The Bard and Sorcerer's Return from the Itzamatul Temple

Quest: We escape the collapsing Itzamatul Temple with the Ancient Amulet!

Escaping from the now destroyed Temple with the Ancient Amulet in hand, our heroes, the Bard and the Sorcerer, start to make their way home through the Forest. They first encountered fruit trees laden with ripe fruit. Attempting to determine whether or not the fruit was safe to eat, the Sorcerer, while trying to examine it, inhaled a lungful of the stench and nearly choked on it. The two decided that it was perhaps safer to leave the fruit alone.

From there, our heroes found themselves walking into a little town. Guards were posted at the entrance, carefully vetting everyone who entered the town. The Guards took one look at our weary adventurers and scoffed. "You can't possibly be heroes!" they laughed.

"Of course we are!" The Bard took up a handful of treasure the duo had gotten from the Temple. "Why else would we have these?"

Without warning, the Guard drew his sword and stabbed the Bard in the leg, laughing as she yelped in pain and surprise, dropping the treasure to the road. "An adventurer would have stopped me from stabbing them!"

Needless to say, our heroes opted not to stay in town for the night.

While making camp some distance out of town, suddenly the howls of wolves could be heard, drawing nearer. They were probably attracted to the stench of blood from the Bard's leg wound. The Sorcerer took up a handful of dirt and whipped it at the lead wolf's eyes, blinding her. Unfortunately she shook the dirt off and, enraged, continued to attack with her fellow pack-mates. The Bard and Sorcerer managed to beat them back, but not without taking more damage themselves.

The next day, as our heroes wearily continued on their way, they encountered a rock-slide. Thankfully they were able to find their way around it unscathed. Unfortunately, on the other side a Guard from the town they passed was waiting for them with a warrant for the Sorcerer's arrest; it seems he was accused of murder! The Guard grabbed hold of the Sorcerer and started to shake him, but at just that moment, a stampede of wild beasts roared through the area. Our heroes lost the guard in the chaos. They attempted to hide behind a tree, but it crumbled away to nothing as the stampede tore through. They barely escaped with their lives. 

From there, they encountered a serpent which had been disturbed by the stampede. The Bard bravely drew her sword and managed to kill it before it could do more damage to them. Unfortunately, a Master of Swords saw the action and challenged the Bard to a duel. In the fight, the Bard caught the Sword Master's arm; the Sword Master reacted by stomping on the Bard's foot. It wasn't a very dignified fight; the Sword Master fled after the Sorcerer started laughing over the absurdity of it all. 

From there, our heroes limped into a field where they saw an old woman sitting by a cauldron. Through some miracle, she didn't notice them drop to the ground and hide. After she eventually finished whatever it was she was doing and hobbled off, they went to investigate. They found some powerful smelling herbs which they took, hoping it would keep more beasts away as they continued on their way home. Luckily, it worked! Our heroes encountered no further trouble from man or beast as they stumbled their way home, walking right up to the tavern for a well deserved drink.

The Warrior and the Shaman's Return from Dragonholm Bay

Quest: We slew the dragon terrorizing Dragonholm Bay, and are returning home with our newly-fashioned Dragonscale Armor!

Not long after the Warrior and the Shaman left the village, they encountered an old crone sitting in her garden. The Shaman attempted to talk to with her, but before he could say much of anything, she offered her walking stick to him. As soon as he took it, the crone turned it into a snake, laughing as it bit him! The two hightailed it out of there as quickly as they could before she could do anymore damage.

As they continued along the forest path, the Warrior and Shaman felt like they were being watched. Suddenly, a face appeared in the trees. The Warrior tried to speak with it, but, not to be outdone by the witch, the Treant grabbed the Warrior and flung her several miles back the way the two had traveled! 

The duo were not making good progress. Deciding to avoid the Treant, the two chose another direction and encountered a ravine. Without any thought (and with no regards to her injuries from being thrown several miles by a Treant), the Warrior deftly leapt over the ravine, and was able to find a spot for the Shaman to cross as well. 

Feeling more confident after their victory against the ravine, the Warrior and Shaman continued on their way. Suddenly they smelled smoke and heard cries for help. Going to investigate, they found a small village with several buildings burning. Hearing the cries of children from inside, the Warrior didn't hesitate and charged into the flames. But what she thought were children's cries were nothing more than the wail of a boiling teakettle. She narrowly escaped before the building could collapse on her.

