Chapter #1216
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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 +
+ 1991-2026 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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+ THE BRIGHT ALLIANCE +
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+ Alindyar 18th level dark elven wizard, illusionist +
+ Belphanior 18th/18th/18th level elven fighter/wizard/thief +
+ Dexitheseus 17th level human wizard, enchanter/generalist +
+ Kronos 22nd level lich wizard, necromancer/generalist +
+ Lyra 14th level female drow wizard, invoker/evoker +
+ Pallin 18th level grey elven wizard, teleporter +
+ Parekh 18th level female human wizard, innovator +
+ Shemeya 19th level human sorceress from ancient Sulm +
+ Wu 18th level human wizard, alterer/generalist +
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+ Date: 4/18/587 C.Y. (Common Year) +
+ Time: midday +
+ Place: the Brass Hills, within the Bright Lands +
+ Climate: hot and dry +
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+ "You ain't the first to come along, making promises." +
+ "Yes, but I am the first who can actually deliver." +
+ - from _Justified_ episode _The Devil You Know_ +
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MCCXVI. Constructive Dissent
Just three days after their initial meeting in the secure room within
their fortress' citadel, the Bright Alliance have convened once more.
Kronos: (flatly) Are we to meet like this regularly? (he crosses his
arms, pale hands visible beyond his robe's cuffs)
Parekh: Most of us are not used to being part of something larger. It
will take time to get used to.
Kronos: (takes his seat, silently) Indeed.
Belphanior: I would actually suggest that we talk daily. (he catches a
glance from the lich, and raises his hands) Fear not - I am proposing
a very short meeting, just to review progress and challenges. And only
for the short term, until things are more...settled.
Parekh: That's a good idea.
Pallin: (nonchalantly) We already assemble relatively often as it is.
We might as well do it every day.
Belphanior: The advantage of short daily meetings is that questions and
problems and decisions won't pile up for longer spans of time. We can
deal with things a lot faster.
Dexitheseus: (strokes his long white beard, nodding) Hmm.
Alindyar: If we are to do this, it should be at the same time each day,
to help with our various planning efforts.
Lyra: Agreed.
Wu: (nods)
Dexitheseus: I actually enjoy these discussions, believe it or not. It
helps to know what everyone else is up to.
Shemeya: Given that we are basically remaking a wasteland, all possible
details should be shared. (to Kronos) As always, think of the greater
purpose.
Kronos: I am - I do - but this climate is difficult for me. That is why
I made my home atop a mountain range, in the frozen north.
Alindyar: (ESPing to Lyra) The pale one has a point. This desert is
far from ideal for you and I, as well.
Lyra: (ESPing to Alindyar) True. Although we are simply uncomfortable,
particularly in direct sunlight. Kronos, I suspect, is suffering some
sort of physical damage as a result of the heat. Before he acquired
that enchanted ring of white metal, soon after we all came here, his
skin and flesh looked different.
Alindyar: (ESPing to Lyra) Aye, as if they were slowly decaying. I do
remember.
Lyra: (ESPing to Alindyar) At least he seems fine now, if unhappy from
time to time.
Alindyar: (ESPing to Lyra) We long ago stopped using our mansion in
Greyhawk, but some of these others still have homes elsewhere, likely
filled with books, items, and mementos. It will be difficult for such
personal possessions to be relocated here.
Lyra: (ESPing to Alindyar) I'd guess that one or two of them might even
maintain their previous strongholds, and have two homes.
Alindyar: (ESPing to Lyra) We shall see.
Shemeya was now asking Belphanior about something, though the pair of
dark elves had grown adept at communicating telepathically while still
following verbal conversations.
Shemeya: -speaking of challenges, it seems that you quelled the threat
posed by the Verzak warriors.
Belphanior: I did...swiftly and completely. There were no survivors
from the attacking force. (he frowns) Of course, their women and
children remained back in their lands.
Parekh: Surely you didn't kill them as well?
