A Tunnels and Trolls® play-by-post adventure run by khara_khang
The kaleidoscopic effects of the portal scramble all senses. Bela steps out into a cavernous room and tries to orient himself. He feels the power of awesome magic all around him, the life forces of many magical creatures from all around, Taran, Jax, and someone else ahead of him, plus another creature---one of great power, and seemingly an undead one. Then Taran and Jax swap places with a move of amazing skill, Jax is yelling at them to go back, and Taran is pushing the other one back toward the...no...surely not.... Bela steps backward.
The kaleidoscopic effects of the portal scramble all senses. Bela steps out into a street and tries to orient himself. He steps aside to let others exit through, and takes note once again of his surroundings and the people around him. Then an Elf passes through. She is dressed like an Orc, and smells like one too, but there is no mistake. "Cambrea!" he says, as he mentally begins to prepare himself for combat. Then Taran passes through, and his body movement clearly shows that he is not alarmed by her presence. He glances back at the Elf, then at Taran.
"Taran, what is going on?" he says. Bela is not sure what danger he now faces, but Cambrea is a dangerous, tricky enemy. He calls to mind the UCBM, and will use it on her if she does or says anything threatening. Her treachery from before is present in his mind as if it happened today.
[In Lizardmen of Red Water Bay, Cambrea paralyzed Bela and threatened to kill him (and Jack) in Ralathor's tent. --ed.]
With the portal's closing, the majority of the company is reunited in the alley.
Shipy grins. "That was only a little distraction to save Taran, Jax. It's nothing really, all in a nights work to make things easier to say, 'Yes, Grapple-Jax, you're buying the first round.' Come on, let's go have some fun at the Blue Frog Tavern. I'm sure the others will turn up. And I still have that book you left behind, Bela." Shipy looks up at the taller folk.
Taran experiences the momentary disorientation. After it passes he looks at everyone and grins. "I knew we could do it. Who was it said I needed a distraction?"
"You sound like me with less flesh."
Taran snorts. "I know. I feel like an old Skeleton right now."
Lilac and Ebony, who intended to leave, but never really had time to wander off, rejoin the group. Cambrea looks at everyone with a surprised expression as she stands close beside Taran. She glances at him, and then sheathes her sword a moment later.
"What's up with you two?" asks the Hobbit, eyeing the lovely Elf.
"Why do you want to know that?"
"It doesn't matter. Just answer the question. Okay, don't get your knickers in a twist. All I meant was that the way you two act around each other, I wouldn't have been surprised if you'd been---"
Jax elbows Shipy. "Right-o little buddy. Let's go find the others."
Jack is disappointed he doesn't get to hear the rest....
The group heads back to the Blue Frog Tavern.
Group swap:
When the city guards return to the alley, they are not in the least bit amused by Quickly and Olvarin's story, none of which can be corroborated. Other than a busted down door and some empty rooms, they find nothing at first. But when their search continues into the basement of the building, a most grisly scene greets them.
About a dozen men dressed as city guards lie on the floor in their own blood. Some have been bitten in two, some ripped apart, some disemboweled in most horrible ways. Blood and body parts splatter the walls, floor and ceiling. A single secret door leading into the city sewers stands open. Other than some discarded clothing. nothing else is found. No one is found alive and the Elf that Olvarin told the guards about seems to be missing. Both Quickly and Olvarin are taken in for questioning and tossed into a Khazan cell until everything can be sorted out.
All day long and into this night, and even up until this very moment, Jay has been pursuing his goal: stopping the release of the Balrog. This part he has accomplished with the help of others. He tries not to think about it, as he feels drained and tired, but he isn't about to let it end like this. His witty barbs directed at Shipy Sr. don't seem to have their desired effect, and when Olvarin and Quickly run off, he is even more determined than ever.
Trying his best to follow Kazad and Shipy Sr., he nevertheless loses them among the wagons and other people moving about in the fog. Jay isn't able to keep the pair in sight among the foggy streets of Khazan. He considers the use of his Cat's Eyes spell, but the fog would render it ineffectual. His second option, Oh There It Is, only has a range of 10 feet. Lastly, Jay pulls out the silver Lerotra'hh favor coin from Jax and asks for its aid.
A moment later, Jay reappears in a city guard station standing in front of a desk.
"Yes, the two culprits have been captured and they are in a jail cell. They will be brought before a magistrate in a about ten minutes. Just how you accomplished this feat at this time of night is beyond me."