The duo then encountered a second ravine, but luckily this one had an old rope bridge spanning the divide; they used some rope they had to better secure the bridge, and crossed without incident. 

Next they encountered a large snake. Before it could decide whether the duo were prey, the Warrior jumped forward, making herself seem as large and threatening as possible. It worked and the snake slunk off in search of easier prey.

Unfortunately, the snake (or some other nasty beast in the Forest) startled a horde of beast which started stampeding towards our heroes. While the Shaman safely hid, the Warrior was caught off guard and stood in the middle of the stampede with her eyes closed and her arms spread wide. Through some miracle, she was unscathed and the stampede passed her by.

The final obstacle in their path was a rock-slide. They traversed it, earning a few cuts and bruises for their troubles, and finally made their way home.

Search for the Egg, Part 2

Entry 1: 

It took me a few weeks, but I made it back home. My friends laughed at my tale of woe, but good naturedly offered to resupply me to attempt once again to find the egg.

Entry 2 (King of Clubs - You spend a week fortifying a lair for a male dragon):

I set off early this morning, after spending the night with my parents. I knew to avoid the path with the landslide, so I made it much further than the hunting cottage. As I was about to look for a good place to spend the night, I rounded the corner and found a large red summer dragon stretched out on the path. 

"I saw you leaving the sanctuary this morning," he yawned, showing his large, sharp teeth. "I wonder if you might help me?"

"What do you need?" I was nervous, as I'd never been this close to a dragon so large before. 

His eyes glinted in amusement at my discomfort. "I wonder if  you might help me with my lair?"

We set off at once, the dragon graciously letting me ride his back. His lair was on a cliff-side which to my mind was quite secure. But the dragon wanted my help arranging dead-falls that he could light on fire - what I first thought was an impassable cliff actually had some fairly treacherous paths that someone who might desperately want some dragon eggs might brave. So we spent a pleasant week laying dead-falls and other traps so the dragon's lair will be far more secure. I had a very enjoyable week and was almost sorry to leave. But the egg still beckons.

Entry 3 (Dragon egg found!):

My source was correct! I found the egg! It was nestled in the reeds on a riverbank not far from my dragon friend's lair! This was far closer to home than I expected to find it! I can't believe my luck. And while I've been gone for over a week, I'm really only a two day journey from home. With luck (and by avoiding that wretched hunting cabin), I'll have the egg safely home in no time!

Entry 4 (Sanctuary!):

My perfect little Velar hatched a few weeks after we made it home. With the help of my summer dragon friend, I was able to raise Velar safely in the valley. I hope that we can inspire others to go and find more eggs - and together we will one day be able to defeat the Mechard!

Search for the Egg, Part 1

Entry 1:

I've heard rumours of a water dragon nearby! While it pains me to leave my family and friends, I am excited to test myself and hopefully help secure our future through returning with the egg. I've got my provisions ready and will set off tomorrow after a goodbye meal with everyone.

Entry 2 (Six of Spades - The path you are meant to take is blocked by a landslide):

What rotten luck! The path I meant to take was blocked by a landslide! While our home valley was cleared of snow some weeks ago, I guess the mountain pass wasn't so fortunate: a storm seems to have caused a landslide of snow and rock. I had hoped to get farther today, but I had to backtrack nearly home in order to take the more northern path through the mountains. Hopefully I'll have better luck that way!

Entry 3 (7 of Hearts - The place you are staying at is raided by Mecharch soldiers while you sleep):

My rotten luck continued - I had holed up in an old hunter's cabin for the night. I thought it would have been a safe place to stay, but a band of Mecharch soldiers came seeking refuge there too during the middle of the night. Luckily I had the foresight to hide my dowsing gear under a loose floorboard I found or I would have been discovered for sure! Unfortunately, the soldiers demanded the rest of my provisions when they set off again this morning. I'll have to scrounge what I can and make my way back home as a failure. Hopefully I'll have better luck on my return trip than I had getting here.

The Beggar

Once upon a time, a beggar stole a ring from the king. He ran away because the king was going to kill him.

