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.