Belphanior: Of course not. They are free - to either return to their
former tribes or be absorbed by others. Most of them were Verzak by
force, not bloodline. Regardless, the true aggressors are no more.
Kronos: (sits back in his chair, nodding, impressed by the elf's work)
None?
Belphanior: I was thorough. The destruction of the entire Verzak force
was a statement, one directly witnessed by their intended victims. Of
course, just after the destruction, I made a point to descend from the
sky and speak with the Batakki chieftain and sub-chiefs. Rest assured,
they were happy with the outcome...and word of what befell the Verzak
will soon reach all corners of the desert. And I'd bet there will be
no further tribal conflicts.
Dexitheseus: At least not direct, violent ones.
Belphanior: (shrugs) Let them disagree and argue, if they must...but
the days of one tribe ravaging another are over.
Parekh: It's ironic, that one massacre was necessary in order to prevent
others.
Kronos: Speaking as one who has witnessed nearly two millennia of events
on this world and others, I can assure you that what happened yesterday
was not only necessary but inevitable. It is the nature of mankind and
most other races.
Shemeya: I would add that the Verzak were violent and savage, and they
always have been. I could have predicted that they wouldn't listen.
Alindyar: But now, others certainly will.
Belphanior: At any rate, it's done and settled.
Parekh: (nods) What other business do we need to discuss?
Pallin: With the bulk of the construction done, I may finally have time
for other endeavors, such as the raising of my tower here. (he looks
around) Which is something that all of you should continue work on as
well...the towers, and also anything you build beneath them.
There were nods of agreement from the others seated around the table,
for all of them had at least begun building their individual towers.
Shemeya: Mine will be here by month's end.
Kronos: (silently frowns, still unsure how many of his possessions and
such he will - or can - relocate from his mountaintop fortress within
the distant Corusk Mountains)
Parekh: (facing the opposite situation, as she had always maintained an
extradimensional home only because she never could decide where in the
regular world to live, she smiles as she thinks about having an actual
physical place to call her own)
Belphanior: On another topic...the skyship has been repaired, and has
certainly proven useful lately. (he nods to Kronos) I would now ask
about the repair of another potentially-useful item.
Kronos: The Loom of Ages.
Belphanior: Its power to look into the past will be useful - for all of
us, and for our future efforts here. When I first unearthed it in the
strange and terrible dungeons of the lich Xusia, I had no idea of its
true potential...but now that I do, I can think of some good uses for
its power.
Kronos: (sighs wearily) The device was severely damaged in our battle
with the Crimson Blades, at the Center of Time. With the exception of
the goddess Istus and perhaps a couple of her most powerful followers,
I may well be the only one on Oerth who can repair the snapped strings
and warped beams. It is intricate work, requiring great focus as well
as potent magic, and I will need to devote a great deal of time to the
task...time which I have, thus far, not had.
Belphanior: I see.
Kronos: I am hoping that soon - after all of our nation-building and
tower-construction and foe-slaying is done - I can devote the proper
time and effort to the Loom.
Belphanior: Do let me know what I can do to help.
Kronos: (nods) Of course.
Pallin: While we are discussing powerful magical items, I would implore
you - once again - to allow me the use of the Eye of Celestian. Given
some time, I could learn and master its operation - after which efforts
to move ourselves, our forces, or perhaps even more across the world
would be more precise, more successful.
Belphanior: I don't know...you've always done quite well with just your
own power.
Pallin: (glares at the elf)
Belphanior: But in the interest of the Bright Alliance, you may borrow
the sextant and unravel its mysteries.
Pallin: (his thin face, normally inscrutable and emotionless, lights up
like that of a child who was just given a wondrous gift)
Belphanior: Just bear in mind, the Eye is still mine and I will have it
back...and you will need to share what you learn with us, so that any
of our number will be able to utilize the thing's power if ever needed.
Pallin: Yes, yes, of course.
Dexitheseus: Since we seem to be discussing things of individual concern
here, there is something that's been bothering me.
Parekh: (surprised, as the old wizard never seems to fuss about anything)
Eh?