The guard motions for Jay to have a seat and to wait or go down the hall to the first door on his left to the courtroom and wait there.
Jay shrugs.
What do you do?
Shipy Sr. opens his eyes and sees that he is flat on his back in a Khazan jail cell. He has no idea how he got there. Kazad is in the cell with him, and is still unconscious. For his peace of mind, he is going to assume that it has been Jay or Olvarin who has put them here. Shipy Sr. has done too much magic too fast after his long hiatus from adventuring, it has gone right to his head.
Shipy Sr. groans again when he thinks of how close he came to getting away. And then he thinks of with whom he has spent his time. He hates that he feels lonely and vulnerable enough to have been caught. And he hates that the magic and treasure from the temple still hold such allure for him, even after all this time. Thoughts of his son fill his mind. And yet the power was heady, and a part of him is gratified to know that he had his Elf elsewhere, even though he himself might appear to be captured at this moment. His power sang strongly this night. And even now, it is pulling him to finish the task. Shipy Sr. uses his foot to wake Kazad lying next to him.
Magic and wits have awakened this longing in him. His focus had altruistic beginnings, but this night was just about pleasure: getting lost in the rush, losing inhibitions, feeling free of all the emotional baggage cluttering his mind day in and day out.
Shipy Sr. puffs out some air as he thinks of his son. He has only been away from Shipy for a couple of years, but it feels like ten years. All he wants to see is a day when he doesn't think of him. One day when he might feel as if it were actually possible to build a life without him, to find a way to get past the misery in his heart, which he alone has caused.
But now it is time for the end game, time to finish this. He has gone too far this time. He doesn't think that going back is even an option. Shipy will hate him now for what he has done and he can't blame him. Shipy Sr. knows the real reason he left and it has very little to do with wanting to live on his own.
It has to do with him surviving.
Assuming they've been clever enough to put Quickly in a cell whose bars can contain him, and that Messieur O cannot Knock-Knock his way out, Quickly will cast about for some means of escape. Should he find none (the actual Khazan guards are efficient, yes?), Quickly will riff off the following:
"I been framed! I never seen the kid in my life! I'm innocent! Jailer! I can't eat this slop! I wanna see my lawyer! Yaaaaah, come and get me ya dirty screw!"
Continue this until Olvarin can give him a satisfying reason to stop, or it appears that he is in mortal danger.
"Jeez, it's about time. Sometimes I wonder why I ever leave here in the first place. Cockchafer! How do you do that while singing and chewing pretzels at the same time? Billions and billions..." Gulp. Ahhhhhhh.
Bela, upon seeing Cambrea, has had a slight case of cow, as the last time he saw this particular Elf, she zapped him upside the head. However, since this past was altered by Bela and friends, it never happened for Cambrea.
"Bela! Hey, I thought I saw you back in the temple, if only briefly. Wait, did anybody see where that Mummy went? Jax, what's going on? Bela, you look worried! What did I miss?" Taran slumps down to his knees, exhausted, and slobbers on himself in a semi-stupor from the stress of near-death and near-total drainage at the hands of his portal-detecting Talo Worm.
Cambrea steps forward and pats Taran on the head sympathetically. "Poor Orc. Too much for one day?" She smirks and turns to Bela. "Taran called you Bela. Well, Bela, how do you know my name?" she says, her sword still in hand.
"I could have his head removed from his shoulders before he could ever get a spell off."
"I---"
"Shh!" she says (to her sword, but Bela mistakes it for him). She pouts as she puts the sword behind her.
Taran's brain can't process any new weirdness and effectively compartmentalizes the talking sword, hiding it from Taran's consciousness.
"Hey, how you know he knows your name?" Taran asks Cambrea, confused. He tries to remember the adventure where he first met Cambrea, although she never actually met him due to a bad case of time travel. Had Bela met her too?
Taran looks up at Jax. "By the way, good timing bro. We went back to look for you but you were all gone. I was about to open up a portal to get outta there but I guess you and your worm beat me to it."
"No more portals for me. I used a magic coin Martek gave me to find you. Harvey's dead." Jax is expressionless.
"Who's Harvey?"
"Dead? Whataya mean? Where is it?"
"Dead. He's dead, dude! Olvarin poured some major mojo on me with his staff, then Harvey screamed and slithered off my back into a quivering puddle of black goo. You should ask him to do the same for you when we get to the Tavern. I never felt better. Who's this Elf? And why's she wearing your underwear?
"Because I didn't have any," she says matter-of-factly.
"Bela, you look like you've seen a ghost!"
