Neera's part.
Neera: These tablets are the only part of this treasure that I desire.
I'm guessing that they hold key parts of the history of the Panagaeans.
Parekh: It could be your life's work.
Neera: (nods)
Gorgo: Well, that's nice. (he turns over a fist-sized ruby in his hand)
How are we gonna divide all of this stuff?
Belphanior: Since it would take years to have every gemstone and item of
jewelry appraised, I suggest dividing all the coinage and jewelry into
roughly equal shares. Let Neera have the stone tablets, if that's all
she wants.
Neera: Well, some gems and coinage to help finance my research would be
nice.
Mongo: No problem there, lady. There's more than enough to go around.
Bosco: But she said she only wanted-
Otto: Remember the third bar on that door, and who opened it?
Bosco: Oh. Oh well.
Boltar: (sternly) She receives a full share of the coinage and a dozen
gems.
Neera: Really, just the gems will be fine - more than I can ever spend.
Drak: What about the ingots?
Belphanior: We'll divide them up as well...though the mithril coins and
the ingot of adamant should each count as a unique lot, to be chosen
from along with the magic items.
Ah, the magical items! There had been hundreds, more than anyone
could ever use: armor, shields, weapons...rods, staves, wands, rings...
all sorts of things, of every shape, size, and use. Items of cloth and
weaker materials had decayed over the years, despite their enchantment,
but the sturdier stuff had survived the passage of time. Skektek had
used his best judgement (and a bit of magic) to judge what was most
worth taking...and now, it was all here, nearly filling the drows'
spare dining room.
The process for choosing and dividing all of these wondrous items
was far from simple - indeed, the process took hours - but the end
result was fairly cut-and-dried. In addition to a king's fortune
apiece, those who had been on the Tomb adventure ended up with:
Belphanior
figurine of 3-headed dog (from tomb entrance) *
splendid golden crown w/inset gemstones
ruby skull
strange teardrop-shaped crystal
pair of long silver strings *
Otto @
high-quality shortsword with inscribed runes on blade
metal rod
43 coins of mithril
pale bone flute *
Skektek #
bronze ring
sealed metal tube with intact scroll
yellow wax candle
wand #1 *
wand #2 *
Ys
gigantic battleaxe
statuette of snake god
simple wooden spoon
Razor Charlie
amulet
human-sized elven (?) chain mail
set of 3 fine knives
Bosco $
metallic gourd
empty green crystal bottle
small metal box (opens to become playing board w/pieces)
golden ring *
small dagger *
Mongo
ingot of adamant
sleek battleaxe
crude torch
Gorgo
hand axe
footman's mace
suit of dwarf-sized plate mail
Boltar
gnarled wooden staff
round shield with sigils on outer edge
ornate stone urn
Drak
finely-wrought gauntlets of mithril
glowing broadsword
intricately-worked war helm
Parekh
large iron cauldron
black stone sphere
amulet with inset crystal carving of Hyperion
Neera
numerous stone tablets
* pocketed on own, not part of divided treasure
@ Otto lost from fire spell
cloak of the bat
girdle of many pouches
horseshoes of the zephyr
# Skektek lost from fire spell
boots of levitation
wand of frost
staff of power
2 potions
$ Bosco lost from fire spell
luckstone
cube of frost resistance
shortsword sheath
3 potions
dust of illusion
Parekh: A good day's work.
Belphanior: So you're really going now?
Parekh: (spreads her hands) We must. Many things remain to be done,
some of which you aren't aware.
Mongo: Well, thanks for your help. We couldn't have done it without
you.
Boltar: (remains silent)
Drak: (claps hands with Belphanior and then Mongo) Well met, and take
care.
Parekh: (facing the drow) With your permission?
Alindyar: (nods)
Lyra: You'll have to go outside - we've blocked teleportation into and
out of the mansion proper.
Parekh: Ah. Smart.
Shortly, outside...
Parekh: (working a spell) Perhaps we'll meet again someday. Until
then...
Belphanior: Farewell.
Just like that, the trio of one-time vampire hunters was gone.
Otto: Well, that's that.
Lyra: (to Belphanior) Exactly how powerful a mage is that woman?
Belphanior: Fairly powerful. I think she's Circle of Eight caliber
but just has no interest in such a position.
Alindyar: A shame.
Mongo: (looking around) Is it just me or am I gonna have to lend
people the use of my portable hole to get all this loot moved?
next: Belphanior begins his machinations
ftp: ftp.peldor.com
www: http://www.peldor.com/download.html
homepage: http://www.peldor.com/
email: tmiller@peldor.com
released: 7/16/01
notes: Did you notice that some of their levels went up?
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