Dexitheseus: Almost a year ago, Rary fell, as did his ally and general,
Lord Robilar.
Belphanior: (nods) He was disintegrated...by Skektek, if I remember
correctly.
Dexitheseus: Yes. I wasn't there, since I was busy elsewhere in the
battle, but I should have been. (he frowns) I knew Robilar for more
than twenty years, and fought alongside him on several occasions. He
was always quite impulsive and ambitious, occasionally to the point of
foolhardiness - but it makes no sense that he would throw in with Rary
and conspire to murder scores of diplomats and rulers on the Day of the
Great Signing.
Alindyar: Hmm. What are you suggesting? Mind control? Possession?
Dexitheseus: I'm not sure...just saying that something seems wrong with
that entire chain of events. (he sighs) But since he was vaporized,
we can't bring him back or talk to his ghost or anything of the sort.
Parekh: So what _can_ we do?
Dexitheseus: (shakes his head) I don't know, but - as I said - this
troubles me. I'll keep pondering it, as I have time.
Belphanior: (aware that a fully-functional Loom of Ages could well yield
answers here, he remains silent since that repair has not yet occurred)
Shemeya: (sensing a break in the conversation, she leans forward) And
I have a concern of my own.
Parekh: You too, eh?
Belphanior: This is only natural. We are individuals of great power,
considerable intelligence, and substantial success; there were bound
to be a few bumps in the road. I'm sure they can all be addressed and
solved.
Shemeya: My demand is simple: there must be no violation of the dead
of Sulm. (having gotten everyone's attention, she looks around before
continuing) As we all know, there are thousands of people beneath the
desert sands, across no less than three sites. Some are truly dead and
buried, while others still live on as undead due to the pervasive evil
of this land after its downfall. (she shakes her head sadly) Or even
due to other factors. The point is, these are my people, and whatever
their disposition now, they were mostly good people once. Destroying
them, or using them, or plundering their tombs...are all unacceptable
courses of action.
Pallin: (frowns) I am confused. Not three months ago, you told us that
the treasure of Sulm's lond-dead people could be found, taken, and used
for the good of the region...now you say otherwise.
Shemeya: (shakes her head, an angry look in her eyes) You are indeed
confused. Before, I spoke of their riches. Today, I speak of their
bodies. (she frowns angrily) Those are, of course, two different
things.
Pallin: (realizes that he misunderstood) I...see. My apologies.
Shemeya: I am simply saying that I do not want the dead, or undead, of
my people violated, attacked, or destroyed.
There were nods of understanding from around the table; no one had
given this matter much thought, but it made sense when she said it out
loud. Two of the wizards present had their own thoughts, which they
kept to themselves, their faces betraying nothing. Kronos' vague ideas
about controlling and using those undead had just hit a major obstacle,
one that he wasn't sure if he could overcome. As for Belphanior, a new
and perhaps fantastic idea had come to mind, involving the use of the
supremely holy sword he possessed but didn't carry...the powerful blade
that could return life to the undead...as it had done to Hope's previous
vampiric incarnation. Was it possible that the people of Sulm could be
brought back to life, true life, one at a time? The elf considered the
time and work that would be necessary - even if some of the undead were
agreeable - and decided to do some more thinking about this when or if
the right time came.
In the meantime, the others were agreeing with Shemeya; after all, how
could they not? These were (or had been) her people, and if they posed
no direct threat, did not need to be exterminated.
Shemeya: I'm just asking for them to have a chance. We will need to
confront them eventually.
Pallin: Are you suggesting that we allow a...a colony of the living dead
to thrive in the desert?
Shemeya: I am suggesting nothing, aside from the rest of you giving me
an opportunity to find and consider options before we do anything rash.
(she glances briefly at Belphanior) The nomads were people. The dead
of Sulm are _my_ people.
Belphanior: (nods) Understood. And I'm sure we can work toward some
acceptable solution.
Shemeya: My thanks.