The beggar ran to a ruined mountain chapel, which was mostly made of piles of rocks. But he forgot to bring food with him to his hiding place, so he was forced to leave the chapel. He journeyed down the road and found a village.

While there, he was robbed of the ring by a thief. As he was about to enact an elaborate plan to get the ring back, he was caught in a trap by the king. Unsatisfied that the beggar did not know where the ring was, the king threw the beggar into a tower until he would talk.

A tiny bird landed in the tower window and told him that an enemy was coming to slay him; according to the bird, this enemy was a monster. In fact, the beggar’s enemy was a powerful dragon. Hearing that the dragon was coming for him, the beggar attempted to escape. Just when he despaired that there was no way out, he found a secret passageway that led far outside of the tower.

So the beggar went to get the ring back from the evil ugly thief. The beggar was frightened, but managed to catch up to the thief. Through a stroke of good luck, the beggar succeeded and killed the thief.

Meanwhile, a hero was passing into town. With him was his trusty rabid wolf. The wolf killed the beggar, forcing the hero to put down the wolf. The hero found the ring and went on a journey by boat to return the ring to the king.

At this time, the beggar ghost was sad and dead. The dragon showed up and spoke to him. At that moment, the hero, having returned the ring to its rightful owner, showed up and killed the dragon. And everyone thanked the hero, who had saved them from the dragon and the beggar.

The Bird Boy

Once upon a time there was a boy, who lived in a cave. One day he got tired of his cave, and decided that he would go on adventures and find a wife. So he went on a vast journey across the world, looking for the perfect woman. You see, he needed to find the perfect woman as that would break his curse; he was cursed to be a bird during the day, and a human during the night.

In order to find the perfect woman, he went to a very wise old hag, an insane old hag. She told him that he must go and win the competition for the strongest man in the world, because the prize was the most beautiful woman in existence. So he journeyed off, following the insane old hag’s advice and entered the contest. He managed to win the contest because all of the other strong people were frogs during the day; being a bird, he was stronger and better.

Luckily for the boy, the prize really was the fairest woman in the world. When they kissed, his curse was lifted. So the couple to embarked on another long and perilious journey to return to his home. They passed through many ruins and had many exciting adventures. Many years later, they came to his mountain. And as the dawn broke, they could see that it was perfect.

The Warlock and the Giant

A long time ago, in a land far away, there lived a boy who lived on Kitchen Island in a cottage. Time passes and he grew up. As the boy grew up, he got bored on Kitchen Island, because nothing ever happened. So he decided to journey to away on a ship and seek his fortune. He travelled to the Kingdom of Appalonia, landing in a port. There he met many people as he tried to figure out what it was he was going to do in this strange and distant land.

He came upon a priest, out in the woods. The priest, who took a liking to the boy, offered to teach him what he knew bout arcane lore. Thereupon the boy embarked with the priest upon a journey to learn the fell secrets of sorcery.

Years later, the young man had undergone a transformation and become a wizard. He had learned a great many spells. But in that time, his old master had become blind and, finally died. The man was very sad, having seen his mentor die. He decided to look for his mother, who had long ago died.

As he was travelling along, looking for her, he got into an argument with a man in a bar. The argument escalated into a fight. They threw spells around for awhile, and it landed our hero in jail. Luckily, some sassy little wench broke him out of prison.

The sassy little wench told him that she would help him find his dead mother, who was a very nice queen. The wizard was happy, finally having discovered who his mother is. The wench knew this because she and the wizard were actually brother and sister. The wizard said “That’s nice,” and then left. Off into the forest he went, because he didn’t like his sister at all (she was kind of ugly). But she followed him. So off into the forest they went.

In the forest, they met a fairy. The fairy told the man that if he could slay the giant, she would grant his wish, and bring him to his mother. But he could not use his magic; he must use an axe. The wizard accepted this challenge and went to slay the giant. The giant was asleep, but was really a giant giant, the size of a mountain. He ran up with the axe and tried to smack the giant with it, but the axe broke into a million pieces. This woke the giant up. Luckily for the man, the giant wasn’t too sad, as he was actually a giant child. And so the wizard played with the giant for awhile, but eventually they parted company.

As the giant watched them leave, he turned to his short little mother who gave him a gift for being such a nice person. She told him that if someone attacks him, he should ask why first. From that point on, the giant child listened to his mother’s advice from then on.