"The last time...." Bela feels like he is missing something. He chalks it up to time travel messing up the past and resolves to figure it out later. For now, Cambrea does not appear to be out to kill him.
Excuse me for taking liberties with Bela; feel free to thwap me for it later.
"Ughn-nughn."
"Everybody freeze!" She snaps her fingers and everybody freezes as if stuck in a commercial for wireless phones. "What this party needs is comic relief. Too many questions, not enough answers." She pushes Shipy into the middle of the fray.
The Warrior-Wizard sighs. Orcs. She shakes her head. "By the way, did I mention that I hate Gargoyles?"
"No, you didn't."
"I hate Gargoyles." She dusts herself off and squints. She wonders where that damn Hobbit has run off.
"Sun-dried lizards, anyone?" the Fairy flits nearby. "Hey, nice legs, tall one! Who's the pretty lady, Taran?"
"Lilac, hey! Long time, no see! Guys, this is Cambrea. After I used my favor coin in an attempt to stop the Balrog, I ended up stuck in a swamp where this big swamp monster captured me."
"Skip to the good part, green cheeks."
"You sound like a Lizardwoman I once knew," Jack says, scratching a metacarpal against his skull.
"Ugh, right. Anyways, I sort of... uh, escaped, and ugh, rescued Cambrea from the, erg, swamp... monster. Then I used my Talo Worm to go back to the temple to see if you all were still alive, and the Mummy showed up, then the Gargoyles showed up, then you showed up." Taran shrugs.
"So where's Jay, Olvarin and Quickly?" He stands up and gets everyone's attention before they can wander off. "Before we go bar hopping, shouldn't we find them?"
"Taran, you talk too much. Nice to meet you all, I think." She eyes Bela suspiciously, but doesn't recognize him, although he still hasn't explained how he knows her. "Mind if I tag along? If I run off now, Taran will think I stole his undies."
"D'oh!"
Jax slaps his forehead.
Talking swords and Orc underwear? Why did I come back?
Lilac munches on a lizard.
Ebony sighs.
"Huh-huh, she said undies."
Scene fades to black. Commercial for T-Mobile starts.
Settling into a corner of his cell, Olvarin closes his eyes, undisturbed by the ruckus that Quickly is causing. He is rather impressed though at how loud such a delicate, minute being can be.
Oh well, I needed to rest anyway. We did what we thought was right, and if that lands us in prison, than I can only appeal to the gods for quick release.
Opening his eyes a bit, he watches Quickly raging at the intricate bounds of his imprisonment. Where does he get such energy?
"Give 'em hell, Quickly!" he chuckles, then falls into a meditative trance. Worrying about the others will do him no good. He needs to regain his strength so he can sieze any opportunity that might present itself in the future.
Drowsy, Olvarin's meditations gave way to innocent child-like dreams of pretty Centaur fillies prancing in the long green grass of summer, under an endless blue sky....
Oh Khara, lord o'da' universe an' alla that, exactly what manner of bonds is Quickly in? As soon as it becomes clear, he'll set about finding a way out, without letting his stream of epithets stop. (If he shuts up, they might think he's up to something.)
"I could have his head removed from his shoulders before he could ever get a spell off."
Perhaps, but in T&T®, don't spells come before combat? That would mean that in Trollworld, the standard spells are things that are so well known, it seldom takes any time to cast them. I imagine that the incantations that normally accompany a spell are usually just intentional obfuscation.
"The last time...." Bela feels like he is missing something. He chalks it up to time travel messing up the past and resolves to figure it out later. For now, Cambrea does not appear to be out to kill him.
Excuse me for taking liberties with Bela; feel free to thwap me for it later.
Nicely done. Thanks. This is just what I was picturing.
Bela is beginning to understand that this is not the treacherous Cambrea he met in his last trip to Trollworld. He relaxes his shoulders and then bows before Cambrea. "Forgive me, fair Lady, for my presumption," he says to her. He looks deeply into her eyes, then continues, "I hope that I can explain myself to your satisfaction, later."
"Come on, let's go have some fun at the Blue Frog Tavern. I'm sure the others will turn up."
"So where's Jay, Olvarin and Quickly? Before we go bar hopping, shouldn't we find them?"
Turning to Taran he says, "I believe that Shipy is right, Taran. All paths seem to pass through the Blue Frog Tavern."
"I still have that book you left behind, Bela."
He then turns aside to Shipy and says, "I do need that book. I would like to claim it when we meet in the private room at the Tavern."