Wu: (clears his throat) About something else...I have a suggestion.
Parekh: (forces herself to hide her frustration at all of these sudden,
or seemingly-sudden, demands) What's that?
Wu: An idea, for all of us...we should never again go forth to battle
together. (he pauses) I mean all together.
Shemeya: We shouldn't? Isn't that how we're most powerful?
Belphanior: I think I know what he's getting at. Look what happened
the last time...Shattados felled most of our number with an unusual
form of attack that we didn't see coming. And even at the Center of
Time, those foes could well have beaten us, if a few things had gone
differently.
Wu: (nods)
Belphanior: Consider also the tale of the Circle of Eight, when all but
Mordenkainen ventured out together and were slain. That's just another
example of exactly why we need to hold back at least a few of our ranks
at any time...at all times.
Parekh: Hmm. This is true.
Pallin: Of course.
Dexitheseus: (nods) Makes sense.
Alindyar: Aye.
Lyra: (doesn't even answer, as it's obvious that everyone understands)
Kronos: I would propose that we put a hard limit on this...say, no more
than five of the nine of us will ever go forth on a quest, or to do
battle?
Shemeya: The number makes sense. Nearly half our number would always
remain in reserve.
Wu: I like it.
Belphanior: Me too.
Parekh: (realizes that she might not have ever thought of something like
this, and then realizes that the group is stronger with a wide variety
of viewpoints and ideas) Very well. (she waits a few moments before
speaking again) Is there anything else on anyone's mind? If not, we
should share updates on a couple of other recent events.
Shemeya: (after another couple moments, she speaks up) We now have our
own dragons atop Dagger Rock. Our effort to find and make allies of
the three brass dragon siblings was successful. (she frowns) In part,
I'm still shocked to say, due to the halfling Bosco.
Lyra: You can't be serious.
Belphanior: It's true. He...had the right snacks with him at the right
time. Plus he's quite a spinner of tall tales.
Shemeya: Or short tales, as the case may be.
Kronos: (raises one eyebrow)
Shemeya: At any rate, they are in the process of relocating themselves
and their hoard to the top of the spire.
Belphanior: And I gave them a modest amount of supplemental treasure as
an incentive.
Wu: Bribe.
Belphanior: (shrugs) Whatever you want to call it. We have dragons as
allies.
Shemeya: Balgezo is the dominant male. Olunzal, also a male, is quiet
and reserved. Surtoza is their sister, and is more practical and prone
to asking and answering questions. They are the last of the bloodline
of Urvelthal. (she frowns) I actually knew their great-grandparents,
back in the past times.
Kronos: Interesting.
Shemeya: One huge advantage of brass dragons is that they require very
little in the way of food. We'll need to work out the exact details,
but if we bring them a variety of staples and treats every so often,
they'll be happy.
Wu: (idly wondering if he may one day be able to shape-change and fly
over the desert with the brass dragons)
Belphanior: We need to remember that - one day - these dragons will want
their revenge against Volte. When that time comes, we've agreed to aid
them however we can.
Shemeya: (sets her jaw) Yes.
Parekh: (to Belphanior) I understand that you did some followup work
to past quests, here in the desert?
Belphanior: We did. In short, there's a teleportation gateway to the
west of the Brass Hills, buried under the sands; we disabled it, just
as a precaution. We also - finally - found the lair of the yellow
dragon Witherhusk, who we slew years ago. His coinage was added to
the vast reserve in our vaults, and I gave the gems and potions to my
team for their efforts. We also found some magical items of note in
that cavern...a scroll containing a unique spell that parts sand, and
will go to our library to be copied and available to all...a magical
scimitar, which I gifted to the one person in all of our employ who
fights with a scimitar...a wand of fire, which I gifted to my wizard
Skektek-
Lyra: No surprise there.
Belphanior: Well, you know how he loves fire. There were also two more
unique items, which Neera is scrying and which will end up in our vault
full of magical items. They appear to be the Holy Star of the Bright
Desert and the Lantern of Greyhawk.
Parekh: (nods, pleased)
Dexitheseus: I'm sure those won't be the last additions to our trove of
magic.
Belphanior: I should think not.
Parekh: And to that point, we need to clarify exactly what our fallen
ally Cespedes left behind, and decide what will be done with it. We've
determined that he had no other lairs - or clones - and tended to keep
his possessions with him. His Prison of Zagyg is now in our vault of
magic, and Pallin has the talisman which controls the adamantine golem
while Belphanior carries the one linked to the iron dwarf. Beyond those
items, Cespedes' trunk contained a small collection of rare and useful
tomes concerning elemental magic, planes, and denizens.
Pallin: Which helped me immensely with the various construction efforts.
Parekh: Beyond that, he had some notes detailing his theories concerning
Rary's constructs and their animation, and some of Rary's own notes on
the same. All of this, we already knew and have discussed.
Belphanior: I sense a "but" coming up.
Parekh: Actually an "and." I've also found and deciphered a formula for
a more powerful telekinesis spell, capable of moving significantly more
weight. And perhaps even more valuable to us, he summarized some ideas
he found in Rary's writings...ideas dealing with not only the various
rare or unique ores likely present in the Azak-Kil site but also the
possibility that these very hills contain sizable amounts of iron ore.
There's also something about unseen lines of magical power that span
the world, which could be why the stone here is so strong and receptive
to enchantment. (she sighs) I'm still working through all that as I
have time. Cespedes tended to ramble, and his handwriting was terrible.
I'll keep you apprised if I'm able to make further progress.
Belphanior: (completely taken aback) Wow.
Pallin: Cespedes mentioned several times that there was a reason Rary
chose these hills. (he frowns) Hopefully we can solve this mystery.
Parekh: Yes. And now, we need to discuss one more matter...something
that several of you have mentioned in recent weeks. (to Kronos) Have
at it.
Kronos: (turns to each of the others in turn, his gaze sweeping the
table) We have a major loose end, a bit of unfinished business from
nearly six years ago...when our foes the Crimson Blades departed Oerth
to venture to the Center of Time. In that strange place, we met them,
fought them, and slew them.
Alindyar: With the exception of the monk, who has remained in stasis
all this time as our prisoner.
Kronos: Yes. I now suggest that our next order of business should be
to interrogate that one...learn all we can about whatever stronghold
the Crimson Blades inhabited...and then send a force there to claim
whatever magical and monetary treasure they had stockpiled before they
departed.
Belphanior: I agree. Foes like those must have had quite a trove, and
with them all gone, it's there for the taking - even six years later.
Parekh: (thinking of the potentially massive magical haul, she smiles
thinly)
It was thus decided that the group's next effort would be to learn what
they could from the captive monk...and then send some of their number (as
well as any appropriate henchpeople, troops, and such) to find and claim
the Crimson Blades' wealth!
next: the interrogation of Babuk
map: http://www.peldor.com/world/atlas/Bright-Desert_1203.jpg
www: http://www.peldor.com/download.html
homepage: http://www.peldor.com/
email: tmiller@peldor.com
released: 7/3/2026
notes: You may have noted that the wizards' specialties in the top
section got updated. This is just a "best effort" kind of thing, like
alignment...don't read too much into it.
One purpose of this episode was to actually show some of the various
challenges, gripes, and wants of the archmagi. The two drow and Kronos
have difficulties with the desert climate...Kronos and possibly others
possess major strongholds elsewhere and might not put all of their eggs
in one basket in the fortress...Belphanior wants the Loom fixed and may
think Kronos is stalling with the repair effort...Pallin wants to get
his hands on the Eye of Celestian...Shemeya doesn't want her people's
tombs (and bodies) desecrated...and so on. I'm sure more will surface
in time. These don't all have to be major problems or show-stoppers,
but they do need to be mentioned.
As far as the Crimson Blades' lair, this is one of those things that
probably should have been done much sooner...but they've been busy. At
any rate, now it's time.
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