"Oh, I almost forgot," Bela says, "I have made arrangements for another Heroes' Feast. This time, it will be at Ruth a'Guerré's. All of you are welcome---just be there tomorrow at noon. I'll give directions on our way to the Blue Frog.
"Shipy, do you think Master Jay and the others will be able to get out in time, or do they need our help?"
"What are you talking about, Bela? What makes you think Jay is in need of help? You're not making sense."
All at once, Bela feels a cry from the life all about him. In front of him, he sees the bright form of Shipy's spirit briefly reveal itself, shifting out of phase with his body, then back again. His own heart aches, feeling like a stone in his chest. For a moment, everything goes white, and all sounds blend together into a rising roar. Then the feeling is gone, sight returns, and he is looking up into the faces of Cambrea and Taran.
"It's okay, buddy. You just had a dizzy spell for a moment," Taran says.
Bela takes the hands offered him by Taran and Cambrea and pulls himself up. As he holds their hands, he hears music, and the pain in his heart eases. He again looks into Taran's and Cambrea's eyes, then says, "I hear the healing song in you."
When the group gets moving again, Bela says, "Oh, I almost forgot. I have made arrangements for another Heroes' Feast. This time, it will be at Ruth a'Guerré's. All of you are welcome---just be there tomorrow at noon."
The others may interpret this however they like. If pressed on the issue of Jay, Bela will just apologize for the confusion and say little more.
Bela is beginning to understand that this is not the treacherous Cambrea he met in his last trip to Trollworld.
Don't you believe it.
Quickly looks for the enigmatic Jay....
He's not enigmatic. He's just a critical pessimistic curmudgeon with lots of self-delusions. (But enigmatic sounds a lot better, so feel free to keep using it.)
When their search continues into the basement of the building, a most grisly scene greets them. About a dozen men dressed as city guards lie on the floor in their own blood. Some have been bitten in two, some ripped apart, some disemboweled in most horrible ways. Blood and body parts splatter the walls, floor and ceiling. ... Other than some discarded clothing. nothing else is found.
No doubt Krandor shifted into wolf form and went nuts. Guy needs to be put down. [This is a reference to the much maligned Werewolf of Goblin Lake, Part Deux and Dangerous Creations fame. --ed.]
Quickly will cast about for some means of escape. Should he find none... Quickly will riff off the following.... Continue this until Olvarin can give him a satisfying reason to stop, or it appears that he is in mortal danger.
Here's a reason: you're here for questioning until things can be sorted out; there was no mention of you being under suspicion. In addition, it's doubtful a mage's 2d weapon and a pixie's little arsenal caused such carnage, further lending proof to your not being behind it all, to say nothing of the secret door to the sewers. Plus you and Olvarin alerted the guards in the first place, and wandered down into the basement with them---not something the guilty party was likely to do. (And if you did, why go quietly to prison with them anyway, instead of causing this second set of guards to be pureed?) Right now everything, including your protests, points to your innocence, but an escape attempt might put that in a little bit of question.
Drowsy, Olvarin's meditations gave way to innocent child-like dreams of pretty Centaur fillies prancing in the long green grass of summer, under an endless blue sky....
Innocent? Yeah, right. Not even Amroth would believe that one!
All day long and into this night, and even up until this very moment, Jay has been pursuing his goal: stopping the release of the Balrog. This part he has accomplished with the help of others.
Mainly by the others, but Jay chalks that up to his being in the right place at the wrong time.
His witty barbs directed at Shipy Sr. don't seem to have their desired effect....
Well, they didn't kill him, and Jay feels better about it all, so it hasn't an undesired effect either.
Lastly, Jay pulls out the silver Lerotra'hh favor coin from Jax and asks for its aid. A moment later, Jay reappears in a city guard station standing in front of a desk.
Quick question: does the coin disappear, or is it still present but rendered no longer powered on a use, or is it still here ready to go again?
"Yes, the two culprits have been captured and they are in a jail cell. They will be brought before a magistrate in a about ten minutes. Just how you accomplished this feat at this time of night is beyond me."
Jay does his best to hide his astonishment.
The guard motions for Jay to have a seat and to wait or go down the hall to the first door on his left to the courtroom and wait there.
Huh, something might have actually worked out right. Wait: both Olvarin and Quickly went for the guards. No doubt they're the ones about to be on trial, not Shipy Sr. and Kazad. Another crushing failure. Still, no point stopping here....
Jay will go to the courtroom and wait there.
"Hey, how you know he knows your name?" Taran asks Cambrea, confused.
"Bela addressed her before you came through."
"Olvarin poured some major mojo on me with his staff, then Harvey screamed and slithered off my back into a quivering puddle of black goo. You should ask him to do the same for you when we get to the Tavern."
Jax assumes Jay, Olvarin and Quickly have already left for the Blue Frog Tavern.
"Who's this Elf? And why's she wearing your underwear?"
"Because I didn't have any."
Jax rolls his eyes, knowing full well his brother's embarassing fetish.
"Guys, this is Cambrea. After I used my favor coin in an attempt to stop the Balrog, I ended up stuck in a swamp where this big swamp monster captured me."
"Uh-huh," Jax nods his head, wondering how big that swamp monster will grow in future tellings. Unconsciously, Jax fumbles in his pocket for his own favor coin, but fails to find it. "Strange," he mumbles tuskily when he realizes it is missing.
"Ugh, right. Anyways, I sort of... uh, escaped, and ugh, rescued Cambrea from the, erg, swamp... monster. Then I used my Talo Worm to go back to the temple to see if you all were still alive, and the Mummy showed up, then the Gargoyles showed up, then you showed up."
Annoyed at losing his coin, Jax replies, "Yeah, yeah, good for you, bro." He ushers Taran and the others out of the alley. "You can elaborate over a good stout mug of whatever schlop Jack's got back at the Tavern." By chance, his gaze falls on Shipy, and he ponders the little thief carefully.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I have made arrangements for another Heroes' Feast. This time, it will be at Ruth a'Guerré's. All of you are welcome---just be there tomorrow at noon. I'll give directions on our way to the Blue Frog."
Jax raises his brow at Bela's invite. The last such feast was at Desuma and Domina's row house, and has not been easily forgotten. He walks the rest of the way to the Blue Frog lost in his thoughts.
"Olvarin poured some major mojo on me with his staff, then Harvey screamed and slithered off my back into a quivering puddle of black goo. You should ask him to do the same for you when we get to the Tavern. I never felt better."
Taran reconsiders Jax's words with an irony that suddenly washes over him. Before they signed up for this adventure, Taran was drowning his sorrows over what he felt was the curse of his Talo Worm, and Jax seemed cool with it, even naming it like a pet. Now, Jax seems to be glad to be rid of it, and Taran is finding his tagalong lifeform to be more and more interesting, if not exciting for its possibilities.
"Argh, I, uh, still have some unfinished business with my Talo Worm, so you tell Olvarin to keep his mojo offa me." His thoughts drift to the great hall in the temple. He attempted to open a portal to escape to the Night Gail, but Jax's portal beat him to it. He still intends on going back there, and not just to retrieve his equipment, but to also follow up on the story of the left-behind Leprechaun. But he will have to regain his strength first. An adventure for another day, perhaps.
Thoughts of his comrades return. "What about Jay, Olvarin and Quickly? Shouldn't we find them? Where'd they go?"
"After you guys jumped into the portal," she answers, a bit weary from the day's tribulations, "they trotted off after the guards who picked up the Gargoyle-turned-Elf." She points down the alley where she last saw Jay. "I don't think they were heading toward the Blue Frog, at least right away. From the look of him, Jay didn't seem to have rest and relaxation on his mind."
"Oh, I almost forgot," Bela says, "I have made arrangements for another Heroes' Feast. This time, it will be at Ruth a'Guerré's. All of you are welcome---just be there tomorrow at noon."
Taran looks at Bela. "Party, ugh, but great!" The Orc stands and shakes the queasiness from his head. "How soon til noon? I kinda lost track of time. We better find the others and pass along the invite." Then Taran realizes he is still holding the backpack he picked up in the great hall. "Oh yeah, guys, I found this in the temple. Look familiar to any of you? I figured one of you dropped it. How'd you guys get out anyway?" Then, a look of panic sets it.
"BALROG!"
"Heh? Where?" she gropes for her sword and looks around with squinted eyes.
"Ugh, sorry. No, I just remembered---you guys have some explaining to do!" Taran looks at Jax's hand and is happy to see it still attached.
In T&T®, don't spells come before combat?
The GM pointed out that not only does Cambrea's sword talk, but it also is arrogant. I didn't mean to change the laws of T&T® with its words earlier, heh!
Go To:
PBPArchives
| Rahnian
| prev
| next
This page updated: Mon Jan 09 14:22:30 2006
All text Copyright ©1999-2006 PBPArchives.
